Signs From Earth

The Power of "Yuck"

Environmental Health Perspectives: The Yuck Factor: When Disgust Meets Discovery

"Imagine you lived in a drought-stricken area and were told that from now on your tap water would come from "recycled sewage." Might the word "yuck" describe your gut response? If your answer is yes, then you've got lots of company. Most people instinctively reject fearsome or repugnant things, especially when those things are unfamiliar. If shared by masses of people, that collective repugnance can fuel a social force with the power to shape environmental and public policy..."

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Here's the Poop

Better late than never...Nov. 19 was World Toilet Day.

Of special importance if you are among the 2.5 billion who do not have one.

That's about 40 percent of us.

Even if you already have one, or if you have more than one, learn at Wateraid UK how to help those whose life could be improved if only they could have just one.

At WaterAid America you can meet Super Toilet.

Financial Times Water Aid Appeal. Nov. 24, 2008

You Could Always Run to Work

To battle obesity, Britain creates nine 'healthy towns'

With the highest obesity rates in Europe, Britain is investing £30 million ($45 million) to cut the fat.

By Ben Quinn | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor, November 14, 2008 edition

"LONDON - In Manchester, Britain's third largest city with half a million people, residents will begin carrying electronic tracking tags that log how far they run or cycle each day. The tag will even help track how many calories residents burn. Those who hit the running trail every morning will be rewarded with coupons at stores and even days off work.

"Although this new program may sound a bit Orwellian, in Manchester and eight other towns throughout England the British government is banking on it to help rein in the nation's obesity problem...."

Sun and Sea Can Save Dry Nations

Dry nations turn to sun and sea

From Reuters
By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

Oslo - Solar energy, ecotourism and even fish farms can create new jobs in arid regions of developing nations as global warming strains scant water supplies, a UN report said on Tuesday.

Google Tracks Flu's Spread

NYT November 12, 2008

Google Uses Searches to Track Flu’s Spread

By MIGUEL HELFT

SAN FRANCISCO — There is a new common symptom of the flu, in addition to the usual aches, coughs, fevers and sore throats. Turns out a lot of ailing Americans enter phrases like “flu symptoms” into Google and other search engines before they call their doctors.

That simple act, multiplied across millions of keyboards in homes around the country, has given rise to a new early warning system for fast-spreading flu outbreaks, called Google Flu Trends.

Tests of the new Web tool from Google.org, the company’s philanthropic unit, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.....