The King Of Sushi

There was a very interesting piece on 60 Minutes last night regarding "the King of Sushi" which is what they call Blue Fin Tuna and how, since this fish can sell for up to $20,000 PER FISH, they are being over fished in every ocean they inhabit.

Fishing in the waters off of Sardinia has become much more "efficient" with huge fishing fleets catching up to 3,000 fish in one go. The effect of this is rapidly depleting waters of Blue Fin Tuna and with it will go their entire eco-system. There are laws in place to eliminate aerial fishing and quotas that they cannot exceed, but these laws are not enforced. Smaller fisheries are noticing a big difference in the Blue Fin that they are catching: they are smaller and there are less of them.

Watch the clip below:



If you want to do your part to help the Blue Fin Tuna and its ecosystem, sign this petition which will help to enforce the restrictions on overfishing.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Commercials...

Who doesn't have a lobby group these days? Trying to poison our minds and tell us that, what we know is bad for us, is actually good for us? Sound like the tobacco industry? Well, corn has a lobby and they have released an ad campaign. Click on these 2 extremely offensive commercials below:






What this group wants you to believe is that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a synthetic, processed chemical derived from corn, found in virtually every processed food that we buy, is actually better for you than sugar. When has anything processed been better than the natural alternative? Do they think we are idiots?

I learned all about this in my Micro Economics class that I took as a requirement in my MBA program. This is actually way more complex than companies just choosing to use sugar rather than HFCS. It has to do with the simple supply-demand model.

In order to keep sugar at a certain price, the government has to control the amount that is in the market. If there it too much in the market, the cost of sugar goes down, if there is too little, the cost will go up. So rather than farmer's just growing less sugar, which I think is pretty complex and also would probably also result in farms closing, the price is set at higher than the market would dictate otherwise. Resulting in food companies substituting sugar with HFCS to cut costs. This is why, if you have ever traveled internationally and had a Coca Cola, it tastes way different. It has sugar instead of HFCS which is what American soft drinks contain.

So what's the big deal? Well HFCS has been linked to obesity, altering the body's ability to produce insulin and depending on what you read, cancer. If you are a pro athlete, and are training all day, ingesting HFCS probably isn't a big deal, but for normal people, who have normal or low levels of activity, HFCS can be very detrimental to our health.

The annoying thing about these commercials is that they are implying that being concerned about putting chemicals into your body is ridiculous. While it is true that HFCS is derived from corn, it is an unhealthy bi-product much like heroin is the unhealthy bi-product of poppies and that's ILLEGAL!

Read ALL labels: HFCS is found in bread, ice cream, juices, pickles and many, many other things. It is true, if you just have one thing with HFCS in a day or a week, it wouldn't hurt you. But the problem is that this lobby has become so strong, that this chemical is in so many things that we eat.

GROSS!

How Photography Connects Us With The World

The above is a video that will take you to David Griffin's lecture at TED, an annual convention which brings together "the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes."

David Griffin is the Senior Editor of Photography, Illustrations at National Geographic Magazine. His lecture highlights the best photo journalism that tells a story about wildlife and human interests over the world. His point is that we can make stories out of these fantastic photos to understand, in depth, what is happening in the world around us.

The video is about 14 minutes long but it is well worth it! Some of the photos are absolutely unbelievable and the stories that they tell are often heartbreaking...but some end up hopeful!

After all, how can we feel that there is anything to save, if we haven't seen it? Thanks to dedicated photographers, we can see the world, and respond to its calls to help in the healing process, from over fished oceans to wildlife poachers, and recognize that there are so many things that we can be working towards preserving for generations to come.

Enjoy!

Mad As Cheese...or, uh, Water!

This is insane. Pretty much the coolest thing I have heard of...ever. So there is a scientist named Denny Klein who discovered that you can produce electricity from H2O which he converts to HHO...yes, WATER!! CONVERTED! He is currently in the process of working with a major car company to make a car run on regular tap water and working with the government to create a Hummer for the US Army. On a 100 mile trip, he uses 4 ounces of water. I SWEAR! Here's a link to a news story that was done on him and his ground breaking discovery. Stick it out until 1:30 minutes because that is when he starts discussing how his discovery can be applied to cars:



Here is a link to his website where he will take you through the steps of converting your car. So, why isn't the general public being informed about this technique? Well, I know in NY, the government gets their money to upkeep and repair the roads from gasoline tax. I am thinking it is similar everywhere else. Until they find a substitute method for getting that money, they are unlikely to publicize this process. SCANDALOUS!!

That won't stop us from learning about it though, thanks to You Tube. Really incredible discovery!! Science rules!

Joe Biden loves the environment too!

I am going to begin pointing out prominent people who are lovers of the environment. These people can serve to inspire, educate and help us reach our goals to begin healing the Earth. When I read this article on a website called Grist, I thought Joe Biden would be the perfect first person to recognize for his leadership and forward thinking with regard to environmental issues:

"Joe Biden, Barack Obama's running mate, has earned an 83 percent lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters during his 35 years representing Delaware in the U.S. Senate, voting fairly consistently with environmentalists and the mainstream of his party. In 2007, while running for president, he said "energy security" was his top priority, and argued that he was well-suited to deal with the challenge thanks to years of experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he now chairs. Biden is also a big booster of biofuels."

If you want to learn more, click here for an interview . My favorite quote (which falls right in line with the Advocate of Green motto) is his answer to what his family is doing, personally, to help the environment:

"A little thing we've begun to do is replace all the traditional light bulbs in our house with fluorescent light bulbs. I introduced a bill to promote compact fluorescent light bulbs. If every family in America changed just one bulb, we could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 7 million tons per year. There are a lot of little things we can do to make a gigantic change."

Go ahead Joe! Watch Joe Biden discuss moving towards renewable energy (the sound isn't great but if you turn up your volume you will be able to hear him.)

WOOHOOO FOR BLOGGING!

Hello!

I have taken a few days off from blogging in order to get some admin-y things done and VOILA! I have a logo. I know it isn't centered but I should be figuring that out very soon and when I do, VOILA AGAIN!! My blog will look fancy.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I'll be back to blogging properly this afternoon.