By Zachary Shahan •
November 15, 2009
Due to the great popularity of “Can Diet Coke Kill You?” combined with a lot of controversy over it, I have decided to write this follow-up post.
Most of the controversy over the last article was around the fact that the documentary I referenced cited data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) but that organization itself claims there is no proven link between aspartame and cancer.
What was presented previously was a short explanation of why aspartame is expected to cause cancer and other health problems and a summary of some information presented in Sweet Misery, including findings from analyzing NCI and other data. This article, however, cites other scientific findings and discusses the economic-political history of this topic a little bit as well.
By Jake Richardson •
February 19, 2009
The discovery of a species in nature often results in headlines such as “New Species Discovered”. However, what exactly is a new species?
A ‘new’ species would probably be only one that had evolved into something unique very recently, or zapped instantly into existence by the power of God, or created by genetic engineers in a laboratory. Therefore, it appears to be safe to say that there is no such thing as a ‘new’ rat. (Unless one includes politicians).
By Nayelli Gonzalez •
December 17, 2008
Sometimes life imitates art. In Karen Dionne’s new thriller novel Freezing Point, melting icebergs are viewed as both the solution to the global water crisis and the source of man-made apocalyptic horror. In reality, giant melting icebergs raise global sea levels and unleash frozen methane gases into the Earth’s atmosphere.
According to recently discovered NASA satellite data, more than 2 trillion tons of land ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted since 2003 and have caused alarming global climate changes.
So melting icebergs are not just the stuff of fiction. Yet, one hopes that what transpires in Freezing Point (think toxic drinking water, corporate monopolies of icebergs and large-scale eco-terrorism) never becomes reality.
In our conversation, Karen Dionne, who wrote a Huffington Post column titled “Can a Novel Change the World?”, spoke with me about the power of the written word, killer rats, and environmental activism:
How did you become interested in the global water crisis?
My interest in water issues goes back pretty far. My husband and I were part of the “back to land” movement in the ‘70s. We wanted to not be so dependent on the system, so we lived in nature, grew our own food, got our water from nearby wells. I remember reading the book Silent Spring and one thing I took away from it is that there is no pristine place left on earth. I learned that DDT was showing up in bird eggs and that toxins were everywhere. For my generation, it was an awakening of how severe the problem was. So I’ve always been concerned about what man is doing to the environment.
By Jennifer Lance •
September 13, 2008
40 lab rats were offered a choice between organic and conventional biscuits by Swiss and Austrian scientists. The rats preferred the organic biscuits, which makes you wonder if rats are smarter than humans. I guess next time you set a Havahart rat trap, you should place some organic food inside the cage.
Via: Mother Earth News
Image: asplosh on Flickr under a Creative [...]
