Last Monday the popular show “CSI: Miami” ran a segment in which a young woman dies and it turns out to be because of a GMO corn developed by a rogue company called “Bixton Organic Foods.”  In the plot, the company willingly puts people at risk.  This fictional scenario bears no plausible tie to reality, but it fits well with the simplistic, good guys/bad guys image in the Myth that many people believe about farming.  To see how it feels to be the brunt of a distortion like this, I recommend you read a post from a real corn farmer.  

So why is it possible for CBS writers to generate fictional “drama” about the “danger of GMO” when in fact GMO technology has been used with complete safety for more than a decade on a gigantic scale?  (Having witnessed first-hand the thought and care that went into developing this technology over the past 30 years, I’m not surprised by that safety record).  There is an abundance of good information available about this technology including many confirmations of its safety by panel after panel of highly qualified, science and medical experts around the world.  I think the reason that the fear of GMO persists in certain extreme circles is the same reason that there are still “birthers” and people who are sure that health reform will lead to “death panels.”  Its not that there is much overlap between these demographics but rather that the same mechanism of “selective knowing” is involved.

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In order to celebrate the new season, we’ve agreed to host another event with the show… this time a quiz (which you’ll find below the jump). Answer the questions below in the comments; if you score 80% or above (that is, only miss two questions), you’ll be entered into a drawing for a Sundance Channel prize package that includes:

• Ella Vickers bags, made out of recycled sails
• 1 Bag at a Time farmers market bags
• A Boku journal made from recycled paper
• Sundance pen
• Sundance Channel t-shirt (made from organic cotton)
• Sundance Channel hat (made from organic cotton)

Ready to get started? Here’s the quiz (and links to videos with the answers… this isn’t that hard)

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But a new study shows a link between the amount of screen time a kid has and high blood pressure, no matter what size the child is.

We’ve known from previous studies that sedentary behaviors are linked to obesity, and that obesity is linked to high blood pressure, but this is the first time that we’ve linked those behaviors directly to elevated blood pressure.

The real worry here is that these kids only averaged 1.5 hours of TV a day, less than the two hours max that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. It’s all the other “sitting around” behavior that can lead to high blood pressure.

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Researchers at the University of York have recently come up with a method of recycling that seems like it fell from the pages of a science fiction novel. They want to turn discarded television screens into components for biomedicine.

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Of particular concern are homes in which the television is on all the time, which amounts to 30% of all households! In these situations, less interaction, critical for infant language development, occur because of the interference of the television.

Christakis and his colleagues studied 329 two-month to four-year-old children and their parents. Children were monitored for two years recording what they heard or said for 12 to 16 hours.  Researchers did not calculate whether the children and their parents were actively watching TV or if it was just on in the background during the research.  The results, according to Live Science:

Analyses of the recordings revealed that each hour of additional television exposure was linked with a decrease of 770 words (7 percent) the child heard from an adult during the recording session. Hours of television were also associated with a decrease in the number and length of child vocalizations and the back and forth between the child and an adult (called a conversational turn).

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The research was done at Children’s Hospital Boston. They tracked kids from age 6 to 18, following what the children watched over the years. When the youngest kids (aged 6-8) watched adult-themed movies and TV, they were a whopping 33 percent more likely to have sex “during early adolescence”.

Yikes!

Children learn from media, and when they watch media with sexual references and innuendos, our research suggests they are more likely to engage in sexual activity earlier in life.

Anyone who has read my blogs before knows that I’m a bit of a lunatic when it comes to TV watching I believe parents should monitor and limit television consumption. I use the word “consumption” because it should be managed like a treat, not sustenance, just as snacks in a well-rounded, healthy diet.

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In my local community something is happening that makes me want to jump up, clap for joy and say, “thank goodness”! Children are being encouraged to get outside. Turn off the television and discover green grass, bugs, bond with the trees, smell the fresh air, run and get dirty. It’s an initiative that really shouldn’t have to take place but with television, computers, working parents and technology more children are inside verses exploring the great outdoors. Find out how to locally get involved or start an initiative near you by visiting Getting Kids Outdoors.

The idea is to leave no child inside. I found many helpful tips for parents on a handout given to me at our local health fair and hopefully you can use some of these tips and join in the effort to get our kids off the couch and outside where the rain won’t hurt them and some mud could be fun for everyone!

Limit Screen Time. Designate how often the television can be turned on and stick to it. Avoid using it just for noise. I’m guilty at this. My children love to just have the television on but they’re not watching it. It wastes energy and it’s just noise.

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And sure, I really enjoyed the show at first. The little kids were cute, and it was entertaining to spend an hour seeing two adults tearing their hair out trying to complete the simplest of tasks, like grocery shopping, or getting dressed, with six toddlers and two older kids.

And the parents? They were AWESOME! Kate’s obsessive need to dress the kids identically and keep a fastidious house clashing with her husband’s desire to just chill–now that’s entertainment.

I visited my grandpa at Christmas, though, and again for Spring Break, and I was disturbed to see that the tenor of Jon & Kate Plus Eight has really changed over its few seasons. The show has gone from a documentary about how to parent through the hard times, with integrity and an emphasis on maintaining family connections, to a documentary about a couple of stage parents and all the misery they put their unloved and ill-behaved little kids through in order to bring in the cash. Here’s why I think Jon & Kate Plus Eight has become distinctly family-unfriendly, both for me to watch and for Jon and Kate and their children to live through:

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This great video has been circulating around the birth-activist regions of the blogosphere recently, since it first aired a few days ago.  It’s a television commercial for a bed, and the characters in the commercial are no actors.  It’s actual scenes from an actual family, giving birth at home while a peaceful soundtrack plays, and voiceovers talk about the miracle, the specialness, the joy of birth, and the tradition of birthing at home.

There is no fretting about whether or not home birth is safe.  There is no screaming and panicking.  There is a secure and confident woman with her family by her side, bringing her baby into the world in front of our very eyes.

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Yesterday however, a New York Times article covered yet another strategy that they are pursuing, collaborative message placement in mainstream television programming.   These are not your average PSA’s (public-service-announcements) donated by networks but rather longer-term initiatives that strive to create plot lines that will  disseminate accurate information on topics that are widely misunderstood.  The objective is to use entertainment content as a vehicle for educating mainstream audiences on topics such as HIV/AIDS and education in the hopes of influencing public views and behaviors.

One of these initiatives, Get Schooled, is a partnership with Viacom that will weave education-themed story lines into existing shows or create new shows centered on education.   While some groups like the Kaiser Foundation have been doing this in some form for years, this approach is vital and new because programming content will get paid for - thus get done well and not simply under advisement.

The business of pop culture should not be treated as a separate entity from the real social issues we face, rather social issues should be treated as content that can prove to be both a valuable business avenue with a worthwhile upside.

What’s next…video games?

photo credit: Kalos2007 on Creative Commons

Editor’s Note: This post is a guest contribution by Frank Sesno, Emmy-award winning journalist and former CNN Washington Bureau Chief. ”Planet Forward” is an innovative, viewer-driven program driven by the power of ideas, as citizens make their case for what they think about the nation’s energy future. The show debuts on the web first and then moves to television, in a primetime PBS special on April 15th.

I’ve been in the media for a long time. I know the power we have to reach and to teach.  We can take people places they’ve never been, show them wonders – and horrors – to inform or motivate. Good, important stuff. Of course we also drive people crazy. Critics shout that too many in the media are too removed, too insular, too quick to talk and too slow to listen. Too much is dumbed down or shouted out.

So when we created Planet Forward, we wanted to do something different. We wanted to take this huge issue facing us — how we move to a sustainable, 21st century approach to the energy we use – and explore it in a way that is open, inclusive, creative and smart. We wanted to combine the power of the internet and the reach of television to bring together citizens, experts and decision-makers in a place where imagination and ideas would prevail. Sure, serious business — but also spontaneous and fun and unexpected.

Planet Forward starts online and works its way over to television. We invite people to submit a video, an essay, a photo spread, whatever works.  We say show us your ideas, your invention or what your community’s working on. Share your research. Talk technology. Tell us how attitudes are changing.

We’re getting a great response and a lot of different approaches to the challenge. Some people talk straight to the camera, others have produced highly polished videos. Some people have composed original music or produced animations. We’re getting some really creative submissions from young people. But the voices come from all over the place – and belong to governors and students, taxi drivers and scientists, advocates and engineers, artists and architects.

We like to say that Planet Forward is a virtual public square where people can come together and have their own platform to make their case, share their expertise or their opinion.

Why have we done it this way?  Because it’s decision time, and we’re about to spend billions of dollars as we rewire America — and the world — so we can have the energy we need without destroying the planet or writing more blank checks to nasty folks who, by accident of birth, sit on top of an ocean of oil and hold the world hostage to what they pump.

The unique part of Planet Forward is the way we go from web to television. The online submissions will be the basis for the television show. Citizen and expert voices unfiltered. The ratings from the online community (rate the video one to five stars) will help us select the range of views and topics to be featured on our  PBS prime-time special on April 15th. Yes, tax day. It’s also one week before earth day.

On TV, we’ll have a few experts who’ll discuss and debate the online submissions they’ll see. It is the kind of exchange you could have with your smart neighbor over the back fence where you debate the price of oil or prospects for electric cars, or the future of coal.

The experts bring a mix of experience, expertise, and opinion to the table. Shai Agassi is an entrepreneur who has become a leading voice in new energy plug-in cars. L. Hunter Lovins is an outspoken advocate of green business practices. James Connaughton shaped the country’s climate and energy policy for the last eight years in the Bush White House.

Then Carol Browner, President Obama’s top advisor on energy and climate, will look at the submissions and speak directly with some of the people who put them together. We’ll see what she has to say – and what she’ll take back to the White House.

Almost everyone says they are for green energy; the debate comes in how we get there.

Planet Forward can make a difference. The public is the driver of the conversation. People who don’t normally sit in front of the camera shape the debate. Decision-makers and experts listen to what they have to say and then respond, not the other way around. We think this is what makes Planet Forward such a ground-breaking form of new media.

>> For more information on this project, see PlanetFoward.org

Well now PBS is participating in an entertaining, educational, and free Earth Day campaign! This is even better news for an eco conscious parent.

The online content and programming are ADORABLE – and all free – and help instill a love of the environment and eco-conscious values in children and their families.  Joining in the campaign is a great way for kids and families to start a dialogue about the importance of preserving the earth, while learning and having fun.

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If your child watches more than two hours of television a day, his or her risk for asthma is doubled, according to a study published in the journal Thorax.

The UK study monitored over 3,000 children from birth until nearly twelve years old.  Beginning at the age of 3 and a half, researchers questioned parents annually on television viewing habits and symptoms of wheezing. 

Those children who watched more than two hours of television a day were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with asthma at age 12 than those children who watched less, prompting the researchers to suggest that “breathing patterns associated with sedentary behavior could lead to developmental changes in the lungs and wheezing illnesses in children“.

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*Sigh.* Sometimes I hear news that just makes me want to cry.

Today is one of those days. And the FDA, for once, has nothing to do with it.

Nielsen Company released a report this week that showed that American TV viewing is at an all-time high.

We are a nation of vidiots.

Yep, in the fourth quarter of last year, personal TV use was at 151 hours per month, up from 145 hours for each of the last three months in the previous year. That would be about 4 ½ hours per day per person.

American households watch, on average, 8 hours, 18 minutes of TV per day.  What the?! Oh my, why are Junior’s grades so awful? Why is he “heavy set”?

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New research from the University of Minnesota has found that teens who watch more than five hours of TV a day are more likely to become fast food junkies when they grow up.

The study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity followed 1,366 high school students and 564 middle school students. Data was collected on the number of hours spent watching TV every day, which was then compared to their dietary habits five years later.  According to Natural News:

The researchers found that high school students who watched over 5 hours of TV each day consumed less fruits, vegetables, whole grains and calcium-rich foods as young adults, and instead had a higher intake of fast food, fried foods, snack foods, sugary drinks as well as foods with trans fats.

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I gotta tell you, I haven’t sweated the digital switch at all.  Honestly, I forgot it was coming up! I’ve decided to completely avoid worrying about digital cable dishes or antennae, vouchers and the like.

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A 3-year study focusing on 35,000 children, parents and professionals, claims British children are less happy than those in almost any other developed country.

The aggressive pursuit of individual success by adults today is the greatest threat to our children….There is unease about the unprecedented speed with which children’s lives are changing; the commercial pressures they face; the violence they are exposed to; the rising stresses of school; the increased emotional distress they feel.

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A 16 foot high sculpture of an iceberg featuring a stranded polar bear and its cub was launched on the River Thames in London today to mark the launch of a new natural history TV channel.

A team of 15 artists spent two months constructing the 20′ x 20′, three thousand pound, 100% recyclable structure which was launched in Greenwich, South East London at 6:30 this morning. The sculpture traveled 7.5 miles up the Thames before stopping beside Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament for a photo op.

>>Watch video of the polar bears on the Thames

The sculpture was specially commissioned to mark the launch of the new Natural History Television channel Eden, which starts today and features programming including Planet Earth and Attenborough Explores Our Fragile World.

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The California Energy Commission hopes to end the burden of energy-inefficient plasma and LCD TVs on the state’s power grid. The regulations are expected to pass mid-2009, and could be in full effect by 2013.

Officials claim that the standards, once fully in place, would be a power gain equivalent to that of 87,000 homes. On the flip side, if the regulations do pass, it will surely remove some TVs from store shelves and slightly boost sticker prices.

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