Don't Forget to Grab Some Sun Rays!

The sun is finally shining down with all of the energy and warmth of a typical spring here in Michigan and across the midwest, and that means one thing according to what the media would have you believe: stay inside!

Am I right? Okay, so I exaggerated a bit, but the public has definitely been spooked into avoiding sun by many media sources because of skin cancer threats. They are quite valid, I must say, but that type of exposure and problem has been overblown a little bit.

Going out and taking the dog for a nice walk or cruising around with the top down in a convertible and everyday things of that nature is not much of a risk for the most part and only a small SPF sun block is usually needed.

On top of that, the health benefits for going out and getting some sun are too great to ignore.

People who stay inside too much are at risk for insomnia because the sunlight regulates our natural sleeping patterns and rhythms and allows us to store the right amount of melatonin for use later in the night after the sun goes down. People sleep better when they get out and enjoy the sun during the day.

Even if you're stuck at work, there's no excuse for not getting up and taking a break outside.

Also, most cases of vitamin D deficiency are the result of lack of sunlight as opposed to not drinking enough milk as the money-grubbing dairy campaigns would have you believe. Sunlight is the best source for natural Vitamin D and there is growing evidence that vitamin D deficiencies can lead to some pretty bad diseases such as multiple sclerosis, although more research is needed.

Be sure to get at least a solid amount of sun each day when the opportunity presents itself.

Why is Fluoride in Our Water?

It sounds simple, but it's anything but easy. Of course, a lot of politics seem to go into it.

So why is Fluoride in many Americans' water supplies, anyway?

The Web site http://www.fluoridealert.org/ is a good source of information for this toxic substance that many people unknowingly bombard themselves with every day.

Fluoride was originally added to water in order to help prevent tooth decay, or at least that's what the story was at the time. Aluminum company marketed adding the fluoride to water as a way to make money off of their smokestack byproducts by pushing the myth that fluoride would help with dental problems. It was and still is all about money, which is the chief reason why awful things like this generally occur in our modern, greed-poisoned society.

But many recent studies have found that fluoride is only marginally beneficial to better teeth health if it offers any benefit at all, and the trade-off is definitely not worth it, that's for sure.

Places that have fluoridated Water have seen side effects such as men with fewer sperm count, higher autism case amounts, add, adhd, and learning disability proliferation is, significantly higher, more heart disease issues, thyroid problems, and even lowered IQ and adverse effects on the brain are possible.

Fluoride is considered a poison when it is in the air and in our waterways according to the book "The Hundred-Year Lie" by Randall Fitzgerald about the deceptive practices of the FDA and how people think it protects them from health issues when it really often only exasperates them. But in our drinking water, it is supposed to help us. That is pure insanity.

In western Europe, most countries have rejected water fluoridation, including: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland, according to flouridealert.org.

Some towns have managed to vote against and get fluoride removed from their water in some cases so contact your local government and raise the issue if you're concerned about fluoride contamination in your water, which you should be.

Tell everyone you know because this is a problem that isn't discussed nearly enough in society.

Nuke Yellowstone Park to Prevent Global Warming?

The Web site naturalnews.com has raised the idea of the government potentially blowing the top off of the super volcano underneath Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming in order to help contribute to a proposed idea of "global dimming" that would keep the sun's rays to a minimum.

Don't say it can't happen, because those in the know have seen the kind of radical weather alteration experiments that have been conducted secretly in recent years, or at least speculated as to them being carried out.

The article, which can be found by going to http://www.naturalnews.com/026021.html and scrolling down, suggests that someone could bury an unseen nuke under the surface and when the top erupts, blame it on some sort of natural event.

While that seems far-fetched, the importance of this article is that you can't rule anything out when dealing with the people that run things nowadays. They have proven time and time again they have no problems "playing God" for their own interests and ignoring the health, needs, and safety of the general public.

Of course, such a plan isn't likely to happen but a plan to for "global dimming" has at least been discussed at some level and is obviously another example of the "magic bullet" theories of modern society whereby people attempt outlandish solutions to complex problems as a means of taking a shortcut to solve problems that could have been fixed with preventive, prudent measures instead. Keep an eye on the "global dimming" phenomenon and let's make sure it never happens unless as an absolute last resort (maybe....

Oceans Depleted by Overfishing?

I highly urge those of who haven't done so yet to sign up for the NaturalNews.com newsletter.

The site is excellent for keeping tabs on the biggest problems facing nature lovers and those who are fans of living a sensible lifestyle as we face perhaps the toughest era in human history in the coming years.

A recent interview on the Web site with Dr. Boris Worm suggests that overfishing might be the cause of a lot of problems in the ocean. Check out this link: http://www.naturalnews.com/026009.html.

Dr. Worm noticed these problems while doing a bunch of dives for purposes of studying ocean life. He has noticed a distinct lack of large fish species as well as whales and other large marine mammals.

While many people think of sharks as nuisances and/or menaces in the ocean, they actually play a big role in keeping things in check. There are many shark conservancy organizations out there who seek to keep this creature protected even though it seems like it can look out for itself.

Back to the overfishing problem, people don't realize that the ocean is sensitive to this and is not simply a giant, ever-useful resource that doesn't deplete. With the vast amount of commercial fishing boats out there on the oceans round the clock, food sources for tons of species have been thrown out of whack. It's bad news for the ecosystem.

Throw in other distressing problems such as the giant "dead zones" of garbage and toxic plastics littering the ocean and you can see how an awful cycle of misuse can start to put chinks in the collective armors of our mighty system of oceans.

The ocean is remarkably strong and vast but we still have to do our part in keeping it clean. Don't forget that as we move along in this vital 21st century.

Stop ocean dumping and support efforts to keep fish populations strong.

Is Detroit Going Green?

Businessman John Hantz has pitched an idea that just might revolutionize the look, and the outlook, of the downtrodden city of Detroit's urban areas.

Hantz wants to beautify the city of Detroit by planting fruits and vegetables on the city's many vacant lots according to the Detroit Free Press while also adding on things like windmills for energy production and maybe even cider mills and nature centers.

Detroit has an estimated 40 square miles of vacant and abandoned property within city limits out of a grand total of 139 square miles according to the Detroit Free Press as well.

This sounds like an incredible idea and a plan that should be taken very seriously by Detroit's city council. But knowing the history of that group, they'll find some way to mess this up.

Hopefully not for the sake of the city and its people. This plan has the potential to benefit the people of Detroit on so many levels.

First of all is the glaring lack of quality food and produce in the city. Eastern Market is popular but it's also packed with out-of-towners most of the time. The city needs more good produce and healthy food as is the case with most inner cities as Detroit is littered with fast food restaurants but has virtually no grocery stores.

Additionally, just the ability to actually see some semblance of nature in the midst of the burned-out houses that dot the Detroit landscape as well as the garbage and abandoned buildings, etc., could make a big difference in many kids' lives.

The wind turbines may not necessarily generate a ton of energy but they could be a nice symbolic boost to the psyche of Detroiters as well to make them feel like part of the solution to a major problem and like part of a progressive, positive movement of sorts. Michigan has taken a great deal of steps to become one of the leading alternative energy players and this strategy seems to fit in well with Governor Jennifer Granholm's long-term plans to re-imagine the Michigan economy and diversify it into something sustainable for the future.

All Detroiters and Michiganders should be on board with this idea because it sure beats letting the properties rot and decay even further. We can only hope that it works out and other cities follow suit.

B Vitamins Banned- No April Fool's Joke

One of the most important stories that so predictably flew under the radar of the national and local newspapers yet again was the announcement of the expected banning of Vitamin B-6 by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

This should serve as yet another wake-up call that the FDA is all about protecting the profits of so-called "Big Pharma," the manufacturers of all those lovely, overpriced drugs with their laundry lists of potentially deadly side effects, and other special interests groups as opposed to protecting the health of its people.

Vitamin B-6 is a natural supplement that has been declared a "drug" by the FDA, opening up an opportunity for Medicure Pharma, Inc. to profit off of a new B-6 "drug" in the near future.

This obviously sets a horrible precedent...look for tons of other pharmaceutical companies to get on board with snatching up the rights to sell natural supplements and vitamins as drugs and to gouge the living hell out of anyone who wants them or in many cases needs them to maintain healthy day-to-day functions.

This is insidiousism (yep, I made that word up, but whatever) of the first order and it must be stopped.

The problem is, not too many know about it thanks to our wonderful corporate-controlled media.

Now that you know, what do you plan to do about it? We all need to bind together and write letters to our Congressmen to keep an eye on these companies before staying healthy in this country becomes an unaffordable luxury.

You'd better act fast before we need a prescription to buy 10-dollar Hi-C juice boxes at the pharmacy to help stave off threats posed by lung cancer and stroke.

Earth Hour Brings Out the Best, Worst in Humanity

Earth Hour was observed on March 28 across the world, as more than 1,000 famous landmarks and households and businesses across the country turned off their lights and electronics in a show of solidarity.

The day was designed as a political statement to show how important it is to get serious about climate change.The event was deemed a success as researchers predicted that the amount of participants would top the 2008 Earth Day total of 53 million people.

Of course, much more action is needed to solve the problem of global warming. The main problem is that no matter how many steps are taken in the United States and other well-developed nations like Great Britain, the staggering potential growth in population and energy usage in India and China will continue to eclipse other nations’ progress.

That’s not to say it’s India and China’s fault, they have the right to experience a comfortable lifestyle as much as people in the US do. But it’s going to take a monumental effort to keep global warming in check and to stave off disaster in the coming years if you want to be brutally honest about it.

While the amount of people participating in Earth Hour was encouraging, some of the complaining I saw in the days leading up to the event was embarrassing to say the least:

“I’m going to make sure to turn on all my lights that day and leave them running all night long!”

The above is an example of one of the comments I saw while perusing Earth Hour articles in major newspapers. Resistance to the idea that global warming is an issue is still strong.

Personally, I attribute it to pure gluttony and laziness. Other people scoffed at the notion of Earth Hour by saying “Pfft, one hour? It won’t make much of a difference anyway so what’s the point?”

Earth Hour was mostly about the message, and the numbers show that plenty of people still care about making the world a “greener” place. We’re all going to have to shake that attitude one-by-one if we’re going to preserve the future for our children on this planet.

Even if global warming does somehow appear to be not as big of an issue as most scientists are making it out to be, what’s wrong with developing cleaner energy and taking good care of our natural resources?

We want to sustain life on this planet for many generations, not just “the next 100 years” or whatever other conservative estimates people like to throw out there.

To conclude, my message is this: ignore the complainers, and keep fighting the good fight.