Blogs & Ecology

A short video pays tribute to a young activist and nursing graduate who was killed while attending to the heath needs of a rural town in the Philippines.

“To me, a different family means people living on the edge of society. These people may have no home, no jobs. They may be doing drugs, their neighbors may hate them, and they may be banned from entering a theater because of their inappropriate looks. But within such families, love and caring relationship still reign […].”

This is how Irina Popova, a Russian photographer, describes (RUS) the subjects of her “Different Family” project, currently on exhibit in St. Petersburg - and also available online here (23 photos) and on PhotoPolygon.com portal (15 photos).

Jessyz tagged the following post as inspirations on her blog Chocolate Mints in a Jar:

Al Ahram printed this article today, on the Egyptian Hospital in Bagram, Afghanistan.  It is a small millitary hospital in Bagram which treats Afghan patients for free, providing artificial limbs and performing opthalmology operations.  Led by Ahmed Ashry, the hospital has grown from seeing 100 patients a day to seeing and treating whoever walks in.  This is a beautiful story of what Egyptians can actually do. 

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Source: Global Voices Online

Facebook, twitter, blog, facebook, email, online game, then blog, how long have you stayed online? If you have stared at your computer screen and clutched your mouse for over 6.13 hours a day, you are, I am sorry, a person of mental disorder according to the latest official definition in China.

China will be the first country to define internet addiction as a type of mental disorder. The national Ministry of Health has accepted a manual by Chinese psychologists which categorizes obsession with internet as a mental disease, and it is expected to turn into a guideline for all the hospitals in China very soon.

Konbit Pou Ayiti says that “although most of the world has moved on from the tragic stories of the four powerful storms that thrashed Haiti in August and September, Haitians certainly have not. In Gonaives, people are still living on the roofs of homes that are covered in mud. In the south and southeast, hunger that was once a part of daily life is now becoming famine…”

The down turn in the economy is making us all second-guess what we buy. In the US, a market research company revealed recently that organic food sales rose only 4 percent in the four week period ending October 4th, compared to 20 percent a year in recent years. What's keeping shoppers from purchasing organic food? Cost. No question.

Just why is organic food usually more expensive?

Blesh Family in Haiti makes a visit to the General Hospital where some of the victims of the Petionville school collapse were taken: “We are glad we went & it was nice to be able to get the kids to smile but the situation is so devastating. Many of the parents had multiple children in the school…it was heartbreaking.

A new report released by an environmental organization based in Eugene, Oregon called the Oregon Toxics Alliance reveals that children may unknowingly be exposed to toxics such as pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. So the question is raised, are YOUR children safe from pesticides at schools?

Several Filipino lawmakers want to enact a law that will provide for population and reproductive health programs at national and local levels. The Philippines, whose population is almost 90 million, is one of the most populous nations in the world. Many scholars believe that the country’s high population exacerbates its social and economic problems.

The Reproductive Health (RH) bill mandates health and local agencies to inform Filipino couples about birth control methods, maternal health care and other reproductive health concerns. Sex education will be introduced in schools as well.

Saving Energy, Saving Lives

1298's ambulances provide reliable 24x7 emergency medical service to the residents of Mumbai. Its business model uses a sliding price scale driven by ability to pay, which is determined by the kind of hospital to which patients choose to be taken. 1298 has recently begun to experiment with the innovative use of solar panels to help generate and save valuable energy needed to power the onboard equipment of its ambulances.

This post originally appeared on the Acumen Fund blog.

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I recently attended the Superfoods Elements of Health Raw Food Course after wanting to do it for some time. We've been juicing, sprouting, and making smoothies, on and off for a while now, but I was interested in taking it to a new level, and to see whether we can add more variety and interest to what we eat. There is after all only so much one can do with muesli, surely...

Duration: 12 min 40 sec

Where do the millions of computer monitors, cell phones and other electronic refuse our society generates end up?
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60 Minutes is going to take you to one of the most toxic places on Earth - a place government officials and gangsters don’t want you to see. It’s a town in China where you can’t breathe the air or drink the water, a town where the blood of the children is laced with lead.

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Source: AIDG Blog [Appropriate Technology, Development, Environment]

It's not common knowledge yet, but the sprouts do, well, um, grow their own sprouts. We've also (occasionally) been known to wear tie-dye, but don't knit our own clothes yet. I guess calling ourselves urban sprout would have alluded to this, but no doubt it will shock some distant relatives: yes we grow and love sprouts. I think this is our first post about sprouts and when you think about it, it's quite strange that it took us so long to broach the topic.

Image: Everything is Permutated

Finally, proof that exercise is bad for your health: Yesterday, a jogger in Arizona discovered that exercise is not as good for you as people profess. During her regular run she was attacked by a rabid fox, who it turns out was also remarkably insistent.

After the fox bit the jogger on the foot she went to grab it by the scruff of the neck only for the fox to firmly clamp its jaw on her arm. Despite trying to shake the it off, the fox would not let go so the lady had to run the mile back to her car with fox in situ. That’s one dedicated jogger.