October 1 is World Vegetarian Day, and there have been interesting developments in the news lately regarding healthy diet, most notably former President Bill Clinton's interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, in which Clinton related that he turned to a (mostly) plant based diet in recent months to find out if it will help his cardiac condition. Typical of the media, it initially (and sensationally) reported on his weight loss ("Clinton's Weight Loss Secret--Plants"), which was merely a side effect (a good one) of his new eating habits.
Now, you know this man has had access to the best physicians over the years (and daughter Chelsea has been a vegetarian for years), but it took the fact that his stent, unfortunately, started to clog up again for him to consider eating a plant based regimen. (Apparently, the reclogging of arteries after a stent has been implanted is not uncommon.) He mentioned a few physicians and scientists by name, notably Caldwell Esselstyn, Dean Ornish, and T. Colin Campbell (epidemiologist and author of the eye-opening book, The China Study) whose studies persuaded him to give (more) plants a try.
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To help others give (more) plants a chance, the North American Vegetarian Society, sponsor of World Vegetarian Day, has a contest: if meat-eating folk pledge to give up eating animals for a period of time--day, week, or month--they can enter a drawing to win cash. The bigger the pledge, the bigger the prize if you are a winner, up to $1,000! No matter what, that's a win-win situation, whether or not you win any money. (And don't let anti-soy scaremongers deter you from taking the challenge.) Bon appetit!
Showing posts with label CNN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CNN. Show all posts
Friday, October 01, 2010
Friday, April 09, 2010
On a West Virginia mountaintop...
This latest, ugliest coal mining tragedy in West Virginia (25 people known dead) just makes you sadder and madder, the more that comes out. All the safety violations in the previous year, just ignored by the company, Massey Energy.
The violations must have been blatant if the miners themselves were aware of many of them, as was explained by Pam Napper, speaking to CNN (posted on Huffington Post) about the loss of a son, brother, and nephew in the recent blast. (And why, oh why, is CNN burying stories about this disaster away from its main page?)
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This horrendous loss of life makes me think of how we are enabling such flauting of the law by continuing to purchase a product--in this case, electricity--much of which (48-49% last time I looked at my PEPCO bill) is furnished by coal. Ugh.
So, I figure it's time to give Clean Currents a call. (I have a flyer left over from the Veg Fest.) The rep explained (woo hoo, a live person on the phone, without having to go too deep into the voicemail maze) that if I switched to its wind power (you choose 50% or 100%), I'd still be billed via PEPCO, but the bill would have a notation that reminding you that you're billed Clean Currents' rates. Oh, and I'd have to sign a contract for one or two years; there's a termination fee for canceling the contract (but NOT for moving in the middle of your contract), but no enrollment fee. That's reassuring. Also, the locked-in rates are currently about 15% lower than PEPCO's current rates. (Maryland and DC residents can switch to Clean Currents if your current provider is PEPCO, BGE, or Allegheny. BGE's customers, in particular, could use a break.) This provider deserves serious consideration.
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Some good news from West Virginia (or least, about one of its most illustrious sons). A documentary about Bill Withers, Still Bill, has recently been released. Apparently, it's not yet available via Amazon, so there's just this tantalizing trailer...
The violations must have been blatant if the miners themselves were aware of many of them, as was explained by Pam Napper, speaking to CNN (posted on Huffington Post) about the loss of a son, brother, and nephew in the recent blast. (And why, oh why, is CNN burying stories about this disaster away from its main page?)
* * *
This horrendous loss of life makes me think of how we are enabling such flauting of the law by continuing to purchase a product--in this case, electricity--much of which (48-49% last time I looked at my PEPCO bill) is furnished by coal. Ugh.
So, I figure it's time to give Clean Currents a call. (I have a flyer left over from the Veg Fest.) The rep explained (woo hoo, a live person on the phone, without having to go too deep into the voicemail maze) that if I switched to its wind power (you choose 50% or 100%), I'd still be billed via PEPCO, but the bill would have a notation that reminding you that you're billed Clean Currents' rates. Oh, and I'd have to sign a contract for one or two years; there's a termination fee for canceling the contract (but NOT for moving in the middle of your contract), but no enrollment fee. That's reassuring. Also, the locked-in rates are currently about 15% lower than PEPCO's current rates. (Maryland and DC residents can switch to Clean Currents if your current provider is PEPCO, BGE, or Allegheny. BGE's customers, in particular, could use a break.) This provider deserves serious consideration.
* * *
Some good news from West Virginia (or least, about one of its most illustrious sons). A documentary about Bill Withers, Still Bill, has recently been released. Apparently, it's not yet available via Amazon, so there's just this tantalizing trailer...
Still Bill Trailer from B-Side Entertainment on Vimeo.
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