Green Health Spot

Should the Government Support Tesla?

This article in the NY Times really irritated me today, to the point of my wanting to talk about it on my blog.  So the question that starts the article is "Only the Rich Can Afford It. Should Taxpayers Back It?"  This question was applied to Tesla Motors (an innovative electric car company) request for $400 million in low cost loans from the federal government to bring their roadster and their concept sedan car to fruition.  So my reaction to this short sighted article is "When do we start to support new innovation and technology?"  Are we only giving lip-service to our desire to be free of our foreign oil dependence?  Or are we going to put money where our mouth is?  

I believe that Tesla should be helped by the government because it is one of the few innovative automotive concepts combining performance, style in a green/electric car.  The government should help because it can assist new technology into being so that we, in the long run can be less dependent on foreign oil.  By starting with the roadster Tesla has proven that one does not need to give up an enjoyable driving experience in order to be green.  Not everyone wants to be driving around in a Volt and the range on a Tesla is excellent (up to 250 miles) compared to any other option (40-70 miles before a charge).  So the concepts on which the company was based are solid and workable given the opportunity to bring it into fruition.  

In America we believe in free enterprise so this author is arguing for bailing out the Big 3 car companies who mostly produce inefficient, gas guzzling cars for the masses.  We all know about GM's dedication to the electric or fuel efficient car.  They've had many opportunities in the past to change their direction toward hybrids or electric but have failed to do so.  (Watch the PBS special titled "Who Killed the Electric Car?")  Tesla's ultimate vision is not only to have a roadster for the rich but also to use its technology to develop sedans ready for family and work use for the average citizen who cares about their environment.  So, yes, Taxpayers should back Tesla as it is one of the few companies that is in hot pursuit of the grand vision of eliminating our dependence on foreign oil.  Maybe the taxpayer's money is better spent supporting new alternative fuel companies that show promise rather than trying to fix an old outdated, clunky, polluting automotive system. The American car companies has hardly strayed into the more efficient (and lots cleaner) new diesel technology that companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes and Audi have embraced. 

The Motley Fool, a investment website has more foresight on the subject in their article "One More Reason Why We Shouldn't Bail Out Detroit" I'm not sure our economy will be able to bounce back for years if the big 3 are not helped by the government.  But at the same time, we need to put some of our dollars toward new technology and Tesla Motors is a great start.  If we keep doing the same thing (backing high fuel consuming car companies) how do we ever expect our world to change into something better than it is now?  Tesla's not the perfect answer but it just might be a big step in the right direction, but how will we know if it doesn't get the same consideration that the Big 3 auto companies get?

Health Concern: Cell Phones in Breast Pockets

I was at dinner the other night and saw a woman with a cell phone in her breast pocket.  Maybe there is not enough research out there about the link between cell phones and brain cancer but there is emerging evidence. Another evening I saw a teenage girl put her cell phone in her cleavage (read, her bra), maybe she thought it looked sexy, maybe her jeans were too tight that night so she couldn't put it in her back pocket but for god sake, PLEASE don't put your cell phone near your breasts!  Let's think about what we know.....

1. Cell phones put out an electromagnetic field (EMFs).
2. Your body's cells that have extended exposure to electromagnetic fields can turn cancerous (think high tension power lines and their relationship with leukemia), especially in children due to their extended, cumulative exposure to EMFs. 
3. EMFs from electrical devices such as cell phones are a form of low level radiation that has an effect on the cells of your body.
4. Even though brain cancer and tumors of the ear have yet to be definitively associated with the EMFs from cell phones, you must remember that there is a bone (aka your skull) that protects your brain from direct EMF involvement from your cell phone.  Your breast tissue, however does not have this same protection (yes, both men AND women have breast tissue and yes, men can get breast cancer). 
5. Your cells phones put out EMFs regardless of whether or not you are speaking on the cell phone.  Unless you are on airplane mode, which then precludes the need to carry your cell phone around in your breast pocket. 
6. Cell phones carried in the front pocket of your pants have been related to lowered sperm quality in men.  Also, sperm quality was found to go down the more time a man spent on a cell phone as well.  
7. There is an increase in oxidative stress, increased free radicals and a decrease in anti-oxidants in tissues near the exposure to a cell phone. 

The University of Pittsburgh's Cancer Center has made the following 10 recommendations:

1. Do not allow children to use a cell phone except for emergencies. The developing organs of a fetus or child are the most likely to be sensitive to any possible effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
2. While communicating using your cell phone, try to keep the cell phone away from the body as much as possible. The amplitude of the electromagnetic field is one fourth the strength at a distance of two inches and fifty times lower at three feet.
   Whenever possible, use the speaker-phone mode or a wireless Bluetooth headset, which has less than 1/100th of the electromagnetic emission of a normal cell phone. Use of a headset attachment may also reduce exposure.
3. Avoid using your cell phone in places, like a bus, where you can passively expose others to your phone’s electromagnetic fields.
4. Avoid carrying your cell phone on your body at all times. Do not keep it near your body at night such as under the pillow or on a bedside table, particularly if pregnant. You can also put it on “flight” or “off-line” mode, which stops electromagnetic emissions.
5. If you must carry your cell phone on you, it is preferable that the keypad is positioned toward your body and the back is positioned toward the outside of your body. Depending on the thickness of the phone this may provide a minimal reduction of exposure.
6. Only use your cell phone to establish contact or for conversations lasting a few minutes as the biological effects are directly related to the duration of exposure. For longer conversations, use a land line with a corded phone, not a cordless phone, which uses electromagnetic emitting technology similar to that of cell phones.
7. Switch sides regularly while communicating on your cell phone to spread out your exposure. Before putting your cell phone to the ear, wait until your correspondent has picked up. This limits the power of the electromagnetic field emitted near your ear and the duration of your exposure.
8. Avoid using your cell phone when the signal is weak or when moving at high speed, such as in a car or train, as this automatically increases power to a maximum as the phone repeatedly attempts to connect to a new relay antenna.
9. When possible, communicate via text messaging rather than making a call, limiting the duration of exposure and the proximity to the body.
10. Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible (SAR = Specific Absorption Rate, which is a measure of the strength of the magnetic field absorbed by the body). SAR ratings of contemporary phones by different manufacturers are available by searching for “sar ratings cell phones” on the internet.

   I don't know whether or not cell phones in a breast pocket of a shirt or in your bra will lead to cancer in the future but I'm also not waiting for more research to find out something that should be obvious to most and that is to keep your cell phone as far away from your body as possible when you aren't talking on it.   

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Time Running on Water

I love the idea of this great little gadget for your home or office.  This digital clock is a great gift idea for the eco-conscious friend.  It's a neat clock that runs on water and a bit of salt to cause a chemical reaction that keeps time for you.  I especially like this idea since batteries are horrible for the environment but few of us can live without them.  So anything that can run battery-less that is one or two less batteries to go to the landfill every year.  Say your clock lasts 10 years, you have just saved about 20 batteries from ending up in the nearest landfill potentially contaminating the water and soil of future generations.  Every little bit counts so, give it a try.  You can find this nifty clock in various colors here.

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Al Gore Funding Green Technologies

Now here's a great thing for my home town.  Former Vice President Al Gore has become a partner in a venture capitalist firm located here in Menlo Park, California.  The San Jose Mercury News reports today that the former vice-president and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner is working with Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers a VC firm located on the now locally famous Sand Hill Road where many tech companies have gotten their start.  Sand Hill Road is to tech as Madison Ave. is to fashion.  I just love the idea that green technology and environmental issues are such a hot topics right now and much of the awareness and funding is here in my backyard. 

As we slowly disengage ourselves from the oil dependence that America has been on for almost a century we are looking toward the future where alternative energy sources, reducing carbon emissions, and developing non-toxic alternatives to many common daily contaminants abound.  The dark sexy news lies in global warming and hybrid technology but there is much more to the Greening of America and the world.  The not so sexy news is that you can probably prevent a lot of illness that you didn't know you could prevent just by making different choices at home and at work.