UnGodlike speed in the far North.
Category: health & fitness
Snake Oil in the Supermarket
Scientific American on Greenwashing:
Food-makers should have to prove the validity of their health claims …
In March the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to 17 food and beverage manufacturers concerning false or misleading health and nutrition claims on their products. It was an unusually expansive crackdown for the agency, whose regulatory power over food companies has declined over the past decades, thanks to Congress and the courts, which have tended to come down on the side of the food companies. …
In 2006 Europe began holding food makers to rigorous scientific standards. Since then, the European Food Safety Authority has rejected, on the basis of insufficient evidence, a whopping 80 percent of the more than 900 claims they have assessed thus far. …
Differences between the lenient U.S. system and the more restrictive European system are easily apparent. For instance, visitors to the Web site for Activia (www.activia.com)—a yogurt product from Dannon—will have a very different experience depending on which country they indicate they are from. The U.S. version prominently displays the product’s putative health benefits, asserting that it can “help regulate your digestive system by helping reduce long intestinal transit time.” …
I assume over 80% of green packaging and health claims are tainted.
mobile phone radiation and health
Still a hot topic.
Yet after listening to two audiocasts on the topic, I’m convinced that we need not worry … much.
(There are hundreds of more important things to worry about. Imported green grapes being on the dirty dozen list, for one.)
… Mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range, which some believe may be harmful to human health. A large body of research exists, both epidemiological and experimental, in non-human animals and in humans, that shows overall no evidence for harmful effects. Other digital wireless systems, such as data communication networks, produce similar radiation.
The World Health Organization, based upon the consensus view of the scientific and medical communities, has stated that cancer is unlikely to be caused by cellular phones or their base stations and that reviews have found no convincing evidence for other health effects. …
Some of the alarmist articles you may have seen were based on research of dubious quality.
Two studies are deemed best:
… In 2006 a large Danish study about the connection between mobile phone use and cancer incidence was published. It followed over 420,000 Danish citizens for 20 years and showed no increased risk of cancer …
details – Cellular Telephone Use and Cancer Risk: Update of a Nationwide Danish Cohort
… The 13 nation INTERPHONE project – the largest study of its kind ever undertaken – has now been published and did not find a solid link with mobile phones and brain tumours. …
details and links to the many reports out of this study – International Case-Controlled Studies of Cancer in Relation to Mobile Telephone Use.
The final question: What about kids?
My answer: They mainly text, not talk. The phone is rarely anywhere near their brain.
I ran 8.8mi – 1hr 26min
Despite a lack of training, I was fairly happy with my run in the Klondike Road Relay in the Yukon.
1hr:26min:22sec (6.1mi / hour)
UPDATE: My time was actually about 1hr 21min. I had about a 5min penalty as I was missing reflective clothing and my race numbers at the start.
The fastest guys on that leg ran 9.6mi / hour.
My Team name … Super Aasman.
Yep.
Best Bike Lane Graffiti EVER
(via the adventure life by Peter Drew of Adelaide)
breast cancer survivors can fly
University of Alberta researcher Margie McNeely says results from an international study she was part of indicate that certain precautions about the risk of lymphedema for breast cancer survivors are outdated. …
McNeely says women who’ve had breast cancer surgery are often warned that pressure changes in an airplane cabin could trigger lymphedema, chronic swelling in the arm. She adds that, until now, information about air travel and lymphedema risk has not been based on solid evidence. A study she did with an Australian research team, however, shows that the risk of developing lymphedema during flight is very low.
“We found that only five per cent of these women are likely at risk of developing any arm swelling when flying,” said McNeely. “This tells us that maybe we are scaring women a little bit too much about this.” …
Breast cancer survivors don’t need to be afraid of air travel: U of A study
Thanks Dale.
rappin’ Adlards
Dave took a mountaineering course this past winter. He went on to summit Mt Rainier.
(Don’t mention the fact that his climbing partner died in an avalanche later in the season. Bit of a sore point with Lisa.)
Now expert, Dave rigged lines for climbing and rappel.
Baby Delaney should be in harness by next year. She’s already showing a lot of natural talent.
shout out for Climate Change activists
My buddy Morgen Hartford is on the road (by bike) …
… on a memorial journey through the Pacific Northwest. Honoring old friends, creating new connections. Learning about the systems that power and shape the way we live.
Here he is with a broken spoke on his most recent 1200mi ride.
His excellent blog – A Wild and Sacred Day – documents the trip.
Two of his causes are healthy food and Climate Action.
My main source of information from Climate Change activists is the excellent audiocast Living on Earth, Steve Curwood’s news, features, interviews and commentary on a broad range of ecological issues.
Personally I’m a Climate Change agnostic having done almost no research on the topic aside from reading The Skeptical Environmentalist.
My friend Brian Mason has done exhaustive research concluding that there’s almost no evidence (yet) that man has significantly altered climate. … My gut tells me that’s probably true.
Even if it is, Climate Change activists are doing far more good than harm. Improving Life on Earth. Kudos!
What inspired this post? … I started reading this book, Ectopia (1975) …
The book is set in 1999 (25 years in the future, as seen from 1974) …
Ecotopia, a newly formed country that broke from the USA in 1980. … The new nation of Ecotopia consists of Northern California, Oregon and Washington; it is hinted that Southern California is a lost cause. …
Though the book was a serious vision of ecologists in 1975, it reads as a most hilarious parody in 2010. Funny because the author didn’t intend it to be funny.
Cars are banned. Farms are run by collectives. Women run the government. They enjoy a 20hr work week. And marijuana.
Who today could believe that California would legalize marijuana?
… The link above is an Economist audiocast of Roger Salazar of Public Safety First and Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance debating California’s proposition 19, by far the best analysis of the issue I’ve ever seen.
Mt. Rainier adventures …
My first trip to the biggest volcano in the continental USA.
… Although Mount Rainier is an active volcano, as of 2010 there was no evidence of an imminent eruption. However, an eruption could be devastating for all areas surrounding the volcano …
… a mudflow might also reach down the Duwamish estuary and destroy parts of downtown Seattle, and cause tsunamis in Puget Sound and Lake Washington. According to USGS, about 150,000 people live on top of old lahar deposits of Rainier …
Three trip reports are posted:
• my climb to Camp Muir
• my day hike climb of Burroughs Mountain
• Dave & Jeni’s 94 mile/47,000 feet elevation Wonderland Trail speed hike
cycling the Hiawatha Trail, Idaho
… The “crown jewel” of rail-to-trail mountain bicycle trails is operated by Lookout Pass Ski Area which is located adjacent to I-90 at the Idaho/Montana state line, 12 miles east of historic Wallace, Idaho. The Hiawatha Trail is generally open late May through early October. …
Winding through 10 tunnels and 7 high trestles, this 15-mile route crosses the rugged Bitterroot Mountains between Idaho and Montana. The Route of the Hiawatha is best known for the long, dark St. Paul Pass, or Taft Tunnel, which burrows for 1.66 miles …
more photos tagged “Hiawatha Trail”
It made Allie Comeau’s list – 10 Great American Bike Trails
