aging sewers ready to burst

I first heard about this looming crisis from Greg Chartier. Cities are neither willing nor able to fix their sewers.

… an estimated $390 billion worth of work needs to be done on the nation’s sewage systems over the next 20 years, according to the environmental group American Rivers—a cost that local officials say has residents clutching at their purse strings.

“A lot of cities don’t want to borrow to do this work,” Kevin Baskins, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, tells USA Today.

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Aging U.S. Sewers Ready to Burst (TreeHugger)

America watches the most TV

USA. USA. USA.

The Economist notes that TV is as popular as ever, and that America takes the couch-potato crown, with households goggling at the box for an eye-straining average of 8 hours and 11 minutes every day.

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A Picture is Worth…. TV in America (TreeHugger)

does sunscreen actually work?

… a rash of recent studies has shown that labels on several popular brands are not only misleading and confusing but, in some cases, completely false.

After testing 786 name-brand sunscreens to gauge their stated UVA protection, potential health hazards and stability in sunlight, the Environmental Working Group determined that only 17% of them provide good protection and minimal risks.

… Be sure to check out the full article (linked below) for a complete list of common misperceptions and suggestions on how to ensure you’re adequately protected.

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Are Most Sunscreens Really that Helpful? (TreeHugger)

And why are products of such dubious value, so poorly regulated, so expensive?

Why Americans are so … FIT

Check the Yankee athleticism.

First, this awesome health club provides outdoor stair masters. (You are only allowed to walk in the opposite direction to the escalator.)

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Even better is this super dog. He has to PULL THE CAR every day! (The owner is even braking to make it more challenging.)

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USA #1 !!

Why Americans are so Fat… at The FitCast

No Smoking Day

The first thing to do to promote a healthier society is to encourage non-smoking.

No Smoking Day is an annual health awareness day in the United Kingdom that helps smokers that want to quit smoking.

The first No Smoking Day was on “Ash Wednesday” in 1984 and it now takes place on the second Wednesday in March. The campaign is now in its 24th year and is a firm fixture in the UK calendar because of its continuing success. On No Smoking Day 2006 1.5 million smokers made a quit attempt and millions more used the Day to take a step towards stopping smoking.

Wikipedia

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kids OVERPROTECTED in 2007

I posed this question on my gymnastics blog. And got a big reaction from a number of coaches.

Everyone (so far) agrees that our kids are suffering long-term from not being more challenged.

I’m not looking for SPARTA, but it is time for a backlash. The benefits gymnastics coaches and parents see in competitive gymnasts are exactly those needed by all children.

Wordsmith from Nantucket wrote:

I think the fear of lawsuits has dictated much of what I consider to be “bad” changes in our society. It’s insulated us from “hurting ourselves”, but in so doing, has disarmed us of the tools we would otherwise develop as part of the maturation process in dealing with life…with learning to cope with adversity and conflict.

It’s similar to how we developed all these anti-bacterial products, from soap to baby toys – all in the hopes that it would protect us from getting sick. But exposure to some sicknesses, early on in life, is what makes our immune system stronger. ….

Here are some articles and studies that might be of interest:

Yep, life’ll burst that self-esteem bubble”

Enough already with kid-gloves

The Power and Perils of Praising your kids

I really do think that there is something about our society (at least what I see with kids here in Los Angeles) that is developing soft, mushy kids. Emotionally and physically. ….

Read the post and the rest of the comments.

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source – New York Magazine

wanting to see SICKO

Can hardly wait for the latest Michael Moore film. It is really going to get people talking. From Cannes:

Moore’s documentary “Sicko” – a ferocious attack on the U.S. health care industry – is the talk of the film festival, and he is hot property. …

… Much of “Sicko” consists of moving testimony from Americans who have suffered at the hands of insurance companies, drug firms and HMOs. That includes a mother whose daughter died because the nearest hospital could not treat her, and a man who was told the cost of reattaching his two severed fingers would be $60,000 for the middle finger and $12,000 for the ring finger.

Several interview subjects died before the film was completed.

“It was pretty somber working on this film,” Moore said. “We just kept thinking, the only reason this person is dying is because they hold American citizenship. If they lived in Canada or Britain or France, they’d have a chance.”

“Sicko” has been rapturously received by audiences and critics at Cannes, where it is screening out of competition. Moore’s last film, the President Bush-bashing documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11,” won the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, in 2004.

‘Sicko’ spawns Moore fever in Cannes

Americans have been BSed into believing they have a better health care “system” than Canada.

Not so.

It’s time Americans learned the truth. Theirs is only the better system for those who have private coverage.

Unfortunately, I believe the Canadian socialist system is doomed, long term. The American model would be better IF ONLY they truly had a free enterprise system. They don’t.

Decisions are made in the USA based on the demands of the pharmaceutical lobby and other such money grubbing scum.

Of course Michael Moore is somewhat discredited as some of his past movies have been less than “on the level”. He’s manipulated the facts at times, unnecessarily I think. His stories are so important that no tricky editing is needed.

Moore should study my favourite documentary to learn how to put one together correctly.

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