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Today marks the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, which gave American women the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted and introduced this amendment to Congress in 1878.
It took 41 years for the amendment to be submitted to the states for ratification. Sadly, neither woman lived to see their dream come to fruition. However, women across the United States owe them much gratitude for their hard work and foresight.
Women like Ms. Anthony and Ms. Stanton fought long and hard for our right to vote; let's not take it for granted. And please remember women in the following nations where women still have limited or no right to vote in elections: Brunei, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Vatican City.
(Photo and historical source: www.wikipedia.org)
Doctors and scientists already know that tanning (especially with tanning beds) ages skin and can cause skin cancer. However, now there is yet another reason to avoid tanning. New research shows that people who use tanning beds have a change in brain activity that mimics drug addiction. That is, not only are you putting yourself at risk for deadly skin cancer, your body begins to actually crave the experience. Go here to read about this study.
When Americans throw away their broken, unwanted electronics and other items, most of us rarely think about where "away" really is. One broken keyboard here, an obsolete cell phone there, it can't add to much, right? So, it's just all shipped to the local landfill, which really doesn't take up much space, right?
Wrong. Multiply your discards by the the millions in the United States, then add the millions from other countries and we have a real problem. It's called "e-waste" and it doesn't just go "away."
Here is where most of it goes:
E-waste is processed and recycled overseas, mainly in places like India, China, and Pakistan. According to Greenpeace, "25,000 workers are employed at scrap yards in Delhi alone, where up to 20,000 tons of e-waste is handled each year, 25 percent of this being computers." Processing e-waste is hazardous work. Electronic components contain many heavy metals and other toxic elements. Often children are among the workers processing this waste:
Each time the latest, greatest gadget comes out, we need to really ask ourselves if those new fangled devices are really necessary. Is your cell phone providing the service you actually need? Does your computer still have the capability to allow you to conduct your business and personal tasks effectively and efficiently? If so, why buy a new one?
This also brings to mind conversations I often hear where people are talking about "our" jobs going overseas. How many Americans would want the above-mentioned 25,000 plus jobs? I'll save that topic for another day.
(Photo sources: www.amoeba.com/blog/2008/01/jamoeblog/the-growing-global-problem-of-e-waste-.html; www.greenpeace.org)
Or at least less plastic. Today I got thinking about the steps I've been taking to eliminate, or at least decrease, plastic in my life, especially plastic bottles. Here are a few ways I've been working towards this goal:
Started carrying my own reusable bags
Started using shampoo and conditioner bars
Started making my own laundry soap from soapnuts
Started shopping at bulk bins
Here are two things I was doing for a while but fell out of the habit:
Baking bread in my bread maker
Making yogurt in my yogurt maker
Making household cleaners
I'm sure there are a few other things I'm doing that I've become so accustomed to doing that I don't consider the fact that by doing those things, I'm not generating more plastic trash. Also, since I'm a serious recycler, my trash mainly consists of plastic items that cannot be recycled so I'm continuing to evaluate what goes to landfill and how I can eliminate those items. I'm open to any suggestions from my readers.
(Photo source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1248748)
People are like stained glass windows, they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in, their beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.
I love the internet and how it allows me to keep in touch with people and events around the world. My problem with the internet is that I often end up going down a rabbit hole, searching for some bit of information, finding another, following that to yet another link. And then hours have passed by and I really haven't accomplished anything. So, beginning a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take an internet sabbath on Sundays. That means no email, no facebook, no blogging (except for posts I've already scheduled), no internet period. I think it's good for me to take break. It frees up a lot of my time and keeps me from being a slave to technology. To paraphrase Martha Stewart, a little radio silence is a good thing.
(Photo source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1260787)
The obesity epidemic is spreading to new places. France, whose obesity rate is far below the US, is beginning to rise there, with obesity rates matching the US in some places. According to this NPR article, much of the rise can be blamed on the influence of American eating habits. Experts believe the following habits are contributing to the weight increase:
1. Lack of cooking skills
2. Availability of vending machines
3. Eating and drinking on the go
4. Eating too often
5. Eating high-calorie, processed foods rather than fresh food
Due to the influence of American television characters, the French now are "copying what we see on American television shows....Now we think we have to do things we never did before, like open our refrigerator as soon as we walk in our front door, no matter the time of day."
Americans may be able to avoid the obesity trap by emulating the traditional French way of eating. We can learn to cook from scratch to avoid the high-calorie, highly processed foods. And we can also make cooking and eating a family affair. We can eat at set meal times and not grab food on the go or whenever it is available. It is the availability and ease of acquiring food that leads to the consumption of additional, unnecessary calories that helps put on the pounds.
(Photo source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/9503)
