More Fun Images

Take a close look at the surface of bubbles. Wonderful images. Here

The Number One Rule Of Green Business

See it here

Future Tellers

Like to share your future vision? Over at the Open The Future website, they are asking this question:

"It's the summer of 2019. You are yourself, but 10 years in the future. Describe where you are having for dinner, what you're eating, and what you're thinking or talking about. How did you wind up there, compared to where you had dinner most often in the summer of 2008?"

..and here's an essay to get you started.

Care to Share? Comments welcome.

An Asthmatic's Life Change

We are hearing more and more about the long term effects of drinking alkaline water, so it was great to receive this story from David Jenkins this week. Please note that this is David's story and does not mean that you will have the same effect by drinking alkaline water. Always consult a health professional when contemplating changes to your health regimen etc etc etc.

"I was born with asthma and suffered with it all through my teenage years. When I was 24 I moved to Austria and started drinking natural spring water. Within a few months my asthma had disappeared. I had tried many drugs and inhalers in the past and nothing had cured my condition, so this was great! After 6 years in Austria I moved back to Sydney, and began drinking tap water again. Within a few weeks my asthma was back, and I was back on an inhaler again. My partner and I tried many things to remedy this, including purchasing an air purifier - nothing worked. I then bought a water filter/alkalizer from ION LIFE, and within 3 or 4 weeks my asthma was gone again. I experimented with drinking water from other sources and my wheezing always came back. I have now had the unit for years and my asthma has not returned. "

My own story had a new turn last night. Our son Neil is 28 and I guess you could say has his own ideas about health. He has a water ionizer but we suspect he likes Coke better. Living in a shared house with his mates, we also suspect that he doesn't eat well. Of course, he loves to come over for a good feed and some quality time, but this week he's been seriously sick with the 'flu. We persuaded him to come and stay with us and it was just so obvious that he was in his most infectious stage, yet once again neither of us contracted his flu.

That's eight years now with no colds or flu! Eight years since we began alkaline water.

(Of course, it could be coincidence....)

And as I write, Pippa, our sales support supremo here at ION LIFE, drinking alkaline water for the last six months, also tells me she hasn't had a cold or flu, whereas her partner who doesn't like alkaline water 'cos it makes him thirsty' has one cold after another.

Frankly, if you work for yourself, a week off can be disastrous financially. Good reason for a long glass of cool gold, I think!

A Cancer 'Victim' turns 'Victor'

Kim Tinkham's story is wonderful in two ways; firstly that she overcame cancer, and secondly that she chose very clearly to become Victor rather than Victim, including exposing herself and her dis-ease to the world via the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Here's her story of becoming an Alkalarian; going alkaline with the help of Dr Robert O. Young.

More here including Video

By the way, we have received our shipment of the 'Acid Alkaline Food Guide' so all of you out there eagerly awaiting your copy.. it's in the mail! If you haven't heard about it, here's more.

Hmm.. why does this remind me of days of useless browsing on a computer.. only better?

This video of the most wonderful and useless all wooden device blew my mind. I just wonder if the chap who made it was a young man when he began!

Baby Light My Fire.. er.. Water!

Anyone believe they can light water? This lady can.

US Citizens urged to tighten belts and save the world

It seems the US energy crisis could be averted if US residents just cut their calorie intake. That alone could reduce the US fuel bill by 19%!

David Pimentel of Cornell University and colleagues have drawn on an extensive body of existing studies to highlight the wastage in the US food production chain. They have estimated how much energy could be saved by making a few relatively simple changes to the way corn is produced.

Their conclusion? Energy demands could easily be halved.

The average American consumes about 3747 kcal per day compared to the 2000 to 2500 kcal per day recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration, and that doesn't include any junk food consumed.

Producing those daily calories uses the equivalent to 2000 litres of oil per person each year. That accounts for about 19% of US total energy use.

What does milk petrol and bottled water have in common?

Price.

The Robots are Coming...

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Carbon Footprinting a Cheeseburger

It seems that kids at school are going to have to learn a whole new mathematics; the maths of carbon footprinting. Here's an example of what I'm talking about; a futurist calculates a cheeseburger's effect on the environment in carbon terms, and it's not pretty!
(Ian: Yes, I know, it's not a cheeseburger, but I couldn't resist the pic!)

Chemical-Affected Fish Don't Feel Like Eating When Zonked

Well, Du-Oh!

CLEMSON, SC — Clemson University toxicologists have found that hybrid striped bass exposed to the antidepressant fluoxetine, which has been detected in some surface waters, are less interested in feeding than other fish and often display behaviors that make them easier prey for predators, according to a July 21 Scientific American article.

Antidepressants like fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, block the reuptake by neurons of serotonin, a neurotransmitter strongly tied to emotion, appetite and aggression, according to the article.

For the study, researchers Stephen Klaine and Kristen Gaworecki exposed the fish to varying amounts of the drug — zero, 35, 75 and 150 micrograms per liter — over six days, followed by a six-day period in clean water. The fish were offered four live fathead minnows every three days, according to the article.

“In general, it took exposed bass longer [than bass not given the drug] to eat each minnow. Some bass exposed to the higher levels of fluoxetine pretty much gave up trying to capture prey by the third or fourth minnow. They really didn’t have the kind of appetite the controls had,” said Klaine.

Bass exposed to the greatest amount of the drug also behaved strangely for their species, staying at the top of the tank with their dorsal fin above the waterline or tilting to a vertical position, two actions that would make them easy targets for predators in the wild, according to the article.

Hmm... reminds me of some people around my home town, Byron Bay!

lotus Recommendations

We're beginning to receive the first registration cards from satisfied lotus Sanitizer users and it's so good to hear their comments.
Eve Hutchinson of Queensland said,

"I've finally found the solution to really clean fruit and veges plus a home without chemicals. I have been looking for 15 years."

Our free sign-in competition is still happening over at the lotus site. We're giving a lotus away once a month (within Australia) so if you haven't signed on, take a quick surf in our direction!

Beijing Pics

Amazing!
here

Domino's Pizza Test the Limits of Edibility

Domino's Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat

A talk about Alkaline water from our Canadian Friends

Here's a great little online radio program, interviewing Zaba Walker, our Canadian counterpart.
A very good interview, including a story from a nurse who, she says, almost died before she began drinking alkaline water. You need sound.
Click here

A Seriously Funny Video about Health Care

What's making us fat?

Now it's Cortisol, the stress hormone, that's causing us to be fat, according to this article in LA times.

Studies have shown that Cortisol makes people crave rich sweets in the worst way -- and pile on pounds in the worst place, around the middle, putting a body at risk for bad cholesterol, heart attacks and strokes. One study compared women with high waist-to-hip ratios to women with low waist-to-hip ratios and found that the former secreted more cortisol in stressful lab situations and self-reported more stressful feelings.

So.. let's get this clear. Stress causes Cortisol, cortisol causes us to crave sweets.

So why don't I feel right about the study? Probably because of Ken Smith.

Ken is from NZ. He downloaded my free Alkaline Balance Program and took it to heart. I have to say ken is a big bloke. An ex weight lifting camp, he has had some serious health challenges and the weight piled on.. as it does.

So when Ken read my Program, he decided that being alkaline had to be a better bet than where he was. He immediately began on Core Greens and as soon as he could, he took delivery of his own Alphion water Alkalizer. A month late ken is lighter by 10.5 KG!

So... what happened? It seems pretty obvious that ken isn't manufacturing the Cortisol that the study says makes people eat rubbish. But it's a real chicken or the egg. Did he lose weight and change his dietary needs because of the lack of cortisol, or because he is suddenly healthier because he has rebalanced back to his former alkaline natural state? I think if I asked Ken he wouldn't really care. He's laughing all the way to the alkalizer. BTW if you want to contact him, Kiwis, here's his email

And here's the big payoff. "I don't WANT the foods I once hungered for! I WANT to eat alkalizing foods!" said Ken when he visited me this week. I've just lost the desire for those foods!
Late Update: a week later and Ken is now 12.5KG down!

An Olympic Message

I'm sure our Chinese co-inhabitants of planet Zork laugh at our attempts at Mandarin. Therefore I'm equally sure that they would forgive us a laugh at some of their computerized translations. Such as:

"In nature, when small drops in the air split, they are with masculine and on the contrary they will with negative. That is called ionization phenomena of the air. Hence, near the chute and seashore, there are more negative ions in the air. On the other hand, in central city or beside factory, the air is seriously polluted and the amounts of negative ions are less comparatively. To human being, comfortable environment is always in the area of more negative ions such as chute, seashore and forest, etc. "

Taking Climate Change Seriously.. Seriously

I'm confronting my issues at home with regard to climate change.

Firstly, I want to grow vegetables. To do that, I would have to clear away a few huge eucalypts in the public reserve behind our garden. The council is adamant; no way. Trees are never removed, even at sixty foot high with branches so big that when they fall they'll squash houses.

My quandary is that I love the trees too. They give shade, which in summer is good. They brings birds. I love birds. But.. in climate change terms how do we equate the reduction in carbon emissions I can facilitate by growing all my own greens (and I eat LOTS!) with the effect of three trees?

If I could promise to plant trees as a compensation for removing the ones outside my fence, I'd talk to council about it, but they made it clear; policy is - trees are sacred. And dammit! I agree!

So that's my first CC beef. How to be a 'locavorian' eat locally produced (in my case at home) food and therefore reduce the negative effects of the mad transport juggernaut that trasnsports foods from afar and spews diesel CO2 into the air for hundreds of miles?

My second beef is my hot water service. It was there when we came.. and we rent. But it operates at a temperature so high that we waste power.. and if we did have kids it'd be downright dangerous. Cassie rang the hot water manufacturer who suggested we call a plumber, but assured us that our model 'only worked at one temperature anyway'.

I'm trying to work out some sort of temperature sensor device I can gimmyrig from electronics store parts that I can retrofit myself, but the fundamental problem is not just the temperature; it's the ridiculously long reaches the water has to flow to get to most of the house. To wash a dish in hot water we have to waste almost a minute of cold water to get to the hot. Dumb.

Now it's my new electric bike. I felt so superior whizzing past fellow pedal-impeded cyclists on my way to work. Smug even.

It worked superbly for a month and now the Chinese batteries seem to be failing. The problem, it seems, is that if you are miles from home and the batteries flag, (there's a little handlebar indicator) you can't keep going until you stop because that's really bad for the batteries. Draining them is apparently deadly.. and that is, of course, what I did - cos no-one told me different!

We just shelled out for more batteries last week, and loaned the bike to our son. Late last night he rang us. "The light has turned red! What should I do? It's raining and I'm a kilometre from home." So do I tell him to keep going, avoid getting wet through, or do I tell him to get off and wheel the bike a kilometre through the rain? You guessed it. He rode it home and now the batteries are iffy. Such is life in the CO2 age.

I'd love to hear some of my readers' issues. Or don't you have them yet?

Meanwhile in India...

The Hindu Newspaper site reports that a 'city based' scientist says that a good bath full of minerals is the answer to genetic defects, and that it's as good to have a bath in ionized water as it is to drink it.
Hmmm...
here's the story.

Watermelon as a Viagra replacement?

Check it out here.

Congratulations Frank!

Frank Blackman is our lucky lotus eater this month. He bought a lotus sanitizer from the very first ones to hit our store, and he was in the running for a full refund if he was the lucky one in our monthly draw.

You can get in line for your free lotus this month if you're in Australia by clicking here

Doc Martin and his four essential Health Checks

I've talked about Dr. Anthony Martin before. he specialises in treating Chronic fatigue and here is a short video of him and his recommended four essential health tests

Cancer Fraud List

The US FDA has just published a list of 125 products that make claims about their ability to cure cancer. It makes sobering and enlightening reading.

Here it is.

The FDA’s news webpage, “Beware of Online Cancer Fraud,” lists some of the most obvious signs of health fraud:
· Statements that the product is a quick and effective cure-all or a diagnostic tool for a wide variety of ailments.
· Suggestions that a product can treat or cure serious or incurable diseases.
· Claims such as "scientific breakthrough," "miraculous cure," "secret ingredient," and "ancient remedy."
· Impressive-sounding terms, such as "hunger stimulation point" and "thermogenesis" for a weight loss product.
· Claims that the product is safe because it is "natural."
· Undocumented case histories or personal testimonials by consumers or doctors claiming amazing results.
· Claims of limited availability and advance payment requirements.
· Promises of no-risk, money-back guarantees.
· Promises of an "easy" fix for problems like excess weight, hair loss, or impotency.

Canada also recently launched a website, Project False Hope, with helpful information on fraudulent cancer and marketing practices.

Michael Pollan on Sustainability

I've mentioned Michael Pollan before on this page. He wrote 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' about the source and ethics of our food, which I loved.

Now he has a wonderful interview on "What's wrong with Environmentalism" Yale Environment 360's site and it's worth a read or a listen. (so don't tell me I'm a narrow-minded Tree hugger!)

On the same subject - I watched a doco last night on the rapacious unconscionable behaviour of Haliburton et al in Iraq; the consequence of which has caused TWENTY SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS of taxpayers' money to become 'unnacounted for'. It wasn't a great way to go to bed at peace with the world, but it did have an effect in an unexpected way.

After my meditation this morning I sat for a moment thinking about the doco and Haliburton and how Mr Bush could have let it happen.. wondering how they could possibly have gotten away with crimes against the stste of such stupendous magnitude. But then the thought came in that they are humans like me and that I too have 'black holes' in my consciousness where I choose not to look.

I import products from a far off country that has far less environmental controls than Australia. I use a car to go to dance lessons in full knowledge that it contributes to the environmental load. I buy food while earth in my small back yard lies fallow, producing nothing but weeds.

I do so many things that one could view as, at best, arguably unsustainable.

So how do we act in this post industrial era (for that is what it must soon become) as we watch the madness flow around over and through our individual lives? I'd love your comments.