AlternativesMagazine

Written by  Ellen Brown  /  Truthdig  July 26, 2019 Planting billions of trees across the world is by far the cheapest and most efficient way to tackle the climate crisis. So states a Guardian article , citing a new analysis published in the journal Science .  The author explains: As trees grow, they absorb and store the carbon dioxide emissions that are driving global heating. New research estimates that a worldwide planting programme could remove two-thirds of all the emissions that have been pumped into the atmosphere by human activities, a figure the scientists describe as “mind-blowing”. For skeptics who reject the global warming thesis, reforestation also addresses the critical problems of mass species extinction and environmental pollution, which are well-documented. A 2012 study from the University of Michigan found that loss of biodiversity impacts ecosystems as much as does climate change and pollution. Forests shelter plant and anim...

How many of us have ever thought about iodine for optimal health? I'm guessing not many. A friend of mine who is recovering from Leukemia and now a thyroid condition has spent much of his rehab time researching his condition. He learned about the remarkable benefits of iodine and encouraged me to do the same and feature it here, in the magazine. I found out its amazing stuff. "Iodine affects the most basic functions of the body. It's found in every single one of our body’s hundred trillion cells. Without adequate iodine levels, life is impossible. Iodine is the universal health nutrient and brings health on many levels." Gabriel Cousens, MD. Iodine – The Universal & Holistic Super Mineral Iodine is an essential mineral commonly found in seafood. Your thyroid gland uses it to make thyroid hormones, which help control growth, repair damaged cells and support a healthy metabolism. Unfortunately, up to a third of people worldwide are at risk of an ...

Somewhere along the way the American Dream became defined by owning more stuff than your neighbor. Is that the new truth? Do we need a bigger house and a better car to find happiness? Does it come about when we sacrifice our dreams for the pursuit of stuff? By  CHARLOTTE MILLS ModernDayMagi People have individual lives and experiences, thoughts, feelings, ambitions and passions. Full reliance on marketing practices like ABC1 grouping and demographics etc are beyond antiquated, they are insulting.  Any ‘glitches’ in trends or expectations referred to as ‘anomalies’ would only go to prove the theories’ own redundancy. Marketing companies and corporations who pedal this practice and terminology only go to show they have little understanding of human behavior, after all, we are not pre-programmed machines.  However, it proves a second issue. Referring to the meaning of consumption and it’s a mismatched relationship with a real economy, iterating and encouragin...

from BIKE SNOB by  Eben Weiss Here in America, the number of kids who ride bikes has declined by 19 percent since 2007, and 2018 holiday bikes sales were down 10 percent from 2017. Advocates and industry analysts offer all sorts of explanations as to why this is happening, from the pervasiveness of video games and screen-based entertainment, to the highly structured and programmed nature of childhood recreation in general. But the most obvious and fundamental reason fewer kids are riding bikes these days is sitting right in your driveway. It’s your car. For all the stranger danger! and just say no! warnings that we’ve subjected our kids to over the years, the number-one threat to their lives is cars. Only guns come close. Therefore, everything that makes it possible for you to drive everywhere also serves to ensure that their environment remains deadly. The roads are far too dangerous thanks to all the car traffic, and even the sidewalks are bisected by acti...

If fossil fuels pipelines like the Dakota Access, Keystone, and Line 3 are about “energy security,” how about we put our money where our mouth is?  The Dakota Access Pipeline is a $3.9 billion clusterfuck; Enbridge’s Line 3 project is an even worse hemorrhage at $7 billion. That money could buy you a pipeline for a Canadian corporation to get some filthy tar sands oil to market and bake the planet– or you could erect 580 two-megawatt wind turbines, install 716,000 five-kilowatt systems on that many homes, and retrofit another 283,000 homes for efficiency. That’s energy security. READ MORE >>

New York Times - April 2019 Americans are devoted to their lawns , planting enough sod to cover the state of Florida, making turf grass the largest irrigated crop in the country. To keep the grass green, some of us pump our landscapes full of pesticides, chemicals that potentially harm our children, pets, and waterways. We use 7 billion gallons of water a day on our yards, wasting half of it to run off, over-watering and evaporation. A front lawn is a great place to grow a vegetable garden.  And those gas-powered mowers, edgers, and leaf blowers spew millions of tons of pollutants into the air, fine particulate matter that we inhale as we work to keep our lawns looking pretty. All that hard work does little to attract the bees, butterflies, and birds that prefer a different kind of habitat. “You might as well have AstroTurf when it comes to the value of lawns to birds and butterflies,” said David Mizejewski, a naturalist at the National Wildlife Fe...