Get Happy, Be Happy, Stay Happy

Has Mother Nature programmed us to be allergic to our closest kin? Does the nose know a good mate when it smells one? Is the ability to smell out the good ones from the bad ones impaired in women who take oral contraceptives?

According to one of my male neighbors, birth control pills are really messing things up. Those little, harmless-looking pills are causing women to choose the wrong mate and destroying their sex drive, thereby leading to an epidemic of married men who are porn addicts. Could be true, I said. Who knows what all happens when we mess around with hormones.

For a really interesting look at this topic, see this recent post at Gene Expression:

Taking the pill might make your brother hawt?

Read this article about the secret sex nerve

Thanks to Thingy, I’m now in the possession of the provocative, ground-breaking, eyebrow-raising, heretical book Left in the Dark: The Biological Origins of the Fall From Grace, by Graham Gynn and Tony Wright.

Here’s an excerpt from the foreward by ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna (download the foreward for free here). I can’t wait to dive in. I can’t wait to see how it relates to what I understand about human development, neuroscience and consciousness.

“The progress of science, and indeed, of human knowledge, requires a dynamic tension between the mere accumulation of observations and ‘dusty facts’ and a synthetic process in which the accumulated results of scientific observation and inquiry are woven together into frameworks that, in the ideal case, create revolutionary paradigms that enhance human understanding of apparently discrete and unrelated aspects of nature. The hypotheses proposed in this book may well represent such a revolutionary paradigm. These ideas do not originate from the mainstream of academia, but rather are the contribution of two independent scholars. The history of science and intellectual inquiry teach us that, as is so often the case with truly novel syntheses, established scientific and intellectual institutions are too ossified, and too invested in the conventionally accepted worldview, to allow the introduction of a new paradigm without putting up considerable resistance.

“Resistance will more than likely characterize the response to this book; its authors will undoubtedly be denounced as mavericks, unqualified to comment on such a momentous topic as the evolution of human consciousness; the ideas put forth here will be condemned as heresy. Indeed they are heresy, in the context of what we think we understand about human evolution, particularly the anomalous evolution of the human brain and consciousness. But one is reminded of the famous observation of philosopher Arthur Schopanhauer: All truth, he said, passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed; second, it is violently opposed; third, it is accepted as being self-evident. We should be wary of rejecting out of hand the premises of a hypothesis that may one day seem self-evident.

“Evolutionary biologists have long been puzzled by what is perhaps the chief mystery of human origins: the explosive and rapid expansion of the human brain in size and complexity over a vanishingly small span of evolutionary time. There is also the mystery of hemispheric lateralization and the apparent de-integration of the right- and left-hemispheric functions that we humans suffer. In this work, the authors postulate that it was not always so; the universal myth of a pre-historic Golden Age, they maintain, is a racial memory that reflects our primate evolution in an arboreal, rainforest environment in which humans possessed mental and psychic abilities that have since become lost or atrophied in the profane ages that followed.”

Download and read the entire foreward.

“We could all be suffering from an evolutionary glitch
that has affected how we perceive, think and behave.”

I read today that an AP probe revealed that our drinking water is tainted with drugs and may pose problems for humans and animals. That’s old news for most in the alternative health field.

The good news is that normally you’d find this kind of article only on so-called “alarmist” health sites.

AP probe finds drugs in drinking water

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky.

Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public “doesn’t know how to interpret the information” and might be unduly alarmed.

How do the drugs get into the water?

People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.

And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies — which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public — have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.

“We recognize it is a growing concern and we’re taking it very seriously,” said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Keep reading

Are you worried about the human-caused meltdown of Planet Earth? Are you wondering how you can reduce your carbon footprint without breaking the bank or suffering too much inconvenience?

I have good news! Humans have not caused global warming and we’re not on the brink of catastrophe.

Are you absolutely, 100 percent convinced that humans have caused our current catastrophe — and have no trouble proving it? Would you like an easy way to win a boatload of money?

More good news! You can enter The Ultimate Global Warming Challenge and win $125,000!

Learn all about global warming and the challenge at JunkScience.com.

(I could focus on the negative repercussions of the great Global Warming Hoax — and there are many — but I’m working on seeing the good side of life!)

Don’t get me wrong. Even though I believe human-caused global warming is a great swindle, I also believe that humans are polluting and destroying our environment (I don’t agree with everything on Junkscience.com!). I support researching and creating nontoxic, clean energy — and lowering my energy bill.

So, with that in mind, check out this survey from Icynene, maker of foam insulation:

Did you know that the average house produces twice the greenhouse gases of the average car? If you said “no”, you’re not alone. A new poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Icynene has found only four percent believe their homes and offices contribute most to apparent increases in greenhouse gas emissions. To learn more about the survey and its findings, click here.

It’s hot here in Phoenix, and it’s going to get hotter. But no biggie. As long as the air conditioners work and we don’t have brownouts, we’ll be fine. Dontcha just luuuuv electricity? And so many of the modern conveniences that enhance and prolong our lives?

I just watched an interesting documentary about global warming. Ironically, those whose careers and livelihoods depend on promoting the theory of man-made global warming will find this film an inconvenient truth. Watch it when you have an hour and 13 minutes to spare and see what you think. I’ve been on the fence about this issue, but not anymore. That said, I still believe we’re doing a very good job of harming our environment in other ways.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

It’s getting to the point where I’ll no longer need to drive 30 minutes to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market to get my “health” stuff. Much to my surprise, our town’s new Fry’s supermarket has a well-stocked health section. And just a few months ago Safeway introduced its O Organics line of USDA certified products. Very cool. But I’ll still do my TJ runs — they’ve got really fun food from all over the world.

Last week at Fry’s I bought several Seventh Generation nontoxic, environmentally-safe cleaning products, which I’ve been wanting to try. The company name is derived from the Iroquois belief that “in our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” I believe that environmental toxicity is one of our planet’s greatest threats. I’m on the fence in the global warming debate, but I have no doubt that we’re harming our world in other ways.

Anyway. Yesterday I used Seventh Generation’s Free & Clear Glass and Surface Cleaner to clean our bathroom mirrors and a glass-top table. Their claim that it cleans without streaks is true. I’m really impressed. No smelly ammonia, no perfume. That makes me very, very happy!

I also tried the Natural Citrus Shower Cleaner, which has a very light orangy fragrance. It also worked great. I have been using Simple Green, but I don’t care for the smell. Plus it makes my eyes water.

If every household in the U.S. replaced just one 32 oz. bottle of shower cleaner containing chlorine bleach with our hydrogen peroxide based shower cleaner, we could prevent 1 million pounds of chlorine from entering our environment.

This Sunday is Earth Day. It’s weird, but I haven’t paid much attention to environmental awareness campaigns and movements. Mostly because they’ve been so political and polarizing. But now almost everyone understands that our planet needs some TLC.

While visiting the Seventh Generation site, I saw a link to TreeHugger.com. I’ve never hugged a tree. I tend to stereotype tree-hugger types as a bit loopy. But I checked out the site anyway. I’m glad I did. Despite some areas of disagreement, there’s a lot to like. They seem to strike a nice balance in their approach to sustainability and environmental issues — an approach critically needed to bring sustainability into the mainstream. From their About page:

TreeHugger is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream. Partial to a modern aesthetic, we strive to be a one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information….

Why is TreeHugger Doing This?

Our environment is currently facing huge obstacles that have the potential to seriously disrupt our future and the future of all our fellow flora and fauna friends. Keeping that in mind, TreeHugger also sympathizes with the fact that most people aren’t willing to compromise their current lifestyle in order to improve our shared environment, so we have created a place where you can discover how to maintain or improve your quality of life while reducing your harmful impact on the earth.

TreeHuggers know that you don’t need to run off to live with the wolves to contribute to the betterment of Mother Nature. (We do, however, prescribe this to anyone with strong urges to pursue cave art and moon howling). TreeHuggers live in the 21st century, make quotidian decisions, consume, have fun and maintain their aesthetic je ne sais quoi.

Knowing that apocalyptic predictions tend to paralyze the masses instead of mobilizing them, we also prefer an enthusiastic, upbeat outlook.

We live green, through education and action.

TreeHugger’s Simran Sethi is appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show today to talk about going green. Should be a great show. I hope I can watch without talking back about global warming