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It is not a small feat that in a country where majority of the population is obese and suffering from one or more diseases linked to unhealthy life style like diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension etc., California became the first state to ditch trans-fats, well, to some extent. Much to the discontent of the restaurateurs all across the state, Governor Schwarzeneggar passed a law that bans restaurants and retail food establishments to use food products and raw materials containing trans-fats. Despite the ire of the California Restaurant Association, what comes as a pleasant surprise is that the bill has been taken in the right spirit by the Californians.

Although the bill seems like the proverbial tip of the iceberg, but it’ll have a huge impact on the health of citizens in the long run. Healthy life style begins with the healthy eating practices. Considering that California shells out a whopping $21.7 billion a year on obesity problems, this bill will not only improve the general public health but its consequences can be felt even in the economy. Such radical steps need to be taken in order to make amends to the damage already done as well as rid future generations of the ill effects of poor lifestyle choices.

via Source

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What kills roughly 2 million people but is not AIDS? Answer: indoor cooking related diseases. Shocked? This fact is found and recorded in a World Health Organization report. The problem aggravates in villages where modern gas burners are rarely available and the smoke chullas (stoves) are vicious enough to choke your lungs!
In an attempt to alleviate this situation, students from MIT have designed a clean solar cooker out of yak-wool canvas panels, for villagers of the Himalayan region. The panels are stretched over bamboo ribs and faced with reflective Mylar in a manner that in first look you might think it to be some sort of an umbrella!

But this unique light weight cooking device comes for only $17 and for an extra $26 one can attach a metal coil for heating one’s house. This solar cooker helps in cutting down carbon emission as opposed to the traditional yak dung or wood fuel the cooker uses solar power to make yummy food! Its design has won a prize and loads of public attention at the MIT IDEAS competition and in near future one may happen to find it in markets for sale. This means clean and green cooking at an affordable price and no more choking or coughing over horrible gas stoves!

Via: wiredscience

Until now most of us used to think that the way we travel affects our environment the most. This view is now kicked out by a 408-page report prepared by none other than.

United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It raises concerns over people’s eating habits that (as is found out by FAO researchers) contribute more to global warming than the whole of US Transport sector taken as one single unit! It is disturbing to note that animal husbandry-meat and dairy, used in making burgers (and the way burgers are being made generally) has so far contributed in rising temperatures and resultant climate change as according to the FAO report, the greenhouse gas emission accounted by this industry and burger making per se is about 18%. The report also said that “the Earth, and all who reside here, are in grave peril like never before”. Another said news from the non-veg camp. Concerns over Salmonella and E.coli attacks and other dangerously fatal diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (a human variant of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy commonly known as Mad Cow Disease) have always loomed large enough to promote healthy eating habits among people. But never before has been the need to convert into a green diet (vegan diet/eco-friendly diet) more than now, when our Planet’s well-being is at stake!

The report advocates the moral and ethical responsibility that we all have towards our Mother Earth and our existence on it (as such). The need of the hour is definitely to change our eating habits. Predictions by this report say that we can eradicate about 20% of global warming by simply switching to a plant based diet. Not only this, the small change will also take care of other environmental issues like top soil erosion, deforestation and even the ever-worsening problem of water pollution besides being health for our arteries. So, next time u crave for a burger go for the veggie one and save your lungs besides your heart. In doing so you will also ensure a much smaller carbon footprint than one left by eating fatty non-veg burgers!

Via EconomicsTimes

It is not the first time actress Sarah Michelle Gellar aka Buffy the vampire slayer will be dropping her clothes. Previously, it was for a s*** Vaseline ad but now it is to help eBay raise money for the Coalition of Skin Diseases charity. This too is a Vaseline campaign which not only will promote its products but will also work towards creating awareness of skin conditions.

In this photo op, Gellar will be presented in a never-before style. And it has taken her a lot of clever posing to do that. One close up will show only her well manicured hand resting on her arm when another will show her hair falling over her face as she wraps her arms around her bare legs. The skin brand then gives a glimpse of the star’s lips and chin with the slogan ‘Keep skin amazing’.

Apparently, Gellar has always vowed never to reveal all for any film role. So, for this ad campaign she was dressed in a tiny black dress which was later removed digitally to make the actress appear nude.

Via EcoRazzi

This is as ecofriendly as it gets. Technology has come up with toothbrushes that are made from 100% recycled plastic with Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups making up 25% of the blend. Plus, these toothbrushes are available for both men and women and come conveniently packaged in a convenient travel case that has little holes in it to prevent the brush from getting mildew-y. But the catch is here. When the bristles start to wear out, put the brush into Recycline’s postage-paid mailer to turn the old brush into plastic lumber.

The kiddie brush has fun animal facts printed on the package and it also has a big handle for a proper grip in little hands. On the other hand, the adult brush has a sweeping curved handle which may take a while to get used to but once you get the hang of it, it will help you reach even the inaccessible nooks and corners of your mouth where plaque might be hiding in. The size of the head is also not very big unlike the many newfangled high-tech brushes. Priced neatly at $2.50, the toothbrush is quite a cool green deal!

Via GreenDealsDaily

The much abhorred E. coli for its close association with food poisoning will earn some of its lost respect if Thomas Wood’s research turns out to be fruitful. A professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M Wood successfully tweaked a strain of E.coli to get it to produce 140 times more hydrogen than it does naturally. With the help of his friends, he was able to remove 6 genes from the strain’s DNA to convert its cell machinery into a mini hydrogen-producing dynamo powered by glucose. E-coli is known to convert sugar into hydrogen through a special fermentative process.

Wood’s plan will also solve the problem of transportation, a major hassle in hydrogen production. In his own words, Wood puts it, “the idea is to make the hydrogen where you need it.” He is already confident about the potential of his project which will power the next generation of homes and vehicles. In the current stage of his experiment, he estimates that an individual would need to shovel the equivalent of a man’s weight of sugar into a 250-gallon fuel tank so that the E. coli-reactor could produce enough hydrogen to power the average home for an entire day. We sure wish him luck!

Via Treehugger/ Sciencedaily