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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Save Fuel, Save Money
The prices
of gasonline or petrol increase daily, wherever you live
in the world. The price
of a barrel
of oil has quadrupled since
the beginning
of the millennium. It
went from
about $20 a barrel
to almost $80
in these days.
The Reason
to Save Fuel
The resources
of fossil energy
deplete. Oil
has served
as the backbone of
the modern
society. Gas
and coal also have plaid
an important
role, but
oil has prevailed. The book
The Final
Energy Crisis forecasts a dramatic development during
the next years. They
expect that
the peak of the oil production
will be
achieved around the end of
this decade
and that the production will fall, although the demand will increase further. This means
higher energy prices.
Another source says that the oil reserves will be
exhausted in
about 43 years
and the reserves of natural
gas in about 64 years.
No Easy Going
Alternatives at Hand
There is a lot of research going
on worldwide in the
field of solar
power and hydrogen
power. They will have
to substitute oil, gas, coal and uranium in an intermediate term. Photovoltaic, wind power and power from biomass progress quickly. The process of transformation
lasts decades.
New solutions need time
to step
fully into the
foot prints of oil.
The Urgent Task to Save Fuel
There is an urgent task to save
fuel in order to prolong the
use of the remaining fossil energies. Saving
fuel is inevitable because the cost
for fuel will increase further. There might be days of lower
prices, but the general tendency is clear:
up, up and up again.
Solutions
are demanded in order to make the consumption of
fuel affordable. Modern and already
proven standards of housing construction show that 60% to 80% of the fuel
can be saved.
Solutions for Money Saving
Consumption Needed
Saving fuel in the field of traffic and transportation
still sticks in the
beginning. If the wheels have to
turn further, fuel saving becomes highest
priority. There are
cars coming up with
low fuel consumption or even bio-ethanol. Millions of
used vehicles still are useful and they are driven for many
more years. It makes sense, if
there is a
solution for
used and new cars, trucks, motor-bikes etc.
To save fuel also means to save money. Fuel Freedom International propagates
such a convenient looking
solution. This could be one solution among
others, e.g. eco-efficient driving. Everything that
helps saving fuel
should be tested.
Lil Waldner is a
business economist.
She is experienced in project management and
marketing. She has worked as an editor for several
newspapers and she has
written booklets and essays on
economic and
public issues.
Recommended link:
http://www.nowsavefuel.myffi.biz
No Running in School?
Dodge
ball was out years
ago because
of it's dangerous nature. Now some schools in Wyoming, Washington,
Oregon, California
and South Carolina
have banned
tag, soccer
and touch football. Just this week some Massachusetts schools added
themselves to the game-banning
list, citing
a broader rule against "hitting
and inappropriate touching" WHAT???
A recent article published in USA Today explains
how a trend
is developing across
the country limiting kid's
physical activity in schools. Many districts
are banning more and more games in
PE and on recess.
Another class bites
the dust
To
make matters worse many middle schools and high schools are cutting
PE from the full year curriculum. The Shape
of the Nation' report,
released about
a month ago,
concluded that most states are
failing to provide
student's with adequate physical education.
The report showed
that the number
of students attending
a daily
PE class
is down to 28%! Does this have anything to
do with the
fact the 1 out of 5 school age kids today are overweight? Along with horrible diets of most kids, the lack of sufficient physical activity is a huge part of the problem.
Many schools cite the need
for more academic class
time in order to meet the requirements of national testing standards. The irony of
it is that cutting PE programs is
actually making our student's test
performance worse. A large Canadian study looked at the academic performance of kids
split into two groups. One group received one hour of PE class with moderate physical activity
during the course of the day, while the other group had academic instruction for that hour.
At the end of the
year, the group of kids that had PE outperformed the other group in academic
classes for every
grade tested. This was true even though the non-PE group received about 15% more classroom instruction time. So does
it make
sense to cut PE
from our schools?
Physical activity is proven to increase attention, improve learning and improve memory. These are all attributes that
help kids become
better students. Yet our schools continue to cut PE from
their curriculum. We must
put greater value
on physical activity in the school
system and find a way to
support it.
Sweat
or Stress
As the Canadian study suggests, physical activity
can actually make you smarter. Not only that, but
exercise can help prevent disorders like
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and depression. It can even increase
your chances of recovering from a stroke or traumatic
brain injury.
Exercise causes a rise in several growth factors in the brain that are responsible for helping brain cells survive and divide into new brain cells, or neurons. One of the brain areas producing new neurons is the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays a critical role in learning, memory and attention. Exercise helps new neurons grow in the hippocampus, which helps improve performance on several types of
cognitive tasks.
Another important role of the hippocampus is in the
response to stress.
In fact, studies show that a smaller hippocampus is associated with anxiety disorders and depression. Stress can damage the hippocampus and cause neurons to die, the opposite of what happens when you exercise.
Folks that
exercise regularly know that
they are much more capable of handling stress throughout their day than they are when they don't exercise. This is, in part, because exercise and stress have opposite effects on the hippocampus and exercise improves your buffer' to handle the stress.
Interestingly,
anti-depressants work in a similar way. Although, we don't completely understand the exact mechanism of anti-depressant action, we do know that several classes of anti-depressants increase new neurons in the hippocampus. They do the same thing that exercise does!
Like exercise, anti-depressants also induce new neuron growth in the hippocampus. Psychiatrists have known for a long time that patients experiencing depression respond much better to therapy if they combine it with
regular exercise. In some cases, exercise
alone is sufficient to alleviate depressive symptoms. Personally, I'd rather see doctors try a prescription for more physical activity and a better diet before they send you to the pharmacist.
How fast is your Brain Aging?
Studies also show that exercise protects the brain from aging and injury.
Older adults that regularly exercise perform better in cognitive tasks and have lower rates of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. They also recover stronger from strokes and from
accidental brain injury.
One can argue that people who exercise have many factors in their lives that can contribute to these findings. For
example, they smoke less, eat better, etc. However, studies in laboratory animals support the idea that exercise alone is protective. Animals that are exercised are protected against traumatic brain injury in laboratory tests and don't
develop the
extent of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease in model systems.
Studies also show that in addition to exercise's protective role, it is a valuable therapeutic tool for brain function. Fitness training improves cognitive functions relative to planning, scheduling, task coordination and attention.
Adults that exercise have more
grey matter, representing more brain cells, than adults that don't exercise.
We know that on average, adults tend to
maintain the lifestyle values that they had as kids. So does it make sense to
stand bye and watch schools cut PE and heart-pumping recess activities?
Copyright (c) 2006 The Brain Code LLC
Dr. Simon Evans is a neuroscientist at the University of
Michigan and a nationally licensed youth sports coach. Are your kids getting everything they need to reach their potential?
What barriers are holding your family back? Find out at Dr. Evans
website at
http://www.thebraincode.com
Keeping Dogs Healthy During the Summer
Dogs
are wonderful additions
to a family and are often treated
as well as human family members. They become
your best friend, companion,
or even
your furry child.
Learning how
to care for these beloved pets, especially
during the summer's heat,
is imperative
to their good health
and to lowering your veterinary
bills. Keep your
dogs hydrated. Dogs
can easily become
dehydrated during
the warm weather
and it will happen more quickly depending on
the thickness
of their fur
and their size. Smaller
dogs dehydrate
quicker than larger dogs. Keep the water bowl
in a visible place, such as the
kitchen, so every family member will remember to
check its fullness during the
course of the day. During hot weather you should
refill it at least once
a day
with fresh
water. If you are out
walking, pack
a cold water bottle just for your
dog and stop
often to
encourage your
dog to drink.
Limit
exercise. Every vet will
encourage dog owners to take dogs for a walk to encourage good health, strengthen their
bones, and help keep their nails
trimmed, but use common sense during the summer.
Shorten the
length of your walk or break
up a
long walk into two
shorter sessions. And dont encourage your dog to run for any length of time.
Be
aware of the outside temperature and humidity. Do
not forget that your beloved
Fido is walking with a fur coat and will overheat easily. Walking
in the
early morning or late evening hours,
when the sun is low in the sky, will often help keep dogs cooler.
Walk close to your house so
if you sense your dog is having problems you
can turn around or call for
help. Hiking paths and paved trails are wonderful resources but you will be stuck if your dog
collapses in the middle of a trail that doesn't allow
cars. Take your dog's
age and overall health into consideration when
planning activities outdoors. Older dogs will tire and dehydrate more easily than younger dogs and these changes can appear
without warning. Dogs can also develop seasonal allergies which can in turn
affect their breathing ability, so keep a close watch on older dogs that
seem to pant excessively.
Check for ticks daily. Ticks are very small
insects that often
carry Lyme's Disease and other tick borne illnesses. These microscopic insects are prevalent during the warm weather months in wooded areas or yards with tall grass and if
they come in contact with your
pet, they will bite the animal and make their way into your
home. Obviously, ticks are more difficult to
find on dogs with thick fur so
really dig your fingers in to feel them and remove them carefully with tweezers.
Do not leave any dogs in a locked car. Even with open windows, cars can heat to well over 100 degrees very quickly, which can cause severe
trouble for any pet.
Using your common sense with your dog during the
summer will
eliminate emergency visits to the vet and will eliminate any stress your dog
may feel, making for a much happier family
life. You may copy this article and place it on your own website, as long as you
do not change it and include this resource
box including the live link to the Dog Training Tips And Aids site.
Thomas Callin is a dog trainer and breeder. He recently authored a very popular ebook: The Dog Owners Handbook. This ebook reveals everything you need to know
about dogs but didnt know to ask. Get it at
http://dogtrainingtipsandaids.com/dgonhdbk/dohbksls.html. He has hundreds of tips, tools, and articles on his
website. Check it
out.
Great Ideas For Hamster Cages
It
is really great
to have a hamster as
your pet. They
are very cute
and they like to chew different things
but especially
cloth. While cats
and dogs
are allowed
to walk freely around
your home, you don't let
your hamster out of its cage.
You do
need to
have a hamster cage
in case
you own
one of these lovable pets.
The cages come in many different shapes
and sizes and have
a variety
of features
for your hamster.
The
most popular
shape for hamster cages is rectangular. Because of this particular shape
the hamster
cages are usually
put in
a corner, so
that they wouldn't
stand in
the center of
the room and
be on your way. When you
feel like playing
with your pet, you can
easily take
the hamster out but when you have stopped playing with
it and are leaving the room
it is good to
make sure you have
put it in
its cage.
You should pay
attention to your
hamster's security because if it escapes from its cage, it might become
a prey for animals. Many
neighbours have cats and they can hurt your
adorable little pet, so you should protect it from
them. Consequently, if
there are any cats around you should
always lock your hamster in its hamster cage, so
that it would be safe.
Just as any other mammal hamsters need
a daily supply of water. Most of the hamster cages have
a water bottle system.
In cages
made of wire there is
a little ball at the
end of the
nozzle so that the water doesn't flow free but comes out when the hamster is thirsty.
You can
also buy little bows
which can be used for feeding. They are put in the hamster cages and the pets can eat from them. There are
several types of hamster food.
It is very important to keep your hamster fit as it needs regular exercises. You can help it by
purchasing a small wheel that fits inside the hamster cages. This is how you will make sure your lovely pet will get
some exercises when it is closed there. There are also such hamster cages which have plastic tubes which go through and around the cage. Their main purpose is to entertain the hamster and let it roam around its home.
Cleaning hamster cages is a very important task and should not be neglected for the well-being of both your little pet and
yourself. To make it easy for cleaning, you can put a newspaper on the bottom of the hamster cage and also some wood
chips. You just lift the paper and the wood
chips out and replace them with new.
When living in a building where
having animals is restricted taking a hamster might be just the way to have a pet.
It is good for your children to have a pet like hamster as they will easily learn how to take
care of a pet while playing and having fun with it.
Morgan
Hamilton offers
expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning pets.
Get the information you are seeking now by visiting
http://www.petsnewsonline.com/pets--animals/pet-news/great-ideas-for-hamster-cages.html
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