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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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