Ask Ronit

I Like Your Ponytail, A Story About CommitmentI Like Your Ponytail, A Story About Commitment

“I like your ponytail.” I said in a playful manner. “Ponytail?” he repeated in a thick French accent. There and then began the most extraordinary odyssey of my life.…

Avoid 90% of the Pesticides in Food, by Avoiding 12 Foods

Why should you care about pesticides in your food?For starters there may be as many as twenty pesticides on a single piece of fruit you eat.…

My HeroMy Hero

Dear Mrs. Black,It was January 1967 when this 11 year-old, frightened, little Israeli girl walked into your classroom for the first time. I had only arrived in the country two weeks before.…

We Are Sexual BeingsWe Are Sexual Beings

With sex all around us, oozing out of our televisions, theaters, magazines, fashion, on the streets, one would think we are the most sexually informed, open and comfortable nation on the planet.”…

The Banking ImplosionThe Banking Implosion

I’m sure by now you all have noticed the ongoing meltdown in the mortgage industry. The cause of this whole mess is a little bit complicated, rooted in both the structure of the mortgage industry, and human nature. I’ll try to explain both factors here in layman’s terms.…

Breaking old habits; Creating new Ones

We are mostly habitual beings. Webster defines habit as an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.…

Life is Poetry

  • Life is Poetry
  • Life is Poetry
  • Life is Poetry
  • Life is Poetry
  • Life is Poetry
  • Life is Poetry

Navigation

Welcome To Our Planet

Global warming 'unequivocal,' U.N. says

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges United States and China, the two largest polluters, to do more to decrease their impact on global warming. He said, "Only urgent, global action will do."

According to the U.N. panel of scientists, whose latest report is a
synthesis of three previous ones, enough carbon dioxide already has built up to imperil islands, coastlines and one-fifth to two-thirds of the world's species.  read more »

Did You Know?

Regardless on your interpretation of the facts presented, this brief video presents an uncommon view of the current state and direction of our world. From technology to education, from employment to global economic trends the statistics are worth at least an 8 minute pause.

The video is a June 2007 update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod.  read more »

Just ask the EPA

Ever have questions about environmental or health issues? Ever wish you could speak with a top environmental official? Believe it or not, now you can. Earlier this month the EPA launched an online forum named Ask EPA. The forum is a series of live chat sessions to which you can submit questions up to two days in advance or even during the live chat.

You can submit questions or sign up for alerts on upcomging speakers and topics at the Ask EPA website

Far out - Slovenia's hippie president

President Janez Drnovsek, frequently dressed in Indian clothes and sometimes playing the flute with laurel leaves in his hair, has cast off the trappings of power. After he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, Drnovsek, 56, left his presidential palace in Ljubljana, sacked most of his staff and moved with his dog to a mountain cabin near the village of Zaplana, where he grows organic food and bakes his own bread.  read more »

Women directors earn more than men

In its annual director pay survey, The Corporate Library (a corporate governance and executive compensation research group), reported the median earnings for female corporate directors is $120,000. Meanwhile the median compensation for male directors was $104,375 or $15,625 less.  read more »

Not Afraid of Dying

Ronit,

Everyone seems to be afraid of dying but me. Am I broken or are they?

Wondering about death

Dear Wondering,  read more »

Fuel Without the Fossil

For years, scientists have known that the building blocks in
plant matter, like corn kernels, stalks, straw and wood chips, contain an immense potential resource that could, in theory, help fill the gasoline tanks in America's cars and trucks. Most have focused on biology as a way to do it. But now, a new group of entrepreneurs, including Mr. Mandich, favor chemistry. They believe that techniques borrowed from oil refining and other chemical industries will allow them to crack open big biological molecules, transforming them into ethanol or even diesel and gasoline.  read more »

I Am A Fraud

Ronit,

Sometimes I feel like everyone knows more than me or is more successful than me or more competent. I haven't done well at anything in life so far. How do you go about finding your strength or at least convincing yourself that you are better than you appear?

I am a fraud

Dear Fraud,  read more »

Corn Plastic to the Rescue

Corn based biodegradable plastic offer hope for a cleaner future. The resin, known as polylactic acid (PLA), is formed into containers and packaging for food and consumer goods. While it may seem better than the conventional petroleum based packaging, there are some serious questions as to whether it is in the long term.  read more »

Seagoing Climate Experiment Begins

A novel and contentious effort aims to commercialize the removal of heat trapping carbon dioxide from atmosphere using blooms of plankton. The Weatherbird II, a 115-foot private research vessel, entered international waters on Sunday to fertilize seas by adding iron. Some scientists believe that hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide might be absorbed by fertilized seas. A lack of iron in some ocean waters prevents plankton from blooming. But some environmental groups oppose such efforts.  read more »