A small digital camera developed by Microsoft can help people with dementia dramatically improve their memory. The camera takes wide-range, low resolution photographs that can be made into a movie. Viewing the movie by dementia patients can jog their memories. However, besides jogging their memories it can also lead to long-term retention of memories. It is believed that it can increase the memory of a patient from 2% to as high as 80%. This camera may also help people with mild Alzheimer's disease by allow them to remember their recent past.  read more »

The saga of the last two Yangtze softs-hell turtles is symbolic of the threatening state of the wild life in China. The two remaining soft-shell turtles, respectfully 80 years old (female) and 100 years old (male) are our last hope for this specie.

Surveys of China's rich plant and animal life reveals a shocking and gloomy picture. Close to 40% of all mammal species, 70% of all nonflowering, and 86% of all flowering species are considered threatened. How has this come about and can it be rectified?  read more »

Not only is the development of human technology speeding up but according to a new study human evolution may be speeding up as well.

Henry C. Harpending, an anthropologist at the University of Utah along colleagues compared the DNA of chimpanzees (our closest relative) and humans. They noted that the current rate of change does not match the number of differences concluding that our evolution must have been much slower than it is now.  read more »

When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard.
Lakota

Autumn may seem like an odd time of year to consider green landscaping and gardening practices but as tons of leaves are carted away from properties across the country is a reminder of all the dangerous and expensive fertilizers that will take their place. A reminder of the mind set, the culture of waste, that has evolved in the place of many of our ancestors' values.  read more »

Toxic chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides are seeping into the groundwater in Punjab, India's grain belt, and may be causing genetic mutations in the population. Higher rates of Cancer and other abnormalities, including premature aging in children living in the surrounding area are being observed. A two year study commissioned by the Punjab Pollution Control Board found mutated DNA in the blood samples of 65% of the people tested.

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Having frequently pedaled his bike over the Gowanus Canal's bridges in Brooklyn, Ludger Batan was familar with it's sticky green tint,oil-slicked surface and rotten-egg smell. Then, one day eight years ago, he looked into the canal and saw a school of striped bass chasing minnows. Soon he was putting his diving gear and jumping in. He wanted to demystify urban waters like the Gowanus to change from environments that are ignored to those that are protected and loved.

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I was first introduced to this concept in a story about an island community whose economy relied almost entirely on the capture and export of seahorses for use in novelty items in foreign markets. Over fishing have resulted in increasingly diminishing catches and increasing levels of poverty and desperation. However, once they set aside a reserve for the seahorses, an area they determined to be an ideal breeding ground, from which the community agreed never to fish, the seahorse populations steadily rose.  read more »

Seek wisdom over knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future.
Lumbee

As our cultural trends yearn towards the ideals of "green," "sustainability" and "eco-consciousness," be it out of a sense of necessity or a sense of responsibility. It amuses me the see how much our goals seem to strive towards old wisdoms of the indigenous cultures. I believe, if nothing else, a basic re-introduction to the culture and beliefs of the Native Americans would provide strength to the journey and light to the path we take towards these trendy goals, hopefully helping them to endure.  read more »

Who says playing games at work is unproductive?

Mark Baldwin at McGill University of Montreal had employees at a call center play a game for 5 minutes before work. The game simply required them to find a smiling face among the images of frowning faces. Those who played had a 17% reduction in the stress hormone cortisol compared to those who did not play.  read more »

The term "Green" came from people opposed to environmental rights. Well let's rename “green” to geostrategic, geoeconomic, capitalistic and patriotic. Living, working, designing, manufacturing and projecting America in a green way can be the basis of a new unifying political movement for the 21st century. "We don’t just need a black president, we need a green president. We don’t just need the first woman president. We need the first environmental president willing to end our addiction to oil — and to offer a real plan to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels."  read more »