Tag Archive for Conservation Corner

Conservation Corner

Sugar and your health Pauline Lee Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, better economic conditions in the Western world have been accompanied by the appearance and proliferation of chronic health problems that require a long incubation period to develop into life-threatening diseases. Typically, health problems begin with periodontal disease (tooth decay). Then for people…

Conservation Corner

Sustainability of our food production – part 2 Pauline Lee Modern agriculture has increased production several-fold in the last half of the 20th century by mechanization and chemicalization, both of which require large energy input. At the same time, the efficiency of modern agriculture has actually decreased drastically if one takes into account the concomitant…

Conservation Corner

Sustainability of our food production – part 1 Pauline Lee The amount of food and water we consume will not be sustainable for future generations due to the depletion of our natural resources. In the last 40 years, 30% of arable land has become unproductive, and 25% of the planet’s soil is severely damaged. What…

Conservation Corner

Earth Day 2017 Pauline Lee Our earth is estimated to be over 4.5 billion years old, and traces of chemicals left in rocks in Greenland indicate that these were the remains of early one-celled living beings, possibly 3.5 billion years old. On Earth Day, April 22, 2017, let’s reflect how scientists have developed enough understanding…

Conservation Corner

Genetically modified plants Pauline Lee Farmers generally plant seeds that will yield the kind of crop they wish to harvest. After centuries of such selection processes, many farm crops have prominent characteristics not at all like their wild ancestors. Yet, we generally accept such farm produce as natural and consume it without hesitation. Now, how…

Conservation Corner

Our circadian cycle Pauline Lee Light is essential for our lives, not only for our vision, but also for our life cycle. How our body functions depends more or less on the time of the day; our biological clock (or circadian cycle) determines how we feel and the state of our body. In recent decades,…

Conservation Corner

Pauline Lee Just what is processed food? Why is it the cause for our epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and chronic health problems? How does food processing damage our environment? Concerned about the health and environmental effects of processed food, 26 year-old Megan Kimble, a food writer in Tucson, decided to spend a year eating only…

Conservation Corner

Water in our lives, part II Pauline Lee Fresh water is not always available and plentiful where we need it. The availability of fresh water varies from location to location and from time to time, depending on geography and climate conditions. Worldwide average usage of fresh water is 70 percent in agriculture, 20 percent in…

Conservation Corner

Water in our lives Pauline Lee The importance of fresh water in our lives is easy to overlook. The amount of fresh water a person uses is not just the total of his bottled water purchases and the amount of water indicated on his monthly water bill. It turns out fresh water intersects many parts…

Conservation Corner

Pauline Lee While most national parks were established to preserve vast areas of untouched nature from human development, Cuyahoga National Park has a very different story. Before the area was designated a national park, it was ruined and then restored. The park’s centerpiece, the Cuyahoga River, was originally pristine and unblemished until two expanding industrial…