Our society is suffering from estrogen overload. No, I’m not referring to Sex and The City reruns—estrogen overload refers to the increasing amount of estrogen in our environment, our food and our bodies.

“Good” Estrogen

Estrogen, the primary female sex hormone, is responsible for normal body processes in women such as secondary female sex characteristics, menstruation, fertility, protein synthesis, bone density, metabolism and much more. Actually, there are three kinds of estrogens in the body: estrone, estradiol, and estriol, which all have specialized roles to play at different points in a woman’s life.

Although estrogen levels are greater in women, estrogen is also needed for libido and maturation of sperm in men.

Sources of Environmental Estrogens

Synthetic (or environmental) estrogens are known as xenoestrogens, or estrogen-mimickers. Although they are not strictly estrogen, their similar structure allows them to bind to estrogen receptors in the human body, causing estrogenic activity.  

• Drugs and Medicines

A primary source of estrogen comes from taking oral contraceptives, which contain high amounts of synthetic female sex hormones. And what happens to all the hormones in drugs and oral contraceptives? Well, the excess estrogen leaves the body in urine, which then enters the water supply which everyone (men and children included) consumes daily. 

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), is another form of synthetic hormones, often used for women suffering from menopause symptoms. HRT has been linked to breast cancer, blood clots, heart disease and strokes.

• Natural Food Sources

Plants with estrogenic activity are called phytoestrogens, the most common of them being soy. Although this estrogen is not synthetic, it can still affect one’s health by raising estrogenic activity. For this reason, people, especially men, may wish to avoid excessive soy intake. (For a great look at the issues surrounding soy, read Liz Thompson’s Green Blog article “Soy: Super Food or Troublemaker?”)

• Synthetic Food Sources: Dairy and Meat

In the USA, dairy and beef cattle are given synthetic estrogens so they grow faster and produce more milk. In Canada, growth hormones are only allowed in beef cattle. However, since hormones are stored in fat cells in the body, these growth hormones end up in the milk, cream, yogurt, cheese and meat we eat on a daily basis.

• Synthetic Food Sources: Pesticides and Herbicides

Pesticides can be dangerous estrogen-mimickers, and unfortunately, its hard to tell what has chemicals and what doesn’t. Generally, most food that is not 100% certified organic has come been grown with pesticides and herbicides, or has come into contact with the chemicals during processing. As well, many lawns, gardens and parks receive chemical treatments on a regular basis.  

• Plastics

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a harmful xenoestrogen found in number 7 plastics. Primarily, its used in water bottles, tin cans, baby bottles and food storage containers. Heating and freezing these plastics (even by leaving a water bottle in a hot car) further the release of the toxins into the water, to be ingested. (See “BPA Update: Examining the Plastic Debate 1 Year Later” in this blog for more details.)

While bisphenol-A was designed to keep plastics hard and unbreakable, phthalates are a type of plastic designed to keep plastics soft and flexible. Research has shown that phthalates are powerful endocrine disruptors for growing bodies and can even cause birth defects. The iconic rubber duck is a prime of example of phthalates at their worst. Even worse, they’re marketed to the most vulnerable demographic—children. The recent book Slow Death By Rubber Duck tackles this issue in full http://slowdeathbyrubberduck.com/. The writers also analyse many other household toxins, including more examples and effects of xenoestrogens.

• Cosmetics and Other Products

Sadly, so many products marketed to women and used every day contain dangerous chemicals. Cosmetics, hair dyes, nail polish, chlorine-bleached feminine sanitary napkins, sunscreens and household cleaning products are just some of the products that contain dangerous xenoestrogens.

Effects of Environmental Estrogens

So we’re getting lots of estrogen…does it matter? Well, although big business doesn’t want you to think so, it matters. It is well known that oral contraceptives with synthetic estrogens can cause breast cancer, strokes and blood clots. What is less publicized, however, is how the smaller amounts of environmental estrogens affect people.

In women, environmental estrogens can wreak havoc on the body’s delicate reproductive system, causing all kinds of problems. Some examples include: early puberty, painful period cramps, irregular menstrual cycles, heavy periods, PMS, fibroids, endometriosis, cysts, low sex drive, infertility and menopause symptoms.

Unfortunately, when these conditions become too difficult and painful to deal with, doctors recommend (often unnecessary) hysterectomies. Canada and the USA have the highest rates of hysterectomies in the world. However, even after childbearing years, the uterus is important extremely important. Removal of the uterus has been linked to depression, osteoporosis, risk of heart disease and stroke, loss of libido, and increased rate of reproductive cancers.

But…I’m a Guy

Men can be affected too! In fact, recent research has suggested that men are being affected in extreme ways that we are only beginning to realize. The CBC documentary “The Disappearing Male” provides an insightful look at these issues and is definitely a must-watch! To give a glimpse, here are some scary but true statistics from the documentary:

• “The quality of sperm is declining. Eighty-five per cent of the sperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged.
• The average sperm count of a North American college student today is less than half of what it was 50 years ago.
• The number of boys born with penis abnormalities and genital defects has increased by 200% in the past two decades.
• Paternal exposure to solvents, pesticides, and metals has now been associated in animals and humans with the occurrence of spontaneous abortion, low birth weight, birth defects, childhood leukemia, brain cancer, change in the male to female sex ratio of offspring.”

(Source: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2008/disappearingmale/index.html)

Prevent Estrogen Dominance

• Diet

Dietary estrogens are one of the easiest to avoid. If you eat meat of dairy, avoid commercially produced brands. Instead, opt for local or organic dairy and meat products which do not contain growth hormones.

If you consume soy on a regular basis, look for alternatives. Other protein sources include beans and lentils, lean meats and fish, nuts and seeds, and grains like quinoa. Non-dairy milk alternatives include beverages made from almonds, hemp, potatoes or rice. 

Whenever possible, eat organic produce and grain products as well. Remember, xenoestrogenic activity is caused by pesticides and herbicides as well.

• Supplements

At your local health food store, you can find supplements to reduce environmental estrogens, while restoring the healthy estrogens. Examples include herbs like vitex and black cohosh. Women’s supplements can treat menopause symptoms, low libido, PMS and more. There are hormone-balancing supplements for men as well.

Liver supplements (milk thistle, green tea extract, etc) are extremely important for men and women, since the liver is responsible for cleansing the body of toxins.

• Avoid Environmental Estrogens

Try to avoid plastics as much as possible, especially in children’s toys. In water bottles and food containers, avoid number 7 plastics. Never freeze or heat plastic containers or bottles. Don’t use pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals on your lawns or gardens. Use natural cosmetics, skin, nail and hair care products whenever possible. Use natural cleaning products in your home.

I Think I Have Too Much Estrogen!

If you believe you’re suffering from estrogen dominant conditions, look into visiting a naturopath who can prescribe natural hormone-balancing vitamins, herbs and homeopathic remedies.

Many young girls who experience period cramps or other estrogen dominant conditions are put on oral contraceptives by doctors. The birth control pill doesn’t fix these symptoms, it hides them, while exposing girls to further health risks from the pill. 

If you’ve been to a doctor and had hormone tests, and the results come back normal, don’t be convinced. The range of estrogen levels doctors consider “normal” is too wide to be accurate. Everyone is different—what may be normal for someone else may be too high for you. A good naturopath will take thorough hormone tests, combined with other methods to determine your individual situation. For those who have not been to a naturopath before, it is a shockingly different experience than a traditional trip to the doctor. The visits can last over an hour and the naturopath takes time to listen and understand all your detailed concerns, symptoms and history, before suggesting treatment of any kind.

Big and exciting news are coming today from the UNFCCC climate talks currently being held in Bangkok, Thailand. Norway has announced a commitment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with 40% by 2020 – based on 1990 levels.

This emission reduction promise from the Norwegian government is now the biggest commitment announced by any industrialized country. It beats the European Union (the now former climate leader) who has so far only promised a 20% reduction by 2020.

Adopt A Negotiator says in a statement that this is “a great day for ambition” in the climate talks and praises Norway for committing to a target that comes very “close to what the science demands”.

“Norway has shown that we can be ambitious in these negotiations. They have decided to break ice today, to avoid their glaciers melting and to avoid seeing more and more devestating climate consequences around the world.”

I think we can thank the people in Norway for this strong climate commitment. If they hadn’t re-elected the country’s centre-left ruling coalition we might have seen a conservative Norway downplaying the severity of climate change instead.

Now we are just waiting for Norway to also take the lead on banning gas cars after 2015.

via Eco-Digital

Photo credit: azrainman

When discussing climate change, the old saying needs to be amended to “What do you want first, the somewhat good news, or the astoundingly awful bad news?”

The bad news is piling up fast:

* The ice sheets in the Artic, Antarctic and Greenland are melting twice as fast as earlier projections from just a year or two ago, which will lead to the sea level rising about a foot every 20 or 25 years – meaning a 3-foot rise by the end of the century, enough to wipe out some island nations, flood much of Bangladesh and other low-lying coastal countries, threaten many coastal cities around the world, and increase erosion on coasts.

* Glaciers are melting faster as well – meaning that before the end of this century, glaciers in the Himalayas may disappear, and these glaciers provide water for over a billion people, an environmental, agricultural and human catastrophe. This extra melting will first cause more floods in India and China, and then cause extreme water stress for humans and for agriculture.

* Previous estimates of the massive amounts of carbon dioxide and methane locked up in the permafrost were too small, increasing the likelihood of an unstoppable tipping point if too much of the permafrost melts and releases these greenhouse gases, potentially overwhelming any human efforts to slow and control carbon emissions.

* While it is not possible to link any one weather event to global warming, extreme weather events are increasing in intensity and frequency, such as the droughts in Australia and the U.S. Southeast and Southwest which heavily impact on agricultural production of essential foodstuffs like wheat.

* Scientific projections are now that even with all the planned emission cuts, the world’s average temperature will rise 6 degrees by the end of the century, with disastrous consequences for extreme weather events, droughts, disruption of agriculture, species extinction, water stress, population dislocation, spread of tropical diseases, ocean acidification, and many other aspects of life. This will be the hottest world in the last 11,000 years or more, the entire period of human agricultural development.

Are you scared now? There is some good news:

* The Waxman/Markey energy bill has passed the House of Representatives and has some serious support in the Senate (the companion Senate bill was introduced on Sept. 29, sponsored by John Kerry and Barbara Boxer), though whether or not this can overcome the fierce lobbying by energy companies, right-wing climate change deniers, and coal-producing states is still to be determined, in part by our activism.

* In a cloud/silver lining way, the global economic crisis has resulted in a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions over the last year, with decreases in travel and shipping, and the shelving or delay of some proposed coal-fired plants.

* China has made significant strides in increasing its energy efficiency, and it projects a four-fold increase in energy efficiency in the coming decades, which means its economy can still continue to expand, lifting millions out of poverty, without increasing the threats to the atmosphere. China is also making other important strides in improving its environmental efforts, though it still opposes mandatory caps on the emissions of developing countries.

* Diplomatic efforts and meetings to prepare for the upcoming Copenhagen climate change conference are intensifying, and include important proposals such as the U.S. proposal to cut energy subsidies; a fund to compensate countries such as Brazil and Indonesia for ending or at least slowing rampant deforestation; and various proposals to share technology and costs for the poorest countries, which have contributed least to the problem yet face the earliest and sharpest impacts of climate change, and to mitigate and adapt to rising sea levels and set limits on carbon emissions.

* The production of alternative energy is increasing; the efficiency of alternative energy processes is increasing – making them more economically competitive with fossil fuels; subsidies for alternative energy are increasing – such as $60 billion in the U.S. stimulus package; and alternative energy sector jobs are increasing.

* Economic projections of the costs of carbon emissions caps and other environmental measures have decreased, making these efforts more economically and politically feasible.

There is much public posturing leading up to the Copenhagen conference, which has the goal of negotiating the international treaty that will replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

Passage of a climate change bill by the full Congress and completion of a treaty in Copenhagen complete with mandatory emission reductions for at least all the industrially developed countries are the minimum steps needed, before the bad news gets much worse.

Author: Marc Brodine, People’s World

Photo credit: andriux-uk

Top climate scientists in the top scientific journal Nature recently stated that we have exceeded crucial planetary boundaries beyond which we are at high risk of unacceptable environmental change. These and other top climate scientists and biologists are stating clearly that the atmospheric CO2 concentration must be urgently returned to 300-350 ppm for planetary safety. Unfortunately, World governments are ignoring the science and are committed to increasing CO2, evidently not understanding that there can be no negotiation with the laws of Physics and Chemistry.

An Australian husband and wife with homeopathic beliefs were recently jailed for the manslaughter of their horribly neglected child. Accountability must also apply to all people who are ignoring scientific advice and international law and are complicit in the carnage of US wars (9-11 million excess deaths in US wars, 1990-2009, including 4 million infants) and in the worsening climate genocide (that will kill 10 billion people, including 6 billion infants). This inescapable legal, business, political and electoral Accountability for war crimes and climate crimes is detailed in a Letter being transmitted to all Federal MPs in climate criminal Australia (a world leader in annual per capita greenhouse gas pollution) and indeed to everyone so that, unlike many Germans in 1945, they cannot say “we didn’t know”.

Recently some of the World’s top climate scientists in a peer-refereed paper in the top scientific journal Nature stated that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (CO2) should be reduced from the present circa 390 parts per million (ppm) “and should not exceed 350 parts per million” in order to prevent “unacceptable environmental change”. [1].

Similarly, a Working Party of the prestigious UK Royal Society recently stated that “The Earth’s atmospheric CO2 level must be returned to less than 350ppm to reverse this escalating ecological crisis and to 320ppm to ensure permanent planetary health”, a view consonant with that of other top climate scientists who warn that the atmospheric CO2 must be urgently reduced to circa 300 ppm to save the Arctic ice, the Biosphere and Humanity . [2, 3].

Unfortunately World governments, backed by popular and corporate greed, are approaching the December 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit negotiations committed to INCREASING atmospheric CO2, in stark contravention of the advice from the World’s top climate scientists. The best First World offer is from EU countries committed to no more than a 2 degree C temperature rise (relative to 1990), a ceiling of 450 ppm CO2-e greenhouse gas (GHG as CO2 equivalent) and a decrease in GHG pollution of 2% per year. [4].

However there can be no negotiation with the Laws of Physics and Chemistry. Thus over 90% of scientists polled at the March 2009 University of Copenhagen Climate Change Conference believed that 2 degrees C above 1990 was inevitable; the GHG concentration is already 475 ppm CO2-e (of which about 390 ppm is CO2); and top climate scientists from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester, have recently estimated that an annual 6-8% decrease in GHG pollution is required to stabilize atmospheric CO2-e at the present level. [4-6].

Both the Biosphere and Humanity are already under acute threat. Australian medical science Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty has said “We are in real danger”. The present species extinction rate is 100-1,000 times the normal rate. 16 million people die avoidably each year from deprivation, this carnage including about 9.5 million under-5 year old infants and increasingly being impacted by man-made climate change. [7, 8]

Top UK climate scientist Dr James Lovelock FRS has estimated that 1 billion people or fewer will survive this century due to insufficiently addressed, man-made climate change. This translates (from UN Population Division projections) to a First World-imposed climate genocide that is predicted to kill 10 billion non-Europeans this century, this carnage including 6 billion under-5 year old infants, 3 billion Muslims (a Muslim Holocaust 500 times greater than the WW2 Jewish Holocaust or the “forgotten” WW2 Bengali Holocaust), 2 billion Indians, 1.4 billion non-Arab Africans, 0.6 billion Arabs, 0.5 billion Bengalis, 0.3 billion Pakistanis and 0.3 billion Bangladeshis. [9].

Recently an Australian mother and her husband with homeopathic beliefs were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for the manslaughter of their child through failure to seek expert medical help in a timely fashion for a treatable condition. [10].

If lengthy imprisonment is the fit punishment for the manslaughter of ONE innocent child by no doubt loving but misguided parents, what then for the deliberate, knowing, and hence intentional mass murder of MILLIONS through war crimes and BILLIONS through climate crimes, the mass murder of the 4 million under-5 year old infants (so far) through war criminal US Alliance-imposed war and deprivation (passive genocide) in the still-occupied Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories and the mass murder of the 6 billion under-5 year old infants who will perish in the 21st century, First world-imposed climate genocide of 10 billion non-Europeans?

Articles 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War unequivocally state that an Occupier must provide life-sustaining food and medical services to its conquered Subjects “to the fullest extent of the means available to it”. [11].

However UN Population Division and UNICEF data inform us that post-invasion excess deaths in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories total 0.2 million, 0.6 million and 2.3 million, respectively, and the annual under-5 infants deaths (90% avoidable) are 4,000, 41,000 and 338,000, respectively. Under-5 year infant deaths in Iraq under Sanctions (1990-2003) totalled 1.2 million. [12, 13].

A fundamental cause of this horrendous mass infant mortality is revealed by the World Health Organization (WHO) – what the Catholic Church has described as the Gaza Concentration Camp has been under blockade by war criminal Occupier Israel for 3 years and the annual total per capita medical expenditure permitted by the war criminal Occupiers in Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan totals $29 and $124, respectively, as compared to $6,714 and $3,122 in Occupier US and Occupier Australia, respectively. [14].

The UN Genocide Convention insists on prosecution of all people – whether governments or individuals – complicit in the crime of genocide, which it defines in Article 2 thus: “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: a) Killing members of the group; b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” [15].

Such prosecution under the UN Genocide Convention for deliberate, intentional, knowing Climate Genocide (or for deliberate, knowing, intentional war crimes in the ongoing Palestinian, Genocide, Iraq Genocide and Afghan Genocide) applies to anyone complicit in genocide “whether they be constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals” i.e. to elected governments, public servants and to the individual voters who elect them or fund them. [15].

Those who knowingly ignore, deny or obfuscate the horrendous harm from war and man-made climate change become accessories after the fact of war crimes and climate genocide, respectively.

While the US does not recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC), US Federal Law makes it a capital offence to commit war crimes causing death in violating International Conventions such as the Geneva Convention and the UN Genocide Convention to which the US is a signatory. [16].

By way of example to illustrate the dimension of the ongoing US Alliance atrocities, the current “annual death rate” is 7% for Occupied Afghan under-5 year old infants under the US Alliance – as compared to that of 4% (for Poles under the Nazis in WW2), 5% (French Jews under the Nazis and the Nazi-collaborator Vichy régime in WW2), 13% (Australian POWs of the Japanese in WW2) and 19% (Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe). [17].

The members of the US Alliance involved in the ongoing Iraqi Genocide and Afghan Genocide and the supporters of the US-backed occupation, colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine (the Palestinian Genocide) are known to all – these are variously the US, the UK, the EU, Canada, Israel, NATO and Australia. [8].

But who are the worst offenders in the worsening climate genocide – something that the World’s island nations diplomatically but incorrectly euphemize as “benign genocide”? [18].

“Annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution” in units of “tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year” is presently 0.9 (Bangladesh), 0.9 (Pakistan), 2.2 (India), 3.1 (Developing World), 5.5 (China), 6.7 (the World), 11 (Europe), 16 (Developed World), 23 (Canada), 27 (the US) and 30 (Australia; or 54 if Australia’s huge Exported CO2 pollution is included). [9, 19, 20].

Australia is evidently a world leader in annual per capita GHG pollution – its present value is 54 tonnes CO2-e per person per year (with its huge coal and LNG exports included), 60 times that of Bangladesh, an impoverished country acutely threatened by man-made global warming.

But who are the worst offenders in the worsening climate genocide – something that the World’s island nations diplomatically but incorrectly euphemize as “benign genocide”? [18].

“Annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution” in units of “tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year” is presently 0.9 (Bangladesh), 0.9 (Pakistan), 2.2 (India), 3.1 (Developing World), 5.5 (China), 6.7 (the World), 11 (Europe), 16 (Developed World), 23 (Canada), 27 (the US) and 30 (Australia; or 54 if Australia’s huge Exported CO2 pollution is included). [9, 19, 20].

Australia is evidently a world leader in annual per capita GHG pollution – its present value is 54 tonnes CO2-e per person per year (with its huge coal and LNG exports included), 60 times that of Bangladesh, an impoverished country acutely threatened by man-made global warming.

What can decent people do about the ongoing Muslim Holocaust and the worsening Climate Genocide?

Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. Decent folk must (1) inform everyone they can about these atrocities (we cannot walk by on the other side) and (2) make those responsible Accountable for war crimes and climate crimes.

Accountability at a global as well as an intra-national level can be secured via Sanctions, Boycotts, Green Tariffs, Reparations Demands and International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutions applied to People, Public Servants, Politicians, Collectives, Corporations and Countries complicit in war crimes and climate crimes.

However within democracies every voter becomes complicit in the crimes of elected representatives. Thus in climate criminal, war criminal Australia those voting for the pro-war, pro-coal, war criminal and climate criminal Liberal Party-National Party Coalition Opposition or the pro-war, pro-coal, war criminal and climate criminal Labor Party Government (collectively known as the Lib-Labs) become complicit in war crimes and climate crimes. The Australian Lib-Labs currently have about 90% support from an electorate remorselessly propagandized by the Murdoch Empire-dominated media with the pro-environment, pro-peace, anti-coal and anti-war Australian Greens only having about 10% electoral support.

Indeed older people (older voters) have 3 selfish reasons for taking action over man-made global warming. Older people are peculiarly threatened by the worsening climate emergency in three key areas that can be summarized by the “three Ds” of Devaluation (their pensions, superannuation, investments and family support will necessarily devalue in a non-sustainable carbon economy but GDP growth is assured in a renewable and non-carbon economy); Death (older people are frailer and more susceptible to heat stress through a weakened brain signalling system); and Descendants (their descendants will hate them for what they have done to the planet). [21].

However within democracies every voter becomes complicit in the crimes of elected representatives. Thus in climate criminal, war criminal Australia those voting for the pro-war, pro-coal, war criminal and climate criminal Liberal Party-National Party Coalition Opposition or the pro-war, pro-coal, war criminal and climate criminal Labor Party Government (collectively known as the Lib-Labs) become complicit in war crimes and climate crimes. The Australian Lib-Labs currently have about 90% support from an electorate remorselessly propagandized by the Murdoch Empire-dominated media with the pro-environment, pro-peace, anti-coal and anti-war Australian Greens only having about 10% electoral support.

Decent people must stand up to be counted for the sake of their children, their grandchildren, Humanity and the Biosphere. A powerful message for individual and collective action and empowerment is summarized as the ABC of action over war crimes and climate crimes: A, (hold those responsible for war crimes and climate crimes Accountable); B, wear a Badge (e.g. saying “PEACE” or “300 ppm”); and C, have a readily distributable Credo saying, for example: “Stop war, invasion, occupation, war crimes and genocide – stop killing children” and “For a safe and sustainable planet for all peoples and all species we must urgently reduce the atmospheric CO2 concentration to 300 ppm”. [3, 22, 23, 24].

Photo credit: cmaccubbin

Tomorrow President Barack Obama will visit Denmark to try to raise support for Chicago’s Olympic bid for the 2016 summer games. First lady Michelle Obama arrived in Denmark earlier and will, with the support of Oprah Winfrey, also try to help out with the lobbying.

“President Barack Obama, who initially planned to let First Lady Michelle Obama represent the United States in Copenhagen this week, when the International Olympic Committee chooses a site for the 2016 summer games, plans to travel there too.”

Besides Obama, the Brazilian President Lula di Silva and Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama will also visit Copenhagen tomorrow and pitch their home countries as the perfect host for the Olympic summer games in 2016. The event will take place at the International Olympic Committee summit tomorrow which just happens to be the same venue where the UN climate change summit will be held in December.

Obama is not visiting Copenhagen to show support for a fair, strong and binding climate target. Instead he is trying to lobby for an Olympic game summer event in Chicago. And no, so far Obama has not promised to go to the Cop15 climate change conference in December. This would be a perfect opportunity for Barack Obama, Lula di Silva and Hatoyama to show support for a climate deal that Gordon Brown says is in “grave danger” of failing. One can just wonder what kind of priorities our leaders has…

But Joe Romm from Climate Progress says “this is the best news I’ve heard in a while”. Romm says he is now confident Obama will participate in the climate negotiations later in December:

“This is the best news I’ve heard in a while. After all, if the president is going to Copenhagen for something that is relatively inconsequential both substantively and politically — it’s not like Illinois is in great jeopardy for the Dems — then I can now predict with high confidence he will be go to Copenhagen in December for the climate talks, which will be crucial for helping achieve a global deal.

Let’s hope he is right.

Photo credit: World Economic Forum

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is now warning that the upcoming climate talks this December in Copenhagen, Denmark, are in “grave danger” of failing. The UN climate change conference, also known as Cop15, in Copenhagen this year is the last chance we have to take action against “the greatest threat the world has ever faced”.

“”It is a historic moment: the ultimate test of global cooperation. Yet the negotiations are proceeding so slowly that a deal is in grave danger,” Brown wrote.

Brown has, after a rather successful global climate wake-up campaign around the world (see video below), pledged he will attend the Copenhagen talks. He says the UN climate change conference is such an important subject that it cannot be left to environment ministers.

“Securing an agreement in Copenhagen will require world leaders to bridge our remaining differences and seize these opportunities,” Brown wrote. “If we miss this opportunity, there will be no second chance sometime in the future, no later way to undo the catastrophic damage to the environment we will cause.”

Earlier this month Foreign Secretary in the UK, David Miliband, warned that the climate negotiations are in “real danger” of failing:

“There’s a real danger the talks scheduled for December will not reach a positive outcome, and an equal danger in the run-up to Copenhagen that people don’t wake up to the danger of failure until it’s too late.”

It’s amazing to see just how much power some celebrities hold over the masses. They can create the latest trends and sway public opinion with just a few sentences. In the case of Oprah and her sidekick Dr. Oz, turning açaí berries from a Brazilian food into a household name was simple.

Background Information

Açaí (pronounced ah-sah-ee) berries are the small, dark purple fruit of a type of palm tree that grows primarily in the Brazilian rain forest. They are eaten by locals as part of their daily diets. In North America, açaí berry juice has been sold in health food stores long before the recent craze because of their “superfood” qualities. Açaí berries contain amino acids (the building blocks of protein), antioxidants, fibre, essential fatty acids (the “healthy fats”) and vitamins. Because of this, açaí berries are a wonderful, nutritious food and a great addition to one’s daily diet. 

However, that’s all that açaí berries can truly be promoted as. Since its recent publicity on the Oprah show, companies and scams have been claiming that açaí promotes weight loss, increases energy, improves sleep, improves heart health and even increases penis size. Indirectly, some of these claims can be considered true. For example, fibre and essential fatty acids (Omega 3 in particular) have been known to support heart health. High fibre content may also reduce hunger cravings, thus enhancing weight loss. The American Diabetes Association recommends 24 grams of fibre help balance blood sugar levels. However, the serving size in Monavie and Sambazon’s açaí range from 1 to 3 grams. Açaí is not a drug, a cure for any disease or weight loss supplement. It is simply a very nutritious food, that, when used in conjunction with other strategies, supplements and foods, can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. As “Genesis Today” states in its magazine ad for açaí: “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease”. And no, in case you were wondering, it does not increase penis size.

Overlooked Questions

In the middle of all this hype, there are questions about the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest in the process of açaí berry harvesting, as well as the workers who are involved in the growing and harvesting of the berries.

The cotton, sugar cane, coffee and cocoa industries are all examples of industries in which the Western “developed world” has exploited the people and environment of developing countries such as Brazil. Only recently has some of the sugar, cocoa, coffee and cotton industry become regulated through Fair Trade practices and regulations. However, there is still much work to be done in these areas. Thus, it is only natural to consider the health and safety of the farmers, workers and local ecosystem in this açaí berry boom.

I contacted three companies who make, distribute, and promote açaí products: Genesis Today, Sambazon and Monavie. I asked them all the same questions: “Where are how do you harvest the berries? Is your company directly involved in the berry harvesting or does another company do that for you? Is the process sustainable? Is your company doing anything to preserve the natural state of the ecosystem? Are the workers protected by any local laws? What are they paid? Is your company doing anything to protect the workers?”

Company Profile: Sambazon

Sambazon deals exclusively with wild harvested açaí. Their products include juices, smoothies, supplements in powder and capsule form, energy drinks, and even sorbet. Sambazon’s products are Certified Organic through the USDA.

Sambazon was extremely quick to respond to my queries, and provided me with plenty of information about both the preservation of the rainforest, as well as the well-being of the workers there. First of all, Sambazon is Ecocert Fair Trade certified, ensuring that an independent governing body oversees Sambazon’s practices. As well, Sambazon has also founded the Sustainable Amazon Partnership (SAP), supported by the Nature’s Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund.

According to Sambazon, “Greenpeace claimed that açaí may be one of the best ways to “save the rainforest”.”  (http://sambazon.blogspot.com/2009/05/açaí-postitive-force-in-amazon.html)  While quoting slightly out of context, this is more or less true. Greenpeace actually said that while there is no one way to save the rainforest, the açaí industry, among others has the “potential to provide communities living in the forest with a sustainable means of income”. (http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/forests/solutions/amazon-case-study) Greenpeace also concludes that because of the açaí palms rapid growth and the large quantity of berries that each tree produces, açaí can be considered the Amazon’s most financially viable non-wood crop. Thus, Sambazon is correct in their statement that  “locals could earn more harvesting Açaí than clear-cutting the forest.”

Company Profile: MonaVie

In contrast with the two other companies, MonaVie is sold through a multi-level business model, where customers buy the juice from a MonaVie sales representative. As well, MonaVie does not deal exclusively with açaí. Their blended beverage also contains other fruits and berries, such as grape, apple, blueberry, pear and banana. Thus, the açaí content is lower than that of other companies. However, the açaí in the juice is the most publicized and marketed.

The açaí berries in MonaVie are wild harvested, as are the other companies. However, Monavie is not Fair Trade or organic. This is a section from Monavie’s reply to my questions:

“We pay the harvesters substantially more to harvest the açai berry than they would otherwise to harvest the hearts of palm. Also, the education we have given to the harvesters of the hearts of palm has shown very beneficial results. Many of these harvesters have begun planting more açai trees when one has died. In this way we have contributed to the preservation of the rainforest and helped the economy in these regions.”

MonaVie has also founded (and funds) “The MORE project”, to “change lives and restore families through a variety of specific programs” in Brazil (http://www.themoreproject.org/). They focus on education and healthcare, and recruit volunteers to visit the region and help out. The website also features a store where the public can purchase products such as clothes, books, CDs, and jewellery made from açaí berry beads.

Company Profile: Genesis Today

Genesis Today’s “Açaí 100” is the pure juice. Unlike açaí juice blends such as MonaVie , “Açaí 100” contains no added sugar, water, other fruit juices, preservatives, flavours or sweeteners. Their products are available at most health food stores.

Unfortunately, Genesis today did not reply with information about their product or business practices, and there is only minimal information available on their website.

Is Açaí Worthwhile?

The verdict supplied by the companies is that açaí is a positive force in the Amazon. However, since this information comes straight from the companies themselves, its doubtful that it would be anything other than positive. Independent information is hard to come by, and even Greenpeace’s comments about açaí were from 2005, already out of date.

The World Wildlife Fund cited research conducted on Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), such as açaí, in a recent report about the Amazon (http://assets.panda.org/downloads/wnf_amazonerapport_def.pdf). Although it was stated that NTFPs “provide the people inhabiting the forest with both a means for living as well as a cash income” and açaí has been successfully marketed, there were some disappointing results. For instance, Arnold and Perez (2001) as well as Kusters et al. (2006) refute the theory of a straightforward link between NTFPs and conservation. Instead, “extraction of NTFPs can cause forest degradation, especially if repeated harvesting occurs at close intervals. Demand for NTFP products is selective, which could lead to domestication and loss of diversity. NTFPs are mostly used to supplement diets in particular seasons, but generally do not represent a road to prosperity for poor communities, due among other things to the high transaction costs of marketing them.” Also to be considered is the problem of unpredictable markets, as trends like açaí come and go fleetingly (Belcher and Schreckenberg, 2007). Belcher and Schreckenberg (2007) also note that once a exported product like açaí becomes successful, domesticated and synthetic variations are created.

That being said, the question remains: is it possible to get açaí’s health benefits without the high price tag and food miles? Simply put: yes. Regardless of all the advertising and marketing hype, the same nutrients are found in many other foods. Essential fatty acids can be found in fish, flax oil and nuts, fibre can be found in psyllium and flax seeds, amino acids can be found in all protein sources, antioxidants can be found in pomegranate, blueberries and green/white tea, just to name a few. Cinnamon has even been shown to lower blood sugar levels and reduce cholesterol. Health food stores carry natural vitamins, herbs and remedies that don’t have to be shipped from the Brazilian rainforest, but provide the same effects.

However, it doesn’t seem like the little purple berry that everyone’s talking about will go away in the near future. As it’s difficult get a clear picture of the situation at this point in time, we may have to wait and see what happens in the future. As always, I encourage comments about this issue. And if you know something I don’t, I’d love to hear it!

Photo credit: woodleywonderworks

While certainly a topic of perennial and vehement debate, most nutritionists and studies agree that the human consumption of animal meat is part of a balanced diet. The proteins found in animal meat and fat contain all the essential amino acids the body needs to grow, and are often more easily assimilated by the body than proteins found in a vegetarian diet. Dr Weston Price, a leading researcher of traditional diets who conducted vast studies of indigenous tribes in the 1930s, found that animal meat and fat was the singular most important dietary component among the tribes he studied, inhabiting all extremes of conditions, from the coldest to the warmest regions on earth.

However, it is absolutely possible to obtain all the necessary nutritional elements the body needs from a vegetarian diet. The problem is that many people choose to become vegetarians without spending time studying how to be a healthy vegetarian. Because it is harder to obtain all the necessary vitamins, minerals and proteins the body needs from a non-meat diet, it is important that vegetarians have a strong grasp of the right foods they must eat, as well as the quantity and combination of foods, in order to maintain a healthy, balanced nutritional composition.

Healthy vegetarians make a daily effort to monitor their nutritional intake, particularly in regard to certain vitamins that are more easily found in animal meat, most notably Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Calcium, Zinc, Riboflavin, Iron and especially Vitamin B-12. The right combination of foods is required so that the vitamins are activated and ingested in the right amounts. From a Chinese medicine perspective, which highly values a nutritional balance among foods that fall across the dietary spectrum, this article is invaluable in learning to become a healthy vegetarian.

For a more Western perspective, read this article from the Mayo Clinic, or this excellent list of vegetarian nutrition resources from the Vegetarian Resource Group.

350 ppm, as in parts per million, the level scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. We are currently at 390 ppm and, according to the science, we need to get back to 350 ppm as soon as possible to be able avoid runaway climate change.

In an interview with a German newspaper Stern endorsed the 350 ppm target saying he “think it’s a very sensible long-term target.” Bill McKibben, environmental writer and founder of 350.org, writes:

“I think it’s a very sensible long-term target.” He went on to explain: “People have to be aware that is a truly long-term target. We have already passed 350ppm, we are at 390 ppm of Co2 and at 435 ppm of Co2-equivalents right now. It is most important to stop the increase of flows of emissions short term and then start the decline of flows of annual emissions and get them down to levels which will move concentrations of CO2 back down towards 350ppm.

McKibben says “Stern is right” and that his endorsement will “help stiffen the push for real measures” at the climate talks in Copenhagen this December.

Stern is right, of course–even if we do everything right at Copenhagen, we won’t be back at 350 soon. But unless we do everything right we’ll be back at 350 never ever. His call will help stiffen the push for real measures at the conference.

Also read:
- Nicholas Stern: Climate change will create billions of refugees, extended world war
- Nicholas Stern: “I underestimated the threat”
- Green Quote of the Week: Nicholas Stern

“The deal the world needs in Copenhagen is now in the balance,” he said.

“There’s a real danger the talks scheduled for December will not reach a positive outcome, and an equal danger in the run-up to Copenhagen that people don’t wake up to the danger of failure until it’s too late.”

Miliband put the blame on “the complexity of the issue”, the economic recession as well as “suspicion” between the North and the South. In light of a diplomatic pr tour around Europe “to raise the issue of climate change” Miliband warned that if the world failed to come up with an agreement to cut emissions global temperatures will increase with 4C.

“This would lead to large scale migration as parts of the world disappeared under rising seas, threaten infrastructure as extreme weather events became more common, and put pressure on natural resources such as water – all of which could have serious impacts on peace and security across the world.”

What do you think about the upcoming Climate Change Conference this December – the last chance we have to take action against “the greatest threat the world has ever faced”? Will it be a success or a failure? What are your hopes and expectations? Please share your thoughts and ideas by voting in the poll below and/or making a comment.