Gleanings of the Week Ending November 08, 2014
/The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.
Americans' view on obesity is changing: Fewer adults see it as a personal problem of bad choices - A survey asked 50,000 US adults and 50,000 healthcare professionals whether they viewed obesity primarily as a personal problem of bad choices, a community problem of bad food and inactivity, or a medical problem. How would you have answered? For myself - I chose to think of it as a personal problem when I got close being obese and have now been back in the normal range for about 1.5 years because of the lifestyle changes I made. However - I am willing to admit that I benefited from a work environment that encouraged increasing physical activity and a nutrition course on Coursera that honed my knowledge of foods. Both of those would be in the ‘community’ realm.
A Wild Ride: 50 Years of the US Wilderness Act - Reflection on the US Wilderness Act by a Fellow at the International League of Conservation Photographers (includes some great pictures)
'Aging well' must be a global priority, experts say - I liked the very last line in this story: “…think about the benefits that an older, healthier, happier, and more productive older population can bring to society as a whole.” An interesting statistic: by 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 60 years and older will outnumber children younger than 5 years.
Why paper is a necessity - From Richard Watson.
A Stunning View of Sunlit Seas on Titan - A montage of images of Saturn’s moon Titan from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.
Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #73 - Which picture do you like the best in this collection? I like the sandhill cranes (toward the end). I was thrilled to get a picture of some sandhill cranes in Florida (below - Orlando airport's cell phone lot)
What do American babies eat? A lot depends on Mom's socioeconomic background - I was surprised that he study found that some 6-12 month olds were being fed candy, ice cream, sweet drinks and French fries. Are pediatricians and health professionals not stressing dietary needs of babies to new mothers?
A Fascinating Documentary on Crows, One of the World's Smartest Animals - One researcher calls crows “feathered apes”
Climate, emerging diseases - It is difficult to establish a direct link between climate change and evolution of pathogens…mostly because both climate change and pathogens are very complex. But there are emerging or re-emerging diseases being studied that can be statistically linked to environmental changes.
Incredible New Artifacts Found In 2,000-Year-Old Mexican Tunnel - Even in an area that is well known from an archeological stand point…..there are new finds. This one seems spectacular. I remember going to Teotihuacan in the mid-1960s and climbing the pyramids. Now there will be even more to see there.
