Sea levels in the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia are rising at a rate more than twice the global average. Since 1960, the area has experienced a 325 percent increase in “nuisance flooding” that disrupts business by closing roads and flooding parking lots and putting undue stress on infrastructure, like storm water drains, roads and sidewalks.
Aerial view of Pleasure House Point, Virginia Beach. Photo credit: The City of Virginia Beach
Some of this recurrent flooding is due to the land settling, the geologic results of a massive meteor strike here 35 million years ago. But there’s little doubt the Virginia coast is also on the frontline of climate change, surging waters and more intense storms. It’s no longer a question if and when the sea will rise here; the challenge is how much and how to adapt.
The Chesapeake Bay is our nation’s largest estuary and home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals, including thousands of acres of valuable coastal marsh and wetlands. Scientists anticipate Virginia will lose 50-80 percent of these wetlands in the next 50 years at the current rate of sea-level rise. And it isn’t just the beautiful vistas we’ll lose, but everything else these wetlands provide—protection from erosion near waterfront property; flood control; filtration of runoff and removal of pollutants; and the food, water and habitat for the critters that call the wetlands home.
The busy Hampton Roads area is the second most populated region at risk from sea level and related storm damage after New Orleans. And it is home to the world’s largest Navy base. During a speech at the College of William and Mary, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) remarked that in another 25 years, the main road into Naval Station Norfolk, will be under water three hours a day.
The shoreline at the mouth of the Lynnhaven River, Virginia Beach. Photo credit: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Thus, climate change not only threatens our way of life, but it’s threatening our national security as well. We need to mitigate its effects with short- and long-term strategies. We need to adapt to these changes by developing environmentally smart infrastructure that not only allows us to live in a rapidly changing world, but minimizes climate changing pollution for the future.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s new Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach is designed to do just that by minimizing CO2 emissions, limiting environmental impacts and adapting to rising sea-levels. The center is built on pilings more than 14 feet above sea level and 200 feet back from the river’s edge (double the 100 feet clearance required by Virginia law), safe from both rising sea levels and storm surges.
The Brock Environmental Center also utilizes existing technology and common-sense design features to meet the Living Building Challenge, the highest standard for environmentally smart building. Two small wind turbines and roof top solar arrays generate enough energy to power the building. Geothermal wells, windows that open and close according to temperature needs, super-insulated walls and floors, and natural ventilation features—heat and cool the building.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s new Brock Environmental Center, Virginia Beach. Photo credit: Kristyn Moore
And rain cisterns and a filtering system make the Brock Environmental Center the first project in the U.S. to receive a commercial permit for drinking filtered/treated rainwater in accordance with the federal drinking water requirements. In fact, the center uses rainwater for all its water needs.
The builders also extensively used recycled and salvaged materials to reduce waste, and they excluded more than 300 hundred toxic materials typically found in common building materials.
Finally, the building was designed to prevent site disturbance—there is no parking lot on site, and it is landscaped in native trees, shrubs, and grasses to restore years of displaced wetlands. The natural landscaping allows flood waters to rise, settle and recede naturally without harm to the center or nearby neighborhoods.
Now open for business, the Brock Environmental Center allows the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to continue its groundbreaking work saving the bay in Hampton Roads while providing a national model for smart building, energy efficiency and climate-change adaptability.
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A dementia patient with her guide spends the day at an alpaca farm as therapy in the village of Krukow on April 20, 2017 near Geesthacht, Germany. Morris MacMatzen / Getty Images
Therapeutic riding as occupational therapy, dogs visiting children with learning disabilities in school or hens spending time with seniors in elderly homes – so called animal-assisted interventions are manifold.
<p>But administering treatments by professionally trained therapists and maintaining animal welfare are key, says Dr. Andrea Beetz. She is a psychologist, researcher and teacher and has worked in the field of human-animal interaction for more than 20 years. </p>
<p><strong><em>DW: In what contexts have animal assisted interventions been particularly successful or used ?</em></strong></p><p><strong>Dr. Andrea Beetz:</strong> Animals have been integrated in all kinds of education and therapy for children. Children are very open. They have a natural affinity towards animals. They're curious about them.</p><p>So you can find a lot of school-visiting dogs or animal-assisted education approaches like therapeutic riding for the disabled, for instance.</p><p>We have a lot of success because children who are often tired of being in therapy and being in special kinds of support trainings, they are motivated again to participate in these interventions.<span></span></p><p>Another group that is highly visible in the field of animal-assisted interventions are seniors. One of the earliest interventions was a visiting program with dogs in homes for the elderly.</p><p>These visits were aimed at improving wellbeing, lightening the mood, occupying them, getting their mind off their age and illnesses.</p><p>So dogs are a great distraction and they are also social catalysts. They enable and facilitate conversations between humans.</p>
<p><em><strong>DW: What do we know about the effectiveness of animal-assisted interventions?</strong></em></p><p> <strong>Dr. Beetz: </strong>During the last 10 to 15 years, there have been numerous studies that document very positive effects of animal-assisted interventions.</p><p>For instance, there are several studies documenting that animal-assisted interventions can reduce <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/53-million-germans-suffer-from-depression-each-year/a-46506088" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">depression</a> and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/psychology-what-are-anxiety-disorders/a-48390054" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">anxiety</a>, they can improve mood, trust and also empathy. They reduce all kinds of stress indicators.</p><p>Blood pressure goes down, heart rate goes down. The levels of the stress hormone cortisol are reduced. And one hormone is especially interesting – the hormone oxytocin – the levels of this hormone increased.</p><p>And you have a lot of positive effects from that because it governs the whole system for calm and connectedness.</p>
<p><em><strong>DW: If one has a pet, does that offer any kind of benefits just on its own?</strong></em></p><p><strong>Dr. Beetz:</strong> I would say yes, if you have <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/covid-demand-for-dogs-and-cats-surges-in-germany/a-56318208" target="_blank">contact with animals</a> or you visit a horse every second day that's on the pasture where you go for a walk, you get some kind of interaction that can have positive effects for you.</p><p>It's not the same as a structured therapy or an educational approach. But yes, if you manage to pet the horse and both of you enjoy it, it can reduce your stress level and you can feel more connected and calm.</p><p>Studies have shown that <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/not-so-aloof-cats-capable-of-strong-bonds-with-humans/a-50562714" target="_blank">pet owners</a> actually are, on average, a bit healthier than non-pet owners. They sleep better. They have better cardiovascular parameters, like blood pressure. They have a higher survival rate after heart attacks. </p>
<p><em><strong>DW: Does that mean that any animal can be used in animal-assisted interventions?</strong></em></p><p><strong>Dr. Beetz: </strong>No. We, at the <a href="https://www.aat-isaat.org/" target="_blank">International Society for Animal-Assisted Therapy</a>, say that only certain species should be used. These species are usually domesticated species like dogs, cats, horses, cows, goats, sheep. But also llamas and alpacas are very popular. They also have a long history of being domesticated by humans.</p><p>This is important because these animals are more used to and they are less stressed by interactions with humans.</p><p>In addition to being a domesticated species, they also need to be well socialized with humans from a young age so that they are not stressed by the interaction and they actually enjoy it.</p><p>This group of animal species are also the most suitable for animal protection reasons. We also do not recommend working with snakes or other kinds of reptiles because there is a risk of salmonella infections.</p><p>So there's a lot of thought behind it. Even though you will find different examples where other species like dolphins are used, this is a wild species. But in the field we say, please keep it to domesticated animals.</p>
<p><em><strong>DW: Are there certain limitations to animal-assisted interventions?</strong></em></p><p><strong>Dr. Beetz:</strong> One exclusion criteria could be that there's a strong allergy to the species involved.</p><p>People who are immunosuppressed or on immunosuppressants due to some kind of sickness are also at higher risk.</p><p>And another reason could be that people are just afraid of certain kinds of animals. Then you really need to consider, if you're going to take the time to first work on that fear and then have the positive effects of animal-assisted interventions, or if another kind of animal-free therapy would be better.</p><p><em><a href="https://www.animalsandsociety.org/human-animal-studies/defining-human-animal-studies-an-asi-video-project/defining-zoophilia-with-andrea-beetz/" target="_blank">Dr. Andrea Beetz</a> works at the IUBH University of Applied Sciences in Germany.</em> <em>Beetz is also active on the board of the International Society for Animal-Assisted Therapy (ISAAT).</em></p><p><span></span><em>The interview was conducted by Mira Fricke for TV and has been edited for clarity. </em></p><p><em></em><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/animals-as-therapists/a-56368730" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>. </em></p>
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The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' "Doomsday Clock" — an estimate of how close humanity is to the apocalypse — remains at 100 seconds to zero for 2021. Eva Hambach / AFP / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
One hundred seconds to midnight. That's how close humanity is to the apocalypse, and it's as close as the world has ever been, according to Wednesday's annual announcement from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group that has been running its "Doomsday Clock" since the early years of the nuclear age in 1947.
<p>Although the scientists cite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed 1.7 million people around the world and has "revealed just how unprepared and unwilling countries and the international system are to handle global emergencies properly," they acknowledge that the coronavirus does not pose an existential threat to Homo sapiens.</p><p>However, nuclear weapons and, increasingly, catastrophic global heating caused and exacerbated by human activity — the climate crisis — do. </p>
<div id="50af6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a4e6bd206bb6b37ab15f6f67cf4adfa0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1354453612076822536" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Nuclear risk is rising as arms control treaties wither and die. Here’s the world of nuclear arms, in one graphic. V… https://t.co/5OE4L5LRps</div> — Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (@Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)<a href="https://twitter.com/BulletinAtomic/statuses/1354453612076822536">1611761880.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Accelerating nuclear programs in multiple countries moved the world into less stable and manageable territory last year," the scientists say. "Development of hypersonic glide vehicles, ballistic missile defenses, and weapons-delivery systems that can flexibly use conventional or nuclear warheads may raise the probability of miscalculation in times of tension."</p><p>"Events like the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/06/really-terrifying-stuff-us-senate-lockdown-after-pro-trump-supporters-storm-us" target="_blank">deadly assault</a> earlier this month on the U.S. Capitol renewed legitimate concerns about national leaders who have sole control of the use of nuclear weapons," they say. "Nuclear nations, however, have ignored or undermined practical and available diplomatic and security tools for managing nuclear risks."</p><p>"By our estimation, the potential for the world to stumble into nuclear war — an ever-present danger over the last 75 years — increased in 2020," they conclude. </p>
<div id="d24e5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f3d50928c1a6d2bfe2328ef53d918e4"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1354461702360805376" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">🚨The @BulletinAtomic just updated the Doomsday Clock, and we are PERILOUSLY close to midnight.
May this be a wake… https://t.co/txNJPZPBWE</div> — CODEPINK (@CODEPINK)<a href="https://twitter.com/codepink/statuses/1354461702360805376">1611763809.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Thirty years ago, by contrast, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock to<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/past-statements/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 17 minutes to midnight</a> as the Soviet Union collapsed and the threat of thermonuclear annihilation ebbed to its lowest level since before the United States invented the atomic bomb and waged the only nuclear war in history against Japan in 1945. That was the year that Albert Einstein — who helped develop the first nuclear weapons—and other researchers formed the Bulletin.</p><p>Once again this year, the scientists stress that governments have also "failed to sufficiently address climate change," and although "a pandemic-related economic slowdown temporarily reduced the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming," much more needs to be done to rein in planetary warming. </p><p>"Over the coming decade fossil fuel use needs to decline precipitously if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided," they state. "Instead, fossil fuel development and production are projected to increase. Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record high in 2020, one of the two warmest years on record."</p><p>"The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/10/stark-new-visualizations-show-how-climate-change-fueling-worsening-western-wildfires" target="_blank">massive wildfires</a> and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/16/unreal-heartbreaking-experts-highlight-climate-crisis-connection-category-5" target="_blank">catastrophic cyclones</a> of 2020 are illustrations of the major devastation that will only increase if governments do not significantly and quickly amplify their efforts to bring greenhouse gas emissions essentially to zero," they warn.</p>
<div id="22824" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f3a1bd8137b473f26c85df2a7b4e29a7"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1354457512058228741" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Governments around the world failed to take sufficient action to address the carbon dioxide emissions that cause cl… https://t.co/Xv6AkEYf7D</div> — Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (@Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)<a href="https://twitter.com/BulletinAtomic/statuses/1354457512058228741">1611762810.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Another warning came in the form of the scientists' condemnation of what they call the "threat multiplier" of "false and misleading information," both online and in more traditional media.</p><p>"This wanton disregard for science and the large-scale embrace of conspiratorial nonsense — often <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/12/10/trump-inciting-domestic-terrorism" target="_blank">driven</a> by political figures and partisan media — undermined the ability of responsible national and global leaders to protect the security of their citizens," the scientists posit. "<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/11/no-evidence-support-trumps-election-fraud-claims-new-york-times-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">False conspiracy theories</a> about a 'stolen' presidential election led to rioting that resulted in the death of five people and the first hostile occupation of the U.S. Capitol since 1814."</p><p>"In 2020, online lying literally killed," they write. </p>
<div id="a79f2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a19ff41c054d5b79aba92b60e288a764"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1354461561138651137" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned what the @WHO has called an “infodemic” of mis- & disinformation. Here, the desig… https://t.co/RAFb6SDTTF</div> — Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (@Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)<a href="https://twitter.com/BulletinAtomic/statuses/1354461561138651137">1611763775.0</a></blockquote></div><p>However, this year's report is not all gloom and doom. </p><p>"The election of a U.S. president who acknowledges climate change as a profound threat and supports international cooperation and science-based policy puts the world on a better footing to address global problems," the scientists assert. "For example, the United States has already <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> it is rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Biden administration has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/21/hugely-consequential-first-move-biden-offers-extend-nuclear-start-treaty-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">offered</a> to extend the New START arms control agreement with Russia for five years."</p><p>"In the context of a post-pandemic return to relative stability, more such demonstrations of renewed interest in and respect for science and multilateral cooperation could create the basis for a safer and saner world," they write.</p><p>"We continue to believe that human beings can manage the dangers posed by modern technology, even in times of crisis," the researchers conclude. "But if humanity is to avoid an existential catastrophe — one that would dwarf anything it has yet seen — national leaders must do a far better job of countering disinformation, heeding science, and cooperating to diminish global risks."</p><p>Ultimately, the scientists say, it's up to "citizens around the world" to "organize and demand — through public protests, at ballot boxes, and in other creative ways — that their governments reorder their priorities and cooperate domestically and internationally to reduce the risk of nuclear war, climate change, and other global disasters, including pandemic disease."</p><p><span></span><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/27/100-seconds-midnight-doomsday-clock-reveals-humanity-closer-ever-apocalypse" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em></p>
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The 13th North Atlantic right whale calf with their mother off Wassaw Island, Georgia on Jan. 19, 2010. @GeorgiaWild, under NOAA permit #20556
North Atlantic right whales are in serious trouble, but there is hope. A total of 14 new calves of the extremely endangered species have been spotted this winter between Florida and North Carolina.
<p>The 14th and latest calf of the season was spotted Thursday off of Florida's Amelia Island, <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/01/22/welcoming-no-14-another-right-whale-calf-sighted-this-season/" target="_blank">News4JAX reported</a>.</p><p>"What a way to start the weekend - a new right whale!" the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Southeast announced on <a href="https://twitter.com/NOAAFish_SERO/status/1352619914146807809" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</p>
<div id="9c57f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="060d50122a2b9c0df8561b1b31b1ed2a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1352619914146807809" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">What a way to start the weekend - a new right whale! Known mom "Champagne" and her calf were sighted off Amelia Isl… https://t.co/xNSbur6V3k</div> — NOAA Fish Southeast (@NOAA Fish Southeast)<a href="https://twitter.com/NOAAFish_SERO/statuses/1352619914146807809">1611324692.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Calf number 14 was born to a 12-year-old <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/whale" target="_self">whale</a> named Champagne and is her first known calf, the agency said.</p><p>The news came just two days after the 13th calf of the season was spotted off of Wassaw Island, Georgia, News4JAX reported. This baby was also born to a first-time mom who was 14 years old.</p>
<div id="8e78f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="16ed99074326abb76728f8aa46b8d501"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1352052054479482884" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">13 is lucky today! We have a new right whale calf - our 13th for the season! Mom and calf were sighted off Wassaw I… https://t.co/VjNacz4sxD</div> — NOAA Fish Southeast (@NOAA Fish Southeast)<a href="https://twitter.com/NOAAFish_SERO/statuses/1352052054479482884">1611189304.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>All of this is good news for the species, which ended 2020 on a low note. A NOAA <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/endangered-right-whale-population-2648532928.html" target="_self">report found</a> that there were no more than 366 of the animals left alive. Then, the first known calf of the season <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/north-atlantic-right-whale-calf-dead-2649042642.html" target="_self">washed up dead</a> off the North Carolina coast in November.</p><p>However, things have begun to turn around. The species has so far had its best calving season in years, <a href="https://defenders.org/newsroom/thirteenth-critically-endangered-right-whale-calf-of-season-spotted-near-georgia" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife noted</a> in a statement. Only 22 calves were reported between all of 2017 to 2020. The number of new calves this season is now more than half that total, and there are two months left during which scientists expect more babies will be born.</p>
<p>Despite the baby boom, conservationists noted that the species is not out of the woods. The whales have been undergoing an Unusual Mortality Event since 2017, with 32 whales dying in Canadian and U.S. waters and 14 sustaining non-survivable injuries. The leading causes of these casualties were vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing lines. In January, a right whale was seen entangled in fishing gear off the Georgia coast.</p><p>"While these births are an encouraging sign, the continued threats underscore that we still have to redouble our efforts to protect these vulnerable babies and their mothers," Defenders of Wildlife senior attorney <a href="https://defenders.org/people/jane-p-davenport" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jane Davenport</a> said in the statement.</p><p>The same week as the 13th and 14th births were announced, NOAA released a <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/reducing-vessel-strikes-north-atlantic-right-whales" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> finding that vessels were ignoring both suggestions and requirements to slow down in areas where right whales might be present. This has prompted conservation groups to call for more protections.</p>
<p>"NOAA agrees that more needs to be done to protect North Atlantic right whales from vessel strikes," Oceana campaign director Whitney Webber said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. "Now it's time for the federal government to act. Voluntary speed restriction zones must be made mandatory, and the current mandatory speed restriction zones must be expanded and enforced. Oceana calls on NOAA to update the shipping regulations to protect these rare whales before it's too late."</p><p>Defenders of Wildlife also acted by joining with other conservation groups Jan. 13 to <a href="https://defenders.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/1_Complaint%201%2013%2021.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sue</a> NOAA over its failure to expand slow-down zones for the whales.</p><p>"Right whales face a daily gauntlet of fishing ropes and speeding vessels, which together have caused the deaths of more than 200 right whales in the last decade alone," Davenport said in the Defenders of Wildlife statement. "We're killing right whales far faster than they can reproduce. Unless we move quickly to abate these threats, we're running out of time to save the species from extinction."</p>
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There are new lifestyle "medicines" that are free that doctors could be prescribing for all their patients. Marko Geber / Getty Images
By Yoram Vodovotz and Michael Parkinson
The majority of Americans are stressed, sleep-deprived and overweight and suffer from largely preventable lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Being overweight or obese contributes to the 50% of adults who suffer high blood pressure, 10% with diabetes and additional 35% with pre-diabetes. And the costs are unaffordable and growing. About 90% of the nearly $4 trillion Americans spend annually for health care in the U.S. is for chronic diseases and mental health conditions. But there are new lifestyle "medicines" that are free that doctors could be prescribing for all their patients.
<p><a href="https://www.lifestylemedicine.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lifestyle medicine</a> is the clinical application of healthy behaviors to prevent, treat and reverse disease. More than ever, <a href="https://adventisthealthstudy.org/?rsource=publichealth.llu.edu/adventist-health-studies" target="_blank">research</a> <a href="https://www.nurseshealthstudy.org/" target="_blank">underscores</a> <a href="https://sites.sph.harvard.edu/hpfs/" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="http://www.commissiononhealth.org/Home.aspx" target="_blank">the "pills"</a> today's physician should be prescribing for patients are the six domains of lifestyle medicine: whole food plant-based eating, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, addiction reduction or elimination, and positive psychology and social connection.</p><p>We are a primary care <a href="https://www.workpartnersblog.com/workpartners-thought-leaders-to-present-at-2019-health-benefits-conference-expo/" target="_blank">preventive medicine physician</a> and a <a href="https://mirm-pitt.net/our-people/faculty-staff-bios/yoram-vodovotz-phd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">computational immunologist</a>, both committed to applying state-of-the-art research to <a href="https://www.ardmoreinstituteofhealth.org/lmrsummit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inform the clinical practice of lifestyle medicine</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.585744" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Our findings and recommendations</a> were just published. We highlight the key take-home points for each of the areas below.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU0MTcxNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjU1OTYyMn0.vx49NmD7LdCrMdp7X5fspiRcqGsz0eb4sbub_5noFrI/img.jpg?width=980" id="e93c6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ffb03955ed95a9c49ad34848dd8677b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="946" />
Use the Healthy Eating Plate as an evidence-based guide for creating healthy, balanced meals. ©2011, Harvard University, CC BY-NC
<h2>Whole-Food, Plant-Based Eating</h2><p>Diets high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains and lower in animal products and highly processed foods have <a href="https://eatforum.org/content/uploads/2019/01/EAT-Lancet_Commission_Summary_Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">been associated</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.20.2569" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">with prevention</a> of many diseases. These diets have also <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.20.2569" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">improved health</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/17-025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">and even reversed</a> common <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/costs/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cardiovascular, metabolic, brain, hormonal, kidney and autoimmune diseases as well as 35% of all cancers</a>.</p><p>We believe that future research should include larger trials or new research methods with <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.2790" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">emphasis on quality of diet</a>. This would include more data on the micronutrient composition and protein sources of plant versus animal-based foods – not just proportion of fat, carbohydrates and protein. Such trials should include children, as many adult disorders are seeded as early as infancy or in utero.</p><h2>Regular Physical Activity</h2><p><a href="https://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/prevguid/m0042984/m0042984.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">For decades, surgeon generals' guidelines</a> have emphasized that daily moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity has both immediate and long-term health benefits. For example, why we age and the rate at which we age – chronological age versus biological age – is determined by multiple molecular processes that are directly influenced by physical activity. And now scientists are gaining a better understanding of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.011" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cellular and molecular changes that exercise</a> induces to reduce disease risk.</p><p>Research priorities for scientists and physicians include obtaining a deeper understanding of the type, intensity and frequency of activity, and better insights into the molecular and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pmbts.2015.07.005" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cellular alterations</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irn.2019.06.002" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">that occur with exercise</a>.</p>
<h2>Restorative Sleep</h2><p>Sleep helps the cells, organs and entire body to function better. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/how_much_sleep.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Regular uninterrupted sleep</a> of seven hours per night for adults, eight to 10 hours for teenagers and 10 or more for children is necessary for <a href="https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.3298" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">good health</a>.</p><p>Though understudied, there is evidence that high-quality sleep can reduce <a href="https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.3298" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inflammation, immune dysfunction, oxidative stress, and epigenetic modification</a> of DNA, all of which are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1389-9457(08)70013-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">associated with or cause chronic disease</a>.</p><p>Therefore, research into the biological mechanisms that underlie the restorative properties of sleep could lead to environmental or population-based and policy approaches to better align our natural sleep patterns with the demands of daily life.</p><h2>Stress Management</h2><p>Though some stress is beneficial, prolonged or extreme stress can overwhelm the brain and body. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00450.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chronic stress increases the risk of cardiovascular disease</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cns.12490" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">irritable bowel disease</a>, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2016.04.007" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">obesity</a>, depression, asthma, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and obesity.</p><p>One of the most powerful mechanisms to reduce stress and enhance resilience is by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1917461" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eliciting a relaxation response</a> using mind-body therapies and cognitive behavioral therapy.</p><p>More research is need to gain a better understanding of how these therapies work.</p>
<h2>Addiction Reduction and Elimination</h2><p>Many social, economic and environmental factors have fueled the national rise in substance abuse generally and, most tragically, the opioid epidemic.</p><p>Physicians and researchers are beginning to understand the underlying physiology and psychology of addiction.</p><p>Yet the <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/25310" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">continued stigma and disjointed or absent access</a> to services remains a challenge. Clinicians and scientists need to explore how to predict who is more vulnerable to addiction and find ways of preventing it. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2018.1546862" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Treatment that incorporates integrated care</a> focused on all the patient's needs should be prioritized.</p><h2>Positive Psychology and Social Connection</h2><p>Maintaining a positive mindset through the practice of gratitude and forgiveness has a significant impact on psychological and subjective well-being, which are, in turn, associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00082-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">physical health benefits</a>.</p><p>Social connectivity, namely the quantity and quality of our relationships, has perhaps <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674503816" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the most powerful health benefits</a>.</p><p>Conversely, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.119.3.488" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">social isolation</a> – such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303431" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">living alone, having a small social network</a>, participating in few social activities, and feeling lonely – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1212/01.WNL.0000147473.04043.B3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">is associated with greater mortality</a>, increased morbidity, lower immune system function, depression and cognitive decline.</p><p>Further study is needed to uncover how an individual's biology and chemistry change for the better through more social interactions.</p>
<h2>Inflammation's Role in Lifestyle-Related Diseases</h2><p>Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors produce a vicious cycle of inflammation. While inflammation is a healthy, natural way the body fights infections, injury, and stress, too much inflammation actually promotes or exacerbates the diseases described above.</p><p>The inflammatory response is complex. We have been using machine learning and computer modeling to <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030565091" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">understand, predict, treat and reprogram inflammation</a> – to retain the healing elements while minimizing the detrimental more chronic ones. Scientists are unraveling new mechanisms that explain how chronic stress can turn genes on and off.</p><h2>Overcoming Challenges and Barriers</h2><p>We and others who study lifestyle medicine are now discussing how we can leverage all of these approaches to improve <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/585744/fmed-07-585744-HTML/image_m/fmed-07-585744-g001.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">clinical studies on the impacts</a> of lifestyle interventions.</p><p>At the same time we and our colleagues realize that there are environmental challenges and barriers that prevent many people from embracing these lifestyle fixes.</p><p>There are food deserts where healthier foods are not available or affordable. Unsafe neighborhoods, harmful chemicals and substances create constant stress. Poor education, poverty, cultural beliefs and racial and ethnic disparities and discrimination must be addressed for all people and patients to appreciate and embrace the six "pills."</p><p>The application of lifestyle medicines is particularly important now because unhealthy lifestyles have caused a pandemic of preventable chronic diseases that is now exacerbating the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827620950276" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">afflicts those with these conditions</a>.</p><p>Ask your doctor to <a href="https://www.guidetogoodhealth.com/Articles/LifestyleMedicine.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"prescribe" these six "pills"</a> for a longer and better life. After all, they're free, work better than or as well as medications and have no side effects!</p>
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yoram-vodovotz-1193610" target="_blank">Yoram Vodovotz</a> is a </em><em>Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh.<br/>
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-parkinson-1193974" target="_blank">Michael Parkinson</a> is a </em><em>Senior Medical Director of Health and Productivity, UPMC Health Plan & Workpartners, University of Pittsburgh.<br/>
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<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Yoram Vodovotz is a co-founder of, and stakeholder in Immunetrics, Inc. </em><em>Michael Parkinson, MD, MPH is founder of P3 Health (Prevention, Performance & Productivity).</em>
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<em></em><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/they-dont-come-as-pills-but-try-these-6-underprescribed-lifestyle-medicines-for-a-better-longer-life-152791" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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Candles spell out, "Fight for 1 point 5" in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany on Dec. 11, 2020, in reference to 1.5°C of Earth's warming. The event was organized by the Fridays for Future climate movement. Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Taking an unconventional approach to conduct the largest-ever poll on climate change, the United Nations' Development Program and the University of Oxford surveyed 1.2 million people across 50 countries from October to December of 2020 through ads distributed in mobile gaming apps.
<p>The survey found that 64 percent of people think climate change is a global emergency and only 10 percent think world leaders are doing enough to address it. The number of people who considered climate change an emergency was even higher – 69 percent – among those ages 14 to 18.</p>
<p>The survey also asked respondents to rank 18 specific policies to address climate change, and found that the most popular policies were restoring <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/forests">forests</a>, using <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a>, and using climate-friendly farming techniques. "There is a groundswell of people that are saying even during a pandemic that climate change is an emergency and here's how we want to solve it," Cassie Flynn, UNDP's strategic adviser on climate change and head of its Climate Promise initiative, told Al Jazeera.</p>
<p>As reported by <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/un-global-climate-poll-emergency-b1793331.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9x2ijtybjo01Uk9iTfp3eNe6jazgollKX8XbI3eMA2rm_aZc8sKULEaVp-EqpyVVFEm50lR9S0Ba4jZivLcR27YY_eMg&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Independent</a>:</p><blockquote>More than 30 million invites to the survey were issued to people when they played a popular mobile game – such as Words With Friends, Angry Birds, Dragon City or Subway Surfers.</blockquote><blockquote>The findings were weighted by polling experts at Oxford University to be as representative as possible for each country.</blockquote><blockquote>Cassie Flynn, the UNDP's strategic adviser on climate change, told <em>The Guardian</em>: "The voice of the people is clear – they want action on climate change.</blockquote><blockquote>"If 64 per cent of the world's people are believing in a climate emergency then it helps governments to respond to the climate crisis as an emergency.</blockquote><blockquote>"The key message is that, as governments are making these high-stakes decisions, the people are with them."</blockquote>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong><br/></p><p><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/1/27/64-of-people-surveyed-say-climate-change-calls-for-urgent-action?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9YVrdbTrMv3vblDrs20eAJB379K0-v_pYc8RFC8_n02dH1g5zO9RqBWTvJucBfKHGuYDaZkoWkpgqI5ePvsFgeF5edQA&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Al Jazeera</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-27/teenagers-in-top-emitting-nations-believe-climate-change-is-a-global-threat?utm" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/27/un-global-climate-poll-peoples-voice-is-clear-they-want-action?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_TWnOIOpArVTX5eXJ-JYp21d2coAf04ZrHN_cVNV0rep9ARDYp6JmcKmG8c9YpJBIxupYqMpmTvCeXEc3rUhxYPnoD5g&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-un/greta-thunbergs-generation-most-likely-to-believe-climate-change-is-a-crisis-poll-idUSKBN29W0EG?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_BIEa1d6a4tl5dHib409_7p_G4tPhGeHoARqer5GlCTbW8fvoRPCCwM6rIXYEKKlTSKiSGPzBM-gYSxNpsvq7MFHqP1g&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Reuters</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/public-backs-climate-change-action-across-globe-massive-u-n-n1255811?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8EvoO9ZuvBAYhoGY_ce6TuShnzmxqhM2nn1MlbhoEyY9R3oyh0B4F4uNasQ2SPdCn0YVjsB-4UuN8Zp-jkZp1x3CRXFQ&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">NBC</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55802902?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9uuWZWs35P6pWmDxGtjiSR83nWSLvnnPMAVkwhwMnARJw3jtEfCBva1v5Zr-EqEPHIBIsMDSFP832oSRTKzd2pHV79-A&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">BBC</a>, <a href="https://www.axios.com/climate-change-un-poll-backs-global-emergency-f442a7e8-77e3-4726-901b-bb6681e46a8f.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_g6juwf0dzyFCEJ1SGZRvuLZkyyM2EXlijr5Ln_M7xWbqy4tkyJFfKS_3hAFzbDJqgAb4h101Ups4_3QQk28PPJYF3QA&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Axios</a>, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/un-global-climate-poll-emergency-b1793331.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9x2ijtybjo01Uk9iTfp3eNe6jazgollKX8XbI3eMA2rm_aZc8sKULEaVp-EqpyVVFEm50lR9S0Ba4jZivLcR27YY_eMg&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Independent</a>, <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2265764-climate-change-seen-as-global-emergency-by-64-per-cent-of-people/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8AVP2cuXnj7SlmEyZeyeGuMVfPE9y9rqP0oYBrYi0KFNJ8yd1NcFO2m5XRzm2y9Zn5x5-ZkI_DixunLtU2PdJk5xjKWw&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">New Scientist</a>, <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/climate-change-is-an-emergency-majority-says-in-unique-gaming-app-survey-sent-to-1-2-million-people-in-17-languages-11611745558?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=108324171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_p3MChLXRxhQjWjRt1d-iR8WygJGiueaP21XKyb_VQkjzSunZjVdh6-KLCJhCE0myfwkrrLBV8hyaXkTIXEq8CJKe2xQ&utm_content=108324171&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">MarketWatch</a><br/></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Guardian/Vice Poll Finds Most 2020 Voters Favor Climate Action ... ›
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