Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Health

Birth Control Pill

Oral contraception, which is taking a tablet, is a common way women guard against unwanted pregnancy. It has proved to be a very effective method of birth control. The birth control tablet is made of the hormones oestrogen and progestogen. These prevent the egg from being released each month/ changing the lining of the womb so that a fertilized is unable to attach itself to the lining and grow/ by preventing sperm reaching the egg.

The 28 day Pill has 21 hormone pills and 7 sugar pills in a 28 day packet. This means that a pill is taken every day. The 21 day Pill has 21 hormone pills in the packet, and no pills to be taken for 7 days before starting the next packet. The pills need to be taken close to the same time every day. Pills are commenced within 5 days of starting a period, to get reliable protection. There are different ways in which different birth control pills work. It is best to consult with a qualified person before choosing a pill.

In case you skip taking pills for a couple of days or have vomiting or diarrhea or you have to take other medication, it is better to have a backup contraception method.

How safe and effective are contraception pills? If taken correctly the pills are 99% effective. Bleeding during periods becomes regular, shorter, lighter and less painful. The pill is even said to lower the risks of some cancers.
Taking the pill is safe. But women who have had a blood clot, stroke, heart attack, liver disease, breast cancer or high blood pressure should not use the pill. Some of the side effects are spotting during periods, some weight gain, nausea, and a little soreness in the breasts. Some women might suffer more headaches than usual; have mood swings and an increased vaginal discharge.

But before taking the pill consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Alcohol

This may come as a surprise: alcohol is the most abused of drugs. Most young people begin drinking out of curiosity. Or they may be pressured into doing it. People drink to experiment, for social reasons, or to drown their grief, or because they cannot do without liquor.

When people drink, the liquor first goes to the stomach and to the small intestines. From there it gets into the blood stream. It then passes through the liver which removes the alcohol. It then reaches the brain which send signals to the body to slow down. With excessive alcohol the brain becomes foggy and the body uncoordinated.
Alcohol problems take many forms. And these problems don’t affect just the individual. They impinge on the family in varying degrees. Alcohol could lead to arguments and fights. It could affect study and work. It is a costly habit and could eventually lead to monetary problems. Finally it could affect the individual’s health.
Some individuals involve in binge drinking. That is they will not drink regularly but when they do they will consume large quantities in a day or this drinking could continue for a couple of days or even weeks. Binge drinking is dangerous. There have been cases of individuals becoming unconscious and never recovering.
Short term problems arising out of binge drinking are headaches, nausea, and dizziness, missing studies and work and temporary lack of coordination. The long term consequences of binge drinking are liver damage, stomach ulcers, cancers, heart damage, high blood pressure, and brain damage and so on. Drinking during pregnancy could damage the brain of the unborn child and stunt its growth.

Although some studies say that drinking small quantities of liquor reduce the risks of heart attack, alleviates circulation problems, and helps to avoid gall stones. However considering that this could lead to habitual drinking, it is best to avoid liquor on a regular basis.

Some people find it difficult to avoid drinking in social situations. In such cases take a few precautions. Drink a glass of water or soft drink before you begin to consume alcohol, eat while you drink, avoid salty food as this makes you drink more, limit yourself to drinks with low alcoholic content, and limit yourself to just a couple of drinks. Learn to say no when you have reached your limit. And never drive after drinking.

Individuals who are compulsive drinkers should seek help. There are programmes like Alcoholics Anonymous. There are drugs that help reduce the drinking urge. In any case these individuals should seek the help of a qualified medical professional. Friends and family should be understanding and give the necessary support.

Cannabis

Cannabis is referred to by several names: weed, dope, pot, marijuana and so on. By whatever name it is called its use has attendant health risks.

Cannabis refers to a plant. Commonly it is the hemp plant that is used as a drug. Different parts of the plant are used. The dried flowers and leaves of the plant are referred to as marijuana. Hashish refers to the compressed resin from the plant. Hash oil is the oil extracted from the plant.

The most common form of cannabis use is smoking it. It is usually mixed with tobacco and smoked like a cigarette. It is sometimes also smoked in a pipe. Whatever the method, smoking cannabis has an immediate effect. Sometimes cannabis is mixed with other ingredients and eaten. When eaten the effect is felt only later.
The chief ingredient in cannabis that gives people a high is THC or delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. Cannabis also has other chemical ingredients. And these too may affect the brain.

Cannabis can act in many ways. It can affect an individual’s mood, thinking, concentration, sense of time and memory. Users describe these effects as pleasant, and sometimes as not pleasant. The other common effects reported are anxiety, panic, depression, dryness in the mouth, hunger, temporary loss of memory, mood swings, and loss of sense of time and so on.

People use cannabis for several reasons: to relax, socialize, relieve boredom, cope with stress, peer pressure, cope with pain, for the sake of experimentation, and to fight insomnia and so on.

Cannabis use has its attendant problems. It can cause lack of coordination which can affect a person’s driving and cause accidents. If used with alcohol the results are worse. It can cause psychotic experiences. Individuals who are predisposed to psychotic illness can bring on the disease even earlier by cannabis use. The lesser side effects are headache and hangover.

Regular effects of smoking cannabis are respiratory problems, chronic bronchitis, cancers of the lung, mouth and throat. Cannabis smoking is among other things addictive. Pregnant women who use cannabis risk having a lower-than-average weight premature baby. They may also be putting the unborn child to birth defects.
In some parts of the world cannabis is used for medical treatment. It is recommended to reduce nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy. It is also recommended to help patients cope with pain.
Cannabis dependency is worrisome. It is best that individuals who are habitual users seek medical help. Reducing its use temporarily, invariably leads to higher use later. It is best to kick the habit for good.

Water Conservation

We seem to be worrying about a lot of things that are not really critical. Yes, Oil, WMD, and terrorism are all crucial issue. But are they are really as critical as some of the other issues we face.

Consider water for one. Is water a renewable resource? If you said "Yes", you are right. But how long will it be before you are wrong?

It is not a widely published fact. But that's no reason why it should not be a widely acknowledged problem. The world's supply of fresh water is slowly running dry. Forty percent of the world's population is already reeling under the problems of water scarcity.

Most of the diseases plaguing us are water-borne. While there is a child being born every eight seconds in America, there is a life being taken every eight seconds by some water-borne disease in other parts of the world.

What is the cause and what the effect, is not clear as yet. Is it the lopsided distribution of fresh water that is causing climate change, or is it climate change that is causing this lopsided distribution? The fact is that there is significant climate change, and as a consequence of this change, some regions are becoming drier while others are getting wetter. Some parts of the world are experiencing greater desertification, while some others are suffering category 4 and 5 hurricanes.

According to the United Nations, water is one of the most serious crises facing the world. And things are only getting worse. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan of the erstwhile USSR, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Argentina, Peru and Brazil in Latin America, parts of China and the Middle East especially Iran, and more than 25 countries of Africa are all suffering from varying degrees of desertification.

Global weather is a system gone skewed. It is making poor countries poorer. Countries that are already facing drought and famine are getting less and less water. For how long can these countries run on dry?

The growing water shortage will make food more scarce, potable water less accessible and water-borne diseases even more rampant. And the number of people who will suffer all this will only increase in the years to come.

Blame this on nature. That is the most convenient thing to do. But the fact is much of the blame belongs to increasing consumption and improper usage. At every opportunity nature reminds us by what it does and doesn't, that it is one of the forces we have little control over. There is no way we can stop the rain or start it. But what we can do is become more water-efficient and get more from every drop.

There is a basic problem. We don’t seem to realize how critical water is to our very survival. All life on earth will simply vanish without it. There are a few simple things we can do to ensure that we always have an adequate supply of clean water.

Things You Can Do In the Toilette

Repair or replace all leaky fittings. Avoid unnecessary flushing. Use a low-flow showerhead. While showering, first wet yourself, turn off the shower, soap, scrub and then turn on the shower again to wash off the water.

What You Can Do In the Kitchen

Use one basin of soapy water to wash dirty dishes and use a basin of clean water to rinse. Don’t wash dirty dishes under a tap of running water. Use the dirty water from the basins to run your sink. If you use a dishwasher use a model that uses the least amount water.

Other Ways of Saving Water

Never throw out water you can use for something else. For instance if you have ornamental fish, every time you change water in the tank use the stale water to water the plants in your house. Used water from a fish tank is also a good fertilizer for plants.

If you have plants don’t over-water them. There is no point in pouring more than the necessary amount of water. The excess water will simply run off serving no one any purpose.
Be a little creative and you will find hundreds of ways in which to save water. Water is the giver of life. It has no substitute. Make every drop count!

Pollution

Pollution is a term different people understand differently. Generally pollution is defined as the release of pollutants into the environment which adversely affect our health, harm all living organisms and upset the balance of the ecosystem. Pollutants can be in the form of chemical substances, noise, heat, light and so on.
What can these pollutants pollute?


The air we breathe can be polluted. The common air pollutants are carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles. Photochemical ozone and smog are the result of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons reacting to sunlight. Polluted air can cause cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory problems.

The water on which all life depends is also polluted. Water pollution occurs mainly because of surface runoff and leaching to groundwater. The common diseases that polluted water can cause are typhoid, cholera, paratyphoid fever, bacillary dysentery, infectious hepatitis and protozoal infections.

Pollution of the soil happens when chemicals are carried to it with water or if there is a leakage in underground storage systems. The most common soil pollutants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE [2], herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

The other common forms of pollution are noise, light and thermal pollutions. Noise pollution is the consequence of the noise generated by motor vehicles, aircraft, and the noise produced by industries. Light pollution is the consequence of over-illumination and light trespass. Thermal pollution is the change in the temperature of natural water bodies caused by human action.

All forms of pollution have adverse effects on all living organisms and the balance in the ecosystem. Ozone pollution can cause respiratory problems, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest conditions, and congestion. Water pollution results in numerous deaths every day, mostly due to contamination of drinking water. Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance.

Pollution has devastating effect on the ecosystem. Sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen cause acid rain which in turn lowers the pH value of soil. As a consequence soil can become infertile and unsuitable for plants. The multiplier effect of all this is felt by other organisms in the food chain. Smog and haze can reduce the amount of sunlight received by plants to carry out photosynthesis.

If unchecked the effect of all this pollution can be devastating and the damage done could be irreversible. We all have a responsibility and role to play in the effort to control pollution. To think that the authorities will take care of this is fallacious. True the government has a responsibility to regulate and monitor pollution. But by itself the government can do just so much. The rest is really up to individuals.

Individuals can do a lot by adopting a code of conduct for themselves to refrain from doing anything that may pollute the environment. Individuals can also bring to the notice of the authorities about the violations that come to their attention. It is up to individual to educate people in the immediate vicinity of the evils of pollution. They can use neighborhood associations and voluntary organizations to create awareness.

Global Warming

Global Warming – What You Can Do to Help

You better believe this before it is too late: You are responsible for global warming. Some people are still adamant in saying that global warming is a natural phenomenon. There is irrefutable proof that humans are the cause. Population growth, deforestation, intensive farming of animals under unnatural conditions, using machinery and biotechnology, and the extensive use of fossil fuels are together creating an excess of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane that have together raised the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere.

And how is this a serious concern? You have read in the recent past of different parts of the earth experiencing unprecedented weather: extremes of heat and cold, acute drought and floods. The earth’s weather system has gone awry.

At first this may seem like local phenomena. But these local phenomena have global consequences. One result of global warming is the melting of the ice caps. This, it is predicted, will cause the level of the oceans to rise. Some scientists say that the level could rise by as much as seven metres. This means that much of the land we live on and depend on for food and shelter will be under water. Like a double whammy, the other consequence of global warming will be increased desertification.

Will we feel the full import of all this tomorrow? Probably not! What we are talking about are the long term consequences. But to hide behind this reasoning is like burying your head in the sand to shut out reality. The ones who suffer the most will be the ones who will inherit this earth tomorrow.

When the super powers of the world are unable to agree on issues relating to global warming and decide on a course of action what can you do as an individual. Plenty! By doing little things, cumulatively you can make a big difference.

1. Reduce, Reuse, RecycleWherever possible consume. Whenever possible reuse. And whatever possible recycle. Use products that use less packaging and recyclable packaging. We know the extent which we are conscious of recycling. That consciousness is close to zilch. Teach people in your locality the importance of doing this. Merely by recycling you could save hundreds of kilo grams of carbon dioxide emission.

2. Use Less Air ConditioningIf you properly insulate the walls and roof of your house you will find that you will need to spend less power to keep your house cool.

3. Use Proper Light BulbsIf you switch to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs from conventional incandescent light bulbs you will find that you not only cut back the heat generated by about 70% you will also save about 80% in power consumption.

4. Drive Less Walk MoreWhenever possible walk. This not only helps you to burn calories it will result in burning less fossil fuel. If you must drive plan your outing in such a way that you will use the shortest/ least congested routes. For every litre of fuel you don’t use you will be emitting proportionately less carbon dioxide. Also make sure that your vehicle is also fuel efficient and makes optimum use of fuel.

5. Buy Energy-Efficient ProductsWhen you buy any product that is driven by electricity or fosil fuel, make sure you select the one that uses the least power.

6. Learn to Switch OffWhenever you enter a room you know how to switch on the light. But every time you leave a room you don’t turn off the light. Turn off the light every time you leave a room. It saves you money because of the power you save and you will reduce the amount of heat generated.

7. Treat the one-family-one-tree philosophy more seriously. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Their benefit to man is invaluable. Organize a community tree planting programme.

8. Solar AppliancesYou may not know it, but there are quite a few solar appliances available. Wherever possible use them. This will result in a lot of power saving.

9. Make the people in your sphere of influence aware of the dangers of global warming and the importance of the little things you can do to bring the situation under control and possibly even reverse the trend.

Global Warming

The following is an excerpt from Joseph L. Blast's article published in Heartland Perspectives:
August 2007 may go down in the history of science as the month when scientific research made a decisive turn away from dubious warnings of climate catastrophes and toward a much different thesis, that the modern warming is moderate and not man-made.
First, NASA acknowledged it had accidentally inflated its official record of surface temperatures in the U.S. beginning with the year 2000. The revised data show 1998 falling to second place behind 1934 as the warmest year, followed by 1921, 2006, 1931, 1999, and 1953. Four of the top 10 years on record are now from the 1930s, before human emissions could have been responsible, while only three of the top 10 (1998, 2006, 1999) are from the past 10 years.
The entire article can be read As a matter-of-fact, I encourage you to check out where they have published many fantastic articles on 'Global Warming' and the misinformation being propogated in the name of science.


Another group that is publishing articles contrary to public opinion is the where the following quote can be found:
The cover of Time magazine's April 3, 2006 issue tells readers to "be very worried" about climate change. The issue features a "special report" on global warming. The cover shows a polar bear on a patch of ice amidst much water and many smaller patches, conveying the impression that the bear's habitat is literally melting away.
True to its sensationalistic cover, Time's special report is not a "report" but a diatribeĆ¢€”one-sided advocacy from start to finish. Scientists who take a non-alarmist view of global warming do not get a word in edgewise. Neither do economists who view the costs of regulatory climate policies as out of all proportion to their benefits, if any. Time, one of the world's most respected news.
-- Think about your environment responsibility before you perform an action.AVOID PLASTICS!!! GROW TREES!!! SAVE NATURE!!!

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