Be the Change: Smog

Posted on April 20, 2018April 24, 2018 by Rebecca

Which contributes more to Smog?

Vehicle emissions or household products. The answer will surprise you.

Last summer was an unforgettable summer of fires and lingering smoke in the Pacific Northwest. Having grown up here I can say that weeks of clouds and falling ashes as a result of wildfires is not a normal occurrence. The one exception being the eruption of Mount St. Helen’s in 1980. That’s a different story – and no, I don’t remember it.

On beautiful mornings like this morning, however, I have started noticing a lingering smog through the trees toward the horizon. And since it’s not fire season, I have to wonder if my emerald studded city is going to one day have the air quality that I’ve always associated with Southern California.

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Be the Change: Healthcare Costs

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Rebecca

There’s More to the National Surge of Obesity and Healthcare Costs Than You Think

Obesity and healthCare costs Linked to toxic chemicals

So you want to lose weight. Or you’re concerned about the effects of the ever growing crisis of obesity and the rising healthcare costs that each one of us face as a result. Whether we like it or not, we are beginning to understand that other people’s health affects each one of us now like never before.

The Obesity epidemic is “astronomical,” according to WebMD. Can you even get your mind around that? What does that look like? And with obesity associated with heart disease, cancer and diabetes, healthcare costs are predicted to continue to surge. Not just go up, but SURGE, according to WebMD.

Obesity itself accounts for 21% of annual medical spending. Obesity: Overview of an Epidemic at NCBI confirms that “[obesity] is linked to the most prevalent and costly medical problems seen in our country, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, many forms of cancer, and cognitive dysfunction.” And it affects every level of society.

Can you and I do anything about that? Yes.

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Be the Change, Part 1

Posted on April 3, 2018April 5, 2018 by Rebecca

More Power

Power. Do you wish you had more of it? Do you know you have it but still find yourself wishing for a better world?

If one removes the “P” from “Power” you get “ower” which sounds like “our”. Our Power. Individually we have power, personal power to make our own choices every day and we know these choices direct our lives – what to eat or not eat, who to hang out with, what to read…the choices we make in the course of life are endless. But the power we have together, Our Power, is exponential.

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