The Nation’s First Eco-Friendly Childcare Center

In April, the first entirely eco-friendly childcare center opened in Atlanta. FIO360 is green from the building itself to the toys and resources used within.

Founder Crissy Klaus named the center after the Latin root word FIO, meaning “to become.” Then she took it to the next level, building her center on the site of a former hazardous waste plant and making it green.

Visitors to the building where blue bootie shoe coverings to ensure that no chemicals are tracked in to the place.

The Atlanta center has no PVC plastic products, only natural and organic toys, floors that emit radiant heat and environmentally friendly cleaning products and naptime is on custom-made organic mattresses free of formaldehyde and other chemicals. They even have an in-house organic chef using hormone free and organic foods to prepare meals. The building was not officially LEED certified, but the owners claim that they surpassed the government’s LEED standards for green building.

Kids start the day with an affirmation, take yoga lessons and recycling classes, and then round out the afternoon with a massage to help them sleep.

Although the Atlanta owners claim to be the first “eco-early care” center, The Oregon Environmental Council put together an Eco-Healthy Childcare program encouraging centers to take measures like buying only nontoxic art supplies, restricting aerosol sprays and chlorine bleach, and no wall-to-wall carpeting to address parents rising concerns about the environment and the health of their children. And in New York, Creative Environment Day Care has courses that teach the center’s 120 children about their role in the environment and their interaction with different ecosystems.

Hopefully, the trend towards eco-friendly childcare will take off across the United States.

Eco-jewelry to Commemorate Your Special Event

June is traditionally the most popular time of year to wed. So if you are tying the knot this wedding season, or anytime for that matter, consider eco-jewelry to celebrate your nuptials or any other special occasion you have.

Mining for precious metals and stones has come under fire not only for the potentially irresponsible and inhumane practices the business of mining can perpetrate but because mining also presents an environmental hardship on the earth. By purchasing jewelry from socially responsible sources like greenKarat.com or estate jewelry, you can help stem the tide of ecologically and socially irresponsible mining practices.

Gold mining produces an eco-hazard from start to finish, from the roads built to lead to the mines to the extraction process, both of which damage the delicate ecosystems and biodiversity in the vicinity of the mines. Frequently, miners will use the toxic materials, mercury and cyanide in order to separate gold from the rock. The mercury and cyanide then leak into the environment, harming not only the natural world, but often the miners as well as they inhale toxic fumes from the substances. Until better mining practices and reclamation processes are put into place, buy jewelry made of recycled metal and gemstones.

When you buy recycled jewelry from a responsible source like greenKarat, you can learn about the recycling process and what you can expect from your jewelry. GreenKarat also lets you pay a voluntary Carbon Offset Tax to offset any emissions that occur when making your jewelry that they pay forward to an organization in keeping with their goals.

Recycling metals helps eliminate the need for mining for new metals and the environmental harms it produces.

Study Shows Happiness Comes From Giving

In an unlikely news story squeezed in somewhere between high oil prices and
Obama/Clinton drama, the journal Science published a study that showed how money
relates to happiness. As it turns out, it isn’t the amount we have, but what we do with it
that has a large impact on our happiness.

A group of college students were split into two and each given an amount of $5 or $20
after being asked how happy they were. Group A was told to spend the money on
anything they want for themselves, while B was to purchase gifts for others, or donate to
charitable causes. At the end of the day, the students were again questioned how happy
they were.

The results showed that those who spent the money on others were significantly happier
than those who bought items for themselves. Perhaps more surprising, the amount of
money the students were given didn’t seem to matter at all.

Elizabeth Dunn, one of the authors of the study and a professor of psychology at the
University of British Columbia in Canada, reported, “This suggests that even making
really small changes in how one spends money can make a difference for happiness.”
She was also involved in a study that tracked the happiness levels of 16 employees who
received a profit-sharing bonus. Again, the results were the same.

Yet another study reveals how completely unaware we may be of the basic teaching, “it’s
better to give than to receive.” Dunn and her colleagues asked another group of college
kids what they thought would make them happier if given the two choices on how to
spend money. The vast majority responded with spending money on themselves.
Eric Weiner of NPR commented on Dunn’s research recently, signing off by saying
“Apparently there is a large chasm between what we think will make us happy and what
actually does.”

I doubt science will ever be able to explain that “chasm.” That seems to be up to us to
learn.

The World Is More Peaceful In 2008

The global thinktank the Institute for Economics and Peace conducted an index
measuring internal and external conflict in 140 countries. “The world appears to be a
marginally more peaceful place this year,” said Steve Killelea, the Australian technology
entrepreneur and founder of the Global Peace Index. “This is encouraging, but it takes
small steps by individual countries for the world to make greater strides on the road to
peace.”
Iceland was found to be #1 most peaceful country on the list. Ingibjor Solrun
Gisladottiir, Iceland’s minister of foreign affairs, accepted the honor saying, “We are
very pleased that the index confirms the core values of a small democratic society in the
north which has never had a military and has effectively practiced peace for hundreds of
years.” The Guardian UK notes that Iceland has the lowest proportion of its citizens in
jail of all 140 countries surveyed.
To no surprise, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan took the bottom of the index, while several
larger, richer countries seemed to place in the middle. France ranked at #36 and the
United Kingdom at #49, and the United States barely broke the top 100 at #97. Like in
previous indexes, Scandinavian countries continued to rank favorably. The only G8
representative to make it in the top 10 was Japan. Indonesia, Angola, and India showed
the most improvements in moving away from internal and external turmoil, with all three
ranking higher than in previous years.
The survey concludes that on average, political instability, terrorism, and violent crime
are somewhat better in 2008. In contrast, however, the world’s armed services have
grown on average per country, as has the sophistication of weaponry.
Sponsor Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated that business could play a major part in
bringing peace to troubled areas, as the survey seems to indicate. “You ultimately can’t
have business where you have conflict,” he said. “So it is in the nature of self-interest to
promote the kind of circumstances and the kind of environment where you can carry out
your business when there is peace.”

Earth and Titan Shadow Twins?

You say water, I say methane. The planet Titan is so similar to Earth that scientists are calling it our planet’s “shadow twin.” Geological traits such as volcanism, tectonics, erosion, wind activity forming dunes, and bodies of water parallel Earth’s make-up. The main difference is that Titan is cold enough to make the majority of its liquid solid, with methane being the water’s main ingredient. The surface is made up of methane bodies of liquid, which collects when it rains. “There’s about 40% relative humidity of methane,” says Sushil Atreya from the University of Michigan, which also makes it a clear parallel to Earth.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named some of Titan’s lakes after similar bodies of water in Australia, Canada and Ethiopia, such as Lake Ontario. Its river valleys are also similar, possibly even spouting vegetation. The three layers making up its troposphere, ionosphere and stratosphere all compliment Earth’s model. There are significant differences, however. Titan holds possibly 1,000 times more liquid hydrocarbons in its lakes than in all oil wells combined on Earth. It also has the possibility of a hundred times more coal supply.

Titan has always been a bit of mystery to planetary researchers, but now its details are emerging after the Cassini-Huygens mission, dually funded by Europe and the US. The mission landed a craft on the illusive planet, allowing access to pictures and data of its neighboring planet Saturn, and its 60 moons. There are many reasons to further explore the planet. "This combination of liquid water in the interior plus complex organic molecules composes two big ingredients for life - certainly life as we know it,” says researcher Ralph Lorenz. An ocean of water could be lying below Titan’s surface.

Scientists hope to further invest in Titan’s possibilities; possibly deploying balloons and other landers to sample it’s hydrocarbon levels, and snapping sharper radar images of the twin planet.

China Boosts Entertainment Production

Beijing, along with the rest of China’s booming metropolis, is using every opportunity this August to expand their media market. With the Olympics quickly approaching, China’s TV stations and film companies are feeling the pressure. Concentrating on their homegrown market, China is showcasing new TV dramas, animation series’, TV films and documentaries, hoping to gain some fans in the international circuit. Boosting production and screening more films at festivals like Cannes than ever before is helping them get the word out.

“Our major goal is to open the international market for Chinese TV products and to learn the taste of overseas audiences,” says Wang Qiao, sales staff member of the overseas department at China Intl. Television Corp. There seems to be a real focus on domestic products other than international according to CITC.

However, Wings Media, part of the Shanghai Media Group, plans on buying English-language products to support its recent English-language branch. But domestic shows such as manufactured copycats like “Super Girl,” a play on U.S. hit “American Idol,” reign supreme. They’ve found their niche in rehashing American shows including renaming “Ugly Betty” “Invincible Ugly Woman.” A localized version of CBS Paramount’s “America’s Next Top Model” also rules their airwaves.

The Chinese government is cracking down on censorship laws with an “antivulgarity campaign against all manner of content it considers inappropriate.” This leaves room for more family and period dramas, which have been the most consistent successes in Chinese television. The country’s roughly new media market will be put to the test this summer.

Bats Mysteriously Die, Scientists Ask Why

Bewildered scientists have been trying to decipher a reason why half a million bats may die soon in Northeast America. You may be thinking, I don’t like bats anyway, but many animals may be in danger for the same reason. Speculations include a possible infectious disease, which makes scientists worried it could spread to other species during migration season.

25 caves were found infected this year within only a 135-mile radius. Bats have recently been found dead, lying on house decks, roofs and lawns. Scientists are worried there may be a disruption in the natural balance, and have compared it to the mass deaths of honeybees in North America. The bats appear to have what scientists are calling “white nose syndrome,” a white fungus that attaches to their noses. Besides the white noses, the bats also starve to death. But these are the only two facts researchers have to go by.

Now, every kind of scientist from pathologists, to toxicologists to biologists is searching for an answer why, and feels an urgency to do so. “We’ve got to find an answer, and in so many ways we don’t know where to start,” admitted Susi von Oettingen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The fear of the unknown seems to cause the most worry.

After an autopsy they found no irregular pattern in the bat’s cells, which makes it hard to determine whether the deaths are caused by a specific virus or parasite. The facts also indicate that the bats may be immune to what eventually kills them. Needless to say, this made scientists realize they don’t even know enough about healthy hibernating bats to compare the situation. Tom Kunz from Boston University has been studying bats for over 40 years, and he can’t even figure it out. “We need to know so much more about their ecology and physiology,” he says.

There are lots of theories from bystanders, including government planes spraying chemicals and electromagnetic radiation from cell phone towers. Kunz believes it might have something to do with having an inability for bats to jump-start their immune system after hibernation. It may be a case of having to train themselves a certain way. But whatever the cause, scientists are conducting numerous expeditions as we speak, working around the clock to find the answer, because the end result could mean something much bigger than just saving bats. It could mean preventing a natural epidemic.

OPAL Contains AIDS Virus

Scientists have discovered a new treatment that may control the AIDS virus. The treatment trains infected cells in the body to recognize the disease and trigger its effectiveness. After tested on Macaques, the disease proved to be fully contained, though not cured. The test monkeys were injected with a virus called SIV. (Simian immunodeficiency virus)

OPAL (Overlapping Peptide-pulsed Autologous Cells) involves mixing a patient’s blood cells with part of the virus’s protein. The cells are then reinstated into the patients system. Stephen Kent of the University of Melbourne, Australia, invented the treatment by taking peptides from the virus “and placed them in lab dishes with both whole blood and isolated immune system cells,” Reuters reports.

"The immunotherapy resulted in fewer deaths from AIDS. We conclude this is a promising immunotherapy technique. Trials in HIV-infected humans of OPAL therapy are planned,” Kent wrote in his report.

One of the deadliest viruses on earth, AIDS has infected over 33 million people in the world. 25 million of those have died since it was first discovered in the 1980’s. OPAL isn’t the first treatment patients of the virus have tried. There are mixtures of pills certain people take, such as AZT, but they unfortunately have side effects, are highly toxic and are hard to maintain financially for the average citizen.

The OPAL immunotherapy is expected to last longer, and better, by strengthening the AIDs specific CD4 T cells, therefore containing the virus. Not to mention it’s much more cost effective. Treatments should start immediately after an infection occurs.

Ways to Save Energy in the Kitchen on a Budget

We all know the major ways how we should be saving energy in our home; changing out our old, inefficient appliances for energy-saving ones, like those provided by Energy Star or using LED bulbs instead of traditional or CFL bulbs. But these changes can put a serious dent in the bank account, at least initially until you start seeing a significant savings in energy bills over a period of time. Some of the biggest wastes of energy in a home come from kitchen appliances. For those who want to make changes but can’t afford a large initial cash output, Virginia Lacy, a Consultant with the Energy & Resources Team at Rocky Mountain Institute, suggests trying the following steps in your kitchen:

Oven

* Don't open the oven door to check on a dish — use the oven light instead (20 percent of the heat can be lost each time you open the oven door).

* Keep preheating to a minimum.

* Turn the oven off before cooking is complete (depending on the dish, up to 15 minutes). The heat in the oven will continue to cook the dish until finished.

* If you need to self-clean the oven, plan to do it after cooking a meal while the oven is already hot, requiring less energy to raise the temperature to a higher level.

Stovetop

* Match the pan size to the element size.

* Use the least amount of water and the smallest size pan possible. Otherwise you're wasting energy to heat up excess metal or excess water.

Refrigerator

* Let hot foods cool to room temperature before putting them in the fridge. Otherwise the fridge works even harder to bring the temperature down.

* Keep the freezer full. The more air you displace with food and beverages, the less cold air you lose when you open the freezer door.

Dishwasher

* Run the dishwasher when full; it requires the same amount of energy for a full load as it does for a half load.

* Use the "no heat" drying option.

* Don't wash dishes twice. Although it depends upon the age of your dishwasher, most dishwashers can get your dishes clean without rinsing them first by hand.

Other appliances

* Plug countertop appliances into a power strip that can be turned off after use, saving the energy that would be used by the appliances when in "standby mode." (Depending upon how often you use your microwave, the microwave's digital clock could use more energy than the microwave oven itself.)

* You can also simply unplug appliances when you're done using them.

These simple steps not only help the planet, but will also save money off of your utility bills.

RecycleBank.com Rewards for Recycling

For people on the East Coast, there is a new reason to recycle. RecycleBank.com rewards customers with up to $35 a month for recycling. They even pick up your recyclables right from your curb.

RecyleBank is currently available in cities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, Nebraska, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York and have continued plans for expansion. RecyleBank.com is an incentive program to get customers to recycle, “ RecycleBank rewards you for home recycling. Your RecycleBank Recycling Container has a barcode that is identified by the recycling truck. The amount recycled is translated into RecycleBank Reward Points that you can use to shop at hundreds of participating stores.”

Stores and business connected to RecycleBank also benefit from being connected to the RecycleBank program as it shows their customers their commitment to their community as well as provides them with positive advertising, not to mention having a positive effective on the environment as well as generating more jobs.

According to the Letter from the Founders found on the RecycleBank website, there are three primary goals for RecycleBank:

Dramatically increase recycling rates

Promote socially responsible businesses

Generate savings for municipalities by avoiding landfill disposal fees.

RecycleBank’s continued expansion is encouraging because one of the biggest problems with recycling is a lack of participation and as they continue to expand, recycling participation will hopefully increase as well.

Remote Area Medical (RAM) Provides Healthcare to Forgotten Areas

According to the RAM website, “The vision for Remote Area Medical® developed in the Amazon rain forest where founder Stan Brock spent 15 years with the Wapishana Indians. He lived with the pain and suffering created by isolation from medical care. He witnessed the near devastation of whole tribes by what would have been simple or minor illnesses to more advanced cultures. When he left South America to co-star in the television series, "Wild Kingdom, " he vowed to find a way to deliver basic medical aid to people in the world's inaccessible regions.”

R.A.M. was founded in 1985 as a vast network of volunteers from the medical and dental professions who, along with volunteer pilots and aircraft, provide much needed healthcare to denizens of remote locales who don’t have access to medical care. The organization even provides veterinary care. All professionals travel at their own expense to treat hundreds of patients a day under grueling and difficult conditions.

Recently, R.A.M. was featured on 60 Minutes, because although the organization was founded to treat people in remote and underdeveloped areas of the world, they have recently been doing a lot of volunteering in the United States. Although many states don’t allow medical practioners to practice in states where they are not licensed, some, especially in the South, do and R.A.M. has held events in those areas so that people who do not have health insurance can get medical attention from donated supplies and volunteers. Lately, more and more free healthcare clinics have been held in the United States even though the organization was designed to help those overseas.

Hopefully, the healthcare industry in the United States will soon change and R.A.M can get back overseas, doing the work it was founded to do.

Canada Approves Biofuels

Despite growing concerns about the connection between biofuels and the current world hunger crisis, Canada's plan to ensure that gasoline contains 5 percent ethanol by 2010 and diesel to contain 2 percent renewable fuels by 2012,has passed in the House of Commons.

According to an article on Reuters, Canada has 16 ethanol plants using corn and wheat built or under construction, according to industry data, with a total capacity of 1.6 billion liters.

There are currently three biodiesel plants with a combined capacity of 97 million liters, mainly using animal fats. A plant that would produce 225 million liters of biodiesel from canola oil is under construction in Alberta.

The Conservative House must still finalize the plan, but it most likely will, before it goes through the Liberal-dominated Senate.

Human Footprint: See What a Lifetime of Consumption Looks Like

The National Geographic Channel’s new show, Human Footprint, lays out each item that a person will consume in a lifetime, all at once. According to the show’s site, found at http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/human-footprint/?sicontent=0&sicreative=1005935272&siclientid=804&sitrackingid=28122600&ngc=57, “Using science and revelatory visual events, NGC delivers an extraordinary personal audit of how much of the world's resources each of us consumes, illustrating the average American's human footprint.”

The Human Footprint covers each aspect of human consumption, from production to consumption to being discarded, focusing mostly on the discarding process and the size of the impact of everything from eating a hamburger to packaging wrappers.

At the Human Footprint website, you can learn how your discarded waste impacts the earth and how it is destroyed and what impact that makes, whether your trash is discarded in a landfill or burned. Did you know that Americans discard four-fifths of a ton of trash per person, per year?

You can also learn about the benefits of recycling and how buying recycled goods is beneficial. The site provides blogs and videos that provide visual aids to go along with the information provided.

Elizabeth Vargas, the host of Human Footprint, says on the show’s blog, “I hope that everyone watching this show can see that as each of us has an impact, each of us has a footprint, hosts human Footprint. We also each have a responsibility to monitor our consumption and work on reducing our footprint. I know that every new fact I learned has helped me to look at my household and ways that we can reduce our consumption.”

The site is linked to the entire National Geographic Channel, including their extensive Green Guide. Tips on reducing your carbon footprint appear alongside articles about the impact waste makes.

The next airing of Human Footprint is scheduled for Sunday, April 20^th at 1p.m.

Building Green

When you begin a construction project or renovate or even just redecorate, use green building materials to benefit not only the environment but the health of its inhabitants.

According to GreenBuilding.com, “Green building is a design and construction process that promotes the economic health and well-being of your family, the community and the environment. A smart step towards personal economic rewards, Green Building also has positive social and environmental ramifications that assert your commitment to the future and the way we live for years to come.” GreenBuilding.com also has a fact list of the environmental and personal harms that come from traditional building practices, including:

Water:

• Older toilets use 3.7-7 gallons per flush

• Dishwashers use 8-14 gallons per cycle

• Top-loading washers use 45 gallons/load

• A dripping faucet waste 15-21 gallons per day

• US water users withdraw enough water to fill a line of Olympic-size swimming pools reaching around the world EVERY DAY (300 billion gallons)

• Although our planet is 71 percent water, humans depend on a mere .65 percent of the water for survival – much of which is polluted.

• About a quarter of the nation’s largest industrial plants and water treatment facilities are in serious violation of pollution standards at any one time.

• An estimated 7 million Americans are made sick annually by contaminated tap water; in some rare cases this results in death.

Indoor Air Quality:

• US EPA ranks indoor air pollution among top five environmental risks. Unhealthy air is found in up to 30% of new and renovated buildings

• W.H.O. reports that indoor air pollution causes 14 times more deaths than outdoor air pollution (2.8 million lives)

• Of hundreds of EPA-regulated chemicals, only ozone and sulfur dioxide are more prevalent outdoor than indoors
• 20 percent of all housing in the US has too much lead dust or chippings (causes kidney and red blood cell damage, impairs mental and physical development, may increase high blood pressure)

Wood:

• Although the US is home to only 4.5 percent of the global population, it is responsible for over 15 percent of the world’s consumption of wood.

Pesticides:

• In the US, pesticides poison 110,000 people each year. More than one-third of calls to animal poison control centers result from pets exposed to pesticides.

• The volatile organic compounds (including pesticides) found indoors are believe to cause 3,000 cases of cancer a year in the US.

• According to the New York State Attorney General’s office, 95 percent of the pesticides used on residential lawns are considered probable carcinogens by the EPA

• 2,4-D—a component of Agent Orange—is used in about 1,500 lawn care products

By following Green Building practices, like those set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which can be found at www.usgbc.org/LEED/ you can reduce much of the energy waste and avoid the health and environmental contaminants of traditional building.

Ways to Save on Water Usage

We all know that water is Earth’s most precious resource and having an ample supply of clean drinking water is key. Here are some tips provided by AboutMyPlanet.com for World Water Day, which has come and gone on March 22, but is still good to remember year round:

1. Consider cutting a little water usage from your morning routine. Keeping a timer in your bathroom will remind you to wrap up and get out of the shower faster.

2. If a home renovation is in the cards, splurge on low-flow and water-efficient appliances they'll save you money in the long-run. A front-loading washing machine, for example, uses 40-60% less water than top-loading machines.

3. A new toilet can save you water too, but if you can't install a low-flow toilet, reduce the amount of water used by placing a jar or other closed container full of water into your toilet tank.

4. Install low-flow shower heads and sink spigots, which can both be purchased at your local hardware store, or contact your water utility company to find out if they distribute them for free.

5. When running the dishwasher, make sure it's full to get the maximum use per drop. There's no need to pre-rinse, since most of today's models can handle any kind of grime.

6. Check for--and hastily repair-- leaky pipes and faucets. The tiniest leak has far greater impact than you'd think.

7. Don't use your sinks and drains as trashcans, and dispose of oil and other toxic materials properly. Just one gallon of oil reaching the sewer can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water.

8. Reduce water use in your own yard: Try collecting rainwater by placing containers at the end of each gutter. It's perfect for watering your garden; water your lawn or garden in the morning or the evening when the water will evaporate less rapidly, and limit pesticide use, as they'll eventually be carried into our freshwater supply by runoff.

9. Take the easy way out and hit the car wash. A car wash typically uses about 32 gallons of water per vehicle, but the EPA estimates that washing it yourself can use up to 500 gallons of water.

10. Take advantage of recreation opportunities on local lakes and rivers, and learn about the wildlife they support. It will help you understand what we could lose if we don't manage our water wisely.

These tips will also help your wallet: as you lose less water, you should see your water bill lessen as well.

The Humble Potato May be the Solution to the World Food Crisis

The rise in food prices has affected the entire planet, especially third world countries like Egypt and Haiti, where the high cost of food has already lead to violence and riots.

A variety of factors have been blamed for the food crisis all over the world, including the rise in fuel and energy prices and increased demand in countries with suddenly booming economies, like India and China, as well as climate changes wreaking havoc on crops, a lot of farmers have changed their crops from food to fuel, speculating on the interest in alternative fuels. The solution then, would be a crop that is not being used as an alternative fuel, like the potato.

To focus attention on this, the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable a "hidden treasure."

Potatoes are native to Peru, and can be grown at almost any elevation or climate: from the barren, frigid slopes of the Andes Mountains to the tropical flatlands of Asia. They require very little water, mature in as little as 50 days, and can yield between two and four times more food per hectare than wheat or rice. The humble tuber is less expensive than wheat or rice and provides excellent nutrition in the hungry world.

Despite the bad rap potatoes get in the Western World for being carb-heavy, potatoes have a lot of nutrition, including being just 110 calories significantly less than wheat, has nearly half of the Daily Value of vitamin C and are one of the best sources of potassium and fiber, in addition to having more protein than corn and nearly twice the calcium when boiled.

Interest in alternative fuel sources has led many of the world’s farmers to speculate on their crops, using their fields for biofuel crops like corn and wheat, rather than food crops, which has been part of the food crisis. The potato is now being investigated to help with food security.

In Peru, the government has instituted a program encouraging baker’s to use potato flour, rather than wheat flour in an effort to bypass the high cost of wheat. Potato bread is being used to feed everyone from school children to prisoners and the military in the hope the trend will catch on to the masses. Although potatoes originated in Peru, Peruvians eat significantly less potatoes than European countries.

The developing world is where most new potato crops are being planted, and as consumption rises poor farmers have a chance to earn more money. Potatoes do not have a lot of speculative interest in the global economy because they are difficult to transport without getting blight. But thanks to experiments in German engineering, virus-free potatoes are on the way, making transport and sell of potatoes on the global food market a more real possibility and a potential solution to the problems the food crisis has brought about.

Unique Turtle Discovered in Vietnam

There is good news for the Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle species because one of them has been discovered in the wilds of Vietnam by researchers from a Cleveland zoo.

Swinhoe's soft-shell turtles, a rare species of giant turtle, were previously thought to be extinct in the wild, although there are three in captivity according to experts from he Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Asian turtle program.

The zoo’s Asian turtle program seeks to protect rare species of turtles, which have become extinct in the wild due to killing them for food or to make traditional medicines out of their bones. It is also believed that development and pollution in and near the lakes and habitats of the creatures have led to their demise as well.

In Vietnam, there is a national legend that in the 16^th century, a giant golden turtle gave the Vietnamese a victory over the Chinese by giving the people a magic sword. Now, in a village west of Hanoi, some people have claimed that by sighting the giant turtle in their lake, that they have been blessed. In downtown Hanoi, the lake of the legend is home to one of the captive Swinhoe’s soft-shell turtles.

There may also be Swinhoe soft-shell turtle living in Southern China, which was caught on film by an amateur photographer shortly before the discovery was made in Vietnam.

According to turtle expert Peter Pritchard, president of the Chelonian Research Institute, "It's on the very brink of extinction, so every one counts.”