Consumer culture undermines your well-being
Our unlimited wants, unending needs, uncontrolled spending, unnecessary buys and unbridled acquisitions have all resulted in one thing – an unhappy life, social scientists warn.These findings emerge at a time when the consumer culture has reached a fever pitch, comments Myers, also the author of the 2000 book, The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty.
Owning more things and accruing more wealth may provide only a partial fix; it does not ensure long-term happiness. Research shows that when people fulfil their lives around extrinsic goals such as product acquisition, they report greater unhappiness in relationships, poorer moods and more psychological problems.
Owning more things and accruing more wealth may provide only a partial fix; it does not ensure long-term happiness. Research shows that when people fulfil their lives around extrinsic goals such as product acquisition, they report greater unhappiness in relationships, poorer moods and more psychological problems.
Prevent food poisoning
Many common diseases of the intestines are spread through food. Sometimes people who harvest, handle, or prepare food pass germs from their hands into the food. Sometimes germs and moulds in the air begin to grow in the food and it goes bad (spoils). This happens when food is not stored or cooked properly, or when it gets old.
Drowsy driving as dangerous as drinking and driving
Similar to the way drinking and driving emerged as a road safety issue, impairment by fatigue, or drowsy driving is fast becoming a major concern worldwide. It can be just as deadly as drinking and driving, or unsafe speed.
According to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), sleep and fatigue often leave no clues for investigators to trace. Unlike alcohol-related crashes, no blood, breath, or other test is currently available to determine levels of sleepiness at the time of a crash. This leaves investigators with little hard data on which to base a conclusion of fatigue or sleep as a cause or contributing factor.
Despite the data limitations, the TSB estimates about 5% of fatal crashes are firmly established as being caused by drowsy driving. Experts suggest the actual number may be as high as 20% to 40%. And that makes drowsy driving as dangerous as drinking and driving, which accounts for approximately 24% of all victims in vehicle fatalities.
Disposing of household nasties - safely
Wondering what to do with all those chemical nasties lurking in your cupboards? Here's how to dispose of them safely.
Next time you have a big clean-up, stop and consider what happens to all those old medicines, pesticides, pool chemicals, cleaners, paint thinners and batteries after you've thrown them in the bin or down the sink, or hosed them down the gutter.
Children more susceptible to environmental carcinogens
Children are more vulnerable to carcinogens than are adults. Children have many more years of life ahead of them after a toxic exposure in which to develop a tumour.
Malignant transformation is a slow process. Children's ability to detoxify environmental chemicals is not fully developed. They lack certain mechanisms possessed by adults that enhance the removal of toxic chemicals from the body.
Thus children's exposures to environmental carcinogens must be minimised.
Malignant transformation is a slow process. Children's ability to detoxify environmental chemicals is not fully developed. They lack certain mechanisms possessed by adults that enhance the removal of toxic chemicals from the body.
Thus children's exposures to environmental carcinogens must be minimised.
