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Coffee Talk is
Wellcorps
International's
quick scan of the
latest news and
developments in
emerging health and
science, politics
and environmental
activities. Be sure
to tune in regularly
for News To Use at
the office or in
class, and don't
forget to use the
convenient
click-through links
to PDFs and websites
— your source for
facts behind the
headlines!
Pharma-Crops — Do
You Know What's
Growing In Your
State?
Most of the
genetically
engineered (GE)
crops currently on
the market are food
or feed crops that
have been modified
for agronomic
purposes — to better
repel pests or to be
compatible with
chemical pesticides.
A new generation of
crops is now being
modified for
different purposes —
to produce medicines
or industrial
compounds such as
plastics.
Many of these
substances are being
produced in corn and
other food crops
visually
indistinguishable
from their
non-industrial
counterparts.
Contamination of
food crops with
drugs or industrial
chemicals could
occur through seed
mixing and
cross-pollination.
The potential
contamination of
food crops with the
hundreds, if not
thousands, of drugs
or industrial
compounds promised
by this industry
poses new and
serious risks to the
safety of the food
system.
Pharmaceutical and
industrial compounds
also pose
potentially serious
risks if released
into the
environment.
In July 2008, the US
Department of
Agriculture (USDA)
released its
long-awaited draft
Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) on
the regulation of
genetically-engineered
(GE) organisms, and
presents a ban on
food crops as one
option for
overseeing
pharmaceutical and
industrial crops.
This report also
presents a weaker
option which many
scientists believe
could be
catastrophic for
human health.
Take time to
understand this very
important health
issue by reading
this report as well
as the Union of
Concerned Scientists
position paper. What
is decided in the
coming months will
have far-reaching
impacts on human
health and
international trade
consequences,
potentially
affecting the United
States' ability to
ship food crops
abroad and your
family's well-being.
USDA Introduction of
Genetically
Engineered Organisms
— Draft
Environmental Impact
Statement July 2007
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/USDAGMOIS.pdf
Union of Concerned
Scientists Position
Paper —
Pharmaceutical and
Industrial Crops
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/UCSPharmaAndIndustrialCrops.pdf
Nanoparticles In
Your Favorite
Cosmetics & Skin
Care — Beauty And
The Beast?
It seemed like a
great idea on the
surface — making
sunscreen in skin
care and cosmetics
products more easily
applied and less
noticeable on the
skin. However,
leading scientists
are now raising
serious concerns
about nanosized
particles in some of
the country's
leading brands.
Zinc oxide and
titanium dioxide are
two of the materials
utilized in
sunscreen products
to reflect the
skin-damaging rays
of the sun away from
the body. In earlier
formulations, these
ingredients would
give products a
white, hard-to-mask
look on the skin.
Today, these
ingredients along
with a host of other
chemicals, are being
produced on a
nanoscale of size,
so that application
goes on in one,
smooth stroke,
leaving no visible
residue.
What concerns
research scientists
is that in the age
of nanotechnology,
what you put on your
skin is actually
going through your
skin.
Nanoparticles are so
small that they
easily penetrate the
various layers of
skin, migrating
through cell walls
directly into
capillaries. From
capillaries these
tiny particles, some
of which are
metallics and
minerals, enter
blood vessels, and
from blood vessels
flow directly into
arteries. Once
inside arteries,
these nanoparticles
travel throughout
the body. In fact,
so small are these
'revolutionary
advancements in skin
care technology'
they are able to
pass through the
blood-brain barrier,
accumulating in
brain tissue. Some
scientists fear the
resulting damage to
human health will
far exceed that of
fat-laden diets on
arterial structures,
and potentially
result in an
exponential rise in
Alzheimer's- and
Parkinson's-like
diseases due to
brain damage from
the accumulation of
these nanosized
particles.
Before you apply
that lipstick, eye
shadow and cosmetic
base, be sure you
know exactly what is
in the cosmetics of
your choice. If the
product insert and
packaging does not
indicate the exact
compounds and
chemistry of the
product, contact the
manufacturer and
make certain your
favorite fashion
accessory is not a
smooth-finished
ticket to future
health challenges.
Wi-Fi & Mobile Phone
Usage —
Convenience or
'Asbestos of the
21st Century'?
With Wi-Fi hot spots
as numerous as
coffee shops and
mobile phones fast
becoming the only
way kids
communicate, more
and more science is
emerging which
points toward the
health hazards of
our wireless
generation.
From cognitive
studies showing that
one 20-second
cellphone call can
disrupt and
interfere with a
child's ability to
learn for up two
hours, to the most
recent September 8th
announcement by
Germany's government
that people should
avoid using Wi-Fi
wherever possible
because of the risks
it may pose to
health, scientists
in every country are
raising concerns
over this widespread
technology.
The warning, from
the EU's European
Environment Agency (EEA)
follows an
international
scientific review
which concluded that
safety limits set
for the radiation
are "thousands of
times too lenient",
and an official
British report last
week which concluded
that it could not
rule out the
development of
cancers from using
mobile phones.
Professor Jacqueline
McGlade, the EEA's
executive director,
said at a conference
on September 16th:
"Recent research and
reviews on the
long-term effects of
radiations from
mobile
telecommunications
suggest that it
would be prudent for
health authorities
to recommend actions
to reduce exposures,
especially to
vulnerable groups,
such as children."
The report suggests
that delay could
lead to a health
crisis similar to
those caused by
asbestos, smoking
and lead in petrol.
The EEA's initiative
will increase
pressure on
governments and
public health bodies
to take
precautionary action
over the
electromagnetic
radiation from
rapidly expanding
new technologies. On
September 8th, the
German government
began advising its
citizens to use
wired internet
connections instead
of Wi-Fi and
landlines instead of
mobile phones.
The scientific
review, produced by
the international
BioInitiative
Working Group of
leading scientists
and public health
and policy experts,
says the "explosion
of new sources has
created
unprecedented levels
of artificial
electromagnetic
fields that now
cover all but remote
areas of the
habitable space on
Earth", causing
"long-term and
cumulative exposure"
to "massively
increased" radiation
that "has no
precedent in human
history".
Check out the latest
news in these
articles and links:
Electrosmog — What
Price Convenience?
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/electrosmog.pdf
Subjective Symptoms,
Sleeping Problems
and Cognitive
Performance In
Subjects Living Near
Mobile Phone Base
Stations
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/CognitivePerformanceMobilePhone.pdf
BioInitiative Report
— A Rationale For A
Biologically-Based
Public Exposure
Standard For
Electromagnetic
Fields (ELF and RF)
http://www.bioinitiative.org/index.htm
Global Climate
Change — Recent
Releases
As our Mercury on
the Mind and Think
Before You Shuffle
articles clearly
point out,
industrialization
and the ill-advised
spread and
uncontrolled
consumption of
technology is having
far-reaching and
negative effects on
human health. Far
from being doomsday
reports, these
investigative and
journalistic pieces
provide alternatives
and solutions
available to
everyone in daily
life.
However, the ability
to change and make
correct decisions
requires information
and education — and
that's not always an
easy task. In the
area of climate
change and emerging
environmental
disasters, and their
dramatic effects on
human civilization,
courageous
individuals are
taking action to
make information
available to
everyone. Here are
two late-breaking
examples.
After three Freedom
of Information
lawsuits against the
Bush White House,
concerned citizens
were finally able to
obtain the
Pentagon's report,
An Abrupt Climate
Change Scenario and
Its Implications for
United States
National Security. A
chilling assessment
of what could happen
in the event of
continued climate
change within the
boundaries of the
United States, and
its global
implications on
regional stability,
this report provides
an excellent
framework for
classroom
discussions and
further research.
The United Nations
predicts that by the
middle of the
century there could
be 150 Million
environmental
refugees. Is this
what President Bush
was referring to
when he finally
released the
Pentagon's report on
global climate
change as he
shrugged and said,
"People will adapt"?
An Abrupt Climate
Change Scenario and
Its Implications for
United States
National Security
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/PentagonOnClimateChange.pdf
Additionally,
Wellcorps
International
invites you and the
people you care
about to support
actor Leonardo
DiCaprio's latest
film, The 11th Hour.
This ground-breaking
presentation,
chronicling the
Earth's plummet by
humankind into
environmental
catastrophe, is a
must-see for the
entire family.
Including many
forward-thinking
environmental
scientists and
sustainable business
leaders, The 11th
Hour is not only a
recap of what has
gone wrong with
humanity's quest for
technology and
globalization, it
provides a hopeful,
right direction for
solving our
immediate
challenges.
Leonardo DiCaprio's
The 11th Hour
http://wip.warnerbros.com/11thhour/
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