:The Flash Advancer

Avoiding Allergies by Use of the Right Native Plants in the Landscape

Many of our most allergenic plants commonly used in landscaping in the United States and Canada are indeed natives. However, it is the manipulation of these plants by commercial horticulture that has, and is, causing most of the huge increases we are now experiencing with allergy problems. Thirty years ago fewer than 10 percent of Americans had allergies. The official figure today is that a whopping 38 percent of us now suffer from allergies.(December 99, American College of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology) Not too many years ago death from asthma was fairly rare. Today it is all too common and is considered epidemic. Asthma has now become the number one chronic childhood disease in America. Furthermore, there is new data coming in recently that shows a strong connection between over-exposure to pollen and or mold spores and increases in other diseases such as heart disease, autism, pneumonia, and reflux disease.

American Elms The landscape tree in most of America for many years was the tall, stately American Elm. The American Elm used to grace the streets of thousands of towns and cities and when DED, Dutch Elm Disease, started to spread and kill off these native elms, the insect-pollinated, perfect-flowered elms were most often replaced with wind-pollinated, unisexual-flowered, street trees. Many things happened because of the big switch from the elms to these other tree species. First, the elm flowers had a rich nectar source and since these trees bloomed very early in the season, at a time when insect food sources were severely limited urban honeybees and butterflies depended on this food source. Since the majority of the street trees used to replace the elms were wind-pollinated, they often lacked these nectaries and supplied no early-season food source. Soon we started to see a rapid decline in the total numbers of urban honeybees and butterflies. There were other factors as well behind this decline, pollution, insecticides, and disease, but the loss of the crucial early-season food sources should not be underestimated. DED spread mostly from East to West across the US and so has the rise in allergy rates. You can actually track the spread of allergy from the decline of the elms. The American Elms, Ulmus americana, did cause a certain amount of low-level, early spring allergy, simply because they were so very common. The over-planting of elms resulted in a lack of biodiversity and set the stage for the massive kill from the DED. We now know that it is always a mistake to use a monoculture, to plant too much of just one species. Diversity is always a good idea in horticulture.

Diversity Biodiversity is the way to go when we are creating landscapes that will limit allergenic exposure. Almost any species of plants can eventually cause allergies if it is over-planted enough. All to often in our urban landscapes of today we see that landscapers have used the same old plants over and over again. This overly simplistic approach to landscaping results in landscapes that lack originality and produce a numbing “sameness” to far too much of our urbanscape. When residential houses are professionally landscaped with the exact same plant materials used to landscape banks, real estate offices, and dentist’s shops, we all lose. Allergy rates today are far worse in urban areas than they are out in the country. Pollen allergies are worse in cities than in the country, despite the fact that there is much more total green matter in the countryside than in the city. Plant selection has been the main problem.

Natives and Urban Landscapes There are many native trees and shrubs used in our landscapes. Maples, oaks, locust, poplars, willows, catalpa, birch, junipers, and many more native species are extensively used. Unfortunately the plant breeders and propagators discovered how to “sex-out” the trees and shrubs. They learned to use only male plants, ironically, as “mother plants,” as the source for their scion wood for asexual propagation. First they just used male plants from the dioecious (separate-sexed) species, but later they learned how to produce all-male clones from species that in Nature were never unisexual (the monoecious species). For example, Honey Locust trees, (Gleditsia triacanthos) are native to our Southeastern US. Look at these trees in the wild and you will see that all of them are almost always covered with long seedpods. But go to a nursery now and look at the Honey Locust trees for sale. The ones on sale now are called “seedless” and they are in effect, all-male clones. What exactly is the effect of using all male cloned trees and shrubs in our landscapes? Very simply, this translates to an excess of allergenic pollen. Only male flowers produce this airborne pollen. Unisexual female flowers produce no pollen.

Why the Emphasis on Male Plants? Horticulturists knew that female plants produced seeds, seedpods, and fruit. This “litter” fell on the sidewalks and created a “mess.” By using only asexually (no sex involved) propagated cultivars (cultivated varieties), they were able to create “litter-free” landscapes. These required less maintenance and were (and still are) very popular with city arborists and the public. In the US today, four of five of the top-selling street tree cultivars are male clones. Female flowers (pistillate) on female trees or shrubs produce an electrical (-) current. Their stigmas are broad and sticky. Airborne pollen from male plants has a negative electrical impulse before release and a positive charge after release, and this pollen is light and dry. Because of the + and - electrical charges the pollen and the stigmas are drawn to each other. They are mutually attractive. Mother Nature saw to it that pollen would land, and stick, exactly where it was needed. Female plants are nature’s pollen traps, our natural air-cleaners. Today though, most of the female plants are long gone from our landscapes. The pollen from the males floats about, seeking a moist, sticky, positive-charged target. We humans emit a positive electrical charge, and our mucus membranes, our eyes, skin and especially the linings of our nose and throat, now trap this wayward pollen. We have become the targets Allergy develops from repeated over-exposure to the same allergens. If your own yard is full of pollen-pumping trees and shrubs, you and your family are the ones who will be exposed the most.

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Dear Hurricano,

I address you by the proper name that we gave to you, before the whiteman, thinking that you are always in a HURRY with a CANE , called you the hurricane. When we first knew you, Hurricano, we thought of you as an angry god that needed appeasement. So we made no little a sacrifice to pacify your anger. Yet, we found no succor from you, and we took your manace as the destiny of these unfortunate islands of West Indies.

Now, I am sitting in my thatched bamboo hut, shivering with cold, my hands spread across the burning firewood on the hearth, and my son arrives in the whiteman’s ship from America, and tells me the heart-breaking things that you are doing there. You have transferred your fury abroad, and the land is now at war with water.

Remember, I call you friend because we first knew you before the coming of the Dons, before Colmbus, and before those lands that you are now lashing your feared watery whips. Not because I cherish your wicked acts.

For you have separated husbands from wives, children from parents, pets from their masters. You have left your hapless victims clinging on rooftops, trees, and mountains. Some have entered boats and sailed to where only God knows.

You have also killed and caused griefs in many homes. You have left widows, widowers, and orphans in your wake. What have these victims done to you, Hurricano? If only you had husband, wife, or children, you would have known what it is to lose a loved one.

I pity you because none shall mourn you when you pass away. And I sympathize more with you because you do not even know whether you are male or female. You have become a wicked nobody.

One thing about you is that you bring the good and bad in human character when you strike. For I hear that there are now hurricane evangelists (gospellers and devils) winning souls for Christ; hurricane organizations (genuine and fake) soliciting donations for victims; hurricane politicians (sincere and insincere) playing hurricane politics; and hurricane writers (hack and seasoned) deploring your deeds.

And more. People are deprived of their life’s property and possessions, and others in fear of you have fled to foreign lands. Those who used to run away from war and violence, now flee from you.

But thank God, because my son says that it is written in the big book called the Bible, that you will soon die! I am telling you this , now, because I know that you will not find the time to read it, being post-haste at all times. Not only you, but your cohorts, the cyclones, the tornadoes, and the typhoons that are tormenting tropical inhabitants; as well as the tsunami that swallow lands, monster tidal waves that wreck ships, and the unpredictable Elnino current, would also perish. If you are destined for “hell,” Hurricano, theirs will be “twin hells.” And then this world would have peace.

Meanwhile, I pray for the survivors of your unwelcome visit. God above, will give them the heart to bear their loss. Just as He has always done to us in these islands after your call.

You know that we have been a brave and enduring race since the days of our great warrior, Crazy Horse. We have seen currents and waves. Our eyes saw storms and tempests. Yet our generation refuses tto die.

I send this letter to you through my son who is returning to America. When you receive it, know that an old friend from a fighting tribe in the Atlantic, is out, fishing at sea, and waiting to confront you with his banana-boat. But if we don’t meet before your death, farewell!

Your friend, Brave Heart.

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, and the author of CHASING SHADOWS! and HOW TO WRITE A BEST-SELLER. For his works, professional services, and free helps for writers, goto: http://controversialwriter.tripod.com Mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com Web search: Arthur Zulu

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Title: WILL GLOBAL WARMING CAUSE ANOTHER NOAH’S FLOOD?

Author: Arthur Zulu
Contact Author: mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com
Copyright: Copyright © Arthur Zulu 2002
Word Count: 632
Web Address: http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975

Publishing Guidelines: Permission is granted to publish this article electronically or in print as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

WILL GLOBAL WARMING CAUSE ANOTHER
NOAH’S FLOOD?

By Arthur Zulu

Man is a very clever animal. For example, he is the only one who knows that the world will end someday, and worries about it. And he is the only creature that can create anything out of a useless thing like ice.

Now, let’s imagine ourselves in a man-made ice theater– floor, roof, and all. We are sitting on chairs made of ice; drinking beer from glasses (made of ice of course), and we are about to watch a play.

What is the play about? The actor, (of course flesh and blood) is going to enter into a mighty cooking pot made of ice. Then he will be covered; and the giant ice cooking pot, suspended by equally giant tripods (made of ice too), is to be
heated by a gigantic fire.

As we the spectators watch to see what happens to the actor, we observe that first, the iced floor begins to crack
as a result of the fire. Then the pot begins to melt, and before we know it, the ice-made glasses on our hands, also begin to melt as a result of the heat.

Suddenly, the roof of the heated ice theater begins to give way and collapse on our heads, and before long, we find ourselves swimming in an ocean of water. So, we the spectators become actors; and birds and all sorts of flying things, become the spectators!

But wait. This is not a play. It is real, and very soon where once used to be our houses, might well become an ocean,
and we all will be swimming for our lives! And if you live in
a coastal city, say New York, London, or Cape Town; you had better start making your ark for another Noah’s flood. But how, you may ask, will this come about?

Over the decades, man has turned up the global thermostat through the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. This has caused climatic upheavals (heavy rain, drought, superkiller winds), and health hazard
(skin cancer).

It has even been speculated that the warming trend could bring about the opposite — global freeze. It happened before in Europe at the end of the Ice Age when a natural warming initiated a phenomenon that shut up the Gulf Stream. Suppose it happens again, and throws us into a deep freeze for say, 2000 years (the previous one in Europe lasted 1,300 years).

What if the former wins out and the polar ice begins a Great meltdown. It has been melting for decades, and several bodies of water have been forming at the Arctic and the Antarctica. And so what?

If you live in Alaska, you will now understand why memorial crosses are collapsing on the tombs in your local cemeteries while the tombs themselves are yawning and displaying their bowels. And you will know why your house is sinking or slanting at a terrible angle, and why your country roads are cracking up.

Even the animals are perplexed as they roam into unexpected lakes (where once used to be ice), and grasslands (where forests once stood). So the marooned polar bear gazing helplessly at the equally marooned countryman knows that the ground on which they are standing is playing games.

Just in case you are skeptical of the global warming trend, you could do one of two things: Find out why ivory gulls are now soaring in the Arctic, the land of polar bears. Or look
up down under and say what caused the gaping holes in Australia.

Yes, there are difficulties in predicting the Greenhouse effect. This is as a result of the roles of some elements –melting ice and snow, clouds, the oceans, volcanoes and solar cycles — in the heating and cooling process of the earth.

But that does not mean that we should take the warming trend as natural, or for granted, because a major climatic change may soon come. Why wouldn’t it come when we continue to burn gasoline and coal without check. Dump the Rio Summit! Forget the Kyoto Protocol! Who cares if a global flood is coming. Let Holland sink. And let Bangladesh go under water. We will all swim!

But not to worry; it may not happen now. It may be the lot of your great great grandchildren, perhaps when the earth had hit 15 or 20 billion. And the little children may find it funny after all.

Imagine 15 or 20 billion dancing boats, with their occupants waving multi - colored farewell flags on a global ocean. Like
a carnival. What a way to exit the planet — the boats become floating coffins; and the ocean their watery graves!

Copyright © 2002, all rights reserved

About the Author:

ARTHUR ZULU, The Most Controversial Writer in the World, is the author of the best - selling book,
HOW TO WRITE A BEST-SELLER. Download your copy and FREE excerpt at :
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975
For FREE writing helps, mailto : controversialwriter@yahoo.com

About the Author

ARTHUR ZULU, The Most Controversial Writer in the World, is the author of the best - selling book,
HOW TO WRITE A BEST-SELLER.

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A new study suggests that moderate exposure to pesticides could yield long-term negative results to the people exposed to them. These findings should serve as warning to those who indiscriminately spray pesticides around the house, exposing their children, pets and other loved ones.

This new research shows that farmers who used agricultural insecticides experienced increased neurological symptoms, even when they were no longer using the products. Data from 18,782 North Carolina and Iowa farmers linked use of insecticides, including organophosphates and organochlorines, to reports of reoccurring headaches, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, hand tremors, numbness and other neurological symptoms. Some of the insecticides addressed by the study are still on the market, but some, including DDT, have been banned or restricted.

These findings will be available online in April, and published in the June issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. The research is part of the ongoing Agricultural Health Study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, two of the National Institutes of Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

“This research is really important because it evaluated the health effects of agricultural chemicals as they were commonly used by farmers. It’s different from previous studies that focused on pesticide poisoning or high dose exposures, for example when large amounts of a chemical were accidentally spilled on the skin,” said Freya Kamel, Ph.D., a researcher for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Researchers found that nearly 3,000 participants had a high lifetime exposure to insecticides–that is, they used insecticides more than 500 days in their lifetime. Nearly 800 of these farmers reported more than 10 neurological symptoms compared to those using insecticides fewer than 50 days. The researchers found no significant association between neurological symptoms and other chemicals, including herbicides or fungicides, and only a weak association between fumigant exposure and neurological symptoms.

Researchers found that nearly 3,000 participants had a high lifetime exposure to insecticides–that is, they used insecticides more than 500 days in their lifetime. Nearly 800 of these farmers reported more than 10 neurological symptoms compared to those using insecticides fewer than 50 days. The researchers found no significant association between neurological symptoms and other chemicals, including herbicides or fungicides, and only a weak association between fumigant exposure and neurological symptoms.

Some of the insecticides used by the licensed farmers over the past 25 years are no longer available commercially. DDT, a well known example of an organochlorine, has been banned for use in the US since 1972. Organophosphates, such as malathion, chlorypyrifos, and diazinon, have been banned or restricted for home and garden use in the US. However, some of the pesticides examined, including carbaryl and some pyrethroids, are available to home gardeners, although in different formulations and in lower concentrations, which may make them less hazardous.

“Because the participants in this study are telling us they have never been previously diagnosed with pesticide poisoning or medically treated for any exposure to any pesticide, we are led to conclude that their symptoms are related to moderate lifetime exposure,” said Dr. Kamel.

Organophosphate insecticides, such as diazinon, disulfoton, azinphos-methyl, and fonofos, are used widely in agriculture and around the house. With over 25,000 brands of pesticides available in the United States, the use of organophosphates is probably more common than most people suspect. Many toxic nerve agents, used in milary applications are also also organophosphates.

Organochlorines are named as organic molecules bound with chlorine atoms. These include PCBs and DDT. Some organochlorines are also known as xenoestrogens because of their ability to mimic estrogen in the body. These compounds have been theorized to be at the root of a variety of estrogen-dominate illnesses in woman, like endometriosis and in wide spread genetic defects in wildlife like the three-legged frogs reported in Florida.

While this report does focus on farmers whose “moderate exposure” is likely higher than most people in the home, this report should serve as a caution to indiscriminate use of such products in the house and especially in the presence of children and those with weakened immune systems. Many of these compounds were initially popular because of their hardiness in the environment, meaning the compounds last longer to provide more killing effectiveness. This may be a good feature for the economics of agriculture and warfare, but at what consequence?

About the Author

Dave Saunders is a certified nutritional educator, wellness coach, member of the American International Association of Nutritional Education (AIANE) and author. He is also the host of a weekly, nation-wide telephone lecture on health and nutrition.
For additional information, please visit his site on nutrition and glyconutrients at www.glycoboy.com or www.glycowellness.com or email Dave at dave@glycoboy.com

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The price of a barrel of oil has never been higher ($62.00+ in summer 2005 even before the chaos caused by Katrina). Some say this is a temporary spike, but more and more analysts are agreeing that this kind of pricing is here to stay. World consumption is at an all time high and given the new thirst for oil in China and India it is unlikely to diminish. According to International Energy Outlook, global demand is expected to continue to increase by as much as 59% in the next fifteen years.

Already, consumer energy bills have been increasing on average 6.5% per year for the last thirty years in the United States. Given the dramatic rise in the cost of producing energy using traditional non-renewable resources, this rate is bound to be overtaken by unheard of price increases in the very near future. And for consumers who are becoming more and more environmentally conscious, the thought of the millions and millions of tons of CO2 and other bi products being released into the atmosphere annually through the use of fossil fuels in creating energy is very alarming.

It is a no brainer that our reliance on oil to create energy leaves us very vulnerable. There are renewable technologies that produce energy, but the problem has been one of cost effectiveness. It has always been cheaper to supply energy using fossil fuels, and consequently, renewable sources such as solar or wind power have not taken off. But the situation now appears to be changing. More and more, our consumption of energy is outstripping supply. The grid can barely keep up with demand and rolling blackouts are no longer just a concept. No wonder governments are looking for alternatives. And no wonder everyone is talking solar once again.

In 1985 annual worldwide solar power system installation accounted for 21 megawatts of power. By 2004, this had multiplied to an incredible 927 megawatts in new installation power production alone. The demand for solar produced energy over the last several years has increased annually about 25%, although in 2004 sales were up a whopping 67% from the previous year.

There are several reasons for this increase in popularity for all things solar powered. Beyond the obvious environmental considerations and the privilege of not having to rely on power from a grid that is aging and stretched to capacity, solar is getting cost effective. While traditional energy production gets more expensive, technological advances are making solar power cheaper.

In 1980 the cost of harvesting energy from the sun stood at about $100 per watt. Literally a hundred times more expensive than the going rate of electricity, these systems were not economically viable. By 1999 however, technology had reduced this to about $4 per watt and costs have continued to decline by about 5% per year since. The Return on Investment is becoming very attractive for many commercial organizations and consumers.

Efficiencies have been realized in several technologies. The inverters that transform the collected DC energy into usable AC energy used to deliver only about 65% efficiency. 35% of the collected energy was lost in the transformation process. Today’s transformers are so efficient they deliver up to 96% of collected energy into usable AC current.

Photovoltaic technology has also made solar collection far more efficient. Twenty years ago, only 5% of the sun’s energy hitting a solar charging panel was harvested. This figure is now in excess of 15% and will continue to climb as more efficient compounds are designed and introduced in the manufacture of these photovoltaic panels.

All levels of government are increasingly looking at solar to provide stable, cost effective and environmentally friendly power. 35 states now have some kind of rebate program for homeowners that install solar power systems. And this is not just the southern “sunny states”. While California is the clear leader in promoting solar powered energy solutions (a program introduced in 2003 is promoting the introduction of solar powered energy systems into a million homes over the next several years) New Jersey and New York are next in line for solar investment.

At the municipal level, many jurisdictions have introduced solar solutions for traffic and streetlights. 50% of the energy used to run the City of Sacremento’s water purification plant is solar. NASA uses solar powered energy systems in many of its buildings. And governments are not using solar just because it is good for the environment and sets an example for commercial entities and consumers (although these benefits cannot be lost on them!). They’ve concluded that opting for solar systems will save them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

With so many rebate programs today homeowners are coming to the same conclusions. Once the initial return on investment is recouped (as early as 4 to 6 years with the rebate programs in California for example), solar users don’t have any additional energy bills, almost no maintenance to worry about and are not slave to an electrical grid that is becoming more and more fragile as demand outstrips supply. No wonder solar power is getting attention!

Solar power is still more expensive than traditional energy production methods, but the gap is narrowing every year. Solar power applications are also multiplying at an amazing rate. House heating, solar pool lighting and heating, hot water tank heating, calculators, flashlights, solar garden lighting and on and on. Solar is clean, it’s efficient and it’s here to stay.

About the Author

Kavar Peter is a successful freelance writer with a strong interest in renewable energy issues. He has a passion for solar powered products a href> and writes regularly for http://www.solarlightcenter.com

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Global Warming is the most talked about topic, and the evidence of global warming are all over the world recently. The phenomenal increase in the Earth’s temperature due to the greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide etc is the main reason for global warming. The greenhouse effect is the most important cause for global warming. It is very important to have these greenhouse gases, but at permissible levels, as these gases trap the heat rays from the Sun and provide the much needed thermal blanket for the Earth which is ideal for us human beings, animals and plants to survive in this world.

But, in the last couple of decades, there has been an alarming increase in the emission of CO2 in the atmosphere that has made the Earth warmer than usual and hence we find an increase in the temperature. So, we see more and more temperature being absorbed in the atmosphere, which increases the temperature of the Earth gradually causing global warming. But, more then presence of CO2 in the atmosphere, the more will be the effects of global warming on Earth. The causes of global warming are many like emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from man made factories, industries, vehicles etc; deforestation of natural vegetation and forests; Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) used as jet propellant and in aerosol sprays and refrigerators; emission of methane gases from marshy places etc.

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