Cascades' reddened forests signal threat to humans

PAT RASMUSSEN GUEST COLUMNIST

Signs that our local forests are stressed by global warming recently struck me while traveling over North Cascades passes in Washington state.The forest is dying near the top on both east and west sides; trees are still partially green but turning red -- old trees, young trees, the forest itself. Tents, and campers, in the Lone Fir Campground were surrounded by these dying trees.The same reddening trees can be seen hiking through the Glacier Peak Wilderness on the trail to Spider Meadow in the Chiwawa River watershed of the Wenatchee National Forest. People are reporting that forests are dying near Mt. Rainier, on Chinook and White passes and down to central Oregon... (more)

Cascades' reddened forests signal threat to humans

Has Canada Got the Cure?

By Holly Dressel, YES! Magazine. Posted August 29, 2006.

Since 1970, Canada has had a publicly funded, single-payer health system. Today, all Canadians are equally healthy, regardless of income.

Should the United States implement a more inclusive, publicly funded health care system? That's a big debate throughout the country. But even as it rages, most Americans are unaware that the United States is the only country in the developed world that doesn't already have a fundamentally public--that is, tax-supported--health care system.

AlterNet: Has Canada Got the Cure?

If you spend more than 40 hours a week at work, then…

High Blood pressure is enemy #1 of the brain. It ravages the small blood vessels that feed brain tissue, and over time leads to many little holes in the brain (technically known as infarcts or strokes).In our quest to be ever more productive at work, we put in longer and longer hours. In doing so, however, we may be setting our brains up for long-term failure:According to a new study out of the University of California in Irvine, the more hours you put in at work, the more likely you are to have high blood pressure. Those working more than 51 hours a week were 29 percent more likely to have high blood pressure than those working 11 to 39 hours a week... (more)

If you spend more than 40 hours a week at work, then… · smartkit Brain Enhancement News

Ask Here!! Dropping Knowledge

On September 9, 2006, 112 of the world's most compelling thinkers, artists, writers, scientists, social entrepreneurs, philosophers and humanitarians from around the world will come together in Berlin, Germany, as guests of dropping knowledge.Seated around the worlds largest table in historic Bebelplatz square, these inspiring individuals, renowned for their lasting creative or social contribution, will engage with 100 questions out of the thousands donated to dropping knowledge by the international public.Using dropping knowledge's question-rating system, the public identified 500 questions as those most likely to initate open dialog on a social topic of most relevance to them. This group of questions will yield the final 100 Questions — representing a truly global sampling of cultures, themes and ideas — to be asked at the Table of Free Voices and beyond... (more)

dropping knowledge :: projects

Medical tourism agencies take operations overseas

Complex surgery is the latest service to move offshore - and cleverbusinesses are helping cost-conscious patients go under the knifeoverseas

Think globalization means little more than call centers in New Delhi? Then you haven't seen what happens when seriously large numbers of Americans, who spend more than $570 billion at U.S. hospitals annually, start taking health-care holidays in far cheaper climes. Nor have you seen how much money there is to be made by helping them get there... (more)

Rx for Clever Startups: Take Operations Overseas - Aug. 3, 2006

Google Labeler: Got 5 minutes from me!!

Friday, 1 September 2006

Google Image Labeler: 90 Riveting Seconds of FunNow

Google Image Labeler is a new game that Google launched today. It's not as fun as it sounds (ahem) but it's still pretty cool.You're shown an image, and you're asked to tag it with keywords. Somewhere out there on the internet, another randomly-chosen user is looking at the same image and applying their own keyword labels. If you agree on any labels, your team will be awarded points. You get 90 seconds to tag as many photos -- and rack up as many points -- as you can. For some reason, I keep getting matched up with nitwits who don't know what a bicycle looks like. Either that or they can't spell correctly

Monkey Bites

Music created by, for and marketed by the Consumer.

All told, music consumers are increasingly turning away from the traditional gatekeepers and looking instead to one another — to fellow fans, even those they’ve never met — to guide their choices. Before long, wireless Internet connections will let them chatter not only on desktops, but in cars and coffee shops, too. And radio conglomerates and MTV, used to being the most influential voices around, are beginning to wonder how to keep themselves heard.“The tools for programming are in the hands of consumers,” said Courtney Holt, executive vice president for digital music at MTV Networks’ Music and Logo Group, who formerly ran the new-media department for Interscope Records. “Right now it almost feels like a fanzine culture, but it’s going to turn into mainstream culture. The consumer is looking for it.”... (more)

The New Tastemakers - New York Times

The secret to Yahoo Answers' success

The search giant has stumbled lately, but its popular Q&A serviceshows that getting people to create their own content can really payoff.(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- There are a few clouds gathering around Yahoo these days. The Internet star's delay in rolling out a crucial new advertising system sideswiped its stock price in July, and investors remain jittery about its prospects against Google, Microsoft, and other rivals.But one ray of sunshine is beaming at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters: Yahoo Answers... (more)

Does Yahoo have the right answers? - September 1, 2006