Update: The world doesn't lack the technology to tackle the problem of Climate Change — just the political will

"The world is hurtling toward irreversible climate change, the International Energy Agency warns, saying that bold action must be taken in the next five years. The IEA, in its annual World Energy Outlook released Wednesday, said that the world will lose the chance to limit warming if it doesn't act now. The IEA’s members include 28 consuming nations. It was formed in response to the oil crisis in the 1970s, but since then its mandate has expanded beyond energy security to include environmental awareness. The agency prescribed what needs to be done to cap global temperature increases at two degrees above preindustrial levels and predicted the consequences if those steps aren't taken. A two-degree increase is the threshold beyond which some scientists have said catastrophic changes could be triggered. The warning came a day after Canada's Environment Minister Peter Kent acknowledged in a speech in Toronto that his government expects to face international pressure at upcoming climate change talks over its refusal to sign on for a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol."

'via Blog this'Time for climate change fix running out, IEA warns - Business - CBC News:

Tip: Lower Your High Blood Pressure & Prevent Miscommunication, Poor Job Performance & Psychosocial Distress

"People with hypertension have reduced pain sensitivity," says James A. McCubbin, a psychology professor at Clemson and one of the authors on the study. It turns out that it isn't just hypertensive patients and it isn't just a limited response to pain, but there may be a link between blood pressure and emotional response as well. "A friend of mine in the Netherlands did a study where they asked hypertensive patients how much stress they were under and they didn't report being under much stress, but if you asked their spouse, the spouse would say that their husband or wife was under a lot of stress," McCubbin says."

'via Blog this'High Blood Pressure May Lead To Missed Emotional Cues: Study:

Update on Climate Change & Alternative Energy: Global leaders re-think energy strategy

"At the B20 Business Summit on the fringes of the G20 summit in Cannes, Dr. Fatih Birol, IEA chief economist, disclosed that based on their updated WEO, “$38 trillion of investment is required to meet projected energy demand through 2035.” The breakdown will be: $16.9 trillion for power generation; $10 trillion for oil; $9.5 trillion for natural gas; $1.1 trillion for coal; and $0.3 trillion for biofuels. Dr. Birol albeit warned that “investors in energy projects are facing a multitude of risks.” The defining factors for the energy outlook set sharp focus on: worldwide access to energy; fossil fuel subsidies and investment in energy infrastructure. Although they are jealously guarded by competitors in the technology front, it appears that the role of fossil fuels in the energy mix – primarily “Big Oil” and “King Coal” -- might still be far from over. Experts nonetheless acknowledged that the “high carbon infrastructure lock-in is making the 2-degrees centigrade climate challenge goal more challenging and expensive to meet.”"

'via Blog this'Global leaders re-think energy strategy | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online:

Tip: Healthier Body and Calmer Mind will Naturally Lead to An Optimum Self

"I have learned that if you are seeking happiness in a number, you will probably be busy searching for something you cannot find when happiness actually passes you by. So sign up for that yoga class. Enlist the help of that nutritionist. Do what’s right and healthy and enjoyable for your body, mind and spirit. But do so with the awareness that living in the future will rob you of all you really need: the beauty of this unique, irreplaceable, fleeting moment. And I leave you with this – a picture of the most peaceful, most enlightened being I “know.” I wonder how he would feel about Yoga for Weight Loss. I suspect he might say lose the pain, lose the anger, lose the emotional and physical toxins, lose the self-imposed limitations and the negative self talk, lose the hatred, lose the numbness … those are the things that truly weigh us down."
Yoga for weight loss? No thanks. - Holistic Health - Medicine Blog - timesunion.com - Albany NY:
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Update: Adopting "Market Approach" & Democracy in Climate Change Solutions

“Alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, nuclear and hydroelectric are certainly part of the solution long term, but private industry must take the lead for true innovation to be a bigger part of our future energy needs. If alternative energy sources are found to be inexpensive, safe and plentiful, then American consumers will choose to purchase them. Let the markets decide which forms of energy fuel our cars, heat our homes and which ones will keep America working.”

Mitt Romney, the perennial second-place candidate, has gotten the message only half right, according to environmentalists. “The nation will also need to develop and harness alternate sources of energy such as nuclear energy, biodiesel, ethanol along with exploiting more domestic sources of oil such as Outer Continental Shelf and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” Romney also is of the opinion that the solution to our environmental problem lies in adopting a market approach. “While solving the environmental challenges, we should also be supporting growth,’ he states."

'via Blog this'After Keystone Rally, Environmentalists Equivocate on Campaigning for Obama: "

Tip: Parents w/ Kids Emotional Workshop Now a Necessity to Build Emotionally Healthy Home

The workshop will be facilitated by mental health professionals trained to address child and adolescent behaviors. Topics such as how to recognize common issues faced by children today; ways to help children express themselves appropriately; and coping skills to handle life challenges will be addressed. Trained professionals from Suncoast Mental Health Center, The Mental Health Association Walk-in Center, and Treasure Coast Community Health will lead breakout sessions for groups broken out by age (5-8, 9-12 and 13-and-over). Parents will remain in the cafeteria to hear guest presenter Dr. Raymond Dean, a Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist with over 25 years of professional experience. Dr. Dean's presentation will include anger management skills to help parents manage their emotions so they can model positive behavior and support their children in managing their own emotions."
Learn how to build an emotionally healthy home » TCPalm.com (User story from MAUREEN NICOLACE): "
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Prince Charles on sustainability issues; didn't comment directly that fossil fuels & carbon emissions are causing global warming & climate change

Prince Charles endorses university post on climate change - CNN.com: "The prince urged international organizations and summits "to bring together the narratives of climate change, sustainable development and economic stability -- surely the very bedrocks of national security," Charles said. "These are currently encapsulated -- although separately and distinctly -- in the forthcoming COP17 in Durban, the Rio+ 20 conference and G-20 meetings." One starting point, he said, could examine data "on energy, water, agriculture, biodiversity and climate change to compose a full picture of what is actually going on, and then to use this picture to calculate the real cost of our current use of natural capital," the prince said.
"Surely an evaluation of that cost on an on-going basis is the bare minimum we need if we are to develop effective policies that address food security, poverty and climate change, and so build properly resilient economic systems -- green economies, if you will -- that have the capacity to adapt to what will, from now on, be very rapidly changing circumstances?" the prince said."

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