A mood-altering simple walk between hill and dale lasts for days.

HOW ‘BOUT a quickie, feel good post for a change?  Seth Godin does them, and he’s among the top bloggers in the world.

This one is triggered by a simple thing I did yesterday that produced a feeling good enough to sustain me now.  This one act was, in effect, a multi-day mood enhancer.

Yesterday, here in southern Marin County — the first landmass north of the Golden Gate Bridge — was a splendid day.  T’was so warm that some, like me, risked ridicule as we bared our sun-deprived, Lille-white torsos to the world.

In my case, I grabbed a book (which I’ll review here someday) by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, M.D. called Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever.  I then drove a short distance to Tennessee Valley, named after the SS Tennessee, a ship that sunk right off the coast where this valley ends.

There’s a loop you can walk in Tennessee Valley, or if fit enough, jog… or if a true athlete, run around, up and down.  I don’t know the distance, but there’s enough altitude to make a walk, jog or run challenging enough to leg and lung.

In my youth, I jogged.  Yesterday, I walked.  Within my fanciful self, someday I’ll jog again. Running… well, thinking that I’ll actually run this loop makes me think of that old distinction between neurotics and psychotics:

A neurotic builds sand castles in the sky, and a psychotic lives in them.

I was breathing pretty deeply at the first apex of the loop, a place that faces the ocean and has several tempting spots for repose.  That was the idea.  I chose one and settled in with my book.

From time to time, a fellow bare-chested fella (the women were more modest) huffed by, and we glanced at one another and nodded approvingly.

I read about the importance of eating alkalizing food and water.  I read about addiction to the simple carbohydrates that are taking a toll on people’s health, weight and is an instigating factor in creating Type 2 diabetes.  I read about the glycemic index and glycemic load.

[Read The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity, Diabetes and Obesity, The Diabesity Epidemic – It May Be Coming to You, and How Sugary is Your Blood?]

But what I was reading is irrelevant to the point of this story, which perhaps by now I should get to.

You see, all along the way, the vistas of hill and dale, and of the shimmering, beckoning ocean conspired to inspire me to love life more, despite my problems.

The negative ionization that the ocean puts in the air, along with the rhythm of my breath, the flow of my blood, the simple connections with those passing by, the sweet smells – all this was a mood elevator and, as I mentioned, remains with me today.

And so if there is a lesson to this tale, it is this:

Move, cover yourself with natural beauty, connect with nature and others, read a book that deepens your knowledge… do it enough that it all strings together and conspires to inspire you to cultivate gratitude for your life.  Grab a book, or grab a friend, but do take the first step.  The rest will follow.

Indeed.

P.S.  Hmmm… well, this wasn’t like Seth Godin’s posts after all.  Too long.  But then, and I say this ruefully; I’m not Seth Godin.

Solar storms are in the news again, and for good reason!  We’re at the top of a 100-year cycle for solar bursts, and our modern life would be in jeopardy if the solar storms became strong enough.  Here are the views of some scientists about solar storms that are coming, and what you can do to prepare. Watch.

Solar flares expected to peak in 2012 and 2013

HAVE YOU felt anything yet?

“A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles toward Earth” today, says NASA: “the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun.” (More here.)

Scientists call these electromagnetic bursts “coronal mass ejections” (CMEs), or in common-person parlance, “solar storms”.  These charged particles that storm down upon Earth’s magnetic field lines are vigorously studied because of the systemic, life-threatening harm they could cause.

Basically, if the solar storm is strong enough, we’re talking the end of modern life, at least temporarily.  Everything that works via electronics/electricity – from power stations, refrigerators, cell phones, computers, the chips in your cars, the gas pumps that provide fuel for them, and the lights to see by, etc. – would be kaput.

How long could you be comfortable without these things? If the answer is, “not very”, then consider paying attention to the solar storm warnings that very credible scientists are making for 2012 and 2013, the potentially most devastating at this apex of a 100-year cycle.

“There is little doubt that the [solar storm] cloud is heading in the general direction of Earth,” Spaceweather.com announced in an alert. “A preliminary inspection of SOHO/STEREO imagery suggests that the CME will deliver a strong glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field on Jan. 24-25 as it sails mostly north of our planet.”

Yes, perhaps a glancing blow right now – after all, your iPhone is still working, yes? – but this solar storm is expected to ramp up toward a near-term maximum peak in 2013.

Before I explore some protective measures, a solar storm survival guide, if you will, let’s watch physics Professor Michio Kaku give his admonition.

In the video below, Professor Kaku says that during 2012 and 2013, a 100 year cycle is expected to crest with its attendant dramatic solar flaring that could knock out satellites, power stations, all electronics, leaving the earth paralyzed.  The last such solar flare peak was in 1859 and was dramatically less impactful than a similar occurrence would be now given the lack of electronic-based power at that time.

OK, that was sobering, but let’s continue along this line…

Next up is a video of the sun’s massive “coronal hole”.  According to Wikipeida:

“Coronal holes are linked to unipolar concentrations of open magnetic field lines… The fast-moving component of the solar wind is known to travel along open magnetic field lines that pass through coronal holes.”

My basic interpretation: Coronal holes are where the sun’s magnetic field opens up and allows the solar wind to escape.  If you’ve opened the above link, “solar wind”,  you’ve read that a solar wind is:

“…a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun… These particles can escape the Sun’s gravity because of their high kinetic energy and the high temperature of the corona.

The solar wind creates the heliosphere, a vast bubble in the interstellar medium that surrounds the Solar System. Other phenomena include geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids on Earth, the aurorae (northern and southern lights), and the plasma tails of comets that always point away from the Sun.”

Solar Storm Survival Guidance

My particular sensibilities suggest to me right about now that the benefit/cost of doing some basic preparations in the event is a rather large positive number; meaning, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Whether you believe in solar storms or not, there’s enough natural and man-made disruptions potentially looming to do some basic preparations.  Some extra long-lasting food in the pantry, potable water, wind-up radio and flashlights, LED lighting with ample battery supplies, camper stove with ample fuel, a family plan to seamlessly work through the solar flare-causing disruptions… these “investments” can pay huge dividends.

This next video provides some expert views of the impact of solar flaring and underscore the simple things to do to prepare for the potential impact of solar flares. (You’ll hafta watch it on Youtube, just click the arrow within the video for the link.)

Have you heard of a “Faraday Cage”? A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure formed by conducting material or by a mesh of such material. Such an enclosure blocks out external static and non-static electric fields.

A Faraday cage

Some people concerned about having their electronics destroyed by strong solar flares build these Faraday cages and store electronic devices in them.  There are even people who build a Faraday cage within their garages in order to protect their vehicles.

If interested, know that Youtube has hundreds of examples of how to build a Faraday cage.

For other survival guidance for solar flares or any other systemic mishap, check out what I wrote during Japan’s earthquake and tsunami last March, 2011:

Japan Tsunami Creates Health Concerns… Are You Prepared? Clean water, food, medical supplies and shelter are among the top health concerns following a tsunami.  How would you fare if a tsunami or earthquake hit where you live?

Be Self-reliant – Be Prepared for Calamity Some resources to help bring you to self-reliance.

“10 Things to Learn from Japan” A Lesson for the World The calm, dignity, grace, order, self-sacrifice, ability, tenderness training, consciousness and media restraint so evident these past weeks in Japan as its people survive and rebuilt their society after the massive earthquake and tsunami presents a valuable lesson to the world.

So, in sum, whether all this information alarms you or has you yawning (“Yeah, just another chicken little moment.”), couldn’t hurt to keep track of solar radiation storms and the like.  You can do that at spaceweather.com.

Do you think solar flares could be a significant enough problem that one should prepare for them? If so, please tells us in the Comments section below.

Yep.

Related posts:

1. Solar Storms Are Coming
2. 7+ Things You Can Do for Momma Earth
3. The Colorado and Virginia Earthquakes Tell Us to Prepare

Wherever you are, find a place to get exhilarated. Away from my usual exercise stuff and routine mode, I grab a buddy and hike up Pinnacle Peak, Mt. Rainier.  Watch this invigorating and panoramic climb starting from Reflection Lake in Mt. Rainier National Park, WA.  Lemon water and a energy-packed smoothie power us up.

FINALLY, I’VE uploaded video taken of a late fall hike from Reflection Lake at Mt. Rainier, WA to Pinnacle Peak. If you’re a hiker/climber, or simply love the outdoors, you’ll surely enjoy watching me and my pal, Anatole, stroll up some pretty steep terrain.

Hikes like these are great ways to mix up your exercise, and bring diversification to what might otherwise become an overdone and stale in-house or gym routine. I was sequestered at my family’s rural property in WA and thereby wasn’t connected to my usual workout places and toys, so with Mt. Rainier beckoning, I made it an exercise, and soul-lifting event.

And as I often preach in these pages, this “exercise session” came to fruition via the “buddy system”. Nothing so helps you break the cemented bond of inertia and overlay a new habit than does recruiting a buddy. The trip to Mt. Rainier and the climb up Pinnacle Peak was made so much more enjoyable due to the presence of my friend, Anatole.

[There are other things one can do for exercise if away from the usual exercise apparatus, as this video I made of an earlier trip to the homestead shows. Watch The Homestead Workout.]

And now, at long last, the video of our hike up Pinnacle Peak:

Related posts:

1. Vaccine Supply Insufficient For Swine Flu Peak
2. Chocolate-dripped Sex and Age-related Exercise
3. Five Diet and Exercise Myths that Need to Die

Most anything can be handled if you’re prepared and even small hiccups in life can hurt if you’re not.  Food, water, shelter, clothes, medicine – it’s not rocket science.  Here are 18 preparations for hurricane Irene, or other calamities.

MAN, THE past several days are beginning to make the doomsdayers look brilliant.  First the Colorado earthquake – the first in generations; next the Virginia earthquake – the first in generations; and now Hurricane Irene is about to slam more eastern USA coastline than any previous hurricane.

As I write this, various east coast states have declared emergencies and New Jersey’s forthright governor declared “Get the hell off the beach.”

Check out live updates here.

These potentially calamitous events nestled so close together couldn’t emphasize more what I’ve been writing about on this blog about preparation.  Namely – get prepared.

(Check out the links to the posts I’ve written on this topic below.)

You might not be near a coast, or in earthquake prone areas (although remember that CO and VA aren’t considered to be normally seismically active), or where tornados live, or nuclear plants perch… but the odds are that wherever you are, you could benefit from taking some time, cultivating some effort and spending some money on being a whole lot less vulnerable than the average bear.

Consider these 18 suggestions:

1. Store water in high quality plastic. If you can’t purify it when ready to use, put ¼ teaspoon of bleach in each gallon.
2. Stock the pantry with non-perishable food and drink.  Spirulina and whey protein will keep your running for a long time.
3. Get some extra gas and camping propane for a camping stove.
4. Get your medicine cabinet stocked up.
5. Make sure you have extra batteries for essential things that need them, like a radio to track events.
6. Get light – flashlights, lanterns and the like
7. Blankets, jackets, socks, rain gear.
8. Cash… and if you’re really a preparer, some gold and silver coins.
9. Documents like social security card, bank stuff, driver’s license need to be secured.
10. Email yourself important documents.
11. If in a dangerous area, get out of it.
12. If you can’t or are unwilling to leave a dangerously placed home, board up windows and go the basement.
13. Stay away from things that can fall and break.
14. Tie down big stuff that can fall.
15. Stay away from power lines, particularly out of puddles under power lines.
16. Take pictures of important stuff that could be damaged for insurance purposes.
17. Make a contact plan with friends and loved ones; meaning, know how to get in touch with them given various scenarios.
18. Prepare your pets too.

Did I miss anything?  Surely, but you can just add it to the Comments section below.  Thanks!

Japan Tsunami Creates Health Concerns… Are You Prepared? Clean water, food, medical supplies and shelter are among the top health concerns following a tsunami.  How would you fare if a tsunami or earthquake hit where you live?

Be Self-reliant – Be Prepared for Calamity Some resources to help bring you to self-reliance.

“10 Things to Learn from Japan” A Lesson for the World The calm, dignity, grace, order, self-sacrifice, ability, tenderness training, consciousness and media restraint so evident these past weeks in Japan as its people survive and rebuilt their society after the massive earthquake and tsunami presents a valuable lesson to the world.

Supplements and Food that Protect Against Radiation Poisoning This is a long list of supplements that are thought to offer some level of protection against radiation.  By and large, these are the very same supplements that are touted to clean and rebuild the body of toxins, as well as provide essential nutrition.

Japan’s Radiation Fallout – Protect Yourself! If you’re not familiar with potassium iodide, you need to be.  You may not live in Japan, but trust that most anywhere you live, there’s a chance for radiation to ruin your life.

Related posts:

1. The Colorado and Virginia Earthquakes Tell Us to Prepare
2. Japan Tsunami Creates Health Concerns… Are You Prepared?
3. No. 2 Nuclear Reactor Explodes. Get Real-time Updates from Japan.

The Virginia and Colorado earthquakes remind us that we can all be blindsided by the unexpected, so why not get prepared for potential calamity, especially when the basics can be pretty straightforward to do.  Here’s some perspectives and resources…

WELL, UNLESS you’ve been isolated in the woods, like I nearly am right now, you know that we’ve had some unusual tremblers in the US of A these last two days. 

Today’s 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia, and felt all along the eastern seaboard, followed yesterday’s 5.3 Colorado temblor, the strongest there in a century.  Virginia’s was the strongest quake on the East Coast since 1886.

A relevant question would be, “What’s going on!”

We can begin with Dr. David Applegate of the U.S. Geological Survey who was interviewed on the PBS Newshour today, and said:

“… you know, this is a reminder that you can have earthquakes pretty much anywhere in the U.S. This is a national hazard… we have a moderate to high seismic risk in 39 out of the 50 states.

I underscore “moderate to high seismic risk in 39 out of 50 states.”  I’m good enough in math to know that this means that the great majority of states are earthquake prone, and given that one is California, most of America’s population could be affected by an earthquake.

(Not to mention drought (eh Texas), hurricanes, tornados and tsunamis.)

The good news about the Colorado and Virginia earthquakes is – although they were felt for many miles from the epicenters – they released nowhere near the amount of energy of March’s Japan or Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, and so the damage was mild.

According to Dr. Applegate, the Japan earthquake had 1,000 times more energy than that Haiti earthquake, and produced about 33,000 to 50,000 times more energy released than Virginia’s.  You can listen more about what he had to say and to the PBS Newshour’s story here.

I wrote several posts during the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Of these, a few focused on being prepared for calamity, in part by storing the right medicines and foods that can help cleanse the body of various forms of radiation, not to mention simply filling up the belly should food get scarce.

Now, I return to this topic. I’d like to convince you that these last two earthquakes should be viewed as a wakeup call to get you and your family prepared.  How could it hurt to have a few weeks of food, water and medicine stored in case you need it?

I’m particularly reminded of being prepared because I’m now in WA state, in a community that focuses on self-sufficiency.  As I discussed the Colorado and Virginia earthquakes with a few friends within this community, I got this knowing look, a non-verbal statement that says, “Yes, we know, this is expected and we’re ready for it.”

One important thing to do is to determine how close you live to a nuclear energy facility.  Japan clearly demonstrated that a nuclear plant combined with an earthquake produces bad things; even if it’s not sitting next to an ocean.

So, please check out these posts for more information about preparedness:

Japan Tsunami Creates Health Concerns… Are You Prepared? Clean water, food, medical supplies and shelter are among the top health concerns following a tsunami.  How would you fare if a tsunami or earthquake hit where you live?

Be Self-reliant – Be Prepared for Calamity Some resources to help bring you to self-reliance.

“10 Things to Learn from Japan” A Lesson for the World The calm, dignity, grace, order, self-sacrifice, ability, tenderness training, consciousness and media restraint so evident these past weeks in Japan as its people survive and rebuilt their society after the massive earthquake and tsunami presents a valuable lesson to the world.

Supplements and Food that Protect Against Radiation Poisoning This is a long list of supplements that are thought to offer some level of protection against radiation.  By and large, these are the very same supplements that are touted to clean and rebuild the body of toxins, as well as provide essential nutrition.

Japan’s Radiation Fallout – Protect Yourself! If you’re not familiar with potassium iodide, you need to be.  You may not live in Japan, but trust that most anywhere you live, there’s a chance for radiation to ruin your life.

Related posts:

1. Earthquakes and Tsunamis — Is the Cascadia Subduction Zone Next?
2. 18 Preparations for Hurricane Irene
3. Japan Tsunami Creates Health Concerns… Are You Prepared?

Do you know which foods you eat contain genetically modified substances?  No, you don’t, because unlike in Europe – where GMO foods are banned — the Monsanto-friendly FDA in America says “no labeling required”.  Should you be concerned?

WHAT DO you think of a large, rich, strong, politically connected company that seems to be hell bent on controlling the world’s food supply?

Wonder how such a company could do this?

How ‘bout by creating their own patented seeds that appeal to large corporate farmers because they are disease and pest resistant.  This angle takes care of market demand because the farmers produce greater yield and save on pesticides.  (A short-sighted benefit given that under this model, farmers can not save their own seeds, but must buy from Monsanto each year.)

At the same time, a company bent on controlling food production needs to ensure it’s got the legal and political cover to protect its rights to the seed, so that when such seeds pollinate the land of farmers who have not purchased it, the company can demand payment and threaten legal action. Which Monsanto has done. Goliath against David, although this time Goliath usually wins.

Diabolical strategy.  Unfortunately, this is not fiction.

This is the story by the reviled Monsanto and its GMO venture.  “GMO” – genetically modified organism, which in this case are the seeds that have genetically altered, but which, nonetheless, have been declared by America’s FDA (“Food and Drug Administration”) to not be materially different from non-GMO seeds. The FDA says GMO is safe.

How did the FDA come to that conclusion?

Well, apparently they didn’t.  Recently, thousands of memos have been uncovered that show ample evidence for a contrary conclusion, but this information was hidden. 

Why? 

Could be that the then head of the FDA’s policy was a former Monsanto attorney, who – after his stint with the FDA – jumped on the revolving door back to Monsanto as a Vice President.  A job well rewarded.

What makes the FDA’s position stranger is that Europe has banned GMO foods, and that many animals won’t eat it, including rats.  But Americas do, usually without knowing it, because in this country food labels need not specify that GMO ingredients are used.

There are many people and organizations devoted to bringing this matter to the public’s attention.  If just a small percentage of consumers refused to buy GMO foods, the food manufactures would not use them, and the farmers would not grow them, and – most sweet of all – Monsanto’s plan for world-wide food domination would be terminally pissed upon.

Monsanto would no longer have reason to sue farmers that did not buy their GMO seeds, but whose farms were so pollinated.  Monsanto could go back to producing and selling seeds as Nature made them.

The Institute for Responsible Technology and the Organic Consumers Association are two of many organizations fighting against the Goliath Monsanto and  GMOs in the US.

The Institute for Responsible Technology’s web site will get you up to speed on this issue and suggest how you can do your part to ensure that no one company dominates our food chain with a product that not only may be inferior and harmful to Nature’s seeds, but could eventually overtake them.

Organic Consumers Association has a very informative newsletter that you can subscribe to.  The recent article is entitled: Monsanto Nation: Taking Down Goliath.

If you have a creative bent, how about participating in the No GMO T-shirt Design Challenge? Design an inspirational t-shirt around the theme of “food fight”. There are eight more days left to submit your design and/or vote on one you like.  You can learn about this, and check out the design submissions at the Food Fight Challenge.

 
Finally, if you need an extra push to get concerned, at minimum, or – better yet – get into gear and take action, then watch this short video that lays out the problem and the solution:

IT’S TIME FOR A FOOD FIGHT from NO GMO on Vimeo.

Related posts:

1. The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 – Food to Live By (Watch)
2. Easily Avoid Cancerous Plastics and Food Containers (Bisphenol A) — Watch
3. Sunday Special: An Inconvenient Truth about Our Food — Watch

Purified Bottled Water Is Not Tap Water, Industry Argues.  To which I say, “Who cares”!  The biggest problem for North Americans is not the water quality, but the plastic bottles themselves, for they poison us and the environment, as I show below.

TODAY, I’M back to my bottled water rant.

The newest news about the water in water bottles is that it isn’t really tap water. This is a myth, the water bottling industry claims, and it’s fighting back against the claim that what they serve the public is simply tap water filled into plastic bottles.

To underscore that point, the water bottle industry has launched a new spokesperson in the guise of a young woman who appears on Youtube taking viewers on a tour of a water bottle plant.  See, watch pure water goes into those chemical-infested plastic water bottles.

And that, dear reader, is the crux of my rant – it isn’t the quality of the water, per se, that rubs me the wrong way about water bottles, but the bottles themselves, and their transport.

You see, selling water in bottles is wasteful, inefficient, unhealthy and environmentally degrading.

Wasteful and inefficient because, for Christ’s sake, the product – water – is ubiquitous for us lucky North Americans, so why run to the store to buy a bit of it in a bottle when there’s enough to bathe in, literally, right at your finger tips in your house.  Just get a water filter and a good reusable bottle! (See Water Bottles You Can Live With.)

Unhealthy because of the chemicals laced — my non-scientific term — into the plastic, such as Bisphenol A, or “BPA – definitely a scientific term — which is absorbed into the water from the plastic and then into your body.  (Read and watch  Easily Avoid Cancerous Plastics and Food Containers.)  You don’t want this kinda stuff in your body.

Environmentally degrading because of how the plastic bottles are made (a petroleum/chemical byproduct), shipped to you (diesel trucks spewing toxins in the air) and disposed of (can you spell “landfill”?).

[For an eye-opening look at the impact of having our water served to us in plastic bottles, read and watch Let’s Take the Plastic Out of Bottled Water.]

Anyway, this “rant” (kinda mild one, I think) was stimulated by a HuffPost article entitled Purified Bottled Water Is Not Tap Water, Industry Argues, which you can go check out to learn the back story.

The bottom line:  Do yourself and the planet a really good service by purifying your tap water and bringing it with you in chemically-free bottles.  Stop buying water in plastic water bottles!

Related posts:

1. Plastic Water Has Gotta Go, for Your Sake! (Video)
2. How Safe is your Tap Water?
3. Water Bottle Alternatives You Can Live With

This is a summary of a Men’s Health article about ten common foods we eat that are often contaminated with scary sounding bacteria and pesticides that can make us sick. The list: Chicken, ground beef/turkey, oysters, eggs, cantaloupe, peaches, lettuce, cold cuts and scallions.  Learn what to do.

IF YOU cruise around the Net and have a health bent, you probably often spy what I’ll refer to here as “food by the numbers”: Ten best antioxidant foods, five best foods for energy, or my post, The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 – Food to Live By.

So, like you might, my eye turned to the Men’s Health article “The Ten Dirtiest Foods You’re Eating”, about which I’d like to explore with you.

In an increasingly dirty world… what with mechanized industrial farming, millions of cattle pooping everywhere, pesticides, chemical toxin cocktails and the like, we need to be very vigilant about what we ingest.

Of course, just look around at your fellow (wo)man and you’ll note that most of us aren’t – vigilant that is; rather, we tend to do what’s cheapest, easiest and most convenient.  Health be damned.  There’s a pill to fix anything, right?

I’ll take my “pill” in the form of natural food (well, and a ton of supplements, but that doesn’t count here), and thus need to distinguish between foods that are safe to eat and those that I need to be vigilant about.

That said, let’s dive into a summary of the dirty foods referenced above with my hearty suggestion that you go to the original article to read more about those foods below that you regularly eat.

1. Chicken. Consumers Reports says that 42 percent were infected by Campylobacter jejuni, and 12 percent by Salmonella enteritidis. Buy “free range” and rinse the bird in the sink before placing it in some cooking apparatus.

2. Ground Beef. USDA inspections find Staphylococcus in 30 percent, and Listeria monocytogenes in 12 percent.   Here’s the fine recommendation given to ameliorate this problem – buy the irradiated variety, it’s suggested (and I’m happy I don’t eat ground beef cause who wants to eat irradiated food?). The package will bear the words “treated by irradiation.”  Also you can cook it with oregano. Oregano has antibacterial properties which is why there are oregano supplements, featured in Four Solutions to Antibiotic-resistant Super Bed Bugs.

3. Ground Turkey. According to the USDA, the odds are better than 1 in 4 that your minced gobbler contains Listeria, Campylobacter, Clostridium, or some combination of the three.  Go for the organic turkey.  At home, clean containers that held the turkey in very hot water, serve it at 180 degrees on a clean plate, and wipe spillage with a paper towel rather than a sponge that you’ll reuse.

4. Raw Oysters. Looking for an aphrodisiac?  Perhaps you should look elsewhere. University of Arizona researchers who studied oysters from “certified” safe beds discovered that 9 percent were contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.  They also found E. coli in 100 percent of Gulf Coast locations. Solution: eat cooked oysters unless you can verify that the bed from which they were harvested are safe.

5. Eggs. Food poisoning linked to eggs sickens an estimated 660,000 people annually and kills 300. What should egg lovers do? Buy pasteurized eggs, don’t eat them undercooked, keep them in the coldest part of your fridge and wash your hands after handling them.

6. Cantaloupe.  The FDA found that 3.5 percent of the melons tested carried Salmonella and Shigella, the latter a bacteria normally passed person-to-person. Among imported cantaloupe, 7 percent tested positive for both bugs.  Don’t buy dented or bruised cantaloupe, and if you buy pre-cut, be aware that the personnel who cut it often don’t wash their hands.  Scrub it with dish soap and water, using a brush exclusive to this purpose (washing fruits and veggies) so it doesn’t get contaminated from other uses.

7. Peaches.  These luscious, sweet things are doused with chemicals, earning them the Consumer Union’s highest rank on an index of pesticide toxicity.  Peaches have good company — apples, grapes, pears, and green beans occupy top spots on the Toxicity Index, too.  Do yourself a favor and buy organic, or at least wash them thoroughly at home.

8. Lettuce. This leafy veggie accounts for 28 percent of reported food-poisoning outbreaks.  The popular pre-packed kind that’s “triple washed” still needs to be washed.

9. Cold Cuts. If you ever visited a slaughter house as I did as a kid, the thought of eating cold cuts and meat in general would leave you cold.  Here’s another reason: Cold cuts have been labeled at “high risk” of causing llisteriosis by a joint team of researchers from the USDA, FDA, and CDC.  Trash whatever’s not eaten within a week, and if you can stand it, slather mustard on the cold cuts, as it can kill 90 percent of three potent pathogens—Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella – but, it takes 2 hours to do the job, so what the heck.

10. Scallions. These were responsible for a massive hepatitis A outbreak at that Chi-Chi’s in 2003. Dirty scallions have also triggered small hepatitis A outbreaks in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Other bugs messing with scallions include the parasite Cryptosporidium, Shigella, and the ubiquitous Salmonella. Buy refrigerated scallions and at home, rinse away all the dirt.

Thus winds down yet another article about “foods by the numbers”.  Again, if you eat a number of these numbered here, don’t go numb; instead, click over the Men’s Health article and read more about them, and then be sure to take the advice offered to make such foods safer for you and your family.

Related posts:

1. Get Thin with these 5 Foods
2. The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 – Food to Live By (Watch)
3. 25 Diet-busting Foods Never to Eat

Are you prepared for solar storms?  They completely disable the electrical grid.  No electricity, perhaps for weeks; or if the storm is big enough, months.  The New York Times reports NASA’s warnings.  Get prepared.

[UPDATE: 9/10/11 Sun unleashes X6.9 class flare; Earth spared this time]

A RECENT New York Times article about solar storms underscores the importance of being prepared for major life disruptions.  I’ve written before about the value of preparation via a series of posts related to the Japan earthquake and tsunami that occurred a few months ago.

My point then and now is that a lot of good can come from just a little bit of preparation.

For many of us around the world, it’s not a matter of “if” anything will happen to rock our world in some matter, but “when”.  Who among you live outside the potential of being smote by an earthquake, tsunami, volcano, tornado, hurricane, or solar storm?

Inevitably something will happen.  For some it will be disastrous; others a mild disturbance. For everyone, a bit of preparation will help.  (Read  Be Self-reliant – Be Prepared for Calamity.)

Back to Solar Storms

So, the New York Times reported that NASA believes the expected massive burst of solar wind that erupted from the sun Tuesday is expected to deliver only a “glancing blow” to the Earth’s vulnerable magnetic field.

NASA is relieved, because the potential of a solar storm could be devastating to all who rely on electricity.

This was made evident on March 13, 1989. On that day a massive solar impulse blacked out the entire power grid in Quebec in 92 seconds, giving operators no time to assess or react to what was happening to the power system.

More than 80 percent of Quebec’s system was backed up within 11 hours, but experts say the challenge to the U.S. grid is more serious than it was for Quebec due to differences in the respective electrical grids and mix of electric power generation systems. (Read more from the New York Times: This Weeks Solar Flare Illuminates the Grid’s Vulnerability)

Despite billions of dollars being spent by utilities to install equipment to protect their transmission networks from lightning strikes, installations to defend against space weather, aka solar flares, are lagging. In part, that’s because research on the threat and the best countermeasures have not been completed.

The bottom line is that anyone reliant on electricity is vulnerable to solar flares, the next peak cycle of which is predicted for 2012-2014.

At minimum, you could have battery-operated lights, candles, a bike, and a couple weeks worth of food and water. I do.

For more about preparation, read my posts, Be Self-reliant – Be Prepared for Calamity and Japan Tsunami Creates Health Concerns… Are You Prepared?.

Related posts:

1. Solar Storms Storming to Earth. How to Prepare.
2. 18 Preparations for Hurricane Irene
3. The Colorado and Virginia Earthquakes Tell Us to Prepare

When I began this blog over 1.5 years ago, I wasn’t really sure just what I’d be writing about, but I know I did not contemplate providing a repository for earthquake news and disaster preparedness.  By popular demand, here are some resources to help bring you to self-reliance.

NATURE ABHORS a vacuum.  And since I wasn’t resolute with some narrow topic upon which to blog within the “health” hemisphere, a lot of other stuff fell in. Like an earthquake cracking open the surface and swallowing all matter of stuff.

At this point, I’ve written 13 posts related to the Japan earthquake and nuclear radiation and preparedness.  They’ve become my most read posts, and have generated the most emails.

I bow to my readers:  If you want more about preparation, look below for some resources offered up by Steve Klein of Kleiner’s Korner. (Currently not being updated by Mr. Klein).  But before I list them, know that I think it’s wise to have some self-sufficiency, but I’m not a fear monger, and I don’t necessarily endorse all the information I’m about to share.

That said, I have done quite a bit myself so as to not be caught with my pants down.

You make up your own mind.  And as it gets whacked by all this information and excitement, breathe in… hold… breathe out.  Don’t go into overwhelm.  If you’re so inclined, choose something you know you can do, and do it.

Here are some resources:

- The Survival Center.  “America’s Premier Preparedness Center.” In continuous operation since the early 1970′s. link here

- Teri Simpson of Optimum Preparedness has been a wealth of knowledge and has been offering preparedness products for years. Check-out Terri’s website.  link here
Read Terri’s Guest Entry out this week on MastersConnection. link here

- Beyond the Ordinary internet radio’s Preparedness Series.  link here

- Storable Seeds and Food available through various small businesses.  link here

- The Mountain News: “The Seven Tasks of Self-Reliance” link here

- MastersConnection: Connect with a vast array of knowledge, people and opportunities.  link here

If you have some resources, or good ideas to share, please do so in the Comments section below.

Related posts:

1. Japan Tsunami Creates Health Concerns… Are You Prepared?
2. The Colorado and Virginia Earthquakes Tell Us to Prepare
3. Top 10 Health Posts of 2011