BIOPHILE ISSUE 13 — R25 incl. V A T - Biophile Magazine

BIOPHILE ISSUE 13 — R25 incl. VAT9 771813 139003 1 3

Biophile Magazineis published every two months,in February, April, June, August,October and December. Deadlines foradvertising and article submissionsare the 15th day of the month precedingpublication.Mission StatementOur mission is to impart knowledgewith truth and integrity for the highestgood of all. Biophile is not affiliated toany religious, political or philosophicalideology or organisation.Our ethos is one of co-operationand sharing. We therefore activelyencourage you to reproduce and sharethe information in this magazine, butplease contact us first to confirm theavailability of the material you’d liketo use.DisclaimerNo guarantee is made concerning thevalidity of the information in thispublication and no responsibility will beaccepted for any errors or omissions, orcomments made by our contributors.The TeamEditor: Anthea Torranthea@biophile.co.zaCo-Editor: Steve Ventersteve@biophile.co.zaSubscriptions: Coral McCallumcoral@biophile.co.za021 709 0390www. biophile.co.za/subscribeAdvertisingadvertise@biophile. co. zawww. biophile.co.za/advertiseAssistants:Des du Plooy, Shahied Ishmail,Debbie Enslin, Gaelle VietCartoonist: James WolfaardtWolf Art: acme@webmail.co.zaCover Illustration: Ray Laceyraylacey@mweb.co.zaContact usTel: (021) 709 0390Fax: (021) 709 0392Postal: Box 39277Capricorn Square 7948Email: inbox@biophile.co.zaVisit us onlinewww. biophile.co.zaCopyLeftAll of the information in this magazinehas been freed by copyleft. Unlessotherwise noted, you are free to copy andredistribute the copylefted work. All youhave to do is clearly credit the author andsource, and redistribute accurate copiesof the original.ISSN: 1813-1395PRINTED WITH LEAD-FREE INKSON RECYCLED PAPER—MIN. 10% OF PROFITSDONATED TO CHARITYinsideIssue 13 / 2006EDUCATINGOUR CHILDREN17 Our education system: How didwe get here? Where are we going?Not very long ago most of us were farmers,and our children helped in all aspects of farmwork. In that simple world, where childrencongregated from sparsely settled communitiesinto one-room schoolhouses, the ‘three Rs’ wereenough to get us by.18 Teaching through empathyIn the San Jose school system, Joanne Lauckfeeds children’s spirits with wonders fromnature, particularly the insect world.21 The dream of creativenessI have a dream, to coin a phrase. It is thathuman creativeness will become the agreedobjective of political economy. Creativeness ismore fulfilling and inclusive than happiness.22 An educational renaissanceOur children are bored at best with the old way,and in the worst-case scenarios, they are beingdeeply damaged by a system that runs totallycounter to their natures.Regulars02 Inbox05 Biofiles12 Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down14 Editorial41 What goes on... goes in52 Soil for Life24 Why Ritalin makes me MAD!Dr Shabeer Jeeva left some of his audiencegob-smacked when he launched forth on thetreatment of ADHD in adults recently.25 Dumbing us downWhat if it could be absolutely proved to youthat the education system was designedby financiers who felt that self-reliant, selfeducatedcitizens made poor factory workersand rotten consumers?29 Concentration, Memory andMental SharpnessWhen it comes to exams, or the need to focuswhile driving or the need to work late to study,what can one do to ensure one’s nervous systemis able to cope?30 Essential Fatty acids31 Flax vs. Fish Oil32 An Emergent School CurriculumIs school about learning how to become alawyer or doctor? Or is school about learning askill? Or is school just a ‘place’ in which learninghappens?35 Top 10 hazardous household chemicals36 Compassionate christmas38 M.E.R.C.Y. Animal rescue40 The flip side of ambitionGetting the best balance in life is not easy... making the hard choices needs thought and planning.42 The denial industryFor years, a network of fake citizens’ groups and bogus scientific bodies has been claiming that thescience of global warming is inconclusive.46 The importance of hydration48 A menopause reportSally Longden always recommends trying natural progesterone therapy first.49 Extended breasfeedingBreastfeeding beyond the first birthday is known as extended breastfeeding.51 Cloth nappiesFor the past 20 years, most mothers have unfortunately considered disposable nappies as essential.56 Bio-energy: dream or nightmare?The rush to produce the wrong bio-energy crops could endanger biodiversity.54 Organic Living Recipes59 Cosmic Directions60 Book Reviews62 The Green DirectoryBiophile Issue 13

inbox@biophile.co.zaPO Box 39277 Capricorn Square 7948 • Fax 021 709 0392Write a Star Letter and you’llwin a year’s subscription toBiophile!Send us your thoughts, questions, ideas, constructive criticism and suggestions. We’d love to hear from you!CreatingConsciousCommunicationThank God for Biophile. Although thereare segments that are not always tomy liking, the commitment to raisingawareness on vital issues, not onlyimpresses, but relieves me. I feel like onthe day of human judgement, we will atleast now be able to say, “But look, we hadBiophile”, and individually we could all startpiping up with, “Hey, I used to read it”, “Metoo”, “I had a subscription”, “So what, I gotall the back copies for Xmas and read themin one day”, etc.Whilst I am passionate about treating theEarth, the stars, Mother Nature, the animal,plant and all other kingdoms with respect,I worry that in this new age of universalconsciousness, our rapidly (re-) awakeningawareness of Spirit, avatars, ETs, totemanimals, past lives, enlightened masters,shamanic practices and the ancestors, weforget all about holding that consciousnessin the ordinary moments of our lives. Weseem so easily to forget to maintain respectfor our fellow man, each and every one— the smelly drunk, the obnoxious boss,the ostentatious celebrity, the maniac driver,the corrupt politician, the grumpy cashier,the beggar in the street. They are the missingpart of our Godliness and our feelingstoward them the key to re-establishing ourinner, and thus outer, divinity.As someone with a passion for languages,communication and treating all with“I worry that in thisnew age of universalconsciousness, ourrapidly (re-) awakeningawareness of Spirit... weforget all about holdingthat consciousness in theordinary moments of ourlives.”the respect of Godly manifestation, I wishto share a few observations I have had as Iengage with my daily efforts to maintainmindfulness.With the odd exceptional story you hearof French people picking on English touriststrying their hand at a bit of the old parlezparl, it seems that picking up on even a fewwords of a foreign language can engenderthe most heart-warming effects on interculturalhuman interaction.There seems to be something about theunmistakable air of idiocy that one adornswhenever attempting unfamiliar banter thatfacilitates a light hearted mood betweenpassing strangers. The shadow side of thisdynamic is the sense of disquieting inferiorityand fear of the unknown, that makes itso easy for one to ignore such opportunitieswhen not a necessity.My six words of sloppy French have exponentiallyimproved my relationships with almostevery single or group of night-shift carwatchmen from Kalk Bay to Gardens. ‘BonSwaar’, I merrily exclaim, with a continentalwave of my hand to every group of heaviesin neon vests that lurk in the shadows nearmy beautifully parked car. Immediatelywarm smiles, and almost toasty greetingsare reciprocated, as the world moves fromominous to fraternal in an indecipherablemoment.Of course, living in a block that wetenderly refer to as ‘Little Congo’ has madea world of difference to my French (Congolese).Just the daily ritual of ‘Bon Jour, MonAmi. Ca Va? Ca Va Beun. Et twa? Tres beun,merci boucoup. Au revoir’ creates a world ofsmiles and joy. The fact that any extensionsof our conversations are in English servesonly to accentuate the vibes of positivityand community in our small building onCamp St. that harbours a very mixed bag ofinhabitants.I believe we three of the ‘penthouse’ flathave the same number of cars between us asthe rest of the block has together, yet thereis little sense of otherness. My neighbourKudi and I swop Cds and notes on learningforeign languages. He is from Angola andhas Portuguese tapes for me. I am burningGerman Cds for him. My Portuguesegoes no further then ‘obrigado’ and ‘ola’, soEnglish is our lingua franca. After all, if youcan all speak English, then speak English - itmakes sense.But, still, the undeniable something thatcomes from even a few badly pronouncedwords leaves a presence on your consciousnessthat lingers a long time, as though anunconsidered cavern becomes somehowpossible to cross, as a new path emergesfrom the shadows. For a smidgen of foolishness,you get a bucket of smiles. Besides,every wise man has known that it is not theleast bit foolish to look like a fool.But what of the awkwardness then in themoment where you have run out of wordsto say. Well, it is but a feeling that can betrained to whither and fade like an un-wateredvegetable. That’s right, awkwardnessis a silly self-induced feeling that wefear will lead to some greater revelation ofcolossal embarrassment, but rarely does.Certainly the intensity of fear belies thecomparably tiny odds of any such revelations.Somewhere along the line, as ones senseof self develops, the imagined and fearedthoughts and opinions of others fade likeshadows in the sunlight, and we blossominto who we are. Funny that, as we learnwho we are, we become ourselves.This discovery of self is a product and aconduit for confidence. If you invest confidencein yourself, you will grow in confidence.Confidence is something we choosewhen we feel comfortable in ourselves, ourmotivation, and our tools. We tend to assumeit is something we are either born withor without, an innate hereditary predisposition,rather than a learned skill. I read withinterest Robin Booth’s article on possibleschools for parents. Now that would begreat.What I wish to relate all of this to is theidea that we can really make a huge differencethrough a relatively small amount ofeffort. I venture to presume that some of thereasons why most of the non-Xhosa peoplein this country do not speak any Xhosa havebeen briefly touched on above, and yet sotoo has the solution. By engaging with whatwe are afraid of, we turn the spotlight of ourawareness on, and the shadows that had fedthe mind with fear, become portals to a newway of living.Craig Charnock [Craig Charnock teaches “ConsciousXhosa” — language and culture courses in varyingcapacities, including The Ubuntu Bridge VillageExperience. See www.learnxhosa.com.] Biophile Issue 13

Cloth nappiesCongratulations on a great magazine.I was visiting a friend over theweekend and saw it for the first time. It isreally exciting to have a publication outthere like this that is willing to addressthese issues.I saw your article by Vicky about clothnappies. I am also a work at home momand run a natural babay company makingcloth nappies and other natural babyproducts. We have been trying for agesto get one of the leading baby magazinesto run an article on the benefits ofcloth nappies, but because their majoradvertisers are the disposable nappycompanies, they are not willing to runany articles that may put disposables inan unfavourable light.I am not sure if you have done andarticle in your magazine before on clothnappies and the damage that disposablesdo to the environment. It does notneed to be focused on one brand of clothnappy at all otherwise people feel that itis just one company trying to sell theirstuff. It might be good to list some of thecompanies distributing cloth nappiesin SA at the end of the article and thenpeople could see what they liked. I have alot of information and links on cloth nappiesin general and on disposables andthe damage they cause. Because there arenow quite a few nappy companies we aretrying to start a nappy resource were we“...because [the leading babymagazines’] major advertisersare the disposable nappycompanies, they are notwilling to run any articles thatmay put disposables in anunfavourable light.”will compare all the different types andhelp people decide what kind will be bestfor them. We hope to stock all the majorbrand and then people can try and fewdifferent kinds buying from one place.Another topic is Elimination Communicationor the nappy free approachwhich is what many non western nationsaround the world use instead of nappies.I did this with my daughter and it wasfantastic.Our vision was about supplyingmothers with informationa and nott justplugging them with producst and soour website has information on breastfeeding, natural birth, cloth nappies,baby wearing, elimination communicationand other topics which we hope toexpand. If you know of any authors thathave articles on natural baby, birth andparenting topics maybe you could put mein touch with them.Thanks once again for a great magzineI am certainly going to start buying thisone myself.Sally Cameron, www.earthbabies.co.zaMy faith in humans restored!I have just moved to Cape Town, discoveredyour mag and have my faith in humansrestored! Have spent the last seven years inLondon and was terrified of coming back to SAbut am soooooo happy to find that I need nothave feared, SA is moving in leaps and boundson the organic and environmentally consciousfront!While in the UK I studied for a Diploma inNatural Nutrition, I also hold a Reiki MasterCertificate as well as an Itec Diploma inAnatomy, Physiology and Body Massage. Thereason I am telling you all this is that I wrotean article which I am hoping you would liketo publish in your wonderful magazine, and Ithought you may want to know that I didn’tjust suck the info out of my thumb! I sincerelyhope you find it of some interest.Many thanks for a most informative read, mayyou go from strength to strength!Eulela Rabie[You can read Eulela’s article on page 46.]Back issuesI just love your magazine! My partner and I jealously guard our time around it!Lucky for me we read at different times of the day!I would like to buy the whole set from your first issue and bind it as a gift for afriend of mine. How much would this cost? Thanks again for a really kief mag!NatalieBack issues are available at R15 each, including postage. Please email coral@biophile.co.za to order.Bravo!Just one word: BRAVO!Your last Biophile is absolutely wonderful and as a French women living inSouth-Africa, I am very proud to tell my fellow citizens that South Africa isshowing the example in many different ways.Sabine ThomasGlobal Warming CartoonWell done on the excellent job you guys are doing, I’m so glad to see this stuffhappening in South Africa. I’m writing because I’m a cartoonist (Weekender,Sunday Independent, New Yorker) and I had a cartoon you might want to use.Nim GevaThanks, Nim! We’ve used your cartoon on page 45Biophile Issue 13

InboxSeeds of Hope and ChangeThank you for all the great work that you do. If there were more people in the world whoshared your interest in the environment and the planet, life would be much easier — andmuch healthier — for everyone.Some people that argue that environmental activism and animal rights movements arevirtually non-existent in South Africa, and on the African continent in general. I stronglyhope and believe that one day this will change. Spreading awareness is the key to the future.I have enormous faith in the potential of mankind, but people need to take the time to actuallythink the impact humanity has on their ultimate source of life, the Earth.Can you imagine if more people around the world were not afraid to try to do somethingto prevent the destruction done to the environment and the natural world? Can you imaginea world where people don’t eat meat?I believe it would be more peaceful.With few exceptions, vegans and vegetarians seem to be more peaceful by nature, thanpeople that eat meat. Passion and gratitude for our mother Earth needs to be stirred up andeverything she provides us with, the oxygen that we breath, the forest that create it, thevast fields which provide a source of nourishment in the form of plants and of course thehope for the wellbeing of our animals friends (who should not be killed and eaten but ratherprotected and left to freely live their natural life).What Biophile is doing makes a big difference!Stay brave and strong and carry on the good fight! We need more people like you around,creating awareness is planting the seeds of hope and change.Paul LibertyPeace, Love and Chaos ‘zineexist52002@yahoo.comWe are here to love...feel that we are here on this planet to Love.I If our every thought, word and action tookLove into consideration, perhaps the Earthand it’s inhabitants as a whole would befar better off. When it comes to discussingor debating various issues, I feel we oftenforget ourselves in this regard, as our egosteps in instead.One only needs to read the letters sent into our national newspapers and even to Biophilerecently, to see examples of the needfor more understanding and compassionbetween those who hold differing perspectives.Ifwe cannot present our argumentswithout still holding a love and respectfor the person or people with whom ourviews differ, then perhaps we have moreessential issues to deal with first.It seems to me that more often than not,when we hold a particular view, we, or ratherour ego’s, are personally offended when thisview is contested. It perhaps means thatwe have allowed ourselves to become tooattached to the view in question. As such weare unable to discuss the issue freely, or evenbe open to having our views modified orchanged. Our ability to listen is reduced, aswe simply defend our egos.Although in the written word it is harderto detect tone than in the spoken, the wordswe choose to use, and the way we choose toHemp nappiesI was so delighted to see your extensivecoverage given to hemp in Biophile Issue12. You did however miss out one use…cloth nappies! I have been doing extensivetesting using hemp in my Bio-Babanappies. When I first started producingthe nappies, they contained a syntheticfleece which did the ‘absorbing bit’… thedifference between that and the hempwhich they now contain is unbelievable!The more you wash the hemp, the moreabsorbent it becomes.Hemp also obviously has the addedenvironmental benefits of using lesspesticides in its growth as well as havinganti-bacterial properties, which isgreat for nappies. Hemp now does allthe hard work in Bio-Baba nappies. If Icould make a completely hemp nappy,I would… but unfortunately we stillhave to import the stuff which makes itcostly. Come on Government, let’s showthe world another sustainable solution— start putting money behind the localhemp industry now!Victoria Penfold, Bio-Babause them are often telling. When the writercasts dispersions and makes assumptionsabout the character of those to whom theyappear opposed, than the tone of the piecebecomes clearer. To me at least, there seemsto be little Love in making such assumptions,when all the person one is opposing isdoing is simply offering a different perspective.Perhaps there is no greater issuethan that of HIV and AIDS, to raise the egosunfortunate defence mechanisms.I personally have many questions regardingthe science, medicine, philosophy andconstructions that have resulted in the ideathat HIV is the cause of AIDS. As calledfor in a letter to Biophile two issues ago,compassion is required from those whodon’t currently believe in the HIV=AIDShypothesis, towards those who have beendiagnosed and believe in the diagnosis andthe treatments that come with it.In turn, no less compassion is requiredfor those who do not choose to believe intheir diagnosis, and who’s experiencesregarding HIV and AIDS do not fit with thecurrent position and understandings ofmedical authorities. There are those whohave returned to health from what mightbe described as ‘full blown AIDS’ simplythrough natural and holistic means, as theycome to see their conditions through a questioningor alternative perspective.The medical authorities and mainstreammedia will not acknowledge or speak forsuch people, but rather seek to underminethose, like our current health minister, whohave tried to. I ask why we would choose tobelieve the words of those who so visiblydisplay a lack of Love?To some this might seem irrational, tome, it couldn’t be more…I feel that Love does not make up itsmind, but leaves it open. That Love allowsquestions, and is able to question, and thatLove treats those who have differing perspectiveswith Love. If we can discuss anddebate with such sentiments in mind, whileacknowledging the existence and allowingthe practice of other schools of thought,then we will surely come to learn from eachother, be united through our discussionsrather than divided, and the individual willbe better positioned to have all informationat hand so to become the authority overtheir own health.If I have spoken too much for Love, oranything else, feel sure that as an individualI acknowledge the subjectivity of my opinions,and in so doing I hope I give room forothers, in striving for a more harmoniouscollective whole.Daniel Biophile Issue 13

the biofilesnews and views from around our worldUpdated every day on our website: www.biophile.co.za/biofilesSweet. Bananas to fuelmethane plantOver a year ago we mentionedthat in the Australian farmerswere thinking about usingbanana waste as a fuel source.The brainstorming is over. Witha grant of almost A$200,000awarded by the Sustainable IndustriesDivision of the QueenslandEnvironmental ProtectionAgency, it’s ‘all systems go’ tobuild a pilot plant in the town ofTully. This test unit will service a400 acre banana plantation. It’sestimated that between 10% to30% of the crop becomes wasteand the project will see if it isviable to convert this residuein a natural gas to power farmtractors, machinery and vehicles.It seems that the bendy yellowthings produce a cleaner and lessstinky gas than other methanesources, such as human sewageor piggery waste. [ABC Online]US to extend daylightsavings time in 2007This is, of course, designed toconserve energy by taking advantageof the daylight. Dr DavidPrerau, who was a consultantfor Congress on the bill, statesthat by adding this extra time toDST will shave one percent — 3billion kilowatt hours — off theUnited States’ power bill. ApparentlyDST has been credited withmore than just saving energy.It’s also been known to decreasecrime rates and the number oftraffic accidents and increaseparticipation in outdoor activities.[AMC Outdoors]Electricity from seaweedSeaweed is great stuff in misosoup, but too much of a goodthing, rotting on the beach,can get a bit smelly. Tokyo GasCompany is now collecting it, fermentingit in vats and generatingmethane gas, which then is usedto produce electricity. Seaweedalso absorbs a lot of CO2 while itgrows, so using it as a biomassfuel produces energy without anet gain in greenhouse gases.This gives new meaning to thephrase “power plant”, the first ofwhich will open next year. [WebJapan]Architectural Windcompany called Aero Vironoment hasA unveiled a compact wind turbine calledArchitectural Wind which runs quietly andproduces very little vibration. The designharnesses the building’s own aerodynamicproperties to generate power. Mounted on thebuilding parapets rather than on the roof theturbine catches the wind as it travels up the sideof a building, which in some cases results in a30% increase in energy production. The turbineis 2m tall, and weighs 27kg. It requires only a10km/h breeze to start up, and produces roughly55kWh per month per unit. There is also an “avianprotection” option, which is designed to keepbirds out of the turbine. [www.avinc.com]Richest woman is paper recyclerpaper recycling entrepreneur worth an estimated $3.4bn hasA topped the list of China’s richest people, the first time a womanhas been ranked first. Ms Zhang Yin, after starting up Nine DragonsPaper just a few years ago, has become the world’s richest selfmadewoman, surpassing US talk show host Oprah Winfrey andJ.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter author. Ms Zhang’s company, of whichshe owns 72 per cent, buys scrap paper from the US and processesit in China for sale in that country, and also in products which areexported—back to the US! Surely a very inefficient, energy-wastingand environmentally-unfriendly way of doing things. [Treehugger]Love what you do, or do something elseYou’ll never achieve real success unless you likewhat you’re doing.No one has ever succeeded in a line of endeavorwhich they did not like.Your chances of success are directly proportional tothe degree of pleasure you derive from what you do.If you hate your job, get out.Chikuno CubeMade from compressed bamboo charcoal,the Chikuno Cube air purifier is meant toreplace the ugly yellow box of baking soda inthe fridge or smelly wall plug-in. It has kind of amysterious air about it, which is only enhancedwith this quasi-cryptic translation from theChikuno website: “Remainder the efficiency where thebamboo charcoal which is not known yet is splendid.You pull out that to the maximum, as much as possibleyou would like to make the charcoal which the place ortime do not choose. Including such thinking, it has bigpower, the cube of the small charcoal was made. ”We think something may have been lost intranslation. The honeycomb pattern increases surfacearea and increases its purifying power, whichwill last up to a year. While it may seem a trifleunneccessary, we’re still glad to see it — it furtherproves that bamboo indeed makes the world go‘round and serves a useful function while lookinggood. [www.chikunolife.com]It’s better to be a failure in something you love,than attempting to be a success in something youdon’t.Don’t set compensation as a goal: find the work youlove, and the compensation will follow.The more you love what you are doing, the moresuccessful it will be for you.Biophile Issue 13

BiofilesQuiter, greener planesMore and more of us fly everyyear. As we do so, the politicalpressure to act to curb greenhousegas emissions from planesis rising. Now a team of researchersin Britain and the US hascome up with a revolutionarynew aircraft design that couldmake a dramatic contribution tocurbing climate change.The SAX-40, which has been developedby the Cambridge-MITInstitute, is a radically differentshape of aircraft. Officially, itis what is known as a “blendedwing”. It has a tailless wedgeshapedbody with two bat-wings.The Silent Aircraft Initiative (SAI)has succeeded in coming up witha radically quieter plane which isalso 35% more fuel-efficient thanany current airliner, and with highfuel costs likely to continue, fuelefficiency is a major factor in allairlines’ calculations.[www.cambridge-mit.org/research/sai]Climate Credit CardDutch bank Rabobank is aimingto neutralize the purchase of energy-hungrygoods and servicesby introducing a “climate creditcard” that puts money into environmentallyfriendly projects.The climate-conscious card willpay a sum proportionate to thetype of purchase into environmentalprojects run by the WorldWide Fund for Nature (WWF),with the level of contributionbeing decided by the impactthe purchase would make upongreenhouse gas emissions. Forexample, an airplane ticket or fillupat a petrol station would givea greater contribution than aneveryday trip to the grocerystore or a meal at arestaurant.[Insurance Businessreview]Lt. Watada’s war against the warFirst Lt. Ehren Watada has refused orders to goto Iraq. He says the war and the occupationviolate the Constitution, international law andArmy regulations.In a remarkable protest from inside the ranksof the military, First Lieut. Ehren Watada has becomethe US Army’s first commissioned officer topublicly refuse orders to fight in Iraq on groundsthat the war is illegal. The 28-year-old announcedhis decision not to obey orders to deploy to Iraq ina video press conference, saying, “My participationwould make me party to war crimes.”An artillery officer stationed at Fort Lewis,Washington, Watada wore a business suit ratherthan his military uniform when making his statement.“He concluded that the warwas based on false pretenses,ranging from the nonexistentweapons of mass destructionto the claim that Saddamhad ties to Al Qaeda and 9/11to the idea that the UnitedStates is in Iraq to promotedemocracy.”“It is my conclusion as an officer of the armedforces that the war in Iraq is not only morallywrong but a horrible breach of American law,”he said. “Although I have tried to resign out ofprotest, I am forced to participate in a war that ismanifestly illegal. As the order to take part in anillegal act is ultimately unlawful as well, I mustas an officer of honor and integrity refuse thatorder.”A native of Hawaii who enlisted in the ArmyAll knowledge is powerYou build the power to accomplish your goalswhen you educate yourself.This power comes from knowing how to dosomething.Power is the product of understanding.The most successful people in life are the oneswith the best information.after graduating from college in 2003, Watadadiffers from other military personnel who havesought conscientious-objector status to avoiddeployment to Iraq.Watada said that at first he gave the Bush Administrationthe benefit of the doubt as it built thecase for war. But when he discovered he was beingsent to Iraq, he began reading everything he could,such as James Bamford’s Pretext for War. He concludedthat the war was based on false pretenses,ranging from the nonexistent weapons of massdestruction to the claim that Saddam had ties toAl Qaeda and 9/11 to the idea that the United Statesis in Iraq to promote democracy.His investigation led him to question the verylegality of the war. In an interview with DemocracyNow!, he explained that as he read articles byexperts on international and constitutional law,reports from governmental and nongovernmentalagencies, revelations from independent journalists,writings by the Iraqi people and the words ofsoldiers coming home, “I came to the conclusionthat the war and what we’re doing over there isillegal.” [AlterNet]People with power are people who know how toget things done.Knowing how to do something issometimes virtually the same as having done it.Knowledge will come to you by having your eyesand mind always open.There is no knowledge that is not power.In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Biophile Issue 13

Biologically inspiredocean powerBiological inspiration or biomimetics canhelp people think outside the box of humanengineering. Dr. Tim Finnigan, CEO of BioPowerSystems, has taken bio-inspiration literallyin his pitch to create the bioWAVE and thebioSTREAM.Both systems try to take advantage of thebiophysical properties marine animals and plantshave adopted for living in near shore wave andhigh flow environments and are meant to oscillateback and forth in ocean currents rather thanrotating like a turbine. They use a proprietarydrivetrain to convert that low-speed high-torqueoscillation into high-speed low-torque rotation ofa permanent magnet motor.Oscillating instead of rotating makes themmuch less dangerous to sea creatures; the onlypossibility of harm to fish and other creaturesis them getting smacked by a device, which isunlikely, since the waves that push the deviceswill also be pushing the fish in the same direction.Even the base that holds these devices to theocean floor is biologically inspired in its design--rather than having a single beefy piling, it hasmany small “roots” bolting it to the seabed. Thisway installing the system is easier and cheaper--it“does not require large specialised vessels or drillrigs due to the small gauge of each bolt.”BioPower Systems is using their seed moneyto build prototype models in an effort to get theseideas to market within two to three years. TheBioPower Systems website biopowersystems.comdoes a beautiful job of presenting the technology.The bioWAVE takes advantage of near shorewave environments. The design appears to beinspired directly by the kelp. There appear to betwo specific advantages of this design. First, thedevice “lies flat against seabed during extremeconditions” which is a good idea to reduce thepotential for damage, something most other waveenergy platforms do not directly address. Second,the “zero visual impact” may make this technologymore palpable for people who do not wantbig floating buoys. The bioSTREAM mimics asharks tail and shares the “no visual impact” benefitof the bioWAVE. [biopowersystems.com]BiofilesThe wave energy conversion system, bioWAVE, isbased on the swaying motion of sea plants in thepresence of ocean waves.The tidal energy conversion system, bioSTREAM,is based on the highly efficient propulsion of Thunniformmode swimming species, such as shark,tuna, and mackerel.The Wake Up lightThe human body is so attunedto the rhythms of the sun thatsimulating its dawn is actuallyhighly beneficial. PhilipsElectronics has developed a new,medically proven wake-up lamp,which emits light that graduallyincreases to the intensity youhave selected, simulating therising sun in your bedroom andgently preparing your body towake up. The light falls on youreyes and sends your brain a messageto reduce the production ofmelatonin, the sleep-inducinghormone. Over 30 minutes, thenatural light gradually increasesto reach the optimal intensity towake you up at the set time, in apleasant manner that leaves youfeeling energized and ready towake up. The Wake-up Light willbe available in 2007. [Philips]Other people’s rubbishSouth African designer HeathNash is out to figure out whatdesign language could expressa contemporary aesthetic of ourcountry. His collection of lampshadesand other handcraftedlifestyle products showcases hisexperiments with ‘craft techniques’as a high end design tool.However he does it, you’d neverguess that the lampshades picturedbelow are made from usedmilk bottles and “other people’srubbish”.[www.incapetown.com/heathnash]Biophile Issue 13

How therich getricher»In 1985, the Forbes 400 were worth $221billion combined. Today, they’re worth $1.13Trillion—more than the gdp of Canada.»Among the Forbes 400 who gave to a 2004presidential campaign, 72% gave to bush.»In 2005, there were 9 million Americanmillionaires, a 62% increase since 2002.»In 2005, 25.7 Million Americans receivedfood stamps, a 49% increase since 2000.»Only estates worth more than $1.5 Millionare taxed. That’s less than 1% of all estates.Still, repealing the estate tax will cost thegovernment at least $55 billion a year.»Only 3% of students at the top 146 collegescome from families in the bottom incomequartile; only 10% come from the bottomhalf.»Bush’s tax cuts give a 2-child family earning$1 million an extra $86,722—or Harvardtuition, room, board, and an iMac G5 forboth kids.»The 5th leading philanthropist last yearwas Boone Pickens, in part due to his $165million gift to Oklahoma State University’sgolf program. Within an hour, OSU investedit in a hedge fund Pickens controls. Thanksto a Katrina relief provision, his “gift” wasalso 100% deductible.»BiofilesA 2-child family earning $50,000 gets$2,050—or 1/5 the cost of public college forone kid.»This year, Donald Trump will earn $1.5Million an hour to speak at learning annexseminars.»Adjusted for inflation, the federal minimumwage has fallen 42% since its peak in1968.»A minimum wage employee in the USAwho works 40 hours a week for 51 weeks ayear goes home with $10,506 before taxes.»Such a worker would take 7,000 years toearn Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s yearly compensation.Ellisonrecently posed in VanityFair with his $300 million, 454-foot yacht,which he noted is “really only the size of avery large house.”»Only the wealthiest 20% of Americansspend more on entertainment than onhealth care.»The $17,530 earned by the average Wal-Mart employee last year was $1,820 belowthe poverty line for a family of 4.»Five of America’s 10 richest people areWal-Mart heirs.»US Public companies spend 10% of theirearnings compensating their top 5 executives.»The US Government spends $500,000on 8 security screeners who speed execsfrom a wall street helipad to American’s JFKterminal.»United has cut the pensions and salariesof most employees but promised 400 top executives8% of the shares it expects to issueupon emerging from bankruptcy.»10 Former Enron directors agreed to payshareholders a $13 million settlement—which is 10% of what they made by dumpingstock while lying about the company’shealth.»Poor Americans spend 1/4 of their incomeon residential energy costs.»Exxon’s 2005 profit of $36.13 billion ismore than the gdp of 2/3 of the world’s nations.»CEO pay among military contractors hastripled since 2001. For David Brooks, theCEO of bulletproof vest maker DHB, it’srisen 13,233%.»For performing in the LIVE 8 concerts to“make poverty history,” musicians each gotgift bags worth up to $12,000.»One of Madonna’s recent freebies: $10,000mink and diamond-tipped false eyelashes.» Paris Hilton, who charges clubs $200,000to appear for 20 minutes, stiffed Elton John’sAids benefit the $2,500-per-plate fee sheowed.»$475According to Radar magazine, Owen Wilsonwas paid $100,000 to attend a Mercedes-Benz-sponsored Hamptons polo match.When other guests tried to speak with him,he reportedly said, “that’s not my job.”[Mother Jones]A WORLD OF DIFFERENCECEO pay for each dollar earnedby the average worker$22 $21 $20 $15 $11USA UK SouthAfricaCanada France JapanIBM Starting GreenResearch UnitIBM recently asked all of its employeesto submit ideas for how tohelp the company grow. It calledthe process the Innovation Jam,which I’m sure had employeesacross the nation rolling theireyes at Big Blue. But one of the tenideas that managed to make it outon top was a green research businessunit that will be somewhatautonomous from IBM.The currently unnamed businessunit will focus on ideas thatwill directly benefit the environment,develop them, market themand implement them. Already,projects that were proposed atIBM’s research labs but have notbeen developed are being handedover. These include a networkingsystem for effective managementof municipal water supplies, usingnanotechnology for inexpensivedesalination and creating moreefficient solar cells.The business unit will be startedwith at least $10 million in seedmoney, and Pete Horn, director ofIBM research, believes that it willbe self sustaining almost immediately.“ We kind of think that givenhow big the opportunity is here,it’s almost a slam dunk for us.”[Hugg] Biophile Issue 13

BiofilesVenice welcomes first solar-powered vaporettoVenice recently welcomed a new solar-poweredvaporetto to the Grand Canal. Owned andoperated by the Bauer Hotel Group, the “B mareshuttle boat” is powered by solar energy collectedon the roof of the boat.The vaporetto is not only emission free, it isalso very quiet and does not produce troublesomewaves - each of which are important issueson the Venetian canals. The components of theView every problem as an opportunityThere is always a good side to every situation.Stay optimistic and try to see an opportunity inyour problems, not pessimistic and see problems inevery opportunity. The optimist sees the doughnut,the pessimist sees the hole.shuttle boat require no external lubrication, donot have combustible parts and require no batterymaintenance besides a change of battery onceevery seven years. Among the places in the worldthat will experience a major impact from globalwarming, Venice may be the leading candidate formost threatened. The rise in water levels wouldcause unfathomable damage to the delicate city.[FamilyTravelForum.com]You can develop success from any failureFailure is one of the surest stepping stones tosuccess.No element can do as much for you as failure can, ifyou’re willing to study it and make capital out of it.When it is dark enough you can see the stars.Electric scooter launchedAfter 10 years of designing, developing andtesting its electric scooter, Vectrix is finallyready to unleash it on the world. The companyhas announced they’ll launch the Electric Maxi-Scooter at the 64th International MotorcycleExhibition in Milan in November.The scooter accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5.8seconds, tops out at 100 km/h and has a range ofabout 110 km at 40 km/h. The Nickel Metal Hydride(NiMH) battery pack recharges in about twohours and is designed for 1,700 cycles. the scooteris currently being built in a USA facility which hasa production capacity of 12,000 units per year, butVectrix plans to shift full-scale production to Wroclaw,Poland by the end of the year, where capacityis 38,000 units per year.The company is also gearing up to unveil a fuelcell version of the same scooter, whose range willbe closer to 250 km. [vectrixusa.com]Biophile Issue 13Global warming couldtrigger insect boomA rise in the Earth’s temperaturecould lead to an increase in thenumber of insects worldwide,with potentially dire consequencesfor humans, a new study inthe October issue of The AmericanNaturalist suggests.Insect species living in warmerareas are more likely to undergorapid population growth becausethey have higher metabolic ratesand reproduce more frequently.The consequences could be moreserious than just a few extra bugbites each summer. If they’recrop species, we can expect hugelosses in agricultural productionand a drastic rise in pesticide use.Insect-borne diseases are alsoa worry. Malaria, Lyme Diseaseand a host of others rely oninsect vectors to spread amonghumans. Already, scientists haveobserved a widening of malarialzones with new cases appearingin previously unaffected areas.[Live Science]Air Shower cuts water useAustralian scientists have developeda simple ‘air shower’ whichfills the water droplets with a tinybubble of air. The result is theshower feels just as wet and justas strong as before, but now usesabout 30% less water. Given theaverage household uses about200,000 litres of water a year,and showers account for nearlya third of this, the ‘air shower’could help the average householdsave about 20,000 litres a year. Ifyou extend this across the population,that is an annual saving ofmore than 45,000 Olympic-sizedswimming pools. [CSIRO]Solar SpainSpain has just passed a lawrequiring every new or newlyrenovatedbuilding to have solarpower systems. For years, Spainhasn’t had the economy or theregulatory will to pass stringentenvironmental regulations. Untillast year, their building codehadn’t been updated since the1970s. “We have to make up thetime we have lost,” said EnvironmentMinister Cristina Narbona.All homes now have to have, atleast, hot water solar systemsand all new businesses have togenerate solar electricity. Otherregulations include mandatoryuse of insulation and use ofnatural light. All together, thesepractices should decrease Spain’selectricity use by up to 40%.

BiofilesWord Of The Year“Carbon neutral” has beennamed The New Oxford AmericanDictionary’s Word of theYear for 2006. “Carbon neutral”beat out “CSA” (communitysupported agriculture), “DRM”(digital rights management) and“dwarf planet” for the honourof a permanent spot in America’scultural lexicon. Said ErinMcKean, editor in chief of theNew Oxford American Dictionary,“The increasing use of the wordcarbon neutral reflects not justthe greening of our culture, butthe greening of our language.When you see first graders tryingto make their classrooms carbonneutral, you know the word hasbecome mainstream. All the Oxfordlexicographers look forwardto choosing the Word of the Year.We know that people love fun,flashy words like truthiness orthe latest Bushism, but we arealways looking for a word that isboth reflective of the events andconcerns of the past year andalso forward-looking: a word thatwe think will only become moreused and more useful as timegoes on.” [Oxford University Press]Bush appointee rejectedendangered species adviceA senior Bush political appointee at the InteriorDepartment has rejected staff scientists’ recommendationsto protect imperiled animals andplants under the Endangered Species Act at leastsix times in the past three years, documents show.In addition, staff complaints that their scientificfindings were frequently overruled or disparagedat the behest of landowners or industry have ledthe agency’s inspector general to look into the roleof Julie MacDonald, who has been deputy assistantsecretary of the interior for fish and wildlife andparks since 2004, in decisions on protectingendangered species. The documents show thatMacDonald has repeatedly refused to go alongwith staff reports concluding that species such asthe white-tailed prairie dog (right) and the Gunnisonsage grouse are at risk of extinction. Careerofficials and scientists urged the department toidentify the species as either threatened or endangered.[Washington Post]Australia plans major solar plantAustralia is to build one of the world’s biggest solarpower plants. Canberra said it would be contributingA$75m to the A$420m plant due to be built inthe state of Victoria and A$50m in funding towardsa major project to reduce carbon emissions fromcoal. Australia — a leading exporter in coal — hasbeen criticised for failing to sign the Kyoto Protocol,arguing that the 1997 agreement would damage thedomestic economy.But the country has been forced to confront theissue of climate change with a prolonged drought— the worst in a century — that is destroying thelivelihoods of thousands of farmers.World’s pollution hotspots mappedA US-based environmental charity has documentedwhat it calls the 10 most pollutedplaces on the planet.The Blacksmith Institute (blacksmithinstitute.org) says three of the hotspots are in Russia, withthe remainder dotted in various countries.Heavy metals such as lead are the main sourcesof pollution, with 10 million people affectedacross the locations. The institute surveyed scientistsand environmental bodies across the world tocompile its list, and is running clean-up projectsin some of the sites. The charity has focusedlargely on locations where people are affected bythe pollution.“A particular concern of all these cases is theaccumulating and long lasting burden buildingup in the environment and in the bodies of thepeople most directly affected,” said the institute’sdirector Richard Fuller. “There are places wherelife expectancy approaches medieval rates, wherebirth defects are the norm not the exception,where children’s asthma rates are measured above90%, and where mental retardation is endemic,”the report says.Sasol says they’re ‘not responsible’South African petrochemical giant Sasol has deniedspeculation that it was responsible for the massstranding and death of nearly 40 dolphins off theMozambican island of Bazaruto. Sasol recentlyapplied for permission from Mozambican environmentalauthorities to conduct underwater seismicexploration tests for gas and oil in the oceanic zonesurrounding the Bazaruto Archipelago NationalPark, a specially protected marine reserve and populartourist destination south of the city of Beira.Sasol’s proposed exploration work involves blastingsound waves into the sea using ship-based air guns,which profile the shape of the ocean bed.“In countries where life expectancies may behalf that of the richest nations, the unfortunatesin these areas do not even survive that long or ifthey do, it is in suffering.”Research by UN agencies suggests about 20% ofpremature deaths worldwide may be attributableto environmental factors.Chernobyl, site of the best known industrialaccident in recent years, is on the list; but theremainder would be largely unknown to the uninitiated.They include:• Dzerzhinsk in Russia, a Cold War chemicalweapons site• Linfen, heart of China’s coal industry• Kabwe in Zambia, site for mining and smeltingof metals including lead• Haina in the Dominican Republic, where batteryrecycling and smelting have left huge concentrationsof lead in residents• Ranipet in India, where more than 3 millionpeople are affected by tannery wasteThe institute is involved in starting remediationprogrammes in about half of the 10 sites, andhopes to stimulate action in the others. [BBC News]10 Biophile Issue 13

I AMTIKI destroy homes,I tear families apart,take your children,and that’s just the start.I’m more costly than diamonds,more precious than gold,The sorrow I bring is a sight to behold.If you need me,remember! I’m easily found,I live all around you –in schools and in town.I live with the rich;I live with the poor,I live down the streetand maybe next door.I’m made in a lab,but not like you think,I can be made under the kitchen sink.In your child’s closetand even in the woods,If this scares you to death,well it certainly should.I have many names,but there’s one you know best,I’m sure you’ve heard of me,my name is crystal meth.My power is awesome; try me you’ll see,But if you do, you may never break free.Just try me once and I might let you go,But try me twice,and I’ll own your soul.When I possess you,you’ll steal and you’ll lie,You do what you have to --just to get high.LETMELEADYOUTOHELLThe crimes you’ll commitfor my narcotic charmsWill be worth the pleasureyou’ll feel in your arms, (your lungs, andyour nose).You’ll lie to your mother;you’ll steal from your dad,When you see their tears,you should feel sad.But you’ll forget your moralsand how you were raised,I’ll be your conscience,I’ll teach you my ways.I take kids from parents,and parents from kids,I turn people from God,and separate friends.I’ll take everything from you,your looks and your pride,I’ll be with you always -- right byyour side.You’ll give up everything - your family,your home,Your friends, your money,then you’ll be alone.I’ll take and take,till you have nothing more to give,When I’m finished with you,you’ll be lucky to live.If you try me be warned - this is no game,If given the chance, I’ll drive you insane.I’ll ravish your body, I’ll control your mind,I’ll own you completely,your soul will be mine.The nightmares I’ll give youwhile lying in bed,The voices you’ll hear,from inside your head.The sweats, the shakes,the visions you’ll see,I want you to know,these are all gifts from me.But then it’s too late,and you’ll know in your heart,that you are mine, and we shall not part.You’ll regret that you tried me,they always do,But you came to me, not I to you.I’llTAKEEVERYTHINGFROMYOUYou knew this is would happen,many times you were told,But you challenged my power,and chose to be bold.You could have said no,and just walked away,If you could live that day over,now what would you say?I’ll be your master,you will be my slave,I’ll even go with you,when you go to your grave.Now that you have met me,what will you do?Will you try me or not?It’s all up to you.I can bring you more miserythan words can tell,Come take my hand,let me lead you to hell.Biophile Issue 13 11

HEROES OF THE HOUR: AMERICA’S VOTERS, who have placedthe Democrats in control of both the House and the Senate for thefirst time in 12 years. Within hours of the Nov. 7 mid-term elections,in which voters expressed their disaffection with the US-led war inIraq, US war secretary Donald Rumsfeld fell on his sword, handingPresident George Bush his resignation. In exit polls voters said thatterrorism, corruption and Iraq were most importantin their choices. Almost six in 10 disapproved ofthe war in Iraq. A solid majority of voters saidthe US should withdraw some or all of its troopsfrom Iraq. For the first time since 1994, theDemocrats — who presented themselvesas opponents of Bush’s “stay-the-course”policy on the Iraq war — will have a majorityin the houses of Congress.THUMBS UPVODACOM, who willbe employing more than220 previously unemployedindividuals to help clean upSouth African beaches.For the second year running,Vodacom will ensure that pristinebeaches await holidaymakers withthe Vodacom National Beach Clean-Upcampaign, which starts on December 15 andruns until January 8.A total of 22 selected beaches throughoutKwaZulu-Natal, the Western, Southern andEastern Cape will be cleaned daily over the23-day period. Last year’s project saw theremoval of 47 000 bags of waste from theSouth African coastline, with KZN cleanersamassing 11 500 bags of waste. Litter hasa negative impact on marine and bird life,which can either choke or become tangledin it.EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE for theirquick response to the plight of a leopardwhich villagers had chased into a tree afterit killed a goat.“We decided to react swiftly... as the communitydoes not react kindly to wild animalskilling their livestock. They could havekilled the leopard. We also wanted to avoidconflict with the community as they tendto want to claim for compensation if oneof their stock gets killed by a wild animal,”said Ezemvelo spokesperson Jeff Gaisford.THE BORN FREE FOUNDATION hasreleased a trio of circus lions — rescuedfrom a “beast wagon” attached to the FrenchCirque Katia Ulmann — back into the Africanwild of Shamwari Game Reserve in theEastern Cape. The new arrivals brought thetotal of lions being kept at two Born Freecentres in Shamwari — one in the south andthe new complex in the east, 5km outsideAlicedale — to eight plus a leopard.The animals were all rescued from zoosand circuses. Born Free estimates that thereare 450 lions being kept in captivity inFrench circuses alone.WAL-MART,the world’s largest retailer, wants to sellevery one of its regular customers — 100million in all — one compact fluorescentbulb over the next 12 months. In the process,it may change energy consumption in theUnited States, and energy consciousness,too. Teaming up with General Electric,which owns about 60% of the residentiallightbulb market in the United States,Wal-Mart wants to single-handedly doubleU.S. sales for CFLs in a year, and it wantsdemand to surge forward after that.CLIFTON HALL HOMEOWNERS’ASSOCIATION in Hillcrest,KZN. CliftonHall, a “gated community” recycles up to 50percent of its waste. The Association offershomeowners and domestic workers trainingcourses to reduce the volume of waste sentto the local dump. During a recent Instituteof Waste Management awards ceremony,sponsored by the KZN department ofagriculture and environmental affairs,where the Association won a Gold Award,GATEWAY SHOPPING CENTRE inUmhlanga was presented with a SilverAward for recycling up to 60 percent of itswaste every month. Unused, edible foodfrom shops in the Centre is offered to needycommunities.JOHANNESBURG will not create morelandfill sites despite that fact that in justseven years from now three of the city’s fivesites will be full, reducing waste disposalcapacity by 70%. “We all know we have alandfill crisis in Johannesburg but buildingnew sites is not the way to go,” said mayoralcommittee member for infrastructure andservices Ross Greeff. “At the rapid pace thecity is growing, the only way we can go is toensure zero waste to landfills by 2022,” hesaid.NICKY and STRILLI OPPENHEIMER havereceived the Lonmin WWF-SA ConservationAward for 2006 for promoting a cultureof sustainable use and preservation ofour natural heritage. At its AGM on 10November, the conservation organisation’sCEO in SA, Tony Frost, said: “Each yearwe entertain nominations for the covetedmedal but we only award it when we arecertain there is a worthy recipient. For thesereasons it is by no means an annual award.”Frost added that extensive investigation bythe organisation and its Board showed theOppenheimers to be deserving recipientsthrough their extraordinary contributionto conservation in South Africa and beyond.“They have not only acquired land andmade sure that it is properly conserved,but have, in addition, done extensive workto involve communities and to empowerpeople in their efforts to enhance a cultureof conservation wherever they have apresence.”12Biophile Issue 13

VILLAIN OF THE PIECE: GARETH CLIFF of 5fm radio is illinformedabout the nature, causes and implications of climatechange. Commentators like Gareth Cliff like to court an imageof controversy or defiance and to portray themselves as independentthinkers. However, to suggest that climate changescience and the UN response is somehow the product of aself-serving conspiracy of ‘greenies’ or meddlesome bureaucratsis so numbingly naive and ill-informed as to suggest atotal lack of thought.Asserting that there is still some debate over whether ourmassive consumption of fossil fuels (stored energy accumulatedover hundreds of millions of years) and resulting greenhousegas emissions are having any impact on our climate system maymake for provocative media coverage, but such willful ignoranceis highly irresponsible.The Sustainable Energy and Climate Change (SECCP) projectof Earthlife Africa has challenged Gareth Cliff to debate this issueon his show, so that listeners may receive balanced and wellinformedinformation about climate change. [Eartlife Africa]THE AIRPORTS COMPANY OF SOUTHAFRICA (ACSA) which allowed 1,5-millionlitres of jet fuel worth about R8-million togush out of a faulty pipe at OR Tambo InternationalAirport, contaminating groundwaterand killing off fish and birdlife.November’s spillage was the second intwo months and the third since last year.Nicole Barlow of the Environment and ConservationAssociation has threatened theAirports Company of South Africa (Acsa)with legal action “for gross negligence anddamaging the environment”.“When there is one spillage it can be amistake. When there are two, it is clearlynegligence, but when there is a third, that iscriminal. We strongly believe that Acsa areguilty of severe negligence in all three spillagesand we hope to prove this in our caseagainst them.”.THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT,which has collected a 3c tax on every plasticcarrier bag manufactured or imported intothe country since May 2003, yet not a singlebag has been recycled. The bulk of themoney has gone straight into governmentcoffers. The tax was imposed on the manufacturingindustry with the intention thatthe money collected would be used to setup a national recycling programme, whichwould both clean up the environment andcreate thousands of jobs.CITRUSDAL FARMER, BIELIE VAN ZYL,who has dug up and drained a wetland onhis farm so that he can plant citrus trees inits place. Van Zyl said he had no need to getpermission to drain the wetland as it hadbeen created after a dam had been built inthe 1990s further downstream.But people from the area say the wetlandis natural and is fed by a spring a little wayTHUMBS DOWNupstream, which flows throughout the year.A local from the region, who did notwant to be named, said he believed the wetlandto be natural, and that it had been therefor at least the last 30 years.After months of controversy, Swiss companyXSTRATA was granted permission inNovember by AUSTRALIA’S NORTHERNTERRITORY REGIONAL GOVERNMENTto go ahead with a a massive open-cutlead and zinc mine near the coast. WhileAustralia’s economy is booming, thankslargely to Chinese demand for coal, ironore, and other resources, the increasedprospecting and the establishment of newmines is causing friction with indigenouscommunities in many remote parts of thecountry. The lead, zinc, and silver depositslie beneath the McArthur River, so Xstratawill have to divert it by three miles and alterthe course of two connecting creeks.The Yanyuwa people and their neighbors,the Gudanji tribe, say the McArthur Riverdevelopment is fraught with risk, includingthe danger of the mine’s dams beinginundated by floodwaters, releasing toxicmaterials into the environment.During the annual wet season the McArthurbecomes swollen with monsoon rainsand discharges into the sea a volume ofwater equal to seven times the capacity ofSydney Harbor. Another concern amongthe indigenous populations is a spiritualone. Aborigines worry that the diversionof the riverwill stirthe ancientspirits saidto inhabitthis timelesslandscapeof savannahgrassland, crocodileinfestedswamps andbillabongs (ponds).The Gudanji believe the McArthur River ishome to a giant “rainbow serpent” fromthe ancient Dreamtime era, when mythicalbeings roamed the continent. Upsetting theriver serpent will bring storms, cyclones,and other disasters, they claim.“People believe that they’ll slowly die ifthat rainbow serpent is disturbed,” saysFraser Baker, a Gudanji elder, also reachedby phone. “If you start messing withit, something bad is going to happen.People think sickness will come down theriver. Xstrata has done nothing for ourcommunities, and we don’t want the mineto go ahead.”Final approval for the mine has to begranted by the federal government inCanberra. PRIME MINISTER JOHNHOWARD recently threw his supportbehind the mine and said that it wouldcreate jobs. “It’s in the national interest thatthis country continues to be welcoming tomining operations,” he said. “It would be agreat shame if it did not take place.”Biophile Issue 13 13

EditorialIt’s time to change...“A little boy came home from school and complained to his mother, ‘I’m notgoing back tomorrow. I can’t read yet. I can’t write yet. And they won’t letme talk!’”The Happy ChildThere is no getting awayfrom the fact that there issomething wrong with how, whyand what we are teaching ourchildren. We are clearly in a crisison the planet, global warming is goingto change the way we live and we notpreparing our children for this. We arestuck in a time warp, using teachingmethods and information that havenot really changed or kept up with thetimes.Do yourself a favour and watch Al Gore’smovie An Inconvenient Truth on globalwarming and see for yourselves thecrisis we are really in. We daily facecrime, poverty and sickness all aroundus and yet we are not teaching ourchildren to take control of their owndestiny, or to fulfil their true potential.I am being alerted to this personallyby my eldest son who has never reallyfitted into the ‘system’. He is a wonderfulchild and gifted in so many ways…kind,clever, funny, compassionate, popular,extremely inquisitive, artistic, musicalto mention a few of his gifts (I may bea little biased, and he is certainly notwithout his challenges!), yet at school heis considered an ‘ADHD problem child!’The teachers throw up their handswith despair as he disrupts the classwith his humor (they don’t see the funnyside, and I don’t blame them), he fails tohand in his assignments, he bunks thelessons (“they are so boring Mum!”)….to mention a few of the reasons heclocks up many hours of ‘detention’every week! The teachers have a jobto do and he makes it very difficult forthem. I cringe when the phone callcomes through, not for the fear of thereprimanding tone of the poor teacher,but more from the fear that my preciouschild is in danger of his fragile teenageself esteem being battered yet again ashe is labeled with the usual tags given tothe children that simply rock the boat.I must add here that the majorityof teachers that I have come intocontact with have been wonderful,caring people and are only doingtheir best to get the job done workingin the confines of a very limitedsystem.You may ask why he is still there andthe answer is that he chooses to be, asthere are very little options available.He does not want to be different, andhe wants to ‘fit into’ the system, as heknows no other. He has been to a fewschools as we moved homes and everysingle one has suggested that I put himon Ritalin!Thank goodness, even in the dayswhen I was less aware of the dangersand the ‘whole picture’, it was alwaysabhorrent to even consider drugging mychild. I always find it interesting that heis quite capable of sitting quietly andlistening to something or someone thatinterests him, is extremely interested inpeople and their lives and asks endlessquestions, and can read a book forhours. And very occasionally he getsan amazing teacher, who manages tobring a subject alive and ‘bingo’ he isno longer ADHD…he even hands in hisassignments! It’s worse for boys as theyare naturally more boisterous and exuberant,they can disrupt the whole class,this in turn affects the class’s ‘learningoutcomes’, which in turn affects theschools reputation and position foracademic achievement (which is allimportant)…so its in everyone’s interestto drug him, or else he could be askedto leave!The interesting thing is that thesechildren are becoming more andmore common, and the label ADHD isbecoming something that is commonlybeing used to describe the childrenthat are simply being what children aredesigned to be…. inquisitive, noisy,impatient, adventurous, boisterous andrebellious. They were not meant to becaged against their will, sitting still forlengthy periods learning things thathold little or no interest or will be oflittle use to them in the future, and awayfrom the wonder of the natural worldand each other.When I was at school ADHD did notexist, and now they are holding conferencesacross the globe to address thetopic! The doctors and scientists havejumped onto the bandwagon as theydesperately try to seek out methodsto control the children….much to theglee of the pharmaceutical companieswho are now making millions from thedrugs that are being used to drug thespirited children into submission, andthe anti-depressants that are probablybeing used to treat the side effects ofthe drugs.“DRUGS HAVE NO THERAPEUTICOR MEDICAL PURPOSE; THEY SIMPLYTURN CHILDREN INTO ZOMBIES.”Dr Bob Jacobs.Apparently every single adolescentshootout in America has been done bya child on anti-depressants! (I stand tobe corrected on this, but I once heardit on a tape of a talk given by a doctorin the US who studied this.) What haschanged?I would say nothing has changedother than our preoccupation withthe detached, narrow focus on academicachievement, and rather thatchildren are not being allowed to bechildren... The natural exuberanceof children is simply inconvenientand deemed to be ‘inappropriate’ inour capitalist driven society!Children as young as 3 are beingdiagnosed with ADHD. February 2000Journal of American Medical Associationreported a 200 – 300% increase inantidepressant and stimulants given14 Biophile Issue 13

Editorialto children aged 3 and under. Ok thisis not America, and it was 7 years ago,but it does not take South Africa long tocatch up to the rest of the world. Whatever the figures are, you can be assuredthat they are increasing at an alarmingrate every year. At four years old, a boy’stestosterone level doubles, hardly a timeto be sitting quietly listening or learningpencil control!I was horrified to see the headline inthe Saturday Star (October 21st 2006)newspaper when visiting Johannesburgthe other day: “House arrest for kids…Education minister promises to get toughon unruly pupils!” A typical response tomost of the problems that we now facein the world... fighting fire with fire andmaking the blaze bigger still, insteadof looking beneath at the real reasonsfor the unrest and making the changesnecessary to bring peace, happiness andharmony. Furthermore it emphasizesthe necessity to start the movement forchange at grassroots levels; the governmentsimply doesn’t get it!Feeling uncomfortable with theschooling system is nothing new. Iremember the fear that rippled throughme as a child as my exquisite inquisitivenesswas slowly closed down bythe strict stereotype expectations andthe dry and lifeless teachings thatwere forced down my throat in orderto be regurgitated parrot fashion forthe exams so that one day I could go touniversity and then get a job! Both ofwhich I did! But was I happy and whatwisdom did I learn that has been of anyreal, lasting value I ask myself ? WhileI learned to read and write, (althoughmy spelling and grammar are still appalling,but who cares... I get by fine)the rest is pretty hazy. The art roomwas my sanctuary, that I do remember,and what comes easily to me does notnecessarily come easily to others andvice versa. This is often not recognizedin schools. Everyone has to be good ateverything, regardless of whether theyfind it interesting or have a naturalinclination towards it, or they are penalized(bad exam results) or worse stillpunished (detention). In most schoolschildren are forced to wear the sameclothes and have the same hair styles(again a rub off from the military modelthey are based on), leaving no room forindividuality or creatively. The uniformsare usually so hopelessly outdated anduncomfortable that it is laughable,forcing them to wear ‘ties’ has alwaysamazed me, even the girls sometimeswear them… Surely they symbolize anoose? They spend their precious childhoodfitting into a military style systemcalled ‘school’.It is no wonder our children arefighting against the system. Perhapsthey are aware on a deeper level thatour fragmented, disconnected societyand culture are destroying usand the planet, and that the crisisthat we find ourselves in is now criticaland needs to be acknowledgedand addressed immediately?“CHILDREN WOULD BE BETTEROFF RUNNING, JUMPING AND GENER-ALLY BEING CHILDREN IN ALL THEIRIMPERFECT GLORY.” Rachel RaggWe are disconnected in virtuallyevery aspect of our lives. A typical exampleis our family units. We send ourold into old age homes and the childrenoff to schools, where they are educatedby relative strangers from a curriculumdesigned by politicians and academictheorists totally removed from thechildren and their spiritual, emotionalor physical needs. We are disconnectedfrom each other, nature and spirit as wego to war fighting and killing each other(ostensibly in the name of religion,country or some other contrived excuse,but really to serve the powers that be asthey seek financial gain or the control ofa limited resource).And we are still determined toconquer and use nature for our purelyselfish pursuits. We have been TAUGHTnot to think at school, as the educationsystem, like our economy, is set up tocreate a product, and this product isa ‘worker in industry’. I had an interestingexperience the other day whenI asked a delightful young man whois writing matric to help me set up apower point presentation for a talk Iwas giving. The topic was “Going greenat Home”. To my horror (although Iobviously did not let him see this) heknew nothing of alternative energy,green building materials, compostbuilding, organic gardening, bio-digesters,bio-fuels or any of the other topicsI was going to discuss. He is at one ofour ‘supposedly’ top private schools… ashocking indictment I would say….herewe are facing crisis after crisis be it social,cultural or environmental and thechildren are still being taught the sameold stuff, which is of little use to anybodyand certainly will not serve themin the very challenging years ahead ofthem.Why are we being forced (via a taxsystem that we have no say in) to spendbillions on defense budgets to kill eachother or defend our country (fromwhom?!) while we have millions starvingand homeless… and nobody bats aneyelid!...because we have been taught,via a strict fear based military modelto keep quite, sit still and don’t askquestions! Most lack the deep compassionand connection necessary to feelthe pain of others, the animals and theplanet; it has simply been closed downand ‘taught’ out of them, they weren’tborn like that. How many children realizewhere their food (a basic necessityto life) comes from? Most don’t thinkfurther than the supermarket! They maylearn about crops growing in certainareas but does it go any further? Theyare far too busy being forced to memorizethe capital city of some distantcountry or history written by the peoplethat won and often not local, or namesgiven to parts of bodies or plants…allthings that can look up and find out ifthe need arises. Yet they have no notionof the extreme cruelty animals sufferin commercial farming enterprisesand the devastating effect eating meathas on the environment, or the 100’sand sometimes 1000’s carbon emittingkilometers that their vegetables havetraveled to get onto their plates and theeffect the poisonous sprays are havingon our land, the waterways, the animallife and their bodies…or even that theycan grow it themselves if they want toand create zero waste and zero carbonemissions?They don’t learn that plants and water(in fact everything) are spiritual aswell as physical in nature, and that theycan be communicated with and respondto love and all the other emotions thatwe feel, and that these skills can be developedand with practice used in everydaylife. They don’t learn the importanceof eating organic food, for both theirbodies and the planet. They don’t learnthat sound and colour can heal theirbodies, or that different organs respondto different sounds and colours, or thatlaughing also heals them. Topics suchas this are rarely covered in schools, asour children are being molded to fit intothe disconnected, commercially driven,spiritless system.It comes as no surprise thatchildren are rebelling as our culturehas removed them from the landand the simple way of life that theBiophile Issue 13 15

Editorialfew pockets of remaining ancienttribes show us is really the only wayto live.They have lived for 1000’s of yearsin harmony with each other, and allnature and without destroying theirhabitat in any way. Instead of teachingour children the wisdom of theseways we feed them useless superficialinformation and measure theirworth via exam results and designerjeans.School is all about winning,comparing and competing. Winningat the sport or the exam and then whenthe children leave it is about winningin business, houses and cars….whatfor? To puff up their ego, as their selfesteem has been damaged by the system?Because they don’t feel good aboutthemselves, they have to perpetuate thefeeeling of seperateness by trying to winand feel good again.As the Dalai Lama so rightly says‘we can never have lasting peacewhen we are driven by a competitivesociety’. A very few children endowedwith an innate trust in themselves realizethat they are just fine as they are, butsadly they are few a far between.So what is the answer? I am not sure,as we are up against an extremely conservativeand dogmatically entrenchedsystem. Most people have their ownview and opinion on what we shouldbe teaching our children and whatis important in life, but one thing iscertain and that is that we need to teachour children real life skills, that will givethem the knowledge they need mentally,emotionally and spiritually to cope withthe changes that are coming our way.Children are rarely given real andmeaningful tools to develop lastingand happy relationships with themselvesprimarily and with others,which is the foundation of a happylife. While they may learn at home,more often than not the home is verychallenged in that department anyway,as the parents struggle with their ownissues around relationships, and so theinadequacies are perpetuated. The detached,‘quick-fix’ materialistically drivenage, where everyone is out at workis very slowly changing and the communityaspect to children’s upbringingthat gives them the freedom to play, runand climb is beginning to emerge again.Maybe it is time to learn once more thewisdom of living in community with thewhole family and with like minded people.Where stories are told and wisdomhanded down again from the elders andthe earth and her bounty is worshiped,and where we learn to live off the foodwe grow and commune with the spirit ofnature and the animals. There is a ‘SlowFood’ movement that started in Italy acouple of years ago, for example, whichencourages people to gown and harvestlocal food, and it is spreading aroundthe world. There are many people nowseeking community living, zero waste,green building, alternative energy, localorganic seasonal food and natural healingand all are becoming possible andmaybe they will soon become the norm,if not by choice by necessity!We have gathered quite a few articleson the topic of education and hope thatyou enjoy them and maybe assist in initiatingthe urgently needed change.AntheaNot the Place for MeSchool is not quite the place for meIt sucks out my soul and leaves a holeWhere my heart should be.School is maybe not a place for meI lose my essence, my presencebecomes a dull glimmer of what I used to be.School is not the place for meBut I have no say so have to stayIn the jail, even though I sailwith glowing grades and accoladesBut when I leave I will jump for gleefor my being will finally be free.Tammy Shaw (17), Grade 11, Cape Town16 Biophile Issue 13

SPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATING OUR CHILDRENOur education system:How did we get here? Where are we going?by Drunvalo MelchizedekNot very long ago most of us werefarmers, and our children helped in allaspects of farm work.In that simple world, where childrencongregated from sparsely settled communitiesinto one-room schoolhouses, thethree Rs—Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmetic—wereenough to get us by. The teachingmethods were equally simple: memorizeand drill. And if children still couldn’t get it,the accepted procedure was to beat it intothem with a ruler to the palm, a cane to thebackside, or worse.Today, our world has changed beyond thewildest imagination of anyone living even50 years ago, much less back in the timeswhen the one-room schoolhouse was born.The pony express, the peddlar withhis wagon of goods, the itinerant portraitpainter, the travelling minstrel show—allhave gradually given way to technologiesthat were not even dreamed of by our owngrandparents. The information revolutionhas transformed industry. Boards of directorswhose members are scattered fromAustralia to Hong Kong, London, Paris, andNew York, hold meetings through videoconferencing.No large corporation couldoperate for even five minutes without thethousands of interconnected computersthat serve every aspect of business life, fromscheduling production to enhancing “corporateculture.’’ Even the smallest retail storekeeps its inventory and accounting recordson sophisticated computer systems.There are ‘’superlearning’’ tapes thatmake it possible to absorb a new language in30 days. And adults have for years been takinginteractive courses in everything fromgourmet food preparation to HTML coding.People talk to each other in chat rooms andon message boards where instant translationhas rendered cross-cultural and cross-nationalboundaries a thing of the past.And yet, in the middle of this sci-fivision come true, our schools continuein the pattern of centralized buildings,authoritarian philosophies, and teachingmethods that are exactly the same asbefore: memorize, drill, and punish.Yes, the one-room schoolhouse hasmetamorphosed into a multimillion-dollar,factory-like complex. The old potbelliedstove in the corner is now a central heatingsystem, and the oil lamps have given way tofluorescent lighting—even full-spectrumlighting, for the lucky ones. And teachersare no longer allowed to physically abusetheir students.But punishment, although it has neverworked and never will, is still considereda viable method for enforcing both learningand discipline. Still, across the world,thousands of expensive schoolrooms standvacant during the holiday season.And—despite the strides that havebeen made in learning technology, despitethe information revolution that hastransformed every home and businessin our country, despite our newunderstanding that learning inits natural state is both excitingand fun—most of ourschools continue to enforceupon our children the wearydrudgery that characterizedlearning methods accepted200 years ago.But it has been clear for along time that our old waysdo not work. In the words ofDr. Maria Montessori:“Scientific observation hasestablished that educationis not what the teachergives; education is anatural process spontaneouslycarriedout by the humanindividual, and is acquirednot by listeningto words but byexperiences upon theenvironment. The task ofthe teacher becomes that ofpreparing a series of motivesof cultural activity, spread overa specially prepared environment,and then refraining from obtrusiveinterference. Human teachers can onlyhelp the great work that is being done, asservants help the master. Doing so, they willbe witnesses to the unfolding of the humansoul and to the rising of a New Man whowill not be a victim of events, but will havethe clarity of vision to direct and shape thefuture of human society.”In line with this type of thinking andthe opportunities offered by computers andthe Internet, our school system is now inthe very beginnings of a transformationalprocess. Even those in places of governmentalpower have recognized that tomorrowis too late. The changes are taking placeright now, and they will continue, not onlythrough private schools and home schooling,as before, but through governmentfundedschools and in the private schoolsthemselves.How many children do you know wholike to go to school? Not many, probably.Not today. But tomorrow will be a differentstory. We invite you to learn and perhapseven participate in this rebirth of oureducational system. Biophile Issue 13 17

SPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATING OUR CHILDRENTeaching through empathy...thinking like a bugSun Mi Kiminterviews Joanne LauckRachel Carson, the “patron saint of theenvironmental movement,’’ said thata child “needs the companionship of atleast one adult who can share [the wonder],rediscovering with him the joy, excitementand mystery of the world we live in.’’ In theSan Jose school system, Joanne Lauck feedschildren’s spirits with wonders from nature,particularly the insect world.Of all the vast world of Nature’s creatures,why a particular focus on insects? Ifchildren (and adults) can look beyond thedense prejudices surrounding insects andreclaim their natural kinship—a relationshipwelcome in nearly all indigenouscultures—then think how much easier a lovingrelationship with the rest of the worldwould be.Sun: Can you talk a little bit about your“Thinking Like a Bug’’ program and youreducational work in general?Joanne: The course’s objective was toencourage a feeling or heart connection toinsects through what English educator PeterKelly calls “biological empathy.’’ In otherwords you don’t portray insects as peopleor machines as is often done—they wouldresist both transformations. Instead, youfocus on trying to see the world from theirvantage point. That takes imagination andempathy, important ingredients of emotionalintelligence.In the course, I adapted Joanna Macy andJohn Seed’s Council of All Beings for childrenand changed its name to the Council ofAll Insects. As a culmination of the course,the children (who composed the Councilof All Insects) were invited to the UnitedNations for an historic event. Wearing insectmasks that they had made themselves, andpretending that they really were the insects,they were promised safety if they went.At this international conference, theinsect’s representatives told the humanswhat they needed in order to live on theearth—what gifts the insects provided, andhow it felt to be on the receiving end of thecurrent Insect-as-Adversary mentality.There were parents and students fromother classes in the audience. It was veryheartwarming to see how the kids really gotinto their roles. I was the news reporter andconference facilitator so I interviewed the“insects’’ after the event was over. They continuedtheir roles, and some were teary asthey expressed their feelings about whetherhuman beings would change their ways.To prepare for this event we had classonce a week for six weeks. The first coupleof classes were all about breaking downany barriers they may have already adoptedabout relating to insects. I was surprisedthat by 5th grade the children had begunto divide the world up into good and badspecies. Insects were mostly bad and creepy.They had never met an adultwho told them that thislearned response isn’ttrue. To me, bugs aregreat and I love them.On the first day, tobegin the process ofbreaking apart anyinitial prejudices towardinsects, I askedthem if they had everbeen picked on bysomebody else. Theyall raised their hand.I asked them if theyhad ever beenmade fun ofbecause ofthe waythey“If I had influence with thegood fairy who is supposed topreside over the christeningof all children I should askthat her gift to each childin the world be a sense ofwonder so indestructiblethat it would last throughoutlife, as an unfailing antidoteagainst the boredom anddisenchantments oflater years, the sterilepreoccupationwith things thatare artificial, thealienation fromthe sources of ourstrength.’’— Rachel Carson,A Sense of Wonder18Biophile Issue 13

looked or ran on the playground. Most ofthem raised their hand in response to thatquestion as well. So I continued with a fewmore questions and then said, “Well nowyou know what it must feel like to be a bugin this world.’’They really understood that. Then I askedthem to try and think like a bug and speakas though they were a bug—that we alreadyhad heard way too much from human beings,and so it was the bugs’ turn to speak.Then I told stories—like the story of Freddiethe Fly and Sarah the Scorpion, both ofwhich I include in my book. I also told themhow other societies had viewed differentinsects. For example, when I talked aboutthe fly, I shared slides of flies with them andshowed them an ancient gold fly necklaceworn by Egyptian officers because to themthe fly meant bravery and heroic deeds inbattle.Most of them took readily to the idea oftrying to assume an insect’s perspective.They also liked the idea that they might havea special connection to a particular kind ofinsect who would be a helper and guide tothem if they paid attention to it and treatedit with respect—an idea many cultures hold.Sun: Your description of the children wearinginsect masks reminds me of how duringsacred rituals many indigenous peoples puton animal skins and headdresses and actuallybecome the animal they portray. And it ismy understanding that violence is practicallyunheard of in most indigenous cultures.Apparently, wearing the masks seems to giveempathy with nature. Can you talk a littleabout how empathy with animals and insectscreates emotional intelligence? How doesthis work exactly? And how might the lack ofbiological empathy relate to the rise in schoolviolence?Joanne: I think the children donningtheir masks and each of them speaking asthough he or she were an insect was the justculmination of the six weeks. The mask wasa reminder to them and others that they“They also liked theidea that they might havea special connection to aparticular kind of insect whowould be a helper and guide tothem if they paid attention to itand treated it with respect—anidea many cultures hold.”were speaking as insects, as the other species.It took the entire course and its focus tothink like an insect and imagine being one.This allowed each child a natural organicempathy—hard to do in a world that ridiculesand trivializes insects because of theirsize and appearance.One year I did a similar version of theclass with other animals like ‘possums andearthworms and bats. There was even a largemammal group. Each species has issueswith how humans conduct themselves.Identification with these groups was an easyand quite natural process for thechildren.As to the low occurrenceof violence in cultures withsacred rituals like you mentioned,I think that when you teach peopleto identify with others, to assume others’worldview, there is far less chance that theywill act against them. It seems to me thatviolence occurs when there is no relating, noidentification. The victim is stripped of anyredeeming qualities, so the act of violencecan and does take place.Sun: You use a lot of stories from indigenouscultures in your book. Do you find thathelps as a teaching tool?Joanne: I use stories from indigenouscultures for a couple of reasons. I think itis important for people to realize that ourmistrust and animosity toward insects issomething we learned. It is not natural. Thefact that other cultures feel differently aboutthese kinds of creatures is important tonote. It means we can change.I also turn to indigenous cultures inorder to restore a context of kinship throughwhich we can translate and understand anyinteractions with insects that might causeus pain and discomfort.Sun: Your book touches on a lot of thingsthat simply exists outside of the normal curriculumthat most schools offer. For instance,the folklore and the mystical significanceof nature in indigenous cultures would notbe included in most schools. How do youthink these things fit into the education ofan individual? Does it add in some way tothe humanness of an individual in a way thattraditional educational structures cannot?Joanne: I can only speak from personalexperience, but from what I have seen thereis a lot of lip service given to educating thewhole person, even though it’s not done inany systematic or consistent way. If teachershaven’t done work on themselves to bringforth their own wholeness, they won’t beable to model that for their students.The rise of school violence can, at thevery least, bring attention to the need forinstruction and activities to develop emotionalintelligence. That is our door to bringin other kinds of curricula.I was able to bring in a lot of material ofmy own in the “Thinking Like A Bug’’ classbecause it was an elective. When I decidedto become a high school teacher, I decidedI wanted to teach students about themselves—theirancestry, or roots; their affinitywith nature; their connection to the worldand their capacity for tolerance of what isdifferent from themselves. I currently teachcomputer graphics—it’s a relatively newsubject without a set curriculum. The administrationdoesn’t control the content aslong as students learn the graphics software,so I can design lessons around themes that Ifeel are vital to becoming an authentic andempowered person.And outside of public high school I stillspeak and write more directly on these sameissues. The need for tolerance is central tomy message as an environmental educator.I always say that, after working for theinsects, working with teenagers is easy.Sun: Speaking on a global level, there areobvious reasons why it’s important to raiseenvironmental awareness. On the personallevel, what kinds of transformations do yousee happening to your students?Joanne: I can’t help but think many werechanged by their experience. Hard to documentthat, but one child in particular I knowwas transformed. His name was Brian, andhe was a pistol. He had obviously seen all thehorror movies on insects, and he resistedidentifying with the insects and preferred toentertain the class with his insect-terrorizing-humansimitations. The parent helperswere ready to kick him out of the class thefirst day. Meanwhile, I was still trying to finda way into his imagination and heart andthereby enlist his participation.When that first class ended I asked theBiophile Issue 1319

Teaching Through Empathychildren to pay attention during the weekto see what kind of insect was trying to gettheir attention, and reminded them it couldcome in a dream or a waking experience.The next week Brian came up to mebefore we started the class and told me thatthe night before he had had a dream thatJason—the psychopathic killer in a popularhorror film—had been after him. Then a humansize fly had emerged out of a wall withsome kind of a sword and had gone afterJason for Brian.I praised Brian for remembering thedream and said that I thought the fly washis special insect. He agreed and wanted tomake sure he was put in the fly group whenit was time to do mask making.This is what is so rewarding about thiskind of work. It is simply helping kidsremember their connections. You don’t haveto create the connection; it is already thereinside them. Your job is to bring it out sothey can see it and feel it.And as an after note, Brian became myassistant for the next couple of years. Hehad an amazing sensitivity to animals. Ijust tried to feed his gift during our timetogether. His folks were fighting a lot and onthe verge of divorce at the time, so I thinkhis time with me (we’d go out for lunch inpreparation for class) was an anchor forhim. He also had a memorable experiencewith a Madagascar hissing cockroach Icalled Cedar. I wrote about that experiencein my book in the chapter called “DivineGenius,’’ which is all about our relationshipwith these amazing creatures.Sun: Most people view nature as theoriginal primordial ground for competition—whereanimals have to attack or beattacked. They generally feel that this battlewith Nature proves that our own basic natureis geared toward competition, ruthlessness,and fear. How do you respond to that?Joanne: Animals eat and are eaten. Alllife is food for some other creature. We feedtwo colonies of mites on our faces—oneon our forehead and another species onour eyelids—as well as thousands of othermicroorganisms. The new view of how theworld works is very different from the onemost of us learned in school. The new viewsays that life developed because of networkingand community. Advances were madebecause people cooperated with each other,helped each other.They have found this cooperation at thelevel of microorganisms who share a commongene pool and join together to becomedifferent life forms. This view is very muchaligned with native ideas of creation andhow the foundational pieces for life on earthwere put into place.Sun: Are there other ways that childrenand teachers alike can find a connection withnature?Joanne: I think being out in nature is essential—andbeing out there in a heart-fullway is critical for teaching children to haverespect for others’ lives. Allowing childrento disturb other animals under the guiseof satisfying their curiosity seems to teachthem that their own wants have a priorityover the wants of other beings. I think we doeveryone a disservice when we allow this. Inthe “Thinking Like a Bug’’ class, we went on“Bug Hunts’’ without disturbing any insects.The children were not allowed to use anythingbut their eyes, and then they were toname the insect based on its coloring or theshape of its wings. We had some wonderfulnames like Cloudy Wing and Polka Dot.The naming was tied into the seeing. Thechildren didn’t have to memorize and learnspecies in order to connect to what theyexperienced.I also started a butterfly garden on theschool property. The kids would rescue insects,worms, snails, and the like, and placethem in the butterfly garden. I rememberpulling up to the garden, and different kidswould be respectfully hanging over thefence looking at some creature or another. Ilike to think it taught them that you couldcreate places of safety in the world.Those lessons, of course, were sometimes“untaught’’ by unconscious behavior on thepart of adults.A case in point was one Family FunNight. A few parents who had learned tohate snails had gathered them up from theflowerbeds around the school, then encouragedthe children to use them as paintbrushes. They showed the children how todip these living creatures into paint andthen rub them on the paper. It was really upsetting.The children told me about it, andsome of the teachers who knew what I wastrying to teach just looked sheepish.Unfortunately, that is not an isolatedcase. We often celebrate our hostility towardliving creatures with annual events like one“Bug Hunt’’ at an archery club in NorthernCalifornia where they use cut-out copies ofinsects and other small creatures for targetpractice. Universities also put on eventsforcing certain creatures—ones our culturehas condemned and labeled as pests—torace each other. Illustrious places like theSan Francisco Exploritorium host flea circuseswhere fleas are abused. The audiencedoesn’t recognize what they see as abuseJoanne Lauck, in researching a book on thehealing and transformative potential of thehuman-animal bond, became dismayed atthe intolerance and hostility toward theinsect world that was being taught under theauspices of education and science. She foundthis attitude everywhere, even in textbooks.It was then that she fully realized how pervasivelyour culture believed in the Insectas-Adversary.The myth of our separationfrom nature had taken a disturbing footholdin our interactions with these living beings.A heartfelt need to shift these perceptions inchildren and adults was born, resulting in herbook The Voice of the Infinite in the Small.Joanne started work in children’seducation in 1991, creating a course called‘’Thinking Like a Bug’’ for 3rd, 4th and 5thgraders, where they learned compassionand empathy for insects. Two years ago, shebegan giving courses in computer graphics tohigh school students, filling her lesson planswith subject matter that teaches toleranceand connection to our world and its history.because they are disconnected from fleasand think fleas deserve to be mistreated.Biological empathy is important becauseit combines seeing and feeling. You learnfor example what another species needsto live its life. Earthworms need earth anddarkness, so you don’t pick them up and putthem on a piece of paper in the light or in aplastic home filled with grass.Caterpillars usually eat one kind of food,so you don’t raise them unless you can providethat food. One mother told me her childfound a caterpillar and she placed it in theirgarden window with some lettuce. Obviously,it died. Her actions lacked an understandingof the creature’s biological needs.The empathy part is just leading withyour heart. What would you want if youwere this creature? Together, you and thecreature have the ingredients for a respectfulrelationship. But without the respect,we will impose our will on others as we haveso far done. Without this feeling aspect wewill allow other creatures to become extinct,not understanding that we are losing apart of ourselves. Without some biologicalknowledge about the creature we will notknow how to save its habitat or care for it ifit needs our help. 20 Biophile Issue 13

Article Dumbing Title Us Goes Down HereSPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATING OUR CHILDRENThe dream of creativenessby Margaret Legum, sane, cape townhave a dream, to coin a phrase. It is thatI human creativeness will become theagreed objective of political economy.Creativeness is more fulfilling and inclusivethan happiness. Economics will be put inits place – not a science but as the servantof ethics, exercised through the democraticpolitical process. (Bear with me for thedream: I come to the means later).How is human creativeness fostered?By all research, it starts in the character ofchildhood experience, and is reinforcedthrough good education with inspiringadults. Children are more creative who areappreciated rather than deprecated, who attractaffection, humour and respect insteadof scorn, dismissal and insult, whose bodiesare treated with tenderness and not violence.Of course creativity can spring from appallingpain, but more often it is crushed.What kind of political economy supportsthat kind of childhood experience?In essence it is one in which their dependencyneeds can be met – their weakness,their neediness, that trusting expectation ofcare which adults find so touching. The totaldependence of babies and small children iswhat captures the hearts of even the hardestof adults, and gets us outraged whenchildren are damaged, their small bodiestraduced, their trust abused.And what kind of situation gets dependencyneeds met? We all know that it isabout carers with the resources, the time,the personal sense of security and the inclinationto meet children’s individual physicaland emotional needs and enjoy doing so.Contrast that with the experience ofthe great majority of children world-wide.Adults have the care of children in situationswithout any of the necessary conditions.Millions of mothers must tell theirchildren there is no food, so there is nopoint in crying. Even middle class parents inthe North have little financial security: jobsare casualised from the top of large corporationsto the level of the checkout. Even if theworst does not happen, the fear of traumaticloss is deeply corrosive to relaxed, enjoyablefamily life.Over a hundred leading childhoodspecialists of various disciplines wrote aletter to the Daily Telegraph this week. Theydescribe widespread depression and otherbehavioral and developmental problemsamong British children, who are expected tocope with a variety of carers, in a fast-movingcompetitive culture, pushed by marketforces and exposed to material unsuitable totheir stage of growth.They say children need real food and realplay, as opposed to junk food and sedentarysecond-hand entertainment: they needproper time-taking attention. The result ofits lack is a rise in substance abuse, violenceand self-harm – and a sharp reduction inacademic achievement.Publication in the Telegraph suggest theTories will use this issue against the Labourgovernment. Which is ironic, because it isthe political economy they introduced inthe 1970s that lead to children’s needs beingditched in favour of the fast competitivecommercial culture that eats up everyonetoday.All policy-makers now put competitionat the top of the agenda – not only in theprivate but also the public sector. Your jobis on the line unless your output is high andrising. The security of your income and theease of your family life is the last thing thatcounts.Whereas in my children’s early years myjournalist husband could afford to keep usall in reasonable comfort, all my children’sfamilies must bring in two incomes whilethey raise children. So today’s children aredeprived of consistent, relaxed, responsiveparental care to create minimal financialsecurity.And every government bends every effortto push single parents into the workplace,rather than paying them to care for theirown children. You would think we weredesperate for labour – rather than desperatelyshort of jobs. Making people work formoney, as a condition of survival, is theweirdest, and cruelest, of the outcomes ofthe current political economy.“What kind of political economysupports that kind of childhoodexperience?In essence it is one in which theirdependency needs can be met –their weakness, their neediness,that trusting expectation of carewhich adults find so touching.”How would that have to change tomake the dream come true?Money must come back down from the topwhere it accumulates in the financial sectorand diminishes national purchasing power.That sector pushes up property prices, andkeeps labour costs low and unemploymenthigh. The financial sector must stop hoardingour buying power to use it for speculation.That means limiting its right to sendcapital round the world in search of richerpickings. Fortunately there are signs thatthe tide has turned. Economists like JosephStiglitz, and the king of global capital,George Soros, warn that without widespreadredistribution – via capital controls in someform – the world is heading for financialdisaster. The globalised capital market, saysSoros, ‘is more dangerous to capitalism thancommunism ever was’.Popular opinion is changing too. Politiciansin Sweden, now facing election, haveattacked elements in the financial sector; aGerman politician likens some bond dealersto locusts. And in Britain, the Observer’s citycolumnist, Anthony Hilton predicts that achange in No 10 Downing Street would be‘bad news for City’s fat cats’, because there isa popular revulsion against City incomes.That would be the start of a politicaleconomy that would enable democraticgovernments to allocate resources to suittheir own electorate rather than to attractfootloose capital. It will not create the dreamovernight, but it will remove the most savagebarrier to its conception, and then itsbirth. Biophile Issue 1321

Article Title Goes HereSPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATING OUR CHILDRENAn educational renaissance...we must change now, tomorrow will be too lateby Drunvalo MelchizedekIt is becoming clear to everyone—teachers,parents, the government, and theexperts—that education must change. Ourchildren are bored at best with the oldway, and in the worst-case scenarios, theyare being deeply damaged by a systemthat runs totally counter to their natures.Unless we do something, our children arenot going to listen to us anymore. They arelonging for an educational system that hasheart as well as knowledge, a system that isinnovative and perhaps surprisingly unique,as the computer was when it appeared.An educational system that brings backcuriosity and wonder.There have been a few innovators, suchas Drs. Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori,who explored new possibilities of teaching.But for the most part their proposed educationalsystems were and still are on the outeredge of acceptability.Now, however, the world is catching upwith the necessity for change. Everywhere,we can see the buds of a new educationalconsciousness getting ready to burst intoflower. The rote memory system which isstill the mainstay of our children’s schoolingwill soon be replaced by concepts thatwould have been undreamable a few generationsago.People like John Taylor Gatto, winnerof the New York State Teacher of the Yearaward and author of Dumbing Us Down,have made it extremely clear that we havemajor problems in our school system. Gattohas put the United States on educationalalert. He, and others like him, have madeit clear, not only to the schools themselvesbut to those who are in power, that we mustchange now. Tomorrow is too late.But the situation is complex. Much moreis contemplated, for example, than simplechanges of curriculum. In some cases, likethe Sudbury model, curriculum is eliminatedentirely, with surprisingly positive results.There are in fact a myriad of differentconcepts found around the world showinghow our educational system can best berecreated to meet the needs of our children.In recent years, homeschooling hasbecome a normal and accepted practice.And despite what we may think of as thesimplicity of this approach, home schoolsare contributing newideas which maychange educationforever.Manyof theseideas arebeing fueledby the computerrevolution.(In South Africa,homeschooling is inits infancy, but there arethe courageous few that areembarking on this journey.From the reports, the results areexcellent both from the student andteacher perspective—Ed.)Educational Methods1. Computer EducationComputers have changed every other aspectof our lives more than they have changedthe way in which education happens inour schools. And, according to Intel CEOCraig Barrett, although “over $40 billiondollars has been spent in the United Stateson computer hardware for schools ... verylittle has been invested to train teachers howto effectively use the technology.’’ Our educationalsystem is steeped in conservatism,and innovative approaches are not as wellaccepted here as in the business world.But what some are finding is that theinteraction between humans and computerscould well be the beginning of rapid formsof accelerated learning that are only in theirinfancy at this time.2. The Internet: A Virtual SchoolAlthough this seems to be a subset of whatis possible with computers, the Internetaffords an entire world of educational magicthat is in the process of transforming howwe learn.MIT University announced in April 2001that their entire university curriculum—everythingthat MIT offers to its tuition-payingstudents—is now available on theInternet free of charge!When asked if this were going to hurtthem, MIT officials answered in what I feelis an honorable manner. Teaching, they said,not money, is the purpose of an educationalinstitution. They pointed out that MIT alsooffered the first free library tothe world, and that peoplethought they were crazythen, for the samereasons. MIT hassuggested thatall universitiesandcollegesfollowtheirexampleand publishtheir curricula onthe Internet, creating avast, incredible database foranyone who wants to learn.At the same time, Dell Computerrecently put up over 100 million dollars tocreate an Internet education system for theworld where anyone, anywhere, has freeaccess to the information.And in its “Teach to the Future’’ program,Intel, with support from MicrosoftCorporation, will invest $100 million in cash,equipment, curriculum development, andprogram management over the next threeyears to train more than 400,000 classroomteachers in 20 countries around the world.These corporate and university giants areseeing something about our educational futurethat we should perhaps become awareof: that the Internet may possibly make obsoletethe entire concept of physical schools,replacing them with the “virtual school.’’In its simplest form, distance education,through video conferencing, makes itpossible for one teacher to speak in manydifferent classrooms at once.But the virtual school is much morethan simply a replacement for schoolbuildings. It will be open 24/7/365. And itwill go beyond home schooling, for it canand almost certainly will enter the realm ofaccelerated-learning techniques, enablinglanguages and other complex subjects to beabsorbed in months instead of years. Whichleads us to...3. New Learning TechnologiesThis is the area in which I perceive thegreatest possibility for truly revolutionarychange. Especially with the increased availabilityand sophistication of what is now22 Biophile Issue 13

“One of the greatest dangers in educating our children by traditional methods is that so many of themare emotionally damaged or lose their self-esteem in the process.”being called VLE, or “virtual learning environments,’’interactive Internet programscould make obsolete our entire concept of“schools.’’The newest area of learning, beyond VLE,is called VLT, and this holds out even greaterpossibilities. VLT consists of 3D virtualenvironments using specialized frequenciesthat “tune’’ the brain to accept information,and specialized programs that give direct,“virtual’’ experiences to the student. VLT cancreate a “virtual campus,’’ similar to that offeredby CALT—Center for Advanced LearningTechnologies—with its Virtual Worlds.The VLT curriculum can use games, forexample, as the basis of delivering materialto be learned, or even completely subliminalmethods, or subliminal methods superimposedover ordinary techniques.These areas of learning are new, but itseems obvious that VLT will become dominantif teachers and students find that thesuccess rate for learning is higher than forother methods.On the far side of new learning technologiesis the seemingly miraculous work ofpeople like Viasheslav Bronnikov in Russia/Ukraine.To learn more about his workgo to www.spiritofmaat.com. The BronnikovMethod: Teaching Blind Children to See, alsoThe Bronnikov Method: Creating Genius.Bronnikov teaches people to read a booksimply by picking it up in their hands. Itthen appears on the “inner screen’’ of themind, complete with illustrations.Obviously, if Bronnikov’s work, and thatof others like Sr. Guillermo Altamirano(Inge Bardor’s “Memo’’) and Russia’s BorisZolotov, can be brought into the mainstream,then the future of learning willsomeday make a turn that is so simple—noteven needing computers—it will alter learning,and indeed our entire concept of whowe are, forever.There’s a problem, though, and it is clearlystated by Harvard University professorChris Dede: ‘‘Moving the minds and heartsis definitely the more complex process thanputting the infrastructure in place.’’ Speedreading,for example, was actually introducedway back in the ‘60s.And, as Chris Dede’s statement predicts,even though it proved to be far more powerfuland actually worked better than anythingthat had come before, the conservativenature of traditional education has kept thistechnique from even being considered foruse in our schools.Now, with the advent of the home computer,interactive learning programs such asVLE and VLT, as they progress into maturityand cover more and more subjects, maymake everything else we have talked aboutirrelevant.4. The Need for Self-EsteemOne of the greatest dangers in educating ourchildren by traditional methods is that somany of them are emotionally damaged orlose their self-esteem in the process. Manyyoung adults come out of our school systemfeeling—for whatever reason—that theyare not able or even worthy to reach for thestars.No matter what direction our educationalsystem takes, the way in which itdisempowers our children has to become aprimary focus of necessary change.Who Learns What and Why?Not only the way in which we teach ourchildren, and where we do it, but what weare teaching them has begun to take centerstage in the considerations of educationalchange. And even though this area is ofparamount importance, we will say verylittle about it here, because it has been awarring ground from the beginning ofeducation itself.I am certain this war will never end, andperhaps rightfully so. Everyone has diverseconcepts as to what is important in life, andwhat we should teach our children.We will not enter this endless debate, butwith Larry Weshon (see A Child’s Right toPursue Happiness) we can at least questionwhether or not it is up to us to make thisdecision at all.(And you can, if you wish, write to us atBiophile with your own ideas!)Let’s test the proverb that says “The penis mightier than the sword.’’ Biophile Issue 1323

Article Title Goes HereSPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATING OUR CHILDRENWhy Ritalin makes me MAD!by Bruce Cohen, Absolute OrganixSaturday afternoon at the Wits Club inJo’burg and Dr Shabeer Jeeva steps upto the microphone. The audience of 50-oddtherapists, parents and educators perchattentively on their blue plastic chairs ashe launches forth at a machine gun pace onthe treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder/Hyperactivity (ADHD) in adults.South African-born Jeeva studiedmedicine in Dublin and trained in Canadaas a psychiatrist specializing in ADHD. Hehas over 20 years’ experience treating therestless, the impulsive, the distracted, thedisobedient and the disorganised of everyage. He is widely acknowledged as one of thecountry’s leading experts on ADHD.So why am I so gob-smacked by his presentationat this annual seminar organizedby ADHASA, the support group for ADHDsufferers (www.adhasa.co.za)?Reason 1: Jeeva tells us that short-actingRitalin (which lasts for 4 hours) can be takenoften – “just like Smarties” -- and takennogal on top of the sustained-release versionof the same psycho-stimulant.Reason 2: One drug is not enough. Hesays the most effective treatment for ADHDamongst teens and adults often consists ofcocktails of amphetamines and anti-depressantssuch as of Ritalin and Xyban, Concertaand Epilim or Prosac.Reason 3: South Africans are not gettingenough of these drugs because our doctorsare under-dosing. More not less is needed.Reason 4: Finally, he says, with someirritation, that all drugs have side-effects, sowhy are we singling out Ritalin (which hasbeen blamed for causing severe depression,even suicide, amongst children)?I am left reeling from this assault onmy sensibilities and sensitivities about thetreatment of ADHD.Let me state my vested interest here. Overthe last few years I have devoted a good dealof time to finding out about attention deficitbecause I distribute marine and organic oilscontaining Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acidsthat are believed to be helpful in the treatmentof ADHD.My research has led me towards the variousdrug-free alternatives in the treatmentof ADHD, towards nutrition and supplementationas well as various therapies. But“Before you put your childon such medication, Isuggest you swallow atablet of Ritalin yourselfand experience the subtlemental dullness thatquietly creeps up on you.”as much as I have wanted to embrace a 100%drug-free approach, the evidence seemsdepressingly clear: in severe instances ofADHD there appears to be little alternativeto the drugs. The #@&! stuff works!I thought I had stumbled on solid groundwhen I came across a middle path: the “integrative”school of medicine that draws uponthe best practices of orthodox medicine aswell as complementary/alternative therapies.Pioneered by Dr Andrew Weill in the US,this approach does not reject drugs per se,but will include them as part of an holisticstrategy that includes nutrition, supplementationand natural remedies, the removalof known toxins and allergens, and varioussupportive therapies. Integrative medicineappeals to me: it looks at the total person inthe context of their lived environment. Itcertainly does not rely on the prescriptionpad alone. Now all I need is to find someonewho practices it!Somehow, naively, I was hoping Jeeva’stalk would touch on that thinking. After all,he’s a global professional in touch with thelatest trends and he must be acutely awareof how freaked out many parents are abouthaving their kids on these drugs with theirmyriad side effects ranging from nausea todepression and even suicide.But Jeeva wasn’t giving an inch. Not oncedid he mention dietary or lifestyle issues, orthe role of occupational therapy, counselling,meditation etc. He did, however, warnthat ADHD has a strong genetic component,further fuelling the sense of lack of controlwe have over our restless minds.Jeeva took us on a whistle-stop tour ofthe psychiatrist’s drug cupboard, explainingwhich upper/downer combinations workedbest depending on various orders of preferenceand “co-morbidities” such as depressionand anxiety.Drugs like Ritalin, Strattera and Concertaall act on an apparent imbalance in neurotransmittersin the brain and help “normalize”the message flow of these chemicals.Exactly how they work is not clear.But behaviourally they tend to reducespontaneity and curiosity, and subduesocialization.Jeeva believes ADHD is by no means achildhood illness that kids grow just out of.On the contrary, he warns there is a higherthan 60% chance of ADHD continuing intoadulthood, which means kids could be onthese drugs for ever. In broad brush-strokes,the typical treatment regime looks somethinglike this:* Children 7-12: Psycho-stimulants such* Strattera is a so-called non-stimulantmedication for the treatment of ADHD (it startedout as anti-depressant) but seems to work in asimilar way as the amphetamines, influencingthe uptake of various chemical transmittersby the brain’s messaging system. But unlikeRitalin, it requires some weeks of usage before itkicks in. The range of side-effects for Stratterais similar to the stimulants. According to thecompany’s website, the most common sideeffects in children are upset stomach, decreasedappetite, nausea or vomiting, tiredness,dizziness, and mood swings. In adults, themost common side effects are constipation, drymouth, nausea, decreased appetite, dizziness,problems sleeping, sexual dysfunction, problemsurinating, and menstrual cramps. There havealso been reports of increased suicidal thoughtsamong children and rare cases of liver disease. Inaddition, Strattera can slightly decrease growthin children and teens.24 Biophile Issue 13

as Ritalin/Concerta, or Strattera** Adolescents: Stimulants/Strattera withoccasional anti-depressants* Adults: Anti-depressants first and thenstimulants/Strattera if necessaryJeeva has treated many hundreds of patientsand clearly he gets results. Scatteredbrains start paying attention. Impulsiveminds start thinking twice. Demand for instantgratification is denied/delayed. Brokenfamilies are put back together and sanity isrestored to the classroom. Who can arguewith such vast clinical experience, suchproven efficacy? But before you put yourchild on such medication, I suggest youswallow a tablet of Ritalin yourself and experiencethe subtle mental dullness that quietlycreeps up on you. Yes, there’s definitelyan increase in focus, but it’s wrapped incotton-wool, a gossamer narcotic cloudthat renders you distant, self-absorbed,even aloof (it’s not surprising that oneof the side-effects is reported lonelinessand the inability to make friends). Well,that’s my experience anyway.The idea that a young person (and theystart drug therapy from the age of seven) canbe dosed with such potent mood-alteringdrugs year in, year out, perhaps all the waythrough adulthood, is a chilling prospectindeed.In the course of my business I have hadnumerous conversations with parents aboutthe treatment of their ADHD children. Fewever mention that their doctors have suggestedintegrated approaches or discussedissues of diet and supplementation. All theyseem to be getting are prescriptions, dosagetweaks and/or multi-drug cocktails.Just about all of them seem desperateto get their kids off this stuff. While theyacknowledge that the drugs help, they cansee the personality changes and it worriesthem. They can see the side-effects and itscares them.Jeeva’s presentation certainly scared thehell out of me. I know I was not the only onewho felt this way. Walking out of the hall atthe end of his talk I heard one delegate mutteringto herself: “Smarties! Hmmmmmph!Smarties!” Bruce Cohen is CEO of Absolute Organix, a Johannesburg-baseddistributor of natural and organicproducts.SPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATING OUR CHILDRENDumbing us downDiane M. Cooper interviews JohnTaylor Gat to, “the most famousteacher in the world”, New York Stateand New York City Teacher of theYear and author of many books oneducation.Even though this is writtenfor American readers, it stillapplies here in South Africa.If John Taylor Gatto had your ear—especially if you are a parent—he mightask you some pretty strange questions:• What if it could be absolutely proved toyou that the education system was designedby financiers who felt that self-reliant, selfeducatedcitizens made poor factory workersand rotten consumers?• What if you could become convinced beyonda shadow of a doubt that literacy in theUnited States was at its highest point justbefore compulsory education was signedinto law?• What if there is a really scarey parallelbetween school bells and bugle calls, and it’snot accidental?• Could any of this make even a little dentin the beliefs we have been spoonfed by ourmedia about ‘’Why Johnny Can’t Read’’?Forty years ago, Gatto was an advertisingcopywriter who became bored with the adbusiness and needed a place to ‘’mark time’’while he thought things through. His roommateat that time had a teaching license butwasn’t using it. ‘’It was sitting in a drawer,’’Gatto says. ‘’He taught for one day, tossedhis license in a drawer, and said you’d haveto be crazy to do that for a living.’’So using his roommate’s license, Gattostarted substitute teaching ‘’just to see whatit was like.’’He soon became intrigued by the responsibilitythe job offered. ‘’If you droppeddead,’’ he told us, ‘’there aren’t many businessesthat would miss you, not even ifyou were the CEO. But teaching school wasdifferent.’’He ended up teaching for 30 years, aswhat he calls a ‘’saboteur’’—someone whotries to change the system simply by refusingto follow it. Along the way, he learnedsome sobering, basically frightening, factsabout the true intent of “government’’ educationin our schools.Today, he says, he is “in constant motion,in every one of the fifty states and seven oreight foreign countries, bearing witness towhat I saw in that 30-year period.’’Author of Dumbing Us Down and The UndergroundHistory of American Education, JohnTaylor Gatto, although he’s no longer operatingfrom within the system, is still ‘’themost famous teacher in the United States.’’Diane: How did you happen to get socompletely sidetracked from the advertisingbusiness?John: What I think happened was aseries of events which occurred when I wassubstitute teaching, where I seemed to runinto a densely compacted mass of perversionon the part of nominal authorities. Inchallenging or testing myself against theseauthorities, I became genuinely intriguedby what appeared to be massive stupidity.It seemed that things that were very easy toaccomplish were being made impossibleto accomplish by the very structure of thesystem itself, and its guardians.I decided to take a year or two out of theadvertising business and teach. I thoughtI’d go back, eventually, and make a fortunein advertising. But each week I stayed inteaching, I became more enthralled by thepolitical challenges.Today, after 40 years of thinking aboutthis business, I see that the obstacles thatare generated structurally have nothing todo with stupidity. And that they are virtuallyinsuperable unless somebody’s ready to playthe saboteur.A couple years ago, Mort Zukerman, theBiophile Issue 1325

Dumbing Us Downpublisher of US News and World Report andthe Atlantic Monthly, said that our wonderfuleconomy is self-maintaining becauseour people are not like any other people inthe world. They are interested only in theirpaycheck. They don’t mess around withmanagement. They define themselves bywhat they buy. They mortgage their futures.As I read that article, I said to myself,How do people get this way? Well, they getthis way by being schooled to be that way.Diane: So how did our schools get to be thatway.John: Look at our school system as a laboratory,and then you can see that the physicalhabits that are trained into our childrenquite purposefully limit and defeat them.You have to ask someone’s permission to goto the toilet. You have to sit in a crampedseat from eight to three with virtually noability to get up and move around. Thesethings would be deadly even for adults. Forchildren it’s a colossal perversion.Nor are there any known intellectualexplanations, based on academic results, forany of this behavior.And the people whostand before these children—the teachers—arethe single worst-performing groupin American colleges. If that’s not radicalenough, the people who manage the peoplewho stand before the children—that is, thesuperintendents—are considerably moreignorant than the most ignorant subgroupamong the teachers.Now, I believe you’d have to be terminallyinnocent to believe that this inverted pyramidcould have occurred by accident. Butit is the only way to keep the system intact.You put the worst people in charge, and thesecond-worst people in charge of the kids.And you do this in second, third, and fourthgrades. Kids either learn to think criticallyat that age, or 95 percent of the time, theynever do.And, starting out in kindergarten, sittingin our schools makes people restless—witheach other, with themselves, with their families,with their possessions. When you canmake people generally discontented with everything,you have the perfect climate for asuccessful mass-production economy. Andwhen you have people who don’t understandanything except some little specialty—likehow to drill a tooth, how to argue a case incourt, some little thing—you have the perfectclimate for running everything centrally.Specialists don’t see themselves as citizens.Diane: So how did this happen, if it wasn’t anaccident?“You have to sit in acramped seat fromeight to three withvirtually no abilityto get up and movearound. These thingswould be deadly evenfor adults.For children it’sa colossalperversion.”John: If you look at the annual reports ofthe Carnegie Foundation beginning about1906, you’ll find out where schooling and itsstructure came from. You’ll find out whatits goals are. And it is nothing to do withany debate being conducted in any press orany forum in the United States, today or anyother year that I’m aware of.If you take the window of 1890 to1910, what was traditionally thought ofas ‘’schooling’’ began to vanish. It wasreplaced by a kind of global experimentin human behavior, in human obedience,tractability, and conditioning. Ourschools today are a laboratory of humanbehavior.A lot of this you can deduce logically.If you’ve got a small-farm, agriculturaleconomy, it’s easy to see the qualities peoplewill need: the ability to be alone with themselvesfor long periods of time, to be utterlyresourceful, to be able to fix anything thatbroke. So what if you’vesuddenly got a mass productioneconomy wherethe machinery has to runnight and day in order topay for itself. How couldyou train these self-sufficient,resourceful kidsto supportsuch aneconomy?That was the question.How it happened was nota secret. Between 1890 and 1910,there were masses of public statementsmade by the owners of the neweconomy, statements that were extremely26 Biophile Issue 13

Dumbing Us Downanti-intellectual, extremely demanding ofwhat they wanted schools to produce. Andon higher levels, such as the Harvard Ed.Journal, there were actually bald statementsof what these demands were all about.You can’t accuse these people of beingconspiratorial. They were very open aboutwhat they were bringing about—which was,in part, the death of capitalism.Diane: So how did they mean to accomplishthis?John: Their method was to model ourschools after the Prussians. The Prussianshad figured out in the early part of the 19thcentury, long before we had forced schoolingourselves, that if you lock all the kids upand keep them amused with colors, games,music, and balloons until they’re about tenor eleven, then all of a sudden you crackdown and say, Okay, the fun is over, thosechildren will never recover their volition,their independence—their minds. They willbecome wonderful soldiers and workers.Even if they can conceive of opposition, theywon’t be able to sustain it.This is how Germany produced the mostsuccessful armies that have ever been seenin history. Even in its lost wars, even whenoutnumbered two to one and more, Germanyregularly inflicted thirty to forty percentmore casualties than those it fought against.The army worked like a well-tuned machinebecause no one ever argued with orders.Diane: So the developers of our compulsoryeducation system adopted that system?John: Yes. People went to Germany in thelate 19th and early 20th century and cameback with these coveted German PhDs—wedidn’t have our own PhDs yet—and theytook over the presidencies and the heads ofkey departments in every major Americanuniversity.Diane: I was looking at the word ‘’kindergarten’’and it dawned on me that that, too, is aGerman phrase.John: Yes, and it doesn’t mean ‘’a gardenfor children.’’ It means a garden whereteachers cultivate children like vegetables.Frederick Frobel—the guy who inventedkindergarten—had a life-long dream to bea member of the Prussian Army, but theywouldn’t take him because he was born inAustria.Diane: So the system is about our economy?John: People who believe that organizedschooling can be about anything else thanserving the existing economy are out oftheir minds. I feel a great deal of sympathyfor these people, the huggy kind, becausethey don’t deserve what they get, and theycertainly don’t deserve to waste their life’senergy and their heart’s blood fightingimaginary battles on imaginary battlefields.But there isn’t any way for a centralizedschool operation not to be about the dominanteconomy. You can argue till you’re bluein the face. And if you’re a mother, you’ll bearguing with a school teacher, or a principal,or a superintendant. And when youdo, you’re arguing with someone who hasno power at all. None of those roles has anypower at all. The only way they can step outof their powerless role is to play the role ofsaboteur. Because the system, by definition,has no room for debate. It may feign debateas a way to bleed away public discontent,but by definition, there is no room for realdebate. The system is systematic—if it’s notsystematic, it’s not a system anymore. It collapses.There is no wiggle room at all.Diane: A while ago, you said the change toour school system was in order to bring aboutan end to capitalism. Could you say moreabout that? I thought we still had capitalism.John: It’s true that we are all racingaround screaming at each other about who’sthe greatest capitalist. But it’s impossibleany longer to be a capitalist—there is nocompetition left that matters at all.I’ll give you a few pieces of evidence:Lockheed and Boeing should have gone outof business years ago. They weren’t allowedto go bankrupt because your tax dollarswere used to buoy them up until they couldsustain themselves again.Chrysler is another corporation thatshould have gone bankrupt a long time ago.There is no reason for Chrysler to be in businessexcept for massive injections of federaltax money.The government issues bogus contracts,and simply buys things that are junked instantly,all in order to keep these few centralcorporations in business. Chrysler is justone of the most flagrant examples.In my later life I’ve been dumbfoundedthat otherwise intelligent people—certainlymy intellectual peers—can look at thewords and the story and are unable to seethe meaning. Some of them could pass aquiz about when Chrysler went bankrupt,and what year the government bail-out occurred,and what size it was—but they haveno idea of the significance of this.Our economy is basically centralized in200 corporations who are totally dependenton government privilege. These corporationsrequire the government to stamp outany competition that emerges, and theyrequire the government to pick them upwhen they stumble and fall, and bail themout with public funds.There’s no competition. There hasn’tbeen since the end of the second World War.And as I implied earlier, the plan to destroycapitalism was announced by Carnegie andcompany back in the 1890s. They said thatonly stupid people and fools competed. Thatcompetition was a huge waste of energy andprofit, and that there was room for anyonewho wanted to play ball. They said that thedemocratic populace of the country was gettingin the way, so the populace was goingto have to be put out of commission. Thesestatements were made quite openly. But noone paid any attention.Then these ideas were written into legislation.In Silicon Valley, for example, they succeededin outdistancing their competitionthrough government intercession, guaranteedcontracts, protected markets, andguaranteed profits. Then, with that giantstream of revenue from the government,they could hire away the creative personnelthat had developed in places you’ve neverheard of—like someone’s garage.Diane: You call yourself a saboteur. How didyou get ‘’found out’’?John: Saboteurs identify themselves bytheir radically different numbers.Diane: What if the numbers are positive?John: It doesn’t matter. The public perceptionthat good school-teaching is desiredor rewarded is naive. Teaching is a ‘’guild’’system, and unlike what we were taughtin school, guilds were not about ensuringquality. In a guild, the idea was to ensurethat nobody used a technology or methodunless everyone else was using it. There isno innovation in a guild.Diane: Well, we can see that schoolteachersaren’t necessarily honored guildmembers,either. Not if you gauge it by the pay rate.John: I would dispute that. The nationalaverage for teachers right now is about$41,000 for a nine-month year—comparableto about $55,000. That’s the average. Theupper end of the scale, in most places, isaround $70,000. That doesn’t match therange of a doctor or a lawyer, of course...Diane: Most of the teachers I’ve heard of areBiophile Issue 1327

Dumbing Us Downnot making that kind of money...John: You believe that because that’s thestuff that’s pumped out by the teachers’unions. The reality is quite different. Teachersneed only a very indifferent education,and in return, they get a guaranteed pension,medical plan, and income that is certainlyadequate, if not munificent.It seems to me that American teaching asa career is one of the great deals in humanhistory, especially for people who, by andlarge, are not very accomplished themselves.Many teachers’ hearts could bear avery close scrutiny—but not their intellectsor their accomplishments, or even theirunderstanding.It’s funny, you can take five-year-oldsoff the street, and teach them in about twoweeks to do all the arithmetic operationsmentally—really, up to multiplying fouror five figures! That’s all it would take, twoweeks. Even accomplished mathematicianssay that the entire mathematics curriculumthrough calculus and trig takes about 50contact hours to deliver.The consensus is that it takes 30 contacthours to bring someone to the point wherethey can be a self-teacher in reading forthe rest of their lives. When we see kidswho can’t read, we’re seeing the results of aradical dysfunction that is transmitted byschooling. We’re talking about things thatare very, very easy to learn.The funny thing is, it’s very, very easy toput children back on track to where theycan self-teach. But that’s not allowed! Thatsort of thing really is severely punished bystructured schooling. I’m not suggestingthat teachers, principals, or even superintendentsunderstand that this is what’sgoing on.They do what they are instructed to doby the orders that are passed down—fromwhere, they don’t know, but they do knowthat if those orders aren’t followed, somepeople are going to get in a lot of trouble.Diane: Do you think the rebellion that we areseeing within our children today—the murders,the drugs, the high crime, and so on—isthe American psyche saying that they’ve hadenough?John: Yes. Plato said that before youcan make a new society you have to wipethe slate clean. One way to do that wasto wipe our children’s minds clean ofhistory, philosophy, literature—all thethings that used to provide models ofhuman behavior and the range of humanchoice.What was also required to reach the“It’s funny, you cantake five-year-olds offthe street, and teachthem in about twoweeks to do all thearithmetic operationsmentally—really, upto multiplying fouror five figures! That’sall it would take, twoweeks.”path we are in now was for four or fivegenerations of parents to become progressivelyweaker, more isolated from reality,more specialized, dependent, addictedto purchasing—so that each succeedinggeneration of parents, from somewherearound 1910 on, has had less to teach its ownchildren. The consequence is that childrenare learning very early on to disrespect theirparents. They are learning to keep two setsof books... to lie with an easy heart...So now, with the existing adult generationproviding no models to follow at all,you see children casting their lot with a basketballplayer or a singer or a comedian—orGod knows what. Television actors. Commercialmusicians.Diane: So how are we going to change this?John: We’re not going to change it. Thissystem will overthrow itself. There’s notthe slightest doubt in my mind that that ishappening right now. But it isn’t going tohappen in the halls of Congress.We think it’s useful to argue in thestreets, but that also has limited utility, andit’s too easy to cripple the few leaders. Thesystem will come apart because it has becomeso anti-life that it now has to spendhuge amounts of its energy watching outfor people like me. The saboteurs.If you want to accelerate the procedure,you absolutely have to do it individually,on a family-by-family basis. And maybein little neighborhoods or private associations,but not by linking together in a bigcountersystem.That can be self-defeating.Diane: And you say it’s already happening.John: Yes. There is already quite a snowballeffect happening. For example, therecan’t really be anyone who thinks standardizedtests measure what they purport tomeasure. Not the people who make the tests,and not the people who administer them.Bill Bradley—who’s considered the intellectualof the Democratic Party and graduatedfrom Princeton—had a 480 on the languageSAT. That’s a moron’s score.Senator Paul Wellstone had a combinedtotal score in math and language of 800, anastonishingly low score. I could go on andon with examples like that. Bush had a 550,and he graduated from Yale! If you can be aSenator, a Governor, or the President withthese numbers, why not anything else? Whythe atmosphere of threat and fear schoolsuse as ‘’motivation’’?And there have been regular ‘’test revolts’’for the past ten years. But the papers, whichare owned by those few corporations wetalked about, were not allowed to reportthem for fear that it would give other peopleideas. Then recently, a hundred mothersin Scarsdale, the richest community in theUnited States, have refused to allow theirkids to take standardized tests.Diane: And that’s having an effect?John: That’s made the front page. When ahundred mothers in Scarsdale—every one ofthem in a $2 million home or better—makea stand, then the papers can no longerrefuse to cover it. Because now the decayhas reached the very group that supposedlyprotects the system. So a lot has happened.I cast my own lot 40 years ago as a saboteur,and it would be difficult to quantify thedamage I’ve done, but I know that it’sbeen considerable.And there’s more to come. As I travelaround the country I find people ofevery persuasion who are doingit—they probably don’t think theyare sabotaging, but that’s what it is.When you react against asystem’s directives, you’re sabotagingthe system. That system may be amillion times stronger than you. Butit’s not unlimited. It doesn’t have anunlimited ability to suppress all thesereactions.Diane: So it will be family by family making astand?John: It’s going to be conversations like28Biophile Issue 13

SPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATING OUR CHILDRENConcentration, Memory andMental Sharpnessby Allan Wohrnitz BScWhen it comes to exams, the stressassociated to exams, or the need tofocus while reading or driving or the needto work late to study without falling asleep,what can one do to ensure one’s nervoussystem and nerves in the brain are able tocope? What about the physically normalchild who cannot concentrate who is thenlabeled a psychiatric “disease” (ADHD) andis then rapidy drugged with mind alteringpsychiatric drugs?“The transmission ofmessages throughoutthe nervous system canoccur smoothly if thebody is provided withthe correct foods andnutrients.There is no need fordrugs to accelerateor reduce the normalprocesses in thenervous system.”The transmission of messagesthroughout the nervous systemcan occur smoothly if the body isprovided with the correct foodsand nutrients. There is no need fordrugs to accelerate or reduce thenormal processes in the nervous system.The body is designed to adjustand repair itself provided it is given thecorrect nutrients when needed. If thebody is well fed, it will have adequatereserves of essential nutrients toprovide when called for. The majorityof children are not well fed anddo not get the nutrients necessaryto repair a damaged nervoussystem.The nervous system transmitsits electrical messages(impulses) between the nerveendings by means of neurotransmitters.For concentration,mental sharpness andmemory, it requires the productionof acetylcholine. It is knownas the “memory neurotransmitter”.It is known to elevate mood, increasememory, increase intelligence and physicalenergy. A god send for those who are losingtheir memory!The main building material for acetylcholineis choline which is found in abundancein lecithin. Choline is a key nutrientof the nervous system as it is used to as abuilding material for the nerve cells, theprotective shield of the nerve cell and nervesand for the production of receptor sites. Areceptor site is attached to the nerve endingto receive a neurotransmitter. It allows theneurotransmitter to dock at the site andthen transmit the electrical impulse it carriesto the next nerve.Choline however does not readily passthrough the blood brain barrier to enter thebrain. It so happens that when choline levelsare low in the brain, the body will grab cholinefrom the nerve cells to build acetylcholine.It cannibalises the nerve cells, which isthe onset of Alzheimers disease. Alzheimersdisease is from a deficiency of acetylcholine.The nutrient DMAE (Di Methyl AminoEthanol) passes readily through the bloodbrain barrier. It then converts to choline inthe brain. Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)is needed as part of an enzyme to convertDMAE to acetylcholine. Reports have shownthat DMAE and Vit B5 is twice as effectivethan drugs in treating kids with attentionand concentration problems.There are another two nutrients whichare essential to the production and receptionof acetylcholine:Phosphatidyl Choline (PC) – it workstogether with DMAE to produce acetylcholine.PC, DMAE, the amino acids glutamineand carnitine and B vitamins are essentialnutrients to ensure acetylcholine is made.PC is obtained from lecithin.Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) – forms part ofthe structure of the receptor site. PS, Omega3 oils and an amino acid glutamine are essentialnutrients for the receptor sites. Theiravailability boosts the number of receptorsites for acetylcholine. PS is sourced fromorgan meats, hence vegetarians need supplementationof PS.To ensure the smooth production ofacetylcholine and constant metabolismfor energy production in all the cells, useherbs like Ginko Biloba to improve theblood circulation in the brain so nutrientsand oxygen do arrive at all the cells whencalled for. Green tea to help prevent anytoxic build up to damage the nerve cells andneurotransmitters. If any nervousness oranxiety due to exam stress, use Ginseng toBiophile Issue 1329

calm one down and relax. Avoid junk foods(list available on request), eat good proteins(preferably vegetable based) to provide theneeded amino acids, supplement with agood multivitamin and mineral and omega3&6 & 9 oils. (flax seed oil)Avoid alcohol as itdissolves the essential fats in the brain andblocks the conversion of fats for essentialmetabolic processes in the brain.Avoid processed cooking oils (triplerefined oils — e.g.. canola and sunflower— commonly found in french fries, friedfish, doughnuts, packaged chips – theyblock the conversion of omega 3 and 6 oilsand messes up the thinking process.Drug treatments are very risky. They useup nutrients rapidly creating almost instantdeficiencies, hence the side effects. Drugsdeplete Calcium and Magnesium whichresults in anxiety, edgy feelings, nervous,irritable and aggressive. There are numerousreports of aggressive behaviour in childrenwho have taken psychiatric drugs for learningor behaviour problems which in theworst of cases resulted in school shootingsand murders.Suicide is also a deadly side effect and theFDA has recently ordered drug manufaturersto label their drugs as such warning ofsuicide tendencies — it is labelled with ablack square on the packaging. Allan has worked extensively in findingdrug free solutions for children with learningproblems. He has done nutritional research tofind foods and nutrients that can help childrenas well as adults. He has designed and developedsupplementation to address those problems.In order to raise the awareness of the dangersof drugging children with learning problems andproviding drug free solutions, he has written abook The Rights of Children in Education toeducate and empower parents and teachers tofind real and safe solutions for children.You can write to him directly via e-mail ate-health@eca.co.za to guide you on any issuesyou might have with children or even yourself toassist you restore and/or maintain your healthwithout the use of drugs.DangerousADD Drug:Suicide joins liver damageas a major side effectEssential Fatty AcidsOmega-3, Omega-6 & Omega-9The Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)— Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega9 —found in seed oils play a vital rolein cell to cell communication in thebrain. With the absence of these fats,neurons “short out” and their communicationsdo not arrive at theirintended destination, thus causingsymptoms of disorders like ADD/ADHD. .Researchers such as LJ Stevenshelped establish the link betweenfatty acid deficiency and behavioraland learning disorders. Some of hisresearch, published in the AmericanJournal of Clinical Nutrition, suggestedthat altered fatty acid metabolismwas a key contributor to the nutritionaldeficiencies they discoveredin children with ADHD. In this study53 participants with ADHD had lowerconcentrations of EFAs in their bloodcells than the 43 controls.In addition, 21 ADHD participantsalso had many symptoms of fattyacid deficiency associated with lowerblood EFA concentrations. The sameresearchers continued their studieson young boys with learning disorders.They found a greater number ofbehavioral problems, temper tantrums,learning disorders, and sleepdifficulties in the participants withlower total blood omega-3 concentrations.The reason for this EFAdeficiency in this group of people isunknown.Some researchers believe that afatty acid nutritional deficiencyand/or a conversion problem mayexist among children who havelearning disorders such as ADHDand dyslexia.A recent study by Richardson andPuri, published in Progress in NeuroPsychopharmacology & BiologicalPsychiatry in 2002, studied the effectsof EFAs on ADHD-related symptomsin children with specific learning disabilities(mainly dyslexia). Forty-onechildren aged 8-12 years with bothspecific learning difficulties and aboveaverage ADHD ratings were randomlyallocated to the EFA supplementationgroup or a placebo for 12 weeks. After12 weeks of EFA supplementation, significantlylower cognitive and behavioralproblems were noted comparedto the placebo group. The researchersconcluded that EFA supplementationappears to reduce ADHD-relatedsymptoms in children with dyslexia.Currently, British school childrenwith learning difficulties are takingpart in a major trial to see if EFAs fromboth plant and fish sources can helpraise their learning and concentrationlevels. A total of 120 children aged 6to 11 with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHDand autism are being studied. Theresearchers feel that the significantdietary changes that have taken placeover the last 20 years (reduction of“good” fats in the diet) are responsiblefor the increase - by as many asfour to five times - in the number ofchildren being diagnosed with theseconditions. The researchers expect tosee a significant improvement in thechildren’s learning abilities followingEFA supplementation.Although the diagnoses of ADD/ADHD are on the rise, it is comfortingto know there may be a natural alternativeto drug therapy for our children.It is important to choose supplementsthat contain both omega-3 andomega-6 fatty acids for optimal healthbenefits. Clinical research has shownimprovements with 500mg of DHAand 200mg of EPA, but the dosage willdepend upon the child’s age, size andseverity of the disorder. EFA supplementationcan be a viable option forsome children with these difficultto-managedisorders. Combating thesymptoms of ADD/ADHD gives thesechildren a new lease on life - newhope and the self esteem needed to besuccessful in today’s world. Strattera, the drug prescribed for hyperactive children, can makethem suicidal, a new report has found. It is the second major warningon the drug in less than a year; late last year it was linked tosevere liver damage.This latest warning has warranted a ‘black box’ alert for thedrug, and is the final stage before a drug is withdrawn. The warningis included in special type within a black box so that it is clearly visibleto doctors who may prescribe it.The drug, which is designed to treat attention deficit hyperactivitydisorder (ADHD) in children and adults, has been prescribed toaround 3 million people in America alone, 75 % of whom are children.[MSNBC]30 Biophile Issue 13

Flax vs Fish oilIn his book, Omega-3 Oils: A PracticalGuide, Dr Rudin points out that most Omega-3 studies are based on fish oil. Rudin finds thisdisappointing, as he has had better results withflax seed oil in his own studies. This may bebecause flax seed oil starts with the plant formof linolenic acid, ALA (alpha linolenic acid),whereas fish oil contains the animal form, DHA(docosahexaenoic acid). The body makes itsown DHA and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) fromALA.Although some claim that the amount ofDHA made is small, the body doesn’t need muchDHA. Most DHA is contained in cell membranes,and is held there with little replacement.In contrast, ALA — and the compounds madefrom it — are also needed in the body for a numberof essential functions.Fish oil cannot provide ALA, and thereforedeprives the consumer of this critical compound.Some people feel that they need DHA orEPA as a supplement, and that’s their personalchoice. However, most sources covering thedifferent types of oil indicate that plant-basedOmega-3s, or ALA, is the better choice.Flax oilHas been used for thousands ofyears in humans and proven safeContains no cholesterolCold pressed and no chemicalsolvents use for extractionNaturally contains lecithin andVitamin E needed to help the bodyproves essential fatsYou obtain the ‘parent’ Omega 3 orALA needed fro your body to make5 different derivatives includingEPA and DHANo truth to the rumour that Flaxoil causes prostate problems. Thevery research people claim says thisactually state that Flax reduces yourchances of prostate problems, butthat Omega 3 and derivatives fromheated sources like mayonnaises,salad dressings and beef, lamb andpork increase your risk.Never contains heavy metals iforganically grownContains lignans known to lowerhormone dependent cancers likebreast, endometrial and prostatecancerFlax oil can last up to 6 months ifkept in a cool dark place, the EPAand DHA made by the body is at itsfreshest and you only make whatyou needOrganically grown, not detrimentalto environmentFish oilOnly in use since early 1980s so nolong term research on real peoplein a natural environmentContains cholesterolHeated and chemical solvents usedto extract oils. Heated Omega 3 fatsare carcinogenicContains no lecithin or VitaminE naturally so processed versionsneed to be addedYou only get 2 derivatives EPA andDHA and only time will tell whatmissing the others does.Some research that fish oil promotesbreast cancer Journal ofAmerican Medical Association 281(1999)Can be high in heavy metals likemercuryContains no lignansDeteriorates rapidly after deathand should be eaten in the fish, inits raw state within a few hours ofdeath The fish’s death that is!)Seems bizarre to be killing fishto extract oil when people woulddo better to actually eat the fish,would contribute to environmentalstrainBiophile Issue 1331

SPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATING OUR CHILDRENAn emergent school curriculumby René Gilbert, Synergy Schoolingow are your children finding school“Hat the moment?” I asked a motherwho had just dropped off her children at theschool gate.“Oh, the doctor is doing well, but thelawyer is finding it a bit rough though,” sheresponded as she waved at the eight and sixyear old boys.If parents verbalised their aspirations insuch a way we would be surprised. But isit not the aim of most parents and schoolstoo prepare children for getting that schoolleaving certificate that provides entrance toa university? Parents are required to makejudgements on what their children learn inschool and how well their learning is integratedso that they can prepare them best fortheir future and their aspirations.But is school about learning how to becomea lawyer or doctor? Or is school aboutlearning a skill? Or is school just a ‘place’ inwhich learning happens? Are we learningabout life, or are we actually living our livesthrough our experiences and our learning?While many tertiary institutions arguethat children are not adequately preparedwith the basic skills for what is expected ofthem in further education, trend futuristson the other hand are predicting thatcertain personal characteristics rather thanqualifications are what will be in demand forsuccess in the future workplace.Statistics show that 60 % of professionalqualified 30-year-olds are no longer usingtheir professional qualifications in theirworking environment. Should our effortsnot be on giving children a love of lifelonglearning instead of aiming to select the rightprofession for them by the age of 16?Once parents shift to this mindset, thenthey will also beg the same question of ourschools and teachers. So if we want schoolsto be a place where we engage with theworld around us, exploring who we are andour relationship to the people and thingsaround us, we will need teaching techniquesto support this.Schools teaching this kind of emergentcurriculum are scarce. In Cape Towna school called Synergy Schooling wasestablished by teachers that believe learningis by nature interactive and the skills whichsupport human interaction must be part of“Is school about learninghow to become a lawyeror medical doctor? Or isschool about learning askill?Or is school just a ‘place’in which learninghappens? Are welearning about life, orare we actually livingour lives through ourexperiences and ourlearning?”the educational process.But for these teachers and others likethem, acting as facilitators for the children’sinsights to integrated understanding meansthat they move away from using predeterminedyearly themes and textbooks. Theycreate a framework which can support thechildren’s interests while at the same timebeing aware of the requirements of theRevised National Curriculum.“A curriculum which focuses on inquirybased,experiential learning such as oursrequires time,” says Tahirih Cook, a gradefive and six teacher at Synergy Schooling.“It takes time to develop ideas and questionsand then to explore them. This means wehave to make choices about what is importantwhen it comes to the curriculum.As a result, we tend to favour ‘depth’ over‘breadth’ in the curriculum. This is one areawhere we are very different from a moretraditional school. We are not trying to‘cover’ a predetermined curriculum the waymore traditional schools do. Instead we arecreating a process which engages childrenso that they have a meaningful and relevanteducational experience.”Carey Bouwer, a foundation phase teachersays that to support herself as a teacherwithin this approach she needs to be highlyorganised and clear on what the outcomesare for the year or the term. “Literacy andNumeracy programmes in the FoundationPhase are developmental and important.But I am not tied to these termly curricula. Iallow myself to be very flexible around this. Ineed to be comfortable with change as I thencan change my curriculum continuously as Igo along, picking up on the gaps the followingterm. For example, if I wanted to learnabout Time in Numeracy during the 4th32 Biophile Issue 13

term, but a child brings in their grandfather’swatch collection in the 2nd term, I amprobably going to learn about Time rightthen and there. If a child who left our classwrote us a letter we would then learn abouthow to format a letter so that we could writeback to them. This means that I need to havea good understanding that learning doesnot have to happen in a certain manner ortimeframe or order. Learning happens allthe time and mostly when it is meaningfuland child-initiated.”Robin Booth, founder principal at SynergySchooling and a pre-school teacher saysthat there are many different levels a teachercan go to with an emergent curriculum. Heelaborates: “Some teachers may be comfortableonly in rethinking the content of theircurriculum. In other words, when learningto read, we can provide books on the topicsthat the children are interested in. Or ifwe wish to study anatomy, we can studythe anatomy of the animals that the groupdecided it wants to study.“Other teachers may also rethink theskills that underpin the content — if afour year old child says they want to startreading, do we say, sorry, that only happenswhen you are six years old?” In our currentreality in South Africa, teachers andparents may also actually question whetherthe Revised National Curriculum is stilltoo prescriptive and what happens if morechanges to the National Curriculum areagain affected?One of the most exciting elements of theemergent curriculum approach is that theteacher and the child are all involved in the“We call this ‘chunkingthe timetable’.We give children thetime they need to workon what they want to do.We are not bound bytime.”process together. This means that the teachersdon’t step into the classroom with preconceivedideas of what the children “will”be interested in at any given point.The teacher needs to be very observantof the conversations and interactions thatare happening in and around the classroomevery day to see what it is that children areshowing an interest in and talking about.They then open up a subject (provide books,encourage them to bring things in aroundthis topic, find pictures, activities, givespace for discussions etc) and offer the childrenmore around it to see if it is somethingthey wish to pursue.It is the teacher’s role to guide this learningso that it does not become too thin andflighty and to ensure that the class goesdeeper into topics to achieve their learningoutcomes. It is important not to flit fromsubject to subject and here the role of theteacher is to keep that passion going byproviding the right questions to keep thechildren interested about the topic as well asexciting and interest-grabbing activities tokeep them thinking.As a foundation phase teacher that hasexperience of both approaches to the curriculum,Carey Bouwer says that the teacherwith an emergent curriculum needs to beflexible with her timetable. “Often when thechildren are very interested in somethingthey want to spend a large chunk of timeworking around it. Therefore the teacherneeds to be comfortable with spendingchunks of time on a certain learning activity.Can we just do Maths all day? Is it okay towork solely on a project for 3 whole days?Biophile Issue 1333

An Emergent School CurriculumWhat will happen if we don’t read for aweek?“We call this chunking the timetable. Wegive children the time they need to work onwhat they want to do. We are not bound bytime. It is about being confident in knowingthat the learning that needs to take place,will all take place,” she says.As so much of the learning is incidentalthe teacher needs to be a consistent recordkeeper. “I keep an observation book in whichI note the children’s conversations, interestsduring free play time, activitiesduring project time as wellas their friendships,” explainsCarey. “This is time consumingand once again the teacherneeds to be organised to fit allthis into her day. I also need tokeep a record of all the subjectsand topics we discuss to be ableto record them in my curriculumat the end of the term.”This approach demandsmuch more of the teacher, butwhat about the children? Theyare seemingly challenged inways that a normal set curriculumdoes not provide for.Tahirih Cook says the factthat the children’s interestsplay an important role in shapingthe direction of the curriculumis a factor which facilitatesa sense of belonging and connectednessat school. “If yourinterests, ideas and experiencesare validated and seen as importantthis has an impact onhow you see yourself. It can bean affirming experience to haveyour thoughts and contributionsintegrated in the educationalprocess. It helps to createrelevant learning and this has apositive impact on the relationshipsand interactions in class.I work very hard to support thedevelopment of the children’sself-esteem through a processof validation and engagementin class. I encourage them to share theirideas, to reflect and develop their ideasfurther. I do not present myself as the expertwho knows all the right answers, which theyneed to learn and retain,” she says.She adds: “I want them to become powerfulthinkers, intellectuals who believe inthemselves and believe they have somethingworthwhile to share with others. I feel thatit is very important for the children to learnfrom one another and to understand thatdifferent ideas held by others can be just asimportant and engaging. It is about facilitatingreciprocal relationships which requirewell developed communication skills.”Carey Bouwer agrees that the approachdemands much more of the childrenThese are her observations:Children need to be able to share their•knowledge and interests with others whichdemands a major focus on developing communicationskills.• Social skills within a group are developedto enable children to listen to others andencourage and hear their classmates.• As the children are required to bring theirinterests into the classroom to kick startthe process, they need to know what theirinterests and passions are. They get to knowthemselves better and develop a sense of self.• The manner in which the teacher asksquestions and encourages inquiries, to developthe topic, makes the children use theirown thinking and questioning skills. Theyare actively involved all the time and not justpassive receivers of set information foistedupon them by an adult.• The children are responsible for their ownlearning. They need to bring informationto the group, go to the library, participate inthe group discussions and engage with theprocess.• There is a personal ownership of the learningprogramme that is happening withinthe classroom. The children are part of makingthings happen, they can direct the learningand their unique personalities affect thegroup’s learning.• Each child is acknowledged asan integral part of the learningthat is happening. This affirmsthe child as to how valuablethey are. They are worthy of beinglistened to, acknowledgedand their contributions to thegroup discussions are valuableand heard. She observed a risein self-esteem and joy withinthe children as they feel secureand acknowledged.There is agreat feeling of group unity, asso much time is spent togetherin discussions and learningto support each other withina group. The children get toknow each other very well andfeel comfortable in opening upto each other.It seems that the key toimplementing an EmergentCurriculum is to shake off theimage of the teacher as a ‘giver’of information and the ‘tester’of memory recall. The teachercomes to view the childrenas people who have their ownideas and beliefs about theworld, and who acknowledgesthat these children have a rightto explore their own interests.Schooling can then become alearning opportunity that isrelevant to their lives and is anexciting collaborative journey.School can be a place where ourchildren engage with the worldaround them, establishingtheir relationship in it and exploring whothey are so that they have the skills to shapetheir world and find their special place init. You can phone the school (SynergySchooling, Noordhoek: 021 785 5500) tofind out when the next public talk is on:“Sharing examples of an Emergent Curriculum”.34 Biophile Issue 13

Top 10HazardousHouseholdChemicalsby Richard AlexanderAIR FRESHENERS: Most air fresheners interferewith your ability to smell by coatingyour nasal passages with an oil film, or byreleasing a nerve deadening agent. Knowntoxic chemicals found in an air freshener:Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, knowncarcinogen. Phenol: When phenol touchesyour skin it can cause it to swell, burn,peel, and break out in hives. Can cause coldsweats,convulsions, circulatory collapse,coma and even death.AMMONIA: It is a very volatile chemical, itis very damaging to your eyes, respiratorytract and skin.BLEACH: It is a strong corrosive. It willirritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratorytract. It may cause pulmonary edemaor vomiting and coma if ingested. WARN-ING: never mix bleach with ammonia it maycause fumes which can be DEADLY.CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY SHAMPOO:Most formulas are designed to over powerthe stain itself, they accomplish the task butnot without using highly toxic substances.Some include: Perchlorethylene: Known carcinogendamages liver, kidney and nervoussystem damage. Ammonium Hydroxide:Corrosive, extremely irritable to eyes, skinand respiratory passages.DISHWASHER DETERGENTS: Mostproducts contain chlorine in a dry form thatis highly concentrated.# 1 cause of childpoisonings, according to poison controlcenters.DRAIN CLEANER: Most drain cleanerscontain lye, hydrochloric acid or trichloroethane.Lye: Caustic, burns skin and eyes, ifingested will damage oesophagusand stomach. Hydrochloric acid:Corrosive, eye and skin irritant,damages kidneys, liver and digestivetract. Trichloroethane: Eye andskin irritant, nervous system depressant;damages liver and kidneys.FURNITURE POLISH: Petroleum Distillates:Highly flammable, can cause skin andlung cancer. Phenol: (see Air fresheners,Phenol.) Nitrobenzene: Easily absorbedthrough the skin, extremely toxic.MOLD AND MILDEW CLEANERS: Chemicalscontained are: Sodium hypochlorite:Corrosive, irritates or burns skin and eyes,causes fluid in the lungs which can lead tocoma or death. Formaldehyde: Highly toxic,known carcinogen. Irritant to eyes, nose,throat, and skin. May cause nausea, headaches,nosebleeds, dizziness, memory lossand shortness of breath.OVEN CLEANER: Sodium Hydroxide (Lye):Caustic, strong irritant, burns to both skinand eyes. Inhibits reflexes, will cause severetissue damage if swallowed.ANTIBACTERIAL CLEANERS: may contain:Triclosan: Absorption through the skincan be tied to liver damage.LAUNDRY ROOM PRODUCTS: Sodiumor calcium hypocrite: Highly corrosive, irritatesor burns skin, eyes or respiratory tract.Linear alkylate sulfonate: Absorbed throughthe skin. Known liver damaging agent.Sodium Tripolyphosphate: Irritates skin andmucous membranes, causes vomiting. Easilyabsorbed through the skin from clothes.TOILET BOWL CLEANERS: Hydrochloricacid: Highly corrosive, irritant to both skinand eyes. Damages kidneys and liver. HypochloriteBleach: Corrosive, irritates or burnseyes, skin and respiratory tract. May causepulmonary edema, vomiting or coma ifingested. Contact with other chemicals maycause chlorine fumes which may be fatal.OTHER NASTY THINGS THAT AREAROUND YOUR HOMEPESTICIDES: Most pesticides have ingredientsthat affect the nervous system of insects.Dimpylate: Better known as Diazinon,extremely toxic. Impairs the central nervoussystem. Chlorinate Hydrocarbons: Suspectedcarcinogen and mutantagen. Accumulatesin food and in fatty tissue. Will attackthe nervous system. Organophosphates:Toxic and poisonous. If you can smell it,your lungs are absorbing it.FLEA POWDERS: Carbaryl: Very toxic,causes skin, respiratory and cardiovascularsystem damage. Chlordane: Accumulatesin the food chain, may damage eyes, lungs,liver, kidney and skin. Dichlorophene: Skinirritation: May damage liver, kidney, spleenand central nervous system.LICE SHAMPOO: Especially vulnerable arechildren. Lindane: Inhalation, ingestion,or ABSORPTION through the SKIN causesvomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and circulatorycollapse. May cause liver damage,stillbirths, birth defects and cancer.CAR WASH AND POLISH: PetroleumDistillates: Associated with skin and lungcancer, irritant to skin, eyes, nose and lungs.Entry into the lungs may cause fatal pulmonaryedema, most marked Danger, Harmfulor Fatal.TAR AND BUG REMOVER: contains xyleneand petroleum distillates.Warning terms used are significant:DANGER - Harmful or fatal if swallowed Ataste to a teaspoonful taken by mouth couldkill an average sized adult.WARNING - Harmful if swallowed A teaspoonfulto an ounce taken by mouth couldkill an average sized adult.CAUTION - Harmful if swallowed An ounceto over a pint taken by mouth could kill anaverage sized adult Biophile Issue 1335

Reasons to keep cows off your tablethis festive seasonA cow contentedly chewing her cud may looklike she doesn’t have a care in the world, butthere’s a lot going on behind those big browneyes. Cows are as diverse as cats, dogs, andpeople. According to Rosamund Young, authorof The Secret Lives of Cows, cows “can behighly intelligent, moderately so, or slow tounderstand; friendly, considerate, aggressive,docile, inventive, dull, proud, or shy.”Cows are curious, clever animals who havebeen known to go to amazing lengths to escapefrom slaughterhouses. These very social animalsprefer to spend their time together, andthey form complex relationships, very much likedogs form packs. Like all animals, cows formstrong maternal bonds with their children, andon dairy farms and cattle ranches, mother cowscan be heard crying out for their calves for daysafter they are separated.According to recent research, cows are alsovery intelligent animals with long memories,sometimes holding grudges against cows whotreat them badly, and forming social hierarchieswithin their herds. They are emotionally complexas well and even have the capacity to worryabout the future.Researchers have found that cows can not onlyfigure out problems, they also, like humans,enjoy the intellectual challenge and get excitedwhen they find a solution. Their big problem, ofcourse, is that they’re being raised for slaughter,and just like all animals, they don’t want tobe separated from their families, and they don’twant to die. So cows have been known to usetheir smarts to perform amazing feats, such asleaping over a six-foot fence to escape from aslaughterhouse, walking seven miles to reunitewith a calf after being sold at auction, andswimming across a river to freedom.Please, don’t eat cows.PLEASE SUPPORT ANIMAL VOICEAnimal Voice is the official mouthpieceCompassion In World Farming (South Africa).CIWA (South Africa) headed by Louise van derMerwe, is also busy bringing out a Kind FoodGuide:“... It has taken us 17 years to get to the pointwhere a Kind Food Guide is possible and werequest you please to consider telling your colleagues,friends and contacts about it. Believeit or not, when we started off as Humanity for Hens way back in 1989 therewasn’t a single free range egg available in any supermarket anywhere inSouth Africa. These days we take free range eggs for granted. Besides theeggs, we have made progress for other farm animals too... ”Please support the work of CIWF (SA):Compassion in World Farming (South Africa)P O Box 825, Somerset West, 7129, South AfricaTel/fax: 021 852 8160Email: avoice@yebo. co. za Website: www. animal-voice. orgAffiliated to The Humane Education TrustRegistered NPO (No. 039 611 NPO)Registered Charitable Trust (No. IT 450/2001)campaigningfor farm animalsPLEASE SUPPORT THE SNOUTOfficial Newsletter of South Africans for the Abolition of Vivisection.of“Although Snout mainly addresses the issue of vivisection, there are alsoother matters that need a closer look at the story behind the façade, especiallywhere vested interests are concerned. Currently at the forefront ofdebate are ‘canned’ lions and culling of elephants, as well as the slaughterof South African seals. All these issues involve major cruelties and massivedisinformation campaigns by those who profit from them. They concernour heritage, our wild life, which have a massive price placed upon theirheads and, as a consequence, in many cases face extinction. ”Editor: Beatrice WiltshirePO Box 17727 Bainsvlei 9338Tel: 051 451 1027Email: bwilt@telkomsa. netWeb: www. snout. org. zaSAAV National OfficeP. O. Box 3018 Honeydew 2040Tel: 011-472 2380Email: info@saav. org. za Web: www. saav. org. za36Biophile Issue 13

CompassionateChristmasby Glenn Perret tMy wife Lynn and I have been vegansfor approximately a decade, andvegetarians for much longer. We becamevegetarians because we like animals andfeel that it is wrong to eat them or havethem enslaved so that we can take food fromthem. Since making that compassionatedecision we have felt good that our diet isalso beneficial for the environment and ourpersonal health.Christmas is a wonderful time of year.Our family eagerly starts looking forward tothis magical season as soon as fall arrives.By November the excitement escalates as westart making holiday plans and begin thinkingabout decorating the house. Toward theend of November we start reading Christmasbooks and watching holiday movies.Christmas is a time for family andfriends. It is also a good chance to celebratea compassionate lifestyle and to rememberand help others who are not as fortunate. Webelieve it is wrong to celebrate life, family,religion and various other significant thingsby cruelly raising and then killing a sentientbeing — so we don’t. We do prepare wonderfulvegan meals and snacks. We also ensurethat our canine, feline and equine familymembers get some extra treats during theholidays.The compassionate traditions that we engagein at Christmas also extend to the trees.We do not kill a living tree so that it canserve as a decoration for a couple of weeks.What we do is cut several smaller branchesfrom various, large, evergreen trees and putthem into a Christmas tree stand. Thesewhite pine, red pine, white spruce andoccasionally, cedar boughs look beautiful,and they smell great, too! It is becoming atradition that Lynn, Gleannan, Liam andI walk the trails on our property a week orso before Christmas in search of our “tree.”Most of the limbs are cut down because theyare in the way; many of them have grownacross the trails. After Christmas, before theboughs dry out, we put them outside wherethey provide some shelter for small animalsbefore returning to the earth.Many others aren’t as fortunate as weare, so we buy some toys for children whodon’t get many at Christmas. We explainto Gleannan, 7, and Liam, 3, that there arepeople who don’t have as much as we do andthat it is important to help others. Gleannanand Liam go with us when we buy the toys,and they buy some of them with their ownmoney.Since we usually spend Christmas athome, we don’t have to worry about whatwe’ll eat or what we’ll serve to others whosediets differ considerably from ours. Lynn’sparents often spend Christmas with us, buttheir diets are similar to ours so nothingspecial needs to be prepared.Things are different when we go to relatives’homes for dinner during the holidays.While there are always plenty of vegetables,there is also a turkey’s cookedand-beheadedcorpse along with a platepiled high with slices of the unfortunateanimal’s flesh, which we have to explainto our children. It is an introduction tothe harsh reality that cruelty and violenceis both common and accepted by muchof our species. There are other foods, suchas chocolate and many other desserts thatwe have to make off-limits to Gleannan andLiam because those items contain productsthat come from animals. We explain to themwhy we don’t eat these non-vegan items.Monitoring what our children eat whilevisiting relatives during the holidays isn’ta big deal. We just have to be prepared forit. If we’re not sure whether a food is vegan,we ask. If we’re not confident that a foodis vegan, we simply avoid it. Gleannan hasalways been inquisitive, and she has a goodunderstanding of why, as vegans, we docertain things. When she is not sure aboutwhether she can eat a certain food she willask Lynn or me. She is also supportive andenthusiastic of our vegan lifestyle.Both of our families are considerate ofour diet, and always ensure that there isplenty of food that we can eat. If we want aparticular food item, we prepare it ourselves,let the hosts know that we’re bringingit, and we make sure to take enoughfor everyone. Well-prepared, tasty veganfoods often attract even the most die-hardcarnivores!Arranging to bring some vegan orvegetarian food to a get-together not onlyensures that our family will have enough toeat, but by sharing it with others we showthem how delicious and healthy vegan foodis, and that our diet doesn’t need to be aninconvenience. When others see how well weeat and that our diet is simple to maintain,good for the environment, non-humananimals and ourselves, it reflects well on ahumane, life-giving way of life! Biophile Issue 13Reasons to keep turkey off your tablethis festive seasonTurkeys are social, playful birds who relish havingtheir feathers stroked and like to chirp, cluck,and gobble along to their favorite tunes. Anyonewho spends time with them on farm sanctuariesquickly learns that turkeys are as varied inpersonality as dogs and cats.When not forced to live on filthy factory farms,turkeys spend their days caring for their young,building nests, foraging for food, taking dustbaths,preening themselves, and roosting highin trees.In the wild, the turkey’s athletic prowess is trulyimpressive: turkeys roost in trees, are fiercelyprotective of their young, can fly at up to 8okmper hour and live for around 10 years. Today,the vast majority are reared on factory farms,crammed by their thousands into dark and dirtysheds, with barely enough room to move. Mostare slaughtered at around four months.Turkeys have been bred to gain weight rapidly,because fatter turkeys mean fatter wallets forfarmers. The rapid growth spurt turns them intojuvenile giants and puts intense pressure on theirdeveloping bones.Turkeys grow so huge, so quickly, that their legsare unable to support their ballooning bodies.With swollen joints and ulcerated feet, evenshuffling from foot to foot is painful. Annually,thousands of turkeys (and chickens and ducks)collapse under the strain of their own bodyweight. Unable to get to food and water from thedispensers scattered around the unit, they diefrom thirst and starvation.Every second of every day is the same inside afactory farm. They never know sunlight or freshair. The atmosphere is cloying, heavy with thestench of ammonia and faeces. Turkeys – aswith all poultry – are forced to stand and lie inexcreta-soaked litter, which will probably not bechanged for the duration of their lives.Those who survive the short, painful anddeprived existence in the fattening sheds meeta brutal and bloody end at the slaughterhouse.Please, don’t eat turkeys.37

Article Title Goes HereM.E.R.C.Y.ANIMALRESCUEM.E.R.C.Y. Animal Rescue began lifeas the Waterfront Cat Sterilisation,Feeding and Monitoring Project dedicatedto the ending of the feral catbreeding cycle at the popular Victoriaand Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town,as well as providing for the sustentationand medical care of these neglectedcreatures.Adopting a pragmatic approach it’sfounder members Connie Brachtl andSteve Smith set out to achieve whatthe beneficiaries of this prime touristmoney spinner could not be botheredto do. The current sterilisation successrate of 80% provides clear proofthat with compassion, commitmentand a practical approach the seeminglyimpossible can be achieved.One day seven years ago Connieand Steve were down at the Waterfrontand after seeing the umpteenthlitter of newborn kittens runningconfused through the traffic in searchof refuge they decided that it was upto them to end the neglect of thesebeautiful creatures. A plan of actionwas drawn up whereby the Waterfrontwas divided up into sectors and everymember of each colony noted by description– size, markings, etc. as wellas location.Spreading out tinned food it wasobserved at each site that without failevery single cat was in a state of physicaland mental breakdown- skeletal,bedraggled, eyes conveying panic,bewilderment and disorientation dueto unchecked abuse and near totalstarvation. Watching these near-deadcreatures gorging desperately andthen regurgitating food too rich fortheir shrunken tummies only reinforcedthe need to end their misery.If this was to be successfullyachieved it was imperative that asterilisation project had to be implementedimmediately.After numerous approaches to theauthorities for assistance it was madepretty clear to Connie and Steve thatthey were on their own. And so beganthe search for a solution. Vets wereapproached to contribute sterilisationsat reduced rates, many offeringtheir services. Due to the nature ofthe work and the scale of the areait became apparent that the projectrequired a macro approach. Comeththe hour cometh the man. A chancemeeting with Vincent Gabriel ofAnimal Rescue Organisation lead tothe back of this project being broken.Asking for patience initially while heset proceedings in motion Connie andSteve, upon receiving the go ahead,endeavoured to trap 70 cats withintwo and a half months. After a lullin which to raise additional funds afurther batch of 60 cats were trappedand sterilised within two months. Atthe same time every colony had toreceive its nightly feeding, a processthat has continued unabated to thisday.The bond of trust now establishedbetween animal and human has beenthe most rewarding aspect of thisproject for Connie and Steve. The catsunderstand that they are cared for,with many people expressing surpriseat their condition. Making as differencein the lives of these animals hasmade a difference to the lives of thesetwo human beings.Now they need YOUR help to bringthe sterilisation project to fulfillment,and to provide the food and medicalcare necessary for these cats to seeout their days without the ever-presentthreat of cruelty and neglect onceagain. Alternatively, any donationstoward a critically needed reliablebakkie, our lifeline to these animals,would be gratefully appreciated.Connie and Steve may becontacted by email:m.e.r.c.y@webmail.co.zaor by writing to:PO Box 8 Sea Point 806038 Biophile Issue 13

Article Title Goes HereBiophile Issue 13 39

The flip sideof ambitionGetting the best balance is not easy.Making the hard choices needsthought and planning.by James WoodfordSteve Douglas’s ambitions read like theflip side of most people’s idea of success.He is wary of high-paying jobs, happy withan older car and a small home and neverflies overseas. Douglas is an ecologicalconsultant and doctoral student. Hispartner, Dr Emma Rush is a philosopher andsocial researcher at the Australia Institute inCanberra.At the age of 15 Rush decided that shewould never own a car. Not just because ofthe carbon emissions but out of “solidarity”with the majority of the world’s population,who in their wildest dreams could neverafford a motor vehicle. She relies on herbicycle and public transport.Rush, whose doctoral dissertation was onreducing consumption in the industrialisedworld, rejects the idea that not owning acar is a chore — in fact cycling is one of herfavourite forms of ecologically sustainablehedonism.“It’s a pure joy to pedal around,” she says.“It’s so nice to be outside.”Douglas owns a car because without it hisjob would be almost impossible. But, unlikemany other private consultants, he refusesto lease or buy a new vehicle every few years.He minimises the use of his car andoffsets its greenhouse gas emissions bysubscribing to a company that each yearplants enough trees to take up the vehicle’soutput of CO2 .Both vow they will never take an internationalflight because of the greenhousegas emissions such a journey wouldentail. When work requires him to fly domesticallyDouglas asks his clients to offsetthe carbon emissions of his travel.Both have rejected the lure of high- payingpositions, Rush in the public service andDouglas as a consultant with a large firm sothat their quality of life is not compromised.Douglas has retrofitted his home toreduce energy use.“I have no lawn, no lawn mower, all ofmy garden is mulched and all but the foodplants are hardy natives.” He collects hisshower water in buckets for his garden andgrows some vegetables and fruits. Rain fromthe roof is directed onto his yard instead ofinto stormwater. He buys organic and avoidsbuying products with packaging or whichare imported.He says the thought he has to put intohis life adds to its richness. Rush lives ina share house. Food is bought from a localorganic grower or co-operative.Ben Thurley trained as a high schoolteacher and lived in Sydney’s inner westbefore working overseas as a volunteer on anaid project and realising that he and his wifehad to give their lives an ethical overhaul.“We have made a lot of small-scale decisionsabout trying to live more simply, wetry to spend as much on others as we spendon ourselves. We have tried to set 10 per centof our wages as the baseline that we giveaway and work up from there. Sometimeswe can afford to do more.”While many Sydneysiders enjoyed weekendsrelaxing, Thurley engages in a game hehas invented called Slum Survivor. For threedays he and a dozen others were at Appin,living in a hand-built slum, reflecting on lifeamong the planet’s poorest people.Dr Simon Longstaff, the head of one ofSydney’s moral lighthouses, the St JamesEthics Centre, is now wrestling with some ofthe emerging quandaries of the 21st century.Longstaff is examining whether it ispossible for him and his staff to offset thecarbon emissions of their travel. He warnsthat starting to look critically at thestructures of a person’s life can lead tobig changes.“Ethics unsettle the existing certaintiesthat you have,” he says. “Be careful whenyou take the stopper out of this bottle becauseyou can’t do that and expect nothingto change. Once the genie’s out change isinevitable.”Dr Longstaff says every decision is inprinciple an ethical one and involves achoice about good and right. The ethicaldecisions that most strike us are the onesthat come at a cost to the person makingthe choice.“We feel arrested by the example of a personwho seems to say, ‘This is what I believe,and because of my commitment I am preparedto act on that as a matter of principleand accept the cost of doing so’.”Quoting Socrates, Longstaff says theunexamined life is not worth living. Oneperson Longstaff knows and respects is theformer senior BP executive Greg Bourne.After decades as an oil man Bourne is now incharge of WWF Australia, one of Australia’smost influential environmental organisations.Bourne’s primary ethical concern withregard to the environment is offsetting hiscarbon emissions. He bought a hybrid carsoon after he left BP and still drives one.“I don’t wear a hairshirt. I don’t feel anyconcern about flying to a particular place togo and visit friends but I do offset my emissionsand talk to people about that.”Each year he does a rough estimate ofhow many kilometres he expects to travel,then adds a little bit as a buffer and thenpays several hundred dollars for someoneelse to buy the credits to match his carbonemissions. He says he is enriched by passingon business skills, knowledge and competenciesto environmentalists.“My re-direction was very invigorating.My balance is now better.” Suggestions forethical livingSteve Douglas, Ecological consultant1. Realise that you are part of nature;everything is connected2. Reduce and localise your consumptionto minimise your impact3. Generate your own energy or buy“green” power. Cover your other energyuse with carbon offsets but understandthat they are definitely not the answer togreenhouse gas pollution4. You cannot buy your way to happiness5. Vote with your conscience, not just foryour walletEmma Rush, Social researcher1. Drive less2. Fly less3. Join a group advocating societal structuralchange4. Think hard about buying only what isnecessary5. Focus on what is really importantBen Thurley, Poverty campaigner1. Volunteer2. Meaningfully support an organisation3. Consume less; an abundance of possessionsis pretty empty4. Vote with your values5. Engage with more vulnerable membersof our societyGreg Bourne, Environmental leader, withsuggestions to business1. Make investments in society and theenvironment through prescribed privatefunds2. Look for products and services you canafford that make a difference, for example,hybrid cars and solar panels3. Offset all of your emissions4. Start thinking about what you can dowith your house or houses to make themmore energy efficient but still luxurious5. Invest in harmony and society, be itthrough a school, secular agencies or yourchurch. Encourage and promote goodcitizenship within your group.40 Biophile Issue 13

whatgoes on...inParabens are used inapproximately 98% ofpersonal care productsas preservatives. Theyare the cheapest way forby Trevor Steynmanufacturers of theseproducts to control themicrobes that would otherwiseproliferate.There is, however, growingconcern about the safety ofparabens and manufacturersof raw materials are rapidlylaunching alternatives.A study in 1998 by DrRoutledge et al in the UKshowed that parabensmimic the hormone estrogen.The effect was shownto be stronger for the longerchain parabens likebutyl and propyl paraben.Sperm counts have fallen byhalf over the past 50 years andbreast cancer has increasedby more than 30% since 1980.These increases are almostcertainly linked to estrogenmimics.In 2004 Dr Darbreof Reading Universityshowed that parabenswere present in 24 of the27 breast cancer tumoursthat she analysed.Don’t let thebeautifulpackaging foolyou! Alwaysread the list ofingredients...Almost all breast tumoursneed estrogen to grow.The most recent findingwas by Professor Yoshikawain September 2005. Hefound that methyl parabenin the presence of UV, acceleratesthe aging process inskin cells.Parabens have beenbanned by all the majororganic certifiers in theworld including the US,the UK, Europe, Australiaand Japan.The industry response isthat these chemicals have beencleared for use by the relevantauthorities (FDA and ECC) andhave been used for decades.The link between smoking andcancer took 50 years to gainpublic support. Health concernsraised by the parabenswill hopefully be recognizedsooner. Biophile Issue 1341

The denial industryFor years, a network of fake citizens’ groups and bogus scientific bodies has been claiming that science of globalwarming is inconclusive. They set back action on climate change by a decade. But who funded them?by George MonbiotExxonMobil is the world’s most profitablecorporation. Its sales now amount tomore than $1 000 000 000 — one billiondollars! —every day. It makes most of thismoney from oil, and has more to lose thanany other company from efforts to tackleclimate change. To safeguard its profits,ExxonMobil needs to sow doubt aboutwhether serious action needs to be taken onclimate change. But there are difficulties:it must confront a scientific consensusas strong as that which maintains thatsmoking causes lung cancer or that HIVcauses Aids. So what’s its strategy?The website exxonsecrets.org, usingdata found in the company’s official documents,lists 124 organisations that havetaken money from the company or workclosely with those that have. These organisationstake a consistent line on climatechange: that the science is contradictory, thescientists are split, environmentalists arecharlatans, liars or lunatics, and if governmentstook action to prevent global warming,they would be endangering the globaleconomy for no good reason. The findingsthese organisations dislike are labelled “junkscience”. The findings they welcome arelabelled “sound science”.Among the organisations that havebeen funded by Exxon are such well-knownwebsites and lobby groups as TechCentral-“To safeguard itsprofits of a billiondollars a day,ExxonMobil needsto sow doubt aboutwhether serious actionneeds to be taken onclimate change.”Station, the Cato Institute and the HeritageFoundation. Some of those on the list havenames that make them look like grassrootscitizens’ organisations or academic bodies:the Centre for the Study of Carbon Dioxideand Global Change, for example. Oneor two of them, such as the Congress ofRacial Equality, are citizens’ organisationsor academic bodies, but the line they takeon climate change is very much like that ofthe other sponsored groups. While all thesegroups are based in America, their publicationsare read and cited, and their staff areinterviewed and quoted, all over the world.By funding a large number of organisations,Exxon helps to create theimpression that doubt about climatechange is widespread. For those who donot understand that scientific findingscannot be trusted if they have not appearedin peer-reviewed journals, the names ofthese institutes help to suggest that seriousresearchers are challenging the consensus.This is not to claim that all the sciencethese groups champion is bogus. On thewhole, they use selection, not invention.They will find one contradictory study— such as the discovery of troposphericcooling, which, in a garbled form, hasbeen used by Peter Hitchens in the Mail onSunday — and promote it relentlessly. Theywill continue to do so long after it has beendisproved by further work. So, for example,John Christy, the author of the tropospherepaper, admitted in August 2005 that his figureswere incorrect, yet his initial findingsare still being circulated and championedby many of these groups, as a quick internetsearch will show you.But they do not stop there. The chairmanof a group called the Science andEnvironmental Policy Project is FrederickSeitz. Seitz is a physicist who in the 1960swas president of the US National Academyof Sciences. In 1998, he wrote a document,known as the Oregon Petition, which hasbeen cited by almost every journalist whoclaims that climate change is a myth.The document reads as follows: “We urgethe United States government to reject theglobal warming agreement that was writtenin Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, andThis is an edited extractfrom George Monbiot’snew book Heat: How ToStop The Planet Burning,published by Allen Lane.any other similar proposals. The proposedlimits on greenhouse gases would harm theenvironment, hinder the advance of scienceand technology, and damage the health andwelfare of mankind. There is no convincingscientific evidence that human release ofcarbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhousegases is causing or will, in the foreseeablefuture, cause catastrophic heating ofthe Earth’s atmosphere and disruption ofthe Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantialscientific evidence that increases inatmospheric carbon dioxide produce manybeneficial effects upon the natural plant andanimal environments of the Earth.”Anyone with a degree was entitled to signit. It was attached to a letter written by Seitz,entitled Research Review of Global WarmingEvidence. The lead author of the “review”that followed Seitz’s letter is a Christianfundamentalist called Arthur B Robinson.He is not a professional climate scientist. Itwas co-published by Robinson’s organisation— the Oregon Institute of Science andMedicine — and an outfit called the GeorgeC Marshall Institute, which has received$630,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998. Theother authors were Robinson’s 22-year-oldson and two employees of the George C MarshallInstitute. The chairman of the GeorgeC Marshall Institute was Frederick Seitz.The paper maintained that: “We are liv-42Biophile Issue 13

“...the corporatefunding of lobbygroups — whichdeny that man-madeclimate change istaking place— wasinitiated notby Exxon, norby any otherfirm directlyinvolved inthe fossil fuelindustry. Itwas started bythe tobaccocompanyPhilipMorris.”ing in an increasingly lushenvironment of plants andanimals as a result of thecarbon dioxide increase.Our children will enjoy an Earth with farmore plant and animal life than that withwhich we now are blessed. This is a wonderfuland unexpected gift from the IndustrialRevolution.”It was printed in the font and format ofthe Proceedings of the National Academy ofSciences: the journal of the organisation ofwhich Seitz—as he had just reminded hiscorrespondents—was once president.Soon after the petition was published,the National Academy of Sciences releasedthis statement: “The NAS Council wouldlike to make it clear that this petition hasnothing to do with the National Academy ofSciences and that the manuscript was notpublished in the Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences or in any other peerreviewedjournal. The petition does notreflect the conclusions of expert reports ofthe Academy.”But it was too late. Seitz, the OregonInstitute and the George C Marshall Institutehad already circulated tens of thousands ofcopies, and the petition had established amajor presence on the internet. Some 17,000graduates signed it, the majority of whomhad no background in climate science. It hasbeen repeatedly cited—by global-warmingsceptics such as David Bellamy, MelaniePhillips and others—as a petition by climatescientists. It is promoted by the Exxonsponsoredsites as evidence that there is noscientific consensus on climate change.All this is now well known to climatescientists and environmentalists. But whatI have discovered while researching thisissue is that the corporate funding of lobbygroups denying that man-made climatechange is taking place was initiated not byExxon, or by any other firm directly involvedin the fossil fuel industry. It was started bythe tobacco company Philip Morris.In December 1992, the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency published a 500-pagereport called Respiratory Health Effects of PassiveSmoking. It found that “the widespreadexposure to environmental tobacco smoke(ETS) in the United States presents a seriousand substantial public health impact. Inadults: ETS is a human lung carcinogen,responsible for approximately 3,000 lungcancer deaths annually in US non-smokers.In children: ETS exposure is causallyassociated with an increased risk of lower respiratorytract infections such as bronchitisand pneumonia. This report estimates that150,000 to 300,000 cases annually in infantsand young children up to 18 months of ageare attributable to ETS.”Had it not been for the settlement of amajor class action against the tobacco companiesin the US, we wouldnever have been able to seewhat happened next. Butin 1998 they were forcedto publish their internaldocuments and post themon the internet.Within two monthsof its publication, PhilipMorris, the world’s biggesttobacco firm, had deviseda strategy for dealing withthe passive-smoking report.In February 1993 EllenMerlo, its senior vice-presidentof corporate affairs,sent a letter to William ICampbell, Philip Morris’schief executive officer andpresident, explaining herintentions: “Our overridingobjective is to discreditthe EPA report ... Concurrently,it is our objective toprevent states and cities,as well as businesses, frompassive-smoking bans.”To this end, she hadhired a public relationscompany called APCO. Shehad attached the advice ithad given her.APCO warned that: “No matter howstrong the arguments, industry spokespeopleare, in and of themselves, not alwayscredible or appropriate messengers.”So the fight against a ban on passivesmoking had to be associated with otherpeople and other issues. Philip Morris,APCO said, needed to create the impressionof a “grassroots” movement—one that hadbeen formed spontaneously by concernedcitizens to fight “overregulation”.It should portray the danger of tobaccosmoke as just one “unfounded fear” amongothers, such as concerns about pesticidesand cellphones. APCO proposed to set up “anational coalition intended to educate themedia, public officials and the public aboutthe dangers of ‘junk science’.Coalition will address credibility ofgovernment’s scientific studies, risk-assessmenttechniques and misuse of tax dollarsBiophile Issue 1343

The Denial Industry... Upon formation of Coalition, key leaderswill begin media outreach, e.g. editorialboard tours, opinion articles, and briefelected officials in selected states.”APCO would found the coalition, writeits mission statements, and “prepare andplace opinion articles in key markets”. Forthis it required $150,000 for its own fees and$75,000 for the coalition’s costs.By May 1993, as another memo fromAPCO to Philip Morris shows, the fake citizens’group had a name: the Advancement ofSound Science Coalition. It was important,further letters stated, “to ensure that TASSChas a diverse group of contributors”; to “linkthe tobacco issue with other more ‘politicallycorrect’ products”; and to associatescientific studies that cast smoking in a badlight with “broader questions about governmentresearch and regulations”—such as“global warming”, “nuclear waste disposal”and “biotechnology”. APCO would engagein the “intensive recruitment of high-profilerepresentatives from business and industry,scientists, public officials, and otherindividuals interested in promoting the useof sound science”.By September 1993, APCO had produceda “Plan for the Public Launching of TASSC”.The media launch would not take place in“Washington, DC or the top media marketsof the country. Rather, we suggest creating aseries of aggressive, decentralised launchesin several targeted local and regional marketsacross the country. This approach ...avoids cynical reporters from major media:less reviewing/challenging of TASSC messages.”The media coverage, the public relationscompany hoped, would enable TASSC to“establish an image of a national grassrootscoalition”. In case the media asked hostilequestions, APCO circulated a sheet of“Doubt is our productsince it is the bestmeans of competingwith the ‘body of fact’that exists in the mindof the general public.It is also the meansof establishing acontroversy.”answers, drafted by Philip Morris. The firstquestion was:“Isn’t it true that Philip Morris createdTASSC to act as a front group for it?“A: No, not at all. As a large corporation,PM belongs to many national, regional, andstate business, public policy, and legislativeorganisations. PM has contributed toTASSC, as we have with various groups andcorporations across the country.”There are clear similarities between thelanguage used and the approaches adoptedby Philip Morris and by the organisationsfunded by Exxon. The two lobbies use thesame terms, which appear to have beeninvented by Philip Morris’s consultants.“Junk science” meant peer-reviewed studiesshowing that smoking was linked to cancerand other diseases. “Sound science” meantstudies sponsored by the tobacco industrysuggesting that the link was inconclusive.Both lobbies recognised that their bestchance of avoiding regulation was to challengethe scientific consensus.As a memo from the tobacco companyBrown and Williamson noted, “Doubt is ourproduct since it is the best means of competingwith the ‘body of fact’ that exists inthe mind of the general public. It is also themeans of establishing a controversy.”Both industries also sought to distancethemselves from their own campaigns,creating the impression that they werespontaneous movements of professionals orordinary citizens: the “grassroots”.But the connection goes further thanthat. TASSC, the “coalition” created byPhilip Morris, was the first and most importantof the corporate-funded organisationsdenying that climate change is taking place.It has done more damage to the campaign tohalt it than any other body.TASSC did as its founders at APCOsuggested, and sought funding from othersources. Between 2000 and 2002 it received$30,000 from Exxon. The website it hasfinanced—JunkScience.com—has beenthe main entrepot for almost every kind ofclimate-change denial that has found itsway into the mainstream press. It equatesenvironmentalists with Nazis, communistsand terrorists. It flings at us the accusationsthat could justifably be levelled againstitself: the website claims, for example, thatit is campaigning against “faulty scientificdata and analysis used to advance specialand, often, hidden agendas”.I have lost count of the number ofcorrespondents who, while questioningman-made global warming, have pointedme there.The man who runs it is called SteveMilloy. In 1992, he started working forAPCO—Philip Morris’s consultants. Whilethere, he set up the JunkScience site. InMarch 1997, the documents show, he was appointedTASSC’s executive director. By 1998,as he explained in a memo to TASSC boardmembers, his JunkScience website was wasbeing funded by TASSC.Both he and the “coalition” continuedto receive money from Philip Morris. Aninternal document dated February 1998reveals that TASSC took $200,000 from thetobacco company in 1997. Philip Morris’s2001 budget document records a paymentto Steven Milloy of $90,000. Altria, PhilipMorris’s parent company, admits that Milloywas under contract to the tobacco firm untilat least the end of 2005.He has done well. You can find his nameattached to letters and articles seeking todiscredit passive-smoking studies all overthe internet and in the academic databases.He has even managed to reach the BritishMedical Journal: I found a letter from himthere which claimed that the studies it hadreported “do not bear out the hypothesisthat maternal smoking/ passive smokingincreases cancer risk among infants”. TASSCpaid him $126,000 in 2004 for 15 hours’work a week. Two other organisations areregistered at his address: the Free EnterpriseEducation Institute and the Free EnterpriseAction Institute. They have received $10,000and $50,000 respectively from Exxon. Thesecretary of the Free Enterprise Action Instituteis Thomas Borelli. Borelli was the PhilipMorris executive who oversaw the paymentsto TASSC.Milloy also writes a weekly Junk Sciencecolumn for the Fox News website. Withoutdeclaring his interests, he has used this columnto pour scorn on studies documentingthe medical effects of second-hand tobaccosmoke and showing that climate change istaking place. Even after Fox News was toldabout the money he had been receiving fromPhilip Morris and Exxon, it continued toemploy him, without informing its readersabout his interests.TASSC’s headed notepaper names an advisoryboard of eight people. Three of themare listed by Exxonsecrets.org as workingfor organisations taking money from Exxon.One of them is Frederick Seitz, the man whowrote the Oregon Petition, and who chairsthe Science and Environmental Policy Project.In 1979, Seitz became a permanent consultantto the tobacco company RJ Reynolds.He worked for the firm until at least 1987, foran annual fee of $65,000. He was in chargeof deciding which medical research projectsthe company should fund, and handedout millions of dollars a year to Americanuniversities. The purpose of this funding,44 Biophile Issue 13

The Denial Industry“While they have beenmost effective in theUnited States, theimpacts of the climatechangedenierssponsored by Exxonand Philip Morris havebeen felt all over theworld.”a memo from the chairman of RJ Reynoldsshows, was to “refute the criticisms againstcigarettes”. An undated note in the PhilipMorris archive shows that it was planning a“Seitz symposium” with the help of TASSC,in which Frederick Seitz would speak to “40-60 regulators”.The president of Seitz’s Science andEnvironmental Policy Project is a maverickenvironmental scientist called S Fred Singer.He has spent the past few years refuting evidencefor man-made climate change. It washe, for example, who published the misleadingclaim that most of the world’s glaciersare advancing, which landed David Bellamyin so much trouble when he repeated itlast year. He also had connections with thetobacco industry. In March 1993, APCO senta memo to Ellen Merlo, the vice-president ofPhilip Morris, who had just commissionedit to fight the Environmental ProtectionAgency: “As you know, we have been workingwith Dr Fred Singer and Dr Dwight Lee,who have authored articles on junk scienceand indoor air quality (IAQ) respectively ...”Singer’s article, entitled Junk Science at theEPA, claimed that “the latest ‘crisis’—environmentaltobacco smoke—has been widelycriticised as the most shocking distortion ofscientific evidence yet”. He alleged that theEnvironmental Protection Agency had hadto “rig the numbers” in its report on passivesmoking. This was the report that PhilipMorris and APCO had set out to discredit amonth before Singer wrote his article.I have no evidence that Fred Singer or hisorganisation have taken money from PhilipMorris. But many of the other bodies thathave been sponsored by Exxon and havesought to repudiate climate change werealso funded by the tobacco company.Among them are some of the world’sbest-known “thinktanks”: the CompetitiveEnterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, theHeritage Foundation, the Hudson Institute,the Frontiers of Freedom Institute, theReason Foundation and the IndependentInstitute, as well as George Mason University’sLaw and Economics Centre. I can’t helpwondering whether there is any aspect ofconservative thought in the United Statesthat has not been formed and funded by thecorporations.Until I came across this material, Ibelieved that the accusations, the insultsand the taunts such people had slung at usenvironmentalists were personal: that theyreally did hate us, and had found someonewho would pay to help them express thosefeelings. Now I realise that they have simplytransferred their skills.While they have been most effectivein the United States, the impacts of theclimate-change deniers sponsored by Exxonand Philip Morris have been felt all over theworld. I have seen their arguments endlesslyrepeated in Australia, Canada, India, Russiaand the UK.By dominating the media debate onclimate change during seven or eight criticalyears in which urgent internationaltalks should have been taking place,by constantly seeding doubt about thescience just as it should have been mostpersuasive, they have justified the moneytheir sponsors have spent on them manytimes over.It is fair to say that the professionaldenial industry has delayed effective globalaction on climate change by years, just as ithelped to delay action against the tobaccocompanies. Oh, and good luck with that whole globalwarming thing, my boy.Biophile Issue 1345

HydrationThe Importance ofby Eulela RabieAwellhydratedbody isable to respond tointernal and externalsignals of change withease and to the best of itsabilities, thus helping tocreate optimum health.On the other hand, adehydrated — or under-hydrated— body is not able torespond as efficiently or speedilyto these signals. De-hydrationcauses our body’s cells to coat themselveswith cholesterol in order to preserve theirinternal environment, thereby makingcellular communication more difficult. Thecells are not able to function to full capacityas the more de-hydrated a body becomes,the more ’cut-off ’ the cells become and theincreased mucus load leads to a stagnationin the movement of fluids.The body only functions with what isavailable to it and thus dehydration causesmore and more cells to become ‘cut-off ’ sothe body will be functioning more and morebelow par. The seasons play an importantrole in our health picture…WinterDuring Winter the energies of the bodyare more restful, less movement takes placenaturally and body fluids thicken. Thebody’s ability to respond to natural energies(e.g. moon phases) is lessened. As the body’sfluid picture is quite stagnant at this time itdoes not detoxify as much as during the restof the year and thus it is particularly importantto avoid challenging foods and to keepthe body well-hydrated so as to not compromisefurther its already reduced ability torid itselfof toxicbuild-up. Ifwell hydrated atthis time the bodyis less likely to needan acute episode (where body temperature isincreased and mucus discharged) in order torid itself of some of the toxic load.In traditional Chinese medicine theseason of Winter is governed by the WaterElement and this governs the kidneys andbladder, thus proper hydration is particularlyimportant in order to avoid unduestress on these organs. Stress on the kidneysand bladder (caused by dehydration) can increasethe emotion of fear, proper hydrationcan help the being to cope with or preventexcess of this emotion.SpringSpring is born from Winter, it is a time ofmovement and new beginnings. This seasonis related to the Wood Element and thisgoverns the liver and gall-bladder. DuringSpring the mucus deposits start thinningand more movement is created. A well hydratedbody willbe more able to createthis necessary movement.However, resistance can beencountered in the movement ofenergy and mucus deposits and thismay manifest in skin eruptions (e.g. boilsand pimples) and blocked sinuses (Springcold anyone?). Proper hydration helps tocombat or prevent this resistance and alsohelps to prevent and combat any aciditycaused by the movement of mucus (whichcan cause e.g.. gall-stones and stiff and achingjoints). Anger may manifest excessivelyat this time, this too can be made less byproper hydration. The liver and gall-bladdercan be placed under stress particularly inSpring if hydration is insufficient. Springis the season of flexibility/inflexibility anda well-hydrated body is much more able tocreate a flexible health picture.Early SummerLeaving Spring behind one moves intoEarly Summer which is associated withthe Fire Element and the Heart and SmallIntestine. Good hydration will help preventundue stress on these organs. During this46 Biophile Issue 13

seasonofrapid growth and expansionin nature one also findsa lot of movement in the body,especially of the blood and lymph. Inorder to facilitate this movement with easeproper hydration is essential as without itthe body is not able to maintain the mobilestate which is its natural tendency at thistime of year.Impaired cleansing and clearing (insufficienthydration) can show in e.g.. skinproblems. When the body is well-hydratedits ability to create movement on all levelsand thus cope better with the growth andchange this Season brings about, is greatlyenhanced, cells are allowed to communicatemore fully and fluids to flow more freely.In the Chinese system of healing there are 5seasons as opposed to the Western four andthus Late Summer follows Early Summer...Late SummerLate Summer is related to the Earth Elementand is the time of the year when thegrowth cycle is coming to an end and thebodies energies are slowly closing down asthe Autumn Equinox approaches.During this time the body seeks to riditself of any toxicity which has been expelledfrom the cells and in order to do so successfullyproper hydration is essential. Themineral status in the body is also importantat this time as the body needs to be inharmony with the mineralstatus of the Earth in orderto be properly earthed orgrounded and centered itself.This opens the way for toxicityto leave the body.In a dehydrated body, mineral absorptionis below par and calcium displacement ismore severe. The spleen and stomach are theorgans governed by the Earth Element andproviding the body with a proper hydrationmessage will help ensure that these organsplay their roles efficiently especially asthey are very much involved with digestion(stomach), distribution and purification(spleen-blood).AutumnAfter Late Summer comes Autumn, thefinal build-up and preparation for the quietperiod of Winter. At the Autumn Equinoxthe body might have acute episodes( e.g..colds, infections etc.) in order to help shiftthe toxic load and improve the overall healthpicture. Good hydration greatly helps thisprocess.During Autumn the fluid picture is contractingand there are toxins in the systemafter the Autumn Equinox and in orderfor these to be eliminated efficiently goodhydration is essential otherwise more acuteclearings may become necessary.The Metal Element governs Autumnwhich means there is particular emphasison mental energies as this Element is associatedwith the mind, lungs, colon andskin. The change in mental energies willcoincide with the thickening of body fluidsand the cells becoming more ‘cut-off ’. Lackof proper hydration at this stage can causeeven more stagnation than is natural duringthis time.Without proper hydration the emotion ofgriefmayalso becomeapparentexcessively at this time.In order for the body to receive agood hydration message there are somesteps that can be taken related to diet. Eatingplenty of hydrating foods such as shortgrain brown rice and drinking enough cleanwater (at least 8-10 glasses a day) can helpgive the colon the message that the body isbeing adequately hydrated and that it is notnecessary for the body to produce excesscholesterol and mucus to coat the cell membranesand so preserve the cells internalenvironment.The colon receiving a proper hydrationmessage (with the help of bulkers like seedsand phsyllium husks) will also enable thebody to let go much more easily and allowthe elimination of toxins to take place moreefficiently. Cutting down on de-hydratingfoods such as pork and wheat will also helpgive a good hydration message. Plenty ofgood essential fatty acids can be obtainedfrom oily fish (and linseeds daily for vegetarians)a few times a week.A well hydrated body will be able torespond to the natural energies whichbring about cleansing in a progressive waythroughout the year thus preventing acuteepisodes from becoming chronic and movingdeeper till possibly even manifesting ona mental and emotional level.When approached with a loving mindsetand recognition of our environment, ourbodies are bound to try their best to respondwith vibrant health throughout the year! Biophile Issue 1347

A MenopauseReportby Sally LongdenSally Longden, along with manydoctors in this field, among them DrJohn Lee, author of What your doctormay not tell you about menopause,always recommends trying naturalprogesterone therapy first.In 2002, the first independent,randomised, double blind study everdone on oestrogen was stopped after only5 years because the risk of breast cancerhad doubled. This was the famous WHI(Woman’s Health Initiative) study whichshowed that HRT (Hormonal ReplacementTherapy drugs) taken by millions of womencould expose them to higher risks cancer.A year later another huge study in theUK was also halted. Taken together, thesetwo studies showed that the combinationof the drugs estrogen with progestins (aso-called drug equivalent to progesterone)exposed women to far higher risks of heartattacks, strokes and breast cancer. Anotherrecent finding provides evidence that thecombined HRT significantly boosts the riskof dementia and strokes in post-menopausalwomen. These were the truths that manypeople had known and tried hard to exposelong before these studies. But doctors, as awhole, persisted with HRT. Many still do.Why is it that they seem to be the last peopleto accept the dangers of the drugs they soeasily prescribe?The problem with these experimentsis that it is only years later, often whenmany thousands of people have diedbecause of them that so many of thesedrugs are finally exposed and withdrawnfrom the market.Even then, many pharmaceutical companiesfight back with dis-informationcampaigns.One such experiment was the first everdone on Estrogen. This involved the disastrous‘female’s drug’ DES (Di-ethyl Stilbestrol),and it was on the market for over 40years. Started in the 1930s, it was eventuallystopped in 1970s after wreaking devastationamong the children of those takingpart — six million women. The majority ofdaughters born to these women either havedeformed uteri, were infertile, or presentedwith a new cancer, a clear-cell carcinomaof the cervix. A significant number of boybabies had deformed penises.So what is the alternative to thesepotent drugs used in HRT, and why thenecessity for them in the first place?Sixty years ago there was very littlehormonal imbalance, and women would gothrough menopause with relative ease. Today,however, it is a very different scenario.What progesterone doesProgesterone helps prevent osteoporosis andit complements oestrogen. While oestrogenhas an effect on the osteoclast function andthus prevents bone breakdown, progesteroneactually promotes bone rebuilding by stimulatingthe osteoblasts (the cells that createthe bone fabric itself).In the brain, where progesterone concentrationsare found to be 20 times higher than inthe blood, progesterone has a soothing effectand has been used to treat seizures - it hasthe same effect as Valium or Xanax or someanesthetic agents. It is also very effective indecreasing migraines caused by oestrogen. Itcan promote sleep and counteract edginess,anxiety and panic. It works wonders for memoryproblems associated with low hormonelevels, and it can flatten out mood swings.Progesterone helps keep zinc and potassiumin cells, which allows thyroid hormone to enterand be converted into the active form (T3).Given that oestrogen inhibits thyroid hormoneaction, this makes progesterone especiallyimportant to women with thyroid dysfunction(and menopausal women are so at risk for thisthat thyroid testing should be a part of anymenopausal workup).Progesterone has been shown to providegreat cardiovascular benefits. These benefitsare not demonstrated by the drugs progestins,making the distinction very important inevaluating news articles reporting researchresults. Progesterone also has a number ofmetabolic and nutritional effects. It promotesthe use of fat for energy, thus opposingthe oestrogenic tendency to fat storage.It normalizes blood sugar levels. It has athermogenic effect - making you warmer byincreasing blood flow to the skin. It countersoestrogenic binding of zinc and copper, thusnormalizing those levels.Progesterone also has a diuretic effect,which helps to get rid of the bloating oestrogencan cause. It can replace spironolactone,a diuretic used to combat certain types ofhigh blood pressure. Many women reportthat progesterone helps nourish vaginal andurinary tract tissues. There are progesteronereceptors in these areas. Part of the effectmay be a result of the “oestrogen-sparing” effectwhereby progesterone frees up oestrogento circulate elsewhere.Progesterone seems to reduce the severityof allergic reactions and allergies. Womenwho suddenly develop allergies to everythingin sight after a hysterectomy may be demonstratinglow levels of progesterone. This isunderstandable when one realises that withoutprogesterone, none of the cortico-steroidhormones can be made and these are thehormones responsible for keeping allergies,auto-immune diseases, at bay.48 Biophile Issue 13

By playing around with chemicals, wehave severely upset the delicate balancebetween estrogen and progesterone in ourbodies. Many man-made chemicals mimicestrogen; their oestrogenic effect in our cellscauses hormonal imbalances that start withthe foetus and persist throughout our lives.We call these “symptoms of estrogen dominance”.They range from depression andweight gain, through high blood pressure,blood clots, cancers, PMS, mood swings,bad tempers, uncontrolled rages, migraineheadaches, and exaggerated menopausalsymptoms.At menopause the problems are greatlyexaggerated because then the balance betweenour own estrogen and progesterone isfurther thrown out. After our ovaries haverun out of eggs, we no longer produce thehigh amounts of progesterone needed tokeep estrogen under control. At this stage,known as peri-menopause, our progesteronelevels plummet to that of a man, throwingus yet further into a state of estrogendominance.Cholesterol levels start to climb; the ratioof ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ lipids in our bloodtakes a nosedive, increasing our risk of heartdisease and strokes; calcium leaches fromthe bones, gall bladders behave badly, weburn less calories and we get middle-agespread. What is worse is that peri-menopauseseems to be arriving earlier andearlier in life for those born into this “sea ofoestrogens”. The real menopause is when theestrogen levels also start to fall, characterisedby hot flushesWe certainly need help, but not ofthe kind so many have been subjected to— drugs proven to be seriously hazardous tohealth without even any short term benefit.The help we do need and which is soreadily available is of two kinds.The first is nutrition. Take whole-foodsupplements and change your diet to a reallyhealthy one. Cut out junk foods and cutout sugar and stimulants such as coffee andtea, they are the very worst for hot flushes!Eat more vegetables and fruit and less meat.Where you can, choose organically grownfood because toxins and especially the xenooestrogensare high in food grown withchemicals and hormones.Secondly there are bio-identical hormonesthat can be taken when appropriate.Normally, natural progesterone therapy willbe sufficient. However, some women whohave had surgical menopause may needa bio-identical estrogen as well. Note theemphasis – it is the difference between thedisasters commonly associated with HRTand the undoubted benefits of a naturalhormonal supplement. ExtendedBreastfeedingby Sally Cameron, earthbabiesBreastfeeding itself is a very emotiveissue; it leaves many mothers for whombreast feeding did not work feeling guiltywhile those that do breast feed often haveto deal with issues like negative reactionswhen feeding in public and so on. However,in general society it is fairly tolerant ofbreastfeeding for the first year, but whatabout after this?Breast feeding beyond the first birthdayis known as extended breast feeding. Whileaccording to the world health organization(WHO) and UNICEF it is recommended thatnormal breast feeding continue until at leasttwo years of age, the majority of babies arewean during the first year.Historically — and in many non westerncountries today — it is normal to breast feeda child well past toddlerhood, and a nursingchild of 3 or 4 would not be unusual. In factit was not until 1800 that popular Englishwritings on child care were recommendingweaning as young as 12 months. In today’ssociety however the practice of extendedbreast feeding meets with much disapproval.We are generally told that after a yeara baby no longer needs the breast milkor formula and that they can be weanedstraight onto cow’s milk or other non-dairymilk. While it is true that formula fed babieswould receive no added benefit of receivingformula beyond the first year over otherforms of milk , the same is not true for thebreastfed child.In more developed societies breast feedinga toddler may no longer be a life of deathissue, we can not discount the benefit thatthe child gets from the breast milk that theydo get during extended breast feeding period.A newborn baby has an underdevelopedimmune system and human milk providesimportant protection against disease untiltheir own immune systems begin to functionfully. Babies’ immune systems beginto produce some of the substances need toprotect it from about 3-7months. Solids areusually introduced at about 6 months whichshows nature’s perfect timing, as the childstarts solids, and is not exclusively breastfeed, their own immune system is startingto function.However, the child’s immune system isnot fully operational at adult level until 5 to6 years old. Until this time their immunesystems can be enhanced and augmented bythe maternal milk.A mother’s milk is constantly changingto meet the needs of her child. Hermilk carries disease fighting cells inresponse to both past and current infectiousagents. When her child starts solidsand is no longer breast feeding as often theconcentration of antibodies and immuneprotection per volume of milk drasticallyincreases so that they child receives theprotection they need in a smaller amount ofmilk.Breast feeding a child does not mean thatthey will never get sick, they just gets theadvantages of being at the mother breastthrough the experience. It also removes thesense of helplessness that many mothersfeel when watching a sick child, especiallyin hospital. Often a child who is refusingall food and fluids will still breast feed andso help avoid serious dehydration. Manya breast feeding mother will comment onhow she is sure that it was only the abilityto breast feed her toddler through a bout ofgastro that kept them out of hospital.Avoiding or delaying allergies isanother reason that many motherscontinue to breast feed beyond one year,especially those with a strong family historyof allergies. Much research is continuingin this area.To say that the child no longer needs thenutritional benefit of breast milk and cantherefore wean after one, is perhaps missingthe whole point of breast feeding. An infantchild need the nutritional benefit of breastmilk but as the child begins to eat solid foodit could be argued that they no longer needbreast milk and that they can get all theirdietary needs from the food they eat, but wehave all seen enough 3-4 year old still suckinga dummy, their thumb, a bottle etc toknow that there is a need to suckle beyondjust the getting a nutritional need met.Research into personality developmenthas found that sucking serves 2 purposesone is nutritional and the other is attachment-the complex process where a babylearns to trust and rely on other humanbeing especially his/her mother. To supposethat the nutritional need is the primaryone is a mistake and in fact far more timeis spend in non-nutritional sucking that onnutritional sucking.During the few short years from birthinto childhood will require these littlepeople to learn, grow and develop more thanBiophile Issue 1349

at any other stage in their entire lives. Thesetasks can be quite overwhelming and comfortsucking is a blessing given to them tohelp them cope and make sense of the world.What better place to do this than in thewarm reassuring arms of a loving mother.A commonly held misconception is thatextended breast feeding will create an overlydependant child, in fact the opposite seemsto be true. The need to suckle will cease allon its own once it has done its job and thistime table is unique to each child. Childrenwho achieve independence at their own paceare far more secure in their independencethat those who were forced into it prematurely.The American Academy of Paediatricshas recently revised its breast feeding policyand now recommends exclusive breastfeedingfor the first 6 months and that breastfeeding should ideally continue for a minimumof one year.The AAP statement then goes on to saythat “there is no upper limit to the durationof breast feeding and there is no evidence ofpsychological or developmental harm frombreast feeding into the third year of lifeand longer. Indeed the scientific evidenceshows that the benefit of breastfeeding(nutritional, immunological, cognitive andemotional) continue as long as breastfeedingitself does.”Weaning a child before they are readywill not remove the need, they mayjust turn to less effective behaviours orobjects as a substitute, the reliance onwhich may continue for life.Other added bonuses of continued suckingat the breast are better developed dentalarches and less need for orthodontic correctionlater in life. Less middle ear infectionsas the Eustachian tubes are massages duringthe unique sucking a swallowing motionof breast feeding. As well as decreasing theneed for speech therapy for lisps and otherspeech problems.There are benefits to the mother ofextended breast feeding too. Breast feedinghas been found to reduce a woman’s risk ofbreast cancer, the longer she breast feedingthe lower her risk of breast cancer. Breastfeeding has also been found to reduce therisk of ovarian, endometrial and uterinecancer.While there is no reason to parent out ofguilt and no one should continue to breastfeed if it is unpleasant for them. Hopefullyhighlighting the benefits behind continuingto breast feed beyond what our societyconsiders normal, will help more motherconsider this option and will make otherless critical when they hear of a older breastfeeding child. 50Biophile Issue 13

The Environmental, Money-Saving &User-Friendly Benefits ofCLOTH NAPPIESby Joanne Austin, www.MotherNatureProducts.co.zaFor the past 20 years, 95% of mothers have considereddisposable nappies an essential item. This is beginning tochange as we become better informed about the negative effects,as well as a result of the revolutionary way in which cloth nappiesare now made. No Longer are cloth nappies considered the “poorrelation of nappies”.Here are a few good reasons why more & more mothers areeither fully or partially converting to the use of cloth nappies.There are 3 key reasons how re-usable nappies can benefitfamilies and the world at large:1.Environment / Reduce Waste:One baby uses an average of 5000 nappies (or 5.4 nappychanges per day). Due to the plastic content disposables are notbio-degradable. One just needs to visualize the mountain of dirtydisposables ending up on a land-fill site for every child in disposablesover the past 20years to get the bigger picture. Can we reallyafford another 20/ 30/40/ 100 years of the same?Just 20-24 re-usable nappies are needed. Washing them at60oC in an energy efficient washing machine helps reduce theglobal warming impact.The “poo” in nappies mixed together with household waste letsoff a gas called methane; which contributes to global warming.Sanitary landfill sites are not designed or permitted to containfaeces and therefore have no solution to the growing number ofdirty disposable nappies ending up at the dump. Basically “poo”belongs in the “loo”; which then goes through the sewerage systemfor downstream treatment.In South Africa it is known that whole families live aroundlandfill sites. Dirty disposables add to the risk of disease spreadingto these vulnerable communities. There is also a risk of groundwater contamination when the contents of the disposables seepthrough the earth. Cape Town is currently facing a major landfillairspace crisis. Two years ago 6 landfills were operational, and afew months from now we will have only 3 operational.Of the 3 landfills, Bellville will close in 2013, Coastal Park 2022and Vissershok 2017.Household waste is increasing by a rate 5% higher than thegrowing population rate. The more affluent an area becomes thegreater the amount of waste disposed. Affluent areas also usemore disposable nappies.There are some smaller municipalities in the Western Capewith bigger problems than Cape Town. The Johannesburg Cityarea also has a crisis at hand.Ten top tips to help the environment when using clothnappies:• Use an energy efficient washing machine• Wash soiled nappies at 60 degrees c• Wash wet nappies and waterproof covers at lower temperaturesalong with the rest of your laundry• Avoid tumble drying – hang nappies out to dry• Avoid soaking – store wet nappies dry in a lidded bucket• Avoid using unnecessary chemicals such as conditioners andsanitizers• Use an eco-detergent• Never iron nappies or covers• Extend the life of your nappies - reuse them on another baby, orgive/sell them to someone else• Use washable liners2.Save Money:By washing nappies at home families couldsave around R7,000.00 per child (more if thesame nappies are used on the next child). Even by incorporatingcloth nappies into one’s disposable nappy system families couldsave thousands. Hospitals can save money too by using reusablenappies on wards where disposables incur clinical waste charges.Municipal authorities save on waste disposal expenses.3.Modern Cloth Nappies are Trendy & User-friendlyModern reusables have advanced considerably over the years.They are shaped and fitted and fastened without the need for pins.They come in a variety of trendy styles and patterns. Colourfulor natural, plain or patterned, organic cotton or bamboo, fleeceor wool - there is such a range of reusable nappies that you arebound to find something to suit your taste, budget and lifestyle.By using the advances in technology in fabrics such as breathablewaterproofing, highly absorbent and natural bamboo towelingand light-weight fabrics, reusables function better than ever. Aflushable & biodegradable liner can be used inside the nappy andthis can be removed so that the contents are flushed down the loo.Commenting on the Environment Agency report suggestingdisposables and “real” nappies had a similar environmentalimpact. Elizabeth Hartigan of Women’s Environmental Networksaid “Supporters remain convinced of the benefits of washablenappies. Parents can save money and reduce waste and reduceharm to the environment. The only way parents can reduce theenvironmental impact when using disposable nappies is to usefewer nappies and that’s not a good idea. Using real nappies putsparents in control. All you need is a sensible washing routine toreally make a difference.”As a company Mother Nature Products aim to give parentsan informed choice in an effort to minimise waste and encouragenatural-style health benefits. We invest heavily on the qualityand performance of our products yet maintain affordable retailprices. Our service is centered on customer care and addressingour customer’s needs. Our customers are parents and their babiesfrom all walks of life, from all over the world. Biophile Issue 1351

Soil for LifeSave water; recycle yourhousehold waste through thesoilSoil for Life is a Cape Town-based NGO which teaches people to growtheir own food. For more information about Soil for Life membership, andorganic methods for growing vegetables, herbs and fruit, please phone Paton (021) 794 4982recent isue of Farmer’sA Weekly carried an articlewarning of an El Niño headingour way, and this one ispredicted to be stronger thanthe one we experienced threeyears ago. Climatologists saythat ‘if it keeps developing at itscurrent rate South Africa couldexperience hot, dry conditionsas early as’ December. They saythat we can expect temperaturesof around 1.5ºC higher thannormal. Phew!This, of course, impacts onyou, the food gardener, especiallyin those parts of the countrywhere summer rains are not thenorm, and one battles with heatand wind which dry out the soiland stress the plants. There isnot much you can do about thetemperature or the wind, butyou can take measures to buildgood, deep soil which will retainmoisture and reduce the impactof dry weather.Besides supplying nutrientsthat plants need for healthygrowth, soil also provides roomfor root growth to ‘hold up theplant’, and air and water whichare essential for life. In theirphysical nature and water-holdingcapacity soils vary a greatdeal. Just take a walk aroundyour neighbourhood, even yourown garden; take a handful ofsoil from here and there, andcompare the colour and textureof samples. Some are heavy andfirm with small particles; othersare light and loose with largerones. There are clay soils, sandysoils, loams and many variationsin between. They differ inthe ease with which they can beworked, their nutrient levels,drainage and the type of plantsthat will grow on them, and eachsoil has to be treated in a differentway to make it more suitablefor gardening purposes.What we’re interested in hereis the ability of a soil type tohold water as this is the criticalissue in our semi-arid country.Some soils hold water well; othersdon’t, and two of the reasonsfor this are:• Particle size: smaller particlesprovide a greater surfacearea to which water moleculescan adhere. This is the waterthat is available to plant roots,not the water in the spacesbetween soil particles. Sandysoils are made up of larger particles;clayey soils have a higherpercentage of small particles.Figure 1 gives an idea of the differentwater-holding capacitiesof the two.• The amount of organic matterin the soil and, therefore, theamount of humus.What is humus, and wheredoes it come from?First and foremost, soilis a living system in which amyriad of micro-organisms liveout their lives, receiving theirnutrients and energy from proteins,carbohydrates, lipids andminerals that are normally intheir environment. Within thesoil these microbes reproduceat amazing rates. A single bacteriumreaching maturity anddividing within less than halfand hour, can, in the course of aWater-holding capacity of different soilsPlants benefit only from the water which adheres to thesurface of soil particles, and not from the water in the spacesbetween them.single day, grow into 300 millionmore, and in another day tomore than the number of humanbeings that have ever lived.Like any life form, they cannotsurvive, and reproduce, withoutfood, air and water. Their foodis vegetable matter - old deadleaves, the remains of crops, leafmould, lawn clippings – andanimal remains, manure andurine. This is what microbesconvert into humus – a brown orblack sticky substance producedby the decompositionof plant and animal materialsunder proper environmentaland biological conditions. Allsoils when deficient in humus,though they may be rich inother respects, are no more productivethan pure sand. Humusmakes all soils more mellow andfriable, and more suitable forgrowing plants. Humus can absorbmany times its own weightin water and, for this reason, itimproves poor, sandy soils andmakes them more productive byincreasing their water-holdingcapacity.The best soils consist of varioustexture groups (sand, silt,clay and organic matter) withthe soil particles clumping togetherin aggregates or ‘crumbs’.Humus often works as a kind of‘cement’ to stick soil particlestogether and keep them in place.Soil organisms also play animportant part. For example,the white threads of moulds andactinomycetes help to bundlesoil particles into clumps, asdo earthworms which ‘eat’ soiland form aggregates which arepassed out as castings. Thiscrumb structure creates pores of52 Biophile Issue 13

various sizes; fine pores whichhold water (and dissolved nutrients),and large pores betweenthe ‘crumbs’ which enable waterto pass out quickly and theytherefore remain filled with air.This explains why, in Figure 1,the ‘rich’ garden soil holds morewater than the other soil types.Soil aggregates provide rootswith essential air, water and nutrients.The presence of humusis an indication of soil vitalityand soil fertility. It is perhapsone of the most important constituentsof a healthy soil, yetmost of our soils are lacking it.Most arable soils around theworld are no longer ‘alive’. Livingorganisms cannot survivethe onslaught of chemicalcocktails, compaction and damagecaused by heavy machinery,and the lack of food in the formof organic waste. If soil is notalive, it is not going to supportthe plants that you’re attemptingto grow. It will not have thenutrients on tap; there will beinsufficient air to support livingroot systems to sustain healthyplant growth; it will not retainthe water that is so vital forgrowth and development.Why harp on about humus?Go back to the problem of water.South Africa is the 27th mostarid country in the world andthe situation promises to getworse. What are we going todo about it? Create humus, ofcourse.There are many ways to createa humus-rich soil – eitherTrenchingby introducing a variety of undecomposedorganic materialdirectly into the soil (trenchingand double digging), by diggingin large amounts of compost(home-made preferably) or byworking the soil from the top bymulching.• Trenching – a method ofsoil preparation - was discussedin a previous edition of Biophile.It is undoubtedly the most effectiveway to boost organic matter,to loosen the soil therebyincreasing the amount in air andits water-holding capacity. Soilpreparation is the food gardener’smost important task. Hardwork it may seem, but it paysoff in the end with increasedproduction in small spaces and amajor boost to soil fertility (andyour health). And remember,this method is a most efficient,effective and environmentallysoundway to recycle householdand garden waste.• For heavy clay soils wheredrainage is a problem, doubledigging is an option. Dig out thetopsoil in your bed to a depthof 30cm (one spade head) andput it to one side of the hole.Using a fork, loosen and turnthe subsoil, also to a depthof 30cm. This means that thesoil is loosened to a depth oftwo spade-heads (60cm). Thenadd a 10cm (or more) layer ofcompost, well-rotted manureor any other organic matter (forexample, dry leaves and greenlawn clippings) in the bottom ofthe trench. Put the topsoil backand shape the bed.• Make your own compost.It’s easy to make, and easy touse. There are many ways toturn valuable household, gardenand agricultural waste intosweet-smelling, soft, moist,black, velvety, humus-richcompost. Making a heap likethe one in Figure 2, monitoringits temperature carefully andturning regularly will give youa source of your own valuablehumus, the quality of which faroutstrips what you can buy fromlocal outlets.• Work with earthworms.Worm manure (also known ascastings) is rich in minerals andmicro-nutrients, increases thehumus content of the soil andprovides food for other beneficialmicro-organisms whocontinue the composting (andhumus-building) process in thesoil. For more information onthese wonder workers watchthis space.• Mulch, mulch and mulchsome more. This is the singlemost important task for anygardener. Cover your soil withwhatever organic material youcan find. You can cover the soilwith any dry material – woodchips, dry grass and leaves,pine needles, corn cobs, paper,cardboard – and these will actas a barrier to retain moisture,insulate and stabilise the soil,protect plants and controlMake your own compostweeds. They will also be brokendown by soil organisms into soilfood, thereby feeding and buildingthe soil from the top down.Mulch also provides a place tolive for garden predators andother useful creatures.Over time, through theaction of rain and the amazingvariety of soil life, the organicmatter you introduce into yoursoil through good preparationand mulching will decomposeinto rich, brown, loamy humus.This awesome substanceliterally changes your soil intogold dust. It holds water andnutrients and releases them ondemand; it prevents the leachingof valuable plant foods from thesoil; it sticks soil particles togetherand prevents them fromblowing and washing away; itmakes the soil light and fluffyfor good root growth. Vigorousroot systems are essential forstrong and healthy plants.The answer, then, to thelong, dry summer months aheadis to feed your soil with all yourwaste. If you’re in doubt as towhether what you’re about todispose of in the garbage can isreally soil food - think: ‘Was itonce alive? Will it rot?’ If the answeris ‘Yes’, then bury it, mulchwith it, add it to the compostheap, feed the worms and createlife-giving, water-saving, nutrient-catchingHUMUS. Biophile Issue 1353

VEGAN BUTTERNUT ANDLENTIL BOBOTIEA fresh idea for a healthy supperdish completely free of animalproducts. Butternut is packed with theantioxidant beta-carotene and lentilsare a great source of protein and fibre.Raisins have iron, onions are greatfor detoxing, and spices are good forbuilding your immune system. Eat onit’s own or with brown rice and freshorganic salad.1 onion, choppedolive oil1 kg butternut (peeled, dicedand oven roasted or steamed andseasoned with sea salt and pepper)1 slice health seed bread withoutcrusts, crumbled1 apple, peeled and grated1/2 cup raisins2 tablespoons natural honey2 tablespoons freshly squeezedlemon juice1 tablespoon natural curry powder125g lentils, cooked with cuminFOR THE TOPPINGBay leaves400g block of Earth Products TofuA pinch of tumericA spoonful of honeyA pinch of sea salt1 1/2 cups waterTo make, mix together the onion,butternut, bread, lentils, apple, raisins,honey, lemon and curry. Crumble in200g tofu, keeping the rest for thetopping. Place mixture in an oven proofdish and smooth the surface.OrganicLivingrecipes by Julia Sprengerof Organic Living, Plumstead021 797 1123To make the topping, blend 200g tofuwith tumeric, honey, salt and water tomake a smooth cream. Pour onto thebutternut mixture, scatter over bayleaves and bake at 180ºC until the top isset.BLUEBERRY BOOSTERSMOOTHIEA great way to start the day withoatbran to stabilize blood sugar levels,banana for energy, blueberries withantioxidants to remove toxins fromblood and honey for soothing naturalsweetness.1/2 cup organic milk1/2 cup filtered water ice cubes1/2 tablespoon oat bran1 banana, peel and slice1 teaspoon natural honey1/2 cup blueberriesPlace all ingredients in the blender andwhizz until smooth. Makes 1 generousserving.FELAFEL (pictured)Delicious little chickpea fritters rich inprotein, high in fibre and can be bakedor fried. Eat with a yoghurt or sweetchilli dipping sauce and salad.250g chickpeas, soaked overnight inwater1 onion, chopped2 cloves garlicAbout 1/2 cup filtered water1/2 - 1 cup unbleached or organicflour1 tsp health baking powder withoutaluminium4 teaspoons ground cumin1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemonjuice1 teaspoon paprika1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper1-2 teaspoons fine sea salt1/2 cup chopped parsleyTo make, place chickpeas, onion andgarlic in a food processor and blitz untilfinely ground. Place in a large bowl andadd all remaining ingredients and mix,adding enough water and flour to makea dryish batter dough which is easy toshape into small balls. Flatten with yourfingers and then either fry in shallowoil on both sides or brush with olive oiland bake in a hot oven until crispy andgolden.54 Biophile Issue 13

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.And there are things to be considered:Where are you living? What are you doing?What are your relationships?Are you in the right relationship?Where is your water? Know your garden.It is time to speak your truth.Create your community. Be good to each other.And do not look outside yourself for the leader.There is a river flowing now very fast.It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.They will try to hold on to the shore.They will feel they are being torn apart, and theywill suffer greatly.Know the river has its destination.The elders say we must let goof the shore,push off into the river,keep our eyes open,and our head above the water.See who is there with you andcelebrate.At this time in history, we are totake nothing personally.Least of all ourselves.For the moment that we do,our spiritual growth and journeycomes to a halt.The time of the lone wolf is over.Gather yourselves!Banish the word struggle fromyour attitude and your vocabulary.All that we do know must be done ina sacred manner and in celebration.We are the ones we’ve been waitingfor.The Elders, Oraibi, Arizona, Hopi NationA Message from theHopi EldersThe Hopi people trace their history inArizona to more than 2,000 years, buttheir history as a people goes back manymore thousands of years.The tribe’s teachings relate stories ofa great flood and other events dating toancient times, marking the Hopi as one ofthe oldest living cultures in documentedhistory. A deeply religious people, theylive by the ethic of peace and goodwill.The Hopi Reservation, in northeasternArizona, encompasses approximately 1.5million acres. Having inhabited this highand dry area since the 12th century, theHopi have developed a unique agriculturepractice, “dry farming.”Instead of plowing their fields, Hopitraditional farmers place “wind breakers”in the fields at selected intervalsto retain soil, snow and moisture. Theyalso have perfected special techniques toplant seeds in arid fields.As a result, they succeed in raisingcorn, beans, squash, melons and othercrops in a landscape that appearsinhospitable to farming.Illustration: Gregory D. “Buck” CrouseBiophile Issue 13 55

Bio-energy:dream or nightmare?by Sara Sharpe, Birdlife International“The rush to produce bio-energy crops is alarming for biodiversity outside Europe too. Some of the most promising crops forproducing biofuels are oil palm and Soy, two rapidly expanding tropical monocultures which are amongst the chief causesof tropical deforestation... demand for biodiesel could drive even further the large scale clearing of forests in key biodiversityhotspots such as Indonesia or the Brazilian Cerrado.”Bio-energy is a term used to describeenergy derived from organic materials—living plants and plant components. Theproduction of bio-energy is gathering moreand more attention as a feasible way ofreducing dependence on imported oil andgas and is even being hailed as one of thepotential key weapons in the battle againstglobal warming. BirdLife Internationalhas been exploring the issue in depth, todiscover what growth in the ‘new industry’could really mean for the environment andbirds.“If managed sustainably, the use ofbiomass, biogas and biofuels could helpus to cut greenhouse gas emissions,” saidAriel Brunner, Agriculture Policy Officer atBirdLife International, “However, withoutadequate regulation and a well developedEU policy on the industry, widespread andrapid uptake of growing crops for bio-energyproduction could have devastatingimpacts on the environment.”Is it really green?“The great appeal of bioenergy is that it istheoretically a renewable source of energy,”explained Brunner, “Crops can be convertedto energy either by being processed intoliquid fuel for the transport sector (biofuels)or by being burnt in power plants (biomass).With combustion, carbon dioxide (CO2)is released. Because they are derived frombiological material, the carbon released oncombustion comes from CO2 absorbed byplant material through the process of photosynthesis.Effectively, producing energyfrom biofuels or biomass could be seen as‘recycling’ CO2.”“However, this rosy picture is over-simplistic.Bioenergy production is never aneutral process when it comes to “greenhousegases”. During production, processingand transportation of the crops there aremany other inputs to consider. Fossil fuelsare used to power tractors for working theland; fertilizers and pesticides are neededto grow the energy crops, one of the mostpotent greenhouse gases N2O, is releasedfrom fields that are intensively fertilized,and a lot of energy is needed to convert thecrop into fuel. In fact, life-cycle analyses ofbioenergy production have shown that withpoor management methods, production canactually result in a net increase in the emissionof greenhouse gases.”Bioenergy crops could replacenatural habitatsIt is not only the carbon balance of bioenergyproduction that concerns BirdLife.With recent changes in European Agriculturalpolicy, many farmers in Europe areturning to growing bioenergy crops to boostincomes and provide some new rural opportunities.All very important positive benefitsfor rural communities, but this should notbe at the expense of habitats within theagricultural landscape which are importantfor nature.A recent assessment of the overall statusof birds in Europe by BirdLife Internationalindicates that 43% of all bird species arenow in trouble, and that the situation hasworsened over the past ten years. Farmlandbirds in the EU have fared particularly badlyexperiencing a decline of 32% between 1980and 2002. Many common farmland birdssuch as Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, BarnSwallow and Tree Sparrow have alreadygone through a sharp or even catastrophicdecline in the EU and this is due largely tothe intensification of agriculture.The current rapid expansion of energycrops in Europe often utilizes set-aside land,which had previously been withdrawn fromproduction under the Common AgriculturalPolicy. Farmers were paid subsidy to provideset-aside land, and these pockets of naturalland are currently vital for the survival ofbirds and other wildlife.In many areas of intensive agriculture,set-asides comprise virtually the onlyhabitat left for many grassland-dependentspecies, such as the Little Bustard. In Francethis species is breeding almost exclusivelyon pockets of habitat provided by set-asideland. Farmers are already allowed togrow energy crops on set-aside land, andif further incentives are given to do this,Europe might lose hundreds of thousandsof hectares of key wildlife habitat within afew years.A serious global issueAriel Brunner points out the global implicationsof increasing use of bio-energy:“The rush to produce bio-energy crops isalarming for biodiversity outside Europetoo. Some of the most promising crops forproducing biofuels are oil palm and Soy,two rapidly expanding tropical monocultureswhich are amongst the chief causesof tropical deforestation. A huge surgein demand for biodiesel could drive evenfurther the large scale clearing of forests inkey biodiversity hotspots such as Indonesiaor the Brazilian Cerrado.”The Indonesian Government has justannounced plans to clear three million hectaresof forest to create palm oil plantationsdedicated to biodiesel production. Losingsuch large areas of precious habitat willserve a death sentence to threatened birdspecies like the Sumatran Ground-cuckooand also threatened mammal species suchas the Orang-utan Pongo pygmaeus.The EU sets the precedence forregulation of the industryBio-energy has been in the spotlight in theEU for the last few months. The EuropeanCommission is keen to promote its productionand use. Not only does the Commissionwant to encourage the uptake of ‘greener en-56 Biophile Issue 13

Many common farmland birds such as Barn Swallow have already gone through a sharp oreven catastrophic decline in the EU and this is due largely to the intensification of agriculture.ergy production’ but also appease Europeanfarmers, in particular from the sugar sector;who have been affected by recent reformsof agricultural policies and will experiencecuts in subsidies in certain sectors.The Commission published an Action Planon the promotion of biomass use in energyproduction in December last year and morerecently in February this year, it issued astrategy on the promotion of biofuels.Clairie Papazoglou , BirdLife’s Head ofEuropean Division, said: “We want to avoidthe dream of ‘green energy’ being transformedinto a nightmare for biodiversity.The EU has pledged to ensure that biofuelsare sustainably produced and we shall bewatching closely whether this declaration isfollowed by concrete action. Environmentalprotection must not be lost in the EU’s driveto promote biofuels.” A South AfricanperspectiveOne of the biggest advantages of biodieselcompared to many other alternativetransportation fuels is that it can be usedin existing diesel engines without modification,and can be blended in at any ratiowith petroleum diesel.This completelyeliminates the “chicken-and-egg” dilemmathat other alternatives have, such as hydrogen-poweredfuel cells.Our youth need to be educated on upcomingtechnologies. Stellenbosch Universitywill be making an announcement about amasters degree course in sustainability andenergy later this year. The Eden Campus isalready putting systems in place to enabletoday’s youth for tomorrow’s sustainabletechnologies.Hemp: a better bet than soy, as thereseems to be more value added productsand so more jobs. The economics aredifficult though as hemp oil fetches a fargreater value in the food chain. South Africais a corn-growning country – we alreadyhave enough oil in this corn to provide atleast partially some of the biodiesel needs.Currently a large portion of this oil is notbeing utilised, as dry milling is chosen asopposed to wet milling. Wet milling wouldmake this oil available for biodiesel.Algae ponds at wastewater treatmentplants: Micro algaes present the best optionfor producing biodiesel in quantitiessufficient to completely replace petroleum.While traditional crops have yields ofaround 200-600 liters of biodiesel per acreper year, algaes can yield 20,000 - 75,000liters per acre per year. Algaes grow bestoff of waste streams: agricultural, animal,or human.One of the important concerns about widescaledevelopment of biodiesel is if it woulddisplace croplands currently used for foodcrops. In the US, roughly 450 million acresof land is used for growing crops, with themajority of that actually being used for producinganimal feed for the meat industry• Another 580 million acres is used forgrassland pasture and range, according tothe USDA’s Economic Research Service.At heart, biofuels are a form of solarenergy, as plants use photosynthesis toconvert solar energy into chemical energystored in the form of oils, carbohydrates,proteins, etc.The more efficient a particular plant is atconverting that solar energy into chemicalenergy, the better it is from a biofuelsperspective. Among the most photosyntheticallyefficient plants are various typesof algaes.BioDiesel One is South Africa’s first commercialproducer of biodiesel, an alternative fuelsource and renewable diesel fuel substitute.For more information, visit their website: www.biodieselone.co.za or phone 073 874 8615BIOFUELBiofuel is any fuel that is derived from biomass— recently living organisms or theirmetabolic byproducts, such as manure fromcows. It is a renewable energy source, unlikeother natural resources such as petroleum,coal and nuclear fuels.Like coal and petroleum, biomass is a formof stored solar energy. The energy of the sunis “captured” through the process of photosynthesisin growing plants. One advantageof biofuel in comparison to most other fueltypes is that it is biodegradable, and thusrelatively harmless to the environment ifspilled.Agricultural products specifically grown foruse as biofuels include corn and soybeans,primarily in the United States; as well as flaxseedand rapeseed, primarily in Europe; sugarcane in Brazil and palm oil in South-East Asia.Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture,forestry, and households can also beused to produce bioenergy; examples includestraw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage,biodegradable waste and food leftovers.These feedstocks are converted into biogasthrough anaerobic digestion. Biomass usedas fuel often consists of underutilized types,like chaff and animal waste.Much research is currently in progress intothe utilization of microalgae as an energysource, with applications being developed forbiodiesel, ethanol, methanol, methane, andeven hydrogen. On the rise is use of hemp,although politics currently restrains thistechnology.Paradoxically, in some industrialized countrieslike Germany, food is cheaper than fuelcompared by price per joule [citation needed].Central heating units supplied by food gradewheat or maize are available.Biofuel can be used both for central- anddecentralized production of electricity andheat and covers approximately 15% of theworld’s energy consumption. Most bioenergyis consumed in developing countriesand is used for direct heating, as opposedto electricity production. However, Swedenand Finland supply 17% and 19% respectively,of their energy needs with bioenergy, a highfigure for industrialized countries.The production of biofuels to replace oiland natural gas is in active development,focusing on the use of cheap organic matter(usually cellulose, agricultural and sewagewaste) in the efficient production of liquidand gas biofuels which yield high net energygain.The carbon in biofuels was recently extractedfrom atmospheric carbon dioxide bygrowing plants, so burning it does not resultin a net increase of carbon dioxide in theEarth’s atmosphere. As a result, biofuels areseen by many as a way to reduce the amountof carbon dioxide released into the atmosphereby using them to replace non-renewablesources of energy. [Source: Wikipedia]Biophile Issue 1357

Trauma of theGreat MotherAfter the recent nuclearexperiments in Korea, theEarth desperately needs our love atthis time. She needs to feel wanted,needed and cared for — just as wewould care for our own motherin a state of shock or frailty afterexperiencing a physical attack.The earth has always endured thepollution and turmoil and hatredthat mankind creates upon hersurface and has survived. Butrecent events have compoundedthe difficulties that she faces frommankind. She has had to endure theunleashing of an incredible powerthat mankind initially harnessed todestroy each other — atomic andnuclear forces that have rocked thenature of this planet literally onits axis. This set in motion chainreactions that we cannot even beginto imagine.Mother Earth thought she wouldnever have to endure such attackagain, thinking that mankindwould have learnt from it. But ashock wave has now been set in motionby the Koreans that has spreadacross two thirds of her body thatis like a huge bruise across theenergetic tissue of her surface, andher consciousness has been rocked.Reprisals will occur. We cannotsend our anger or destruction outand not expect a response — UN-LESS — mankind acts swiftly andsends a pulse of love, light, andhealing; a pulse of reassurance,blessing and peace. Mankind mustextend its collective arms aroundthe earth and hold the Mother in itsembrace and give her their love andreassurance that this is not an actof war but rather an act of foolishnessby a dictator who is showingarrogance and madness. Mankindmust give the Earth what it mostdesires at this moment — Love,Reassurance and Peace.The experiments in Korea arenot being conducted merely out of58curiosity, the intent is to becomea nation of power, and to havegreater sway and control over worldevents. This new found power willbe used to make their presencefelt. Mankind must act: sending— not only to Korea, but to all nations– thoughts of harmony andpeace out into the atmosphere tostave off potentially very dangeroustimes. Mankind all too readilyforgets the great power they havein their thoughts and in their willto marshal change in their reality ifthey choose.Two daily five minute gestureswould have great power to helpat this moment:For the Earth:During the day, whenever you findyourself outside and close to theground, or close to trees, bushesor plants of any kind, place yourBiophile Issue 13hands on the ground near the rootsand impart the thought “Mother welove you”. It only takes a momentfor your thought to pass throughyour hands and through the roots,trunk or grass and down into thesoil to the heart of the Mother.Imagine 1,000... 10,000... 100,000whispering voices falling likeleaves down into the darkness ofthe soil to where the Mother rests.Whose heart could not be warmedby such simple earnest thoughts?Simple acts bring healing. Let thenthese simple acts be abundant.For the World’s Leaders:Light a candle in the morning orthe evening, and as you gaze at theflame, let your thoughts reach outto the world around you. As youbreathe, draw power from the lightthat burns at the very centre of yourheart, the light from your Soul,your Divine, Higher Consciousness.Then as you speak, let your wordsbe filled with light that enablesthem to float out into the ethers,carried by the wings of your intentto those who need to hear them.Speak simple, soft words– Peace, Harmony, Love, Gentleness,Co-operation, Joy, Unitywords that will encourage thehardened minds and hearts ofthose who wield physical power toease their struggle; to let go of thetight rein of their egos, to becomeaware of the balance of power theyplay with; to step back and take thehands extended from those othernations that are as frightened asthey are, so they can form a unificationstrong enough to preventthings occurring through the forceof its joint pressure, rather than viathe power that it wields.Do these simple things each dayand know you are contributing to agreater world of good.

Too much of a good thing … can be bad!And if this saying is going to have anymerit then December, is the time. With 5planets lined up in Sagittarius there willbe much to enjoy, celebrate, benefit from,rejoice in, and this is good, but there is alsothe tendency to go overboard, to a greater orlesser degree. As many a wise one would say“all in moderation”.Jupiter, the ruling planet of Sagittarius,will be coming “home”. After travellingthrough the zodiac for the past 12 years, heis home, in the sign that he rules, and wherehe is comfortable, for the next year. This isthe light relief that many Sagittarians havebeen looking forward to. This is a fabulousopportunity to enjoy the expression ofabundance, joy, enthusiasm and optimismbrought about by the archetype of Zeus. Thecaution is that his reputation is one whohas a tendency to over do and want more!In December 2007 Jupiter and Pluto get upclose and personal, by this time, we need tobe working together for the greater good ofall, to really benefit from this combination.As December gets underway we havea full Moon in Gemini on the 5th.This carries some stress, but is supportedby a general feeling of promise and hope.Mars does not move into Sagittarius until aday later, but even in a different sign Marsis teamed up in the company of Jupiter, ina most pleasant manner. This line up of 6planets in Sagittarius during December emphasiseshope and optimism. The solutionof too much of anything, is to restrain andmoderate.At the beginning of December there issome restraint support in the heavens,which can be supportive and moderating.This very idealistic energy can achieve greatthings for those working purposefullytowards a goal, for an ideal, or a cause. However,it would work differently for the zealot,who may break through the restraint, butfind themselves out on a limb. This fullMoon in Gemini carries a similar theme as1st January 2007. There is an unpredictablefactor that is somewhat unstable and restless.When Uranus is involved it is difficultto predict as his very nature is to expect theunexpected.we approach the festive season, weCosmicDirectionsBernadette Medderof Cosmic DirectionsConsultant and Teachersince 1993021 794 4150 orcosmicdirections@icon. co. zaJupitercomes homeAs have a new moon in Sagittarius liningup with Pluto the master of power, controland manipulation, and a fixed star whose archetypeis that of one who wants to take thelead, often does, but does not always see thebigger picture and can be blind to opinionsand beliefs, other then his own.There is a general restlessness, andthe restraint at the beginning of themonth, gives way to breaking away, breakingout, and some rebellious activity. Thiscan bring with it an uncomfortable feelingwith some unpredictable activity. Very fewpeople do not have a flash point, where isyours? Who or what pushes your buttons?How well do you manage being thrown offcourse?2007 BRINGING ORDER TO CHAOSThe map of the sky for the start of 2007gives us an idea of what energies theworld will be vibrating to for the year ahead.The theme of tying to make sense out of,and bring order to, the surrounding chaos,is still strong. This will continue to be apparentuntil mid 2007. The feeling of things“dissolving” around us, is even literally applyingto mother earth. We can’t hold on toexisting structures and management styles,not only for our individual lives, but also formanagement of the planet. It is imperativeto understand that more of the same actionwill give you more of the same result.Issues around water, gas, oil, drugs, scandalsand cover-ups, still prevail. Newstructures, plan of action, and management,have to be implemented. This is a time ofempowerment. For those who use powerwisely it can be extremely beneficial, but itis equally so, for those who would appear touse this for contol or manipulative reasons.This is a very good time for restructuringand laying solid foundations with longrange goals and plan of action. Another importantfactor here is to work as a group forthe greater good. With the heavenly supportthis may be more possible this year, thanpreviously. If this sounds a little idealistic, itis. The truth is there are the challenges thathave to be met, curved balls that have to becaught, and some unpredictable, unscheduleddisruptions that have to be considered.But what is life without a little challenge.Restless energy can be usefulwhen directed well, it can be used to achievegreat things. Me may not be moved to actionuntil the rug has been pulled from underneathus. A full moon in sensitive Canceron the 3rd day of the New Year at 3.56pmis the perfect day to sit down and focus onyour new year’s resolutions. Do a full moonmeditation for the year ahead. Focus on thepositive change you want to see in yourselfthis year and then extend it out to thosearound you and further out into the world.Both the Sun and the Moon are supported,and lines of communication are open, talkto your God source, and get talking to eachother.Be aware of the thoughts and light bulbmoments that arise. This is the timeto make some resolutions that tune in tothe collective unconscious. At this time ofempowerment and full light, it is perfect tofocus on some collective New Year resolutions.One person wanting peace in theworld may not achieve as much as aplanet full of people wanting the same! Thefeminine and masculine energy are bothstrong indicating as much importance andrelevance in active and passive activity. Wecan therefore safely assume that sitting inquiet contemplation, mediation or prayer isequally important as being actively involvedin practical and purposeful activity. Themessage is positive, with just enough challengeto keep the polarity balance. Biophile Issue 1359

EcoKidsAuthor: Dan ChirasPaperback: 240 pagesPublisher: New Society PublishersISBN: 0865715335Available from New Horizon (R195.00)EcoKids raises the bar and sets a newstandard for providing an alternativeto mainstream education for our children.Many books have been published to bringenvironmental awareness to children, andmost focus on great but limited activitieslike recycling drives and beach clean-ups.Finally, a guidebook has been written thatwill make a difference for parents whoare attempting to raise environmentallysensitive citizens.Author Dan Chiras is the father of twoboys. He has written over 20 books onenvironmental issues and sustainability andteaches environmental courses at ColoradoCollege. In “EcoKids,” Chiras has combinedhis personal experiences with his more formalknowledge to emerge with a readable,valuable book.Each chapter is filled with importantprinciples that are usually seen only byteachers in progressive private schools.Now, every parent can have access to a completecollection of cutting edge principlesabout raising children who appreciate theneed to care for our Earth. Accompanyingthese convictions is a wealth of examples ofprojects young people have done that youcan share with your children.The title of the first chapter sums up theguiding principle of the book: “ChangingThe World One Child at a Time.” Chiras says,“Those inclined to ridicule you and yourdesire to protect the environment do so, inlarge part, because they view environmentalprotection efforts as subversive to humanprogress.” This is a key point missed bymany people, and parents would do well torealize that as their children’s first teachersthey can help their children develop newdefinitions of what progress means. Maybeprogress could mean developing a deeperconnection to the natural world and havingonly what you need.“EcoKids” reminds us that just hearingabout environmental degradation is notenough to trigger concern or action. Withoutdirect involvement and experience withthe issues of our day, our children, as wellas most adults, cannot connect with theirimportance.Chiras describes his own personal andprofound moments of realization duringchildhood that triggered his awareness ofthe web of life. He describes a trek throughthe forest as a Boy Scout when they “suddenlyentered an unusual patch of forest,a remnant of the eastern old-growth forest- miraculously spared from the saw.” Theforest was unlike anything the Scouts hadseen before and the trees were so tall Chirashad to strain his neck to see their tops.Chiras writes, “Although I did not knowthat we were in an old growth forest, I couldfeel the magnificence and grandeur of thesestately trees that had stood for hundreds ofyears.”He says, “I felt a stirring in me, the closestthing I’ve ever had to a religious experience.My spirit rose for a few minutes, andthen plunged as we exited into the hot,sunny neighboring forests, no doubt harvestedwithin the past forty years.”What a grand idea for a parent this storytriggers, the idea that you can intentionallyassist your child to have such an experience.But Chiras cautions not to “expect a singleinspirational bolt of lightning to changeyour child, to electrify him or her passionand commitment.” This is but a sample ofthe sound, grounded advice to be found in“EcoKids.”Each chapter ends with a list of specificideas for family activities that will helpfoster the belief that, “Planet care is theultimate form of self-care.”The chapter titles give readers an instantidea of what gifts await in this importantbook: “Fostering Love for Nature,” “EcologicalLiteracy,” “Promoting EnvironmentalValues,” “Affluenza, Television, and YourChild,” “Combating Advertising and Affluenza,”and “Walk the Talk-Teaching byExample.”The final chapter, “Ensuring Success,”gives clear ideas to help a child combat peerpressure, to encourage a child know hisor her own mind and values, and to fostercompassion and empathy.“EcoKids” is a wonderful book thatshould be on every parent’s and teacher’sbookshelf. It can also give people of any ageinsight into the challenges that keep mostof us from embracing sustainable living andhow to trigger self awareness. Uranium RoadAuthor: David FigPaperback: 128 pagesPublisher: Jacana MediaISBN: 1770090924Uranium Road: Questioning South Africa’s NuclearDirection provides rare insights into thehistory of South Africa’s secretive nuclearindustry. It explains how South Africa’suranium, a waste product of its gold mines,gave it entry into the exclusive internationalnuclear club.How the apartheid government turnedto weapons of mass destruction when itstarted losing its grip on the country and thesub-continent in the seventies and eighties.And how current plans for the revival of theindustry are nothing more than an expensiveexperiment with taxpayers’ money.The book argues that these plans should bejudged against the background of a dyingnuclear industry worldwide, which has notbeen able to solve its basic problems: excessivecost, threats to human health and safetyand long-term environmentl contamination.An illustrated explanation of basicnuclear concepts and the nuclear fuel chainmakes the history and arguuments easy tofollow. 60 Biophile Issue 13

The Hundred-Year LieHow Food and Medicine areDestroying your HealthAuthor: Randall FitzgeraldHardcover: 304 pagesPublisher: Dutton; 1 edition (Jun 27 2006)ISBN: 0525949518“You are what you eat.” And that’s bad news, according to RandallFitzgerald’s monumental new book, The Hundred-Year Lie.According to one health expert he interviewed, if we were cannibals,human meat would be banned from consumption becausewe’ve become so contaminated from the pesticides, artificialingredients, toxic waste and drugs we knowingly (and unknowingly)ingest.Fitzgerald culls interviews, research and years of data into ahighly readable book — which makes for a frightening wake-upcall about the harm we do to our bodies and our world. From theenactment of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 to present day,Fitzgerald exposes the lack of oversight that goes into making surewhat we consume is safe — despite most people’s assumptions tothe contrary.He shows how little we know about how drugs, chemicals,cosmetics and artificial food ingredients interact. These synergies,he illustrates, can be drastically more toxic to our bodies than theindividual chemicals, many of which are toxic on their own. Thesesynthetic substances accumulate in our bodies, which cannotprocess them and often cannot handle the burden of the combinedtoxins.The good news is, there are steps people can take to reclaim theirhealth. But so much of what needs to be done is on a global level, andFitzgerald shows all too clearly how profit and power have played amore influential role than public safety.This is a must-read book for anyone truly interested in a healthierlife, not least because the book ends with a comprehensive sectionon “When Western Medicine Fails” and “How to Detoxify yourself ”.The Biophile team recommends this book very highly. www.hundredyearlie.comA ground-breaking, shocking andvitally important book(June 2006, 304pp, hardback)R239(plus R25 postage & handling)To order, contactGondwanaland BooksTel: (044) 883-1110 Fax: (044) 883-1109lee@gondwanaland.co.zaGIVEAWAYWe have one copy of The Hundred YearLie to give away to a lucky reader. If youare a subcriber to Biophile, you neednot enter, as your name has alreadybeen entered into the lucky draw. Ifyou are not a subscriber, then pleasesend us your name and postal addressto hundredyearlie@biophile.co.za oron the back of a postcard or sealedenvelope to PO Box 39277 CapricornSquare 7948WINNERSThe winners of the book giveaway inIssue 12 (We Are here To Learn by LouBognon) are:N. AlbamonteP. YatesCharles BerryNadia Comaneci andJ. FraserThe winner of a copy of Seeds ofDeception is A. PapenhagenBiophile Issue 13 61

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Dr.HauschkaCertified Natural CosmeticsFree of Synthetic preservatives,colours and fragrancesIngredients are sourcedfrom Organic or Biodynamicfarms or from designatedWild crafted areas.What makes Dr.Hauschka Skin Care so different:Dr.Hauschka Skin Care works with the functions ofthe skin in order to have healthy and vital skin.Dr.Hauschka Skin Care does not createdependency or laziness in the skin.The Skin is called upon to work correctly in perfectbalance and harmony which brings us to the truemeaning of the word Cosmetic – from the Greekword “kosmein” meaning to arrange and establishorder and harmony.For more information visit our website:www.drhauschka.co.zaTel:+27-21-7023617Fax:+27-21-7023619Mobile (Caro): 0832652442Skin CareWhere Science and Spirit MeetBiophile Issue 1363

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