Lend A Hand

This month I talked about the various issues plaguing our planet today. While global warming and carbon footprints are talked about on television and in newspapers, not nearly enough is heard about pesticides, superbugs, or the world’s water shortage. And not nearly enough is being done about them.

Next month I want to try something a little different. Every day of April I want each reader out there to write, email, or call their representatives, business, or community leaders about an issue that is important to you that you believe they can do something about. Let’s work together and see how my change we can set in motion.

Also coming up in April, Lend A Hand will be introducing regular post items every month. ‘In The News’ will discuss a current new story of interest to the American people. ‘Read This!’ will be a review of a book that looks at the types of issues we’re interested in at Lend A Hand. ‘Call To Action’ will request a specific response from our readers in response to a specific situation. Finally we’ll be spotlighting people, companies, and groups who are making a real difference. This feature has yet to be named. See you in April.

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Back in the 1940s the medical world experienced the miracle of widely available antibiotics. The number of fatalities from infections went down and the length of the average infection illness shortened dramatically. Antibiotics were hailed as the “best thing since sliced bread” (well not really) and doctors began prescribing them for all sorts of illnesses.

What tended to happen when a person would go to the doctor with a virus (which is not affected by antibiotics) patients would want something (antibiotics) from the doctors. Sometimes doctors would feel pressured to write a prescription. Other times they would write a prescription just in case the patient had an infection while the tests went to the lab. Antibiotics were good for you, right? What could taking antibiotics hurt?

Years later we began to find out. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics led to bacterium becoming more resistant and more resistant until common antibiotics stopped working. Stronger medication was need to kill the infections which in turn made the bacterium more resistant and the vicious circle continued.

Nearly 100,000 people die every year because of these superbugs. Infections that were once almost exclusively found in hospitals (such as the deadly MRCA) are now infecting people in other common shared areas like schools and recreation centers.

Despite the frightening reality of these superbugs there are things you can do to lessen the chance of acquiring a resistant superbug when going for a doctor’s visit or hospital for surgery. Start by realizing that you have to stick up for yourself and be assertive when it comes to demanding the highest standard of care for you. Don’t be afraid to ask doctors and nurses to wash their hands before examining you or handling you in any way. Avoid shaving any area that will be operated on and insist tat your medical caregiver use clippers instead of a razor to remove any necessary hair. The reason for this is razors leave tiny cuts on the surface of skin that can allow bacteria to enter.

Ask your doctor or nurse to remove any IVs or tubes as soon as possible after surgery. These tubes are an easy way for superbugs to get into your body. Finally, work with doctors and nurses in order to get well as quickly as possible to reduce exposure. Out of the hospital you should frequently wash your hands or use hand sanitizer (the best way to prevent infection). If you do get sick with a virus, a cold or an allergy, don’t ask your doctor for antibiotics – they won’t help you.

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Once upon a time the world was a sprawling carpet of green and brown and blue. Trees died of old age and people believed that there was no way to run out of land to build on, water to drink, or homes for wild animals.

Now the earth is dealing with overpopulation, ignorance, and greed. Poverty affects nearly 50% of the world’s population while people in other parts of the world waste truckloads of food, water, medicine and fuel. Most importantly it doesn’t have to be this way. All we need is more people to speak up for those who can’t. Especially here in America where there is so much to go around, there is no excuse for anyone to have to live in poverty.

As more people fill the earth there is less room for the other animals with whom we share the planet. Every day an average of 35 species become extinct – gone, never coming back. Again, animals can’t speak up for themselves so it is our duty to speak (and fight) for them.

Every generation has great humanitarians, catalysts for change, heroes. During our time it is crucial to make extraordinary action commonplace; changing the world all in a day’s work.

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The message is clear: Conserve, Recycle, Reuse and stop wasting the precious resources of our precious planet. In my city recycling is mandatory although there are some recyclable materials the city won’t accept. My husband built a compost bin for our family and we’ve been composting all our vegetable and fruit wastes, coffee grounds, eggshells, shredded paper, leaves and grass clippings. Unfortunately most people in my neighborhood don’t compost.

Obviously oil supplies are being depleted and once they’re gone, they’re gone. The world’s water supply is also endangered through wastefulness and misuse. Landfills are rapidly filling up and even the biodegradable materials in these landfills are not degrading due to lack of favorable conditions (the landfills are too dry and cold) There isn’t enough food going around (although the is enough to go around). Almost everything in our society has become disposable from clothing to appliances, toys to T.V.s

Many individuals are working hard to change their wasteful ways. That is good and very helpful. However many commercial and industrial enterprises are doing nothing to be less wasteful. We need to do more to support companies, stores, and restaurants that practice conservation and eco-friendly habits. Likewise we need to boycott businesses that refuse to do their best to help the planet.

Meanwhile write to or call your representatives and ask for higher standards for businesses. And of course, do your part for the planet as well.

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I have always been concerned about global warming but it wasn’t until I saw Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ that I realized how urgent the situation is or how drastic the consequences of doing nothing could be.

Most people already know how global warming occurs. The greenhouse effect and carbon emissions and how they cause the temperature on the planet to rise. Global warming cause polar ice to melt, the level of the ocean rises and gets colder. The flow of water in ocean changes and climates change along with them. While the debate on Global warming has pretty much come to an end, people still argue about the effects of global warming and how dangerous it really is. I personally believe (although I haven’t seen any concrete proof) that the recent rise in the number and strength of natural disasters is caused in part by the changes in the climate of the planet.

Some of the most frightening facts that I have come across while reading about global warming:

• The eight warmest years on record since 1850 have all occurred since 1998.
• An approximately 5.4 degree Fahrenheit increase in Greenland temperatures will lead to an irreversible meltdown and a sea level rise of more that 20 feet. (source: http://www.edf.org)
• America is the top global warming polluter in the world.
• The U.S. fire season has increased by 78 days over the last 20 years in part to higher temperatures and earlier snowmelt.
• 200 million could be displaced by drought, sea level rise, and flooding by 2080.

In the face of these statistics I can’t see why anyone would take the chance by not changing their ways.

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Last year when people were dealing with four dollar a gallon gasoline and rapidly increasing heating costs, energy preservation was a topic on everyone’s lips. President Obama has made alternative energy and the jobs it could create a major point of his presidential campaigning. Magazines, newspapers, and news shows are all promoting conservation and alternative energy sources.

And yet with all the discussion and movements, it’s not enough. This month we’ll be talking about the dangers facing our planet and what we can do to make the difference necessary.

Let’s start out by going over some of the frightening facts about the environment.

At the current rate of consumption, there are already many parts of the U.S. and Canada that are facing shortages of water for drinking and growing crops.

Oil production has already peaked and is on the down-slide. If things keep going the way they have been, it’s estimated that we will run out of oil by the 2020s.

Chemicals sprayed on the food we eat and used to clean our homes have been linked to multiple health issues including tumors, cancer, and cognitive and behavioral problems. Plastic and other non-biodegradable materials fill our landfills which prevent even biodegradable items from breaking down.

Global warming is effecting weather patterns as well as the seasons. Not to mention what the melting ice floes are doing to the polar bears.

And that’s just the tip of  the (rapidly melting) iceberg. We were given a beautiful planet and we abused it. Now it is time to start nurturing it back to health.

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