Earths Vigilante's: Inside Guerrilla Gardening

--trends + business + politics--

Richard Reynolds is the founder of online blog Guerrillagardening.org. He has been illicitly cultivating neglected public spaces for the past four years, and apparently is not alone.

Guerrilla gardening is an underground trend that seems to have found its way to locations worldwide. Reynolds has now written a book, 'On Guerrilla Gardening', which covers the movement's history and offers tips and advice for those who want to get involved, especially for those who want to focus on neglected public urban spaces. To become a guerrilla gardener or learn about the movement go to guerrillagardening.org

Here is an inside look into Guerrilla Gardening - courtesy of Reuters

Life Inside a Guantanamo Cell: Amnesty International Tours America's Dark Moment

--celebrity + charity + global relief--

Amnesty International is seeking to bring the realities of Guantanamo in some small way to every day citizens, by traveling a life size model of a maximum security cell to cities across the USA.

It is the hope of the organization that getting a glimpse at the harsh realities of prolonged isolation and illegal detention will inspire citizens to speak out on what many believe to be one of the most shameful developments of this administration (as most detained are without charge and those charged, have faced unfair trials by the military commission).

Starting in Miami on May 8, 2008 the tour will make stops in Philadelphia, Portland and then Washington D.C. on 26 June, to mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

To learn more about Amnesty's "Counter Terror With Justice Campaign," go to the Campaign PAGE on their site. To make your voice heard against illeagal detention and the close of Guantanamo - sign the petition on the Amnesty SITE



Video Footage Below - Protest in Washington earlier in the year, on 6th Anniversary of Guantanamo. Executive Director of Amnesty International speaks out.

Pharma Plays Musical Chairs: Weigh Loss Drug w/ Psychiatric Side Effects Remarketed to Diabetics

--body + mind + spirit--

Millions of overweight people will tell you, the fight with fat is really something that "mess with your head." These days, that statement might be prove to be all too true. A new class of weight loss treatment called rimonabant is marketed by companies such a Merck & Co, as well as Sanofi-Aventis and is under fire for disrupting wiring in the brain in several research studies.

The rimonabant drugs sold under brand names such as Acomplia in Europe or Zimulti in the U.S, apparently suppresses the appetite by blocking cannabinoid receptors in the brain (apparently it's the same brain mechanism that makes people hungry when they smoke marijuana). The problem that researchers found in studies is that cannabinoid receptors also regulate signals between neurons - that when effected by the use of these drugs effected plasticity. In short the brain failed to respond properly, by failing to "rewire" when necessary,

The study, based at MIT, involved testing of learning in the visual cortex of a mouse. This is the part of the brain that processes information gathered from what they see. Their experiments tested how well the animals adapted if one eye was closed. The researchers did not use rimonabant in the study. Instead, they used a chemical analog or copy -- in this case a drug available for laboratory use known as AM 251.When they gave the mice AM 251 to block their cannabinoid receptors, the animals still behaved as if both eyes were open. This suggested the visual cortex was not adapting as it should.

The finding is the latest blow for rimonabant, which once was predicted to be a multibillion-dollar seller. A study last month of the drug in obese heart patients found that an astounding 40 percent of patients who took the drug developed psychiatric problems. And in a past study, one in eight patients dropped out of the study due to sever psychiatric side effects.

So what does Sanofi have to say of the barrage of findings, you might wonder. Last month the drugmaker said it still believes Acomplia can be a winner and reiterated plans to submit the drug worldwide - this time as a treatment for type 2 diabetes in 2009. I guess those diabetics have stronger mental compositions then those over-weight folks...go figure.


(Sources: Reuters, Washington Post, Wired)

Ebay's Good Green Moves

--trends + business + politics--

"eBay empowers people around the world to recycle and reuse, so constructing an environmentally friendly building from the ground up reflects our business values and our commitment to reducing our corporate footprint -- in the Bay Area and at all of our facilities worldwide," said John Donahoe, President and CEO of eBay Inc. "Going green is a great way to work."

The statement came as part of an announcement of a major green effort by the online giant. The company is opening an environmentally friendly building on its North Campus in San Jose, which is to be built to LEED Gold standards (the second highest LEED rating a building can receive). The building sits on a campus with the largest commercial solar installation in the city, including 3.248 solar panels that cover an incredible 60,000 square feet - larger than the size of a football field. eBay’s investment in its new "green" building is a reflection of its commitment to offer more ways for employees to incorporate green practices into their daily lives.

SolarCity, which provided the solar panels for the new building, has offered employees a discount for installing solar panels in their homes and more than 500 employees have attended workshops about residential solar installation. In addition, eBay Inc. offers employees a carbon offsetting program through TerraPass, which allows employees to measure their carbon footprint and purchase offsets to balance their impact. Further, eBay Inc. runs shuttles from its San Jose campuses to San Francisco in order to improve employee quality of life and get more cars off the road.

Ebay prides itself on being fundamentally "green" as a business. The online marketplace was built to be an engine for the reuse of goods. The market has grown to include buyers and sellers worldwide who are using eBay to make a difference on behalf of the environment. Over the last decade, this has translated into a whopping $100 billion in goods each year that were reused, as opposed to being thrown into landfills or producing and buying new items.

Oganic Consumers Association and Dr. Bronners Sue "Organic" and "Natural" Brands for False Claims

--trends + business + politics--

"We have been deeply disappointed and frustrated by companies in the 'natural' personal care space who have been screwing over organic consumers, engaging in misleading organic branding and label call-outs, on products that were not natural in the first place, let alone organic." said David Bronner, referring to a lawsuit his company filed on April 28, 2008 against a slate of "organic" and "natural" personal care brands that Bronner asserts are simply not.

The family owned business filed suit in California to stop such companies from making misleading labeling claims. Bronners alongside with the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has warned offending brands that they will face litigation unless they either drop claims or reformulate their products to not include conventional agriculture and/or petrochemical material, without any certified organic material.

For example: The major cleansing ingredient in Jason "Pure, Natural & Organic" liquid soaps, body washes and shampoos is Sodium Myreth Sulfate, which involves ethoxylating a conventional non-organic fatty chain with the carcinogenic petrochemical Ethylene Oxide, which produces caricinogenic 1,4-Dioxane as a contaminant. The major cleansing ingredient in Avalon "Organics" soaps, bodywashes and shampoos, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, contains conventional non-organic agricultural material combined with the petrochemical Amdiopropyl Betaine. Nature's Gate "Organics" main cleansers are Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate (ethoxylated) and Cocamidopropyl Betaine. Kiss My Face "Obsessively Organic" cleansers are Olefin Sulfonate (a pure petrochemical) and Cocamidopropyl Betaine. Juice "Organics", Giovanni "Organic Cosmetics", Head "Organics", Desert Essence "Organics", and Ikove "Organic" all use Cocamdiopropyl Betaine as a main cleansing ingredient and no cleansers made from certified organic material. Due to the petrochemical compounds used to make the ingredient, Cocamidopropyl Betaine is contaminated with traces of Sodium monochloroacetate, Amidoamine (AA), and dimethylaminopropylamine(DMAPA). Amidoamine in particular is suspected of causing skin sensitization and allergic reactions even at very low levels for certain individuals.

Organic consumers have a right to expect that the personal care products they purchase with organic branding or label claims, contain cleansing ingredients made from organic agricultural material, not conventional or petrochemical material, and thus have absolutely no petrochemical contaminants that could pose any concern.

In addition the lawsuit also names Estee Lauder, Stella McCartney's CARE, Ecocert and OASIS.

Here is footage of a press conference from the Organic Consumers Association.