Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
04/01/2010
Putting World Hunger Into Perspective
From: The Huffington Post
By Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein
Hunger now scars the lives of over 1 billion people — a new record. Today, Monday the 16th, world leaders will gather at a UN food summit in Rome to debate what to do about it. As a former Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Program, I sense how the meeting may go.
Per capita calorie consumption, nation by nation. By: World Food Program
There will be more media attention on the politicians than on the issues, an abundance of speeches, and a series of oddly fancy luncheons — with more speeches. At a similar luncheon, I remember wondering: Read the rest of this article
Tags:Huffington Post, Mountain Spirit, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, World Food Program, World Hunger
Posted in Conservation, Health, Holistic Living, Room For Improvement, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
04/01/2010
The Real Story
Too many bottles, The new faux pas
I recently received a flyer in the mail from Food and Water Watch, with the title: “America’s water should belong to each of us, not the companies that bottle and sell it. Not the corporations that want to privatize is. Take the pledge to protect your right to clean safe drinking water. Here’s what I’ve learned.
American consumers drink more bottled water every year, in part because they think it is somehow safer or better than tap water. They collectively spend hundreds or thousands of dollars more per gallon for water in a plastic bottle than they would for the H20 flowing from their taps.
Rather than buying into this myth of purity in a bottle, consumers should drink from the tap. Bottled water generally is no cleaner, or safer, or healthier than tap water. In fact, the federal government requires far more rigorous and frequent safety testing and monitoring of municipal drinking water. Read more
Bottled Water: Illusions of Purity :
Not safer than tap water
Bottled water manufacturers are good at implying things. With glossy ads and labels depicting quiet mountain streams, a consumer is led to believe what they’re drinking is healthier than what comes from the tap. But chances are it’s not. In fact, municipal water is more tightly regulated than bottled water.
(more…)
Tags:bottled water, Environment, Food and Water Watch, Mountain Spirit, take back the tap
Posted in Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Health, Holistic Living, Sustainable Living/Communities | 1 Comment »
27/12/2009
Nice Job Mr. Manzer.
I found myself at a store called Eastern Mountain Sports the other day here on the east coast, of the U.S., and at the front door, the following letter was predominantly posted on a display board at the stores entrance for all customers to see. It was written by the chain’s president and shows that this corporation has the intention of not only making a profit but also to remind its customers what’s really important in the end.
The Gift of Time Well Spent
The holiday season always involves a tremendous amount of planning, coordination, and giving of one’s time and effort. With so much to do and so little time to do it, it’s easy to get stressed out.
My wish for you and your family is that after all the parties are over and all the presents are unwrapped, you take some time to unplug from the madness and enjoy each other’s company. Get outside, take in the new season, and appreciate the greatest gift of all – a healthy life:
Crash through a pile of dry leaves on your mountain bike.
Breath deeply on the first day below [-5 Celsius].
Feel the burn of a cold-weather trail run.
Watch the first ice form on the banks of a fast-moving stream.
Grab a handful of snow with your gloves off.
Watch the first winter sunrise from the top of a mountain.
Most important[ly], appreciate the outdoors and take good care of it.
From all of us at EMS – Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
Will Manzer,
President & CEO
Eastern Mountain Sports
Kudos goes to E.M.S. I bought my first 60/40 mountaineering jacket there for our Proctor Academy winter mountaineering course. It must have been in 1975. For a while the store struggled but these days, not only is its president’s writing good letters like the one above, but the store seems to be on track environmentally as well as with its education and customer service focus. Well done E.M.S. – keep it up.
Editor’s note: This letter was given to me by one of the employees at EMS when I explained I’d like to reprint it on our blog. Edits are in brackets.
Tags:Climbing, Eastern Mountain Sports, experiential edcuation, family time, family values, Gift of Time well spent, mountain biking, Mountain Spirit Insitute, mtnspirit.org, nature, Proctor Academy, Will Manzer
Posted in Climb/Ski/Mntneering, Health, Inner Work, Inspirational People, Leadership, Sustainable Living/Communities | 1 Comment »
30/11/2009
The Ripple Effect of One Couple’s Decision
By Randall Richards
Salatin Family Farm
Because William and Lucille Salatin decided to moved their young family to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and purchase a worn-out farm, they had the choice of how they were going to manage the farm.
Because they decided to “use nature as a pattern” in their farming practices, they established a way of farming that worked for them, the land, and the animals they raised.
Because they began using innovative ideas on how to farm sustainably in the early sixties, they knew what worked for them. (more…)
Tags:Food Inc, Fresh, Joel Salatin, Mountain Spirit, Polyface Farm, Sustainability, Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Living/Communities, William and Lucille Salatin
Posted in Animals, Conservation, Environment, Film/DVD, Health, Holistic Living, Leadership, Sustainable Living/Communities | 1 Comment »
22/11/2009
The Movie Fresh attracts 106 people in small town
Good food, an idea whose time has come
By Randall Richards
Joel Salatin, Organic Farmer, Visionary
The small town of New London, New Hampshire, saw one-hundred and six people turn out for the screening of the new movie Fresh, an uplifting documentary about the local organic food movement in the U.S. The event was co-sponsored by the New London chapter of the Weston A Price Foundation, and Mountain Spirit Institute on Saturday November 21st. In addition to the showing, local vendors and food producers were invited to display, who had tables with samples and brochures, where the audience could browse and learn about the good and local food available in their community. A brief “Q&A” discussion followed the film, (more…)
Tags:Battles Farm, Fresh, Fresh The movie, Hazard Acres Farm, Joel Salatin, Linda Howes, Mountain Spirit, Musterfield Farm, New London, NH, Nourishing Wellness, Organic Foods, Springledge Farm, Star Lake Farm, Sunapee, Weston A Price Foundation, Whipple Auditorium, Whole foods, Will Allen
Posted in Animals, Conservation, Film/DVD, Health, Holistic Living, MSI News, Sustainable Living/Communities | 3 Comments »
13/11/2009
COAL COUNTRY tells of the dramatic struggle around the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America. For more information about the movie and to watch a preview click here
Watch the Preview
In Appalachia, miners and residents are locked in conflict: is mining
and processing coal essential to providing good jobs, or is it destroying the land, water and air? What does this mean for the rest of America and the world?
ANOTHER CIVIL WAR
Passions are running high in the mountains of Appalachia. Families and communities are deeply split over what is being done to their land. At issue is the latest form of strip mining called ‘mountaintop removal’, or MTR. Coal companies blast the tops off mountains, and run the debris into valleys and streams. Then they mine the exposed seams of coal and transport it to processing plants. Coal is mined more cheaply than ever, and America needs coal. But the air and water are filled with chemicals, and an ancient mountain range is disappearing forever.
For more information about the movie, events, and to watch a preview click here
Tags:Appalachia, Coal Country, Film, Mountain Spirit
Posted in Conservation, Environment, Film/DVD, Health, Sustainable Living/Communities, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
03/11/2009
How Hearsay and Anecdotal Evidence has Created a False Industry Standard
By Erik Schlimmer
Avalanche Lake in the Adirondacks. Image: Craig Cimmons
There are many things outdoor educators agree on. For example, a warm meal feels great at the end of the day. Cotton fabrics take forever to dry in the field and should thus be avoided. Most small groups generate less impact than large groups do. Mosquitoes and black flies come straight from hell. And, all backcountry water must be treated due to the presence of Giardia, a protozoan that has infested water sources throughout the United States, causing the debilitating gastrointestinal illness giardiasis.
Now, there is no denying hot meals are soothing, cotton kills, good things come in small packages, and camping during bug season is cruel and unusual punishment. But, has Giardia really infested our water sources? Ask this question to nearly any outdoor educator and you will receive a harried, “Oh, yes it has!” However, to the above question I calmly answer, “No, it has not.” I teach a curriculum that embraces drinking straight from the source.
read the rest of this article:
Posted in Experiential Education, Health, Leadership, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
03/11/2009
"Fresh" Screening, in NH, USA
Mountain Spirit Institute is co-sponsoring the screening of the movie Fresh in New London, NH on Saturday November 21, at 7PM at the Whipple Auditorium on Main Street.
Says MSI director Randall Richards, “We saw the oportunity to get involved and help with the screening of this movie. We’re providing some desktop layout skills, and equipment for the showing.
Marketing and Development director Amanda Richards, had heard about the movie Food.Inc, and having just arrived from New Zealand, had been concerned about what she was seeing in the U.S. food supply. When she heard that Linda Howes, CN, HHP, CBE was preparing to show the movie Fresh, she decided to get involved. Howes is the local chapter representative of the Weston A Price Foundation and owner of Nourishing Wellness, in New London, NH. (more…)
Tags:Amanda Richards, Fresh The movie, Healthy Eating, Helath Foods, Holistic Living, Mountain Spirit, New London, NH, Randall Richards, screening Fresh, Sunapee, Weston A Price, Whipple Auditorium, Whole foods
Posted in Environment, Health, Holistic Living, MSI News, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
30/10/2009
Which Comes First?
A look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
By: Craig Cimmons
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
As an environmentalist, I paid close attention to the candidate’s environmental stances and solutions during the Presidential election of 2009. However, the more I listened, the more apparent something became. American citizens are not going to devote their full attention to the needs of the environment until their own needs are met. With America’s health care system in need of desperate repair, the average citizen is worrying about problems closer to home then the large scale, hard to understand, global environmental problems.
Families that are losing everything they own to fight a disease, (or live in fear of this happening) do not have any resources (time, energy and money) to devote to anything outside of these problems. A family that is watching cancer slowly consume their loved one (and their life savings) should never be expected to fight enormous problems like global warming, peak oil and the steady decrease of drinking water.
Tags:Craig Cimmons, Environment, Health Care, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Mountain Spirit, Mountain Spirit Institute Board of Directors
Posted in Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Health, Sustainable Living/Communities | 3 Comments »
20/10/2009
Daniel & Maria Sanchez, Huaraz, Peru
Bridging Cultures with Laughter in Peru
By Randall Richards
“Laugh Dancing” – I’m not sure if that’s the name, or if there even is a name, but I first saw it at our wedding reception last spring, when someone pulled this out of their bag of tricks. Laugh Dancing is a misnomer. Maybe it should be called “StoneFace Dancing” because while you’re dancing, the object is actually to not laugh, to keep a straight face. He who laughs first, loses the round. The object is to get the other person to crack up before you do – Great fun.
Then, add the international element, in this case, my godchild’s family in Huaraz, Peru, and instantaneously, you’re breaking culture barriers with laughter.
For those too shy to dance, there’s also Laugh-Sitting, (or StoneFace sitting) where opponents face off, and stare each other down, till one starts smiling, after which it’s a slippery slope from there.
Below, the first clip is of Maria Sanchez Figeroa, my godchild’s grandmother, facing off with Amanda in the kitchen of Restaurant Salud y Vida. Instantly, this laughter, brought us one more step closer together in our 12-year friendship. The second clip is Amanda facing off with Elizabeth, a vegetarian cook in the restaurant. Next, she finally wins a round against our godchild, Joseph Sanchez. Try it on your next trip.
Tags:Amanda Richards, Fun Games, Humor Therapy, Joseph Sanchez, Laugh Dancing, Laughter, Laughter bridging cultures, Party Game, Play, Randall Richards, Restaurant Salud y Vida, Smiles, Travel
Posted in 1- Video Posts, Focus on MSI People, Health, Mountain People, Peru, Traveling | 1 Comment »
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