The deal that saved the whale

The deal that saved the whale, if it continues to work could also save the rest of the environment, including the local people. If the locals can hold on to their villas, they may find that they themselves can make a comfortable living by guiding ecologically friendly tours of the area, instead of selling their land to the outsiders who will then turn around and make a killing by destroying the land. It sounds like some of the local fishermen are already guiding 'eco-tourists' in the winter time, which is great. The same thing is happening in remote stretches of coastline of baja, such as the beautiful and isolated beaches of scorpion bay and Puntas Cobres. We see the same thing happening all over central america, where wealthy investors from the outside come in and take advantage of the poverty and lack of environmental regulations, paying the locals a tiny sum of money to then turn around and make a fortune destroying the indigenous character of these places. A friend of mine was just freed from a fourteen month stay in a deadly Nicaraguan prison after being framed for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. He founded and had been operating a bilingual news magazine based on the smart and eco/ local concious growth of central america, in particular Nicaragua. It has been suggested that people in the Nicaraguan gov't didn't like what he was doing involving conscious development and empowering the local people to make a decent living without having to sell out to developers. So this is a very tough situation indeed, and when gov't officials in these central american counties stand to make some money on the development, it can be quite dangerous for us to get involved. You can check out Eric's situation; www.friendsofericvolz.com

Can TCM strengthen our immune systems?

There's no doubt that TCM increases immune function, although it wouldn't really be seen as just strengthening the immune system. By restoring balance or keeping balance in the system, the immune system operates in a more effective manner. Through acupuncture, herbs and qigong it's also possible to clear toxic heat that may be associated with the pattern of disease. By living in harmony with the seasons and environment, we can be more in-tune with shifts and changes that may aggravate our immune systems.

Western approaches to HIV/AIDS

There are some very valuable things that western allopathic medicine has contributed to the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Perhaps most importantly, is the overall understanding and knowledge of how HIV is transmitted. This helps to educate more people about preventative measures they can take to help avoid contracting HIV/AIDS. I also think it's quite amazing that a baby born to a mother who has HIV has only a one-percent chance of becoming infected with HIV when reverse transcriptase inhibitors along with a caesarian birth are used.

How sophisticated is our understanding of cancer?

It depends who we mean when we say 'our.' As far as the information and knowledge of cancer that is in existence in the world; there's quite a huge amount of understanding. As far as one person, or a group of people understanding cancer...that's much more difficult. Though I will say that the only people who I know that have regained good health after cancer went through the route of self-regulation therapy, meditation and herbal/dietary therapy, the best results being from people who used NO chemo, radiation or surgery. I don't think I know of a single story of someone who used exclusively chemotherapy, radiation and surgery and came out the other end to recover good health.
So in short, I think that once again the ancient understanding of cancer far surpasses the 'modern' understanding.

TCM approach to cancer

The TCM approach to cancer treatment differs from western medicine in that it strives to bring harmony back into the patient (and there environment), while western medicine strives to kill the pathogen as if it's something completely independent and unrelated to the human patient.
It's also very important in TCM for the patient to take hold of their life and become involved in their treatment through lifestyle, diet and self-regulating Qigong practice. Often times Medical Qigong has a very profound effect in helping a cancer patient back to health, by changing the energetic aspects of the person so that their physical body grows and changes toward better health.

Are our genes still being shaped by natural selection.?

Are genes are absolutely being shaped by natural selection. As people become more reliant on drugs and technology to fix them, we lose our skills to adapt to the environment, and eventually the traits that enable these skills become lost or diluted. There are also super-bugs developing because of our over-population and reliance on antibiotics. The changes of natural selection happen to gradually for us to see immediate results, but it's safe to assume that modern technology has not saved us from natural selection...it's just procrastinating the inevitable.

Distinguishing between living/ non-living

This is a tough one. To me fire even seems like it could be alive, or the wind and water. Every part of this planet and the cosmos could be seen as living, as it's all part of the cycle that is life. On a more biological level...I would think that anything that eats, breathes and has a balance of the earth and the heavens is alive.

Language and tools used by chimps...

It's very significant that chimps use language to communicate with each other, and tools to help them function. It shows to me that they care about their quality of life, and even their free time or social standing. I know that my cat uses very specific words and tones to communicate with us as well...I think it may be some ancient Gaelic dialect...or possibly Sanskrit... she also uses the electric blanket to stay warm, so she uses tools too!

Chinese Medicine gaining respectability in the west...

For any of us hoping to be acupuncturists/ herbalists this is very important. With that said, part of Chinese Medicine becoming more accepted and respected in the west is going to have to come from a shift toward a more open viewpoint for people of the west. Aren't scientists and M.D's required to take basic cultural anthropology classes.?.. It seems like many people in the United States are very unclear on the concepts of ethnocentrism and and cultural relativism. As people open up and realize that there is more than one way to see reality, there will be more awareness of how stuck we have been on one eurocentric viewpoint.
It is nice to see some western clinical 'proof' that Chinese Medicine works, or that Qi ( or an element of Qi) is actually measurable. I think that these studies do help many people to respect Chinese Medicine more.

I always eat my broccoli!

I ate two meals with broccoli today! I'm pretty psyched! There were all kinds of different colored veggies too(wait...that was chemistry class...). I've been getting pretty into brussel sprouts lately. They taste great, and have many of the healthful benefits of broccoli such as cancer fighting phytochemicals, which have been proven to reverse and prevent DNA damage. Brussel sprouts are also best in the late fall through early spring, which means NOW! It can be difficult to eat veggies this time of year, at least if you want local and/ or organic, so brussel sprouts are a nice option. Spring is coming around the corner though...plenty of fresh veggies and farmers markets!

I vote for BOTH! (the chicken and the egg)

As much as I like the cleverness of determining that it was the egg that came before the chicken, and it does make sense in the context of biologically classifying critters, It's merely a matter of names and categories. The creature that layed the egg which would become the 'first chicken' was a creature very much like a chicken. It would be very difficult to determine exactly when the evolving creature finally fit the specifications of a chicken. It's not like a dog layed an egg which hatched a chicken... It seems quite likely to me that the egg evolved as a way for creatures to safely give birth to there young, so there were probably creatures before there were eggs!

Can diversification save species?

Diversification is the natural order of things, so I would tend to think that LACK of diversity will kill species. I suppose that in terms of starting to bring back diversification, it could save us from the complete extinction of a species. I think that through evolution, diversity is part of how a species adapts over time to the constantly changing environment.