News Today

Due to the high winds, fires have been erupting all over California.  Unfortunately, this is not our first experience with devastating fires engulfing cities, homes, and valuables.  In addition, health related problems have been highly associated with the smoke from these fires.  The smoke not only adds pollution into the atmosphere, but has been linked to acute respiratory exacerbations, heart attacks, and strokes.  The increase in air pollution has also been associated with premature deaths.  Those with already preexisting conditions are more closely linked to these premature deaths than those without preexisting medical conditions.  All in all, the fires have caused more damage to our environment, our beautiful state, and our health than we ever thought possible.

Blog 18- Pesticides

Pesticides are not a secret topic to most of America.  We are aware that our food is continuously sprayed, the ingestion of pesticides is harmful, and there’s nothing we can do about it.  On the plus side, pesticides are used for preservation of food in farming... this ties into my last post about mass production of food.  In contrast, spraying our foods with pesticides is harmful and toxic to most bodies, although I feel evolution has "somewhat" adapted to the ingestion of these toxic chemicals.  Even if we “wash” the skin of our food to get rid of pesticides, we never REALLY get rid of the pesticides.  Some pesticides do not stay directly on the skin, but rather seep into the product.  In other words, there is no way to fully get rid of the pesticide.  The question is “what should we be doing about this in terms of public health?” and I must admit, I am not sure.  Education is important, but also unrealistic to expect that to stop anyone from buying fruits and vegetables (as they shouldn’t), and there are no fruits and vegetables "pesticide-free."  Switching to organic is, unfortunately, just as harmful.  Pesticides are still widely used even if something is labeled “organic.”  So, I guess the only way you will know if your food is fresh and without preservatives is to create your own personal garden and eat from your own personal garden.  This way you can know your fruits and vegetables are non-GMO, organic, and naturally grown…. But realistically who has the time or money for that?  This is a tricky topic and I feel I need years more of education to make an informed decision on what to do about this. 

News Today

Hemp is all the rage is this era.  In recent studies, hemp has been associated with reducing climate change and considered a sustainable alternative to plastics, cotton, and fossil fuels.  Many studies are currently being conducted surrounding mass-producing hemp, the effects hemp has on the environment, and what alternatives hemp can sustain.  Some studies are even investigating hemps ability to improve water quality.  Although it seems hemp is very promising, there is still resistance to using this crop in unorthodox ways.  Regulation regarding hemp from the federal government is still a huge discussion and with the rise of CBD health products, there is still a lot of discussion to be had.