From an average B to a C cup in 50 years: Is our modern lives making our breasts bigger? Britain’s Daily Mail reports that women in England have larger breasts than even a generation ago. Women (and men) are getting fatter, but obesity alone does not account for most of the increase: Women are exhibiting […]
Hu2 Design stickers help those in the house who don’t really “get” where stuff comes from. Some people flat out deny global warming and any other environmental problems. Others kind of get it, but aren’t prepared to give up their Hummers. Others still perpetually express their guilt for eating meat and flying to Dubai for […]
For me, cloth diapers meant two or three extra loads of laundry a week. When I read that Karin decided to “walk the walk” and switch to reusable diapers with her young baby, I could see that she and her husband, along with readers, have the same questions that people asked back when I used […]
After recovering from the shock of motherhood, Karin tries an eco-compromise by using washable diapers half of the time. It’s been 4 months since I’ve given birth and I decided that I was fit enough to try washable, reusable diapers. My daughter is exclusively breastfed, an undertaking that completely overwhelmed me for the first few […]
A Saudi food activist and former vegan questions whether veganism is for your health, and for the planet. Vegans reading this post might want to think twice about forgoing a slice of turkey this Thanksgiving. Saudi Arabia-based blogger, Tasha of Voracious Eats, runs a well-known vegan cooking site featuring no animal products. This week she […]
New parents and nursing Muslim women will be pleased to know the Islamic perspective on nursing is pro-breastfeeding. And it doesn’t cost the Earth. At Islam’s core of a stable society is a functioning family where, interestingly, the mother has a higher status than the father. And for a family unit to be healthy, mothers […]
Pfizer’s Saudi Arabia campaign to teach doctors safe baby milk practices is like cigarette companies promoting cancer prevention. In the book Understanding Breastfeeding in the Middle East, author Modia Batterjee laments the decline of breastfeeding in Saudi Arabia. At first glance, the 26 Club Forum for Child Health and Nutrition founded to “raise awareness on […]
Plastic bags, however you use them, is one reason for an increase in petroleum production in Middle Eastern countries. How greasy is that outfit you’re wearing? People don’t always realize that today’s modern fabrics may contain petroleum. And petroleum is used in a surprising number of consumer items. Petroleum production and consumption increases greenhouse gases […]
Started in Great Britain, we ask all kids in the Middle East walk to school on October 6! If you usually drive your kids to school, get out your walking shoes: October 6, is International Walk to School Day. This “green” event began in Great Britain in 1994, and has spread to 40 countries including Israel […]
The Biolite stove cooks up dinner for a family of 5 using local wood and no electricity. Jonathan Cedar and his business partner, Alex Moss, were working on a cooking device for campers when they realized they could use a thermoelectric module to generate electricity from some of the fire’s excess heat. That electricity could […]
Activists are pulling out all the stops ahead of a development summit at UN headquarters on 20-22 September. Pro-aid and anti-poverty lobbyists are trying everything from giant letters to banging pans to raise awareness of the high-level event. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) suffer from a lack of widespread public recognition, not least in the […]
Avoid environmentally unfriendly cooking habits in the new year The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins this Friday night, September 12. In Jewish tradition this is the day of repentance, a time to look back on our actions during the past year and resolve to do better. It’s a good time to power down, and during […]
Does your relationship with technology give you feelings of impatience and narcissism? Go offline. Along with numerous other bloggers, we have argued that a culture of doing and spending creates an impetus to do and spend more than the earth can provide. What happened to the simplicity of art to ease our earthly cares? Or […]
A How to avoid common pitfalls that undermine breastfeeding in the Islamic world. Dr. Modia Batterjee, the author of A Fading Art: Understanding Breastfeeding in the Middle East, is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with a private clinic, and has a masters degree in public health. As such, she is able to understand both […]
When was the last time you checked the ingredients in your baby’s formula? A mystery is unfolding in the central area of Wuhan and the capital of Beijing in China, where 4 formula-fed babies and toddlers began growing breasts. Tests showed abnormally high levels of estradiol and prolactin in the baby’s blood. Could it happen […]