Do you get irked by possums and squirrels in your yard? Maybe coyotes or deer that wander into your neighborhood in search of food or water? Or other critters gnawing on your plants? Think about this:
Archive for February 8, 2019
Happy Lunar New Year!
Actually, here in the West, Chinese New Year began yesterday (today in Asia). Even so, a fresh, new year is always something to celebrate. This is the Year of the Pig, the last in line of the 12 zodiac animals.
You, like me, may not know a whole lot about this event. I found out a lot of interesting stuff at Year of the Pig. It tells, among other things, characteristics of people born under this sign and who they’re compatible (or incompatible) with. You may want to take a look. You don’t have to believe in it. But it does give a glimpse into a culture you may not be familiar with. And that’s always a good idea.
Is Airbnb Costing the Rest of Us Too Much?
In light of Airbnb’s possibly being able to get around taxes and regulations imposed on others, the Economic Policy Institute has released a report, The economic costs and benefits of Airbnb, that’s worth reading. It answers questions like benefits vs. economic costs (and who gets richer and who suffers the loss), affects on housing availability and prices, the effect on local businesses, and other issues.
It really does affect all of us, whether we use Airbnb or not. How does it affect you? Read the report.
Buying Conscientiously–We Just Can’t Win!
Many of us try to buy products from companies dedicated to health–ours and the environment. That’s how start-ups frequently come into being. They become successful because of us. At that point, they’re bought out by huge corporations that don’t change the product’s name, because it has such a good reputation, but do change how it’s made. When we buy Burt’s Bees items, for example, we’re no longer buying what we used to buy. Here are some other brands that started out good and natural but were bought out–and the corporations that bought them out.
(Thanks to Tina Silva Blease for this chart.)
Inviting Childhood Disease
Measles can harm a person for life, and it’s staging a comeback from 20000, when the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. 2018 was bad, with 349 cases in the U.S. It was the second worst year for that disease in twenty years. Mainly because so many parents refuse to vaccinate their children. Last year, there were outbreaks in the 25 states that have communities of anti-vaccination communities.
Again and again scientific proof has been presented that the vaccine is NOT harmful and DOES protect our children. It also protects infants under 12 months and people with health issues, like cancer, who don’t have the option of getting vaccinated. Yet measles spreads so easily–you can get it by entering a room or touching a surface within a couple of hours after an infected person has done so.
Learn more by reading Measles was no big deal — until my daughter caught it.