Category: Health

Are Organic Essential Oils Worth It?

~ Millennium River ~ Leave a comment
Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent, professional website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these hyperlinks are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. Consider also supporting this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored. This article is affiliated with Plant Therapy.

Smelling Good Since Ancient Times

Oils, ointments, and perfumes have been used since ancient times. Early humans quickly caught on that some plants smelled a lot better than others. Not only did some plants just simply smell good, they had other benefits too, including anti-bacterial properties, aromatherapy, naturally repelling pests, and other benefits. The Ancient Egyptians used many types of essential oils, with their favourites being Frankincense, Sandalwood, Myrrh, Cinnamon, and Cypress. During those times, ancient peoples did not have the type pesticides available now. This means that they had to make repellents through all-naturel means, whether by burning certain plants, using the oils from effective plants, or even using animals to repel animals. Cats for instance, became widely known and used for hunting vermin. Even ducks, have their use for eating unwanted bugs.

Conventional Versus Organic

There is a noticeable price difference between conventionally grown versus organically grown essential oil. The cost of organic essential oil can cost anywhere from 20% to 70% more than their conventionally grown counterparts. Why? This is due to the fact that it is more expensive to grow and protect plants without mass-produced chemicals or the use of genetic modification. Aside from “sticker shock” some people also criticize organic products as not being worth the asking price for sticker label, and that conventionally grown products can be of the same quality. Is there any truth to these claims? It is certainly true that conventionally grown essential oils can still smell good and perform their functions. However, to say that organic grown essential oils are scams asking for higher prices is false. If such product claims to be organic without a label of certification however, then that product could very well be a scam.

A Label With Meaning

When a product says that it is free of common allergens like dairy, nuts, and shellfish, it is because it has been legally certified to make that claim. Likewise, the same is true for organically grown essential oils. Companies cannot just place a Canada Organic or USDA Organic label as if they were cosmetic decorations. To use this label, producers must demonstrate a commitment towards more natural and natural-based farming and/or foraging practices. This same approach applies to essential oils. Suppliers and companies dedicated to organic standards are committed to creating high-quality, safe, and pure oils that have been derived from crops subjected to natural and organic farming and production practices.

Standards

Producers and companies who seek to sell essential oils with organic claims must adhere to standards set by locally governing authorities as well as any other labelling regulations or restrictions in the area they are being sold. In the United States, organic claims must adhere to USDA conventions and FDA regulations for cosmetic labeling and safety, as stated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the Fair Packaging and Labeling (FP&L) Act. In Canada, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulates the use of the Canada organic logo. Only products with organic content that is greater than or equal to 95% may be labelled or advertised as “organic” or bear the organic logo.

A genuine organic essential oil is one that has not only been derived through the use of natural methods as much as possible, but also where farming practices have been conscious of soil quality. Example: the introduction of potentially harmful agents by avoiding mono-cropping or the use of genetically modified organisms, and the end-to-end manufacturing and production process of the oil is accounted for in terms of chemical contaminants. What does this all mean? Organic essential oils represent an act and philosophy that is created to be environmentally friendly, sustainable, healthy, and more supportive towards the agricultural community as a whole.

Are Organic Essential Oils Really Better?

If the essential oil is certified organic, then yes, it really is better. As noted above, a company cannot legally place “Certified Organic” on a label, without following the legal requirements. The production of organic essentials oils is therefore better for the environment, especially from plants that would conventionally use a lot of pesticides. This makes consumers feel good and confident knowing that their oils were responsibly sourced and produced. The next question to address would be a matter of whether the quality of such oil is truly better: would organic peppermint oil smell or taste better than conventionally grown peppermint oil? At this point, people would very well know that the organically grown oil is better for the environment, but what about the actual quality of the finished product?

Truthfully, organic production does not automatically guarantee an oil will be better than its conventional counterpart. Organic also does not mean 100% free of pesticides and pollution, and regulators are aware of this, hence why products are not allowed to say “100% organic”, regardless of certification. However, because certified organic products are grown as naturally as possible, this does tend to result in oil of better quality. The drastic reduction of toxicity is helpful for people with sensitive skin. After all, organic farming is both a philosophy and practice that one does not pick up casually on the whim. Much care, thought, ethics, and yes even love, has to be put into it.

Where To Buy

Organic essential oils can be bought at a wide range of stores online or in-person. The United States in particular stands out for having a gigantic catalogue of stores and brands that either wholly or predominantly focus on essential oils. Plant Therapy is one of them. The Twin Falls, Idaho-based company was founded in 2011 and says that their mission is to bring people natural living options at an affordable price. Their people-first promise keeps their customers, employees, and community at the heart of everything they do. Plant Therapy has grown to be a trusted place to buy essential oils, body care, and household items. More than 10 years later, the company has grown, but maintains that they have retained the same good team dedicated bringing people quality natural living.

In terms of organic essential oils Plant Therapy offers the following, including many others not listed here:

Plant Therapy ships internationally to most countries, with Canada and the United Kingdom being honourable mentions on their international shipping list.

Natural Flavours Need To Be Listed Entirely

~ Millennium River ~ 1 Comment
Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent, professional website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these hyperlinks are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. Consider also supporting this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

Transparency Is Vital

There are a number of things in Canada that must be plainly labelled, and cannot be hidden behind secret terms. Bamboo in textiles is an interesting example of this. Manufacturers are no longer allowed to use the word “bamboo” on their clothing or textile products unless it is directly derived from bamboo without the use of heavy processing. Most of the time when bamboo appears in the composition material of clothes, it is bamboo viscose; a regenerated cellulose fibre which is chemically manufactured from bamboo, as opposed to the more sustainable bamboo lyocell. This allows consumers to make an informed choice over the type of bamboo used in their clothes, sheets, and other textiles. The same thing needs to be done for natural flavours. This term is loose, unnecessary, and unfair for consumers.

What Are Natural Flavours?

Natural flavours are food flavourings that are derived from plants or animals. This brings up a serious question: If artificial flavours are made from chemicals in the laboratory, but natural flavours are also extracted from natural sources in  laboratory, does that not essentially make them the same? For natural foods, there is a list of processes that cannot be used in combination with chemical additions such as chemically bleaching, smoking, or oxidation. The problem with that list is that it only concerns the whole food itself, and not the natural flavouring ingredient. Example: a natural strawberry pie is not allowed to be baked with chemical oil. Sounds obvious and clear enough. However, that same “natural” strawberry pie’s natural strawberry flavouring is allowed to be be chemically bleached, used in the pie, and still legally allowed to be labelled as natural flavouring. Not all companies go this far to take advantage of how they can abuse the natural flavours label, but it is important to know.

Short: natural flavours are derived from edible sources of plants and animals, while artificial flavours come from inedible sources.

Why Do Companies Use This Term?

Why would a company use natural strawberry flavours or even simply natural flavours instead of transparently telling consumers exactly what those flavours are? There are 2 main reasons for this:

1) A long list of essences and blends used to make a flavour. The list of blends and products may be too long and complex to list out on a food label. This is an invalid point, as the problem can be simply fixed by not using such a complex flavour in the first place. If, for example, it takes 100 fluids and extractions to get that exact lemon flavour, such company would have been better off using lemon juice to begin with. Far healthier for the consumer, too. That said, the composition list is not always long, nor is it toxic. Sometimes they insist they need to keep it a secret which leads to the second reasoning below.

2)  The recipe for a food product is proprietary and the companies do not want to disclose their secrets. This may sound reasonable at first glance, but it is not for very factual and logical reasonings.

Firstly, even if a cookie company were legally forced to precisely list exactly what all of its ingredients are, it would not result in bankruptcy to that cookie company. Unless, of course, that cookie company has been using ingredients that are illegal in Canada, and refuses to change their recipe. The reason is astonishingly simple: consumers or rivals would not know the exact quantity of such ingredients. Even if they did attempt to replicate it, they would not know the exact heating settings, preparation methods, or other hands-on techniques the cookie company might use to make its cookies the way it does. How would a rival know which soil the ingredients may have been grown in? How much they watered them? How ripened or unripened? Dried or fresh? Tossed in the air? Baked in a very specific oven? Perhaps not even an oven, but maybe even on a flat metal over open fire? The list of possibilities could go potentially go on for very long span of text.

Secondly, there are plenty of companies in existence that plainly list all of their ingredients. These companies have not gone bankrupt. At least not explicitly for the reason of listing their ingredients openly. In fact, for some companies the simplicity and openness of their ingredients is their biggest asset. This catering draws a loyal audience that enjoys the wholeness and simplicity of their products.

Use The Real Deal

Is cheaper better? Sometimes. For a lot of companies, flavourings are easy to produce en masse very cheaply. This makes it easy to churn them out by the millions to rake out big profits. Is it good for the consumer? No. Lemons are not rare. Herbs are not rare. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberries, peaches, many others fruits, vegetable, plants, and animals are not rare. Is it more work to produce and use whole ingredients? Yes, but it is by no means a hard or difficult thing to do. The use of natural flavours that are not actually whole ingredients is entirely unnecessary. Using the original ingredient is healthier and more authentic, adding both flavour and nutrition. 

Should Natural Flavours Be Avoided At All Costs?

No, natural flavours do not need to be avoided at all costs. While many companies use natural flavours that are synthetically extracted, many also do not. The ultimate importance is transparency that allows consumers to know right as soon as they look at a label. One should not have to guess or resort to messaging a company about its ingredients. The consumers should be able to have the information right at their fingertips. A lot of people do not care, and will devour whatever looks good, or tastes good. There are also a lot of people that do care, and want to know exactly what is in their food. Some people in this category even resort to making most things at home, as way of having more control over what they put into their bodies. Transparency does neither side any harm.

Emerging Technology

~ Millennium River ~ 1 Comment
Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these hyperlinks are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

Defining Emerging Technology

The words “Emerging Technology” suggests that it would mean technology recently coming out. This is partially true, as it usually does refer to a new technology, but it can also refer to the continuing development of an existing technology. The electric vehicle sector is a fine example of this. Though many would think of electric cars as luxurious, plush, and ultra modern, the first electric car debuted back in 1832. Though it was a very rough and impractical vehicle, it was still a real electric vehicle. Fast forward to the 21st century, the technology becomes immensely popular during the late 2010s, with the 2020s causing major legacy brands to drastically increase their electrification strategies. There are many technologies and ideas that can be explored, but the following shall be the focus for this write-up:

  • Biometrics
  • Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment
  • Lyme Disease Vaccine
  • 3D Printed Houses
  • Air Fryer
  • Plastic-eating Organisms
  • Solid State Batteries
  • Recycling Car Batteries 
  • All-electric Aircraft
  • 5G
  • Linux Smartphones
  • Solar-powered Smartphones

Biometrics

Fingerprint scanning, eye scanning, hand ID, and voice unlock all have something in common: they are all biometrics. For a long time, passwords or keys have generally been the way of safeguarding accounts, smartphones, and other confidential properties. Biometrics are biological characteristics that can be used to identify individuals. These can be biological biometrics such as blood or DNA; Morphological biometrics like fingerprints, eyes, and the shape of a person’s face; or behavioral biometrics like how a person may speak, walk, or type. Authentication by biometric verification is becoming increasingly common in corporate and public security systems, consumer electronics, and point-of-sale applications. In addition to security, another major reason for the use of biometric verification has been convenience, since there are no passwords to remember or security tokens to carry.

Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that destroys brain cells, causing thinking ability and memory to deteriorate over time. This in turn affects thinking, behaviour, and the ability to carry out tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80% of all diagnoses. However, this does not mean that if a person has dementia, that they have Alzheimer’s. Dementia is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms caused by physical disorders affecting the brain. Though Alzheimer’s has been in existence for a while, it has only been the last 20 years that science is finally making serious discoveries towards dealing with the disease. In 2021, two notable drugs are being examined: A vaccine involving Protollin and Aducanumab.

On November 17, 2021, researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital have been given permission to launch clinical trials into a nasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease. The new vaccine uses Protollin, which activates the immune system, and is being created to prevent and slow the disease progression. Made of proteins drawn from bacteria, Protollin activates white blood cells in the lymph nodes in the neck, and sends them to the brain to clear beta-amyloid plaques. The single ascending dose (SAD) trial will involve 16 subjects aged between 60 and 85 years with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.

On June 07, 2021, The US Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of Aducanumab (Aduhelm). The drug was approved under the Accelerated Approval pathway, one of the alternative drug approval pathways. However, this drug is controversial given that not all Dementia experts agreed on its unproven benefits. The accelerated process allows Biogen to sell the drug, but must agree to design and carry out a study to prove that there is a clinical benefit. The federal agency’s decision was based on the biomarker changes showing that the monoclonal antibody reduced amyloid-beta from the brain. It could take years to accumulate concrete data, and if it does not have a clinical benefit, the FDA can withdraw approval of the drug.

Lyme Disease Vaccine

On December 21, 1998, the FDA approved LYMErix, a vaccine created to help prevent Lyme Disease: an inflammatory disease characterized at first by a rash, headache, fever, chills, and later by possible arthritis and neurological and cardiac disorders, caused by bacteria that are transmitted by ticks. Unfortunately, the vaccine had 5 major problems:

  1. The vaccine efficacy of <80% meant that 20% of fully vaccinated individuals could still get Lyme Disease
  2. Achieving full protection required three vaccine doses given at the time of the initial dose, and 1 month and 12 months after the initial dose.
  3. The vaccine safety and efficacy database lacked tests in young children, a population at high risk of developing Lyme Disease.
  4. The vaccine was only effective against the predominant North American Borrelia strain without necessarily conferring protection against international subspecies.
  5. Within a year of licensure, reports of adverse reactions occurring after vaccination started to appear. This continued for the next few years and involved numerous high-profile complaints.

On July 09, 2003 the pharmaceutical giant settled the class action suits with Sheller, Ludwig & Bailey as well as several other smaller law firms. The Lyme Disease vaccine was then pulled off the market. 

 In April 2020 Valneva and Pfizer entered into a collaboration agreement to co-develop the multivalent protein subunit candidate VLA15. The program had earlier been granted Fast Track designation by the US FDA in July 2017.The vaccine covers six serotypes that are prevalent in North America and Europe. It attacks the outer surface protein A (OspA) of Borrelia, an established mechanism of action for a Lyme disease vaccine. OspA is one of the most dominant surface proteins expressed by the bacteria when present in a tick. Valneva and Pfizer say that VLA15 has demonstrated ‘strong immunogenicity and safety data in pre-clinical and clinical studies so far,’.

3D Printed Houses

The concept of 3D printing has been thought of since the 1970’s. It was not until 1981 that the first experiments began. Since then, there has been hundreds of different objects that have been 3D printed including cups, tools, instruments, and more. One particular area that is still very young with the potential of immense benefits is 3D construction. The great benefits of 3D printing houses can be particularly seen in developing countries, where transporting expensive materials may be cost-prohibitive. With 3D printing, it can allow them the build houses using locally sourced materials to reduce the impact of shipping, handling, and other logistical issues. It is not only developing countries interested, however. Countries like Canada and the United States have been interested, too. The United States has even gone as far as to announce that it will be building the world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood in Austin, Texas in 2022.

While it may sound exciting to some, there a still caveats involved like the fact that there are several parts of the house that cannot be 3D printed: Windows, toilets and fixtures, are some of several. Then there is also the issue of structural stability and durability of the 3D printed components, hence why 3D printed houses may face legal issues in areas with strict building codes.

Air Fryer

An air fryer is a small countertop convection oven designed to simulate deep frying without submerging the food in oil. A fan circulates hot air at high speed, then produces a crispy layer. The reason the popularity of these types of ovens is surging is because of the health benefits and claims they bring: the flavour of fried foods without all the calories and fats of found in deep fried food. While the amount of fat and calories reduced will vary from food to food, it has been consistently proven that they do noticeably reduce fat and calories. While air fryers may have taken off greatly since their creation in 2010, they have a few main drawbacks: costlier, smaller, and thus require more space to prepare larger quantities of food. It should be also noted that air fried foods do not taste exactly the same as deep fried foods. Some people will even go as far to say that if flavour is top priority, that air fryers may not be the best choice. Despite these setbacks, they remain a growing popularity.

Plastic-eating Organisms

There are bacteria and fungi that can break down plastic. The problem is which species? Which types of plastic? And how fast can these organisms dissolve voluminous amounts of plastic? Not all plastics are made equal as some are tougher to break down, due their more industrialized compositions that are not found in nature. Ideonella sakaiensis, is only able to eat a particular kind of plastic called PET. Pestalotiopsis microspora and other fungi species are capable of breaking down polyurethane plastic. As concerns for the environment and waste reduction have grown immensely in recent years, the research for the best plastic-eating organisms has, too. Given that there are numerous organisms in nature that have been proven to be able to break down numerous plastics, it would be safer for scientist to go stick with the route of using existing species as opposed to trying to re-engineer bacteria with unintended consequences. This is a concern some have expressed, but even that too, needs to proven if it is true that the excessive use of re-engineered bacteria to eat plastics would truly cause problematic resistant bacteria to occur.

Solid State Batteries

The batteries present in most electronics and automobiles today are lithium-ion batteries. Unlike the lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride batteries of the past, lithium-ion batteries are made with a liquid electrolyte to control the flow of energy between the cathode and anode. The advantages of a lithium-ion battery include longer battery life, greater performance in varying temperatures, recyclable components, and higher energy density. Despite the many benefits, there are drawbacks to lithium-ion batteries. Though lighter than older battery technologies, the liquid inside still make lithium-ions rather heavy. They also perform better when in stackable packs, which adds more bulk and weight. The electrolytes are also flammable, can be unstable in extreme temperatures, and lead to explosions or fires if damaged or improperly charged.

Solid State Batteries are the hot pursuit in battery technology for the 2020s. This is because Solid State Batteries use solid electrolyte, have higher energy density than a Li-ion batteries, faster charging, no fire or explosion risks, all while being smaller and more compact by default. With all the immense benefits that SSB offer, why then has it not found its way across smartphones and electric cars, yet? The answer is cost. Scaling up production to the level needed for usage in electric vehicles and other devices is presently extremely expensive. Despite the challenge, many companies including Ford, Volkswagen, Samsung and others have announced plans for the investment and development of this game-changing technology.

Recycling Car Batteries 

For some reason, some critics insist that electric vehicle batteries cannot be properly recycled and re-used. This is false. Tesla, Volkswagen, Nissan as well as several other third parties, have successfully managed to both recycle or extract components from batteries. As the race for electrification surges in the 2020s, there has been understandable concerns of what will happen to all the batteries from millions, eventually billions of vehicles across the world. Manufacturers are certainly aware of this, and are working to do their part to ensure that old batteries will not become useless, problematic pieces of waste.

All-electric Aircraft

Land vehicles are not the only machines going all-electric. Aircrafts are also heavy polluters, hence why there is a lot of effort also going towards making aircrafts zero-emission vehicles. While the automotive industry is moving faster, the aviation industry has not been asleep in regards to electrification. On September 15, 2021, Rolls-Royce announced through a Tweet about their all-electric airplane, Spirit Of Innovation, taking its first flight. 2 years before this, the world’s first commercial all-electric plane, the six-seater Harbour Air ePlane, performed a 15-minute trial flight in Richmond, British Columbia, on December 10, 2019. The development and production of zero-emission aircrafts is continuing strong.

5G

5G Ultra Wideband began rolling out on April 3, 2019. Though the technology to use it is available in many handsets released then and now, it has still yet to reach many places around the world to the extent that 4G currently has. 5G has been deployed in 60+ countries and counting, though not all cities in these countries have it, yet. What exactly is 5G and what makes it much more special than 4G? 5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect nearly everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices. The benefits?

• 5G is significantly faster than 4G
• 5G has more capacity than 4G
• 5G has significantly lower latency than 4G
• 5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G
• 5G uses spectrum better than 4G

Linux Smartphones

At one point there were 4 major mobile operating systems: BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. Microsoft halted active development of Windows 10 Mobile back in 2017, before entirely discontinuing it on January 14, 2020. Similarly, BlackBerry has not developed BlackBerry 10 since 2017, and will be ultimately decommissioning the BlackBerry OS network on January 04, 2022. Where does this lead consumers who want an offering outside of Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS? Linux. While the present major contenders do not have handsets suitable for hard-core daily use, they exist for basic use: PinePhone from Pine64, and Librem 5 from Purism.

The first PinePhone was released in July 2020, with pre-orders for the newest PinePhone Pro available October 15, 2021. The Librem 5 released November 18, 2020. What makes these two handsets exciting, and potentially game-changing for consumers is their emphasis on privacy and the speed at which their operating systems are developing. The handsets both have physical hardware for shuttering their microphones, cameras, and Wi-fi, while their operating systems are open-sourced. In addition to all of this, both handsets also have headphone jacks, MicroSD card slots, and removable batteries — 3 features that have disappeared alarmingly fast from Android handsets, whose makers used to previously include these features in their past handsets. The displays on the PinePhone and Librem 5 also do not have notches or holepunches; a trait that a number of consumers strongly dislike.

Solar-powered Smartphones

Fingerprint scanning, iris scanning, vein reading, wireless charging, zooming lenses, 8K recording, and rapid charging are just some of the many advancements smartphones have seen in the last 5 years. One notable advancement not widely seen yet would be a solar-powered smartphone. While the idea of solar-powered smartphone sounds intriguing on paper, its usefulness would be limited in reality for a number of reasons: cost, complexity, and fragility.

Solar panels are still not inexpensive yet, and applying them to millions of smartphones would be extremely expensive. Durability and reliability would be the next points to be concerned about. Because a smartphone is used very often, and oftentimes dropped, bumped, and scuffed, the solar panels would have to be sturdy enough to withstand daily abuse, which is a complex challenge in its own right. The solar-powered phone’s body and internal components would also have to have high heat-resistance to withstand sunrays in case a user wants to charge their device in direct sunlight for an extended period of time. For this reason alone, it would be far more sensible to wait until Solid State Batteries become mainstream in smartphones before making mass produced smartphones with solar panels. Certainly not all smartphone should, nor do they need to have solar panels. However, offering models that have them is a good offering for outdoor consumers that would love this feature.

Woe Unto Them Who Do Not Cook!

~ Millennium River ~ 1 Comment
Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these hyperlinks are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

 Woe Unto Them Who Do Not Cook!

One Who Does Not Cook: I do not cook.

One Who Cooks: You do not cook, you say?

One Who Does Not Cook: No, I do not need to learn how to cook.

One Who Cooks: Woe unto them who do not cook! For cooking is an essential survival skill! 

One Who Does Not Cook: Survival skill?!

One Who Cooks: Yes, cooking is a vital survival skill that you must learn sooner or later, lest you fall into deep hunger being at the mercy of others fingers.

One Who Does Not Cook: Perhaps this would be truer in the ancient times. However, in modern times with much improved sanitation and the surplus of restaurants, cooks, and shops available, the general population need not stress over cooking.

One Who Cooks: Foolish words! Modernity is not an excuse to abolish such an important skill! For people of the past, people of the present, and people of the future still have mouths to feed, and bodies to nourish.

One Who Does Not Cook: I did not say that people do not eat. Of course everyone has a mouth to feed! The difference is that we no longer need to hunt, gather, and prepare food the same way the ancients had to because the modern times now has dedicated people in careers to deal with farming, harvesting, preparing, transporting, cooking, storage, and selling.

One Who Cooks: How can one possibly feel good about leaving something so important exclusively to the hands of others? Surely, it is understandable that one cannot cook every single day. However, busy or not, learning to cook does not have to be hard. One does not have to learn to cook the same way a flashy restaurant chef does. It can be as simple as a dish of rice and lightly seasoned vegetables. 

One Who Does Not Cook: I cannot be bothered to learn to cook.

One Who Cooks: Why do you let modernity convince you that learning to personally cook is unimportant?

One Who Does Not Cook: I am bad at cooking.

One Who Cooks: Does a pigeon learn to fly from Day 1?

One Who Does Not Cook: No.

One Who Cooks: Likewise, you too, can start to learn and will get better as you keep practicing.

One Who Does Not Cook: Have you noticed the increased presence of cooked food sections in grocery stores? If the grocery store is willing to accomodate both cooks and people who do not cook, this is certainly more evidence that cooking is unimportant.

One Who Cooks: What would you do if all grocery stores were to close for a while?

One Who Does Not Cook: Easy! My mother, father, aunts, and uncles cook amazing meals at home, and can bring it to me.

One Who Cooks: What if they lived very far from you?

One Who Does Not Cook: Once again, a very easy solution: takeout. Takeout is extremely plentiful. So plentiful that even I would admit we are spoiled with the sheer variety takeout offers.

One Who Cooks: What would you do if takeout restaurants were to close?

One Who Does Not Cook: Do you not realize that there would never be a scenario where both stores and takeouts would close?

One Who Cooks: Is that what you think? Yes, it would be a very rare scenario, but not impossible. I must know what you would do in that scenario.

One Who Does Not Cook: There are plenty of quick prep options such as sandwiches, canned beans, canned soup, canned vegetables, and a vast variety of frozen foods that can be easily heated in the microwave.

One Who Cooks: Have you considered how unhealthy some of those frozen dinners are? Or how many preservatives may exist in those canned foods?

One Who Does Not Cook: Not all frozen and canned foods are dirty. Many actually have few ingredients, with some only using mere salt and water as their preservatives. Even cooks sometimes make use of canned foods, because there is not always time to prepare everything from scratch.

One Who Cooks: Valid points, but does the general population of people who do not cook, really take the time to read ingredients? Do they even care or realize what kinds of things they are putting into their bodies, since they leave the handling of their food to others?

One Who Does Not Cook: Some people care; some people do not.

One Who Cooks: Have you ever thought about how much money you would save, if you were to cook your own food?

One Who Does Not Cook: People who do not cook understand that there is a tradeoff to be made here. By not cooking, more money will be spent, but also more time will be saved.

One Who Cooks: Time saved to do what? Increase your dependance of others while also significantly increasing your sodium, sugar, and calorie intake?

One Who Does Not Cook: Time saved to do other things in life. Some people are just too busy with school, work, and other activities. Cooking will ware them down even faster.

One Who Cooks: If it comes down to the point where you are out in the fields, and there are tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, fish, edible shoots and plants, and even game birds, how do you think you will fare?

One Who Does Not Cook: Nobody in modern, urban, cities and towns will ever get into such a scenario. Why would I waste time pondering such an utterly unrealistic scenario?

One Who Cooks: Unlikely does not equal impossible. What would you do in that scenario?

One Who Does Not Cook: To survive in such a scenario you be required to have multiple skill sets. Cooking alone would not save you. You would have to learn to build a simple shelter, fend off wild animals, and so many more. There is more to the world than learning how to cook. Life can carry on just fine without it.

One Who Cooks: Yes, some very valid points, but how about answering the core question?

One Who Does Not Cook: I do not know. I suppose I would resort to eating the tomatoes, maybe throwing a rock at the birds, then attempting to roast them over some rocks, sticks and fire, and hoping that it turns out good enough to eat.

One Who Cooks: Woe! Woe unto them who do not cook! For when hard times strike, you shall surely starve to death!

Earth Day 2020

~ Millennium River ~ 6 Comments
Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

What Comes To Mind

When most people think of Earth Day, images of planet Earth, planting trees, greenery, and other blue and green themed things tend to come to mind. But what precisely is Earth Day? Where did it start? How did it start? And why does it still remain such a significant day?

The History Of Earth Day

The Day

Earth Day is an international annual observance day celebrated on April 22 to show support for environmental protection. Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970. It has grown significantly from launch, and now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in over 193 countries. Earth Day 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the event.

Origins

People were becoming increasingly concerned about the state of Earth. Earth Day 1970’s purpose was to be bring awareness of this increasing concern. Decades before it came into being, Americans were consuming large amounts of gasoline through huge, inefficient vehicles such as pickup trucks and utility vehicles. Much of mainstream America did not care about the health effects of a polluted environment.

In 1962, a marine biologist named Rachel Carson managed to have her book, Silent Spring, become New York Times bestseller of that year. The book was highly successful, managing to sell more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries. Her writings raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and the indivisible links between contamination and public health.

The First Earth Day

A junior senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, had been concerned about the American environment for a long time. When he and many other witnessed a massive oil spill in January 1969, Santa Barbara, California, this drove him to take action. With inspiration from the student anti-war movement, Nelson announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the American media. He persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. They then recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-in. April 22 happened to be a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams. They chose it for this reason to get as many students as possible involved.

Realizing its potential to inspire all Americans, Hayes formed a national staff of 85 to promote events across America. The effort quickly expanded to include a wide range of organizations, religious groups, and others. When the name was changed to Earth Day, it sparked immediate national attention, and caught on across the United States. The day became so inspirational, that it caused 20 million Americans to go to their streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate against the consequences of 150 years of industrial development. Development that left an increasing legacy of significant human health impacts.

Earth Day 1970 was a rare political movement that had done something that many others often to fail to do: unite all walks of life. It received support from Republicans, Democrats, the rich, the poor, urban dwellers, farmers, business and labor leaders, and groups that had been fighting individually against different aspects of the environment.

New Environmental Protection Laws Born

Earth Day 1970 has led to numerous health and environmental laws since its celebration. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) was founded that same year in December 02, 1970. This is an agency of the United States federal government whose mission is to protect human and environmental health. Earth Day has led to the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act Of 1970 (OSHA), Clean Water Act Of 1972, Endangered Species Act Of 1973, and National Environmental Education Act of 1990 (NEEA). Other older laws such as the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), saw major revisions in 1972. These laws have protected millions of people and species from disease, death, and extinction.

Achieving International Status

When it drew close to year 1990, a group of environmental leaders approached Denis Hayes to once again organize another significant campaign for the planet. The results? Earth Day 1990 went global, moving 200 million people in 141 countries, allowing environmental issues to be brought to the international stage.

A New Millennium

When it drew close to year 2000, Hayes agreed to organize another campaign. This time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. The results? Earth Day 2000 garnered 5000 environmental groups in a record 184 countries. The groups reached out to hundreds of millions of people, built global and local conversations, using the power of the Internet to organize activists around the world. Earth Day 2000’s message became clear: Earth’s citizens wanted quick and decisive action on global warming and clean energy

Earth Day 2010

Earth Day 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the event. Similarly to Earth Day 1970, Earth Day 2010 came at a time of with lots of challenges: climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, unresponsive politicians, a dispassionate public, and a divided environmental community. Despite the challenges, Earth Day prevailed and Earth Day Network re-established Earth Day as a significant moment for global action for the environment.

Earth Day 2020

50 years into the observance day, Earth Day is globally recognized as the largest non-religious observance day in the world. More than a billion people every year observe the day as a day of action to improve human behavior, create global, national and local policy changes. Today, the battle for a clean environment continues with greater urgency, as the side effects of environmental negligence become more and more apparent.

The social and cultural movements seen in the 1970s are rising up again, as evidenced by a fresh and frustrated generation of people who refuse to settle for low and/or dated standards. The Internet’s social media is bringing these conversations, protests, strikes and mobilizations to an international audience. This is uniting concerned citizenry as never before and accelerating generations to join together to take on the longstanding challenge of environmental pollution.

COVID-19 And Earth Day

Earth Day events of the former years were celebrated with rallies, conferences, outdoor activities, or service projects. For the first time throughout its history, Earth Day will be celebrated online through digital events. Viewers can use the map or filter to find an event best suited for their country, language, or age. The website also reminds people that though COVID-19 has forced people to keep their distance, that it will not force them to keep their voices silent.

Practical Tips