There are some very successful diets on the market - but weight lost doesn’t always equal health gained. That new diet that took inches off your waistline could be harming your health if it locks out or severely restricts entire food groups, like carbs, or relies on supplements with little scientific backing, or clamps down on calories to an extreme.

“People are so desperate to lose weight that it’s really weight loss at any cost,” says Madelyn Fernstrom, founding director of the UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Weight Management Center and author of The Real You Diet. And when that desperation sets in, says Fernstrom, “normal thinking goes out the window.” Who cares if the forbidden-foods list is longer than War and Peace? Pounds are coming off. You’re happy. But your body might not be.

You can check the nutritional completeness and safety of 25 popular diets ranked by U.S. News, from Atkins to Jenny Craig to Weight Watchers, in a detailed profile crafted of each one. (The profiles also cover scientific evidence, typical meals, and much more.) And U.S. News’s Best Diets for Healthy Eating rankings give each diet a “healthiness” score from 5 (best) to 1 (worst) for safety and nutrition, with safety getting double weight; while you can modify a diet to some degree to adjust for nutritional imbalances or deficiencies, mere tweaking won’t make an unsafe diet safe.

Behind the healthiness scores are ratings by a U.S. News panel of 22 experts in nutrition and diet. They assessed the 25 popular diets in seven categories, including the safety and nutritional completeness categories, for a series of rankings released last June.

The Best Diets for Healthy Eating and Best Diets Overall rankings overlap significantly. Both give especially high marks to DASH, TLC, Mediterranean, Mayo Clinic, and Volumetrics. “The ones that get high scores in safety and in nutritional value—they’re very similar to each other,” says Andrea Giancoli, a registered dietitian who serves on U.S. News’s expert panel. The recurring theme across the diets that excelled in healthiness is adequate calories supplied by a heavy load of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, a modest amount of lean protein, nonfat dairy, healthy fats, and an occasional treat. Plants are the foundation and the menu is always built around minimally processed meals made from scratch.

Very few diets in the Healthy Eating list are overtly unsafe or severely deficient nutritionally. The only plans to receive healthiness scores of below 3 were the Paleo, Raw Food, Macrobiotic, Dukan, and Atkins diets. They’re simply too restrictive, say our experts, which calls their nutritional qualities into question. The meat-heavy Paleo diet bans grains and dairy, so getting adequate calcium and vitamin D isn’t easy. Atkins, by severely curbing carbs, blows past recommended caps for total and saturated fat. Depending on your personal approach to the Raw Food Diet, you may shortchange yourself on calcium, vitamin B-12, and vitamin D; its restrictive cooking rules also could put you at risk for eating raw or undercooked ingredients.

If you have reservations about a diet’s nutritional content or safety, listen to your body. Fatigue, sleeplessness, dizziness, aches—they’re all red flags. Says Fernstrom: “Losing weight is for good health, so you should feel more vital—not bad.”

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Religion may be defined as a system of belief and ethical orientation which are premised on an understanding of human beings as other – or more than their purely physical identities.  Religion  and  its rituals – acts of prayer, meditation and celebration awake or reinforce a personal and communal sense of our connection to Ultimate Truth.

In various and complex ways religion has been both an agent of environmental domination and paradoxically repositories of ecological wisdom.

Historically Monotheistic religions (i.e. those that believe in a Creator God) have emphasised humanity over nature. And yet at the same time religion has also represented the voice of nature to humanity celebrating and consecrating our ties to the non-human world.

There is little doubt that texts in the first book of the Bible (Genesis) which emphasise mans “mastery over the earth” can be seen as a source for the havoc that has been wreaked by Western Societies upon the planet. Other texts praise the Creation and mans stewardship of nature. Overall, one must argue however that the Judeo- Christian tradition of the West have regarded nature – animals, plants  or the land – as something humanity owns – given by the Creator – and therefore of little or no inherent moral standing.

However the environmental agenda of religions is continually set and reset by their adherents. Also ancient traditions could not have foreseen the scope of modern technological power. No past empire was able to to threaten the earth’s climate.

There has been an extensive range of religious responses to environmental problems.

One approach has been a move by theologians to reinterpret old traditions – finding and stressing texts that help us face the current crisis. In the Old Testament for example there is a passage that tells us not to live in a city without trees and in the Christian tradition Saint Francis is shown as a Deep Ecologist. Nature becomes the Body of God. More creative thinkers have sought to synthesize elements from different traditions. Taoist images of humanity’s integration into a natural setting and ideas from native peoples who lived in harmony with nature are often introduced. Finally spiritual thinkers are creating new ideas, practices and organisations.

But why do we need religion? Why cant governments and people save the planet and leave religion as a private matter of personal faith?

The answer to this is that to many people – religious belief is of primary importance regarding our place in the universe and our obligations to other people and animals. Also we have historical examples from the US civil rights movement to the non violent campaign for independence led by Gandhi in India. There are many instances of creative and successful merging of religion and social action. Also one might say that purely secular politics have been rendered doubtful by the economic failures and totalitarian political excesses of communism. Despite the beliefs of the secularists the reality is that spiritual perspectives can be a source of social direction as well as personal inspiration. From Christian creation theology and Buddhist teaching about compassion for animals, from Native American images of the sacred “hoop” of life – to indigenous people’s political resistance to the environmental desecration of their sacred lands- religious practices are bound up in humanity’s on going struggles to live in harmony with an increasingly threatened planet.

One could argue that our response to the environmental crisis is in the broadest sense, “spiritual” – as it involves our deepest concerns about what is of truly lasting importance.  One might even say that what humanity has been doing to the planet has been an enormous sacrilege, of which we are all, to some extent guilty.

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The Sumatran elephant has been placed on the list of critically endangered species after losing half of its population in a single generation, prompting calls from conservation groups for emergency measures to halt the destruction of its habitat.

Deforestation is seen as the primary reason for the collapse in numbers in Indonesia, which until recently was seen alongside India and Sri Lanka as one of the last great refuges for elephants in Asia. The animal is now at risk of becoming extinct within decades.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) upgraded the risk assessment after tracking the loss of 69% of the animal’s habitat over the past 25 years. With their home forests burned, felled or converted to plantations, the wild population has fallen to no more than 2,800.

In its latest “red list” of threatened species, the IUCN noted that many of the remaining elephant communities were likely to disappear because they do not live in protected areas and there is a high risk of conflicts with humans. It cited studies showing that at least six herds disappeared between 2007 and 2009 in Riau province – a centre for the paper, pulp and palm oil industries. “That this pattern will continue seems certain,” it warned.

As plantations have expanded, Sumatra has experienced some of the worst deforestation rates in the world. Conservation groups said the Indonesian island has lost more than two-thirds of its natural lowland forest – the most suitable habitat for elephants – in the past 25 years.

With the upgrading of the risk assessment, WWF called for an immediate moratorium on habitat destruction. “The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list of Indonesian species that are critically endangered, including the Sumatran orangutan, the Javan and Sumatran rhinos and the Sumatran tiger,” said Carlos Drews, director of WWF’s global species programme.

“Unless urgent and effective conservation action is taken these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct within our lifetime.” The organisation advised the government to assess large habitat patches that could be designated as protected areas, and linked with smaller habitat through a network of conservation corridors. In the longer term, it suggested the authorities consider habitat expansion and forest restoration.

“It’s very important that the government of Indonesia, conservation organisations and agro-forestry companies recognise the critical status of elephants and other wildlife in Sumatra and take effective steps to conserve them,” said Asian elephant expert Ajay Desai. “Indonesia must act now before it’s too late to protect Sumatra’s last remaining natural forests, especially elephant habitats.”

However, without more public pressure or more funds, the Indonesia authorities are likely to continue to support or turn a blind eye to the loggers and plantation owners. The threat upgrade follows a flood of grim conservation news due to poaching, habitat loss and a lack of awareness among consumers.

The Javan rhino was declared extinct in Vietnam in October after the last one was found dead with a bullet in its leg and its horn sawn off. A month later, it was followed by Africa’s western black rhinoceros and warnings that the Sumatran rhino is on the brink of extinction in Indonesia.

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High-definition cameras are set to feature pandas in two reserves at the Bifengxia Panda Center near Ya’an city in China’s southwestern Sichuan province, the media non-profit Explore.org and China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda said in a statement.

“Using cameras to share these magnificent creatures in their homeland will remind people of the heavy responsibility we all have to the world we share,” Li Desheng, a doctor at the panda research center, said in the statement.
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Camera one follows five young cubs, Zhichun, Qingshan, Chaoyang and twin toddlers Fengfeng and Au’au. Camera two features two adult pandas, Yaoman and Shenbing. Both can be accessed at the project’s website: www.explore.org/pandas.

The groups said the website will transmit a mix of live footage and re-broadcast highlights.

Wednesday, one camera showed two pandas rolling on their backs while munching on leaves in misty mountain surroundings. A third panda could be seen in the background walking along a hill.

“This is just too cute. I’m seeing two pandas ‘leaning’ up against each other, eating bamboo. Just too darn cute!!!” a user named “swom” said of some earlier footage in an online posting.
The giant panda, or panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, literally meaning “black and white cat-foot”) is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda’s diet is 99% bamboo. Pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In captivity they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared feed

Considered a national treasure, pandas have come back from the brink of extinction but they remain under threat from logging, agriculture and encroachment.

In 2004, a census by the Worldwide Fund for Nature found 1,600 pandas in the wild, most in Sichuan province.

China has been sending pandas abroad in gestures of goodwill since the 1950s in what has come to be known as “panda diplomacy”

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The previous mass extinction occured 65 million years ago, and was caused by ecosystem changes, changes in atmospheric chemistry, impacts of asteroids and volcanoes. For the first time in history, the current extinction is caused by the competition for resources between a single species Homo sapiens and all others.

A recent conference arranged by the Danish Ministry of Environment in the University of Copenhagen, provided an opportunity to influence the process of organizing a UN Biodiversity Panel. More than 100 scientists and decision makers from the EU countries gathered and came to the conclusion that drastic measures should be taken to decelerate current loss of biodiversity.

Arresting biodiversity loss is the one of the most important sustainability measures that can be taken. Professor Carsten Rahbek, Director for the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen has said that the establishment of the UN Intergovernmental Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is very urgent. This not only will give biodiversity loss, the same status as climate change but will also provide the platform for collaborative action by scientists, politicians and government authorities.

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The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has confirmed  that it has now closed bids for towns and cities that wish to host the bank, which is expected to funnel up to £15bn of private funds into low-carbon projects such as offshore wind farms, waste management facilities, and energy efficiency programmes.

As widely anticipated, some of the UK’s leading financial and industrial hubs have bid to play host to the bank, including Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Liverpool.

The tender process also received some less expected bids from smaller towns which are vying to become hubs for the emerging green economy, such as Hull, and Renfrewshire near Glasgow.

However, questions are also likely to asked about the feasibility of bids from some towns with few overt ties to either the investment or green infrastructure communities.

“I am delighted that the Green Investment Bank has fired the imagination of so many public and private sector groups keen to host this world-first institution,” said Cable.

“They all have a role to play in helping the UK seize the benefits of a transition to a low carbon economy.”

All the submissions will now be reviewed against the government’s stated criteria by a review panel, which will examine whether each location will be able to recruit specialist staff needed to run the bank, and work closely with other businesses involved in deals, such as investors, project developers and green technology providers.

The full list of the locations which have bid to host the Green Investment Bank is:

Bicester
Birmingham
Brighton
Bristol
Cardiff
Chester
Cornwall
Coventry and Warwickshire
Derby
Durham
Edinburgh
Gloucester
Hull
Ipswich
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
London
Manchester
Milton Keynes
Newcastle
Norwich
Nottingham
Peterborough
Renfrewshire
Sheffield
Southampton
Stoke-on-Trent
Sunderland
Tees Valley
Torbay
Warrington

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According to the state news agency Xinhua, the drought – the worst for 60 years – is due to the lack of rainfall in the area round Poyang and its tributaries. Poor weather conditions this year are partly responsible. But putting the blame on them overlooks the role played by the colossal Three Gorges reservoir, 500km upstream. The cause and effect is still not officially recognised, even if the government did admit last May that the planet’s biggest dam had given rise to “problems that need to be solved very urgently”.

“Every year, when the Three Gorges reservoir stores water – to power the dam’s turbines during the winter – the flow rate in the Yangtze drops. This in turn increases the rate at which the level of Poyang lake falls, and the period of low water comes sooner,” said Ye Xuchun, a researcher at China’s Southwest University. In partnership with scientists at the Lake Science and Environment laboratory at Nanking University, he has published a comparative analysis of water levels in the Three Gorges basin and at the lake’s northern extremity, near the city of Hukou, where the outflow from Poyang joins the Yangtze.

The authors conclude that the artificial regulation of the reservoir, which must be kept full to optimise electricity output, reduces the water level in the lower reaches of the Yangtze. This means that the big river no longer “plugs” the lake’s northern outlet, so the other rivers feeding into Poyang simply pass through the dwindling lake and run on downstream. This was the case in 2006, a very dry year that coincided with the period when the Three Gorges reservoir was filling up. “When the depth of the reservoir was increased by 15 metres, to reach 155 metres in October, the lake dropped very low at Hukou,” the scientists said.

The beginning of 2012 has proved even worse. The region’s environmental balance was “seriously affected”, said Dai Nianhua, deputy head of the Lake Poyang Research Centre in Nanchang, the provincial capital. When the water level is too low there are no fish, so there is no food for the migrating birds that usually break their journey at Poyang. The government has decided to drop fish and shellfish into the lake from helicopters.

The economic impact is just as disastrous. “Freighters can only cross the lake empty,” said a worker at the shipyard in Xingzi, whereas usually the lake is a hive of activity in rural Jiangxi province. Some people are now suggesting that a dam should be built where the lake joins the Yangtze, but no one knows what side-effects that might have.

As for the fisheries, they have upturned their boats on the shore or abandoned them on the dried-out bed of Poyang. Guo Jintao, a resident of Yumincun, a village with about 100 fishers, has not been out on the water for over a year. He started fishing when he was 13 and in 50 years he has not seen the lake this dry. He and his wife have switched to casual labouring in the building trade.

“Next year we’ll see. If there’s enough water, we’ll go fishing again, otherwise we’ll carry on with our new work,” Guo said. His wife, Zhang Jingzen, 55, finds stacking bricks hard work. “I prefer fishing. Our family’s been fishing for four generations,” she said.

The family used to earn $1,600 to $3,200 a year, but last year’s earnings only amounted to $800. The local authorities offered them around $600 in compensation. Another fisherman, intrigued by our conversation, butted in to say that he only got $80 from the municipal council, whereas the province had allocated $160 for each member of the fishing community.

“The incomes in fishing villages are dropping as fast as the water in the lake. Some residents will have move on to other trades,” said Xu Bin, the author of a thesis on the socio-economic consequences of the lake’s environmental disorders. He warns: “The soil of China is dry, so the Yangtze is vital. Poyang is one of the key elements and its current predicament is a warning for the future.”

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Where was it going? Or, they wondered, was something wrong with the way researchers tracked energy as it was absorbed from the sun and emitted back into space?

An international team of atmospheric scientists and oceanographers, led by Norman Loeb of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and including Graeme Stephens of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., set out to investigate the mystery.

They used 10 years of data — spanning 2001 to 2010 — from NASA Langley’s orbiting Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System Experiment (CERES) instruments to measure changes in the net radiation balance at the top of Earth’s atmosphere. The CERES data were then combined with estimates of the heat content of Earth’s ocean from three independent ocean-sensor sources.

Their analysis, summarized in a NASA-led study published Jan. 22 in the journal Nature Geosciences, found that the satellite and ocean measurements are, in fact, in broad agreement once observational uncertainties are factored in.

“One of the things we wanted to do was a more rigorous analysis of the uncertainties,” Loeb said. “When we did that, we found the conclusion of missing energy in the system isn’t really supported by the data.”

“Missing Energy” is in the Ocean

“Our data show that Earth has been accumulating heat in the ocean at a rate of half a watt per square meter (10.8 square feet), with no sign of a decline,” Loeb said. “This extra energy will eventually find its way back into the atmosphere and increase temperatures on Earth.”
Scientists generally agree that 90 percent of the excess heat associated with increases in greenhouse gas concentrations gets stored in Earth’s ocean. If released back into the atmosphere, a half-watt per square meter accumulation of heat could increase global temperatures by 0.3 or more degrees centigrade (0.54 degree Fahrenheit).

Loeb said the findings demonstrate the importance of using multiple measuring systems over time, and illustrate the need for continuous improvement in the way Earth’s energy flows are measured.

The science team at the National Center for Atmospheric Research measured inconsistencies from 2004 and 2009 between satellite observations of Earth’s heat balance and measurements of the rate of upper ocean heating from temperatures in the upper 700 meters (2,300 feet) of the ocean. They said the inconsistencies were evidence of “missing energy.”
Other authors of the paper are from the University of Hawaii, the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, the University of Reading United Kingdom and the University of Miami.

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