‘Green’ debacle: Tens of thousands of abandoned wind turbines now litter American landscape

(NaturalNews) Literal beacons of the “green” energy movement, giant wind turbines have been one of the renewable energy sources of choice for the US government, which has spent billions of taxpayer dollars subsidizing their construction and use across the country. But high maintenance costs, high rates of failure, and fluctuating weather conditions that affect energy production render wind turbines expensive and inefficient, which is why more than 14,000 of them have since been abandoned. Before government subsidies for the giant metals were cut or eliminated in many areas, wind farms were an energy boom business. But in the post-tax subsidy era, the costs of maintaining and operating wind turbines far outweighs the minimal power they generate in many areas, which has left a patchwork of wind turbine graveyards in many of the most popular wind farming areas of the US. “Thousands of abandoned wind turbines littered the landscape of wind energy’s California ‘big three’ locations which include Altamont Pass, Tehachapin and San Gorgonio, considered among the world’s best wind sites,” writes Andrew Walden of the American Thinker . “In the best wind spots on earth, over 14,000 turbines were simply abandoned. Spinning, post-industrial junk which generates nothing but bird kills.” Walden speaks, of course, about the birds, bats, and other air creatures that routinely get tangled in and killed by wind turbine propellers. And as far as the “post-industrial junk” language, well, if it costs too much to run the machines in the first place, then it definitely costs too much to uproot and remove them post-construction. This whole wind energy mess just further illustrates how the American people have been played by their elected officials who bought into the “global warming” hysteria that spawned the push for wind energy in the first place. And now that the renewable energy tax subsidies are gradually coming to an end in some places, the true financial and economic viability, or lack of wind energy, is on display for the world to see. “It is all about the tax subsidies,” writes Don Surber of the Charleston Daily Mail . “The blades churn until the money runs out. If an honest history is written about the turn of the 21st century, it will include a large, harsh chapter on how fears about global warming were overplayed for profit by corporations.” Sources for this article include: http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/46751 http://toryaardvark.com/2011/11/17/14000-abandoned-wind-turbines-in-the-usa/

Vitamin B-12 warning: Avoid cyanocobalamin, take only methylcobalamin

(NaturalNews) One of the pitfalls of pursuing a healthy diet is that we are sometimes blind to nutrients we may be missing. And in the world of healthy eating, one of the most common nutrient deficiencies involves vitamin B-12 , a crucial nutrient for nerve health and the construction of red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout your body. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is especially common among vegetarians and vegans , but it’s also surprisingly common in meat eaters, too. Why? Because vitamin B-12 can only be absorbed in the small intestine, and due to common intestinal ailments, even many meat eaters who consume high levels of B-12 are unable to absorb it in their gut. This leads to a series of seemingly “mystery” health symptoms that actually have a simple common cause: Vitamin B-12 deficiency! Symptoms of B-12 deficiency B-12 deficiency is shockingly widespread. Studies now show that up to 40% of the population may be deficient in vitamin B-12 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7595423.stm). Here are some of the most common symptoms of deficiency (do you experience any of these?): * Chest pain or shortness of breath * Fatigue or unexplained weakness * Dizziness, trouble with balance, and fainting * Confusion, memory loss or dementia * Coldness, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet * Slow reflexes or diminished nervous system function * Pale skin or yellowing of the skin * Sore mouth and tongue … in addition, vitamin B-12 deficiency can actually cause brain shrinkage , according to a University of Oxford study (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7595423.stm). Although more work needs to be done, research is already suggesting a link between vitamin B-12 deficiency and Alzheimer’s. If you (or someone you know) shows any of the symptoms listed above, I urge you to immediately investigate vitamin B-12 and determine if a deficiency in this nutrient may be causing your symptoms! Again, vitamin B-12 deficiency is especially common in vegans and vegetarians because typical vitamin B-12 sources (meats, yogurt, etc.) are simply not present in their diets. But even meat eaters can be deficient in B-12 due to poor digestion. This is especially true for older people who suffer a diminished ability to absorb nutrients in their small intestine. In addition, diabetes medications and even pain pills can interfere with B-12 absorption, and intestinal parasites can also strongly block its absorption in the gut. Solutions for vitamin B-12 Traditionally, people who are deficient in vitamin B-12 have received injections of B-12. This is extremely effective because it bypasses the digestive tract and goes right into the bloodstream. But it has one obvious downside: It requires being injected! So most people aren’t interested in this method. Instead, most people supplement their vitamin B-12 using nutritional supplements . But here’s where this can go wrong: The most commonly available form of vitamin B-12 on the market is the cheap synthetic form that’s actually bound to a cyanide molecule (yes, cyanide, the poison). It’s called cyanocobalamin , and you’ll find it in all the cheap vitamins made by pharmaceutical companies and sold at grocery stores and big box stores. Action item : If you have any vitamin B-12 supplements, check the ingredients label right now to see what form of vitamin B-12 they contain. If they contain cyanocobalamin, throw them out! Cyanocobalamin is a cheap, synthetic chemical made in a laboratory. It’s virtually impossible for you to find this form in nature. Low-end vitamin manufacturers use it because it can be bought in bulk and added to products with claims that they “contain vitamin B-12!” What they don’t tell you is that the vitamin is bound to a toxic, poisonous cyanide molecule that must then be removed from your body by your liver. Cyanocobalamin is also up to 100 times cheaper than the higher quality methylcobalamin which we’ll talk about below. As Wikipedia explains: “A common synthetic form of the vitamin, cyanocobalamin, does not occur in nature, but is used in many pharmaceuticals and supplements, and as a food additive, because of its lower cost. In the body it is converted to the physiological forms, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, leaving behind the cyanide…” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12) Removing the cyanide molecule from the vitamin and then flushing it out of your body requires using up so-called “methyl groups” of molecules in your body that are needed to fight things like homocysteine (high levels cause heart disease). By taking low-quality cyanobalamin, you’re actually stealing methyl groups from your body and making it do more work at the biochemical level. This uses up substances such as glutathione that are often in short supply anyway, potentially worsening your overall health situation rather than helping it. This is one of the reasons why low-grade vitamins may actually be worse for your body than taking nothing at all! Cyanocobalamin, in summary, is a low-grade, low-quality and slightly toxic (cyanide) form of vitamin B-12 that’s used by all the cheap vitamin manufacturers. I recommend avoiding it completely. It won’t kill you to take it, of course, but there’s a better solution for B-12. The better choice: Methylcobalamin The proper form of vitamin B-12 to supplement is called methylcobalamin . This is the form that exists in nature, and it is pre-methylated, meaning it’s ready for your biochemistry to put to immediate use. Methylcobalamin has several key advantages over cyanocobalamin: * Increased absorption * Better retention in tissues * Contains no toxic cyanide * Supports production of SAMe As explained by Ed Sharpe: “The coenzyme form of vitamin B12 is known as methylcobalamin or methyl B12. It’s the only form of vitamin B12 which can directly participate in homocysteine metabolism. In addition, converting homocysteine to methionine via methyl B12 generates an increased supply of SAMe (S-adenosyl methionine), the body’s most important methyl donor.” (http://www.health101.org/art_methylcobalamin.htm) Every informed nutritionist knows that methylcobalamin is far superior to cyanocobalamin. That’s why companies like Ola Loa (www.DrinkYourVitamins.com) use only the high-end “methyl” form of B-12. Why 99% of vitamin B-12 supplements are wasted Taking vitamin B-12 as an oral dose is largely a waste of money. As much as 99% of what you swallow is not even absorbed… it’s just passed through your body. (http://www.health101.org/art_methylcobalamin.htm) There are really only three methods for absorbing vitamin B-12 that reliably work: #1) B-12 injections. #2) Sublingual absorption. #3) Skin absorption. B-12 injections obviously require injections from a trained medical professional, so few people pursue this route. Sublingual absorption is a viable route, but nearly all the sublingual B-12 products use the cyanocobalamin form of the vitamin (with the cyanide molecule). A vitamin B-12 skin patch is now available that delivers methylcobalamin through the skin, using a small medical-grade patch placed behind the ear. Each patch delivers 1000 mcg of methylcobalamin (1,666% DV) in a steady release over a 1-2 day period, after which the patch may be removed and discarded. In addition to methylcobalamin, each path also delivers 400mcg of Folic Acid (another form of a B vitamin), which is widely known to work synergistically with methylcobalamin to help support healthy heart function and nervous system function*. B-12 energy patch works through skin absorption The B-12 Energy Patch is available now in packs of 8 patches (a 1-2 month supply) from the NaturalNews Store. This 8-pack carries a list price of $39.95, but through our volume purchasing, we are able to offer it to NaturalNews readers at 53% off the list price. When purchased in a 3-pack (total of 24 patches), the price is lowered even more to 57% off the list price. Click here to see the products in our store. * These products are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent or cure any disease. What customers say about this B-12 patch (From Amazon.com) For me a much better alternative to effective sublingual pills “B12 is running low in my family tree. A couple of relatives have been regular at getting B12 shots. I never felt like I needed the shots, because I thought I could get by with red meat, liver and sublingual pills. I decided to try the patches just to see… I did not expect them to be more effective than sublingual pills. I must say I was wrong. From the first patch I noticed the boost, which is at first more subtle than the more noticeable boost of the sublingual pills giving you more B12 in a shorter time span. But it picks up over time and feels way more efficient. By way of example, I used the big plate in my road bike and did not pant at the top of three bad climbs hours after getting the patch. To get this kind of effect with sublingual pills after getting low of B12 would take over ten days for me and quite a bit of dedication remembering to keep supplementing. It can get rather tedious waiting for the pills to dissolve under the tongue. The second day I used two patches right behind the ear, but they both fell off, presumably from the sweat biking. Yet the day before the one patch I tried less close to the ear stayed put biking and after two showers, and I had no dropped patches since. If you exercise, watch out for areas where sweat would accumulate. I think there is no comparison between this brand and the other one advertised. For four bucks more, you get half the patches and the wrong type of B12 — cyanocobalamin instead of methylcobalamin. Read about it because cyanocobalamin has to be turned into methylcobalamin by the liver. You can spare that. My doctor put me on cyanocobalamin initially and I turned to methylcobalamin with much greater results. Also, this brand I review has the daily allowance of folic acid as an added bonus (read up on the benefits of taking folic acid with B12), rather than selenium. I’ve had no side effects and no skin reactions with this product. I am so satisfied I have ordered a B-complex as a patch from a different company. It is advised to have a B-complex if you supplement in big doses with any vitamin of the B family.” Click here to get these vitamin B-12 patches. They’re on sale now at an incredible price through the NaturalNews Store. Whatever form of vitamin B-12 you use, remember this: avoid cyanocobalamin! (Unless you enjoy eating cyanide, that is…) Additional sources for this story include: http://www.dadamo.com/B2blogs/blogs/index.php/2004/02/07/cyanocobalamin-versus-methylcobalamin?blog=27 Ting R, Szeto C, Chan M, Ma K, Chow K (2006). “Risk factors of vitamin B(12) deficiency in patients receiving metformin”. Arch Intern Med 166 (18): 1975,9 http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/166/18/1975

The big fraud of green homes: they suffocate their owners with indoor air poisons

(NaturalNews) I’ve been wanting to write a story on this subject for at least two years now, but until recently there wasn’t any study to cite which would back up my position on this. But now a study has come out and it’s time to go public with information that will shock a lot of home buyers and homeowners: “Green” homes are often a complete fraud! Surprised? Here’s why this statement is true: Home builders know buyers want “green” homes. So they leap on the easiest opportunity to make a few simple modifications to the home and then slap a green label on it. Do justify this “green” label, they is seal off all the air flow between the home and the outside world, thereby creating an “air tight” home that has virtually no air leaks. Because this results in lower costs for air conditioning and heating, they call this a “green” home. And because home construction regulators are absolutely clueless about green living , this all gets the big thumbs up even though it’s not green at all! Why isn’t it really green? Because when there’s no air exchange with the outside world, the density of toxic chemicals in the air INSIDE the home skyrockets! Where a “leaky” home would vent out high concentrations of the toxic chemicals off-gassing from paint, carpets, glues, particle board furniture, varnishes and construction materials, a so-called “green” home traps all these toxic chemicals inside the home, greatly increasing the risk of cancer to its occupants. Meanwhile, even though these homes are called “green” homes, there is virtually NO reduction in the use of toxic chemicals in the construction of those homes. So all the materials used inside the home are still the same nasty toxic cancer-causing chemicals used in non-green homes: It’s the same paint, same glue, same caulking, same treated wood, same pesticide sprays around the foundation, and so on. There’s actually nothing GREEN about these homes at all! What’s a green home? To truly qualify as a “green” home, a house would need to be built with low-VOC or no-VOC paints, sustainably harvested wood from a local source, no chemical pesticide sprays on the foundation, and no glues, resins or caulking that gives off toxic chemicals. It’s a question of materials that go into the home, and today’s so-called “green” home builders pay almost no attention whatsoever to the materials. They’re all focused on the energy consumption alone. Furthermore, many people who own a “green” home still treat their lawns with chemical pesticides, completely contradicting the whole point of going green in the first place. Homeowners also typically treat indoor pest problems with chemical pesticides (“Call the pest control company!”) which ends up poisoning them even more because their “green” home is so air tight that the pesticide chemicals have no way to ventilate out. For those looking for safe indoor pest control , by the way, we’ve begun recommending a company called Always Eco (www.AlwaysEco.com/products) which offers botanically-based pest control products that use wintergreen oils and other powerful plant extracts to deal with ants, roaches, scorpions and other indoor pests. These products are all perfectly safe to use indoors — even around pets and infants. Greenwashing is alive and well in the housing industry The practicing of jumping on the “green” bandwagon to sell a home that isn’t really green is called greenwashing , and it’s happening throughout the housing industry. Truthfully, the greenest home you can buy is one that’s already built because no new materials are needed to build you a new home. Buying a used home also avoids the massive off-gassing of chemicals that usually happens in the first year after a new home is built. Many materials, in other words, are extremely toxic in the first year, but their toxicity goes down thereafter. Use indoor plants as living air cleaners No matter what kind of home you live in, the use of indoor plants can have a HUGE impact on reducing the toxicity of your indoor air. Plants are natural air filtration systems that quite literally inhale toxic chemicals and then process them into harmless elements that are then exhaled back into the room. The fast-growing jungle-type indoor plants are the best for this purpose because the greater the total leaf area of the plants, the more cleaning effect you’re getting. So don’t be fooled by the marketing of “green” homes which are really just toxic air traps for their owners. Know the difference between a truly green home versus an air-tight home. And don’t be a sucker for the new home builders who fill their homes with toxic chemicals while trying to pawn them off as somehow being green. Sources for this story include: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13115 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/08/green-buildings-hazardous-to-health-report-cites-risks-weatherization/

Mainstream media halts accurate reporting on Japan’s worsening nuclear catastrophe; disinfo campaign now underway

(NaturalNews) Almost as if on cue, the mainstream media today halted nearly all accurate reporting of the worsening situation in Japan, writing off the whole thing as a “non issue.” This all happened in a seeming coordinate effort following President Obama’s speech on Wednesday that urged Americans to NOT prepare for anything. The American people, Obama insisted, should simply watch television to “stay informed.” (http://www.naturalnews.com/031735_Obama_radioactive_fallout.html) Shortly after, mainstream television news returned to its regularly-scheduled sports and entertainment programming, barely touching on the reality of the worsening situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Nuclear experts that were on mainstream news channels two days are now nowhere to be found today. Scary (but accurate) news stories about Fukushima have now been all but completely banned from the MSM. The word from the top is clearly that media outlets should start downplaying this nuclear accident, which even now ranks as the second worst nuclear accident in the history of human civilization (right after Chernobyl). The Asian media, for its part, simply started fabricating completely fictitious news. The press in China and Taiwan, for example, reported last night that grid power had been restored to the Fukushima reactor #2 and that the entire disaster had now been completely averted. This was a total fabrication: The truth is that power plant workers were pulled out of the area before they could even connect grid power, due to rising levels of extremely dangerous radiation near the plant. Even if grid power were restored to reactor #2, that would not help reactors #3 and #4, where the really dangerous plutonium MOX fuel is stored. It’s 2,000,000 times more toxic than enriched uranium (http://www.naturalnews.com/031736_plutonium_enriched_uranium.html). And even if they could restore power to all the reactors, there’s no guarantee that the cooling pumps will even work there. They were very likely damaged in the explosions and may not be functioning at all. Time to start lying to the people What to do in such a crisis? If you’re the government, the important action is to just lie to the people as much as possible, telling them everything’s fine. Even Japan’s own political leaders are fed up with it. One Mayor of a Japanese province says his own government abandoned his people and lied to everyone (http://www.naturalnews.com/031747_nuclear_fallout_disinformation.html). In the United States, the nuclear power industry is now in total spin mode, trying to make sure people don’t question the future of nuclear power. General Electric, which manufactured the reactors in the Fukushima power plant, experienced huge stock losses over the last few days. Now, it seems the orders from the top are to tell people nuclear power is “still safe.” GE, of course, is a huge asset holder in NBC (http://www.mediaowners.com/company/generalelectric.html), one of the major media players in this whole charade. I very much doubt NBC openly discloses to its viewers that its news reporting may be entirely biased because it is largely owned by the very same corporate conglomerate that earns money from the construction of nuclear power plants. Even the radiation reporting from U.S. authorities appears to be a whitewash, as detectors in the U.S. are only reporting radiation leaked days ago out of Japan, not the new radiation headed our way (http://www.infowars.com/reports-of-harmless-radiation-reaching-california-are-a-whitewash/). We are now witnessing the complete transition of this entire story from the “honest reporting” phase to the new “disinformation” phase which seeks to ensure that the people of the world have no real clue what’s going on in Fukushima. Don’t prepare. Don’t worry. Don’t think for yourself. Just do whatever the government tells you to do… which is right now nothing. It’s an amazing plan, eh? Sadly, pretending that Fukushima is not a problem does not reverse the laws of nuclear physics at work there. If a massive cloud of radiation bursts into the atmosphere in the coming days, will they also pretend nothing happened? Will the American people be given no warning as a massive radiation cloud approaches? We must now seriously begin to question the agenda of the Japanese and American governments in all this. Are they actually trying to get more people killed? If not, then why aren’t the people being advised to take prudent precautionary measures? Here at NaturalNews, we urge everyone to get prepared, just in case . Have a preparedness kit. Have a plan. Get informed. Fuel up your vehicles. Boost your iodine intake. Be calm and prepared, folks, so that you don’t panic and become part of the problem when things go wrong. Why can’t Obama utter those words, I wonder? Why is the only real leadership on this whole issue coming from the alternative media and not the elected “leaders” of our nation? Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-sci-japan-reactor-damage-20110318,0,7832119.story http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367684/Nuclear-plant-chief-weeps-Japanese-finally-admit-radiation-leak-kill-people.html

Offshore wind turbines could power the entire planet, says study

(NaturalNews) Offshore wind turbines could provide enough electricity for the entire world if connected into the right kind of grid, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Delaware and Stony Brook University and published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences . A major drawback of wind power is that as weather patterns fluctuate, the amount of power generated also fluctuates — making electricity unreliable. To test a way around this problem, researchers examined five years’ worth of wind speed data from 11 different monitoring stations along the East Coast of the United States. They found that as expected, wind turbines placed at any of these monitoring stations would fluctuate in their power-generating capacity over time. The researchers then modeled what would happen if all 11 turbines were connected to each other into one power grid. “When we simulate a power line connecting them, called here the Atlantic Transmission Grid, the output from the entire set of generators rarely reaches either low or full power, and power changes slowly,” the researchers wrote. “Notably, during the five-year study period, the amount of power shifted up and down but never stopped.” The researchers said that for wind power to meet more of civilization’s energy needs, turbines need to be strategically sited taking regional weather patterns into account, so that one turbine will be in wind while another is experiencing a lull. “A north-south transmission geometry fits nicely with the storm track that shifts northward or southward along the U.S. East Coast on a weekly or seasonal time scale,” researcher Brian Colle said. “Because then at any one time a high or low pressure system is likely to be producing wind (and thus power) somewhere along the coast.” The study confirms that making wind power into a major energy source would require the construction of a massive new energy infrastructure. Critics of wind and solar power have pointed out that because these power sources require such large-scale construction, their fossil fuel and other environmental footprint is much greater than is usually supposed. Sources for this story include: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/04/wind-could-provide-steady-east-coast-power-study/1; http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-04/sbu-pwp040110.php; http://www.rootforce.org/alternative-energy/.

Heal yourself in 15 days by correcting your "nature deficiency" (part nine)

(NaturalNews) Do you suffer from a “nature deficiency?” If you’d like most people in modern society, you spend most of your 24 hours of the day indoors . You work under artificial fluorescent lights, you eat and sleep inside a house or apartment, you commute in the artificial environment of a car, bus or train. You rarely get outside and even when you do, it’s not real nature — it’s some artificial “planned” park with concrete sidewalks and maintained lawns. I suspect you may have a nature deficiency. I know because I’ve been there. Probably much like you, I spent a lot of time outdoors as a child, but in my adult years, I found myself spending more and more hours indoors . It didn’t take long to realize that breathing re-circulated indoor air and having little or no time in nature wasn’t a good recipe for lifelong health. Today, I’m a nature advocate . Time in nature is healing all by itself, and children are especially vulnerable to the negative effects of a nature deficiency. But few people in the field of conventional medicine embrace the idea that nature itself a healer , so the message of spending time in nature to improve your health doesn’t get much attention. However, I believe that not spending enough time in nature promotes depression, obesity and even cancer. In fact, I believe that nature is so important to lasting health that I took up permanent residency in a country where I have spring-like weather year-round, just so that I can be outside in nature every single day of the year! That’s not possible to do in most places, but wherever you are, more time in nature can help you heal . Here’s how: How spending time in nature helps you heal • Sunlight Sunlight supports all life on our planet. Without sunlight, we would simply have no life on Earth. Your body is designed to be exposed to sensible levels of sunlight, and that’s why experiencing a reasonable amount of sunlight directly on your skin makes good sense for your health. As you well know, sunlight also causes your skin to generate vitamin D — perhaps the most miraculous nutrient yet discovered in the modern world. Vitamin D prevents cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It boosts bone density and immune function, and it prevents infectious disease far better than vaccines could ever hope to. To get more vitamin D, simply spend more time in nature! • Natural sounds The natural sounds of nature are, in and of themselves, healing therapy. Simply surrounding yourself with the sounds of real nature causes a scientifically-provable reduction in stress levels and blood pressure. The most powerful healing sounds in nature seem to be those from water : Waterfalls, water running down a creek or stream, rain and thunderstorms, etc. You can mimic these sounds with “sound conditioning” devices that broadcast sound loops of natural sounds. They’re very effective machines, but still nothing equals the healing potential of real sounds experienced directly in the real world. • Colors The colors of nature are, scientifically speaking, different wavelengths of light striking your retina and being interpreted as colors by your brain. These different wavelengths are, in essence, a form of energy medicine . Light is energy, and what your body needs to be healthy is exposure to a diverse assortment of those energy wavelengths. That’s why looking at all the various colors of flowers, plants and animals is, by itself, a healing experience. It also stimulates the brain to become more active and more intelligent . Spending more time in nature allows your brain to explore a more diverse natural reality, causing it to function at a higher cognitive level. Dull people, in contrast, tend to spend a lot of time indoors where the scenery never changes. • Movement Being in nature makes physical movement almost mandatory. When you’re in nature, you’re often walking, running, biking or swimming. And yet because the scenery is so beautiful, it doesn’t feel like exercise! It simply feels like fun! The health benefits of all this movement are tremendous: A boost in circulation, increased bone density and muscle strength, increased flexibility, lymph fluid circulation and much more. And yet being in nature allows you to experience all these benefits without it feeling like hard work. • Air There’s something qualitatively different about fresh air versus indoor air . Indoor air is contaminated with chemicals that have been off-gassed from all the synthetic materials used in the construction of homes and buildings: Carpets, furniture, paints, glues, dyes and so on. Plus, you often get mold spores from indoor air ducts. The air in a living pine tree forest (or any forest) is refreshingly different! Some people attribute it to the “negative ions” in the air, but there’s much more to it than that. There’s something almost magical about fresh air in a natural environment — it’s “sweet” and energizing! The more time you can spend in nature, the more fresh air you can take into your lungs and enjoy as a healing experience. It’s an innate thing to desire “fresh air.” Every person on the planet intuitively knows that fresh air is better than indoor air. Ever wonder why this knowledge is so deeply imbedded in the human brain? • Microbes Western medicine believes that sterility is safety . They want people to live in a sterile environment, where all the microbes in your environment (or on your food) are killed by antimicrobial soaps and pharmaceutical drugs. But certain microbes are very important for your health! Exposure to microbes in the real world is hugely important for the healthy balance and functioning of your immune system, and the best place to have exposure to these microbes is out in nature! When I was a kid growing up, I played in the dirt. I swam in the pond. I camped out on the grass. Today, many parents would be horrified to allow their children to even touch dirt or swim in the “non-sanitized” water of a natural stream. This obsession with sterility is deeply misguided. Seek out nature and don’t be afraid to experience the real world even if it means getting your hands dirty. • Bio energy Beyond the light, the sounds, the air and all the other healing elements of nature, there’s also something less tangible: The bio energy of living systems. In some way that scientists still don’t understand, lush living ecosystems “recharge” the human body and mind. Spending time in nature rejuvenates your system, and when city life leaves you feeling depleted, nature can bring your energy back. Part of the magic of the bio-energy in nature depends on coming into physical contact with nature . Walk barefoot. Hug a tree. Touch a flower. Lie down on the grass. Touch nature as your body intended and you’ll create a closed circuit with the planet itself. Some people say that being electrically “grounded” with the earth (through barefoot walking) makes an important difference in reducing the electric “noise” that interferes with your health. There’s merit to this thinking. Your ancient ancestors didn’t walk around in Nike shoes . They walked barefoot, and they were healthier for it! Kids suffer from nature deficiency, too! Most modern children live their lives indoors, banging away on gaming consoles and social networking websites. Few children are offered opportunities to spend any real time outdoors, in nature. The idea of “going to camp” during the summer seems to have been lost on the current generation of children, most of whom spend their summers in air-conditioned environments that are highly detrimental to their health. One of the greatest gifts you can offer any child is time in nature . And the earlier you start teaching children about the joys of nature, the more success you’ll have in sharing outdoor experiences with them. Plus, introducing your children (or grandchildren) to more time in nature means that you get more time in nature, too . One way to encourage time in nature, by the way, is to get rid of the TV . Television is the enemy of the natural world, and the more time children (or adults) spend in front of the TV, the less time they tend to spend in nature. Once children spend enough time in front of the TV, they won’t even want to venture into nature at all. Their whole “world” becomes the virtual world broadcast into their brains from the television set. For teenage boys, time in nature has largely been replaced with time spent playing computer games and console games. While there’s nothing wrong with a little time spent gaming, when this act becomes the dominant focus of a child’s life, it is hugely destructive. What these children need is more time in the real world and a lot less time in virtual worlds. Seriously: I’ve often thought that somebody should launch a “nature camp” business that would offer rehab services for teenage boys who are addicted to gaming. It would be a hugely successful business given how widespread modern gaming addiction has become. In any case, whether you have kids or not, spending more time in nature will vastly improve your health! So make it a point to get outside, soak up some sunshine, breathe in the fresh air and get all the nature you can! You’ll be healthier, happier, more fit and even more intelligent for doing so! Previous articles in this 15-day “Heal Yourself” series Part One – Remove barriers to healing http://www.naturalnews.com/028053_self_healing_quality_of_life.html Part Two – Unleash your inner healing potential http://www.naturalnews.com/028060_self_healing_immune_system.html Part Three – You are what you absorb http://www.naturalnews.com/028067_self_healing_digestion.html Part Four – Transform your health by making new blood http://www.naturalnews.com/028075_blood_health_transformation.html Part Five – Experience the healing potential of living plant juices http://www.naturalnews.com/028100_self_healing_fresh_juice.html Part Six – Accelerate your healing with a 24-hour fast http://www.naturalnews.com/028117_self_healing_fasting.html Part Seven – Heal yourself by rejecting the mainstream crowd http://www.naturalnews.com/028136_self_healing_crowd_psychology.html Part Eight – Stop making disease http://www.naturalnews.com/028153_self_healing_disease.html