Illegal To Smoke

It may soon be illegal to smoke in your own backyard. Sound drastic? Look again.

As long ago as 1997 Utah declared that secondhand smoke in the state could be considered a public nuisance.

In February of 2006 Calabasas, California, passed a nuisance law, and banned smoking outdoors in any area accessible to the public.

And most recently, Dublin, California, passed a law in August, declaring secondhand smoke to be a nuisance.

The reason given: The Air Resources Board found clear links between secondhand smoke and respiratory system cancer, heart disease, asthma, and middle ear infections. Studies show that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was the cause of the death of over 400 children.

Secondhand smoke also causes cancer and illness in family pets.

The solution? Either work to keep these laws from being passed elsewhere, or improve your own health by stopping smoking.

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Morning Sickness for a Healthy Baby

While most mothers-to-be might not feel like agreeing, some experts feel that morning sickness is actually helpful to the developing baby.

Studies show that women who have morning sickness have fewer miscarriages and babies of low birth weights.

Morning sickness also helps the body to normalize hormone levels.

Some researchers uphold the belief that morning sickness is the body's way of ridding itself of toxins that the developing baby doesn't need.

For whatever reason, ginger is a natural way to relieve and soothe the upset tummy from morning sickness.

Additionally, ginger is also good for indigestion, and provides the same relief as common, over-the-counter, motion sickness medications.

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Halloween Perfume

I thought I'd seen it all with Tomato Perfume.

But now there is also Halloween Perfume!

Check it out!

Even if Halloween is over on the calendar, it's a perfume worthy of being worn any day of the year.

Celebrate Halloween all year by wearing it everyday!

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Celebrate Nature On Halloween

Trick or treating is one of the most fun ways to celebrate Halloween.

Halloween is the pagan celebration of Samhain. Samhain is the Gaelic word for "summer's end". It is the end of the harvest for the year thus, November 1 is the beginning of the New Year.

It is a time when spirits of one's ancestors are able to return and visit their still living loved ones. Candles and jack-o-lanterns are lit to scare away any evil spirits. Offerings of food and drink were left out for the wandering souls and spirits.

The current holiday tradition of treat or treating stems from the gathering of treats to obtain offerings to give thanks for the harvest.

When going trick or treating most children carry a paper sack, plastic bag, or even a pillowcase. But to celebrate the real meaning of thanking Mother Earth for Her bounty what better way to do so than to use environment friendly canvasbags.


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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Mustard Protects Potatoes

Mustard greens, grown as a green manure, or cover crop that is plowed under in the fall, release natural substances that can reduce or eliminate the need for synthetic fungicides in potato fields.

Some studies conducted at an Agricultural Research Service Station plot also show that mustard may also have an effect on nematodes and weeds. Studies are ongoing.

This can also work for home gardeners growing potatoes in their backyards.

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Vitamin D and Breast Cancer

Women who are at risk for breast cancer should be getting more vitamin D.

Scientists at the Imperial College London have found that vitamin D levels are lower in women with advanced breast cancer compared to the early stages of cancer.

Previous studies have shown that women living in higher latitudes and those who have less sun exposure also have a higher incidence of breast cancer.

Studies conducted in laboratory tests show that vitamin D can stop cancer cells from dividing.


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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Snail Invasion

Channeled apple snails are a threat to Florida waterways.

These snails are larger than the friendly native apple snails in Florida. While the native snails are food for birds and animals, the invader is baseball sized and quickly destroys aquatic plants.

The channeled apple snail's native habitat is in South America but it has spread into the other parts of the world including the southern states of Texas, Florida and up into central Ohio. And is making it's way to Australia as well.
The presence of this snail is ominous because it can destroy every living thing in the waterway that it inhabits.

While not as serious a threat, home gardeners are plagued by slugs and snails.

Common garden slugs can be easily controlled without poisons which can be dangerous to children and pets.

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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New Species of Mouse Discovered

One mouse in the house is too many. Mice breed faster than the proverbial rabbits.

Now, scientists have discovered a new species of mouse in Cyprus.

And in 2004 scientists discovered a new mouse species in the Philippines.

Looks like mice are ready to take over the world.

It really isn't that serious of course but it really is irritating to have a mouse, or more, in the house. There are some easy ways to catch mice without poisons which can be dangerous to children and pets.

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Are You Night Blind?

Do you suffer from night blindness? If so, good eye nutrition is a necessity.

Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness. It also prevents eye dryness which can lead cloudiness of the eye and corneal ulcers and swollen eyelids. Vitamin A deficiency is the main cause of blindness in young children and people of all ages in developing countries. Zinc helps the liver release Vitamin A for use by the body.

Bilberry is an herb which helps improve night vision by strengthening the retina. In fact, it is so good for improving night vision that during World War II British fighter pilots ate bilberries before going on nighttime bombing raids.
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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Help for Eye Floaters

Do you suffer from those annoying spots and lines that swim across your vision?

Those are floaters and they always stop right in front of something you're trying to see or read.

There is some relief with good nutrition.

Some people have found that by taking apple pectin supplements the floaters eventually disappear.


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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Eggs Maintain Healthy Eyes

Eyes need carotenoids to remain healthy. However, the human body cannot produce the two carotenoids that the eyes need. So they must be obtained through food or supplements.

The carotenoids that the eye needs are the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. They can be obtained in fruits, leafy vegetables and eggs.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are thought to play a role in protection against age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) and cataracts.

Research has shown that the lutein in eggs may be better absorbed by the body than it is from other sources. But supplements containing lutein and zeaxanthin plus others that the eye needs are excellent additions to a healthy diet.

A chicken egg yolk contains approximately 290 micrograms of lutein and 210 micrograms of zeaxanthin.

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and theenvironment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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Garlic--Nature's Antibiotic

In the years before antibiotics were discovered garlic was used by many as a natural antibiotic. In fact, it has been called "the poor man's penicillin".

Today, scientists are finding out that the old wive's tales of garlic are true.

Antibiotics have been prescribed and overused over the last 50 years and bacteria is becoming resistant to all but the most potent of drugs.

Methicillin and vancomycin are both powerful antibiotics that were effective on MRSA, a serious hospital acquired infection. But both antibiotics are now becoming less effective than they were.

Scientists at the University of East London, England, have discovered that allicin, the healing component of garlic, destroys MRSA bacteria in a very short time.


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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Email: Current address on website
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