The Top Good and Bad Corporations–Greenwise

Conde Nast lists its Toxic Ten and its Green Eleven Companies. Chevron takes issue with being included among the nasties and you can see its response here.

Meanwhile, this blog takes a break for a few days, while I attend a mystery writers’ conference.

East Meets West in Book About Neuroscience

Did you know that the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks and some of the world’s leading neuroscientists get together once a year to discuss the latest research on neuroplasticity, i.e., ways that the human brain can change itself? Did you know there’s groundbreaking research being done on how the mind can affect the brain’s physical structure?

I didn’t know this until I read science writer Sharon Begley’s well-researched and well-written book Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves.

Begley writes about a complex subject thoroughly, but concisely without oversimplifying. The book provides a fascinating account of the history of neuroscience research and changing attitudes about the brain’s capacity to heal and compensate for deficits, leading up to the most recent studies that suggest the mind can play a key role in changing the brain.

The book (for all its scientific discussions) is relatively easy reading. And for someone with a neurological disorder (like, say, dystonia), it presents a lot of hopeful possibilities.

The Irrepressible Ralph Runs Again

Ralph Nader’s thrown his hat in the ring once more, announcing his third run for the presidency on “Meet the Press.” Is he becoming the new Pat Paulsen?

A Candidate’s Daughter Blogs on the Campaign Trail

Meghan McCain provides a unique view of the presidential race by blogging about her experiences on the campaign trail with her dad, John McCain.

It may not be Hunter Thompson’s “fear and loathing,” but it’s different.

Is That All There Is?

Check out this great column from Meghan Daum of the LA Times. Surely, there’s more to love and marriage than this Lori Gottlieb person is suggesting. Who says women need men to have a full and happy life? And who says all women want children? I haven’t, I don’t and I have no regrets or apologies to make on the matter.

Raising Awareness of Dystonia

It’s nice to see stories like this being reported about people with dystonia who are working to make a difference, like this woman who’s starting a support group with her husband.

For more information on dystonia support resources, see the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation’s Web site.

The Hour the Earth Went Dark

Plans are afoot in 24 cities around the world to switch off lights and television sets for one hour, to support the fight against global warming.

The so-called Earth Hour will take place March 29 at 8 p.m. They don’t specify the time zone, but maybe there’s a clue to that somewhere in this Web site.

Magic Played for Laughs

An unusual duo, an unusual routine.

Giving New Meaning to the Term ‘Power Suit’

Scientists have developed a way to generate electricity from just wearing clothing and engaging in normal activities.

It combines nanotechnology with the piezoelectric effect, which causes electricity to be generated when pressure is applied to certain materials.

But don’t start counting on your clothes to help you recharge your cell phone just yet. There’s a hitch: power clothing isn’t waterproof. One trip through the wash or walk in the rain and your power shirt will short out.

Global Warming Linked to Dead Zones Off NW Coast

In the coastal waters off Oregon and Washington, marine ecologists are alarmed by the death toll in aquatic creatures they’re observing.

According to the LA Times, “Video images scanned from the seafloor revealed a boneyard of crab skeletons, dead fish and other marine life smothered under a white mat of bacteria. At times, the camera’s unblinking eye revealed nothing at all–a barren undersea desert in waters renowned for their bounty of Dungeness crabs and fat rockfish.”

Scientists believe this is a symptom of global warming. Low-oxygen waters  in the region have expanded north into Washington and south to the California state line. They have appeared regularly, every summer and fall since 2002.

The article states: “Low-oxygen dead zones, which have doubled in number every decade and exist around the world, have a variety of causes. . . . What’s happening off Oregon, scientists believe, is that as land heats up, winds grow stronger and more persistent. Because the winds don’t go slack as they used to do, the upwelling is prolonged, producing a surplus of phytoplankton that isn’t consumed and ultimately dies, drifts down to the seafloor and rots.”