If you are someone who stays updated on the latest health news then you are probably aware of the growing number of individuals who are suffering from obesity—both adults and children alike. This is the main reason why some England councils are making the decision to ban takeaway stalls and fast foods from school areas. Aside from schools, the councils also seek to “clean” the vicinities that children and young people often frequent such as parks and youth centers.
East London’s Waltham Forest paved the way for this campaign when he started turning down applications of takeaway vendors to open their food stalls near schools. From then on, at least 15 authorities have followed suit.
According to Labour councilor Terry Wheeler, the spread of these takeaway stalls has a negative impact that extends beyond unhealthy nutrition and causing obesity. She said that the wrappers, food containers and other trash from these stalls often end up littered across the streets and the leftover food that are discarded often attract rats.
The council Barking and Dagenham is currently working on a plan that will limit the number of takeaways and fast-food establishments that will be built in school areas. There will also be a thousand pound fee for new establishments—a fee that will go to projects promoting awareness in childhood obesity. Fast food giants such as Pizza Hut and McDonald’s have been reported to object to the new policy but organizations such as the Child Growth Foundation and the National Obesity Forum have both expressed their support.

Friendship is an important aspect in the life of every person. Friends enrich your life by giving you love and support throughout your successes as well as challenges in life. When you were younger, you probably found it easy to make friends. With school, hobbies and the other activities you enjoy, meeting new people is something that you can never avoid. But now that you’ve grown older, family commitments and work have probably made it difficult for you to gain new friendships. According to Irene Levine, psychiatry professor and author, middle-aged women are often too busy with their lives to make new friends. She also stressed the importance of friendship. Not only does it decrease your blood pressure and help you deal with stress but it can also prevent depression.

One of the strategies that Levine suggested is to become more active in your current commitments. For instance, if you’re in the PTA, volunteer to head a committee or participate in the projects. This will pave the way for new connections without taking up most of your time. Another great way to gain lasting friends is to deepen existing bonds. Chances are you already have plenty of acquaintances—a co-worker that you always eat lunch with, a neighbor who shares with your gardening interests, etc. If you find yourself getting along immensely with another person, why not take the next step and get to know one another better?

If you’re a mother, then caring for your kids probably takes up most of your time. Take a breather from time to time by spending time with other mommies—minus the kids.

If you are constantly updated about world news then you are probably aware of the devastating flood that hit Madeira recently.

So far, the number of missing people reached 13. Last Tuesday, a group of divers with their dogs launched another effort to search for the missing individuals.

The recent flood is undoubtedly one of the worst natural disasters to hit this Portuguese island. Claiming 42 lives, the death toll is expected to increase as search and rescue operations proceed. The flood also caused astounding property damage in the island–concrete buildings collapsed on impact and cars were overturned by the strong currents.

Fortunately, 19 of the original 32 missing persons were located earlier this week.

But all across the country, tales of tragedy still continue to emerge. In San Antonio, three family members found refuge inside a garage but were still killed when the garage was hit by a collapsed crane.

There is also one carpark in Funchal where several drivers were believed to have been engulfed by the flood waters. Unfortunately, no bodies have turned up as a result of the search.

Help continues to arrive to the island in the face of tragedy. Relief supplies such as food and first-aid kits were flown to Madeira through Portuguese helicopters. More divers and rescuing equipment were also brought.

The country has also declared national mourning that will last for three days. In the island’s busiest areas, normal life is beginning to resume as shops start opening for business and bulldozers start clearing the mud-filled streets.

This February 23, a new report emerged from UN stating the danger of the continually growing sales of electronics particularly in developing countries. These common electronics include mobile phones and computers among others.

This might sound like good news for electronic manufacturers but it’s very bad news for the environment. This is because despite their sleek and smooth appearances, electronics are actually made up of numerous elements that are harmful to both humans and nature. If we look closely, there are actually ways to safely dispose of these harmful substances. However, the entire project would require hefty investments–investments that the United States are not willing to make.

Instead of proper disposal, the US opts to send these discarded electronics to developing countries in Asia such as India and China. Unfortunately, not much solution awaits these electronics in their new destinations. They are thrown in landfills or dismantled for usable parts instead. In the process, toxic wastes are produced.

So why would anyone want to dismantle old computers and cell phones anyway? This is because these electronics can also contain very valuable components such as copper wires, gold and other rare metals. Needless to say, these components can be very inviting especially in impoverished countries.

Since the electronics’ industry is one of the biggest industries in the world that shows no signs of slowing down in the future, it’s very important that we come up with ways to remedy the problem immediately. Experts are saying that the first step in solving electronics waste is to recognize the problem and raise people’s awareness that such a dilemma exists.

With the growing problems that the environment is facing today, more and more industries are seeking to contribute to the preservation of Mother Nature. Fields like food service and even the fashion industry are all lending a hand to maintain eco-friendly operations.

One of the latest industries to join this list is the tourism and hotel industry. Gone are the days when the traveler’s only chance to help out the environment is to refrain from using hotel towels so they won’t conserve much energy by having to be washed all over again. Hotels all over the country are now undertaking better steps toward being green.

For instance, the Piazza Hotel in New York provide its guests with the opportunity to order food that are produced within a hundred miles of the vicinity. Using locally sourced food items greatly reduce the energy needed for transporting food.

There is also a regional airline located in Portland that deems itself to be the “world’s first green airline”. This is because the planes of the airline use fuel-efficient airplanes. Aside from this, the airline also donates money to assist the preservation of forests in the United States.

Despite these efforts, some environmentalists claim that the negative impact of tourism is still far larger than all actions taken to reduce it. Obviously, this is a very serious problem since traveling or tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world and international trips are expected to double by the year 2020. It seems that the only solution will come from the part of the traveler. It will be every consumer’s duty to ensure that they will be choosing transportation and accommodation that have eco-friendly operations.

Great news for fashion lovers!

If you’ve ever felt guilty about buying shoes, bags and clothes that cost whopping hundreds to thousands of dollars, then you might want to hear about the latest lines of fashion that are hitting the runways and stores recently.

Several fashion companies are leading the way in the field of “green fashion”. Not only are these companies observing eco-friendly guidelines in their production but they are also aiming to help needy individuals as well.

For instance, a shoe boutique in Santa Monica called Toms Shoes is donating a pair of shoes to an impoverished child for every pair of shoe the store sells. Fashion giant Marks and Spencer has also implemented a mission they call “Plan A”. This policy will push the company to reduce their carbon emissions. By the year 2012, the brand also aims to stop all wasteful productions.

The Paris-based Ethical Fashion Show is also reaching out to other fashion capitals in the world such as New York and Milan. This event is a combination of conferences, fashion shows and educational workshops that will teach fashion designers to create eco-friendly designs.

One of the main problems of the green fashion movement may be on the part of the consumers. It’s not surprising that consumers rarely think about the environmental and ethical impact of the clothes they wear. Once you’ve found the perfect pair of jeans, chances are you don’t think about the raw material used for its production, if the labor behind it is fair or where it will go after you’ve disposed of it.

Some experts believe that the solution lies in educating consumers and getting the cooperation of clothing stores and fashion boutiques.

Restaurants, like all other businesses, are always on the lookout for new gimmicks to attract more customers. Lately, it seems that going green is the best marketing strategy.

Retails System Research recently held a study called “The Better-Run Restaurant: Environmental Sustainability in Restaurant Retail 2010″. The study proved that more and more restaurants are looking for more methods of energy efficiency that will lessen their food operations’ impact on the environment. This included decreasing wasteful packaging and cutting back on energy costs. Aside from reducing waste and saving costs, Steve Rowen from RSR also said that many restaurants today are trying to create a greener brand for themselves. Not only will this help Mother Nature but will also score points with environmentally conscious diners as well.

The study also showed that most of the restaurants who responded already have green operations running in their restaurants. Those who do not are already setting up for 2010. Some of the green practices that these restaurants plan to undertake are: following green principles in the construction of restaurant facilities, using products that have been ethically sourced, reducing wastes coming from take-out orders, promoting items and ingredients that are eco-friendly, monitoring energy used in the restaurant and the observing recycling processes of raw materials.

There is no doubt that social networking sites are all the rage today. Millions of internet users, especially the young generation, are all part of social sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Multiply and more. To some, these sites may seem like useless pastimes that should not be indulged in by anyone above the age of 30, but experts are seeing a whole new different picture.

Experts are claiming that social networking can actually bring plenty of advantages to the field of product development. Developing a product or a service has always required team effort, meaning each member of the team have to connect with each other in a useful manner if they are to get the job done. Experts are calling this new business application social computing. According to them, social computing is no longer just about connecting to people you know and exchanging documents. Social computing now allows you to access content and the assistance of people that you don’t necessarily know–all in the hopes of improving your project.

With the significant impact of social computing to almost any business, many believe that this business method is in need of a boost. A survey in 2008 showed that almost 90% of product developers are using social media either in their personal or professional lives. This proves that these social networking sites are not just short-term trends for teenagers but are also useful tools for product developers.

From “Visa. It’s everywhere you want to be” to “Let’s go”. From “There are some things that money can’t buy, for everything else there’s Mastercard” to “Don’t take chances. Take charge”.

These are some of the changes that major credit card companies have implemented in their slogans in order to better keep up with the economic times. If you are like most consumers of today, then you are probably having a hard time to cope with the economic crisis. Houses are being foreclosed, companies are undergoing recession and prices are skyrocketing. Who has the time and money for luxury shopping with credit cards.

This is why credit card providers have decided to take on a new face. For instance, in the new American Express commercial, we no longer see the big celebrities that have been aboard the credit card’s ads in the past such as Robert De Niro and Ellen De Generes. Instead, we see the amusingly frowning faces of various luxury purchases such as a designer purse and a leather couch. As the commercial progresses, they are replaced by more the smiling faces of more down-to-earth purchases such as a paper bag and a bike on a street.

Visa is not one to be left behind in the TV commercial race. Its new TV ad features the catch phrase “More People Go With Visa”. Basically, the ad is selling the concept of a fresh start. The ad literally begins with the dawning of a new day and then cuts to images of morning: a train platform for going to work, a woman pouring coffee, joggers running in a sunny park and another woman drawing the curtains to let the sun in. Obviously, the new ad seeks to show tenacity in the face of hardships.

“Don’t leave home without it”, “There are some things that money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s Mastercard”, “The future choose Carta Bleu Visa”.

These are some of the popular slogans that credit card companies have used in their marketing strategies over the years. If you are like most consumers in the modern world then you’ve probably found these phrases catchy and might have even signed for a credit card based on the convincing ads.

But times have changed and it seems that credit card giants like Visa and Mastercard are in the process of overhauling their advertising campaigns to make them more fit for the times. Needless to say, the dwindling economy of the US has left most consumers hesitant and wary about using credit cards for their purchases.

New regulations regarding credit cards are set to be implemented next year. But as early as now, several major credit card companies are already seeking to revamp their images by releasing new advertisements. So what is the gist of these new advertisements?

Basically, credit card companies are seeking to stay away from their former tactic of encouraging consumers to spend as a way to reward themselves. Instead, these new commercials are showing that credit card companies can actually help you control your spending.

For instance, American Express unveiled its new slogan that goes “Don’t Take Chances, Take Charge”. The new phrase obviously urges the consumer, not exactly to stop spending, but to make smarter spending decisions. The new advertisement proceeds to highlight the benefits of using credit cards for purchases over using cash.