Can Green Tea Kill Superbugs?

Dr. Andrew Weil responds to this question–shedding more light on the benefits of drinking green tea, below:

A recent study from Egypt suggests that drinking green tea does enhance the effects of antibiotics, even against drug-resistant bacteria and superbugs. The researchers reported that they tested green tea in combination with antibiotics against 28 different organisms and found that green tea increased the effects of the drugs, tripling it in some cases. What’s more, the study suggested that green tea made 20 percent of the drug-resistant bacteria susceptible to cephalosporin antibiotics. If it really works as well as this study suggests, green tea would be a big help in addressing resistant strains of bacteria that are now such problems.

The researchers said they decided to look into how green tea affects antibiotics because the beverage is so widely consumed in Egypt. They wanted to know if green tea would interfere with the actions of the antibiotics, potentiate them, or have no effect. In almost every case – and for all of the antibiotics tested – they found that drinking green tea at the same time as taking the antibiotics appeared to increase their activity and also decrease resistance of the bacteria. In certain cases, even a low concentration of green tea worked. The team presented their results on March 31, 2008 at the 162nd meeting of the Society for General Microbiology.

This isn’t the first study to demonstrate antibacterial effects of green tea. In 2006, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture published findings on the effect of 11 catechins, antioxidants present in green tea, and four green tea extracts against Bacillus cereus, a foodborne pathogen that can contaminate baked goods, meat, milk products, rice, sauces, soups, and some vegetables. They found that three of the catechins exhibited exceptional bactericidal (killing) activities at very low levels and were more active than antibiotics such as tetracycline and vancomycin. That study was published in the February, 2006 Journal of Food Protection. The Egyptian team now plans to look at common culinary herbs, such as marjoram and thyme, to see if they contain compounds that can fight drug resistant bacteria. I’ll keep you posted.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Fyi: Dr. Weil’s website is definitely worth checking out.

More Information on Green Tea:

• Green Tea Lovers
• Green Tea Research & Health Benefits
• WHFoods: Green Tea
• NCCAM
• ABC News > Health: Feeling Old and Blue? Green Tea May Help
• Wiki: Green Tea > References

December 17th: A Day Without a Bag

Our holiday gift to the environment! Join thousands of shoppers in L.A. County in giving up disposable bags in favor of reusable totes for 24 hours.

A Day Without a Bag is an education and grassroots event coordinated by Heal the Bay that involves businesses and individuals throughout Los Angeles County. On this day we ask holiday shoppers and retailers to forgo single-use, plastic shopping bags in favor of reusable bags.

Held the third Thursday in December, Heal the Bay’s third annual A Day Without a Bag will be December 17, 2009 when Southland shoppers will receive an early holiday present, courtesy of a giveaway of nearly 20,000 reusable bags at more than 50 Giveaway Locations throughout Los Angeles County. In addition, a Community & Media Event will be held the same day in Downtown Los Angeles featuring education activities and a press conference.

Education and Awareness

A unique coalition of major retailers, local governments and regional environmental groups has formed to organize the third annual A Day Without a Bag, which urges consumers to forego environmentally harmful one-use plastic or paper grocery bags in favor of reusable totes. By raising consumer awareness about personal choices, the event’s short-term goal is to educate Southland shoppers to adopt more sustainable practices during the holidays and coming year. The event’s long-term goal is to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags throughout California by empowering shoppers, and the community at large, to take simple and direct actions to eliminate unsightly debris and save taxpayer dollars.

Dozens of community groups, from soccer clubs in Highland Park to Girl Scout troops in Agoura Hills, will be conducting bag giveaways and grassroots education for consumers throughout the region. The event, organized by Heal the Bay, is sponsored by the city and county of Los Angeles.

The city and county will distribute free reusable bags to patrons at high-profile shopping centers throughout the region. A diverse mix of retailers is scheduled to support the Dec. 17 event through in-store promotions or giveaways at stores countywide, including the Albertsons, Ralphs, 99 Cents Only, Bed Bath & Beyond chains. Local retailers Fred Segal Santa Monica and the Banana Republic’s Third Street Promenade store will also be participating. In addition, Earthwise Bag Co. leads the list of companies that have generously provided thousands of reusable bags for distribution at sites countywide.

A public awareness campaign about the economic and ecological benefits of reusable bags is being aimed at county residents, who use more than 6 billion disposable plastic shopping bags each year.

The county’s “Brag About Your Bag” campaign began on Nov. 15 and will distribute more than 50,000 bags at dozens of supermarkets leading up to A Day Without a Bag.  The county has been holding numerous giveaways and contests for citizens. Grand prizes, including a lunch with Lakers forward and campaign spokesman Luke Walton, will be announced at Heal the Bay’s A Day Without a Bag media event in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 17.

Spurred by the success of previous Heal the Bay events, community groups throughout the state launched their own A Day Without a Bag campaigns. Outreach programs have been held in San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Francisco counties.

Cities Get Involved

More than 70 of the county’s 88 cities have officially endorsed the A Day Without a Bag or “Brag About Your Bag” campaigns.

“This year we have more than doubled the number of cities in the county that are supporting A Day Without a Bag,” said Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay. “It reflects the growing groundswell in Los Angeles for reusable bags, which not only save the environment but taxpayer dollars as well, especially in a time of drastic budget shortfalls.”

California municipalities spend nearly $25 million each year just to collect and dispose of plastic bag waste. Less than 5% of plastic grocery bags are recycled each year in Los Angeles, so the remainder clogs precious landfill, litters public spaces and harms animal life when the bags infiltrate waterways. Paper bags, while biodegradable, still require vast amounts of fossil fuels and water to produce, distribute and collect for disposal. Heavy-duty reusable bags are convenient, environmentally friendly alternatives that have been embraced by millions around the world. Ireland has been able to reduce its use of disposable grocery bags by 90% since 2001 via public programs.

Many progressive local governments countywide have already taken action or are exploring policies to curb the use of plastic bags.  The cities of Santa Monica, Malibu and Manhattan Beach have adopted pending ordinances that prohibit retail establishments, restaurants and vendors from providing single-use plastic bags to customers. The Los Angeles City Council has voted to ban plastic bags by Jan. 1, 2010 if a statewide user-fee on plastic or paper bags has not been established by that time.

What You Can Do

Participate

• Join in at one of the bag Giveaway Locations where nearly 20,000 reusable bags will be given away.
• Attend the Community & Media Event on December 17th in downtown L.A.
• Bring your own re-usable bag (BYOB) when you shop, especially on December 17th.
• Take advantage of Store Promotions to receive a resusable bag! (TDB)

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Promote

• Add a logo or banner to your blog, website or social networking page!
• Buy airtime for our PSA at Saysme.tv!
• Use one of our Social Networking sites to spread the word (You Tube, Facebook and Myspace).

Connect

• Help Heal the Bay with corporate partners and others willing to donate bags or create retail programs for this special day.
• Encourage your city council to pass Heal the Bay’s resolution recognizing "A Day Without a Bag."

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Volunteer

• Volunteer as a site captain at a bag giveaway location on “A Day Without a Bag.” Contact us at 310-451-1500.

Source & More.

Photo Source.

Smog Shocker: smog problems off almost 50% in 2009

“Yaa rabbil lakal”hamdu kama yanbaghii lijalaali wajhika, wa’aziimi sultaanik.”

O my Lord, all praises be to You as it should be due to Your Might and the Greatness ofYour Power.

Washington, D.C., September 3, 2009) – If you think there’s less smog this year, you are probably right.

“Thanks in large part to cooler temperatures and more rain, the number of dirty-air days for smog nationwide has dropped by almost half in 2009 compared to last year, according to a survey by the non-profit Clean Air Watch.

There were several key factors in the smog drop, according to Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch: cooler, wetter weather, less use of coal-burning electric power plants to run air conditioners, the general decline in the economy, and the continuing turnover of cars and trucks to new models that meet tougher clean-air requirements.”

What’s in your front yard?

Well, I suppose not many of us actually have luxury of affording a front yard — or any green space in that matter.  But how about your school or workplace?  Do they have some green space to make their front office look pretty?

A group of students I work with is organizing a project to bring California native plants to their campus.  With the support of their student union landscape team, as well as the campus physical planning team, soon they are going to plant some native plants around the campus. 

The name, “native plant” seems straight forward enough to assume what that is.  Native plants are basically plants that grow naturally in the area.  They are there, not because they look pretty, but because they can grow there.  But that does not necessary mean that they all are ugly-looking plants.  Although, I must admit that some plants look rather boring — but, there are many good-looking plants that are native to Southern California, actually.

So why do we want native plants, you might ask.  It is quite simple — native plants are rather carefree.  Afterall, they naturally grow in your area, so native plants do not need much attention from you to maintain — perhaps, occasional trimming.  The biggest benefit of having native plants is probably amount of water usage to maintain the plants.  Native plants, because they are naturally habitat in this dry Southern California weather, are already adopted to survive with smaller amount of water.  Which is a good news to Southern California, as we continue to struggle with drought.

So maybe, you can bring those native plants to your school or workplace — not to destroy the ones you already have, but when it is time to bring new plants, that is.

For more information about Southern California’s native plants, local NPR station has a story this morning.

Hironao Okahana is a graduate student in higher education policy and finance.  He also serves as a staff adviser for student advocacy programs at a college student government association.

Mucosal Blobs Roaming the Sea

Fascinating, dangerously diseased, gross, gelatinous and flocculent–all in one gooey-marine-blob! Literally. It’s called: Marine Mucilage.

This is yet another threatening side-effect of climate change. Check it out:

Giant, jelly-like sheets of dead and living organic matter, known as marine mucilages, are spreading throughout the Mediterranean. The blobs may smother marine life and carry diseases dangerous to humans. (Source)

• National Geographic News: Giant, Mucus-Like Sea Blobs on the Rise, Pose Dange

Eid-ul-Adha

From,

The GreenDeen Family

JOIN US on November 21st!!!!

Action Alert: OCTA Proposed Service Reduction/Elimination

Orange County Transportation Authority is considering reduction of its service. 

The proposal, among other routes, will effect the following routes by reduction of services or complete elimination;
>>> Route 57, which is the route runs on State College Blvd. and passes by Masjid Omar AlFarouk,
>>> Route 167, which connects Anaheim to Irvine and pass by Jeffrey Rd., near Islamic Center of Irvine,
>>> Route 87, which is the route between Rancho Santa Margarita to Laguna Niguel, via Alicia near Orange County Islamic Foundation, and
>>> Route 46, which runs between Los Alamitos and Orange via Ball Rd., passing by Islamic Center of Cypress.

Is your community affected by these proposals?  Are members of your masjid rely on OCTA to get to Friday prayers?  Got a concern? comment? Want to express your input? — Here is HOW!

Call:
Wendy Knowles, Clerk of the Board, Orange County Transportation Authority at (714) 560-5676
OR
OCTA Customer Relations at (714) 636-RIDE, extension 2, or from South Orange County (800) 636-RIDE, extension 2.

Attend OCTA meeting on November 12, 2009 at 9 am and/or Monday November 23, 2009 at 9 am at:
OCTA Headquarters
600 South Main Street
First Floor, Room 154
Orange, CA 92868

Bus Routes 53, 56 and 83 provide direct service to OCTA Headquarters.
If traveling by Metrolink, ride to the Orange Station and take OCTA Bus Route 453 to Main Street and La Veta. Exit and walk south one block to OCTA Headquarters.
If driving to OCTA, parking is free for the first 15 minutes, $1.00 for every 20 minutes after that, with a maximum daily rate of $9.00.

You can also write to OC elected officials (County Supervisors, city council members, etc.) who sits on OCTA Board of Directors.

Flushing green down …

Although, we tend to be very discreet about them, there are so many of them — and we use them all the time.  In average household, about 27% of water used is for toilet, or over 100 gallons a day.   Imagine, if that is how much water is flushed down in a regular house, just how much water is used at a college campus.  In fact, at one large residential/research university campus in the West Coast, each unit in a male lavatory alone is estimated to use 150 gallons each day — or for a building with 20 urinals, it consumes 3000 gallons a day, 15,000 gallons for 5 instructional days, and 150,000 gallons for a 10-week academic quarter.  Now, that is a lot of water to consume — especially, when Southern California’s water reserve is very low.  This is also true for any other public and community places with restrooms.

The question to ask is — are those restroom facilities environmentally friendly ones?  We must have ones, so we cannot simply eliminate them.  But, do capital improvement committees or building committees talk about energy/water efficient alternatives?  Say, when your college is building a new building, are they placing low-flush bathroom facilities? — when, your masjid is having renovation, are they looking into less-water consuming facilities?  Those, probably, are good questions to start a conversation about sustainable community building.  After all, trying to talk seriously about how much water will be flushed to urinal can be a quite funny debate in a board meeting.

Often time, sustainability is also about keep using what we already have and not waste any resources, including money and existing facilities.  And, one thing you might find is that — those lavatory equipments never be broken.  But, the good news is you do not wait forever to replace old-water-consuming toilet bowl — it turns out those low-flow bathroom facilities are very economical — as in, capital investment to replace those facilities can be recovered within short amount of time, and they will continue to yield cost savings.  For instance, ultra-low flow urinal only uses 0.125 gallon per flush — that is 1/24 of a regular urinal.  You can perhaps imagine, how much water utility cost will be saved by switching to the resource effecient model.  Like people sometime says, being green also save some green ($), too — and, this is definetely true in this case.

So there are two good reasons that you can argue for low-flow lavatory facilities — one is to reduce water use, and the other is to reduce utility expenses.  Are you or any of your friends a part of a student union governing board at your college? or a part of masjid’s capital improvement committee?  Ask them, if they are already working on reducing water uses — if, not, let them know that you know good reasons they should act now.  Because, if you are still using old-high-water-use facilities, it’s like you are flushing green and green($) down every single time.

Hironao Okahana is a graduate student in higher education policy and finance.  He also serves as a staff adviser for student advocacy programs at a college student government association.

Baby Green Bean goes to Washington D.C.

bismilLah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

It seems like never ending battle trying to keep toxins out of our homes. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, something else pops up that you have to research detox from your home. Seventh Generation and a bunch of babies have teamed up to go straight to congress to put an end to these toxins that our being delivered right into the living rooms and kitchens of our homes! Here’s what they have to say:

Babies everywhere are crawling to Washington and saying “no” to toxic chemicals found in household products. Join the crawl and help Seventh Generation, maker of naturally safe and effective household products, demand change! Join the crawl.

Here’s some feedback and more information about the Million Baby Crawl from Dr. Greene:

Join the eco-baby movement to crawl to congress to put an end to toxins! Click here to add your baby and start the crawling! Mention your baby in the comment section below so we can support your crawl!