I love watching documentaries. Two weeks ago I watched John Adams — totally awesome series. This week I watched Michael Moore’s film “Sicko”. Without getting into a debate about how the healthcare for citizens in countries such as Canada, France, Great Britain and Cuba “really is”, after all I don’t live there nor do I know of anyone who does, I prefer to turn your attention to the “Special Features” portion of the DVD where there are interviews with Marcia Angell, M.D., former Editor in Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law professor. These interviews caught my attention and really lit a proverbial fire under my ass to write this post.

I really haven’t checked into the proposed universal healthcare system that is being talked about, but after watching the interviews given by Dr. Angell and Professor Warren, I will do that now. Professor Warren mentioned that if you think having health insurance means you are safe, then you have just bought into one huge myth. Professor Elizabeth Warren’s data from her research study show that about 50% of the families that declared bankruptcy did so after having to pay for expensive healthcare costs for a major health problem. And the kicker is that most of these families had health insurance! These families racked up $40-$50,000 in credit card bills and took out second mortgages on their homes to pay for doctor bills, medication and continuing treatment. As Prof. Warren also states in the interview, these people played by the rules, they got a good education, a good job, and had health insurance, yet it wasn’t enough.

Marcia Angell, M.D. also had some interesting information to share. When Mr. Moore asked her what the deal was with insurance companies she essentially said that insurance companies are for-profit entities that are in the business to make money for their shareholders. Makes business sense but not people sense.

Now there was another tidbit of information she shared about the big drug companies aka Big Pharma. We hear from televsion ads that pharmaceutical companies are responsible for a lot of the innovation happening in medicine today. According to Dr. Angell, this is really not the case. The innovation happens at NIH and universities (publically-funded research). She explained it like this — before a new drug can come on the market, the FDA must aprove it — on basis of clinical trials that show it is reasonably safe and effective. But these drugs are compared to what? Big Pharma doesn’t have to compare a new drug with a drug that’s already on the market — a drug that is being used to treat a similar condition right now. The drug just has to be compared with a sugar pill or placebo to show that it is better than nothing. (That’s what she said, folks.) Dr. Angell said that with new drugs coming on market, we have no way of knowing if they are better or worse than existing drugs. For all we know, each new drug is worse. She mentioned that from 2000-2005, the FDA classified 80 percent of the 506 drugs that came out during this time frame as unlikely to be better than existing drugs. 73% (nearly 3/4) were not even new drugs all — just new forms of old drugs. The drug companies are creating new drugs so they can secure a new patent — the goal is to get another 20 year patent — particularly if old patent is about to run out. So again, it’s about money — keeping Big Pharma companies profitable. And just one more thing — check out the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which allow universities, researchers and Big Pharma to profit off of publically-funded (aka taxpayer money) research projects so they keep the money from these publically-funded discoveries instead of giving it back to the government. Are you scratching your head yet?? Dr. Angell also wrote a book entitled The Truth About Drug Companies. Very interesting.

So my message to my internet American family and friends is to vote. You don’t like how things are in this country, then vote for the candidates who have your best interests at heart. Learn about the universal healthcare system that is being talked about. Vote for the candidates who want to improve the standard of living for all Americans. Let’s boot out the ones who have been changed by Washington and have grown accustomed to receiving lobbying dollars. We are a wealthy nation (or atleast at one time we were) and now its time to hold accountable those who are spending our money. Thousands of people have died in order for us to have this opportunity to cast our vote. So, vote as if your life depended on it. Actually, it just might.

We’re huge fans of Cesar Millan and watch his shows anytime we can. Today I watching an episode that I had seen before; however, I heard these words for the first time: our body language and energy are the two most important things we have when working with dogs. So, immediately I began to take notice of my own. My body posture was not that good and my energy was not that great so I changed my posture and felt an instant positive shift in my energy. I started to pay greater attention to this episode. Cesar was trying to get a dog that was apprehensive about getting on a treadmill to become comfortable doing the task. He said that he had visualized the dog already doing the task and projected that energy. How many times have you heard that if you just visualize yourself doing something, then pretty soon, you’ll accomplish it? Cesar also noticed that the dog was not getting enough exercise, which led to her pent up energy. Once the dog was exercised, her mind was able to get focused and the extra energy was released. At the end of the episode, the dog owner was able to become the leader of the pack and everyone in the family was relaxed, happy and content. Within a TV hour, the “misbehaving” dog learned how to respect her owner, play well with others and become calm and happy. The dog changed primarily because the owner changed. Cedar said dogs want to be free, relaxed and calm. I believe that people also want to be free, relaxed and calm. However, people overanalyze everything and thus, slowly change. We get stuck in our energy patterns (aka beliefs), chase our own tails and all the while wonder why things are not changing. Our beliefs and environments contribute to our “sameness”. We become the “misbehaving dog.” So I wondered: How can I learn to be more like the calm, relaxed and happy dog? Well, I observed the following:

1. Sometimes it is necessary to change your environment to change your energy and your mind.
2. Be around people who also believe in you (i.e., Cesar believes all dogs are good dogs and holds no pre-conceived notions about any of them).
3. Regular exercise is important.
4. Good posture directly impacts your energy so be aware of it at all times.
5. Respect yourself if you want respect from others. This includes establishing boundaries with others. (e.g. the Rescue Dog owner established a boundary that dog was not allowed on bed unless invited.)
6. Feeling sorry (Pity) for someone does not help them get over their challenges. Rescue Dog owner felt guilty when telling the formerly abused dog that it could not have something.
7. Live in the present moment and move forward with love and respect (for yourself and others) while actively seeking and visualizing the positive results that you want.

Now I need to say that I get a lot of support from my husband and family, it’s just that sometimes I find myself chasing my own tail. In other words, just acting like a human. Do you find yourself relating to situations presented by Cesar Millan?? Please share.

In this podcast I’m talking to Andra Jeffress, longtime volunteer of the Animals Benefit Club, located in Phoenix Arizona. Andra  and her dedicated volunteers who are working diligently to raise monies for the animals at the shelter. They are deperately needing to raise 250,000 dollars to pay the accumulated medical expenses for the animals at the sanctuary that have been nursed back to health and are ready for adoption.  What is special about the Animals Benefit Club is that they take in sick and injured animals regardless of their condition and rehabilitate them back to health. They also are unique in that they will keep the animals until they find a forever home no matter how long it takes. The challenge they have now is to raise enough monies by the end of September otherwise they may have to for the first time, euthanize up to 80 loving animals.

Their wish is to not only raise the monies to pay for the medical expenses and the upkeep of the shelter but to also adopt these loving animals into forever homes.

Please help them if you can even as little as a dollar. Here is a link to their website which has a paypal setup for tax deductible donations.

Please visit AnimalsBenefitClub.com. In addition, you can mail a check to P.O.Box 26627, Phoenix Arizona 85068. Also a Wells Fargo Account has been set up to receive donations at ABC account #3752822472. If you have a Wells Fargo Account, you can also transfer funds directly into this account. If you need to contact them directly, their phone number is 602-867-2169. Thank you so much for taking time to listen to this podcast and making a much needed donation. God Bless to you from the animals.

I know that good marketing and advertising is key to selling products, along with Brand and product placement, however yesterday, while shopping with a client at “The Great Indoors” in Scottsdale, I had to take a second and third look at a display that was obviously set up to attract someone looking for “eco” friendly products, which when examined closely, were not anywhere near “eco” friendly except for the word “eco” in the name.

A company selling floor rugs and mats, made in India, touting themselves as having “natural” fibers in the rugs and mats was as close to green washing as anything I have seen lately.

The fibers were not “organic”, recycled, or sustainable. They were simply cotton and jute…period.  Yes, these are natural, not man-made fibers, but to call their product “eco” is purely green bullshit.

Shipping rugs from India is not eco-friendly, nor sustainable, when it comes to transportation costs. The fibers were not organic, recycled, or made from sustainable materials. Cotton takes a ton of water and chemicals to produce, so that is not friendly to the planet, the people or anything else sustainable, it’s just plain old cotton. Yes, it probably gives people in India where the product is made income and a job, but that’s sustainable for India, not the rest of the planet.

So this is where the question comes in… “What is considered green, eco-friendly and sustainable when it comes to products we buy and use???

Well friends, your definition and what you are willing to support, lets the retailers know how far they can push the Shady green stuff or not.

There is no definitive, hard edged, Webster dictionary based definition, for eco-friendly, green, sustainable products, so I guess we all have to decide what we are willing to support.

I myself, do have a list of criteria for what I believe supports eco-friendly, green, and sustainable products and this list is something I refer to when I recommend, purchase or specify materials for my clients.

So here goes: I look for products that have recycled content, organic content, made in the United States or made locally if possible, use the least amount of fossil fuels in the production and transportation of the product, does the factory or manufacturing facility have a mission/vision that I support and believe in and do they walk their talk? Do they give back to their community? Do they run their operation on alternative energy? Do they recycle? How do they ship their products and in what types of containers, wrapping and shipping materials do they use? Do their products off-gas and emit unhealthy toxic stuff, or do they support the occupants who are in the spaces that I work with as a designer?

These are a few of the questions I ask before going forward with purchasing products for myself and my clients.

As you can see, there are many, many shades of green and eco-friendly to consider. So when you are out and about, shopping and making purchases for your home, work environment and life, please ask yourself some of these questions before buying items that require you to pay with your “green dollars.”

Let me know your thoughts and feedback on your experience with buying eco-friendly, green, sustainable products. Have you experienced “green washing” with products you purchased thinking they were really eco-friendly?

“Live consciously and passionately, our planet is the only one with chocolate on it!”…EcoLita

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 Interview with producer/director Khashyar Darvich: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download