The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society

 Is our gender something we’re born with, or are we conditioned by society? In The End of Gender, neuroscientist and sexologist Dr. Debra Soh uses a research-based approach to address this hot-button topic, unmasking popular misconceptions about the nature vs. nurture debate and exploring what it means to be a woman or a man in today’s society. Shermer and Soh discuss:

• If you are transitioning to a different gender, but the word “gender” is largely meaningless biologically, then what are you transitioning to and what is the point of hormone therapy and surgery?
• the 1990s push to find biological basis of homosexuality so it’s not a “lifestyle choice” and how this trend has been recently reversed,
• the problem of putting ideology before science,
• cognitive creationism on the left (evolution from the neck down),
• why biology is not destiny,
• cancel culture,
• sex and gender,
• percentages of the population of LGBTQ,
• what you identify as vs. who you’re attracted to,
• individual behavior vs. collective labels,
• sexual orientation and gender identity,
• gender neutral parenting,
• gender dysphoria,
• men and women dating,
• trans bathrooms, prisons, and sports.

Dr. Debra Soh is a neuroscientist who specializes in gender, sex, and sexual orientation. She received her doctorate from York University in Toronto and worked as an academic researcher for eleven years. Her writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Harper’s Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, Playboy, Quillette, and many other publications. Her research has been published in academic journals including the Archives of Sexual Behavior and Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. As a journalist, Soh writes about the science and politics of human sexuality and gender, free speech, and censorship in academia. She lives in Toronto and divides her time between New York and Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter at @DrDebraSoh and visit her website at DrDebraSoh.com.

Listen now

Electronic Screen Syndrome (ESS) Is It Real?

 BY HARRIET HALL, M.D.

You may have noticed that children seem to spend a lot of time interacting with screens: cell phones, tablets, computers, television, and video games. They do, and a great many people— from parents to pundits—are wondering if this is bad for them or good for them. The answer is “it depends.”

In 2012, Victoria L. Dunckley M.D. was the first to describe what is now called Electronic Screen Syndrome. She wrote an article in Psychology Today arguing that there was an unrecognized disorder that explained many psychiatric symptoms in children. She listed complaints that many parents can relate to:

• “He’s revved up all the time.”
• “He can’t focus at all and is totally defiant. Getting ready for school or bedtime is a daily nightmare.”
• “She’s exhausted and has meltdowns even when she’s slept enough.”
• “He flies into a rage over the slightest thing. The other kids don’t want to play with him anymore.”
• “Her grades have gone downhill this year and we don’t know why.”

These are common complaints that can have many causes and can lead to faulty diagnoses. Dunckley said the two most over-diagnosed conditions she sees in the pediatric population are bipolar disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD). Overdiagnosis leads to inappropriate treatment with psychotropic drugs that have side effects. She wondered if the true cause of these misdiagnosed symptoms might be environmental. Seek and ye shall find. Sure enough, Dunckley found one: “the unnaturally stimulating nature of an electronic screen, irrespective of the content it brings.” She called it “Electronic Screen Syndrome” or ESS, alleging that too much screen time could cause mental health issues or exacerbate pre-existing ones.

Characteristics of ESS in Children

Dunckley says ESS is a disorder of dysregulation, the inability to modulate one’s mood, attention, or level of arousal. She says interacting with screen devices over-stimulates the child and shifts the nervous system into fight-or-flight mode. The response can be immediate, as with action games, or more subtle, as in repeated texting.

A child diagnosed with ESS exhibits symptoms such as irritability, depression, tantrums, low frustration tolerance, poor sportsmanship, poor eye contact, insomnia, poor short-term memory, and learning difficulties. Dunckley claims that ESS can mimic virtually any mental health disorder. […]

Read the complete column

17 Foods That Lower Cholesterol

by Olivia Tarantino, senior editor of Eat This, Not That! 

Have you ever thought you could reduce your high cholesterol levels simply by not eating foods that contain cholesterol (like eggs)? You're not alone.

In fact, even the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines recommended against consuming more than 300 mg of dietary cholesterol a day, as foods that are higher in dietary cholesterol are also higher in saturated fats, and the Dietary Guidelines suggest limiting saturated fats.

It is important to keep in mind though that the Dietary Guidelines do reference the fact that "adequate evidence is not available for a quantitative limit for dietary cholesterol," so all available evidence suggests there is no relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and levels of blood cholesterol. (A large body of evidence indicates that cholesterol-rich eggs can actually improve your cholesterol profile by raising the "good" cholesterol, HDL.)

We aren't saying that changing your diet won't help you reduce your numbers. Eating the right foods is one of the most effective ways to lower—or maintain healthy levels of—your cholesterol. Besides exercising more, cutting out refined sugars, and steering clear of foods high in saturated and trans fats, simply incorporate the foods below into your weekly routine. Wondering which foods to avoid? Start with these common foods that raise your heart attack risk.

Before we go into our list of foods, here's a general review of what types of cholesterol are found in your body:

HDL CHOLESTEROL: Think—Helpful. Known as the "good" cholesterol, HDL takes excess cholesterol to the liver, where it's passed from the body. It may also remove excess cholesterol from arterial plaque, slowing its growth. High levels of this type of cholesterol may protect against heart attacks, while low levels indicate a greater risk of heart attack and stroke.

LDL CHOLESTEROL: Think—Lazy. "Bad" LDL cholesterol deposits excess cholesterol and fat molecules into your blood (rather than to your liver), leading it to build up in your arteries. When your arteries become blocked—what's known as atherosclerosis—it puts you at higher risk for heart attacks and stroke. What you may not know is that the size of LDL particles matters as well. And it turns out, bigger is better: "small, dense LDL" particles confer a higher risk of heart disease than "large LDL" particles. So even some foods that raise overall LDL levels may actually be enlarging the small, dense LDL, which actually slashes the risk of cardiovascular problems.

1). Oats: Not all carbs will shatter your weight loss goals. This nutrient-dense, fiber-rich cereal grain is loaded with the cholesterol-lowering, soluble fiber beta-glucan. Just three grams of beta-glucan has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol levels from 5 to 10% and thus reduce your risk of coronary heart disease. The same fibers that cause your oats to double in size overnight, beta-glucans lower bad cholesterol by forming a layer in the small intestine that blocks cholesterol from entering your bloodstream, according to a review in the journal Food & Function. Check out these healthy overnight oats recipes for what-to-eat inspiration!

2). Radishes: Eat your heart out, and by that, we mean you should nosh your fill on veggies of the same ruby red color, like radishes! Their red hue is due to anthocyanins, a group of phytochemical compounds that has been shown to burn fat and reduce inflammation, insulin resistance, and bad cholesterol. In a Japanese study, rats fed radishes for three weeks showed reduced levels of bad cholesterol and insulin and a boost in good cholesterol. Use them as a salad garnish, taco-topper, or eat them whole as a high-fiber, belly-filling snack.

3). & 4). Flax & Chia Seeds: One of the hallmarks of a balanced diet is to have a good ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s. A 1:4 ratio is ideal, but the modern American diet is more like 1:20. That leads to inflammation, which can trigger weight gain. One of the easiest ways to upgrade your diet is by sprinkling some ground chia seeds or flaxseed into your overnight oats, on top of baked goods, or mixed into your smoothies. Animal studies suggest a chia-rich diet can lower harmful LDL cholesterol and protect the heart, and a study in The Journal of Nutrition found that when patients who were susceptible to cardiovascular disease ingested just 30 grams (about four tablespoons) of ground flaxseed daily, they could reduce circulating LDL cholesterol levels by 15 percent in as early as one month.

5). Pistachios: You can thank tree nuts'—pistachios, walnuts, and pecans—high levels of plant sterols for their cholesterol-lowering ability. These cholesterol-mimicking compounds found naturally in plants can block the absorption of cholesterol from being absorbed into your bloodstream. Instead, they help to ship it out with your waste. Don't just take our word for it. When UCLA Center for Human Nutrition researchers gave one group of participants pretzels and the other group an equal-calorie portion of pistachios for an afternoon snack, the pistachio group was able to reduce their BMI by a point (while the pretzel-eating group stayed the same) and improved their cholesterol and triglyceride levels over 12 weeks.

6). Red Onions: Onions are the unsung heroes of cardiovascular health. Thanks to their bioactive sulfur-containing compounds, the culinary staple can help lower cholesterol, ward off hardening of the arteries, and help maintain healthy blood pressure levels. According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, onions may lower cholesterol by decreasing your body's synthesis of the compound as well as increasing conversion of cholesterol to bile acids. Onions are easy to throw into just about anything—just make sure to heat them up first. The same study found that heat-treated onions were more effective at lowering cholesterol compared to raw onions.

7). Avocados: Need another reason to try out your new favorite avocado recipes? How about this: the fatty fruit is rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that can help lower cholesterol levels and decrease risk for heart disease when consumed in place of saturated or trans fats. Not to mention, the avocado is a powerful hunger squasher, so you'll be less likely to eat cholesterol-raising foods (like sugary treats) after you've eaten some avo. Case in point is a study published in Nutrition Journal, which found that participants who ate half a fresh avocado with lunch reported a 40% decreased desire to eat for hours afterward. Just how good are avocadoes?

8). Chocolate: We know you didn't really need another excuse to nibble on that chocolate bar, but we'll give it to you anyway. A review published by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Boston Veterans Affairs Healthcare System discovered that cocoa products, including dark chocolate, may be able to lower levels of LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol. The secret lies in the presence of cocoa flavanols, which previous studies have found to inhibit cholesterol absorption as well as the expression of LDL receptors. To reap the benefits, grab a bar that contains 70% or more cocoa solids or pure cacao powder, as these will have the highest amounts of flavanols.

9). Grapefruit: Don't overlook this tart fruit. The citrus can help with everything from keeping high blood pressure at bay to lessening the appearance of wrinkles. It doesn't just end there; University of Florida researchers found that grapefruit's pectin could lower total cholesterol and drop your ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol. Consider digging into half of a grapefruit before your morning oatmeal or slice a few segments on top of your starter salad.

10). Green Tea: Replace your morning joe with a cup of green tea to whittle your waist and ward off disease. What makes this hulk-colored elixir so powerful? It's packed with catechins: antioxidant compounds that blast through adipose tissue by revving your metabolism and relinquishing stored fat from fat cells. But that's not all—according to Harvard researchers, the antioxidants in green tea may also lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.

11). Apples: Apples are quite ap-peel-ing to those looking to get a handle on their cholesterol levels. Why is that? It's because apple peels are rich in a type of soluble fiber known as pectin—the same fiber you'd add to jams or jellies to thicken them up. Pectin helps your body excrete the bad cholesterol by latching onto it and guides it out of your digestive system.

12). Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is rich in cancer-fighting polyphenols and cardio-protective monounsaturated fats. And when it comes to looking lean, it's backed by some pretty strong facts. A study published in the journal Obesity found that an EVOO-rich diet resulted in higher levels of a fat-blasting hormone known as adiponectin than a high-carb or high-protein diet. As for cholesterol? An Italian study recently found that replacing corn oil with extra virgin olive oil was able to lower LDL levels in healthy individuals.

13). Spinach: Spinach is one of the highest dietary sources of lutein—an antioxidant pigment found in dark green leafy vegetables and egg yolks famous for guarding against age-related macular degeneration. Now, research published in The Journal of Nutrition found that the carotenoid may help lower levels of LDL. The researchers speculate the anti-inflammatory compound helps your artery walls defend themselves against the clogging cholesterol. To reap the benefits, add half a cup of spinach to your morning weight loss smoothies.

14). Ginger: Who knew that when you pulled out your phone to Google "how to get rid of bloating," you'd find both a solution to your troubled tummy and your high cholesterol levels? You heard us right. Famous for aiding in digestion, ginger has also been found to help reduce total cholesterol, LDL, and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels when subjects consumed three doses of three-gram ginger capsules. Researchers attribute ginger's health benefits to gingerols, compounds that are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial. Get the benefits by grating some fresh ginger into warm water with a squeeze of lemon to make some tummy taming tea.

15). Lentils: Now you'll know why we sing the praises of beans for being good for your heart! Lentils—as well as all pulses, like chickpeas, peas, and beans—are packed with cholesterol-lowering soluble fibers. In a recent review of randomized clinical trials published in The Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers found that eating just three-quarters of a cup of cooked legumes every day could reduce LDL levels by about 5%, compared to similar diets without them. That five percent reduction in LDL is also associated with a five to six percent reduction in heart attacks and other major cardiovascular events, according to the researchers. The benefits don't stop there. Because lentils contain some of the highest amounts of protein (nine grams per half cup serving), they also make a great replacement for meat protein that can contain high levels of cholesterol-raising saturated fats.

16). Kimchi: We're highlighting this Korean fermented cabbage, but many other fermented foods (like sour beer, yogurt, pickles, cocoa, and sauerkraut) can also help lower bad cholesterol levels. The key here is the presence of Lactobacilli—a strain of lactic acid bacteria, or culture, that gives fermented foods their characteristic sour taste. A study published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology found that the specific strain in kimchi was able to lower cholesterol levels by preventing cholesterol from being picked up by your bloodstream.

17). Kamut: Thanks to quinoa, ancient grains have won a place at many Americans' tables. But don't limit yourself to just quinoa; why not check out kamut as well? Native to the Middle East, kamut (or Khorasan wheat) is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, is high in protein (nearly 10 grams per cup), and has a good amount of fiber (21 grams of the satiating nutrient per cup). And according to a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, participants who ate kamut wheat products in place of refined wheat reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and cytokines, which cause inflammation throughout the body, over the course of eight weeks. Toss it into salads or enjoy it as a side dish on its own.

Suffrage & Success

 

Celebrating the Centennial of Women’s Right to Vote

BY MICHAEL SHERMER

On August 18, 1920, the 19^th Amendment of the United States Constitution was ratified, legally securing the franchise to women. It was the culmination of a 72-year battle that began when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the 1848 Seneca Falls conference, after attending the World Anti-slavery Convention in London in 1840 — a meeting at which they had come to participate as delegates, but at which they were not allowed to speak and were made to sit like obedient children in a curtained-off area. This did not sit well with Stanton and Mott. Conventions were held throughout the 1850s but were interrupted by the American Civil War, which secured the franchise in 1870 — not for women, of course, but for black men (though they were gradually disenfranchised by poll taxes, legal loopholes, literacy tests, threats and intimidation). This didn’t sit well either and only served to energize the likes of Matilda Joslyn Gage, Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells, Carrie Chapman Catt, Doris Stevens, and countless others who campaigned unremittingly against the political slavery of women.

Things began to heat up when the great American suffragist Alice Paul (arrestingly portrayed by Hilary Swank in the 2004 film Iron Jawed Angels) returned from a lengthy sojourn in England. She had learned much during her time there through her active participation in the British suffrage movement and from the more radical and militant British suffragists, including the courageous political activist Emmeline Pankhurst, characterized as “the very edge of that weapon of willpower by which British women freed themselves from being classed with children and idiots in the matter of exercising the franchise.”¹

Upon her death Pankhurst was heralded by the New York Timesas “the most remarkable political and social agitator of the early part of the twentieth century and the supreme protagonist of the campaign for the electoral enfranchisement of women”;² years later, Time magazine voted her one of the 100 most important people of the century. Thus, when Alice Paul returned from abroad she was ready for action, though the more conservative members of the women’s movement weren’t quite ready for Alice. Nevertheless, in order to attract attention to the cause she and Lucy Burns organized the largest parade ever held in Washington. On March 3, 1913 (strategically timed for the day before President Wilson’s inauguration), 26 floats, 10 bands, and 8,000 women marched, led by the stunning Inez Milholland wearing a flowing white cape and riding a white horse. (See Figure 1 above.) Upwards of 100,000 spectators watched the parade but the mostly male crowd became increasingly unruly and the women were spat upon, taunted, harassed and attacked while the police stood by. Afraid of an all-out riot, the War Department called in the cavalry to contain the escalating violence and chaos.³

It was a gift. A scandal ensued due to the rough treatment of the women and suddenly, “the issue of suffrage — long thought dead by many politicians — was vividly alive in front page headlines in newspapers across the country.… Paul had accomplished her goal — to make woman suffrage a major political issue.”⁵

In 1917 women began peacefully picketing outside the White House but, once again, they were met with harassment and violence. These Silent Sentinels (as they were called) stood day and night (except Sundays) with their banners for two and a half years but, after the U.S. joined in the war, patience ran thin as it was seen as improper to picket a wartime president. The picketers were charged with obstructing traffic and were thrown — often quite literally thrown — into prison cells where they were treated like criminals, rather than political protesters, and were kept in appalling conditions. Many of the women went on a hunger strike, including Alice Paul, who was viciously force-fed in order to keep her from becoming a martyr for the cause. […]

Read the complete essay

Fitness in 2020 and beyond

When I originally designed my fitness unit, none of the current covid situation was taking place. I just wanted to create an intuitive device that people could use at home. Now that we are in the position that we are, my unit makes working out and getting in shape at home all the more conceivable. I am looking for a licensee or potentially a licensing agent to help bring my invention to the people who want and need it.

Weights down: The devastating impact of COVID-19 on gyms

Plagued by nonsense

This is an unusual post, because I'm asking you to download a pdf, but I think it contains information to help you put the subject into perspective. It's worth your time to read it.

Right now, we are all confronting one of humanity’s scariest enemies: epidemic disease. Are we brave enough to face this horror? You bet we are! We’ve done it every day during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Covid is new. Other diseases have plagued our ancestors since ancient times. Mighty civilizations have been devastated by the invisible invaders we call “germs.” But people are not helpless! Over centuries, we learned how to fight back against disease. Our strongest weapons are science and critical thinking. However, germs have a powerful ally: misinformation! How do ignorance and bad ideas help the germs win—and what can we do about that? Let’s find out! In this free issue of Junior Skeptic we cover:

• Mindless Enemies
• Plagues of the Ancients
• Empires and Epidemics
• Scientific Facts about Bubonic Plague
• The Black Death
• Fighting the Plague
• Fighting Smallpox on American Soil
• The Spanish Flu
• Fighting Diseases Today
• Defeating Covid-19

Down load the PDF.

Save Your Money: This Popular “Muscle Building” Supplement Is A Dud!

 By Tom Venuto, from the “Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle” e-zine

Did you ever wonder about amino acid supplements for building muscle? Many people do because you hear about them all the time. The reason you hear about this so often in bodybuilding and fitness is because amino acids are the building blocks of protein - including muscle protein. 

Out of the 20-some amino acids, 9 of them are called essential, because your body can't make them, and so you have to get them from your food (protein foods). Research has found that 3 of these essential amino acids are especially important for building muscle - leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These are known as the branched chain amino acids or BCAAs.

Out of these 3 BCAAs, research has discovered that leucine is especially important in the muscle building process. Some people even call leucine an "anabolic trigger." All of these are facts. BCAAs are important, and leucine is especially important.

For this reason, enterprising companies began selling BCAA supplements, and highlighting the leucine content, claiming that it would help increase muscle growth and or retain muscle better on calorie restricted diets. BCAA supplements were hugely popular and became a big moneymaker for the supplement companies.  

Then research started saying that the evidence for taking isolated BCAAs was weak, and perhaps didn't do anything to increase muscle, only to shrink your wallet. How could this be so, if BCAAs really are so important in the muscle building process? The answer is simple:  You already get BCAAs from the protein foods you eat!

If you get enough total protein every day, and you get it from high quality sources, you'll automatically get the BCAAs you require, without any need to spend extra money on BCAAs in supplemental form.

It's true, there are some studies showing that BCAAs play a role in preserving lean mass in a hypocaloric diet, increasing immune function, improving recovery, reducing soreness and promoting protein synthesis, and advocates continue to cite this information to promote BCAAs to this day.

Many of the older studies on BCAA were done on elderly and untrained subjects. In the most recent study, the case against BCAA / leucine supplementation was strengthened further and expanded to people who lift - in this case, young resistance trained males.
In this case, 25 trained subjects were consuming an adequate amount of protein - approximately 1.8g/kg per day. Half the subjects were randomly assigned to get 10 grams of free leucine or alanine.  Note that 2 grams twice a day (10g) was considered a high dose of leucine, so if it were going to have any benefit, it should have shown up at that dose. Older studies may have been criticized for under-dosing. 

After a 12-week lifting program, high-dose leucine did not enhance gains in muscle strength or muscle mass.  The primary reason given was that adequate protein was already being consumed from the regular food in the diet, so all amino acid needs were already met. 

This study adds to the growing body of evidence that supports the following conclusion: Don't waste your money on any BCAA supplements.

Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All

 Michael Shellenberger has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. He helped save the world’s last unprotected redwoods. He co-created the predecessor to today’s Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions. But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die,” contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction. His conclusion: “Climate change is real but it’s not the end of the world. It is not even our most serious environmental problem.”

Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas. Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions. Shermer and Shellenberger also discuss:

• what’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism,
• the powerful financial interests in environmentalism,
• the desire for status and power among environmentalists, along with the all-too human propensity to moralize and tell other people what to do,
• Shellenberger’s hypothesis that environmentalism is a faux religion primarily followed by secular people searching for transcendence,
• Environmental Humanism as a replacement worldview,
• the problems and shortcomings of climate computer models,
• how much warmer it’s going to get and what the consequences of that warming will be, and what we do about it? (hint: nuclear),
• myths about nuclear power and why people fear it,
• renewables, solar, wind, geothermal, and why they are not nearly as efficient as nuclear,
• the Amazon: Are the Earth’s lungs burning?
• plastic straws, recycling, electric cars, and other things,
• Are we in a Sixth Extinction?
• How have sweatshops saved the planet?
• How have technology and capitalism saved the whales?
• meat eating, Temple Grandin, and happy farms vs. factory farms,
• the myth of natural: what is natural is good, non-natural is bad,
• why environmentalism is the dominant secular religion of the educated, upper-middle-class elite in the most developed nations, with good guys and bad guys, heroes and villains, and
• Environmentalism as Calvinism — Richard Rhodes: “In the sense that the world is an evil place and it would be better if it were destroyed and turned back over to the natural kingdom.”

Michael Shellenberger is a Time magazine “Hero of the Environment”; the winner of the 2008 Green Book Award from the Stevens Institute of Technology’s Center for Science Writings; and an invited expert reviewer of the next Assessment Report for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has written on energy and the environment for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Nature Energy, and other publications for two decades. He is the founder and president of Environmental Progress, an independent, nonpartisan research organization based in Berkeley, California.

Listen now

Fat Man & Little Boy

 On the 75^th anniversary of nuclear weapons, Dr. Michael Shermer presents a moral case for their use in ending WWII and the deterrence of Great Power wars since, and a call to eventually eliminate them. This essay was excerpted, in part, from Michael Shermer‘s book, The Moral Arc, in the chapter on war.

Three quarters of a century ago this summer, nuclear weapons altered our civilization forever. On July 16 the Trinity plutonium bomb detonated with the energy equivalent of 22 kilotons (22,000 metric tons) of TNT, sending a mushroom cloud 39,000 feet into the atmosphere. The explosion left a crater 76 meters wide filled with radioactive glass called trinitite (melted quartz grained sand). It could be heard as far away as El Paso, Texas. On August 6 the Little Boy gun-type uranium-235 bomb exploded with an energy equivalent of 16–18 kilotons of TNT, flattening 69 percent of Hiroshima’s buildings and killing an estimated 80,000 people and injuring another 70,000. On August 9 the Fat Man plutonium implosion-type bomb with the energy equivalence of 19-23 kilotons of TNT leveled around 44 percent of Nagasaki, killing an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 people and severely wounding another 60,000.¹

The aftermath of Little Boy

On August 9, 1945 the Fat Man plutonium implosion-type bomb with the energy equivalence of 19–23 kilotons of TNT leveled around 44 percent of Nagasaki, killing an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 people and severely wounding another 60,000.

Before and aftermath of Nagasaki

Click image to view larger PDF. Had the Japanese military hardliners had their way to continue the war into the fall, Groves had three more bombs readied for September and another three for October. Here he instructs his Chief of Staff that the next bomb will be ready to drop on after August 24. Emperor Hirohito capitulated on August 15, thereby saving millions of lives of his citizens.

As documented in the memo below dated August 10, 1945, if the Japanese had not surrendered the head of the Manhattan Project, Major General Leslie R. Groves, had another Fat Man-type plutonium implosion bomb ready to go after August 24 that would have likely killed another 50,000 to 100,000 people.² And had the Japanese military hardliners had their way to continue the war into the fall, Groves had three more bombs readied for September and another three for October. President Harry Truman was not exaggerating when he threatened Japan with “a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this Earth.” Truman did agonize about dropping more nukes on Japan, troubled as he was by the thought of more innocents and noncombatants being killed. He wrestled that decision away from the military. (Note Groves’ handwritten addendum to his memo that “It is not to be released on Japan without express authority from the President.” U.S. presidents have had sole authority to use nuclear weapons ever since.) However, further bombings proved unnecessary. On August 15 Emperor Hirohito, against the wishes of some of Japan’s military leaders, announced on the radio that Japan would capitulate. On September 2 they signed the surrender documents in Tokyo Bay, ending the Second World War.³

On this 75^th anniversary of the summer of the bomb I want to make the case that their use was necessary to end the war, that their continued existence has acted as a deterrence against another Great Power war — but that we must eliminate them entirely for the long-term existence of our civilization and possibly our species. […]

Read the complete essay

Combatting Air Pollution’s Effects With Food

from NutritionFacts.org

There is a food that offers the best of both worlds—significantly improving our ability to detox carcinogens like diesel fumes and decreasing inflammation in our airways—all while improving our respiratory defenses against infections.

Outdoor air pollution may be the 9th leading cause of death and disability in the world, responsible for millions of deaths from lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, stroke, and respiratory infection. In the United States, living in a polluted city was associated with 16, 27, and 28% increases in total, cardiovascular, and lung cancer deaths, compared to living in a city with cleaner air. Also, living in a city with polluted air may lead to up to a 75% increase in the risk of a heart attack.

On top of that, the possibility of dying in a traffic jam is two and a half times greater in a polluted city. In addition to causing deaths, air pollution is also the cause of a number of health problems. It may not only make asthma worse, but also increase the risk of developing asthma in the first place. These pollutants may trigger liver disease and even increase the risk of diabetes. Indeed, even when atmospheric pollutants are within legally established limits, they can be harmful to health. So, what can we do about it?

Paper after paper have described all the terrible things air pollution can do to us, but most…failed to mention public policy. Therefore, while science is making great strides in demonstrating the harmful effects of atmospheric pollution on human health, public authorities are not using these data to reduce emissions. Such measures might inconvenience the population and, therefore, might not be politically acceptable. We need better vehicle inspections, efficient public transport, bus lanes, bicycle lanes, and even urban tolls to help clean up the air, but, while we’re waiting for all of that, is there anything we can do to protect ourselves?

As I discuss in my video Best Food to Counter the Effects of Air Pollution, our body naturally has detoxifying enzymes, not only in our liver, but also lining our airways. Studies show that people born with less effective detox enzymes have an exaggerated allergic response to diesel exhaust, suggesting that these enzymes actively combat the inflammation caused by pollutants in the air. A significant part of the population has these substandard forms of the enzyme, but, either way, what can we do to boost the activity of whichever detoxification enzymes we do have?

One of my previous videos Prolonged Liver Function Enhancement from Broccoli investigated how broccoli can dramatically boost the activity of the detox enzymes in our liver, but what about our lungs? Researchers fed some smokers a large stalk of broccoli every day for ten days to see if it would affect the level of inflammation within their bodies. Why smokers? Smoking is so inflammatory that you can have elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels for up to 30 years after quitting, and that inflammation can start almost immediately after you start smoking, so it’s critical to never start in the first place. If you do, though, you can cut your level of that inflammation biomarker CRP nearly in half after just ten days eating a lot of broccoli. Broccoli appears to cut inflammation in nonsmokers as well, which may explain in part why eating more than two cups of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, or other cruciferous veggies a day is associated with a 20 percent reduced risk of dying, compared to eating a third of a cup a day or less.

What about air pollution? We know that the cruciferous compound is the most potent known inducer of our detox enzymes, so most of the research has been on its ability to fight cancer. But, for the first time, researchers tried to see if it could combat the pro-inflammatory impact of pollutants, such as diesel exhaust. They put some human lung lining cells in a petri dish, and the number of detox enzymes produced after dripping on some broccoli goodness skyrocketed. Yes, but we don’t inhale broccoli or snort it. We eat it. Can it still get into our lungs and help? Yes. After two days of broccoli sprout consumption, researchers took some cells out of the subjects’ noses and found up to 100 times more detox enzyme expression compared to eating a non-cruciferous vegetable, alfalfa sprouts.

Now, if only we could squirt some diesel exhaust up people’s noses. But wait, that’s just what some UCLA researchers did, at an amount equal to daily rush hour exposure on a Los Angeles freeway. Within six hours, the number of inflammatory cells in their nose shot up and continued to rise. But, in the group who had been getting a broccoli sprout extract, the inflammation went down and stayed down. 

Since the dose in those studies is equivalent to the consumption of one or two cups of broccoli, their study “demonstrates the potential preventive and therapeutic potential of broccoli or broccoli sprouts,” but if broccoli is so powerful at suppressing this inflammatory immune response, might it interfere with normal immune function? After all, the battle with viruses like influenza can happen in the nose. What happens when some flu viruses are dripped into the nostrils of broccoli-sprout eaters compared with people consuming non-cruciferous alfalfa sprouts? After eating broccoli sprouts, we get the best of both worlds—less inflammation and an improved immune response. After eating a package of broccoli sprouts every day, however, our body is able to keep the virus in check, potentially offering “a safe, low-cost strategy for reducing influenza risk among smokers and other at-risk populations.”

So, better immune function, yet less inflammation, potentially reducing the impact of pollution on allergic disease and asthma, at least for an “enthusiastic broccoli consumer.” But what about cancer and detoxifying air pollutants throughout the rest of our body? We didn’t know, until now. Off to China, where levels of outdoor air pollution are among the highest in the world. By day one, those getting broccoli sprouts were able to get rid of 60 percent more benzene from their bodies. This was the key finding: the observed rapid and highly durable elevation of the detoxification of a known human carcinogen (benzene). Now, this was using broccoli sprouts, which are highly concentrated, equivalent to about five cups of broccoli a day, so we don’t know how well more modest doses would work. But if they do, eating broccoli could provide a frugal means to attenuate the long-term health risks of air pollution.

I’ve been reading about the terrible effects of air pollution for a long time and I am thrilled there’s something we can do other than uprooting our families and moving out to the countryside.

The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump

From authors William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Carter administration, and Tom Z. Collina, the Director of Policy at Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation in Washington, DC, The Buttonrecounts the terrifying history of nuclear launch authority, from the faulty 46-cent microchip that nearly caused World War III to President Trump’s tweet about his “much bigger & more powerful” button. Perry and Collina share their firsthand experience on the front lines of the nation’s nuclear history and provide illuminating interviews with former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Congressman Adam Smith, Nobel Peace Prize winner Beatrice Fihn, senior Obama administration officials, and many others. Shermer, Perry and Collina also discuss:

• even if Trump loses the 2020 election and we have President Biden, real risks of nuclear catastrophe exist because of the system, not the person,
• why the Iran deal was a good one to keep that country from developing nukes,
• how to deal with North Korea and Perry’s experience with the Kim dynasty,
• why the Russians are rational actors who do not want nuclear war,
• terrorists and the possibility of them getting a nuke,
• why we must eliminate Launch on Warning and First Strike policies,
• what is in “the football” seen held by men constantly trailing the President?
• Stanislav Petrov: the man who saved the world, and what this story tells us about the precariousness of our current system,
• game theory, the logic of deterrence, and how to get around it,
• why nuclear weapons were not inevitable, and
• changing the taboo from not using nuclear weapons to not owning them.

William J. Perry served as Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Carter administration, and then as Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration, and has advised presidents all through the Obama administration. He oversaw the development of major nuclear weapons systems, such as the MX missile, the Trident submarine and the Stealth Bomber. His new “offset strategy” ushered in the age of stealth, smart weapons, GPS, and technologies that changed the face of modern warfare. His vision now, as founder of the William J. Perry Project, is a world free from nuclear weapons.

Tom Z. Collina is the Director of Policy at Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation in Washington, DC. He has 30 years of nuclear weapons policy experience and has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was closely involved with successful efforts to end U.S. nuclear testing in 1992, extend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1995, ratify the New START Treaty in 2010, and enact the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. Collina has published hundreds of articles, op-eds, and reports and appears frequently in major media.

Listen now