Author: Alerts CC

The United States has an “addiction to air conditioning,” Gail Brager, a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, told public radio’s John Hockenberry earlier this month.

That characterization refers not only to high consumption — though, indeed, air conditioning accounts for the greatest residential use of electricity in the U.S., coming in at 19% — but also patterns of use. “Air conditioning, she says, is like heroin,” Hockenberry summarized for Brager. “It takes more and more to give you that original feeling of comfort.”

Studies show that this so-called addiction may have serious health effects.

One Berkeley study found that people whose environments were cooled to 73 degrees or below suffered from more headaches, were more fatigued, and had more difficulty concentrating than people in slightly warmer buildings.

And, of course, increased levels of air conditioning have economic impacts as well. The General Services Administration has estimated that raising the thermostats in federal buildings by just two degrees in the summertime could save the country $1.87 million annually.

Research done at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business earlier this year found that rising global incomes are allowing more and more people to air condition their spaces — and that widespread air conditioning is placing stress on energy prices, public infrastructure and the environment.

Lowering the Costs of AC
Even if you’re not willing to give up your air conditioning altogether, there are numerous ways to be more responsible and sustainable (not to mention economical) in its use. Here’s what the experts recommend:

• Upgrade Your AC Technology
  Some AC technology is simply better than others. High-efficiency units can allow you to cut down on energy usage without sacrificing comfort, and programmable thermostats can curb the impulse to keep turning the temperature lower and lower.

• Keep Up With Maintenance
  A properly maintained AC unit or HVAC system will operate more efficiently. Regularly cleaning filters and checking coolant/refrigerant levels are good places to start.

• Limit Use of Heat Producers
  Taking long, steamy showers or using the oven during the summertime produces extra heat that requires your AC system to work overtime. Look for alternatives (such as grilling outside or cooking in the microwave) whenever possible.

• Take Advantage of Cooler Space
  Most homes have rooms that are naturally cooler than others, normally ones that are on lower floors or that don’t get as much sun exposure. Try to spend most of your time in these rooms, rather than trying to cool naturally warm rooms.

• Check Ceiling Fan Direction
  Ceiling fans can be enormously helpful in controlling home temperature, both in the winter and in the summer. But you will need to change the direction in which your fan spins depending on the season. In the summer, fans should spin counter-clockwise, pulling hot air up toward the ceiling.

There are also numerous energy-saving products being tested that may soon see widespread availability. A two-year study in Australia, for example, just found that coating roofing in a special paint can reflect up to 88% of the sun’s energy, leading to a significant decrease in interior temperatures.

Exposure to chemical called phthalates is just another reason not to douche, according to a new study at the George Washington University’s Milken School of Public Health.

Even though many medical groups, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have discouraged women from the practice of douching, many women still believe that it’s a safe and effective way to clean the vagina. In fact, according to TIME magazine, health experts estimate that as many as 25% of women in the U.S., ages 15 to 44, still use douches.

The problem with douching is very basic, regardless of whether a woman is using plain water or a mixture of feminine cleaning products: when the liquid “cleans” the far interior of vaginal walls, it washes away the good bacteria that keeps women fertile and healthy.

According to the GWU research group, which published their findings in the academic journal Environmental Health, it gets worse. Women who use douches, Reuters and Live Science report, are also increasing their exposure to chemicals called phthalates.

Phthalates are already found in many personal care products in the form of diethyl phthalate (DEP); sanitary wipes, tampons, and douches are all known to contain DEP. At higher levels, phthalates interfere with hormone production; estrogen, testosterone, and thyroid hormones can all be affected by the chemical.

The researchers analyzed phthalate levels in 739 women, ages 20 to 49, by examining urine samples and comparing the levels with the types of feminine care products the women already regularly used — six different products were considered, including tampons, sanitary napkins, feminine sprays and washes, and douching products.

The women who stated that they used douches were found to have high levels of phthalates; according to Reuters, the levels of phthalates were 52% higher on average.

Although most of the women said that they didn’t use douches, certain demographics within the subjects were more likely to use them: about one-third of black women said they used a douche at least once in the past month, while only 11% of white women and Mexican-American women did. In fact, 20% of black women reported douching at least twice a month, while only 7% of white women and 3% of Mexican-American women reported doing so.

The study did not analyze the side effects of higher phthalate levels within these groups, but it may be possible to correlate the data with other studies on women’s health concerns. In 2013, for example, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine reported that black women are more likely to have uterine fibroids, with an average of 9.9 fibroids in this group, compared with 4.5 average fibroids in white women.

Ultimately, the lesson is clear: keep the cleaning to the exterior, and let your body clean itself out naturally each month during your period.

A University of Florida research study looked at how rudeness plays a role in the workplace — and perhaps it’s not too surprising that rudeness has become a standard part of how business is conducted. The surprising part of the study is that rudeness is contagious; what may start as one employee lacking manners can actually turn into an office of rude employees.

In the June 29 issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, the research team explains how it studied a group of 90 graduate students as they worked on negotiating with their peers.

According to WESH 2 News and phys.org, researchers found that if a student rated his or her first negotiation partner as rude, he or she was more likely to pass on the first partner’s rudeness and be perceived as rude by a second partner — thus spreading impoliteness, one person at a time.

Both actual and perceived rudeness, lead author Trevor Folk explained, can be equally harmful in a professional setting — specifically when one employee is figuring out how to respond to another.

“When you experience rudeness, it makes rudeness more noticeable,” Folk stated. “You’ll see more rudeness even if it’s not there.”

The risk of perpetuating a hostile work environment has been studied before, and it’s clear that when rudeness isn’t addressed, the entire business tends to crumble. A Harvard Business Review article reported back in 2013 that when employees are “on the receiving end of incivility,” there was a substantial decrease in productivity and quality.

Studies have found that 78% of employees feel less dedicated to the organization as a whole when they’re subjected to a coworker’s rudeness and 30% of employees experienced a decline in creativity and problem-solving. Only 12% of employees are likely to leave the business, but it would be remiss not to acknowledge that as rudeness is on the rise in the American workplace, the number of businesses that support telecommuting is also on the rise (67%, according to the latest research).

It’s possible that as employees become more disconnected, they develop rude habits without realizing it — and because this rudeness can be passed on so quickly, perpetuating rudeness seems almost inevitable.

On the other hand, it seems just as likely that one positive employee or manager could have just as much influence — but in a positive way.

A UPS truck accident involving a horse and Amish buggy occurred recently in central Pennsylvania, fatally injuring a woman and an 8-year-old boy and also injuring four other people.

The Patriot News and Associated Press reported that the crash occurred in Clinton County, on West Winter Road near Loganton, at around 6:45 p.m. on Friday, July 10.

Authorities reported that the UPS truck was headed eastbound when it drifted toward the shoulder and into the path of a horse-drawn buggy. The truck hit the left horse shaft (the rail alongside the horse), and the horse shaft pierced the buggy, causing it to overturn.

The UPS truck continued traveling about 100 feet after hitting the buggy, according to the police, until it hit a walnut tree.

Reports stated that the UPS truck drifted off the road “for unknown reasons,” leaving many in the community to theorize that driver fatigue was the cause of the crash, as is the case with an estimated 30% of all commercial vehicle crashes.

No charges have been filed against the 55-year-old driver, Sherry Croak of Lock Haven, who sustained minor injuries, and there are currently no reports regarding whether she was using her cellphone or under the influence of any substances.

Rachel Beiler, 36, of Loganton, was pronounced dead at the scene, as was her 8-year-old son. Aaron Beiler, 37, was taken to Geisinger Medical Center and was in critical condition, according to local police. Three additional passengers in the buggy, a 13-year-old boy and two girls, 11 and 14, were also being treated for major injuries.

The horse was killed in the crash as well, and the Amish community responded quickly to remove the body and the buggy from the scene.

Semicolon tattoos aren’t a necessarily new concept. Plenty of grammar aficionados and lovers of literature have had their favorite punctuation mark permanently inked on themselves over the years.

These days, semicolon tattoos are now becoming more popular than ever before for another reason: to raise awareness of mental illness.

According to a July 9 USA Today article, Project Semicolon, a mental health awareness campaign, is the impetus behind this new trend in semicolon tattoos.

Amy Bleuel, the organization’s founder, said she came up with the idea for Project Semicolon as a way to pay tribute to her father, who committed suicide in 2003. She launched the campaign a decade later, in 2013.

Because the semicolon indicates a pause in a sentence rather than the end of one, Bleuel said she hopes these semicolons will begin a conversation about mental illness that will continue into the future. The semicolon is also intended to encourage others to share their stories of struggling with mental illness and inspire them to keep going in life.

“I wanted to tell my story to inspire others to tell their story. I wanted to start a conversation that can’t be stopped, a conversation about mental illness and suicide so we can address it and lower those rates,” she said.

While tattoos are increasingly common — more than 20% of American adults have at least one of them — Project Semicolon doesn’t require you to get one. The semicolons can be simply drawn on in ink, if one chooses. To participate in Project Semicolon, all one has to do is post a photo of their tattoo or drawing on social media and use the hashtag #projectsemicolon or #semicolonproject.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 41,149 reported suicides in 2013 alone. By showing people they don’t have to end their stories, Bleuel told USA Today she hopes Project Semicolon will change these figures.

“It’s impacted people who struggle with self-harm, addiction and suicide, as well as people who have lost people from suicide and addiction,” Bleuel said. “It’s attracted everyone.”

As body cameras are becoming evermore present in police departments throughout the country, one Iowa venue is adopting them as well: a school district.

The Daily Caller reports that in an unconventional move, the Burlington Community School District is requiring its administrators to wear body cameras in order to record the interactions between them and students (and their parents). Burlington school officials are believed to be some of the first civilian professionals that must wear body cameras at work.

One of the administrators, Superintendent Pat Coen, said the school district’s mandate was done to ensure “personal accountability.”

“Did we treat this person with dignity, honor and respect? And if we didn’t, why didn’t we?” Coen explained. Coen, a former Army soldier, compared the cameras to those he had to wear on his helmet in order to record and archive what happened on the field.

Body cameras are becoming the norm for many police departments as of late due to increased pressure on the departments to improve accountability. Before body cameras, car dash cameras had been used extensively by police officers. More than 72% of state police and highway patrol vehicles today use dash cameras while on-duty.

Some commentators believe, however, that the cameras are worn with two intentions in mind: to improve employee behavior and to protect administrators from wrongful accusations of misconduct. A district principal was accused of assaulting a student last year and was only exonerated after school cameras found the incident did not happen.

Under the mandate, the principal of each school in the district must upload each day’s footage and produce it if a complaint is launched. However, administrators have the right to turn their cameras on and off whenever they want, which lends credence to the argument that the cameras are their to protect the administrators and not necessarily the students.

Critics of the body camera policy also point out that unlike police officers, who operate in public and for the most part interact with adults, the school administrators mostly deal with children and are confined to a private, enclosed area. National School Safety and Security Services official Ken Trump is skeptical of the idea, both in schools and in general.

“You have to ask, really, why are we doing this?”Trump said. “Is it going to create more problems than it solves?”

Throughout the United Kingdom, more children’s teeth are rotting out than ever before — and it’s creating a crisis of near-unprecedented scale for the nation’s hospitals.

According to the UK Express, nearly 50,000 children across the country between the ages of five and nine are admitted to hospitals every year for problems created by rotten teeth.

About 26,000 of these children will receive general anesthetics to have their rotten teeth removed. All told, one in every three British five-year-olds now suffers from tooth decay.

All these dental extractions come at a price for the state. Between 2012 and 2013, the National Health Service spent £30 million on hospital-based dental extractions for children 18 and under, the BBC reported on July 12.

Nor are extractions of rotten teeth a good thing for these young patients, either. Childhood tooth decay — most commonly caused by consuming too many sugary foods and drinks — can lead to tooth infection, gum disease and eventual tooth loss. The average American over the age of 20 will have about 24 of their natural teeth remaining — but for this generation of British children, the average amount of teeth they’ll have by adulthood is on track to be much smaller.

The worst part? Childhood tooth decay could be prevented 90% of the time, signalling the need for renewed action against this problem on a wide scale.

In response to these figures, Britain’s top dental surgeon is now calling for cigarette-style warnings on sugary foods and drinks to be a requirement.

“We are reaching crisis. It’s unacceptable that one third of five-year-olds suffer from tooth decay in England,” said Prof. Nigel Hunt, dean of dental surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons.

By labeling products like candy and soda with stark, ominous labeling, Hunt said he believes the UK’s child dental health crisis can be averted.

“In the same way as we have with smoking, that smoking can cause lung cancer and so on, we should be saying high levels of sugar will lead to not only poor oral health and decay but the impact on general health.”

According to a July 10th report from the Health Care Cost Institute, the annual average of money spent, covered by employer insurance, on health care for children ages 0-18 grew by 5.7% every year between 2010-2013. In comparison, the amount spent in that time for ages 0 to 64 only increased by 3.9% each year. This report is based on the almost half of U.S. children covered by ESI in 2013, or around 10.2 million children ages 0 to 18.

The report details that despite a decrease in prescription drug use and pediatric emergency room visits, per capita spending on children totaled $2,574 in 2013, showing a $391 increase from 2010. It also reports an increase in spending on children’s inpatient services, which saw a $744 increase in one year, reaching a total cost of $14,685 in 2013. Additionally, 40% of inpatient admission costs were for children under the age of four.

In accordance with a continuing shift from branded prescription drugs to generics, the HCCI reported a decline in overall prescription use by children in 2013. From 2011 to 2013, the use of generic prescriptions, mostly for asthma and allergies, saw a 300% increase for infants, a 700% increase for kids ages four to eight, an 800% increase for kids ages nine to 13, and a 500% increase for kids 14 to 18. The use of the branded version of these drugs dropped to almost zero in the same time window.

Though the Urgent Care Association of America sees an average of three million people every week, the report also showed a decline in ER visits in 2013 among kids ages 0 to 18. The biggest decrease was in males ages 14 to 18 and teen labor/delivery admissions, while mental health and substance abuse admissions for females ages 14 to 18 increased.

“We hope this report gives researchers, policymakers and consumers a clearer picture of health care spending trends for children,” said HCCI Senior Researcher Amanda Frost in the news release. “While we know that prices have fueled much of the spending growth, future research should examine whether these expenditures are yielding valuable health outcomes and what the implications are for the future of children’s healthcare.”

A crash during a pursuit in Hockessin, DE left two people in the hospital and caused hours of traffic delays. This comes after police were chasing a Newark woman and a teen boy who were suspects in the assault of a 91-year-old in her home.

The suspects, an unnamed teen and Divedra Morris, 30, crashed at the intersection of Limestone and Little Baltimore Roads after being chased by police. Earlier that morning, police had been called to Springers Lane in Milltown to investigate a burglary of a 91-year-old. The victim told police that a woman grabbed her from behind by another woman, and she noticed the young boy during the struggle. The elderly woman was bruised but otherwise unharmed.

Two intruders were also found at a Romunno Circle home. The homeowner believed it was his wife making noise in the garage as she was coming home, but he found intruders as he went to meet her at the door. The intruders threatened him and demanded cash, but he fled and ran to call 911 at a neighbor’s home.

Dispatchers reported the break-ins, and descriptions of the suspects, over police radio. Police spotted an African-American woman and a teeanger matching those descriptions in a vehicle, and pursued them. The vehicle sped off, beginning a chase down Limestone Road. The driver ran a red light and struck another car.

Both suspects are in stable condition. Morris will be charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, second-degree conspiracy, aggravated menacing, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony, theft under $1,500, criminal mischief, first-degree reckless endangering, disregarding a police officer’s signal and numerous other traffic violations. She is currently awaiting trial.

The teen is charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, second-degree conspiracy, aggravated menacing, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony, theft under $1,500 and criminal mischief. He was sent to the New Castle County Detention Center in lieu of posting $147,500 cash bail.

The story serves as a cautionary tale for drivers to be on the lookout. About 133,000 people were injured and 683 killed by crashes in which a driver ran a red light in 2012. Be sure to pay attention, as it may not be you who runs that red.