Historic Anti-Smoking Bill

New legislation was passed that will help reduce the hundreds of thousands of smoking-related deaths each year in the United States. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act will give the FDA more regulatory power over the tobacco industry. The FDA will have the ability to regulate marketing, sale, and tobacco product content. One of the major goals of the legislation is to reduce the number of young people who start smoking by eliminating flavored cigarettes and getting rid of product labels such as "mild" which might make users think they are smoking a less harmful cigarette.

--http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31305225/ns/politics-capitol_hill/

Double The Calories

A healthy diet is not just about what you eat but how much you eat. The food in our pantries and restaurants are actually a lot bigger in portion size than they were two decades ago. A bagel is twice the size and more than double the calories. A portion of spaghetti and meatballs now averages over 1,000 calories, more than double the 500 calories it used to be.

--http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/user-post-portion-explosion-456931/

This Is HOT -- Health Technology

Hothead Technologies in Atlanta created a football helmet that measures body temperature in athletes as they play and sends that information to coaches. The helmet uses a system called HOT (Heat Observation Technology) that incorporates a thermometer in the padding of the helmet and transmits temperatures to coaches so they can be aware of whether a player is close to getting ill.

--http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-05/burn-notice

Weekly Address: Health Care Reform

President Obama focuses on the rising cost of health care to make the point that health care reform is urgent.



According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the United States has the most expensive healthcare system with people paying approximately $316,600 in healthcare costs over their lifetime.

Car Smells

So how are car smells related to health? Cars are made of all sorts of material, some of which are toxic to humans. The hosts of the radio program, Car Talk, had a great interview with Jeff Hearhart who has studied car smells to identify what car chemicals are released into the air.

The folks at HealthCar.org have studied as many cars as they can to identify some of the best rated cars with the least toxic chemicals and those cars with the worst ratings. The Nissan Versa was rated the worst while the Chevy Cobalt was rated the best. You can check to see the rating of your car if it has been tested, here.

Our Nation's Power

NPR created a great graphic on our nation's power grid. It maps out our current power usage and shows our future capacity for solar and wind power.

Green House

Clayton Homes has introduced a home that is stylish, innovative, environmentally friendly, and affordable. The homes cost approximately $100 per square foot and the cost of living is low since the energy savings of having a home with solar panels, energy efficient windows, and a rain water catchment system is usually large. According to the manufacturer, it only costs a $1 a day in energy costs to run utilities. Surprisingly, it also looks comfortable with bamboo floors, a lot natural light from windows, and a modern kitchen. They call it an i-house.

Here are some of the features of the i-house.
And here is a virtual tour of their houses.