| Heart palpitations very common but can be serious
Others have dozens a day, some so strong that they feel like a heart attack. Most palpitations are caused by a harmless hiccup in the heart's rhythm. A few reflect a problem in the heart or elsewhere in the body. Sorting out worrisome palpitations from the harmless ones isn't always easy. Doctors can be quick to attribute them to anxiety, depression, or some other emotional or psychological problem. Although sometimes that's exactly right, it's important to first rule out harmful heart rhythms and other physical causes. Common complaint Palpitations are extremely common. Although most people shrug them off, they worry countless folks enough to consult a primary care physician or cardiologist. Different people experience palpitations in different ways.
Experts Give Advice On Vehicle Emergency Kits
MADISON, Wis. -- After hundreds of drivers were stranded on Interstate 39-90 during Wednesday's snowstorm, WISC-TV's Teri Barr teamed up with Consumer Reports to find out what motorists should have in their vehicle emergency kits while traveling. TALKBACK: What Do You Think? There are certain essentials that could make a difference in an accident or weather-related situations, and Consumer Reports gave some suggestions. Consumer Reports said that people should pack flares of hazard triangles to give others warning and to help avoid more crashes. They also recommended a first aid kit and jumper cables to get a charge from another car if the battery dies. Experts said that other useful items that can be added to an emergency kit include: an extinguisher for any small fires; a foam tire sealer for the quick fix of a flat; gloves to keep hands clean and warm; and a flashlight for nighttime incidents.
A Dose of Economics for Healthier Pharmaceutical Production
Efforts to increase the poor's access to medicines are nothing new. Buying products from quality manufacturers and urging these manufacturers to lower prices for the poorest markets have worked best; other policies have largely failed or are still on the drawing board. But the latest strategy--to encourage local pharmaceutical production--could also be entirely counterproductive. It could lower drug quality and increase incentives for protectionism, ultimately reducing access. Production of drugs in poorer countries can make sense, but it must be driven by entrepreneurs responsive to market incentives. Unsuccessful local businesses must be allowed to fail, not be propped up by aid groups that support local production without considering its long-term economic consequences. This would encourage better, more profitable businesses, which will be the engines of growth for poor nations.
Flying clouds the real climate culprit
It is already the largest single source of carbon emissions after energy, contributing up to 10 times as much as aviation. The Stern Report, no less, warned that rainforest destruction alone would, in the next four years, release more carbon into the atmosphere than every flight from the dawn of aviation until 2025. Burning forests produces a particularly nasty double whammy of warming. As they burn, they send vast swathes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. And once they're gone, they can't soak up the carbon from industry, cars and power plants. But despite all this, people get far more exercised over the evils of aviation than they ever do over forest loss. This is partly because aviation looms large on those instant "carbon calculators", designed to give a rough-and-ready guide to an individual's impact.
Cellulose ethanol production offers several advantages
Many questions are being raised regarding the viability of ethanol. The United States can easily produce 1.3 billion tons per year of cellulose and/or landfill trash. The ethanol produced could replace more than 30 percent of gasoline consumed. According to a 2008 Nebraska study, cellulose ethanol yields about 540 percent more renewable energy than is required to grow and convert it. The tested switchgrass fields produced 320 gallons of ethanol per acre. Producing fuel ethanol from cellulose greatly expands the types and amounts of feedstock available for production. Not only can prairie switchgrass be used, but you can utilize cornstalks, straw, wood chips, tree branches and the county landfill trash. .
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