Every day is better with a new track. 

Alone In Kathmandu by ohoband

Every day we bring you one track for a little musical inspiration. Have a track you want to submit? Email us at contact@ecosalon.com.

Image: Alone in Kathmandu

The post Daily Track: Alone In Kathmandu – Oho appeared first on EcoSalon.

Five new tracks to add to your playlist. 

Trying to keep up with the music scene? You have come to the right place. Every month we round up some of the best independent albums and tracks that you may have missed. From Portugal to Japan, for April, here are our top picks:

1. A Handsome Stranger Called Death – FOE

A Handsome Stranger Called Death by FOE

2. Spark Disco – Future Feelings

Future Feelings – Spark Disco by Future Feelings

3. Turn Groove Sounds On – möscow çlub

4. Lisbon Teeth – Work Drugs

Lisbon Teeth by Work Drugs

5. Myth – Beach House

Beach House – Myth by theartistree.fm

Image: Moscow Club

The post Five Recording Artists You Might Have Missed This Month appeared first on EcoSalon.

Slowly but surely, Eastern medicine is gaining acceptance in the world of Western academia. Most recently, a study by the University of Rochester Medical Center has shown the powerful anti-nausea effects of ginger, the ubiquitous root that has played a significant role in Asian and Indian medicine since the 16^th century, on cancer patients. (The results were published in the American Society of Clinical Oncology.)

“Nausea is a major problem for people who undergo chemotherapy and it’s been a challenge for scientists and doctors to understand how to control it,” said Julie L. Ryan, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Dermatology and Radiation Oncology at Rochester’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, and a member of Rochester’s Community Clinical Oncology Program Research Base.

The study, which was funded by the National Cancer Institute, showed that patients can reduce post-chemotherapy nausea by 40 percent using ginger supplements along with standard anti-vomiting drugs before undergoing treatment. The Phase II/III placebo-controlled, double-blind study included 644 cancer patients who would receive at least three chemotherapy treatments.

More common uses for the wonder root include nausea and vomiting following surgery, during pregnancy, and motion sickness. For recommended doses, visit the University of Maryland Medical Center website.

Image: Crystl

The post From Motion Sickness to Chemotherapy, Ginger Can Help appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you want to look at the history of American energy, just consider T. Boone Pickens.

When Pickens founded Mesa Petroleum in the 1950s, he took $2500 and turned it into a three-billion-dollar oil empire. He’s Texas old school oil, currently running Dallas-based energy investment fund BP Capital. He is a close, personal friend of the Bush family, and he also funded that little Swift Boat incident that turned John Kerry into election road kill.

But then, a few years ago, something seemed to turn. Pickens is a business man above all else – and considering the state of the world’s oil, he planned accordingly. He launched the Pickens Plan, an extensive blueprint to promote oil alternatives.

According to Pickens, “At current oil prices, we will send $700 billion dollars out of the country this year alone – that’s four times the annual cost of the Iraq war.  Projected over the next 10 years the cost will be $10 trillion – it will be the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind.”

Further, the plan is to replace natural gas resources with wind energy, which would then free up to 38% more natural gas resources to replace the current need for transportation – and therefore our dependence on oil. And Pickens went to great lengths to promote his plan, traveling all over the country to the tune of $60 million, promoting what he seemed to feel was the answer to all energy problems.

Or was the answer. Yesterday, Pickens beat a hasty retreat on Glenn Beck’s FOX television show. Faster than Sarah Palin can wink away her status as governor, Pickens called off his plans for the world’s largest wind farm.  The 687 turbines that were going to power the nation into clean energy are homeless, as Pickens claims he doesn’t even have a place to store them.

What happened?

As Pickens claims, “It doesn’t mean that wind is dead”¦It just means we got a little bit too quick off the blocks.”

Which means what, exactly? Pickens is vague. It seems that the energy executive ran into problems getting the turbine distribution system set up in the Texas panhandle. Okay, sounds feasible. We’re still with you, T. Boone.

But then Pickens kept talking. It seems that certain aspects of the new climate bill have made natural gas, not wind, the cheap energy du jour. Pickens owns an extensive natural gas monopoly. And the climate bill includes a lot of incentives to switch to natural gas. So it makes fiscal sense to jump on the natural gas bandwagon. Which would be great, if it were truly a green energy. But natural gas still contains 70% methane and seriously injures people when inhaled. Okay, so maybe it is clean by the “we’re not mired in the Middle East” definition, but it’s not clean by the “will it kill me?” litmus test.

Image: Fort Worth Real Estate Online

The post Knocking the Wind Out of T. Boone Pickens appeared first on EcoSalon.

Must be those years as a kid in Palm Springs that instilled my passion for succulent gardens that glow at dusk.

Whether opting for sun powered pathway lanterns or natural candles, you are cutting down on electricity while letting your prized garden bask in the limelight.

Combine them all for a low energy, highly-illuminated spot, where you and the mosquitoes can bite on juicy snacks and drink up the evening breeze.

Here are 10 that make a mark:

The color-changing Chalice solar path lights are said to last up to 30,000 hours (about 15 years) and automatically turn off and on to provide up to 8 hours of light at a time. $38.95 for a set at Target.

(shown at top)

Ideal for my friend Suzanne’s pad at the Four Seasons in Kona, these Solar pineapple lights up a garden path or patio with a warm welcome. They even make a fruity statement indoors! High-performance LED bulbs start to glow at dusk. They are a handpainted stone-resin composite. $27.95  each at Potpourri.

MIO solar path lights, also new to Target. They are green, retro and cheap at $40 per set.

Portfolio solar path lights from Lowes are a brass act with fluted glass lenses and a pretty copper finish. They come in a 12-pack and turn off and on automatically. $98.

I love the retro shell of these fun candle lanterns from Crate and Barrel. In yellow and orange, they burn 60 hours each for $6.95 (sale price). I love placing these on steps leading to a special sitting area in the yard.

Get groovy with these blown glass balls of light from Earth Tech.The gorgeous Firefly Solar Garden Art globes use solar energy to flow all night long, casting an art nouveau effect on these calla lilies. Enjoy the mystical ambience of  shadows and light over your prized garden blooms. $38.

Set the tone the minute the hybrids pull up to the party with these retro-colored driveway markers, powered by the sun and quite Mid-Century sensational. Se of 4 markers are $60 at Solar Goods.

I’m a sucker for anything shaped like a pagoda, including this lantern, also from Solar Goods. You can hang a few strategically in the garden or place on a few tables. They have a gorgeous weather-resistant finish and mix well with other exotic touches. $50 at Solar Goods (save on a pair).

Simple solar-charged spotlights, $50 for a pair at Green and More, are ideal for illuminating trees and bushes and creating that dramatic nighttime glow. Uses renewable solar panels with rechargeable friendly batteries included to stay lit for up to 10 hours at night.

Rock the garden – or the Casbah – with the Terra Spotlight, $113 at Eco Lights. Powered by two AA-size rechargeable NiCad batteries, the stones will provide 10 hours of light when fully charged. Available in two finishes, I think these are the most natural decor element I’ve seen for lighting the garden.

The post 10 Sun-Powered Lights for Summer Nights appeared first on EcoSalon.

Meet Colin Coon. He’s an ordinary high school senior with a not so ordinary senior project. Having spent the last year converting a 1980 Mercedes station wagon to run on vegetable oil, he has just taken off on a six week cross-country road trip. His goal – to make people more aware of alternative energy sources.

Now, not all high schools would be open to a student’s “Ëœsenior project’ involving a road trip of 8500 miles in a car that’s running on vegetable oil. But then, New Gate School in Sarasota, Florida isn’t exactly your ordinary, everyday school. One of only six Montessori-based secondary schools in the country, New Gate focuses not only on strong academics but also on encouraging students to create their own educational experiences by pursuing what interests, intrigues, and excites them.

Colin not only converted the car but also raised over $6000 for the trip and has been in contact with many small restaurants on his route to ask them to donate vegetable oil for the cause.

Along the way, Colin will be speaking at schools and spreading the word that there are other ways to get around besides using fossil fuels.

Want to come along for the ride? Then head on over to Colin’s Green Machine and enjoy the trip.

Images: Paraflyer, My Sun Coast

The post Colin's Green Machine Hits the Road appeared first on EcoSalon.

Do you remember how you first found out about sex? Not just how babies are made, but the…ins and outs, so to speak? For most of us, our first introduction to sex as more than just a reproductive act probably came from chatter with friends, a copy of Playboy or racy scenes in your aunt’s secret stash of adult novels. All of this titillation with no adult guidance whatsoever.

Abstinence-only education doesn’t work, and neither does fear-mongering with frightening statistics while kids inevitably experiment in back seats, figuring out the details of sex on their own. What’s the alternative? How about being real?

I mean really, really real.

The Unitarian Church of Christ has started a holistic and perhaps controversial sexual education program for middle schoolers called OWL (Our Whole Lives) which educates teens, in a safe and adult-guided environment, about the honest realities of this wonderful thing we call sex. While so many standard sex-ed courses focus on what can go wrong, OWL also educates about what’s so right about sex – and how to foster physical and emotional health.

OWL presents not fear, but plenty of facts, including images of adults having sex, alternatives to intercourse, emotions involved in sexual activity and plenty of time to speak up and discuss body issues, which are so important to teenagers in the hormonal throes of adolescence. And of course, they do present statistics and information about potential consequences like unwanted pregnancies and STDs.

This is what I would consider an evolution in education. OWL isn’t promoting sex but rather presenting information in an honest way, debunking myths, and giving kids a chance to ask the real questions free from fear.

Image: Hamed Masoumi

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Accidentally shot at the age of 9 and paralyzed from the waist down, Chanda Hinton didn’t let her disabilities stop her from participating in activities with friends throughout her school years. But in college, she began to experience chronic pain. The best her physician could do was prescribe narcotic painkillers, which only caused Chanda depression, severe weight loss and substance dependence.

Through the advice of her sister, Chanda tried alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage and dietary changes. She regained her weight and health and her self-esteem improved dramatically. Her own journey to wellness ignited a spark and she decided to help other disabled people access alternative and complementary therapies, as well.

At the age of 26, Chanda started her own nonprofit, the Chanda Plan Foundation, which helps distribute funds to those who need them so they can choose their own complementary health care practitioners. She’s even been lobbying for Medicaid approval of alternative therapies and wants to start an education center for physicians so they, too, can understand just how complementary these alternative therapies can be.

Image: russell.bride

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