Archive for March, 2013
What’s “Going Green” Got to Do with It?
Thursday, March 28th, 2013
By Dennis Powell, e-Management
Energy Saving Bulbs: Compact fluorescent bulbs are like the poster children of the going green movement. Ironically, these bulbs are potentially tonic due to mercury, a hazardous material, contained within them. So, remember to recycle your bulbs. Do not throw them out with regular garbage.
Is going green the smart thing to do or the chic thing to do? I guess it depends on who you ask. On one hand, opponents of going green say it’s more style than substance. To support their point, challengers point to the toxicity of the compact fluorescent bulbs—you know the “poster child” for the green moment. Other naysayers assert going green is too expensive for businesses and could cost American jobs. In contrast, supporters say going green is less about being in fashion and more about saving the planet from what they see as eminent doom in the form of global warming. Green advocates proclaim that going green means a lower carbon footprint, more jobs, greater energy independence, and a stronger economy. Regardless of the political sparring around the pros and cons of going green, the trend is people are more conscious of environmental issues and are more open to conservation and recycling. For many, conservation and recycling just seem to make sense.
What happens when you go green?
1. Reversing global warming: According to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the vast majority of scientists around the world believe global warming is a fact. Global warming can lead to extreme weather conditions including severe and prolonged droughts, violent hurricanes, extreme heat waves, and super snowstorms. Additionally, going green may reduce the effects of climate change that many scientists believe to be caused by human consumption. Total disaster claims in the U.S.A. alone in 2011 from extreme weather events were $55 billion. Experts say that extreme climatic events have surprising effects including the potential for insurance companies revoking coverage in areas being hit hardest by weather disasters. Global warming could even increase the occurrence of diseases and infections.
2. Lower cost of food: A warmer globe could mean less food and higher prices. The EDF highlights the $5.2 billion in agricultural losses due to a recent drought in Texas, which led to higher food costs in America. Globally, food costs have gone up 79 percent over the past 5 years according to EDF. Going green could help reduce the negative impact of global warming. Additionally, we could feed 10 billion people simply recovering 20 percent of food waste.
3. More jobs, better paying jobs, and lower energy costs in the long term: According to The Nation, green energy may be the “best” roadmap for economic growth in the U.S.A. Smart investments in green energy development would mean new jobs with salaries that may build a stronger middle-class. In addition, so-called “renewable energies” could lead to lower “energy bills for Americans, cheaper transportation, and price stability.” Additionally, cost savings from less energy consumption due to more efficient alliances and smart grids would offset any short-term rise in energy costs.
Questioning the Going Green Movement
In addition to the potential for more efficient energy production and distribution, energy independence, stabilized food costs, and the reduction of severe weather, going green just seems to be a sensible thing to do. If people generally believe saving money and reducing waste are great in terms of finance, why are saving resources (e.g., food, energy, materials) and reducing waste such difficult concepts to grasp for some? Going green is supposed to be all about saving energy and resources as well as reducing our waste. According to Sustainable America, the U.S.A. has only 5 percent of the world’s population, yet the country accounts for 24 percent of global consumption. On the surface, that doesn’t seem to be a sustainable model or even remotely sensible. Still, I suspect our nation cannot ignore that there may be significant upfront costs to consumers, businesses, and government when transitioning to a “greener” way of doing things. So, (1) what do you think about going green? (2) Is going green really about saving resources? (3) Or is it more about saving face in a world full of people who are becoming more and more influenced by eco-activist journalists or environmentalists? If you think going green is a flawed concept, (4) do you think global warming is the real deal or simply a faux?
Tags: , Environmental Defense Fund, EPA, Going green, green, Ola Sage, Sustainable America
Posted in Economy, Energy, Entertainment, Green Computing, Lifestyle | 32 Comments »
What’s a SAMHSA Anyway?
Monday, March 11th, 2013
By Dennis Powell, e-Management
Some people need help. Luckily, SAMHSA is there to help all of us gain access to the quality substance abuse prevention, alcohol and drug addiction treatment, and mental health services.
Does anyone really know what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) does? Many would point to the sometimes controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), often dubbed as Obamacare, as a program HHS administers. Others may say that HHS helps Americans through special programs such as Medicare (the nation’s largest insurer) and Medicaid, the national health program for people with low incomes or limited resources. Perhaps some may be able to name several of the 11 operating divisions (OPDIVs) that make up the department, including well-known agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Still, what many people don’t know is that HHS also provides researched-based data on mental health and addiction, and helps to bring awareness to those issues. The OPDIV that handles behavioral and substance disorders is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
SAMHSA (pronounced Sam-Suh)
SAMHSA’s role is “to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.” According to the agency, “behavioral health” is often overlooked by our society even though the impact is considerable. Did you know the economic effect of mental illness in the United States was $300 billion in 2002? Today, persons who live with mental health issues “have largely been excluded from the current health care system” according to SAMHSA. The impact of untreated mental health issues or addiction is apparent in communities, school tragedies, business productivity (or lack of productivity), overpopulated prisons and jails, and healthcare delivery systems. Over the past 21 years, SAMHSA has helped our nation become better versed on the realities of mental health issues and substance disorders.
SAMHSA Leverages Media to Build Awareness Around Mental Health and Addition
Relatively speaking, SAMHSA does not have a large budget when compared to other OPDIVs of HHS. But its impact on society is arguably just as far-reaching. The agency provides help and gets the word out about important issues around mental health and addiction through grant and contract awards. SAMHSA funded programs are administered in states, territories, tribes, communities, and community organizations. Naturally, SAMHSA has lots of data regarding mental health and addiction in the U.S.A. But, did you know the agency is using media to help increase awareness of these issues? Here’s how…
YouTube Outreach: YouTube is the third most visited website behind Facebook and Google according to Alexa Internet. SAMHSA is leveraging this popular social media site to educate us about the impact of addiction and mental health issues on individuals and families. The SAMHSA YouTube channel tackles underage drinking, suicide prevention, and a variety of other issues. The channel has a powerful series called , which features stories of survival from three very different people who attempted suicide. The videos are intended for behavioral health professionals to high-risk suicide survivors. Still, the series has been helpful to friends and families of survivors to better understand the road to recovery and how they may support survivors in their time of need. The SAMHSA YouTube also features videos of interviews of people in recovery from stimulant use disorders and those who care for people recovering from addiction. http://www.youtube.com/user/SAMHSA
SAMSHA and Facebook: SAMHSA is leading the charge in suicide prevention. In 2011, SAMHSA and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline—a sort of crisis hotline—collaborated with social media giant Facebook to help persons who are in crisis. The result is a social media alert system that allows people to report comments posted on the social media site which could be a precursor to suicide. By clicking the Report Suicidal Content , anyone can alert Facebook to a potential person in crisis. That person would get an e-mail from Facebook “encouraging them to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline” or “begin a confidential chat session with a crisis worker.”
SAMHSA and Hollywood: SAMHSA’s job is to provide leadership in the areas of (1) behavioral health, (2) prevention campaigns, (3) effective treatment, and (4) recovery. The agency provides contracts, grants, information, policies, programs, and policies to carry out its mission. So, it is no surprise that SAMHSA has worked with Hollywood to help shape how we see addiction disorders and mental health issues. The agency has worked with the Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. (EIC), a non-profit founded to encourage the entertainment industry to depict more effectively and accurately health and social issues including mental health issues. EIC is the group that puts on the annual PRISM Awards, which honors the
accurate
depiction
addiction and
mental
health
issues in media including film, TV, and
comic
book
entertainment. EIC relies on the research that comes out of SAMHSA to work with entertainment executives, writers, and other creatives to present realistic portrayals of health and social issues such as bipolar disorder and methamphetamine (crystal meth) addiction. As a matter of fact, research shows that media (TV, film, music) greatly influences our attitudes toward important issues.
Questions on Changing Attitudes
SAMHSA may be having a great impact on how many people seek treatment for mental health issues and addiction. By providing the entertainment industry (film, TV, music, graphic novels) with factual data and leveraging social media (i.e., , , , , , ), SAMHSA is pushing to change emotionally charged discourse around these tough issues to meaningful conversations based in research. But, (1) how do you think your attitudes or knowledge has changed since SAMHSA opened its doors just over 20 years ago? (2) Do you think there is more or less awareness around mental health issues today? (3) Do you think the media (press, TV, film) currently provides more accurate narratives on mental health issues and addiction than before SAMHSA’s inception?
Tags: addiction, Dennis Powell, disorders, health, HHS, mental, Obamacare, Ola Sage, prevention, SAMHSA, suicide
Posted in Entertainment, Family, Government, Healthcare, Social Media, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
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