Tan considers his company to be part of the Slow Food movement--it takes about 16 hours to make a batch of gelato--and he hopes the definition he has proposed will reinforce California's position as a leader in adopting healthy food standards.

 There's a high cost involved in the commercialization of drinking water, especially in under-developed countries. 

                                                                                                                                                            Irena Salina is the director of FLOW (For Love Of Water), which was produced by Steven Starr. 

Six years in the making, FLOW  debuted at the prestigious Sundance Festival almost a year ago, but Starr notes that it was still timely then and remains so now.
 

Watch the trailer for FLOW here:

You can also add your name to the petition to add access to fresh water as Article 31 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Companies that sell bottled water in this country are now looking to make expanded use of agricultural water rights, Starr says, an approach that may require redefining the scale of those rights.

Building on the information contained in the film, Starr has begun a web-based networking site called FreeFlo to enable water rights activists to share ideas and information collaboratively. 

freeflo.org

Mission Statement

FreeFlo is a communication network designed to strengthen the global water activist community, to challenge the privatization of water, to promote solidarity and water justice for all. FreeFlo illuminates issues impacting water ecosystems and individual access to water, and supports local, community-controlled solutions for sustainable water use. Find out more about FreeFlo here.

Dr. Michael Merzenich    

Conventional wisdom long held that some loss of mental acuity was a natural, almost inevitable consequence of aging. But Dr. Merzenich says more recent research has superceded that belief.

Not surprisingly, different types of mental exercise strengthen different areas of the brain. You can find some fun tests of three kinds of brain function here.

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Where there's fire there's smoke, and on Spare The Air days that's not a good thing.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has adopted new rules that prohibit district residents from using wood burning stoves or fireplaces on specified Spare the Air Days during the winter months.

You can subscribe to an automated email notification system for "no burn: days here. There is also an automated telephone notification system. The Spare the Air Winter alerts are also available by calling 1-877-4-NOBURN (1-877-466-2876).

Most of Sonoma County is part of the Bay Area Air Quality District, and subject to the new rules.The coastal and northern parts of the county which lie outside the  District are not covered by its regulations, and compliance in these areas is voluntary..To see a list of cities and counties covered by the Spare The Air no-burn rules, click here .