There is a swim ban this weekend at all Chicago beaches due to “water quality issues.” This is because the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) opened the Wilmette and Chicago River locks at 2:30am on Saturday morning and released large quantities of sanitary sewage diluted in part by the sudden influx of [...]
Filed under: Chicago Trivia, Public Health | 1 Comment »
As much as I enjoy swimming outdoors, I have to admit that it’s not always a pleasant experience. Unlike a swimming pool (well, unlike MOST swimming pools at least), the lake is not a sterile and antiseptic environment. So at any given time, you might find some or all of these niceties in the water: [...]
Filed under: Fitness & Training, Public Health, Tips & Techniques | 3 Comments »
Be sure to check out the Economic Research Service’s recent report which tracks the last century of our country’s consumption trends. As you can see, consumption of grain-based products has increased significantly over the past 30 years: (click on image for large size) Per the article: Between 1972 and 2008, per capita availability of flour [...]
Filed under: Power Law Fitness™, Public Health | No Comments »
The misinformation out there is becoming so frequent that I can barely keep up with it… The American Medical Association just released a jaw-dropping recommendation that women should engage in medium-level intensity exercise for 60 minutes a day, 7 days a week for life in order to maintain their weight. The AMA’s recommendations are “aimed [...]
Filed under: Power Law Fitness™, Public Health | 5 Comments »
Today I attended a subject matter hearing at the Thompson Center regarding the Asian carp issue. Moderated by Illinois State Senator Susan Garrett and Senate Environment Committee, the hearing featured presentations and discussions by the following organizations and panelists: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Colonel Vince Quarles (Commander of the Chicago District) The Nature Conservatory: [...]
Filed under: Chicago Trivia, Conservation, Public Health | 3 Comments »
After I scoped out the swim site yesterday, I decided to check out the lakefront at North Avenue Beach. The cumulative winter winds and waves over the past 20-30 days have created a fairly continuous ice shelf that extends out quite a ways over the water: Unfortunately, many people walk over this without even realizing [...]
Filed under: Chicago Trivia, Public Health | 1 Comment »
I’m a big fan of the Alliance For the Great Lakes, and I support them whenever they need help with local publicity. I received an email notice about an upcoming deadline regarding public participation for a water quality ruling decision. Since this affects Lake Michigan – and all of us who swim in it regularly [...]
Filed under: Conservation, Public Health | No Comments »
Following up on Wednesday’s post, here’s an excerpt from the November Science Daily article, “Three Killer Indicators Identified That Are Even Worse Than High Cholesterol”: The main five health problems normally associated with metabolic syndrome are abnormal levels of blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels (the chemical form in which fat exists in the [...]
Filed under: Power Law Fitness™, Public Health | No Comments »
A “panel of experts” at the Food and Drug Administration voted 12-4 yesterday in favor of allowing AstraZeneca to market its cholesterol pill, Crestor, to patients with healthy cholesterol levels. In other words, we can expect to see a big push by AstraZeneca drug reps to convince physicians to prescribe even more statins to patients [...]
Filed under: Power Law Fitness™, Public Health | 2 Comments »
Check out yesterday’s Tribune piece, “State waging chemical war on Asian carp tonight.” In a last-ditch effort to prevent the fish from gaining access to the Great Lakes, Illinois Department of Natural Resources is using the pesticide rotenone. (Tribune photo by William DeShazer / December 3, 2009) A not-too-well-known factoid – a 2003 study conduced [...]
Filed under: Chicago Trivia, Conservation, Public Health | No Comments »
