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March is a much-anticipated month in Kentucky, when many of us start shedding our winter layers in excited preparation for the coming spring. In addition to extra clothes, however, some folks also shed their common sense.
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Between personal motor vehicles, factories, trains, and other sources of toxic fumes, the outside air would seem to be significantly more toxic than the air within our seemingly pristine indoor environments. Unfortunately, this is an illusion. The air you breathe at home or work can be seriously harmful. In fact, according to a study by the World Health Organization, indoor air pollution kills approximately four million people worldwide every year.
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Most new parents would probably admit that their driving habits changed after having children. The one-time daredevil of the highway has transformed into a doting dad who never pushes the speedometer past a sluggish 65 mph; the lady lead foot who laughed in the faces of cops is now a minivan-loving, law abider who cruises so slow she would try the patience of a turtle.
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It has been 50 years since the U.S. Surgeon General released his report on smoking and its negative effects on health. During the ensuing half century, there's been a massive shift in public attitude toward smoking, as well as a significant change in the number of smokers. People still smoke, of course, and psychology is central to understanding the impulse as well as kicking the habit. Dr. Sherry McKee, a researcher focusing on gender differences and smoking, shared the following discoveries in January:
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These days, the world is brimming with entrepreneurs. From tech-savvy millennials committed to creating their own web-based businesses to experienced baby boomers eager to make their own schedules so they can spend time with grandkids, entrepreneurs come from all age groups and backgrounds. Their ideas for new businesses are diverse, but they all share at least one ideal: Each of them wants to be his or her own boss.
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Snow shoveling is not for the faint of heart-literally. According to Dr. Thomas Esposito of Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine, an average of 11,500 people visit U.S. emergency rooms each year for mishaps resultant from snow shoveling. Heart attacks, broken bones, and back injuries are just a few common consequences of shoveling sessions gone wrong. Bumps, blisters, sprains, and lacerations are also oft-cited injuries. And then there are the fatalities! Who knew this everyday wintertime chore could pose such danger?
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The Polar Vortex: it sounds almost otherwordly, like a malicious entity from a science fiction movie, or a faraway frigid realm in which one is destined to dwell in perpetuity. For those in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the U.S. who recently experienced an actual polar vortex, however, those imaginative notions don't seem so far fetched. Actually a large-scale cyclone near either the North or South Pole, a polar vortex has the power to create drastically cold temperatures in a region spanning several hundred or even thousands of miles from its point of origin.
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While December is the time of year when many of us focus on giving, the spirit of altruism and generosity flows into January, which is National Blood Donor Month. Unlike most of the material things we give during the holidays, our own blood comes at no expense to us. Rather than breaking the bank, we can fill up the bank-the blood bank, that is. All that's required to give it is a bit of time and a desire to help others.
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The first month of a new year is a time when we make resolutions to better tend to our physical and mental health, as well as the health of our relationships. We'll work out three times a week, we promise. We'll finally sign up for those guitar lessons we've been so shy about taking, we vow. We'll have regular Sunday dinners with the entire family, no ifs, ands, or buts.
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Those of us who live in seasonal places, other than perpetually sunny Florida and Southern California, are often at the mercy of a great force of nature, one that can affect our moods, alter our plans, dictate what we eat and do, and even influence our safety. This all-powerful entity goes by a single name: Weather.
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