People who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder can also suffer when Daylight Savings Time begins and ends.
In the Spring when Daylight Savings Time ends, mornings are very dark and morning light is what SAD sufferers benefit the most from.
Read more on the cruelty of Daylight Savings Time here:
Daylight Saving Time Is America's Greatest Shame
Seasonal Affective Disorder: More Than Just the Winter Blues
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that most
often occurs during the shorter days of winter when our exposure to
sunlight is reduced. Symptoms build up slowly & can include feelings
of hopelessness, anxiety, weight gain, loss of energy, increased sleep
& inability to concentrate.
Mental health expert Thomas Kuhn,
M.D., from Holland Hospital Behavioral Health Services talks about how
to recognize & manage Seasonal Affective Disorder in yourself or
family members. Dr. Kuhn also discusses use of medications, diet,
exercise, counseling & light therapy to treat SAD.
Video:
https://youtu.be/PRLATrNcftc
https://youtu.be/yZf3KMJxwOQ
Seasonal Affective Disorder: SAD & Our Biological Clocks
Video:
Seasonal Affective Disorder: Winter SAD & the Environment
Video:
https://youtu.be/qmy5cl379jA
Seasonal Affective Disorder - Light Therapy Treatments
Video:
Seasonal Affective Disorder: Treating Winter SAD
Video:
Toxic Light - The Dark Side of Energy Saving Bulbs
A look at how dangerous the new energy-saving light bulbs are. The EU
has banned many incandescent bulbs in favor of Compact Florescent Lights
(CFLs). CFLs emit serious toxins while being used. All Florescent
lights contain Mercury. There is enough Mercury to pose a serious health
risk in the event of a CLF breakage.
People are being told to run out
of the building for 15 minutes, open windows & turn off the heat.
Additionally the bulbs don't last as long as advertised & they take a
long time to warm up, decreasing in brightness over time. The light
they emit isn't a full spectrum steady light. Few Bulbs actually get
recycled & they need to be treated as hazardous materials when
discarding them. Consumers be alerted!
A Report by Alexandra Pfeil
Video:
https://youtu.be/x0x3rbHFwQU
Planned
Obsolescence is the deliberate shortening of product life spans to
guarantee consumer demand. As a magazine for advertisers succinctly puts
it: The article that refuses to wear out is a tragedy of business - &
a tragedy for the modern growth society...
Once upon a time..... products were made to last. Then, at the beginning
of the 1920s, a group of businessmen were struck by the following
insight: 'A product that refuses to wear out is a tragedy of business'
(1928).
Thus Planned Obsolescence was born. Shortly after, the first
worldwide cartel was set up expressly to reduce the life span of the
incandescent light bulb, a symbol for innovation & bright new ideas,
& the first official victim of Planned Obsolescence.
During the 1950s,
with the birth of the consumer society, the concept took on a whole new
meaning, as explained by flamboyant designer Brooks Stevens: 'Planned
Obsolescence, the desire to own something a little newer, a little
better, a little sooner than is necessary...'.
The growth society
flourished, everybody had everything, the waste was piling up
(preferably far away in illegal dumps in the Third World) - until
consumers started rebelling...
Can the modern growth society survive
without Planned Obsolescence? Did the eternal light bulb ever exist? How
can a tiny chip 'kill' a product? How did 2 artists from New York
manage to extend the lives of millions of iPods? Is Planned Obsolescence
itself becoming obsolete?
Links to Videos:
https://youtu.be/7wDjcFe8u1s
https://youtu.be/ITP4kwZeUwo
Another Video:
The Light Bulb Conspiracy uncovers how planned obsolescence has shaped
our lives & economy since the 1920's, when manufacturers deliberately
started shortening the life of consumer products to increase demand.
The
film also profiles a new generation of consumers, designers &
business people who have started challenging planned obsolescence as an
unsustainable economic driver.
The documentary begins by visiting
the longest running light bulb in the world, which has burned
continuously for over 110 years in Livermore, California. Initially,
light bulbs were built to last.
But the film finds historical evidence
revealing how a cartel in the 1920's decided to produce bulbs limited to
a maximum life of 1000 hours, making the humble light bulb one of the
first examples of planned obsolescence & a model for increasing
profits on other products.
Shot over 3 years in Europe, the
U.S. & Ghana, The Light Bulb Conspiracy investigates the evolution &
impact of planned obsolescence through interviews with historians,
economists, designers & manufacturers, along with archival footage &
internal company documents.
The film profiles several well-known
historical advocates -- Bernard London, who famously proposed ending the
Great Depression by mandating planned obsolescence, & Brook Stevens,
whose post-war ideas became the gospel of the 1950's & helped shape
the throwaway consumer society of today.
The Light Bulb
Conspiracy also looks at modern examples of planned obsolescence,
including computer printers & the controversy over the inability to
replace iPod batteries.
Environmental consequences are seen most
dramatically in the massive amounts of electronic waste that end up in
uncontrolled dump sites in Third World countries such as Ghana.
The film
concludes with examples of consumers & businesses moving towards more
sustainable practices & products, including Warner Philips, great
grandson of the founder of Philips Electronics, who is producing an LED
bulb designed to last 25 years.
Video:
https://youtu.be/D56nut_9e8s