Implications of Urban Heat Island Formation
Typical urban surfaces, such as concrete and asphalt, get much hotter than vegetated surfaces during the day. They store the energy and release it at night, thus creating a dome of warmer air over the city. Hypothesized to result, in part, from the elevated heat capacity and waterproofing effect of urban construction materials, the urban heat island effect is believed to promote ozone formation, increase energy consumption, and exacerbate human and environmental heat stress (Cardelino and Chameides 1990). The increased heat of our cities increases discomfort for everyone, requires an increase in the amount of energy used for cooling purposes, and increases pollution. However, the exact nature of implications depends upon geographical and local climate situation. The major unwanted implications of urban heat island are thermal discomfort, increased cooling demand and air pollution.
Urbanization has a tremendous impact on air quality, both over the city and the surrounding countryside. Air quality attainment becomes a critical problem and is exacerbated by urban growth. We know that usually warm air rises above and leads to the development of a low-pressure area and cold air gushes in. but in cases of urban heat island, the warm air gets trapped in by the weight of the pollutants, which affects the air quality and makes the air heavier to rise.
Urban heat islands and air pollution are closely related in an urban system. Besides discomfort, urban heat islands also heavily contribute to an increase in smog production -- a serious environmental air quality health problem which especially affects breathing for children and seniors. The additional temperature acts as catalyst to enhance photochemical reaction, which increases the particles in the air, and thus contributes to the formation of smog and clouds. The presence of ozone creates smog and is the major environmental problem in many cities around the world. Smog is formed when air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compunds (VOCs) -- mainly coming from cars and power plants -- combine with high outside temperatures, usually during hot summer months. Researchers have co-related that smog event increase by ten percent for each increase of 5˚F in temperature (EPA, 1992). Simply stated, smog formation is directly related to air temperatures -- the higher the air temperature -- the more smog that will be produced. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a drop in air temperature of just a couple of degrees in urban areas can reduce levels of smog on the order to 5 percent to 10 percent, sometimes up to 20 percent -- by slowing down the cooking rate of smog.
Apart from ozone, some bio-genic hydrocarbons from emissions of automobiles are also expected to increase due to increased temperatures. A significant amount of SOx, NOx, and CO emissions take place from the evaporative losses during tank filling and transportation of petroleum products in the mega-cities.
The UHI effect prolongs and intensifies heat waves in cities, making residents and workers uncomfortable and putting them at increased risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke. In addition, high concentrations of ground level ozone aggravate respiratory problems such as asthma, putting children and the elderly at particular risk. During periods of extreme heat, even trained athletes have been known to die from heat stroke and/or exhaustion. The extreme temperatures caused by UHIs will undoubtedly place a burden on the country’s healthcare system.
In terms of economic and infrastructure costs, additional cooling energy demand of electricity in commercial and residential buildings during summer is expected to be tremendous. Increased demand for energy can cost consumers and cities thousands of additional money in air-conditioning bills in order to maintain comfort levels. In the city of Los Angeles alone, estimates of up to 100 million dollars are spent on energy each year. The air-conditioning equipments discharge heat (which is derived from electricity produced elsewhere) in the urban atmosphere which ultimately contribute to the raising urban temperature. Further, the air-conditioning demand and outside temperature are very closely related thus requiring additional cooling load. This additional cooling load is again provided by electricity, a large portion of which is wasted as heat to urban atmosphere. Studies have shown that for each degree Fahrenheit the daily average temperature increases, electric power demand increases by nearly two percent (Akbari).
Beyond posing a threat to human health and raising air conditioning costs, the heat island effect can also cause physiological stress in other animals, change the mix of plants and animals that live in the area, and even lead to changes in the distribution of pathogens.
Moreover, added heat in cities can destabilize and change the way air circulates around cities. Rising warm air may help produce clouds that result in more rainfall around urban areas. Mostly during the warmer months, the added heat creates wind circulations and rising air that can produce clouds or enhance existing ones. Under the right conditions, these clouds can evolve into rain-producers or storms.
Modification of the landscape through urbanization alters the natural channeling of energy through the atmospheric, land and water systems. Although large-scale atmospheric and climatic phenomena are global in scope, urban areas cannot be viewed in isolation because the local environment modifies the conditions in the thin air stratum above the ground, generally referred to as the atmospheric boundary layer. As humans alter the natural landscape in the city-building process, the local energy exchanges that take place within the boundary layer are affected. Therefore, modification of the landscape influences the local (microscale), mesoscale, and even the macroscale climate.
Implications in Metro Manila
The worsening heat environment in the mega-cities has created a clear threat to the urban sustainability which is shaded by a surge of international interest in the global warming. The implications mentioned earlier clearly show the importance of improving urban heat environment and their role in ascertaining urban sustainability.
In the past several decades, there has been a worldwide shift from rural to urban areas. In Asia, it was estimated that by the year 2000, the urban population will have grown to 35% of the total population compared to only 21% in 1975. Metropolitan Manila, considered as the 18th largest metropolitan area in the world in 2002, is predicted to reach 25 million by near 2015. The metropolitan region would have to accommodate an increment of 11 million people, 3.5 million in Metro Manila and 7.5 million in the adjoining municipalities. Consequently, Metro Manila will be facing further inflow of populations while the adjoining areas will be facing severe shortage on social infrastructure to cope with the impact of rapid suburbanization.
The rapid growth of Metro Manila poised a tremendous impact on its ecosystem. Its rapid urbanization resulted to congestion and intensification of development activities which:
(1) placed serious strains on supporting structures and rendered existing services inadequate;
(2) resulted to incompatible and conflicting land uses;
(3) encouraged growth on the urban area’s peripheries where basic infrastructure services are not available; and
(4) spoiled the quality of the urban environment
With respect to atmospheric environment, the air quality has deteriorated to a point where people are wondering whether the time has come to wear gas masks. Air quality monitoring stations in eleven strategic locations in Metro Manila showed that the concentration levels of suspended particulate matters, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are in the up trend. In areas near major thoroughfares, concentration of these three pollutants has already exceeded the levels considered safe by the World Health Organization authorities. Air quality measurements indicate that particulate matter is the overwhelming pollutant of concern followed by lead. Carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide levels occasionally exceed accepted standards but particulate mater concentrations consistently exceed the acceptable limits. Emission inventory showed that 70 percent of air pollutants in Metro Manila are attributable to mobile sources (motor vehicles) and 30 percent to stationary sources (industries and power plants).
Due to the presence of high-rise buildings and the concentration of housing and other infrastructures, a phenomenon known as heat island effect is discernible in Metro Manila (See satellite image). This problem is aggravated by the emission of carbon dioxide, a by-product of fossil fuel combustion by both stationary and mobile sources. The presence of carbon dioxide will produce the so called green house effect which is synergistic with the heat island effect causing the ambient temperatures in the area to rise several degrees warmer than the countryside.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
URBAN HEAT ISLAND FORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY (Part 1)
Introduction
A steady increase in mean global temperatures and violent weather over the previous several decades has provided circumstantial evidence that significant changes in global climate are underway (Stone, 1999). Numerous efforts are underway to understand the cause and to explore the technological and management strategies to minimize the implications.
In recent years, the role of human activities in the process of global climate change has attracted a growing level of attention within the scientific community. Perhaps more significant in the short term, however, is the impact human settlement patterns are having on climates at the regional level. Sustainability of human kind is often linked with global climate change but the climate change at city or regional scale is paid little attention by the policy makers and academicians in both the developed and the developing countries. Changing climate in the dense mega-cities around the world is a well-documented phenomenon. Cities like
The Urban Heat Island Phenomenon
“Urban Heat Island” is a climatological phenomenon wherein large urbanized regions have been shown to physically alter their climates in the form of elevated temperatures relative to rural areas at their peripheries. Temperatures of urban areas are usually higher (about 2.5 to 6˚C) than those of its surrounding, and this phenomenon have been reported inside dense and highly urbanized cities around the world.
Heat island effects are severe during the summertime in cities of tropical climate zones. Although the phenomenon had been observed in earlier times in winter time in high latitude cities, mostly in
Figure 1 shows a graph of the temperature versus the level of urbanization. Although most people know that metropolitan areas tend to be hotter than surrounding locations, little is known about the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Phenomenon. Yet the concept has been known for nearly 200 years. The UHI effect was first recorded as early as 1807, when an English scientist named Luke Howard took data in and about
Urban Heat Island Formation
There are many factors to consider in Heat Island Formation. Most importantly, is for a Heat Island to materialize is for an area to become urbanized. Urbanization is considered as prosperity of a country. In the age of modernity, the city economy symbolizes th
e powerhouse of capital accumulation. A city continues to attract entrepreneurship and investment and the clustering of nuclear settlements into urban sprawling.
By year 2025, 80% of the world’s population will live in cities according to a 1999 United Nation’s report. The blue line indicates the trend for the growth of cities. As cities continue to grow, urban sprawl creates unique challenges related to land use planni
ng, transportation, agriculture, housing, pollution, and development. Urban expansion also has measurable impact on environmental process.
Rapid urbanization and population growth in the mega-cities has resulted into massive infrastructure built-up and dense settlements. Urbanization has a dynamic relationship with the physical environment. As cities and urban areas expand (called Sprawl), thousands of hectares in naturally vegetated surfaces are being lost each year -- replaced with asphalt, concrete, rooftops and other man-made materials. While urban growth affects the physical environment (usually negatively), urban environmental changes also affects the qualityof life in these areas. The latter lead to biochemical, epidemiological and psychological responses in the urban dwellers.
Urban Sprawl not only results in the loss of native habitats (where animal and plant species are becoming extinct or endangered), but creates Urban Heat Islands -- where man-made materials such as asphalt store much of the sun's energy producing a dome of elevated air temperatures over the urban area. In urban areas, buildings and paved surfaces have gradually replaced preexisting natural landscapes. As a result, solar energy is absorbed into roads and rooftops, causing the surface temperature of urban structures to become 50-70˚F higher than the ambient temperatures. As surfaces throughout an entire community or city become hotter, overall ambient air temperature increases. This phenomenon can raise air temperature in a city by 2-8˚F (World Meteorological Organization, 1984).
Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd and colleagues at NASA's
Man-made changes to the urban environment have been the traditional sources of the worsening urban heat environment. In the process of urbanization, vegetated land surfaces are converted into concrete and asphalt. These changes in the nature of surface have primarily affected solar reflectivity (popularly called albedo), evaporative efficiency and roughness of the land surfaces. Building density and type, amount of road surface, and energy use, as well as local topography and regional wind patterns, all work together to modify a city’s climate. These causes can be classified according to the following - alterations to urban thermal properties, changes in vegetation cover, heat trapping by urban geometry and man-made (anthropogenic) heat input.
Alterations to urban thermal properties
Today’s urbanized cities comprise asphalt roads, concrete pavements, parking lots, buildings and these absorb, store and radiate more heat than the vegetated surfaces. This disrupts the natural radiation balance of the surface resulting into the warmer city. The urban heat island effect is often noticed at night when buildings and other constructed surfaces radiate the heat they have accumulated during
the day.
The most influential property in the formation of urban heat island is that of albedo. Albedo is defined as the ration between the light reflected from a surface and the total light falling upon a surface. As the picture shows, albedo can range greatly. Clearly, the albedo of vegetation is much greater than that of civil structures, resulting in structures absorbing much more solar radiation than trees and plants.
Changes in vegetation cover
Heat islands are created when city growth alters the urban fabric by substituting man-made asphalt roads and tar roofs and other features for forest growth. Apart from radiation balance, vegetation loss is responsible for decreasing evapotranspiration process in which plant uses heat from the air to evaporate water in the leaf transpiration process. The process releases moisture into the atmosphere. This process is similar to sweating in humans, effectively releasing heat into the atmosphere. As the water evaporates from vegetation, heat is taken out of the environment. In that way vegetation act as heat sink. They are also responsible for retaining water into the soil and their absence decrease the ability of the soil to retain water thereby decreasing the evaporation rate. Therefore worsening heat environment is partly responsible for the decreased humidity in mega-cities too. Studies in
Heat trapping by urban geometry
Another important reason for worsening of heat environment is the change in the wind pattern. Urban infrastructures increase surface roughness and they lower wind speeds which could have carried away surface heat gain. The formation of urban canopy changes the wind pattern and does not allow wind to enter or to swipe away from the near ground surface effectively, trapping heat inside the canopy
The canyon structure that tall buildings create enhances warming. During the day, solar energy is trapped by multiple reflections off the buildings while the infrared heat losses are reduced by absorption. The city also changes the overall cooling action of the wind by channeling it into narrow streets. The geometry of high vertical walls and narrow streets also increases the summer heat cities as the high sun is reflected downward and is absorbed, and then reradiated, by the often rocklike street and building surfaces.
Man-made (anthropogenic) heat input
In order for cities to thrive, energy production is a necessity. Great amount of heat is released into the environment by powerplants. Transportation is also contributes large amounts of heat, which is evident to those stuck in rush hour traffic. Clearly, everyday human activity required for a functional society only aggravates the heat island problem. The biggest contributions are from areas of high industrialization, airports and seaports. These areas have enormous energy expenditures, and are highly unlikely to contain vegetation.
Mega-cities are characterized by high population density, high per capita energy consumption and their demand for energy is fulfilled in the physical forms such as electricity, oil, gases and coals which are ultimately discharged as heat into the urban atmosphere. Direct heat discharges are usually categorized as stationary and mobile. Heat discharge from buildings by air conditioning units is the single major source of stationary heat discharge. Although many industrial plants and industries are located far from the cities, still some of them are located in the cities which release heat directly into the urban environment. However they usually discharge heat from tall chimney stacks that are usually easy to swipe away by the wind breeze. Automobiles discharge large amount of heat that is mobile in nature. In the city centers and high traffic zones, the concentration of this discharged heat further increases by congestion and presence of fuel inefficient vehicles. A closer look into a mid-size vehicle for urban driving cycle suggests that nearly thirteen percent of total input energy is converted into the useful work while the rest dissipates as heat.
The cumulative effects of all these factors cause urban environment to be hotter than the surrounding areas. Similar to the effects of global warming, such “urban warming” can have substantial implications for air quality and human health within affected regions Increasing at a rate of 0.25 to 2˚F (0.1 to 1.1˚C) per decade, the heat island effect within the urban cores of rapidly growing metropolitan regions may double within 50 years (McPherson, 1994). In light of the roughly 2.9 billion new residents to arrive in urban regions between 1990 and 2025, there is a pressing need to ascertain the implications of urban warming for metropolitan regions and to identify potential strategies to counteract regional climate change.
Acids Cause Heart Attacks and Strokes NOT Cholesterol!
Dear chona,
A new national study has shown that nearly 75 percent of all patients hospitalized for a heart attack or stroke had normal or low cholesterol levels. According to current savants this would indicate they were not at high risk for a cardiovascular event, according to current national cholesterol guidelines.
Specifically, these patients had low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels that met current guidelines, and close to half had LDL levels classified in guidelines as optimal (less than 100 mg/dL).
According to Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of the pH Miracle Living Center, "if you have normal or low blood cholesterol and are living and acidic lifestyle and diet you are at a higher risk for a stroke or heart attack than someone with cholesterol over 300 mg/dl."
"High blood cholesterol indicates that the body is trying to buffer excess dietary and/or metabolic acid. This is a good thing. Cholesterol is good not bad. Acid is bad and the cause of stroke and heart attacks," states Dr. Young.
"Almost 75 percent of heart attack patients fell within recommended targets for LDL cholesterol, demonstrating that the current guidelines may not be low enough to cut heart attack risk in most who could benefit," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, Eliot Corday Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study's principal investigator.
"Unfortunately, Dr. Fonarow and Cordsay just don't get it. Cholesterol is not the problem. The problem is a person's acidic lifestyle and dietary choices," states Dr. Young.
While the risk of cardiovascular events increases substantially with LDL levels above 40-60 mg/dL, current national cholesterol guidelines consider LDL levels less than 100-130 mg/dL acceptable for many individuals. The guidelines are thus not effectively identifying the majority of individuals who will develop fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, according to the study's authors.
"Persons who are at risk for a heart attack or stroke are persons who live an acidic lifestyle and diet, such as:
1) Lack of adequate exercise. You should exercise every day for at least 1 hour. And you should be sweating which helps to remove dietary and metabolic acids from the blood and tissues.
2) Eating animal proteins. Cut out all animal proteins for plant proteins, such as Hemp meal or protein. Hemp protein has twice the protein content than animal protein.
3) Eating dairy products. There are no substitutes for dairy products.
4) Vinegar. Never use it. IT is poisonous!
5) Mushrooms and algae. They break the body down and recycle it back to the earth.
6) Corn, corn starch and corn syrup. It is a strong acid and should never be consumed!
7) Peanuts. They are full of mold.
8) Eggs. Eggs are for creating a baby chick not for eating. They are full of bacteria. Approximately 38,000,000 million per egg. Eggs are dirty and filthy of the blood and tissues. They also activate the immune system to clean up the bloody mess.
9) Chocolate. Two acids - theobromine and methylbromine - they both kill.
10) Any form of sugar with the last 3 letters of "ose' or "tol." For example, sucrose or maltose, or Xylitol or Mannitol. All sugar in all of its forms is toxic to the body and should never be consumed.
These are the top ten acidic food choices that destroy a body and lead to heart attack or stroke," states Dr. Young.
Researchers also found that more than half of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had poor high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, according to national guidelines.
"If you want to be healthy you need healthy fats. The healthiest of all the fats are the polyunsaturated Omega 3's found in flax seed and hemp seed. I suggest eating at least 2 to 3 ounces of healthy oil or fat a day. This helps to increase the high-density lipoproteins, " states Dr. Young.
Published in the January issue of the American Heart Journal, the study suggests that lowering guideline targets for LDL cholesterol for those at risk for cardiovascular disease, as well as developing better treatments to raise HDL cholesterol, may help reduce the number of patients hospitalized for heart attack in the future.
"Sounds like good advise from the allopathic point of view but is is way off the target. The key is to decrease acidic foods and drinks and increase exercise, alkaline foods and drinks, especially the long chain fats or Omega 3's," states Dr. Young.
Researchers analyzed data from 136,905 patients hospitalized for a heart attack nationwide between 2000 and 2006 whose lipid levels upon hospital admission were documented. This accounted for 59 percent of total hospital admissions for heart attack at participating hospitals during the study period.
Among individuals without any prior cardiovascular disease or diabetes, 72.1 percent had admission LDL levels less than 130 mg/dL, which is the current LDL cholesterol target for this population. Thus, the vast majority of individuals having their first heart attack would not have been targeted for effective preventative treatments based on the criteria used in the current guidelines.
The team also found that half of the patients with a history of heart disease had LDL cholesterol levels lower than 100 mg/dL, and 17.6 percent of patients had LDL levels below 70 mg/dL, which are guideline targets for LDL cholesterol in those at fair risk and at high risk for cardiovascular disease, respectively.
The study also showed that HDL cholesterol, or "good cholesterol, " levels have dropped in patients hospitalized for heart attack over the past few years, possibly due to increasing rates of obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes.
Researchers found that 54.6 percent of patients had HDL levels below 40 mg/dL. Developing more effective treatments to boost HDL levels may help reduce the number of patients hospitalized for heart attacks, according to the authors.
"We found that less than 2 percent of heart attack patients had both ideal LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, so there is room for improvement, " said Fonarow.
Fonarow said that only 59 percent of patients in the database had their lipid levels checked upon admission, which should be increased, since these early measurements can often help guide treatment decisions.
He also noted that only 21 percent of patients in the study were taking lipid-lowering medications before admission, despite almost half having a prior history of cardiovascular events, which would prompt treatment.
"Bottom line, heart attacks and strokes are caused by acidic lifestyles and diets. If you want to reduce the risk for heart attack and stroke the focused needs to be placed on the personal lifestyle and dietary choice - and that choice needs to move to a more alkaline lifestyle and diet," states Dr. Young.
As someone that looks to improve their health we are pleased to offer you this free audio, an excerpt of a powerful two hour interview with Dr Robert O. Young and Anthony Robbins. (it is free to listen!)
Click here to listen: http://www.phmiracl eliving.com/ championsofhealt h.mp3
I trust you'll enjoy this...
Not part of our healing alkaline community?
Visit our website at:
www.phmiracleliving .com
To learn more about the science of Dr. Robert and Shelley Young go to:
www.articlesofhealt h.blogspot. com
'Miracles happen not in opposition to nature, but in opposition to what we know of nature.' St. Augustine
'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic' ....Arthur C. Clarke
'There are only two ways to live your life. One, is as though there are no miracles. The other is as though everything is a miracle.' Albert Einstein
pH Miracle Living Center
16390 Dia Del Sol
Valley Center, California 92082 US
© Copyright 2008 - Dr. Robert O. Young
All rights are reserved. Content may be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated,
or transferred, for single use, or by nonprofit organizations for educational
purposes, if correct attribution is made to Dr. Robert O. Young.
Connect with us on Facebook and MySpace:
Dr. Robert O. Young:
http://www.facebook .com/people/ Young_Robert/ 1294968067
http://myspace. com/drrobertoyou ng
Shelley Young:
http://www.facebook .com/profile. php?id=691213155
A new national study has shown that nearly 75 percent of all patients hospitalized for a heart attack or stroke had normal or low cholesterol levels. According to current savants this would indicate they were not at high risk for a cardiovascular event, according to current national cholesterol guidelines.
Specifically, these patients had low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels that met current guidelines, and close to half had LDL levels classified in guidelines as optimal (less than 100 mg/dL).
According to Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of the pH Miracle Living Center, "if you have normal or low blood cholesterol and are living and acidic lifestyle and diet you are at a higher risk for a stroke or heart attack than someone with cholesterol over 300 mg/dl."
"High blood cholesterol indicates that the body is trying to buffer excess dietary and/or metabolic acid. This is a good thing. Cholesterol is good not bad. Acid is bad and the cause of stroke and heart attacks," states Dr. Young.
"Almost 75 percent of heart attack patients fell within recommended targets for LDL cholesterol, demonstrating that the current guidelines may not be low enough to cut heart attack risk in most who could benefit," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, Eliot Corday Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study's principal investigator.
"Unfortunately, Dr. Fonarow and Cordsay just don't get it. Cholesterol is not the problem. The problem is a person's acidic lifestyle and dietary choices," states Dr. Young.
While the risk of cardiovascular events increases substantially with LDL levels above 40-60 mg/dL, current national cholesterol guidelines consider LDL levels less than 100-130 mg/dL acceptable for many individuals. The guidelines are thus not effectively identifying the majority of individuals who will develop fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, according to the study's authors.
"Persons who are at risk for a heart attack or stroke are persons who live an acidic lifestyle and diet, such as:
1) Lack of adequate exercise. You should exercise every day for at least 1 hour. And you should be sweating which helps to remove dietary and metabolic acids from the blood and tissues.
2) Eating animal proteins. Cut out all animal proteins for plant proteins, such as Hemp meal or protein. Hemp protein has twice the protein content than animal protein.
3) Eating dairy products. There are no substitutes for dairy products.
4) Vinegar. Never use it. IT is poisonous!
5) Mushrooms and algae. They break the body down and recycle it back to the earth.
6) Corn, corn starch and corn syrup. It is a strong acid and should never be consumed!
7) Peanuts. They are full of mold.
8) Eggs. Eggs are for creating a baby chick not for eating. They are full of bacteria. Approximately 38,000,000 million per egg. Eggs are dirty and filthy of the blood and tissues. They also activate the immune system to clean up the bloody mess.
9) Chocolate. Two acids - theobromine and methylbromine - they both kill.
10) Any form of sugar with the last 3 letters of "ose' or "tol." For example, sucrose or maltose, or Xylitol or Mannitol. All sugar in all of its forms is toxic to the body and should never be consumed.
These are the top ten acidic food choices that destroy a body and lead to heart attack or stroke," states Dr. Young.
Researchers also found that more than half of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had poor high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, according to national guidelines.
"If you want to be healthy you need healthy fats. The healthiest of all the fats are the polyunsaturated Omega 3's found in flax seed and hemp seed. I suggest eating at least 2 to 3 ounces of healthy oil or fat a day. This helps to increase the high-density lipoproteins, " states Dr. Young.
Published in the January issue of the American Heart Journal, the study suggests that lowering guideline targets for LDL cholesterol for those at risk for cardiovascular disease, as well as developing better treatments to raise HDL cholesterol, may help reduce the number of patients hospitalized for heart attack in the future.
"Sounds like good advise from the allopathic point of view but is is way off the target. The key is to decrease acidic foods and drinks and increase exercise, alkaline foods and drinks, especially the long chain fats or Omega 3's," states Dr. Young.
Researchers analyzed data from 136,905 patients hospitalized for a heart attack nationwide between 2000 and 2006 whose lipid levels upon hospital admission were documented. This accounted for 59 percent of total hospital admissions for heart attack at participating hospitals during the study period.
Among individuals without any prior cardiovascular disease or diabetes, 72.1 percent had admission LDL levels less than 130 mg/dL, which is the current LDL cholesterol target for this population. Thus, the vast majority of individuals having their first heart attack would not have been targeted for effective preventative treatments based on the criteria used in the current guidelines.
The team also found that half of the patients with a history of heart disease had LDL cholesterol levels lower than 100 mg/dL, and 17.6 percent of patients had LDL levels below 70 mg/dL, which are guideline targets for LDL cholesterol in those at fair risk and at high risk for cardiovascular disease, respectively.
The study also showed that HDL cholesterol, or "good cholesterol, " levels have dropped in patients hospitalized for heart attack over the past few years, possibly due to increasing rates of obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes.
Researchers found that 54.6 percent of patients had HDL levels below 40 mg/dL. Developing more effective treatments to boost HDL levels may help reduce the number of patients hospitalized for heart attacks, according to the authors.
"We found that less than 2 percent of heart attack patients had both ideal LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, so there is room for improvement, " said Fonarow.
Fonarow said that only 59 percent of patients in the database had their lipid levels checked upon admission, which should be increased, since these early measurements can often help guide treatment decisions.
He also noted that only 21 percent of patients in the study were taking lipid-lowering medications before admission, despite almost half having a prior history of cardiovascular events, which would prompt treatment.
"Bottom line, heart attacks and strokes are caused by acidic lifestyles and diets. If you want to reduce the risk for heart attack and stroke the focused needs to be placed on the personal lifestyle and dietary choice - and that choice needs to move to a more alkaline lifestyle and diet," states Dr. Young.
As someone that looks to improve their health we are pleased to offer you this free audio, an excerpt of a powerful two hour interview with Dr Robert O. Young and Anthony Robbins. (it is free to listen!)
Click here to listen: http://www.phmiracl eliving.com/ championsofhealt h.mp3
I trust you'll enjoy this...
Not part of our healing alkaline community?
Visit our website at:
www.phmiracleliving .com
To learn more about the science of Dr. Robert and Shelley Young go to:
www.articlesofhealt h.blogspot. com
'Miracles happen not in opposition to nature, but in opposition to what we know of nature.' St. Augustine
'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic' ....Arthur C. Clarke
'There are only two ways to live your life. One, is as though there are no miracles. The other is as though everything is a miracle.' Albert Einstein
pH Miracle Living Center
16390 Dia Del Sol
Valley Center, California 92082 US
© Copyright 2008 - Dr. Robert O. Young
All rights are reserved. Content may be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated,
or transferred, for single use, or by nonprofit organizations for educational
purposes, if correct attribution is made to Dr. Robert O. Young.
Connect with us on Facebook and MySpace:
Dr. Robert O. Young:
http://www.facebook .com/people/ Young_Robert/ 1294968067
http://myspace. com/drrobertoyou ng
Shelley Young:
http://www.facebook .com/profile. php?id=691213155
Friday, January 16, 2009
Statement of the Heritage Conservation Society on the Laoag Central Elementary School
Education handed over to the malls
The sad desecration of our built education heritage
It is sad to note that as the Philippines strives to move forward into the new millennium, we have forgotten to understand the true meaning and value of what makes us a people, a nation, and a country as a whole. The random destruction and desecration of our historic sites manifests total disregard for the past, the contributions of our forefathers, and the collective suffering of our people.
This is true particularly in the unwarranted need to promote growth through the demolition of historic sites and structures for what is today perceived as the most needed infrastructure project around, the shopping mall.
The historic city of Laoag, Ilocos Norte is one case in point. The Laoag Central Elementary School, built in 1929, is a fine example of educational architecture designed to provide first class instruction even in the farthest reaches of our archipelago. Designed in accordance to the Gabaldon Law (which stipulated that education is for all thus necessitating the construction of school buildings far and wide), these centers of education and the symbolism architecture they provide have shaped, molded and inspired generations upon generations of Filipinos. For a building, historic in its significance in the annals of Ilocos history if not Filipino history, its unwarranted destruction and conversion into another center of consumerism is another sign of our low regard for our rich cultural past.
Some sectors claim that the building and its grounds are ripe for development. Sitting right smack in the center of Laoag, indeed the site is prime real estate. But its building, particularly its main administrative structure, needs to be preserved, conserved and above all saved from the wrecking balls of greed. Even though the building is not yet listed by the National Historical Institute as historic, it is historic no doubt. It is expected of the people of Laoag, Ilocos Norte and the Filipino nation as a whole to preserve the fast dwindling historical buildings still standing.
Heritage is defined not solely as a structure with an official plaque as designated by these government agencies. Heritage is the heart and soul of a people, community, and nation. Heritage embraces the memories of the past. Heritage gives identity to a people, city, place, and country. As such, heritage is rendered with age, grace, beauty, nobility, significance and above all love. For if we love our country, then we should love the vestiges of what this country stands for.
That this historic structure should be demolished for yet another shopping mall, is a complete insult and disregard for love of country.
Heritage Conservation Society
www.heritage. org.ph
Board of Trustees
Gemma Cruz-Araneta (Chairperson & President)
Christian Aguilar
Dr. Nathaniel von Einsiedel, FPIEP
Ivan Anthony Henares
Archt. Rene Luis Mata
Archt. Manuel Maximo Noche
Archt. Melvin Patawaran
Atty. Lucille Karen Isberto (Corporate Secretary)
Adoracion Soriano (Executive Director)
See also: http://www.ivanhena res.com/2008/ 12/save-laoag- central-elementa ry-school. html
--
Heritage Conservation Society
G/F Museo Pambata Building
Roxas Boulevard, Ermita
Manila, Philippines
Tel. +632 521 2239
Fax. +632 522 2497
The sad desecration of our built education heritage
It is sad to note that as the Philippines strives to move forward into the new millennium, we have forgotten to understand the true meaning and value of what makes us a people, a nation, and a country as a whole. The random destruction and desecration of our historic sites manifests total disregard for the past, the contributions of our forefathers, and the collective suffering of our people.
This is true particularly in the unwarranted need to promote growth through the demolition of historic sites and structures for what is today perceived as the most needed infrastructure project around, the shopping mall.
The historic city of Laoag, Ilocos Norte is one case in point. The Laoag Central Elementary School, built in 1929, is a fine example of educational architecture designed to provide first class instruction even in the farthest reaches of our archipelago. Designed in accordance to the Gabaldon Law (which stipulated that education is for all thus necessitating the construction of school buildings far and wide), these centers of education and the symbolism architecture they provide have shaped, molded and inspired generations upon generations of Filipinos. For a building, historic in its significance in the annals of Ilocos history if not Filipino history, its unwarranted destruction and conversion into another center of consumerism is another sign of our low regard for our rich cultural past.
Some sectors claim that the building and its grounds are ripe for development. Sitting right smack in the center of Laoag, indeed the site is prime real estate. But its building, particularly its main administrative structure, needs to be preserved, conserved and above all saved from the wrecking balls of greed. Even though the building is not yet listed by the National Historical Institute as historic, it is historic no doubt. It is expected of the people of Laoag, Ilocos Norte and the Filipino nation as a whole to preserve the fast dwindling historical buildings still standing.
Heritage is defined not solely as a structure with an official plaque as designated by these government agencies. Heritage is the heart and soul of a people, community, and nation. Heritage embraces the memories of the past. Heritage gives identity to a people, city, place, and country. As such, heritage is rendered with age, grace, beauty, nobility, significance and above all love. For if we love our country, then we should love the vestiges of what this country stands for.
That this historic structure should be demolished for yet another shopping mall, is a complete insult and disregard for love of country.
Heritage Conservation Society
www.heritage. org.ph
Board of Trustees
Gemma Cruz-Araneta (Chairperson & President)
Christian Aguilar
Dr. Nathaniel von Einsiedel, FPIEP
Ivan Anthony Henares
Archt. Rene Luis Mata
Archt. Manuel Maximo Noche
Archt. Melvin Patawaran
Atty. Lucille Karen Isberto (Corporate Secretary)
Adoracion Soriano (Executive Director)
See also: http://www.ivanhena res.com/2008/ 12/save-laoag- central-elementa ry-school. html
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Heritage Conservation Society
G/F Museo Pambata Building
Roxas Boulevard, Ermita
Manila, Philippines
Tel. +632 521 2239
Fax. +632 522 2497
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Biotecture
A growing awareness of the importance of the natural environment had led to the recognition that even a man-made environment could never be a wholly man-controlled environment, because it could not disconnect itself totally from the natural world around it.
Concern over pollution and depletion of natural resources led to a greater appreciation of nature expressed in “Natural Wood Walls, Bamboo Furniture, Greenhouses, and Indoor Gardens.”
A Biostructure grown by Architect R. De March on his “House Farm” near Stuttgart, Germany, consists of living Hazel trees bent into arched shapes as frameworks over which dense foliage plants have been trained to form protective walls.
Biotecture begins from the standpoint that nature itself is the ideal architectural construct.
Man-made structures and garden are not to be taken as new creations starting from nothing but rather as rearrangement of elements present, which are a small part of total structure.
Biotecture seeks to take advantage of the workings of nature to produce the desired conditions without unwarranted side effects, instead of expending great quantities of energy and material resource to create and maintain an artificial environment.
The goal of biological architecture is to produce a human habitat compatible with the habitats of the other life forms on this planet, and wholly integrated into the natural cycles of water and air circulation, using clean energy and reusable materials, and capable of changing in response to changing conditions.
Two Approaches used by Biological Architects:
Biomorphic – uses nature as a model and design buildings that apply the structural principles and decorative motifs found in nature.
Biostructural – nature does the actual construction work and make direct use of natural system for architectural purposes.
In essence the first concept makes use of nature as designer while the second takes nature as builder.
Principle of Biostructure
Natural processes should be employed to create structure according to human specifications.
Genetically altered plants that would grow into buildings and building components.
Crystalline materials that would be chemically treated to grow into pre-programmed shapes.
Building with materials available on site and on the immediate locality as many species of animals do.
Animals such as:
*Shellfish, corals build elaborate houses for themselves by extracting minerals naturally present in water.
*Spiders construct elaborate webs of great strength and flexibility byextruding a quick-hardening organic fluid from their bodies and can recycle an old web by absorbing the threads back into their bodies again.
*Certain termite colonies fashion natural systems for maintaining constant humidity, temperature, control, and deep-well water supplies sufficient to maintain indefinitely a population of over 2.000.000 insects; the source of power is the sun, building materials are those found in the area.
Hilbertz looks at ways to take architecture responsive to changes in its environment, as well as changing needs of its inhabitants.
His goal is to achieve a complete symbiosis between man-made and natural environments. In building environments that grow he envisions building with light, like in the use of laser beams to generate 3-dimensional holographic images, through the guidance of computers or in making autotrophic structures which are self-generating or self-building life the chambered nautilus.
“Biological Architecture” advocates the incorporation of living plants and animals into architecture, designing buildings that will realty like living things to changing environmental conditions.
The Green Machine is a comprehensive urban megastructure proposed be Glen Small from Los Angeles it is capable of restoring the environment of the entire Los Angeles Basin. It can support a population density high as 250,000 people per square mile on a biotecture concept.
The Green Machine combines high technology and ecologically sensitive design in a multi-story urban housing structure.
It also incorporates both active and passive solar heating, with parabolic disc solar collectors for power generation and hot water.
It conserves water by collecting rain-water and recycling waste water for sub-surface irrigation.
It has built in greenhouses which will permit recycling of garbage and produce food for residents.
It accommodates modular homes, travel trailers, artist’s studios. It has a housing project for low-income families and individuals.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Planning 1 Module 5: Socio-cultural Factors
Thematic or Analytical Maps
Land Use Map
Zoning Map
Facilities/ Infrastructures Map
Traffic/Circulation Map
Population Density Map
Land Use
the manner of utilizing land, including its allocation, development and management.
Land Management – the right of the State to classify, guide and regulate the acquisition, use and disposition of land in the interest of public welfare.
Linkages
May involve the movement of people, goods, communication, or amenities.
Existing ties or linkages of community facilities (such as nearby shopping centers, employment hubs, residential areas, churches, schools, parks, and playgrounds)
Determine whether existing linkages exist, and if not, decide how they can be established or improved.
Traffic & Transit
Relationship of traffic patterns to each other and to the site.
Inventory of existing vehicular networks, trips – including their origin and destination, purpose, time of day, and volume
Graphically plot transport systems and their location or routes.
Check volume of traffic or frequency.
Roads provide a primary means of access to a site. Their availability and capacity may be prime determinants in whether and how a parcel of land can be developed. Basic Categories of Roads:
a Local Streets have the lowest capacity and provide direct access to building sites. They may be in the form of continuous grid or curvilinear systems or may be cul-de-sacs or loops.
b Collector Streets connect local streets and arterial streets. They have a higher capacity than local streets but are not usually intended for through traffic. Intersections of collector and local roads may be controlled by stop signs, whereas intersections with arterial streets will be controlled with stop lights.
c Arterial Streets are intended as major, continuous circulation routes that carry large amounts of traffic on two or three lanes. They usually connect expressways. Parking on the street is typically not allowed and direct access from arterial streets to building sites should be avoided.
d Expressways are limited access roads designed to move large volumes of traffic between, through and around population centers. Intersections are made by various type of ramp systems, and pedestrian access is not allowed. Expressways have a major influence on the land due to the space they require and their noise and visual impact.
Public Transit
The availability and location of public transit lines can influence site design. A site analysis should include a determination of the types of public access available (whether bus, subway, rail line or taxi stop) and the location relative to the site. Building entrances and major site features should be located conveniently to the public transit. In large cities, site development may have to include provisions for public access to subway and rail lines.
Density, Zoning
DENSITY
In residential dev’t, expressed in numbers of families or dwelling units per hectare.
May also be expressed in floor area ratio (F.A.R.) or gross floor area covering the site.
ZONING
the division of a community into zones or districts (e.g.) commercial, residential, industrial, institutional, etc.) according to present and potential uses of land to maximize, regulate and direct their use and development in accordance with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan of the community.
It takes the form of a locally enacted ordinance which embodies among others, regulations affecting:
Uses allowed or disallowed in each zone or district
Conditions for allowing them
Deviations legally allowed from the requirements of the ordinance.
It is concerned primarily with the use of land and the control of density of population through the imposition of:
building heights
building massing/bulk
open space
density provisions in a given area
SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS
Regulations mainly concerned with layout and standards such as street width, turning radii, road right-of-way, cul-de-sac length, curb, sidewalk requirements and landscaping.
Demography
Utilities
Existing Buildings
AESTHETIC FACTORS]
Natural Features
Significant natural features such as rock outcroppings, cliffs, caves, and bogs should be identified to determine whether they must be avoided or can be used as positive design features in the site design.
Spatial Patterns
Visual Barriers
Vistas
View analysis may be required to determine the most desirable ways to orient buildings, outdoor areas, and approaches to the buildings. Undesirable views can be minimized or blocked with landscaping or other manufactured features.
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