World's tallest man saves China dolphins

Thu Dec 14, 7:28 AM ET

BEIJING - The long arms of the world's tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs, state media and an aquarium official said Thursday.

The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province. Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins' stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, the China Daily newspaper reported.

Veterinarians then decided to ask for help from Bao Xishun, a 7-foot-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia with 41.7-inch arms, state media said.

Bao, 54, was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest living man.

Chen Lujun, the manager of the Royal Jidi Ocean World aquarium, told The Associated Press that the shape of the dolphins' stomachs made it difficult to push an instrument very far in without hurting the animals. People with shorter arms could not reach the plastic, he said.

"When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday," Chen said. "The two dolphins are in very good condition now."

Photographs showed the jaws of one of the dolphins being held back by towels so Bao could reach inside the animal without being bitten.

"Some very small plastic pieces are still left in the dolphins' stomachs," Zhu Xiaoling, a local doctor, told Xinhua. "However the dolphins will be able to digest these and are expected to recover soon."

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/lf/121406tallmandolphin

So, what's your sign?

By Naomi Kim Thu Dec 14, 9:42 AM ET

TORONTO, Dec 13 (Reuters Life!) - Never mind how careful you are behind the wheel or how long you've been driving, the signs of the zodiac may be bigger factors behind your ability to avoid car crashes -- or why you have too many.

According to a study by InsuranceHotline.com, a Web site that quotes drivers on insurance rates, astrological signs are a significant factor in predicting car accidents.

The study, which looked at 100,000 North American drivers' records from the past six years, puts Libras (born September 23-October 22) followed by Aquarians (January 20-February 18) as the worst offenders for tickets and accidents

Leos (July 23-August 22) and then Geminis (May 21-June 20) were found to be the best overall.

"I was absolutely shocked by the results," said Lee Romanov, president of Toronto-based InsuranceHotline.com, who also wrote the book "Car Carma" which touches on the correlation between astrological signs and driving ability while doing the study.

Romanov originally wanted to have some fun by examining astrological signs as a possible cause for the variance between insurance companies quoting high and low rates but didn't expect to find anything interesting.

"Now, changing postal codes is far less significant to me than drivers of certain astrological signs," she told Reuters on Wednesday.

Even age, another variable for determining insurance rates, is less of a consideration to Romanov. The cutoff line for being considered a higher risk driver is 24 years of age; 25-year-olds are considered not-high risk.

"I'd rather get into a car with a 24-year-old Leo than a 25-year-old Aries," Romanov said.

Leos, described along with the study results on InsuranceHotline.com/a10.html, are "generous, and comfortable in sharing the roadway."

Aries, on the other hand, "have a 'me first' childlike nature that drives Aries into trouble."

"I wasn't believing in it before," said Romanov, "but I would think twice before getting into a car with an Aries."

Helping Cancer Patients: The Integrative East-West Approach

Ka-Kit Hui , MD, FACP, Professor of Medicine and Director of the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

TCM modalities have been used quite extensively in China before, during, and after the use of conventional therapies and can help control symptoms, shorten recovery time, and improve endogenous resistance to disease.

The study of medicine "begins with the patient, continues with the patient, and ends with the patient." --Sir William Osler

These are excellent words to guide medicine—whether Traditional Chinese Medicine or Western medicine. The goals of medicine should be to prevent disease and injury; promote and maintain health; to relieve pain and suffering caused by maladies; to care for and cure those with a malady; to care for those who cannot be cured; to avoid premature death, and if that is not possible, to pursue a peaceful death. While these goals make sense, the translation of these goals into practice is sometimes quite challenging.

All forms of medicine aim to ease human suffering and improve quality of life; they differ only in their approaches to the realization of this goal. The blending of the Eastern and Western approaches to health and healing can maximize the safety and effectiveness of care in an accessible and affordable manner.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a comprehensive system of medicine complete with its own theories and principles that guide various diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. TCM is a logical, elegant and independent system of thought and practice that continues to develop as a result of a process of extensive clinical observations, testing, and critical thinking. Characterized by more than 2500 years of use and refinement, TCM represents a significant alternative to the conventional biomedical model and continues to be used today by a sizable number of patients, both in the Far East and increasingly here in the West.

TCM differs from Western medicine in its conceptualization of health and disease through a holistic view of the person. TCM emphasizes the inseparable nature of body-mind-spirit, the centrality of dynamic homeostatic balance, the importance of energetic flow, and self-healing. It recognizes the impact that physical, nutritional, psychological, and environmental factors have on health. It emphasizes the functional and energetic systems of the human body and, consequently, regards illness as an imbalance in the systems.

TCM utilizes a number of therapeutic techniques including acupuncture, acupressure, therapeutic massage, dietary and herbal counseling, mind-body exercise, and patient education.

Acupuncture is a method of sending a signal to the body by needle or other means of stimulation to "turn on" its own self-healing capacity. In 1997, the National Institute of Health (NIH) recommended that acupuncture be used to treat post-operative and chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting. The NIH also recommended acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment for addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headaches, menstrual cramps, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndromes, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma. Therapeutic massage is also used as part of TCM and has been shown to be effective in managing pain.

Mind-body exercises such as Tai Chi and QiGong utilize movement with focused concentration, meditation and breathing methods to induce physical and mental harmony. The benefits of Tai Chi and QiGong include stress reduction, enhancing oxygen consumption, improving cardiovascular function, enhancing immunity, reducing mood disturbance, lowering body fat, improving balance, increasing flexibility, and enhancing muscle strength. [Editor's note: The Ted Mann Family Resource Center offers a weekly class in QiGong taught by a QiGong Master. It is open to people with a cancer diagnosis and a caregiver.]

Herbs are often used as part of TCM; however, they should be used only under the guidance of an experienced Chinese herbalist. Patients with a serious disease should consult a physician and a pharmacist before using herbal remedies in conjunction with pharmaceuticals. Dietary therapy is also part of TCM. Practitioners of TCM often prescribe specific foods; however, this is always done on an individual basis based on the TCM assessment.

The Benefits of TCM in the Treatment of Cancer Patients

The standards of care for cancer treatment established by Western medicine are necessary for the treatment of existing disease. TCM modalities have been used quite extensively in China before, during, and after the use of conventional therapies and can help control symptoms, shorten recovery time, and improve endogenous resistance to disease.

TCM views the cancerous process as a systemic disease; the local growth is a manifestation of a larger problem. The pathogenic factors analyzed in TCM’s approach to cancer treatment include external/noxious stimuli, psychological/emotional factors, lifestyle factors, and the deficiency of the mind-body-spirit system. There is a constant tug-of-war in the cancerous process between the noxious stimuli and endogenous resistance. Any factor, no matter how seemingly indirect, that increases the amount of noxious stimuli and/or decreases one’s endogenous resistance can accelerate the cancerous process.

TCM’s approach to cancer treatment emphasizes an understanding of each patient, not merely the patient’s specific form of cancer. Because of its focus on the individual patient, TCM results in the design of a flexible, individualized therapeutic approach that encompasses the differential diagnosis of the pathophysiogical state of the patient.

In China , and increasingly in the US , patients with cancer seek TCM for the following:

• Prevention of cancer
• Symptom management
• Improvement in their quality of life
• Improved ability to tolerate conventional therapies
• Prevention of disease progression
• Maintenance of remission
• A new and different philosophy of life, and a new approach to health and disease

TCM is most effective in the management of pain, fatigue, nausea, stress, dry mouth, and reducing the complications from chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

At the Center for East-West Medicine, we treat patients with cancer by integrating the best of modern Western medicine and TCM. Acupuncture and stimulation of specific points have been shown to be effective for patients who receive chemotherapy and feel nauseated. It is sometimes effective for pain, but patients who are on anticoagulants generally should avoid acupuncture. Therapeutic massage is also helpful and has been shown to be beneficial for anxiety, nausea, and manual lymph drainage for lymphedema.

The UCLA Center for East-West Medicine

The mission of the Center is to improve health, well-being, and the quality of life of people by blending the best of modern Western medicine with Traditional Chinese Medicine to provide healthcare that is safe, effective, affordable, and accessible for people, families and communities. The Center has established a model system of comprehensive care with emphasis on health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation through an integrated practice of East-West medicine.

The Center for East-West medicine focuses on assisting patients to care for themselves, to manage pain, and to manage the stress that both accompanies and may also cause further pain. Central to the Center's approach is a holistic approach, one that focuses on the whole person, and not on a single disease—or combination of diseases—afflicting the patient. Key to the success of our integrative East-West model, which blends the best of both Western medicine and TCM, is the empowerment of the patient. East-West healthcare enlists the patient as a central figure in the healing process. This enables us to not merely treat chronic pain or assist in a patient’s rehabilitation, but to actively involve the patient in the ongoing process of health promotion and disease prevention.

At the Center, our patients learn how to prevent overloading, how the lack of exercise or inappropriate exercise must be replaced by a balanced exercise program, and how nutrition tailored to the individual is vital. They are taught how to build up their body's reserve so that the body can reset its pain/no pain balance. Most important, they learn self-healing. We teach effective and easy-to-implement techniques so that patients and caregivers can manage their pain and the stressors in their lives.

The Clinic's staff, which includes seven US-trained and board-certified physicians in primary care with advanced training in Chinese medicine and four medical experts trained in integrative Chinese and Western medicine in China, develops integrative East-West treatment plans to meet each patient's needs. Therapeutic techniques include acupuncture, acupressure, therapeutic massage, dietary and herbal counseling, mind-body exercise, and patient education.

http://www.cancerresources.mednet.ucla.edu/5_info/5c_archive_lec/2004/lec_eastwest_hui.htm

Eight Steps to Immune Empowerment

The following eight-point program represents a distillation of the work of Jon Kaiser's work with HIV and other immune-compromised patients. Absent from the program are specific anti-HIV agents or strategies that may not be needed for others.

1. Change your diet: Reduce animal fats, increase vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and protein sources, stick with monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oils. Overall, an immune enhancing diet is low in fat, high in protein, high in complex carbohydrate, and low simple carbohydrate, such as starches and sugars.
2. Take Vitamins/Minerals: Multivitamin/mineral supplements containing antioxidants, including Vitamins A, C, E, carotenoids, selenium, zinc, cysteine, and glutathione.
3. Take Herbs: Echinachea, garlic, goldenseal, chamomile, and Chinese herb astragulus.
4. Get Moderate Exercise: Walk, run, swim, cycle, and work out, but don't overdo it: studies reveal that extremely strenuous exercise can dampen immunity. By the same token, moderate regular exercise improves immune functions -- especially the activity of "natural killer cells" that knock off viruses and cancer cells in the body.
5. Use Acupuncture, Homeopathy, and Massage: By balancing the body's energy systems and offsetting the negative effects of stress, acupuncture, homeopathy, or massage may enhance immune functions. (Note: acupuncture and homeopathy work in entirely different ways: pursue one or the other when needed for a particular physical or emotional condition.)
6. Practice Deep Relaxation: Using audiotapes or biofeedback to guide you, access deep states of relaxation. Techniques include meditation, mindfulness, progressive muscle relaxation, Chi Gong, prayer.
7. Procure Emotional Support: Studies have shown that people with high levels of social support and intimate relationships have stronger immune systems and fewer illnesses. Research at Southern Methodist University in Dallas has shown that confiding thoughts and feelings about traumas -- if only by writing the down -- improves immune function.
8. Develop a Sense of Meaning and Purpose: Psychotherapist Lawrence LeShan has shown that cancer patients who find their raison d'etre often experience physical improvements, or even long-term survival. In his research on long AIDS survivors, UCLA mind-body pioneer George Solomon, MD, observed that they invariably had a strong will to live and were engaged in meaningful activities and relationships . If you are stymied in your search for meaning, consult a psychotherapist who can help you work through creative and emotional blocks. In scores of studies, prayer and spiritual pursuits have also been associated with better overall health and healing.

Mind, Body, Spirit, and HIV

Kaiser treats his patients with precise attention to their individual needs, making decisions based not only on test results, but also on their unique stressors, lifestyle habits, medical history, and support systems. This enables him to knit together a program tailored for each patient, but one that generally includes these elements:

• DIET: Increase intake of whole grains, fresh vegetables, and fruits, low-to-moderate fat sources of protein such as skinless chicken, fish, and beans. Limit dairy and red meats. Choose organic vegetables and chicken. Avoid or severely limit alcohol, sugar, and caffeine.
• VITAMINS/MINERALS: Multivitamin/mineral supplements that mustinclude Vitamins A, D, E, K, C, the B-vitamins, calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese, potassium, chromium, and selenium. Include digestive enzymes such as papain and bromelain. May include NAC (n-acetylcysteine, a precursor to glutathione, an antioxidant enzyme that may inhibit HIV.)
• WESTERN ANTIBIOTIC HERBS: Echinchea, Goldenseal, Myrhh, Garlic
• CHINESE HERBS: Astragulus (immune enhancer, tonic); Schizandra (tonic); Ganoderma (immune enhancer, stress reducer, tonic, and sedative); Atractylodes (immune enhancer, diuretic, tonic); Glycyrrhiza (licorice root -- antimicrobial, antiviral), among others.
• HORMONES: Natural hormones DHEA and testosterone to build immunity, energy and muscle mass. These and other synthetic hormones are administered as needed.
• DIGESTIVE HEALTH TREATMENTS: Herbs including black walnut, berberine, grapefruit seed extract, wormwood. Acidophyllus to maintain a healthy gut. Mainstream antiparasitic drugs.
• EXERCISE: One-half hour of enjoyable exercise per day that causes sweating (which signals removal of waste products and possible inhibition of viral replication.)
• STRESS REDUCTION: Deep relaxation practice two times per day for 15-20 minutes. Rest, emotional healing, social support, support groups, prayer and spiritual development.

These elements underscore Kaiser's belief that it's not enough to rely on antiviral artillery in a goose-stepping war against HIV. Military metaphors may have their place in healing, but Western medicine's "hit it with all you've got" strategy is too narrowly focused to outfox HIV, the wiliest virus that scientists have ever encountered. Healing this disease, says Kaiser, requires an equal emphasis on vanquishing a viral enemy and strengthening the body's natural defenses.

The Key: "Dynamic Equilibrium"

Microbiologists have recently shown that exposure to HIV initiates a long, drawn-out power struggle between invader and host. Over the course of many years, what appears to be a quiet truce in an otherwise healthy person is anything but. Immune "soldier" cells in the body are constantly fighting to stay ahead of HIV as it reproduces itself. According to Kaiser, HIV-positive people can outmaneuver the virus by strengthening their immune defenses with diet, supplements, herbs, exercise, and mind-body medicine.

"The virus produces up to a billion particles a day, and the body loses and replaces up to a million T-cells a day," explains Kaiser. "One can easily imagine the enormous drain on our resources. Therefore, it's up to the individual to take great measures to support their immune systems in that fight. That includes getting enough protein and nutrients while conserving energy and reducing stress. These efforts enable patients to achieve what I call a 'dynamic equilibrium.' That's when the immune system keeps pace with HIV, preventing active infection and keeping the viral load, as we call it, at low or modest levels."

Where do antiviral drugs fit into this picture? A new class of these drugs, called protease inhibitors, are now being combined in multi-drug regimens that drastically reduce the amount of virus in the bloodstream ("Viral load" is the technical term, and it can now be measured with precision.) In some patients, the virus can no longer be detected in the blood after several months of this therapy. Given these findings, why doesn't Kaiser view multi-drug treatments as the absolute best way to "keep pace" with the virus?

Kaiser's answer is nothing short of adamant. Each antiviral drug, he insists, carries the risk of severe side effects, including nerve system damage, diarrhea, anemia, and liver inflammation. These effects can become cumulative over time, exhausting the immune system and risking liver failure. And there's still no proof that any of these drugs completely vanquish HIV, which may continue to "hide out" in lymph nodes and other sites in the body. Most importantly, in its infinite cleverness HIV can gradually become resistant to most antiviral drugs, including the prodigious protease inhibitors.

"Every time you add a new drug you start the clock ticking on resistance," says Kaiser, whose watchword when it comes to antiviral drugs is prudence. "If you use too many drugs too quickly, you run the risk of having a patient who develops multi-drug resistant HIV. I have already seen such patients."

Like a crafty baseball manager who saves his best relief pitcher for the late innings of important games, Kaiser waits until just the right moment to use the most powerful drugs, especially the protease inhibitors. "I view protease inhibitors as an ace in your pocket," he explains. "If you can keep winning hands without using them, you just keep winning hands. That way you don't waste them."

Looking for Deeper Answers

Part of Kaiser's success appears to lie in his unremitting belief in the body's own healing powers. His approach can be traced to his early background in philosophy, which led him to question the basic assumptions conveyed in his medical school training.

"I was always asking questions about why the body was breaking down," says Kaiser, recalling his initial exposure to theories of disease. "They were always termed 'good questions,' but nobody had any answers. For almost all the diseases, the solutions were either to cut it out, or kill it with drugs. To me, that wasn't sufficient. I believed that if you understood why the body had broken in the first place, you could get to the root of the problem and reverse it. I was looking for deeper answers."

Between his first and second years of medical school at the University of Texas, Kaiser got a job managing a health food store. He became a voracious reader of books about natural medicine, and essentially taught himself naturopathy and herbal medicine. "It became clear to me that getting away from nature had helped to cause the breakdown, and geting back to nature would be instrumental in correcting so many of those root causes." He began to envision integrated treatments that could achieve new levels of success in the treatment of cancer, heat disease, diabetes, and other chronic ailments of our time.

After medical school, Kaiser went to the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Fransisco, where he spent two years as an ER doctor and trained in internal and family medicine. It was the early 1980s, when the first AIDS cases were being reported -- many of them in the Bay Area. As it became clear that AIDS was a rampaging infectious disease with no cure, Kaiser saw an opportunity to contribute by developing an integrated program for immune empowerment. "There I was in San Francisco when the AIDS epidemic was starting to peak," recalls Kaiser. "I saw it as an interesting intersection of preparedness, opportunity, and destiny."

In those days, AIDS was virtually untreatable. Kaiser's awareness of this crisis, coupled with his dissatisfaction with mainstream medicine, led him to a fateful decision. "You come to a personal crossroads, where you say, 'It's now or never.' So I opened my own clinical practice with just one patient. To supplement my income, I continued to moonlight in emergency rooms."

During the past decade, Kaiser's clinic has grown into a one-of-a-kind Wellness Center where people with HIV and AIDS get the kind of care that addresses their biological, nutritional, psychological, and spiritual needs. The recent move to join forces with the Conant Medical Group has strengthened his ties to mainstream AIDS doctors, some of whom have come to appreciate Kaiser's contribution. Considering the severity of their conditions, the atmosphere at the Wellness Center, where HIV patients and others with immune dysfunction come for integrated care, is decidedly upbeat.

"When I speak to the new patients, they say that this program is exactly what they've been searching for," comments Pramela Reddi, the clinic administrator at the Wellness Center. "They've been looking for a physician who has all the requisite medical knowledge, but who also knows diet, supplements, and herbs, a doctor who believes in massage and acupuncture. Also, Dr. Kaiser has a frank and open relationship with his patients. They feel they are getting all of their needs met."

To ensure that his patients get their needs met, Kaiser has a physician assistant on staff, Martin Kramer, who can always be reached to respond to patients' day-to-day symptoms or concerns. Some patients come to the Wellness Center after unpleasant or even traumatic experiences with other doctors. "Many of them have had such bad experiences with Western medicine that they are skeptical of everything you do," comments Kramer. But once positive changes occur, the skepticism is quickly replaced by commitment. "I wish I had before-and-after pictures of these patients," says Kramer, former head of a free clinic for HIV patients in Haight-Ashbury. "The difference is unmistakable, and you see it in their energy levels, their appearance, and how they feel about themselves."

Mind, Body, Spirit, and HIV

A patient of Dr. Kaiser's for nine years, Michael Stokes's commitment to his program has been unshakeable. When he started in 1988, it was not the details of integrative therapy that cemented his choice as much as Kaiser's aura of acceptance and conviction. "I liked his voice and his energy," says Stokes. "Meeting him was like walking into a room where you feel calm and at peace with whatever goes on there." The program's emphasis on natural therapies also made sense to him. "I was exhilarated by the fact that this doctor was doing something that fit so perfectly with my life."

Stokes, 46, was in the midst of a personal upheaval when he first came to Kaiser. Not only had he lost his job and split with his lover, an HIV test informed him that he'd also lost his health. The discipline of Kaiser's program helped Michael put the pieces of his life back together. He began participating in a small psychological support group for HIV patients led by Kaiser, a group that continues to meet to this day. And he began the regimen of natural therapies that remains his daily touchstone. But Michael has made exceptional efforts to commit himself to the emotional and spiritual aspects of Kaiser's healing program.

Without fail, Michael meditates twice a day for a half-hour. He spends time writing down affirmations, statements about his care for his body and spirit that have meaning for him. And he has followed one of Kaiser's most unorthodox prescriptions: writing letters to the HIV virus. "For me, it has been a process of befriending the virus, because I know that it's something I will probably have to live with for the rest of my life," says Michael. "The virus came into my world and put me on the path that got my life in order. I was actually searching for that before I was HIV-positive."

According to Kaiser, writing such letters enables a person to work through troubling thoughts and feelings about their condition. "You can look at what's going on between you and HIV as a relationship," says Kaiser. "If you uncover a great deal of fear and negativity, writing letters can help you to evolve the relationship into a more positive one." This technique, which he only recommends to patients who feel they will benefit, is rooted in Kaiser's concept of a healing psychological attitude toward HIV.

"You should not be at war with HIV for the rest of your life," comments Kaiser. "If you are, you'll lose a great deal of time and energy. I think it's important to view HIV as a teacher or a catalyst, a positive stimulus for growth and change. But if HIV starts behaving aggressively, I also think its important to show it that you mean business. You'd like to be in harmony with it, but if it doesn't respond appropriately you need to show it strength."

By emphasizing stress management -- meditation, visualization, affirmation, prayer, and group support -- Kaiser helps his patients live harmoniously with HIV. (Research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology suggests that mind-body techniques can indeed buttress the immune system.) At the same time, he holds his antiviral firepower in reserve for times when the virus "behaves aggressively." Some patients never need the antiviral armamentarium. Michaeal Stokes, for one, has remained completely symptom-free for the past nine years without antiviral drugs. Michael says that he's learned to live in balance with HIV, and as a result his whole life has moved into balance, with a new profession, a solid support system, and a sense of joy in his daily activities.

Immune Power for Everyone

To what extent does Kaiser's "immune power" program apply to people with other immune-associated diseases, or those who simply want to strengthen their resistance? Kaiser also treats people with cancer, chronic fatigue, and autoimmune disorders. With certain key exceptions, the program he recommends is the same.

For non-HIV patients, Kaiser says, there is no need for anti-viral drugs or antiviral botanicals such as Glycyrrhiza (licorice root). But for everyone with weakened or imbalanced immunity, Kaiser recommends "a high potency multi-vitamin, extra vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, and perhaps acidophylllus. You would take herbs in a preventive fashion. You'd make sure to get a lot of garlic, which is an antimicrobial. You would take echinacea [an established immune builder] and chamomile to calm your nerves. You would exercise regularly, and practice stress reduction continually. You would consider DHEA or other hormones when your system is depleted, though not if you are generally healthy. Finally, you would begin to view your life as a spiritual journey, in which the roadblocks gave you reasons to learn and grow."

Kaiser's believes these guidelines apply not only to people with immune-associated diseases, but also to people beset by low-level symptoms of immune impairment -- constant colds, nagging infections, chronic exhaustion. [See BOX 1, "A Checklist for the Immune Compromised.") Distilling those approaches to apply to everyone, we have identified eight key steps to immune empowerment. [See BOX 2, "Eight Steps to Immune Empowerment."]

In applying these components, an important caveat should be kept in mind. For years, we've been regaled by the media to "boost," "stimulate," or "jump start" our immune systems. Dr. Kaiser's work teaches us that in many instances, boosting immunity is exactly what's not needed.

In fact, Jon Kaiser generally avoids stimulating his HIV patients' immune systems. Why? Both immunizations and infections, to name two examples, stimulate the immune system but can be a disaster for people with AIDS. "Once the immune system is stimulated, HIV-infected macrophages divide, multiply, and activate their DNA," he explained. "They begin making even more HIV virus."

For these reasons and others, Kaiser stresses immune power and balance, not boosting. People with autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus) experience disabling symptoms because their immune cells mistakenly attack their own tissues. They need some parts of their immune system suppressed, not stimulated. A common misapprehension about patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is that their immune systems are weak and need boosting. The truth is more complex: People with CFS have overstimulated immune systems that eventually begin to flag. Their symptoms are often caused by too much immune activity.

Kaiser embraces a principle reminiscent of the tonics of herbal medicine, whose actions differ in the body depending upon the energetic needs of the host. For instance, the Chinese herb astragulus is an immune enhancer, but it is also a tonic, which means it will be used by the body as needed. Most Western pharmaceuticals are designed as technologic magic bullets. By contrast, tonics subtly interact with our body's cells and substances, increasing the efficiency of our healing systems in a proportional fashion.

By this definition, mind-body-spirit practices are also tonics, increasing the strength and tone of our systems rather than mechanically "boosting" them. When used properly, psychotherapy, support groups, meditation, biofeedback yoga, or bodywork are health-promoting choices that safeguard our sense of meaning and purpose.

Jon Kaiser believes that complementary medicine will eventually triumph over HIV and disorders of the immune system. He is certain that combining the best of both worlds will ease suffering and lengthen lives. But he also argues that it will save billions of healthcare dollars by lessening the current reliance on shockingly expensive drugs and acute medical care. Toward that end, Kaiser is now pursuing funds and a research associate to compare the long-term progress of his HIV patients with those who receive standard care. He knows that a published study will provide the kind of evidence that may finally alert the barons of healthcare to the cost-effcetiveness of his approach.

In the interim, Kaiser spreads the word through his book and the free HIV Health Fairs and workshops he leads throughout the country. But the resistance to his work appears to be rooted in the fundamental philosophic difference between his approach and that of mainstream AIDS doctors. I asked him to define that difference. "Many physicians have little faith in the body's ability to heal, and that is why they promote reliance on drugs," responded Kaiser. "I have every faith in the body's ability to heal, and everything I do is designed to promote that ability."

Complementary Approach to HIV/AIDS

by Henry Dreher

The internist is Jon Kaiser, MD, and like Ornish he does not reject mainstream treatments. Rather, he offers a new program that radically shifts the emphasis away from drugs toward natural therapies that raise the patients' own healing capacities to heretofore unimagined levels. Dr. Kaiser's work represents not only a potential leap forward in the fight against AIDS, if offers a new approach to immune empowerment for anyone -- sick or well -- whose immune system may be vulnerable.

Dr. Kaiser's brand of AIDS medicine can only be called complementary, since he uses natural therapies -- including nutrition, supplements, herbs, natural hormones, and mind-body techniques -- in conjunction with mainstream diagnosis and treatment. But his work embodies the famous passage in the Hippocratic Oath, "first do no harm," as natural therapies take precedence over potentially toxic drugs in his therapeutic schema.

What appears to set Kaiser apart from most alternative AIDS healers is that his approach is both more systematic and nuanced. He embraces natural medicines as primary therapies, but he does use antiviral drugs, when needed, in an exquisitely judicious fashion. The payoff has also set Kaiser apart from his colleagues in AIDS medicine: data compiled from his case files reveal an astonishing degree of clinical success.

As of March, 1994, Dr. Kaiser had for seven years tracked the progress of 300 of his HIV and AIDS patients. Only 20 of them had died. And Kaiser believes that improvements in both natural and mainstream AIDS therapies are yielding even better results today. "At this point, paitents in my practice whose disease is progressing are the rare exceptions," says Kaiser. "It is clear now that many of my patients are reversing damage caused by HIV and actually rebuilding their immune systems."

Dr. Kaiser's work is gaining ground, not only because he has a following among patients in San Francisco or those who've have read his book, Immune Power (St. Martin's Press, 1993). It is also drawing attention from leading lights in complementary medicine, including Dean Ornish himself, who has personally encouraged Kaiser in the development of his clinical programs and research endeavors. "Jon Kaiser is doing important work in examining the roles of diet, nutrition, and psychosocial support in the treatment of HIV-positive patients," says Ornish.

http://www.thebody.com/dreher/kaiser.html

STUDY ON HEALING

(by Suzanne Dudziak)

exerpt:

Healing should help to restore balance, a concept inherent in the Medicine Wheel.

"When people with this cultural expectation encounter Western therapies, a conflict emerges. Because most Western therapies tend to focus on one aspect of the person, the First Nations client often leaves feeling that only part of the self has been attended to".

Rod McCormick asked a straightforward question: What facilitates healing for First Nations people? He came up with surprising answers!

With a background in counselling psychology, McCormick found that Western therapeutic techniques were only moderately effective with the First Nations people he had worked with. In 1986, not having grown up in Kahnawake, he started on the path to learning his culture. In working with and observing the success of culturally specific counselling approaches, McCormick became interested in other Indigenous paths to healing.

McCormick states in the introduction to his study that "...much of the theory and practice relating to the provision of mental health services for First Nations people is based on opinion and conjecture." In his literature review, he concludes that despite a high level of mental health problems among First Nations people and the observation that they tend not to use services provided by the majority culture, "researchers have all but ignored the successful healing strategies used by First Nations people themselves."

To investigate those strategies McCormick interviewed 50 people (15 males, 35 females) ranging in ages from their early twenties to early fifties, from 40 communities in British Columbia.

McCormick�s aim was to provide "a comprehensive map of what facilities healing among First Nations people in B.C." The fourteen categories of healing which emerged as significant are listed here in rank order: expressing oneself, connecting with nature, obtaining support from others, anchoring self in tradition, participation in ceremony, gaining an understanding of the problem, establishing a spiritual connection, exercise, helping others, setting goals, learning from a role model, establishing a social connection, involvement in challenging activities and self-care. Healing outcomes were thought to invoke empowerment, cleansing, balance, discipline and belonging.

Drawing on examples from the interviews and from expert commentary, he describes the meaning of each category in ways which make the healing process understandable. For example, on connecting with nature: "In respecting nature, First Nations people see nature as providing a blueprint of how to live a healthy life."

Also, a set of distinct themes emerged which provide invaluable learning for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal practitioners. The first observation is that a broad spectrum of healing resources is available to First Nations people, particularly in terms of nature and ceremony. He notes that "Relative to the variety of approaches used by First Nations people, Western approaches are apt to be viewed as restrictive in what they have to offer for healing."

Second, Aboriginal people have different ways of seeing the world that reinforces the belief that healing practices are culturally bound.

A third theme involves the expectation that healing should help to restore balance, a concept inherent in the Medicine Wheel. McCormick observes, "When people with this cultural expectation encounter Western therapies, a conflict emerges. Because most Western therapies tend to focus on one aspect of the person, the First Nations client often leaves feeling that only part of the self has been attended to".

A fourth observation is that if someone is self-absorbed they cannot heal because they cannot connect with the spiritual world, family, community or culture. As he observes, this view contrasts with Western approaches that focus on strengthening the self or ego so that people master their environment.

Lastly, McCormick concludes that participants act as the agents of their own healing and that Elders and others treat them as their own agents.

This study fills a huge gap in cross-cultural understanding. Furthermore, as a research study, it also affirms many of the approaches to healing and wellness being implemented by Aboriginal communities through AHWS. For those engaged in the Strategy, he offers perspectives on healing which people could use for group reflection on their own projects and initiatives.

In providing a very brief synopsis of this study, I hope I have created a desire to hear more. Readers who read the study will not be disappointed. Unlike many academic papers, this study is written in a very accessible style and deserves to be read in its entirely.

The full study is in the Canadian Journal of Native Education (Vol.21, #2, 1995) available for $13.50 from First Nations House of Learning, U.B.C. 1985 West Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z2 (604) 822-8940, Fax (604) 822-8944.

THE CLEANSING CEREMONY

(by Josephine Mandamin, Ontario Native Women�s Association)

When we cleanse ourselves with the smoke from the medicines, we are praying for guidance and direction from the Creator to help us use our gifts in the right way. We physically cleanse our head area which houses our thoughts and minds. We ask the Creator to help us think only good thoughts of others, and all things we come into contact with. We ask that we do not harbour evil or bad thoughts about others, and if we do, we ask that we be given extra time before the day ends to make amends for our mistakes.

Next we cleanse our invisible gift of sight and ask for strength in using our gift in a good way - that we are not offended by what we see, and do not make fun of what we see. Our sight is exposed to many things during the day, and many times we are tempted to judge what we see. We ask the Creator that we be allowed the opportunity to make amends before the day ends should we misuse our gift of sight.

We continue to the gift of hearing and listening and ask the Creator for guidance in using this gift to patiently listen to those that speak to us and to those that are teaching us, especially to the elements of nature. The birds, the winds, the waters, the animal kingdom of the four legged and two legged beings, from where we learn to reawaken our gift of listening. We give thanks for this beautiful gift, and ask that if we have abused it in some way by making fun of what we hear, we ask for pardon and opportunity to make amends before the day ends.

The next gift we cleanse is the gift of smell which assists us in following our direction in the right way. The animals teach us how to use the gift in a good way. The animals use their noses to detect danger, to find food, water, and medicines.

The little ones learn to use their noses even before birth, to know their mothers and to become familiar with their surroundings. So too, we must learn from our relations. We can learn to reawaken our sense of smell to lead us in the right choices and directions, to sense danger to find our right path, and to find the right teachings (teachers), and to find the medicines for our health. We pray to the Creator that we do not abuse the gift by making fun of those that do not meet our senses in a way that we expect.

Many times we meet people who are homeless and have to live on the streets. We connect with the alcoholics and people on drugs on the streets every day. We must honour them and show them respect because they are surviving with the most minimal opportunities. We are in no position to make fun of those that are not as fortunate as we - to be able to shower every day, to have three meals a day, to have a roof over our heads and families to go home to. We give thanks to the Creator, and also ask that if we have misused our gift and made fun of someone who did not smell the way we would like them to smell, we take the opportunity to go out and help someone before the day ends.

We continue to cleanse our next gift which is the gift from the mouth. We must always watch what we say, how we say things, and be careful that we do not harm someone by the words that come from our mouths. Our children are usually the first ones to be hurt by the wrong words coming out of our mouths. If they hear those hurting words for too long, they may end up believing those words and begin to feel badly about themselves. Our young people hurt themselves in different ways to give us the message that they are hurting. They are unable to express their feelings with words because they may have been taught to shut up, be quiet or don�t tell anyone. These are controlling words we must replace with loving and encouraging words.

Therefore, we ask our Creator as we cleanse ourselves that we do not hurt our children, our partners, our relations, and co-workers. We ask that we learn to use this gift in the most wonderful way possible and take the time to choose our words before they come out of our mouths. Equally important as what comes out of our mouths is what goes into our mouths. We can harm our spirit with alcohol and mind-altering drugs which are harmful to the mind and body. We pause and ask the Creator for strength to know these things.

Next we cleanse the heart where feelings are housed. Our hearts carry many feelings. We give thanks for this gift and ask that we use it in a good way by feeling grateful for all things we come across today. We must learn to harbour good feelings about all people, our family, nature, and the universe. If we begin to feel badly about others, we must take

time out to evaluate our feelings, ask for, and make an effort to make peace with those we have bad feelings about. We must not burden our hearts with negative thoughts and feelings. The heart can give out with carrying too much weight, and may result in heart attacks and strokes. So we ask the Creator that we learn to place only joyful and happy feelings into our hearts, and to help others feel joyful and happy.

The next gift we cleanse is touch. We wash our gift with the smoke of the medicines and ask for strength and perseverance that we do not abuse the gift of healing. This gift was given to us as healing hands to produce only loving results. We especially request from the Creator that we understand this gift and not to abuse it by slapping our children or hitting our partners. We pray that all our relations can understand this great gift and use this healing gift to guide their children and families throughout life in a loving and healing way.

We pray especially for those who abuse this gift with wrong touches toward the children and partners. We give thanks for this gift that has allowed us to work with our children, our partners, our community and nations in a constructive way. We pray that those who abuse this gift through wrong and willful misuse can learn to make changes and that we too be given opportunities to ask for forgiveness should we hurt someone with this gift of touch.

Then we cleanse our spirit which surrounds our bodies at all times. This spirit if forever present and watchful as we journey each day and while we are asleep. These are what we call dreams. Our spirit tries to contact us in many ways but we get too busy to listen. We ask the Creator as we pray that we can learn to reawaken our spirits that we may have forgotten or frightened off through alcohol or mind-altering drugs. We ask that we learn to care for our spirit by way of cleansing our gifts, and our homes. As we begin to understand our invisible gifts we begin to understand that our spirit has been attempting to communicate with us through our �gut feelings�, a shiver, or a feeling of being watched or even through the messages of the elements, nature and humans such as Elders.

So now, when we experience the scent of the medicines wherever we are, we are reminded of the teaching of the returning Elders and to use our invisible gifts in the ways of our teachings. At times you may imagine the smell of one or all the four medicines. This is when someone is praying for you. Or, you may be somewhere away from home and smell the medicines. You are reminded again of the teachings of the invisible gifts.

The cleansing takes only a couple of minutes. The teaching takes time, but once you grasp or catch the meanings, you have gained a precious gift, and will return to cleanse whenever the need arises.

This is enough for this time. I shall continue with additional teachings next time, if all is well.

Two-Spirited People of the First Nations

ONTARIO ABORIGINAL HIV/AIDS STRATEGY

(by Nancy Sagmeister)

"Getting people to open up and talk about sex, homophobia and AIDS phobia are some of the biggest obstacles to dealing with this issue," says LaVerne Monette. "That, and the tendency to blame victims rather than trying to help them or giving people the information they need to keep them healthy". LaVerne is the provincial coordinator of the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy and a board member of Two-Spirited People of the First Nations.

"The fears and intolerance that many Aboriginal people with HIV/AIDS experience in their communities means that many leave home and come to large communities like Toronto, Sudbury or Thunder Bay to get help or simply some understanding," says LaVerne. "Homophobia doesn�t belong to First Nations people. Before Europeans arrived, gays or two-spirited people as they are known in the Aboriginal community, were accepted and respected. The spirit of tolerance that existed was lost as foreign values were imposed on children and their families."

Much of the work that goes on under the Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy involves outreach and education to change biases and attitudes in the community, and providing an opportunity where people can begin to talk about it in a spirit of acceptance and openness.

The Strategy was developed because of the lack of culturally appropriate and culturally accessible HIV/AIDS programs and services for Aboriginal people. It is based on the wholistic approach to health, which includes the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals, families and communities living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

http://www.ahwsontario.ca/publications/Vol1-No6.htm

How do you feel about western approaches to HIV/AIDS?

Aren't these native canadian people considered "western"?

TORONTO HOSTEL - OPENING SOON

Waasagamik, a patient hostel which means "dwelling that radiates light" will be opening its doors this fall to accommodate Aboriginal people who come to Toronto for medical care and need a place to stay.

Waasagamik will be providing services to people accessing health services. Besides a place to stay they will offer supportive/advocacy counselling; language translation (Cree, Ojibwa, Oji-Cree, Inuktitut and Iroquois); special diets; access to medical prescriptions; access to traditional healers; and social and cultural activities.

"Waasagamik will not be directly providing health care," says Joe Hester, Director of Programs and Services at Anishnawbe Health Toronto. "Rather, we will be assisting Aboriginal patients to access health services such as traditional healers, physicians, nurses, lab services, prescriptions, etc." says Joe Hester.

Access to services is a strategic direction in the Aboriginal Health Policy. In implementing this objective Waasagamik will play an integral role by ensuring that patients will gain access to treatment and/or rehabilitative services.

"Waasagamik will fill a serious gap in the health services sector in Toronto and will be of benefit to all members of the Native community in Ontario," says Hester.

To prepare for start-up, Waasagamik has hired a Manager and an Intake/Supportive Counsellor and plans to hire two cooks. The hostel will provide its clients with a comfortable, quiet and secure boarding home facility for patients, families and escorts. Other special features include:

• 2 bedrooms, each with 2 double beds, and ensuite washrooms to accommodate parents and children;
• 13 single rooms with shared washroom facilities for individual patients;
• a quiet and comfortable lounge and eating area for recuperating patients as well as their guests;
• eating and play area for families with children; and
• nutritious and special diet meals as required.

The final renovations are being done. Waasagamik�s services will be delivered on a 24 hour basis from 179 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario. The site is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Gerrard and Pembroke Streets. The nearest main intersection is Gerrard and Sherbourne Street, one block to the east.

Information on rates for accommodation and meals is not yet public. A brochure with this information will be available soon.

There are many hospitals within a 2.75 kilometre radius of the hostel. Some include: Wellesley Hospital; St. Michael�s Hospital,Toronto General Hospital, Sick Kids, Mount Sinai/Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto Grace Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Orthopaedic and Arthritic Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Women�s College Hospital.

Transportation will be available at arrival and departure points, e.g., airport, railway and bus stations. Transportation will also be available for patients to and from medical appointments.

For more information contact Waasagamik�s Manager, Shirley Kendall at 1-800-531-0066.

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A NEW SIOUX LOOKOUT HOSPITAL - YEARS IN THE MAKING

On April 11th, four years of negotiations culminated in the signing of an agreement between Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN), Ontario, Canada and the Town of Sioux Lookout.

The agreement will amalgamate the existing federal and provincial hospitals in Sioux Lookout and provide funding for a new $30 million hospital facility. Construction of the hospital is expected to begin in two years.

"We will have the first Aboriginal-controlled provincial hospital because representatives of NAN, Canada and the Town of Sioux Lookout dedicated themselves to this process and had a vision of better health services for Aboriginal people and the entire zone," said Charles Bigenwald, Assistant Deputy Minister, representing the Ministry of Health at the signing ceremony.

What is Social Ecology?

The Communalist Project

By Murray Bookchin

hether the twenty-first century will be the most radical of times or the most reactionary—or will simply lapse into a gray era of dismal mediocrity—will depend overwhelmingly upon the kind of social movement and program that social radicals create out of the theoretical, organizational, and political wealth that has accumulated during the past two centuries of the revolutionary era. The direction we select, from among several intersecting roads of human development, may well determine the future of our species for centuries to come. As long as this irrational society endangers us with nuclear and biological weapons, we cannot ignore the possibility that the entire human enterprise may come to a devastating end. Given the exquisitely elaborate technical plans that the military-industrial complex has devised, the self-extermination of the human species must be included in the futuristic scenarios that, at the turn of the millennium, the mass media are projecting—the end of a human future as such.

Lest these remarks seem too apocalyptic, I should emphasize that we also live in an era when human creativity, technology, and imagination have the capability to produce extraordinary material achievements and to endow us with societies that allow for a degree of freedom that far and away exceeds the most dramatic and emancipatory visions projected by social theorists such as Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin.¹ Many thinkers of the postmodern age have obtusely singled out science and technology as the principal threats to human well-being, yet few disciplines have imparted to humanity such a stupendous knowledge of the innermost secrets of matter and life, or provided our species better with the ability to alter every important feature of reality and to improve the well-being of human and nonhuman life-forms.

We are thus in a position either to follow a path toward a grim “end of history,” in which a banal succession of vacuous events replaces genuine progress, or to move on to a path toward the true making of history, in which humanity genuinely progresses toward a rational world. We are in a position to choose between an ignominious finale, possibly including the catastrophic nuclear oblivion of history itself, and history’s rational fulfillment in a free, materially abundant society in an aesthetically crafted environment.

Notwithstanding the technological marvels that competing enterprises of the ruling class (that is, the bourgeoisie) are developing in order to achieve hegemony over one another, little of a subjective nature that exists in the existing society can redeem it. Precisely at a time when we, as a species, are capable of producing the means for amazing objective advances and improvements in the human condition and in the nonhuman natural world—advances that could make for a free and rational society— we stand almost naked morally before the onslaught of social forces that may very well lead to our physical immolation. Prognoses about the future are understandably very fragile and are easily distrusted. Pessimism has become very widespread, as capitalist social relations become more deeply entrenched in the human mind than ever before, and as culture regresses appallingly, almost to a vanishing point. To most people today, the hopeful and very radical certainties of the twenty-year period between the Russian Revolution of 1917-18 and the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 seem almost naïve.

Yet our decision to create a better society, and our choice of the way to do it, must come from within ourselves, without the aid of a deity, still less a mystical “force of nature” or a charismatic leader. If we choose the road toward a better future, our choice must be the consequence of our ability—and ours alone—to learn from the material lessons of the past and to appreciate the real prospects of the future. We will need to have recourse, not to ghostly vagaries conjured up from the murky hell of superstition or, absurdly, from the couloirs of the academy, but to the innovative attributes that make up our very humanity and the essential features that account for natural and social development, as opposed to the social pathologies and accidental events that have sidetracked humanity from its self-fulfillment in consciousness and reason. Having brought history to a point where nearly everything is possible, at least of a material nature—and having left behind a past that was permeated ideologically by mystical and religious elements produced by the human imagination—we are faced with a new challenge, one that has never before confronted humanity. We must consciously create our own world, not according to demonic fantasies, mindless customs, and destructive prejudices, but according to the canons of reason, reflection, and discourse that uniquely belong to our own species.

http://www.social-ecology.org

Ecosystems are both strong and fragile

As the Antarctic Ice Pack Recedes, a Fragile Ecosystem Hangs in the Balance

Liza Gross

Citation: Gross L (2005) As the Antarctic Ice Pack Recedes, a Fragile Ecosystem Hangs in the Balance. PLoS Biol 3(4): e127 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030127

Published: April 12, 2005

Copyright: © 2005 Liza Gross. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abbreviations: CCAMLR, Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources; CDW, Circumpolar Deep Water; LTER, Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program

Liza Gross is a science writer for the Public Library of Science. E-mail: lgross@plos.org

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Harrowing tales of starvation and endurance epitomize Antarctica's “heroic age,” when men equipped with little more than fortitude struggled against a landscape seemingly designed to thwart their intentions. A menacing sea ice figures prominently in these improbable survival stories. Daunting to early-20th-century explorers—trapping (and ultimately crushing) Ernest Shackleton's Endurance and derailing Robert Scott's 1901 Discovery expedition—the seasonal pack ice is the lifeblood of Antarctica's marine ecosystem.

But as winter temperatures continue to climb in the Antarctic, the once-forbidding winter sea ice is starting to deteriorate. The ice pack is forming later and retreating earlier—and it's having a serious impact on the abundance of krill, the backbone of the Antarctic food chain.

“Sea ice is the engine that drives Antarctic ecosystems,” says William Fraser, a principal investigator for the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program (LTER) and president of Polar Oceans Research Group in Montana. “Many of the key species that govern ecosystem dynamics in the Antarctic have life histories that depend on the availability of winter sea ice. The most important species in most sectors of Antarctica is krill.”

A major food source for Antarctic fish, penguins, pelagic seabirds, seals, and whales, krill (Euphausia superba) look like shrimp, but weigh just a gram as adults and measure about six centimeters long (Figure 1). Norwegian for “whale food,” krill aggregate in super-swarms that can reach a density of 30,000 individuals per square meter, attracting whales, which can eat three tons of krill in a single feeding, and fisheries, which net on average 100,000 metric tons per year.

Figure 1. Krill Abundance Has Dropped 80% in 30 Years

(A) This gravid female is nearly ready to release her eggs.

(B) Krill feed on phytoplankton, indicated by the green color in this specimen's digestive organ.

(Images: Langdon Quetin and Robin Ross, researchers at the Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, and funded by the Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation)

The waters off the Antarctic Peninsula favor high krill concentrations. “Once you get into extreme environments such as the Southern Ocean, diversity will decrease but the number of individuals will increase because the production can be very high,” says Scott Gallager, a marine biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, Massachusetts, United States).

Production is particularly high along the sea ice edge, he says, because the ice is thinner, which allows more sunlight to penetrate, and because ocean mixing processes along the continental shelf cause an upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water. Increased nutrients support increased primary production along the ice edge. “If ice forms too late,” says Gallager, “you don't get this higher production, which impacts zooplankton populations like the larval krill that graze the under-ice surface, feeding on ice algae. The ice edge is an absolutely critical habitat, a nursery, for larval krill.”

But this krill hotspot is showing some of the most dramatic changes in sea ice extent. Fraser says the western Antarctic Peninsula has registered the “largest increase in temperatures on the planet”—on the order of 6 degrees Celsius—over the past 50 years. This warming trend, he says, has been particularly pronounced during the winter—“crunch time” for many key Antarctic species.

“There was a time when almost every winter experienced very heavy sea ice,” Fraser says, “reaching out into the Drake Passage.” Where once heavy sea ice would form on average four out of every five years, he says, now it forms just one or two years out of five (Box 1). In a typical year, ice starts to form in the coldest regions along the southern coast in late March/early April (austral fall), then works its way up the coast. But late ice years are becoming more common, with ice forming two to three weeks later. “These patterns are completely different from patterns that existed as recently as 30 to 40 or 50 years ago,” says Fraser. “The whole system is becoming unhinged as a result of this enormous warming.”

Retreating Sea Ice and Krill Declines

In November 2004, the most comprehensive study to date of krill distribution and abundance in the Southern Ocean reported a catastrophic drop in krill numbers. Angus Atkinson, a marine biologist with the British Antarctic Survey, led the study. “We pulled together all the net samples we could lay our hands on that had been obtained in the Southern Ocean over the last 80 years,” Atkinson says, analyzing nearly 12,000 krill summer net hauls taken from 1926–1939 and from 1976–2003.

“The Southern Ocean is an enormous area, and at least half of krill stocks were in this comparatively narrow sector between South Africa and the Antarctic Peninsula,” he says. His team found a positive correlation between winter sea ice cover and the abundance of krill the following summer. There's evidence of a general decline in winter sea ice extent and duration, Atkinson says, and of a general decline in krill populations—down 80% over the past 30 years—over the entire southwest Atlantic sector.

Though krill populations showed big fluctuations in the early years, their average numbers were higher over a longer period, explains Volker Siegel, a krill biologist with the Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Hamburg, Germany, who worked with Atkinson. “Where in the early days you might have 100 krill per square meter on average—with fluctuations between, say 20 and 300—nowadays you might see 20 per square meter, which goes from 50 to five individuals per square meter.”

Neither Atkinson nor Siegel can say for sure what's causing the decline, but both say the winter sea ice is clearly playing some role. Krill live about five to six years. During the breeding season, from December to March, embryos are released in the upper water column, and the larvae hatch at depths ranging from 400 meters to 1,500 meters, unlike many fish and other invertebrate larvae, which hatch at the surface. Larvae then have to swim up through the water column to reach the sea surface. Unlike adults, krill larvae don't have enough body fat to carry them through food shortages. “They'll starve if they have to rely on water-column food distributions, and that's where the sea ice comes in,” says Atkinson. “The ice may also shelter them from predators, but one way or another, ice in the winter is good for young krill.”

“We've got to find out what's causing these changes and then we can start to predict what's going to happen with future scenarios of climate change,” Atkinson says. “The other thing we've got to do is look at alternative things which might be affecting krill. We might find there are other things declining as well as sea ice, such as their food, or there might be a change in the fertilization of the waters.”

Accompanying the drop in krill abundance, Atkinson and Siegel found an increase in salps, transparent jelly-like creatures that typically inhabit warmer waters than krill. Expanding into the warmer waters, salp populations are increasing in the southern part of their range and replacing the krill. Most krill-dependent predators do not eat salp.

Krill Declines Ripple up the Food Chain

At a hearing on climate change impacts before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in May 2004, LTER's Fraser testified that the western Antarctic Peninsula's cold, dry polar marine ecosystem is gradually being replaced with a warm, moist maritime climate. While all the major components of the food web are responding to these changes, Fraser said, the clearest evidence comes from studies of two especially sensitive indicators of climate change: krill and penguins. “Trends in penguin populations provided some of the first evidence that sea ice conditions in some areas were deteriorating in response to climate warming,” Fraser told the senators.

This evidence came from Fraser's own studies, over the past 30 years, of three Antarctic penguin species that share similar life histories (including a penchant for krill) but show striking contrasts in their relationship to the sea ice (Figure 2). For Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) penguins, the presence of sea ice is absolutely essential for survival. Chinstrap (P. antarctica) and gentoo (P. papua) penguins, on the other hand, require the absence of sea ice. “Adélie penguins have experienced a nearly 70% decrease in their populations at our study sites on Anvers Island [Palmer Station] in the western Antarctic Peninsula over the last 30 years,” says Fraser, “and there's evidence that other krill-dependent predators are beginning to decrease.”

Figure 2. Antarctic Penguins Show Striking Contrasts in Their Relationship to the Sea Ice

(A) Ice-dependent Adélie penguins, at their nesting grounds on Anvers Island, have lost 10,000 breeding pairs since 1975.

(B) Ice-avoiding chinstrap penguins at Anvers Island are increasing in number and range.

(C) Breeding gentoo penguins—an ice-avoiding species that has not inhabited Anvers Island sites for at least 800 years—are turning up at Palmer Station.

(Images: Donna Fraser)

That's a loss of 10,000 breeding pairs since 1975. The major factors underlying this precipitous decline, Fraser says, are retreating sea ice and increasing snowfall. (The loss of sea ice increases the flow of water vapor from the open ocean to the atmosphere, increasing precipitation.) “When sea ice forms,” he explains, “it covers these regions of high production and the birds are just able to plop into the water into very good feeding areas.” With a life history accustomed to the formation of sea ice at critical points in their life cycle, Adélies are finding themselves faced with an unpredictable sea ice cycle that outpaces their ability to adapt. “The birds just don't have the sea ice when they need it,” Fraser says. As if losing critical winter habitat weren't bad enough, Adélies must also contend with the effects of increased snowfall. When the snow melts in the spring, it's flooding their nesting areas and drowning their eggs and chicks.

The population trends for “ice-avoiding” chinstraps and gentoos are quite different. Both species are increasing their populations and beginning to replace Adélie penguins across a broad range in the western Antarctic Peninsula. “We're seeing breeding gentoo penguins at Palmer Station,” Fraser says, with a trace of astonishment. “The paleoecological record does not show that species at our study sites in the last 800 years.”

Though chinstraps and gentoos also depend on krill, they've dealt with krill declines by eating more fish and squid (which, not incidentally, also eat krill). Fraser believes this dietary flexibility, along with the increased availability of open water and a late breeding schedule (which protects their eggs and chicks from spring snow meltwater), largely explain their range extensions.

“Adélies don't seem capable of adjusting anything about their life history,” says Fraser. “They're hard-wired to their breeding area, returning to an area year after year after year, even though conditions are deteriorating.” And so, their numbers continue to plummet as more chicks perish. Another ice-dependent, krill-eating penguin species, the emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri), is not faring any better. “We have just one emperor colony in our study region, and it's decreasing very fast,” Fraser says. “It's gone down from 300 breeding pairs to nine. They're on the verge of extinction in our study region.”

A Question of Sustainability

A major issue in devising strategies to protect krill populations concerns the impact of krill fisheries. Since drastic declines have occurred in the absence of heavy fishing, it's especially important to establish the population dynamics of Antarctic krill. Siegel works with the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to develop sustainable fishing regulations. Based on a point estimate of 44 million metric tons of krill in the southwest Atlantic sector in 2000, CCAMLR calculated a potential yield of 4 million tons, far above the average 100,000-metric-ton catch today. Siegel believes the fisheries aren't posing a significant threat to krill stocks at this point, but says much remains to be learned about krill population structure.

Gallager is not so sure about the impact of krill fishing. Some krill fisheries operate near the island of South Georgia, east of the Falkland Islands. “We know that these populations are not self-sustaining, but require recruiting of adults from other locations, and probably from regions along the western peninsula of Antarctica,” says Gallager. “If we go in and fish out the populations that are not self-seeding, then they could be entirely wiped out.” That's why it's crucial to know which populations, if any, are self-sustaining, he says. “And we don't know a lot about that at all.”

Toward that end, Gallager is working on an under-ice “zooplankton observatory” that would sit on the bottom of the ocean floor and continuously release a flotation package—“once an hour, for hopefully the next ten years”—outfitted with sonar and optical sensors up to the surface, then winch itself back down again. The plan is to deploy the observatory off Palmer Station in May 2006. The hope is that data gathered on over-wintering larval krill will shed light on the factors influencing krill survival over the long term. “It may be that this coupling between larval krill and ice is actually underpinning the entire question of krill population dynamics,” says Gallager—in which case, understanding how the ice moves relative to the water currents and wind shear over the top will be critical.

Many other aspects of krill biology remain obscure as well. Biologists still don't understand the precise mechanisms required to enhance larval growth, reproduction, and recruitment (replenishing populations with new individuals), or how temperature fluctuations affect metabolism and larval growth rate. Robust tests of long-held theories of how the under-ice habitat sustains krill larvae require much more quantitative data—over time and over a wide scale—on larval abundance, distribution, and foraging behavior. But netting krill is not easy. Larvae tend to wedge themselves into nooks and crannies, defying divers' attempts to nab them while protecting their expensive nets— loaded with even more expensive electronic gear—from the ice.

Whatever is behind the correlation between sea ice decline and krill declines, the future of the Antarctic ecosystem hangs in the balance. A 2001 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that the Antarctic Peninsula will experience some of the largest, most rapid climate changes on earth. If these trends of rising temperatures and decreasing sea ice continue, says LTER's Fraser, “what we are going to see in the next ten, 20, 30 years is a system that is completely different from the one that exists now. Adélies will become regionally extinct.”

Concluding his testimony on climate change impacts, Fraser warned the US Senate committee that if future warming continues and the cycle of heavy ice years exceeds the life span of krill, the species will face a reproductive crisis. And that, he said, “will have catastrophic consequences to the integrity of this marine ecosystem.”

In 1912, for the sake of a few emperor penguin eggs, Apsley Cherry-Garrard and two members of Scott's ill-fated polar expedition endured what Cherry-Garrard called “extremity of suffering” from which only “madness or death may give relief.” The group believed the eggs might prove that the penguins were the missing link between “birds and the reptiles from which birds have sprung.”

Our understanding has advanced light years since then, rendering such notions nearly quaint. Cherry-Garrard and his companions thought the forbidding Antarctic landscape immune to human assaults. Today, with this notion, too, proven false, one wonders if the damage can be reversed. In Atkinson's diplomatic phrase, “there are political issues involved” where global warming is concerned. But the clock is ticking. If the Antarctic ecosystem collapses, it won't be because scientists were off on a misguided search for penguin eggs.

Box 1. Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere System Controls Sea Ice Extent

What are the chances that the western Antarctic Peninsula will start to see more heavy-ice years? Annual winter sea ice extent depends on air-sea interactions between a recently discovered atmospheric phenomenon called the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave (Figure 3) and Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), which is part of the massive Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

Figure 3. Antarctic Circumpolar Wave

In 1996, oceanographers Warren White and Ray Peterson identified significant inter-annual variations in the atmospheric pressure at sea level, wind stress, sea surface temperature, and sea-ice extent over the Southern Ocean. They called this system of coupled anomalies the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave. This simplified schematic summarizes the inter-annual variations in sea surface temperature (red, warm; and blue, cold), atmospheric sea-level pressure (bold H and L), meridional wind stress (denoted by τ), and sea ice extent (gray lines), together with the mean course of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (green). Heavy black arrows depict the general eastward motion of anomalies, while other arrows indicate communications between the circumpolar current and the more northerly subtropical gyres. (Image: Warren White, http://jedac.ucsd.edu/ACW/index_research.html)

The Antarctic Circumpolar Wave can either bring air up off the Antarctic continent, making the peninsula colder than normal, or down out of the South Pacific or South America, making the peninsula warmer, explains Eileen Hofmann, oceanography professor at the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Virginia, United States). “What seems to be happening is that the atmosphere and ocean are transitioning into another state because of the warming in the Antarctic Peninsula, and now there are fewer colder periods,” says Hofmann, who also heads Southern Ocean GLOBEC (Global Oceans Ecosystem Dynamics). “It warms up particularly in the winter because you don't get the strong winds coming up the continent as frequently. And so less sea ice forms in the winter.”

The southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current meets the continental shelf along the Antarctic Peninsula. As the current moves back and forth along the shelf, it pumps deep water onto the shelf. “Where you get this upwelling of CDW,” Hofmann says, “it preferentially selects for diatoms, the preferred food for Antarctic krill.” And embryos released around deep water develop faster and hatch at shallower depths, which means they don't have as far to swim to reach the surface, which in turn means less chance of being eaten en route and a better chance of finding food sooner. Once the larvae reach surface waters, the circulation over the continent helps retain them along the western Antarctic Peninsula.

If there's no winter sea ice covering the ocean surface, the momentum from the atmosphere can go into the ocean and enhance mixing, which forces heat up to the surface and prevents sea ice from forming, Hofmann says. “If you raise the temperature to -1.7 degrees Centigrade”—salinity causes ocean water to freeze at −1.82 degrees C—“you get no sea ice. It's that small difference that makes the system very responsive to climate change.”

And melting ice introduces freshwater, which is much lighter than seawater, says Scott Gallager of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “Freshwater would essentially float on the surface and cap off mixing and heat transfer,” he explains, which ultimately speeds up the process of warming—producing an exponential increase in the rate of ice-edge retreat.

One of the potential scenarios with rising temperatures, says Hofmann, is that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current will move farther away from the continental shelf along the peninsula. “That would greatly diminish the supply of CDW, and change the physical and biological structure of the shelf,” she says. Alternatively, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current would get pinned against the continental shelf. “If CDW is continually pumped onto the shelf, then it probably would warm up the whole shelf water above freezing,” says Hofmann. And that, she says, could lead to a collapse of the sea ice.

http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0030127

Deep Ecology Platform

YES!

We must "express solidarity with all life, not just human life"

I would agree with that...

“Think like a mountain!”

"Extend one’s sense of self-identity so that it comes to include the well-being of the Earth"

Nature is not seen as a “resource” for human use.

We should share the planet on a basis of equality with other life forms. Our everyday language is taken-for-granted human-centered. For example, trees, fish, etc. are “resources” for human use. Industrial forestry considers insects as “pests.” Trees are described as “decadent” and “overmature” when they are considered past their prime from a human-use perspective. Morality just concerns “humans” in a human-centered universe.

Left biocentrism

Left biocentrism functions as a de facto “left wing” of the Deep Ecology movement, upholding its subversive potential and opposing any “accommodation” to industrial capitalist society. (See on our web site, the ten-point Left Biocentrism Primer, the end result of a protracted collective discussion in 1998, among a number of those who support left biocentrism and Deep Ecology.)

All left bios support the eight-point Deep Ecology Platform drawn up by Arne Naess and George Sessions and see their work as endeavouring to strengthen the deep ecology movement. The “leftism” of left biocentrism is seen as a necessary concern with class issues and social justice, but this is subordinate to its biocentrism/ecocentrism

Left biocentrists oppose those who elevate social justice above the concerns of the Earth and all its many creatures. Animals and plants and the general ecosystem have to be treated on the same moral plane as humans. The labor theory of value implies that Nature has no value or worth, unless humans transform it through their labor. But for left bios, Nature has value in itself. Nature is the principal source of human wealth, not labor power. The positive ideas from the Left, which are still relevant, e.g. the concern for social justice, have to be part of the left biocentric synthesis of ideas.