#WATWB After Decade of Historic Growth, Wind Power is Now the Most-Used Renewable Energy Source in US

February 28, 2020 Looking for the Light5 Comments

By Good News Network – Feb 27, 2020

For the first time in U.S. history, the amount of electric power generated from wind in 2019 exceeded the amount sourced from hydroelectric.

Photo by the Energy Information Administration

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s newly-released Electric Power Monthly, the exciting milestone means that wind is now the top renewable source of electricity generation in the country—a position previously held by hydroelectricity for several decades.

Annual wind generation totaled 300 million megawatthours (MWh) in 2019, exceeding hydroelectric generation by 26 million MWh. Wind generation has increased steadily during the past decade, in part, because the Production Tax Credit (PTC)—which drove wind capacity additions—was extended. Annual hydroelectric generation has fluctuated between 250 million MWh and 320 million MWh in the past decade, reflecting a stable capacity base and variable annual precipitation.

LOOK: New Power Plant Turns Waste into Energy—and Doubles as a Ski Slope and Climbing Wall

Annual changes in hydroelectric generation are primarily the result of variations in annual precipitation patterns and water runoff. Although weather patterns also affect wind generation in different regions, capacity growth has been the predominant driver of annual changes in wind generation.

Both hydroelectric and wind generation follow seasonal patterns. Hydroelectric generation is typically greatest in the spring when precipitation and melting snowpack increase water runoff. Seasonal patterns in wind generation vary across the country, but wind generation is usually greatest in the spring and fall.

Wind capacity additions tend to come online during the fourth quarter of the year, most likely because of tax benefits. Wind capacity additions totaled 10 gigawatts in 2019 (3.8 GW installed in the fourth quarter), making 2019 the second-largest year for wind capacity additions, second only to 2012.

As of the end of 2019, the United States had 103 GW of wind capacity, nearly all of which (77%) were installed in the past decade. The United States has 80 GW of hydroelectric capacity, most of which has been operating for several decades. Only 2 GW of hydroelectric capacity has been added in the past decade, and some of those additions involved convertingpreviously non-powered dams.

Although total installed wind capacity surpassed total installed hydroelectric capacity in 2016, it wasn’t until 2019 that wind generation surpassed hydroelectric generation. The average annual capacity factors for the hydroelectric fleet between 2009 and 2019 ranged from 35% to 43%. The average annual capacity factors for the U.S. wind fleet were lower, ranging from 28% to 35%. Capacity factors are the ratio of the electrical energy produced by a generating unit for a specified period of time to the electrical energy that could have been produced at continuous full power operation during the same period.

Reprinted from the US Energy Information Administration

Power Up With Positivity By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media – Feature photo by Daxis, CC

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Melinda

“We are the World” Blogfest” aims to spread the message of light, hope and love in today’s world. We are challenging all participants to share the positive side of humanity. This month’s co-hosts, Sylvia McGrath, Lizbeth Hartz, Shilpa Garg, Mary Giese, and Belinda Witzenhausen welcome participants and encourage all to join in during future months. #WATWB comes on the last Friday of every month. Click HERE for more information. You are always welcome to join in!You can find more stories of hope, light, and love on the WATWB Facebook Page. Click HERE to be part of the Light.

Fun

Friday Quote

February 28, 2020 Looking for the Light6 Comments

I appreciate you stopping by today! I never take you for granted. Have a great weekend! M

” Each of us is born with a box of matches inside of us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves.”

Laura Esquivel, Like Water For Chocolate

Moving Forward

7 Years After My Diagnosis — Guest Blogger Lyme Light Fight

February 27, 2020 Looking for the Light1 Comment

This week marks the 7 year anniversary of my diagnosis with Lyme Disease. Before that I lived with (or rather, slowly succumbed to) this debilitating disease for 5 years. After my diagnosis, it took another 3 years of treatment before I was finally Lyme-free. Then I relapsed a year later, but beat it again after […]
7 Years After My Diagnosis — Lyme Light Fight

Men & Womens Health

Lyme Progress #9 Don’t Inspect–What To Expect

February 27, 2020 Looking for the Light4 Comments

Update February 27, 2020

Warm weather is right around the corner, I know some of us are experiencing freezing weather but Spring is around the corner. The south will start to feel great outdoor weather in a matter of weeks. Lyme has left made my life hell, I don’t want you or anyone you love to go thru the same painful illness.

Please remember!!!!! There is no cure for Lyme and the diseases you get from your immune system being compromised can be life threatening. As you go for the first hike, long walk with the dog, picnic with the kids, make sure you prepare for ticks. You don’t have to see cows or be anywhere near cows. A silly notion. The only sure way to prevent the ticks don’t stick to you is 20% DEET.

I didn’t want to use DEET in the past, and that was just to ward off flying bugs. DEET is the only recommenced prevention for tick born illnesses. Please educate yourself before blowing off the idea. The option is not worth the small risk of using DEET.

I will continue to send out reminder as we move into warmer weather. I also plan to post an update on my health progress from living with Lyme.

Melinda

As the temperatures warm the chances of encountering ticks increase. I had a PA recently say we don’t have Lyme is Texas, what? Yes, Lyme or tick boring illnesses are in every state. Some states have a higher percentage of cases but dot fool yourself, tick-borne illnesses are in every state in the United States. There are now 30 strains of tick born illnesses and more are discovered each year. This year a more a deadly tick-born illness, Powassan Disease was discovered and it’s the most deadly. Please take notice and protect yourself and children.

This post is a combination of photos, snippets from previous post and new information. If you have questions visit ILADS website for the most accurate information on tick born illnesses. This association is for doctors who treat Lyme, educators of Lyme and the medical community who are there to increase knowledge.

I am walking after four years spent in bed, how could anything be worse than Lyme Disease? The illnesses Lyme leaves behind are debilitating and worst. I’ve lost four years of my life, screaming in pain, narcotics, nine months of twice a day IV Antibiotic Infusion Treatments. I can not stress enough how dangerous Tick-Borne illnesses are, they can kill you and your children. If you already have a compromised immune system, your starting behind the curve. I’ve talked to many at WordPress with Chronic Lyme, many of them spent 10-15 years before diagnosis. Think of the pain and isolation of our fellow Bloggers went thru.

People have said we don’t have ticks, for one Lyme and Powassan Disease is transmitted by many sources other than ticks, mosquitos, sand flies, are just a few culprits. In the wild animals of all types of animals die, many pests visit the buffet. The critter who is carrying Lyme disease bites you and there is a short window for medical attention.

The flying pest target is blood, they have to eat. They don’t discriminate on where they go for lunch. The ticks who carry Tick-Borne illnesses are smaller than a grain of rice, try to find that while doing a tick check, you will not see them.

Before you get dressed, spray sunscreen with insect repellant with 20% DEET. Reply every hour if sweating or in heavily wooded areas. Wear white soaks with your pant leg tucked in light-colored pants. Wear a white or light colored shirt, a hat that is longer in back to cover your neck. Be vigilant with your kids, if playing outside, spray. Better safe than sorry.

Most important, do tick checks on you and the kids throughout the day. Take some tape and if see a tick don’t touch it, pull it off with tape. While out hiking wear light colors, tuck pants in socks, wear a hat that covers the back of the neck. Lyme Dieses is not sexy.

Watch these extremely important videos and educate yourself. Know the early signs and a short antibiotic treatment may provide a cure. The bulls-eye rash talked about by doctors only happens 30% of the time.

The Lyme test doctors use only cover a few of the 30 strains of Lyme. I’ve had multiple tests over the past four years and not once did I show positive for Lyme.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/05/03/tick-borne-illness-worse-than-lyme-disease-powassan-virus/22067432/

Chronic Lyme disease causes other chronic illnesses in its wake and new illnesses can pop up at any time. I now suffer from Fibromyalgia, Dementia, Neuropathy, loss of balance and other cognitive issues. My life is not back to normal and never will.

Chaos

**State of Living**
**Seven days of IV’s**

B12 Shots

Men & Womens Health

Seven herbal medicines can kill Lyme disease bacteria in test tube

February 25, 2020 Looking for the Light1 Comment

News

LymeDisease.org

21FEB2020

Researchers have determined that seven herbal medicines are highly active in test tubes against B. burgdorferi, the bacteriathat causes Lyme disease, compared to the control antibiotics, doxycycline and cefuroxime.

Published in the journalFrontiers in Medicine, the laboratory study was funded by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation and supported in part by The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and colleagues at the California Center for Functional Medicine and FOCUS Health Group, Naturopathic collaborated on the study.

“Since traditional antibiotic approaches fail to resolve symptoms in up to 25% of patients treated for Lyme disease and many suffer disabling effects of the disease, there is a need for novel treatment proven effective against B. burgdorferi,” said the paper’s co-author Sunjya K. Schweig, MD, CEO and co-director, California Center for Functional Medicine and Scientific Advisory Board Member, Bay Area Lyme Foundation.

Patients turning to herbal remedies

“Because patients are currently turning to herbal remedies to fill the treatment gaps left by antibiotics, this research is a critical step in helping clinicians, as well as patients, understand which ones may offer the most potential benefit.”

According to this study, carried out by Prof. Ying Zhang’s group at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the seven herbal medicines that have the ability to kill B. burgdorferi in test tubes are:

Cryptolepis sanguinolenta
Juglans nigra (Black walnut)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Artemisia annua (Sweet wormwood)
Uncaria tomentosa (Cat’s claw)
Cistus incanus
Scutellaria baicalensis (Chinese skullcap)

It is important to note that each of these products have the potential to produce significant side effects in patients, and should be taken only under advisement of a clinician knowledgeable of their capabilities and toxicities.

Of these products, the Cryptolepis sanguinolenta extract caused complete eradication, while doxycycline and cefuroxime and other active herbs did not. This extract has been used for the treatment of malaria as well as the tick-borne infection Babesia, a malaria-like parasite.

This study is believed to be the first time this extract has been documented to have a potential impact on B. burgdorferi, and additional laboratory and clincial studies should be conducted to investigate the potential role Cryptolepis sanguinolenta could play in the treatment of Lyme disease.

Further, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta and Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) showed strong activity against both growing B. burgdorferi (MIC=0.03%-0.06% and 0.25%-0.5% respectively) and non-growing stationary phase B. burgdorferi.

In contrast, Stevia rebaudiana, Andrographis paniculata, Grapefruit seed extract, colloidal silver, monolaurin, and antimicrobial peptide LL37 had little or no activity against stationary phase B. burgdorferi.

New therapeutic options

“Our hope is that findings from this study could point to new therapeutic options for doctors and their patients, and pave the way for clinical research to help patients with persistent Lyme disease,” said Linda Giampa, executive director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation.

These data may provide a basis for the clinical improvement of patients who take herbal medicines, particularly those whose chronic symptoms may be due to persistent bacteria that are not killed by conventional Lyme antibiotic treatment.

However, it is critical to note that additional studies are needed to further evaluate the seven active botanical medicines identified in the study. Patients should not attempt to self-treat with these herbal medicines due to potential side effects and lack of clinical trials with these products.

About the study

For the study, the researchers tested 14 natural products in test tubes against B. burgdorferi. Plant extracts selected for the study included herbs or agents that: have been previously used to manage the symptoms of patients who do not respond to standard Lyme antibiotic treatment; have favorable safety profiles; and can be absorbed systemically.

Additional criteria for selecting compounds included anti-biofilm effects and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. To conduct the study, the plant extracts in concentrations of 1%, 0.5% and 0.25% and antibiotic controls were each tested on growing as well as non-growing B. burgdorferi cultures.

The study found that seven of these natural product extracts at 0.25%-0.5% had better activity against the stationary phase B. burgdorferi culture than the control antibiotics doxycycline and cefuroxime, both of which are commonly used to treat Lyme disease.

The paper titled “Evaluation of Natural and Botanical Medicines for Activity against Growing and Non-growing Forms of B. burgdorferi,” was written by Jie Feng, PhD, Jacob Leone, ND, Sunjya Schweig, MD, and Ying Zhang, MD, PhD.

PRESS RELEASE SOURCE: Bay Area Lyme Foundation

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Men & Womens Health

The Tick Expert on the Go

February 24, 2020 Looking for the LightLeave a comment

I found this app today and it sounds like a great resource, or the best resource we have to date. Please check it out. Melinda

By: Bieneke Bron, Maria del Pilar Fernandez, Pallavi Kache, University of Wisconsin – Madison & Columbia University
04 June 2019

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of people getting diseases transmitted by ticks, mosquitoes and fleas has tripled in recent years. Milder winters and warmer springs and falls are making matters worse by expanding the ticks’ range to new areas.

Ticks are small but mighty adversaries. They represent a real threat to humans since they carry several infectious diseases, including the bacteria that causes typhus and Lyme disease (or Lyme borreliosis), which can be chronic and debilitating. These tick-borne diseases should be a serious concern if you live in a high-risk area, work with animals or spend a lot of time in nature, so you need to plan accordingly.

If you might encounter ticks for any reason, then you should download “The Tick App” as your expert on the go. Since ticks are often found in rural or less populated areas, you may have trouble looking up information on the internet due to limited connectivity.

With the app, you’ll have information readily available to understand tick prevention options, potential areas where you may encounter ticks, and most importantly, ways to remove ticks after exposure. Users in the Northeast and Midwest can use the app to submit a photo of the potential exposure or tick, and an expert will send you back more detailed information. The app can even help you set reminders to do a daily log of checking your body for ticks.

In addition to helping you personally, The Tick App has a higher purpose to support tick and tick-borne disease research. In 2018, a team of researchers from Columbia University, Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin Madison joined efforts to develop The Tick App with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Daily logs created through The Tick App allow users to be involved and researchers can further use the information to work with high-risk community members, local governments, and other partners to come up with targeted ways to prevent tick-borne diseases.

So far, The Tick App has had over 2,000 downloads nationwide. Our tick research is gaining momentum, and we invite you to be part of it. With more people joining The Tick App study, we will be able to find patterns of activity that result in a higher chance of tick exposure. You can find more information at www.thetickapp.org.

Download “The Tick App” through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store today to be part of our Tick Squad!

Fun

Friday Quote

February 21, 2020 Looking for the Light10 Comments

Health and Wellbeing · Men & Womens Health

Touched by Suicide

February 20, 2020 Looking for the Light29 Comments

Twenty-eight years ago my father killed himself, I was twenty-eight years old. It’s strange that my father has been dead as long as he was alive in my life.

I’ve written about his suicide many times over the years but this year feels different. It’s hard to put into words but I’ll share what words come to mind.

I knew you were going to kill yourself, you brought me to my knees with grief when you started yelling about dying. You said you needed money, I paid your bills for a year, that didn’t change anything. You were no longer the person I knew, you were delusional, you were hallowed.

I arrived at my grandparent’s house last, I walked in and said I knew daddy was going to kill himself. I don’t know if anyone felt anger towards me for knowing and not saying anything.

I felt guilty for a couple of years that I couldn’t stop his suicide but the fact is you can’t change anyone’s mind. Only the person in pain can decide to reach out and get help.

If you are trying to help someone who is saying they are going to kill themselves, don’t think you can help them by yourself. Be there for them but the only way for a positive outcome is to get professional help.

If the person is like my father and refuses to see how sick they are, do everything you can to make sense but know you can’t change a person’s mind.

Melinda

Men & Womens Health

A Mother Finds Her Chronic Pain Tribe

February 17, 2020November 8, 2020 Looking for the LightLeave a comment

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

Posted on January 11, 2020 by Jennifer Potter

There was a time in my life when I was genuinely lonely. I reverently refer to it as my “whitewashed life” because for the outsider looking in, my actions gave the appearance of being pleasantly put together, all nice and clean. But the reality was that beneath the business of working full time, managing the health care needs for my medically complex children and trying my best to be a “good” mom, if you looked closely, you would see that my foundation was dry, cracked and brittle. And, although there were people in my life- understanding co-workers, compassionate friends, and a supportive family- who cared about my well-being, I was missing a key component- authentic connection.

It is human nature to desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. To be a contributing member of a group. It’s why we join clubs, participate in activities and go to events. But when chronic illness is a part of your life, your ability to commit to these activities is greatly limited. And when you are the parent of a chronically ill child, or in my case, children, your commitment lies elsewhere. Friends disappear, life moves on without you and your “whitewashing” continues.

Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t that the people in my life weren’t meaningful to me or that they didn’t enrich me somehow, they did, it was simply that because my life differed so greatly from theirs that we often had little in common. I simply wasn’t finding people who wanted to talk about the kinds of things I wanted, or better yet, needed, to talk about, and most of all they didn’t really understand.

On a particularly lonely day I reached out to a friend and shared my feelings of seclusion, sadness over missed opportunities, worry for the future and the overwhelming feeling of being “lost” and asked, “How do you do it?” Her reply was simple. “I found that finding a tribe of people who are rowing the same boat is so important. Reach out to groups and like-experienced people. You fit. Your kids fit. It’s just that you don’t likely fit with the norm. (Normal-whatever that is-is overrated anyway!). Find your tribe.” But who? And where could I find them?

I spent a lot of time searching for other moms who were talking about what I was craving to talk about. My memberships in various Facebook Groups grew and I found surface level support. But my insatiable need for in person connections remained. Something was still missing, I needed something deeper. Focused more than ever, I continued my quest to find what my friend had described as my “tribe”.

And then it happened.

In May 2019, I registered our family to attend the Pediatric Take Control of Your Pain Retreat sponsored by the U.S. Pain Foundation. It was an opportunity to escape our medical routines, have a quick family getaway and gain new insight to managing my children’s chronic pain. The retreat offered a parent education track and pediatric education track as well as a family fun day- something we all needed. I remember walking in and feeling an immediate connection- this was it! These were the people my friend had told me to find. Throughout the weekend we laughed, we cried, we comforted. We encouraged, we pondered and we problem solved. We embraced our vulnerabilities and immersed ourselves in genuine discussion. They fed my cravings and best yet, my quest for authentic, in-person connection was complete. The women I met filled my loneliness. They were rowing my boat. And just like that, when I least expected it, I found my tribe.

Since that time, my tribe has encouraged, equipped and empowered me. This group of like-minded individuals has helped me to accept myself for who I am, allowed me to acknowledge that doing “my best” is “good enough” and inspired me to become the best possible version of myself. We support, we celebrate, we offer grace and by doing so, we have found that our shared experiences are more compelling and make each one of us stronger. This is my tribe and it has changed my life.