According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu each year. Of those, about 200,000 people require hospitalization and 36,000 ultimately die. But imagine if, in addition to the stresses of cold and flu season, American health providers were annually confronted with widespread outbreaks of malaria or a host of other diseases that could spread into the United States due to global warming. ...more

January 3, 2009

Ask most anyone to name a famous sight in Australia, and they'll likely respond with "Ayers Rock," or the "Sydney Opera House." Curious, isn't it, that so many will suffer the rapidly increasing tortures of international air travel, and spend thousands of shrinking dollars, to see a large rock? It's especially puzzling when one can visit a quite similar, large, monolithic rock, located within a seven-hour drive from Tampa, Florida. And the rock I'm talking about has major features that Ayers doesn't: the largest bas-relief carving in the world, and dozens of added attractions for the whole family. ...more

June 30, 2008