Sustainability and Employee Engagement

Will you stay or will you go?.... You just received a call from a recruiter representing a company across town for your same job that pays 22% more and is closer to home.  You have met the owners at industry events and they have complimented your work as the VP of Marketing. They are hoping for an answer after the weekend.

The answer to the question may ride on whether you find meaning in the work you do.  It doesn’t have to be savings lives everyday but a connection between what you think is important and your company.  According to Talent Edge 2020, a survey series conducted for Deloitte Consulting LLP by Forbes Insights, meaningful work holds more importance for an employee than any other retention initiative being adopted by their respective companies. 

The idea of employee engagement has traditionally been defined in language of Economics as “the willingness to invest discretionary effort on the job”.  But now the stakes are higher with companies who want to keep the best performers and the successful and sustainable companies look to satisfy the work-life balance involving the physical, psychological and community. 

A recently released research from the Towers Watson 2012 Global Workforce Study, “found that companies with low engagement scores had an average operating margin just under 10 percent….Companies with the highest "sustainable engagement" scores had an average one-year operating margin of 27 percent”.  That’s a huge difference and the linkage to sustainability is relatively clear and pays big dividends. 

 

Julie Urlaub, Founder of Taiga Company a sustainability & media consultancy, further expands the connection saying “Today’s companies and entrepreneurs are presented with the unique opportunity to increase profitability through greater eco awareness and the pursuit of a more sustainable business. To gain and maintain a competitive advantage over the competition, sustainable business leaders are making meaningful work a top priority. Top qualities of a sustainable business leader pave the way for aligning company visions and strategies through shared values with employees. Considering the community, stakeholders, and specifically, employee engagement are all part of a sustainable business culture.”

Taking the idea several steps higher, Daniel Pink in his book “A Whole New Mind – moving from the information age to the conceptual age” wraps up his thesis with the sixth and final “sense” as Meaning. He maintains, with strong supporting evidence that we are hardwired with an urge to satisfy our souls on a deeper level.  While that might sound a bit much.  Given the choice, who wouldn’t want to work with a company that not only pays well but actually is actively involved in making a difference in the world?  

The source is reputable, and is known for business articles. It is current as well.

Sustainability - What Does It Really Mean?

Why should we care about sustainability? The world isn't just going to suddenly end because people are still driving their SUVs. That is true, but the implications of our reckless environmental actions will eventually catch up to us. The unraveling of civilization may lie in our future if we continue on our current course. That statement may seem a tad bit extreme, but is relevant to consider. There are major flaws with the way we are operating as a society. The effects of our action are already causing problems. Food and water shortages, along with soil erosion and raising global temperatures are all too real and are projected to only get worse.

One of the earliest thinkers to consider the concept of sustainability was Thomas Malthus (1766–1834). He was concerned about natural limits particularly the exponential growth of human population and food availability (he believed agricultural production was linear in growth and would not be able to keep up with a rapidly expanding human population.) Malthusian theory was however somewhat disproved by the industrialization of modern high yield agriculture. In the coming future his theory may be more relevant because of the environmental pressures humans are exerting on the world.

There developed to be two views of sustainability regarding the role of humans in the world. One was anthropocentric (humans are the center of the world) and the other was non-anthropocentric (the world is the center of the world and we are just part of it). The Anthropocentric view has dominated the sustainability scene, and is most easily applied to our society.

The work of the American forester-conservationist Gifford Pinchot (1865–1946) has also had a major influence on the idea of sustainability. Pinchot mission was “based on the elimination of waste, and directed toward the best use of all we have for the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time” (Pinchot 1914, p. 25). His main principle was sustainable yield; ”which is the amount of a resource that can be extracted without undermining the natural system's core capacities to maintain or improve upon its full range of services.” He outlined and implemented solutions for sustainable resource use in some of the “New Deal” programs of the 30s.

In 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro 3 main principles of environmental sustainability.
(1) Rates of use of renewable resources must not exceed their rates of regeneration
(2) Rates of use of nonrenewable resources must not exceed the rate at which renewable substitutes can be developed
(3) Rates of pollution emission must not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment

Sustainability is a concept that can be applied to so many things and creates a better world for us now and for our future. How does the concept of sustainability apply to the way you live your life, or what principals of sustainability should be implemented in our society?

The article that is quoted came from Opposing View Points and was tittled "Sustainability" and was originally from the Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy. Other Ideas were however indirectly from the AP Environmental Science textbook Living in the Environment. The Encyclopedia was updated in 2007 and is a very relevant and trustworthy source especially because it came from a database.

Who Knows Best For Our Children's Education?

This generation is the first that is predicted to be less successful than its former. Indeed, the outlook of the global economy plays a role in this prediction. The problems in today's educational system however, are arguably just as big a factor.
Why is the educational system struggling? Economist Milton Friedman accounts that too many parents today do not have an impact on the education of their children. Too many parents cannot choose how their children are learning, what they are learning, and who is teaching them. These decisions have been left up to a centralized administration; bureaucracy. Conversely, the parents who do impact the educational system are seeing great success such as Hinsdale Central and privately funded institutions. Unfortunately not all public districts are comparable to that of Hinsdale. These lower income districts, especially in the inner cities around the country, are the ones most damaged by this effect. Parents have lost control, and are trapped by a system which intended to help them. The correlation of educational outcome between  a parent's impact and the bureaucratic impact can be found simply at the core of all economics. Incentives. A parent's incentive to foster the betterment of its child is much stronger than that of a bureaucracy. Bureaucracy's must meet their own needs first, and others after.
This is a problem that can be fixed. Power needs to be transferred back into the hands of parents. One simple way of doing this - without disrupting too much balance with the bureaucrats - would be to instate a voucher system. Parents would be able to choose what school they saw fit for their children. This could be especially beneficial for the parents of low income districts and inner cities. Parents know their children better than anyone else, and ultimately know what is best for them. More children would be placed in positions to succeed. A marketplace would be established. Schools as the product/supplier and parents as the consumers. Competition would be sparked. Administrations and boards of education would be more inclined to meet the needs of students, as they should be.

*Of course, there are parents who are not qualified to make decisions for their kids, and this would need to be addressed as well.
What are other problems seen in education today? What other ways are there to reform education? Does anyone think a voucher system is a bad idea?

source:  Free to Choose (1990) Vol 4 - The Failure Of Socialism

Ending Poverty in Minnesota by 2020

The Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota starting holding meetings after several bridges collapsed, leaving many homeless due to houses being destroyed. The Commission asserts that "all people are [to be] provided those things that protect human dignity and make for healthy life: adequate food and shelter, meaningful work, safe communities, health care, and education." The question is: how are they going to do that? 

Minnesota plans to drastically rebuild their economy that restores work and ends poverty. An economy that invests time in occupational skills, and one that values every single person, regardless of illness, age, race, disability, or crisis. Although this is a long-term goal, the commission is confident in completely its mission by using all sectors of the economy - business, the faith community, government and nonprofits. 

They are taking many steps right now, although they expect it to be a 12-year process, there are necessary steps to take to start. There is an emergency jobs program being created, which uses wage subsides to help bail out businesses and employ the unemployed Minnesotans. They also plan to use federal infrastructure money for transportation, so isolated people can be reached, especially in the rural parts of Minnesota where much affordable transportation is needed. They are also trying to keep the prices down on goods in some broken communities. 

Minnesota wants to establish a federal and state partnership to restore work and bring them out of poverty. They would like to be able to provide more income tax credit to the poor and destitute families to aid them out of poverty, and fully fund child care assistance and early childhood education programs.  Another huge factor to ending poverty is health care, and Minnesota wants to greatly address that along with the government. They want to repair their broken health care system that is putting people farther and farther in debt. Minnesota needs affordable or free health care to all their people (Universal Health Care/Obamacare), so the rates of health care don't continue to rapidly increase. They are tired of the system that leaves many unable to afford health care, when the system should be able to offer full access to medical care for every citizen.

Minnesota's efforts to end poverty in their state have been great and selfless. They are planning to rebuild their economy to make it stable for all, so no one is left behind. If all people contribute to the common good, they believe, then Minnesota will become a stronger and more prosperous state.

How do we apply Minnesota's passionate efforts to the rest of our nation?

http://www.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/lcep/LCEP_Final_Report_SinglePgs.pdf

Less beautiful world without petroleum

All information courtesy of EnergyTomorrow.org

Look around,  I bet you see one thing that is made from petroleum.  Today, we are a world that is fueled by fossil fuels and petroleum based products.  If we are to stop the use of petroleum, we are likely to see a less beautiful America.  The reason for this, is that petroleum is a miracle substance.  IT makes the soles of you shoes, the plastic in your water bottle, and also the aspirin that you take for a headache.  Why should we stop the use of petroleum all together?
        The fact of the matter is that if we are to stop the use of petroleum, our country will be crushed in trying to find new ways to make the products that us Americans use everyday.  The use of petroleum is what keeps America running.  In 2010 US oil and natural gas companies brought 476 billion dollars to the US economy.  That is enough money to keep the Department of education running for the next 10 years.  If we stop the us of oil and natural gas we are likely to see a Great Depression worse that what happened in the late 1920's-1930's.  Why are we to punish oil producing companies when they are the one that are keeping or economy running and keeping you working.  We cant say that we don't punish Oil companies when they pay a 40.1% income tax compared to 20.6% of normal industrial companies.  
      Without an energy source to invest in, many use families will suffer a great deal in money loss.  The reason for this is that is 52 million Americans have mutual funds.  And a majority of those mutual funds are invested towards oil and natural gas.  And if you have an IRA, which 49 million Americans have, then you will also be hit hard with the loss of oil because most IRA's invest in energy stocks.
    If we stop the use of oil and other fossil fuels, we are likely to see a depression that we would have never seen before.  Petrloleum in the miracle substance that we need to embrace to its fullest potentional.



A list of things made from petroleum
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/classroom/wwo/petroleum.pdf

Keeping Everyone Pleased

There is always argument over how much control the government should have over the economy but really it just depends on who you are.  If you are the head of a large private business, then you would want as little government control as possible.  However, if you are a person who is living paycheck to paycheck then you would want as much help from the government as you can get.  It is up to the government to try to keep everyone happy.  But it is simply impossible to please everyone.  They have to determine how much they should intervene not just with the economy, but with society as a whole.

The intentions of the government should be to stimulate the market and protect it's citizens, amongst other things.  They have the power to make a lot of people very happy, but they also have the power to make a lot of people very unhappy. In order for the government to be able to make changes that will help the well being of the people, they need to have the money to do so.  If the market is not doing well then the government is also hurting because taxes decrease when people aren't making as much money.  When the government doesn't have as much money, they need to make the decision to spend the money they do have on the people or the market.  The issue is if they spend their money on the people, then the market is still hurting and the government is only losing more money.  But if they decide to spend the money on the market, then they look bad because it seems like they are forgetting about the people in need.  The challenge is finding the perfect balance of spending that will make everyone happy. One example of a way that the government tries to kill two birds with one stone is when they increase spending on creating jobs.  When more people are employed, then there is simply more money in the pockets of the consumers.  These consumers then spend their money and stimulate the market.

Source: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/wtp7e/full/ch/16/chapterreview.aspx
This source is credible because it is out of a text book called An Introduction to American Politics

How often does the government make decisions that only really benefit one side?

     

How is the ocean being polluted?

Toxic wastes
Toxic waste gets into seas and oceans by the leaking of landfills, dumps, mines, and farms. Farm chemicals and heavy metals from factories can have a very harmful effect on marine life and humans.

Toxic waste is the most harmful form of pollution to sea life and humans. When toxic waste harms an organism, it can quickly be passed along the food chain and may eventually end up being our seafood.


Boating Pollution

Boating pollution is the pollution that comes from the boat’s engine when it is running, and it pollutes the water, killing animals with the chemicals in the exhaust from the engine. The engine gives off excess gasoline, which pollutes the waters and ends up killing the animals. In order to make as little pollution as possible, what everyone can do to help is:

-	Only turn a boat engine on all the way when you need to.
	-Don’t take your boat out into the water if you don’t need to.
-	Be sure to store and transport gasoline in places where there isn’t any direct sunlight because the gasoline will evaporate, and all of the gases that have been evaporated will pollute the air.
-	Every year, buy new or cleaner marine engines for your boats.

Garbage Dumping

Most of the waste that has been dumped into the ocean in the early 1990’s is still there today. One main cause of garbage dumping occurs when sewage pipes share their space with storm water drains. Rainfall causes the sewage pipes to overflow and the sewage waste mixes with the storm water drain, which flows into another water source such as a lake or river.

Car pollution


Whenever a car gets driven, you may have noticed a lot of smoke that is coming out from the back of the car. This smoke doesn’t go directly into the ocean. It ends up being in acid rain. Acid rain is pollution mixed with regular rain, and when acid rain gets into the ocean, it pollutes the waters and kills many fish over a period of time.


-Oil Pollution

-Global Warming



http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/ocean_pollution.htm

Canada's seal slaughter.

              Canada has an annual commercial seal slaughter. This last year fisher man have killed over 388,200 seals. Other countries buy the seal's fur for fasion shows and clothing. But what doesn't make sense is that only 80% of that is being used. The United States and most of Eastern Europe have banned seal products in their countries. The expenses that it costs Canada to run these killings is seven million dollars and the net profit if only a million dollars. The numbers just don't add up for these events to happen.







http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/canadian-seal-slaughter.aspx

Marine Mammal Protection Act

The MMPA protects all marine mammals and prevents them from being taken from their habitats. It also controls the amount of import and export of any marine mammal and marine mammal products in the US. The act covers hunting, killing, capture and harassment of the marine mammals. 

If a marine mammal is required for scientific research, public display or import/export, a permit must be attained from the FWS. All permits, however, must agree with the MMPA's regulations.

It is prohibited for a marine mammal to be taken in the course of commercial fishing, expect in extreme circumstances.


http://marinebio.org/oceans/conservation/laws/marine-mammal-protection-act.asp#.UMoajG882So

What are Microfinance Institutions currently working on?

As I already established in my previous blog post, Microfinance Institutions are one of the leading solutions in ending poverty. The question is, how will they improve, and what are they currently working on?

Kiva, a MFI, states that other microfinance institutions, such as AMK, are currently working on many things to improve their service and assistance to their clients. The main three things they are working on are savings, life insurance, and non-financial products.

AMK is doing a lot of work in Cambodia, and is currently in the process of obtaining their savings license from the National Bank of Cambodia. Once they obtain that license, they will be able to further promote savings in every village they work in.

Life insurance may be harder though. Currently, AMK is looking into providing life insurance to their clients, so they can be significantly assisted if a family member dies. Their policy right now is that if a client dies, their existing loan is written off. They are trying to improve that policy.

The next huge factor is non-financial products in developing countries, and our own. Especially in developing countries and third-world countries, we need these products such as clean drinking water, water filters, and more sanitation processes. All these things will greatly improve the lives of the clients and the nation as a whole. AMK is trying to eradicate kerosine lamps and replace them with solar lamps, which will help countries drastically develop environmentally.

If they went even further after establishing all those things, they aspire to use their network to do so much more. They would like to establish and promote better health care, cheaper secondary school education, business development, and providing clients with access to larger markets.

The increasingly large numbers of networks that microfinance institutions have are an extremely valuable asset in ending poverty, or at least decreasing it. As MFI's use their networks sustainably, they are obtaining the tools they need to eradicate poverty completely.

http://pages.kiva.org/fellowsblog/2010/02/09/microfinance-will-not-end-poverty-microfinance-institutions-will

The Cove.

          The Cove is a heartbreaking documentury that was the first to win an Oscar award.  In Japan there are over thousands of dolphins murdered every year for people to eat. This mass slaughter is inhuman and heartwrenching. Thousands of dolphins, including calves, are gathered up into a cove by nets and then stabbed to death by spears. Mother dolphins hear hoplessly as their calves cry out in pain. The water quickly turns red, and can be seen from miles away. Japanies people were intervied and shown videos of this slaughter, most of them were shocked to see this is how their dolphin meat was being handled. Many people are now in protest of this act. To make matters worse these dolphins have LARGE amounts of mercury in them. A Japanise congress man was working towards getting these protests shut down and Richer O'Barry's team out of Japan, when his hair was tested for mercury poising it came back postive. He shut up quickly after that. Pollution has a huge impact on everyone around the world, and is truly a huge issue.

http://www.answers.com/topic/the-cove-film

Microfinance Institutions

It has been believed that microfinance was the solution to ending poverty. Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services. This however, is not the answer to solving poverty.

Yes, microfinance will help alleviate poverty, but microfinance alone can't end it. Microfinance institutions can help though. Microfinance institutions provide a lower credit rate than local money lenders, give people opportunities to make large purchases, help borrowers through rough times, and are not just a "handout."

Microfinance institutions may be the biggest players in the war on poverty. MFI's are constantly reaching to more and more clients, service many more people, so their business can flourish. MFI's have made very valuable networks due to this, which are sustainable networks. AMK currently has operations in 50% of Cambodian villages, and are continuing to grow.

Now AMK and other MFI's (Microfinance institutions) are working on new ways to use their networks to do even more. What more can they do to alleviate poverty in these struggling nations?

http://pages.kiva.org/fellowsblog/2010/02/09/microfinance-will-not-end-poverty-microfinance-institutions-will

Spending Cuts Essential

While leaders in Washington are debating whether or not to agree to measures to avert the fiscal cliff, the discussion of our nations damaged entitlement system has not been discussed as much as it should. The President has proposed a plan that includes tax increases for the wealthy that would bring in $1.6 Trillion in revenue but does absolutely nothing to cut spending and deal with an aging entitlement system that no longer operates in an efficient way to provide for millions of baby boomers. Republicans are refusing to raise taxes on the wealthy because raising actual rates would affect small businesses who pay the individual rate. Instead they have proposed a plan that would bring in $1.4 Trillion in revenue by closing tax loopholes that allow for the wealthy to pay much less than their required to and to cut spending to unnecessary federal programs. The media prefers to stick to the story that republicans are stalemating the entire process because they want to protect the rick even through they have already proposed increasing the amount the wealthy pay in taxes as well as spending cuts. The President believes that the best answer and the most politically expedient way to deal with the nations debt is to simply ask for more from the wealthy while ignoring the concept of spending cuts which are the only way that we can actually begin to reduce the national debt. More revenue does absolutely nothing if the spending pattern of the past decade are allowed to continue. What needs to be done is a balanced approach that asks for more from the wealthy but not raising rates and to make realistic reforms to entitlements that will preserve them for future generations and reduce the national debt. It is the fault of both Democrats and Republicans for creating an environment where we have to approach a $16 Trillion deficit, but the republicans have the best plan for bringing us out of the recession. Tax increases alone will not bring us back to a balanced budget, we need spending cuts and the presidents refusal to accept any will cripple to financial stability of our nations for generations to come.



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324296604578175724102318876.html

Deforestation Will Affect Agriculture And Global Warming

In the article, "Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information, Effects of Deforestation" by National Geographic, deforestation is talked about and the impacts it can have on society.

Deforestation has increased exponentially over the years, and we are losing more and more forests around the world as every second passes.

Not only will there be devastating affects on plants and animals in the areas of deforestation, which are 70% of the animals in the world), but it also affects agriculture and the ever increasing temperature of the world.

The trees that are being cut down can no longer provide shade to the rich soil that lays underneath it, thereby drying out the land. The trees also help cycle water throughout the atmosphere, and with these two major issues, much land will no longer be suitable for agriculture. Also, with the loss of forests means the loss of a constant climate. This will lead to extreme temperature changes which will be detrimental to the plants and animals living within it.

Trees are a large part of absorbing the green house gasses, and if they are continuously going to be destroyed, global warming will also occur at a much more rapid rate. The effects of global warming was talked about in a previous blog post

Since deforestation will likely not be affected at an individual level, what policy could be implemented to reduce the rate of deforestation?

Mongabay.com

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview/

What Romney had to offer

                During the presidential debates I got sick of hearing Mitt Romney telling us “That is not my plan, or my plan is…..” and then never really telling us what he is going to do to help our economy or country as a whole. So I got curious and here is Mitt Romney’s 5 point plan:

1)      Achieve energy independence in the U.S by 2020: Great point!! However, every president since Reagan has had this exact same point as part of their plan and look where we are now. We are still dependent on oil. 

Also, Mitt likes drilling for oil. He believes there is a lot of money to be made in oil, which there is, but can you put a dollar amount on our environment?  Mitt wants to drill for oil in the U.S, but most of the U.S oil reserves lie under our national parks. Sure, now we need oil, but we need to think about the future.  We only have one planet and we need to make it a priority to take care of it.

2)      Trade that works for America:  Great point, I do not know what Mitt’s view is for trade, but I would hope that it would be towards a less dependent one. I know he wants to drill for oil which would benefit us economically, but this would destroy our environment.

3)      Provide a better education: One of Mitt’s stronger points. Being the governor of the highest/best educated state in the U.S puts him in the best position to lead the country in education. He wants to educate Americans so that they will be able to find jobs, he wants to prepare the younger generation for the future.

This is an extremely difficult task.  At this time in society it is extremely difficult for the younger generation to find a job out of college and it will only get harder as the years go on.  If I would put my education in any one person’s hands it would be Romney’s.

4)      Cut the deficit: if you followed the debates you would know that no one knows Mitts plan for cutting the deficit. He was criticized by Obama for never telling how he was going to cut the deficit. However, he said he would raise spending on national defense, which I think is an awful idea.  Our country spends more money on national defense then the whole European Union. Why would we want to spend more money?

5)      Champion small business: Mitt strongly believes that small businesses are the core to a strong economy. He is right, without small business this country would not be where it was today. While big company owners are benefitting greatly and hiring hundreds of thousands of workers, there are not many big companies. However, imagine the town you grew up in or where you live now small businesses run the town and the towns of the country we live in.

I wonder how Mitt would have done as president.

Sources

http://www.politicususa.com/mitt-romneys-5-point-plan-plan-mccain-08-bush-04.html

Ron Paul: The Gold Standard

Henry Ford once said, “It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”

If our money was backed by gold, people couldn't just start to create new money. They would have to  trade with someone else that actually has gold with them. Essentially, they would have to  to find a suitable spot to build a gold mine, then actually do some work and dig up the gold. 
"Not something I can imagine our “money elves” at the Fed getting down to whenever they feel like playing God with the economy." - Ron Paul

There is one answer to America's inflation problem, and that is too stop making money from nothing. But we’re already so stuck, that the one way to really effect our money supply is to higher interest rates so that people pay back their loans quicker and borrow less money from the banks, which would essentially lower the amount of money in the country. 
"However, higher interest rates might very well crash the economy. So the Fed’s current “solution” to overcoming inflation is… creating even more of it." - Ron Paul

Gold prices and the US economy

Gold prices indicate to us how good our economy really is doing. When the prices are high, that means are economy isn't doing too well. But other wise when the price of gold is low, that means our economy is doing very well. This is mostly due to the reason that most investors aren't investing with gold anymore, but mostly stocks,bonds, CD's, and etc.

In a bear market, gold's price shoot up, but when gold price's shoot up how does help determine the US GDP. In Japan, They took away the Gold standard in order to use their GDP to determine their value as a country. More recently, America not using the Gold standard also allows them to use the GDP as an indicator of their value. But I believe Gold can determine their value much more efficiently and beneficial.

High mercury levels in the fish you eat.

           High levels of mercury are poising our sea food. The mercury is coming from factories surrounding bodies of water. Once smoke is emitted from the factories, the mercury particles drop into the water........Fish use their gills to obtain oxygen and other substances from the water. When you mercury into the water, that substance goes into their bodies. When you eat the fish, the mercury goes into your body.

Symptoms of Chronic Mercury Poisoning 

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

• irritability
• anxiety/nervousness, often with difficulty in breathing
• restlessness
• exaggerated response to stimulation
• fearfulness
• emotional instability
  -lack of self control
  -fits of anger, with violent, irrational behavior
• loss of self confidence
• indecision
• shyness or timidity, being easily embarrassed
• loss of memory
• inability to concentrate
• lethargy/drowsiness
• insomnia
• mental depression, despondency
• withdrawal
• suicidal tendencies
• manic depression
• numbness and tingling of hands, feet, fingers, toes, or lips
• muscle weakness progressing to paralysis
• ataxia
• tremors/trembling of hands, feet, lips, eyelids or tongue
• incoordination

HEAD, NECK, ORAL CAVITY DISORDERS

• bleeding gums
• alveolar bone loss
• loosening of teeth
• excessive salivation
• foul breath
• metallic taste
• burning sensation, with tingling of lips, face
• tissue pigmentation (amalgam tattoo of gums)
• leukoplakia
• stomatitis (sores in the mouth)
• ulceration of gingiva, palate, tongue
• dizziness/acute, chronic vertigo
• ringing in the ears
• hearing difficulties
• speech and visual impairment
  -glaucoma
  -restricted

GASTROINTESTINAL EFFECTS

• food sensitivities, especially to milk and eggs
• abdominal cramps,Ndiverticulitis or other G.I. complaint
• chronic diarrhea/constipation

CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS

• abnormal heart rhythm
• characteristic findings on EKG
  -abnormal changes in the S-T segment and/or
  -lower broadened P wave
• unexplained elevated serum triglyceride
• unexplained elevated cholesterol
• abnormal blood pressure, either high or low

IMMUNOLOGIC

• repeated infections
  -viral and fungal
  -mycobacteria
• cancer
• autoimmune disorder
  -arthritis
  -lupus erythematosus (LE)
  -multiple sclerosis (MS)
  -scleroderma
  -amyolateral sclerosis (ALS)
  -hypothyroidism

SYSTEMIC EFFECTS

• chronic headaches
• allergies
• severe dermatitis
• unexplained reactivity
• thyroid disturbance
• subnormal body temperature
• cold, clammy skin, especially hands and feet
• excessive perspiration, w/frequent night sweats
• unexplained sensory symptoms, including pain
• unexplained numbness or burning sensations
• unexplained anemia
  -G-6-PD deficiency
• Chronic kidney disease
  -nephrotic syndrome
  -receiving renal dialysis
  -kidney infection
• adrenal disease
• general fatigue
• loss of appetite/with or without weight loss
• Loss of weight
• hypoglycemia

http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/symptoms.html

http://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/fish/mercuryhealthfacts.html

Newsweek's Green Rating

Newsweek's Green Rating has given the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the world environmental rankings.  This ranking compares the actual environment footprints, policies, programs, controversies, and reports the practices of big companies.  

It is great that Newsweek provides the public with this list, not only to inform others, but also to encourage competition among countries all over the world to keep their companies environmentally friendly.

After exploring this long list of rankings, I found it interesting to see which companies were from the U.S. and compare that to how many companies from other countries were on the list.  These were the top 10 ranks from the United States:

What are some ways that these companies can reach an even better 

Source:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/22/newsweek-green-rankings-2012-global-500-list.html 

Ranking:   Company:    Country:        Industry:

                                                                    

4	IBM	United States	Information Technology & Services
22	Hewlett-Packard	United States	Technology Equipment
26	Dell	United States	Technology Equipment
35	Intel	United States	Technology Equipment
36	Accenture	United States	Information Technology & Services
38	Staples	United States	Retailers
43	EMC	United States	Technology Equipment
47	Microsoft	United States	Information Technology & Services
50	Cognizant Technology	United States	Information Technology & Services
53	Citigroup	United States	Financials