Coal’s Devastation

Coal accounts for over 40 percent of Illinois’ electric power generation, according to the Institute for Energy Research. While Ameren posted profits of more than $586 million in 2014 (more than double the $289 million in 2013), the external costs of coal are paid by the public.

An article by Robinson Meyer in the August issue of The Atlantic pegs the cost of coal to the public in health and environmental damage at over a trillion dollars annually. Coal-fired power plants pollute the air and cause higher asthma rates and lung disease rates.

African American children are more than twice as likely to be hospitalized from asthma. Latino children are 40 percent more likely than other children to die from asthma.

Adding the cost of social and environmental damage caused by coal to the cost of coal-generated electricity doubles or triples the real cost, making wind, solar and other forms of non-fossil fuel generation economically competitive, according to The Atlantic article.

40 Teaspoons of Sugar

A new documentary “That Sugar Film” highlights the health problems encountered by Damon Gameau, an Australian actor-director who shifted from eating fresh food to manufactured food. Even avoiding soda, ice cream, candy and other sweets and selecting seemingly healthy food like low-fat yogurt, fruit juice, health bars, whole-grain bread and cereal triggered a cascade of health problems. Sugar is in about 80 percent of manufactured food, including food labeled “healthy” and “all natural.”

The average Australian consumes about 40 teaspoons of sugar a day, comparable to about 28 teaspoons consumed by the average American teenager.

Gameau gained a lot of weight even though his actual caloric intake remained about the same. He developed signs of a fatty liver. When he returned to his regular diet of real food, he lost the added weight and his other symptoms disappeared.