New Education about $260,000,000 Investment in For-Profit Social Entrepreneurship

Sharon Kleyne, host of the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water syndicated radio talk show, recently interviewed Morgan Simon of Toniic Investment Group about her company’s commitment to for-profit social entrepreneurship and social investment worldwide. The interview may be heard on-demand on World Talk Radio, Voice America, Green Talk Network and Apple iTunes.

The Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water has always supported social investment, especially investments that encourage local entrepreneurship to improve the health and lives of the world’s poorest people. Sharon Kleyne has been outspoken in describing the need for improved water access in underdeveloped countries, and prevention of dehydration diseases, dry eye disease and blindness.

Several of the Toniic Group social investment projects involve helping provide safe and available community water to remote communities in Africa and India.

Sharon Kleyne is founder of the Save-a-Child’s-Life Foundation to fight pediatric melanoma.

Morgan Simon became involved with the Toniic Group because as a business major, she believed that a for-profit model was potentially more efficient than charitable giving. Enterprises backed by the company are expected to yield a financial return to all involved, as well as a social-environmental return. The Toniic Group has, to date, invested $260 million, with investments on every continent. Some investors also act as consultants to the companies.

The name “Toniic” is a joke, based on the name of another for-profit social investment company called “GIIN” (Global Impact Investment Network).

Toniic has several major social investments in India. A company called E-Health Point Services runs a chain of low cost health clinics. They are also involved in clean water distribution (There is inadequate water distribution in India and water tends to be unsafe and unreliable. Those who can afford it, drink mostly bottled water). Other enterprises in India involve compost toilets and individual electrical generation that is sold to the power grid. These represent low-cost solutions to significant social problems.

Africa is similar to India but the need is even greater. Investments involve water access and safety, prevention of dehydration diseases such as dry eye, energy production, food supply and poverty reduction. Making water available in a community means women and children no longer have to walk miles each day to fetch and carry water, which means they can go to school and become involved in community projects.

Tonic has several investments in Liberia, including a company called “Liberty,” which is 51% woman owned (100 women). The company’s objective is to make sure that 100% of children receive an education.

Sharon Kleyne and Morgan Simon had a lengthy discussion of Liberia’s “10,000 Woman Entrepreneurs” program, funded by Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs trained and awarded certificates in business management to 10,000 Liberian women, who have since started numerous small businesses and represent a powerful force in Liberian society. Since the program, Liberia has greatly democratized and now has a woman President.

Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water is sponsored by Bio-Logic Aqua Research, whose Nature’s Tears® EyeMist®, a hand-held personal all-natural water humidifying device for dry eye. Nature’s Tears® EyeMist® is available at www.BioLogicAqua.com, Amazon.com, drugstore.com and selected drugstores nationwide.

Listen to the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water Mondays, 10 a.m., PST/PDT. The syndicated radio talk show is heard on Voice America/World Talk Radio, Green Talk Network and Apple iTunes. Go to www.SharonKleyneHour.com for written summaries and on-demand replays. Also visit www.naturestears.com, whatistheeye.wordpress.com, “Nature’s Tears EyeMist” on Facebook and “Bio-Logic Aqua” on Twitter.

© 2012 Bio-Logic Aqua Research

New Strategies for Rain Harvesting

Pam Lott, MLA (Ashland, OR), American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association, “Using rainwater to alleviate water shortages.”

Pam Lott has a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Oregon and is accredited in rain water harvesting systems by the American Rainwater Catchment Association. Their objective is, through building and landscape design, to capture, collect and store rainwater and put it to positive use.

Ms. Lott notes that in Southern Oregon, winters are very wet and summers are very dry. Hence, the need to trap and retain seasonally renewable water.

There are active and passive catchment systems. They include the building of cisterns (passive) and landscaping in a way that retains moisture (active).

Soil with a high organic content retains up to three times as much moisture as purely mineral soil.

Collecting and using near where the rain falls saves transportation costs.

She encourages dryland farming and gardening methods – don’t plant on raised berms but in the ditches between berms, where moisture collects. “Slow it, spread it, sink it.”

Plastic and fabric barriers can be helpful in reducing weeds and retaining water but mulching is much better. The best way to water is by hand with a hose because you can adjust the amount of water each plant receives.

Drip irrigation is the most efficient. However, it can be expensive. Mist watering is also efficient.

Planting appropriate plants for the amount of natural rainfalls is also helpful in utilizing water.

Website: www.valleyrainharvesting.com. Also the ARCSA website.

August 20, 2010

Dr. Effie Chow Talks about Chinese Medicine, Qigong, Proactive Health Education and Modern China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 28, 2011
Rogue Media
541-474-0950

Alternative and Integrative Medicines, Chinese Philosophy, Acupuncture, Air and Water Pollution

Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water interviews renowned lecturer Effie Chow, PhD on World Talk Radio, Voice America, Green Talk Network, Apple iTunes and Amazon.com

Traditional Chinese medicine.

Sharon Kleyne, water advocate, entrepreneur and radio talk show host, interviewed Chinese medicine practitioner Dr. Effie Chow on the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water, August 1, 2011. Mrs. Kleyne’s proactive health education mission, on World Talk Radio and Apple iTunes, is empowering the public to avoid environmental health problems such as dry eye and computer eye strain.

Effie Chow is a PhD, licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. Well known in China, she has been an Alternative Medicine advisor to President Clinton, had a documentary produced about her life and is a frequent television talk show guest.

A Changing planet.

Dr. Chow advocates avoiding formulated medicines and drastic medical procedures through prevention and health maintenance. As Sharon notes, “To survive on our changing planet, we must be responsible for our own health and the planet’s health. We can all be proactive by educating ourselves about health, lifestyle, diet, nutrition and natural healing.”

Sharon and Dr. Chow agreed that nothing is more important than water to the life and health of individuals and the planet. They also agreed that we must all learn to live with the planet’s changing environment. Increasingly dry and polluted air worldwide is causing multiple health problems and dehydration symptoms such as dry eyes, dry skin and dry breathing passages.

The key to survival in the “age of dryness,” is proactive health education – making it your personal business to discover and learn without waiting for someone else to “fix” things.

China today.

Although her family was Christian and lived in the United States, Dr. Chow’s father was a Chinese healing arts and herbs practitioner with a Buddhist and Taoist influence. At a time when the world is discovering the benefits of ancient Chinese medicine, China itself is Westernizing. With rapid industrialization, China faces critical problems with water shortages and air and water pollution.

Water and air, according to Dr. Chow, are the two basic essentials to life. You can survive for weeks without food but you cannot live long without clean air and water.

Eye infections are common in China, due to air and water pollution. The Chinese are taking water from the more agricultural south and using it to support populations in the industrial north.

The key to survival for individual Chinese citizens will be proactive health education.

Internal health and qigong.

The education turned to internal health, noting that each person is a microcosm of the planet and that each cell is a microcosm of the whole body. Our internal life force must correspond with the external life force. Thus, China’s national experience, and America’s national experience, reflect the internal health of its citizens.

Dr. Chow talked about “Qi,” (pronounced “Chee”), referring to energy flow or God force, as an essential element in health. “Qigong” is the Chinese term for traditional Chinese medicine.

There was considerable discussion of breathing. Dr. Chow explained that breathing is the first thing she teaches. Breathe with your shoulders back and from the diaphragm. Take long deep breaths, in the nose and out the mouth. Doing this two or three times a day for ten minutes could have a profound health effect. Proper breathing could improve muscle tone, reduce girth, benefit heart and lungs, and has benefited diseases such as fibromyalgia, glaucoma, macular degeneration dry eye and computer eye strain.

Sharon noted that everything breathes: the lungs, skin, hair, soil and planet. Without the “breath of life,” there can be no life.

Dr. Chow mentioned the relation between liver and eyes. Build-up of toxins in the liver can affect vision. It is interesting that liver contains more beta-carotene by far than any other food.

Final words.

Dr. Chow’s final words: Live with the planet and trust yourself – you were born with everything you need for this life, and for other lives that may follow. Start by giving eight hugs a day and allowing yourself three long laughs a day. Dr. Chow’s website: www.eastwestqi.com

Nature’s Tears EyeMist.

The only all-natural pH balanced water mist application designed especially to soothe dry eye and computer eye strain is Sharon Kleyne’s product, Nature’s Tears EyeMist, sponsor of Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water. Nature’s Tears EyeMist is available on www.Amazon.com under “Computer Accessories” and “Health and Beauty.”

Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water.

Listen to the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water Mondays, 10 a.m., PST/PDT. The syndicated talk radio show is heard on Voice America/World Talk Radio, Green Talk Network and Apple iTunes. Go to www.SharonKleyneHour.com for written educational summaries and replays of past shows. Also visit www.naturestears.com, whatistheeye.wordpress.com, “Nature’s Tears EyeMist” on Facebook and “Bio-Logic Aqua” on Twitter.

2011 Bio-Logic Aqua Research

Writings on Spirituality and Personal Growth

Fred Jennings Rogers (Grants Pass, OR), Aquarius Books and Gifts. “Books to expand your mind.”

Fred Rogers is a practitioner and teacher of meditation, spiritual philosophy and mysticism. He owns Aquarius Books and gifts in Grants Pass, Oregon.

Rogers is an advocate of service to others and the Earth as a way of self-improvement and fulfillment. Lives that touch others also touch the fabric of the Earth and you become part of the environment rather than being alienated from it.

This can be done anywhere, including a business setting. Just stop once in a while and look around or go outside. This also helps with stress and relaxation.

Rogers questions the theory that humans can ever exert responsible “stewardship” over the Earth. He advocates living with nature and understanding that you cannot change nature. But you can make it work for you.

He is a protege of Agnes Baker-Pilgrim, also of Grants Pass. Pilgrim is 86, a medicine woman from the Taklema Tribe and an elected member of the “International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers.”

Rogers differentiates between “prayer” which is asking questions or favors of an unseen higher power, and “meditation,” in which you open yourself to receive answers. And always there is the “still small voice within.”

Sharon noted that spending time on self, and self-improvement are not necessarily selfish and that to truly help others, you often must first heal yourself.

Sharon asked how to meditate. Rogers noted that everyone has their own path. He suggests sitting and relaxing, and focusing on a mantra or a word to clear your mind, quiet your mind and focus on nothing – or on something basic like a flower.

We are all connected, we all know our own path deep down and there is only the present. A health diet is vitally important to a healthy attitude.

Be Proactive about Dry Eye Syndrome

Rebecca Petris (Poulsbo, WA), www.DryEyeZone.com, “You Don’t Have to Suffer with Severe Chronic Dry eye.”

Rebecca Petris is Founder of www.DryEyeZone.com. Her problems with severe dry eye began following Lasik surgery. She could not find relief and she could not even find adequate dry eye education. The website was originally a forum for patients with severe post-Lasik dry eye but is now open to anyone with severe chronic dry eye.

Severe chronic dry eye is the #1 post-Lasik complication and the medical profession has virtually no effective treatment and offers little or no advance warning.

Dry eye can have multiple causes after an initial trigger – lifestyle, physical problems, allergies, office air, contact lenses. If the tear film is thin or unhealthy to begin with, the reaction to a trigger will be more severe.

Individuals with severe chronic dry eye usually cannot work at computers but computers can also be a trigger. The primary symptom of dry eye is burning. Regarding medications, there is virtually nothing available that is effective – eye drops can cause allergies, addiction and a worsening of the dryness. Vasoconstrictors (redness relievers) are also dehydrating.

According to Rebecca Petris, the cure for dry eye does not come in a bottle. The only helpful product, to date, is Nature’s Tears EyeMist, which adds only pH balanced water to dry eyes.

Rebecca has found non-medicinal products that can help significantly. She wears sunglasses indoors and out to reduce solar radiation (light can hurt if the tear film is thin). “Moisture retaining eyewear” is also available to help hold moisture around the eyes. She wears these devices when she can and also takes frequent breaks and applies frequent compresses to her eyes.

All about Tea

Rona Tison (Brooklyn, NY), ITO EN (North America) INC. “Preparing Tea, Tea Varieties and Health Benefits.”

Rona Tison is Senior Vice-President of Ito En North America, a Japanese Tea Company. They are the largest importer to the United States of loose leaf tea and bottled green tea. Their bottled (“ready to drink”) brand sells under the name, “Teas’ Tea.”

Rona grew up in Japan and always drank tea, which is part of Japan’s cultural history. She doesn’t like soda. Rona went to college at UC Berkeley, majoring in retailing. She later helped a friend start of green tea business in the US.

Sharon sees tea as a way to promote ongoing good health, “before you run to the medicine cabinet.” Diet and lifestyle are critical to health.

Ms. Tison described the health benefits of tea, which began thousands of years ago as a medicinal drink: Tea is a powerful anti-oxidant that absorbs free radicals and is good for anti-aging. Tea is also a stress reducer (despite its caffeine content) because people tend to be relaxed and tranquil when drinking it.

According to Rona, there is only one “true” tea (as opposed to herbal teas and blended teas), which is the leaves of the plant Camellia sinesis (“Chinese camellia”). This plant gives us green, oolong, black and white tea. Green tea leaves are unwilted an unoxidized while black tea is fully cured. Chamomile and red zinger are herbal teas while Earl Grey is a blended tea consisting of black tea plus oil from the rind of the bergamot orange. Green tea with jasmine oil is another popular blend.

Black tea is heartier and more robust than other Camellia teas but with fewer nutrients. It has one-third the caffeine of coffee. True tea is high in vitamin C.

Website: www.itoen.com.

Fire-Proofing Your Property

Steve Griggs (New York, NY), Landscape Design Artist, “Creating a water conserving and fire resistant home landscape.”

Steve is a landscape designer offering tips for water conservation and fire safety. Where he lives in New York, water is fairly expensive but people still desire green grass and flowers. He suggests watering either in early morning or late evening and using drip irrigation rather than sprinklers.

He did not discuss recycling of “gray water,” which is used tap water for use on lawns and in gardens. Gray water recycling systems can save a lot of money are increasingly available.

Sharon talked about the rooftop gardens and lawns she saw in Japan. This is more of a space conservation measure than water conservation. They depend entirely on summer rainfall.

Indoors, house plants add humidity to the environment.

As far as fire safety, fire lines are recommended in high danger areas (at least two feet wide and devoid of vegetation or any combustible material. Certain plants are more combustible than others. Conifers tend to burn more easily than broadleaf trees, pines and junipers burn more easily than spruces and green grass burns more easily than dry grass. Lava rock as a lawn surface does not burn but it also contains no water.

The Millenium Diet

Mark Davis, MD (Abingdon, MD), author and medical lobbyist. “Eat less sugar to lose weight and be healthy.”

Davis, M, MD, The Millenium Diet, Healthnets, 2010

Sharon Kleyne and Dr. Davis discussed health insurance. He noted that malpractice insurance is going up everywhere and that in North Carolina, there are virtually no OBGYN doctors because of the prohibitive cost of insurance. He also noted that despite Canada’s socialized medicine, their Prime Minister came to the United States for medical care.

They then discussed Dr. Davis’s “Millenium Diet” and his best selling book by the same name. The diet is basically high protein and low calorie. It is a proactive diet to help slow aging and prevent long-term ailments such as macular degeneration and diabetes. It is a diet for good health for everyone, noting that 30% of children are now overweight.

Dr. Davis advocates sufficient protein and lots of fresh greens. He particularly recommends chicken, fish and turkey with only a little lean red meat and nothing fried. Meat should be baked or broiled. He suggests one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

Protein drinks (or any other drink) should not be carbonated or contain sugar. Dairy products should be eaten sparingly because of high cholesterol. Despite TV ads to the contrary, Dr. Davis does not recommend high fructose corn syrup (your body does “know the difference”).

Sharon asked about toxins and Dr. Davis noted that our bodies constantly pick up impurities that later need to be eliminated. This includes mercury in fish, many bad substances that leach into water pipes, medical wastes, volatile chemicals from plastic water bottles, etc.

Sharon also pointed out that water is used to process many foods and that the water can be a critical element in food safety.

The Millennium Diet is used all over the world. It is peer reviewed and can be purchased anywhere. Dr. Davis also suggests looking into other diets to compare and considers the Millennium to be the most medically sound and least radical.

Weather Extremes Increasing With Climate Change

Aiguo Dai, PhD (Boulder, CO), National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Is climate change about to catch up to us?”

Dr. Dai, an Atmospheric Scientist, became interested in climate change when he moved to the US from China in 1990. He believes that climate is a global issue affecting nearly everyone.

Sharon Kleyne observed that climate is always changing and asked about the role of water in climate change. According to Dr. Dai, Earth’s climate had been relatively stable for the last 10,000 years (Earth is four billion years old) but weather has been more active over the last 200 years, with rapid warming and changing atmospheric streams. Some wildlife species have been unable to adapt. It is unclear how much, if any, is human caused.

Mrs. Kleyne notes that we must live with Earth no matter what and that in general, humans are not good at this.

Dr. Dai notes that river flow volume is decreasing in many regions worldwide, creating water stress among most living organisms. With population growth, demand for fresh water is simultaneously increasing, particularly for drinking and agriculture.

Mrs. Kleyne believes that the solution is to educate the public about the needs for conservation and for human activities that are less environmentally damaging. Dr. Dai adds that the consequences of doing nothing are extremely dire and that the situation will not improve on its own. We must change our consumption habits, and we must store and conserve water.

Sharon Kleyne then asked Dr. Dai about the Yellow River in China. It is extremely polluted, often toxic and prone to immense flooding (for the last thousand miles, it flows between natural levees, at an elevation higher than the surrounding plain). It also feeds an extremely fertile region. Water flow in the Yellow River has been diminishing for 200 years. These problems are both human caused and natural.

Sharon wondered how China influences the rest of the world and if we in the US can help in any way. Dr. Dai noted that change in China is very slow and that they are beginning to ship water from the Yangtze, in the south, and to dig deeper water wells. He is an advocate of wind farms for power. There is much drift of China’s polluted air to countries such as South Korea and Japan who have much stricter air quality standards.

Sharon noted that draught can contribute to air temperature, and to air and water pollution. Drought effect the amount of humidity in the air and the surface temperature of lakes and oceans, which affect the rate of evaporation. Theoretically, the cycle is self-correcting, since more evaporation means more rain.

Some polluted water may be OK for irrigation but not for drinking.

Conclusion: The United States has been fortunate in its weather for the past 50 years. That may change in the next 10 to 20 years as energy extremes. created by the increased weather activity, express themselves.

Show Summary Part 1- August 31st, 2009

Ritu Saini, MD (New York, NY), National Skin Cancer Foundation, “Mohs Surgery, Skin Cancer and Melanoma”

Sharon’s first guest was Dr. Ritu Saini, a Dermatologist, representing the National Skin Cancer Foundation. Sharon noted that malignant melanoma is a skin cancer on the increase (most other cancers are decreasing), which she attributes to dry air and increasing solar exposure. With education and early detection, the disease is 95% preventable and 99%curable. Sharon’s Save a Child’s Life Foundation raises money to combat melanoma in children.

Dr. Saini is a specialist in Mohs Micrographic Surgery, a procedure to remove skin cancers. It was invented in the 1960′s as a way to remove the cancer lesion and get an almost instantaneous pathogenic analysis to help surgeons know if they removed the entire growth so they won’t have to go in a second time. Tumors are also biopsied prior to surgery.

Sharon noted that it is important to teach patients to educate themselves and check their skin periodically for changes. She observed that not all skin cancers are large and pigmented and they do not all occur in sun-exposed areas.

According to Dr. Saini, there are three kinds of skin cancers:

1. Basal cell carcinoma presents as a pale lump that does not spread (metastasize).
2. Squamous cell carcinoma presents as an oozing or crusty patch that also does not metastasize.
3. Malignant melanoma presents as a large, dark growth that very much does metastasize and which can be fatal.
4. (Note: Some types of malignant sarcoma may appear as skin growths but are considered cancers of the connective tissue, not the skin. They do very much metastasize. See www.wikipedia.com.)

Dr. Saini explained that skin cancers start in the skin’s dermis, or lower layer and are usually not visible for some time, until they invades the epidermis, or outer layer.

Sharon wondered if there was a demonstrated correlation between dry skin, insufficient water intake and skin cancer. Dr. Saini said that such a link was suspected but not proven.

It was noted that fair skinned people have a higher incidence of skin cancer and that there is definitely a genetic predisposition. It is theorized that Oregon has an unusually high skin cancer rate because it has a lot of fair skinned people.

There was a lengthy discussion of sun protection. It is important for everyone always but far more important if you are fair skinned and/or spending a day at the beach (or have a family history of skin cancer). Sharon noted that many indoor conditions can dry and weaken the skin and make you more vulnerable and that you should apply sunscreen after every bath or shower (and drink lots of water).

Dr. Saini recommended sunscreen that offers both UVA and UVB protection, and sunscreens based on titanium or zinc dioxide rather than chemical formulations because they are less likely to cause an allergic reaction. She stressed that the use of sunscreen should not give you license to spend hours in the sun and that tanning is never good for you. Babies especially should be shielded from the sun.

The best protection: Drink plenty of water, cover up and wear sunglasses and hats.

The National Skin Cancer Foundation is in its 30th year and, among other things, sponsors a nationwide program of skin cancer screening in a motor home, underwritten by Rite-Aid. They have so far screened 3,000 people. They may be reached at www.skincancer.org.

Sharon asked about ocular melanoma, which can cause blindness or death. She believes that chronic dry eye and/or chronic eye irritation can contribute to ocular melanoma (which is caused by chronic inflammation, usually associated with dry eye). Ocular melanoma is on the rise and can cause blindness or death. Annual full body examinations of the skin should always include the eyes (other eye problems besides melanoma can arise from chronic dry eye).

Final words: Each year, on your birthday, give yourself a full skin examination head to toe.