Republicans, Dems Agree on Something; Kumbaya

Employers want to offer incentives for employees who keep it healthy, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to make it happen. Holy shit!!! They agree on something! I think I have an erection.

Seriously, though. Read this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/health/policy/10health.html (This Man Has Been Lifting Weights and Doing Cocaine All Day)

If there is a backlash, it's coming from critics who say that it shouldn't be the role of government or business to pry into the personal health of its employees. Fair enough, Bob Barr. It makes sense that Big Bro doesn't need to know about my morning sugar intake, nor about the Tuesday Happy Hour gone awry. However, adding on-site gym facilities or offering incentives for taking part in company health programs can only help.

If you want to argue it a different way just think of the well-balanced person as a more productive person. Personal health breeds personal well-being which breeds productivity in the work place. And I'd be willing to bet there are a wealth of studies that exemplify this. One auxillary, yet profound benefit is the effect on others. There is personal production, and there is group production. One's mood and actions effect others whether one likes it or not.

So, my thoughts? This is worth corporate tax benefits. This is worth throwing money after because if implemented and managed well, it will save lots of money in the long-term. However, like anything government or the individual spends good money on, it is completely necessary to be smart about the implementation policies. One size does not fit all and policy needs to reflect that. Not more governing or less governing, lets go with smarter governing.

Happy Mom's Day!

http://jumpcut.com/view/?id=90C87DD4783511DCB237000423CF381C

Running and News Converge

I was scanning PBS.com today and found an article on their home page about "environmentally conscious kids." A major point within the article, written by Alan Fortescue -- the Director of Education for the Earthwatch Institute, was how parents educate their children on the environment. The answer: "...one thing does more to foster environmental consciousness than anything else; this is simply the act of getting children outdoors." (to read the whole article: http://www.pbs.org/parents/experts/)

Experiential learning or learning by doing.

Good for PBS, but visit any classroom and I'll bet you'll find a solid percentage of students who are bored from sitting in a classroom. My last year of college I worked at a non-profit organization called Florida Campus Compact. Our job was to serve, enhance and promote service-learning in colleges and universities in Florida. What is service-learning? Basically, its getting a grade based on actually going out in the community and performing service for an organization affiliated with the subject you're learning about.

I'm a solid believer in this type of learning. When you get out of school, there's no road map. No course schedule. No block scheduling. Its all an elective. Inventors and innovators don't sit back and follow every instruction. They get to know the rules and they try to break them to see if they can make the system better.

(Picture of where my first marathon will be in Big Sur, CA)

On a personal level, running has brought me closer to the environment. My love for trails, for the smell of freshly mowed grass, for fields and pines, all comes from my experience running. Some find this same love through cycling, through hiking, through science and discovery. Thus this proves one more point. Health, science and the environment are all related. When we throw money at these things, creating jobs and drawing many more to the outdoors, the economy becomes deeply ingratiated, too.

Admittingly, I stopped reading the whole article as I've written to this point. Before publishing the post, however, I went back one more time to look over the PBS article. Turns out, there's a pretty interesting fact that sort of relates to my prior points.

"A recent study of 300 of the world's most innovative thinkers and leaders showed clear links between childhood immersion in nature and an out-of-the-box creativity and tireless commitment to society."

Matt Costa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgSHVf_DftU