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Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs Melody Petersen See book keywords and concepts

GM in 2004—were hurting American automakers'ability to compete with European and Asian manufacturers. In Iowa many workers had watched their annual pay raises shrink or vanish altogether as employers cut their wage and salary budgets to pay for spiraling health insurance premiums. Even as they trimmed the size of annual raises, most companies also required their workers to pay a greater share of the health care bill in the form of higher monthly premiums and copays. Real incomes for many in the middle class were starting to decline.

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century Alex Steffen See book keywords and concepts

Right now, our choices matter more than ever—every time we go to the showroom and drive a hybrid instead of an SUV off the lot, we send a message to automakers to keep the new solutions coming. The long-term solution is likely electric, whether the electricity is provided by a super-efficient battery or by a hydrogen fuel cell. Researchers and automakers are looking to electrify the drivetrain, powering vehicles only with electricity and motors, rather than with petroleum fuel and combustion engines.

Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes Michael J. Panzner See book keywords and concepts

Over time, thousands of financial intermediaries, including the overextended lending arms of automakers and other industrial concerns, will be forced to shut their doors, adding to spiraling unemployment and growing market turmoil. As insured losses multiply and eat away at whatever remains of banks' diminishing capital, payoffs will begin to slow down, and Washington will likely take at least some steps to water down or even abolish the FDIC guarantee. Reports and rumors of bad loans, shady deals, and imprudent investments will sap already waning confidence.

If the auto industry operated like Big Pharma: fifteen things you might notice Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

Automakers would justify this price by saying they needed the money to fund research and development, but in reality, most of their research would be funded by taxpayer dollars through government grants and university research centers. 2. That exact same car could be purchased in Mexico or Canada for under $5,000. 3. automakers would lobby Congress to outlaw or regulate alternative forms of transportation such as bicycles and airplanes, forcing Americans to rely exclusively on cars.

Safe Trip to Eden: Ten Steps to Save Planet Earth from the Global Warming Meltdown David Steinman See book keywords and concepts

The big automakers are going to have to become almost regional in their thinking for a short period as they grow their markets for alternative fuels. That is because we have tons of competing flex-fuel highways operating right now, and that is exciting but fraught with peril. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger wants a hydrogen highway with hydrogen filling stations every twenty miles. This works for Ford's and GM's fuel cell technologies. The Midwest is home to ethanol (E85). Texas and the Southwest are home to biodiesel.

If the auto industry operated like Big Pharma: fifteen things you might notice Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

That exact same car could be purchased in Mexico or Canada for under $5,000. 3. automakers would lobby Congress to outlaw or regulate alternative forms of transportation such as bicycles and airplanes, forcing Americans to rely exclusively on cars. Explanation: the drug industry works hard to discredit alternative medicine, herbs and nutritional supplements, hoping to force consumers to rely on drugs alone. 4. Cars with no safety systems (no seatbelts, no airbags, no crumple zones) would be declared perfectly safe by federal regulators.

The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century James Howard Kunstler See book keywords and concepts

All of a sudden, in a world of expensive gasoline, 55-mph speed limits, and truckers' rebellions, the drive-in utopia sponsored by the Big Three automakers and their vassals wasn't working so well. The automobile industry itself was extremely hard-hit, as it was tooled up only to produce big "gas guzzlers" and the public suddenly developed a passion for much smaller cars—for which Japan and Europe happened to be already prepared. It would be almost a decade before Detroit answered with small cars of its own, and by then it had lost both market share and quality control.

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century Alex Steffen See book keywords and concepts

Opinions may vary, but automakers are of one mind on the issue, and have already begun to plan for the end to cheap oil. Even if we did have decades before we hit peak oil, we can no longer ignore the damage our cars do to our planet. Finding, pumping, and burning fossil fuels is changing our climate, polluting our seas, and involving us in resource wars. Peak oil or no peak oil, there are no two ways about it: we have to shed our dependence on oil now. How do we kick the oil habit?

Researchers and automakers are looking to electrify the drivetrain, powering vehicles only with electricity and motors, rather than with petroleum fuel and combustion engines. Several years ago, most people would have said that hydrogen-powered cars were the only solution—and exciting new developments from manufacturers like Honda have restored faith not only in hydrogen cars but also in a future hydrogen economy. However, hydrogen development is more challenging than had originally been anticipated, and will clearly be slow to yield workable results.

In the early 1990s, Germany decided to change the rules, requiring automakers to take ultimate responsibility for the cars they sell. Aside from getting on car companies' nerves, the dictate meant that engineers and designers had to figure out a way to make those dead cars valuable and easy 57 to take apart. As with any new development, the mandate initially cost companies time and gave them headaches —but then it started saving them money. It turns out that cars that are easier to disassemble are also easier to assemble.

If the auto industry operated like Big Pharma: fifteen things you might notice Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

Instead of teaching people how to avoid accidents or repair damaged cars, automakers would encourage people to keep buying new cars. Explanation: organized medicine doesn't teach healthy safety or disease prevention. Instead, the entire system is designed around waiting for people to get sick, then treating them with expensive drugs, surgeries and other medical procedures. The system actually encourages chronic illness by neglecting to teach prevention. 11. Companies would make up new reasons why you need more automobiles, hoping to convince you to buy a dozen or more.

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century Alex Steffen See book keywords and concepts

In fact, we should demand that automakers produce some of their prototyped but never released high-mileage diesel-hybrid designs. Forget hypercars, even diesel versions of the typical gasoline-electric hybrids would be very valuable. A couple of decades ago, diesel meant sooty smoke belching from big-rig trucks, and foul smells from cars. More recently, modern diesel-engine design, coupled with wider availability of much cleaner types of diesel fuel, make diesel a more attractive option.

The Big Fix: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Rips Off American Consumers Katharine Greider See book keywords and concepts

Drug companies spent more money to influence politicians than did insurance companies, telephone companies, electric companies, commercial banks, oil and gas producers, automakers, tobacco companies, and food processors and manufacturers, more, in short, than any other industry. Most of that—about $177 million—went to hire lobbyists from 134 firms, including twenty-one former members of Congress. The industry also gave $20 million in campaign contributions and spent $60 million on issue ads.

In other words, whatever the unique exigencies of pharmaceutical R&D, the big drug companies have managed to develop drugs and to sell them at higher profits than are enjoyed by the biggest oil companies, entertainment companies, automakers, and commercial banks. In response to these much-cited Fortune 500 data, drug-industry reps tend to cite the work of various economists who believe the numbers exaggerate the extent to which pharmaceutical profits dwarf those of other industries. As Princeton University economist Uwe E. Reinhardt, Ph.D.

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century Alex Steffen See book keywords and concepts

U.S. Congress and made to face angry politicians. Imagine the cigarette hearings of the 1990s, with an even angrier citizenry. We could see international lawsuits from communities most affected by global warming (and least to blame for it), backed by the threat of economic sanctions from bigger powers. Inuit groups have already filed suit [see Polar Regions, p. 527] against the United States for causing the melting of Arctic lands; even if that lawsuit is thrown out, it won't be the last one filed.

Food Fight Kelly Brownell and Katherine Battle Horgen See book keywords and concepts

They are in convenience stores, vending machines, corner markets, supermarkets, our homes, and even our cars. automakers have installed larger cup holders in newer models to accommodate the growing size of drinks.1 This expansion is clear in the way we describe food; servings often are labeled Big, Mega, and Super. This is not a ploy by food companies to make us think we get more—there really is more. We will show how portions have increased, and then address the issue of whether it matters.

Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About Kevin Trudeau See book keywords and concepts

The big three automakers obviously paid off the right people to make sure that there were no consequences to their illegal actions. Most recently, many of you have seen the movie The Insider or read the book about how for years the tobacco industry lied about their knowledge that the ingredients in cigarettes were highly addictive. Finally, an insider blew the whistle and told the truth.

Staying Healthy with Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine Elson M. Haas, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

We throw away enough iron and steel every day to supply all the nation's automakers daily needs. • Consumers and industry in the United States throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet every three months. • Recycled paper takes 60 percent less energy and 15 percent less water. One ton of recycled paper saves: 17 trees, 7000 gallons ofwater, 4200 kilowatts of energy, 3 cubic yards of landfill. What Can I Due? What can I due ? I mean it's so massive—I stooped over & picked up another heap Sumone tried 2 sweep aneath. What can I due? demonstrate? try 2 relate?

20 Years of Censored News Carl Jensen See book keywords and concepts

During the tense auto trade negotiations in Tokyo in early 1995, the NSA eavesdropped on telephone conversations between Japanese automakers and Japanese government officials, passed it back to CIA headquarters at Langley for processing, and bounced minute-by-minute information back to the U.S. delegation in Tokyo (World Trade, June 1996).

Nontoxic, Natural and Earthwise Debra Lynn Dadd See book keywords and concepts

Even though we generally do a better job at recycling scrap metal than other materials, we still throw away enough iron and steel to continuously supply all of the nation's automakers. The U.S. scrap industry has the ability to process 280 billion pounds of iron and steel each year (much less than is currently being recycled), while studies estimate there are over 1.6 trillion pounds of scrap in this country waiting to be recycled. Motor Oil Recycle used motor oil at any gas station (some will charge, others will not) or at a dump that will accept it.

Permanent Remissions Robert Hass, M.S. See book keywords and concepts

Foods that heal and sustain them according to the owner's manual suggestion, much in the way automakers specify certain gasolines for vehicles. Foods that taste so good there isn't any desire to revert to the old way of eating. The kings and queens in this case are ordained not by lineage or financial status but by knowledge. And those who are enlightened can stroll through the aisles of supermarkets and greengrocers with renewed purpose and make their selections with confidence and enthusiasm.

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ABOUT THE CREATOR OF NATURALPEDIA: Mike Adams, the creator of this NaturalNews Naturalpedia, is the editor of NaturalNews.com, the internet's top natural health news site, creator of the Honest Food Guide (www.HonestFoodGuide.org), a free downloadable consumer food guide based on natural health principles, author of Grocery Warning, The 7 Laws of Nutrition, Natural Health Solutions, and many other books available at www.TruthPublishing.com, creator of the earth-friendly EcoLEDs company (www.EcoLEDs.com) that manufactures energy-efficient LED lighting products, founder of Arial Software (www.ArialSoftware.com), a permission e-mail technology company, creator of the CounterThink Cartoon series (www.NaturalNews.com/index-cartoons.html) and author of over 1,500 articles, interviews, special reports and reference guides available at www.NaturalNews.com. Adams' personal philosophy and health statistics are available at www.HealthRanger.org.