Thursday Linkdump

I'm away from home until late tonight, itching to know what may or may have not happened to my microgreens.  But that'll have to wait.  In the meantime, here are a few things to explore. The Guardian reports about plastic debris inundating remote UK coasts, endangering wildlife.  An article in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences from February 2012 describes the impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health  Sadly the full article isn't available to read for free but it is hard to imagine that the conclusion will be negative.  Another article from the Guardian this week reports on the literal, lifesaving potential of an NHS-run therapeutic gardening programme for refugees traumatised by their experiences fleeing war and destitution in Africa.  And just in case you were still in any doubt about the power of trees, here's an article from the Jist neatly summing up how trees are the most cost-effective way to fight the effects of climate change. A subject of interest to frugal and simple living enthusiasts (as well as those of us with a soft spot for technology and a seething contempt for the "efficiency" of capitalism) is the imminent arrival of electronic price tagging in UK supermarkets which will allow supermarkets to vary their prices instantaneously over the course of a day, as demand varies.  This is something I will be paying close attention to.  There are many questions to consider, viz. automation, consumption, the use of supermarkets, self-sufficiency, budgeting, wastefulness and so on. Back to environmental concerns, you might want to look into the effects of air pollution on your brain, starting here, here or here.  Something to think about, if you still can. The Independent reported on Tuesday about a man who had taken a "ridiculous route between Newcastle and London because it's cheaper".  Ridiculous, that is, because he flew there via Spain, hired a car, had a cocktail on the beach and saved himself £40 in the process.  I don't think there's any need for me to comment on that.  It is enough to point out that it happened.  In fact, it happens quite a lot. *******

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