"Peak Moment" (28 minutes)
Two brief episodes of "Peak Moment" are presented this week:
1. "Vertical Gardening for Small Spaces." Stephen Hindrichs shows three approaches to growing vertically in limited space in his backyard garden. One is a south-facing wall made from a wood pallet filled with soil held in with weed cloth. The second is a tower garden, an aeroponic system alternately drenching the plant roots with nutrient-filled water, and then air. Its yields are 5-6 times that of soil-based plants. The third is a DIY Barrel Garden. Stephen cut the top off a wine barrel, and drilled 40-50 holes in the sides for plants. In the middle is a mesh cylindrical tube where kitchen scraps are added, along with compost worms. Worms migrate into soil packed between the tube and the barrel sides, fertilizing and aerating. A pan below the barrel collects water so nutrients can be recycled.
2. "What About Veganism?" Nora Gedgaudas, the author of "Primal Body, Primal Mind," considers a short-term vegan diet excellent for detoxifying and anti-aging benefits. She notes, however, that human digestion isn't designed to make optimal use of an all-plant diet for the long term. There can be "significant compromise" to neurological function, because we require high fat levels from animal sources for optimal brain function. She cites studies of brain shrinkage for vegans and vegetarians, and her experience working with them using neurofeedback. "Many people eating a paleo approach to diet, and a lot of raw food vegans, have more in common than they don't have… We all want a sustainable, healthy, humanely-raised food supply."
"To Prison for Pregnancy" (5 minutes)
Feticide laws are meant to protect pregnant women and their unborn fetuses against battery and assault while pregnant. Instead, these laws are being used to criminalize pregnant women and worse can often discourage expectant mothers from seeking prenatal care. This short film highlights the problems and unintended consequences of these laws which are harming women and their families. If you live in one of the 38 states that has feticide laws, tell your lawmakers to remove feticide and related laws off the books and out of women's lives.
"2015 High School Scholarship Essay Contest" (79 minutes)
In 2015, the Physicians for Social Responsibility (Sacramento Chapter) received 170 entries from high school seniors in Sacramento and surrounding counties, describing their thoughts on the words of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who said, "The world is over-armed, and peace is under-funded."
Each finalist in last year's contest, chosen by a panel of distinguished judges, received a $1,000 scholarship. After each finalist read their essay at this April 26, 2015 event and responded to a question from one of the judges, the panel selected the First Place winner ($3,000 scholarship), Second Place winner ($2,500 scholarship), and Third Place winner ($2,000 scholarship).
