Monthly Archives: January 2021

Making New Years resolutions to lose weight, eat more superfoods or exercise may be all well and good. But in terms of living a long life, science writer Marta Zaraska argues those actions wont help you as much as improving connections to other people.

Human contact is crucial for good health, says Zaraska, author of the new book, Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism and Kindness Can Help You Live to 100. She illustrates this point by explaining how the mind communicates with the body, especially when we are under stress.

In our evolutionary past, being alone usually meant being under stress from potential lurking danger. Humans, innately social beings, evolved to recognize when we are safe with other humans from accidents or predators, she says. One of those adaptations is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, she says.

The HPA axis starts with the signal in your brain that tells you that there is a reason to be stressed and then sends a soup of hormones throughout your body, basically one triggering another and so on and so on, she explains.

Those hormones cortisol, known as the stress hormone, or adrenaline ramp up your body to face dangers, she says. But over time, humans stressors have changed dramatically. The HPA axis is now chronically activated by stress points such as finances, work, school or even traffic, she says. That means the hormones are constantly flooding the body, putting us in a perpetual fight or flight mode.

There are detrimental downstream effects from the ceaseless barrage of stress hormones, such as higher risk of diabetes or cardiovascular disease, she says.

But at the same time, so-called social hormones oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins and vasopressin can also be activated when were socially connected to other people. Those also have key impacts on our health, she says.

One example is the Roseto effect. In the early 1960s, a close-knit community in Roseto, Pennsylvania, had a death rate that was about 35% lower than the general U.S. population.

By Western standards, Roseto residents werent particularly healthy people many engaged in drinking, smoking and bad eating habits. There was also nothing unusual about their genes, Zaraska says.

But their deep social connections proved valuable. At the time, no one was dying from heart attacks in Roseto, she says. This attracted scientists to study the population.

Researchers found the Roseto community built on 22 civic organizations for only 2,000 inhabitants and principles of volunteering, taking care of public space and caring for each other actually yielded amazing health, she says.

But researchers also predicted that if Roseto residents lost their communal touch, their overall health would deteriorate, Zaraska says.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened generations later in the 70s and 80s and so on, she says. And when people started pursuing the so-called American dream and living in the suburbs, buying cars, working longer hours, they stopped being so connected to their community [and] their health also just went back to American average.

In Growing Young, Zaraska says human connection is not just a want, but a need. Building in-person relationships and being social have all but come to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zaraska is hopeful this time period of social isolation wont shorten lives because its quite a temporary state.

If the pandemic dragged on for years and years, thats when Zaraska says shed be much more worried.

It is true that we need the connection, she says. Loneliness has very serious detrimental effects on our health. People who are lonely have higher blood pressure.

Fortunately, there are still ways to connect with others during the pandemic, she says. Volunteering in person or online is a great way to boost your health and longevity, she advises, as well as performing acts of kindness.

Engaging in kindness and experiencing empathy cannot be overstated, as Zaraska writes in her book. In collaboration with scientists at Kings College London, she took part in an experiment to measure her cortisol, the stress hormone.

After seven days of performing small acts of kindness and a week of life as usual, she was amazed at the results. She saw measurable differences in her day-to-day. Her levels of cortisol were much better on days where she was kind to others, even if the day was still considerably stressful, she says.

Her results mimicked the positive findings of a research study in California that connected acts of kindness to less bodily inflammation. Study participants did small favors, such as buying a stranger a coffee or letting someone go first in traffic.

Zaraska also writes about dietary fads, including how goji berries arent improving your health in the long term. She argues a healthy, exercise enthusiast who is lonely and antisocial may not live as long as a couch potato with a bountiful social life and a lot of friends.

Of course, the best scenario is when you are socially connected, optimistic, and you eat healthy and exercise, she says. But if something has to give, completely giving up on your social life is not a good health strategy.

Emiko Tamagawaproduced and edited this interview for broadcast withTinku Ray.Serena McMahonadapted it for the web.

By Marta Zaraska

In our culture we tend to think about longevity in terms of healthy food and exercise. Asked in a poll what they were doing to stay healthy, 56 percent of Americans mentioned physical activity and 26 percent watching food/drink. The only category that might have involved boosting relationships or changing mindsets was otherand it got just 8 percent of the vote. We dont realize that volunteering or investing in friendships can help increase our lifespans. Instead, we worry about gluten and obsess about pesticides and mercury in fish. We sign up for Zumba and spinning classes. We search for easy rejuvenating therapies.

The global anti-aging market is already worth upward of $250 billion, and Americans spend more on longevity cures than they do on any other kind of drug, even though most are untested by science. We love pills: about a half of Americans and Canadians take at least one dietary supplement. There are now over 55,000 such products on the US market alone, from moringa leaves to ashwagandha powder. And then, we diet. In one survey, 56 percent of women said they wanted to lose weight to live longer, yet the research on whether this will work is ambiguous.

Of course, eating healthy food and doing sports are important for health and longevity, but not as important as we tend to think (and certainly moringa leaves are not required). Its a bit like with smok- ing and nutrition. Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day is so bad for you that it overshadows the best of diets, but that doesnt mean that non-smokers can rest on their laurels and stuff themselves with junk food. Apart from shunning tobacco, investing in a thriving social life might be the best thing you could do for your longevity. Consider the numbers. Studies show that building a strong support network of family and friends lowers mortality risk by about 45 percent. Exercise, on the other hand, can lower mortality risk by 23 to 33 percent. Eating six or more servings of vegetables and fruits per day, which is admittedly quite a lot, can cut mortality risk by 26 percent, while following the Mediterranean dietso eating lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, replacing butter with olive oil, etc.21 percent. Of course, such numbers should be taken with caution, coming as they do from studies with varying methodologies which means they are not straightforward to compare, but they do reveal some important general trends.

In recent years science has begun to unveil how much our minds and bodies are intertwined. Technological advances in molecular biology and brain imaging techniques allow researchers to look deeper into the many links between our

thoughts and emotions and our physiology. The vagus nerve, the social hormones oxytocin and serotonin, the stress axes such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axisall of these emerge as the reasons behind why friendships or kindness matter for longevity. Oxytocin, for example, has been linked with our social skills on one hand, and with health on the other. It has anti-inflammatory properties, reduces pain, and helps bone growth, potentially preventing osteoporosis. Studies also show that spraying oxytocin into the nostrils of squabbling married couples makes them more likely to reconcile. It makes us better at reading facial expressions of emotions, and it makes us more trusting. It can even make husbands stand further away from pretty women. Gut microbiota, another link between the body and the mind, play a role in many diseases including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and allergies, while also affecting emotions and personality. The vagus nerve, the longest of the nerves that emerge directly from the brain, which is responsible for breathing, swallowing, and digestion, has been implicated in sudden psychogenic death reported among the tribes of Africa and the islands of the Pacific.

Marta Zaraska, "Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism and Kindness Can Help You Live to 100"

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Show Kindness And Volunteer More: New Book Says Improving Human Connections Can Lengthen Life - Here And Now

Aches and pains. A growing waistline. Diminishing eyesight, hearing loss, memory lapses. These are the woes of growing older for some people, once considered inevitable. But recent, exciting discoveries in the fast-growing field of longevity science have some doctors and researchers pronouncing that these symptoms of aging may one day be treatable with pharmaceuticals, gene therapies or other yet-to-be-discovered medical technologies.

Many people havent been content to wait, though. Dozens of commercial producers are selling hundreds of so-called longevity supplements right now, and sales data suggest anawful lot of peopleare trying them. But do they work? Are they even safe?

To find out, we scoured the latest research and interviewed two top scientists in the field. What we learned suggests that you may want to hold off on ordering a supply, or at least do your research very carefully.

There is a solid handful of compounds that look very promising in the scientific quest to slow the aging process. One of the most exciting is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD, which has been shown to extend both the lifespans and youthful function of yeast and animals in clinical trials. Human trials are ongoing, with only a handful published to date.

NAD (also often written as NAD+) is a substance found in every cell in your body, which controls all kinds of metabolic processes, including the regulation of sirtuins, the so-called longevity genes. As you age, your NAD+ levels decline, and scientists think it is perhapsthisdecline that leads toall sortsof other age-related declines.

Also read: Should you invest in the new longevity funds?

The working theory, then, is that if we can boost our NAD+ levels as we age, we can slow our decline tremendously. Lab studies on yeast and rodentslend strong supportto that theory. The most recent studies have primarily involved the administration of either nicotinamide riboside (NR) or nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), which is then converted into NAD in the body.

To learn more about NAD, Next Avenue talked to Dr. Shin-Ichiro Imai, professor of developmental biology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Along with Leonard Guarente, Imai discovered the link between NAD and sirtuin control in 1999. Hes been studying the molecule ever since.

There have been 10 human clinical trials using NR, most at very high dose, with no safety issues, Imai said. Most of those trials, however, lasted for a duration of weeks or months at most.

Is it safe to take NAD-boosting supplements continuously, for years?

NMN and NR have already been available in Japan and the U.S. since 2015, and some people have been taking it since then, Imai noted. Anecdotally, I havent heard of any side effects from the taking of these supplements.

Some trials, however, have recorded mild side effects including headaches, nausea, diarrhea and skin flushing.

See: 3 aging experts tell how they decided on where to grow older

More troubling, however, is the conclusion of a 2019 study that showed a possible link between elevated levels of NAD and tumor growth in isolated cells and animals. Rugang Zhang, deputy director at the nonprofit Wistar Institute Cancer Center in Philadelphia, was the lead researcher on that study.The study, published in the UK journal Nature Cell Biology, did not find that NAD causes cancer, rather that elevated levelsappeared to accelerateoncogenesis (tumor formation) already in motion.

We dont want to oversell the results of our study, Zhang said. Lots of studies in the literature have clearly demonstrated that as normal cells age, there is lower NAD. So, supplementing NAD could be beneficial. Its possible that NAD boosters could help people live longer and healthier. Were not saying that if people take NAD boosters they will get cancer. This was a very early study on mouse models, and more study is needed.

He suggests a course of action grounded in a deep preponderance of evidence: At the end of the day, we just need more knowledge, through more research. We need the scientific community to come to a consensus. The risk to potential benefit remains to be seen.

Mucking up the risk/benefit ratio further is the fact that supplements are onlyvery lightly regulatedby the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with the testing, evaluation and labeling of such products left up to manufacturers. This presents another dilemma for those considering longevity supplements: theres no sure way of knowing exactly what youre getting.

The results of the few published human clinical trials to date unequivocally show that taking NR boosts levels of NAD in the body. But apparently, more NAD doesnt translate to more youthful function.

See: There are six types of retirees which are you?

Unfortunately, those studies have not yet shown any significant efficacy, Imai said.

And thats when the substance administered is of lab-grade purity. So what about the typical supplements available online?

There are so many products out there, Imai lamented, particularly for NMN, but Im concerned about the quality.

Indeed, a 2020meta-analysisof NAD trials surmised: it seems likely that side effects linked to interventions that target NAD metabolism more likely arise from impurities rather than the supplements themselves, since this industry generally operates without rigorous control of quality and standardization.

Imais lab has evaluated a number of commercially available NAD-boosting supplements, but found only two of lab-grade purity. Imai wouldnt disclose the names of the products (both Japanese-made), as he doesnt endorse supplements. But he did note that they are extremely expensive.

Dont miss: What is the secret to aging well?

Finally, we asked someone whod taken an NAD-booster to share her experience. Kim Oberdorfer, an air-traffic controller in Oakland, Calif., wasnt impressed.

I took [a popular NR supplement] for about two months and it just gave me these dull headaches. I was having hot flashes last February, and when I told my sister Im 47, shes 53 about how horrified I was to be having them so young, she goes, Are you sure its not just a reaction to an NAD supplement? said Oberdorfer. At the time I wasnt really working out much, but my sleep schedule was really messed up and I heard it was good for that as well. I didnt think it helped at all.

Rashelle Brownis a longtime fitness professional and freelance writer with hundreds of bylines in print and online. She is a regular contributor for NextAvenue and the Active Network, and is the author of Reboot Your Body: Unlocking the Genetic Secrets to Permanent Weight Loss (Turner Publishing). Connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @RashelleBrownMN.

This article is reprinted by permission fromNextAvenue.org, 2021 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved.

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What are longevity supplements, and are they safe? - MarketWatch

A former colleague telephoned recently first time wed spoken in years to ask if I was dead.

I was not. But it was mighty thoughtful of him.

The fact is that both he and I are what some people would consider "elderly": Closing in on the life-expectancy-for-males-in-the-U.S. statistic, which now is just beyond 76 years. In the high-risk group for COVID-19. Plenty of water under the bridge. Were almost to that point when Casey Stengel, late in a career as an enduring baseball character, had noticed, "Most of the people my age are dead at the present time."

So it was a legitimate question, though the caller and I both remain in the workforce. Hes in television; I attempt to teach college students about what was my primary profession, journalism, for 50-odd years.

But the truth is a lot of folks in our demographic indeed have shuffled off this mortal coil. You lose touch with somebody and, before you know it, he or she shows up in an obituary. Especially these days, not just because of the coronavirus pestilence but because our contemporaries tend to be, well, old.

The result is that to still be going strong when near or beyond the three-quarter century mark can be something of a surprise. Willie Nelson hes 87 recently released a song to that effect:

I woke up still not dead again today / The internet said I had passed away / But if I died I wasnt dead to stay / And I woke up still not dead again today.

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Roger Angell hes 100 now but was only 93 when he wrote his "This Old Man" essay for The New Yorker acknowledged then how extended human longevity can be as shocking as the news of someones demise.

"It must be this hovering knowledge, that two-ton safe swaying on a frayed rope just over my head," he wrote, "that makes everyone so glad to see me again. How great youre looking! Wow, tell me your secret! they kindly cry when they happen upon me crossing the street or exiting a dinghy or departing an X-ray room, while the little balloon over their heads reads, Holy ---! Hes still vertical!"

It happens. Some of us have all the luck. A few surgical procedures along the way, a drastically slowing pace on morning runs, expanding pill regimen, dimmed hearing, increased visual assistance at this stage, the major function of ears evolves into holding spectacles in place yet feeling spry. Relatively.

A friend, even more ancient than I, once mentioned that he first felt old when a younger man than him was elected U.S. president. In my case, that didnt happen until 2008 with Barack Obama though I barely had missed that milestone, by mere months with Clinton, W., and the recent White House occupant. Now that Joe Biden is taking office, Im back to being a comparative pup.

Anyway. When I got the call, inquiring whether I might no longer be extant, it wasnt as if my life flashed before my eyes, though it did seem appropriate for the caller and I to reminisce briefly about some earlier good times. Both of us marveled at having spent decades getting paid for what never has felt like hard labor. I had wanted, as a child, to be in the newspapers as creator of a comic strip but wound up a sports writer instead.

Nice work if you can get it, and I did. Traveled the world. Met fascinating people. Learned stuff. Couldnt have married a better, smarter, more multitalented person. Lovely daughter and, as of this year, a grandboy. A few nice pets.

And Im still entertaining the hope that I amount to something when I grow up.

Thats the thing. Even in what technically could be described as geezerhood, it seems thoroughly normal to continue seeking whats around the next corner. As opposed to, say, propped in a rocking chair, drooling. Upon my official retirement as a full-time reporter, a neighbor suggested the importance of accomplishing "one thing" each day. The other day I wrote and mailed Christmas cards.

That was my one thing. And it sent forth the word to distant friends and relatives that I am not dead.

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The Column: The benefits of being not dead - Newsday

A recent study unveils a potential new connection between iron levels and longevity.

The study, which appeared in the journalNature Communications, pooled data from three large human genetic studies, "reaching an unprecedented sample of more than a million people," the lead study author and data analyst Paul Timmers, from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, tellsEat This, Not That!

"Using genetics, we found multiple lines of evidence indicating poor control of blood iron levels is causally linked to a shorter lifespan and fewer years lived in good health." (Related: The One Vitamin Doctors Are Urging Everyone to Take Right Now.)

After examining the DNA of individuals who lived long and healthy lives versus those who experienced age-related diseases and even death early in life, the researchers were able to pinpoint 10 regions of the genome that were related to three key measures of aging: lifespan, years lived free of disease (healthspan), and living to old age (longevity). Two such regions, LDLR and FOXO3, were explicitly found to influence the expression of genes that help the body metabolize iron, which is what led the researchers to hypothesize that iron levels could play a role in aging.

Senior study author Joris Deelen, PhD, who studies the biology of aging at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Germany explains that "genetic variation in these regions seems to be the most important for healthy iron metabolism. Genes influenced by genetic variation in the other eight regions are not directly linked to iron metabolism."

Essentially, those with high iron levels may have an increased risk of dying younger.

"It is well-known that a deficit in iron can cause poor health, but we showed, for the first time, that for most people a small reduction in blood ironfrom their current levelsis likely beneficial to their health," says Deelen. "Iron metabolism and healthy aging were not linked before."

The researchers discovered that genetic predisposition to higher iron levels is what's associated with a reduced lifespan, which is largely out of your control.

"We found that DNA variations, which elevate your iron levels in the blood (from birth), also increase your likelihood of getting age-related diseases and dying," says Timmers.

So, this doesn't mean you should never eat red meat or remove other iron-rich foods from your diet altogether, however, it may encourage you to become more conscious of what your iron levels are.

"People tend to lose their ability to regulate iron levels as they get older, so regularly checking your iron levels could be important to maintain optimal health into old age," says Timmers.

Of course, further research is needed because it isn't clear on what would be considered an optimal iron level in the blood. In fact, it could vary from person to person.

"Further clinical studies are needed to determine the precise mechanisms by which iron metabolism is linked to healthy aging," Deelen adds.

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Too Much of This Mineral May Shorten Your Life, Study Finds | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

The Global Longevity and Anti-senescence Therapy Market comprises market size, status, and growth rate for the forecast period 2021-2026. The report offers fundamental data to readers, strategists, senior administration, and advertisers associated with the market. This unique and updated report precisely presents each and every aspect of the Global Longevity and Anti-senescence Therapy industry and represents it in an easy to understandable format. Alongside, researchers have broken down the market into various key verticals. Longevity and Anti-senescence Therapy market also covers industry-oriented drivers, restraints, threats, and opportunities in the market.

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The report tracks the global Longevity and Anti-senescence Therapy market competitors, status, share, future trends, growth rate, sales, SWOT analysis, channels, distributors, and development plans for forecast period 2021 to 2026. In addition to this, the import & export status and revenue figures are also added. The report is categorized into key geographical regions, sub-regions, major segments like types and applications.

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Longevity and Anti-senescence Therapy Market Size and Growth Factors Research and Projection 2026 - Farming Sector

The PGA TOUR and WHOOP, the human performance company, announced a multi-year partnership naming WHOOP as the Official Fitness Wearable of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions and a Sponsor of PGA TOUR Active.

To activate the partnership, WHOOP and the TOUR will implement a WHOOP Live for Charity initiative to highlight player biometric data and heart rate during defining moments throughout the season with those real-time metrics integrated into video content. Featured players will receive a $10,000 contribution to the charity of their choice on behalf of WHOOP and the TOUR. Fans can follow these moments at #WHOOPLIVE beginning in 2021.

We are excited to grow our partnership with WHOOP and utilize their health technology to optimize the way our athletes train, recover and sleep, said Brian Oliver, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. Our athletes understand the importance of maintaining their health to ensure peak competitive performance, career longevity and overall well-being. The WHOOP Strap will help our athletes unlock actionable insights via physiological data to help them understand and prepare their bodies for competition. Were eager to begin a first-of-its-kind activation at the TOUR that will incorporate player biometric data with defining moments from the golf course to create fascinating content for fans.

This summer upon the TOURs return to golf over 1,000 WHOOP Straps were distributed for players, caddies and other essential personnel at PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Champions events, with accompanying membership for health monitoring. WHOOP collects physiological data that helps an individual optimize workouts, recovery and sleep and can identify changes in respiratory rate with industry-leading third party validated accuracy. This official partnership is a natural evolution from the collaborative efforts to find new solutions to support TOUR athletes at all levels.

WHOOP has organically grown amongst the worlds best golfers for years and we are proud to take our relationship with the PGA TOUR and all athletes to the next level, said Will Ahmed, WHOOP Founder & CEO. This partnership is particularly new and innovative in that it will bring heart rate and other engaging physiological metrics directly into the fan experience.

WHOOP will activate and create custom content within PGA TOUR Active (www.pgatour.com/active), a new TOUR initiative highlighting health, fitness and lifestyles of professional golfers, where fans get an inside look into the techniques and activities helping the best players in the world perform at their peak.

Throughout the partnership, PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions and Korn Ferry Tour players and trainers will receive the latest products and technology from WHOOP to assist in monitoring their health. WHOOP will have an amplified onsite presence at all PGA TOUR events to provide VIP support and incorporate that technology with training and recovery staff on the PGA TOURs state-of-the-art Player Performance Centers that travel to PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions events and bring state-of-the-art fitness equipment and care to its athletes throughout the season.

I've been a WHOOP member for a number of years and having the ability to monitor my recovery on a daily basis is helpful for my overall performance. WHOOP has been everywhere on TOUR in 2020 and this new partnership will unlock the future of athletic performance and professional golf, said Rory McIlroy, WHOOP Investor and PGA TOUR member. And now fans will have access to player data that will change the way they experience and engage with the game.

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WHOOP becomes the Official Fitness Wearable of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions - pgatour.com

It is estimated the world will invest 94 trillion U.S. dollars in infrastructure globally in the next 20 years. With that level of investment, we should ask some important questions. What is the best approach we should use today to deliver these projects? How can we incorporate climate change, social equity, and sustainability into our project planning? What is the future of our engineering practice?

One thing 2020 has taught uswe cant solve problems as we did before. Todays infrastructure investment must include new thinking. Through innovation, every project, regardless of sector, needs the longevity to last several decades and incorporate forward-thinking innovations to solve future challenges today. We must start to apply green box thinking.

Rami Issa, AECOM

Cities, developers, architects, and engineers are increasingly looking for ways to move away from the concrete jungle and incorporate elements of nature into our everyday lives. This focus on more sustainable development is the same approach we should take when evaluating infrastructure.

Many of us are familiar with gray infrastructurethe more traditional, concrete, human-engineered solutions however, green infrastructure is a solution worth exploring and implementing alongside gray infrastructure. It refers to natural elements of our ecosystem, such as forests, reefs, and wetlands, which can serve many of the same gray infrastructure functions.

When you blend both green and gray infrastructure together, the result is a cohesive solution that helps address community resiliency future challenges. In many instances, incorporating green infrastructure into future infrastructure investments may boost eco-tourism and generate new revenues for local communities.

Green infrastructure can take many forms, from protected natural areas to green roofs in cities. The goal is to employ nature to provide natural benefits such as clean air or reliable flows of clean water. By blending conservation and restoration techniques with innovative engineering, green-gray infrastructure provides solutions enabling communities to mitigate natural disasters and adapt to a changing climate. However, the challenge is strategically combining the two.

To further advance the science and practice of green-gray infrastructure, the Green-Gray Infrastructure Community of Practice (GGI COP) was established. It will blend conservation and restoration of nature with human-made engineering approaches to fortify communities against climate effects.

AECOM co-founded the initiative with Conservation International, a global leader in environmental conservation and sustainable development. Conservation International plans to release a practical guide for GGI implementation, which will be a tool for engagement with local governments, clients, universities, and field staff to support project implementation.

Flooding resiliency is one area where green-gray infrastructure can help provide a solid solution. GGI COP estimates the number of people impacted by floods will double worldwide by 2030. While conventional engineering approaches of upsizing stormwater conveyance and storage systems may have near-future benefits, they do not incorporate future challenges such as climate change and social and economic shifts. These projects can be very costly to construct, and stop-gap solutions only kick the can down the road.

Flooding continues to be a challenge in North Texas, and tackling it head-on requires a new way of thinking. Collaboration and partnerships among many stakeholders in our North Texas community must deliver integrated infrastructure solutions that incorporate green and gray infrastructure together. These solutions should incorporate regional transportation, stormwater management, and environmental planning into regional infrastructure projects.

Now, how do we blend green and gray infrastructure solutions? We do it by adding purpose, beauty, value, equity, and resiliency through each project by transforming the way we perform integrated planning and design.

Integrated planning and design have the power to transform a community into the next level and incorporate restorative environments within urban density. A shift from reactive planning into a proactive planning approach will solve todays challenges and account for future challenges. This is the future of practice, no doubt.

Rami Issa is the DFW Water Business Line Leader at AECOM.

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The New Face of Integrated Planning and Design - D Magazine

The MO of fast fashion brands is to mass-produce trendy designs at a low cost. While some brands are working on a greener selection, we know that greenwashing, waste, and human rights violations abound in the fashion industry.

Emma Mathews, founder of the sustainable British sock brand Socko and author of How to Quit Fast Fashion: 100 Expert Tips for a Sustainable Wardrobe advised us on how to take meaningful steps towards quitting fast fashion.

Clothing is more than the sum of its materials. Behind every garment are people, water, agriculture, energy, and transportation emissions, and much more.

The fashion industry produces more carbon emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined, and is the second-largest consumer of the worlds water supply despite this, 85% of all textiles end up in the dump each year. How to Quit Fast Fashion

In Mathews view, the hazards of fast fashion are greatest for textile and garment workers and the environment. Clothes dont magically appear. Think about the number of hands that handle that garment before it gets to you, about how much you pay versus what the person is paid after retail and shipping costs for something designed to be throwaway.

Garment makers work in appalling conditions because retailers, to satisfy demand, prioritize low-cost clothing over peoples lives. One of the starkest examples is the 2013 Rana Plaza fire in Bangladesh, the fourth largest industrial disaster in history, during which 1,100 people died and another 2,500 were injured.

Reevaluating your relationship with fast fashion means reconciling with the environmental and human costs, but Mathews is adamant that preaching isnt the goal. On the contrary, its about providing tools so consumers can make the decision for themselves.

Even if we stopped production tomorrow, we have enough to clothe the next two generations, says Mathews.

So, its not that we need more clothes its that were bored with what we have.

Lessening your clothings impact on our ecosystem doesnt have to mean sacrificing style.

Its in your hands as a consumer to take care of your clothing. Instead of buying new, learn fundamental preservation principles from way back when.

Paying a fair price for clothing does mean it will be more expensive, Mathews says. Thats why consumers have to make a mindset shift between wanting a quick pick-me-up and thinking for all seasons.

What makes it onto the clothing racks represents a give and take between brands and consumers. Since our closets dont exist in a vacuum, both have a vested interest in designing for a circular economy and wearing for the long-term.

Mathews believes retailers should educate consumers about the longevity of their items, and that we need legislation to regulate the fashion industry and protect garment workers. Changing consumer preferences are already making a positive impact, but theres no quick fix.

Thats why brands, as well as consumers, must continue probing the way clothing production and consumption are interlinked. If you want to have a sustainable business and lifestyle, How can you justify against what the planet needs?

Read more:
How To Quit Fast Fashion for Good | Earth 911 - Earth911.com