Bits n' pieces from east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

Three hundred years ago only the well-off could afford liberal helpings of sugar. At that time the average American, says Smithsonian magazine, ate six pounds of sugar a year. Today’s average is 130 pounds a year.

We can dodge Depression-era catastrophic dustbowls. The Union of Concerned Scientists outlines how to do so in their new report, Turning Soils into Sponges. The study analyzed 150 field experiments; soils that had living roots year around, from cover crops and perennial crops, became healthy and sponge-like. In Iowa those soils saw rainfall runoff from flood conditions reduced by 20 percent. As a bonus, during droughts there was 16 percent more water available for plants.

If a person can list six or more childhood traumas, they are 4600 percent (not a typo) more likely to become an IV drug user later in life, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC. Typically, instead of treatment for emotional trauma, IV users end up in jail, which furthers the trauma. Dr. Gabor Mate, a Canadian physician who specializes in childhood development and trauma, says if money spent on the failed war on drugs had instead been invested in services to protect abused children, there could be a significant decline in cases of addiction.

A new report from the United Nations says the U.S. has the highest income inequality of all the western nations.

A trickle-up CEO: American One Credit Union in Michigan has planned $950,000 in annual raises, to be divided amongst employees. According to hillsdale.net news, the exception is their CEO, who declined to profit from the raises.

MyHeritage and 23 and Me are offering free DNA testing kits to help reunite asylum-seeking children and parents separated by federal agents at the southern U.S. border, National Review reports. Incidences of poor or no record-keeping by federal agents has raised concerns that some families may never be reunited.

Born in 1988 — so what? It’s a big deal for a cat. A British Maine Coon kitty named Rubble recently reached the 30-year mark. His owner credits his longevity with being pampered and doted on, and says he has plenty of life left in him. Another cat, Crème Puff, from Texas, died in 2005 at age 38.

For forty percent of seniors, and 90 percent of unmarried seniors, Social Security provides most or all of their income, at an average of $1335 per month. The National Committee to Preserve and Protect Social Security and Medicare supports the Social Security Expansion Act in Congress. If passed, that Act would increase benefits and significantly stabilize Social Security. To do so, unearned household income above $250,000 (or $200,000 for individuals) would pay a tax of 6.2 percent.

The merger of Bayer and Monsanto, recently approved by the Justice Department, will result in the dropping of the Monsanto name. According to the Washington Post, the Monsanto name has become too much aligned with questions about the safety of pesticides and GMO foods.

A compilation study of glyphosate health studies, by the National Institution for Occupational Safety and Health, shows that glyphosate (the key ingredient in Roundup) damages genes, causes birth defects, damages liver and kidneys and disrupts sex hormone function. The WHO and California EPA regard glyphosate as a carcinogen. It is commonly used in the U.S. on crops, in yards, parks and schools.

Medical News Today reports that stress can harm gut health, as well as poor diet.

In the future autism may be reversible by adjusting gut bacteria, The Atlantic Monthly reports. Other conditions influenced by the microbiome, which is intertwined with the immune system, include anxiety and depression.

When considering what to feed dogs, the diet of the wolf is used as an example. And how long do wolves live? According to Westernwildlife.org, the average lifespan is four to five years, but can extend, rarely, to 15 years. Wolf deaths are typically caused by starvation, disease and injury.

The Miss America pageant is ditching the swimsuit portion of their contest. The 2015 winner, Kira Kazantsev, wrote in TIME magazine that the swimsuit contest had no relevance to her whirlwind of duties, and “in fact, it made people not take me seriously.”

Undocumented immigrants contribute to U.S. society beyond jobs they perform, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Annually they pay $12 billion in state and local taxes, and another $13 billion to Social Security and Medicare, which they won’t collect if not granted citizenship.

Blast from the past: “Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.” Herman Melville, 18th Century novelist and poet.

Lorraine H. Marie is a writer based in Colville, Washington.