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Rebuild our industrial base from the mine up

As our European allies scramble to disentangle themselves from dependence on Russian energy—and as American consumers struggle with soaring prices at the gas pump—there are ever-louder calls for a renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) future. These technologies, as the thinking goes, will finally offer the United States a clean break from petro-dictators that has eluded us since the oil crisis of the 1970s. But a pivot away from oil hardly means an easy or clean break from resource geopolitics. In fact, a potentially accelerated energy transition means America’s energy ...

Covid fallout: What is resilience?

The year 2020 was supposed to be a year of vision: 20/20, wasn’t it? Do you remember what you thought and felt when everything changed in March of that year? How did you feel when you were told you had to wear masks in public and not go out unless it was absolutely necessary? Then, as masks have been shed in 2022, how have you felt about venturing out maskless that first time? I went to the funeral home this week to offer condolences to a friend whose wife passed away suddenly late last week. I turned and came eye to eye with my late uncle’s wife. I had not seen my aunt since my ...

Sundowning can cause agitation

Editors Note: The following column was previously published Jan. 24, 2020 ——— Thanks to breakthroughs in medicine and nutrition in recent years, we are living longer than ever before. But this increase in life expectancy also brings an increase in the number of diseases, injuries and impairments that affect older adults. With this in mind, we at the local Visiting Angels office in Salem have created this series of articles to keep our older population and their families informed and to offer some practical advice for meeting the challenges faced by seniors and those who care for ...

Get set before you bet

Sometimes you hear someone say, “I need to hit the lottery.” You may have said it yourself. Perhaps most of us know waiting for our ship to come in is not very likely if we aren’t working to make that happen – literally working. March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month. As Ohio joins the 29 states and District of Columbia which already have legalized sports gaming – and we are surrounded on all sides by states that already have it – we already can expect more problem gamblers in addition to the 919,000 reported in our state at this time. The 2017 Survey of At Risk and ...

New, more despicable meaning of ‘fake news’

“Fake news!” is the frequent frustrating chant we, in my business, hear too often. Often, the allegation comes from people who disagree with or choose not to believe verified news reports. Sometimes, cries of “fake news” come from people actually in the news story who, for obvious reasons, might be attempting to discredit news reports about them. Other times, journalists are accused of fake news because we’ve made honest mistakes that could be construed as “fake” because, well, it is. That is, incorrect information has been reported unintentionally. When that happens ...

Video gaming: addiction or not

You might have said to your mate, “You are addicted to gaming on your phone,” or to your child, “You spend too much time playing video games.” Is it really addiction? The World Health Organization says video gaming can become an addiction. Others say no. Either way, it can become a problem. From WebMD, here are a few questions to consider: • Do you spend a lot of time thinking about that video game? • How do you feel when you don’t have time to play? • Does it take more and more time for you to get the same level of pleasure? • Is it impossible to play less, ...