I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. I was watching TVs Primetime Live on October 21,1993. Five families appeared. Each family had a child born without eyes.

A UCSD research team has produced statistical evidence that more than 6,000 San Diego County children are so undernourished that their brain development has been impaired. Dr. Robert Livingston, a professor of the neurosciences at UCSD School of Medicine, said if the figures produced are correct, and he believes they are, San Diego has an "epidemic of preventable health tragedy." Livingston, flanked by his team of student researchers, presented the findings at a press conference also attended by Dr. J.B. Askew, San Diego director of public health.

Worldwide agribusiness is depleting our soils, contaminating our water, and, despite huge inputs of fertilizers and pesticides, yields are stagnating and sometimes unexpectedly plunging. In Natural Capitalism, the authors describe vividly these deleterious effects of modern agriculture. Fortunately, abundant food can be grown while enriching the soil and creating no waste whatsoever. To continue our existence on this planet, we need what the authors call "natural capital." They speak of soil as "the ultimate natural capital".

Dental amalgams are commonly known as "silver" fillings, but they contain 50% mercury. The mercury released from these dental fillings is inhaled and swallowed. The biological effects of this released mercury can be seen by genetic changes in the common bacteria which normally inhabit the mouth and intestine of primates, including monkeys and humans. Most bacteria typically cannot survive in the presence of mercury, but those bacteria which continue to exist do so by acquiring a genetic resistance to the toxic effects of mercury.