Scientists are currently conducting a study on Scots pine. The study uses a ring of carbon dioxide generators that surround patches of these trees. The objective of the study is to determine the effect of increased CO2 in the air on these pines.

So far, they have noticed that the trees seem to grow and reproduce much faster than before. They also develop more needles – on average 17% more needles than typical loom pines. At first glance, this seems to be a good thing. Trees trap carbon dioxide inside them, keeping it out of the atmosphere. It seems that the CO2 problem will solve itself: more CO2 produces more trees that absorb the extra CO2. The system seems to stabilize itself.

There is of course a dark side. On the one hand, other tree species will probably not benefit from the extra growth spurt. This means that Scots pine could spread rapidly, pushing other tree species, such as oak or maple, out of the way. This can change the entire landscape of an ecosystem: for example, squirrels and black bears depend on the acorns of hardwood trees. If acorns grow on these trees, squirrel and black bear populations will have to leave or die.

Another issue that we can learn from is sustainability. The rapid growth of these trees depletes minerals from the soil much faster than they normally would. Scientists predict that the trees will eventually run out of nutrients and fixed nitrogen, and then their growth will stop abruptly, and may even be reversed. So when they use their “fuel” to create “rapid growth”, they will eventually run out of “fuel” and their growth will stop or be reversed. Does anyone else see a parallel here with our own civilization?

Nature is self-regulating. This is where my liberal and progressive colleagues often get it wrong. Nature does not need man to protect it. Nature does not care if man abuses it. As our conservative brethren like to point out, the Earth has survived natural disasters far more than anything man has ever done to it, and life has always found a way to survive and prosper. Of course, it may take millions of years, but it survives. … and what does a few million years represent for a 4 billion year old planet?

Conservation is not an end in itself. Conservation is not necessary to protect the Earth. No, conservation is necessary to protect and help humanity, not nature. Destroying rainforests, burning fossil fuels, over-developing the earth. … all of this is the result of the spread of our species and the growth and consumption of resources. Nature will correct this. We’re going to run out of rainforests, we’re going to run out of fossil fuels, and we’re going to run out of land that we can use. Our sources of food and drinking water will be exhausted; our sources of medicine and other essentials will be depleted. The growth of our species will stop abruptly and be reversed. It will return to sustainable levels. However, the “sustainable level” will be much lower than it is now, because we will have exhausted almost everything we need to continue living as a species and as a society.

Malthus was the first to predict this. He showed that unless something else slows the growth of a species, it will eventually “collapse. A catastrophe will inevitably reduce the number of a species well below the level of sustainability. In other words, if humans do not voluntarily regulate themselves, nature will regulate us, and nature is much less selective or indulgent in the way it does so.

When we talk about growth today, we are not just talking about growth in numbers, although that is part of the equation. We’re talking mostly about growth in resource consumption. Even if our population were stable, our consumption will continue to increase as the developing world develops. This growth in consumption, like the growth in numbers, is subject to the same law of Malthus – if we don’t regulate it ourselves, it will be regulated for us, and it will be regulated by disaster rather than planning.

The idea of simplicity when it comes to losing weight can be surprising because we get lost in the drama of our dieting history. The rules, restrictions and limitations of a crash diet abound when we are faced with those extra 20 pounds and desperately want to lose them. And I understand the reaction in crisis mode for having been there myself once too often.

But there is a mindset that is worth cultivating and that will help you every day, crisis or no crisis, to make simple changes that require almost no effort and yet are beneficial to the end result, your weight. After all, weight gain is a simple idea. More calories than necessary, the excess is stored as fat. It doesn’t get any more complicated than that and yet many women forget or neglect to apply the idea of Kiss in their daily life, especially with regard to diet.

How can you use the Kiss concept as a guide? Reduce your consumption, lose weight and rethink the way you eat and manage your diet?

1. Try to be flexible, be open to creativity and be prepared to replace high-impact foods and drinks with lighter substitutes that you can create yourself. When you decide to eat something that has a high impact, resist for a while and ask yourself how you can soften it, perhaps replace it or leave something out so you can control your own story. Remember that any action you choose to take for yourself that improves an outcome is proactive and sharpens your consciousness. There are many opportunities to apply Kiss every day. For example, there are many ways to apply Kiss every day:

2. In coffee, Frappuccino’s, Caffe Mocha’s, Latte’s, Smoothies, Alfredo’s, switch to fat-free milk and whipped cream. Take only one pump of flavoured syrup or, ideally, switch to sugar-free syrup. Instead of all those high-impact drinks that detract from the pure pleasure of great tasting coffee, why not go back to basics and add your own signature? Try a double espresso with layered fat-free froth all the way to the top. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the froth, a little low-fat or fat-free milk, stir and presto, a delicious low-calorie frothy drink with little effect. Experience and enjoy the pure taste of coffee when it is not buried under other things.

3. In fast-food restaurants: You can still order a fun meal, but with a slightly lighter impact. Here are some suggestions for saving calories.
Replace fried, crispy, extra-crispy chicken with grilled chicken. Grilled is delicious and saves calories, fat and sodium. Chicken meal with corn, mashed potatoes and sauce with cookies is just as delicious when grilled and the sauce is removed from the potatoes. You won’t even notice it, and every little bit of calories saved helps. That means not using butter on the corn or cookie. You don’t need it because KFC has the best, sweetest corn and their plain cookie is exceptional. These are simple adjustments you can make that don’t affect the way you experience your meal. The taste remains great and eating is fun, with less impact on your bottom line and calories.
Don’t forget the exercise you can do in any restaurant, fast food restaurant or at home – grilled, baked or broiled to replace fried food.

4. Sweets. Replace high sugar desserts with fresh fruit salad or angel food cake topped with fruit. This saves calories and sugar and gives your body the natural fibre of fruit. Plain yogurt, cinnamon, raisins and banana slices are suitable for any combination, or vanilla yogurt with angel food cake topped with fruit. The amount of sugar in food today is surprising and surprising, because you’ll appreciate it all the more if you pay attention to food labels. The equation to remember is that 4 grams of sugar is equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar.

5. Flavour Enhancements: Ask for sandwich dressings, special sauces, mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, salad dressings, honey, butter, syrups, sauces, cheese and cream sauces by any name, including Alfredo sauce on fettuccini, Benedictine sauce on eggs, as a side dish. Do you think restaurants or fast food chains have any idea or even care if they have added hundreds of foods high in fat, cholesterol, sugar, calories and sodium to your meal? No.

These are small steps you can take every day. Add your own because you don’t have to do without them, you just have to do it smarter. Just try it.