FAO everyone in the UK (affects anyone using medicine ...)

There is now an argument circulating that there has never been a systematic investigation as to what forms of medical research are the most effective. That is to say, how do we know whether e.g. non-human or human or computer model approaches are more reliable for any given area of medical research. (As an extra wrinkle, sharing data apparently rather rare in medical research, leading to duplication, inconsistency, omission etc.)

In the UK, LibDem MP Bob Russell has now co-sponsored a so-called 'Early Day Motion' to the House of Commons (EDM 475):

"That this House believes that the safety of medicines should be established by the most reliable methods available in order to reduce the large and increasing toll of serious adverse drug reactions; and calls on the Government to initiate a comparison of currently required animal tests with a set of human biology-based tests, as proposed in the Safety of Medicines (Evaluation) Bill 2009, to see which is the most effective means to predict the safety of medicines for patients."

Conservative MP David Amess is sponsoring the Safety of Medicines Bill 2010-11, which aims to ensure more rigourous standards for putting medicines on the market.

If you have a UK MP, you can use this simple web site: http://www.writetothem.com/ to contact your them about EDM 475 and the Safety of Medicines Bill 2010-11.

Miserable Earth Overshoot Day

Apparently, this Saturday 21 August is Earth Overshoot Day 2010 ... the day when the human population of the planet collectively goes into 'global debt' with the rate at which we've used natural resources during the year: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/earth_overshoot_day/

In other words, for the rest of the year (over a third of the time) we collectively are liquidating planetary capital to meet our combined needs and wants as a species, rather than living from the interest.

On the one hand, 7 billion humans is an awful lot of monkeys to cram on to one planet. But on the other hand, if all 7 billion of us lived like us Europeans or North Americans, we'd need 2 to 5 planets to supply all the resources sustainably.

Solutions which are simultaneously fun, compassionate & effective, on a comment card below ... because I don't fancy any of the alternatives :-S