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On top of trying to outdo a beloved Disney classic, director Jon Favreau achieved a fascinating feat with his film adaption of The Jungle Book: Aside from its young actor portraying Mowgli, every other character and setting were built with CGI. But i…

By Amanda MacMillan

Even if you love your current sunglasses, you still might need a new pair of shades. It seems sunglasses’ UV protection may deteriorate over time, and current industry tests are not sufficient for determining how long it’s safe to wear them, according to a study from Brazil.

Most Brazilians wear the same pair every day for about two years, the study notes, yet it has not been proven that lenses maintain the same level of protection after that type of exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The findings may have implications for the sunglass industry in the United States, as well. There is no current recommendation for when, exactly, people should retire their old pairs–and protecting eyes from the sun is important anywhere in the world, as UV exposure can lead to cataracts, retina damage, and other long-term eye problems and vision loss.

The new research focuses on Brazil’s system for classifying sunglasses by category, based on lens darkness and the level of UV protection offered. To be certified in one of these categories, lenses must pass a test in which they are exposed to a 450-watt sun simulator lamp for 50 hours at a distance of 30 centimeters. This is equal to two full days of average summer sun exposure, or four days of average winter sun exposure, the study authors write. However, because of Brazil’s proximity to the equator, the sun there is stronger than average. So in actuality, this test is only equivalent to 23.5 hours of sun exposure in the city of São Paulo, for example.

A previous survey found that Brazilians wear their sunglasses for an average of two hours a day for two years straight. The aging tests, the authors argue, should also be revised to reflect this.

RELATED: The Best Sunglasses for Healthy Eyes

In order to represent average consumer use throughout the country, they calculate that both the time and distance of exposure in the sun-simulator test needs to change to 134.6 hours at 5 centimeters. These calculations are specific to Brazil, the authors say, but may also be helpful for other countries at similar latitudes. (Other countries around the world have similar requirements for sunglasses.)

“It’s still too soon to confirm that UV protection deteriorates over sun exposure,” study author Liliane Ventura, PhD, a professor at the University of São Paulo, wrote in an email. “If the aging test performed by sun simulator with current exposure parameters is not revised, then there are no means to guarantee that UV protection does not change over time.”

The report, published in Biomedical Engineering OnLine, suggests that in addition to UV protection, lenses’ shatterproof qualities may degrade as well.

Although the same aging standards are not used in the United States, Jeff Pettey, MD, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), says that the new research does make important points that could be relevant to Americans.

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“They’re suggesting that the way the industry currently tests sunglasses may not be adequate,” says Dr. Pettey. “There’s a lot we may be unaware of that happens over time–so while there is no official recommendation right now, it might make sense to consider looking for a new pair if you’ve worn the same ones regularly for a couple of years.”

If you’re really curious about whether it’s still safe to wear a pair of old favorites, adds Dr. Pettey, many eyeglass retailers can test lenses’ UV protection levels.

Until more is known, consumers can protect themselves by making sure they buy good glasses in the first place, by purchasing lenses that are labeled “100% UV protection” or “UV400.” Most pairs sold in the United States offer this level of protection, Dr. Pettey says, but it’s still a good idea to confirm before purchasing. (According to a 2014 AAO survey, almost half of people shopping for sunglasses don’t think to check for this language.)

Don’t take into account factors like cost, polarization, lens color or darkness, either; these don’t necessarily make a difference in UV blockage. “Even clear lenses you’d wear with a prescription can have protection, as well; it’s not necessarily about how dark they are,” says Dr. Pettey.

RELATED: 9 Worst Eye Care Mistakes You’re Making

Size and fit, however, do matter. “Bigger is better if you’re outdoors doing activities for longer periods of time,” Dr. Pettey says. “If you’re skiing or out on the ocean and getting reflected UV light from all directions, larger wrap-around eyewear will certainly offer more protection.”

Ventura says that while there’s no way to know how often sunglasses should be replaced, she does recommend against buying them from locations where they’ve already been exposed to sunlight–from an outdoor stand on the boardwalk or beach, for example.

For now, Ventura and her team are conducting further tests on how sunglass lenses hold up over time, and hopes to report more definitive findings in the near future. “We are willing (and have proposed an effective method) to know how long UV protection lasts,” she says. “It’s a wake-up call for the sunglasses standards to be revised.”

You May Need to Replace Your Sunglasses More Often Than You Think originally appeared on Health.com.

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The price of water in one of America’s poorest large cities is about to skyrocket.

In a controversial move Wednesday, the Baltimore City Council approved a plan to hike the city’s water rate about 33 percent over the next three years, by an average of 9.9 percent each year, in addition to introducing two new fixed fees. 

The additional funds, according to the Baltimore City Department of Public Works, are necessary in order to fix the city’s crumbling infrastructure and update its billing system in a way it says will be more efficient and accurate. The plan goes into effect in October. 

These are expensive fixes the city claims it simply can’t pay for without raising rates. Slowing federal support for infrastructure projects, a factor Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake referenced in a previous statement on the rate increase, isn’t helping matters. 

Federal spending on water and wastewater utility projects has stagnated since the 1980s while the cost to repair the nation’s aging water infrastructure has ballooned. The American Water Works Association, a water safety advocacy group, has estimated that price tag at $1 trillion between now and 2035.

Residents and advocacy groups opposed to the rate hike largely agree that Washington deserves the blame for the matter, but also argue Baltimore’s new rate structure will disproportionately impact low-income and senior residents who are already struggling to pay their bill.

One resident, Alexis Schofield, who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting said she “simply cannot afford” to pay an extra $50 per month for her water bill, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. The paper noted that some 20 residents testified against the rate hike.

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Many Baltimore residents appear to be in a similar position.

In a report published Tuesday, the national advocacy group Food and Water Watch wrote that some of the city’s residents could actually see rate increases that exceed the widely reported 33 percent figure. According to the group’s analysis, seniors with low water use will see their bill double by 2018 under the current plan, for example.

“Municipalities obviously need the money to do what they need to do to provide safe drinking water, but that drinking water doesn’t have to just be safe, it also has to be affordable,” Mitch Jones, a senior policy advocate at the organization, told The Huffington Post. “We have to make sure when we’re looking at rates that we have a structure in place that doesn’t put the burden on lower-income households.”

To address the issue of making infrastructure improvements without squeezing those households, the group suggests implementing an income-based water affordability program like one already in the works in Philadelphia. 

In response to the criticism, Baltimore DPW spokesman Jeffrey Raymond pointed out that some of the city’s water users will actually see their water bill decrease as a result of the change, which will eliminate an existing minimum water charge.

The city also moved Wednesday to approve slightly increased assistance for eligible low-income water users — from $179 in annual support to $197 — and to increase the flexibility of its payment plans, Raymond noted.

Still, advocates like Jones say that’s not enough support to keep up with the level of need. Many Baltimore households — almost 24 percent of which are poor enough to receive food assistance — are already having a hard time keeping up with their water bills. And Baltimore isn’t the only city where residents are struggling, particularly as water rates have been on the rise nationally.

According to the latest data from Circle of Blue, a water-focused news site, water prices in the nation’s 30 largest cities increased 5 percent last year and are up 48 percent since 2010. In the last year, water rate hikes have also been approved or implemented in cities including Phoenix, Los Angeles and Sacramento, California. 

Those high prices have correlated with high water shutoff rates in some of the nation’s poorest neighborhoods.

In Detroit, the city shut off water service to 23,000 homes last year. That’s about 13 percent of the utility’s entire base of residential customers. 

And though Detroit has pledged to help struggling water users get on payment plans, the shutoffs have continued this year. The city has cut off water for about 150 homes per day since May.

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Joseph Erbentraut covers promising innovations and challenges in the areas of food and water. In addition, Erbentraut explores the evolving ways Americans are identifying and defining themselves. Follow Erbentraut on Twitter at @robojojo. Tips? Email joseph.erbentraut@huffingtonpost.com.

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By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday – Chinese actor Wang Baoqiang, who jumped to stardom after appearing in Chinese version of “Running Man”, is enjoying tremendous popularity these days. The number of his fans increased explosively after Wang made a surprise announcement saying that he was going to file for divorce from wife Ma Rong and accused Ma of cheating on him with his manager.

Wang’s immense popularity is expected to continue for a while with the torrent of the divorce scandal news. This seems because the scandal involving Wang, his wife Ma Rong, his manager Song Zhe, and Song’s wife Yang Hui shows no sign of settlement. Most of all, while it seems Baoqiang and his Rong are going to split, property division between them is not going to be settled easily.

Besides, there are doubtful aspects to the relationship between Ma Rong and Song Zhe. There were rumors that the two purchased a house as if they were going to live together, but then Song denied it suddenly. Song changed his words saying that he doesn’t want to divorce his wife. If this is true, he is a shameless fellow.

[Song Zhe’s wife Yang Hui made her first public appearance to attend the divorce trial on August 29. She reportedly expressed her determined will to divorce her cheated husband Song Zhe./ Source: Beijing Youth Daily]

On the other hand, Song Zhe’s wife Yang Hui, who filed a suit for divorce, is firm with her decision. According to the August 30th reports of Chinese media outlets including the Beijing Youth Daily, Yang Hui raised her voice in the court house in Bejing’s Chaoyang district on August 29, saying, “I will divorce. Song Zhe should let me go.” Her lawyer submitted the relevant evidence of Song Zhe and Ma Rong’s love affair to the court.

Looking at the current situation, Wang Baoqiang and Ma Rong would divorce by mutual agreement without much difficulty. However, the divorce trial between Song Zhe and Yang Hui may take much time considering Song’s attitude. His selfish attitude is just staggering.

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Sadly, the answer is an emphatic yes.

In late June I was flying to Mexico on vacation and opened the Los Angeles Times. I was stunned. The conclusion of this depressing article: in the California State University system with a student body of about 475,000, between 8 to 12 percent were homeless and about double that suffered from food insecurity. What does it mean to be “food insecure”? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is “a condition of someone who does not have adequate resources to feed themselves.”

So on average, in the largest university system in the country, about 50,000 college students are homeless and about 100,000 go hungry?

To add fuel to the fire, in a more recent article the Los Angeles Times reported that 4 in 10 of University of California students “do not have a consistent source of high-quality, nutritious food.” The UC system is arguably the best university system in the world, with about 240,000 students. So roughly 100,000 of our best college students are food insecure?

Is this issue relevant only in California? No, it is endemic. The earliest available study on the issue was published about eight years ago at the University of Hawaii. They found that about 20 percent of students there skip meals or did not get proper nutrition because of poverty. A more recent study of food insecurity at Arizona State University put the rate at about 34 percent for first year students.

The American Council on Education’s Christopher Nellum, in Fighting Food Insecurity on Campus, defines the overall situation in unmistakable terms:

The numbers are striking. Feeding America, a national nonprofit network of food banks … estimates that nearly half (49.3 percent) of its clients in college must choose between educational expenses (i.e., tuition, books and supplies, rent) and food annually, and that 21 percent did so for a full 12 months.

To their credit, colleges and universities are taking action. At Woodbury University our “Pops Pantry” meets the need for wholesome food among these disadvantaged students. We are also a member of the College and University Food Bank Alliance (CUFBA), which has about 350 active member institutions. CUFBA’s mandate is both clear and painful: “a professional organization consisting of campus-based programs focused on alleviating food insecurity, hunger, and poverty among college and university students in the United States.”

Why name it Pop’s Pantry? Woodbury University’s sixth President, Ray Howard Whitten, was known affectionately on campus as “Pop.” His philosophy for the development of students transcended the classroom and this Pantry is in alignment with Pop’s desire to provide useful resources to students in pursuit of their academic goals.

As the Chronicle of Higher Education reported last year, “the thrifty student who subsists on ramen noodles has given way to a more troubling portrait: the hungry student who needs help and may not know how to ask for it.”

Just as institutions are beginning to act, so students themselves are addressing food insecurity, often creatively. At UCLA, Swipe Out Hunger, a student-run organization, has teamed with some 20 other universities, devising solutions that include arranging for excess money on a student’s meal plan to be donated in the form of food to pantries, or applying those funds to food vouchers for students.

And now, lawmakers are beginning to respond as well. Working its way through the California state legislature is the College Student Hunger Relief Act of 2016, a measure that, if enacted, would enable food banks to work with college food pantries and require both public and private colleges to participate in restaurant meals programs in their counties.

So food insecurity is real — a problem that needs to remain a headline item. Think about the impact this issue is having on the next generation of leaders in our nation. So going back to California: is it acceptable that about 200,000 college students, in the UC and CSU systems, living in the richest state in the nation, have “food insecurity” or exist on a high sodium and high fat diet?

David Steele-Figueredo is President of Woodbury University in Burbank, Calif.

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