There are many complicated opinions from experts about why America's children are becoming fatter, more diseased and emotionally unstable each year.

At the same time, bullying, teen suicides and child obesity continue to rise, and proposed solutions to these problems tend to be expensive and unlikely to be undertaken in these tough economic times, says Gordon Filepas, author of "Lean And Healthy To 100," (www.adviceformychildren.com), a guide for achieving optimal health based on studying cultures where long lives are the norm.

"Even if implemented, most of these 'solutions' are not likely to solve the problem," he says. "That's because most Americans were never taught the simple, common-sense root of most obesity and disease. There's no mystery or magic to it at all."

Filepas talks about easy, inexpensive and natural steps to solving child obesity in five years or less:

• Parental accountability: Your job as a parent is to teach your children what they need to learn to become productive, balanced and healthy adults. Buying snack foods, sodas and junk food for your children is not being responsible. Plus, you're rewarding companies that make these products. You're probably listening to the "popular" health advice in America, which is mostly incorrect. You need to learn the correct common sense information once and for all so that it becomes easy for your child to stop craving these "foods."

• School accountability: If your school sells and profits from any type of junk food in vending machines, it should be ashamed of itself. I know school budgets are strained, but making money from junk food is wrong on so many levels. If a school really needs to carry these foods to make money, then we should mandate that manufacturers create a "school version" that contains all the nutrients the human body needs and are made from only whole, natural food sources and nothing man-made. If implemented, students would shine in so many ways.

• Teach parents and children the root cause: From 20 years of health research, I've learned from experts that the root cause of obesity and disease is due to imbalances in the human body. The underlying, real root cause of these imbalances is a lifestyle that does not honor how the human body actually works, or respects what it really needs. The proper lifestyle is composed of the proper nutrition and daily living habits that maintain and preserve this nutrient foundation, and balances biological function. Without this lifestyle, biochemical imbalances occur inside the body at every level and begin to create the "symptoms" we call weight gain, addictions, cravings, emotional and behavioral imbalances, mood swings, learning problems, poor attitude, poor choices, disease and ultimately death.

• Focus on the inside first: The fatal flaw America is making in terms of its health and obesity is that it is trying to solve health and weight problems using outside-in solutions like calorie counting, calorie restriction, willpower, dieting, etc. This is ineffective because it does not create natural internal balance. These are "unnatural" man-made solutions that do not respect what the human body needs or how it works. The secret is to balance the inside first. Then everything on the outside will naturally balance itself automatically.

About Gordon Filepas

Health author and father Gordon Filepas spent thousands of hours over a 20-year period researching the research of the world's top health, anti-aging and longevity experts and long-lived cultures after his father and brother both died of cancer. He boiled down more than 80 years of their research into the seven daily steps that ultimately matter. He has recently partnered with the national charity Beating the Odds Foundation to teach the information in his book, "Lean And Healthy To 100," in schools to end child obesity. Gordon donates approximately $9 from every book sale to Beating the Odds Foundation when the book is purchased from this link: www.endchildobesity.us. Individuals or organizations interested in helping to end child obesity in America can contact Gordon through www.endchildobesity.us.

Energy Department Announces Team to Receive up to $120 Million Over 5 Years

CHICAGO - November 30, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn was joined today by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to announce that a multi-partner team led by Argonne National Laboratory has been selected for an award of up to $120 million over five years to establish a new Batteries and Energy Storage Hub. The Hub, to be known as the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), will combine the R&D firepower of five DOE national laboratories, five universities, and four private firms in an effort aimed at achieving revolutionary advances in battery performance. Advancing next generation battery and energy storage technologies for electric and hybrid cars and the electricity grid are a critical part of President Obama's all-of-the-above energy strategy to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil and lower energy costs for U.S. consumers.

Governor Quinn is providing $5 million through his Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction plan to help build the state-of-the-art JCESR facility, which will be located on the Argonne National Laboratory campus in suburban Chicago. Additionally, the governor has committed to working with the General Assembly to provide an additional $30 million in future capital funding for the building, which will serve as a nationwide center for energy storage research and is a key part of the governor's plan to create jobs and grow Illinois' economy through cutting-edge innovation.

"Illinois is the birthplace of innovations that have changed the world, including the web browser, the cell phone and the ultrasound," Governor Quinn said. "As I highlighted during my State of the State address, this innovative center will attract the best minds from across our state and country to turn cutting-edge scientific research into new companies that will create more American jobs and revolutionize our energy economy."

"This is a partnership between world leading scientists and world leading companies, committed to ensuring that the advanced battery technologies the world needs will be invented and built right here in America," said Secretary Chu.  "Based on the tremendous advances that have been made in the past few years, there are very good reasons to believe that advanced battery technologies can and will play an increasingly valuable role in strengthening America's energy and economic security by reducing our oil dependence, upgrading our aging power grid, and allowing us to take greater advantage of intermittent energy sources like wind and solar."

"This new Hub brings together, under a single organizational roof, the world's leading scientists, engineers and manufacturers in energy storage and provides them with the tools, resources and market reach necessary to produce major breakthroughs," said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.  "The large-scale, innovative research and transformational new battery systems that will result from this venture will mean more effective, lower cost and longer life energy storage technologies with real world applications for anything that can use a rechargeable battery.  The project promises to have a significant economic impact across Illinois with the help of towns and businesses who have already agreed to partner on the commercialization of promising technology developed at the Hub."

"The research at the Energy Storage Hub has the potential to revolutionize the energy industry," said U.S. Senator Mark Kirk. "From transportation to the electric grid, the Hub will bring the private sector, national labs and universities together to deliver new technologies and scientific approaches needed to transform the battery and energy storage industry and spur commercial innovation.  The Hub at Argonne will help boost our local economy and create new jobs. Today's announcement further establishes Illinois and Argonne as a leader in this growing industry."

"Argonne has a long tradition of exceptional leadership on energy research, and the DOE's selection of Argonne for this exciting project will cement its role as the nation's leading facility for advanced battery technology," said Representative Judy Biggert (IL-13). "Most importantly, this project will give scientists and researchers the best environment in which to develop the next generation of energy storage to power our homes, cars, and industries in the decades to come. I applaud the team at Argonne on winning the project, and I thank my colleagues from across the Midwest who worked with us to make it happen."

"This award sets up Argonne National Laboratory to be the world leader in an emerging field that will promote American energy independence, make green energy more available and affordable, and grow manufacturing in the region," said Representative Dan Lipinski (IL-03). "I believe this new facility will bring a significant return on the investment for our nation and especially for the communities around Argonne."

"Since taking office, I have been focused on making Chicago the electric vehicle and batteries capital of the nation," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "This includes creating incentives to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles, attracting companies to manufacture electric vehicles, and now, working with Argonne to make sure that Chicago is at the epicenter of research on this subject. All of these pieces fit together into a comprehensive strategy that will allow Chicago to lead in this industry, from conception to construction to implementation. I will continue to work to attract more companies, create more jobs and foster more economic development in this crucial space."

The new Hub will integrate efforts at several successful independent research programs into a larger, coordinated effort designed to push the limits on battery advances.  Advancements in batteries and energy storage technology are essential for continued efforts to develop a fundamentally new energy economy with decisively reduced dependence on imported oil.  Improved storage will be vital to fully integrating intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar into the electrical grid.  It will also be critical to transitioning the transportation sector to more flexible grid power.

JCESR (pronounced "J-Caesar") will be directed by George W. Crabtree, Argonne Senior Scientist, Distinguished Fellow and Associate Division Director; Distinguished Professor of Physics, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago; and an internationally recognized leader in energy research.

"The JCESR batteries and energy storage hub gives us a new collaborative, inter-institutional R&D paradigm in which to develop the energy storage technologies that transform both the electricity grid and transportation and so reduce our dependence on foreign oil,' said Eric Isaacs, Director of Argonne National Laboratory.

The Hub will bring together some of the most advanced energy storage research programs in the U.S. today.  Other national labs partnering with Argonne include Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.  University partners include Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, and University of Michigan. Four industrial partners have also joined to help clear a path to the marketplace for the advances developed at JCESR, including Dow Chemical Company; Applied Materials, Inc.; Johnson Controls, Inc.; and Clean Energy Trust.

"This ambitious initiative, which builds on Argonne National Laboratory's innovative work in advanced battery technology, will create new opportunities for technological research and economic development in the city of Chicago and the region," said Robert J. Zimmer, University of Chicago President. "It will rely on a public-private partnership to speed the development of environmentally sound energy storage capabilities, with potentially profound economic benefits. We are grateful to all of the public officials who helped make this possible, especially Senator Richard Durbin, Governor Pat Quinn, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose support and commitment to economic development through innovation have been vital."

"With exceptional talent and research strengths, Illinois is paving the way for next generation energy solutions, and this USDOE award will advance and accelerate the state's transformative efforts around energy storage and grid enhancements," said Mark Harris, President and CEO of the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, which worked with Argonne to develop the proposal. "This award represents tremendous collaboration between research and academic institutions, industry and government, and we look forward to advancing technology commercialization and economic development opportunities across the state and region."

Selected through an open national competition with a rigorous merit review process that relied on outside expert reviewers, JCESR is the fourth Energy Innovation Hub established by the Energy Department since 2010.  Other Hubs are devoted to modeling and simulation of nuclear reactors, achieving major improvements in the energy efficiency of buildings, and developing fuels from sunlight. A fifth Hub focused on critical materials research was announced earlier this year and is still in the application process.

Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds that combine basic and applied research with engineering to accelerate scientific discovery in critical energy areas. They are modeled after the strong scientific management characteristics of the Manhattan Project, Lincoln Lab at MIT that developed radar, AT&T Bell Laboratories that developed the transistor and, more recently, the highly successful Bioenergy Research Centers established during the Bush Administration to pioneer advanced techniques in biotechnology, including biofuels.

Over the decades, DOE national laboratories and DOE-funded university research programs have been responsible for some of the most important advances in battery technology. For example, key battery improvements developed at Argonne helped make the Chevy Volt battery possible.

Start your weekend with a warm bowl of chili and a room full of celli. Tonight, November 30 at 5:00 p.m., cellists from around the Quad Cities will be gathering at the RME, along with guest principal cellist Nathaniel Yaffe of the Minnesota Orchestra, Conductor Mark Russell Smith, and other members of the QCSO cello section for a chili dinner and cello performance.

Chili will be available at 5:00 p.m., with the music beginning at 5:30. This event is free to the public and everyone is invited. Cellists, bring your instrument and a music stand.

The chili will be provided by Volunteers for Symphony and drinks will be for sale at the RME Café. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Rebecca Swartz, Education and Youth Ensemble Coordinator, at 563.322.0931.