Today's headline says "new cases of cancer decline in the US" . I am immediately suspicious. So I keep reading, and what I hear is that over the last 15 years the rates ofnew cases of cancer has been falling, almost 1%. 1% doesn't sound like a lot, but it is a trend in the right direction. I keep reading, and find that not only are there less new cases of cancer, the death rate from cancer is falling... wow, this is all really good news.

Last night I had a long discussion with a friend who is a college biology professor and one of the things that she teaches is Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth". She is often depressed over the state of the earth and the near impossibility for humans to reverse global warming. I never would have believed that Americans had the ability to make positive changes in their lifestyle, enough to make a difference in cancer rates.

Of course, some of the trend is due to better research and medical advances. Still, it seems like we have a handle on smoking, and early detection and healthy living.

Is it possible for humans to erase the start of cancer - not just figuring out how to cure cancer?
What kind of world would it be if the causes of cancer were eliminated? no plastics or cleaning solvents? clean manufacturing?
Think of what a different world this would be. It might be the kind of world that could stop global warming.