The more likely conclusion is that dropouts in the low sugar group returned to old beverage consumption habits in the interim, thereby muddling the intervention effect on the 18-month results.

FORBES: The Fat Lady's Soda Song: Sugary Beverages Cause Obesity

People in this group were also the only ones who showed a significant increase in their maximum oxygen consumption (which measures the capacity for aerobic exercise) compared to the non-exercising control group.

CNN: Weights plus walking equals more fit in less time

With per-capita U.S. milk consumption down 36% between 1970 and 2011, an industry trade group spokesman recently admitted something everybody already knew: The dairy business is in trouble.

FORBES: How the Milk Industry Went Sour, and What Every Business Can Learn From It

Branko Milanovic, lead economist for the World Bank research group, sent me this comparative analysis based on household income or consumption surveys worldwide, adjusted for purchasing power differences.

FORBES: Who Are the 99%?

The third thing to do is to act: make responsible consumption choices, support activities and organizations that conserve biodiversity, and join a local environmental group or organize your own activities to help preserve biodiversity.

FORBES: The Future of Life On Earth: Part Two Of The Discussion

For Carol Tokuyo, one of a group meeting under the banner "Youth and Environmental Justice", the culture of consumption and private gain is the root of the problem - the reason why humanity is on an unsustainable track.

BBC: Poems and politics at the heart of Rio

Baskar Vairmohan, the EPRI researcher who conducted the iPad test, said the group is now studying usage to understand whether the explosion of tablets is adding to power consumption or reducing it.

MSN: That iPad costs you just $1.36 a year to charge