Selfish capitalism is bad for our mental health By far the most significant consequence of "selfish capitalism" (Thatch/Blatcherism) has been a startling increase in the incidence of mental illness in both children and adults since the 1970s. As I report in my book, The Selfish Capitalist - Origins of Affluenza, World Health Organisation and nationally representative studies in the United States, Britain and Australia, reveal that it almost doubled between the early 80s and the turn of the century. These increases are very unlikely to be due to greater preparedness to acknowledge distress - the psychobabbling therapy culture was already established. www.guardian.co.uk Oil price hits $100 a barrel for the first time Petrol prices were heading for new record levels last night after the price of oil broke through the $100-a-barrel barrier for the first time in New York trading. With motorists already paying more than 103 pence a litre on forecourts in the UK, the AA warned that the $4 increase in crude prices yesterday signalled even dearer fuel in the weeks ahead. www.guardian.co.uk Trees absorbing less CO2 as world warms, study finds The ability of forests to soak up man-made carbon dioxide is weakening, according to an analysis of two decades of data from more than 30 sites in the frozen north. The finding published today is crucial, because it means that more of the CO2 we release will end up affecting the climate in the atmosphere rather than being safely locked away in trees or soil. www.guardian.co.uk Energy efficient bulbs may trigger migraines, UK group says Energy efficient light bulbs could be causing migraines, a British migraine lobby group said Wednesday. "These bulbs do trigger migraines for some of our members — it's either the flickering, or the low intensity of the light, causing eye strain," Karen Manning, a spokeswoman for the British Migraine Action Association, told the BBC. www.cbc.ca Even France, Haven of Smokers, Is Clearing the Air PARIS — Overnight, conviviality has taken on an entirely new meaning in France. Under a sweeping decree that took effect Wednesday, smoking has been banned in every commercial corner of “entertainment and conviviality” — from the toniest Parisian nightclub to the humblest village cafe. No matter that cigarette is a French word. Or that the great icons of French creativity — Colette to Cocteau, Camus to Coco Chanel — all smoked. Or that Paris boasts a Museum of Smoking. Or, in fact, that Paris has named a street after Jean Nicot, the 16th-century French diplomat who took tobacco leaves imported from America to Catherine de Medici to treat her migraines. (Nicotine was named after him.) www.nytimes.com Push ... then nip and tuck 'Mummy jobs', in which cosmetic surgeons set out to erase all evidence of childbirth from a woman's body, are already big business in the US. Now they are catching on here. Viv Groskop reports on a disturbing trend - and asks three mothers how they really feel about their post-baby bodies. lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk Stealing From a Biker Gang ROCK ’N’ ROLL, the art world, Hollywood and fashion have swiped inspiration from biker style so often that it’s a wonder there is anything left to purloin. This has been the case in every two-wheeled decade, and rarely more so than now, when the hip artist du jour Richard Prince seems to have motorcycle culture firmly in the pincers of his ironic quotations, and style avatars like Kate Moss have taken to kitting themselves up like Hells Angels mamas. www.nytimes.com