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FORD CREEK. Ford Creek rises about 1½ miles northeast of Kanawha in northwestern Red River County (at 33°53' N, 95°14' W) and runs first north, then east, for a total of eight miles before reaching its mouth on the Red River (at 33°57' N, 95°10' W). The stream, which is intermittent in its upper reaches, initially traverses an area with loamy soils, changing to clayey near its mouth. The area to the east and south of the stream is generally wooded with pines and hardwoods. On the other side of its lower reaches, however, the land is primarily used to grow sorghum, grain, or cotton.
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article."FORD CREEK," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbf96), accessed May 24, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31459000 |
BABYHEAD MOUNTAIN. Babyhead Mountain is ten miles north of Llano in northern Llano County (at 30°54' N, 98°40' W). A baby's skull was reportedly found there. The summit, with an elevation of 1,627 feet, rises 200 feet above State Highway 16 to the northeast. The surrounding terrain is flat to rolling, with local dissection, and surfaced by sandy and clay loams that support open stands of live oak and mesquite.
Wilburn Oatman, Llano, Gem of the Hill Country: A History of Llano County (Hereford, Texas: Pioneer, 1970).
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article."BABYHEAD MOUNTAIN," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rjb01), accessed May 24, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31460000 |
262 Lyonetia prunifoliella
(Hübner, 1796)Wingspan 9-10 mm.
Formerly locally resident in parts of southern and central England, this moth seems to have died out as a British species, and has not been reliably encountered since around 1900.
Abroad it is quite common on mainland Europe and eastwards into Asia.
The larva mines the leaves of various roseaceous trees, such as blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and apple (Malus), forming a gallery leading to a blotch. The pupal cocoon is suspended from silken 'guyropes' and closely resembles that of L. clerkella.
The adult moths fly in September, and overwinter, appearing again in the spring.
Leafmine (De bladmineerders van Nederland) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31474000 |
447 Roeslerstammia erxlebella
(Fabricius, 1787)Wingspan c.13mm.
This distinctive metallic-golden micro has when fresh, a purplish-bronze tinge to the area around the base of the forewings. It also sports a noticeably yellow crown and has a white band close to the tip of the antennae.
Mainly distributed in the southern half of England, there are also scattered localities in Wales and in Scotland where the species occurs.
The larvae feed on the leaves of lime (Tilia) and birch (Betula), mining the leaves when young.
There are two generations, at least in the south of the range, with adults on the wing in May and June and again in August and September. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31475000 |
Ulbrich : Glossary
Abrasion: A roughening or scratching of a surface due to abrasive wear. On aluminum parts, also known as a rub mark or traffic mark.
Abrasion-Resistant Steels (AR): A family of steel products developed for those applications involved in sliding and/or impact abrasion.
Abrasive Wear: The removal of material from a surface when hard particles slide or roll across the surface under pressure. The particles may be loose or may be part of another surface in contact with the surface being worn. Contrast with adhesive wear.
Accelerated Corrosion Test: A test conducted under controlled conditions that are considerably more severe than those natural conditions whose effects are presumably being investigated. The advantages of such a test is the relatively short time required. Results are useful for qualitative comparisons, but are not reliable for predicting anticipated life in actual service.
Accordion Reed Steel: Hardened, tempered, polished and blued or yellow flat steel with dressed edges. Carbon content about 1.00%. Material has to possess good flatness, uniform hardness and high elasticity.
Acid Steel: Steel melted in a furnace with an acid bottom and lining and under a slag containing an excess of an acid substance such as silica.
Acid-Brittleness: Brittleness resulting from pickling steel in acid; hydrogen, formed by the interaction between iron and acid, is partially absorbed by the metal, causing acid brittleness.
Age-Hardening: A process of aging that increases hardness and strength and usually decreases ductility. (see Precipitation Heat Treatment)
Air-Hardening Steel: A steel containing sufficient carbon and other alloying elements to harden fully during cooling in air or other gaseous mediums from a temperature above its transformation range. Such steels attain their martensitic structure without going through the quenching process. Additions of chromium, nickel, molybdenum and manganese are effective toward this end. The term should be restricted to steels that are capable of being hardened by cooling in air in fairly large sections, about 2 in. or more in diameter.
Aircraft Quality: Denotes material for important or highly stressed parts of aircraft for other similar purposes; such materials are extremely high quality requiring closely controlled, restrictive and special practices in their manufacture.
Aging: A process generally accelerated by temperature, wherein changes in mechanical properties occur in certain metals. These changes generally raise room temperature hardness, tensile and yield strength, while lowering ductility.
AISI: American Iron and Steel Institute. Published Steel Products Manual to Stainless and Heat Resisting Steels which provides information concerning tolerances, chemical analysis, definitions of technical terms and other related subjects which have been developed in the manufacture and use of stainless steels.
Alclad: Composite sheet produced by bonding either corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy or aluminum of high purity to base metal of structurally stronger aluminum alloy. The coatings are anodic to the core so they protect exposed areas of the core electrolytically during exposure to corrosive environment.
Alloy: A material that has metallic properties and is composed of two or more chemical elements of which at least one is a metal (i.e. steel is an alloy of carbon in iron; stainless steel is an alloy of carbon, chromium and sometimes nickel in iron.)
Alloying Elements: Those elements in alloys which are deliberately added during melting and refining to enhance the properties of that alloy.
Alloy Steel: An iron-based mixture is considered to be an alloy steel when manganese is greater than 1.65%, silicon over 0.5%, copper above 0.6%, or other minimum quantities of alloying elements such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, or tungsten are present. An enormous variety of distinct properties can be created for the steel by substituting these elements in the recipe.
Alpha Brass: A copper-zinc alloy containing up to 38% of zinc. Used mainly for cold working.
Alpha Bronze: A copper-tin alloy consisting of the alpha solid solution of tin in copper. Commercial forms contain 4 or 5% of tin. This alloy is used in coinage, springs, turbine, blades, etc.
Alpha Iron: The polymorphic form of iron, stable below 1670°F, has a body centered cubic lattice, and is magnetic up to 1410°°F.
Aluminizing: Forming an aluminum or aluminum alloy coating on a metal by hot dipping, hot spraying, or diffusion.
Annealing: A process involving heating to a temperature at or above critical and cooling at a controlled rate, usually applied to induce softening. The process could alter mechanical properties, physical properties or micro structure.
Anodizing: (Aluminum Adic Oxide Coating) A process of coating aluminum by anodic treatment resulting in a thin film of aluminum oxide of extreme hardness. A wide variety of dye-colored coatings are possible by impregnation in process.
AOD (Argon Oxygen Decarburization): This term refers to both the process and the vessel that is used for the process in which hot metal from an electric furnace is refined to a chemical specification by blowing a mixture of gases (a combination of inert gas and oxygen) under the hot metal surface. The result removes carbon from ferroalloys to achieve a certain chemical specification. The economics of this process have indicated that this method is ideally suited for producing stainless, plus high and low-alloy steels.
ARC Furnace: An arc furnace is a melting device that gets its heat-generating capacity from the introduction of an electric arc to a charge of scrap materials and ferroalloys. This caused the melt-down to a liquid state known as "hot metal".
Arc Welding: A group of welding processes wherein the metal or metals being joined are coalesced by heating with an arc, with or without the application of pressure and with or without the use of filler metal.
ASTM: American Society for Testing Materials is a voluntary standards development system. It is a non-profit organization which provides a forum for producers, users, consumers, and those having a general interest to meet on common ground and write standards for materials, products, systems and services.
Austempering: Quenching a ferrous alloy from a temperature above the transformation range, in a medium having a rate of heat abstraction high enough to prevent the formation of high-temperature transformation products, and then holding the alloy, until transformation is complete, at a temperature below that of pearlite formation and above that of martensite formation.
Automatic Gauge Control: Using hydraulic roll force systems, steelmakers have the ability to control precisely their steel sheet's gauge (thickness)while it is traveling at more than 50 miles per hour through the cold mill. Using feedback or feed-forward systems, a computer's gap sensor adjusts the distance between the reduction rolls of the mill 50-60 times per second. These adjustments prevent the processing of any off-gauge steel sheet. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31476000 |
Cholesteatoma is a type of skin cyst located in the middle ear.
Cholesteatoma can be a birth defect (congenital), but it more commonly occurs as a complication of chronic ear infection.
Poor function in the eustachian tube leads to negative pressure in the middle ear. This pulls a part of the eardrum (tympanic membrane) into the middle ear, creating a pocket or cyst that fills with old skin cells and other waste material. The cyst can become infected. The cyst may get bigger and break down some of the middle ear bones or other structures of the ear, affecting hearing, balance, and possibly function of the facial muscles.
Chole RA, Sudhoff HH. Chronic otitis media, mastoiditis, and petrositis. In: Cummings CW, Flint PW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Otolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2010:chap 139.
© 2011 University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). All rights reserved.
UMMC is a member of the University of Maryland Medical System,
22 S. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. TDD: 1-800-735-2258 or 1.866.408.6885 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31478000 |
Rheumatoid factor (RF) is a blood test that measures the amount of the RF antibody in the blood.
A blood sample is needed. For information on how this is done, see: Venipuncture
No special preparation is usually necessary.
When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain, while others feel only a prick or stinging sensation. Afterward, there may be some throbbing.
Goodyear CS, Tighe H, McInnes IB. Rheumatoid factors and other autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis. In: Firestein GS, Budd RC, Harris Jr. ED, McInnes IB, Ruddy S, eds. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: W.B. Saunders Company;2008:chap 51.
© 2011 University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). All rights reserved.
UMMC is a member of the University of Maryland Medical System,
22 S. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. TDD: 1-800-735-2258 or 1.866.408.6885 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31479000 |
Antebellum and Civil War America, 1784-1865
1789: born Sept. 15 in Burlington, NJ
1790-1791: moves with family to Lake Otsego in New York
1800: Sister Hannah dies
1803: enrolls at Yale
1806-1807: sails on Stirling
1808-1809: serves in U.S. Navy
1809: father dies
1811: marries Susan De Lancey; settles in New Rochelle, NY; daughter Elizabeth born
1813: daughter Elizabeth dies; daughter Susan born
1815: daughter Caroline born
1817: daughter Anne born
1818: builds house in Scarsdale, NY; mother dies
1819: daughter Maria born
1820: publishes Precaution
1821: son Fenimore born; publishes The Spy
1822: moves to New York City; founds Bread and Cheese club
1823: publishes The Pioneers; son Fenimore dies; suffers “bilious attack”
1824: publishes The Pilot; son Paul born
1825: publishes Lionel Lincoln
1826: publishes The Last of the Mohicans; travels to Europe and settles in France; serves as U.S. Consul for Lyons, France
1827: publishes The Prairie and The Red Rover
1828: publishes Notions of the Americans
1829-1830: lives in Italy and France
1831: publishes The Bravo
1832: publishes The Heidenmauer and The Headsman
1833: returns to United States
1834: purchases Otsego Hall in Cooperstown
1835: publishes The Monikins
1836: publishes Sketches of Switzerland
1837: sues newspapers for libel
1838: publishes The American Democrat, Chronicles of Cooperstown, Homeward Bound, and Home As Found
1839: publishes History of the Navy of the United States of America
1840: publishes The Pathfinder
1841: publishes The Deerslayer
1842: publishes The Two Admirals and The Wing-and-Wing
1843: publishes The Battle of Lake Erie, Wyandotte, and Ned Myers, or a Life Before the Mast
1844: publishes Afloat and Ashore and Miles Wallingford
1845: publishes Satanstoe and The Chainbearer
1846: publishes The Redskins, The Lives of Distinguished Naval Officers, and Jack Tier
1846: publishes The Crater
1848: publishes The Oak Openings; or the Bee Hunter
1849: publishes The Sea Lions
1850: publishes The Ways of the Hour
1851: dies Sept. 14 in Cooperstown, NY
Home As Found features a biographical sketch and links to other Cooper sites.
“Abbildungen aus James Fenimore Coopers Pages and Pictures” features illustrations of Cooper, Otsego Hall, and more.
James Fenimore Cooper: The Leather-Stocking Tales, Volume I, edited by Blake Nevius, contains full texts of The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Prairie, along with a detailed chronology of Cooper’s life.
“Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses,” a humorous treatment of Cooper’s writing by Mark Twain, criticizes the author’s dialogue, verisimilitude, and more.
James Fenimore Cooper, 1789-1851
By Mark Canada
One of the more controversial figures in American literature, James Fenimore Cooper occupies the strange position of being among the first and the last of America’s great novelists. He is first in time, preceding Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Mark Twain and, some would argue, influencing some or all of these writers in one way or another. He may be among the last in artistic achievement, however, as critics sometimes call attention to what they perceive as flaws in his characterization and other aspects of his novels. In any case, Cooper is an important figure in American literature, known particularly for his creation of the idealized hero Natty Bumppo and for his treatment of the American frontier in The Leather-Stocking Tales, a series of five novels that include The Pioneers (1823), The Last of the Mohicans (1826), and The Deerslayer (1841).
By the time Cooper was born—on Sept. 15, 1789, in Burlington, New Jersey—the frontier was disappearing from the northeastern United States. Indeed, his father, William Cooper, would become a major figure in the civilization of the wilderness. In 1790, the elder Cooper brought his family to Lake Otsego in upstate New York and established a settlement that would bear his name, Cooperstown. Some three decades later, his son would recapture some scenes from his childhood in Cooperstown in his novel The Pioneers, even modeling Marmaduke Temple’s home on his own father’s Otsego Hall. While he was still a boy, Cooper left the settlement for New Haven, Connecticut, where he enrolled at Yale in 1803 at the age of 13. Not exactly a model student, Cooper was expelled from Yale when he was a junior. According to tradition, he played a number of pranks involving, among other things, a donkey in a professor’s chair and gunpowder in a student’s door. In 1806, he went to sea as a sailor-before-the-mast on the Stirling, a merchant vessel that traveled to the Isle of Wight, London, and Spain. After a brief stint in the U.S. Navy, he married Susan Augusta De Lancey in 1811. As their family grew—Susan gave birth to five daughters over the next eight years, eventually giving birth to two sons, as well—the Coopers moved around New York, trying farming at various locations. By 1819, Cooper was in debt, despite the $50,000 inheritance he received after his father’s death in 1809.
In 1820, according to legend, Cooper became exasperated with a novel he was reading and threw it down, saying he could do better. His wife challenged him to live up to his word, and he wrote a novel of manners called Precaution (1820). His next novel, a Revolutionary War novel called The Spy (1821), was highly successful, and Cooper was on his way. Over the next three decades, he published some 30 novels, the most noteworthy being those of The Leather-Stocking Tales, a series of five novels featuring the frontier hero Natty Bumppo. Not merely winning over readers, Cooper did something few writers of literature managed to do in America at that time: he made a tidy income from his books. According to Blake Nevius, Cooper expected to make $20,000 in 1831 (1325). Nevertheless, Cooper also managed to anger many Americans in the later decades of his life, when he expressed some controversial political opinions, criticized American culture, and sued several newspapers for libel. In Fenimore Cooper: A Study of His Life and Imagination, Stephen Railton writes: “In his books, Cooper quarreled with his country; in life, with his neighbors and countrymen; and in reality, with himself” (8).
The latter part of Cooper’s life was marked by a combination of wanderings and a return to his roots. In 1826, he took his family to Europe, partly to benefit his health and the education of his children, and the family spent the next seven years traveling and living in such places as Paris, France; Berne, Switzerland; and Florence, Italy. After returning to the United States, Cooper bought Otsego Hall, the home where he had grown up in Cooperstown, and moved there. It was here that he died on September 14, 1851. He was buried, along with other members of his family, in Cooperstown.
In a preface he wrote for an 1850 edition of his most famous novels, Cooper wrote: “If anything from the pen of the writer of these romances is at all to outlive himself, it is, unquestionably, the series of ‘The Leather-Stocking Tales.’ To say this, is not to predict a very lasting reputation for the series itself, but simply to express the belief it will outlast any, or all, of the works from the same hand” (844). Today, a century and a half after Cooper wrote those words, titles such as The Bravo and Satanstoe would probably elicit only blank stares from many English professors, while The Last of the Mohicans and the name of Natty Bumppo are likely familiar even to people who have never read a novel. Indeed, in his creation of the frontier hero Natty Bumppo—known variously as the Leather-Stocking, Hawk-Eye, Pathfinder, and Deerslayer—and the novels recounting his adventures, Cooper made a lasting and important contribution to American literature.
As Donald A. Ringe has noted, Cooper may have based the character of Bumppo on an old hunter named David Shipman who came to his house in Cooperstown when Cooper was a boy (viii). It has also been suggested, however, that the legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone and General George Washington served as models for Cooper’s character. Boone had blazed the Wilderness Road into Kentucky back in 1775, and Washington had led the Continental Army in its defeat of the British in the American Revolution between 1775 and 1783. Like the legends that surround men such as these, Cooper’s portrayal of his hero is highly idealized. Natty Bumppo is a noble, wise figure who demonstrates extraordinary physical prowess—in short, the exemplar of a certain brand of man. In The Pioneers, for example, he staunchly stands by his principles of individual liberty, has intimate knowledge of the wilderness, and is a master of both the rifle and the fishing spear. What perhaps makes him most notable among all this is his intimacy with nature. Indeed, it is this intimacy that makes Bumppo so distinctively an American hero. From the early pioneering efforts by John Smith and the Puritans at least until the virtual disappearance of the frontier at the end of the nineteenth century, America was in part a mysterious, challenging, and promising wilderness—in the famous words of Pilgrim William Bradford, “a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men” (29). Bumppo, like many literary creations who would follow him, not only occupied this wilderness, but also became a part of it.
Bumppo’s difficult relationship with the civilization that was encroaching upon this wilderness is one of Cooper’s most important and influential themes. In The Pioneers, for example, Bumppo deplores the settlers’ wasteful destruction of nature, their attempts to regulate interactions with it, even what he perceives as their unmanly habit of shooting pigeons with a cannon instead of a rifle (249). In The American Novel and Its Tradition, Richard Chase writes:
In different terms the contradiction between the values of a traditional society and those of the lone individual in the marginal hinterland is as much a part of Faulkner’s view of things as it was of Cooper’s. With some modification the same contradiction lies behind the works of Melville and Mark Twain, among others. It is clear that crotchety as Cooper’s thinking sometimes was, he exemplified a dilemma, and explored some of the aesthetic uses to which it might be put, that was not peculiar to him but was at the heart of American culture. (52)
Cooper may have done more than set a precedent for later American heroes and treatments of civilization and the wilderness, however. Several writers, including D.H. Lawrence and Richard Slotkin, have suggested that he helped create an American myth. In Studies in Classic American Literature, Lawrence discussed the portrayal of Bumppo in Cooper’s The Deerslayer in this way: “You have there the myth of the essential white America. All the other stuff, the love, the democracy, the floundering into lust, is a sort of by-play. The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer” (quoted in Slotkin 466). Slotkin writes in Regeneration Through Violence that Cooper’s “vision of the mythic hero became a figure in the popular imagination, to which all subsequent versions of the hero had perforce to refer, whether in emulation or denigration” (468). Indeed, in “James Fenimore Cooper: Myth-Maker and Christian Romancer,” Charles A. Brady suggests that “Cooper’s genius was mythopoeic rather than comic; . . . dealing at its rare purest, in archetypes rather than types” (12).
Cooper’s achievement and influence, in short, was large. “The imaginative debt that such minor nineteenth century novelists as Simms and Stowe owed to Cooper is obvious,” Railton notes, “and in general popular fiction remained in the mode that Coper had shaped for it until after the Civil War. Yet it is equally true to say that Cooper first established many of the themes with which the major authors of the century would deal” (3). Railton further points out that contemporaries Sir Walter Scott and Honore de Balzac regarded Cooper as one of the finest novelists in the world (4). Neverthless, his reputation has suffered considerably so that scholars are inclined to place him beneath Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and others who followed him. Railton suggests a number of reasons for this position, noting that Cooper did not produce a masterpiece on the level of The Scarlet Letter or Moby-Dick and that his work suffers from “contradictions” (4-6). As Mark Twain pointed out in “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses,” Cooper’s novels also tend to strain some readers’ expectations of realism in areas such as dialogue. In The Pioneers, for instance, a character threatened by a forest fire proclaims: “Let us endeavor to retire” (411). Indeed, Cooper’s Leather-Stocking Tales are best read as fancifiul romances and thus do not fit the strict definition of “novel” as a highly realistic form. As Chase argues in The American Novel and Its Tradition, however, many of America’s greatest “novels”—including The Scarlet Letter and Moby-Dick—are actually romances.
The chief problem in Cooper’s literature may be simply its lack of polish and originality. All other considerations aside, novels such as Moby-Dick and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shine because of their lyrical, highly crafted prose. Despite notable digressions, these novels also have a quality of tightness about them. Melville used a lot of words, and Twain a lot of scenes, but one rarely has the sense that they have wasted them. Cooper, on the other hand, appears to have written without the deliberation that one might expect of a great novelist. His daughter, Susan Fenimore Cooper, who had worked for him, provides this glimpse into her father’s creative process: “On this occasion, as on all others when writing a book, he first adopted some general leading idea, sketched vaguely in his mind a few of the more prominent characters, and then immediately began his work in its final shape, leaving the details to suggest and develop themselves during the progress of the volume. Excepting when writing history, he is not known to have ever drawn up a written plan, and in one or two instances only were a few brief notes thrown on paper, regarding some particular chapter. In all the details he depended in a great measure on the thought and feeling of the moment” (qtd. in Railton 25-26; see “Pages and Pictures,” from Writings of James Fenimore Cooper, 29-30). Furthermore, Railton explains that “he regularly sent manuscript to the publisher without waiting until he had finished the tale” (23). Cooper also paid little attention to revision. In a letter quoted by Railton, Cooper admits: “I ought in justice to myself to say, that in opposition to a thousand good resolutions, the Pioneers, has been more hastily and carelessly written than any of my books—Not a line has been copied, and it has gone from my desk to the printers—I have not to this moment been able even to read it—“ (23). Finally, as Railton notes, Cooper was not one to provide readers with highly original conceptions. “No writer was more committed than Cooper to contemporary literary conventions,” Railton writes. “He was, for example, simply unable to conceive a tale without a love story, without a comic character, without a narrow escape . . . . In the nineteenth century literary conventions fulfilled the terms of an unwritten, tacit contract that a popular novelist had agreed upon with his audience: readers demanded novelty and suspense, but they also expected to be entertained in a familiar way, and the writer was pledged to satisfy those expectations (27).
Cooper may have fulfilled those expectations and thus enjoyed great popular success, but he may have done so at the expense of artistry. In an essay entitled “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses,” Mark Twain writes of Cooper’s novel The Deerslayer:
A work of art? It has no invention; it has no order, system, sequence, or result; it has no lifelikeness, no thrill, no stir, no seeming of reality; its characters are confusedly drawn, and by their acts and words they prove that they are not the sort of people the author claims that they are; its humor is pathetic; its pathos is funny; its conversations are—oh! indescribable; its love-scenes odious; its English a crime against the language.
Counting these out, what is left is Art. I think we must all admit that. (1250)
Art or no art, James Fenimore Cooper created an influential character in Natty Bumppo and helped launch a literary discussion of the relationship between humanity and nature in America. It is for these contributions he is perhaps best remembered.
Bradford, William. Of Plymouth Plantation. The American Tradition in Literature. Vol. 1. Ed. George Perkins, et al. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990. 26-41.
Brady, Charles A. “James Fenimore Cooper: Myth-Maker and Christian Romancer.” American Classics Revisited. Ed. Howard C. Gardiner. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1958.
Chase, Richard. The American Novel and Its Tradition. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1957.
Cooper, James Fenimore. The Pioneers. James Fenimore Cooper: The Leather-Stocking Tales, Volume I. New York: Library of America, 1985. 1-465.
---. “Preface to The Leather-Stocking Tales.” The American Tradition in Literature. Vol. 1. Ed. George Perkins, et al. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990.
Nevius, Blake. “Chronology.” James Fenimore Cooper: The Leather-Stocking Tales, Volume I. New York: Library of America, 1985. 1319-1331.
Railton, Stephen. Fenimore Cooper: A Study of His Life and Imagination. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978.
Ringe, Donald. “Introduction.” The Pioneers. New York: Penguin, 1988. vii-xxii.
Slotkin, Richard. Regeneration Through Violence.
Twain, Mark. “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses.” The Unabridged Mark Twain. Philadelphia: Running Press, 1976. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31480000 |
International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN)
- Date submitted: 1 Nov 2011
- Stakeholder type: Major Group
- Name: International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN)
- Submission Document: Download
Full SubmissionDRAFT IPEN Submission UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 June 2012 Thank you for the opportunity to provide input and comment to the UNCSD Secretariat?s preparation of the zero draft for the outcome document for adoption by governments at Rio+20. IPEN The International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) was formed in response to the global recognition of the need to eliminate persistent organic pollutants. Since its inception in 1998, IPEN has grown to a global network of over 700 public interest non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from more than 100 countries united in support of the common goal of a ?toxics-free future.? IPEN facilitates the engagement of public interest NGOs in efforts to eliminate POPs and other persistent toxic substances (PTS), and works for a world where exposure to chemicals is no longer a significant source of harm to public health and the environment. IPEN has emerged as a broad-based international chemical safety network with a global reach. It has the ability to translate chemical policy into concrete action on the ground and provides developing country NGOs with a voice at international forums. This submission was prepared on behalf of IPEN (the International POPs Elimination Network) and its Participating Organizations by: Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith PhD (Law) Senior Advisor, IPEN Senior Advisor, National Toxics Network Inc. email@example.com www.ipen.org www.ntn.org.au Skype - mariannls Introduction The chemical industry plays a significant role in the global economy with sales in 2007 of more than three trillion U.S. dollars. 1 A steadily increasing share of the world?s chemical production is shifting to developing and transition countries 2 and by 2020 developing countries are expected to lead in highvolume chemicals production. 3 The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has noted rapidly rising import and use of chemicals in developing countries and estimates that by 2020, they could account for one-third of global consumption. 4 Almost all developing countries are increasing their use of pesticides and industrial chemicals, including substances contained in consumer and commercial products such as plastics, paints, adhesives, dyes, metals, and so forth. 5 To achieve a sustainable future where individuals and societies can truly have green livelihoods, a sustainable chemical industry is essential. Many chemicals still on the market are simply unmanageable and industry can no longer be allowed to outsource its harmful impacts and expect communities to pay the ?costs?. Achieving a sustainable chemical industry is a significant challenge for Rio+20. This submission will address this challenge and identify expectations and desired outcomes of Rio+20. Expectations for the outcome of Rio+20 Expectation 1 - Taking Stock a Generation On A prime expectation of Rio+20 is a ?taking stock of progress? against the goals and objectives of the previous Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). It has been a generation since Rio and it is time to both assess progress and reinvigorate the Rio Principles of intergenerational equity, precaution, right to know, polluter pays and participation. In 1992, governments meeting at the Rio Earth Summit acknowledged that chemical contamination could be a source of ?grave damage to human health, genetic structures and reproductive outcomes, and the environment.? 6 The subsequent Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 focused on Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals, and in particular, the needs of developing countries when faced with the chemical hazards of their rapidly industrialising economies. 1 International Council of Chemical Associations, ICCA Review 2007?2008, 2009, http://www.iccachem.org/ICCADocs/01_icca_review2007_2008.pdf 2 OECD, OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030, 2008. 3 OECD, OECD Environmental Outlook for the Chemical Industry, 2001. 4 Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, Financing Options for Chemicals and Wastes (UNEP/GCSS.XI/INF8), December 18, 2009, http://www.unep.org/dec/pdf/chemicalfinancing/k0953863-%20gcss-xi-inf8.pdf 5 Joe Digangi, Civil Society Actions For A Toxics-Free Future, New Solutions, Vol. 21(3) 433-445, 2011 6 Agenda 21, Chapter 19, Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals, Including Prevention of Illegal International Traffic in Toxic & Dangerous Products, Section 19.2 Available at http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/res_agenda21_19.shtml Yet, 20 years on, toxic chemicals contaminate all living things, including vulnerable populations such as children and indigenous peoples. Since1992, many more new synthetic chemicals have been manufactured and released into the environment, with estimates of over 1,500 new chemicals being introduced each year. Approximately 80,000 are currently in use. The vast majority of pesticides and industrial chemicals have still not been adequately tested for their long term health and environmental impacts, particularly in terms of emerging concerns such as endocrine disruption and the impacts of mixtures of chemicals, which is how they occur in the environment. The little information that does exist is often not available to workers and exposed communities, particularly in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. The developing world still faces dirty industries setting up in countries with limited capacity and compliance, as well as the escalating threats of ever increasing waste streams and illegal dumping by developed countries. In particular, the quantity of hazardous electronic waste finding its way to developing countries is still growing exponentially. A generation on, our water, soil, air and food chain are contaminated with toxic persistent chemicals and ?toxic trespass? of our bodies and those of wildlife continues unabated! It is essential that Rio+20 reviews its past and takes stock of progress against Chapter 19 of Agenda 21. It should also assess the lack of progress in regards to the WSSD 2020 goal and incorporate activities that would address the systematic failings into its outcomes. To achieve a sustainable future, Rio+20 will need to develop a program to eliminate the toxic legacy faced by countries as a result of unsound chemicals management and provide concrete and measureable deadlines crucial to ensure focus, credibility and public trust. 4. Specific Elements: a. Objectives of the Conference: Reinvigorate Rio Principles and WSSD Objectives Pertaining to Chemicals and Waste Rio+20 provides an appropriate opportunity to reinvigorate the original Rio principles and WSSD objectives pertaining to chemicals and waste. Chapter 19- ?Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals?- focused on the generation, harmonisation and dissemination of chemical data, and strengthening capacity for chemical management. It contained specific reference to the right of communities to chemical information and the obligations on industry and governments to generate and provide that information. It was acknowledged that it is in the public interest for the community to be informed, to exercise their right to understand, to make informed choices and to participate in informed decision-making. Informed consumers can help drive cleaner production and reduce the generation of hazardous waste. Right-to-know was also supported by the Arhus Convention and the Strategic Approach to International Chemical Management (SAICM), which aimed to ensure that information about chemicals throughout their life cycle, including chemicals in products, was available to all stakeholders. 7 There is a clear acknowledgement that right-to-know is essential to implement the WSSD 2020 goal; ?to achieve the sound management of chemicals throughout their life-cycle so that, by 2020, chemicals are used and produced in ways that lead to the minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment.? 8 Despite this, two decades after the Rio Earth Summit, the rhetoric of community right-to-know and access to chemical information still outstrips the reality. In many countries, information on product ingredients is still withheld under commercial confidentiality regimes. While some countries have implemented right-to-know initiatives like the Pollution Release Transfer Registers, their effectiveness is restricted by the limited number of chemicals covered and their dependence on industry estimations. Environmentally sustainable chemical management requires reliable, comprehensive and accessible information, yet legal and regulatory frameworks still often do not allow for an open and equal exchange of information among stakeholders. The application of the Precautionary Principle is crucial to the assessment of chemicals and new technologies; nevertheless, new and emerging technologies including bio-engineering and nanotechnology have been introduced with little or no oversight or assessment. The principles of substitution and elimination of hazardous substances as envisaged by SAICM, established to implement the WSSD Plan of Action for chemical management, are integral to protection of vulnerable populations, like agricultural workers, indigenous peoples and children. Rio+20 must reinforce a global commitment to the Rio principles, their implementation by all governments and to the WSSD 2020 goal. These are essential to achieving a sustainable future and green livelihoods. Rio+20 must reaffirm the central role of sustainable development in the international agenda and revive public trust in sustainable development as a policy that can finally make a positive breakthrough. It is necessary to acknowledge that certain industries, which cannot fulfill these principles, cannot be part of a sustainable future. Clear criteria need to be developed to encourage sustainable investments into chemical industry that will help to phase out unsustainable chemical production. 7 SAICM Overarching Policy Strategy, para 15 (b) (i) 8 Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), Overarching Policy Strategy, paragraph 13 Commitment to the chemical management objectives to ensure intergenerational equity Two decades after the Rio Earth Summit, babies are born pre-polluted with hundreds of manmade toxic chemicals present in their small bodies. The developing foetus is contaminated by chemicals bio-accumulated in the mother?s body and that readily cross over the placental barrier. Newborns take more in through breast milk or formula, and as they grow are exposed to hazardous chemicals through residues in their food, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and through household products and contaminated house dust. 9 Many of the synthetic chemicals they are exposed to are persistent and bio- accumulative, remaining in the human body long after exposure. There are still no regulatory approaches to assess the combined impacts of the chemical soup to which children are exposed. The unique vulnerability of children to hazardous chemicals was recognised by the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety, the Word Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF) and UNEP 10 when they identified a growing number of children?s health impacts from chemical exposure. These include asthma, birth defects, (eg, hypospadias), behavioural disorders, learning disabilities, autism, cancer, dysfunctional immune systems, neurological impairments, and reproductive disorders. 11 The WHO has estimated that three million children under the age of five die every year due to environmental hazards. 12 All children, both in the developing and developed world, are affected by exposure to hazardous chemicals. In 2004, the European Union?s Ministerial Conference on Children?s Environmental Health concluded that reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals could save the lives of many children. For Rio+20, to achieve real sustainability, the impacts of our chemical activities, products, and waste on future generations must be addressed in the Rio+20 outcomes. All governments and intergovernmental organisations will need to ensure a long term, sustainable, intergenerational commitment to chemical reform. 9 Lloyd-Smith, Mariann; Sheffield-Brotherton, Bro, 'Children's Environmental Health: Intergenerational Equity in Action?A Civil Society Perspective.' Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Volume 1140, Number 1, October 2008, pp. 190-200(11) 10 IFCS Children and Chemical Safety Working Group. 2005. Chemical Safety and Children?s Health: Protecting the world?s children from harmful chemical exposures - a global guide to resources, October. 11 UNEP, UNICEF & WHO. 2002. Children in the New Millennium: Environmental Impact on Health. Available at www.unep.org, www.unicef.org and www.who.int. 12 World Health Organization / Children?s Environmental Health. Available at http://www.who.int/ceh/en/ Accessed 23/3/2009 Specific Elements: Sound Management of Chemicals to Achieve Sustainable Development In February 2006, Ministers of over 140 governments endorsed the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) High Level Declaration, which states: The sound management of chemicals is essential if we are to achieve sustainable development, including the eradication of poverty and disease, the improvement of human health and the environment and the elevation and maintenance of the standard of living in countries at all levels of development. 13 Many developing and transition countries continue to face bourgeoning industrial growth as industries, many of them hazardous, set up where there are few regulations and little capacity to control effluent, air pollution and waste. While there is a global consensus that sound management of chemicals is an integral part of the sustainable development agenda and that an inability to manage chemicals can negatively affect development and poverty reduction initiatives, sound chemicals management has not been successfully integrated into development assistance. Some of the problems stem from limited resources, the multitude of other obligations, and the urgent need to address other global environmental issues such as climate change. However, another obstacle includes the view that chemicals management is an environmental issue not a health and development concern. Hence there is not a strong demand by developing countries to include chemical safety in development assistance. While donor countries insist on country driven programs, there remains a disconnect between chemical safety and the development agenda. As sound chemical management is essential to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Rio+20 outcomes must ensure that chemical safety and chemical policy reform occupies a place at the core of the economic and development policy agenda. Rio+20 must recommend that sound chemical management be taken into account while determining the direction of all international development assistance. In order to achieve this, IPEN offers the following model for Rio+20 activities: In 2007, IPEN collaborated with UNEP Chemical and the SAICM Secretariat to initiate and coordinate the Global NGO SAICM Outreach Campaign. 14 The purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness about SAICM and to secure commitments from NGOs in all regions to undertake efforts to elevate the threats posed by toxic chemicals. The campaign targeted not only environmental NGOs, but also organisations from other sectors including 13 United Nations Environment Programme, Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management: SAICM texts and resolutions of the International Conference on Chemicals Management, 2006, http://www.saicm.org/documents/saicm%20texts/SAICM_publication_ENG.pdf 14 See Global SAICM Outreach Campaign. Available at http://www.ipen.org/campaign health, agriculture and labour. As a result of the campaign, more than one thousand NGOs in over 100 15 countries endorsed a civil society statement supporting SAICM and its objectives, committing themselves to contribute to the SAICM implementation. The campaign spread the message for the need for chemical management to ensure the protection of human health and the environment but also human rights and national development. This model could be utilised as an activity from Rio+20 to assist in achieving greater awareness of the role of chemical management in sustainable development. Sound Management of Chemicals to Ensure the Protection of Human Rights The protection of the environment is a vital part of contemporary human rights doctrines. It affects the right to life and the right to health. The International Court of Justice has found that damage to the environment undermines all human rights spoken of in the Universal Declaration and other human rights instruments. 16 In 2001, the United Nations Human Rights Committee found that ?living in a pollution-free world is a basic human right? 17 and those who pollute violate these rights. It was noted that, ?human rights cannot be secured in a degraded or polluted environment? and that ?the fundamental right to life is threatened by exposures to toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes, and contaminated drinking water.? The rise of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, degenerative diseases and mental health have all shown to have links to pollution of air, water and/or food. WHO has assessed almost a quarter of all disease is caused by environmental exposure, which can be averted. 18 Their report, ?Preventing disease through healthy environments - towards an estimate of the environmental burden of disease,? shows that in one way or another, the environment significantly affects more than 80% of major diseases. The Convention on the Rights of the Child 19 recognises the dangers of environmental pollution 20 and places an onus on all parties to ensure the 15 See http://www.ipen.org/campaign/signed.html 16 Case Concerning the Gabcíkovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary v Slovakia), 1997 ICJ Rep 7; (25 September; sep op., Judge Weeramantry), 4. ; Also see Per C G Weeramantry J, in his separate opinion in the International Court of Justice?s decision in Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary v Slovakia) 1997 ICJ 97 at 110; 37 ILM 162 at 206 (1998). 17 Press Release, 27 Apr 2001 ?Living In A Pollution-free World A Basic Human Right? Available at http://www.grida.no/news/press/2150.aspx 18 WHO Media Release ?Almost a quarter of all disease caused by environmental exposure? 16 JUNE 2006 | GENEVA Available at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr32/en/index.html 19 Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 November 1989, 1577 UNTS 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990). Australia ratified the CRC on 17 December 1990. 20 Article 24 2(c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, iner alia, the application of readily available Technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution; healthy development of the child, to the maximum extent possible. To achieve this, the epigenetic basis of health and disease must also be considered, for once there is a mutation in a gene, this intergenerational impact cannot easily be remedied. All children have a right to a healthy, toxic-free environment with clean air, clean water and food free from chemical residues, as well as safe and toxic-free toys. The human rights of indigenous people are also badly affected by chemical contamination. Under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People 2007, 21 indigenous people have the right to practice and revitalise their cultural practices, customs and institutions; however, the ongoing contamination of the food chain seriously threatens indigenous peoples? right and need to consume traditional foods. In the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) 2001 preamble, Arctic peoples are given special consideration which acknowledges that the Arctic ecosystems and indigenous communities are particularly at risk because of the biomagnification of POPs in their traditional foods. The blood and breast milk of Arctic peoples are contaminated with the full suite of POPs chemicals and their metabolites. The level of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), a carcinogen and immunotoxin, is doubling in the Arctic environment every 5 years. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), a newly listed POPs chemical with no known breakdown, already contaminates every aspect of the Arctic environment and its inhabitants. Despite this, governments permit the continuation of this pollution by allowing a wide range of acceptable uses and exemptions for PFOS. Rio+20 outcomes must include active support for activities to reduce chemical contamination to protect basic human rights. They need to facilitate the phase-out of all ongoing uses and exemptions for POPs, which are transboundary, intergenerational poisons that cannot be managed. Rio+20 must provide a clear pathway for global phase-out of particularly hazardous chemicals, specifically PBTs (persistent bioaccumulative toxins), vPvBTs, (very persistent, very bioaccumulative toxins), genotoxics, carcinogens, chemicals affecting the immune and nervous system, and endocrine disruptors. The SAICM emerging policy issue on endocrine disruptors needs to be supported. Recommendations for Rio+20 Specific Chemical Safety Activities needed to achieve a sustainable future - Life Cycle Analysis and Polluter Pays - To achieve a sustainable future, Rio+20 outcomes must support a move away from the standard risk assessment paradigm to an assessment of the complete life cycle of a chemical, product or activity. Understanding the systems of production, distribution, use, and disposal reveals a more 21 See United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, GA Resolution 61/295, UN Doc A/61/L.67 (2007) at article 5, 9 and 11 complete view of chemical relationships and where a given chemical may create threats to human health or the environment. 22 Through a life cycle approach, the full cost of a product or activity can be properly assessed, ensuring extended producer responsibility for all aspects and impacts of the chemical?s life cycle. A polluter pays approach is essential, as countries can no longer afford to pay the bourgeoning costs of chemical contamination and hazardous waste management in terms of adverse environmental health impacts and the economic imposts on the public purse. Currently, much of the cost of chemical production, use and waste management has been externalized as costs to governments and society. These encompass legacy issues such as obsolete stockpiles, contaminated sites and children whose development has been impaired as a result of pre- natal and post-natal chemical exposure; others whose health has been injured as a result of chemical exposure, eg, workers; those providing health care services to such people; property owners or users whose property value decreases as a result of chemical contamination; fishers, hunters, small farmers, and others whose livelihoods are impaired by chemical contamination; indigenous peoples whose way of life has been undermined through contamination of their traditional foods; people whose water supply is contaminated; and others. Externalities of modern industrial agriculture include depletion of water, soil, and biodiversity; pollution by pesticides and fertilizers; loss of livelihoods and knowledge, and the resulting economic and social costs to communities. These externalities retard economic productivity, harm the environment, and impose additional burdens on a country?s health delivery and education systems. While the Polluter Pays Principle and its internalization of costs helps address these impacts, economic instruments that internalize costs of chemicals management have not been widely implemented. Rio+20 outcomes should provide support for cost internalization mechanisms as an effective method to provide the resources needed to establish infrastructure and foster investment in safer practices and in the substitution of less hazardous chemicals and materials. Rio+20 outcomes must support a cradle-to-cradle approach to product design, giving due consideration to the chemical components and an acceptance of what is not recyclable, should be degradable. - Substitution and elimination of hazardous substances in consumer products - In most countries, the consumption of products containing hazardous chemicals is increasing, resulting in a growth in emissions from the 22 Geiser, K., Redesigning Chemicals Policy: A Very Different Approach, NEW SOLUTIONS, Vol. 21(3) 329-344, 2011 manufacture and use of products as well as a massive growth in the waste generated. SAICM acknowledged fundamental changes are needed in the way products are manufactured, consumed and managed in their waste or recycling phase. Many low quality products are supplied to and also made in developing countries and economies in transition, including cosmetics, household goods, paints, toys and other goods for children that are contaminated with a range of heavy metals and chemicals. In most cases, no information on contents of hazardous chemicals in products is available to governments or civil society and there remains inadequate public awareness of health risks associated with many products. Lead content in paint is a pertinent example. Lead levels in paint sold in developing countries are significantly higher than those of developed countries. Lead is renowned for its toxic effects, particularly on children, and the removal of lead from paint is an iconic intergenerational and equity issue, which needs immediate global attention. While right-to-know about product ingredients will help drive cleaner production, the onus must remain with manufacturers and governments to ensure hazardous substances are eliminated from consumer products and substituted with safer ingredients. Rio+20 outcomes will need to ensure not only a reduction in product obsolescence but chemical management reforms based on green product design, substitution and the elimination of toxic substances. A primary outcome of Rio+20 outcomes must be a complete phase-out of toxic substances from all children?s products, including toys, by 2020. - Addressing the Toxic Ewaste Trade - Many developing countries already facing their own domestic waste pressures are experiencing import of hazardous waste, particularly electronic waste, from other countries, including developed countries. The export of old computers to ?bridge the digital divide? is still being used as an excuse for toxic waste dumping on some of the poorest communities and countries in the world. It is estimated that between 50% and 80% of ewaste collected for recycling in the developed countries each year is being exported. Developed countries have not invested in adequate ewaste recycling/treatment facilities and have not provided adequate legislation, monitoring and compliance to stop the toxic exports. The lack of adequate infrastructure in developing countries to manage ewaste safely results in the burning of ewaste in open air or dumping in sewers, rivers or on the ground, with global impacts. The phenomenal growth in ewaste requires that all countries develop sound capacity to prevent, minimise, re-use or recycle materials from ewaste. Active support must be given to green product design to design-out toxic components in electronics, as well as green procurement policies. To achieve sustainability, Rio+20 outcomes need to support countries and help build capacity for the prevention, management and recycling of ewaste. Rio+20 should encourage all Governments to ensure prompt ratification and entry into force of the Basel Ban Amendment by 2016 at the latest to assure developing countries are not dumping grounds for external toxic waste. - Hazardous Stockpiles and Destruction Technologies - Many developing and transition countries have large stockpiles of obsolete pesticides that pose a serious threat to human health and the environment in these countries themselves and in neighbouring countries as well. These legacy stockpiles need an international approach to ensure their destruction using environmentally sound techniques. In the last decade, the availability of non-incineration destruction facilities has been seriously impaired through a lack of institutional support. While these technologies are still available, the market approach has resulted in the preference for what appears to be cheaper incineration options. This is despite emitting air pollutants and producing toxic ash requiring permanent storage, as well as ongoing public opposition in all continents. Rio+20 outcomes need to provide support for non-incineration destruction technologies to urgently address the legacy wastes. Rio+20 outcomes must provide awareness-raising and capacity-building for developing countries and countries in transition to help them resist the attempts to push through old incineration technologies. - Ban Highly Hazardous Pesticides - The agricultural use of pesticides that are highly hazardous to human health and the environment is long overdue for replacement by sustainable alternatives. As part of its commitment to implementing the objectives of SAICM, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called for the global phase-out of highly hazardous pesticides and has developed criteria to identify them. These include pesticides that are highly acutely toxic (WHO Classes 1a and 1b), carcinogenic, mutagenic, reproductive toxins, those listed under the Stockholm or Rotterdam Conventions, or pesticides with active ingredients and formulations that have shown a high incidence of severe or irreversible adverse effects on human health or the environment. 23 FAO has also called for the use of these pesticides to be replaced by an ecosystem approach to agriculture based on biological process and the use of 23 http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/core-themes/theme/pests/pm/code/hhp/en/ pesticides only as a last resort. 24 This approach echoes that of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, who found that in order to combat hunger and malnutrition, states should implement policies to adopt agroecological practices, as agroecology raises productivity, reduces rural poverty, improves nutrition and contributes to adapting to climate change. 25 A World Bank report on community managed sustainable agriculture in India found that non-pesticide management of the agro-ecosystem significantly increases farmers? net income, improves household food security and reduces environmental damage. 26 The agroecological approach to agriculture in place of the use of highly hazardous pesticides is also supported by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); 27 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in its report on the Green Economy; 28 and the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), a World Bank initiative in partnership with FAO, UNEP, UNDP, WHO, governments, civil society, the private sector and scientific institutions. 29 Despite this high level support for replacing hazardous pesticides with an agroecological approach to food production, little progress has been made. Many governments and others continue to believe, despite abundant evidence to the contrary, that chemical-based agriculture is the only way to feed the world. In ignorance, many farmers continue to use highly hazardous pesticides, poisoning themselves, their families, future generations and the environment, usually also diminishing their potential returns and food security. Rio+20 outcomes must provide a process for the global phase-out of highly hazardous pesticides and endorse and actively support an agroecological approach to agriculture. - Achieving Mercury Phase-Out through a Global Treaty - The impacts on human health from exposure to mercury are well documented, with children most at risk from its neurotoxicity. The current negotiations need to result in a convention text that covers the full life cycle of mercury in all media, including in products and waste streams. BAT/BEP (best 24 FAO. 2010. Report of the twenty-second session of the Committee on Agriculture, Rome, 29 November ? 3 December 2010. Rome. Also see FAO, 2011. Save and grow: A policymaker?s guide to the sustainable intensification of smallholder crop production. http://www.fao.org/ag/save-and-grow 25 Report to UN Human Rights Council, March 2011, by UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Food, Oliver De Schutter: Agro-ecology and the Right to Food) 26 Kumar TV, Raidu DV, Killi J, Pillai M, Shah P, Kalavadonda V, Lakhey S. 2009. Ecologically Sound, Economically Viable Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture in Andra Pradesh, India. The World Bank, Washington DC. 27 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Feb 2011: ?Assuring Food Security in Developing Countries under the Challenges of Climate Change: Key Trade and Development Issues of a Fundamental Transformation of Agriculture? http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/osgdp20111_en.pdf 28 UNEP Green Economy report: Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication, 2011 http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/v2/GreenEconomyReport/tabid/29846/Default.aspx 29 IAASTD: The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development, 2008. http://www.agassessment.org/ available techniques/best environmental practice) should be required for all new and existing release sources, as well as adequate financial and technical assistance for developing and transition countries to assist them in meeting BAT/BEP requirements and other aspects of treaty implementation. All Parties should be required to develop a national goal consistent with treaty goals for reducing and eliminating its mercury emissions, and implement education, training and awareness-raising with regard to the action plan. The treaty should address both large and small scale mining and refining operations, and in particular address artisanal small scale gold mining (ASGM). Mercury imports and other sources of mercury supply for ASGM should be banned and measures to prohibit, restrict, or discourage should include child labour. Importantly, all mercury waste must be covered by the treaty. Rio+20 outcomes should support the development of an effective and comprehensive mercury treaty. - Interaction of Climate Change and Chemicals - In 2011, UNEP acknowledged that chemical management reform needs to be undertaken in the context of the growing interaction of climate change on chemical releases, transport, degradation, exposure and toxicity. 30 The report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) Expert Group, ?Climate Change and POPs: Predicting the Impacts,? concludes that higher temperatures increase primary emissions and releases of POPs. Temperature also changes rates of mobilisation from materials, products or stockpiles and alters use patterns, eg, increased demand for disease vector control/DDT. It was demonstrated that increased exposure to POPs also results from secondary re-volatilisation and re-mobilisation from sinks, eg, melting of ice, glaciers and permafrost, flooding of contaminated lands, waste sites and landfills, as well as increase partitioning of POPs from water to atmosphere. There is already evidence of increased remobilization of POPs and heavy metals from glacial and permafrost melt. While enhanced degradation of POPs due to temperature increases is possible, if microorganisms have a higher degradation capacity, this could also lead to increased formation of toxic transformation products. POPs exposure has direct impacts on individuals and populations, including endocrine effects on reproduction, immunosuppression and epigenetic effects (heritable changes) at cellular level. Temperature has been shown to affect POPs toxicity, and climate change impacts on salinity, ocean acidification, eutrophication and water oxygen levels could (either alone or in combination) enhance the toxic effects of POPs. 30 Climate change and POPs: Predicting the Impacts, Report of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)/Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) Expert Group, January 2011 Available http://chm.pops.int Rio+20 outcomes must ensure a coordinated and global response to counteract immediate, medium and long-term effects on human health and ecosystems of concurrent exposure to POPs and changing climates. Rio+20 outcomes should endorse the precautionary approach to guide development of policy actions to address combined negative impacts of climate change and POPs, including support for mitigation activities with co-benefits. - Support for Zero Waste and Recycling and the Removal of Single Use Plastics - To achieve sustainability, societies and governments must succeed in implementing Zero Waste policies, 31 which requires improvement of product design and content to better ensure the ease and safety of recycling. Industries and governments have argued that recycling costs are in some cases more than the production of new items, but this fails to assess the full costs of the life cycle impacts including the waste phase and the impact on finite resources. A pertinent example is the cost of plastic marine debris. The plastic ?gyres? of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans are growing as the result of low recycling rates for plastic. Either via direct dumping, river transport or unsecured landfill, waste plastics find their way to the ocean vortices. As plastics do not biodegrade easily in the environment, the amount of plastic in the vortices is increasing substantially. About 250 billion pounds of plastic raw material are produced annually worldwide with unintentional releases to the environment during manufacturing and transport. Plastic pellets are now widely distributed through the world?s ocean along with plastic wastes. 32 The plastic accumulates pollutants including nonylphenols, DDE and PCB, which can be up to one million times more concentrated on the surface of the pellets than in the ambient seawater. This high accumulation potential means that plastic resin pellets serve both as a global transport medium and a source of toxic chemicals in the marine environment. Mortality due to plastic ingestion is now common in seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles. The extent to which the ingestion of hazardous chemical components attributes to wildlife deaths is not available. To achieve sustainability, Rio+20 outcomes will need, as a priority, to ensure single use plastics are phased-out and provide a clear path to a global reduction of plastic use and disposal. 31 Zero waste is a philosophy that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused. SAICM agreement refers to ?zero waste resource management, waste prevention, substitution and toxics use reduction, to reduce the volume and toxicity of discarded materials? 32 Mato, Isobe, Takada, Kahnehiro, Ohtake, and Kaminuma. Plastic Resin Pellets as a Transport Medium for Toxic Chemicals in the Marine Environment Environ. Sci. Technol. 2001, 35, 318-324 - Ensure Precautionary Principle and Adequate Assessment is applied to Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials - In recent years, a wide variety of nanomaterials (substances smaller than 100 nanometers in size) have been added to an increasing numbers of consumer products used in day-to-day life, eg., food packaging, sunscreens, clothing (odor-resistant textiles), pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agrochemicals, household appliances, and medical devices. This is despite the lack of adequate toxicity assessment, labeling, government regulation or environmental monitoring; and despite the SAICM requirement for publically available information about all stages of a chemical?s life-cycle, including in products. There is huge uncertainty regarding the health impacts and toxicity of nanoparticles. 33 Without mandatory labelling and registration of nano- products, no one, not even governments, knows which products contain nanoparticles. Surveys show that many companies do not conduct risk assessments. 34 Yet both in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that manufactured nanoparticles, now in widespread commercial use, pose new toxicity risks 35 including asbestos-like pathogenicity and the onset of mesothelioma in test mice, 36 and granulomas, lesions, cancer or blood clots. 37 There is evidence that some nanoparticles can cross the placenta, posing particular risks to developing embryos. 38 Nanoparticles have been shown to have a potential for biomagnification and bioaccumulation in the environment, 39 and a recent study provides clear evidence that nanoparticles 33 Nel A, Xia T, Li N (2006) Toxic potential of materials at the nanolevel. Science Vol 311:622-627; Oberdörster G, et al., (2005). ?Principles for characterising the potential human health effects from exposure to nanomaterials: elements of a screening strategy?. Particle and Fibre Toxicology 2:8. 34 Helland A et al., (2008) Risk Assessment of Engineered Nanomaterials: A Survey of Industrial Approaches. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42 : 640?646 ; Helland A. et al., (2008) Precaution in Practice: Perceptions, Procedures, and Performance in the Nanotech Industry. J Ind Ecol 12(3):449-458. 35 For example see Ashwood P, Thompson R, Powell J. 2007. Fine particles that adsorb lipopolysaccharide via bridging calcium cations may mimic bacterial pathogenicity towards cells. Exp Biol Med 232(1):107-117; Brunner T, et al., (2006) In Vitro Cytotoxicity of Oxide Nanoparticles: Comparison to Asbestos, Silica, and the Effect of Particle Solubility. Environ Sci Technol 40:4374-4381 ; Limbach L, Wick P, Manser P, Grass R, Bruinink A, Stark W. 2007. Exposure of engineered nanoparticles to human lung epithelial cells: Influence of chemical composition and catalytic activity on oxidative stress. Environ Sci Technol 41:4158-4163; Long T, Saleh N, Tilton R, Lowry G, Veronesi B. 2006. Titanium dioxide (P25) produces reactive oxygen species in immortalized brain microglia (BV2): Implications for nanoparticle neurotoxicity. Environ Sci Technol 40(14):4346-4352. 36 Poland C, Duffin R, Kinloch I, Maynard A, Wallace W, Seaton A, Stone V, Brown S, MacNee W, Donaldson K. 2008.Carbon nanotubes introduced into the abdominal cavity display asbestos-like pathogenic behaviour in a pilot study. Nat Nanotechnol, Published online: 20 May 2008 (doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.111); Takagi A, Hirose A, Nishimura T, Fukumori N, Ogata A, Ohashi N, Kitajima S, Kanno J. 2008. Induction of mesothelioma in p53+/- mouse by intraperitoneal application of multi-wall carbon nanotube. J Toxicol Sci 33: 105-116. 37 Ballestri M, Baraldi A, Gatti A, Furci L, Bagni A, Loria P, Rapana R, Carulli N, Albertazzi A. 2001. Liver and kidney foreign bodies granulomatosis in a patient with malocclusion, bruxism, and worn dental prostheses. Gastroenterol 121(5):1234?8; Gatti A. 2004. Biocompatibility of micro- and nano-particles in the colon. Part II. Biomaterials 25:385-392; Gatti A, Rivasi F. 2002. Biocompatibility of micro- and nanoparticles. Part I: in liver and kidney. Biomaterials 23:2381?2387. 38 Takeda K, Suzuki K, Ishihara A, Kubo-Irie M, Fujimoto R, Tabata M, Oshio S, Nihei Y, Ihara T, Sugamata M. 2009. Nanoparticles transferred from pregnant mice to their offspring can damage the genital and cranial nerve systems. J Health Sci 55(1):95-102.; Tsuchiya T, Oguri I, Yamakoshi Y and Miyata N. 1996. Novel harmful effects of fullerene on mouse embryos in vitro and in vivo. FEBS Lett 393 (1): 139-45. 39 SCENIHR (Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks). 2009. Risk assessment of products of nanotechnologies, 19 January 2009. can build up in a terrestrial food chain; 40 even in important staple crops like rice where transmission of nanoparticles from plant to seed to the next generation was demonstrated. 41 The potential impacts of these processes on both food safety and the environment are unknown. The United Kingdom?s Royal Society, the world?s oldest scientific institution, has recommended that given the emerging evidence of serious nanotoxicity risks, nanoparticles should be subject to new safety assessments prior to their inclusion in consumer products, and the release of nanoparticles into the environment should be avoided as far as possible. 42 Still, the overwhelming majority of nanoproducts are reaching the marketplace without specific safety assessments, and with the workers handling nanoparticles not informed of this fact. No nano-containing products are required to be labeled, and as uses continue to expand, the societal and environmental exposure to nanomaterials, both deliberate and unintentional, will inevitably increase. Current international efforts, such as the OECD nanomaterials sponsorship program, focus on only a fraction of the nanomaterials already in circulation or nearing commercialization, and are not expected to provide results that can assist risk assessment for some years. It is likely that nanotechnology will do little to redress the systemic causes of poverty, hunger or pollution, and developing countries may even disproportionately bear nano-risks, by hosting manufacturing that wealthy countries reject, or becoming dumping grounds for waste. Rio+20 outcomes must ensure the precautionary principle is applied throughout the life cycle of manufactured nanomaterials, and that global governance and assessment processes for nanomaterials are transparent, inclusive, equitable and driven by sustainability. Rio+20 outcomes must ensure consumers? and workers? right-to-know and right-to-choose in respect to nanotechnologies and nanomaterials be respected, as well as a country?s right to reject particular applications or uses of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials. In conclusion - In this time of increasing globalisation, there is a growing acceptance of the need for a social license and community consent for industrial activities, including new and emerging technologies, to go forward. This is critical for a sustainable future and for the protection of the environment, intergenerational equity and basic human rights. Taking into account Agenda 21 requirements, industries must function within these parameters and have no right to operate 40 Jonathan D. Judy, Jason M. Unrine, & Paul M. Bertsch, Evidence for Biomagnification of Gold Nanoparticles within a Terrestrial Food Chain, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2011, 45 (2), pp 776?781 41 Sijie Lin, Jason Reppert, Qian Hu, JoAn S. Hudson, Michelle L. Reid, Tatsiana A. Ratnikova, Apparao M. Rao, Hong Luo & Pu Chun Ke, Uptake, Translocation, and Transmission of Carbon Nanomaterials in Rice Plants, Communciations Cellular uptake 2009, 5, No. 10, www.small-journal.com 42 Recommendations of the Royal Society and The Royal Academy of Engineering, UK (2004). Nanoscience and nanotechnologies. Available at http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/ unless they satisfy social needs and meet the requirements for a safe, toxic- free environment. With the added pressure on the planet posed by climate change and world population, the limits of sustainability in a ?business as usual? model have been reached. The urgency has never been greater for sound chemical management, environmental protection and social justice. If a sustainable future is to be possible, the protection of our global commons and, in particular, our shrinking resources of clean air, water and soil, is paramount. While communities and civil society view a social license in terms of a dynamic, ongoing relationship between companies, government, stakeholders and communities, many regulators still see a ?social license? in terms of a formal permission linked to the regulator granting the ?license.? This is simply not adequate. There are many worrying examples of the failure of this model, for example, in many parts of the world, mining activities and the search for unconventional gas (shale gas, coal seam gas) has resulted in companies undertaking activities that contaminate the global commons and the life support systems on which we all depend. Regulation has not stopped the intentional release of vast quantities of unassessed industrial chemicals into waterways, aquifers and airsheds. The time when an industrial activity can be undertaken purely for profit or economic growth has gone. Sustainable futures depend on access to clean water, soil, air, food and products as well as the right to be protected against toxic trespass. These are basic inalienable human rights for all peoples of the planet and to ensure and protect them is the real challenge for Rio+20. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31481000 |
SHEFFIELD, U.K. -- An international team of researchers, led by the University of Sheffield, has demonstrated how Atlantic cod responded to past natural climate extremes. The new research could help in determining cods vulnerability to future global warming.
With fishing pressures high and stock size low, there is already major concern over the current sustainability of cod and other fisheries. The new findings, published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, show that natural climate change has previously reduced the range of cod to around a fifth of what it is today, but despite this, cod continued to populate both sides of the North Atlantic.
The researchers used a computer model and DNA techniques to estimate where cod could be found in the ice age, when colder temperatures and lower sea-levels caused the extinction of some populations and the isolation of others.
The computer models used to estimate ice-age habitats suitable for cod were developed by Professor Grant Bigg, Head of the University of Sheffield’s Department of Geography. These climatic analyses were combined with genetic studies by US researchers at Duke University and the University of California, and ecological information prepared by colleagues at the University of East Anglia and the Institute of Marine Research in Norway.
On land, plants and animals (including humans) are known to have moved further south when the northern ice sheets reached their maximum extent around 20,000 years ago. Similar migrations must have happened for plankton and fish in the sea. But there were two added complications: firstly, greatly reduced sea levels meant that many shallow and highly productive marine habitats around Europe and North America ceased to exist. Secondly, the ice-age circulation patterns in the North Atlantic caused the temperature change between tropical and polar conditions to occur over a much shorter north-south distance, reducing the area suitable for temperate species – such as cod.
The new analyses included these effects, together with other environmental and ecological information, in order to estimate where it was possible for Atlantic cod to reproduce and survive.
The results indicated that the ice-age range of Atlantic cod extended as far south as northern Spain, but the total area of suitable habitat was much more restricted. Nevertheless, populations of cod continued to exist on both sides of the North Atlantic. These findings were confirmed by genetic data, based on over a thousand DNA analyses of present-day cod populations, from Canada, Greenland, Iceland and around Europe.
Professor Bigg said: “This research shows that cod populations have been able to survive in periods of extreme climatic change, demonstrating a considerable resilience. However this does not necessarily mean that cod will show the same resilience to the effects of future climatic changes due to global warming.”
Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of UnderwaterTimes.com, its staff or its advertisers. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31482000 |
By Tamar Hahn
UNICEF’s flagship report, ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in an Urban World’, was launched on 28 February, focusing attention on children in urban areas. One billion children live in urban areas, a number that is growing rapidly. Yet disparities within cities reveal that many lack access to schools, health care and sanitation, despite living alongside these services. This story is part of a series highlighting the needs of these children.
|© UNICEF video|
|UNICEF reports on UNICEF's efforts to help children in the violence-plagued slums of Caracas, Venezuela. Produced by Thomas Nybo. Watch in RealPlayer|
CARACAS, Venezuela, 20 March 2012 – Every evening, as soon as the sun goes down, young Yeremi Reyes* and his family lock all the doors to their house, lower the blinds and hunker down for another night of random shootings and violent fights in the street. Yet Yeremi does not live in a war-torn country; he lives in a marginalized neighbourhood in the city of Caracas.
Violence is rampant here, the result of deep inequalities, and the effects on children have been devastating. Many have seen friends and relatives killed as a result of gang fights, robberies or stray bullets. They live in fear at home and in school, especially those living in the city’s shantytowns.
‘The violence is unbearable’
Petare is an enormous slum at the edge of Caracas. A massive expanse of ramshackle homes surrounded by luxury buildings, the area is a stark example of the inequality that characterizes much of the region.
For the residents of Caracas, Petare is emblematic of the violence that plagues their city. But for adolescents like Enrique Hernández*, Petare is simply home.
“Sometimes the neighbourhood is quiet, but sometimes the violence is unbearable and we have to stay locked in the house for hours,” said Enrique, whose house was hit by several bullets during a recent shooting in the street.
The violence deprives children and adolescents of their right to protection, their right to play and sometimes even their right to an education.
More than once, children at the 24 de Marzo School, in the heart of Petare, had to be evacuated when shots were heard outside its windows.
“Sometimes the children are on break, and we hear gunshots and have to rush them back into the classroom or evacuate them,” said Janet Maraima, a fifth-grade teacher at 24 de Marzo.
|© UNICEF video|
|A baseball programme teaches children how to play the game and also gives them the skills to prevent violence.|
Finding safe haven
Ms. Maraima and other teachers in this school have received training, provided by the communication group Cisneros Foundation, with support from UNICEF and a local NGO, on how to help children use art to talk about the violence that permeates their lives.
“It has been a very powerful experience to see the children reflect on their own realities through art,” Ms. Maraima said. “I am endlessly inspired by these children. I look at them and at all that they have to face on a daily basis, and I still see hope in each of their little faces.”
Others are also helping the children of urban communities reclaim their right to play.
Yeremi has found refuge in a small field close to his neighbourhood. The renowned baseball team Leones del Caracas, together with the municipality of Baruta and the community, cleaned up the field to start a baseball clinic for children in the area.
Leones de Caracas runs the clinic, providing a chance for participants to learn the game and enjoy a safe and fun environment for a few hours a week. But the clinics go beyond just teaching baseball – they are also designed to teach values and impart life skills to prevent violence.
“I love coming here,” said Yeremi. “I have fun and forget all my troubles.
“I have also learned to share, to help other boys and girls who are still learning the game, to stand up for the smaller kids if a bigger one is mean to them. And I don’t just do it here in the baseball field but also at school.”
These initiatives are supported by UNICEF in Venezuela as part of its work preventing violence against children and promoting adolescents’ healthy development.
*Names changed to protect childrens’ identities
State of the World's Children 2012
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Life in Nairobi's informal settlements
In Nigeria, marginalized children face abuse
UNICEF launches flagship report in Mexico
A second chance at childhood in Benin
Watch all SOWC 2012 videos - Children in an urban world | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31488000 |
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Jason’s Revolt. 1About this time Antiochus sent his second expedition* into Egypt.a 2b It then happened that all over the city, for nearly forty days, there appeared horsemen, clothed in garments of a golden weave, charging in midair—companies fully armed with lances and drawn swords; 3squadrons of cavalry in battle array, charges and countercharges on this side and that, with brandished shields and bristling spears, flights of arrows and flashes of gold ornaments, together with armor of every sort. 4Therefore all prayed that this vision might be a good omen.
5But when a false rumor circulated that Antiochus was dead, Jason* gathered at least a thousand men and suddenly attacked the city. As the defenders on the walls were forced back and the city was finally being taken, Menelaus took refuge in the citadel. 6For his part, Jason continued the merciless slaughter of his fellow citizens, not realizing that triumph over one’s own kindred is the greatest calamity; he thought he was winning a victory over his enemies, not over his own people. 7Even so, he did not gain control of the government, but in the end received only disgrace for his treachery, and once again took refuge in the country of the Ammonites. 8At length he met a miserable end. Called to account before Aretas,* ruler of the Arabians, he fled from city to city, hunted by all, hated as an apostate from the laws, abhorred as the executioner of his country and his compatriots. Driven into Egypt, 9he set out by sea for the Lacedaemonians, among whom he hoped to find protection because of his relations with them. He who had exiled so many from their country perished in exile; 10and he who had cast out so many to lie unburied went unmourned and without a funeral of any kind, nor any place in the tomb of his ancestors.
Revenge by Antiochus. 11c When these happenings were reported to the king, he thought that Judea was in revolt. Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. 12He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. 13There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of young women and infants. 14In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.
15Not satisfied with this, the king dared to enter the holiest temple in the world; Menelaus, that traitor both to the laws and to his country, served as guide. 16He laid his impure hands on the sacred vessels and swept up with profane hands the votive offerings made by other kings for the advancement, the glory, and the honor of the place. 17Antiochus became puffed up in spirit, not realizing that it was because of the sins of the city’s inhabitants that the Sovereign Lord was angry for a little while: hence the disregard of the place.d 18If they had not become entangled in so many sins, this man, like that Heliodorus sent by King Seleucus to inspect the treasury, would have been flogged and turned back from his presumptuous act as soon as he approached. 19The Lord, however, had not chosen the nation for the sake of the place, but the place for the sake of the nation. 20Therefore, the place itself, having shared in the nation’s misfortunes, afterward participated in their good fortune; and what the Almighty had forsaken in wrath was restored in all its glory, once the great Sovereign Lord became reconciled.
21e Antiochus carried off eighteen hundred talents from the temple and hurried back to Antioch, thinking in his arrogance that he could make the land navigable and the sea passable on foot, so carried away was he with pride. 22He left governors to harass the nation: at Jerusalem, Philip, a Phrygian by birth,* and in character more barbarous than the man who appointed him;f 23at Mount Gerizim,* Andronicus; and besides these, Menelaus, who lorded it over his fellow citizens more than the others. Out of hatred for the Jewish citizens, 24g the king sent Apollonius,* commander of the Mysians, at the head of an army of twenty-two thousand, with orders to kill all the grown men and sell the women and children into slavery. 25When this man arrived in Jerusalem, he pretended to be peacefully disposed and waited until the holy day of the sabbath; then, finding the Jews refraining from work, he ordered his men to parade fully armed. 26All those who came out to watch, he massacred, and running through the city with armed men, he cut down a large number of people.
27But Judas Maccabeus and about nine others withdrew to the wilderness to avoid sharing in defilement; there he and his companions lived like the animals in the hills, eating what grew wild.h
* [5:1] Second expedition: the first invasion of Egypt by Antiochus IV in 169 B.C. (1 Mc 1:16–20) is not mentioned in 2 Maccabees, unless the coming of the Syrian army to Palestine (2 Mc 4:21–22) is regarded as the first invasion. The author of 2 Maccabees apparently combines the first pillage of Jerusalem in 169 B.C. after Antiochus’ first invasion of Egypt (1 Mc 1:20–28; cf. 2 Mc 5:5–7) with the second pillage of the city two years later (167 B.C.), following the king’s second invasion of Egypt in 168 B.C. (1 Mc 1:29–35; cf. 2 Mc 5:24–26).
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Wildlife you see in a national park or other reserved area don't know about the park boundary. Bobcat, martens, mink, and moose need different types of living space and habitat. Development outside the park affects their ability to inhabit the park.
Brief review of bat research in the San Francisco Bay area and southern California providing land managers with information on the occurrence and status of bat species with links to bat inventories for California and related material.
A literature synthesis and annotated bibliography focus on North America and on refereed journals. Additional references include a selection of citations on bat ecology, international research on bats and wind energy, and unpublished reports.
Population size, foaling, deaths, age structure, sex ratio, age-specific survival rates, and more over a 14 year time span. This information will help land and wildlife managers find the best maintenance and conservation strategies. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31504000 |
Technology - Science
Live video from the International Space Station includes internal views when the crew is on-duty and Earth views at other times. The video is accompanied by audio of conversations between the crew and Mission Control. This video is only available when the space station is in contact with the ground. During "loss of signal" periods, viewers will see a blue screen. Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it experiences a sunrise or a sunset about every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but can sometimes provide spectacular views of lightning or city lights below. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31507000 |
How did this happen? Nearly twice as many women die of lung cancer than breast cancer, and three times as many men die of lung cancer than prostate cancer. Yet, lung cancer receives little public notice and even less research funding. The lung cancer survival rate for both men and women has remained virtually unchanged for more than three decades and, today, lung cancer remains among the most virulent and deadly diseases.
Perhaps it is because the prevalent myth about lung cancer is that the only people who get it are smokers. Fact: Eighty percent of those who suffer and die from lung cancer have never smoked or quit smoking decades ago.
Years ago, the states sued the tobacco companies and won. Yet the resulting revenue from what is called the Master Settlement Agreement did not deliver a single cent to lung cancer research.
Now in California, Proposition 29 will be on the June 5 ballot and, if passed, will increase the cigarette tax by $1 per pack. Should it pass, 60 percent of its funding is earmarked for grants and loans to support research into the prevention, detection and treatment of cancers and other tobacco-related illnesses, plus smoking prevention among children. While not exclusively tagged for lung cancer, the bill is expected to deliver $700 million annually.
Not surprisingly, it is strongly opposed by the tobacco industry.
Nationally, the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act (H.R. 1394 and S. 754) would encourage lawmakers to make lung cancer a national public health priority and calls for a comprehensive plan to address all aspects of the disease. The legislation authorizes multiple government agencies to develop a comprehensive plan of action to coordinate prevention, early detection and treatment research.
The National Lung Cancer screening trial that concluded in November 2010 shows that by using CT screening for early detection, the mortality rate can be reduced by 20 percent, which is greater than PSA screening for prostate cancer, mammography for breast cancer and colonoscopies for colon cancer. Other studies show that the mortality rate can be reduced as much as 90 percent using CT scans for early detection.
Just this month, news out of the national Lung Cancer Alliance also shows that treating early stages of lung cancer is much cheaper than treating late stages. This issue opens the door for insurance companies to cover early detection screening for those at high risk.
While both of California’s U.S. senators have signed on to S. 754, too many others – even those who have lost family members to lung cancers – continue not to join in on the theory, or excuse, that other agendas are “more important.” Yet the number of other states’ leaders of all parties backing this legislative “call to action” on lung cancer continues, fortunately, to gain in strength and numbers.
Still, there’s work to be done. Lung cancer is responsible for one out of three cancer deaths, and funding still trails the levels of other major cancers. (Lung cancer gets about $1,250 per death; breast cancer $26,500.) Survival rates, too, have all increased for other cancers yet remain unchanged for lung cancer. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31513000 |
Editors Note: This post is a modified version of an article that originally appeared in the Virginiana section of Virginia Memory.
The Watkins Family Papers (Accession 42063) include certificates, newspaper clippings, photographs, postcards, programs, and yearbooks documenting a prominent African American family in New Kent County, Virginia. While much of the collection consists of Jones and Watkins family photographs from Richmond and New Kent County, the collection is also significant for its connection to the struggle for school desegregation in Virginia.
Dr. George Washington Watkins (1898-1972) was born in Pickens County, South Carolina, the son of James and Lattie Watkins. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree (and later an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity) from Virginia Union University, and a Master of Arts degree from Hampton Institute.
Watkins is perhaps best known for his work in education, chiefly as principal of the New Kent Training School (renamed the George W. Watkins School in 1950). This school played an important role in the education of African Americans in the area and was at the center of one of the most significant school integration rulings to follow Brown v. Board of Education (1954). He was also a pastor, heading congregations at Second Liberty Baptist Church of Quinton, and Elam Baptist Church of Ruthville.
In 1930, there were 15 elementary schools in New Kent County, Virginia. Although … read more » | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31526000 |
Why is Colditz so famous?
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Post-War history and the current situation at Colditz.
After the end of the Second World War, Colditz town and Castle found themselves located in the Eastern Zone of Germany; for those readers who are too young to remember the division of Germany, it was also known as the German Democratic Republic or DDR, or simply as East Germany. This part of the country was under the rule of what was called the 'Eastern Bloc', countries under Communist control and effectively overseen by the Soviet Union.
The world-view of the ruling powers at that time [read: the Soviets] was such that they wanted to demolish both Colditz Castle and the nearby Podelwitz Castle, because they were symbols of a more 'decadent' era or some similar Communist excuse (such excuse probably also including the cliche word 'bourgeoise'). However the two castles were saved from this fate, but only because Podelwitz Castle was being used to house orphans and other homeless children, and Colditz Castle was being used as a hospital. The Castle, although still being used as a hospital, was allowed to fall into a state of general disrepair, and up until recently was actually quite dilapidated. [This lack of maintenance was not unusual in Eastern Bloc countries and evidence of this kind of neglect is still visible in parts across the former East Germany to this day]. Furthermore, Allied prisoners of war [POWs] had supposedly introduced several forms of slow damage-inducing pests into the Castle timbers, such as dry rot and woodworm; these too would have to be treated in any refurbishment project.
Nowadays, the Castle is owned and maintained by the local government of the State of Saxony - sort of like a county council in the UK. Under their aegis, part of the former Kommandantur buildings have been converted into a modern Youth Hostel, stripping out all of the former rooms and completely renovating that part of the Castle. None of the original character of the rooms has been preserved, if indeed any of the original rooms in the Youth Hostel area have been preserved at all. However, parts of the Kommandantur are still as they were during the War, especially the buildings on the South side of the outer courtyard. The external building that housed the Married Quarters during the War [at the Eastern end of the dry moat] has been demolished; this was historically important as it was the scene of both successful and unsuccessful escape attempts. Other buildings, such as the former German kitchens and store rooms in the Kommandantur courtyard, and the lower buildings which were situated along the 'seam' at the south side of the inner [prisoners'] courtyard have been demolished. These were the buildings that constituted parts of the Canteen, the Evidenz Zimmer [interview room] and part of the prisoners' kitchen. Many of these buildings had to be taken down because they had become unsafe. Oddly, the Castle holds little interest for most of the local people; quite understandably, they would like to see the money spent on local facilities. This seems unfortunately to be a carry-over of attitude from that of the Eastern Bloc era, but surely the money brought in by an influx of tourists would rejuvenate Colditz's economy?
Colditz town itself is a beautiful, quiet town of great character. The locals are friendly and understanding about tourists tramping all over the place. I was surprised to note that only 15-20 percent or the people speak English; perhaps this is another legacy of the Eastern Bloc era. One of the nicest people of the local populace that I met was a council worker chap who was most helpful and spoke wonderful English, telling us that the Park was going to close at six o'clock and he didn't want us to get locked in. [Not that that event would keep the British in of course!] In any event, the town is clean and well looked-after; there is very little trouble and best of all there are no Chavs. At all. Anywhere. Not even at night. The buildings are mainly well-kept and painted nicely. However, there are a few derelict buildings too; these are houses vacated by the 2,000 or so people who have left the town over the last five years. The biggest problem is chronic unemployment, last quoted to me as being at the 40 percent level. We already have seen that the tourist industry could indeed revitalise the economy; Colditz is hardly a ghost town but it does need a bit of a boost in my opinion!
There has been, in recent years, an extensive programme of renovation in progress at the Castle, which at the time of writing is still in progress. The Castle has been re-roofed, many of the old chimneys have been removed, and the most obvious thing is that most of the buildings have been repainted in white with the corner stonework picked out in cream paint. Although the Castle no longer looks as grim as it did when it was that dirty brown colour in some of the older photos, I do appreciate that if you want a building to stay standing, you do need to repaint it every so often!
The big tragedy about the renovations, however, is the eradication of much that is of historical importance. Please allow me to explain. Most of the tourists that go to Colditz Castle are British or Commonwealth. They are there for the World War Two POW history stuff. It's almost as if, as has been said elsewhere, a part of Britain is 'marooned' in Saxony. It's almost as if the British feel that they 'own' it; it's such a part of our national heritage and of our history. Because of this, and in order to maintain greater interest for British visitors, the POW-era features need to be retained in the Castle as far as possible. However, the renovation program, if it goes ahead as planned, will eradicate much of the historically important material in the interests of good intentions. I can understand what the Saxony authorities want to do, but I [and many other of my Colditz-interested friends] would like to see the preservation of the historically important areas and the opening up of more areas to controlled public viewing. For more details on the situation, see Gavin Worrell's page about the Colditz Preservation Trust here.
Recently, the access to 'extra' [normally 'off-limits'] places to visit during the guided tours has been curtailed by the Saxony authorities. Interestingly, the Castle tour guides are in something of a difficult position; although they are employed by Saxony, they understand as well as we do the sheer passion and interest that the British visitors have. They know that we would like to see more of the Castle but they are hamstrung by restrictions placed on them by Saxony. I got the distinct impression that the tour guide staff are genuinely proud of their Castle and would like nothing better than to show all the areas that we want to see. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, the privilege of visiting the Theatre, as an 'extra' to the usual tour, had been suspended, seemingly in 'reprisal' for some recent events involving British visitors, although the official line is to deny this. To me, that rings 65-year-old bells in my mind, since the Theatre was available for viewing, before that event, if you asked nicely ... Anyway, it appears that access to the glider loft has also ceased - and it is clear that it is not the fault of the Tour Guides at all. However, the guided tour is still a fascinating experience and is really excellent. We got to see the Chapel, the wine cellar where the Chapel Tunnel began, and the West Terrace too. Certain rooms are always open, such as a good part of the Saalhaus [theatre block], which is open for general wandering around up to the first floor level, the Dentist's rooms and 'Prominente' cells [now with museum-style displays], and the Park is sometimes open too. Access to the Guard House is also available as that's where the escape museum is now housed.
However, the awful fact remains that we are in great danger of losing much of the irreplaceable heritage contained in Colditz Castle, which would be a colossal shame in anyone's book. This is one of the reasons I am doing this website - to raise awareness of the plight of Colditz Castle. I would suggest that if you yourself feel strongly about these issues, then please do take a look at the Colditz Preservation Society at Gavin Worrell's site. The former concentration camp at Auschwitz is, quite rightly, designated as a UN world heritage site with over 1 million visitors a year; the grounds and buildings have all been preserved for future generations. Even the remains of the gas chambers which the Nazis tried to destroy in early 1945 are still there; whereas Colditz is fighting for survival. Colditz was a symbol of the struggle against insurmountable odds agains the same evil that created Auschwitz; it is only right that this legacy too is preserved for the future.
Return to main Index | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31528000 |
Virus-infested files are capable of causing many different problems for computer users, making it essential to verify that downloads are safe before allowing them to access the system. There are a multitude of different tools available for computer users to help keep valuable machines protected against these malicious threats. Use one of the following methods to make certain a virus is not allowed to attack your computer system.
1. Use an Antivirus Package
Many of the most popular antivirus tools allow specific files to be checked for potential corruptions. This is a valuable resource for computer users who fear a potential virus or malware infection. Simply download a file from the Internet and use the built-in antivirus scanner to check for problems. This will provide peace of mind in launching the file in question.
2. Rely on a Firewall
Firewalls are additional security tools that are programmed to look for suspicious files and keep the user aware of any problems as they arise. These are particularly valuable tools when computer users are visiting sites that may try to download payloads of malware without the user’s knowledge. Firewalls are also valuable when a file is consciously downloaded, as they will look for any problems within such downloads.
3. Use an Online Scanner
Instead of downloading a file that could potentially wreak havoc on the computer, some users turn to online scanners. These scanners do not require a download to the system itself, but simply ask for the URL of the file that is suspected of being infected. The server will download the file in question and peruse the content for any infections. This is an incredibly safe way of looking for viruses, and will not unnecessarily expose the machine to potential problems.
4. Find a Download Manager
Sophisticated download managers have been created for users who need a way to easily look for files that may be unsafe. In addition to making downloads easier to manage, powerful download managers can scan files for potential issues, alerting the computer user of the presence of any unwanted infections before the file is launched on the machine.
5. Set Download Preferences
Many computer users are surprised to discover they can control what downloads are allowed to launch on their machine. Default file settings should be modified to ensure that files and applications are only allowed to run after they have been given explicit permission by the computer user. These settings can be changed within the control panel, and will allow users to stay on the lookout for nefarious files that could otherwise launch without their knowledge of the issue.
Keeping a machine running without infections is a serious responsibility that is heaped on the shoulders of any computer owner. By understanding the different protection methods available, computer users can help to ensure they remain protected whenever using the Internet to download files. It is also important to use common sense when using files from the web, making certain content only comes from trusted sources and researching applications before installing them on the machine. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31529000 |
“A Report to an Academy” (“Ein Bericht für eine Akademie”) is a short story by Franz Kafka, written and published in 1917. In the story, an ape named Red Peter, who has learned to behave like a human, presents to an academy the story of how he effected his transformation. The story was first published by Martin Buber in a German monthly. This English version was translated from German by Philip Boehm.
Esteemed Gentlemen of the Academy!
I feel honored by your invitation to present the academy with a report on my former life as an ape.
I am afraid, however, that I will be unable to comply with your request. It is now some five years that I have been separated from apedom – a short time according to the calendar, perhaps, but an eternity when you have to gallop through it the way I did. And even though I was accompanied, at least for parts of the way, by fine human beings, good counsel, orchestral music and applause, my journey was in essence a solitary one, for the accompaniment-to stick with the metaphor-kept far away from the barricade. This achievement would have been impossible if I had desired to cling to my origins, to the memory of my youth. In fact the first rule I set for myself was the renunciation of any and all forms of obstinacy; I, a free ape, willingly accepted this yoke.
But because of that my memories withdrew more and more. And the gateway of return, had the humans willed it, which at first was as great as the heavens that vault the earth, became less and less lofty and more and more constricted as my development proceeded at its spurred-on pace. I felt increasingly at ease, increasingly included in the world of men. The storm that followed me from my past abated, and today it is nothing more than a breeze to cool my heels, and that distant aperture through which it blows, the same opening I once passed through myself, has grown so small that I would have to scrape the fur off my body to make it through-assuming I had the strength and willpower for the journey back. Frankly speaking, much as I enjoy finding images to describe all this, frankly speaking, esteemed sirs, your own apedom, insofar as something similar may lie in your own past – could not be further from you than mine is from me. But every creature that walks the earth has a ticklish heel: from the small chimpanzee to the great Achilles.
Nonetheless, I may be able to respond to your request after all, at least in the most limited sense, and I’m very happy to do so.
The first thing I learned was how to shake hands. A handshake is a sign of candor, and today, at the pinnacle of my career, I’d like to expand on that first handshake by adding a few candid words as well. And although what I have to say won’t teach the academy anything essentially new, and though it’s far less than what was requested of me-and what I cannot articulate despite my best will-I might nevertheless be able to offer a broad outline of how a former ape managed to penetrate the world of men and continue his existence in that world. Nor would I permit myself to say the little that follows unless I was absolutely certain of myself, having secured an unshakable position in the biggest variété shows of the civilized world:
I come from the Gold Coast. As to the method of my capture I have to rely on the accounts of strangers. A hunting party of the firm Hagenbeck-incidentally I have since downed many a bottle of good red wine with the leader of that expedition-had set up a blind in the bushes by our watering place along the riverbank, where I went in the evening together with my tribe. Shots were fired, I was the only one hit, I took two bullets.
One grazed my cheek, and although the wound was superficial, the bullet did shave out a large red scar that led to my being called Red Peter–a disgusting name, completely inappropriate, only a monkeybrain would come up with a name like that, as if the red mark on my cheek were all that distinguished me from the circus chimp Peter, recently deceased, who was well known in certain parts. All that just as an aside.
The second shot hit me just under the hip, and it was serious; to this day I limp a little as a result. I recently read an article penned by one of the thousands of gossiping gadflies that write about me in the papers, who claims that my apish nature is still not completely repressed, and cites as proof my predilection for removing my pants whenever I have guests to show the entry point of that bullet. The man who came up with that should have each finger shot off his writing hand, one by one. I may remove my pants in front of whomever I please, the most anyone would find there is an impeccably groomed fur and the scar from a shooting wound that was-and I use this word carefully so as not to mislead anyone – that was downright criminal. It’s all plain to see, there’s nothing to hide, for when it comes to truth, even the highest-minded individual is ready to let his manners drop. On the other hand, if the author of that article were to take off his pants when he had visitors, well, that would be another matter entirely, and I’ll give him the benefit of any doubt he doesn’t do this. But he should stop imposing his own delicate sense of propriety on me.
When I woke up after being shot – and this is where my own memory gradually begins – I found myself in a cage on a Hagenbeck company steamships, down in steerage. Instead of four walls of bars this cage had only three, and was fastened to a large crate, which comprised the fourth wall. The whole thing was too low to stand up in and too narrow for sitting down. So I just crouched inside, with my knees bent and constantly shaking, and my face turned toward the crate, as I didn’t want to see anyone and wished only to be left alone in the darkness, the bars cutting into my flesh from the back. This method of confining wild animals is supposed to be particularly advantageous during the first days of captivity, and judging from my own experience I cannot deny that this is indeed the case, from the human point of view.
But at that moment I wasn’t thinking about that. For the first time in my life I was trapped with no way out, at least nowhere I could go directly, since straight ahead of me was the crate, board securely fixed to board. And though I discovered a gap between the boards, which made me howl for joy in all my ignorance, it wasn’t even big enough to stick my tail through, and all my apish strength couldn’t make it any wider.
Later I was told I made unusually little noise, which led everyone to believe I would either soon die or else – assuming I survived the first, critical period -would prove to be very tamable. I survived. Dull sobbing, the painful search for fleas, apathetically licking a coconut, banging my head against the wall of the crate, and sticking my tongue out at anyone who came near me-this is how I first behaved in my new life. But my one prevailing feeling was that I had no way out. Of course today I have to rely on human words to describe what I felt then as an ape, so my portrayal is bound to be distorted, but even if I can no longer attain my old apish truth, at least my depiction is very much in that spirit, there’s no doubt about that.
I had always had so many ways out, and now there was none. I was trapped. My freedom of movement couldn’t have been more restricted if they had nailed me down. And why? You can scratch between your toes until you start to bleed and not discover the reason. Press yourself so close against the bar of the cage until it nearly slices you in two and you won’t find the answer. I had no way out, so I had to invent one: otherwise I was doomed. If I had stayed staring at the wall of that crate I would have inevitably died a miserable death. But that’s where Hagenbeck & Co think apes should be, and so I stopped being an ape. A beautifully clear train of thought I must have somehow hatched out with my belly, since apes think with their belly.
I’m afraid that you may not understand exactly what I mean by a way out, which I mean in the most ordinary and fullest sense of the phrase. I am deliberately avoiding the word freedom, because I don’t mean this grand feeling of freedom on all sides. As an ape I may have known it, and I’ve met humans who yearn for exactly that. But I myself have never asked for freedom, neither then nor now. As an aside: freedom is something people deceive themselves with far too frequently. And just as it counts as one of the most sublime feelings, so, too, can it lead to the sublime disappointment. Often, before going on stage as part of a revue, I’ve watched this or that pair of trapeze artists high in the air by the ceiling. They would swing and sway, floating into each other’s arms, one would carry the other by her hair in his teeth. “So that’s another example of human freedom,” I thought, “ego-maniacal and high-handed.” What a mockery of holy nature! There’s not a building on earth that could withstand the laughter of the apes at such a sight.
No, I didn’t want freedom. All I wanted was some way out – right, left, wherever it might lead. I kept my demand small, so that if it turned out to be a delusion, the disappointment would be no greater. Anything to get on, to get out! And not just stand there with upraised arms pressed against the wall of some crate.
Today I see clearly that I could never have escaped without the greatest inner tranquility. Indeed, I think I owe everything I have become to the calm that came over me after those first few days at sea. And I probably have the crew to thank for that.
They’re good people, despite everything. To this day I enjoy recalling the sound of their heavy steps that echoed through my half-sleep back then. They had the habit of taking everything extremely slowly. If one of them wanted to rub his eyes, he’d raise his hand as if it were a hanging weight. Their jokes were crude, but hearty. Their laughter was generally mixed with coughing that sounded dangerous but didn’t mean anything. They always had something in their mouths to spit out and couldn’t care less where it landed. They were constantly complaining about the fleas jumping from me to them, but they weren’t ever really angry at me; they realized that fleas thrive in my fur and that fleas are jumpers, so they learned to live with that. When they weren’t on duty they’d sometimes sit around me in a half circle, more cooing than speaking to one another. They would stretch out on the crates and smoke their pipes, slapping their knees whenever I made the slightest movement, and now and then one of them would take a stick and tickle me where it felt pleasant. I can’t say I’d accept an invitation to take another voyage on that ship, but nor could I claim that all the memories I have from that passage are ugly ones.
Above all, the tranquility I acquired among these people kept me from trying to escape. Looking back, I think I must have sensed that if I wanted to live, I needed to find some way out, and I must have understood that fleeing would not accomplish this. I no longer know whether such an escape was possible, but I believe it was – surely escape is always an option for an ape. Today my teeth are such that I have to be careful even with ordinary nutcracking, but back then it would have probably been just a matter of time before I chomped my way through the lock on the door. But I didn’t do that, for what would it have gained me? As soon as I stuck my head out they would have recaptured me and locked me up in an even worse cage, or else I might have crept off unnoticed, to the other animals–for instance to the giant boa that was caged across from me, and breathed my last breath in its embrace. I even might have managed to steal onto the upper deck and jump overboard, in which case I would have rocked a while on the water and then drowned. Desperate deeds every one. I didn’t calculate things in such a human fashion, but under the influence of my surroundings I acted as though I had.
I didn’t calculate, but I probably observed things in peace and quiet. I watched the people going back and forth, always the same faces, the same movements, I often had the impression there was only one of them. So this man, or these men, went about with no impediment. A lofty purpose began to dawn on me. No one promised me they would open the bars if I acted like them. After all, promises aren’t made for seemingly impossible tasks. But when such tasks are accomplished nevertheless, the promises are made after the fact, and exactly where you would have looked for them in vain before. Except there wasn’t much about these men that truly tempted me. Had I been a follower of the grand freedom I mentioned earlier, I’m sure I would have chosen the sea over the way out I saw in the gloomy faces of these people. But in any case I spent a long time observing before I ever had thoughts like that, and it was the only accumulated observations that first pushed me in a specific direction.
Imitating people was so easy. Within a few days I was able to spit. We would spit at each other in the face, with the only difference that I licked my face clean afterward, and they didn’t. Soon I was smoking a pipe like an old salt, and if I pressed my thumb into the bowl to boot, the whole steerage would cheer; except it took me a long time to understand the difference between an empty pipe and one that had been fully stuffed.
The whiskey bottle caused me the most difficulty. The smell was sheer torture, I forced myself with all my strength, but it took weeks to overcome my aversion. Strangely, the people took these internal struggles more seriously than anything else about me. While I don’t distinguish the people in my memory, there was one who kept coming back, alone or with his chums, day or night, at the oddest hours. He’d stand outside my cage with the bottle and instruct me. He didn’t understand me, but he wanted to solve the riddle of my being. He would slowly uncork the bottle and look at me, to check whether I had understood; I confess that I always watched him with wild-eyed attention-all too eager, in fact-no human teacher on earth would find such a student of people. After the bottle was uncorked, he would hold it to his mouth; I would follow with my eyes, from the bottle to his throat. He would nod, pleased with his pupil, and place the bottle to his lips. Delighted with my gradual discovery, I would shriek and scratch myself all over, wherever I felt the urge. He liked that – then he’d tilt the bottle back and take a swallow, and I was so impatient and desperate to emulate him that I wound up soiling myself in my cage, which would again cause him enormous satisfaction. Then, swinging the bottle away from his body and back to his lips, he would drink, exaggeratedly bending over for purposes of instruction, and down the entire bottle in a single gulp. Exhausted from so much effort, I could no longer follow him; I’d hang limply on the bar, while he ended his theoretical instruction by stroking his belly and grinning.
Then came the practical instruction. But hadn’t the theoretical part already worn me out? Indeed it had. Still, that’s part of my fate, so despite my exhaustion I reached as best I could for the bottle being held out to me, and, shaking all the while, uncork it. Success gradually brought renewed strength, and I managed to lift the bottle in a manner hardly distinguishable from the original. I raised it to my lips, then threw it away in disgust, disgust, even though it was empty, with nothing left but the smell. I was so revolted I tossed it on the ground, to the sadness of my teacher, and the greater sadness of myself, and the fact that I didn’t forget to stroke my belly and grin after throwing away the bottle didn’t make either one of us feel better.
All too often, that was how my lessons went. And to my teacher’s credit: he wasn’t angry with me, though he did on occasion hold his burning pipe against my body in some place I couldn’t reach, until my fur began to glow, but then he’d dampen it himself with his huge kind hand – he wasn’t angry with me, he realized we were both on the same side, both struggling against my apish nature, and he knew I had the more difficult struggle.
So what a victory it was for him as well as me, when one evening in front of many onlookers – it may have been a party, a gramophone was playing, an officer was carrying on among the crew-at a moment when no one was watching, I grabbed a bottle of whiskey that had been inadvertently left outside my cage, and did a perfect job of uncorking it-to the increasing attention of the group around me. Then I held the bottle to my lips and without the slightest hesitation or grimace, like a bona fide professional drinker, with round and rolling eyes and letting the liquid slosh into my throat, I really and truly drained the bottle, and threw it away, no longer out of desperation, but as an artist. Of course I forgot to stroke my belly, but for that, because I couldn’t help it, because I felt an irresistible urge, because all my senses were intoxicated – well, to make a long story short I called out “Hello!” in a human voice, and with this call I leaped into the community of humans, and their echo of “Listen to that – he’s talking!” felt like a kiss on my body that was thoroughly drenched with sweat.
I repeat: I never felt any desire to imitate people; I imitated them because I was looking for a way out; that was my only reason. And even this triumph was just a small step. I immediately lost my voice, which I took months to recover, and my aversion to the whiskey bottle came back worse than ever. But my course had been set once and for all.
When I arrived in Hamburg and was handed over to my first trainer, I soon realized that I had two choices: zoological park or variety show. I didn’t hesitate for a second. I told myself to focus all my strength on getting into the variety show, there lies your way out. The zoo is just a new cage, if you end up there, you’re lost.
And study I did, gentlemen. You learn when you have to, when you’re looking for a way out, you learn with no holds barred. You drive yourself with a whip, flogging yourself at the slightest opposition. My apish nature came tumbling out of me so fast that my first teacher nearly went ape himself, as the saying goes. He was soon forced to give up teaching and had to be taken to an institution. Fortunately he was released soon thereafter.
But I wore out many more teachers, even several at once. When I became surer of my own abilities, and the press began to follow my progress and my future began to shine, I hired my own tutors, had them set up in five adjacent rooms, and learned from all of them at once, constantly jumping from one room to the next.
What progress! How the rays of knowledge penetrated my waking brain from all sides! I will not deny it: it made me happy. But I must also confess that I did not overvalue my achievement, neither then nor especially today. Through an unprecedented exertion I managed to acquire the education of your average European, which might not mean a thing in itself, but at least it helped me out my cage, at least it provided me with this way out, this human way. I slipped off into the bush, so to speak-the human bush. I had no other choice, assuming that freedom was never an option.
Looking over my development and its purpose up to this point, I neither complain nor am I fully content. I half-sit, half-lie in my rocker, my hands in my pockets, a bottle of wine on the table, and look out the window. If I have company I show them the proper hospitality. My agent sits in the anteroom; if I ring then he steps in and listens to what I have to say. I perform nearly every evening, and my success could hardly be greater. If I come home late after a banquet, a scientific society, or a friendly evening at someone’s house, a small, half-trained chimpanzee is waiting for me and I have my pleasure with her in the manner of apes. I don’t wish to see her by day, as her eyes have the insanity of the befuddled half-tamed animal, which I alone can recognize, and which I cannot bear.
By and large I have accomplished what I set out to accomplish. It cannot be said it wasn’t worth the effort. Nor am I asking for any human judgment; all I wish to do is disseminate knowledge, I only report, and that is all I have done for you tonight, esteemed members of the Academy: I have reported, and nothing more. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31530000 |
This is one of our more unusual themes, because only two censuses have ever gathered
information on religion in England and Wales, and they were 150 years apart!
The 1851 Census of Religion was a separate census carried out at the same time as the main Census of Population. It assumed that everyone was Christian, and tried to find out what kind of Christians were most important in each district. It did this by counting how many people attended each church on the census Sunday. Our information has been considerably simplified from the original returns, which counted 35 different religious groups in England and Wales. One result is a large 'other' category.
In 2001, a question about religion was included among the questions in the main census for the first time ever. Except in Scotland, where there is separate information on the Church of Scotland, Catholics and 'Other Christian', the results lump all Christians together but also gathered information on Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs. People were allowed to write in other religions not included on the census form, but we have no data on the distribution of 'Jedi'.
Our detailed statistics are held in structures called nCubes, which you can think of as tables with one dimension, or with two ... or with twenty. Their dimensions are defined by the variables each nCube combines, and each variable is made up of categories. These nCubes are available at national level for this theme:
|Available nCubes||Period covered||Variables
(number of categories)
|1851 church 'attendances'||1851||
Major Christian denominations in 1851
Major religious faiths in 2001
|Attending all churches||1851|| | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31531000 |
Uit Kust Wiki
Versie door Daphnisd op 1 jul 2009 om 16:37
Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of a certain chemical into the living tissue of an organism from its environment. This accumulation may result from direct absorption from the environment or from ingestion of food particles. Bioaccumulation is one of the factors used to asses the environmental hazard of a chemical. Chemicals with a higher tendancy towards bioaccumulation form a greater hazard. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31537000 |
ENG 330 Studies in Special Topics: Literature of War |
Modern Literature of War
A character in Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam Novel, Going After Cacciato, comments that “things may be viewed from many angles. From down below, or from inside out, you often discover entirely new understandings.” This course will examine the age-old theme of conflict in general and war in particular (WWI and Vietnam) as viewed from various angles and presented in different literary and media forms (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and film). We will also study the biographical, literary, historical and cultural contexts in which the various works are written. Through research, panels, readings, critical papers, films, slides, and discussion, our principal goal will be an in-depth assessment of the literary treatment of this major theme across time and genres. Writers and texts studied in this class will be Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness; Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front; Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms; Graham Greene, The Quiet American; World War One British Poets; Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of War; Tim O’Brien, Going After Cacciato; Pat Barker, Regeneration; and Larry Heinemann, Paco’s Story.
Prerequisite: One English Literature course, taken at Wabash. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31539000 |
Aluminum Standards and Data provides definitions for welding and brazing:
Welding is the "joining of two or more pieces of aluminum by applying heat or pressure, or both, with or without filler metal to produce a localized union through fusion or recrystallization across the interface".
Brazing is the "joining of metals by fusion of nonferrous alloys that have melting points above 425 degrees C (800 degrees F) but lower than those of the metals being joined. This may be accomplished by means of a torch (torch brazing), in a furnace (furnace brazing), or by dipping a molten flux bath (dip or flux brazing)." According to the ASM Specialty Handbook: Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys: "Brazing, by definition, employs filler metal having a liquidus above 450 degrees C (840 degrees F) and below the solidus of the base metal. Brazing is distinguished from soldering by the melting point of the filler metal: solders melt below 450 degrees C (840 degrees F). Brazing differs from welding in that no substantial amount of the base metal is melted during brazing. Thus the temperatures for brazing aluminum are intermediate between those for welding and soldering. Also, brazed aluminum assemblies generally are between welded and soldered assemblies in strength and resistance to corrosion"
Since soldering is done below 450 degrees C (840 degrees F), aluminum filler alloys are not used in soldering aluminum. Instead, solders for aluminum alloys are often zinc, tin, cadmium and lead. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31540000 |
Meet our supplements
Stay on the path of good health with Nature Made®
The Benefit of A Great Night's Sleep
Did you know over 60% of adults have trouble sleeping a few nights a week or more? Our busy days can be so intense and thought-provoking that they can lead to sleepless nights. But being productive during the day is dependent on a good night's rest. Besides feeling exhausted, there are other effects of not getting enough sleep:
Decreased Performance and Alertness - Sleep deprivation reduces your alertness and leads to
poor performance. Reducing your sleep by as little as 1˝ hours for a single night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32%.
Memory and Cognitive Impairment - Decreased alertness and excessive daytime sleepiness hinder your memory function along with your ability to think and process information.
On the other hand, getting a great night's rest has major benefits:
- Learning and Memory - Sleep encourages your brain to commit new information to memory.
- Metabolism and Weight - Irregular sleep may cause weight gain, by affecting the way our bodies handle carbohydrates and altering hormone levels related to appetite.
- Mood - Sleep loss has been known to result in more than just an inability to concentrate. It also leads to impatience and mood swings.
- Heart Health - Several serious sleep disorders are associated with hypertension, higher stress levels and irregular heartbeat.
- Immune Health - Lack of sleep weakens your body's immune function.
These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31541000 |
The One World vision is the ultimate stage of a conceptual evolution that started decades ago. This evolution produced several paradigm shifts that combine how we comprehend our world, and, as a result, how we try to deal with it.
Through the 70s and 80s, a technical understanding of impacts like acidification, eutrophication or stratospheric ozone loss prompted command and control approaches at the local and multilateral level, in the form of substance bans and compliance controls.
In its 1987 report - Our Common Future- the World Commission on Environment and Developmentproclaimed the interdependency of human development and environmental progress, captured in the notion of sustainable development, and nurtured the elaboration of the 1992 Rio Summit’s Agenda 21. It encouraged a system and life-cycle understanding of waste, carbon dioxide and other emissions and of overconsumption of water, fuels and other non-renewable resources. Environmental progress could be achieved, despite society’s development and economic growth, through strategies of system redesign for eco-efficiency. Economic growth could decouple from its negative environmental impacts thanks to business foresight, voluntary initiatives and covenants. Innovation and new behaviors would spread through well-functioning and free markets with only light government interference.
This new worldview was summed up in the “three pillars: ecology-society-economy” scheme. Because of its complexity, it demands performance indicators that monitor behavior change and progress by businesses and other actors. Thus, Corporate Social Responsibility and public-private partnerships became the preferred modes of business action, shaped in dialogues with stakeholders and monitored through schemes like the Global Reporting Initiative, the Carbon Disclosure Project, the Dow Jones Sustainability and other governance and accountability indexes.
This ladder of expanding worldviews is embedded in the core of the One World vision. One World weaves together quality of life, equity and enhancement of our human and natural capitals. It relies on interdependent, purposeful, innovative individuals to achieve these ideals through the efficiency of markets. Sustainable development, instead of being an “end-of-pipe” or “add-on”, becomes an integral part of the core business strategy.
The One World vision is making its way into consumer values. A number of surveys show that concerns about social and environmental issues are on most people’s minds, in all countries. They express a willingness to take action and select products and suppliers based on their alignment with corporate responsibility principles. They also want products and services that perform and give good value while being rated as more sustainable. Nonetheless, only about 1 in 5 people go all the way to adjust lifestyle, behavior and purchasing decisions. Most feel they cannot evaluate the sustainability merits on their own or they lack the purchasing power to afford a premium for environmental quality. Support from governments to provide practical rules and education is essential to turn this willingness into trust in environmental claims and action.
While numerous think tanks and international summits have articulated the ideas around sustainability and green growth, our political systems have difficulty coping with such a holistic, high-level and constantly-evolving notion. They are set to maintain a harmonious society where every individual is able to satisfy its own needs and desires without harming the human rights of others. Rooted in the 19th century, this principle is based on an abundance of resources and confidence in education, science and technology to break through limits of scarcity. It relies on commerce and contracts to create and distribute wealth and thus ensure social peace.
Citizens delegate their power through the election of representatives who are expected to satisfy the interests of their electors through action, legislation and compliance. This vote is both a sanction of the performance of outgoing representatives and a support of the action plans of candidate representatives. This political system is naturally committed to rather personal, local and immediate interests and concerns. Endangered species and unborn generations do not vote. Even though inaction, now, may increase the probability of remote, irreversible future damage, it is practically impossible to allocate, today, the level of resources that would prevent an uncertain crisis, tomorrow. This requires a sufficient number of concerned citizens to elect representatives committed to such danger prevention and mitigation plans. The climate negotiations show, so far, that national delegates need to operate within the mandate of their domestic legislators and stick to local and near-present strategies rather than accept binding global, long-term emission ceilings based on predictive science.
Despite a rapid evolution of the concepts and ideal of sustainable development, progress on the ground, for real people and their environment, remains slow and difficult. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31553000 |
- Achieving Sustainable Site Design through Low Impact Development Practices
- Balancing Security/Safety and Sustainability Objectives
- Extensive Vegetative Roofs
- Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA)
- Low Impact Development Technologies
- Mold and Moisture Dynamics
- Retrofitting Existing Buildings to Improve Sustainability and Energy Performance
- Sustainable Laboratory Design
- Sustainable O&M Practices
- Water Conservation
Extensive Vegetative Roofs
Last updated: 11-27-2012
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The intent of this guide is to provide information regarding the state of the art of vegetative roof design and construction.
Vegetative roofs, also known as green roofs, are thin layers of living vegetation installed on top of conventional flat or sloping roofs. We have chosen to use the word "vegetative" rather than the word "green" in this guide because a non-vegetative roof could be considered to be environmentally "green" without being vegetative. For example, due to it being white and therefore mitigating heat gain within the building and reducing heat island contribution, a white non-vegetative roof might be considered as being "green" or environmentally friendly. In other words, "green" has too broad of a connotation to be clear for use in this guide, and we recommend that the industry adopt the nomenclature "vegetative," rather than the overly broad "green."
Vegetative roofs are divided into two categories: 1) extensive vegetative roofs, which are 6 inches or shallower and are frequently designed to satisfy specific engineering and performance goals, and 2) intensive vegetative roofs, which may become quite deep and merge into more familiar on-structure plaza landscapes with promenades, lawn, large perennial plants, and trees. With respect to the vegetative overburden, this guide addresses only the more shallow extensive vegetative roofs.
Figure 1. Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, MA. Designed by Roofscapes, installed in 2004. In 2009 APEX Green Roof began maintaining the roof. System Depth: 4 inches
The challenge in designing extensive vegetative roofs is to replicate many of the benefits of vegetative open space, while keeping them light and affordable. Thus, the new generation of vegetative roofs relies on a marriage of the sciences of horticulture, waterproofing, and engineering.
The most common 4 extensive vegetative roof cover in temperate climates is a single un-irrigated 3- to 4-inch layer of lightweight growth media vegetative with succulent plants and herbs. In most climates, a properly designed 3-inch deep vegetative roof cover will provide a durable, low maintenance system that can realize the many benefits that vegetative roofs have to offer. Some manufacturers consider a landscape up to 8 inches deep to be extensive systems.
All well-designed extensive vegetative roofs include subsystems responsible for:
Figure 2. Generic Extensive Green Roof on a Concrete Deck
Image courtesy of American Hydrotech
Figure 3. Generic Extensive Green Roof on a Steel Deck
Image courtesy of American Hydrotech
A wide range of methods can achieve these functions. For instance, drainage layers may consist of plastic sheets, fabric or synthetic mats, or granular mineral layers. Similarly, the physical properties and performance characteristics of growing media (engineered soils) and plant materials may vary with the climate, plant community, or engineering requirements. Figure 2 shows a generic cut-away of a common type of vegetative roof assembly that utilizes a lower granular drainage layer in combination with an upper growth medium or substrate.
The selection of a particular approach may depend on performance-related considerations, such as runoff control, drought-tolerance, biodiversity, appearance, or accessibility to the public. While many pre-engineered systems are currently available, it is frequently necessary to customize these systems to satisfy specific performance objectives.
There are many potential benefits associated with extensive vegetative roofs. These include:
- Controlling storm water runoff
- Improving water quality
- Mitigating urban heat-island effects
- Prolonging the service life of roofing materials
- Conserving energy
- Reducing sound reflection and transmission
- Improving the aesthetic environment in both work and home settings
- Mitigation of wildlife
As a result vegetative roofs may be appropriate as an addition to many types of buildings, including commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential settings. On the other hand, the additional cost, possible water usage to irrigate the plants, and required ongoing maintenance may make them less appropriate.
1. Controlling Storm Water Runoff
The rapid runoff of storm water from paved areas and roofs contributes to destructive flooding, erosion, pollution, and habitat destruction. The capacity of vegetative roofs to moderate this runoff through both retention (water holding) and detention (flow-slowing) properties has been well-documented in Europe and increasingly in the United States. Vegetative roofs share many engineering features with conventional storm water management basins, and compared to many at-grade storm water management practices, vegetative roof covers are unobtrusive and reliable. Vegetative roofs may offer the only practical "at-source" technique for controlling runoff in areas that do not have adequate space on the ground to readily accommodate other methods of water retention.
Vegetative roof covers are particularly effective at controlling runoff on the large roofs typical of commercial and institutional buildings because typically a greater portion of these roofs can be vegetative than on other building types. Reducing the volume and rate of runoff is important in urban areas because of flooding and water quality impacts (see Water Quality, below), and also in watersheds that drain to streams and other natural water bodies where uncontrolled urban runoff can lead to stream bank erosion and channel degradation, and decreased baseflow. Vegetative roofs provide a means to mitigate some of these impacts from building development projects, particularly when used as part of a suite of low-impact development (LID) practices. Many jurisdictions (i.e. Seattle, Portland, and Philadelphia, to name a few) advocate for a combination of LID practices including vegetative roofs, rainwater harvesting, permeable paving, and bio-retention "rain gardens" to mitigate site impacts on water resources while creating "vegetative storm water infrastructure".
The ultimate storm runoff benefit that can be achieved by a vegetative roof cover is determined primarily by the climate patterns at the site and the design of the system (thickness, media type, and drainage layer construction). They can be designed to achieve specified levels of storm water runoff control, including reductions in both total annual runoff volume and peak runoff rates for storms. Careful selection of material properties, such as the water holding capacity and permeability rates of the growing media, can enhance annual runoff volume reduction and peak flow reduction capacity of the vegetative roof.
Many Western U.S. states have water rights laws that restrict how rainwater landing on a property may be used, as it is considered to be a water-of-the-state. For vegetative roof systems, particularly systems where runoff may be harvested for re-use or irrigation purposes, designers are advised to check with local municipalities to verify the acceptance of vegetative roofs, and specific local agency requirements for such systems.
In contrast, some municipalities such as Chicago have taken the approach of mandating vegetative roofs on new building projects because of the host of benefits it brings to built-out urban areas. Other jurisdictions offer substantial tax benefits and subsidies to promulgate vegetative roofs (Portland, Oregon, and New York for instance).
Reliable techniques for predicting the rate and quantity of runoff from vegetative roof covers have been used successfully to design integrated storm water management measures in Germany, where large zero-discharge developments that rely heavily on vegetative roofs are already operating.
In the U.S., studies have been performed to monitor the performance of vegetative roofs with regard to storm water runoff. Magnusson Klemencic Associates, a Seattle based engineering consulting firm, evaluated and monitored the storm water control performance of five different vegetative roof systems from 2005 to 2007 in the Pacific Northwest climate. Even though this climatic region is characterized by a long rainy season where soils and media are frequently saturated, storm water control capacity was demonstrated for the large storms that can cause urban flooding and sewer overflows. For other climatic regions and smaller storms, vegetative roofs typically have greater capacity for runoff control.
Water retained by a vegetative roof cover is ultimately returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration processes. In climatic zones where substantial rainfall occurs during summer months, when evapotranspiration rates are highest, the vegetative roof is able to retain substantial amounts of rainfall and reduce annual runoff volumes. However, in climatic zones characterized by summer droughts and extended winter "wet seasons", such as the Pacific Northwest region, the capacity to reduce annual runoff may be limited by the lack of availability of rainfall during the peak evapotranspiration periods. Reducing runoff volume is a goal of some sustainability metrics, or may be required to restore the health of aquatic resources (e.g. fisheries/salmon runs). How can runoff volume be reduced? Through evapotranspiration, infiltration into the ground, or using harvested water.
That being said, if you can do at-grade landscaping — i.e. rain gardens, bio-swales, etc., it will almost always be more economical than a vegetative roof.
2. Improving Water Quality
By reducing both the volume and the rate of storm water runoff, vegetative roofs benefit cities with combined sewer overflow (CSO) impacts. In cities with combined storm and wastewater sewer systems, storm water dilutes the sanitary waste water, rendering treatment less efficient. During heavy rainfalls these systems also overflow, discharging raw sewage mixed with runoff into the receiving streams, harbors, or oceans, resulting in ecological damage and human health hazards. Therefore, important water quality benefits (reducing CSO) are achieved by controlling runoff in those situations.
In addition, in urban areas, up to 30% of total nitrogen and total phosphorus released into receiving waterways is derived from dust that accumulates on rooftops. Acting as natural bio-filtration devices, vegetative roofs reduce this water contamination. In the Potsdamer Platz district of Berlin, extensive vegetative roofs have been employed on a large scale in an effort to reduce pollution of the River Spree. This is only a factor when an entire community practices storm water reduction, however. This program has demonstrated that extensive vegetative roofs can achieve large reductions in nutrient releases from roofs; however, the research also shows that the correct choices of growing medium and plant types are essential for success.
In some states in the western United States, there are laws that prohibit harvesting of stormwater. However, it appears that some of these laws are being eased. Check with your local code authority.
3. Mitigating Urban Heat-Island Effects
Covering dark conventional roofs with vegetative roofs can significantly reduce the temperature above the roof. Vegetative roofs have been shown in several studies, including the referenced Columbia University study, to provide comparable benefits to white or reflective roof surfaces in reducing the ambient air temperature. Unlike white roofs, which tend to lose the ability to reduce temperature as they age, vegetative roofs continue to have the ability to mitigate the heat island effect.
4. Prolonging the Service Life of Roofing Materials
Forty years of apparently good experience with vegetative roofs in Germany suggests that they may have value in protecting waterproofing materials. The multiple layers of the vegetative roof protect the underlying roof materials from the elements in three ways: by protecting from mechanical damage (mostly from humans, but also from wind-blown dust and debris, and animals); by shielding from ultraviolet radiation; and by buffering temperature extremes, minimizing damage from the daily expansion and contraction of the roof materials.
Although modern vegetative roof systems have not yet been in place longer than 40 years, many researchers expect that these installations will last 50 years and longer before they require significant repair or replacement.
5. Conserving Energy
Vegetative roofs have been shown to save energy, but comprehensive studies have not been performed, including impacts of the energy for maintenance. (See the referenced Columbia University Study.)
The largest share of the energy savings in the summer or warm months is from transpiration or the evaporation of water from plant leaves. Transpiration cools the surrounding air, thus lowering the temperature of the surface of the soil, and decreasing the heat flow through the roof. The question is, where does the water come from? If it is rainfall and not from a city's potable water, then there is a benefit. In Arizona, where there is the most benefit of cooling, it is like stealing from one bucket to pay for another. In the winter months, there is an energy conserving benefit only if the soil remains dry. Wet soil conducts more heat.
There are studies that support the energy conservation aspects of vegetative roofs. See the Columbia University study and the study by Vidar Lerum of Arizona State University under "Studies" at the end of this section. Also, the MIT Design Advisor, http://designadvisor.mit.edu/design/, studies show extensive vegetative roofs to be better in every climate, in comparison to cool (low albedo) roofs. Their conclusion is that cool roofs are better for cooling, not surprisingly, but, even in warmer climates, this benefit is overshadowed by the better performance of vegetative roofs in the heating season. One must take into consideration, however, the added cost of vegetative roofs. The comparison to be made is whether adding more insulation would be a more cost-effective solution.
Vegetative roofs are potential energy savers, but the degree to which they do so is unclear at this time. The impact is highly dependent upon climate conditions and the insulation level of the underlying roof. For the most part, vegetative roofs have very little impact on building energy consumption for a new building built to modern energy codes (with high levels of roof insulation). Some retrofit applications, however, can result in non-trivial savings of both air-conditioning and heating.
Vegetative roofs may provide significant cooling savings in the summer and some heating savings in the winter. But the research to date is not clear on the subject of the quantification of savings in real-world applications.
The bottom line on energy might be summed up by this quote from Joe Lstiburek in footnote 3 to his Building Science Insight 052, "Seeing Red Over Green Roofs:" "The assumptions are pretty important. Green roofs save energy compared to uninsulated roofs or poorly insulated roofs or even better, black poorly insulated roofs. Once you have more than R-20 in a roof assembly, that is, you meet the code, things pretty much don't matter. In other words, go above R-20, and make green roof decisions for other reasons than energy. See 'Potential Energy Savings of Various Roof Technologies' by S. Ray and L. Glicksman presented at Buildings XI Conference, and check out Figure 9. Note that grass, even when it is green, has a greater solar absorptance than a white membrane. The real effect of the grass comes from the evaporation of water. But that takes water, and you might not always have some. If you want to do the water evaporation thing, you probably could do as good a job by sprinkling the top of a white reflective roof. When the grass goes brown, forget about any energy benefit; also, be very worried about fire. "
6. Reducing Sound Reflection and Transmission
Vegetative roofs have important acoustical benefits, especially for higher frequency sounds. The added weight of a vegetative roof results in an increased degree of sound insulation.
Vegetative roofs can absorb a portion of the sound that otherwise bounces off hard roofing surfaces. See the referenced Ghent University study for more information.
7. Improving the Aesthetic Environment
Figure 4. PECO Main office Building, Philadlephia. 43,000 square feet. 3 inches of lightweight green roof media, unirrigated. Established from pre-grown Sedum Mats. Installed over Sarnafil PVC membrane. Green Roof design by Roofmeadow. Roofing by Sika Sarnafil. Competed winter 2008.
Vegetative roofs offer interesting new opportunities for architectural design. A vegetative roof can allow a structure to merge with the surrounding landscape, provide a dramatic accent, or reinforce the defining aspects of the structure's geometry. In Germany — and increasingly in the United States — vegetative roofs are frequently integrated into the design of hospitals and care facilities in order to provide a more restful and restorative environment for patients. Similarly, multi-unit residences and hotels will find that vegetative roof-top views substantially enhance property values. In commercial settings, job satisfaction and effectiveness can be enhanced by providing window views of meadows or flower beds or relaxing garden areas for breaks or meetings.
In most cases, restricting public access to extensive vegetative roofs can help to keep the building costs down, and reduce safety risk mitigation measures. When public access is allowed to vegetative roofs or other roof areas, additional building requirements usually apply. Accessible roof areas must include additional "live loads" in the structural analysis of the building. These areas would also include safety features such as railings and access ways that meet building codes for public areas. In those areas where public access is desired, frequently owners and architects will employ an intensive vegetative roof because the more robust building structure that results from applying the more stringent live loads will support the weight of the deeper growing media, which in turn can accommodate a wider range of uses such as lawn areas, vegetable gardens, or park-like settings that take advantage of the expanded planting palettes that are achievable with increased growing media depth.
8. Mitigation of Wildlife
Vegetative roofs will attract wildlife. This is not desirable on an extensive vegetative roof, which is not designed to support these habitats. Insects, spiders, snails, birds, and rodents (rats, mice, squirrels) all promote damage to the soil, plants, and roof materials, as well as create potential safety issues to maintenance personnel. Consult with local experts on native pests and mitigation techniques, prior to pest control measures. Sustainable pest management practices shall be employed before consideration of pesticides.
Because of the relative isolation of vegetative roofs and their often exposed environments, these roofs should not be looked to as a replacement for lost native habitat. Rather, extensive vegetative roofs contribute to increasing the visual encounter of urban dwellers with nature.
(For Intensive Vegetative Roofs, wildlife may be desirable. However, this instruction does not address the specificity of this type of vegetated roof environment.)
At present only vegetative roofs that receive favored treatment and generous financial incentives will be able to show a positive return on investment. While it is true that cities with combined sewer outflow problems can (and do, in Germany) release large financial benefits from using vegetative roofs to manage urban runoff, these savings must be transferred to property owners in the form of incentives for a vegetative roof to 'pay its way.' There are several cities in the United States where incentive packages make vegetative roofs financially attractive for developers.
A. Design Factors
There are many interactive factors that vegetative roof designers must take into account, balancing many considerations for optimal performance in each setting, including:
- Climate, especially temperature and rainfall patterns.
- Strength of the supporting structure.
- Size, slope, height, and directional orientation of the roof.
- Type of underlying waterproofing.
- Drainage elements, such as drains, scuppers, buried conduits, and drain sheets. Flashing details. Details for penetrations.
- Work on existing buildings where there are occupancy and/or phasing issues.
- Prevention of pest intrusion.
- Accessibility and intended use.
- Visibility, compatibility with architecture, and owner's aesthetic preferences.
- Fit with other sustainable systems or renewable technologies, such as solar panels, or "cool" (reflective) roof systems.
- Cost of materials and labor.
- Local fire code restrictions.
- Wind uplift forces.
- Design life.
- LEED considerations.
- Substrate provided.
- Building movement.
- Construction sequencing.
- Odors generated.
- Snow loads and overburden loads.
- Orientation of the building as it relates to surrounding buildings and shading.
- Security and fall protection.
- Combined warranty/maintenance period, and follow on warranty
- Required maintenance.
During the design process, several professionals on the design team may need to participate. Besides the Architect and the structural engineer, participation by a landscape architect and a soils consultant may be required. The compatibility of the vegetative roof assembly, fertilizers, natural pest mitigation and chemical pesticides (not recommended) with the waterproofing or membrane roofing is a critical design consideration, and consultation with waterproofing or roofing system manufacturers is usually necessary.
Origination of the soil medium is very important, to understand the potential risks of transporting destructive or non-native pests to a vegetative roof environment (example: engineered soils may originate in the Southern U.S. Native fire ant eggs, larvae, or adults may be transported to other locations where they are not native, but always considered a safety risk and a nuisance.)
Standard landscaping work considers plant hardiness; tolerance for sun and shade; and preference for wet, dry, rich, poor, alkaline, or acid soils as the major concerns to influence plant selection. Vegetative roof assembly design must consider important additional factors such as the loads of saturated growing media and mature plants on building structure, the effect of wind and erosion on lightweight growing media elevated above normal grade, the temperature of the growing media around plant root systems, the depths of the growing media appropriate for plant root systems, and the risk of brush fire posed by seasonal or drought-condition dieback of some plant varieties if they are unattended. The last factor explains why succulents, which retain water in their leaves, are often used in vegetative roofs.
B. Integration with Green Design
Vegetative roofs can be designed in conjunction with solar panels, and also work very well in combination with other 'low-impact' development measures, such as infiltration beds, rain gardens, bio-retention systems, cisterns and rain barrels. It is commonplace in Germany to find large developments that have zero runoff discharge. In these developments, rainfall is captured on the vegetative roofs, returned to ground water through infiltration, and re-used for irrigation, toilet flushing, etc.
C. Examples of Extensive Green Roofs in North America
Forty years of German experience and research indicates that extensive vegetative roofs will succeed in most climates, if properly designed. With appropriate plant selection, sufficient drainage, and adequate structural support for the additional dead weight, vegetative roofs can survive winter ice build-up and potential summer droughts. In North America, examples of extensive vegetative roof projects are present in all climate zones.
Because the few North American roofs that have been built to date demonstrate such a wide variety of settings and approaches, it is impossible to highlight "representative" case studies here. However, many updated case studies of vegetative roof projects, including both extensive and intensive designs, are available at Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.
D. Waterproofing, Protection Course, Leak Detection, Root Barrier, and Insulation
1. Waterproofing Membrane
Many premium roofing and waterproofing materials have been used in combination with vegetative roof installations. These include, but are not limited to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), modified bituminous sheet roofing membranes with liquid membrane deck prep, hot fluid-applied polymer-modified rubberized-asphalt waterproofing membranes, and other proprietary roof membranes available that the design team may consider with proper investigation.
Other materials are likely to enter the industry as their suitability is proven in certification testing and prototype installations. However, in general, the membrane or the membrane combined with the root barrier used in all vegetative roof applications should exhibit the following properties:
- High puncture resistance.
- Resistance to chemicals (e.g. fertilizer).
- Low water absorption.
- Low vapor transmission.
- Be approved by the manufacturer for use with ponded water.
- Be certified as passing a rigorous test for root penetration and biological test (existing recognized procedures are FLL and the Swiss Insurance Agency) if the assembly does not include a root barrier. Most EPDM and asphaltic membrane manufacturers require a root barrier. It is recommended that a root barrier protect all membranes.
- Have a track record of use as waterproofing in buried applications.
- Have manufacturer-approved details suitable for the conditions on the project.
- One source warranty from waterproofing through vegetation.
Worldwide, modified bituminous membranes, PVCs and hot fluid-applied rubberized asphalts are the most common. Many of these installations have now been in place for over 30 years.
Interfacing of different systems is challenging and requires careful thought and attention to detail. Where possible, the designer should consider the use of a single manufacturer for the interfacing systems. When joining systems of differing manufacturers, issues arise related to compatibility of products, warranty extents, long-term durability, and detailing concerns that could be avoided with a single manufacturer.
Selection of membranes for waterproofing would prioritize systems compatible with a fully adhered waterproofing membrane, protection course, root barrier, drainage layer, moisture-resistant insulation, aeration layer, moisture-retention layer, reservoir layer, and filter fabric layer. Preferably, these components are installed above the membrane in a protected membrane roof assembly (PMR) often referred to as an inverted roof membrane assembly (IRMA) as follows:
If the deck is reinforced concrete, use reinforced, minimum 215 mil thick hot fluid-applied rubberized asphalt, applied directly to the deck, in a protected membrane roof assembly (PMR) often referred to as an inverted roof membrane assembly (IRMA). Many waterproofing experts recommend this membrane as the premiere waterproofing product, especially where there is an overburden (planting or paving) that is expensive to remove and where the spaces beneath are of importance. The use of an adhered membrane prevents leaks from migrating laterally from the course of entry. If the deck is a steel deck, appropriate roof substrate sheathing (i.e., gypsum based boards, plywood) may be secured to the metal deck and the fully reinforced rubberized asphalt membrane applied to the surface. In many cases, the joints between substrate boards will need to be pre-detailed with rubberized asphalt membrane and appropriate reinforcing prior to the full membrane application). Odor management during installation should be a consideration in the use of this system.
A second choice would be two layers of modified bituminous rubberized asphalt cold-applied self adhering (use low VOC cold adhesive or there could be adverse effect on plants) membrane, set in liquid rubberized asphalt with aromatic isocyanurate polyol liquid waterproofing membrane.
A third choice would be cold liquid-applied polyurethanes. These systems are fully bonded to the deck.
A fourth choice would be a composite thermoplastic waterproofing membrane with an active polymer core and sealed seams. Note that some asphalt-modified polyurethanes exhibit variable permeance due to thickness variations in installation: Too thin can lead to osmotic permeance and blistering. Too thick can lead to exotherming.
Conventional (non PMR) configurations are sometimes employed with the insulation below the membrane. In these instances where the designer prefers the conventional configuration, membrane preferences should be either 80 mil reinforced PVC or 90 mil reinforced EPDM with all seams sealed and taped. Unlike IRMA roofs these systems have the drawback that they do not position the roof membrane directly over a permanent or semi-permanent substrate and typically do not provide insulating assemblies that are highly resistant to water and physical damage. These roof designs cannot prohibit or highly discourage the entrapment of water within the roof assembly and the membrane and insulation design is not conducive to in-place reuse or recycle in future roof iterations. A conventional configuration may be somewhat more desirable in warmer climates, where the addition of a vapor retarder below the insulation would not be required. See the discussion below, under Insulation regarding vapor barriers. Note that as of this writing a conventional configuration is required by some insurance underwriters.
The first objective is to design to avoid leaks. Construction oversight must find constructed leaks. Existing roof substrates must be inspected for leaks. The easiest leaks to find are when a membrane is fully bonded to a concrete substrate, as it is nearly impossible for the leak to travel horizontally under the membrane.
Although some membrane manufacturers assert that their waterproofing membrane products perform simultaneously as root barriers, a root barrier should always be installed over a waterproofing membrane with vegetation above.
Matrix of Waterproofing Systems (in order of preference)
|Reinforced hot fluid-applied rubberized asphalt|
|Modified bitumen set in liquid rubberized asphalt|
|Composite thermoplastic membrane with an active polymer core|
|Conventional (non PMR) single-ply membrane|
Provide for proper waterproofing terminations and counterflashing at or (preferably) above grade, either lapped into through-wall flashing at the backup wall or (where this is not possible) tucked into flashed reglets at the face as required by the specific material supplier/manufacture. Refer to referenced NRCA manuals for guidance. Test substrates and adjacent materials for bond and compatibility. The dryness of concrete substrates can be tested with simple poly tests (ASTM D4263) for moisture content. Peel test initial applications for proper bond to the substrate. In certain conditions such as when vapor drive is to the interior or when a concrete deck has been given a smooth finish, the results of the ASTM D4263 test procedure may not result in condensation being visible on the underside of the plastic sheet even though the concrete slab may be relatively wet. In such cases, a drilled-in moisture probe will give the relative humidity in the concrete, but it is not known at this time what relative humidity is acceptable. The roofing industry is looking into this. There is also a concern in the roofing industry that structural lightweight concrete decks may retain a high relative humidity for an extended period of time and could thus adversely affect the installed waterproofing membrane.
Caution is urged regarding the use of single ply roof membranes manufactured in the United States in vegetative assemblies. US materials should not be justified based on European precedents. There are substantial differences between the actual products and installation and climate and very different performance results. Be sure that the membrane is the EXACT same in every way to the physical characteristics and manufacturing as in the European precedent. Also, the designer should verify that all of the conditions of the climate, adjacent materials, and substrates are the same. Finally, is the quality of construction the same?
As noted in the draft ASTM standard Standard Guide for Selection of Roofing/Waterproofing Membrane Systems for Vegetative (Green) Roof Systems, "exposed surfaces of the roofing/waterproofing membrane system (e.g. flashings and penetrations) may become the most important factor in determining the longevity of an installation. Consequently, consideration should be given to providing protection for all surfaces of the roofing/waterproofing system. For instance, membrane flashings should be protected with a durable and U-V resistant protection layer or counter-flashing."
Consider adding a drainage mat directly above the root barrier, to promote removal of water above the membrane. This mat should be of an interwoven type, rather than dimpled or high-hat, to limit the loss of R-value due to the presence of the mat. It should have a compressive strength suitable to carry the loads above (minimum 20,000 psf).
The use of electric leak detection (see below) is recommended for all systems. Electric leak detection can precisely locate the source of leaks below the planting system. The leak detection wiring can be left in place so that leaks can be located in the future, without requiring overburden removal, though the presence of a root barrier or vapor retarder within the roof assembly may limit its effective use. Some manufacturers require the detection system to be left in place in order to include overburden removal in their warranties. Where leak detection wiring remains, maintenance requirements shall include inspection and care of these systems.
Insulation should be multi-layered extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam for PMR systems. The compressive strength of XPS should be based on the expected loading requirements, such as the weight of saturated growth medium, plants and vehicles; however, a minimum of 40 psi compressive strength should be used. All seams in insulation layers should be staggered from the layers above and below by a minimum of 6 inches. It is recommended (and required by some insulation manufacturers) to include an aeration layer in direct contact with the insulation board in order to maintain long-term thermal retention.
For both the PMR configuration and the conventional roof configuration, providing at least a minimum code compliant slope to drain, typically 1/4 inch per foot (2%), is always recommended. The "ideal" balance between a swift release of excess water, which is beneficial, and the risk of damage/degradation of certain materials, which is undesirable, should be sought. Steeper slope (up to 4%) may help with drainage and may help reduce ponding, which could be desirable for wood or light steel framed systems susceptible to excessive deflection. In accordance with NRCA, verify that deflection allowable under the structural design does not result in ponding. Verify that local code, membrane manufacturer or owner's standards do not require steeper slope. Benefits of steeper slope are offset by excessively thick insulation (if tapered insulation is used), increased number of roof drains with increase in associated piping, and potentially higher perimeter walls or parapets.
As noted in the draft ASTM standard Standard Guide for Selection of Roofing/Waterproofing Membrane Systems for Vegetative (Green) Roof Systems, "vegetative roof systems can be adversely affected by either excessive or insufficient drainage capacity. The first concern of the designer when addressing drainage should be to insure that the system can efficiently percolate and discharge the underflow associated with mandated design storms. Unless specifically designed to generate surface runoff, vegetative roof systems should not experience ponding or surface flow when subjected to rainfall events that would be normal for a typical year. All drains and scuppers should be protected from clogging caused by accumulation of foliage or debris. Conventional 'beehive' or 'bonnet' strainers are not suitable for this purpose. Chambers with removable lids are recommended for use at all drains and scuppers. Surrounding all drains and scuppers and depressions where underflow concentrates, coarse stone aggregate should be placed to facilitate percolation and horizontal flow toward the drainage facilities. The second concern of the designer should be to avoid excessive drainage of the vegetative roof system which may lead to perennially stressed conditions for the plants and, in extreme conditions, plant mortality."
In all instances, materials, methods of installation and quality assurance/quality control procedures must be more stringent when vegetative roof installation is involved. Waterproofing materials cannot withstand decades of root and biological attack unaided. Provide a root barrier, as discussed elsewhere, to protect the membrane. For information and standards pertaining to waterproofing materials, consult the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) or ASTM International (ASTM).
Matrix of Extensive Roof Waterproofing Systems
X See note 1
X See note 2
See note 2
Note 1: FM Global requires 8 inches of growth media with a PMR configuration (see section 184.108.40.206.2 of FM 1-35). Hence, they do not allow an extensive vegetative roof in this configuration, because an extensive vegetative roof is less than 6 inches thick, by definition. FM Global is approving vegetative roofs for fire resistance (mostly sedums), but not for wind uplift as of this writing.
Note 2: FM Global allows a vegetated roof over a steel deck with an appropriate FM fire test and suggests (par. 220.127.116.11 of FM Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1-35) that vegetated roofs be evaluated for interior fire exposure (as regards a Class I or Class II rating) in the same manner as for conventional roofing systems on metal deck.
For more information on waterproofing systems, refer to the Below Grade Systems chapter of the Building Envelope Design Guide.
2. Protection Course
A protection course (PC) is typically only required for hot fluid applied systems. This is typically a modified bitumen (MB) base ply approximately 80 mils thick with a sanded surface. This MB ply gets embedded into the top layer of hot fluid applied membrane while the membrane is still hot and tacky. This PC becomes integral with the membrane forming a very robust monolithic system. Other materials, provided they are compatible with system components, may be used for a protection course such as: asphaltic boards, (1/8" or 1/4" thick, typically 4 by 8 foot sheets) and extruded polystyrene boards or PVC sheets, as applicable for the waterproofing membrane system (e.g. do not use asphaltic board with PVC membranes).
3. Leak Detection
Verify the integrity of the waterproofing membrane prior to installing the overburden. Leak detection should always be performed prior to the installation of protection boards and non-conductive root barriers to allow more precise location of leaks.
Inexpensive methods for locating damaged waterproofing are available. These include spray testing, standing water flood testing, flowing water testing and the electric leak detection procedure. The latter can sometimes even locate leaks underneath overburden that is not too deep.
A standing water test can be conducted by plugging the drains and creating dams to contain water to a depth of 2" minimum at the high point for 24–48 hours. See ASTM D 5957 for guidance. For existing roof substrates, verify roof detailing exists to accommodate this test method. Also, care must be taken so the weight of water retained does not exceed the load-carrying capacity of the structural deck.
A flowing water test is conducted by applying a continuous flow of water across the entire membrane without plugging drains for a period of 24‐48 hours.
Electric leak detection is the preferred method of leak detection where scope and funding allow. Low and high voltage leak detection methods are available. There is, and probably will continue to be, disagreement as to which method is better. Some of the pros and cons are given below. Electric leak detection provides the precise location of leaks, but is generally not acceptable for use with black EPDM membranes due to the high conductivity of carbon black in the membrane.
Low Voltage (LV) Testing: With LV testing the surface of the roof membrane is moistened (not flooded) to create an electrically conductive medium. A conductive wire loop is laid out on the membrane around a section of the area to be tested. The wire can be left in place, so that the roof can be retested for leaks after installation of overburden. LV testing can be done in the rain. However, elements such as roof drains may need to be inspected and tested separately because they must be isolated from the electric leak detection process. If a vapor retarder is part of the roof system, it may limit the effective use of low voltage testing. Also, concrete decks m ay not be able to be tested if a PMR/IRMA system is used or a conventional configuration that is not mechanically fastened is used, unless a stainless steel grid screen is installed on the deck, below the membrane, to create a conductive field.
High Voltage (HV) Testing: HV testing may take less time to perform compared to LV testing. Also, areas immediately adjacent to elements such as drains can be tested. The membrane must be dry. Laps may be more difficult to test than with LV testing. As a result, white EPDM may be difficult to test, as well as black EPDM. Care must be taken not to damage the membrane due to the high voltage. Tests must be run and baseline readings taken to calibrate the equipment to prevent damage.
For more information on leak detection systems, refer to the WBDG Resource Page on Membrane Integrity Testing.
4. Root Barrier
Typically, root barriers are in the form of HDPE (high density polyethylene) or reinforced PVC. Depending upon the selection of plants, this membrane is between 10 mils to 30 mils thick. If there are laps they should be thermally fused. In the case of certain highly aggressive plants, a minimum 60–mil thick HDPE with welded seams should be utilized. Bamboo should not be used on a vegetative roof, due to the rhizomes (tips) that can penetrate many root barriers.
In some cases, the manufacturer of the MB Protection Course will infuse this layer with a root-inhibiting chemical, such as copper hydroxide. However, there is some evidence that, over time, these chemicals will breakdown, which reduces effectiveness, and leach off the roofs into the receiving runoff. Copper hydroxide root barriers are banned in several European countries and Canada.
Insulation should be located above the membrane, at least in cold climates or with high-humidity occupancies. In cold climates and with high humidity occupancies the need for a vapor retarder below the insulation would thereby create two vapor retarders (the waterproofing and the vapor retarder below the insulation). It is recommended to avoid two vapor retarders because any water that might get between them would be trapped and not be able to dry outward or inward.
It is suggested that the designer either perform a dew point analysis or refer to the NRCA Roofing and Waterproofing Manual for design calculations to determine if a vapor retarder below the insulation is required. The safest route is to locate the insulation above the waterproofing membrane in a protected roof membrane (PRM) or "IRMA" configuration, thereby avoiding the issues related to double vapor barriers. When necessary, multi-level drains to capture water from both the surface of the vegetative roof or ballast or paving and from the surface of the waterproofing membrane.
Use only extruded polystyrene insulation because it does not absorb water, especially if (when) the insulation is located above the waterproofing membrane as is recommended above. Boards need to be specifically manufactured for this application. To account for the R-value reduction due to the minor water absorption that occurs in PMR roofs, it is recommended that the designer reduce the board's initial R-value by 10%.
E. Moisture Retention / Drainage Composites and Filter Fabric
1. Moisture Retention / Drainage Composites (Panels)
The primary function of these composites is to retain and store water for future evapo-transpiration for the plants. These composites consist of a high-strength dimpled water-retention polymeric core laminated with a top soil filter fabric and bottom protection fabric. They retain various amounts of water, based on their design and thickness ranging from 0.06 gal/ft² to 0.16 gal/ft².
2. Filter Fabric
A separate filter fabric is not needed when using a Moisture Retention / Drainage Composite that integrates a filter fabric. A separate filter fabric must be added for: 1) Moisture Retention / Drainage Composites that do not include a topside filter fabric, or 2) aggregate drainage layers, or 3) Moisture Retention / Drainage Composites that are designed to be in-filled with drainage aggregate. The primary function is to keep fines from the growing media out of the drainage layer below.
This fabric is typically a non-woven polypropylene or polyester geotextile that is non-biodegradable, tear resistant and has high water permeability. Fabric should also be used to protect flashing membranes from direct contact with media at perimeters and penetrations.
Non-woven filter fabrics should not be used where the growing media has a high clay content, as the non-woven material can get clogged, thus impeding water flow. Where the growing media has a clay content greater than 15%, a woven filter should be utilized, due to its superior capability to filter fine materials without clogging.
To quote Edmund and Lucie Snodgrass from their book, "Green Roof Plants," "their benefits notwithstanding, vegetative roofs present a number of challenges that must be understood and addressed if they are to succeed in North America as more than high-end amenities or environmental anomalies. First, the paradigm must shift away from thinking of vegetative roofs as 'regular' gardens, only elevated. They are not like regular gardens; unlike natural landscapes, vegetative roofs have no equivalent in nature. They are engineered, fabricated systems and thus present unknowns for most landscape designers, architects and installers."
2. Growing Media
The growing media should be a well-drained engineered mineral soil and must be carefully designed for grain-size distribution, void ratio, moisture retention, etc. Aged compost should have been covered to protect it from weed seeds. In cold climates the media should also be resistant to breakdown from freeze/thaw. The organic matter content should be based on the manufacturer's recommendations for the climate conditions, plantings and specific application. Variation can exist from project to project. No two manufacturers or installers will recommend exactly the same system for the same project. Due diligence is highly recommended.
In many areas of the United States it is possible to design vegetative roofs without irrigation. That being said, it is essential to provide hose bibs where an irrigation system has not been used in case irrigation should become necessary. Even in arid climates, the demand for irrigation water can be greatly reduced by introducing water at the bottom of the vegetative roof profile. However, during the 2-3 year establishment period, most plants will require water to be introduced at the top or near the top of the profile until the root system becomes more fully extended. Spray irrigation should be avoided, except as a temporary means of irrigation during establishment or during emergency drought conditions. The design of the vegetative roof profile should encourage plant roots to grow to the base of the profile. Filter fabrics should be 'root permeable.' The total thickness of the profile should not exceed the natural root depth of the plants selected for the plant community.
Also from Snodgrass, "Since extensive vegetative roofs are traditionally non-irrigated and consist mostly of lightweight, inorganic medium, a plant specification list for a vegetative roof is quite different from one for a ground-level garden. This point cannot be overstated; most herbaceous perennials, including natives, that otherwise might work well for the hardiness zone of a given roof still will not be suitable for a vegetative roof microclimate. In addition, the average inorganic vegetative roof medium will not support most large root systems or their nutritional requirements, further limiting plant choices to those with shallow root systems and an ability to store water."
All vegetative roof planting plans should include drought-tolerant ever ground-covering plants. Varieties should be selected that are adapted to the particular climate, keeping in mind that conditions on roofs are more severe than on the ground. In general, initial plant densities should be greater than recommended for similar ground plantings. In temperate climates, varieties of Sedum are particularly well adapted for this purpose. Different ground-covering plants that may appropriate in other climates include species of: Potentilla, Carex, Phlox, Delosperma, Crassula, Portulaca, and Aloe. In some instances it will make sense to establish a stable ground cover before introducing other plants. To provide a vigorous multi-seasonal ground cover and to minimize problems associated with disease, insects, or climatic stresses, it is best to avoid large drifts of a single species.
There are four methods for establishing plants: direct seeding, plug planting, pre-grown mats, and modular systems.
G. Ancillary Aspects
The minimum slope required by the International Building Code is 1/4 inch per foot. An ideal slope would be somewhere around one inch per foot. On a roof that is too flat, inadequate drainage can lead to damage to the membrane and plants. On the other hand, a steep slope will provide better drainage, but can lead to slippage of materials.
2. Steep Slope Roof Installations
Figure 5. AMCOL International Building, Hoffman Estates, IL
To install extensive vegetative roof covers on pitches steeper than 2.5:12 (12 degrees) supplemental measures will be required to prevent sliding instability. Varied building systems have been developed to support vegetative covers on steeply pitched roofs. Pitched roof systems sometimes merge into vertical facade vegetative techniques.
The systems used to stabilize pitched roof installations depend on the underlying structural capacity and design, and the steepness of the roof. These systems are typically placed above the waterproofing and are designed to accommodate movement of water through the vegetative roof components. The first level of intervention is to employ a geotechnical matting system (for example, "Enkamat®") that physically ties together the growing media and vegetation roots so the any localized slipping of material is held in check by the mass and friction of the overall assembly.
As roof pitch increases above 4:12, a higher level of intervention is required to transfer the weight of the vegetative roof system to the structural framing system for the building. A professional specializing in sloped roof designs should be consulted for vegetative roofs on pitches steeper than 2:12. These systems are typically "cellular"; a framing or geo-composite material creates void cells when placed, which are then filled with the growing media and planted, creating a "matrix" of reinforcing material and vegetative roof components. Cables or tendons (in tension) within the matrix transfer the pull of gravity on the system upward to the ridge of the roof, where it can be physically tied to the structural frame for the buildings. Several manufacturers also provide rigid cribbing style framing systems that transfer the load downward, and the weight of the vegetative roof "matrix" becomes a compressive load on the eave or parapet of the building. Other methods such as adhered or fastened edging, composite nailers, "stepped" EPS, etc. may also be employed. Consult a structural engineer familiar with this type of construction.
3. Wind Resistance Systems and Structural Loading
Comply with applicable code requirements for loading criteria, typically ASCE 7 and ANSI/SPRI RP-14 Wind Design Standard for Vegetative Roofing Systems. It is recommended to at least follow RP-14, even if not required by code, to establish a minimum level of performance.
Follow the project's structural engineer's advice regarding allowable loads. As noted in the draft ASTM standard Standard Guide for Selection of Roofing/Waterproofing Membrane Systems for Vegetative (Green) Roof Systems, "The introduction of a vegetative roof system to a new or existing structure has an effect on both the live and dead loads. The addition of materials over the roofing/waterproofing membrane system associated with vegetative roof systems usually increases the dead load in varying amounts, based on the number, composition, and thickness of the layers of the system. Because of the transient water retention capacity of vegetative roof systems, the live loads may increase as well. In accessible roofs, the live loads created by human occupants should be taken into account. Minimum live load allowances for access by pedestrians, as well as by maintenance personnel apply in most jurisdictions... Consideration of appropriate design loads is the responsibility of the project engineer and should be addressed before the vegetative roof system is designed."
If the project is insured under FM Global, then also comply with FM Data Sheet 1-28. Note that FM tends to assume the most conservative situation, such as requiring that the designer assume that the vegetative cover may have blown off due to lack of moisture content. Given the paucity of reliable data, some designers may wish to also make this assumption based on criticality of performance, expected maintenance and other criteria.
FM Global calls for a minimum of eight inches of vegetative roof media if it is to be used as ballast (FM Data Sheet 1-35, par. 18.104.22.168.2). In addition, the design should use a safety factor of 1.7 for wind uplift calculations based on Data Sheet 1-28. These requirements may be in excess of what would be required if the project is not FM insured.
Where a project requires compliance with FM Loss Prevention Data Sheets, those requirements govern where they are more stringent than those noted herein. Calculations are required to prove that the ballast is adequate in preventing uplift on a project-by-project basis. If the project does not require compliance with FM Loss Prevention Data Sheets, then going less than that noted in Data Sheet 1-35 should be backed up by calculations.
Once plant material is gone and bare media is exposed, perhaps due to drought or lack of maintenance, there is an immediate threat that the soil may begin to blow away and the entire roof can 'unravel.' It is prudent to include netting, or a wind blanket, at least until the plants have established themselves. The plants can grow through the netting, but will hold the soil together. The key to achieve a successful wind protection is devising a way to secure the netting without using staples, stakes, etc., that can pose a risk to the waterproofing. The materials should be resistant to UV (although they do tend to become rapidly concealed by soil and plants).
There is usually a vegetation-free zone (often stone ballast or pavers) at the perimeter of the roof, to prevent scouring, or soil loss and damage. Stone ballast or pavers are also used around roof access and rooftop equipment. ANSI/SPRI RP-14 (Wind Design Standard for Vegetative Roofing Systems) can be consulted for guidance with respect to the design of these zones.
Certain high-wind, hurricane, and typhoon locations should not use vegetative systems without serious consideration of these forces.
4. Wind and Fire Resistance
The wind and fire resistance standards are still under development by the vegetative roof industry and codes/standards organizations. Fire properties of protection boards and thermal barriers over a steel deck or underlayment over a steel deck with a PMR are of particular importance, given the presence of combustible material associated with typical vegetative roof assemblies. Specify that the membranes meet UL or FM Global requirements, and add the vegetative system. The available criteria should be conservatively assessed, and vegetative systems should be reviewed carefully by local building officials.
5. Modular Systems
Modular systems involve installing the vegetative roof system inside plastic trays. Use of these systems does not relieve the designer from responsibility for considering the integrity of the underlying waterproofing system, nor does it make location of damaged waterproofing easier, it does provide cleaner and simplified access and vegetative roof replacement in the case of potential leak repairs. However, these systems can be useful when designing small gardens on residential property or terraced commercial roofs. They also preserve flexibility to re-arrange landscape designs in the future. Owners who wish to engage in active gardening will find modules a convenient way to do this without damage to their homes' waterproofing.
6. Solar Reflectance
Review project requirements for solar reflectance from adjacent buildings, mechanical equipment, photovoltaic panels, etc., that may reflect sunlight onto the vegetative roof. Reflected sunlight may burn localized areas. (Example: Localize burning of plants has been documented as late as September in New England.)
7. Public Access
Public access is not recommended on extensive vegetated roofs, since this roof system is not designed for the live load or disturbance. Limit public access volume and accessible areas. In the accessible areas, provide guardrails to prevent falling and measures to protect the plants from damage.
H. Maintenance and Warranties
Specify a maintenance period long enough to ensure the initial establishment of healthy plants. A minimum two-year maintenance/warranty period should be included in the initial construction contract, to ensure plant establishment, training of maintenance personnel, and thorough remediation of local pest issues. Vegetative roof should thereafter be maintained by trained personnel at least twice a year. Many vegetative installers will only warranty roof with this type of maintenance policy. Take time to understand the installers' warranty.
Provide easily accessible inspection chambers in drainage outlets to ensure that the drainage system can be cleaned of roots, displaced growth media and ballast, dead foliage, and other debris, and otherwise be maintained.
In general, warranties insure the owner against defective products and/or inadequate installation by the contractor. They can cover all products of the vegetative roof installation including the waterproof membrane, root barriers, filter fabrics, growth medium, drainage layers, etc. as well as the workmanship of the installation subcontractors. There are several waterproofing manufacturers that will warrant the entire vegetative roof system, including removal and restoration of the overburden, if they provide all of the materials in the original construction.
Some items to consider regarding warranties on a project-by-project basis:
Relevant Codes and Standards
In the United States, vegetative roof designs are generally regulated using existing standards for ballasted roofs. The International Code Council (ICC) code, used for guidance by many municipal authorities and referenced by many state codes, recognizes roof gardens and landscaped roofs. It requires that the 'wet weight' of the vegetative roof be treated as an additional dead load. It also supplies live load requirements for maintenance-related foot traffic and for regulated pedestrian access. ICC also provides standards for parapet heights and requirements for railings.
Check with your local code official regarding the local code requirements for vegetative roofs. Also consider compliance with the standards listed at the end of this page.
Trade organizations such as National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) are developing guidelines for waterproofing with vegetative roof installations in mind. In addition, ASTM International (ASTM), through the Green Roof Task Group E06.71, is in the process of developing guidelines and testing procedures specifically for vegetative roof products. For more information, see the ASTM's work group web site.
At present, the most comprehensive guidelines for vegetative roof construction, especially for growth media, are those developed by Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftentwicklung Landschaftsbau. e.V. (FLL) in Germany Guideline for the Planning, Execution and Upkeep of Green-Roof Sites (Richlinien für die Planung, Ausführung and Plege von Dachbegrünung). These standards and guidelines include industry standard tests for growing medium weight, moisture, nutrient content, grain-size distribution, etc. for 90% of the climate zones in the United States. But they do not include plant recommendations. The 2008 edition of the guide is available in English. FLL also certifies laboratories to conduct critical tests such as the root penetration resistance of waterproofing membranes. Many vegetative roof products available in the United States have FLL certification. Although its principles apply to vegetative roofs in the United States, its specific recommendations apply to a central European climate.
- ANSI/SPRI RP-14 Wind Design Standard for Vegetative Roofing Systems (PDF 1.5 MB)
- ANSI/SPRI VF-1 External Fire Design Standard for Vegetative Roofs (PDF 125 KB)
- E2396 Standard Test Method for Saturated Water Permeability of Granular Drainage Media [Falling-Head Method] for Green Roof Systems.
- E2397 Standard Practice for Determination of Dead Loads and Live Loads associated with Green Roof Systems.
- E2398 Standard Test Method for Water Capture and Media Retention of Geocomposite Drain Layers for Green Roof Systems.
- E2399 Standard Test Method for Maximum Media Density for Dead Load Analysis of Green Roof Systems.
- E2432 Standard Guide for General Principles of Sustainability Relative to Buildings.
- Future ASTM E2777 draft by Work Group 25385 with a working title of, WK 25385—Standard Guide for Vegetative (Green) Roof Systems.
- Future ASTM standard by Work Group 29304 with a working title of, WK 29304—Standard Guide for Selection of Roofing/Waterproofing Membrane Systems for Vegetative (Green) Roof Systems. This is a draft standard and subject to change.
FM Global Standards
- Approval Standard #4477 for Vegetative Roof Systems (PDF 122 KB)
- Approval Standard #4470 for Single-Ply, Polymer-Modified Bitumen Sheet, Built-Up Roof (BUR) and Liquid-Applied Roof Assemblies for Use in Class 1 and Non-Combustible Roof Deck Construction (PDF 171 KB)
- Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1-28 Wind Design
- Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1-28R Roofing systems
- Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1-29 Roof Deck Securement and Above Deck Roof Components
- Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1-34 Hail Damage
- Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1-35 Green Roof Systems (PDF 1.19 MB)
- Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1-54 Roof Loads for New Construction (PDF 3.28 MB)
Products and Systems
Building Envelop Design Guide: Roofing Systems
Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers:
- 07 10 00 (07100) Dampproofing & Waterproofing
- 07 33 63 (02930) Vegetated Roof Covering
- 07 50 00 (07500) Membrane Roofing
- 07 55 63 (07530) Vegetated Protected Membrane Roofing
MasterSpec® Section 32 95 00 (02940) Vegetated Roof Assemblies
Note that the Evaluations sheets make for a good manual, except that it has a major flaw; it refers only to conventional roofing systems, not to waterproofing systems.
Non-commercial organizations that can provide current lists of vegetated roof service providers and are a useful source of up-to-date information, include:
|National Agencies and Nonprofit Organizations||Headquarters|
|U.S. Environmental Protection Agency||Washington, DC|
|U.S. Green Building Council||Washington, DC|
|Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Coalition||Toronto, ON, Canada|
In addition, some regional groups and agencies have distinguished themselves in the promotion of vegetated roofs. These include the Earthpledge Foundation in New York City, Northwest Eco-Builders Guild, Green Roof Advisory Group (GRAG) in Austin, TX, Green Roof info Think-Tank (GRiT) in Portland, Ore. and Cleveland Green Building Coalition.
Design and Analysis Tools
The following table provides links to key analysis, simulation, and research evaluating and predicting the performance of vegetated roofs.
|Storm Water Management||Analysis & Simulation||Roofscapes, Inc. & Optigrün Intl. AG||Charlie Miller|
|Storm Water Management||Research||Michigan State University||Bradley Rowe
|Research||North Carolina State Univ., Water Resource Institute||Greg Jennings
|Research||Pennsylvania State Univ., Center for Green Roof Research||Rob Berghage|
|Research||Portland Bureau of Environmental Services||Tom Liptan|
|Water Quality||Research||University of Applied Sciences Neubrandenburg||Manfred Köhler
|Research||Pennsylvania State Univ., Center for Green Roof Research||Rob Berghage|
|Research||Canadian National Research Council, Inst. for Research and Construction||Karen Liu|
|Research||British Columbia Institute of Technology||Maureen Connelly|
|Habitat Creation||Research||University of Applied Science Wädenswil||Stephan Brenneisen|
|Research||Optigrüen International AG||Gunter Mann|
German universities with significant on-going research in the science and engineering of vegetated roofs include (note that all websites are in German):
- Weihenstephan Fachhochschule
- Bayerische Landesanstalt für Weinbau und Gartenbau (LWG), Veithöchstheim
- Universität Hannover
- Techniche Universität Neubrandenburg
- Universität Essen
- Building Technologies Associated with Rooftop Greening for Better Environment—The Building Centre of Japan also has a comprehensive and explanatory publication. Portions of the site and document are only available in English, but a translator may be required for the other parts in Japanese.
- Dach + Grün—the most respected vegetated roof publication worldwide, a German language quarterly published by FBB (Fachvereinigung Bauwerksbegrünung e.V.). To subscribe contact Verlag Dieter A. Kuberski GmbH, Postfach 102744, 70023 Stuttgart, Germany (Fax 011-711-2388619)
- Green Roof Infrastructure Monitor—the most comprehensive English language periodical dedicated to vegetated roofs is published quarterly by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC). A quarterly web-based publication, Green Roof Infrastructure Journal, is available to GRHC members.
- Introduction to the FLL-Guidelines (PDF 105 KB)—a brief overview of the FFL guidelines written by Peter M. Philippi of Green Roof Service, LLC.
- Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction by Earth Pledge, foreword by William McDonough. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Atglen, Pennsylvania, 2005.
- Green Roofs in Sustainable Landscape Design, Steven Cantor, 2008, W.W.Norton [ISBN: 978-0-393-73168-2]
- Green Roof Plants, Ed Snodgrass & Lucie Snodgrass, 2006, Timber Press [ISBN-13: 978-0-88192-787-0]
- Green Roof Systems, Susan Weiler & Katrin Scholz-Barth, 2009, John Wiley and Sons [ISBN: 978-0-471-67495-5]
- Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls, Nigel Dunnett & Noël Kingsbury, 2004, Timber Press [ISBN: 978-0881926408]
- The Green Roof Manual, Ed Snodgrass & Linda McIntyre, 2010, Timber Press [ISBN: 978-1-60469-049-1]
- Vegetative Roof Systems Manual, 2009, National Roofing Contractors Associations, National Roofing Contractors Association
- Vegetative Roof Systems Manual, National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA). The "bible" for waterproofing under vegetated roofs.
- Roofing Manual: Membrane Roof Systems, National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)
- Roofing Manual: Architectural Metal Flashing, Condensation Control and Reroofing, National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)
- Roofing Manual: Steep-slope Roof Systems, National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)
- NRCA Waterproofing Manual
- The Green Roof Manual: A Professional Guide to Design, Installation, and Maintenance by Edmund C. Snodgrass and Linda McIntyre.
- Guideline for the Planning, Execution and Upkeep of Green-Roof Sites (Richtlinien für die Planung, Ausführung and Plege von Dachbegrünung). Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau e. V. (FLL).
- The Green Roofs for Healthy Cities website has an extensive database of papers, searchable by topic.
- Columbia University study, "A Temperature and Seasonal Energy Analysis of Green, White, and Black Roofs," (PDF 1.07 MB) S. R. Gaffin et. al.
- Ghent University study, "Green Roofs for Quietness," Dr. ir. Timothy Van Renterghem and Prof. Dr .ir. Dick Botteldooren.
- "The Stormwater Control Potential of Green Roofs in Seattle," Taylor, B.L., ASCE Conf. Proc. 333, 11 (2008), DOI:10.1061/41009(333)11. This paper summarizes findings from Pacific Northwest monitoring efforts and hydrologic modeling of vegetated roofs in the Pacific maritime climatic region.
- "Conference proceedings from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities—Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities," (annual conference and trade show 2004–2009), covering a wide range of research and case studies. Available from www.greenroofs.org
- "Green Roofs for Stormwater Runoff Control," (PDF 2.8 MB) US EPA February 2009, EPA/600/R-09/026
- "Structural Considerations for Green Roof Retrofits", technical memorandum prepared by Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Inc. for City of Seattle Public Utilities department, 2007.
- "Green Roof in the Desert—Tempe Transportation Center Roof Garden," (PDF 1.2 MB) Dr. Vidar Lerum, College of Design, Arizona State University Lab Report, April 7, 2006.
- On water retention: Liescke, 1998; Moran e. al., 2004; DeNardo et. al., 2005; VanWoert et. al., 2005.
- Carbon Sequestration Potential of Extensive Green Roofs, Getter et. al., 2009, Environment Science & Technology Vol. 43, No. 19.
- Green roofs are not created equal: the hydrologic and thermal performance of six different extensive green roofs and reflective and non-reflective roofs in a sub-tropical climate, Simmons et. al., 2008, Urban Ecosystems Vol. 11, No. 4 DOI: 10.1007/s11252-008-0069-4.
- American Hydrotech, Inc.—Garden Roof Assembly
- Columbia Green
- GreenGrid Green Roof Systems—Weston / ABC Supply
- Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
- GreenTech Systems
- International Green Roof Association
- Live Roof® Hybrid Green Roof System
- Oak Ridge National Laboratories DOE Cool Roof Calculator
- Plant Connection, Inc.—List of local ordinances
- Roofmeadow (formerly Roofscapes)
- Tremco (formerly BioTray)
Vegetated roof covers may now be purchased in conjunction with most conventional waterproofing systems, some of which have been tested by FLL for compatibility with vegetated roofs. There are no known North American tests. At least ten North American roofing companies offer vegetated roof assemblies as standard auxiliary products, and more companies are entering the field all the time.
- RoofNav—RoofNav is a free Web-based tool developed by FM Approvals™ that provides fast access to the most up-to-date FM Approved roofing products and assemblies. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31554000 |
Information on global society, current affairs and commentary is right at your fingertips through the following databases:
This shows the latest newspapers from around the world with the same layout on the screen as they have in print. Pages are complete with photographs, graphics and even advertisements. It has hundreds of newspapers from 80 countries in 40 languages. It is very up to date, with some newspapers appearing on the database before they are published in their home country. Pages can be printed or emailed. You can browse one newspaper on a particular day or search across many titles going back 60 days.
Start search | PressDisplay Tutorial
ProQuest ANZ Newsstand
This database offers full text, searchable access to national and provincial newspapers in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand titles include The Dominion Post, The New Zealand Herald, Sunday Star-Times, The Press (Christchurch), Truth, and past issues of The Evening Post and The Dominion. Australian newspapers include the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne), the Australian and ABC news sources. Many titles can be searched going back several years.
Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context
Search across the database or select from a wide range of contemporary topics such as cloning, race relations, chemical weapons and narcotics legalization. Opposing Viewpoints draws on the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources, to provide a complete one-stop source for information on social issues. Access viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.
Contemporary Women's Issues
This multidisciplinary, full-text database brings together relevant content from mainstream periodicals, often overlooked and hard-to-find newsletters and NGO research, plus ephemeral literature from leading research institutes and grass roots organizations that is rarely indexed or catalogued - with a focus on the critical issues and events that influence women's lives in more than 190 countries. Contemporary Women's Issues covers a spectrum of women's concerns ranging from domestic violence, employment and the workplace, and gender equity to family, reproductive health and human rights.
A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics: business, computers, current events, economics, education, environmental issues, health care, hobbies, humanities, law, literature and art, politics, science, social science, sports, technology, and many general interest topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with images. Updated daily.
Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre
The Australia/NZ Reference Centre combines Australia and New Zealand specific magazines, newspapers & newswires, reference books, and company information to create the largest collection of regional full text content available. This database provides local perspectives on current events, business, sports, and many other subjects. Titles include Australian House & Garden, Australian Geographic, NZ Business, New Zealand Management, Metro, Australia Country Report, New Zealand Country Report, New Zealand Herald, etc.
Click here for a full list of titles.
Designed specifically for public libraries, this huge database provides full text for nearly 1,950 general periodicals covering a range of subjects including current affairs, business, entertainment, education, health, general science, multi-cultural issues and much more. In addition to the full text, it provides indexing and abstracts for nearly 2,600 other titles. This database also features: 5,000 full text Magill Book Reviews, 316 reference and travel books including the World Almanac & Book of Facts 2001; full text from 88,000 biographies, 83,500 full text primary source documents, and an image collection of 107,000 photos, maps and flags.
ProQuest Research Library(Previously known as Academic Research Library)
Search for coverage from 1971 onwards on a broad range of subjects including arts, business, children, education, general interest, health, humanities, international, law, military, multicultural, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's interests. Features a diversified mix of scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers. Nearly 4,000 titles, over 2,800 in full text. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31556000 |
We've heard a lot about the benefits of breastfeeding, and the idea that it reduces the risk of a child becoming overweight or obese has been around for decades.
But a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association contradicts that idea. It suggests that though breastfeeding has many benefits, reducing the likelihood that a child becomes obese or overweight may not be one of them. The evidence to support this conclusion is strong as the study was based on a large randomized controlled trial.
This study was conducted in Belarus at maternity hospitals and the clinics affiliated with them.
Researchers initially looked at information about more than 17,000 pairs of mothers and infants who were breastfeeding. Of them, about 14,000 participated in the follow-up period between January 2008 and December 2010; the children by that time were around 11 years old.
Only healthy, singleton babies who were born weighing at least 2,500 grams (5.5 pounds) were included in the research. Their mothers had initiated breastfeeding and didn't have any conditions that could impact their ability to breastfeed.
This was a randomized controlled study, meaning it is unlikely that other factors besides the breastfeeding intervention influenced the outcomes, said Richard M. Martin, lead study author based at the University of Bristol's School of Social and Community Medicine.
Sixteen of the health facilities were randomly chosen to receive a breastfeeding intervention based on the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, which the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund developed. This initiative helps mothers to start breastfeeding soon after birth and demonstrates breastfeeding to new mothers.
The other 15 clinics did not receive the intervention. Instead, they proceeded with their standard practices, which included early introduction of non-breast liquids and promoting scheduled breastfeeding rather than breastfeeding on demand. "The mothers weren't encouraged to breastfeed early on," Martin said. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31557000 |
The Kyodo news agency reported that the cooling system has failed at three reactors of Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant. The coolant water's temperature had reached boiling temperature, the agency reported, citing the power plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power.
The cooling system failure at the No. 2 power plant came after officials were already troubled by the failure of the emergency cooling system at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, which officials feared could cause a meltdown.
Photos: Scenes from the earthquake
Authorities have ordered the evacuation of all civilians in a two-mile radius around the No.1 plant, a total of about 3,000 people, and planned to vent slightly radioactive steam from the plant, located about 160 miles north of Tokyo.
A properly functioning cooling system is critical to keep radioactive material from escaping the nuclear reactor's containment zone.
Videos of the earthquake
For more: Post-quake events at Japan nuclear plant raise concerns | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31560000 |
Apotheosis of Peter's Military Glory
“Apotheosis of Peter's Military Glory” exalts Tsar Peter the Great (1672–1725) as a wise ruler and military leader. The print shows Peter standing on a pedestal depicting battle scenes, surrounded by portraits of the 33 tsars and grand dukes who ruled Russia from the ninth century to the beginning of Peter’s reign in 1682. Labels beneath the portraits provide brief information about each ruler. Behind Peter stretches a chain of maps of the fortresses that he seized in battle. The work was commissioned by the Russian state ... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31561000 |
What if everything you thought you knew about education was wrong?
What if students learn more quickly on their own, working in teams, than in a classroom with a teacher?
What if tests and discipline get in the way of the learning process rather than accelerate it?
Those are the questions Sugata Mitra has been asking since the late 1990s, and for which he was awarded the $1 million TED Prize on Tuesday, the first day of the TED2013 conference.
Mitra, professor of educational technology at Newcastle University, won the prize for his concept of "self organizing learning environments," an alternative to traditional schooling that relies on empowering students to work together on computers with broadband access to solve their own problems, with adults intervening to provide encouragement and admiration, rather than top-down instruction.
Mitra's work with students in India has gained wide attention and was the focus of a 2010 TED Talk on his "hole in the wall" experiment, showing the potential of computers to jump-start learning without any adult intervention.
Coming to education trained as a physicist, Mitra said he was encouraged by his boss to start teaching people how to write computer programs. When he bought his first personal computer, he was surprised to find that his 6-year-old son was able to tell him how to fix problems he had operating the machine. He thought his son was a genius, but then heard his friends saying the same thing about their children.
Thinking about children living in slums in New Delhi, he said, "It can't be possible that our sons are geniuses and they are not." Mitra set up a publicly accessible computer along the lines of a bank ATM, behind a glass barrier, and told children they could use it, with no further guidance.
They soon learned to browse the Web in English, even though they lacked facility in the language. To prove the experiment would work in an isolated environment, he set up another "hole in the wall" computer in a village 300 miles away. After a while, "one of the kids was saying we need a faster processor and a better mouse."
When the head of the World Bank came to see the experiment, Mitra said he encouraged him to go to the New Delhi slum and see for himself. After spending time with the children, bank President James Wolfensohn "came back and put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'How much?' " Mitra said he received $1.5 million, which allowed him to press on with experiments in India, Cambodia and Africa, finding self-organized learning worked to improve English-language pronunciation, reading comprehension and even the basics of DNA replication. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31563000 |
The aorta is the largest artery in the body. The aorta begins at the top of
the left ventricle, the heart's muscular pumping chamber. The heart pumps blood
from the left ventricle into the aorta through the aortic valve. Three leaflets
on the aortic valve open and close with each heartbeat to allow one-way flow of
The aorta is a tube about a foot long and just over an inch in diameter. The
aorta is divided into four sections:
• The ascending aorta rises up from the heart and is about 2 inches long. The
coronary arteries branch off the ascending aorta to supply the heart with
• The aortic arch curves over the heart, giving rise to branches that bring
blood to the head, neck, and arms.
• The descending thoracic aorta travels down through the chest. Its small
branches supply blood to the ribs and some chest structures.
• The abdominal aorta begins at the diaphragm, splitting to become the paired
iliac arteries in the lower abdomen. Most of the major organs receive blood
from branches of the abdominal aorta.
Like all arteries, the aorta's wall has several layers:
• The intima, the innermost layer, provides a smooth surface for blood to flow
• The media, the middle layer with muscle and elastic fibers, allows the aorta
to expand and contract with each heartbeat.
• The adventitia, the outer layer, provides additional support and structure to | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31566000 |
Calories can be difficult to understand because you hear so many different things from different sources. But here is the basic idea: your body needs a certain amount of energy per day to function properly .i.e. to digest food, walk, talk, exercise, etc. The amount of energy your body needs depends on your weight, age, gender, and how active you are. We get calories from food, and through metabolism, these calories are converted into energy. So the amount of energy your body needs is directly proportionate to how many calories you need.
If you consume more calories than your body needs, your body stores the excess as fat. When you work out, you burn the excess calories; which means you are essentially burning off the fat. This is how you maintain your body fat ratio. This is why it’s important to understand that there's no magical way to lose weight. It comes down to two things: exercise and diet.
To lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in every day. Visit http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-burned.php for a tool to help estimate how many calories you burn per day based on your age, weight, gender, and level of activity. Note: it’s just an estimate. The amount of time it’ll take you to lose weight just depends on how many calories you eat minus how many calories you burn daily. When this value - i.e. amount you take in minus amount you burn - gets to about 3,500 calories, you have effectively lost about 1 pound or 0.45 kilograms (since 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat).
Different levels of physical activity burn different number of calories depending on intensity. Please visit http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109 for a summary of about how many calories are burned with different types of exercises.
If you have more questions, please leave a comment or start a discussion on the Eights and Weights Facebook page here . Also, if there are individual fitness topics you'd like to hear more about, please leave a note on the Facebook page.
My motto for the week: To truly live better, strive to understand what your body needs. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31570000 |
Canadian hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, also called hemlock spruce and eastern hemlock is another of the East’s mighty evergreens. It is the state tree of Pennsylvania. Trees can live 500 years, grow from 100 to 170 feet tall and be five to six feet in diameter. Rickett’s Glen State Park in Pennsylvania has many of these behemoths of the forest.
They are shade tolerant and if the canopy is closed will bide their time until an opening occurs and then they will have a growth spurt. My fifty year hemlocks are only about 12 feet tall. In one section of Woodland Park there are some tall old hemlocks; magnificent specimens as well as a small grove up the hill from me. Hemlock does not make a good Christmas tree because it does not retain its needles. Oh that it would!
Hemlock bark contains a lot of tannin useful in converting the hides and pelts to leather. There were so many trees that many hemlocks were cut down, stripped of their bark and the logs left to rot. After all, the supply seemed inexhaustible.
Unlike pine, hemlock is easy to prune and can make a dense hedge. On one of my garden visits I saw such a hedge that was probably 12 feet high. A neighbor maintained such a hedge for years albeit only 5-6 feet tall. I had a hedge, but in such dense shade that the lower branches died and I finally removed all but two of them...
Early on I became interested in dwarf conifers, especially dwarf hemlocks and acquired a few nice specimens. They were doing great BF (Before the Fence) until the deer discovered and wiped them out one winter. Since I erected the fence I have added a few more. Dwarf only means slow growing and some can eventually overpower their allotted space. But as I remarked earlier they are easy to prune and therefore can be maintained at a comfortable size. My favorite dwarf is ‘Cole’s Prostrate’ which I was able to buy a few years ago. When I bought it, I had a special spot for it; at the corner of the wall leading off the patio. Here it can spread in all directions lying low and draping over the wall. Each year it will drape another inch or two adding more interest. One plant after 25 years was but 6 inches tall and 40 inches wide.
In contrast ‘Sargentii’ is a pendulous form which grows upright before draping. A few years ago I saw one such specimen at Longwood Gardens that must have been 10 feet in height and 30-40 feet wide. Not a hemlock for the average home garden. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31571000 |
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Fri December 21, 2012
Why Some Kids Have An Inflated Sense Of Their Science Skills
Originally published on Fri December 21, 2012 8:49 pm
If you're a student at the halfway point of the academic year, and you've just taken stock of your performance, perhaps you have reason to feel proud of yourself.
But a recent study suggests some of the pride you feel at having done well — especially in science — may be unfounded. Or at least your sense of your performance may not be a very accurate picture of how good you actually are.
A massive analysis of some 350,000 students at nearly 14,000 schools in 53 countries has uncovered a paradox: Students in many countries that are mediocre at science have an inflated sense of how good they are.
First the good news: The United States isn't among the worst offenders. Students in countries such as Thailand, Jordan, Mexico and Brazil seem to be worse than U.S. students when it comes to science knowledge, but they have even higher levels of self-esteem when it comes to their beliefs about how good they are at science.
But compared to countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Japan, South Korea and Great Britain, American students appeared to have an inflated sense of their science abilities. Students in those other countries were better when it came to scientific knowledge than American students, but it was the Americans who had the higher opinion of themselves as students of science.
The study, published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, focused on the academic performance of 15 year-old students. It was conducted by Eva Van de gaer, Aletta Grisay, Wolfram Schulz and Eveline Gebhardt.
The paradox between performance and students' impression of their performance has been noted before. The paper proposes an explanation for it: The reference group effect.
The study argues that countries have very different standards when it comes to science education.
In countries with elite science education standards, you can be a very good science student but, since you measure yourself against an elite standard of performance, you think of yourself as mediocre. On the other hand, if you live in a country with average (or mediocre) science standards, you might be just a decent student, but compared to general expectations of how good students are supposed to be, you feel like a genius.
In an interview, Schulz offered me an analogy. He asked me to think about a person who was 5-foot-10 in China and a person who was the same height in the Netherlands. The Dutch, on average, are taller than the Chinese.
"The person would in China probably think of themselves as a tall person," Schulz said. "If you go to the Netherlands, such a person would rather say, 'ah, I'm a short person,' because you compare yourself to those who surround you."
The same thing happens with science education, he said. Students in countries with elite science standards are much more likely to think of themselves as mediocre, whereas students in countries with mediocre standards are much more likely to think of themselves as elite.
Schulz works at the Australian Council for Educational Research, which studies educational issues in science, mathematics and reading.
Schulz told me the reference group effect could potentially be a double-edged sword: In terms of preparing students for competition with one another, it makes good sense to get a realistic sense of how good you actually are compared to, say, your peers in South Korea. On the other hand, Schulz said, there was also something to be said for having an inflated sense of your own abilities.
"For motivating students to take up science studies, how you perceive yourself is actually more important than how much you know," he said. "If your general belief (is) you're not that good at science, that might have this powerful effect of saying, 'Ah, I'd better stay away from it in the future.' "
STEVEN INSKEEP, HOST:
Next, let's talk about the power of positive, or not-so-positive, thinking. Not long ago on this program, we heard some research suggesting that student performance in class may be affected by what their teachers think of them. If the teacher gives off signals that the student is not a great student, the student will do worse. If the teacher gives off signals that the student is good, the student may well do better.
NPR's Shankar Vedantam joins us regularly to talk about social science research. He's been looking into a related finding. Hi, Shankar.
SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.
INSKEEP: You're also looking into what students think about themselves. What did you find?
VEDANTAM: Well, I'm looking at something that looks like a paradox. So if you went to any school and you generally asked students, what subjects are you good at? the students who say they're good at science are generally, going to be the students who actually are good at science. The students who say they're good at math are generally, going to be good at math.
VEDANTAM: Right? And educators have known for a long time that if you ask students what they're good at, it's a usually reliable predictor to what they're actually good at.
INSKEEP: Sure. They're getting grades, and they know what they're comfortable with, right.
VEDANTAM: Now, it turns out, however, that this relationship between beliefs and performance breaks down at an international level.
INSKEEP: What do you mean, it breaks down at an international level?
VEDANTAM: Well, researchers recently tracked about 350,000 students in about 14,000 schools, across 53 countries - massive, massive study. And it turned out that if you looked at individual countries and individual schools, this link between belief and performance held in each school, and in each country. However, when you compared students between countries, the relationship didn't hold.
So let me give you an example. Students in the United States, for example, performed less well in science than students in New Zealand or Australia or Sweden or Japan or Korea or Great Britain. But when you asked the students, how good do you think you are at science? students in the United States say they are better at science than students in those other countries.
INSKEEP: OK, so why would that be?
VEDANTAM: So I spoke with Wolfram Schulz; he's a researcher at the Australian Council for Educational Research. And he told me this is the result of a psychological illusion; which is, when you ask someone to judge themselves, the way they do it is they compare themselves with those who are immediately around them, right? The problem is, people have different reference groups in different countries.
VEDANTAM: So if you look at somebody who is 5 foot, 10 inches tall, in China; and somebody who is 5 foot, 10 inches tall, in the Netherlands; they're the same height. But if you ask them, are you tall or short? they're probably going to give you very different answers in those two countries.
WOLFRAM SCHULZ: The person would, in China, probably think of themselves as a tall person. So you go to the Netherlands; such a person would, rather, say ah, I'm actually a short person - because you compare yourself to those who surround you.
VEDANTAM: So it's, you know, the little pond, big pond effect. And when you apply that to educational systems, it looks like some countries have more elite standards when it comes, for example, to science education. If you're a very good student in one of those countries, you're surrounded by lots of students who are really, really good. So you feel average. On the other hand, if you're in a country with lower standards, you could be decent. But when you compare yourself to those around you, you feel like a genius.
INSKEEP: So does that mean we should change our expectations?
VEDANTAM: Well, you know, like many of the findings of the social scientists, Steve, this one's complicated. And it's complicated because if students want to compete in a global marketplace, then yes, you actually want to have a very clear picture of how good you actually are. But there's a Catch-22 here. It isn't always helpful to have a perfectly accurate picture of how well you can do. And this is especially true, Schulz told me, when it comes to the subject of motivation.
SCHULZ: How you perceive yourself is actually more important than how much you know. If your general belief - you're not that good at science - that might have this powerful effect of saying, I'll better stay away from it in the future. You know?
INSKEEP: So being more brutally realistic about how good we are at science, might actually make us worse at science.
VEDANTAM: Well, the Catch-22, Steve, is that believing you are better than you actually are, can lull you into a sense of overconfidence when it comes to actual performance. But at the same time, believing that you're actually very good can motivate you to try a difficult subject that you might not have tried otherwise. And so what I take away from the study is that false beliefs are neither always a good thing, or always a bad thing. They're a tool. And what educators and parents need to do is to use the tool depending on the context - because false beliefs might help you when it comes to preparation; they might not be helpful when it comes to performance.
INSKEEP: Shankar, thanks very much.
VEDANTAM: Thanks, Steve.
INSKEEP: NPR's Shankar Vedantam. He's on Twitter @hiddenbrain. You can also follow this program @NPRGreene, @NPRInskeep and @MorningEdition. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31573000 |
With the “new” TV season just launching what an appropriate time for The American Academy of Pediatrics to release an article (to be published in November Pediatrics) which looks at kids and their exposure to “background TV”.
In the study researchers conducted a survey to track children’s exposure to background television. They found that children between 8 months and 8 years of age are exposed to an average of 4 hours of background TV in a 24-hour period. Children who were younger or those from poorer homes were exposed to up to 6 hours per day. Having the television on when no one was watching or having a TV in a child’s room were other factors that contributed to even more background TV time.
I have watched a few of the new shows and I am continually amazed at the language that is on during prime time major network television, and forget about the cable channels, I think they can use any language they please. It certainly grabs my attention and I am sure that hearing that language for hours every day does not help a young child’s vocabulary. At least with appropriate new words! Little kids are parrots, remember.
Just recently I was seeing a cute 2 year old for his check up and on the list of the parent’s questions was, “talk about child’s swearing”. Now this is a lovely young couple, their only child (Mom also told me that day that she is expecting again) and they really did not know what to do about a few of the words that their son had picked up. They did not think that he heard the words from them but were concerned about his day care or his older cousins. Maybe background TV??
If you are have the TV on all day, think about who is around and if you are even listening or watching. I would encourage parents to have less TV time and more talk time with their children. Too much TV and even background TV can harm a child’s learning as well as their social play.
And if you are thinking about letting your child have a TV in their rooms, I would discourage this for a number of reasons including the language on TV. Tell your children they can have a TV when they have their own dorm room in college! Something to look forward to. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31576000 |
By: Doris Hausleitner
Date: September 2005
Teetering, the downy juvenile owl hops onto the edge of the cavity, wobbles its head around in a dizzying circle and furiously flaps its wings. The mother, perched on a nearby branch, keeps a watchful eye on her chick’s progress.
This fledgling Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) is her hope for the future and the only addition to the dwindling population of Canada’s Northern Spotted Owls in 2005. A precipitous population decline has sparked concern among biologists and environmentalists alike.
Habitat modeling and population analysis suggests the historical population of Northern Spotted Owls in BC was around 500 pairs. With only 6 pairs and 9 individual birds, the Northern Spotted Owl is the most endangered bird in Canada.
What the Northern Spotted Owl has in common with the Western Screech (Otus kennicottii macfarlanei) and Flammulated Owl (Otus flammeolus), listed as endangered and threatened, respectively, is a requirement for old-growth habitat. The Northern Spotted Owl is resident in coastal and interior Douglas-fir forests and requires a home-range size of approximately 3,400 ha.
Scientists believe the Northern Spotted Owl’s need for old-growth habitat is related to reproduction, thermoregulation, and availability of prey. Their nests are in hollow chimneys, large cavities, branches, or are made from sticks. Spotted owls prey primarily on flying squirrels, pack rats, and other small mammals which can be readily found and captured in an old-growth forest. Additionally these owls have a tendency to overheat. In old-growth they can move vertically along temperature gradients to regulate their body temperature.
Flammulated Owls tend to be found in drier Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine forests in BC’s interior. They nest in old-growth habitat with a selection of available cavities and little undergrowth. Their breeding home-range size is 16 ha. Flammulated Owls are strictly nocturnal and prey upon moths and other insects. Due to the nature of their diet, they are migratory. They nest in British Columbia and winter in the southern USA and Mexico.
Western-Screech Owl habitat is associated with riparian areas and mature deciduous trees. In interior British Columbia, these owls occur in riparian forests containing black cottonwood, trembling aspen or water birch. The coastal sub-species is found in mixed forests of broadleaf maple, red alder, Douglas-fir and western hemlock. They are cavity-nesting individuals and their diet varies from insects to small mammals.
BC Hydro’s Bridge-Coastal Fish and Wildlife Restoration program, BC Conservation Foundation, Ministry of Environment and the St’at’imc First Nations have contributed to a study conducted by Doris Hausleitner and Vicky Young. Their objective was to inventory these three threatened and endangered owls within the BC Hydro footprint––land affected by dams.
Their research emphasizes the decline in the Northern Spotted Owl population in Canada and expands knowledge of the distribution of Western Screech and Flammulated owls in British Columbia. To learn more about the ecology and conservation of threatened and endangered local owls you are welcome to attend free presentations in:
Squamish: Monday, Sept. 26, 8:00 pm, Brackendale Art Gallery. (Hosted by the Squamish Environmental Society.)
Whistler-: Tuesday, Sept. 27th, 7:30 pm, Myrtle Philip Community School. (Hosted by the Whistler Naturalists.)
Pemberton: Wednesday, Sept. 28th, 6:30 pm, Room 111, Pemberton Community Center. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31580000 |
Nuclear waste disposal: The definitive report condensed
Last updated at 12:58, Friday, 24 August 2012
The experts call it a “geological disposal facility”. Opponents call it a “nuke dump”. They all agree it’ll contain “high level and intermediate nuclear waste”.
A history-making vote takes place on October 11 which represents one of Cumbria’s most important ever nuclear decisions.A trio of councils, involving hundreds of community leaders, decides on whether West Cumbria takes part in a search to site a massive underground bunker containing the UK’s most toxic nuclear waste. Business Editor Ellis Butcher looks at the definitive report facing them.
This is the skull and crossbones stuff. The worst from the nuclear process, the residue from the bowels of nuclear reactors which lasts for thousands and thousands of years.
Some argue a repository will create hundreds of jobs year-after-year and lever a multi-million Government pay day for west Cumbria to sweeten the pill. Others argue it will cost jobs, wreck tourism and daub one of England’s finest landscapes with a big dirty nuke brush.
Few issues polarise opinion like the nuclear legacy conundrum.
We all know nuclear waste is produced. Less well known is that it is currently stored above ground at 36 sites in the UK – the vast bulk at Sellafield.
It’s a historical arrangement that needs to be modernised. The current storage arrangements also unnerves ministers and unsettles Government spooks forever scanning the horizon for the next terror threat.
The pressing question facing the UK is: “Where can we find a place to store all the bad stuff in the future, putting it out of harm’s way?
Underground was the last and the current Government’s thinking. Storing it in an engineered facility with the idea that the radioactivity reduces “over time”.
In short, Cumbria County Council, Allerdale and Copeland councils volunteered to try to help find the answer to this most urgent 21st century industrial question.
WHO’S BEHIND THIS?
This issue has occupied the 17-member West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership (WCMRWSP) for three years.
It has been chaired by councillor Elaine Woodburn, of Copeland Council. Round the table, the partnership consists of representatives and mouthpieces from a vast range of organisations – private and public, from nuclear experts to farming representatives and all of Cumbria’s councils.
THE FINAL REPORT
The partnership’s final report – a hefty 270-page plus document neither proposes a recommendation for councils to follow, nor suggests an intended site. That was never its brief.
Instead it has overseen the complex evidence-gathering process. It was shared with about 2,300 people and organisations.
The final was signed off and is now the reference point for the issue.
Recently, it was released into the custody of decision-makers at Cumbria County Council, Allerdale and Copeland.
Between now and October, staff at these authorities and elected-representatives will be pouring over every single line with highlighter pens to inform what they stand up and say in a few weeks.
The report is available to download from the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely website.
THE GREEN CORNER
Naturally, the most vocal critics of the plan, the partnership and the report are the green lobby.
When the proposals surfaced, so did the opposition.
Long-standing Cumbria-based anti-nuclear campaigner Marianne Birkby, a wildlife artist based in south Cumbria, has been a critical opponent.
Ironically, her father worked at Sellafield as a young man. Marianne established campaign group Radiation Free Lakeland. It has seen Welcome To The Nuke District headlines in national newspapers, gained support from some scientists and found influential allies across the patchwork of parish councils which make up west Cumbria and its district seats of Copeland and Allerdale.
Radiation Free Lakeland was invited to formally join the 17 member partnership but declined.
Instead, it has maintained a distance on the sidelines – protesting, demonstrating, and issuing counter-challenges through the media. So too has academic Dr Ruth Balogh, of Save Our Lake District Don’t Dump Cumbria!.
It developed an associated website and blog and contributed a critical challenge to the partnership. Its opposition is clear.
It understands something needs to be done about nuclear waste but believes the Government of today and in the past has acted too hastily, deciding “without full research and ignoring scientific uncertainties, that deep underground disposal is the answer”. Dr David Smythe, a professor in geology, is also a significant critic of the approach.
In the simplest terms, the issue facing councillors on October 11 is this: Does west Cumbria want to put out its thumb now and embark on a journey – the final destination of which is 17 years away at least and would see a fully operational underground nuclear waste bunker being built in an as yet unidentified part of west Cumbria around 2040?
A bunker that at its shallowest could be deeper than the Eiffel Tower, and at its deepest longer than Scafell Pike?
How the vote goes remains to be seen. But many county and district councillors also have seats in the parishes – that means local residents to answer too.
Many local parish councils have already taken preliminary votes on this issue – the overwhelming majority against it being built on their patch.
How much real influence these initial grassroots expressions will carry in the conclusive vote in October awaits, but is likely to lead to some explosive future parish council meetings.
West Cumbria’s long-standing position as a UK and world nuclear centre means the proposal cannot be easily politically disregarded. If not here, where? If not us, who?
The economic arguments in a depressed economy will weigh heavily towards a yes vote, while the tantalising prospect of more multi-million pound Government funding being funnelled directly into west Cumbria could prove hard to turn down.
GET OUT CLAUSES
Irrespective of a yes or no, the authorities can still walk away from the whole idea at any of the next three stages still to go. A yes doesn’t mean commitment to build.
Diggers will not be breaking ground the next day. It simply commits the area to the next stage.
Eventually, this stage will focus on more comprehensive testing of the “geological suitability” of west Cumbria to house such a facility and radioactive materials underground.
Essentially, testing the ground for compatibility.
Opponents say the proof already exists – the soil in these parts isn’t right. Counter evidence argues that is not the case. Even one nuclear insider, who refused to go on record, questioned the chronology of the whole process.
“Why didn’t they just check the soil first at the start and save three years of work?” The answer is cost. Tests of this nature are so expensive you’d have to be sure you weren’t wasting money before putting pipes in the ground.
Allerdale Borough Council, Barrow Borough Council, Carlisle City Council, Copeland Borough Council, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, Churches Together in Cumbria, Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC), Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Tourism, Eden District Council, GMB union, Lake District National Park Authority, National Farmers Union, Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum, Prospect union, South Lakeland District Council, Unite union
First published at 12:57, Friday, 24 August 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk
Have your say
One of the big not-so-secret issues of nuclear waste containment industry is that nuclear waste can be disposed of instead of stored.According to nuclear physicists and engineers at PACE (Planetary Association for Clean Energy), there are at least 12 technologies which work in different situations to eliminate radioactive waste⦠And more are being discovered.You can watch a video of Mark Porringa, former Chief Engineer at Chalk River, worldâs largest nuclear research reactor, neutralize Americium 241, a Radioactive Waste in about 11 seconds. The entire video is under 4 minutes.
http://zapnuclearwaste.com/the-nuclear-disaster-choice/The nuclear waste industry thrives on our risks and our dollars. Itâs time to eliminate radioactive waste instead of storing it like a precious substance at great costs.Radioactivity does not like to stay contained and itâs an unnecessary target for terrorists. Take a look and decide for yourself.
Well D you shouldn't want it buried in your area either - humans and human technology is not perfect. History has a habit of reminding us that we are not as clever as we think we are (Space Shuttle Tragedies etc)- THAT is why we should write it off -so take it to the middle of Afghanistan or somewhere similar)
View all 22 comments on this article | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31581000 |
Hacked Wiimote Used As Water Level Sensor.
We've all been entertained by Wiimote hackery in the past, but I for one can never tire of the new inventions constantly being cooked up by clever sausages like this guy.
Using the Wiimote and an LED light, William Luxemburg from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands knocked together a water-level sensor, measuring evaporation. As you can see from the picture, a tub of water with a Wiimote pointing at a plastic boat is a simple and cost-effective way to achieve the same—or even better—results that pressure sensors costing $500 or more can produce.
Of course, it wasn't merely a Wiimote trained at a boat in a tub of water, which solved Luxemburg's dilemma. He re-programmed the Wiimote's output, and as it can sense movement better than a lot of other devices out there (closer than 1mm accuracy, as Wired points out), when it was connected wirelessly to a laptop he was able to receive real-time information on what the water level was doing in the tub.
Luxemburg doesn't sound like he's going to stop there however. He's intrigued by what else a Wiimote could be used on, if programmed the right way.
"If you have a structure that collapses and you have Wiimotes on the building, you could see how fast it falls"
That sort of information is priceless to the right party, and considering Wiimotes cost just $40, don't be surprised if you hear of plenty more innovative uses for Nintendo's little remote.
Source - Gizmodo | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31589000 |
Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.
Search native plant database:
San Antonio River Authority
Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam.
Yellow sweetclover, White Sweet Clover
USDA Symbol: MEOF
USDA Native Status: Cultivated, or not in the U.S.
Small, somewhat pea-like flowers, fragrant when crushed, are in long, slender, cylindrical, spike-like clusters rising in the leaf axils on a bushy plant.
Unpublished. Non-native. This tall, introduced legume has the fragrance of new-mown hay when crushed. Both this plant and yellow Sweet Clover (M. indicus) are widely used as pasture crops for nitrogen enrichment of the soil. They are also highly valued as honey plants as suggested by the genus name from meli, a Greek word meaning honey.
Bloom InformationBloom Color: White , Yellow
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct
DC , IN , OR Canada: AB
, SK Native Habitat:
Roadsides and fields. USDA Native Status: L48(I), AK(I), HI(I), PR(I), CAN(I),
Growing ConditionsWater Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
CaCO3 Tolerance: High
BenefitConspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Fragrant Foliage: yes
Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)
is a larval host and/or nectar source for:
Herbarium Specimen(s)NPSOT 0455
Collected Jun 5, 1987 in Bexar County by Harry Cliffe
Recommended Species Lists
Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.
View Recommended Species page
Record Modified: 2012-08-01
Research By: TWC Staff | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31592000 |
Wind Energy Guide for County Commissioners
One of the key stakeholders associated with economic development are local government officials, who are often required to evaluate and vote on commercial wind energy project permits, as well as to determine and articulate what wind energy benefits accrue to their counties. Often these local officials lack experience with large-scale wind energy and need to make important decisions concerning what may be a complicated and controversial issue. These decisions can be confounded with diverse perspectives from various stakeholders. This project is designed to provide county commissioners, planners, and other local county government officials with a practical overview of information required to successfully implement commercial wind energy projects in their county. The guidebook provides readers with information on the following 13 topics: Brief Wind Energy Overview; Environmental Benefits; Wind Energy Myths and Facts; Economic Development Benefits; Wind Economics; The Development Process; Public Outreach; Siting Issues; Property Tax Incentives; Power System Impacts; Permitting, Zoning, and Siting Processes; Case Studies; and Further Information. For each of the topics listed, the guidebook provides an introduction that identifies the topic, why local government should care, a topic snapshot, how the topic will arise, and a list of resources that define and assess the topic.
This information was last updated on 10/31/2006 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31596000 |
Feline asthma has been called by many other names, including chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and allergic bronchitis. Regardless of the name, it is a common feline ailment. Inhaled allergens cause sudden contraction of the smooth muscles around airways, leading to typical clinical symptoms. It is usually impossible to determine which allergens cause asthma in individual cats, but common ones include grass and tree pollens, cigarette or fireplace smoke, various sprays (hair sprays, deodorants, flea sprays, deodorizers), and dust from cat litter.
Feline asthma is found in all areas of the world and in cats of all ages. The prevalence in the general adult cat population is about 1%. The most common symptoms in cats with asthma are wheezing and coughing. The coughing has been described as a dry, hacking cough that could be confused with gagging or retching. Many cats are misdiagnosed as having hairballs! Paroxysms of coughing occur frequently. In mildly affected cats, coughing and wheezing may occur only occasionally. A few cats with asthma are asymptomatic in between acute and severe bouts of airway constriction. The most severely affected cats have daily coughing and wheezing and many bouts of airway constriction, leading to open-mouth breathing and panting that can be life threatening.
The symptoms of asthma can mimic other diseases, such as heartworm, pneumonia and congestive heart failure. A diagnosis is reached by using chest x-rays, a complete blood count, a feline heartworm test, and a technique to sample cells from the lower airways (transtracheal wash, bronchial wash, or bronchoalveolar lavage). Chest x-rays may be normal in some cats with asthma, while others will have signs of bronchial inflammation, collapse of the right middle lung lobe, and over inflation of the lungs.
Unfortunately, feline asthma is a chronic progressive disease that cannot be fully cured. Medications can reduce the symptoms of asthma a great deal, but may not be able to eliminate coughing fully. In recent years, veterinarians have found that the most effective therapy for feline asthma may be to use inhalers such as human asthmatics use. A mask and spacer system, called AeroKat®, has been invented to enable cats to use inhalers or puffers. This system is similar to the mask and spacer system used to treat babies and small children. ........ [Read complete article]
Cat Health Blog
Back to Cat Health Topics | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31598000 |
Learn something new every day More Info... by email
Information traveling across a computer network or another type of telecommunications network typically comes in packets. Packets are smaller, "bite-sized" pieces of a larger chunk of information. Although telecommunication technology is generally reliable and seamless from the end-user's point of view, that is only because the computer does the dirty work. It constantly sifts through the packets, looking for fraudulent and corrupt data, discarding it when found. A burst error is a string of corrupt data, measured as the length between — and including — the first and last error signals.
For example, imagine sending a packet containing all of the letters of the alphabet, A through Z. If the recipient's computer "opens" the packet and finds that the first letter in the sequence is "Q" and the last letter in the sequence is "R," that is a burst error. The "burst" of data in the packet is corrupt.
Although in the example the first and last letters are defined as corrupt, that does not mean that every letter within the packet is damaged. Imagine that every other letter is as it should be; only position one, "A," and position 26, "Z," have been damaged. The number of correct bits of information between the damaged ends is called the guard band. In this case, the guard band would be 24, because there are 24 correct letters separating the two damaged ones.
Measuring the length of a burst error is simple. It is defined as the number of individual bits separating the very first occurrence of the error from the last occurrence, including the initial and final incorrect bits. In the previous example, the length of the burst error would be 26.
The causes of a burst error can vary widely. It is not always possible to measure them accurately. Generally, this corruption can occur through any number of sources, including signal degradation, packet loss, other types of network failure, or sending failure on the part of the computer. In networking, as in the real world, sometimes things go wrong. Fortunately, most forms of networking provide built in error-checking mechanisms, allowing a receiving computer to compare the actual received data against an impression of the data that was sent, allowing it to recognize whether something has gone wrong along the way. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31602000 |
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A brownish-gray deer (Odocoileus hemionus) of western North America, having long mulelike ears, large branching antlers in the male, and a black-tipped tail. Also called black-tailed deer.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The blacktail or black-tailed deer, Cariacus macrotis: so called from the large ears. It is decidedly larger and more stately than the Virginia or white-tailed deer, and is next in size to the wapiti and caribou among the North American Cervidœ. The tail is very short and slim, and mostly white, but with a black brush at the end. The antlers are characteristic, being doubly dichotomous — that is, the beam forks, and each tine forks again; whereas in
C. virginianusthe beam is curved and all the tines spring from it. The animal is the commonest deer in many wooded and mountainous parts of western North America, but is not found east of the great plains.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) a large deer (Cervus macrotis syn. Cariacus macrotis) of the Western United States. The name refers to its long ears.
- n. long-eared deer of western North America with two-pronged antlers
“There were no cattle in sight, nothing larger than a mule deer disturbed into flight by Sharon’s approach.”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘mule deer’.
macaw shipment, macerate sewage s..., macerate sewage s..., machine code, machine cycle, machine language, machine making, machine manufacture, machine rate, machine time, macroeconomic goal, macroeconomic policy and 5152 more...
The collocations below consist of nouns only. Noun-noun collocations are extremely frequent in science (just think of the names of species, chemical compounds or "scientist+invention" type collocat...
Animals that are described or defined by other animals
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American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- Not: noncombatant.
- Prevocalic form of nona-
- Used in the sense of not, to negate the meaning of the word to which it is prefixed.
GNU Webster's 1913
- A prefix used in the sense of not; un-; in-; as in
nonattention, or non-attention, nonconformity, nonmetallic, nonsuit.
- From Latin nona ("nine"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French, from Latin nōn, not; see ne in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
“Small Change Breakfast Tips 1. Make oatmeal with milk non- or low-fat for more protein.”
“The role of non- nuclear means of deterrence to effectively prevent conflict and increase stability in troubled regions is a vital issue.”
“If a teacher can show, by presenting months of collected evidence, that a student has earned less than an "A," then a non-"A" grade should certainly happen.”
“Rape and sexual violence are used not just as weapons of war around the world but as forms of coercion and a way to instill fear and used as bribes for female students in classrooms, a way to severely marginalize and control women, even in non- conflict areas.”
“Something larger that truly is a "happening" at all, simply that, and no less remarkable for it — the mass effort to throw off the non-"happenings" that circumscribe all our lives to unambitious, repetitive cycles.”
“Here are a few "non-"categories with suggestions for each to get you started:”
“Still, Fitch classified the use of ASBE standards and non-"Big Four" auditors as "key weakness indicators" for several companies.”
“To hear more from Scaling Green's Communicating Energy lecture series at Solar Power International 2011 SPI, please listen what these solar energy leaders had to say on the National Solar Jobs Census 2011 and the Solyndra non-"scandal" at Scaling Green.”
“Late last week, news broke that 75 probationary non-"tenured" teachers who were improperly fired under then-DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee would be re-instated.”
“Repeatedly claiming his abject non- success to be their number one priority, the Party of Lincoln facilitated much executive stumbling by tripping the President at every step of every way since day one.”
‘non-’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
Looking for tweets for non-. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31619000 |
Halloween: Its Roots and Traditions Around the World
Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31st. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses" and carving jack-o-lanterns.
Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late 20th century including Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sah-win").
The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31st, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.
The festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires attracted insects to the area, which attracted bats to the area. These are additional attributes of the history of Halloween.
Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.
Trick-or-treating, is an activity for children on or around Halloween in which they proceed from house to house in costumes, asking for treats such as confectionery with the question, "Trick or treat?" The "trick" part of "trick or treat" is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is given.
Trick-or-treating is one of the main traditions of Halloween. It has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters.
The history of Halloween has evolved. The activity is popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and due to increased American cultural influence in recent years, imported through exposure to US television and other media, trick-or-treating has started to occur among children in many parts of Europe, and in the Saudi Aramco camps of Dhahran, Akaria compounds and Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia.
The most significant growth, and resistance is in the United Kingdom, where the police have threatened to prosecute parents who allow their children to carry out the "trick" element.
In continental Europe, where the commerce-driven importation of Halloween is seen with more skepticism, numerous destructive or illegal "tricks" and police warnings have further raised suspicion about this game and Halloween in general.
In Ohio, Iowa, and Massachusetts, the night designated for Trick-or-treating is often referred to as Beggars Night.
Part of the history of Halloween is Halloween costumes. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays goes back to the Middle Ages, and includes Christmas wassailing.
Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of "souling," when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1st), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2nd). It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering, whining], like a beggar at Hallowmas."
Yet there is no evidence that souling was ever practiced in America, and trick-or-treating may have developed in America independent of any Irish or British antecedent.
There is little primary Halloween history documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween, in Ireland, the UK, or America, before 1900. The earliest known reference to ritual begging on Halloween in English speaking North America occurs in 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, near the border of upstate New York, reported that it was normal for the smaller children to go "street guising" on Halloween between 6 and 7 p.m., visiting shops and neighbors to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs.
Another isolated reference appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920. The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children, but do not depict trick-or-treating. Ruth Edna Kelley, in her 1919 history of the holiday, The Book of Hallowe'en, makes no mention of such a custom in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America." It does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the earliest known uses in print of the term "trick or treat" appearing in 1934, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.
Thus, although a quarter million Scots-Irish immigrated to America between 1717 and 1770, the Irish Potato Famine brought almost a million immigrants in 1845–1849. British and Irish immigration to America peaked in the 1880s; ritualized begging on Halloween was virtually unknown in America until generations later.
Trick-or-treating spread from the western United States eastward, stalled by sugar rationing that began in April 1942 during World War II and did not end until June 1947.
Early national attention to trick-or-treating was given in October 1947 issues of the children's magazines Jack and Jill and Children's Activities, and by Halloween episodes of the network radio programs The Baby Snooks Show in 1946 and The Jack Benny Show and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1948. The custom had become firmly established in popular culture by 1952, when Walt Disney portrayed it in the cartoon Trick or Treat; Ozzie and Harriet were besieged by trick-or-treaters on an episode of their television show, and UNICEF first conducted a national campaign for children to raise funds for the charity while trick-or-treating.
Although some popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-or-treating as an adult invention to re-channel Halloween activities away from vandalism, nothing in the historical record supports this theory. To the contrary, adults, as reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused indulgence to anger.
Likewise, as portrayed on radio shows, children would have to explain what trick-or-treating was to puzzled adults, and not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested: for Halloween 1948, members of the Madison Square Boys Club in New York City carried a parade banner that read "American Boys Don't Beg."
A jack-o'-lantern (sometimes also spelled Jack O'Lantern) is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with Halloween. Typically, the top is cut off, and the inside flesh then scooped out; an image, usually a monstrous face, is carved onto the outside surface, and the lid replaced. During the night, a candle is placed inside to illuminate the effect. The term is not particularly common outside North America, although the practice of carving lanterns for Halloween is.
In folklore, an old Irish folk tale tells of Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses a cross to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there, Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that the Devil couldn't get down.
Another myth says that Jack put a key in the Devil's pocket while he was suspended upside-down.
Another version of the myth says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen from, when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil with a chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him. Jack told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped. In both myths, Jack only lets the Devil go when he agrees never to take his soul. After some time, the thief died, as all living things do.
Of course, his life had been too sinful for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred from Hell as well. Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and the Devil mockingly tossed him an ember that would never burn out from the flames of hell. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which was his favorite food), put the ember inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o'-Lantern.
There are variations on the legend:
Some versions include a "wise and good man", or even God helping Jack to prevail over the Devil.
There are different versions of Jack's bargain with the Devil. Some variations say the deal was only temporary but the Devil, embarrassed and vengeful, refuses Jack's entry to hell after Jack dies.
Jack is considered a greedy man and is not allowed into either heaven or hell, without any mention of the Devil.
Despite the colorful legends, the term jack-o'-lantern originally meant a night watchman, or man with a lantern, with the earliest known use in the mid-17th century; and later, meaning an ignis fatuus or will-o'-the-wisp. In Labrador and Newfoundland, both names "Jacky Lantern" and "Jack the Lantern" refer to the will-o'-the-wisp concept rather than the pumpkin carving aspect.
Halloween costumes are outfits worn on or around Halloween. Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in America in the early 1900s, as often for adults as for children. The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in stores in the 1930s when trick-or-treating was becoming popular in the United States.
What sets Halloween costumes apart from costumes for other celebrations or days of dressing up is that they are often designed to imitate supernatural and scary beings. Costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils.
There are also costumes of pop culture figures like presidents, or film, television, and cartoon characters.
Another popular trend is for women (and in some cases, men) to use Halloween as an excuse to wear particularly revealing costumes, showing off more skin than would be socially acceptable otherwise.
Halloween Originated in Ireland
Ireland is said to be the birthplace of Halloween. Much like the United States, the Irish celebrate the holiday with costumes, trick-or-treating, and community gatherings.
At those gatherings, typically after trick-or-treating, games are played, including a game called ‘snap-apple’. The game begins with an apple being tied to a doorframe or tree and players then attempt to bite the hanging apple. The game is much like ‘bobbing for apples’ here in the United States.
Want to know more? CLICK HERE for more information on how the Irish celebrate Halloween!
A Halloween tradition in Austria involves bread, water and a lighted lamp. Some of the locals will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night. Considered a magical night, Halloween to Austrians was a way to welcome the dead souls back to earth.
In Belgium, some believe it is unlucky if a black cat enters a home or travels on a ship. Also, much like in the United States, Belgium citizens believe that it is unlucky for a black cat to cross one's path. On Halloween night, a custom there is to light candles in memory of dead relatives.
With the arrival of Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 1800s, modern Halloween celebrations in Canada began. Festivities include parties, trick-or-treating and the decorating of homes with pumpkins and corn stalks, as well as the carving of Jack O' Lanterns.
In China, the Halloween festival is known as Teng Chieh. Food and water are placed in front of photographs of family members who have departed while bonfires and lanterns are lit in order to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth on Halloween night. Worshippers in Buddhist temples fashion "boats of the law" from paper, which are then burned in the evening hours. There are two purposes to this custom: as a remembrance of the dead and in order to free the spirits of the "pretas" in order that they might ascend to heaven. "Pretas" are the spirits of those who died as a result of an accident or drowning and whose bodies were consequently never buried.
Want to know more? CLICK HERE for more information on Chinese Halloween traditions.
On Halloween night in Czechoslovakia, chairs are placed by the fireside. One chair is placed to commemorate each living family member and one for each family member's spirit.
While the Irish and Scots preferred turnips, English children made "punkies" out of large beets, upon which they carved a design of their choice. Then, they would carry their "punkies" through the streets while singing the "Punkie Night Song" as they knocked on doors and asked for money. Halloween became Guy Fawkes Night and moved a few days later. Recently, it has been celebrated on October 31st, in addition to Guy Fawkes Night.
Want to know more? CLICK HERE for more information on how the men, women and children of England celebrate Halloween!
Britain - Guy Fawkes Day
On the evening of November 5th, bonfires are lit throughout England. Effigies are burned and fireworks are set off. Although the day is around the same time and has some similar traditions, this celebration has little to do with Halloween. As Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation began to spread, the celebration of Halloween ended. In 1517, on Halloween, Martin Luther attempted to begin reformation of the Catholic Church. The formation of the Protestant Church was the result instead. They didn't believe in saints; therefore, they had no reason to celebrate the eve of All Saints' Day. However, a new autumn ritual did materialize. Guy Fawkes Day festivities were designed to commemorate the execution of a notorious English traitor, Guy Fawkes.
Want to know more about Guy Fawkes? CLICK HERE to learn more about why Britain commemorates Guy Fawkes Day.
France - la fête d'Halloween
In France, Halloween is not celebrated to honor the dead. It is considered an ‘American Holiday’ and until 1996, it was virtually unknown in the country.
However, because of the love of parties, fêtes’ and costume events in France, a rapid rise of the holiday has been noticed in recent years.
Foreign residents brought details of Halloween to the country for years before remnants of the day began to stick in French culture. In 1982, the American Dream bar/restaurant in Paris began celebrating Halloween.
The village of Saint Germain-en-Laye held a Halloween party on October 24th, 1996, in the middle of the day, to give locals an idea of what the holiday was all about.
So, do you want to know more about how the French celebrate Halloween? CLICK HERE to learn more about the revolution of Halloween in France!
To not risk harm to, or from the returning spirits, in Germany, people put away their knives on Halloween night.
Hong Kong calls their Halloween festivities, "Yue Lan", which translates into the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts. It is believed that spirits roam the world for 24 hours. To bring comfort to the ghosts, some believe that burning pictures of fruit or money will reach the spirit world.
Halloween is known as "Alla Helgons Dag" in Sweden. It is celebrated from October 31st until November 6th. "Alla Helgons Dag" has an eve, which is either celebrated or becomes a shortened working day. The Friday prior to All Saint's Day is a short day for universities while school-age children are given a day of vacation.
Want to know more about how other countries around the world celebrate Halloween? CLICK HERE to learn more about the festivities in Japan, Korea, Mexico, Latin America, and Spain!
|Before your ghosts and goblins trick or treat this year, parents should keep in mind some safety tips.| | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31629000 |
"I am not saying they are not well-intentioned," said Zak Smith, staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "But I am not sure their choices make them the best environmental stewards they could be."
The debate over sonars and whales has gone on for years. It centers on balancing the need to defend the United States, while safeguarding its natural resources.
It has also played out in court. In 2008, for example, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted sanctions placed on the Navy over its underwater sonar testing.
Environmental interests, said Chief Justice John Roberts for the majority, "are plainly outweighed by the Navy's need to conduct realistic training exercises to ensure that it is able to neutralize the threat posed by enemy submarines."
Smith argued that the use of lookouts aboard Navy ships is not fully effective.
"Most marine mammals don't spend much time at the surface," he said. "When they do, you better have good weather conditions to see them."
Smith points to other consequences from the use of sonar and other acoustic sources off California and Hawaii.
Government estimates for 2014 to 2019 indicate there may be about 2 million cases of temporary hearing loss among marine animals, Smith told CNN. "Marine mammals use hearing the same way we use sight" to find food, he said.
"This kind of constant barrage and harassment is not a recipe for healthy populations," Smith added.
Van Name challenged Smith's assessment, saying the 2 million number includes all behavioral and "temporary" responses, such as an animal turning its head, stopping feeding or moving out of the area. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31630000 |
Functional Behavioral Assessments:
What, Why, When, Where, and Who?
Stephen Starin, Ph.D.
The recent amendments to IDEA are final. School districts are now required to conduct functional behavioral analyses of problem behaviors, under certain circumstances.
IDEA does not provide specific guidelines regarding the conduct of a functional
behavioral assessment. Each school district is left to its own devices
when interpreting the guidelines and may opt for lower quality standards.
What is a "Functional Behavioral Assessment"?
The term "Functional Behavioral Assessment" comes from what is called a "Functional Assessment" or "Functional Analysis" in the field of applied behavior analysis. This is the process of determining the cause (or "function") of behavior before developing an intervention. The intervention must be based on the hypothesized cause (function) of behavior.
Why Do Functional Behavioral Assessments?
Failure to base the intervention on the specific cause (function) very often results in ineffective and unnecessarily restrictive procedures.
For example, consider the case of a young child who has learned that screaming is an effective way of avoiding or escaping unpleasant tasks. Using timeout in this situation would provide the child with exactly what he wants (avoiding the task) and is likely to make the problem worse, not better. Without an adequate functional behavioral assessment, we would not know the true function of the young childís screaming and therefore may select an inappropriate intervention.
How Do You Determine the Cause or Function of Behavior?
There are three ways of getting at the function (cause) of the behavior:
(a) interviews and rating scales,
Several different interviews and rating scales have been developed to try to get at the function (cause) of behavior. However, reliability is usually poor and these should be used only as a starting point for systematic and direct observation of the personís behavior. Relying exclusively on interviews and rating scales should neverbe considered a functional assessment. Besides having poor reliability, it would never hold up in court with an expert witness.
A more reliable method involves directly observing the person's behavior in his or her natural environment and analyzing the behaviorís antecedents (environmental events that immediately precede the problem behavior) and consequences (environmental events that immediately follow the problem behavior).
Types of Problem Behavior
Problem behavior typically falls into one or more of three general categories:
(a) behavior that produces attention and other desired events (e.g., access to toys, desired activities),
Systematic Manipulation of Environment
In some cases, however, direct observation does not give a clear picture of the behaviorís functions and systematically manipulating various environmental events becomes necessary. The most common way of systematically manipulating the environment is to put the person in several different situations and carefully observe how the behavior changes.
For example, to determine the function of screaming, we could arrange for attention to be given to the child each time she screams and measure how frequently screaming occurs. We could also make demands on the child, terminating them each time she screams and measure how frequently it occurs. In addition, we could leave the child alone and measure how often screaming occurs. If screaming is more frequent when attention is given, we hypothesize that it occurs to get attention. If screaming is more frequent when demands are made, we can assume that screaming has served to let the person escape or avoid demands. Finally, if screaming is more frequent when left alone, we can assume that it is occurring because of its sensory consequences. This third method should be reserved only for situations in which the functions of behavior are not clear through systematic and direct observation.
What About Qualifications and Training?
An important question is "Who should be involved in the functional behavioral assessment?" The interview is important in gathering preliminary information that will guide later direct observation. As such, it is important to talk to the people who know the child the best: parents, teachers and significant others.
Direct observation should be carried out only by a person who has been thoroughly trained on collecting and analyzing this type of information. Directly manipulating environment events should be conducted only by a well-trained behavior analyst or someone else with a high degree of training and experience conducting these manipulations for they can pose danger to the person if not done correctly.
As can be seen, a functional behavioral assessment is more than a group of people sitting around a table trying to determine the cause. Although it is important to gather information from significant people in the personís life, it is not enough.
Someone knowledgeable about behavior must be in the classroom and/or family home directly observing and measuring the behavior. Although this takes time, it is usually time well spent because the intervention is more likely to be effective than one developed without careful consideration of the behaviorís function(s).
Donít Waste Valuable Time!
Time is precious.
Time should not be wasted on interventions (behavioral or otherwise) when
there is no evidence that this particular intervention is likely to work,
for this particular child, in this particular situation.
You can contact Behavior Analysis and Therapy, Inc. at (888) 423-4284 or on the Internet at http://www.behavior-analysis.org/ | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31633000 |
Someone saying negative things about the Harry Potter series practically elicits the same reaction as cursing motherhood, apple pie, and baseball--how dare anyone question something, anything, that motivates children to read? Reading is a wholesome activity. Reading is good. Reading is fundamental. Reading is the foundation for a literate, democratic society. Reading is the cornerstone of learning.
Reading is all that and more. The act of reading, as well as what we have access to read, is largely bound to cultural expectations and tastes. Intrinsic, dominant social values--generally class-based ideals--permeate the literature we consume as readers and as buyers. Moreover, these same values and ideals link to the place of the book and of literacy in a society. With the current dominance of television, film/video, and the Internet in our students’ lives, some suggest that the power of the mass media’s influence in North America bodes poorly for the printed word. Rather than lament the death of the book or the demise of young people’s reading skills in the Mass Media Age as many do, I want to argue here that educators need to examine our own and our students’ reading practices and preferences with the hope of discovering how literacy can straddle the real and the presumed divides between elite and mass cultural aesthetics that exist in society. In this context, then, Harry Potter’s real magic--both as a literary figure and as a media icon--is that the character bridges the loftier reaches of fiction and the lower realms of commercial enterprise. Because of his ability to span literature and consumerism, Harry is both delightful and disturbing in the messages he sends to youngsters. Consequently, the boy wizard becomes a pivotal element for showing students how contemporary reading and writing practices must include print and electronic forms.
A Tale of Two Harrys
To truly comprehend the complexity in media literacy, we have to take an interdisciplinary approach that embraces the fields of cognition, education, media theory, and literacy studies. This is because the act of reading makes certain demands upon the individual, especially in the Mass Media Age. As media theorist Joshua Meyrowitz writes in No Sense of Place, "A medium that is in short supply or that requires a very special encoding or decoding skill is more likely to be exploited by an elite class that has the time and the resources to gain access to it" (16). In this passage, Meyrowitz quintessentially describes the current state of reading. Given the heavy influence of electronic media in our society, book reading is a channel that is often given short shrift. Reading is a medium that depends upon finely developed encoding and decoding skills. As for reading being a codified skill made the most of by an elite class, the 1996 and 1998 NAEP reading and writing scores show an increasing gap between students in wealthier districts and those in poorer districts.
Likewise, Meyrowitz’s question of the access to reading material directly connects to the intersection of mass media and social class. Educators cannot overlook that book publishing is a multi-billion-dollar medium that generally depends upon short runs and big hits in the marketplace. This means book selections are resource driven, particularly in the young adult fiction market. If publishers can’t make a profit on a manuscript, then even the best ideas rarely go forward. While books are often elevated to a higher status than is television or movies, many teachers tend to forget that what we all read depends greatly upon publishing concerns. What teachers and students have access to in print is usually decided upon by large publishing houses that market books and by agents who frequently develop ancillary marketing deals for popular authors. All of this leads to the trouble with that popular boy magician, Harry Potter.
If teachers are astute, the trouble with Harry can be seen in any bookstore. The problem is not with the Harry Potter book series. Harry Potter the literary figure is a terrific motivator for children (and adults) to read, regardless of their socioeconomic class. The Potter story line mixes elements of high and low cultural tastes into an appealing blend that crosses class lines. Author J.K. Rowlings deftly blends the qualities of highbrow literary fiction--strong character development, emphasis on basic philosophical, psychological or social issues, and heroic figures--with the social stratification and action-drama sequences that reflect lower class entertainment. The collapsing of high and low cultural taste is not the trouble with Harry, though. The trouble is with Harry Potter the commercialized figure. This Harry Potter is an incredible temptation for children (and for well-intentioned adults) to purchase cheap plastic "Harry" eyeglasses, Halloween costumes, mouse pads, key chains, telephone calling cards, posters, and other sundry items placed around bookstore end caps and center aisle kiosks. Instructors should not forget the tons of Harryphernalia soon to follow once the upcoming movie is released. Harry Potter lunch boxes, thermos containers, and book bags loom on the horizon. A recent trip to the local drugstore showed me that even Reach toothpaste is game for Harry’s image. In short, more Harry, more Harryphernalia, more money. In these instances, Harry Potter the boy wizard of mass marketing becomes a much more ambiguous representative for the benefits of reading. Consequently, educators must ask the question, does the rise of this Harry Potter mean more children will be reading, more adolescents will be developing the love of language, and more students will be learning literacy skills?
The trouble with Harry, then, is there are actually two Harrys--one who promotes children's literacy skills and one who shills for any number of cheap consumer products. Frequently these two Harrys are conflated in the real world, and their conflicting purposes are sometimes overlooked by well-intentioned teachers. While many educators push to motivate their students to read and figure that if Harry motivates kids toward stronger literacy skills, then they are all for Harry. Yet, some forget that the hows and whys behind a person's reading sometimes are equally as important as the act of reading itself. How carefully and how critically a reader interprets the information presented to him or her in a given context is frequently as important as being able to read. Moreover, why someone chooses a particular selection to read or why someone finds a book appealing regularly reflects back to how a text is presented in the marketplace. These points are especially salient when acts of reading connect to media literacy. How and why we read information presented to us through the mass media can make the difference between naïve and critical decision-making.
Understanding Media Literacy in Educational Contexts
Teachers and administrators sometimes forget that reading is not necessarily a transferable act--the reading strategies used in language arts or English will not always cross disciplinary boundaries, for instance. Likewise, reading a book for pleasure is not quite the same process as reading for course work. Readers select information quite differently depending upon the situation in which they are reading. More importantly for this discussion, the act of reading print-based texts differs in varying degrees from reading other media texts. Literacy theorists Sherry Macaul, Jackie Giles, and Rita Rodenberg note the technological shift in literacy reflects a range of innovations "from the ways in which information is accessed and viewed to the processes and mediums by which messages are constructed and represented" (53). Therefore, in our media-affected culture, literacy is not a one-size for all situation; as we have directly seen with the rise of computer technology, literacy is protean. A child can be highly literate in one subject area, yet nearly illiterate in another. Clearly with respect to the degree of mass media influence and the volume of information bits streaming into their homes, most North American children and teenagers are woefully media illiterate. For all the viewing and message receiving these young adults do, a large number of them possess rudimentary levels of media literacy.
What Does it Mean to be Media Literate?
Being media literate means we have created knowledge structures--schema--to interpret or provide a perspective on the media messages that surround us. We cannot compare the cognitive processes involved in reading versus watching television or film, as they are not equivalent skills. More than the cognitive domain that dominates the traditional, academic "reading/writing" notions of literacy, though, media literacy spans emotional, aesthetic, and moral domains as well. Consequently, the schema media literate people generate function more like a multi-dimensional scale than the hierarchical scaffolding model generally associated with literacy studies. These media knowledge structures emerge when we actively engage in various media experiences and test those new media experiences against the skills and information we have gleaned elsewhere, such as from parents or family members, schools, religious institutions, or other authority figures. Prior media experiences can even provide the skills and information one needs to analyze current situations. So, regardless of how old we are, people continually generate new mental representations to accommodate changes in our media use. Therefore, our worldviews as well as children's and teenagers' worldviews are constructed and reconstructed through media use. That is why media literacy has become equally important as academic literacy in North American classrooms.
Great numbers of educators believe the myth that students are highly media literate because of their large amounts of media consumption. Media educators Ladislaus Semali and Ann Watts Pailliotet suggest otherwise; instead of children becoming increasingly more literate, these media-distorted boundaries "between school and home, fact and fiction, narrative and live reporting are confusing" (14). This is because youngsters, even the most media-savvy adolescents, are still building the multi-dimensional schema they need to develop the broad overall perspective people use to separate the superficial from the meaningful. Usually, children and teenagers operate with very limited knowledge structures about the media; they tend to focus on the recognition of surface information like song lyrics, television characters, actors' or characters' names, and so on. This surface information pattern closely models the basic sets of facts we find in reading textbooks or newspapers. That means children and others who can recite the entire Harry Potter ensemble or who can recall a book passage from memory may be strong readers or recallers of general information, and may be considered highly literate in the conventional sense. Yet their media literacy functions at a very low level, perhaps bordering on media aliteracy in that the surface knowledge is apparent but deeper levels of knowledge are missing. Educators must note that well-developed cognitive domains alone do not best serve a truly media literate person.
Many juveniles do not yet display an adequate degree of reflexivity about their role as interpreters of media information to demonstrate they understand the full range of emotional, visual, and moral value manipulation that occurs through the crafting and editing of messages (Potter 5-9). As such, it is conceivable that the Harry Potter many adolescent readers fell in love with in the literary series can, and most likely will, change dramatically as the young wizard's image moves to film and to a local fast-food restaurant near them in the future. However, inexpert student media users do not always see the changes one media representation has over another, particularly if the shifts involve a beloved character. They often miss the multiple layers of meaning that exist in media messages. This is because the youngsters' analytical, evaluative, synthesizing, abstracting, and inferencing abilities are not as finely honed as they need to be. Therefore, scores of young media consumers tend to be more susceptible in automatically accepting the prevailing ideas, morals, attitudes, and explanations presented by the media.
In all probability, the Harry Potter found in movies and commercials will correspond to recognized or desired personal characteristics familiar to children and teens, which in turn will establish an opening for advertisers and others to shape youngsters' attitudes about new film stars and products. This process, known as canalization, subtly influences people's attitudes by making them more receptive to a product through linking that product to our emotional needs (Potter 271). Hence it is highly plausible that through the media push caused by the film and its subsequent commercialization of all things Potter, the clever boy wizard will become a pitchman for any number of products directed at young consumers. Without more finely attuned media literacy practices, in all likelihood, scores of young adults will conflate the Harry Potter of literature with the Harry Potter of commercialism without developing the awareness needed to separate the types of media exposure the two Harrys offer them.
Harry Works His Magic Again: Transforming the Boy Wizard into a Study in Media Literacy
This leads us to how Harry Potter the literary character can teach educators ways to introduce media literacy to our students, regardless of their ages. Teachers know Harry Potter has the power to reach children and stimulate their conventional literacy skills. Students reading the Harry Potter book series engage in a wide range of sensory stimulation, as they layer their own images upon the sentences J.K. Rowlings produced. Writing and reading teachers clearly see how Rowlings's characters and stories can train young readers in the left-brain linguistic and analytical patterns they need to develop strong, sustained reading and writing abilities. Working through various scenes in the tomes, students develop creativity and analytic thinking as they interact with the storyline. Moreover, while reading these books, students who are active in the reading process internalize sequential speech or syntactic structures, all of which become important foundations for future learning. Then, too, through Rowlings's series young readers learn the conventions of the written texts, such as punctuation, capitalization, pagination, and paragraphing. These elements are not necessarily found in broadcast media, and items like punctuation and capitalization take on new forms in cybermedia.
From a cognitive perspective, one of the greatest concerns teachers should have with Harry Potter becoming a media icon connects to students developing stronger right-brain patterns, such as relying more upon holistic visual or verbal cues like color, motion, and sound effects instead of text-based cues to determine required information from a storyline (Healy 210-11). As a movie or commercial image, Harry Potter feeds upon the right hemisphere of the brain's need for novelty and for understanding the story's global context (Healy 124-25). Therefore, children and teenagers who become dependent solely upon the film or commercial versions of Harry Potter without the connection to Rowlings's books will most likely capture the narrative's gist, but they may miss the more interesting or important details connected to really understanding the tale. The danger in this is some students become untrained in the art of pursuing meaning and reflection in their reading and writing. In these instances, students will not grasp foreshadowing techniques like asking questions of what will happen next in the plot nor will they make mental connections to prior learned information. These are critical reading skills that do transfer to written communication, and educators need to discover ways to enhance these abilities in students whose primary leisure activity is television or film viewing.
Secondary areas to consider as Harry Potter moves toward film, video, advertising, and television are the types of effects the change from literary figure to media icon will elicit in young or adolescent viewers. Media influence is a two-stage process, displaying immediate and long-term effects. Immediate effects occur during exposure to a message or directly thereafter. Some of these outcomes temporarily tend to reinforce or extend an individual's schema. For instance, after seeing the Harry Potter movie, young viewers may adopt attitudes or behaviors that correspond to the hero or heroine. Alternatively, children may have heightened emotions connected to what happens to Harry or his friends for a short period during or slightly after the film. In these situations, youngsters may want to dress like or act like Harry or one of the characters for a period of time.
Other outcomes, though, depend upon long term exposure to messages that people internalize as cultural or personal beliefs. For the sake of argument, let us say the recently released Harry Potter movie becomes a pop classic in the same way E.T. or Star Wars did a generation ago. Children and teens see the film dozens of times, each time internalizing more of the messages sent through the movie. These messages are layered with more messages from TV news stories about the Harry Potter phenomenon, Harry Potter products, the stars of the movie, and so on.
Over time and repeated exposure, hypermnesia sets in. Hypermnesia occurs when individuals become more able to recollect data about a topic (Potter 281). Through shared hypermnesia, a group or a generation begins to bond through media socialization. Media socialization tends to happen when teens and others have repeated exposure to the same movies, cartoons, advertisements, news stories, talk shows, and so on. The recurring information crystallizes certain messages that are shared among the group. The trouble with Harry in this situation is young viewers begin to infer generalizations and beliefs about the world based on the strings of individual facts, events, and character portrayals narrowly transmitted through various media outlets. While these generalizations and beliefs may be mediated by many other outside sources, from parental attitudes and beliefs to cultural, religious, and regional influences, continued exposure to the same or similar media messages over an extended period of time does shape an individual's worldview. For youngsters, hypermnesia generated by the media can be strong enough to challenge these other mediating sources. Since most juveniles are still forming experiences to test their media knowledge, hypermnesia may have a greater effect on them compared to many adults.
Harry Potter the media image can also introduce students to a number of faulty reasoning traps, the greatest of which is the "halo effect." The halo effect is believing someone because we trust him or her or because we believe the person is an expert in a particular area. Because young readers of Harry Potter the literary figure have built a sense of trust in the character, this trust in the literary persona frequently transfers to the media image. Especially in advertising contexts, this ready-made trust between young reader and character can be exploited in ad copy to make suspect claims.
A second faulty reasoning method, the ecological fallacy, can also emerge. In this setting, a message would show a viewer that there is a causal relationship between two items merely because they occur simultaneously. For instance, the successful release of another Harry Potter book coincides with a blockbuster opening for the Harry Potter film. There may be a number of reasons for the book and the movie doing well that do not account for the simultaneous release, such as the time of year both are released or the amount of advertising dollars spent to create a pent-up desire for youngsters to purchase the new book or to see the movie. Sophisticated media users can detect the ecological fallacy; unsophisticated users generally do not. Many children and adolescents may not recognize all the underlying reasons as to why the book and film are huge successes and may want to see coincidences where there may not be any. Similarly, in these situations, inexperienced thinkers also may fall prey to post hoc fallacies. They may assume just because something preceded an event--such as the movie being released before the book--it is the cause of whatever transpired.
Certainly the "bandwagon" fallacy also can come to the fore in this context. If news reports, advertisements, and word-of-mouth reflects that everyone--or seemingly everyone--is watching, reading or buying Harry Potter, then inexperienced media consumers become easy targets for these powerful messages. Children and teens are particularly susceptible to bandwagon fallacies because their range of experiences with media messages and real life interactions are limited. The bandwagon effect is particularly successful with those who have a lack of self-esteem and want to be like others. To many young minds, if everyone is seeing the movie, purchasing the book, or buying Harryphernalia, the possibility of being left out of this consuming frenzy may play upon his or her self-worth. Without solid media literacy skills to dismantle bandwagon messaging techniques, adolescents remain especially susceptible to feeling like the odd one out if they do not purchase the latest item or see the hottest movie or buy the latest fashion.
Lastly, the distinct variations between the two Harrys may create intentional fallacies, which is the idea that what the message maker's intended meaning is what the viewers take it to be. Many times the media will construct intentional fallacies to shape our ideas about a product or a program. Usually, though, there is some degree of separation between the message's encoded meaning and how the audience decodes it. For instance, with the Harry Potter book series, the author intends the message to be a child's fantasy and the publisher intends for the book to be a huge seller. However, the readers may have a variety of different and unexpected uses for the book. For instance, readers may share or exchange copies of their books with others, thus reducing the numbers of copies sold. Or, adults might hold Harry Potter costume parties, where parents and their friends dress up like the characters of the book. Some parents might read the book aloud and tape their readings for younger children who cannot yet read. These uses subvert the original intentions of the book.
Children, too, can be shown how they might challenge media-generated intentional fallacies with their own multiple uses of the Harry Potter movie. With the film, the producers intend viewers to visit a theater, rent, or purchase the movie. They do not expect the audience to share or dub the VCR tapes or DVD discs for friends. Nor are the film's creators interested in how children and teenagers appropriate new meanings for the scenes, such as using the movie's language, characters or situations as a secret code to describe school, family or neighborhood relationships.
However, there is much more for us to consider with the two Harrys than the types of logical traps they can set for students. The shift from Harry Potter the literary character to Harry Potter the media icon should also have educators questioning how the change will further desensitize young readers' relationships with the printed word. J.K. Rowlings' books instill a sense of wonderment and surprise in young adults, as many teachers and parents can attest. Like the numerous media studies that repeatedly show watching even a single television program--especially if violence and aggression are featured--lowers children's sensitivity toward these actions, highly entertaining television shows, videos or movies filled with spectacular special effects also reduce viewers' impressions toward low impact programming. Reading and writing are very low impact programming forms. Both depend upon great skill in encoding and decoding messages in a particular context and the entertainment level is rooted much more deeply in one's special interests. Therefore, it is entirely plausible that for many youngsters a Harry Potter movie filled with incredible computer generated graphics or fantastic special effects will be far more entertaining and impressive than reading the series or writing about what they have read or seen. Rather than believe children and teenagers will turn to the movie version of Harry Potter because the story is easier to consume, though, educators need to realize that the amazing technological effects connected to the portrayal of a boy wizard will desensitize these viewers to the acts of reading and writing. This is a far more subtle use of the media desensitizing viewers than perhaps many are accustomed to, and one that directly affects how youngsters connect to the printed word.
More Than What the Hogwarts Academy Expected: Using the Magic of Harry Potter to Teach Media Literacy in Grades 6-12
The standard approach to instilling media literacy in children or teenage consumers is to inoculate them. Inoculation simply refers to the repeated exposure of audience's attitudes to various messages and claims with the purpose of making media claims less effective. However, inoculation is generally an unsophisticated approach to developing media literacy. Media outlets spend millions on psychographic and demographic information to subvert most inoculation techniques, and advertisers and programmers use inoculation to sway consumers and viewers toward specific products. So the activities educators would most likely line up to combat media messages more than likely pale in comparison to what skilled corporate manipulators do on a daily basis.
Instead of inoculating students to create media literacy, teachers might achieve more by using media commercialization as a significant learning experience for their classes. This is where the two Harry Potters emerge as central figures. Students can use their prior experience with the Harry Potter of literary fame to shape their current media knowledge structures. With the flood of Harryphernalia in bookstores and shopping malls, teachers can ask students to become critical thinkers about their own media consumption using the following writing exercise. Using excerpts of the film, commercials featuring the Harry Potter characters, or news stories related to the movie, have students analyze their potential for consumerism. The teacher writes ten ideas on the board related to media influence--for instance, opinion creation, opinion change, reinforcement, emotional reactions, imitation, nutrition, instant gratification, materialism, and blame. Students then determine what characteristics would need to be present in the film, commercial, or news story to influence them to see the movie, buy the product, or pay attention to the television story. This is akin to developing foreshadowing techniques in conventional literacy. To facilitate the next phase in the assignment, teachers fill the board with the class's responses.
Stepping back to examine what students generated is an important stage in encouraging students to develop reflexivity. Teachers should ask students to rank which attributes would influence them the most. Once this activity is finished, students write a short profile explaining how they might lower the probability of these attributes influencing children and teenagers to overconsume. To extend the reflection, teachers can have students probe their own reactions to Harry Potter that put them at risk for indiscriminate spending on Harryphernalia. In journals or in class discussion, students can question more deeply into those effects that play upon youngsters' self-esteem and how those influences shape a person's reasons for succumbing to media messages.
Beyond having students study their own habits as media consumers, teachers can motivate their classes to think about the indirect media effects on others using Harry Potter. In this instance, students generate examples where their friends formed an opinion based on media messages about Harry Potter without ever being exposed to the original event (book or film, for instance). Then after sharing these student-produced situations related to others, the instructor asks the class what their opinion is on Harry Potter found in the book, the movie, and the commercial. Using the chalkboard, the teacher puts forward all the student opinions. Once the class has finished airing its opinions, the teacher should ask whether the class's opinions are based on overheard media messages or from them being directly exposed to the book, the film, or the commercials. Students are then asked to write about what conditions changed their opinions about Harry Potter. Afterward, students should classify whether these conditions are connected to direct or indirect exposure to the media event. The point of this exercise is to show how discussing whether people are most affected by direct or indirect exposure to the media, which helps students discover the complexity of the media effects process.
Using media commercialization as a significant learning experience for reading, writing, and thinking suggests teachers need to show students how to adapt to new learning frameworks. Far too frequently, inexperienced users misinterpret media schemas as real world schemas, and the consequences generally run from the embarrassing to the dangerous. With children and teenagers, a lack of awareness connected to their misinterpreting media schema for real world schema can create anything from social faux pas to poor decision-making.
Again, most students' familiarity with the Harry Potter book series allows instructors to work with their classes to enhance the students' sensitivity to media schemas. As a class, teachers should have students select a chapter of one Harry Potter book to read as a group. Students take turns reading the passages, and while one student is reading, the others should take notes about the schemas. For character schemas, students would list the central figures and briefly describe them. To explain the narrative schema present in the chapter, students need to jot down the important events that occur. Likewise, to determine setting schema, students write two or three things that take place in the setting and two or three items that would never occur in the setting. Students identify thematic schema in the chapter by briefly summarizing what was the chapter's moral or intended moral. Finally, to discover the chapter's rhetorical schema, students list the author's purpose for writing this chapter. Was Rowling trying to entertain, to inform, to persuade, to fantasize, or to achieve a number of purposes?
Students repeat this schema identification activity again, this time while watching a ten to fifteen minute portion of the Harry Potter movie. Lastly, the teacher should show about ten to fifteen minutes of television advertisements for Harryphernalia, and students once more categorize the schema.
Upon completing the three exercises, the class discusses its findings. Students should be asked what, if any, schematic elements stayed the same across the examples. What schematic elements differed? Students need to consider whether a change in media generated a change in the schematic elements. Students also should talk about whether the media schemas and genres affect how people receive messages (adapted from Potter 89).
These activities illustrate how teachers can work with students to reduce their levels of mindless exposure to any media material, whether print or electronic. Students discover ways to hone their media reading skills, and they learn that their passive reading of the media leads to media effects clouding their thinking far more pervasively than usual. Instead of making claims in their argument--e.g., that parents or some other authority should control media messages directed toward children, a common byproduct of inoculation--youngsters who become active readers of the media determine how to negotiate the information presented to them. This is an especially important ability for those young people who form parasocial relationships with media characters based on the character's attractiveness or sociability. Passive media readers rarely consider how storylines and contexts shape a character's likability or personality; therefore, these viewers are regularly affected by hypermnesia. Active media readers, however, question storylines and contexts as well as external media messages sent by advertisers and news reports about these characters. Consequently, these children and teenagers develop the analytical skills that allow them to separate the entertainment qualities from whatever informational content exists. As they increase their analytical skills through repeated media literacy exercises, students expand their abilities to recognize how a change in medium can make a difference in how a message is constructed and received. In other words, students discover how to be "situationally sensitive" (Simons, Morreale, and Gronbeck 76) toward mass media messages.
Teachers who draw upon cross-media comparisons in their assignments do well in showing students how the same information is presented differently through various genres. Using the activities presented earlier in this paper, instructors help students understand the ways in which a message affects viewers. To extend this idea into students' writing, teachers can have the class keep a journal related to all the Harry Potter news stories, radio jingles, Internet ads, and television commercials they see for two weeks. Students write down what elements of the messages appeal to them--colors, sounds, melodies, graphics, and so on. At the end of the two week period, have students write Harry Potter messages for different media--a newspaper article, a radio or television ad, a billboard, a short scene from the next movie, or a news report for a local station on the Harry Potter phenomenon. The process teaches students that writing effective media messages is sometimes difficult. Since successful media messages depend upon a number of artistic qualities to appeal to viewers, students learn about the aesthetic dimension of the media (adapted from Potter 381). The class quickly discovers that those elements that work best in one medium often will not transfer. Consequently, students must learn how to work with various linguistic, aural, and visual aspects to create expert sounding media messages.
Developing media literacy frameworks for young adults requires educators to move beyond the usual inoculation or academic literacy approaches. Instructors must think of literacy with a much wider goal in mind, as reading and writing have become far more complex in the Information Age. Just as instructors present critical thinking skills in reading and writing, they must also now include critical viewing to the literacy mix. Since youngsters have constructed basic media literacy frameworks by the time they enter school, teachers need to help them move toward advanced abilities so children learn not to take media information at face value. This suggests that literacy is, indeed, rooted in both social and technological practices, as educational theorist B.C. Bruce notes (303). Students' early learning experiences are grounded in commingled forms and representations of sound, animation, moving images, and electronically generated meanings (Macaul et al. 55). These practices affect how students react to the printed word in academic settings. Therefore, teachers must come to terms with an expanded view of literacy that encompasses these influences upon reading and writing.
Mass media and media commercialization do not have to destroy traditional notions of literacy. Students who understand that informational flow patterns shift with a change in medium may better understand a society that is becoming increasingly media-saturated. Even though teachers are incorporating media literacy activities in their classes, academic literacy skills should not suffer, as students still are able to use reading and writing to test new ideas and propose new knowledge structures even though the characters or images they use for inquiry are different. The result of merging print and electronic literacy abilities may be that students move toward developing an integrated notion of reading and writing across multiple media genres as well as becoming more media savvy.
Pleasure and Literacy
Before concluding, let me suggest that Harry Potter stories do bring many people who are young and old a great sense of pleasure. But, as media scholars Lawrence Grossberg, Ellen Wartella, and D. Charles Whitney suggest, "[p]leasure is a deceptively simple notion [...] it is in fact a very complex phenomenon, and we actually know very little about the mechanisms of the production of pleasure" (253). So much of what defines pleasure is emotionally generated. Yet we should not forget that pleasure is also economically and culturally situated. Whether one reads to escape the mundane, to reinforce one's self through identification with a character, to live vicariously through another's experiences, to feel catharsis, or for any number of other reasons, all bear some connection to a media product--the book. If pleasure relates to traditional literacy, then why not have pleasure link up with media literacy to interrogate what we see on television, through an advertisement, or in a film?
Harry Potter can teach reading and writing instructors how to bring media literacy into their classrooms through the introduction of pleasure. Educators recognize the young magician's power to charm children and teenagers into developing a love of words. Schoolteachers and others, however, must also realize the boy wizard can cast many unwanted spells upon young audiences as a media pitchman. Ultimately, the trouble with Harry is that until teachers and students recognize that he sends a number of messages beyond his literary self--and we all must learn how to address these messages to function in various situations--in most writing classes literacy will remain segregated between a privileged print and a mass electronic form.
A parallel example of hypermnesia would be how late-twentysomethings bond around the values and images linked to The Brady Bunch. For a short period in the late 1980s - early 1990s, there was Brady material across all media. My college students during that time could not only recite the entire Brady Bunch theme song, but could reel off lengthy passages from episodes and arcane facts about the program. Similarly, I see my current group of college students display hypermnesia over The Simpsons television program. Based on these two phenonmena, a similar occurrence with Harry Potter should be expected.
The classroom exercises are designed for grades 6-12. All activities can be adjusted to meet the demands of class size, student demographics, and teacher or departmental expectations for grade level performance. My purpose is not to create a one-size-fits-all approach to introducing media literacy. Rather, I hope to generate a context in which teachers adapt the ideas here for their own classroom activities. Since there is little advertising done in advance of the Harry Potter movie, I suggest interested teachers look in local pharmacies, grocery stores, and bookstores to note the wide array of items carrying the Harry Potter image that are available for purchase. A recent issue of Vanity Fair magazine (http://www.epicurious.com) devoted its main story to the upcoming Harry Potter phenomenon.
These conditions can be explained as parental comments, friends' comments, newscasters' comments, or other attitudes displayed by institutions such as church, school, government, sports, and so on.
W. James Potter defines various media schema as character schema (stereotypical images that viewers instantly recognize), narrative schema (storytelling formulas that cue viewers to the genre), setting schema (places that influence viewer expectations), thematic schema (character behaviors that interact with the first three schemas to provide viewers with a moral to the story), and rhetorical schema (the primary contribution of the story--whether to inform, entertain, persuade, create a fantasy, and so on) (74).
Bruce, B.C. "Literacy Technologies: What Stance Should We Take?" Journal of Literacy Research (29) 1997: 289-309.
Healy, Jane M. Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think--and What We Can Do About It. New York: Touchstone, 1990.
Grossberg, Lawrence, Ellen Wartella, and D. Charles Whitney. Mediamaking: Mass Media in a Popular Culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998.
Macaul, Sherry L., Jackie K. Giles, and Rita K. Rodenberg. "Intermediality in the Classroom: Learners Constructing Meaning Through Deep Viewing." Intermediality: The Teacher's Handbook of Critical Media Literacy. Ed. Ladislaus Semali and Ann Watts Pailliotet. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1999.
Meyrowitz, Joshua. No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior. New York: Oxford UP, 1985.
Potter, W. James. Media Literacy. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001.
Semali, Ladislaus M, and Ann Watts Pailliotet. Intermediality: The Teacher's Handbook of Critical Media Literacy. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1999.
Simons, Herbert, Joanne Morreale, and Bruce Gronbeck. Persuasion in Society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001.
U.S. Department of Education. NAEP 1996: Trends in Writing. Office of Educational Research and Improvement. National Center for Educational Statistics. Washington, DC: 1999.
—. NAEP 1998: Trends in Writing. Washington, DC: 2000.
Citation Format: Penrod, Dane. "The Trouble with Harry: A Reason for Teaching Media Literacy to Young Adults." The Writing Instructor. 2001. http://www.writinginstructor.com/penrod.html (Date Accessed).
Review Process: Diane Penrod's essay was accepted for publication following blind, peer review. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31634000 |
WebMD Medical News
Louise Chang, MD
Jan. 15, 2009 -- The largest study ever to track bipolar disorder and
schizophrenia within families offers evidence that the two psychiatric
disorders share a common genetic cause.
For more than a century the psychiatric community has debated whether
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were two distinct disorders or were more
Over the course of their illnesses, many patients experience similarities in
certain symptoms characteristic of both, such as manic mood swings in bipolar
disorder and psychosis in schizophrenia.
Recent genetic studies suggest a common genetic cause for the two
conditions. But earlier studies in families have not supported this conclusion,
finding no increase in bipolar disorder in family members of schizophrenics and
In an effort to help settle the question, researchers in Sweden linked a
comprehensive national health registry to equally comprehensive hospital
Three decades of registry and hospital data (1973 to 2004) involving 9
million Swedes from 2 million families were analyzed to determine risk for
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder among biological and nonbiological relatives
of patients with one or both of the disorders.
Close to 36,000 people with schizophrenia and 40,500 people with a diagnosis
of bipolar disorder were identified.
The analysis revealed that:
Shared and non-shared environmental factors also contributed to risk, but
they were less important influences than genetics.
The findings appear in the Jan. 17 issue of the journal The
"It is time that we rethink the way we view these disorders," study
co-author Christina Hultman, PhD, tells WebMD. "And it is clear that we
need more genetic studies to help us better understand this shared
In an editorial accompanying the study, Cardiff University dean of medicine
Michael Owen, MD, PhD, suggested that the earlier family studies were far too
small to show the genetic link between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
In an interview with WebMD, Owen called the latest research very strong,
with major implications for how patients are managed.
"When someone receives a diagnosis of schizophrenia it is easy for
clinicians to overlook mood disorder and other symptoms that don't fit with
that diagnosis," he says. "The same is true for psychotic symptoms that
may occur in people labeled with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder."
He adds that it is important for clinicians to recognize that symptoms can,
and often do, change over time.
"Most patients don't fit neatly into categories, and the more questions
you ask the more likely you are to find a combination of psychotic and mood
symptoms," he says.
John H. Krystal, MD, of Yale University Medical Center and the VA
Connecticut Healthcare System, agrees.
He tells WebMD that psychiatry has long struggled with "a gray zone"
of patients who do not neatly fit into the categories of bipolar disorder and
He adds that the new research could have major implications for the
development of new treatments for the psychiatric disorders.
SOURCES:Lichtenstein, P. The Lancet, Jan. 17, 2009; vol 373: pp 234-239.Christina M. Hultman, PhD, associate professor, department of medical
epidemiology and biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.Michael J. Owen, MD, PhD, dean of medicine, Cardiff University, Wales.John H. Krystal, MD, professor of clinical pharmacology; deputy chairman for
research, department of psychiatry, Yale University Medical School, New Haven,
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The term sexually transmitted disease is used to cover the more than 25-30 infectious organisms that are spread through sexual activity. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are almost always spread from person to person by sexual activity. These infections are most easily spread by vaginal or anal intercourse, and sometimes by oral sex. Some STIs can also be spread through blood, particularly among intravenous (IV) drug users who may be sharing drug equipment (needles, syringes, or “works”). In addition, pregnant women with STIs may pass their infection to infants in the uterus (womb), during birth, or through breast-feeding.
Most people with STIs have no symptoms. Without treatment these diseases can lead to major health problems such as not being able to get pregnant (infertility), permanent brain damage, heart disease, cancer, and even death. If you think you have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease, you and your sex partner(s) should visit a health clinic, hospital or doctor for testing and treatment.
Most STIs affect both men and women, but in many cases the health problems they cause can be more severe for women. If a pregnant woman has an STI, it can cause serious health problems for the baby.
If you have an STI caused by bacteria or parasites, your health care provider can treat it with antibiotics or other medicines. If you have an STI caused by a virus, there is no cure. Sometimes medicines can keep the disease under control. Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not completely eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading STIs.
Sexually Transmitted Infections:
Sexually Transmitted Disease Information
Prescott: (928) 583-1000 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31646000 |
Origin: ModL: so named (1789) by M. H. Klaproth (see tellurium), its discoverer, after Uranus, recently (1781) discovered planet + -ium
See uranium in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun Symbol U
Origin: New Latin ūranium
Origin: , after Ūranus, Uranus; see Uranus. Word History: Some chemical elements, such as ytterbium and berkelium, derive their names from the places they were discovered, but the element uranium owes its name to an earlier scientific discovery, that of the planet Uranus. Sir William Herschel, who discovered Uranus in 1781, wanted to name the planet Georgium sidus, “the Georgian planet,” in honor of George III; others called it Herschel. Eventually convention prevailed and the planet came to be called Uranus, like Mercury and Pluto the name of a heavenly deity in classical mythology. This god, called Ouranos in Greek (Latinized as Uranus), was chosen because he was the father of Saturn (Greek Kronos), the deity of the planet next in line, who himself was the father of Jupiter (Greek Zeus), the deity of the next planet. The name of this new planet Uranus was then used in the name of a new chemical element discovered eight years later by M.H. Klaproth. Klaproth, a German scientist, gave it the Latin name uranium in honor of the discovery of Uranus. Uranium passed into English shortly thereafter, being first recorded in the third edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1797.
Learn more about uranium | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31654000 |
CDC Finds Dramatic Rise in Drug DeathsFeb 9, 2007 | AP
The number of accidental drug overdose deaths rose from 11,155 in 1999 to 19,838 in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report was based on death certificates, which do not clearly detail which drugs played the greatest role. But CDC researchers said they believe sedatives and prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin were the chief cause of the increase.
OxyContin has been blamed for hundreds of deaths across the country in recent years, becoming such a scourge in Appalachia that it is known as "hillbilly heroin."
Deaths from falls climbed between 1999 and 2004 at a more modest rate, from 13,162 to 18,807, the CDC said. Motor vehicle crashes accounted for 40,965 fatalities in 1999 and 43,432 in 2004.
The South had one of the lowest fatal drug overdose rates in the nation in 1999, but it doubled by 2004. The South now ties the West for having the highest rate about 8 per 100,000 population.
"This is the first study really to describe the large relative increases in poisoning mortality rates in rural states. Historically, the drug issue has been seen as an urban problem," said Dr. Len Paulozzi, a CDC epidemiologist.
The federal report, issued this week, noted that accidental drug overdoses remain most common in men and in people 35 to 54. But the most dramatic increases in death rates were for white females, young adults and Southerners
- The death rates for men remained roughly twice the rate for women, but the female rate doubled from 1999 to 2004 while the male rate increased by 47 percent.
- The rate for white women rose more dramatically than for any other gender group, to 5 deaths per 100,000 population.
- The rate of overdose deaths among teens and young adults, ages 15 to 24, is less than half that of the 35-to-54 group. But it rose much more dramatically, climbing 113 percent in the study years, to 5.3 deaths per 100,000 population.
Earlier research suggests that deaths from illegal drugs appear to be holding steady.
"There is a misperception that because a drug is a prescription medicine, it's safe to use for non-medical reasons. And clearly that is not true," said Dr. Anne Marie McKenzie-Brown, a pain medicine expert at Atlanta's Emory Crawford Long Hospital. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31655000 |
Criticism of POW Treatment
Criticism of POW Treatment
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International
Amnesty International urged the United States to ensure respect for the human rights of all people who have been or may be transferred from Afghanistan to a US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"The US is placing these people in a legal limbo. They deny that they are Prisoners of War (POWs), while at the same time failing to provide them with the most basic protections of any person deprived of their liberty," Amnesty International said. "The US has obligations under international law to ensure respect for the human rights of all persons in their custody -- including the duty to treat them humanely and ensure that they have recourse to fair proceedings, regardless of the nature of the crimes they are suspected of having committed."
Amnesty International considers that those who are held in Guantanamo, who are said to have been captured during the war in Afghanistan, are presumed to be POWs. If there is any dispute about their status, the US must allow a "competent tribunal" to decide, as required by Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention. This is also the position held by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the most authoratitive interpreter of the Geneva Conventions.
"It is not the prerogative of the Secretary of Defense or any other US administration official to determine whether those held in Guantanamo are POWs", Amnesty International said. "An independent US court, following due process, is the appropriate organ to make this determination."
POWs are afforded specific rights. For example, they should be held in conditions "as favourable" as those of US soldiers; they are not required to divulge information beyond their name, rank, serial number and date-of-birth; they cannot be tried merely for having taken up arms against enemy combatants in the context of the conflict and they should be granted access to delegates of the ICRC. POWs, unless they are to be tried for war crimes or other criminal offences, must be repatriated at the end of "active hostilities".
Any detainee who is suspected of a crime, whether or not they are POWs, must be charged with a criminal offense and tried fairly or released. Denying POWs or other people protected by the Geneva Conventions a fair trial is a war crime. Amnesty International is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances.
The international safeguards governing the treatment of all detainees facing criminal charges include those of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the US is a party since 1992, and the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. These include the right to challenge the lawfulness of detention, to be brought before an independent tribunal, the right to silence, and access to legal counsel.
Amnesty International is also concerned about alleged ill-treatment of prisoners in transit and in Guantanamo, including reports that they were shackled, hooded and sedated during transfer, their beards were forcibly shaved, and that they are housed in small cages in Guantanamo that do not protect against the elements."Degrading treatment of prisoners is a flagrant violation of international law which cannot be justified under any circumstances," the organization stated.
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting Amnesty International and this footer remain intact. Only the list subscription message may be removed. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31658000 |
Quakes: Call on Turks and on Greeks
The "art" of photography was invented in 1826. The use of steel-reinforced concrete started around 1876.
So, for 135 years, from 1876 to this day (2011), it has been possible to have photos of steel-reinforced concrete buildings destroyed by quakes. Newspaper archives, worldwide, are full of innumerable photos of multistory steel-reinforced concrete buildings in which their occupants were crashed to death, in the most agonizing way, when the buildings collapsed, during an earthquake.
If observers from another planet could view the material and social changes that appeared on the face of the earth during the last one hundred years, they would conclude that one of the most important factors for the existing material and social reality on the planet has been the use of steel-reinforced concrete.
The ease and speed with which humans can make a concrete building frame has enabled them to construct multi-story buildings in infinite numbers. From the moment of the arrival of this type of building, life changed for the mass of twentieth century men and women. This kind of building allowed the state to cram a great part of the population into miserable apartments in multi-story concrete buildings. The social, political, psychopathological, and even anthropological aspects of the problem of cramming millions in these "buildings-machines" has yet to be seriously addressed.
This social problem of the multi-story apartment building is magnified to a fatal degree at those parts of the Earth which are earthquake-prone.
Concrete is an intrinsically brittle material, even when reinforced with steel. (Chalk is another brittle material). A multistory concrete building cannot survive a big earthquake, if hit directly by the earthquake. The damage from a quake to a building is site specific. A building can remain intact, while another one, even a few feet away, can be destroyed completely.
Naturally, it is reasonable to ask: who is responsible for the proliferation of the concrete multi-story apartment building? As already mentioned, it is the state. Not only because it crams the masses, like sardines, in these "buildings-machines", but because, with the help of its technical "commissars", the engineers, it permits and promotes the construction of these "death-traps", in earthquake-prone areas.
So, we reach to the, rather, strange conclusion that the thousands of deaths caused by quakes is a political problem!
Among the people that helped the state to propagate or use this multi-story-building "solution" to the problem of housing ordinary people, a prominent place is held by Le Corbusier (1887-1965). Le Corbusier was born in Switzerland and at the age of 43 he became a French citizen. He was quite "enamored" to the Nazis, and he was an admirer of Henry Ford and the...General Motors!
His contribution to humanity: part of the misery that the extraterrestrial man observed during his trip on the surface of the earth.
Unfortunately, this contribution to misery and quake-induced deaths has not been adequately recognized, if at all, by historians, engineers, and intellectuals.
How could, a rather not very competent architect, create such "havoc", almost single-handed?
My estimate: The cause is a strange tendency of humans, especially of ladies, to feel that it is de rigueur to be modern, to follow the fashion, etc. [Whether this tendency is innate or acquired, does not matter. What matters, is that it is so prevalent]. Le Corbusier and his creations were the epitome of...modernity. Maybe, that was why Le Corbusier became a French citizen; to be at the center of modernity, fashion, etc.
Aside from this rather droll, yet valid, explanation, there is a more sinister one: the greed of the Portland cement industry and the automobile industry in the "democratic" nations and authoritarianism in the non-democratic nations (the Soviets, Hitler, etc).
Let us take the case of Greece:
Around 79 years ago, between 1932 and 1933, what happened at the "Exarchia Square" in Athens helped decide the fate of the city concerning its buildings and consequently helped decide the way of the life of its inhabitants.
In 1932 the construction of one of the first steel-reinforced concrete multi-story buildings, designed by a young Greek architect, started to take place at the north-eastern corner of the "Exarchia Square".
[Parenthesis: "The Athens neighborhood of 'Exarchia' is considered the scene of the anarchic scene in Greece (today). The core of the neighborhood is a tiny triangular park (the 'Exarchia Square') with its longest side measuring around 150 feet. The police raid Exarchia regularly." (This from my ZNet Commentary, of January 30, 2009).
In 1932, the Exarchia area was an upper middle-class place with only one-story or at most two-storey houses, as was all of Athens. Therefore, the multi-story building at the square was quite a sensation. End of the parenthesis.]
Before the new multi-story building at Exarchia was completed Le Corbusier visited the place and after congratulating the Greek architect, he scrawled the words "C' est tres beau" (It is very beautiful) on a wall at the entrance of the unfinished building. The words stayed there on the wall for decades, to commemorate the approval of the "great" man. Le Corbusier was 45 years old at the time and already a French citizen.
Then to crown this "artistic" masterpiece the architect invited a friend of his, a painter, to choose the color of the outer surface of the building. The painter chose a very dark blue color, which turned the edifice into a legendary "monument" for modern Athens: the "Blue Apartment Building", as it is called to this day. Unfortunately, the dark color turned the building into an "oven" during the scorching Athenian summers, so it was painted with a lighter blue color, in later years.
The Greek "Blue Apartment Building" was not a blessed event for the Greeks only, similar happy events took place all over the planet. Hitler, Stalin, et al, were in line waiting to cram their lucky citizens into the "machines".
So, the "Blue Apartment Building" has been replicated in Athens and the rest of Greece, ad nauseam, to this day, resulting in a monstrous and, more importantly, a dangerous city, quakewise.
Unfortunately for the Greek people, it so happened that the "gift" of Le Corbusier to the state, the multi-story concrete buildings (the "buildings-machines") was also a "gift" to the US Empire as an instrument of domination. During the last half of the 1940s in Greece, the US "managed" what is usually referred to as the Greek "civil war"; the nationalist army, armed and managed by the US, fought the revolted Greek communists. Using Greece as a proving ground, the US initiated the "Phoenix" philosophy: to defeat a revolution you empty the villages where the revolutionaries get their supplies. So, a part of the population of northern Greece was forced to inundate Athens and start building the monster that exists today in Athens; tens of thousands of Le Corbusier "creations".
[Note: The next case of application of the "Phoenix Program" was in Vietnam. Unfortunately, there, part of the population of the villages were executed by the CIA.]
There is a strange and mostly ignored case, which could have been a "counter argument" to the Le Corbusier "curse", at least in later years, and that is the case of Christopher Alexander, Professor of architecture at Berkeley. But this is not the place to expand on this matter.
Going back to quakes, let us go a bit deeper. Is the expression "quake-prone", mentioned previously, completely realistic?
Here are two (rather) random "samples" of the quakes, above a magnitude of 2.5 Richter(R) for the US and adjacent areas, and above 4.5 for the rest of the world, that took place over the entire planet for two separate weeks, as recorded by the United States Geological Survey (USGS):
I. From October 17 to October 24, 2011:
- Total number of quakes: 229
- Number of quakes in Alaska (out of the 229): 45
- Number of quakes in the States of America (other than Alaska): 43
- Number of quakes in Turkey: 31
- Number of quakes in the world (excluding the US and Alaska): 141
- Number of different countries that were hit by a quake: 36
II. From October 31 to November 7, 2011:
- Total number of quakes: 239
- Number of quakes in Alaska (out of the 239): 53
- Number of quakes in the States of America (other than Alaska): 50
- Number of quakes in the world (excluding the US and Alaska): 136
- Number of different countries that were hit by a quake: 31
Looking at the above recorded data, one could conclude, for example, that Alaska is an intensely quake-prone area. Also, we "know" that according to science, quakes are crowded at the places where the continental plates meet one another, that quakes do not happen in the middle of the plates (continents), etc, and that when the latter happens, as in New Madrid, then we discover "ancient" faults and so on.
If quakes are a very serious matter, that is if an agonizing death is a serious matter, then we are obliged to see the quake-prone factor in a more conservative way.
For example, what if there are unknown "ancient faults" under Berlin, or Dresden, or Moscow, etc? Also, should we not take into account that the historical data that we have for quakes are minuscule?
Therefore, should we accept the axiom that any place on earth is quake-prone? The answer should be: Yes!
Furthermore, that there are more than 200 quakes per week all over the earth in more than 30 countries cannot be ignored. Also, the fact that the majority of those quakes have a Magnitude between 4 and 5 Richter, is deadly significant. Such quakes affect the structural integrity of buildings, even mildly, and the harm is cumulative. All materials have "memory", in relation to their strength.
So, having a planet "vibrating" with quakes and covered with concrete death-traps, what do we do?
A Call for a Solution
What follows is addressed mainly to the Turkish people, the Greek people, and the engineers and the technical universities of both countries:
After the collapse of a concrete building the "lucky" ones are those who die on the spot. An unknown number of trapped survivors, under hundreds of tons of concrete, are killed in a terrible manner by their...rescuers. At some point, a few days after the quake, the state (the politicians) orders the removal of the concrete mass with the use of heavy construction equipment, thus dismembering any survivors who are still alive. A couple of decades ago in Salonika, an engineering colleague of mine pleaded with the politicians not to use the construction equipment, as there might still be survivors under the mass of the concrete. They refused, and used the equipment only 48 hours after the quake. All my friend could do was to burst to tears. The same thing is happening this very minute (Nov. 11, 2011) in Turkey.
Is there a solution? Did the technical universities of the world try seriously to find a solution, for more than a century?
During this period of time, what the universities did was to try to find out how to "strengthen" the concrete buildings by devising scale models of buildings and experimenting on them. The Japanese, once, tried to be "realistic", by avoiding the scale models, and fixed a... rocket on the top of a multi-story building! All the benefit these "toys" offered to humanity, was more and more dead in collapsed concrete buildings.
If the extremely heavy and weak concrete of a tall building kills, what then could be the solution? Evidently, a low building made of light materials.
Such a building should meet three criteria:
1. It should be a low one-story structure.
2. It should be of light, but sturdy material.
3. It should be inexpensive
There has never been a serious effort by the technical universities of the world to design such a building for the benefit of ordinary people, to protect them from death when a quake hits.
The argument that is usually raised against this proposal is that if you eliminate the tall buildings then you are apt to cover the surface of the earth with one-story houses for the billions of its inhabitants; an ecological catastrophe.
Let us be honest. Where did all these humans use to live before they inundated the few big cities in all countries, from Greece to China? Was the surface of the earth covered to capacity with their home villages? The "brutal" motive for people to move to the cities was and is poverty. Actually, it is a "benign" Phoenix Program initiated by the world economic elite; a sequel to the original Greek and Vietnamese murderous programs.
Also, there is another, rather "vulgar" development that refutes the above argument. For example, there are Greek immigrants, admittedly not very numerous, who after having been "successful" by climbing the social ladder from dishwashers in New York or Frankfurt to restaurateurs, they then build summer-houses back in their home villages, usually mimicking, architecturally, Swiss chalets, thus occupying two times their... allotted domicile space on the face of the earth.
An additional objection to the proliferation of the one-story home, possibly by ecologists this time, might be that this is a boon for the proliferation of the automobile, Le Corbusier's fervent vision. Wrong! This problem had been solved around the turn of the 20th century. The solution: the steel wheel on a steel rail. That is: mass transportation by trains, light-rail and the streetcar. A solution, which was "erased" by the General Motors et al in the 1930s and 1940s.
Finally, for some people, storing humans vertically towards heaven in tall buildings in mega-cities, is a way to make humanity "more productive and efficient".
In the "Special Issue" on "Better Cities" of the "Scientific American" magazine, for September 2011, (page 38), Luis M.A.Bettencourt and Geoffrey B.West write: "What we can say with certainty,..., is that increased population [in cities] promotes more intense and frequent social interactions...as well as economic pressures that weed out inefficiencies. In a city with high rents, only activities that add substantial value can be profitable. These economic pressures push urbanites to come up with new forms of organizations, products and services that carry more value added. In turn, higher profitability, excellence and choice tend to attract more talent to the city, pushing rents higher still, fuelling the need to find yet more productive activities..."
About "weed out inefficiencies", "rents", "economic pressures", " value added", and "profitability", no comment is necessary.
However, given that the majority of "educated" people in the West, and probably the writers of the above excerpt, consider the foundation of their culture and of their social thought to be the product of the city of Athens around 2,500 years ago (see Martin Bernal's "Black Athena"), it is a bit of a contradiction to ignore the fact that the area covered by the city of Athens, at that time, around the Acropolis, is the same area covered today by a few dozen taverns, peddling "moussaka" to the tourists. How come such "wisdom" came out of a postage-stamp city, not a mega-city?
Furthermore, to invent the wheel or the transistor is the easy part. To understand the human nature is the hard one. Also, it is even harder to survive in a concrete multi-story building that was hit by an earthquake.
A possible outline of action by the ordinary people of Turkey and Greece to solve the deadly problem of the quake could be as follows:
- Both peoples should ignore their respective governing elites. Any action by both peoples should be at the grassroots level, in a pareconish way.
- Dialogue and cooperation between the two peoples should be the cardinal basis for finding a solution.
- Immediate and very close contact among the civil engineers and the civil engineering schools of both countries.
- Honest evaluation of the history of concrete in relation to quakes.
- If the ordinary men and women of Turkey and Greece, with the help of the universities and of the engineers of both countries, decide that the solution rests on the design of a one-story house of lightweight materials, then a long-range program should be made for the initiation of a process of replacing the existing tall structures with the new low lightweight ones, recycling almost all of the materials of the existing buildings. Obviously, this will take many decades, maybe about a half century.
As already mentioned, this is only an outline by a single individual. There are more than 80 million Turks and Greeks capable to start thinking about the problem. One additional benefit of such a program could be that it will evolve into a political and social contact between the two peoples that will allow them to live in peace and dignity.
Also, it is possible that in the future this program could involve and the peoples at the rim of the Mediterranean Basin; Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, etc.
The Turks and the Greeks can, of course, appeal to the rest of the world for cooperation and involvement in such a project. However, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois should definitely be involved in this Turko-Greek project. Especially, the University of Illinois, which has the best School of Civil Engineering in the world.
The history of the University of Illinois in relation to quakes is quite interesting. Part of this history are Nathan M. Newmark, Hardy Cross, and Fazlur R. Khan. All three were among the most brilliant minds of the contemporary science of the world.
- Newmark (1910 - 1981) was the head of the Civil Engineering Department of the U of Illinois, at Urbana, for 17 years. His work had a lot to do with earthquakes. All his life he tackled the most difficult engineering problems, even the design of structures to withstand a nuclear explosion, and gave brilliant solutions. He is famous for the quake-resistant design of the skyscraper "Torre Latinoamericana" in Mexico city. He was awarded The National Medal of Science and numerous other awards.
- Cross (1885 -1959) was the originator, in 1936 at the U. of Illinois, of what is known to all the civil engineers of the world as the "Cross method", a tool that helped them tremendously in the design of structures, especially of multi-story concrete structures.
- Khan (1929 - 1982) "was a native of Bangladesh... [he] is considered as one of the greatest geniuses in the history of civil engineering... Khan's revolutionary design of a skyscraper is that the most ECONOMICAL way to build a skyscraper is the one in which it is built with thin solid walls as a TUBE..." [This from my ZNet Commentary, "Of Pyramids and Skyscrapers", of September 30, 2001]. The WTC twin towers were designed on the basis of Khan's revolutionary method.
All these three great engineers devoted their life to solve technical problems for the erection of multi-story buildings. The opposite of what is proposed here. Yet, what could their reaction be to such a proposal for a low light-weight building? I would like to think that, ultimately, they would agree that losing the lives of the hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in multi-story concrete buildings has not been seriously examined by the engineering profession and that something should be done.
All three were serious and extremely rational individuals. Of these three, I had the chance to meet only Newmark, a polite, gentle, and honest person. About Khan it was written that he was a "technical genius with a sensitivity for people and the places in which they must live and work". Khan himself said: "I like to think myself a citizen of the world. If we don't have a sense of compassion on a world basis and on a man-to-man basis, we're never going to get out of the wars we're in". About Cross I do not know much. Yet, I am apt to think that he was not different from the other two.
It seems that these three exceptional individuals, in relation to quakes, had fallen to what might be called the "Robert Oppenheimer trap". After Oppenheimer tried to rationalize his involvement with the nukes, he said that he could not resist the feeling of "a technically sweet solution"!
My guess is that, today, all three would agree to the solution presented here.
[Parenthesis: Here is a rough outline of a possible solution for an one-story light-weight building:
1. Construction of a concrete wall as a "base" of the building. Concrete?! Yes, concrete. Even of plain concrete, without steel reinforcement. However, the height of the wall should not exceed 4 feet (1.20 meters). This low wall will give the building a solid base, as a quasi "ballast", which can withstand mainly wind forces. This 4-feet high ballast-wall, even if it fails (which is improbable), will not trap people under it, because of its small height.
2. The floor should be a concrete slab (plain or with minimal steel reinforcement) that is monolithically connected to the low wall, forming thus a box-like lower part of the building. This will be beneficial to the building even if there is liquefaction. (Transformation of the soil into a liquid, for a fraction of the duration of the quake.)
3. The remaining 6 feet, to gain the total height of 10 feet of the building, should be a lightweight construction, resembling a cage, made of steel members, thus securing that the upper part of the walls and the roof will not kill people by falling on them. The steel to be used, mostly by recycling, is already used today as reinforcement in the slabs and columns of the traditional concrete structures, which are going to be demolished.
4. The steel cage, of the upper part of the structure , should be covered on the outside and the inside with a thin "skin" of fiber-reinforced concrete of a thickness of only half inch. Strange as it sounds, there has been experience with such "thin" fiber-reinforced materials for decades. Students in most civil engineering schools in the US take part in an annual competition of building...canoes out of such a "skin".
5. The low concrete wall of 4 feet and the space between the outer "skin" and the inner "skin" should be thermally insulated (preferably with local, or recycled, or newly invented material).
This is only an outline of a solution by a single person. There could be hundreds of better ones from thousands of others; Turks, Greeks, MIT, the U. of Illinois, and so on. End of the Parenthesis.]
It should be pointed out that no architects should be involved in this project. My experience with Greek architects, in relation to quakes is...terrifying. I feel that Prof. Christopher Alexander, already mentioned above, has been saying similar things for years, if not about quakes, at least about the "offerings" of architacts to humanity.
Here is a deadly exercise in aesthetics by Le Corbusier. To make buildings more beautiful he introduced the notion of the "pilotis". That is, he let the building stand on stilts, by eliminating the walls of the ground floor and left only the concrete columns. Also, he said the less numerous columns the better.
There are two multi-story apartment buildings on Le Corbusier stilts, not far from my place. During the big quake of 1981 in Athens they were hit severely and all the concrete stilts were almost destroyed. The state with the help of its engineering "commissars" allowed the "repair" of the damage. Today, more than 40 families (about 160 humans) are living in a terrible death-trap.
This Commentary is addressed to the Turks and to the Greeks in general, and specifically to the inhabitants of Istanbul, of Athens, and of Lisbon.
Finally, to close this rather painful ZNet Commentary: There is no need to include here a list of the dead from quakes through the ages. The list can be found even in the yearly "Almanacs".
I feel that I have to justify why, while living in Athens with all the social and the political tempest around me, I chose to write once more a "Commentary" on quakes.
1. I know that this very minute tens of thousands of Turks are suffering extremely, because of the latest quake that hit them.
2. The Turks did not have a choice. During the 10 seconds of the duration of the quake the only choice you have is to try to avoid thinking about the way the concrete slabs will crash you to a pulp. The people of Athens have a choice: they can revolt. Which they do!
Given this chance to communicate with this Commentary, here is a very brief report on the situation in Athens:
I. Lately, there are numerous classified ads in the papers by young Greeks, who seek to exchange the family apartments in Athens with a small farm or a piece of farm-land in rural areas, so that they can escape from the city and survive economically.
II. Months ago the Greek government decided to add an extra tax to the property of the Greeks. To extract the money from the people, the Government decided to send the extra tax bill through the regular electricity bill and in case the family did not pay the extra tax to disconnect the family house from the electric grid.
Result: the labor union of the electricity workers decided to not disconnect the houses, in solidarity with the populace. The government hired private companies to do the dirty work. The unions threaten to use violence to protect the populace, against the private (enterprise) "thugs".
III. This is 11 a.m., in Athens. Four hours from now the huge annual march from the Polytechnic to the US Embassy to commemorate the 1973 uprising of the students against the US instigated military dictatorship will start on 3 p. m. There are 7,000 policemen on duty ready to carry out their Christian duty. Last time a similar situation existed, about 20 years ago, the pigs killed a young woman and a young man at Syntagma Square, by crushing their skulls. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31659000 |
Fake antivirus--false pop-up warnings designed to scare money out of computer users--represents 15 percent of all malware that Google detects on Web sites, according to 13-month analysis the company conducted between January 2009 and February 2010.
That's a five-fold increase from when the company first started its analysis, Niels Provos, a principal software engineer at Google, said in an interview.
Meanwhile, fake antivirus scams represent half of all malware delivered via advertisements, which is becoming a problem for high-profile sites that rely on their advertisers and ad networks to distribute clean ads.
Google analyzed 240 million Web pages and uncovered more than 11,000 domains involved in fake antivirus distribution for the study, which Google is set to unveil at the Usenix Workshop on Large-Scale Exploits and Emergent Threats Tuesday in San Jose, Calif.
For more on this story, read Google: Fake antivirus is 15 percent of all malware on CNET News. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31661000 |
Unfortunately, the modern buildings we live and work in rival cars and factories as sources of harm to the environment, contributing to deforestation, global warming, overuse of water and energy and carbon dioxide emissions.
Sustainable building refers to those buildings that are built to have the least impact on the natural environment, both in terms of the building itself, its immediate surroundings and the broader global setting. To construct in a sustainable way, some basic rules need to be followed: (a) minimization of non-renewable resource consumption; (b) enhancement of the natural environment; and (c) elimination or minimization of toxic emissions.
Almost every step of the green building process is heavily focused on how building elements fit together to optimize efficiency and sustainability.
Sustainable development marries two important themes:
1. Environmental protection does not preclude economic development.
2. Economic development must be ecologically viable now and in the long term.
“Sustainable design” involves the planning and development of projects in a manner that minimizes impact on natural resources, such as water and energy. There are many aspects to the sustainable process, one of which involves “LEED” principles – Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design, with standards for selecting materials and designing facilities established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Zurn strongly encourages organizations to consider including cost-effective and environmentally friendly practices in the design, construction and retrofit of buildings and facilities. In this way, your buildings and facilities not only exemplify your care for the environment and the well-being of the community that you serve, but they also decrease facility operating and maintenance costs. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31665000 |
The Neem Tree, Environment, Culture
and Intellectual Property
| TED Case Studies
Number 665, 2002
by Sara Hasan
The Neem Tree, Environment, Culture
and Intellectual Property
|Mandala Home||Trade Environment Database||Inventory of Conflict and Environment||Global Classroom|
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1. The Issue
The United States and India are currently involved in a biopiracy dispute over the rights to a tree indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, the neem tree. While the neem tree has been used in India for over 2000 years for various purposes such as pesticides, spermicides and toothbrushes, a US company has been suing Indian companies for producing the emulsion because they have a patent on the process. The dispute is over the rights of companies to conduct research and development by using patents against the interest of the people who live at the source of the resource. To what extent can multinational companies claim and patent resources from the develping countries, like India? The movement around the issue of the neem tree and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) represents a challenge to the developing countries..
There are approximately 14 million neem trees (Azadirachta indica) in India. Access to neem products was very cheap (if not free) and easy to get. It is a tropical evergreen, related to the mahogany, that mainly grows in arid regions of India and Burma and Southwest Asia and West Africa. When temperatures do not drop below freezing, it may grow up to 50 feet tall. They are estimated to live up to 200 years.
The neem tree has many versatile traits that can be traced back to the Upavanavinod, an ancient Sanskrit treatise dealing with agriculture. This treatise cites the neem tree as a cure for ailing soil, plants and livestock. The tree has been referred to as the 'curer of all ailments' and the 'blessed tree' by both the Hindu and Muslim population in India. The leaves and the bark have been used to treat illnesses such as leprosy, ulcers, diabetes and skin disorder. It has also been used to make spermicides and pesticides. The neem tree is known as the tree for all seasons because of its versatility. Here is a list of its many uses::
1)Medicine - Many ancient and traditional medical authorities Indian texts place neem as a vital resource for pharmacy. They mention the usefulness of the leaves, bark, flowers, seeds and fruit for treating several diseases such as diabetes, ulcers and skin disorders. For example, some people chew neem leaves in the morning for 24 days to protect the body from diseases like hypertension and diabetes. The juice of the neem tree (5ml) mixed with equal amounts of honey reduces oozing from ears and also removes inflammation. The ash of the dry neem leaves is used to remove urinary stones. (www.healthlibrary.com/ready/neem/chap3.htm).
2)Timber - The chemical in neem makes it resistant to termites, which is an extremely useful quality to have in construction. It is interesting to note that there is a new EPA regulation that bans certain chemically treated wood.
3)Toiletries - Neem twigs have been used by millions of Indians (including my parents) as an antiseptic tooth brush. Its oil is used for preparing soap and toothpaste.
4)Contraception - The oil of neem is a potent spermicide.
5)Fuel - The oil can also be used as lamp fuel.
6)Agriculture - Even dating back to the ancient Sanskrit treatise dating about 600 BC dealing with forestry and agricultural, the Upavanavinod, neem was seen as a cure for ailing plants and livestock. The cake, or residue, is fed to livestock and its leaves increase the fertility of soil. The most important, and controversial, is its use as a potent insecticide. It is effective against approximately 200 insects.
Making pesticides emulsion does not take highly sophisticated equipment, as native peoples have been making it for over 2000 years. Indians have developed their own process of cracking off the top that would then be used on plants as a pesticide. Neem based pesticides, medicines and cosmetics have been produced by some laboratories in India, but there has not been an attempt to make ownership of the formula legal because Indian law does not allow agricultural and medicinal products to be patented.
In 1971, a timber company in the United States figured out that the neem tree's usefulness in acting as a pesticide and began planting neem tree seeds. He received a patent on it and, in 1988, sold the patent to the US based company W.R. Grace. In 1992, W.R. Grace secured its rights to the formula that used the emulsion from the Neem tree's seeds to make a powerful pesticide. It also began suing Indian companies for making the emulsion.
The controversy over who has the rights to the Neem tree raised many questions. India claims that what the US Companies are calling discoveries are the actual stealing and pirating of the indigenous practices and knowledge of its people. The Indians and members of the Green Party in the European Union oppose big businesses owning the rights to living organisms, otherwise known as biopiracy, because they believe that the rights of poor farmers in developing countries will be harmed.
The villager supplier of neem products ranging from pesticides to formulations for creams to cure skin disorders, Raju, was not the first in his family to use the "blessed tree" for as many purposes as possible. His family revered and know all of the tree's sacred qualities. While Raju did not know the exact word for the extract of the neem seed, Azadirachtin, he did know that it helped all the people in his village in one way or another.
One day his life changed drastically. An American company called W.R.Grace patented the natural insecticide that had been used for generations by Indian farmers. The company was allowed to patent the process of making the insecticide because the Indian government did not patent agricultural or pharmeceutical products. This patent caused many problems for Raju because he could no longer use the traditional method of smashing the neem seeds, scooping the emulsion from the top, and selling it to local farmers as pesticide. This was the method he and his family had used for generations. He was told that he had to pay the company royalties for using their innovation because farmers in India did not hold a patent for the process. It just did not make any sense. The economy seemed to be overtaking his society. The worst part about it was that the community, his people, did not get any benefits from the patents.
Raju often asks, how is it possible for American companies to come into our country, steal our knowledge and make money off of it? He was also concerend why the Indian government did not protect the neem emulsion through patents themselves. This is a question that many intellectual property disputes have to answer.
There is an increasing awareness in India of the commodification of neem will lead to the expropriation by multinational corporations, like W.R. Grace (Shiva, Vandana "Piracy by Patent: The Case of the Neem Tree," in The Case of the Global Economy: and for a turn toward the local, edited by Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith, Sierra Club: San Francisco, 1996, p. 154). On Indian Independence Day in 1995, farmers in from Karnataka rallied outside the district office to challenge the demands for made by multinational corporations for intellectual property rights. As part of their protest, the farmers carried twigs and branches from the neem tree as a symbol of their collective indigenous knowledge of the properties of the neem (Shiva: 154).
The United States, on the other hand, states that what they are doing will help the Indian economy. India is not against sharing its information about the Neem tree's virtues, but it is against countries and corporations that intend to stop India's present use of it.
Another issue is whether the neem tree is patenable, since it is a product of nature, which shows that it is not a result of innovation and discovery. The problem is that W.R. Grace does not have a patent on the tree itself, but rather on the process of making the emulsion. They believe that this process is a discovery because it entails manipulation yielding greater and better results. In other words, discovery seems to have both old and new definitions. The problem is over the use of novel scientific advances on traditional Indian techniques. According to Vandana Shiva, the director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy in India, "corporate processes are supposedly novel advances on Indian techniques" (Shiva: 152). She goes on to state that the reluctance of scientists in India to patent agricultural and pharmaceutical inventions may be a result of their recognition that the bulk of work had already been accomplished by generations of anonymous, Indian experimenters (Shiva: 153). For example, "Dr. R P Singh of the Indian Agricutural Research Institute asserts: `Margosan - O is a simple ethanolic extract of neem seed kernel. In the late sixties we discovered the potency of not only ethanolic extract, but also other extracts of neem ...... Work on the neem as pesticide originated from this division as early as 1962. Extraction techniques were also developed in a couple of years. The azadirachtin - rich dust was developed by me’" (http://www.healthlibrary.com/reading/neem/chap10.htm). Shiva also states that the discovery of the neem's properties and the means of processing the extract was not "obvious" but rather evolved through extended systematic development in non-Western cultures (Shiva: 153).
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is asking developing countries to open up to foreign direct investment from abroad and to liberalize their trade policies. There has been a restructuring of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) into the WTO. This resulted in agreements on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) made during the Uruguay Round. These agreements created a trend towards a legal framework for intellectual property rights including a consensus to follow and establish patent laws in conjunction with those of the developed world.
While this can be seen as a good sign for India, it still causes a problem because of the Indian government's reluctancy to issue patents on agricultural and pharmaceutical product. Also, there is a lack of knowledge of the legal process that surrounds intellectual property rights. Indian business owners argue that the lack of patents leads their technology to move to the developed world. India feels that by letting foreign companies control resources, they become more vulnerable to them. As a result, there has been a backlash on foreign investment and less joint ventures between India and the United States.
3. Related Cases
Basmati - Trade dispute between an American company, RiceTec Inc., and India.
Sandalwd - India's attempt to limit the exportation of sandalwood because of its current trend towards extinction.
Chipko - Problem of deforestation in India.
Beede - Beedi cigarettes, popular for teenagers in America, are often rolled by Indian children who were forced in bondage.
Bhopal - Example of how developing countries are vulnerable to industrial crises.
Banana2 - Trade dispute settlement between the United States and the European Union regarding the sale of bananas by American Companies.
Budweis - Issue between the United States and the Czech Republic.
Canola - Dispute between Saskatchewan farmers and an American company called Monsanto Co.
Tequila - In light of NAFTA, Mexico has demanded protection Tequila "as a geographically indicated product" under intellectual property law.
Ginseng - Ginseng acquiring a new niche in the international market had led to it possible extinction.
Mussel - Mussel harvesting is a new cause of concern for the sustainability of mussel populations.
4. Author and Date:
April 30, 2002
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is encouraging developing countries to expand their legal protection of intellectual property rights in order to be on a similar "playing field" with the developed countries. In an effort to standardize trade rule, the WTO is also asking developing countries to open up to foreign direct investment from abroad and to liberalize their trade policies. The WTO believes that the restructuring will lead to a development of more modern economies.
There has been a restructuring of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) into the WTO. This resulted in agreements on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) made during the Uruguay Round. TRIPS, the forum for dispute, created a trend towards a legal framework for intellectual property rights. It also forced countries to honor the northern/Western interpretation of patent rights (Shiva: 147). According to Shiva, "the northern countries argued that when southern farmer's attempted to retain free use of their own seeds, developed by them over thousands of years, it was a form of piracy, but the pirate's hat clearly belongs on the other head" (Shiva: 147).
One of the major parties involved is obviously the Indian government who has signed onto the TRIPS agreement. India's laws still do not allow patents on agricultural and pharmaceutical products. Another party involved is the business community (like W.R. Grace) that needs intellectual property rights to encourage development in foreign countries because it gives more incentive to the business owners that their property or "inventions" will be protected. They believe that the result of researching and development in foreign countries can lead to a greater public good because of the new discoveries of medicines and other innovations that will result.
Another forum for dispute surrounding the neem tree is the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that took place in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Article 15 of the convention states bio-assets are the property of the sovereign states in which they are from. In other words, they are not the property of the world at large. India's claim is that what the Western world is calling discoveries is actually an indigenous method that they have been suing for years. They say that it is a bio-asset that is protected under Article 15 of the convention. While CBD emphasizes the rights of sovereign nations over biological resources, such as the neem tree, it still calls for the acceptance of intellectual property rights. What this means is the CBD calls for governments, such as India, to provide the proper patents or other forms of protection on the life forms and include pharmaceutical products.
Another WTO dispute that relates to the TRIPS agreement is a case that involves India, as well. This case is regarding Basmati rice. India feels that because the United States has granted a patent for Basmati rice, that it is violating the TRIPS agreement. They say that Basmati rice is exclusively associated with India and Pakistan. They want the United States to take away their patent on the rice because they felt it is an indigenous product of their country. India's problem with the neem tree is similar to the Basmati case because they have realized the importance for creating laws that conserve bio-assets and control piracy. They feel that protecting their assets through patents may protect them from other companies like Rice Tec that took advantage of the nonexistent Indian laws.
Indian farmers want to protect their cultural heritage. It seems the best way to do it is to change their philosophical attitude that natural resources should not be patented in order to protect and preserve India's biodiversity and also to conform to international laws and agreements like the TRIPS agreement. According to Shiva, there has been a new alliance of farmers and scientists to formulate an alternative form of intellectual property rights - what they term collective intellectual property rights (CIPR's) (Shiva: 157). It allows people to have the right to benefit commercially from traditional knowledge. In other words, the farmers want to solve their disputes at the local level or village organizations rather than through GATT panels.
5. Discourse and Status: Disagreement and In progress
6. Forum and Scope: WTO, GATT, TRIPS and Bilateral
7. Decision Breadth: The United States and India
8. Legal Standing: Treaty
9. Geographic Locations
a. Geographic Domain: Asia
b. Geographic Site: South Asia
c. Geographic Impact: India
10. Sub-National Factors: No
11. Type of Habitat: Temperate
12. Type of Measure: Intellectual Property
The trade measures that are most relevant to the neem tree case are intellectual property and patents. United States patents on neem tree products are seen as forms of "biopiracy" by the country of India, the Green Party and the European Patent Office. There are three main issues surrounding the patenting of local products used for medicinal or agricultural purposes by the United States. First, the farmers will no longer be able to use these products without paying royalties to the company that has a patent on it. Secondly, consumers will be deprived of cheap medicines and agricultural products. Last, local communities should receive a share of the profits because the companies learned the value of the species from local knowledge. (Source: Trade and Development Center: A joint Venture of the World Bank and the World Trade Organization www.itd.org/isues/india6.htm)
Since 1985, over a dozen of the U.S. patents by the United States and Japanese firms are for the neem-based solutions and emulsions. There are a total of four patents are owned by W.R. Grace. Three patents are owned by another U.S. company, the Native Plant Institute. Two others are owned by the Japanese company, Terumo Corporation (source: Vanadan Shiva's article "Piracy by Patent: The Case of the Neem Tree" in The Case Against the Global Economy ). Remember that these patents are used for the process of making the emulsion from the neem tree, not on the neem tree itself. The US Company had in fact created a new invention from the neem extraction process. The local population, however, has been extracting the substances from the seeds for years, too, using a more traditional method of "smashing the seeds" and "scooping the emulsion."
The neem is not the only living organism that has become a subject of "patent" debate. There are scientists and farmers around the world that are trying to gain rights to protect their organisms. For example the Africa Soapberry has properties for insecticidal soap, fish intoxicant and a spermicidal contraceptive that African have used for a very long time. In 1964, though, things changed due to Dr. Akililu Lemma's report to the Tropical Products Institute in Britain that it killed water snails (which are used to fight the disease, bilharzia).. At the time of his report, he was stunned to find out that the Institute placed a patent on the extraction process without consulting or crediting him (Shiva:157).
13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Direct and indirect
14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact
a. Directly Related to Product: Yes - Wood
b. Indirectly Related to Product: Yes - Manufacturing
c. Not Related to Product: No
d. Related to Process: Yes - Deforestation
15. Trade Product Identification: Neem tree extract and seeds
Neem Facial Moisturiser
Neem Hand & Body Lotion
Neem Moisturizing Cream
Neem Organic Shampoo
Neem Organic Conditioner
Neem Eye Gel
Neem Lip Balm
Dragon Repellent Candle
Pet Flea Powder
Head Lice Attack Packs
Neem Incense Sticks
Bath Fizz Bombs
Powdered Neem Leaf
Pure Powdered Neem Tree
Neem Leaf Capsules
16. Economic Data
17. Impact of Trade Restriction: High
18. Industry Sector: Agricultural and Chemical (use in pesticides)
19. Exporters and Importers: United States and India
Patents on neem
U.S. Companies patents: The patents granted to W.R. Grace for extraction and storage processes are the most controversial.
Recent Indian patents:
*Information from Neem Tree Foundation Website: www.neemfoundation.org
20. Environmental Problem Type: Habitat Loss and Deforestation
21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species
Name: Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) Type: Tropical Evergreen related to the mahogany
22. Resource Impact and Effect: Low and Production
23. Urgency and Lifetime: Low and 200 years
24. Substitutes: Like products
25. Culture: Yes
The controversy over the patents on the neem tree relates to environment and culture most importantly because the properties and utilities of the tree have been known to Indians for millennia in both the Muslim and Hindu traditions. In Sanskrit it is known as the "curer of all ailments" and in the Muslim tradition it is known as the 'blessed tree.' Neem trees are everywhere in India. The extraction of the seed oil and emulsions is not difficult, the process has been used for ages in India (Third World Network: http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/pir-ch.htm). The village neem tree is a symbol of Indian indigenous knowledge. It has also become a symbol of resistance against corporations that are trying to take the Indian's knowledge for their own profit.
The WTO's goal is to promote market competition throughout the world. It is not the just the neem tree, as a product, that is being affected by the patents. Culture, biodiversity, livelihoods, needs and rights are all reduced to the market The destruction of their livelihoods becomes reduced to the level of competition. Many Indians view fundamental life processes as sacred,not as commodities that should be bought and sold in the market. The idea of a disembedded economy, that Karl Polanyi discusses, is not applicable to the average poor Indian farmer. In other words, Indian farmers are not comfortable with having the economy be above society. They seek to protect themselves from the rise of the global economy and agreements, such as the TRIPS agreement, that will affect their lives for days to come. The problem with the farmers view is that due to the logic of patenting, they cannot keep resisting, instead they are going to have to join in. (http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Globalization/War_Against_Nature_VFTS.html.).
The issue of nationalism, in the wake of colonialism plays a vital role in the case of the neem tree. Indians do not want to lose their rights to their own indigenous resources to a Western power. They will do everything to protect their rights. They are now an independent nation, or are they? In the new global village, it is hard to say. They see American companies and the WTO dictating what they can and cannot do with the neem tree. The TRIPS agreement is essentially the globalization of western patent laws as instruments to conquest. It can be seen as a different form of colonialism. An interesting story is that the word "patents" is derived from "letter patents." According to Vandana Shiva, one of India's leading activists and founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, letter patents were the open letter granted by the European sovereigns to conquer lands or to obtain monopolies on imports. For example, Christopher Columbus used a letter patent issued by Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand, for his right to conquest the America's (Vandana Shiva: War Against Nature and the People of the South).
26. Trans-Boundary Issues: No
27. Rights: Yes
28. Relevant Literature
Mander, Jerry, and Edward Goldsmith eds., The Case Against the Global Economy: a turn towards the local, San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.
National Research Council, Neem: A tree for solving global problems: report of an ad hoc panel of the Board of Science and Technology for International Devlopment, Washington D.C.: National Academy Press, 1992.
Shiva, Vandana, Biodiversity: Social and Ecological Perspectives, London: Zed Books, 1991.
----------------, Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knolwedge, Massacusetts: South End Press, 1997.
----------------, Ecology and the Politics of Survival: Conflicts over Natural Resources in India, in association with J. Bandyopadhyay, Japan: United Nations University Press, 1991.
GRAPHICS: from www.neemfoundation.org | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31667000 |
Incidents and Offenses
The Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects data about both single-bias and multiple-bias hate crimes. For each offense type reported, law enforcement must indicate at least one bias motivation. A single-bias incident is defined as an incident in which one or more offense types are motivated by the same bias. A multiple-bias incident is defined as an incident in which more than one offense type occurs and at least two offense types are motivated by different biases.
- In 2007, 2,025 law enforcement agencies reported 7,624 hate crime incidents involving 9,006 offenses.
- There were 7,621 single-bias incidents that involved 8,999 offenses, 9,527 victims, and 6,962 offenders.
- The 3 multiple-bias incidents reported in 2007 involved 7 offenses, 8 victims, and 3 known offenders. (See Tables 1 and 12.)
An analysis of the 7,621 single-bias incidents reported in 2007 revealed the following:
- 50.8 percent were racially motivated.
- 18.4 percent were motivated by religious bias.
- 16.6 percent resulted from sexual-orientation bias.
- 13.2 percent stemmed from ethnicity/national origin bias.
- 1.0 percent were prompted by disability bias. (Based on Table 1.)
Offenses by bias motivation within incidents
Of the 8,999 single-bias hate crime offenses reported in the above incidents:
- 52.5 percent stemmed from racial bias.
- 16.4 percent resulted from religious bias.
- 16.2 percent were motivated by sexual-orientation bias.
- 14.0 percent were prompted by ethnicity/national origin bias.
- 0.9 percent resulted from biases against disabilities. (Based on Table 1.)
In 2007, law enforcement agencies reported that 4,724 single-bias hate crime offenses were racially motivated. Of these offenses:
- 69.3 percent were motivated by anti-black bias.
- 18.4 percent stemmed from anti-white bias.
- 6.0 percent were a result of bias against groups of individuals consisting of more than one race (anti-multiple races, group).
- 4.6 percent resulted from anti-Asian/Pacific Islander bias.
- 1.6 percent were motivated by anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native bias. (Based on Table 1.)
Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,477 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-biased offenses showed:
- 68.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
- 9.5 percent were anti-other religion.
- 9.0 percent were anti-Islamic.
- 4.4 percent were anti-Catholic.
- 4.3 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
- 4.0 percent were anti-Protestant.
- 0.4 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc. (Based on Table 1.)
In 2007, law enforcement agencies reported 1,460 hate crime offenses based on sexual-orientation bias. Of these offenses:
- 59.2 percent were classified as anti-male homosexual bias.
- 24.8 percent were reported as anti-homosexual bias.
- 12.6 percent were prompted by an anti-female homosexual bias.
- 1.8 percent were the result of an anti-heterosexual bias.
- 1.6 percent were classified as anti-bisexual bias. (Based on Table 1.)
Ethnicity/national origin bias
Of the single-bias incidents, 1,256 offenses were committed based on the perceived ethnicity or national origin of the victim. Of these offenses:
- 61.7 percent were anti-Hispanic bias.
- 38.3 percent were anti-other ethnicity/national origin bias. (Based on Table 1.)
There were 82 reported hate crime offenses committed based on disability bias. Of these:
- 62 offenses were classified as anti-mental disability.
- 20 offenses were reported as anti-physical disability. (See Table 1.)
By offense types
Of the 9,006 reported hate crime offenses in 2007:
- 32.4 percent were destruction/damage/vandalism.
- 28.5 percent were intimidation.
- 18.7 percent were simple assault.
- 12.4 percent were aggravated assault.
- 8.1 percent were comprised of additional crimes against persons, property, and society. (Based on Table 2.)
Offenses by crime category
Among the 9,006 hate crime offenses reported:
- 60.0 percent were crimes against persons.
- 39.7 percent were crimes against property.
- The remainder were crimes against society. (Based on Table 2.) (See Data Collection in Methodology.)
Crimes against persons
Law enforcement reported 5,408 hate crime offenses as crimes against persons. By offense type:
- 47.4 percent were intimidation.
- 31.1 percent were simple assault.
- 20.6 percent were aggravated assault.
- 0.2 percent consisted of 9 murders and 2 forcible rapes.
- 0.6 percent involved the offense category other, which is collected only in the National Incident-Based Reporting System. (Based on Table 2.)
Crimes against property
- The majority of the 3,579 hate crime offenses that were crimes against property (81.4 percent) were acts of destruction/damage/vandalism.
- The remaining 18.6 percent of crimes against property consisted of robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and other crimes. (Based on Table 2.)
Crimes against society
Nineteen offenses were crimes against society (e.g., drug or narcotic offenses or prostitution).
By victim type
When considering the type of victims among property crimes:
- 53.7 percent were directed at individuals.
- 11.5 percent were against businesses or financial institutions.
- 7.4 percent were against government.
- 6.8 percent were against religious organizations.
- The remaining 20.6 percent were directed at other, multiple, or unknown victim types. (Based on Table 6.)
If you have questions about this information
Contact the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org or by telephone at (304) 625-4995. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31671000 |
In accordance with the MPS Administrative Policy 2.16, District Accountability System, the Administration presents the Board and the community with its annual Report Card for the 2010-2011 school year. Requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, otherwise known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), stipulate that school districts report two year performance trends of students on statewide assessments in reading and mathematics, disaggregated by ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, migrant status, disability status, and English proficiency status. According to NCLB, the graduation rate must be reported for high schools, and another indicator (attendance) must be reported for elementary and middle schools. Additionally, each school’s performance is to be compared with the state’s adequate yearly progress target, and professional qualifications of teachers must be reported.
The 2010-2011 Report Card presents three to five year trends in performance for state and district assessments, disaggregated by ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, English proficiency status, and disability status. Graduation, promotion, and attendance rates are reported for applicable grades. Recent guidance from the Department of Education requires districts to present state results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP results for the state of Wisconsin (2010-2011) are also presented. Other data of interest to the community, including GPA, mobility and stability rates, suspension rates, and enrollment information is reported. Results are reported in terms of all students enrolled (instead of only those enrolled for a full academic year) and for all schools serving MPS students. The Report Card also presents the tenth year of value-added analyses of student achievement information to complement the attainment results required under NCLB. These measures level the playing field between schools serving diverse populations of students and help to improve our understanding of schools’ achievement gains over time.
As noted above, NCLB requires that Report Cards also contain information regarding the percent of classes taught by “highly qualified” teachers. The district relies on the Department of Public Instruction’s annual reports to provide this information to the community. Please go to http://www.dpi.state.wi.us for these data. The Milwaukee Public Schools is in the third year of Working Together, Achieving More, an Action Plan to improve Milwaukee Public Schools, 2007-2012. A brief explanation of the strategic plan as well as three pages detailing the key measurable statistics as to progress, are included. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31672000 |
While all curriculum areas share some of the same issues and concerns, individual curriculum areas seem to also have concerns specific to them and their courses. This list looks at the top ten concerns for social studies teachers.
1. Breadth vs. Depth
Social studies standards are often written so that it is virtually impossible to cover all the required material in the school year. For example, in World History
, the National Standards require such breadth of material that it is impossible to do more than just touch on each topic.
2. Dealing with Controversial Topics
Many social studies courses deal with sensitive and at times controversial issues. For example, in World History
teachers are required to teach about religion. In American Government
, topics like abortion and the death penalty can sometimes lead to heated debates. In these instances, it is important for the teacher to maintain control of the situation.
3. Making Connections to Students' Lives
While some social studies courses like Economics
and American Government
lend themselves well to making connections to students and their lives, others do not. It can be tough to connect what was going on in Ancient China
to a 14 year old's daily life. Social Studies teachers have to work very hard to make these topics interesting.
4. Need to Vary Instruction
It can be very easy for Social Studies teachers to stick to one method of instruction. There is a tendency to give a great deal of lectures
. It can be very tough to cover the depth of material without relying on lectures and whole group discussions. Of course, there are some teachers who go to the other extreme and have mainly projects and role playing experiences. The key is to balance the activities.
5. Staying at the Lower Level of Bloom's Taxonomy
Because much of teaching social studies revolves around names, places, and dates, it is very easy to create assignments and tests that do not move beyond the Recall level of Bloom's Taxonomy
6. History Is InterpretationThere is no such thing as "history" because it is truly in the eye of the beholder. Social Studies texts were written by humans and therefore are biased. A perfect example is two American Government texts that my school was considering adopting. It was obvious throughout that one was written by a conservative and the other by a liberal political scientist. Further, history texts might describe the same event in a different way based on who wrote them. This can be a tough one for teachers to deal with at times.
7. Multiple PrepsSocial Studies teachers are often faced with having to teach multiple preps. This can be especially tough for the newer teachers who have to prepare so many new lessons from scratch.
8. Too Much Reliance on TextbooksSome social studies teachers rely too much on their textbooks in class. Unfortunately, there are ditto masters out there who basically assign the students to read from their text and then answer a particular number of questions.
9. Some Students Have a Dislike of HistoryMany students come into a Social Studies class with a particular dislike of history. Some will complain that it has nothing to do with their lives. Others will just say it's boring.
10. Dealing With False KnowledgeIt is not rare for students to come into your class with inaccurate historical information that they were either taught at home or in other classes. This can be really hard to combat. One year I had a student who swore that Abraham Lincoln had slaves. There was really nothing I could to dissuade them of this belief. They had learned in in 7th grade from a teacher they loved. This can be really difficult to handle at times. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31684000 |
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S. J. Edberg (JPL/Caltech)
This poster serves to introduce a series of posters discussing Space Interferometry Mission PlanetQuest (SIM PlanetQuest) science prospects and plans across a wide range of astrophysics.
SIM is being designed and built for NASA's Navigator Program, an element of the Astronomical Search for Origins and Planetary Systems theme in the Science Mission Directorate. It will be the first optical interferometer in space dedicated to precision astrometry. Even though SIM PlanetQuest has undergone a significant redesign since last year, the principle parameters of the instrument and anticipated results from its flight have changed little. With astrometric modes yielding 1 microarcsecond and 4 microarcsecond measurements, SIM offers the opportunity to investigate a wide variety of phenomena. From effects due to planetary gravitation within the solar system to investigating the emission phenomena of quasars and AGNs, SIM will provide breakthrough science. SIM astrometry will provide positions, parallaxes (distances), and proper motions with unprecedented accuracies for thousands of stars.
Searches for Earth-like planets will be made. Investigations of other planetary systems are possible, including the masses and orbits of their planets. Characterizations of stellar masses, from brown dwarfs to stellar-mass black holes and across the H-R diagram are planned. Combined with ground-based observations, SIM observations of MACHOs should yield the masses of the microlensing objects for the first time. The ages of globular clusters will be determined and the Milky Way's mass and its distribution will benefit from the study of halo and tidal tail stars. SIM measurements of the motions of Local Group galaxies will enable tests of models of this system. Quasar jets will be investigated and quasars themselves can be used to tie down a significantly improved celestial reference frame.
This work was performed for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/sim\_index.cfm. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31685000 |
— Although they were established just 40 years ago, presidential debates are now a major feature of the election season. Take a look back at the highlights (and lowlights) of every presidential and vice-presidential debate since 1960.
Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy challenged Republican Vice President Richard Nixon, who was leading the polls, to a series of debates. The four, one-hour debates were the first ever presidential debates. The famed 1858 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas occurred during the Illinois senatorial campaign.
In an echo of this year’s rhetoric, in one of the debates against Kennedy, Nixon said he was “very proud that President Eisenhower restored dignity and decency and frankly good language to the conduct of the presidency of the United States.”
September 26, 1960
Who: Sen. John F. Kennedy, Democrat and Vice President Richard M. Nixon, Republican Where: Chicago, Ill. Moderator: Howard Smith as moderator, plus a panel including Sander Vanocur, Charles Warren, Stuart Novins and Bob Fleming. Format: 8-minute opening statements; 2 ½-minute responses; optional rebuttal; 3-minute closing statements. Broadcaster: Networks Rating: 77 million viewers (60 percent of all households) In the first debate, Nixon learned the hard way about the importance of how one looks on television. His haggard appearance, compared to the telegenic Kennedy’s, caused some callers — including his own mother — to inquire about his health. However, the oft-cited “fact” that those who listened to the debate over radio rated Nixon the winner, while TV viewers rated Kennedy the winner, is based on “thin” evidence that’s still debated by scholars.
October 7, 1960
Who: Kennedy and Nixon Where: Washington, D.C. Moderator: Frank McGee as moderator, plus a panel including Paul Niven, Edward Morgan, Alvin Spivak and Harold Levy. Format: No opening statements; each candidate questioned; optional rebuttal Broadcaster: Networks Rating: 61.9 million viewers
October 13, 1960
Who: Kennedy and Nixon Where: Nixon in Hollywood, Calif., and Kennedy in New York City Moderator: Bill Shadel as moderator, plus a panel including Frank McGee, Charles Van Fremd, Douglass Carter and Roscoe Drummond. Format: No opening statements; 2 ½-minute responses; 1 ½-minute rebuttals; no closing statements. Broadcaster: Networks Ratings: 63.7 million viewers
October 21, 1960
Who: Kennedy and Nixon Where: New York City Moderator: Quincy Howe as moderator, plus a panel including Frank Singiser, John Edwards, Walter Cronkite and John Chancellor. Format: 8-minute opening statements; 2 ½-minute responses; 1 ½-minute rebuttals; 3-minute closing statements. Broadcaster: Networks Ratings: 61 percent of households. This debate focused exclusively on foreign policy.
(No presidential debates in 1964, 1968, or 1972)
The 1976 debates were the first televised debates to feature an incumbent president, President Ford. The debates between Republican Gerald Ford and Democrat Jimmy Carter were seen by more people than the 1960 debates. Seven in 10 adults tuned in to the first two debates of 1976 and six in 10 adults watched the third.
September 23, 1976 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31687000 |
The Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 (commenced 27 June) allowed the detention of an individual by a policeman of rank lieutenant-colonel or greater. Terrorism was very broadly defined in the Act and included most common criminal behaviour. People could be held indefinitely since the act allowed detention until all questions were satisfactorily answered or until no further useful purpose would be achieved by keeping the person in detention. Those held under the act were only permitted to be visited by a magistrate one every two weeks. No one else was allowed access (except the police and security services, of course).
Unlike the previous 90-day (General Law Amendment Act No 37 of 1963) and 180-day (Criminal Procedure Amendment Act No 96 of 1965) detention laws the public was not entitled to information about people held, including their identity this meant that people could effectively 'disappear' for official legal reasons.
In order to cover those arrested for the Rivonia trial and for anti-Apartheid acts in both South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) the Act was applied retroactively to 27 June 1962.
Repealed by the Internal Security and Intimidation Amendment Act 138 of 1991. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31696000 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Madame de Pompadour
She was born Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson in 1721. It is suspected that her biological father was the rich financier Le Normant de Tournehem, who became her legal guardian when her official father was forced to leave the country in 1725 after a scandal and she lived with her mother and sister. She was intelligent and educated; she also learned to dance, engrave and to play guitar. She was married in 1741 (at the age of 19) to Charles-Guilaume Le Normant d'Etiolles , nephew of her guardian. Contemporary opinion considered her quite beautiful, with her small mouth and oval face enlivened by her wit. Her young husband was soon mad about her and she reigned in the fashionable world of Paris.
She caught the eye of the monarch in 1745. A group of courtiers, including her father-in-law, endorsed her to Louis XV, who was still mourning the death of his second mistress, the Duchess of Chateauroux . Jeanne-Antoinette was invited to a royal masquerade ball in February 1745 that celebrated the marriage of the king's son. By March she had become a regular visitor, and the king installed her at Versailles. He also bought her Pompadour, the first of six residences. In July, Louis made her a marquise, had her legally separated from her husband, and on September 14 she was formally presented at court.
She kept to Louis' bed only a few years, but she was such a level-headed courtier that she was able to find him younger, prettier girls while she also retained a cordial relationship with the queen, Marie Leszczynska. Louis was lazy, and Mme de Pompadour prepared all business for the king's eye beforehand with the ministers, who met in her rooms at Versailles
Madame de Pompadour was an accomplished woman, with a good eye for Rococo interiors. She had a keen interest in literature. She had known Voltaire before her ascendancy, and the playwright apparently advised her in her courtly role. Contrary to popular belief - and contemporary opinion - she never had much direct political influence, but she supported Belle-Isle and endorsed the Duke of Choiseul to the king. Choiseul, it should be noted, encouraged the basic shift in French foreign policy away from Prussia and towards France's hereditary rival, the Austrian Habsburgs. This alliance eventually brought on the Seven Years War, with all its disasters, the battle of Rosbach and the loss of Canada; but Mme de Pompadour persisted in her support of these policies, and, when Bernis failed her, brought Choiseul into office and supported him in all his great plans, the Pacte de Famille , the suppression of the Jesuits, and the peace of Versailles that lost Canada. She also discreetly endorsed Diderot's Encyclopédie project.
Pompadour was a woman of verve and intelligence. She planned buildings like the Place de la Concorde and the Petit Trianon with her brother, the Marquis de Marigny .She employed the stylish marchands-merciers who were turning Chinese vases into ewers with gilt-bronze Rococo handles and were mounting writing tables with the new Sèvres porcelain plaques. Numerous other artisans, sculptors and portrait painters were employed, the court artist Jean-Marc Nattier, in the 1750s Francois Boucher, and later Francois-Hubert Drouais (illustration, left). Drouais has rendered her demurely at traditional lady's work with her tambour and embroidery silks, among luxurious fittings that include a Sèvres-mounted table with a goat's mask in the latest goût Grèc. She is not young, but there is freshness and sparkle to everything about her. There is no sign that she is sick and about to die.
Pompadour suffered two miscarriages in the 1740s and later in life arranged lesser mistresses for the king's pleasure. Although they did not sleep together after 1750, Louis XV remained devoted to her until her death in 1764 at the age of 43. At the time she was publicly blamed for the Seven Years' War.
The classic pink of Sèvres porcelain is rose de Pompadour. The Pompadour haircut is also named after her.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31704000 |
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Letters to the editor
Vitamin A nutrition status in Costa Rica: was fortification necessary?
A national survey in Costa Rica in 1966 by the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) in Costa Rica showed a high prevalence of low and deficient levels of serum vitamin A in 32 per cent of preschool children in rural areas. Only 12 per cent of the families in the same communities had an intake equal to or higher than that recommended for this vitamin. Clinical signs, however, were virtually absent, with not one case showing xerophthalmia or keratomalacia, and Bitot spots were present in only two children In urban areas, levels of serum retinol were higher, with low and deficient levels accounting for only 3 per cent of all cases. In general, the intake of vitamin A was much higher in the urban comunities studied than in the rural ones 11).
After that survey, vitamin A deficiency was considered to be a major nutritional problem in Costa Rica, together with protein-energy malnutrition, iron deficiency anaemia, and endemic goitre (1).
Afterwards, and following the technical recommendation of INCAP, the Government issued a decree in 1974 making mandatory the fortification of white table sugar (2). Fortification of this supposedly widely consumed food began with the sugar refined in 1975-1976. The process was followed through four consecutive years. However, supervision and control of the programme was practically non-existent, and basal information just prior to the beginning of this intervention was not obtained.
A national dietary survey made by the Ministry of Health two years later showed a striking improvement in the intake of vitamin A from food sources by preschool children, being well above the recommendations for their age group. Clinicians insisted that vitamin A deficiency was no longer a problem. A retrospective study was done on children admitted from 1964 to 1975 to the National Children's Hospital in San Jose with ocular manifestations suspected to have been caused by vitamin A deficiency. This study showed that only 17 cases among 909 had ocular signs compatible with vitamin A deficiency, 10 of them with unilateral or bilateral blindness. Most were found before 1970, all in children from rural areas 13).
At the end of 1978 and the beginning of 1979, in a joint effort undertaken by the Ministry of Health and the recently founded INCIENSA, with the advice of INCAP, serum retinol was measured in a representative sample of preschool children from the same rural and urban areas in which adequate intake had been found in the national survey. Only 2.5 per cent of 396 children studied showed low or deficient levels. In fact, only one child had a serum level below 10 mg/dl, and in all those with low levels, serum retinol was higher than 15mg/dl (4).
In a limited study done by INCIENSA on 123 pregnant women in a semi-urban area in the outskirts of San Jose, all had serum retinol levels higher than 50, m g/dl. A random sample of 50 lactating women contributing to a breast milk bank showed levels higher than 20 m g/dl in all individual samples. Although these data on the women are incomplete, the findings in preschool children allow us to conclude reasonably that hypovitaminosis-A is no longer a public health problem in Costa Rica. The obvious, immediate question is whether sugar fortification per se was largely responsible for the improvement. To answer that question, the Minister of Health suspended the program of fortification in the second semester of 1980. During the second semester of 1981, a new survey for serum retinol levels was done by the Ministry of Health in the same population of preschool children, showing that of 561 children, none had deficient levels, and only 1.8 per cent had low levels in spite of about one Year without vitamin A fortification of sugar (Minister of Health, personal communication, 1981). A new evaulation is to take place in two years.
It is important to note that the improvement in vitamin A nutritional status was not an isolated finding. Other positive changes in nutritional and health indicators in Costa Rica appeared in the 1970s, changing the disease profile from one classical for underdeveloped countries to one similar to that in the developed nations (5).
By that time, vigorous health programmes, such as community and rural medical care based mainly on auxiliary health care personnel, had gone into effect. These programmes facilitated not only health care but also massive programmes of vaccination and health education. Installation of facilities for proper disposal of excrete was another important undertaking, together with the development of an extended network of lines to supply potable water to most of the country's population. Complementary nutrition programmes for children and pregnant women were reinforced through the so-called Centres of Education and Nutrition and through meals at schools (5).
We tend to believe that the improvement in vitamin A nutrition status in Costa Rica was largely the result of a combination of indirect strategies aimed at improving public health, socio-economic, and educational levels. At the time of the survey in 1966, it was reasonable to recommend fortification. The problem was important, and in fact nobody would have predicted any significant improvement in health problems at that time. However, fortification of sugar was started about nine years after the problem had been identified, at a time when a general improvement in health was beginning to be apparent. Perhaps fortification came too late, and the expense and troubles inherent in the programme could have been avoided.
In principle, a fertile country like Costa Rica should not have to buy premixes of vitamin A at disproportionately high prices, especially at this time of severe economic problems. In spite of the well-known paradox of a higher prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in "ever green countries" (6), in Costa Rica the long-run public health strategy has apparently already succeeded in eradicating vitamin A deficiency (7).
By maintaining the programmes that led to this overall improvement, we believe that our population will be protected from vitamin A deficiency, and perhaps fortification will no longer be necessary.
1. Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama and the Inter departmental Committee on Nutrition for National Development, Nutritional Evaluation of the Population of Central/ America and Panama. Regional Summary 19651967, DHEW Publication No. (HSM) 72-8120 (Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington. D.C., USA, 19721.
2. G. Arroyave, J.R. Aguilar, M. Flores, and M.A. Guzmán, Evaluation of Sugar Fortification with Vitamin A at the National Level, PAHO Scientific Publication No. 38411979).
3. C. Fuscaldo, E. Mohs, and L. Mata, "Lesiones oculares por hipovitaminosis-A y otras causes en niños hospitalizados, 19641975, Acta Méd. Costarricense,, 20: 5 ( 1977 ).
4. Annual/ Report INCIENSA to Ministry of Health, Costa Rica (1979).
5. E. Mohs, "lnfectious Diseases and Health in Costa Rica: The Development of a New Paradigm," Pediat Infect. Dis.. (in press).
6. H.A.P.C. Oomen, "Deficiencia de vitamina A y xeroftalmia y ceguera, in Conocimientos actuales en Nutrición (INCALALAN, 1978), p. 80.
7. G. Arroyave J.C Bauernfeind, J.A. Olson, and B.A. Under. wood, `'Selection of Intervention strategies'', in Guidelines for the Eradication of Vitamin A Deficiency and Xerophthalmia: A Report of the International Vitamin A Consultative Group (IVACG) (Nutrition Foundation, Inc., New York, 1975).
Carlos de Céspedes
Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y
Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud (INCIENSA)
Tres Ríos, Costa Rica
Reply to Dr. de Céspedes's letter
Dr. de Céspedes's letter is a timely comment on the recent development in Costa Rica related to the vitamin A nutritional status of the population. However, some added considerations seem important to avoid a one-sided view about a situation that may be somewhat more complex.
In the first place, I believe that the decision made by the Government of Costa Rica in the Year 1980 to suspend the national programme of fortification of sugar with vitamin A was a sound one. In fact, in light of the results of the 1978 dietary surveys that showed that the intake of vitamin A from natural sources by preschool children had become adequate, INCAP supported the interruption of the fortification programme. It also strongly recommended that this decision be followed some two years later by a new dietary and blood serum survey in order to determine whether the higher vitamin A nutritional status attained could be maintained without fortified sugar. For this purpose a special meeting was called by the Minister of Health, requesting INCAP to act as specific adviser.
It is evident from the follow-up surveys that the vitamin A nutritional level in preschool children, and possibly pregnant women, is still adequate. What is risky is to accept this as evidence that sugar fortification did not have any benefit, and that it probably was implemented "too late," resulting in "expense and troubles inherent in the programme" that "could have been avoided." As a scientist, I would consider it just as reasonable, on the basis of the circumstantial evidence available, to suggest that, even in the light of the long-run integrated nutritional programme in Costa Rica, the sugar fortification programme implemented in 1975-1976 served as the determining critical booster to bring the population rapidly to a new, adequate vitamin A status, a status that can now more easily be maintained with diet alone.
Strengthening this probability is the fact that in Guatemala, where the vitamin A sugar fortification programme also began in 1975-1976, but where the dietary and health status of the population at large had not changed for the better, a dramatic improvement in vitamin A nutritional status was shown after only six months to a year of the effective national sugar fortification programme. This was demonstrated by highly significant increases in serum retinol levels in preschool children, retinol in breast-milk, and liver retinol reserves.
In my opinion, the cost of the fortification programme at that time in Costa Rica of about US$300,000 per year was not a disproportionately large expense, and the operation of the programme was so simple that it could hardly have been considered troublesome. To me, both the expenditure and the "trouble" were well justified because: (a} the vitamin A that the population consumed during the years of fortification unquestionably contributed to the adequate vitamin A status now evident; (b) the vitamin A in the sugar went to essentially all of the population regardless of sex or age, while the integrated nutrition plan for dietary improvement in Costa Rica had small children as its principal target. The same dietary survey cited by Dr. de Céspedes showed, in fact, that the children had attained adequate vitamin A dietary status, but the adults within the same families still had clearly inadequate intakes in many instances; (c) if the above were not sufficient, INCAP's promotion of the fortification programme, which fed to its implementation in several Central America countries, awakened the interest and attention of the country to consider a potential specific nutrition problem that needed to be addressed. Even the surveys and analysis of the situation that are at the centre of these letters, as well as the information on the vitamin A nutritional status now available as a useful indicator of improvement, would not be at hand had it not been for the fortification programme at the national level.
I am, however, in agreement with the final statement of Dr. de Céspedes's letter, that if the programmes that led to nutritional improvements in Costa Rica are maintained, fortification should no longer be necessary.
Chief, Division of Clinical Biochemistry
Institute of Nutrition of Central
America and Panama
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Contents - Previous - Next | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31727000 |
"Clearly, that would be a very logical assumption that someone is out there protecting us, somebody is making sure the chemicals that would harm our bodies or our environment wouldn't be in common products," says Debbie Raphael, Director of California's Department of Toxic Substances Control.
As a result, about 83,000 chemicals are not routinely tested for safety.
Raphael says California's new law affects every consumer product that may have any of more than 12-hundred "chemicals of concern."
"These are chemicals widely understood throughout the world to cause problems like cancer, like reproductive harm, polluting our waters, polluting our air, those kinds of chemicals becomes our list of chemicals of concern," says Raphael.
The prospect of regulating so many chemicals is daunting, so the department will target five chemicals in five products to begin with.
The list could include could formaldehyde in carpet, cadmium in jewelry, ammonia in cleaning products; the department hasn't decided.
"Basically the department is in a position to choose any product that it wants, at any time, and in the first year, two years, three years, five years, ten years down the road," says Gene Livingston, an attorney for the Green Chemistry Alliance.
It's a coalition that represents automobile, toy, plastics, paint, and detergent manufacturers among others.
He says the new law may sound reasonable…but its results are totally unpredictable.
"And that's how business is looking at this…what's going to happen in the future," says Livingston.
"The way they've organized the regulation could cause very serious economic impacts," says Loren Kaye is with the California Chamber of Commerce. "Initially it's going to affect manufacturers, but then manufacturers make products that get incorporated into further products, and then eventually it gets into distribution and retail, so it affects the whole stream of commerce."
Ultimately, he says the new chemical regulations will force consumers to pay more for products, or make some products unavailable.
Phillips says she thinks the regulations could have gone even further to include more chemicals that degrade water quality.
But she says the pending regulations are designed to protect consumers.
"It won't reduce the availability of household cleaners for instance it will just make sure that household cleaners are safer, children aren't exposed to toxic chemicals, mothers aren't exposed to toxic chemicals," says Phillips.
Manufacturers contend product reformulation can cost millions of dollars and they say alternatives to some chemicals can be more expensive or less effective.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control says it has accounted for contingencies.
"If the alternative is way more expensive or if it doesn't meet a performance standard or even if it smells bad and consumers wouldn't ever want to buy your product, well that isn't a viable alternative," says Raphael. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31729000 |
The bone marrow is more frequently involved in Hodgkin's granuloma than is suspected, as is shown by autopsy records. Ziegler found the marrow involved in 40 per cent of the cases, while Symmers noted medullary changes in 7 of 15 cases. These authors observed a proliferation of endothelial cells, fibrosis and, in some areas, an increase in normal cell elements of the bone marrow. Other changes characteristic of Hodgkin's granuloma were present.
Actual destruction of the bone has been reported from time to time with and without roentgenographic evidence. Since the advent of the roentgen rays, groups of cases are available in which the earlier symptoms referable to the bones together with the roentgenograms can be studied, and the progress of the disease followed to its termination.
Of 396 cases registered as Hodgkin's granuloma in the Memorial Hospital, the diagnosis was found to have been confirmed by biopsy | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31730000 |
Archaeologists have recovered six cannons from the ships of Welsh privateer Henry Morgan, the first artifacts found in Panama to be linked to the man who remains a legend there, the team said Monday.
In the late 1600s, Morgan sent three ships and a crew of 470 men to capture the Castillo de San Lorenzo el Real de Chagres, a fort that guarded the approach to Panama City, the capital. Morgan and his men were sailing up the Chagres River to join them when his flagship, the Satisfaction, and at least three other vessels crashed on Lajas Reef, sinking in shallow water.
Members of Morgan's force paddled upriver and traveled overland to reach Panama City, which they successfully sacked. But their wrecked ships were abandoned and left to amateur archaeologists and looters.
"Every school kid learns about Morgan's activities, but we have never seen any of his materials," said archaeologist Tomas Mendizibal, a research associate at Patronato Panama Viejo, a government agency that is overseeing excavation of the original site of Panama City. "If these are indeed his cannons, it would be a first." Mendizibal was not involved in the discovery.
Morgan is generally thought of as a pirate, but he was commissioned as a privateer by the English crown to attack enemy vessels and protect the British colonies of Barbados and Jamaica because the Royal Navy was unable to do so. He became the scourge of the Spanish in the Caribbean and was eventually knighted and made governor of Jamaica.
An American-Panamanian team has been exploring the mouth of the Chagres River since 2008, documenting its rich history. Christopher Columbus came across it in 1502 on his fourth voyage to the New World and it became the gateway to Panama City, Spain's main port in the Pacific.
After the decline of the Spanish Empire in the late 18th century, the city became a backwater port and an entree for smuggling and illicit trade. With the California Gold Rush, the Chagres River again saw a flurry of activity, but the construction of the Panama railroad shifted transit traffic to the port of Colon and by 1855 the river was again a backwater.
At the edge of the Lajas Reef, the team found what appeared to be a field of six cannons, all covered with layers of sedimentary rock that had built up over the centuries, said archaeologist James P. Delgado, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Maritime Heritage Program in Silver Spring, Md., and a co-leader of the team. The cannons seem to be from the 17th century and five are probably French.
Morgan's flagship "was a captured French vessel, and the mix [of cannons] is the type of thing one would expect for a privateer," Delgado said. "These guys grabbed whatever they could get a hold of."
At least two more guns are buried in the sand, along with an anchor, ceramics, bottles and other artifacts, he said. Magnetometers indicate that other metal objects are buried more deeply.
"The only wrecks that we know of that happened on that reef are his," said Delgado, who worked with colleagues from Texas State University-San Marcos, the Waitt Institute in La Jolla and Panama's National Institute of Culture. Moreover, an old map found in local archives indicates the site of the wreck is the location where the team found the cannons.
The archaeologists had not intended to bring the cannons to the surface, but treasure hunters have apparently been working at the site. "There is evidence of explosions, heavy gouging and digging and massive scooped-out areas," Delgado said. "The reef has really been hit hard," forcing their hand. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31747000 |
It is said that “binoculars are halfway to a telescope” for observing
the night sky. Not only this, but they are easier to use than a
telescope and far less than half the cost. So, binoculars make the
ideal “first scope” for someone newly interested in amateur
So, which binoculars should you buy?
First of all, if you already have a pair, go ahead and use them! Very
few pairs of binoculars are so bad as to be useless, and this way you
can start tonight (if it’s clear). If you have a starmap (you can see
one online at Sky and
Telescope or download a 55-page .pdf of a full sky atlas for free
at Guide to Backyard
Astronomy) take it outside and start finding things. Depending on
the time of year, good objects to look at are M42 (the Great Orion
Nebula) in Orion, the Double Cluster in Perseus, the Coathanger
Cluster in Vulpecula (between Altair and Vega), M13 (the Great
Hercules Cluster) in Hercules, M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy) in
Andromeda, M44 (the Beehive Cluster) in Cancer (Between Leo and
Gemini), MEL 111 (the Coma Star Cluster) in Coma Berenices at Leo’s
tail, or if you can see the Milky Way, just scan that for lots of good
If you wish to purchase a pair of binoculars, there are several things
to consider. Holding them steady can be a challenge, particularly if
they are heavy. High magnification amplifies the shaking, so that is
a consideration. To start with (especially a child) one would want to
limit himself to about 10x magnification and about 50mm for lens
diameter (written 10×50 in a binocular’s specs). In fact, 7×45 or
10×50 is an ideal place to start for most people. If you can handle
it, 11×70 is a good size that lets you see a bit more. (I most often
observe with my Oberwerk 11×70 binoculars). If possible, borrow a
pair of binoculars and try them to see what you can handle.
If you wear eyeglasses, you need at least 10mm, and preferably 15mm,
of eye relief (sometimes called “exit pupil distance”). This is how
far you hold your eye from the eyepiece lens to see the best image.
If you wear glasses, you need that extra distance. Many binoculars
have foldable eyecups–leave them unfolded if you do not wear glasses,
or fold them in if you do, to properly place your eyes.
Any type prism would work, but BAK4 is the best for astronomy. There are
differences of opinion on whether Porro prisms is better than Roof
prisms, but the difference seems slight to me. Roof prisms mean more
compact binoculars, while Porro prisms cost less.
You will want a pair with a focusing control. Fixed-focus or
focus-free binoculars are usually a little out of focus for
Either separate focusing knobs for each eyepiece, or a single focusing
knob and a diopter adjustment knob are helpful if one eye focuses
differently from the other.
Also, “zoom binoculars” often leave something to be desired in
performance, and add to the price.
Now, you generally want bright, high-contrast images, subject to
constraints above and to what you are willing to pay. Higher
magnification for a given lens size means better contrast for stars
(but not for extended objects like galaxies or nebulae–they get
larger but dimmer with higher magnification). Larger lens size for a
given magnification means brighter images.
You can get a feel for the brightness of an image through “exit pupil
diameter”. If not printed in the specs, you can compute this by
dividing the lens diameter, in millimeters, by the magnifcation. So
for 10×50 binoculars, the exit pupil diameter is 5mm. A child’s
pupils dilate to about 9mm, and an adults to 7mm, or maybe only 5mm
with old age. Generally, larger exit pupil means brighter
images…until the exit pupil is the size of your pupils. After that,
more exit pupil diameter doesn’t help.
If you do get big binoculars, you may want a tripod. Many find they
need a tripod for 11×70 binoculars. Most people would want one for
20×80 binoculars, and everybody would want one for 25×100 binoculars.
Make sure the tripod is sturdy enough for the weight of the
binoculars. A tripod made for a tiny video camera would probably be
insufficient. Also, check that the binoculars have a standard
mounting thread. You might have to purchase an L-shaped mounting
bracket separately depending on the type of tripod or where the
mounting thread is on the binoculars. Nearly all giant binoculars
have the mounting thread.
For (lots) more money, you can get electronic stabilizing binoculars,
but I have never tried them myself. In theory, they should allow you
to use larger binoculars while still getting a steady image.
Then, there are high-end brands that cost several thousand and give
really clear images. These are for the serious binocular astronomer.
But then by that time, you might be wanting a telescope instead. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31759000 |
Portrait of Juana Inés de la Cruz at age 15
Juana Inés de la Cruz de Asuaje y Ramirez was born in San Miguel Nepantla, near Mexico City. She was the illegitimate child of a Spanish Captain, Pedro Manuel de Asuaje, and a Criollo woman, Isabel Ramirez. Her illegitimacy was due to her mother’s refusal to marry.
She learned how to read and write at the age of three. By age five, she could do accounts, and at age eight she composed a poem on the Eucharist. By adolescence, she had mastered Greek logic, and at age thirteen she was teaching Latin to young children. She also learned the Aztec language of Nahuatl, and wrote some short poems in that language.
In 1664, at age sixteen, Juana was sent to live in Mexico City. She asked her mother’s permission to disguise herself as a male student so that she could enter the university. Not being allowed to do this, she continued her studies privately. She came under the tutelage of the Vicereine Leonor Carreto, wife of Viceroy Antonio Sebastián de Toledo. The viceroy, wishing to test her learning and intelligence (she being then seventeen years old), invited several theologians, jurists, philosophers, and poets to a meeting, during which she had to answer, unprepared, many questions, and explain several difficult points on various scientific and literary subjects. The manner in which she acquitted herself astonished all present, and greatly increased her reputation. Her literary accomplishments soon made her famous throughout New Spain.
She was much admired in the vice-royal court, and declined several proposals of marriage, for in the spirit of her mother, she refused to marry. In 1667, she entered the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites of St. Joseph as a postulant. In 1669, she entered the Convent of the Order of St. Jérôme.
In Juana’s time, the convent was often seen as the only refuge in which a female could properly attend to the education of her mind, spirit, body and soul. It was Juana’s only refuge from marriage. Nonetheless, she wrote literature centered on freedom. In her poem Redondillas, she defends a woman’s right to be respected as a human being. Therein, she also criticizes the sexism of the society of her time, poking fun at and revealing the hypocrisy of men who publicly condemn prostitutes, yet privately pay women to perform on them what they have just said is an abomination to God. Sor Juana asks the sharp question in this age-old matter of the purity/whoredom split found in base male mentality: “Who sins more, she who sins for pay? Or he who pays for sin?” For these works, she is regarded as one of the first feminists.
Foolish men who wrongly accuse women, Without seeing that you are the cause of what you fault them for; You want with unthinking presumption to find in the woman you seek… Either love women for what you force them to be, or fashion them according to what you want them to be.
marvellous portrait and person.
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Fact Check: UK report criticizing wind is off base
A recent report being circulated in the United Kingdom casts some doubt on wind's ability to serve as a reliable source of electricity generation. Not surprisingly, its assertions seem largely questionable or off the mark. Stated in general terms, they are as follows:
Allegation: Wind turbines will generate on average 30% of their rated capacity over a year.
Fact: First, A conventional utility power plant uses fuel, so it will normally run much of the time unless it is idled by equipment problems or for maintenance. An average capacity of 40% to 80% is typical for conventional plants.
A wind plant is "fueled" by the wind, which blows steadily at times and not at all at other times. Although modern utility-scale wind turbines typically operate 65% to 90% of the time, they often run at less than full capacity. Therefore, an average capacity of 25% to 40% is common, although they may achieve higher average capacities during windy weeks or months.
While average capacity is almost entirely a matter of equipment reliability for a fueled power plant, it is not for a wind plant—for a wind plant, it is a matter of economical turbine design. With a very large rotor and a very small generator, a wind turbine would run at full capacity whenever the wind blew and would have a 60-80% average capacity—but it would produce very little electricity. The most electricity per dollar of investment is gained by using a larger generator and accepting the fact that the average capacity will be lower as a result. Wind turbines are fundamentally different from fueled power plants in this respect.
Second, the average capacity for wind turbines in the U.S. has improved consistently (15% every two years on average) and is in the 30% + range--see analysis by utility consulting firm Black & Veatch here (see specifically figures 5-4 and 5-5).
Allegation: While wind proponents say "the wind is always blowing somewhere," sometimes it is calm throughout the United Kingdom.
Fact: First, the statement "the wind is always blowing somewhere" applies to geographic areas quite a bit larger than the United Kingdom. The area covered by the Midwest Independent System Operator, which runs the utility system throughout several states in the upper Midwest, for example, is five times the size of the U.K. A number of studies by the government, system operators, and utilities in the United States indicate that when wind resources are aggregated over a large geographic area, nearly the entire energy output of the wind plants can be counted on for meeting power system capacity needs.
Second, no individual power plant operates 100% of the time. Predictability is what is needed for the utility system as a whole to deliver electricity reliably, and wind farms are generally quite predictable, because their output can be forecast and because that output changes slowly over time compared with conventional power plants that can suffer instantaneous outages. A noteworthy example of this advantage of wind's predictability occurred in February 2011, when millions of electricity consumers in the state of Texas experienced rolling blackouts because of the sudden loss of over 50 fossil-fired power plants totaling over 7,000 megawatts (MW). At the same time, wind plants continued to produce the approximately 3,500 MW they had been forecast and scheduled to produce, enough to power millions of typical homes.
Large coal and nuclear power plants frequently break down with no warning, taking 1,000 MW or more offline instantaneously. That is very difficult for grid operators to deal with--they must maintain expensive, fast-acting reserves 24/7/365, as such an outage can occur at any time. In contrast, changes in wind output occur gradually and are usually predictable, allowing grid operators to use slow-acting, non-spinning reserves that typically cost 40 times less than the fast-acting reserves needed for other power plants. Additionally, because the variability of wind energy is smaller than other sources of variability on the power system, particularly the large variability of electric demand, most of wind’s variability is canceled out so that adding wind to the grid only slightly increases aggregate power system variability.
Allegation: Periods of low wind are frequent in the United Kingdom, occurring on average every six days and lasting for an average of five hours at a time.
Fact: That data indicates that low winds occur about 3% of the time. That’s amazingly low–certainly not worth complaints! The 3% low wind time is considerably less than expected from a wind plant in a high-performing project in a great wind resource area, which is estimated to be at least 10% of the time.
Allegation: During periods of peak demand in the U.K., wind farms were producing only 6% of their rated capacity (due to low winds).
Fact: This may be true--in the U.S., wind farms normally generate somewhere between 10% and 40% of their rated capacity during periods of peak electricity demand. As mentioned earlier, though, the power system is designed to draw on a variety of different types of power plants, and no power plant operates 100% of the time.
Allegation: The U.K.'s pumped hydro storage capacity is not enough to rely on during periods when the winds are low.
Fact: This is essentially irrelevant. European countries like Denmark, Spain, Ireland, and Germany have successfully integrated very large amounts of wind energy without having to install new energy storage resources. In the U.S., numerous peer-reviewed studies have concluded that wind energy can provide 20% or more of our electricity without any need for energy storage.
How is this possible? The secret lies in using the sources of flexibility that are already present on the electric grid. Every day, grid operators constantly accommodate variability in electricity demand and supply by increasing and decreasing the output of flexible generators – power plants like hydroelectric dams or natural gas plants that can rapidly change their level of generation. Thus, the water kept behind a dam or the natural gas held in a pipeline may be thought of as a form of energy storage, with operators using this energy when it is needed and "storing" it when it is not. Grid operators use these same flexible resources to accommodate any variability introduced by wind energy.
A tremendous amount of flexibility is already built into the power system. Demand for electricity can vary by a factor of three or more depending on the time of day and year, which nationwide translates into hundreds of thousands of megawatts of flexibility that are already built into the power system. Because these power plants and other sources of flexibility have already been built, it is almost always much cheaper to use this flexibility than to build new sources of flexibility like energy storage facilities. While continuing advances in energy storage technology can make it more economically competitive as a provider of utility system flexibility, it is important to remember that resources like wind energy can already be cost-effectively and reliably integrated with the electric utility system without energy storage.
Fact sheet: Wind Energy and Energy Storage
Fact sheet: Wind Power: Clean AND Reliable
Fact sheet: Wind, Backup Power, and Emissions
Wind Power Myths Debunked, article by Milligan et al from Power Engineering magazine
AWEA Manager of Transmission Policy Michael Goggin and Senior Outreach Engineer John Dunlop provided valuable assistance on this article. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31768000 |
Henry Gray (18251861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
cone-fibers of which are almost horizontal in direction; (3) an exceedingly thin inner plexiform layer. The pigmented layer is thicker and its pigment more pronounced than elsewhere. The color of the macula seems to imbue all the layers except that of the rods and cones; it is of a rich yellow, deepest toward the center of the macula, and does not appear to be due to pigment cells, but simply to a staining of the constituent parts.
At the ora serrata the nervous layers of the retina end abruptly, and the retina is continued onward as a single layer of columnar cells covered by the pigmented layer. This double layer is known as the pars ciliaris retinæ, and can be traced forward from the ciliary processes on to the back of the iris, where it is termed the pars iridica retinæ or uvea.
The arteria centralis retinæ(Fig. 879) and its accompanying vein pierce the optic nerve, and enter the bulb of the eye through the porus opticus. The artery immediately bifurcates into an upper and a lower branch, and each of these again divides into a medial or nasal and a lateral or temporal branch, which at first run between the hyaloid membrane and the nervous layer; but they soon enter the latter, and pass forward, dividing dichotomously. From these branches a minute capillary plexus is given off, which does not extend beyond the inner nuclear layer. The macula receives two small branches (superior and inferior macular arteries) from the temporal branches and small twigs directly from the central artery; these do not, however, reach as far as the fovea centralis, which has no bloodvessels. The branches of the arteria centralis retinæ do not anastomose with each otherin other words they are terminal arteries. In the fetus, a small vessel, the arteria hyaloidea, passes forward as a continuation of the arteria centralis retinæ through the vitreous humor to the posterior surface of the capsule of the lens.
1c. 2. The Refracting Media
The refracting media are three, viz.:
The Aqueous Humor (humor aqueus).The aqueous humor fills the anterior and posterior chambers of the eyeball. It is small in quantity, has an alkaline reaction, and consists mainly of water, less than one-fiftieth of its weight being solid matter, chiefly chloride of sodium.
The Vitreous Body (corpus vitreum).The vitreous body forms about four-fifths of the bulb of the eye. It fills the concavity of the retina, and is hollowed in front, forming a deep concavity, the hyaloid fossa, for the reception of the lens. It is transparent, of the consistence of thin jelly, and is composed of an albuminous fluid enclosed in a delicate transparent membrane, the hyaloid membrane. It has been supposed, by Hannover, that from its surface numerous thin lamellæ are prolonged inward in a radiating manner, forming spaces in which the fluid is contained. In the adult, these lamellæ cannot be detected even after careful microscopic examination in the fresh state, but in preparations hardened in weak chromic acid it is possible to make out a distinct lamellation at the periphery of the body. In the center of the vitreous body, running from the entrance of the optic nerve to the posterior surface of the lens, is a canal, the hyaloid canal, filled with lymph and lined by a prolongation of the hyaloid membrane. This canal, in the embryonic vitreous body, conveyed the arteria hyaloidea from the central artery of the retina to the back of the lens. The fluid from the vitreous body is nearly pure water; it contains, however, some salts, and a little albumin.
The hyaloid membrane envelopes the vitreous body. The portion in front of the ora serrata is thickened by the accession of radial fibers and is termed the zonula ciliaris (zonule of Zinn). Here it presents a series of radially arranged furrows, in which the ciliary processes are accommodated and to which they adhere, as is shown by the fact that when they are removed some of their pigment remains attached to the zonula. The zonula ciliaris splits into two layers, one of which is thin and lines the hyaloid fossa; the other is named the suspensory ligament of the lens: it is thicker, and passes over the ciliary body to be attached to the capsule of the lens a short distance in front of its equator. Scattered and delicate fibers are also attached to the region of the equator itself. This ligament retains the lens in position, and is relaxed by the contraction of the meridional fibers of the Ciliaris muscle, so that the lens is allowed to become more convex. Behind | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31776000 |
Now, with the release of the South Carolina Non-Population Census records on Ancestry.com, I can get an even more in-depth look at the war's impact. I found John Peter Quattlebaum on the 1860 and 1870 Non-Population census records. I don't know if John fought in the war, but I do know that his sons did.
The first thing I notice is that the family is not in the same location - Edgefield Distrist in 1860 and Hibler in 1870. In 1860, Edgefield County was organized into only three townships. By 1870, Edgefield County was organized into twenty different townships. On the populations census records, he neighbors are the same, so I assume that he did not move, but that county organization became more sophisticated.
I see that in 1860 and 1870 he had 308 acres of land, which helps to confirm that he is on the same property. In 1860, the cash value of his land is $2,250, but in 1870 his land is worth only $930. The value of his farming equipment has also plummeted. It would seem that physical equipment might be worth more and harder to find after the war, so perhaps he lost some of his equipment during the war.
The non-population census also records livestock holdings. From 1860 to 1870 John lost: two horses, a mule, four milk cows, two cattle, three sheep, and 37 swine. He gained two oxen. The total value of his livestock plummeted by $363.
His farming production has changed a lot (on second page not shown). In 1860, John made most of his money potato farming, producing over 100 bushels. By 1870 he's produced less than 20 bushels. He's made up for the difference with a slight increase in dairy production. The family has also lost all production of honey and homemade merchandise and their value of slaughtered animals has decreased dramatically.
Overall, it seems that John and his family suffered during the war. The value of their land decreased and they lost the means to earn money. Without the non-population census records, we wouldn't be able to see the detail of the changes in this family's life. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31779000 |
"Making Carbon Capture and Storage Work"
Book Chapter, Acting in Time on Energy Policy, pages 39-55
Author: Daniel Schrag, Steering Committee Member, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Other Chapters in Acting in Time on Energy Policy:
- Policy for Energy Technology Innovation
- Electricity Market Structure and Infrastructure
- Barriers to Acting in Time on Energy and Strategies for Overcoming Them
- Acting in Time on Energy Policy
- Acting in Time on Climate Change
- Oil Security and the Transportation Sector
"This chapter focuses on how the United States can accomplish ... reducing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. I argue that demonstration and deployment of technologies to capture carbon dioxide from large stationary sources, storing the waste CO2 in geological formations, is likely to be an essential component of any carbon reduction strategy, both for the United States and for the world, and is also consistent with economic and security concerns. It also reviews the major technical challenges involved with widespread deployment of carbon capture and storage, and discusses policies that would lead to the specific goal of capturing and storing the CO2 from all large stationary sources by the middle of this century."
For more information about this publication please contact the ETIP Coordinator at 617-496-5584.
For Academic Citation: | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31780000 |
Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, sheik of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and His people Israel when He brought Israel out of Egypt.
Vayishma Yitro chohen Midyan choten Moshe et kol-asher asah Elohim le-Moshe ule-Yisra'el amo ki-hotsi Adonay et-Yisra'el miMitsrayim.
||Jethro brought along Moses' wife, Tzipporah, who had been sent home earlier,
Vayikach Yitro choten Moshe et-Tsiporah eshet Moshe achar shilucheyha.
See notes on Exodus 2:18, 3:1. According to some authorities, Jethro was Moses' brother-in-law (Ibn Ezra on Numbers 10:29).
There is a question as to whether or not the Torah is in chronological order here. According to some, Jethro came before the giving of the Ten Commandments, while according to others, he came afterward (Zevachim 116a; Ramban).
Actually, 'Jethro, father-in-law of Moses.' The same is true in Exodus 18:5 and 18:12, but for the sake of simplicity, it is abbreviated.
See Exodus 2:21.
|sent home earlier|
At Aaron's advice (Mekhilta; Rashi), soon after the episode of the circumcision (Exodus 4:25). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31783000 |
In the aftermath of the Civil War, Americans of Union and Confederate persuasions had to effect reconciliation. They did so by seeking out that which they had in common rather than dwelling on their differences. Families on both sides shared the same Revolutionary War heritage, and that heritage became a subject which could reunite the country. Former Union Army General U. S. Grant occupied the White House after the war, and he presided over the centenary of the nation in 1876.
By the end of the Civil War, the Revolutionary War generation had become extinct. There were few Americans left alive who had personally looked upon such figures as George Washington and Nathaniel Greene. There was no one who could describe how they spoke. Americans had to face the fact that the United States had a history, and it was incumbent upon them to record it or lose it. As the nation approached 1876, each county was urged to write its history. Because most counties lacked someone with the skills of preparing their histories, private companies such as Goodspeed’s of Boston and Lewis Publishing Company of Chicago assembled staffs to write the county histories of the nation for a fee. They were meeting a need, providing a service, and hoping to earn a profit.
They took as their motto the great historian Macaulay’s quotation, “The history of a country is best told in a record of the lives of its people.” The publishers prepared mini-biographical sketches of the inhabitants of counties. If a prospective biographee agreed to purchase a copy, he would be included. If he were an avid supporter of the venture, the publishers would also include a copper plate engraving of his likeness for an additional fee. For even more money, his wife could be likewise featured. These images caused the publications to be dubbed “mug” books.
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For more information about subscribing to the Plus Edition of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, visit http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/plusedition.html. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31800000 |
Psychologists sometimes call the drenal glands the emergency centers of the body. As you can see above they sit just above the kidneys and produce adrenaline and cortisol. As you've probably experienced, adrenaline boosts energy production while still trying to conserve as much energy as possible while your muscles are busy smacking your friend for scaring you. Adrenaline actually does more than you would think.
-contraction of our heart muscle and constriction of our blood vessel to provide more blood to the body
-opening the tiny airways to the lungs to allow inhalation of more air
-breakdown of fat into glucose to energize our muscles
-opens the pupils (dilates) of our eyes to enable better sight during emergencies!
All of this together allows people to perform amazing acts of heroism in crisis situations (but are still constrained by physical limitations obviously). One mother was filled with adrenaline when her child was trapped under a heavy car, enough even to lift the end of the car some say up to four inches off the ground!
This shows how impressive the human body is and how it deals with intense situations. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31807000 |
The Bickersons Battle Over Alpha
Meet Betty and Bart Bickerson, husband and wife quality analysts who work at different companies.
Betty and Bart argue about everything. They argue whether grey is a color. They argue whether tomato is a fruit. They argue whether the chicken came before the egg, and whether the egg tastes better fried, scrambled, or poached.
But their relationship didn’t get really rocky until they started to argue about what alpha level, also called the significance level, to use for a hypothesis test.
Note: The alpha level is the criterion against which you compare the p-value to determine whether a difference is statistically significant. The alpha level option for the 2-sample t test in the Minitab Assistant is shown below:
The Alpha Level: How Low Do You Go?
Listen in as Betty and Bart squabble over what alpha level to use when comparing the mean before and after a process change.
BART:"Well, Betty, I think I’m going to raise the alpha level for the test. Kick it up a notch from 0.05 to 0.10."
BETTY: "That’s funny, Bart. If anything, I was going to lower it a notch--down to 0.01. Why would you ever want to raise the level of risk?"
BART: "I want to boost the power of the test to detect a difference. If I use a higher alpha, I can be more certain I’m going to find a significant difference between the process means, if it’s really there."
BETTY: "But if you raise alpha, you’re also going to be less certain that any significant shift in the process mean that you find is really true—and not just a statistical fluke—a random error. You'll increase the risk of 'false-positives.'"
BART: "But Betty, by lowering alpha, you’ll increase the risk of 'false-negatives.' The last thing I want is to miss a possible effect on the process mean. Even after I raise alpha to 0.1, the risk of falsely finding a significant result will only be 10%."
BETTY: “Well, Bart, I don’t want to mistakenly conclude there’s a significant process change when there’s really not. That’s worse in my book."
Betty straightened her posture and adjusted the “Quality Counts” button on her lapel.
BETTY: “And if I find a significant difference, I’ll be 99% confident in my results—you’ll only be 90% confident.”
BART: “You don’t need to be sooo worried about reporting a significant effect that’s not there. ”
BETTY:“And you don’t need to be sooooooo paranoid about missing a significant effect.”
BART: “I’m not paranoid, you’re paranoid.”
BETTY: “Well at least I don’t snore like a leaf blower stuck in full throttle.”
BART: “And at least I don’t crack my toes in bed.”
Can Statistical Therapy Save this Relationship?
It was time for Betty and Bart to see a statistical therapist. After years of data analysis, Dr. Sigma Freud fully understood what constituted normality--and what didn't.
Dr. Freud listened patiently to Betty and Bart spar over the alpha level. After they had temporarily run out of lung capacity, she turned to Betty.
DR. FREUD: "Your fear of incorrectly concluding that a result is significant, when it’s really not, is completely justified. In fact, we have a special name for that faux pas in statistics, it’s called a Type 1 error."
Betty smiled and tried not to look too smug.
DR. FREUD: "And just as you say, Betty, you can reduce the chance of making a Type I error by lowering the alpha level for a hypothesis test."
Dr. Freud turned to Bart.
DR. FREUD: "And Bart, your concern is completely valid as well. If a hypothesis test does not reveal a significant difference, but a difference does indeed exist, we call that a Type II error. And one way to help guard against it is to raise the alpha level."
Was it Betty’s imagination, or was Bart’s normally concave chest starting to puff up a bit?
DR. FREUD: "So both of your concerns are valid. This push-pull dynamic of risk is a natural part of any healthy statistical relationship. What we need do is to find a way to balance those competing risks."
BETTY: "How can do we do that?"
DR. FREUD: “You know, what about just going with the default alpha level of 0.05? That’s what most couples would do. You'd be 95% confident that any shift in the process mean that you find is real.”
BETTY: “Hmmm. Sometimes I do wish we’d never clicked the arrow to see the options for alpha. Life was simpler.”
Bart shook his head.
BART: “Too many things have been said. We can’t go back now.”
Why Two Rights Don't Make a Wrong
DR. FREUD: “OK. Let’s take a step back and delve a little deeper. Why don’t you both tell me more about the projects you’re working on. Betty, let's start with you.”
BETTY: "I work for a medical device company. We've developed a new implant device for patients. We're excited because it might really improve patient outcomes. But it's more costly than the current device. Before we put it into production, we want to be doubly sure that the difference in patient outcomes is really there."
DR. FREUD: "So if you find a difference in outcomes--specifically, an improved outcome with the new device--and that difference really doesn't exist, the consequences could be very severe."
BETTY: "Absolutely. If the new device doesn't improve outcomes, and we don't realize it, we'd waste a lot of money producing it. Patients would also have to pay more for something that didn't really offer a real improvement over the current implant device."
DR. FREUD: "Well Betty, in your case, the consequences of a Type I error are more severe than a Type II error. So you're doing exactly what you should be by lowering the alpha level. Now, Bart, what about you?"
BART:"I work in an automotive plant. One of our parts suppliers has been raising prices. We want to switch to another supplier that offers the same part at a lower price. But before we do that we need to compare key dimensions of the part to make sure there's no difference. We don't want to sacrifice quality for reduced cost."
DR. FREUD: "So if you don't find a difference in the dimensions in the part between the two suppliers, and a difference really does exist, the consequences could be very severe."
BART: "Absolutely. If the dimensions are off, and we don't realize it, we could lose a lot of money with increased scrap rates. Overall product quality could also drop, and we might lose customers."
DR. FREUD: "Well Bart, in your case, the consequences of a Type II error seem to be more severe than a Type I error. So you're doing exactly what you should be by raising the alpha level."
BETTY/BART (together): "You mean we're both right?!"
DR. FREUD: "Absolutely! Now how about a little hug?"
The Bickersons embraced, overjoyed at finally understanding the alpha level.
BETTY: “I’m so glad I suggested coming here!”
BART: “Me, too! But, actually, didn't I suggest coming here?”
BETTY: “No, Bart, I’m sure it was my idea.”
BART: “Au contraire, Betty..."
Moral of the Story
Most of the time, you can leave the default alpha level (0.05) alone. Unless you’re in a situation like Betty or Bart.
If you need statistical therapy, check out the Minitab Assistant (open Minitab and choose Assistant). It’s like having a statistical therapist built right into the analysis itself.
If you'd prefer a real, live statistical therapist to personally help you design or analyze your quality improvement project, check out Mentoring by Minitab trainers.
Kangaroo photo by Pascal Vuylskeker and dedicated to Greg Fox, our blogger at-large in Sydney. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31811000 |
Model T car by Henry Ford was a revolution, often called the TIN LIZZIE it put America on wheels in 1908. The Model T car was the first affordable car ever made and it democratized automobile ownership around the world. The Model T car creation led to the invention of suburbs, motels, drive-throughs, drive-ins and a long list of other Model T car pop culture phenomena.
MODEL T CAR
THE MODEL T Car painting DAWN OF A NEW DAY by artist James lumbers was inspired while he was walking through the grassy wooded field and found an abandoned old Model T car.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MODEL T PAINTING
Model T Car Sketches
Back at the studio, James Lumbers was feeling passionately inspired by the abandoned decaying Model T car. James Lumbers penciled an idea of the Model T car on paper and then proceeded to paint some colour into the Model T car image. The first Model T car sketch and the first model T car color sketch can be seen below.
The Model T Car – 12 Steps To The DAWN OF A NEW DAY Model T Painting
The Model T car painting took several months to develop the idea of the abandoned Model T with the past & present concept that Canadian artist James Lumbers is renowed for all over the world. This past & present concept is known by James Lumbers’ enthusiasts & art collectors as “Moments In Time Painting Collections”. James Lumbers worked on this concept for the old Model T car found in an overgrown trail in the woods in his studio in Florida. Armed with his Model T car pencil sketch & Model T automobile colored image he further developed the DAWN OF A NEW DAY Model T car painting. Below his a 12 step process showing the evolution and a detailed progression of the Model t car painting.
MODEL T CAR PAINTING – DAWN OF A NEW DAY ORIGINAL PAINTING
This original Model T car painting DAWN OF A NEW DAY by James Lumbers along with the original Model T car pencil sketch & Model T car color sketch is part of a privately held collection that his valued at over $30,000.
For those Model T car enthusiasts & James Lumbers art collectors the Ford Model T car original painting has been made available as limited collector edition giclee prints for an affordable price ranging from $285, $342 & $1200 depending if you would like a Paper Giclee Print , or Artist Proofs(APs) Paper Giclee Print or Canvas Giclee Print.
Once the limited edition collection is sold out the only place you will be able to attain this Model T car painting(DAWN OF A NEW DAY) will be in the secondary art market. The price in the secondary art market may be higher depending on the popularity and demand of the Model T automobile painting. Traditionally, James Lumbers artwork are highly sought after in the secondary art market and are sold at a high premium.
MODEL T CAR GICLEE PRINTS – ABOUT THE PUBLISHER – MIROARTS PUBLISHING INC.
Miroarts Publishing Inc whom is the exclusive publisher & distributor of James Lumbers artwork has reproduced the original Ford model T car painting(DAWN OF A NEW DAY) into limited editions of high quality Model T car paper giclee prints & Model T automobile canvas giclee prints.
The limited edition collections are small – 350 signed & numbered Model T car paper giclee prints, 35 signed & numbered Artist Proofs(APs) Model T automobile Paper Giclee prints and 50 signed & numbered Model T car Canvas Giclee Prints.
All Ford Model T automobile paper & canvas giclees are signed & numbered by James Lumbers.
A Certificate of Authenticity is supplied with each reproduction by Miroarts Publishing Inc. to assure the authenticity of the Ford Model T car giclee print.
Model T car enthusiasts & James Lumbers art collectors can purchase the Ford Model T painting(DAWN OF A NEW DAY) online at www.MiroArts.com | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31812000 |
Walk through the streets of the average Portuguese village during the day and you may wonder if the place has been abandoned. In the intense summer heat it seems most people shelter away from the sun inside the white-washed walls of their homes until the early evening, when the main square becomes a hive of social activity.
Wander into the tiny village of Luz on the banks of the Alqueva Lake in the Alentejo region of Portugal and the daytime emptiness hides a rather unique story. The modern houses give a clue that there’s something different about this village, but its real secrets (and many generations of history) can never again be discovered by taking a simple stroll. The reason for this eternal mystery is found in the lake; it is here that the old village lies submerged, flooded by the waters of Europe’s largest man-made lake less than 10 years ago.
When the reservoir was planned the government faced a tough decision. The old village of Luz was below the proposed water-line of the planned reservoir, but the benefits that the project would bring were such that the village could not be spared. Would they relocate people to the nearest town? Perhaps disperse the 300-odd residents around the local villages? After consultation with the villagers the authorities undertook what is considered to be a unique resettlement plan: they rebuilt Luz a couple of kilometres away on higher ground.
Those who had a house would get another, with the same amount of land. People would live next to their old neighbours where possible, although the road layout was modernised. And the church, the social hub of the village for generations, would be rebuilt with the important relics moved across to the new structure. Even the cemetery would be relocated, a traumatic process for many people and one that needed to be carried out with the utmost sensitivity.
People moved into the new Luz in November 2002 and the old buildings were destroyed before the waters of the lake claimed them forever. You can follow the line of a road to the south of the village as it drops into lake, emerging in the distance – a visible sign that things were not always as they now appear.
Thankfully the memories of old Luz, and of the whole process of moving a village, were captured on film and can be seen at the excellent museum at the edge of the village. The museum contains ethnographic exhibits from traditional life in Luz, but without doubt the highlight is the film that follows a dozen or so villagers as they prepare for the move, say goodbye to their old homes and move reluctantly to the new village. It is a film that is guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings, as it captures perfectly the emotions and losses faced by people whose families had owned those homes for hundreds of years. One old man laughs with sadness when he is told that the authorities will replace his fruit trees by planting new ones: “What’s the use? I wouldn’t be here to pick the fruit!” A schoolgirl, wise beyond her years, observes that “Everything happened at once so that it would seem nothing had changed.”
You can visit the Museu Da Luz while renting a houseboat on the Alqueva lake. There’s a marina around 1km from the village. Alternatively Luz is easy to reach by car, being only 5km from Mourao and around an hour’s drive from Evora. The museum is closed on Mondays. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31819000 |
On May 7-9, the CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, hosted a conference on Weight of the Nation™ in Washington, D.C. The conference served to highlight progress in the prevention and control of obesity through policy and environmental strategies. The Weight of the Nation is also the title of an HBO Documentary Films and Institute of Medicine (IOM) film series that premieres May 14 and 15.
HBO’s The Weight of the Nation website explains that each of the four films in the series will feature “case studies, interviews with our nation’s leading experts, and individuals and their families struggling with obesity.” The first film examines the scope of the obesity epidemic and explores the serious health consequences of being overweight or obese. The second discusses what science has shown about how to lose weight, maintain weight loss and prevent weight gain; the third focuses on obesity in children. The fourth film, titled Challenges, offers a systems perspective on the combined effects of the major driving forces causing the obesity epidemic. These include complex social and environmental factors—such as agriculture, economics, and food marketing; cultural and behavioral factors—such as American food culture and physical inactivity; and evolutionary biology.
Any explanation of the obesity epidemic has to consider both genetics and the environment. One explanation that is often cited is the mismatch between today’s environment and “energy-thrifty genes” that emerged in the distant past, when food sources were unpredictable. Current research on genetic variation that affects response to changes in diet and physical activity is still at an early stage. An updated feature on obesity and genetics is available from CDC’s Office of Public Health Genomics, along with a new page summarizing some genetic research findings related to obesity. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31836000 |
On this day in 1836, the City of Davenport was platted and named.
In order to understand the weight of history behind that simple sentence, one would have to look back at least to the treaty, signed on September 21, 1832, that ended the Black Hawk War and sold the land west of the Mississippi River to the United States government.
Chief Keokuk, considered by the United States to be the official leader of the Sac-Fox tribes, presented several acres on the bank of the Mississippi to Marguerite LeClaire, who was the granddaughter of Acoqua, a Sac chief, and wife to Antoine LeClaire, a government translator who assisted with the treaty. A condition of this gift was that the LeClaires build their home on the exact spot where General Scott signed the treaty. In the spring of 1833, Antoine built a log cabin on the site, later replacing it with a small clapboard house.
According to historian Franc Wilkie,* two other men had a prior claim to the gifted land. Forestalling a challenge, Antoine bought this quarter section from “Dr. Spencer and Mr. McCloud” for the boggling price (at the time) of “one hundred and fifty dollars!“ Mr. Wilkie went on to comment that “A splendid illustration is the sale of the immense fortunes made in the West by . . . judicious investment.”
But Antoine had plans. In the fall of 1835, he formed a company to organize the establishment of a town near what had come to be called the Treaty House. Among these gentlemen were Col. George Davenport, Major Thomas Smith, Alexander McGregor, Levi S. Colton, Philip Hambaugh, and Captain James May.
The company decided on the specific location of the new town with an eye to drainage, water power, and freedom from mosquito-laden marshes. They paid Antoine $1,750 for this perfect site, in which he retained an eighth interest. It was decided to name the town after Col. George Davenport.** And on May 14 of the following year, Major Gordon, a stockholder in the company, surveyed and laid the town out in a pattern of 7 blocks by 6 blocks-between Front Street (now River Drive) to 6th Street, and from Warren Street on the east side to Harrison on the west.
Davenport has grown just a little since then, beginning with Antoine LeClaire’s First Addition in 1841, which added Main and Brady Streets to the west side. From 42 blocks to 62 square miles in a little under 175 years-not bad!
This 1841 plat map shows the Original Town of Davenport as laid out 5 years previously,
plus the 8 blocks of LeClaires 1st Addition on the east side.
* Mr. Wilkie’s Davenport Past and Present was published in 1858, only 22 years after the founding of Davenport. One might think a town that young wouldn’t have generated enough of a past to warrant an entire book—but Mr. Wilkie and we beg to differ.
**A decision which deserves a blog entry of its own.
(posted by Sarah) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31839000 |
Manoj Nair of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has devised a new possible method of detecting a deadly tsuami long before the wave crests to dangerous heights. And, in a bit of good news, much of it is already in place.
In a new study in next month’s Earth, Planets, and Space, Nair modeled the massive 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean and found that a tsunami picking up steam as it moves across the ocean emits a tiny electromagnetic signature of of about 500 millivolts. That’s enough to have an effect on the communication cables that stretch across the ocean floor, carrying internet messages and phone calls. The electromagnetic signal “is very small compared to a 9-volt battery, but still large enough to be distinguished from background noise on a magnetically quiet day,” said Nair [Daily Camera].
Nair says this kind of system could be a lower-cost alternative to the bottom pressure arrays that directly measure large movements of water. “What we argue is that this is such a simple system to set up and start measuring,” Nair says. “We have a system of submarine cables already existing. The only thing we probably need is a voltmeter, in theory” [Wired.com].
Oleg Godin, one of Nair’s research partners, said any small improvement could make a huge difference. “If you detect tsunamis in the deep ocean — and that’s what we’re working on — meaning far from shore, you have hours, certainly tens of minutes, to warn people,” he said. “If people are well educated, a 15-minute warning is enough to save everybody” [Daily Camera].
80beats: South Pacific Tsunami Kills More than 100 People
80beats: Geologists Find One Cataclysmic Tsunami in Every 600 Years of Thai Dirt
80beats: Haiti Earthquake May Have Released 250 Years of Seismic Stress
Image: flickr / epugachev | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31840000 |
The Lake Tahoe area on the California-Nevada border can be appreciated from a variety of perspectives: Some people focus on the stunningly beautiful alpine lake nestled in the Sierra Nevada range, while others see it as a mecca for skiers and winter sports enthusiasts. When climate scientists look around, though, they see change. Two recent studies suggest that global warming is already altering that beloved ecosystem.
The first report (pdf), produced by researchers at the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, predicts that snowpack melts over the next century will have a drastic impact on both winter tourism and the water supply.
The average snowpack in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains that ring the lake on the California-Nevada border will decline by 40 to 60 percent by 2100 “under the most optimistic projections,” says the report from three researchers at the University of California, Davis.
Under less optimistic models, the melt-off could be accelerated. By the end of the century, precipitation in the region “could be all rain and no snow,” and peak snowmelt in the Upper Truckee River — which is the largest tributary flowing into Lake Tahoe — could occur four to six weeks earlier by 2100, the report says. [New York Times]
The changes to the region’s hydrology could lead to new problems with runoff, erosion, and overflowing stormwater basins. While the researchers note that there is always some uncertainty when predicting far into the future, they also point out that the computer models they used are based on 100 years of data describing the changes in temperature and precipitation that have already occurred in the Tahoe area.
The second study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, used infrared (heat) measurements from satellites to examine the changes to the planet’s lakes.
Two NASA scientists used satellite data to look at 104 large inland lakes around the world. They found that on average they have warmed 2 degrees [Celsius] since 1985. That’s about two-and-a-half times the increase in global temperatures in the same time period. [AP]
Lakes in the the Northern Hemisphere’s mid and upper latitudes showed the most warming. That includes Lake Tahoe, which has heated up by 3 degrees Celsius since 1985, putting it behind only Russia’s Lake Ladoga.
80beats: Water Maps Show Stress Spread Out Across the Planet
80beats: Water Woes: The Southwest’s Supply Dwindles; China’s Behemoth Plumbing Project Goes On
80beats: Arctic Report Card: Warm Weather and Melted Ice Are the New Normal
80beats: Aral Sea Shows Signs of Recovery, While the Dead Sea Needs a Lifeline
DISCOVER: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About… Water
Image: Wikimedia Commons | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31841000 |
Remixing Melville: Moby Dick Meets the Digital Generation
In a traditional English class, a teacher might assign Herman Melville’s famous novel Moby Dick in small chunks. Students might complete their reading (or not), discuss major themes and perhaps write an essay at the end of the unit. But if a student never gets past the first few pages, the rest of that unit is lost.
It’s become a common refrain that traditional education isn’t serving a generation of students whose lives outside of school are completely disconnected from what happens inside. But there are plenty of teachers working hard to make reading material relevant to students, including a team of researchers from University of Southern California Annenberg’s Innovation Lab that includes Henry Jenkins and Erin Reilly. They’ve created a model of what they call participatory learning that engages students with materials on a personal level, often by incorporating different types of media into the classroom and offering varying points of entry to a text. Most recently, the team has put together a teacher’s strategy guide, Reading in a Participatory Culture: Remixing Moby-Dick in the English, Classroom and an interactive digital book, Flows of Reading, to provide models of their approach.
Moby Dick is a notoriously difficult book. “This book defeated me as an Advanced Placement kid,” Henry Jenkins said. He remembers hating the book, gritting his teeth to get through it and writing the worst essay of his high school career. That’s why he was so impressed by the work of the playwright Ricardo Pitts-Wiley who was teaching Moby Dick to incarcerated youth in Rhode Island, many of whom read below grade level.
Pitts-Wiley asked his students to reinterpret the novel in the context of their own lives. In their retelling Captain Ahab became a powerful drug dealer trying to avenge the death of his loved ones. His drug crew is forced to decide how far they’ll go for their charismatic leader. Together with his students Pitts-Wiley turned their re-interpretation into a play: Moby Dick: Then and Now. The students understood the themes when placed into familiar context and related to the character’s struggles when the story was no longer placed in an era and industry unfamiliar to them.
[RELATED READING: How Can Teachers Prepare Kids for a Connected World?]
Pitts-Wiley’s work correlates strongly to the research Jenkins has been doing on weaving more varieties of media into the classroom in order to make the learning experience more participatory, creative, multidisciplinary, and therefore meaningful to students. He teamed up with Wyn Kelley a Melville scholar from MIT, and a team of educational experts to design a curriculum around Moby Dick that would build in remixing, reinterpretation, and multimedia elements. They tested their new curriculum in six different schools.
“We want to raise a generation of kids who have a mouse in one hand and a book in the other,” said Jenkins. To do that the curriculum focuses on Melville as a master mash-up artist of 19th century culture; his book includes Shakespeare plays, the Bible, whaling culture and more. From there, the door is open for classes to discuss how remixed elements are allusions and what happens to a text when an author incorporates the work of others.
“Culture matters, history matters, the goal is to foster old fashioned close reading,” Jenkins said. A typical assignment might ask students to take one page of Moby Dick, highlight words they don’t know, define terms, draw pictures and share with one another. The idea is to focus closely in order to incite curiosity about the whole. And to let students creatively express their opinions and thoughts about the book, hopefully with a better understanding of what their own remixing might add to the broader cultural body of work around Moby Dick.
If this sounds a little messy and confusing – it is. That was the feedback teachers gave Jenkins’ team when they piloted these participatory learning strategies in the classroom. Teacher’s felt uncertain whether learning was taking place in this non-linear style. One teacher came to realize that if a student could get a purchase on the text anywhere, they understood how much more there is to learn about the book.
“That’s a different kind of learning outcome than we usually get when we convince people they’ve exhausted a book, that they’ve gotten it, when they’ve only touched it superficially,” Jenkins said. He sees the goal as both teaching something about Moby Dick in the moment as well as fostering a community of readers who know that reading Melville in high school English doesn’t mean they’ve conquered it.
[RELATED READING: How Do We Define and Measure 'Deeper Learning'?]
“We may be romanticizing what people got out of Moby Dick in the traditional classroom,” Jenkins said. “This is just taking ownership over that and allowing students to pursue their passion and interests.” Piloting this curriculum Jenkins’ team found that it worked less effectively when teachers used it more traditionally. “The closer we got to traditional school, the more they shut down,” Jenkins said. “No curriculum is idiot proof. You have to get teachers who understand the participatory mindset.”
The other part of the project, Flows of Reading, helps encourage participation around literature and models an expanded approach to literacy and the reading and writing that make up the discipline. The digital book allows readers to follow hyperlinks, enjoy embedded video content, and add to an online space for related work. It broadens the model beyond Moby Dick and applies it to reading at all age levels from a wordless picture book to the Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings. It offers four pathways or ways to view a text.
MOTIVES FOR READING
This pathway and assorted material address the idea that people read various kinds of textual content for all kinds of reasons. Reading a website may be different from reading a book, but they both require literacy and are appropriate at different points. This pathway explores how seemingly different kinds of reading might be more akin than they seem.
ADAPTATION AND REMIXING
While the book encourages students to elaborate and create material based on parts of a text that speak to them, this section also discusses appropriate and respectful adaptation and remixing. It brings in the ethics of attribution and fair use.
NEGOTIATING CULTURAL SPACES
This pathway discusses the various identities that each person brings to reading whether it is gender, ethnicity, specific experiences or anything else that shapes the reading process.
CONTINUITIES AND SPACES
These are “the spaces where your imagination can go wild,” said Erin Reilly, who led the effort to create Flows. This pathway explores how to creatively share stories and layer upon the original.
Throughout the research and implementation of this project Jenkins and Reilly knew they’d need to think about assessment. They brought in Dan Hickey from Indiana University to help develop assessments that are immediate and happen as part of the learning process. The state standards are a minimum, Reilly and Jenkins maintain should be easy to reach if students are engaged. They insist that learning activities should be open and free — a space for creativity; the reflection on that activity and how it ties back to the text is an area for worthwhile assessment. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31847000 |
Last Wednesday the National Academy of Sciences held a press conference in Washington, DC, to introduce its newly completed report on priorities for the coming decade in solar and space physics. Daniel Baker of the University of Colorado chaired the committee that wrote the report. Thomas Zurbuchen of the University of Michigan was the vice chair. Together, they summarized the report’s highlights for the assembled reporters, scientists, and bureaucrats.
Like its counterparts in astronomy and planetary science, the latest solar and space physics decadal survey is more than just a shopping list of missions and facilities. Its authors begin by defining their field in a broad and inspiring way:
We live on a planet whose orbit traverses the tenuous outer atmosphere of a variable magnetic star, the Sun. This stellar atmosphere is a rapidly flowing plasma—the solar wind—that envelops Earth as it rushes outward, creating a cavity in the galaxy that extends to some 140 astronomical units (AU). There, the inward pressure from the interstellar medium balances the outward pressure of the solar plasma forming the heliopause, the boundary of our home in the universe. Earth and the other planets of our solar system are embedded deep in this extended stellar atmosphere or “heliosphere,” the domain of solar and space physics.
The report goes on to review past and present accomplishments in solar and space physics before defining the four overarching goals that guided the committee members as they drew up their final recommendations:
- Determine the origins of the Sun’s activity and predict the variations in the space environment.
- Determine the dynamics and coupling of Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere and their response to solar and terrestrial inputs.
- Determine the interaction of the Sun with the solar system and the interstellar medium.
- Discover and characterize fundamental processes that occur both within the heliosphere and throughout the universe.
As I listened to Baker and Zurbuchen’s presentation, it became clear that two other overarching considerations informed the report. The first is a conceptual emphasis on viewing Earth’s aurorae, the solar wind, coronal mass ejections, and other heliospheric phenomena as part of a single system. It will be interesting to see whether this systemic view becomes manifest in journals, conferences, and courses. I, for one, have tended to think of solar physics as belonging more to astronomy than to heliospheric physics.
The second consideration is a realistic and—to use Baker’s word—responsible approach to costs. The committee retained Aerospace Corp, a nonprofit consultancy based in El Segundo, California, to carry out an independent cost appraisal and technical evaluation (CATE) of potential missions. For the most part, the total cost of the committee’s recommended suite of programs lies within the budget envelope that NASA provided the committee for the years 2013–22.
Physicists who remember chuckling when they first encountered the zeroth law of thermodynamics might be amused to learn that the committee’s first recommendation is also numbered zero—for good reason. As NASA and NSF, the other principal sponsor of heliospheric research, look to future missions and facilities, the committee recommends that they first complete their current program.
Among the lineup is Solar Probe Plus (shown here in an artist’s impression). The ambitious mission, whose price tag is $1.4 billion, aims to fly as close as possible to the Sun to determine how the solar corona is heated and how the solar wind is accelerated.
Diversify, realize, integrate, venture, educate
The committee’s second recommendation, numbered 1.0, is to implement an initiative that goes by the acronym DRIVE (for “diversify, realize, integrate, venture, educate”). As far as I can tell, DRIVE aims to reorganize and reinvigorate the way researchers and their students practice heliospheric science.
Surprisingly, given its high priority, DRIVE is not expensive. The committee projects that the initiative will cost at most about $50 million a year. To fulfill the goals embodied by its name, DRIVE seeks to make research opportunities more accessible to universities through small and mid-sized missions, including the shoebox-sized spacecraft called CubeSats.
Funding the analysis and interpretation of data adequately is a key element of DRIVE, as is fostering interdisciplinary approaches to heliospheric research. Indeed, the committee urges NASA and NSF to establish heliospheric science centers, where observers, theorists, and modelers can work together to solve the grand challenges of solar and space physics.
When Baker and Zurbuchen introduced DRIVE, it sounded somewhat woolly to me. Now, having read the DRIVE section of the report, I think it’s a bold and worthwhile model that could be profitably emulated in other fields, such as green energy or neuroscience. But to be effective, DRIVE will probably need a light administrative structure.
Accelerate and expand the Heliophysics Explorer program!
Recommendation 2.0 seeks to revitalize NASA’s Explorer program of modestly sized and priced spacecraft. Begun in 1958, the program, according to the committee, is “arguably the most storied scientific spaceflight program in NASA’s history.” Despite its success, which includes three Nobel prizes, funding for the Explorer program fell in 2004 and has languished since. To quote the report:
The medium-class (MIDEX) and small-class (SMEX) missions of the Explorer program are ideally suited to advancing heliophysics science and have a superb track record for cost-effectiveness. Since 2001, 15 heliophysics Explorer mission proposals have received the highest category of ranking in competition selection reviews, but only 5 have been selected for flight. Thus there is an extensive reservoir of excellent heliophysics science to be accomplished by Explorers.
Because MIDEX and SMEX missions are comparatively cheap, developing and launching more of them would not require a big outlay. The committee recommends that NASA augment the current Explorer program for solar and space physics by $70 million per year.
In addition to more money for the Explorer program, the committee also recommends establishing a faster, more nimble way of accommodating missions of opportunity—that is, missions that are conceived in response to new technologies, new scientific knowledge, or new partnership opportunities with other space agencies.
NASA: Let academia lead space science
Perhaps by coincidence, a commentary by Baker appeared in Nature two weeks before his committee released its report. Entitled “NASA: Let academia lead space science,” the commentary urged the space agency to fund more missions that are small enough in scope that university-based principal investigators (PIs) can develop and lead them.
Whether Baker’s fellow committee members endorsed his commentary is not clear. They do, however, evidently share his belief in the merits of PI-led missions. Recommendation 3.0 calls for NASA to transform its Solar Terrestrial Probes program from a large, centrally directed program to “a moderate-sized, competed, PI-led mission line that is cost-capped at approximately $520-million per mission.”
The STP program aims to elucidate the physics of the Sun’s influence on Earth, on the other bodies in the solar system, and on the interstellar medium. To avoid the risk that a competitive free-for-all would omit important aspects of STP science, the committee outlined three kinds of missions that it would like to see fly:
- IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) to characterize the zone where the Sun’s magnetohydrodynamic influence ceases to prevail in the solar neighborhood.
- DYNAMIC (Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere) to study how Earth’s ionosphere and thermosphere influence, and are influenced by, processes that occur at lower and higher altitudes.
- MEDICI (Magnetosphere Energetics, Dynamics, and Ionospheric Coupling) to determine how the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system responds to solar and magnetospheric forcing.
The committee’s enthusiasm for modest missions is not unbridled, however. In the committee’s view, tackling the problem of how and why the Sun varies is a job for large, integrated missions. NASA’s Living with a Star program already includes the Solar Probe Plus and the Radiation Belt Storm Probes missions. Recommendation 4.0 is for Geospace Dynamics Constellation, a set of six formation-flying spacecraft that will characterize how the energy of geomagnetic storms is deposited and transformed in Earth’s atmosphere.
Recharter the National Space Weather Program
In March 1989 a geomagnetic storm caused the collapse of Hydro-Québec’s electricity grid. Five months later another geomagnetic storm shut down electronic trading on Toronto’s stock exchange.
Anticipating such storms—or space weather—and predicting their effects is more important, now that the world’s electrical infrastructure has expanded, the number of Earth-orbiting satellites has increased, and telecommunications have become economically and socially more important.
The current solar cycle, the 24th since records began in 1755, is set to peak next year. To monitor the cycle’s activity, the US relies on a set of spacecraft, such as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, whose principal purpose is basic research and whose engineering lifetimes are coming to an end.
To avoid gaps in coverage, the committee recommends that NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense should plan ahead and plan together. Of particular importance, the committee says, is maintaining a permanent monitoring capability at L1, the first Lagrange point of the Sun–Earth system. Lying between the two bodies 1.5 million km from Earth, L1 is an ideal vantage for tracking solar activity.
The US has a comprehensive plan, the National Space Weather Program, for dealing with space weather. The trouble is, as the committee puts it, “implementation of such a program would require funding well above what the survey committee assumes to be currently available.” Accordingly, the committee recommends that the NSWP
should be rechartered under the auspices of the National Science and Technology Council and should include the active participation of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget. The plan should build on current agency efforts, leverage the new capabilities and knowledge that will arise from implementation of the programs recommended in this report, and develop additional capabilities, on the ground and in space, that are specifically tailored to space weather monitoring and prediction.
I haven’t read all 455 pages of the committee’s report. In venturing to summarize it, I have no doubt missed some important points and emphases. But what I have read has impressed me. Here is a plan to study the heliosphere as a system in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and cost-effective way. I hope its recommendations are heeded. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31850000 |
Ancient Roman proverbs can certaintly be confusing, but they are certainly rich in meaning. Here are some of my favorite proverbs :
adversus solem ne loquitor literally means, “do not speak against the sun. It’s used when someone is arguing or advocating something that is obviously and blatantly wrong. Since the sun is guaranteed to exist forever (assuming that a geologic catastrophe doesn’t occur), the proverb is saying that one shouldn’t argue against something that is so likely as the sun’s existence.
ignis aurum probat literally means, “the fire tests the gold”. When ancient Roman blacksmiths refined gold, they would do so in a hot fire. Therefore this phrase is used when someone’s character is being “refined” by adversity.
aquila non capit muscas means the eagle does not catch flies. In ancient Rome, eagles were considered majestic animals. Conversely, flies were considered insignificant and a nuisance. Therefore this proverb was used to imply that people of high rank (the eagle) won’t have the time or patience to deal with trifling matters (flies).
hic abundant leones means “here the lions abound”. The lions are a metaphor for the unknown, like uncharted territory. When the Ancient Romans were first starting to conquer other nations, some of the territories on their maps were labeled with this phrase.
auribus teneo lupum literally means, “I grasp a wolf by the ears”. It’s supposed to convey a situation where you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. In other words, grabbing on to the wolf’s ears or letting go could both end in disaster.
in cauda venenum which means, “poison in the tail” is a metaphor of a scorpion sting. This phrase is used when a situation starts without a hitch and becomes deadly in the end.
una hirundo non facit ver means, “one swallow does not make a summer”. In Ancient Rome, swallows were considered good fortune. Therefore it means that one good outcome (or swallow) doesn’t guarantee that a situation will be successful in every single instance. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31856000 |
An epic spanning more than half a century of Taiwan's history, this breathtaking historical novel traces the fortunes of the Pengs, a family of Hakka Chinese settlers, across three generations from the 1890s, just before Taiwan was ceded to Japan as a result of the Sino-Japanese war, through World War II. Li Qiao brilliantly re-creates the dramatic world of these pioneers -- and the colonization of Taiwan itself -- exploring their relationships with the aboriginal peoples of Taiwan and their struggle to establish their own ethnic and political identities.
This carefully researched work of fiction draws upon Li's own experiences and family history, as well as oral and written histories of the era. Originally published in Chinese as a trilogy, this newly translated edition is an abridgement for English-speaking readers and marks the work's first appearance in the English-speaking world. It was well-received in Taiwan as an honest -- and influential -- recreation of Taiwan's history before the relocation of the Republic of China from the mainland to Taiwan.
Because Li's saga is so deeply imbued with the unique culture and complex history of Taiwan, an introduction explaining the cultural and historical background of the novel is included to help orient the reader to this amazingly rich cultural context. This informative introduction and the sweeping saga of the novel itself together provide an important view of Taiwan's little known colonial experience. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31865000 |
Climate Action for Nature
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."
- Charles Darwin
ECCo scientists recognize that climate change has the potential to jeopardize much of the regional conservation and restoration work that has been done over the past 30 years. As a member of Chicago Wilderness (CW), an alliance of over 250 organizations dedicated to restoring biodiversity in the region, the team helped to develop and launch the CW Climate Action Plan for Nature (CAPN) in 2010. This Plan specifically addresses climate change impacts to the natural communities spanning across a four-state region and represents an ecosystem-based approach to responding to climate change. The CAPN complements the Chicago Climate Action Plan, focused on human health and the built and natural environments within the City of Chicago, and ECCo ecologists work collaboratively with Chicago's Department of Environment on urban ecosystem adaptation strategies.
The team serves on the CW Climate Change Task Force and is leading several of the efforts to implement the CAPN, including developing Climate Clinics aimed at building the capacity of CW members to put the Plan's actions into practice. In Spring 2011 ECCo ecologists completed a revision of CW's Biodiversity Recovery Plan, a road map to restoration and management in the region, that incorporates climate change impacts to biodiversity. These “climate-smart” management practices are intended to not only protect current conservation investments, but also increase the likelihood natural resources can continue to provide the ecological services both human and natural communities rely upon as the environment continues to shift.
To subscribe to the bi-monthly Chicago Wilderness
Learn more about ECCo's work Engaging Chicago Communities in Climate Action | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31868000 |
Should you choose to learn BSL using Makaton principles, the vocabulary stages are as follows:
Mum, Dad, Brother, Sister, Drink, Drink of Water, Biscuit, Dinner x2, Food, Toilet, Bed, Chair, Table, Washbasin, Bath, Shower, House, Home, Car, Bus, I, Me, You, Where, What, Here, There, To Sleep, To Drink, To Eat x2, To Look, To See, To Stand, To Get Up, To Sit, To Wash x2, To Bath, To Shower, To Go, To Come x2, To Give x2, More, Good x2, OK, Bad, Please, Thank You, Hello, Good Morning, Goodbye.
Man, Lady, Boy, Girl, Baby, Bread, Butter, Egg, Chapatti, Dal, Rice, Yoghurt, Noodles, Milk, Tea, Coffee, Juice, Sugar, Cake, Jam, Ice Cream, Knife, To cut with Knife, Fork, Spoon, Plate, Cup, Door, Window x2, Fire, Radiator, TV, Lamp, Phone, To Phone, Dog, Cat, Bird, Tree, Flower, Book, Teddy, Doll, Bricks, Ball, And, Hot x2, Cold, Clean, Dirty.
Chocolate, Crisps, Sweet, Cigarette, Banana, Orange, Apple, Fish, Rabbit, Chicken, Horse, Cow, Pig, Sheep, Butterfly, Boat, Train, Plane, Bike, To Have, To Run, To Walk, To Kick, To Dig, To Ride, To Ride a Horse ,To Ride a Bike, To Swim, To Jump, To Jump Off, To Jump On, To Jump Over, To Climb x2, To Fall Off, To Fall Over, To Smoke, Big, Small, Little, Up, Down, My, Your, Mine, Yours, Sorry, Now.
Teacher, Boss, Friend, Children, Name, School, Work, Outside, Cupboard, Pen, Pencil, Paper, Scissors, Picture, Sand, Water, String, Paint, Key, Box x2, To Put, To Create, To Do, To Sew x2, To Cook x2, To Sing, To Play, To Know, To Think, To Work, To Read, To Write, To Draw, To Paint, To Colour, To Cut, To Teach, To Build x2, To Create, To Break, We x2, Us x2, They x2, Them x2, In x2, On, Under.
Nurse, Doctor, Milkman, Milkwoman, Postman, Postwoman, Policeman, Policewoman, Police Officer, Firefighter, Ambulanceman, Ambulancewoman, Shop, Supermarket, Road, Garden, Blaze, Postbox, Money, Bag, Letter, Stamp, Time, Watch, To Carry, To Throw, To Catch, To Stop, To Help x2, To Like, To Want, To Love, To Quarrel, Quick, Fast, Slow, Happy, Sad, Difficult, Easy, Hard, Soft, Strong, Heavy, Clever, Angry, Frightened, To Be Patient, Trouble, Mistake, But.
Country, Town, Sea, Cinema, Disco, Holiday, To Start, To End x2, To Bring, To Ask, To Talk, To Listen, To Hear, Can, To Forget, To Grow x2, Same, Different, New, Old, Beautiful, Smart, Nice, Kind, Our x2, Ours x2, Their x2, Theirs x2, Another, With, Who, Which, Colour, Black, Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Red, White, Yellow.
1-10, How, How Much, How Many, How Old, Many, A Lot, Some, Few, Time, Hour, Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday, Next Week, Last Week, Next Year, Last Year, Long Time Ago, Saturday, Sunday, Night, Day, When, Always, Again, Late, Early, Before, After, Wages, To Buy, To Save, Careful, Expensive, Sun, Rain, Wind, Snow, Stars, Moon, Sky, Snowman.
To Choose, To Win, To Dance, To Find, To Understand, To Remember, Birthday, Party, Present, Balloon, Photo, Camera, Mirror, Radio, Newspaper, Video Camera, Video Tape, Video Recorder, Music, Stereo x2, Audio Tape, Cassette Player, CD, Computer, First, Last, Next, Over, Through, Near x2, Between, Lucky, Hungry, Thirsty, Worried, True, Why, Because.
Deaf, Blind, Communication Problem, Medicine, Tablet, Injection, Operation, Sick, Ill, Pain, Dead x2, Hearing Aid x2, Glasses, Wheelchair, How are you, People, Airman, Airwoman, Soldier, Sailor, King, Queen, Prince, Princess, Farmer, Clothes, To Dress, To Undress, Hairbrush, To Brush Hair, Comb, To Comb, Shaver, To Shave, Toothbrush, To Brush Teeth, Soap, Towel, Bacon, Bagel, Beer, Burger, Canned Drink, Cereal, Cheese, Chicken, Chips, Curry, Fish, Fruit, Meat, Naan, Pasta, Pie, Pitta, Pizza, Potato, Salad, Sandwich, Sausages, Soup, Tomato, Vegetables, Wine, Al Salam Alicoom, Namaste, Shalom, Room, Bedroom, Bathroom, Dining Room, Lounge, Kitchen, A, The, This, That, You x4, Your x2, Yours x2, To Open x17, To Close x17. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31873000 |
What is Christian Ethics?
The article tries to define “what is precisely Christian ethics” by systematically drawing the general question, “what is ethics to conclude with a specific definition of a Christian ethics from a jungle of definitions. Christian Ethics is one of many ways of reflecting ethical values but is a very distinctive one, as it is determined by theological premises of Christian faith about a loving God.
Outline of Christian Ethics
A rough outline of Christian Ethics is: “Discipline of reflection and analysis that lies between Christian theology on one side and social science on the other, or simply put, between faith and the facts. Christian theology transmits faith –premises that validate its moral norms while sciences that study empirical human behaviour bring understanding of complex factors involving reasons of human nature and cultural situations surrounding the problem of choice and decision. Without sciences, Christian ethics become moralistic, unrealistic and irrelevant to problems in decision a person must make. Vise versa, without Christian ethics, any decision based on data of social sciences, the choices in actions become unprincipled, normless and anomic.
When a problem is encountered with above sketch it “is-ought” problem. “What is called the naturalistic fallacy is the flaw of believing that moral is “ought” is derived only from empirical “is.” For instance, a news poll of how women should dress is not a sole criterion for deciding how the women should behave in public. In Christian ethics moral “ought” should come from the theological faith – premises affirm the transcendental will of God. How the will is understood is now subject of enquiry by the author.
The main types of ethical theories are between teleological and deontological ethics. Roman Catholics ethics are more teleological as it is based more on Aristotle’s eudaimonia (or “well being). It translates that telos into viseo Dei, the vision of God, to be attained by diligent cultivation of good habits of virtues, which leads one to beatific vision. Another example is the Protestant ethics of the Social Gospel Movement, whose goal is the kingdom on earth, toward which we will progress by systematic changes in the economic order. Roman Catholics also have deontological ethics in the form of Papacy encyclicals, which lay down rules for her members in matters regarding divorce, contraception etc which Protestants refer to Bible as the authority in which they found God’s commands toward such actions.
Roman Catholic Ethics
Another way of looking at the difference among the Christian Ethics is to distinguish the main historic church traditions: Roman Catholic and Protestantism ethics. Roman Catholic, since Thomas Aquinas based her ethics on issues of the world in teleological style, but with some deontological elements. In hierarchy of creatures, human beings are endowed with gifts of free will and reason, which enable us to make rational choices. We are endowed with a natural capacity to distinguish right from wrong. With proper training of the reason that can be called conscience, we have the capacity to apply universal principles to practical choices. The conscience and reason must guide person to achieve the 7 virtues of temperance, courage, justice, and prudence (from Greek philosophy) and theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. God sets two external guidelines to moral perfection. These are Divine law and Natural law. One principle of natural law is that good must be sought and evil avoided. Examples of good are self-preservation, private property for common use etc. Divine laws are special revealed laws of God in the Bible. When human being cultivate the virtues of Christian life and follow the precepts of natural law, they are on the road to eternal blessedness. The Church is the instrument of grace in which one who wonders off can receive forgiveness of sins. The principles of natural law and virtues of good life are for all people but special grace of God is in hand of the church. No true salivation can be found outside of Roman Church.
Protestant ethics, on other hand, comes from Martin Luther’s experience and teaching of “justification by grace through faith alone.” He questions the teleological ethics of earning salvation by work. His protested that authentic Christian faith is not a matter of mind but of heart. He did not discourage all the virtues and good Christian life but all good works must be a response of what God did for man when we believe and receive that pardon. Calvin stressed God’s absolute sovereignty and pervasive original sin of mankind, which one could only be saved by the grace of God.
Still another way of looking at Christian Ethics is Christ and culture issue. These are ways of explaining norms of Christian life that exists between demands of God in Christ and demands of secular culture in which Christians live and work. Troelttsch developed three typologies.1.a compromise between church and world where worldly things are renewed, accepted and blessed as Christian. 2. A sect-type where total withdrawal of worldly things and live in obedience to God, like the Quakers.3. Christian mysticism, similar to the sect-type but is more individualistic. Richard Niebuhr’s expanded on Troeltsch’s typology and came up with five different ways to show how Christians have tired to live within the tension between their culture and the moral demands of God in Christ. Christ against culture on one extreme, the ideal that denounces the world, the flesh and the devil and tries to preserve its ethical pristine. On other extreme, the ‘Christ of culture,’ accommodates Christ to various moral norms of secular culture, making him hero of secular values and thus resolving the tension. Between these two poles, lies three more types: Christ above culture,’ is a more Catholic approach, ‘Christ and culture in paradox,’ is a type of Luther’s ethics, and lastly “Christ transforming the culture. Example of the last type is the aim of the Calvinists and Puritans that seeks to mould the political order after the model of the Kingdom of God of righteousness. The Protestant Social Gospel movement is another group, which fought to transform the capitalistic economy from competitiveness to communal type of compassionate justice.
What do we make of Christian ethics after divergence and convergence of these traditions? What does it mean to be a Christian in these jungles of ethical backgrounds? What do we have in common? Since an issue can be approached from different angles, one can hear conflicting answers and can be confusing at times. Yet within this seemly chaotic ethical situation, remains integrity of Christian ethics. Within this difference is a shared faith premises, a trust in the loving God who is the sovereign power of all. His will for mankind is made known through Jesus Christ. Christian ethics, despite its diversity, consists in faithful and obedient response to that will by actions that seek the well- being of neighbours near and far. This is the ‘one’ shared though many varied historical and contemporary answers to the question, “what is Christian ethics? God is the final authority of the human reason and decisions.
Ernst Troeltsch, The Social Teachings of the Christian Church, Michigan, (two volume edition in translation by Harper Row, 1960
Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture, Michigan, Harper & Row, 1956 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31879000 |
MORPHOLOGY: Megaladapis edwardsi had molars that were narrow with well-developed shearing crests (Fleagle, 1988). This species lacked upper incisors (Fleagle, 1988). The dental formula of this species was 0:1:3:3 on the upper jaw and 2:1:3:3 on the lower jaw (Martin, 1990). This species had a mandibular condyle which resembled that found in members of the extant genus Lepilemur (Martin, 1990). The nasal region of this species was pronounced (Fleagle, 1988). This species had a fused mandibular symphysis (Fleagle, 1988). The snout was long and the cranium was long and flat with a small braincase (Fleagle, 1988). The forelimbs of this species were long relative to the hindlimbs (Fleagle, 1988). The phalanges of this species were long and curved and the trunk was also long (Fleagle, 1988). The limbs of this species were relatively robust (Fleagle, 1988). This species had an average body mass of around 140.0 kilograms (Fleagle, 1988). The intermembral index of this species was 120 (Fleagle, 1988).
RANGE: Megaladapis edwardsi was found on the island of Madagascar (Fleagle, 1988).
Based upon dental morphology this was a folivorous species (Fleagle, 1988).
Based upon postcranial remains this species was most likely a terrestrial quadruped (Fleagle, 1988). This species probably also climbed vertical trunks and fed on leaves from a clinging position (Fleagle, 1988).
Fleagle, J.G. 1988. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press: New York.
Martin, R.D. 1990. Primate Origins and Evolution: A Phylogenetic Reconstruction. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31880000 |
Eleven years ago today, Al Gore, for one important moment, was the most powerful man in our republic. The day before, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, halted the partial recount of presidential ballots in Florida that Gore had requested. But that did not mean the 2000 presidential election was over. George W. Bush could not declare victory until Gore conceded defeat.
This is our protocol in every presidential election, whether the results are clear on election night or weeks later. Our democratic political system works only when the losers give their consent to be governed by the winners. The first signal that this consent is granted comes with the losing candidate’s concession. At this moment, following a hard-fought election where passions have run high, the concession begins the process of reuniting an intensely divided country. Yet this vital service to the nation provided by losing presidential candidates is seldom appreciated.
It may seem unthinkable that Gore would not have conceded, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, yet he had supporters who urged him to push on and further challenge the legitimacy of the results. He had, after all, won the national popular vote.
In many countries, losing candidates do not peacefully accept defeat, and their obstinacy leads to political chaos, riots and sometimes civil war. Gore understood the risks to America from a prolonged dispute over an unresolved election.
Our democratic political system works only when the losers give their consent to be governed by the winners.
So, on Dec. 13, 2000, Gore choose to begin a process of healing. He did not merely concede, he gave a remarkably upbeat and friendly concession speech and quoted an earlier losing candidate, Stephen Douglas, who pledged to Abraham Lincoln upon losing the 1860 presidential election, “Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism. I’m with you, Mr. President, and God bless you.”
Most presidential elections are close, with roughly half having been won with 51 percent or less of the popular vote. This even division in our partisan alignment means supporters of either party have a reasonable expectation of victory, so defeat can come as a shock. Despite this, from our first losing presidential candidate, Thomas Jefferson in 1796 (George Washington won the first two presidential elections unopposed), to our most recent, John McCain, America has been blessed with men who have set aside crushing personal disappointment and embraced their responsibility to help maintain national unity.
In a society that worships winners, unsuccessful presidential candidates are considered losers, no matter how successful they were before and after the election. As John W. Davis, the Democratic nominee in 1924 and a brilliant constitutional lawyer, put it after his losing candidacy was vilified, “I believe I have been a fair success in life except as a candidate for president.”
It is often the losing candidate who is prophetic, while time proves that it was the winning candidate who was stuck in the past.
Winning the presidency does not guarantee the winner will leave a great mark upon history; the office has certainly had its share of non-entities. Many losing candidates, though, helped bring into being political dynamics that still define our politics. Men like Henry Clay, William Jennings Bryan, Thomas Dewey, Barry Goldwater and George McGovern have created, transformed and realigned our political parties. Losing campaigns typically are the first to break barriers and expand participation. These include the first Catholic to be nominated for president, as well as the first woman and the first Jew to be named as vice presidential nominees.
Whether breaking barriers or introducing new policies, it is often the losing candidate who is prophetic, while time proves that it was the winning candidate who was stuck in the past. Andrew Jackson is an American icon, yet it was his nemesis Clay who more clearly understood that America’s future was as an industrial power, not a bucolic republic of yeoman farmers. The Democrat Bryan was considered a radical, yet the reforms he advocated — creating the Federal Reserve, enacting pure food and drug laws, granting women the right to vote and enacting a federal income tax — all became law within years of his candidacies. Adlai Stevenson first raised the idea of a nuclear test ban during his 1956 campaign, while Goldwater’s 1964 campaign, which analysts at the time thought had “discredited conservatism,” famously laid the groundwork for Ronald Reagan to be elected 16 years later.
Despite their belief that voters made the wrong choice, our losing presidential candidates have been almost unfailingly gracious, and suffered the wounds of defeat with good humor. Sometimes that humor is self-effacing, as when Goldwater lamented that America “is a great country where anybody can grow up to become president — except me.” And sometimes the humor is pointed, as when Adlai Stevenson was told his erudite campaigns against Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 had educated the country and he replied, “But a lot of people flunked the course!”
Whether the election on Nov. 6, 2012, is a landslide or a nail-biter, and whether the victor is President Obama or his Republican opponent, the loser will have the same power that Gore wielded in 2000 and will be confronted with the same choice every losing candidate has had to make in the wake of defeat: bring America together or widen our divisions. Let’s hope that he or she will serve the national interest and recognize that while he lost an election, history may yet judge his political legacy a success. As Al Gore said in his concession speech in 2000, “defeat might serve as well as victory to shape the soul and let the glory out.”
Scott Farris is the author of “Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race But Changed the Nation.” | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31883000 |
Grief is a natural process, an intense fundamental emotion, a universal experience which makes us human. It is a process that entails extremely hard work over a period of many painful months or years. People grieve because they are deprived of a loved one; the sense of loss is profound. The loss of a spouse, child or parent affects our very identities—the way we define ourselves as a husband, wife, parent or offspring. Moreover, grief can arise from the survivor's sudden change in circumstances after a death and the fear of not knowing what lies ahead.
The death of someone close can be a life-changing experience. If you are the primary caregiver of someone you love, this experience can affect every aspect of your life for some time. It is natural to grieve the death of a loved one before, during and after the actual time of their passing. The process of accepting the unacceptable is what grieving is all about.
If someone has had a prolonged illness or serious memory impairment, family members may begin grieving the loss of the person's "former self" long before the time of death. This is sometimes referred to as "anticipatory grief." Anticipating the loss, knowing what is coming, can be just as painful as losing a life. Family members may experience guilt or shame for "wishing it were over" or seeing their loved one as already "gone" intellectually. It is important to recognize these feelings as normal. Ultimately, anticipatory grief is a way of allowing us to prepare emotionally for the inevitable. Preparing for the death of a loved one can allow family members to contemplate and clear unresolved issues and seek out the support of spiritual advisors, family and friends. And, depending on the impaired person's intellectual capacity, this can be a time to identify your loved one's wishes for burial and funeral arrangements.
A death that happens suddenly, unexpectedly, is an immeasurable tragedy. This type of loss often generates shock and confusion for loved ones left behind. Incidents such as a fatal accident, heart attack, or suicide can leave family members perplexed and searching for answers. In these cases, family members may be left with unresolved issues, such as feelings of guilt that can haunt and overwhelm a grieving person. These feelings may seem to take over your life at first. But over time it is possible to get past these thoughts and forgive yourself and your loved one. Give yourself plenty of time; it's virtually impossible to makeyourself "move on" before you're ready.
People experiencing the sudden loss of a loved one have a particular need for support to get through the initial devastating shock, pain and anger. Family members, close friends, and clergy can be vital lifelines for the griever.
How Long Does Grieving Last?
Grief impacts each individual differently. Recent research has shown that intense grieving lasts from three months to a year and many people continue experiencing profound grief for two years or more. Others' response to this extended grieving process may sometimes cause people to feel there is something wrong with them or they are behaving abnormally. This is not the case. The grieving process depends on the individual's belief system, religion, life experiences, and the type of loss suffered. Prolonged bereavement is not unusual. Many people find solace in seeking out other grievers or trusted friends. However, if feelings of being overwhelmed continue over time, professional support should be sought.
Symptoms of Grief
Grief can provoke both physical and emotional symptoms, as well as spiritual insights and turmoil.
Physical symptoms include low energy or exhaustion, headaches or upset stomach. Some people will sleep excessively, others may find they are pushing themselves to extremes at work. These activity changes may make an individual more prone to illness. It is important to take care of yourself during this period of bereavement by maintaining a proper diet, exercise and rest. Taking care of your body can help heal the rest of you, even if you do not feel inclined to do so.
Emotional symptoms include memory gaps, distraction or preoccupation, irritability, depression, euphoria, wailing rages and passive resignation. Some people identify strongly with the person who died and his/her feelings. If you have experienced a loss and are hurting it is reasonable that your responses may seem "unreasonable." Nonetheless, it is important not to judge yourself too harshly as you experience conflicting and overwhelming emotions.
Like grief itself, people's coping strategies vary. Some people cope best through quiet reflection, others seek exercise or other distractions. Some have a tendency to engage in reckless or self-destructive activities (e.g., excessive drinking). It is vital to obtain support in order to regain some sense of control and to work through your feelings. A trained counselor, support group, or trusted friend can help you sort through feelings such as anxiety, loss, anger, guilt, and sadness. If depression or anxiety persist, a doctor or psychiatrist may prescribe antidepressant drugs to help alleviate feelings of hopelessness.
Spirituality: you may feel closer to God and more open to religious experiences than ever before. Conversely, many people express anger or outrage at God. You may feel cut off from God or from your own soul altogether—a temporary paralysis of the spirit. If you are a person of faith, you may question your faith in God, in yourself, in others or in life. A member of the clergy or spiritual advisor can help you examine the feelings you are experiencing. Learning to deal with grief is learning to live again.
Stages of Grief
Often portrayed as a grief "wheel," these stages do not necessarily follow a set order. Some stages may be revisited many times as an individual goes through a grieving period.
- Emotional release.
- Depression, loneliness and a sense of isolation.
- Physical symptoms of distress.
- Feelings of panic.
- A sense of guilt.
- Anger or rage.
- Inability to return to usual activities.
- The gradual regaining of hope.
- Acceptance as we adjust our lives to reality.
Most people who have lost someone close go through all or some of these stages, although not necessarily in this specific order. This kind of healthy grieving can help a person move through a significant loss with minimal harm to self, either physical or mental.
Often family members and caregivers are faced with the decision to allow someone to die naturally or to prolong their death and maintain life through artificial means. Physician training, hospital and nursing home policies often dictate the use of "heroic means" to sustain life. "Reviving" a very ill person after a stroke or using a respirator for someone deemed medically "brain dead" are standard procedures used in many hospitals.
If at all possible, it is important to learn and document a person's wishes about using artificial life support beforeany crisis arises. A living will or durable power of attorney for health care (DPAHC) expresses a person's wishes when he or she can no longer speak for him/herself. These documents can help instruct hospitals or nursing homes on an appropriate course of action to be taken at a critical moment. By law, all hospitals must now inform patients about their right to fill out these documents.
When a person is confused, or otherwise unable to express preferences, family members are often put in the position of becoming surrogate decision makers. Such decisions present a thorny array of medical, legal, and moral questions. Decisions to provide or withhold life support are based on personal values, beliefs, and consideration for what the person might have wanted. Such decisions are painful. Family members should give themselves ample time to cope with these life and death decisions and to process feelings of doubt or blame which may surface.
Tips for Helping the Bereaved
- Be available. Offer support in an unobtrusive but persistent manner.
- Listen without giving advice.
- Do not offer stories of your own. This can have the effect of dismissing the grieving person's pain.
- Allow the grieving person to use expressions of anger or bitterness, including such expressions against God. This may be normal behavior in an attempt to find meaning in what has happened.
- Realize that no one can replace or undo the loss. To heal, the individual must endure the grief process. Allow him/her to feel the pain.
- Be patient, kind and understanding without being patronizing. Don't claim to "know" what the other person is feeling.
- Don't force the individual to share feelings if he/she doesn't want to.
- Physical and emotional touch can bring great comfort to the bereaved. Don't hesitate to share a hug or handclasp when appropriate.
- Be there later, when friends and family have all gone back to their routines.
- Remember holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries which have important meaning for the bereaved. Offer support during this time. Don't be afraid of reminding the person of the loss; he/she is already thinking about it.
Practical Assistance for the Bereaved
Things a person can do without asking:
- Send a card or flowers.
- Bring food.
- Water or mow their lawn.
- Donate blood.
- Contribute to a cause which is meaningful to your friend or family member.
Things a person can do to help but should ask first:
- Offer to stay in the home to take phone calls, receive food and guests.
- Offer child care on a specific date.
- Offer to care for pets.
- Offer transportation.
Ballard, E. L., Managing Grief and Bereavement: A Guide For Families and Professionals Caring for Memory Impaired Adults and Other Chronically Ill Persons, Duke Family Support Program, Durham, NC.
Bozarth-Campbell, A., 1982, Life Is Goodbye, Life Is Hello,CompCare Publications, Minneapolis, MN.
Harris Lord, J., 1990, Beyond Sympathy, Pathfinder Publishing, Ventura, CA.
Sankar, Andrea, 1991, Dying at Home: A Family Guide for Caregiving, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Westberg, Granger E., 1976, Good Grief, Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Caring For a Dying Relative: A Guide for Families, D. Doyle, 1994, 2001 Evans Road, Cary, NC 27513, Oxford University Press. (919) 677-0977.
On Death and Dying, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, 1969, The Macmillan Co., New York, NY. Available at bookstores or P.O. Box 1387, Bryan, TX 77806. (800) 364-2665.
Don't Take My Grief Away, Doug Manning, 1979, P.O. Box 42467 N.W. Expressway, Suite 100, Oklahoma City, OK 73116, In-Sight Books. (800) 658-9262.
Dying at Home: A Guide for Caregiving, Andrea Sankar, 1991, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 701 W. 40th St., Baltimore, MD 21211-2190.
<<span class="bodycopy" />How Can I Help?/What Will Help Me?, James E. Miller, 1994, Willowgreen Publishing, 509 W. Washington Blvd., P.O. Box 25180, Fort Wayne, IN. (219) 424-7916.
Managing Grief and Bereavement: A Guide for Families and Professionals Caring for Memory Impaired Adults and Other Chronically Ill Persons (booklet), 1993, Duke Family Support Program, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710. (919) 660-7510.
Family Caregiver Alliance
785 Market Street, Suite 750
San Francisco, CA 94103
Web Site: www.caregiver.org
Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) seeks to improve the quality of life for caregivers through education, services, research and advocacy.
Through its National Center on Caregiving, FCA offers information on current social, public policy and caregiving issues and provides assistance in the development of public and private programs for caregivers.
For residents of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, FCA provides direct family support services for caregivers of those with Alzheimer's disease, stroke, head injury, Parkinson's and other debilitating disorders that strike adults.
Center for Loss and Life Transition
3735 Broken Bow Road
Fort Collins, CO 80526
Foundation for Hospice and Home Care
513 C Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-5809
National Hospice Organization
1901 N. Moore St., Suite 901
Arlington, VA 22209
National Research and Information Center
(Death, Grief and Funerals)
2250 East Devon Ave., Suite 250
Des Plaines, IL 60018
Reviewed by Patrick Arbore, Ed.D., Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention & Grief Related Services, and Andrew Scharlach, Ph.D., Professor, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley. Prepared by Family Caregiver Alliance in cooperation with California's Caregiver Resource Centers, a statewide system of resource centers serving families and caregivers of brain-impaired adults. Funded by the California Department of Mental Health. Printed December 1996. © All rights reserved.
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Caring for a loved one with dementia poses many challenges for families and caregivers. People with dementia from conditions such as Alzheimer’s and related diseases have a progressive brain disorder that makes it more and more difficult for them to remember things, think clearly, communicate with others, or take care of themselves. In addition, dementia can cause mood swings and even change a person’s personality and behavior. This Fact Sheet provides some practical strategies for dealing with the troubling behavior problems and communication difficulties often encountered when caring for a person with dementia.
Ten Tips for Communicating with a Person with Dementia
We aren’t born knowing how to communicate with a person with dementia—but we can learn. Improving your communication skills will help make caregiv-ing less stressful and will likely improve the quality of your relationship with your loved one. Good communication skills will also enhance your ability to handle the difficult behavior you may encounter as you care for a person with a dementing illness.
1. Set a positive mood for interaction. Your attitude and body language communicate your feelings and thoughts stronger than your words. Set a positive mood by speaking to your loved one in a pleasant and respectful manner. Use facial expressions, tone of voice and physical touch to help convey your message and show your feelings of affection.
2. Get the person’s attention. Limit distractions and noise—turn off the radio or TV, close the curtains or shut the door, or move to quieter sur-roundings. Before speaking, make sure you have her attention; address her by name, identify yourself by name and relation, and use nonver-bal cues and touch to help keep her focused. If she is seated, get down to her level and maintain eye contact.
3. State your message clearly. Use simple words and sentences. Speak slowly, distinctly and in a reassuring tone. Refrain from raising your voice higher or louder; instead, pitch your voice lower. If she doesn’t understand the first time, use the same wording to repeat your message or ques-tion. If she still doesn’t understand, wait a few minutes and rephrase the question. Use the names of people and places instead of pronouns or abbreviations.
4. Ask simple, answerable questions. Ask one question at a time; those with yes or no answers work best. Refrain from asking open-ended ques-tions or giving too many choices. For example, ask, “Would you like to wear your white shirt or your blue shirt?” Better still, show her the choices—visual prompts and cues also help clar-ify your question and can guide her response.
5. Listen with your ears, eyes and heart. Be patient in waiting for your loved one’s reply. If she is struggling for an answer, it’s okay to suggest words. Watch for nonverbal cues and body language, and respond appropriately. Always strive to listen for the meaning and feelings that underlie the words.
6. Break down activities into a series of steps. This makes many tasks much more manageable. You can encourage your loved one to do what he can, gently remind him of steps he tends to forget, and assist with steps he’s no longer able to accomplish on his own. Using visual cues, such as showing him with your hand where to place the dinner plate, can be very helpful.
7. When the going gets tough, distract and redirect. When your loved one becomes upset, try changing the subject or the environment. For example, ask him for help or suggest going for a walk. It is important to connect with the person on a feeling level, before you redirect. You might say, “I see you’re feeling sad—I’m sorry you’re upset. Let’s go get something to eat.”
8. Respond with affection and reassurance. People with dementia often feel confused, anxious and unsure of themselves. Further, they often get reality confused and may recall things that never really occurred. Avoid trying to convince them they are wrong. Stay focused on the feelings they are demonstrating (which are real) and respond with verbal and physical expressions of comfort, support and reassurance. Sometimes holding hands, touching, hugging and praise will get the person to respond when all else fails.
9. Remember the good old days. Remembering the past is often a soothing and affirming activity. Many people with dementia may not remember what happened 45 minutes ago, but they can clearly recall their lives 45 years earlier. Therefore, avoid asking questions that rely on short-term memory, such as asking the person what they had for lunch. Instead, try asking general questions about the person’s distant past—this information is more likely to be retained.
10. Maintain your sense of humor. Use humor whenever possible, though not at the person's expense. People with dementia tend to retain their social skills and are usually delighted to laugh along with you.
Handling Troubling Behavior
Some of the greatest challenges of caring for a loved one with dementia are the personality and behavior changes that often occur. You can best meet these challenges by using creativity, flexibility, patience and compassion. It also helps to not take things personally and maintain your sense of humor.
To start, consider these ground rules:
We cannot change the person. The person you are caring for has a brain disorder that shapes who he has become. When you try to control or change his behavior, you’ll most likely be unsuccessful or be met with resistance. It’s important to:
Try to accommodate the behavior, not control the behavior. For example, if the person insists on sleeping on the floor, place a mattress on the floor to make him more comfortable.
Remember that we can change our behavior or the physical environment. Changing our own behavior will often result in a change in our loved one’s behavior.
Check with the doctor first. Behavioral problems may have an underlying medical reason: perhaps the person is in pain or experiencing an adverse side effect from medications. In some cases, like incontinence or hallucinations, there may be some medication or treatment that can assist in managing the problem.
Behavior has a purpose. People with dementia typically cannot tell us what they want or need. They might do something, like take all the clothes out of the closet on a daily basis, and we wonder why. It is very likely that the person is fulfilling a need to be busy and productive. Always consider what need the person might be trying to meet with their behavior—and, when possible, try to accommodate them.
Behavior is triggered. It is important to understand that all behavior is triggered—it doesn’t occur out of the blue. It might be something a person did or said that triggered a behavior or it could be a change in the physical environment. The root to changing be-havior is disrupting the patterns that we create. Try a different approach, or try a different consequence.
What works today, may not tomorrow. The multiple factors that influence troubling behaviors and the natural progression of the disease process means that solutions that are effective today may need to be modified tomorrow—or may no longer work at all. The key to managing difficult behaviors is being creative and flexible in your strategies to address a given issue.
Get support from others. You are not alone—there are many others caring for someone with dementia. Call your local Area Agency on Aging, the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, a Caregiver Resource Center or one of the groups listed below in Resources to find support groups, organizations and services that can help you. Expect that, like the loved one you are caring for, you will have good days and bad days. Develop strategies for coping with the bad days (see the FCA Fact Sheet, Dementia, Caregiving and Controlling Frustration).
The following is an overview of the most common dementia-associated behaviors with suggestions that may be useful in handling them. You’ll find additional resources listed at the end of this Fact Sheet.
People with dementia walk, seemingly aimlessly, for a variety of reasons, such as boredom, medication side effects or to look for “something” or someone. They also may be trying to fulfill a physical need—thirst, hunger, a need to use the toilet or exercise. Discovering the triggers for wandering are not always easy, but they can provide insights to dealing with the behavior.
Make time for regular exercise to minimize restlessness.
Consider installing new locks that require a key. Position locks high or low on the door; many people with dementia will not think to look beyond eye level. Keep in mind fire and safety concerns for all family members; the lock(s) must be accessible to others and not take more than a few seconds to open.
Try a barrier like a curtain or colored streamer to mask the door. A “stop” sign or “do not enter” sign also may help.
Place a black mat or paint a black space on your front porch; this may appear to be an impassable hole to the person with dementia.
Add “child-safe” plastic covers to doorknobs.
Consider installing a home security system or monitoring system designed to keep watch over someone with dementia. Also available are new digital devices that can be worn like a watch or clipped on a belt that use global positioning systems (GPS) or other technology to track a person’s whereabouts or locate him if he wanders off..
Put away essential items such as the confused person’s coat, purse or glasses. Some individuals will not go out without certain articles.
Have your relative wear an ID bracelet and sew ID labels in their clothes. Always have a current photo available should you need to report your loved one missing. Consider leaving a copy on file at the police department or registering the person with the Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return program (see Resources).
Tell neighbors about your relative’s wandering behavior and make sure they have your phone number.
The loss of bladder or bowel control often occurs as dementia progresses. Sometimes accidents result from environmental factors; for example, someone can’t remember where the bathroom is located or can’t get to it in time. If an accident occurs, your understanding and reassurance will help the person maintain dignity and minimize embarrassment.
Establish a routine for using the toilet. Try reminding the person or assisting her to the bathroom every two hours.
Schedule fluid intake to ensure the confused person does not become dehydrated. However, avoid drinks with a diuretic effect like coffee, tea, cola, or beer. Limit fluid intake in the evening before bedtime.
Use signs (with illustrations) to indicate which door leads to the bathroom.
A commode, obtained at any medical supply store, can be left in the bedroom at night for easy access.
Incontinence pads and products can be purchased at the pharmacy or supermarket. A urologist may be able to prescribe a special product or treatment.
Use easy-to-remove clothing with elastic waistbands or VelcroÒ closures, and provide clothes that are easily washable.
Agitation refers to a range of behaviors associated with dementia, including irritability, sleeplessness, and verbal or physical aggression. Often these types of behavior problems progress with the stages of dementia, from mild to more severe. Agitation may be triggered by a variety of things, including environmental factors, fear and fatigue. Most often, agitation is triggered when the person experiences “control” being taken from him.
Reduce caffeine intake, sugar and junk food.
Reduce noise, clutter or the number of persons in the room.
Maintain structure by keeping the same routines. Keep household objects and furniture in the same places. Familiar objects and photographs offer a sense of security and can suggest pleasant memories.
Try gentle touch, soothing music, reading or walks to quell agitation. Speak in a reassuring voice. Do not try to restrain the person during a period of agitation.
Keep dangerous objects out of reach.
Allow the person to do as much for himself as possible—support his independence and ability to care for himself.
Acknowledge the confused person’s anger over the loss of control in his life. Tell him you understand his frustration.
Distract the person with a snack or an activity. Allow him to forget the troubling incident. Confronting a confused person may increase anxiety.
Repetitive speech or actions (perseveration)
People with dementia will often repeat a word, state-ment, question or activity over and over. While this type of behavior is usually harmless for the person with dementia, it can be annoying and stressful to caregivers. Sometimes the behavior is triggered by anxiety, boredom, fear or environmental factors.
Provide plenty of reassurance and comfort, both in words and in touch.
Try distracting with a snack or activity.
Avoid reminding them that they just asked the same question. Try ignoring the behavior or question and distract the person into an activity.
Don’t discuss plans with a confused person until immediately prior to an event.
You may want to try placing a sign on the kitchen table, such as, “Dinner is at 6:30” or “Lois comes home at 5:00” to remove anxiety and uncertainty about anticipated events.
Learn to recognize certain behaviors. An agitated state or pulling at clothing, for example, could indicate a need to use the bathroom.
Seeing a loved one suddenly become suspicious, jealous or accusatory is unsettling. Remember, what the person is experiencing is very real to them. It is best not to argue or disagree. This, too, is part of the dementia—try not to take it personally.
If the confused person suspects money is “missing,” allow her to keep small amounts of money in a pocket or handbag for easy inspection.
Help them look for the object and then distract them into another activity. Try to learn where the confused person’s favorite hiding places are for storing objects, which are frequently assumed to be “lost.” Avoid arguing.
Take time to explain to other family members and home-helpers that suspicious accusations are a part of the dementing illness.
Try nonverbal reassurances like a gentle touch or hug. Respond to the feeling behind the accusation and then reassure the person. You might try saying, “I see this frightens you; stay with me, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Restlessness, agitation, disorientation and other troubling behavior in people with dementia often get worse at the end of the day and sometimes continue throughout the night. Experts believe this behavior, commonly called sundowning, is caused by a combination of factors, such as exhaustion from the day’s events and changes in the person’s biological clock that confuse day and night.
Increase daytime activities, particularly physical exercise. Discourage inactivity and napping during the day.
Watch out for dietary culprits, such as sugar, caffeine and some types of junk food. Eliminate or restrict these types of foods and beverages to early in the day. Plan smaller meals throughout the day, including a light meal, such as half a sandwich, before bedtime.
Plan for the afternoon and evening hours to be quiet and calm; however, structured, quiet activity is important. Perhaps take a stroll outdoors, play a simple card game or listen to soothing music together.
Turning on lights well before sunset and closing the curtains at dusk will minimize shadows and may help diminish confusion. At minimum, keep a nightlight in the person’s room, hallway and bathroom.
Make sure the house is safe: block off stairs with gates, lock the kitchen door and/or put away dangerous items.
As a last resort, consider talking to the doctor about medication to help the agitated person relax and sleep. Be aware that sleeping pills and tranquilizers may solve one problem and create another, such as sleeping at night but being more confused the next day.
It’s essential that you, the caregiver, get enough sleep. If your loved one’s nighttime activity keeps you awake, consider asking a friend or relative, or hiring someone, to take a turn so that you can get a good night’s sleep. Catnaps during the day also might help.
Ensuring that your loved one is eating enough nutritious foods and drinking enough fluids is a challenge. People with dementia literally begin to forget that they need to eat and drink. Complicating the issue may be dental problems or medications that decrease appetite or make food taste “funny.” The consequences of poor nutrition are many, including weight loss, irritability, sleeplessness, bladder or bowel problems and disorientation.
Make meal and snack times part of the daily routine and schedule them around the same time every day. Instead of three big meals, try five or six smaller ones.
Make mealtimes a special time. Try flowers or soft music. Turn off loud radio programs and the TV.
Eating independently should take precedence over eating neatly or with “proper” table manners. Finger foods support independence. Pre-cut and season the food. Try using a straw or a child’s “sippy cup” if holding a glass has become difficult. Provide assistance only when necessary and allow plenty of time for meals.
Sit down and eat with your loved one. Often they will mimic your actions and it makes the meal more pleasant to share it with someone.
Prepare foods with your loved one in mind. If they have dentures or trouble chewing or swallowing, use soft foods or cut food into bite-size pieces.
If chewing and swallowing are an issue, try gently moving the person’s chin in a chewing motion or lightly stroking their throat to encourage them to swallow.
If loss of weight is a problem, offer nutritious high-calorie snacks between meals. Breakfast foods high in carbohydrates are often preferred. On the other hand, if the problem is weight gain, keep high-calorie foods out of sight. Instead, keep handy fresh fruits, veggie trays and other healthy low-calorie snacks.
People with dementia often have difficulty remembering “good” hygiene, such as brushing teeth, toileting, bathing and regularly changing their clothes. From childhood we are taught these are highly private and personal activities; to be undressed and cleaned by another can feel frightening, humiliating and embarrassing. As a result, bathing often causes distress for both caregivers and their loved ones.
Think historically of your loved one’s hygiene routine – did she prefer baths or showers? Mornings or nights? Did she have her hair washed at the salon or do it herself? Was there a favorite scent, lotion or talcum powder she always used? Adopting—as much as possible—her past bathing routine may provide some comfort. Remember that it may not be necessary to bathe every day—sometimes twice a week is sufficient.
If your loved one has always been modest, enhance that feeling by making sure doors and curtains are closed. Whether in the shower or the bath, keep a towel over her front, lifting to wash as needed. Have towels and a robe or her clothes ready when she gets out.
Be mindful of the environment, such as the temperature of the room and water (older adults are more sensitive to heat and cold) and the adequacy of lighting. It’s a good idea to use safety features such as non-slip floor bath mats, grab-bars, and bath or shower seats. A hand-held shower might also be a good feature to install. Remember—people are often afraid of falling. Help them feel secure in the shower or tub.
Never leave a person with dementia unattended in the bath or shower. Have all the bath things you need laid out beforehand. If giving a bath, draw the bath water first. Reassure the person that the water is warm—perhaps pour a cup of water over her hands before she steps in.
If hair washing is a struggle, make it a separate activity. Or, use a dry shampoo.
If bathing in the tub or shower is consistently traumatic, a towel bath provides a soothing alter-native. A bed bath has traditionally been done with only the most frail and bed-ridden patients, soaping up a bit at a time in their beds, rinsing off
with a basin of water and drying with towels. A growing number of nurses in and out of facilities, however, are beginning to recognize its value and a variation—the “towel
bath”—for others as well, including people with dementia who find bathing in the tub or shower uncomfortable or unpleasant. The towel bath uses a large bath towel and washcloths dampened in a plastic bag of warm water and no-rinse soap. Large bath-blankets are used to keep the patient covered, dry and warm while the dampened towel and washcloths are massaged over the body. For more information, see the book Bathing Without a Battle,
(details in the Recommended Reading
section below), or visit www.bathingwithoutabattle.unc.edu/.
Additional Problem Areas
Dressing is difficult for most dementia patients. Choose loose-fitting, comfortable clothes with easy zippers or snaps and minimal buttons. Reduce the person’s choices by removing seldom-worn clothes from the closet. To facilitate dressing and support independence, lay out one article of clothing at a time, in the order it is to be worn. Remove soiled clothes from the room. Don’t argue if the person insists on wearing the same thing again.
Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that others don’t) and delusions (false beliefs, such as someone is trying to hurt or kill another) may occur as the dementia progresses. State simply and calmly your perception of the situation, but avoid arguing or trying to convince the person their perceptions are wrong. Keep rooms well-lit to decrease shadows, and offer reassurance and a simple explanation if the curtains move from circulating air or a loud noise such as a plane or siren is heard. Distractions may help. Depending on the severity of symptoms, you might consider medication.
Sexually inappropriate behavior, such as masturbating or undressing in public, lewd remarks, unreasonable sexual demands, even sexually aggressive or violent behavior, may occur during the course of the illness. Remember, this behavior is caused by the disease. Talk to the doctor about possible treatment plans. Develop an action plan to follow before the behavior occurs, i.e., what you will say and do if the behavior happens at home, around other adults or children. If you can, identify what triggers the behavior.
Verbal outbursts such as cursing, arguing and threatening often are expressions of anger or stress. React by staying calm and reassuring. Validate your loved one’s feelings and then try to distract or redirect his attention to something else.
“Shadowing” is when a person with dementia imitates and follows the caregiver, or constantly talks, asks questions and interrupts. Like sundowning, this behavior often occurs late in the day and can be irritating for caregivers. Comfort the person with verbal and physical reassurance. Distraction or redirection might also help. Giving your loved one a job such as folding laundry might help to make her feel needed and useful.
People with dementia may become uncooperative and resistant to daily activities such as bathing, dressing and eating. Often this is a response to feeling out of control, rushed, afraid or confused by what you are asking of them. Break each task into steps and, in a reassuring voice, explain each step before you do it. Allow plenty of time. Find ways to have them assist to their ability in the process, or follow with an activity that they can perform.
Credits and Recommended Reading
Bathing Without a Battle , by Ann Louise Barrick, Joanne Rader, Beverly Hoeffer and Philip Sloane, (2002), Springer Publishing, (877) 687-7476.
Caring for a Person with Memory Loss and Confusion: An Easy Guide for Caregivers, (2002), Journeyworks Publishing, Santa Cruz, CA, (800) 775-1998.
Communicating Effectively with a Person Who Has Alzheimer's , (2002), Mayo Clinic Staff, www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=AZ00004
Steps to enhancing communications: Interacting with persons with Alzheimer's disease. Chicago, IL: Alzheimer's Association, 1997. (Brochure) Order no. ED310Z Cost: Single copy free, call 800/272-3900
Steps to Understanding Challenging Behaviors: Responding to Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease, (1996), Alzheimer’s Association, Chicago, IL. (800) 272-3900.
The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with “Alzheimer's-Type Dementia,” Naomi Feil , 2nd Edition 2002, Health Professions Press, Baltimore, MD, (410) 337-8539.
Understanding Difficult Behaviors:Some practical suggestions for coping with Alzheimer's disease and related illnesses , A. Robinson, B. Spencer, and L.White, (2001), Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, (734) 487-2335.
Family Caregiver Alliance
785 Market Street, Suite 750
San Francisco, CA 94103
Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) seeks to improve the quality of life for caregivers through education, services, research and advocacy.
Through its National Center on Caregiving, FCA offers information on current social, public policy, and caregiving issues and provides assistance in the development of public and private programs for caregivers.
For residents of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, FCA provides direct support services for caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s and other debilitating health conditions that strike adults.
Practical Skills Training for Family Caregivers, Mary A. Corcoran, 2003, Family Caregiver Alliance, 785 Market Street, Suite 750,
San Francisco, CA 94103
FCA Fact Sheets. All Family Caregiver Alliance Fact Sheets are available free online. Printed versions are $1.00 for each title—send your requests to FCA Publications, 785 Market Street, Suite 750,
San Francisco, CA 94103. For the full list, see: www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/publications.jsp?nodeid=345
FCA Fact Sheet: Dementia, Caregiving and Controlling Frustration
FCA Fact Sheet: Taking Care of YOU: Self-Care for Family Caregivers
FCA Fact Sheet: Hiring In-Home Help
FCA Fact Sheet: Community Care Options
Other Web Sites
Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center
This service of the National Institute on Aging offers information and publications on diagnosis, treatment, patient care, caregiver needs, long-term care, education and research related to Alzheimer’s disease.
This service of the Administration on Aging offers information about and referrals to respite care and other home and community services offered by state and Area Agencies on Aging.
Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return Program
A nationwide program that identifies people with dementia who wander away and returns them to their homes. For a $40 registration fee, families can register their loved one in a national confidential computer database. They also receive an identification bracelet or necklace and other identification and educational materials.
This fact sheet was prepared by Family Caregiver Alliance in cooperation with California’s statewide system of Caregiver Resource Centers. Reviewed by Beth Logan, M.S.W., Education and Training Consultant and Specialist in Dementia Care. Funded by the California Department of Mental Health. © 2004 Family Caregiver Alliance. All rights reserved. FS-CGTU20050610.
E-mail to a Friend | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31887000 |
Search: chef's hat
Why: On When Parents Text:
Answer: La toque blanche! Like a tuque, only not Canadian. And its origins are legendary. Theories:
- Head cooks in Assyrian households were allowed to wear high cloth headdresses patterned on the crowns of their royal masters. This encouraged valuable servants to remain faithful to their masters, who lived in constant fear of being poisoned.
- The ribs or pleats in the headdress represented the ribs in the king's crown and were stitched into the cloth and stiffened with starch.
- The pleats - there are 100 of them - represent the 100 ways that a good chef should be able to cook eggs.
- Today's toque blanche is a result of the gradual evolution of head coverings worn by cooks through the centuries.
French cooks of the 18th century generally wore the casque a meche or stocking cap, the colors of which varied according to rank. Mr. Boucher, chef to the French statesman Talleyrand (1754-1838), is credited with introducing white as the standard color when he insisted for sanitary reasons that his cooks wear white caps. During this period, Spanish cooks wore berets of white wool or ticking; Germans wore pointed Napoleonic hats with a decorative tassel; the British wore starched Scotch caps and black skull caps sometimes referred to as librarians' caps. In addition to stocking caps, French pastry cooks wore a bank of linen or ticking with a central mound of the same fabric pleated on the edge. By the end of the 18th century, it was full, heavily starched and held in the middle with a circular whalebone, producing the effect of a halo. Under Napoleon III (1808-1833), the Greek bonnet ornamented with a tassel was in vogue. Bald cooks purportedly wore caps in velour or heavy cloth while persons with hair wore them in linen or netting.
It's kind of gross that surgeons wear green and blue and chefs wear white, right? Shouldn't we all be washing our clothes of stains all the time, no matter how much food or blood is on them?
Source: Wikipedia, Chef Harvey
The More You Know: There are so, so many types of hats. I really don't like any of them, especially when they're purely ornamental. I hate hats, everyone. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31888000 |
Introduction to the Life of Saint Francis de Sales:
St. Francis de Sales, bishop of Geneva and a doctor of the Church, is renowned for the clarity of his teaching and preaching. Intellectually and spiritually tormented in his youth by debates over predestination, Saint Francis, upon arriving at a proper understanding of the question, was better able to treat with charity the Calvinists of Geneva, many of whom he brought back to the Catholic Church. He remains today a model of (in the words of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, which as taken Saint Francis as one of its three chief patron saints) "living the truth in charity."
- Feast Day: January 24
- Type of Feast: Memorial
- Readings: Hebrews 7:25—8:6; Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17; Mark 3:7-12 (full text here)
- Dates: August 21, 1567 (Thorens, Duchy of Savoy, France)- December 28, 1622 (Lyons, France)
- Symbols: Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Patron of: Catholic press, confessors, deaf people, educators, journalists, writers, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, Salesians of Don Bosco, Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, Sisters of St. Joseph
- Beatification: January 8, 1661, by Pope Alexander VII
- Canonization: April 8, 1665, by Pope Alexander VII; proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX on November 16, 1877
The Life of Saint Francis de Sales:
Francis de Sales was born on August 21, 1567, to a noble family in the Duchy of Savoy, in modern-day France. His father wished him to become a magistrate judge, and Francis received an appropriate education in rhetoric, law, and the humanities. At the Collège de Clermont in Paris, where Francis studied under the Jesuits, he began to study theology as well. It was while at Clermont that Francis was exposed to debates over predestination and became convinced that he was damned. In the midst of despair, he prayed before a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Etienne-des-Grès in Paris, and came to know the boundless love of God. Freed from his doubts, about his own fate, Francis resolved to dedicate himself to Christ and to help others who had been led astray by Calvinist misunderstandings of predestination.
While Francis continued his education in law and theology at the University of Padua, Italy, his father remained steadfast in his hope for a secular career for his son. He finally relented and allowed Francis to receive holy orders when the bishop of Geneva wished to appoint Francis provost of the chapter (governing body) of the Cathedral of Geneva in 1593. Six years later, the same bishop chose Saint Francis as his coadjutor, which meant that Francis would succeed him as bishop of Geneva, and he did so in 1602.
By this point, Saint Francis was already well known for his preaching and his evangelization, having converted many prominent Calvinists. But Saint Francis was not satisfied simply with winning souls back to the Church; he wanted to ensure that Catholics were not led astray as he had almost been. As bishop, he began programs of catechesis, for adults as well as children, and reformed the clergy and religious congregations under his control. He continued to preach constantly and to hear confessions, as well as to write great works of apologetics, especially his Treatise on the Love of God, and of spiritual direction, including An Introduction to the Devout Life, which the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913, in its entry on St. Francis de Sales, calls "a masterpiece of psychology, practical morality, and common sense" aimed at the development of piety in the layman. Four centuries later, An Introduction to the Devout Life remains one of the most popular works of spiritual direction.
Greatly beloved by his flock and sought out by Catholics throughout France, Saint Francis lived an austere life and dedicated himself to the poor. While bearing the immense responsibilities of a bishop, he preached daily, especially in his final years, and offered spiritual direction by correspondence to lay Catholics, rich and poor, noble and common.
Traveling to Lyons, France, with the court of the duke of Savoy in 1622, he suffered a stroke on December 27 and died the next day, declaring, "God's will be done!" His body was returned to Annecy, the French town south of Geneva where the bishopric of Geneva had been moved after the Calvinist occupation of the city, but the people of Lyons convinced the Church to allow his heart to remain in the city where he had died. On January 24, 1623, Saint Francis was buried in Annecy at the convent of the Institute of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, which he had cofounded with St. Jane Frances de Chantal. His tomb remains a place of pilgrimage today.
St. Francis de Sales' reputation for sanctity was so great that he was beatified by Pope Alexander VII less than 40 years after his death, and canonized in 1665. The clarity of Saint Francis's spiritual writing convinced Pope Pius IX to add him to the list of the doctors of the Church in 1877. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31892000 |
New insect species make their way into the United States every year by hitching rides in shipping crates and on automobiles, clothing and shoes. They hide in produce, plants and firewood while they are transported to uninfested areas.
Upon arrival, invasive insects quickly begin to attack their new habitats, making themselves at home. Many different types of termites, beetles, carpenter ants and bees bore into trees and make themselves at home in wood structures, such as decks, play sets and patio furniture. Numerous varieties of caterpillars, moths and mites fashion meals out of plants, discoloring and deforming leaves and sometimes stripping foliage away completely.
“While it’s difficult to prevent invasive insects from making their way into your outdoor spaces, using an integrated pest management approach (IPM) can stop them from doing harm to your family and the environment,” says Aaron Hobbs, president of RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) - a national organization representing manufacturers, formulators and distributors of pesticide products use around the home and yard.
IPM is a common sense approach to managing pests that combines property maintenance, watching pest populations and applying pesticides when necessary.
“Keeping outdoor spaces clean and tidy, without piles of wood or trash, will make them less attractive to invasive insects. When used properly as part of an overall IPM approach, pesticides are the most effective way to remove damaging pests from your property and provide protection from future infestations,” adds Hobbs.
“When selecting a pesticide product read the label to ensure you’ve got the right solution for your pest and location,” says Hobbs. “There are many products available for consumers to use when eliminating invasive insects from outdoor spaces. Consumers should remember to always read and follow all label directions.”
The globalization of markets and growth in both national and world travel raises the numbers of invasive insects finding new habitats in neighborhoods across the country. Following an integrated approach that uses registered pesticides is the best strategy to take back outdoor living areas and keep them pest-free so you can enjoy the summer. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31900000 |
The Natural Resource Conservation Agency (NRCS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, provides technical assistance to Districts in order to help us implement our conservation programs. In 1993, NRCS expanded its focus on natural resource problems to include not only soil issues, but water quality, wetlands, and wildlife habitat.
NRCS's Web Soil Survey
NRCS's Conservation Programs
United States Department of Agriculture
Conservation Reserve Program (Continuous and Standard)
The CRP is a voluntary program that offers annual rental payments, incentive payments for certain activities, and cost-share assistance to establish approved cover on eligible cropland.
The program encourages farmers to plant long-term resource-conserving covers to improve soil, water, and wildlife resources. Assistance is available in an amount equal to not more than 50 percent of the participant's costs in establishing approved practices. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 years.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Since its inception in 1996, EQIP has been NRCS' leading cost-share program for implementing conservation practices. EQIP, through 2-10 year contracts, can provide up to 75% in cost-sharing assistance to producers to implement conservation practices as part of a tract based total resource management system.
Examples of practices installed with EQIP funding include: grassed waterways, field borders, and livestock watering systems.
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)
The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is a voluntary program for people who want to develop and improve wildlife habitat primarily on private land. Through WHIP USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service provides both technical assistance and up to 75 percent cost-share assistance to establish and improve fish and wildlife habitat. WHIP agreements between NRCS and the participant generally last from 5 to 10 years from the date the agreement is signed. WHIP has proven to be a highly effective and widely accepted program across the country. By targeting wildlife habitat projects on all lands and aquatic areas, WHIP provides assistance to conservation minded landowners who are unable to meet the specific eligibility requirements of other USDA conservation programs.
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)
This program strives to restore and protect wetlands and riparian areas for wildlife. Landowners have the option of setting up permanent easements, 30 year easements, or restoration cost share agreements. This program offers landowners an opportunity to, establish, at minimum cost, long-term conservation and willdife habitat enhancement practices and protection. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31902000 |
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