Month: November 2011

Paper, plastic, or aluminum? November 15th – America Recycles Day

Paper, plastic, or aluminum? November 15th – America Recycles Day

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Paper, plastic, or aluminum?  Tomorrow – November 15th  is America Recycles Day, the only nationally recognized day to promote recycling in the U.S.  In my area there is a paper and used book drive at several libraries, an environment and recycle day event at a school, and a rain barrel workshop at the zoo.

Today, over 87 percent of people have access to community recycling programs, and over 50% of the population have curbside collection programs.  Recycling  started with paper, plastic and aluminum has now expanded to recycling paint, batteries, cellphones, printer ink cartridges, and used computers and electronics.

Since 1997, November 15 has been America Recycles Day – where events are planed to educate and motivate others about what can be accomplished when we recycle.  “I Recycle” events taking place this month, all designed to educate, motivate and inspire individuals to recycle more.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953 created the toolkits, resources, and website for the event, and is the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization.   The organization has over 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations.

“Recycling not only protects the environment, it strengthens the community,” said Matthew M. McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. “The simple act of recycling creates the impetus for innovation in industry and fosters green jobs. Recycling can save communities money through more efficient waste management, and significantly reduces energy costs and demands on our natural resources. Ultimately, recycling improves a community’s cohesion and impacts the local quality of life.”

Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation are also among the national sponsors providing resources and supporting events. The company’s recycling website offers a host of resources including a free Aluminate iPhone app to help individuals recycle more.

Paula Davis, president, Alcoa Foundation says that “If all Americans recycled just one more can per week, we could reach our 75 percent recycling goal in the U.S. and save enough energy to power almost 300,000 average U.S. homes for a full year. Every step counts.”

Image Source:
America Recycles

Links:

Find an America Recyles event near you: http://americarecyclesday.org/join-event

America Recycles Day

Keep America Beautiful

Alcoa Recyling Page

 

Carp: It’s what’s for dinner!

Carp: It’s what’s for dinner!

Posted on by Kbaumlier

The Asian carp, considered an invasive species that have made it up the Mississippi River and possibly to Lake Michigan might be the next up and coming fish to eat.  Some chefs and officials in Illinois are considering marketing the fish which includes of two species (the Bighead and Silver carp) instead of trying to just get rid of it.

Carp is said to be a tasty fleshy fish.  The carp has two obstacles to wider acceptance: bones and a bad rap.  Currently the carp suffers from bias in the U.S. The fish looks terrible and smells bad, but it has a subtle, moist flavor that is surprising – provided you remove all the bones.

“Everyone agrees the word carp has a negative connotation to diners in the U.S.,” John Rogner, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, an agency charged with keeping the fish from taking over Lake Michigan, said in an article from the latest issue of Audubon. “I think they’re great smoked, and I’ve had them fried. I think the fish will sell itself once it’s given the chance.”

The fish is already being eaten by a number of ethnic groups.  The Vietnamese community cooks carp in coconut milk with lemon grass and chili peppers. The Polish like to draw out the fishy odor by soaking it in milk and onions.

There is precedence of chefs popularizing fish.  Prior to the early 1980’s,  the Louisiana Redfish was not a popular fish. After Chef Paul Prudhomme developed a recipe for “blackened redfish”, the fish got so popular it almost got fished to extinction.

Chef Philippe Parola and his group plan to re-brand Asian carp as Silverfin and popularize the fish with boneless, pre-cooked and flavored Silverfin fish fillets.

According to Chef Phillipe Parola, the taste of carp is like a cross between scallops and crabmeat.  He has created recipes, which include silver fin fried strips, silver fin almondine, silver fin with fresh berries and silver fin cakes.

 

Image Source:
Photo by Chef Philippe Parola www.chefphilippe.com
Links:

Silver Fin Craze

Carp for Dinner – Audobon Magazine article

 

 

 

Fish Flying in Your Face – and No Fishing? Invasion of the Asian Carp

Fish Flying in Your Face – and No Fishing? Invasion of the Asian Carp

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Yesterday I got an email from my Senator which gave an update about what he is doing in support of the Great Lakes and the Asian carp problem.  I have not exactly understood what Asian carp are and why they are a threat – so I spent some time reading and researching about this issue.

Originally from Asia, they’re about 3 ft. long and weigh up to 100 lb, and are known to be difficult to  capture. They eat a lot and grow quickly into giant fish.  Asian carp arrived in the lower area of the Mississippi River in the 1970s, and recently they are about to enter the Great Lakes.  The states that border the Great Lakes are working together to try to keep the fish out.

Asian carp include the bighead carp and silver carp and are considered a invasive species, an animal or plant that moves into a new environment, often disrupting it. We are seeing more invasive species because of international trade bringing new species into new areas and because of climate change, which prompts species to migrate to better environments, often at the expense of those that already live there.

How did they get here?  Asian carp have been cultivated for aquaculture for more than 1,000 years, often raised in submerged rice paddies in China.  Catfish farmers in the U.S. imported Asian carp decades ago to eat up the algae in their ponds.  The fish slowly escaped into the wild and have been making their way up the Mississippi River.  The fish eat a lot, grow incredibly fast, and reproduce rapidly often called, “eating machines.”

The Asian carp eat plankton which then eliminates the bottom layer of the food chain. If the fish make it to the Great Lakes and start breeding, they could disrupt the existing ecosystem, potentially starving out the trout and other native fish that make the Great Lakes a popular tourism hot spot.

The silver carp also pose a direct threat to people in boats. When startled, the fish project themselves out of the water, turning into 40-lb. missiles that can cause injuries to boaters.

No one is certain that Asian carp have made it into the Great Lakes. The Army Corps of Engineers put an electric barrier in the canal to prevent the carp from infiltrating Lake Michigan.  No live fish have been found yet, but scientists discovered Asian carp DNA in the lake.

Currently there is a “Stop Asian Carp Act” in Congress introduced this year which would direct the Army Corps of Engineers to study the watersheds of the Illinois, Chicago, and Calumet rivers to determine the feasibility and best way to separate the rivers from the Great Lakes. The study would address flooding, wastewater, stormwater, and safety concerns. It also would direct the U.S. Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor and survey the waters of the Great Lakes basin to identify additional threats from Asian Carp, and to identify means of prevention.

Image Source:
www.JasonLindsey.com

Links:

Stop Asian Carp Website and Petition

Asian Carp Invasion video

Animal Planet: Asian Carp Invasion

 

The Worst Dressed Princesses in the World

The Worst Dressed Princesses in the World

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Where can you see the worst dressed princesses in the world wearing dresses that are two sizes too big, Crocs and tennis shoes, crooked tiaras on their heads, and with t-shirts hanging out from under their dresses? In a world inside a world – Disneyworld in Orlando, FL.

Individual princesses have been part of the Disney scene since Snow White first was on screen in 1937.  The Disneyworld experience has always included opportunities to meet Snow White and Cinderella, but today “becoming a princess” has become standard fair at Disneyworld.

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique opened in 2006, which extends the princess experience for young girls.  The boutique is a princess hair salon where girls age 3 to 12 can choose from 3 hair styles—Fairytale Princess, Disney Diva and Pop Princess—as well as multiple hair styles, nail color, make-up and a total package including Disney Princess costume and photographs.  Prices range from $45 to $280.

Enter as a girl – exit as a young princess.  Pixie dust, hair spray, makeup, and nail polish are all used at the salon – in order to transform the girls into their favorite princess character.

The Disney Princess franchise was born in early 1999, when a new executive at Disney attended his first Disney on Ice show. While waiting in line, he found himself surrounded by young girls dressed as princesses – wearing generic princess products.  Soon after realizing the demand, the Disney Princess line was formed.  Sales at Disney Consumer Products rose from $300 million in 2001 to $3 billion in 2006.

In 2000, Disney Consumer Products brought all of Disney’s heroines — Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White — together into the Disney Princess brand.   The princesses have grossed over $4 billion in global retail sales and more than 142 million books, 81 million sticker packs and 16 million Disney Princess magazines have been sold.

The Disney franchise writes about the power of the princess stating on its website, “For a little girl, the desire to feel special is more powerful than a magic wand. She dreams of a place where clothes are spun of silk and gold, where balls are held in her honor and where princes fall in love at first sight. It is a world Disney has created — full of fantasy and romance — where a girl can feel as special as a princess. Disney Princess – where dreams begin.” [1]

On December 24, 2006, Peggy Orenstein published, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” in the New York Times. Orenstein discussed her concerns about the effects of princess figures on young girls. Orenstein used the Disney Princesses to present many of her points. Other sources have also voiced concern that the franchise could give young girls the wrong message. However, other parents say that young girls would eventually grow out of this phase.

Is it your turn to become a princess?  If so – come on down to Disneyworld – but please leave your Crocs at home and ask your mom to straighten your crown before you head out to the castle to meet the prince.

 

Links:

Videos of Princess Transformations:

What’s Wrong with Cinderella? NY Times article

 

Sources:

{1}https://www.disneyconsumerproducts.com/Home/display.jsp?contentId=dcp_home_ourfranchises_disney_princess_us&forPrint=false&language=en&preview=false&imageShow=0&pressRoom=US&translationOf=null&region=0

The power of smell: Aroma Jockey Odo7

The power of smell: Aroma Jockey Odo7

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Most festivals, live performances, theater and cinema use sight and sound – but what if the use of smell was used? Aroma Jockey Odo7 has created a form of “aroma illustration” or “aroma jockeying” that he does for events and groups.

Researchers say that the sense of smell is by far the most powerful of all our senses and that it is a “direct extension of the brain.”  Its direct contact means we get a very quick, very intensive reaction to odor.  Smells have a relationship to emotions, sounds, colors, and culture.  Odo7 explores how the chemical and biological can be presented within an atmosphere that renews itself through the use of 7 main groups of aromatic elements.

Odo7 who is currently living in Amsterdam, Netherlands has established the conscious use of scents in entertainment scenting.  In 2002, Odo7 worked with a “civelrevoltage” artist group to create a visual and sound experience.  He has worked with Isabella Rosselini on a project in Amsterdam, and his other clients include J.P. Gaultier and Tommy Hilfiger.

His website presents some of the  history and the value of aroma and scent – and can be seen at hwww.odo7.com.

LINKS:

 Odo7’s site – www.odo7.com

Article on the Power of Smell – BBC article