Results just came in for our state and as Aaron succintly put it, "Now we won't have to move."

I'm so proud of you, Iowa!

Labels: news, random

Google Reader found another interesting story for me (ah, how I love Google). This one is from The Guardian. They interviewed children living in Britain who came from every country recognized by the U.N. except for San Marino, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Paulu, Central African Republic, and North Korea. Some of the answers are heart-breaking and some are intriguing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/interactive/2008/oct/18/children-britain-world

Labels: news

So... I didn't get to write an illuminating post this weekend, either. I'm going to stop making excuses and just post when I can.

On that vein, I've been using Google Reader lately to get my news. I am in lust after most of google's programs, and this is no exception. I've read about more issues now than I had in the past two months combined.

I never would have seen this interesting story or the SNL skit that has been paired with it: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/09/17/palin_clinton/index.html. And what a shame that would have been.

Do any of you use Google Reader? Want to share stories?

Labels: news, random

I have never been a fan of getting calls early in the morning. I don't wake up until around ten thirty. Oh, you see my body up at seven thirty? That doesn't mean I'm awake, now does it.

This morning at 8:08 am I received a call from the University of Iowa's Hawk Alert system. An unnamed active shooter was reported in the Iowa City area. The university had no more information for us then that. I immediately instant messaged Aaron with the news and then started looking for information. The Hawk Alert was given out so soon that the major newspaper (The Gazette) and the student newspaper (Daily Iowan) had not been able to put up articles yet. I'm really glad that Iowa moved so fast to put out information to their student community.

It's now been a little over an hour since the first Hawk Alert was sent out, and another Hawk Alert came about twenty minutes ago or so. I didn't catch this one, but I believe it said that nobody at the university was targeted.

I went back and dug around and found these two articles: Shooter in Iowa City Area, Iowa City on Alert for Gunman.

I'm interested to see what pans out and what really happened, and I'm glad that I wasn't on campus this morning when the first alert went out! I'm still waiting on the news to see if someone really was killed, and if that is the case, I will feel very badly for those families.

EDIT TO ADD:

Five Killed in Iowa City

How devastating.

Labels: news

Obama wrote a forty-minute speech, himself, and delivered it yesterday, I believe. I was watching the ten o'clock news (what a joke) and they barely touched upon this speech. I think it is extremely important for anyone who plans on voting to listen to this speech. Really listen to it. Don't just turn it on and pay attention to something else. Listen to the honesty and the truth within the speech.

I'm not saying that you have to vote for Obama, I'm just saying that you should give every candidate his or her fair share of attention. Really be active in who you want to vote for. Do you have knowledge of truly touching speeches by the other candidates? Please, post links to them in the comments so I can watch them and be educated, as well.

Obama's Speech - In His Own Words

Labels: news

143 million pounds of beef were recalled on Sunday, according to CNN. One hundred forty-three million. 143,000,000.00 pounds of beef. Why? The slaughter house is not supposed to allow cows which cannot stand on their own to be slaughtered for our meat. But they were. Not only were they allowing these health-risky cows to enter into our food supply, but they were abusing them as they did it. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I don't care about the "animals are people too" claim of most vegetarians. Animals are a part of our food supply, they just happen to be part of the food supply that I avoid as much as possible. On the flip side, I firmly believe in respect for all people and things. Circle of life - but with respect. These animals were not being treated with respect.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/18/beef.recall/index.html

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4305151&page=1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7249911.stm

I'm grateful that Aaron doesn't complain about my desire to keep meat not tended with respect and sustainability out of our diet. I just finished the meal plan for this week and we have one pound of meat in all of our meals (excluding Aaron's fastfood, which he does on his time and dime). One pound for one week. How many Americans eat far more than one pound a day, per household? And, I won't even be eating that one pound of meat. It's Aaron's "free day" meat (I'm in class on Thursday nights, so he cooks whatever he wants that night).

News like this reminds me of why I started a new lifestyle last November. News like this makes me glad that I have stuck with it*.

I realize that the cows probably aren't affected with anything as no health claims have been made yet- but does that really matter? This slaughterhouse, which could be one thousand or more miles away from you, wasn't abiding by the rules. You never would have known if it wasn't for an undercover video by the Humane Society. How many other places are practicing unsanitary and cruel practices? Considering I don't even like the practices that are allowed under law, I'd rather not think about how many unlawful acts are being committed too.

Are you thinking about growing more of your own food? Are you thinking about reducing your meat consumption? If you are, I can help with good recipes that taste great. I can't help with the mindset that meat is a cornerstone of a meal. You have to change that yourself. Not thinking about any of these things? I wish you'd at least think about growing some vegetables in your back yard, window box, or interior of your house. (Remember my lettuce project? That is growing completely indoors, by a window, with a grow lamp for supplemental light.)

* I have eaten some meat since November. For my birthday I had 1/4 of a new york strip. When I visited Jory I had a piece of steak. I've had probably a total of two pounds of hamburger. I've eaten probably a pound of deer (which I don't have anything against as deer are not "farmed" and are overpopulated). I've had chicken from a local sustainably farmed chicken. I think I had two pieces of bacon, too. It smelled good. :\

Labels: environment, news

This morning the children and I drove over to the library for the weekly story hour. This was the first one we've gone to even though we've lived in the area for over a year now. The topic of choice was snowmen, with two books being read, a cute dance about a melting snowman, and a craft where the kids pulled apart cotton balls and glued them on a piece of paper. We checked out five children's books (one of which Nate has already thoroughly enjoyed - about pirates) and Kathy Reich's Deja Dead. So far I'm only at chapter three, but I'm really enjoying the book. Anyone out there a member of Good Reads? I enjoy that I can keep track of what books I've read and possibly scope out new authors. I'm also a member of Book Swim, which is nice because I can get books quicker from them then I can from the library here (as it is a small town library). I'm possibly ashamed to also admit that I adore Netflix, and am currently watching The Highlander Season One.

Do you know what I would like? An unbiased report of which activities weigh out heavier in terms of environmental-related issues. I'd like to know which is worse - purchasing a DVD from Wal-Mart or renting a movie from Netflix. When I purchase a DVD from Wal-Mart I have all of the production pollution square on my own head, plus the transportation around the country to my Wal-Mart, then my transportation to purchase it, and then it sits on my shelf. With Netflix, the production pollution is shared among everyone who watches that movie, the transportation from the factory to my house is square on my head, and the housing it comes in (paper) is recyclable.

Now - which is better? How about with Book Swim? Purchasing or renting via Book Swim? Probably even better is when I buy movies on iTunes and download them to my computer, or when I go to the library. But really, where is the objective scientific proof? Numbers? Quantifiable data? I'm curious!

Anyway, the other major event on today's platter is the caucus tonight. Myself, my sister, and Aaron are all going to have a part in the country's political process. I was informed by someone official that I can take the kids with me. Let's see how that goes down... I'm looking forward to the event.

And, on the menu tonight? Couscous Shepard's Pie from Robin. Mmm, sounds like a good day all around!

Labels: cooking, news

Living in a Toxic World recently made a post about PLA made by Nature Works. The article being discussed was written by Elizabeth Royte for the Smithsonian. PLA is a plastic polymer currently being made out of feed-grade corn for the use of packaging. (Please, read the article!)

One of the complaints is that the packaging cannot be broken down in a home composter because PLA requires certain temperatures for ten days straight. The article also mentions that PLA breaks down into an acid which makes the compost mixture too acidic and wet without the addition of a higher amount of material.

Another complaint is that the packaging is creating larger demand of recycling facilities when the facilities can't actually handle the packaging with their current system. This is apparently because a lot of facilities aren't picking up PLA from the recycling company for composting or recycling.

I don't have a huge grasp on this topic yet since this is the first I've heard of PLA, but it is interesting to note that there are large apparent benefits for PLA. It can be composted under those correct conditions, the process of making it emits less greenhouse gases, it is made from a renewable resource, and apparently it is cheaper to make than our traditional plastic (PET?).

I went to Nature Works site and found this page which lists the company's partners. They have several different ways to search up their partners, which they classify as everything from retailers who carry PLA packaging to brands that use PLA packaging to manufacturers who make the equipment from which PLA is produced. Pretty cool that one of their partners is Naturally Iowa, LLC, although not very surprising since Nature Works is in Nebraska!

Labels: environment, news

Why won't the EPA allow the states to set their own emission standards? In my general and limited understanding of the way our government works, the federal law is the baseline for all laws. The states are allowed to make stricter laws, but they cannot make laws that contradict or lessen federal laws. In this case, California and sixteen other states were asking to make stricter requirements. Not weaker ones.

Automakers praised the decision.
[...]
Mr. Johnson, the E.P.A. administrator, cited federal law, not science, as the underpinning of his decision. “Climate change affects everyone regardless of where greenhouse gases occur, so California is not exclusive,” he said.
~ John M. Broder and Felicity Barringer
NY Times Article

Well of course automakers are going to praise the decision. Now they won't have to a) go back to the drawing board and create cars with higher standards b) have to make different versions of cars in order to sell their vehicles in different states and c) lose their friendship with the industries that don't want the standards to raise.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen L. Johnson denied the state's request to implement its own landmark law, noting that an energy bill signed by President Bush earlier in the day would go a long way toward reducing emissions throughout the United States. The bill provides the most significant increase in vehicle fuel economy standards in more than three decades.
[...]
State officials and environmentalists said the energy bill, although helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions nationally, was no substitute for California's efforts, which would go further and achieve results faster.
~By Richard Simon and Janet Wilson
LA Times Article

Exactly! If California had pushed forward with those requirements, they would be bettering ALL of the globe. L. Johnson stating above that California is not exclusive is the point.

Labels: environment, news