Living Greener Everyday

Under-fire Hadden fails to bite the bullet as Gatland guns for dismal ...

There was only one team trying to play rugby out there," said the Kiwi, and just in case anybody was in any doubt, he spelled it out for us: "It was the team in red. Apart from a couple of minutes near the end Scotland never got near our line."Gatland gave Hadden a verbal shoeing, just as his counterpart in France, Marc Lievremont, did last week and it was richly deserved. He spoke of the miniscule threat the Scots possessed. "They made it pretty easy for us. They were just picking and going off the rucks and never threw the ball wide and never threatened us. They never put us under any pressure at all." Gatland looked half-bemused by it all. Asked if he thought Scotland were harshly treated by the television match official (TMO), Carlo DaMasco, who incorrectly awarded Wales their third try – and Shane Williams his second – Gatland responded with a shrug and a grin and a remark that spoke volumes about his thoughts on how Scotland performed on the day.

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Pollution alters brain function

A team at Zuyd University in the Netherlands persuaded 10 volunteers to spend an hour in a room filled either with clean air or exhaust from a diesel engine. They were wired up to an electroencephalograph (EEG), a device that records the electrical signals of the brain. They were monitored during the period of exposure and for an hour after they left the room. After about 30 minutes, the brains of those in the exhaust rooms displayed a stress response on the EEG, which is indicative of a change in the way information is being processed in the brain cortex. This effect continued after they were no longer in the room. ""We can only speculate what these effects may mean for the chronic exposure to air pollution encountered in busy cities where the levels of such soot particles can be very high,"" said lead researcher Paul Borm.

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Democrats will ride us to the poor farm

The U.S. government uses these young men to appease Iraqi sheiks and corporate oil companies, which make record profits at the cost of American lives. The trials of our troops are not about guilt of supposed crimes; it's political. Our generals are not loyal to their own troops, they are motivated to get their next promotion, that next star. Our young men can't tell these generals they need their loyalty and respect, but Americans can stand up for our warrior troops.We, Pendleton demonstrators, have not forgotten what happened to the Pendleton 8 and we won't stand by and let them destroy more young men who fought for this country. Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins is a victim who got 15 years for killing a road bomber. We believe it was the road bomber he killed because the bombing stopped, according to returned Marines.Patricia WalkerFallbrookPlans for road widening are confoundingOn the article about the widening of Scott Road ("Widening of Scott Road to take six months," Feb.

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Conservation camp registrations lagging

Last year participation was down about one-third, according to program director Jay Webb, probably because the price doubled to $215. Registration is lagging again this year, and though cost probably is a factor, Webb said last month's ice and snow that closed numerous schools had an adverse effect on signups, too. .

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Wau-Bulolo people access clean water

FAMILIES living in the dry savannah grasslands of Wau-Bulolo will now have access to clean drinking water. This was made possible after the completion of a water project initiated by Bulolo MP Sam Basil. The water source will benefit five villages in Wau, Bulolo and Mumeng districts. The project comprises a water well and four small dams which feed a reservoir for distribution to several locations within each village. Mothers and children said that the project was a relief, cutting down on the long distance they had to walk to find clean drinking water. "We usually carry water containers down to the rivers to get water but now we are happy because we will not find it hard to get water," some mothers said. Mothers in the township of Wau also said that water had been a problem since the main water supply broke down some years ago.

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Use it up, recycle, and never buy anything new – whew!

We may be running out of landfill space in the West, but not because of me. I�m a packrat. I spent summers in eastern Montana with my grandparents, who lived in an apartment above a department store. I spent the warm days rummaging through trash bins in the alley behind the store, and then I�d set up pretend offices in refrigerator crates and arrange my treasures. I carted boxes of stuff up the stairs into my grandparents� home. I referred to this as my �good garbage.� Since then, the sight of an overflowing Dumpster has become irresistible. In fact, I often take my bags of garbage out to the Dumpster in the alley behind my house and come back with more than I took out. I can�t resist cardboard boxes and bubble wrap. I have a new neighbor who buys a lot of stuff online, and he�s been very helpful about putting bubble wrap and other packing materials on my porch so that I don�t have to fish them out of the Dumpster.

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75 percent of all air pollution caused by car fumes

Dubai: Ten year old vehicles are major cause of air pollution in Dubai. This was revealed by Redha Hassan Salman, Head of Environment Protection Department at the Dubai Municipality yesterday. The civic body had suggested that 10 year old vehicles should not be allowed to ply on the roads. A report released by the civic body yesterday said that more than 75 per cent of air pollutants are from vehicle emissions. It further said that the vehicle pollution in Dubai compared to American standards is around 13 per cent (for vehicles using petrol) higher whereas the vehicular pollution rate is 2.5 per cent in Virginia, 2 per cent in Michigan and 4.7 per cent in Canada. The pollution rate of vehicles using diesel in Dubai is at around per cent. .

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Culver insists on full environment funding

Gov. Chet Culver said Wednesday that he expects lawmakers to allocate $20 million to an environmental account that he has placed as a top priority. The Resource Enhancement and Protection Program is used to pay for a range of environmental and recreation programs from trails to local park projects. The account, this year, was allocated roughly $15 million but that was lower than the $20 million annual long-time goal of some lawmakers and environmental advocates. Culver, in January, proposed the $20 million allocation be paid by doubling Iowa�s bottle 5-cent bottle redemption policy. Under Culver�s original bottle plan, consumers would only receive 8 cents of their 10-cent deposit when they returned containers. One cent would go to bottle handlers or redemption centers and the other cent would go to the environmental program.

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Other Voices: Smart growth, conservation are the only ways to survive

In 1990, I was one of many citizen volunteers to rewrite the Nevada County General Plan. This was a massive project, with committee work spread over two years and final adoption of the plan, still in force, in 1995. I had recently, together with several other members of the Nevada County League of Women Voters, completed a land-use study and gone through the process of building a home here - hence, my interest in and qualifications for the Land Use Committee in the rewriting process. It was during that time I learned the principles of what is called "smart growth," which envisions mixed-use communities (homes and apartments, businesses, offices, perhaps even some light industrial) and pedestrian friendly streets (narrow and with sidewalks). People can walk, bike or take public transit to work, school, church, the library and businesses to fulfill their needs and desires.

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Bacteria And Nanofilters: Future Of Clean Water Technology

ScienceDaily (Feb. 27, 2008) — Bacteria often get bad press, with those found in water often linked to illness and disease. But researchers at The University of Nottingham are using these tiny organisms alongside the very latest membrane filtration techniques to improve and refine water cleaning technology. .

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