The Wombat’s Blog

Protecting Consumers or Corporations - the School Lunchbox0

This article talks about government testing on lead-levels in vinyl school lunchboxes and how it was determined that the lead levels are acceptable to young children.

It comes across that they tried to look at the situation with a scientific mind, by testing what children may really be exposed to. But can the government really predict how the products will be used. Is it really wise to err on the side they did. But then there is always risk analysis to help you make economic decisions.

(Original found here.)

Did Government Hide Lunch-Box Lead Levels?
By MARTHA MENDOZA
The Associated Press

In 2005, when government scientists tested 60 soft, vinyl lunch boxes, they found that one in five contained amounts of lead that medical experts consider unsafe — and several had more than 10 times hazardous levels.

But that’s not what they told the public.

Instead, the Consumer Product Safety Commission released a statement that it found “no instances of hazardous levels.” And it refused to release its actual test results, citing regulations that protect manufacturers from having their information released to the public.

Those data were not made public until The Associated Press received a box of about 1,500 pages of lab reports, in-house e-mails and other records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed a year ago.

The documents describe two types of tests:

• The first involves cutting a chunk of vinyl off the bag, dissolving it and then analyzing how much lead is in the solution.
• The second involves swiping the surface of a bag and then determining how much lead has rubbed off.

The results of the first type of test, looking for the actual lead content of the vinyl, showed that 20 percent of the bags had more than 600 parts per million of lead, the federal safe level for paint and other products. The highest level was 9,600 ppm, more than 16 times the federal standard.

But the CPSC did not use those results.

“When it comes to a lunch box, it’s carried. The food that you put in the lunch box may have an outer wrapping, a baggie, so there isn’t direct exposure. The direct exposure would be if kids were putting their lunch boxes in their mouth, which isn’t a common way for children to interact with their lunch box,” said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.

Thus the CPSC focused exclusively on how much lead came off the surface of a lunch box when lab workers swiped them.

For the swipe tests, the results were lower, especially after the researchers changed their testing protocol. After a handful of tests, they increased the number of times they swiped each bag, again and again on the same spot, resulting in lower average results.

An in-house e-mail from the director of the CPSC’s chemistry division explained that they had been retesting with the new protocol “which gave a lower average result than the prior report … ,” he wrote. “This shows … that the overall risk is lower than our original testing would have showed, as the amount of lead dislodgeable is mostly taken out with the first wipe and goes down with subsequent wipes.”

Vallese explained it this way: “The more you wipe, the less lead you actually find. With fewer wipes, we got a higher detection of lead presence. We thought more wipes was closer to reflecting how you would interact with your lunch box. It was more realistic.”

The test results also show that many lunch boxes were tested only on the outside, which is unlikely to be in contact with food. Vallese said this was because children handle their lunch boxes from the outside.

As a result of their tests, the CPSC issued a public statement last year reassuring consumers that they had nothing to worry about: “Based on the extremely low levels of lead found in our tests, in most cases, children would have to rub their lunch box and then lick their hands more than 600 times every day, for about 15-30 days, in order for the lunch box to present a health hazard.”

Vallese said the commission stands by those statements.

But the results were disconcerting to outside experts who reviewed them.

“They found levels that we consider very high,” said Alexa Engelman, a researcher at the Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Environmental Health, which has filed a series of legal complaints about lead in lunch boxes.

“They knew this all along and they didn’t take action on it,” Engelman said. “It’s upsetting to me. Why are we, as a country, protecting the companies? We should be protecting the kids. I don’t think in this instance they did their job.”

Although these test results are only now being aired publicly, the CPSC did provide them to the Food and Drug Administration last summer.

The FDA’s reaction was completely different from the CPSC’s. In July 2006, after receiving the test results, the FDA sent a letter to lunch-box manufacturers warning them that their lead levels might be dangerously high and advising them that the FDA might take action against them because the lead would be considered a food additive if it rubbed off onto kids’ lunches.

In response to the FDA warning, Wal-Mart stopped selling soft lunch boxes with vinyl liners, and offered refunds to customers who wanted to return the ones they already had.

Some manufacturers revamped their manufacturing processes to eliminate lead, or stopped making the lunch boxes altogether. Those changes have been prompted in large part by pressure from the Center for Environmental Health and several other nonprofit advocacy groups in New York and Washington state that have been testing lunch boxes and publicly airing the results for several years.

Lead is a stabilizing agent in vinyl, but there are other chemicals that can be used instead of lead. Almost every lunch box found with lead in the vinyl lining was made in China.

Allen Blakey, a spokesman for the Vinyl Institute, a trade association representing manufacturers of vinyl, said his organization defers to the regulatory agencies.

“The CPSC was pretty clear that they did not see a danger in these lunch boxes. The FDA had a slightly different take on it. But basically, we have not seen any indication of actual harm from the lunch boxes,” he said.

Public-health experts consider elevated levels of lead in blood a significant health hazard for U.S. children. Studies have repeatedly shown that childhood exposure to lead can lead to learning problems, reduced intelligence, hyperactivity and attention-deficit disorder. There is no lead level that is considered safe in blood, and recent studies have shown adverse health effects even at very low levels.

“I don’t think the Consumer Product Safety Commission has lived up to its role to protect kids from lead,” said Dr. Bruce Lamphear, a lead-poisoning specialist at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. “As a public agency, their work should be transparent. And if one is to err on the side of protecting children rather than protecting lunch-box makers, then certainly you would want to lower the levels.”

Posted: politics, environment, science, education

Making the Scores Meaningful0

Today I’m busy on the blog catching up on old clippings. Here is a science and technology article of big interest to people working in the car industry. Also of interest to people that want to know the story behind the numbers.

So we score cars by their performance on the mileage ratings, and we score them more so when gasoline is expensive. Because the EPA is now making the testing more realistic, scores will drop across the board, with the most environmentally beneficial cars being hit the hardest. Oops.

Now the little interesting snippet in this to me was

Federally regularted Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards won’t be affected because they use different figures

What figures? So we are picking from one set of numbers and the companies are submitting (and being held to by federal regulation) to a different set of numbers. Hmmm.

(Original found here.)

Gas mileage ratings get real; so should lawmakers, buyers
Beware activists’ interests in pushing for radical change
The Detroit News

The Environmental Protection Agency finally has figured out that most people don’t drive like grandma going to church. Most have a heavier foot, use air conditioning in the summer and live in places that occasionally drop below freezing, all factors that affect gas mileage.

Those things have largely been ignored for the past 22 years by the EPA, which tested vehicles at an average speed of 48 miles per hour in temperatures of 75 degrees. Posted fuel economy ratings on new cars and trucks no longer will be based on such narrow factors.

Beginning with 2008 models, consumers will get a more realistic reporting of the mileage their cars and trucks get because the EPA has changed its reporting formula, though “actual mileage will vary” still applies.

New testing methods take into account aggressive driving habits, cold weather and the use of air conditioning, among other factors. Fuel economy ratings for the Big Three automakers will drop an average of 11 percent for city driving and about 10.5 percent for highway driving.

Industrywide numbers will drop an estimated 12 percent in city driving and 8 percent in highway mileage.

Hybrids will take the biggest hit; they will have adjusted fuel economy ratings as much as 30 percent lower because tests eliminate the all-electric driving from the fuel economy standards, among other things. It also takes a lot of battery power to run air conditioners and get the gasoline-electric cars and trucks going in the winter, which affects fuel efficiency.

This won’t come as much of a surprise to hybrid owners, who knew they rarely get the promised 60 miles per gallon. Instead, hybrid ratings will be posted in the 40 miles per gallon range, which provides a better standard and more realistic gauge of how much faith should be placed in hybrids as the technology to reduce America’s addiction to oil.

Diesel mileage estimates will drop an average of 7 percent and bolsters their place in the market. Cleaner diesel fuel that was introduced nationwide in October provides for a national standard and automakers all are ramping up production of these engines to meet expected increased consumer demand.

Automakers are in support of the changes because they better represent reality, but they need to remain vigilant against environmental activists who spearheaded the campaign to set new rules and see this change as an opening for further fuel economy adjustments.

That would be unwise because for each increase in fuel economy, consumers have responded by buying bigger cars and trucks and driving them farther. And, it should be remembered that the EPA numbers are a guide for consumers and carry no regulatory weight.

Federally regulated Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards won’t be affected because they use different figures, says Charles Territo of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents the Big Three and others.

Consumers should take the more accurate data to heart, but not as gospel because everyone drives differently, giving some better fuel economy than others. But it’s good to see that now the base measure is better.

Posted: politics, environment, science

Sculpting Nature for Maximum Return0

Found this article about the beach reclamation article on Waikiki. Forget about this being a natural beach. Waikiki, is like Disney World, an environment manufactured for maximum impact. That has little to do with nature, especially if you need to keep “maintaining nature.”
And it may not even be a local experience.

Sand had previously imported from Molokai, other areas of Oahu and - if you believe local legends - as far away as Australia.

Well, local legends, I heard somewhere that the sand for the exclusive Kukio resort down by the Four Seasons Hotel at Kaupulehu, now owned by Michael Dell, was shipped in from - can you believe it - China.

But as the article says, that’s ok. We’re so dependent on tourism, and tourists come here because of that beach. No beach, no money.

One interesting little factoid - our local paper left out the last paragraph.

(Original found here).

To save Waikiki beaches, state plans to dredge up the past
A project to replenish the scenic, thinning beaches involves pumping sand from the ocean floor, a half-mile offshore
By Mark Niesse
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HONOLULU - Along the sandy sliver that is Hawaii’s world-famous Waikiki beach, waves now sometimes reach all the way across the beach to touch solid land.

At some points, the sparkling sand is only wide enough for two or three sun-soaked beachgoers to lay their bodies on the narrow swath between land and Pacific Ocean waters.

After years of chronic erosion, a test sand-pumping project is trying to reclaim the iconic beach from offshore without having to truck new sand in from around Oahu, other Hawaiian islands or even other countries.

Scientists say the beach has been gradually shrinking by about one foot a year during the last five decades as the ocean’s rough currents wear away the smooth, peaceful surface.

Although the beach still satisfies millions of yearly visitors, it’s barely a sand box compared with the vast dunelike expanses found a half century ago. If it’s not cared for, the Waikiki beach would eventually disappear entirely.

“It used to be big. Now it’s crowded, and everyone is bunched together,” said Honolulu resident Ashley Granados as she sat in a swimsuit alongside the beach where it’s about 20 yards wide. “The water is too close.”

Beach erosion is common around the world, and the usual remedy is to truck sand in, but that hasn’t been done in any major way at Waikiki since the 1970s. Sand had previously been imported from Molokai, other areas of Oahu and — if you believe local legends — as far away as Australia.

Waikiki, whose beach bares different names as it stretches from near Diamond Head to the public boat harbor, steadily declined for most of the last 30 years. The plan is to dredge 10,000 cubic yards of sand from about a half-mile offshore, and then pump it underwater back to the beach.

The $425,000 test program gives beach lovers hope that Waikiki could be restored to its original splendor, but officials have said it could cost up to $25 million to repair all of Waikiki’s beach.

Sand pumping has been used at other beaches in the country, but it has rarely been tried in Hawaii before now because of fears over disrupting the delicate ocean floor and a lack of funding.

“Waikiki is probably best known for the fact that it’s a major resort destination with sun, sand and surf,” said Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association. “The health of Waikiki beach is very central to Hawaii’s image.”

Just a walk across the street from Waikiki’s hotels and shops, the beach periodically widens and narrows. Surfers wade out to catch the waves year-round, paddlers row their canoes, children build sand castles and others bask in the warmth of the tropical sun.

At the pink stucco Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the beach stops entirely at a concrete wall. The ocean waters lap at the wall for several yards before the sand reappears.

Most visitors say they’re still impressed with the legendary beach that is so closely identified with the essence of Hawaii.

“We’re just happy to be here,” said Janet Corey, a tourist from Canada, swimming with her daughters where the beach gets particularly thin. “Maintaining the beach seems to be the right thing to do because that’s why people come here.”

Surprisingly to some, the coastal erosion in Waikiki isn’t caused by heavy use by the 70,000 tourists who trample over the islands each day.

The major cause is a shortage of sand caused by human development of the shoreline, including sea walls and the loss of coastal dunes buried by manmade structures, said Chip Fletcher, a University of Hawaii professor and expert in coastal geology.

“We sell Hawaii in the form of thousands of photographs of our beaches every year,” Fletcher said. “If the beaches go away, we have a problem.”

State officials claim the plan to dredge and pump sand is an environmentally friendly solution because it recycles the same sand that was originally part of the beach.

If successful, they say this project could become a model for replenishing more of Waikiki and other fading island beaches.

Like repainting a house every few years, government officials will need to be constantly vigilant if they want the beach to stay around, Fletcher said. Otherwise, Hawaii could lose part of its identity.

“If we want to keep the beach there, we have to keep maintaining it,” Fletcher said. “Since 1970, we haven’t been maintaining it. We’ve neglected our house.”

Posted: social/culture, local, environment

Saving Water by Designing Faucet Technology0

(Original found here.)

I’m glad somebody is working on that, I’ve been looking for that for years. I found something before that required a pedal underneath the cabinet to control the flow of water, but it was too “ugly” to install. We’re doing the dishes without a dishwasher. Seems like a major environmental benefit to not have to do that with the water running continuously.

Hands-Free Faucets are Catching on at Home
David Bradley
The Associated Press

Heila Hubbard doesn’t dare tell her neighbors, but she recently spent weeks figuring out how to run water out of her tap.I felt silly having to practice using my faucet,” says Hubbard, of Lafayette, Calif. “But I felt confident from the beginning I’d master it.”Honed by how-to DVDs, Hubbard’s faucet skills became old hat in a matter of weeks. She had good reason for the home schooling: Her faucet was a cutting-edge version of a hands-free, tap-on, tap-off appliance that may become common in U.S. kitchens within a few years.

Newer, better: The faucets are similar to, but light years beyond, technology routinely seen in public facilities where water flow activates at the wave of a hand. The user simply taps this new breed of faucet anywhere on the spout to turn water on or off. Motion sensors and a traditional handle lend added operational flexibility.

On Hubbard’s model, the user adjusts the handle to set temperature and the strength of stream in advance — among the nuances that Hubbard became adept at with practice. Trial and error helped her negotiate slipping dirty dishes into the sink without tripping the motion sensors.

“You have to slide in dishes from the side rather than head-on like you normally do,” Hubbard says. “Other than that, it’s terrifically easy and handy.”

Long overdue: Bob Rodenbeck of Brizo, the company that makes the faucet Hubbard toiled to conquer, says video research in kitchens showed cooks were bogged down by messy hands and often fumbled to fill pots or rinse foods. Hands-free technology was overdue in kitchens, Rodenbeck says.

Hunter Dance of Galleria Bath and Kitchen Showplace in Bradenton, Fla., forecasts that such faucets will be the norm in five to 10 years. “Homeowners are blown away by the functionality, especially those who do a lot of cooking,” he says. “It’s definitely the trend.”

So why the long wait for household versions of technology long used in public bathrooms? Product engineers needed to catch up to complicated needs in the kitchen, Rodenbeck says.

“The sensor technology wasn’t high-performing enough,” he says, crediting the robotics industries with key improvements in sensor technology.

The bugaboos skirted by supposed hands-free products were temperature control and water pressure. The one-function approach — water on, water off — is fine for public facilities, but it’s a whole different kettle of fish in kitchens where cooks want to control cooking apparatuses.
Still pricey: The new technology isn’t cheap. But like other consumer goods, prices may drop as the technology enters the mainstream, Rodenbeck says. Chrome versions are $849, while the stainless faucet is $995.

Brizo touts advantages beyond convenience. Cooking is inherently messy, and the faucet promotes a cleaner, more hygienic environment. And the absence of knobs makes the faucet easier for aged, arthritic hands.

Water conservation is also a plus; Brizo research showed homeowners often leave faucets on for minutes at a time.

When the faucet use stops, Pascal turns the water off automatically in moments, a point not lost on Hubbard: “The ability to save water is a big deal in California.”

Posted: design, environment

Frickin Present0

(Original found here).

In this era of super shopping days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, here is a quick design issue that is leading to a lot of frustration: packaging. Don’t just design the product, design the whole experience.

Do Not Pry Open Until Christmas
The Hard Truth About Hated ‘Clamshell’ Packaging
By Margaret Webb Pressler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 30, 2006; A01

There’s a part of Christmas morning that Tiffany Seay dreads: getting everything out of its packaging. The twisties. The tape. The hard plastic ties, like handcuffs for dolls. The itty-bitty screwdrivers.

“It takes at least 40 minutes to get all the packaging off all the toys,” fumes the Fort Washington mother of two and government analyst. “I have a 2-year-old and he’s like, Mommeeeee!”

In an effort to keep toys intact and music players from being pilfered, the consumer products industry has moved en masse into a style of wrapping that’s more prison than package. The hard plastic clamshell container, with its fused seams, is so impenetrable it has even spawned its own safecracking tools: razor-sharp gadgets designed to slash through all that stuff.

Manufacturers say molded packaging protects goods on the long journey from Asia. Retailers say the heat-sealed edges keep shoppers from opening them in stores. And products certainly look picture-perfect in that clear plastic bubble.

“But once you’ve gotten it home,” said JoAnn Hines, a Georgia-based packaging consultant to manufacturers, “then it’s open at your peril.”

The vitriol these packages inspire is so rampant the industry has a name for it: wrap rage. Georgia Taylor of Woodbridge has it.

“I hate it. I hate it,” the IRS manager says of the ubiquitous plastic clamshell, resistant to scissors, razor blades and loud swearing. “Sometimes you stop and feel that plastic and if it’s the really hard kind, you think, ‘Do I really want to bother with this?’ “

Manufacturers can no longer ignore the soaring consumer complaints. The result, packaging experts say, is that this will be one of the last holiday seasons that require a box cutter.

“They realize it’s a problem,” said Jim Silver, editor of Toy Wishes magazine. “Over the next two years, they want to transform what the packaging is because they want to make it easier to open.”

But just as people hit the outlet mall at midnight on Black Friday, then complain the holiday season is too materialistic, the always conflicted U.S. consumer feels two ways about packaging, said the design critic and author Thomas Hine.

“You want the virgin product — the product that’s untouched by human hands,” Hine said. “Yet when you get it home, the very thing that kept the product pristine is what’s keeping you from actually experiencing it. We want it both ways.”

Consider a patent application, granted in 2003 to California-based One Source Industries, for a new and improved kind of clamshell:

“The backing and cover are preferably formed of a plastic . . . that is difficult to puncture, cut or tear,” it reads. “The seal between the backing and cover is preferably difficult to compromise, so that human hands have great difficulty separating the backing and cover.”

Then consider the patent granted a year later, to Thomas Perlmutter, for the brutally sharp OpenX tool, designed for clamshell-cracking. He’s put about a million into those frustrated human hands, and demand rises sharply around the holidays, he said. Another opener called KwikCut is sold in the Home Improvements catalogue.

“I haven’t been able to find one,” complained clamshell hater Taylor, who argues stores should carry them right next to the offending products. “I’ve been looking all over.”

This year, Consumer Reports magazine gave an award for the worst plastic clamshell packaging to a warehouse-store version of a Uniden cordless phone set: It took 9 minutes 22 seconds to unwrap completely and nearly caused injury to the person opening it. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, injuries from plastic packaging resulted in 6,400 visits to emergency rooms in 2004.

Uniden is trying to come up with easier-to-open packaging, but spokesman Rex Holloway said many retailers don’t want change. “We’re kind of caught between a rock and a hard place,” he said.

On Amazon.com, one reviewer of the remote-controlled Roboreptile by Wow Wee singled out the toy’s solitary confinement: “Getting him out of the box was a major pain. Apparently they’re concerned about packs of them escaping and running amok devouring Barbies in the stores at night or something.”

It’s not just the difficulty that steams shoppers, it’s the environmental impact of all that plastic. “It’s just so wasteful,” said Jessica McBride, 30, of Falls Church, who actively avoids buying anything that has too much plastic wrapping.

Consumers are way ahead of the industry with these concerns, said Aidan Petrie, chief innovation officer of Item Group, a Providence, R.I., product design firm. He pushed clients for years to use more inviting and minimal wrapping, to no avail. Now that big retailers like Wal-Mart are trying to curb waste, he predicts “a sea change” in how things are presented.

Schick’s Intuition ladies razor is an example of what’s to come. “It has all the presence that people like about the clamshell,” said Petrie, “with none of the frustration. And in fact it has easy open tabs on it.”

In August, Costco Wholesale Stores began putting some items, such as Lexmark inkjet cartridges, into something called Natralock, an easy-to-open cardboard and plastic hybrid. “You’ll see it ramp up over time,” predicted Natralock’s Don Hodapp.

Consumers are also agitating for fewer of those time-consuming twisties, plastic cuffs and taped-down cardboard reinforcements that keep toys, in particular, imprisoned with no chance of escape. Silver, of Toy Wishes, said toy executives are evaluating those, too, asking consumer-friendly questions such as, ” ‘Why do we need 10 when four will do?’ ” he said.

But for this holiday season, Silver has some advice:

“We suggest you take it out of the box, untie the fasteners and then put it back in the box and wrap it,” he said.

Posted: design, environment

Cost of Public Buildings0

Found this $1.00 book in the bookstore below Sydney Central Station. Francesca Morrison “Sydney” A Guide to Recent Architecture. It’s not a 100% current, but for a buck it’s pretty educational.

The most interesting part is a detailed listing of the construction costs of various public buildings. Cities are always strapped for money, but this is a good listing of what it cost one city to modernize.

Amazing how much money was spent as part of the bicentennary and the Olympic Games 2000. Where did the billions of dollars come from? And is Sydney benefitting from all this investment? The Opera House probably was a little out there when it was first built, but imaging Sydney without it. Would all the tourists come visit? How did Sydney get to be the number 3 city (after Paris and New York) in the Lonely Planets book.

Amazing below that the biggest expense was spent on a hospital, then the airport, the convention center, and the waterfront. It must be something Australian that they spent three times as much on a swimming pool than a track and field course.

(Exchange Rate today 1.26AU$/US$)

Circular Quay Promenade (2km) - AU$100 mio, US$78.9mio
Overseas Passenger Terminal (7,000 m2) - AU$16mio, US$12.6mio
Macquarie Street Boulevard, AU$16mio, US$12.6mio
Darling Harbour Park (54 ha) - AU$20mio, US$15.7mio

International Terminal, Sydney Airport (70,000 m2) - AU$240mio, US$189.3mio - US$2,700/m2
Glebe Island Bridge (805 m) - AU$90mio, US$71.0mio - US$88,000/m
Sydney Convention Center (120,000 m2) - AU$120mio, US$94.6mio - US$790/m2
Sydney Exhibition Center (25,000 m2) - AU$80mio, US$63.1mio - US$2500/m2
Penrith Civic Center (5,000 m2) - AU$24mio, US$18.9mio - US$3800/m2
State Library of New South Wales (22500 m2) - AU$33mio, US$26.0mio - US$1200/m2

Sydney Eye Hospital (7000 m2) - AU$22mio, US$17.4mio - US$2500/m2
New Childrens Hospital (75,000 m2) - AU$318mio, US$250.8mio - US$3300/m2
Museum of Contemporary Art AU$12mio, US$9.5mio
Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Center (5,000 m2) - AU$6mio, US$4.7mio - US$940/m2
Wharf Theatre (8,600 m2) - AU$3.7mio, US$2.9mio - US$340/m2
Art Gallery of New South Wales (11,000 m2) - AU$25mio, US$19.7mio - US$1800/m2
Capitol Theatre - AU$24mio, US$18.9mio
National Maritime Museum (8,500 m2) - AU$36mio, US$28.4mio - US$3300/m2
Powerhouse Museum (38,000 m2) - AU$97mio, US$76.5mio - US$2000/m2

Sydney Aquarium (4,000 m2) - AU$22mio, US$17.4mio - US$4400/m2
Sydney Football Stadium - AU$62mio, US$48.9mio
Sydney International Athletics Center (8,500 m2) - AU$23mio, US$18.1mio - US$2100/m2
Sydney International Aquatics Center (14,500 m2) - AU$65mio, US$51.3mio - US$3500/m2

Park Hyatt Hotel - AU$45 mio, US$35.5mio

Posted: social/culture, design, environment

Public Service Education Announcement0

(Original found here).

One smart approach to dispell local misinformation.  Unlike public relations this seems to be genuine, not a cover your ass kind of article. This is rare.

Water supply
Salt assertions wrong
Saturday, November 25, 2006 9:17 AM HST

This letter is in response to inaccurate information being released to the public by certain individuals in West Hawaii. The erroneous ad states “Kailua-Kona’s water is 300-600 ppm of salt. Medically safe water is less than 30 ppm.”

First of all, please be assured that we are very concerned about the water quality in Kona, as well as all the other areas of the island that we serve. We are in fact very proud of the level of quality of water that we do provide our customers. We do, however, understand there may be concerns regarding the water quality in a few of the Kona water sources. But at the same time, we want to address and clarify some of the inaccurate information that is being released to the public by outside parties.

What is salt and where does it come from?

“Salt” is a compound that consists of the elements of sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl). It is a common mistake to use the term “salt” when intending to refer only to sodium. Sodium and chloride are common elements found in practically every water supply.

The primary source of sodium and chloride in drinking water is sea water via intrusion. A drinking water source that taps the basal aquifer is extracting fresh water which “floats” over sea water.

How high is the salt concentration in Kailua-Kona’s water?

The highest concentration of sodium on record at the Department is 166 parts per million (ppm; also equal to mg/L) from the primary source feeding the Kailua-Kona area, the Kahaluu Shaft. Chloride levels from the Kahaluu Shaft have averaged 259 ppm over the past five years, ranging from a low of 110 ppm to a high of 450 ppm.

Is the water in Kailua-Kona safe to drink?

Absolutely, the water in Kailua-Kona meets all of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) health standards for drinking water. If you are an individual on a physician prescribed “no salt” diet, then you should verify your intake of our water with your other dietary intakes. For comparison purposes, regular milk has a sodium concentration of approximately 500 ppm.

At present, EPA has no health standards for sodium and chloride in drinking water. They are considered secondary contaminants for their aesthetic impact to drinking water.

It is important to note that sodium is an essential nutrient for most of us. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council recommends that most healthy adults need to consume at least 500 mg of sodium per day, and that sodium intake be limited to 2,400 mg per day. Therefore, if water contained 166 mg/- of sodium, a person would need to drink 14.46 liters of water per day to reach the 2,400 mg level. This translates to drinking approximately 3.8 gallons of water per day, or 61 eight ounce glasses of water per day.

Is the Department of Water Supply doing anything to improve the water quality in Kailua-Kona?

We are implementing as well as planning various projects to improve the water quality, specifically sodium and chloride levels in the area. One project underway is the replacement of the pump components at the Kahaluu Shaft. This is expected to extract water nearer to the surface which should have lower sodium and chloride levels. The department is also working on projects to allow water from wells mauka of Mamalahoa Highway to reach makai are as.

The department is also pursuing the development of additional wells in the mauka area. These wells tap high-level water that is perched above the basal lens and thus not affected by salt water intrusion.

We also have included sodium and chloride levels in our annual Water Quality Reports that we send to all of our customers. Should anyone want a copy, please contact us at the number listed below, or visit our web page: http://www.hawaiidws.org.

Again, we assure you that we are always concerned about the water quality that we provide, from source to tap. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Water Quality Assurance and Control Branch at 961-8670.

Milton D. Pavao, P.E.
Manager
Dept. Water Supply

Posted: local, environment, science

Biodiesel in Hawaii - Calculations0

(Original article found here).

Interesting approach to the biodiesel issue in Hawaii. We can’t use our native plants effectively, but will need to import yet another species. For 70,000 acres we’ll get 53 million gallons of oil annually. We have a population of over 1+ million, say 60% of them drive cars (since public transportation is soooo widespread), say 750,000. The acreage will yield about 70 gallons per vehicle. We can’t drive much here, say about 10,000 miles a year at 25 mpg (since most people drive trucks), so we need about 400 gallons a year per vehicle.

The total diesel usage seems to be 272 million gallons per year (about 363 gallons per above vehicle estimate). But then again, this is only diesel, not gasoline.

Now how much is 70,000 acres? 338.8 million square yards (or a square 18,400 yards long on each side, or about 10.5 miles by 10.5 miles). That’s a pretty large palm plantation.

If I wanted to grow this myself, the yield is about 757 gallons per acre. 2 cars would use about 800 gallons per year, so an acre of oil palm trees is needed to run your vehicles for a year. Seems like a lot of work.

Unusual suspects likely best bet for biodiesel crops
by Carolyn Lucas
West Hawaii Today
clucas@westhawaiitoday.com
Saturday, November 4, 2006 8:57 AM HST

Forget fueling vehicles on soybeans, sunflowers, rapeseed or corn. These traditional crops are not favorable; nor will they solve the state’s energy crunch, according to “Biodiesel Crop Implementation in Hawaii,” released this week by the Department of Agriculture.

The Hawaii Agricultural Research Center explored a variety of potential biofuels, including soybean, flax, rapeseed, sunflower, peanut, African oil palm, kukui nut, jojoba, Chinese tallow tree, avocado, coconut, neem tree and algae.

The 89-page report advocates the use of Jatropha curcas, a type of oilseed-bearing plant that can withstand less than optimal growing conditions and is apt for arid leeward environments. It also recommends African oil palm, claiming it is the best source for vegetable oil, the highest oil-producing plant in the world and well-suited to wet windward environments.

Still challenges exist, such as harvesting the African oil palm and the lack of information about the adaptation of Jatropha curcas.

The research center studied three possible scenarios for biodiesel production specific to the state. It also outlined the potential for future biodiesel production to expand agricultural development and decrease the state’s dependency on imported diesel by 20 percent.

“All diesel could be a blend of B20, decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases, sulfur oxides in particular, and supplying Hawaii’s economy with more agricultural jobs,” states Michael D. Poteet, the report’s author. “With the current knowledge, it should not be expected that Hawaii can produce enough biodiesel to completely abandon the need for petroleum-based diesel.”

Hawaii could potentially produce more than 150 million gallons of biodiesel annually, which is equivalent to 55 percent of the total diesel usage in the State for 2004, according to “Biodiesel Crop Implementation in Hawaii.”

The report contains information on potential locations for future biodiesel crop production, identification of potential oilseed bearing crops, and production and processing capabilities on each island.

Hawaii Agricultural Research Center claims the Big Island has “the greatest potential for high-volume production of biodiesel” than the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. Supposedly, the Hamakua Coast, Puna District and Ka’u District could supply enough oil for biodiesel processing to supply all of the Big Island’s needs. Potential yields from these regions are estimated to be more than 100 million gallons of oils.

Some crops may be able to utilize agricultural lands that are currently marginally productive.

“The Puna District is made up of old sugarcane lands, papaya operations, nurseries and other small operations,” the report stated. “If the area known as the ‘Puna Rocks’ were to be converted into an oil palm agro-forestry operation, a 70,000-acre parcel could produce approximately 53 million gallons of oil for biodiesel annually.”

The report concludes research and development may take five to 10 years in order to determine the best crops and locations for crop production. Small-scale processing facilities will also need to be established to process the raw materials into useable fuels.

The benefits of biodiesel fuels include reducing the dependency on petroleum-based fuels and decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases.

To view the full report, visit: http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa.

Posted: local, environment, science

Side Effect - More Fat More Gasoline0

This is a good true joke.

So somebody losing 25 lbs could save $10 a year?

American’s girth adds to extra gasoline use

Want to spend less at the pump? Lose some weight.

That’s the implication of a new study that says Americans are burning nearly 1 billion more gallons of gasoline each year than they did in 1960 because of their expanding waistlines. Simply put, more weight in the car means lower gas mileage.

Using recent gas prices of $2.20 a gallon, that translates to about $2.2 billion more spent on gas each yeqar.

The lost mileage is pretty small for any single driver. The typical driver would use roughtly 18 fewer gallons of gas over the course of a year by losing 100 pounts.

At $2.20 per gallon, that would be a savings of almost $40.

Posted: social/culture, health, environment

Compost Worms Working at Work0

(Original here).

Not sure that it’s a good idea to combine home and work life in such a fashion, but maybe steps like these are needed to raise conscience in everybody.

Those crazy Californians.

California Encourages Bringing Worms to Work
By NOAKI SCHWARTZ,
Associated Press Writer
Wed Oct 11, 8:53 PM ET

Next to a copy machine on the 10th floor of the city’s public works building sits a plastic bin filled with worms wriggling in rotting lettuce. Public servants walk by without even glancing at the box or the note above it: “Quiet please. Worms at work.”

Always on the cutting edge of all things environmental, California is encouraging public and private-sector employees to bring worms to work so that the creatures can chew up apple cores, sandwich scraps and other lunch leftovers and produce compost.

The employees are then invited to take the stuff home and use the all-natural fertilizer in their gardens and on their houseplants.

The state’s Integrated Waste Management Board is so serious about this that it has posted on its Web site a list of top 10 ways to recycle on the job, and No. 2 is: “Keep worms in your office.”

Supporters of the idea say that once you get over the ick factor, it’s not so bad. Open up a bin and it looks like a box of odorless, wet coffee grounds.

“Worms are the most forgiving pets you’ll ever own,” said Carol Parker, the “worm lady” who cares for the worms at the public works office. “You can go away for two weeks and ignore them and they’re fine.”

Tips for keeping happy worms are available on the state’s Web site. Among other things, it suggests buying your worms from a worm supplier, to make sure you get the right kind. (”Unless you are pretty well brushed up on oligochaetology, do not try to dig up worms from your backyard.”)

The site provides a long list of suppliers across the state to choose from, including As the Worm Turns, Live Nude Worms, and the Happy D. Ranch Worm Farm, which sells a three-tray “worm factory,” which for $117 includes a bed of shredded coconut fiber and two pounds of worms.

To start a homemade bin, experts recommend putting down a little dirt and shredded damp cardboard or newspaper. Be sure to poke holes in the bin ” air flow is necessary to promote decomposition and keep odors down ” and make absolutely certain you’ve bought the right kind of worms. Apparently if they are not red worms, they may try to escape en masse.

The waste management board “part of the California Environmental Protection Agency ” began promoting composting at least a decade ago, though the Top 10 suggestions are more recent. Andrew Hurst, who oversees the program at Cal EPA, acknowledged that only “very, very small numbers of businesses have worms.”

“It’s a weird thing to do,” he admits. “It’s not normal behavior to bring a bucket of worms to your office and put food scraps in there.”

At the Cal EPA complex in Sacramento, hundreds of thousands of worms process some five tons of food scraps per year. The 60-some bins are in offices, halls, even the daycare center. There is a waiting list for bins among employees, some of whom have been known to compete over whose office has the more productive worms.

Over time, the caretakers have learned a thing or two about the worms’ preferences.

“Worms don’t like ranch dressing,” Hurst said.

They also seem to harbor a special dislike for bologna sandwiches, though any kind of dairy or meat product is problematic because of the smell, he added. Like other slender creatures, worms are also finicky about fatty foods and carbs, and eat bread only in moderation. Coffee grounds, on the other hand, and rotting fruit go over very well.

“They don’t have teeth, so things have to rot,” Hurst explained. “Worms need to be able to slurp it.”

At least one Los Angeles County employee acknowledged that her popularity did not exactly skyrocket when she brought her new hobby to work.

“People found it objectionable that I had worms behind my desk,” said Janet Coke, with the county sanitation agency. “They would just kind of tease me about my worm pile.”

On the Net:
http://www.zerowaste.ca.gov/Top10Office.htm

Posted: social/culture, environment