Jay Leno is setting an admirable example for the environmentally aware in his home garage, which he uses to service his enormous collection of cars. Being a millionaire car buff could mean a lot of pollution and energy use, but, as Leno says, "No one cares how much energy you use as long as you make it yourself."
A 54-kilowatt solar panel on the garage's roof, supplemented by a wind turbine, generates almost all of the huge garage's energy. Says the comedian, "I'm almost totally off the grid."
Inside the garage, a water-free foaming hand cleaner, reusable aerosol canisters, and a machine that uses a high pressure sand-and-water jet in place of a metal blade contribute to Leno's environmental efforts. "It creates no pollutants in the manufacturing process, so you can safely drain the runoff," he says. The shining stars of the garage are two deep-cleaning systems for parts such as carburetors. Where heavy-duty solvents once did the job, Leno's ultrasonic cleaner now steps up to the plate. Or sometimes, a vat filled with bacteria that eat oil and grease to reproduce. "These organisms are having sex while my parts are being cleaned," he says. "How fabulous is that?" Pretty fabulous, Jay.
To read more, visit http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-07-16-leno-cover_N.htm
Thanks again for the Gander for this story!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
New Procedure for Kidney Removal Boosts Recovery Time, Leaves No Scar
Cleveland, OH, US
Brad Kaster, a self-employed optometrist, will be ready to return to work in a little over a week. That's pretty surprising, since the average back-to-work timeline for a kidney donor is 51 days, and Brad donated his kidney to his father last week. His secret? A brand-new kidney removal procedure, which makes the entire operation possible with just one tiny incision.
In the new procedure, doctors remove the donor's kidney through his or her belly button. According to Kaster, the incision point ". . . is so tiny I'm not getting any pain from it. . . I can't even see it." Still, this tiny space is all the surgeons need to remove the donor's kidney. For the 80,000 Americans awaiting kidney transplants, this is very good news.
So far, only 10 donors have undergone the new procedure, but all of them have recovered well, with just a fraction of the pain previously associated with the surgery.
"Will this decrease the disincentive to (kidney) donation? I think the answer is yes," says Dr. Inderbir S. Gill of the Cleveland Clinic. Let's hope so.
To read more, visit
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-17-kidney-bellybutton_N.htm
Special thanks to the Gander for bringing this story to our attention!
Brad Kaster, a self-employed optometrist, will be ready to return to work in a little over a week. That's pretty surprising, since the average back-to-work timeline for a kidney donor is 51 days, and Brad donated his kidney to his father last week. His secret? A brand-new kidney removal procedure, which makes the entire operation possible with just one tiny incision.
In the new procedure, doctors remove the donor's kidney through his or her belly button. According to Kaster, the incision point ". . . is so tiny I'm not getting any pain from it. . . I can't even see it." Still, this tiny space is all the surgeons need to remove the donor's kidney. For the 80,000 Americans awaiting kidney transplants, this is very good news.
So far, only 10 donors have undergone the new procedure, but all of them have recovered well, with just a fraction of the pain previously associated with the surgery.
"Will this decrease the disincentive to (kidney) donation? I think the answer is yes," says Dr. Inderbir S. Gill of the Cleveland Clinic. Let's hope so.
To read more, visit
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-17-kidney-bellybutton_N.htm
Special thanks to the Gander for bringing this story to our attention!
Argentine Scientists Devlop Tasty, Healthy Burger
La Plata, Argentina
We Americans have our own love affair with beef, to the tune of 97 lbs consumed by the average individual in 2006. Imagine then the Argentines, who each ate an average of 140 lbs! The tasty diet staple comes with a price, however. Beef's high fat content is a contributing factor to Argentina's high heart disease levels, in addition to other health problems. What's more, healthy alternatives such as soy and fish products - abundant in Argentina - are seldom on the Argentine menu.
In light of all this, scientists at the Center for Research and Development in Food Cryotechnology have spent the past two years in hot pursuit of a new ground beef burger with all the taste and none of the dangers associated with traditional patties. After hundreds of failed attempts, they've finally devised a formula so convincing that it left 40 taste testers hungry for more.
The basic process for developing the new burger was to remove the beef fat from the meat, and replace it with healthier agents such as sunflower oil and fats from seafood. It may not sound appetizing, but according to Alicia Califano, a chemist who helped develop the recipe, "The taste is very similar to a regular hamburger because the oils and fats we've added -- even the seafood oils -- are neutral in taste and smell." She went on to caution, "But if you tried to make a hamburger this lean at home, it would be really hard and dry."
The miracle burgers aren't yet available in stores, as the project's leaders must still negotiate a contract with a mass distributor.
To learn more, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071401992.html?hpid=topnews
Thanks to Papa Goose for this story!
We Americans have our own love affair with beef, to the tune of 97 lbs consumed by the average individual in 2006. Imagine then the Argentines, who each ate an average of 140 lbs! The tasty diet staple comes with a price, however. Beef's high fat content is a contributing factor to Argentina's high heart disease levels, in addition to other health problems. What's more, healthy alternatives such as soy and fish products - abundant in Argentina - are seldom on the Argentine menu.
In light of all this, scientists at the Center for Research and Development in Food Cryotechnology have spent the past two years in hot pursuit of a new ground beef burger with all the taste and none of the dangers associated with traditional patties. After hundreds of failed attempts, they've finally devised a formula so convincing that it left 40 taste testers hungry for more.
The basic process for developing the new burger was to remove the beef fat from the meat, and replace it with healthier agents such as sunflower oil and fats from seafood. It may not sound appetizing, but according to Alicia Califano, a chemist who helped develop the recipe, "The taste is very similar to a regular hamburger because the oils and fats we've added -- even the seafood oils -- are neutral in taste and smell." She went on to caution, "But if you tried to make a hamburger this lean at home, it would be really hard and dry."
The miracle burgers aren't yet available in stores, as the project's leaders must still negotiate a contract with a mass distributor.
To learn more, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071401992.html?hpid=topnews
Thanks to Papa Goose for this story!
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