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Several Exciting Truth Regarding Plastic Recycling

Submitted by: Douglas R. Williams

Various exciting facts concerning recycling plastic are the following: it uses less energy and dump space, recycling one of every ten plastic bottles each year could keep over 100,000 tons of plastic material from landfills, there are various solutions to reuse plastic, it could aid safeguard environments, and it helps protect oil and fossil fuels.

In the nineteen fifties the utilization of plastic worldwide was estimated to be more than five million tons. This specific figure has elevated over the years, and in 2006, plastic consumption had reached 100 million tons. Plastic materials are widely used, from the water bottles at the school cafeterias, shopping and grocery bags, to job ticket holders in shops. The thing is that after use a lot of plastic products are just thrown away. This has become a growing issue for many towns and cities as plastic does not decay and can fill up land fills. These are some exciting facts you need to know about plastic recycling:

Recycling plastic material uses less electricity as well as land fill area

Many waste disposal companies use incinerators to melt off plastic products. Imagine the amount of energy is required to burn up all the plastics in whole metropolitan areas. When compared with this technique of getting rid of plastic, recycling plastic materials utilizes lower than half the level of energy. In fact, recycling a lot of plastic could conserve approximately two people’s energy usage every year. Recycling one ton of plastic material can also conserve approximately 2,000 lbs of oil. Besides saving power, about 7.4 cubic yards of trash dumps may become free if a ton of plastic merchandise is recycled.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuLSAeSJ1CA[/youtube]

Recycling one of every 10 plastic bottles each year can keep above 100,000 tons of plastic material from trash dumps

Annually, the quantity of plastic recycled is sufficient to cover all of Texas in shrink wrap. But this quantity could still grow. According to the Oberlin College Resource Conservation Team, if American citizens prefer to reuse one out of every ten bottles that they use every year, greater than 100,000 tons of plastic products can be stored out of landfills per year.

There are several solutions to reuse plastic material

There are various kinds of plastic and all of them could be recycled. You may read articles and art periodicals for tips on what to do with shampoo bottles, plastic bags, plastic wraps and also other plastic supplies. If you don’t like to reuse them by yourself, you may take them to recycling centers in your own town. Alternatively, there are also private organizations and businesses that accept or purchase used plastic items.

It could help safeguard environments

A huge part of plastic bags used end up in the ocean. In fact, in 1975, more than 8 million pounds of plastic components had been trashed there. Plastic materials will find their way into oceans through the sewage system and also drains. This kind of process causes harm to underwater life as well as the underwater ecosystem in general.

It may help conserve oil and fossil fuels

Not many individuals understand that fossil and oil fuels are among the materials used in developing plastic bottles. The problem of the lowering supply of fossil and oil fuels can certainly be partially alleviated if the production of plastic bottles is lessened, which could be made possible by plastic recycling.

It helps to be a knowledgeable and also responsible customer of plastic items. Use plastic items that are durable enough to last you a long time.

About the Author: Written by Douglas R. Williams. For additional information on durable

job ticket holders

, visit http://shop.dominoplastics.com/index.php

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World Cup qualifier may be affected by London Underground strike

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

In the United Kingdom, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) began a work stoppage at 19:00 BST (18:00 GMT) today after last-minute talks over pay, jobs and disciplinary issues broke down. The stoppage is expected to last 48 hours and could leave millions of travelers without transportation.

Sky News says that there are fears that the strike may affect fan transportation for the England national football team‘s 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier match against Andorra at Wembley Stadium tomorrow. Football Association (FA) chief executive Ian Watmore announced that the game would continue as planned at 20:15 BST (19:15 GMT) and encouraged spectators to arrive at the stadium early. The stadium gates will now open at 17:45 BST (16:45 GMT).

No extra transport is being put on and overground trains will not stop at Wembley, and car parking and park-and-ride facilities are unavailable at the ground. Fears of lack of transportation raised the possibility that the game would be forced to play behind closed doors without the team’s supporters.

Watmore said that refunds will be available for supporters that do not attend the game. Last week, the FA decided to halt ticket sales at 70,000 in anticipation of a possible strike. Wembley Stadium can accommodate 90,000 fans for football matches.

In years past, the RMT has been known to clash with the London Underground and its privatised contractors Metronet and Tubelines.

On June 5, London Underground offered staff a four-year pay deal or a two-year deal which they called an “above inflation pay rise”. However, the RMT is seeking a 5% pay raise and a commitment to no compulsory redundancies.

The English national football team currently leads their group in the World Cup qualifying with 18 points and a 6–0–0 record. Andorra currently has no points and has lost all six of their matches. Although Andorra has been eliminated from competing in the 2010 World Cup, England is still competing for better placement.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=World_Cup_qualifier_may_be_affected_by_London_Underground_strike&oldid=2461640”

Ice Machines: Air Cooled Vs Water Cooled Ice Machines

By Maxx Johnson

Ice machines are used in various industries including bars and offices but a restaurant ice machine generally needs to be bigger and more efficient. The average machine can produce hundreds and hundreds of pounds of ice in a day and can hold anything between 80 and 100 pounds of ice in a collection bin. Because restaurant units need to be efficient, it is important to make sure you choose the right type of machine for your restaurant.

There are two main types of ice making machines- air cooled machines and water cooled machines. But which one is best for your restaurant? Well, each ice machine comes in various different sizes, from compact to standard and large, so the first thing you need to think about when purchasing a restaurant ice machine is the size you will need.

Once you have decided on your size, you need to decide which type of ice making machine will be the best for your restaurant, an air cooled or a water cooled machine and to help you make your decision, here are some of the differences between them.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62eTq8ErUOQ[/youtube]

Air cooled machines: an air cooled ice making machine is basically what it says; the refrigeration system is cooled by air. The good thing about an air cooled unit is that it uses less water and they are quite reasonable to buy. However, an air cooled unit can heat the air around it which can make the atmosphere quite uncomfortable, but air cooled ice machines are considered to be better for the environment.

Water cooled machines: the advantages of a water cooled units are that they are more energy efficient and they also do not raise the room temperature- which is good in a restaurant setting. They are also quieter than air cooled units but they can also cost more and in certain areas they can have expensive operating costs when water prices are high.

Machines for restaurants are important because customers always need ice with their drinks, but in the past both water and air cooled ice making machines were considered acceptable, but recently many businesses have decided to use air cooled machines rather than water cooled, despite their obvious efficiency and low running costs. The reason for this is that recently a few of the environmental agencies have decided not to put their seal onto water cooled machines because the amount of water that the machines used has been considered a waste of water because they use a very large amount of water- hence higher water bills when running a water cooled machine.

So, which ice making machine should use choose for your restaurant? Water cooled units are quieter, more efficient and do not heat the air around them. However they can cost more and are now being considered wasteful with water. Air cooled restaurant ice machines are cheaper to buy and use a lot less water, on a downside they are noisy and heat the air.

About the Author: Max Johnson of VGS Golf Learn more about

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Scientists use DNA analysis to track elephant poaching networks

Friday, February 18, 2022

Findings published Monday by a team composed mostly of University of Washington Center for Forensic Science researchers in Nature Human Behaviour report using a form of DNA analysis techniques originally designed for human teeth to track ivory poached from African elephants.

The scientists, in collaboration with the United States Department of Homeland Security, identified the criminal networks that killed the endangered animals and smuggled their valuable tusks across national borders.

The scientists took DNA samples from 4,320 tusks taken from both African bush (Loxodonta africana) and African forest (Loxodonta cyclotis) elephants that were confiscated from 49 separate ivory smuggling events in twelve countries from 2002 to 2019. The scientists found that teeth from the closely related elephants, or even two tusks from the same individual, often surfaced in different shipments that transited through the same ports. The data also showed when criminal networks shifted their operations from between port cities. They inferred poachers were making kills, then separating the tusks at some point along the smuggling route.

The team had been studying DNA analysis on poached tusks for years: in 2018, they found two tusks from different shipments had come from the same animal, which indicated both shipments were from the same kill and transited by the same criminal network. This is the first report of DNA identification tusks that came from elephants in the same families.

Lead author Dr Samuel Wasser said: “Identifying close relatives indicates that poachers are likely going back to the same populations repeatedly — year after year — and tusks are then acquired and smuggled out of Africa on container ships by the same criminal network.” He added: “This criminal strategy makes it much harder for authorities to track and seize these shipments because of the immense pressure they are under to move large volumes of containers quickly through ports.”

Wasser said similar studies will provide law enforcement groups access to a greater range of evidence with which to prosecute poachers and their criminal partners by providing verifiable links between different caches of captured ivory. The researchers concluded in their paper that law enforcement could use their information to discern the ways in which poachers are collaborating.

Humans have used the ivory from elephant tusks to make art, decorations, and tools since prehistory. Many countries have since outlawed the sale of ivory, but poachers continue to kill tens of thousands of elephants each year.

The paper’s authors were from the University of Washington, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kenyan-based organisation SeeJ-Africa, the Kenya Wildlife Service, and Singapore’s National Parks Board.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Scientists_use_DNA_analysis_to_track_elephant_poaching_networks&oldid=4665526”

Genetically altered mice are “superathletes”

Friday, November 2, 2007

Researchers at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio have announced the creation of transgenic mice with substantially improved athletic endurance, which live and breed longer and are more aggressive than genetically unmodified siblings, and are leaner despite consuming 60% more food. The mice have been dubbed “mighty mice” or “supermice” by the popular press and have been compared to cyclist Lance Armstrong.

The changes were created by adding an extra copy of a single gene, PEPCK-C. This gene is already present in the mouse genome, but the modified gene is designed to be strongly active (transcribed) in skeletal muscle. (The natural copy of the gene, most active in the liver, continues to function normally). The gene mediates a crucial rate controlling step of gluconeogenesis and glyceroneogenesis, and its activity helps to allow energy production by the mitochondrial citric acid cycle. In the transgenics, more energy is available to muscle through the burning of fatty acids, with much less production of lactate (a chemical that leads to sore muscles when one exercises). This is not as major a change to the mouse genome as it might seem to the layperson. The PEPCK-C gene is already present in the mouse and a variety of natural mutations could likely cause similar results. The study appears today in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in a paper with lead author Parvin Hakimi from the laboratory of Richard W. Hanson.

The altered mice can run at 20 meters per minute (0.75 miles per hour or 1.2 kilometers per hour) for up to six kilometers (nearly four miles) without stopping. The average treadmill time for strenuous exercise on a 25-degree incline is 31.9 minutes, well in excess of the 19 minute average of unmodified mice. Females can breed at two and a half years of age, whereas most female mice cannot breed after the first year.

A colony of 500 mice has been bred, starting from six independent germline transformations (“founder” mice). The level of PEPCK-C in muscle is 9 units per gram of muscle as opposed to only 0.08 in normal mice. Levels of triglycerides and the number of mitochondria are also increased.

Hanson said that he did not expect that the results would be applicable to humans due to both practical and ethical considerations in addition to the fact that the genes might not function the same way in humans.

This is not the first time that the press has dubbed a genetically modified mouse a “mighty mouse”. Earlier scientists at John Hopkins University announced that they had made mice with massively increased muscle mass that were larger and stronger than their normal cousins. These alterations increased strength rather than endurance through the genetic modification of myostatin and follistatin, or by injection of a soluble form of ACVR2B to block myostatin activity in normal mice.

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UK Wikinews Shorts: December 23, 2009

A compilation of brief news reports for Wednesday, December 23, 2009.

 Contribute to Wikinews by expanding these briefs or add a new one.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=UK_Wikinews_Shorts:_December_23,_2009&oldid=4458310”

Essential Tips For Choosing Outdoor Tiles

In fact, many people choose outdoor quarry tiles owing to their strength and durability.

• These tiles are naturally stained and slip-resistant naturally. Based on how you place and design the tiles, you can achieve a contemporary look with them. • The quarry tiles are fired at a high temperature which means that they can absorb more water than other types of tiles. • When installed with good grout, they make for one of the best options for outdoor spaces like porches and patios.• Since they are man-made, there is uniformity in appearance as compared to other tiles.• You can also create your pizza baking stone outdoors with quarry tiles. Isn’t that great?

There are few other things that you should keep in mind when getting tiles for outdoors. When someone enters your home, it is the outer space that creates the first impression. When you are busy creating perfect aesthetics for your interiors, don’t ignore the exteriors.

Let’s have a look at some tips for choosing outdoor tiles:

• Take a note of the surroundings

You should first consider the house’s surroundings and keep a check on the temperature fluctuations around the place. Choose an outdoor tile design that has material favourable for the local climate. Never choose tiles that remain cold during colder times and heat up during warm temperatures.

• Have clarityThere is a huge variety when it comes to outdoor tiles, and it can be confusing to choose the best one. You need to focus on how you wish to utilize the outdoor space. Once you get this clarity, it will make the choice of a pattern of the right outdoor tiles easier. While some people wish to keep it simple, others might be looking for something over the top and lavish.

• The coating on the tilesOutdoor tiles are vulnerable to accidents. Frost or wetness on the tiles can lead to severe injuries to you and your family members. Thus, you should also choose tiles that are frost and skid-resistant in nature. The finishing of the outdoor tiles should be a little rough as compared to indoor tiles that are smooth. This will help in preventing accidents. Try to stay away from polished tiles.

• Go creative with coloursOnce you have decided on the pattern and coating of the tiles, the next thing to decide is the colour. Colours play a crucial role as they can give a great look to your outdoors. You should be careful about the colours you choose. The outdoor tiles should neither look too simple that they don’t strike an impression at all nor should they be too gaudy.

• Personal touchYour home is an extension of your personality, and hence every element should have your personal touch. While the above-mentioned factors are important, don’t forget to give your personal touch as the outdoors are also a part of your dcor theme. You can also go for different tiles for different areas of the outdoor space based on the needs of a particular area.

Theoutdoor quarry tiles are one of the best options for your porches and patios. You can also explore other options for outdoor space and choose the best one suiting your needs.

Canada to legalise marijuana to ‘make it more difficult for kids to access’

Sunday, April 16, 2017

In order to put the cannabis drug (marijuana) out of reach of minors, the Canadian federal government announced a bill to legalise cannabis for the age group of eighteen and above, on Thursday. The bill would allow adults to possess cannabis publicly, previously a criminal offence.

Canada’s health minister Jane Philpott tweeted, “Today we tabled new legislation to legalise, strictly regulate, and restrict access to cannabis. Our goal: keep it out of the hands of youth, and profits out of the hands of criminals.” ((fr))French language: ?Ajd nous avons déposé un nouveau projet de loi pour légaliser le cannabis, le réglementer de manière stricte et en restreindre l’accès. Notre objectif: garder le cannabis hors de la portée des jeunes, & les profits hors des mains des criminels. The Canadian government, via their official website, explained cannabis is available illegally, and their measures to stop it did not work. Criminal organisations are making money selling cannabis. Under-aged people can obtain the drug easily; they said, “it is easier for our kids to buy cannabis than cigarettes.”

The bill allows provinces and territories to set the age limit above eighteen. In order to prevent criminal gangs from making a profit, selling the drug needs a license permitting its sale. Adults can purchase the drug online from a licensed producer if a retail shop is not available in the province.

Adults can carry up to 30 g (slightly over an ounce) of cannabis and grow at most four cannabis plants at home, for personal use. The plants should be no taller than a metre, the bill proposed. Selling cannabis to minors would be a specific criminal offence.

The legislation requires parliamentary approval and royal assent. If passed, the bill would be under effect by July 2018, the government said. Health and safety experts and law enforcement were consulted before proposing the legislation. Except for medical purposes, possession of the drug remains illegal until the bill is passed. Regardless of the status of the bill, import and export of the drug would be illegal.

Previously when the government increased the taxes on cigarettes to discourage citizens from smoking, a black market for cigarettes developed.

Along with legalising cannabis, the bill would also permit the police officials to use tools like oral fluid drug screeners to detect if drivers are under the influence of the drug. Zero tolerance against drivers under influence of drugs is proposed. The government would also implement a public awareness campaign on the perils of driving under the influence of drugs.

The government still working on the restrictions. Lawmaker and former police chief Bill Blair said, “We do accept that more important work remains to be done.” If the bill is passed, Canada would be the second country to legalise cannabis completely. Uruguay is the first. Some countries, such as Germany, allow medical use of cannabis, but recreational use is prohibited.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Canada_to_legalise_marijuana_to_%27make_it_more_difficult_for_kids_to_access%27&oldid=4608651”

Wikinews Shorts: May 7, 2007

A compilation of brief news reports for Monday, May 7, 2007.

A 30 meter section of a gas pipeline in Luka (near Kiev) in Ukraine has been destroyed by an explosion. Although supplies to Europe via this pipeline have stopped, Ukrainian Energy Minister Georgi E. Boyko said that supplies to Europe would not be affected.

“There are no changes in volumes of gas being transported,” Yuri Korolchuk said. “Volumes due to pass through the damaged section are being redirected through the Soyuz pipeline.”

Normal flows are reported in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

Sources

  • “Blast damages pipeline in Ukraine” — Russia Today, May 8, 2007
  • Natalya Zinets, Reuters. “Blast hits Ukraine gas pipeline” — The Scotsman, May 7, 2007

Copper prices are rising. Between record copper imports from China, and a mining strike in Peru, the prices have climbed to over $8100 (United States dollars) a tonne, for a gain of $575 dollars over the last week. However the upward trend is not new, it has been climbing for quite some time. In April 2003, the price of copper was under $2000 a tonne.

The metal market has been tending up due to growth in the Chinese industrial production. This trickles down to the local level, where the buying price at scrap yards is ever climbing, making scrap metal collection a more profitable endeavour for individual people using pick up trucks or other such vehicles to collect and cash in the scrap metal at metal buying yards. It can be collected via agreements with businesses, from the garbage, or, sometimes, by theft.

Copper prices fell today on the NYMEX commodity exchange from US$3.7545 per pound to US$3.7125 based on the July futures contract.

Sources

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.
This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.
  • “Copper up but crude oil down” — Financial Express, May 6, 2007
  • Millie Munshi. “Metals Bubble Poised to Burst on Increasing Supplies” — Bloomberg L.P., May 7, 2007
  • “Commodity Futures” — Bloomberg L.P., accessed May 7, 2007

One man was killed and another injured by an exploding backpack in the parking lot of the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The explosion happened at 4 a.m. PDT when the victim tried to remove a the object left on top of his car.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are on the scene. Aerial images did not show any apparent damage.

“We believe the victim was the intended target of this,” Bill Cassell said, spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. “This is being treated as a homicide in which the weapon used to cause death is a non-traditional weapon.”

Both of the victims worked at the Luxor.

Sources

  • Associated Press. “1 dead, 1 hurt in Las Vegas parking lot blast” — MSNBC, May 7, 2007
  • “Explosion kills man in Vegas outside Luxor hotel” — Reuters, May 7, 2007

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The Importance Of Maintaining Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

By Steven A Johnson

An astounding 23.5 million Americans are estimated to have diabetes. While there is no cure for diabetes, the good news is that in most cases type 2 diabetes can be prevented! By making important changes to your health, you can lower your risk of developing diabetes! Why wait till there is a problem? By starting to be aware of your blood sugar now, you can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes today!

Before individuals develop type 2 diabetes, most of them display pre-diabetes symptoms– blood glucose levels that exceed normal, but are not quite high enough to technically classify them as diabetic. There are roughly 57 million people in the United States that are considered to have pre-diabetes. Certain health problems put you at a higher risk for developing diabetes. Being overweight, having unhealthy cholesterol levels, smoking, high blood glucose, high blood pressure, and physical inactivity contribute to the development of diabetes and heart disease. It is very important to identify these symptoms early before they turn into problemsremember there is no cure for full-blown diabetes!

While studies have shown that some medications may slow the development of type 2 diabetes, healthy diet and regular exercise have been proven more effective! By dedicating just thirty minutes a day, (5 days a week) to moderate physical activity, combined with a 5 to 10% reduction in body weight, have produced an amazing 58% reduction in diabetes in the test groups. It is never too late to start tweaking your lifestyle towards healthy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAoT1tOt2J0[/youtube]

It is very important to have plenty of fiber in your diet, it may reduce the risk of diabetes by improving your blood sugar control. It has been found that fiber intake has been associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Fiber has an added benefit of helping you feel fuller after eating, even if you have had a smaller helping, which could help promote weight loss. Some tasty foods that are high in fiber are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds!

Another staple food that has shown to reduce the risk of diabetes and help maintain healthy blood sugar levels are whole grains. Although it’s not clear why, a definitive link between lower blood sugar and whole grains has emerged. A good rule of thumb is to try and make at least half your daily grains whole grains. Whole grains mostly come ready-to-eat, some examples to include in your diet are pasta products, various breads, and ready-to-eat cereals. To be sure that you are choosing products that do indeed have whole grains in them, just look for the word whole on the package in the list of ingredients.

It is in your best interest to skip the fad diets such as the low-carbohydrate or the low-glycemic diets. They may help you loose weight at first, but the long term effects of helping reduce the risk of diabetes are unknown. By excluding certain food groups from your diet, you are giving up essential nutrients that those foods have to offer! So remember, think about portion control and variety as part of a healthy eating plan, instead of just excluding certain foods!

Since diabetes can be prevented by just practicing good eating habits and getting enough exercise daily, it is good to know that there are products available to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels that are already within normal range! One such product is called Sugar Minders, an all natural herbal supplement that is sugar free. Sugar Minders includes Nopal Cactus, Cinnamon Bark, and Blueberry Leaf Extract which also helps to promote healthy circulation and heart function. If you are one of the many people suffering from pre-diabetes it is never too early to start changing your unhealthy lifestyle today! For more information or to purchase Sugar Minders, please visit my website: http://www.alternative-health-supplements.com/sugar-minders.htm

About the Author: Steven Johnson is interested in maintaining a vital, active, and healthy lifestyle. For more information on products that relate to the issues of diabetes, along with other life-enhancing nutrients please visit his website

Alternative Health Supplements

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