bluehouse Weblog

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Click here to read our latest write-up in the Baltimore Sun.

So, it turns out that six turbines installed in the East River, in New York, have been shut down for repairs by Verdant Power. The good news is this: The turbines have been shut down because the currents in the river are more powerful than engineers & geologists originally estimated. Tidal power is non-polluting, and does not use foreign oil. The six mechanisms together produce 1,000 kilowatt hours a day of clean electricity, when functioning properly. And perhaps the most unexpected bit of happy news is that fish are swimming around the blades, and none have been struck. Good for people, industry, Earth, and animals, all at once? Feels like progress!

Sunday, August 12, 11 am - 4 pm

Art on the Gwynns Falls Trail
PHOTO SAFARI CONTEST

Leakin Park, Winans Meadow
4500 Franklintown Road, Baltimore, MD

Pack your lunch and camera, and bring your family & friends to Winans Meadow, at Leakin Park, to view, enjoy, and photograph the 2007 Art on the Trail exhibit! Brought to you by GreenCityBaltimore and the Gwynns Falls Trail Council.

• Tour the show, talk with artists, historians and naturalists about the park, the Crimea Estate, and the Greater Gwynns Falls Trail.
• Enjoy fun events for adults and kids throughout the day including live music, a Native American flute concert, “sun” photo projects, and the trains at the Crimea Estate.
• Participate in the GreenCityBaltimore photo contest at Flickr.com, with contest prizes to be awarded at the Art on the Trail’s closing ceremony on Sept 2nd.

Click here for More Event Info

Click here for More Trail Info

Click here for Directions to the Trail

For event questions or to volunteer, contact Lois at greencitybaltimore@yahoo.com
or (202) 302-1478.

During the study, released Monday in the “Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine,” researchers at Stanford University surveyed 63 children. Each child tasted identical foods and beverage pairs. Half of each pairing bore the logos of the ubiquitous Global Mega-Chain, and the other half of each was unbranded.After each pair, the taste-tester was asked, “Which one tastes better?”
An overwhelming number of the children said the food in the brand-name wrapping was tastier, regardless of the type of food. Even veggies and milk scored higher in the branded packages: 61% for carrots, 54% preferred the fast-food branded milk.

Ten billion dollars are spent annually on food and beverage marketing to children in the United States. Prior studies have demonstrated that children as young as two years old can recognize brand names, packaging, logos, and characters, and associate them with products.

In the new research, packaging alone was strong enough to send a message about the taste. Study author Dr. Thomas Robinson stated that present in the tests, there were “no Happy Meals, no movie characters, no Ronald McDonald… I would expect the effects to be even stronger if we included any of those.” Only the food wrappers effected the childrens’ perceptions of their experience.
The authors of this study suggest ads directed at children should be regulated or even banned, stating that children younger than 7 to 8 years old do not understand the persuasive intent of advertising. But in an era of increasing concern with corporate responsibility, regulation seems a less desirable outcome, to some, than just seeing the offenders step up.

“Our findings also suggest that if McDonald’s and other fast food corporations spent the same billions to market healthful foods instead of high fat, calorie-dense foods, they might be able to improve children’s nutrition instead of hurting it.” - Dr. Robinson