Eubie's notes

NY Times: Disney Says It Will Link Marketing to Nutrition — Walt Disney plans to curtail the use of its name and characters with food items that do not meet new nutritional standards. and WSJ: Disney Pulls Its Characters From Junk Food — Disney said its characters and brands will only be used on child-focused products that meet healthy dietary guidelines.

NY Times: Expert Federal Panel Urges New Look at Land Use Along Coasts in Effort to Reduce Erosion — The panel said a rising sea level was accelerating erosion on these coasts, even as more people seek to live along them.

NY Times: So Big and Healthy Even Grandpa Wouldn’t Even Know You — I was reminded after seeing an exhibit of clothing up until the 1900s. The shoes and gloves looked more like infant wear. Other indications were military enrollment from 1850, when the average for a male was 5′ 7.5″ tall and weighed 146 lbs. and 2000, when the average male was 5′ 9.5″ and weighed 191 pounds.

Also when a person reached 50 in 1900, they could expect to live 21 more years. Now they can expect to live 31 years.

NY Times: Home Front: Refurbishing Computers, and Lives, Too — Per Scholas upgrades desktop computers that corporations discard as obsolete and distributes them to schools and families.

There’s also FreeGeek.org, a group in Portland, Ore., that I have followed for several years.

WSJ: Google Campus to Get Solar Power — Google plans to install a massive solar-power system at its headquarters, as technology companies’ support for alternative energy is on the rise. and NY Times: Search Power Takes a Stand for Sun Power — Google said it would build a large solar electricity system to provide electricity to its office complex in Mountain View, Calif.

Also Wired News: Aussies Eye Sun to Beat Blackouts — Hoping to keep the juice flowing despite a predicted energy shortfall, Australia plans to build the world’s biggest solar power plant.

Consumers Union: State Gift Card Consumer Protection Laws — A summary of regulations in the 24 states with laws on gift cards.

This Old House: Home Inspection Nightmares — Gallery 1
and Gallery 2.

Two of my favorites were:

Christian Science Monitor: For not much more, Americans opting to eat out — Even with wages stagnant, time-strapped workers are abandoning the family kitchen in droves. For some, they can eat out for only a little more than they can eat it in.

NY Times: In God?s Name: Religious Programs Expand, So Do Tax Breaks — As religious organizations extend their scope beyond traditional worship, government at all levels is increasingly extending their tax exemptions.

Wired News: Honey Remedy Could Save Limbs — Modern, drug-resistant bacteria are meeting their match in an ancient medicine: honey. Sweeeeeet.

and

Most tantalizingly, honey seems capable of combating the growing scourge of drug-resistant wound infections, especially methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, the infamous flesh-eating strain. These have become alarmingly more common in recent years, with MRSA alone responsible for half of all skin infections treated in U.S. emergency rooms. So-called superbugs cause thousands of deaths and disfigurements every year, and public health officials are alarmed.