Did You Know...?

Wednesday, 01 February 2012 08:10

Leftovers can only be stored safely within a narrow window.  If your refrigerator is stuffed with leftovers, is it safe from bacterial contamination?  

That depends on how you prepare and store it, says Elizabeth Scott, co-director of the Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons College in Boston.  She says leftovers need to be chilled within two hours.

Vegetarian dishes aren’t exempt from the two-hour rule.  A microbe called Bacillus cereus has been associated with dried foods like peas, beans and rice, says Dr. Scott.  When the bacteria experience environmental stress, as with cooking, they form protective spores, which can germinate into the potentially dangerous bacteria at room temperature.

Refrigerated leftovers should be eaten within two or three days, she says.  “There’s this misconception that if you throw it into the fridge again, it’s endlessly safe”, she says.  Not true.  The cool temperatures don’t kill most bacteria, but just stop or slow their growth.

Kathleen Hobson
   

What's Up With Pitkin County?

Wednesday, 01 February 2012 07:02

The Pitkin County Commissioners hold weekly work sessions on Tuesdays and bi-monthly public hearings on Wednesdays in the Plaza One building (next to the Courthouse) in Aspen.  Both meetings are televised live and repeated on locater CG12 TV.  They are also streamed live and available on the County website. Agendas are posted in the Aspen/Glenwood newspapers and on-line at www.aspenpitkin.com.   In this column, your District 5 Commissioner, George Newman offers his take on current matters.  You can reach him at   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .



BOCC comments on BLM Resource Management Plan

Pitkin County Commissioners recently submitted comments to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding the updating of their guiding document known as the Resource Management Plan.  The BLM’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement outlines four alternatives (known as A, B, C and D).  In most cases, Alternative C (whose theme is “Conservation”) best aligns with the values and goals of our community; however, no single alternative clearly provides for the full range of management preferences of Pitkin County.  We propose a hybrid management scheme containing elements of Alternative C and B (mixed use) to better address the uniqueness of each parcel.   Within this hybrid, we also introduce the concepts of employing carrying capacity, enforcement approaches, adaptive environmental management, and winter core wildlife designation.

Federal public lands comprise some 83% of the area in Pitkin County.  Of this, the BLM manages 13 parcels of land (comprising 27,490 acres), not to mention subsurface mineral rights under both public lands (USFS) and privately owned parcels (split estates).  These mid-elevation parcels are a critical part of our ecosystem in the Roaring Fork Valley, possessing outstanding scenic quality, wildlife habitat and important recreational access to our rivers and mountains.  They serve as a source of livelihood for those working directly in the recreation industry; provide grazing lands for ranchers with permits, and outstanding hunting and fishing grounds:  all contributing to our economic viability and sustainability.  

As your County Commissioner, I have represented Pitkin County over the last 3 years in many meetings with the BLM to ensure that our local concerns would be addressed.  To further these efforts, we held public meetings seeking citizen input, and coordinated our comments with those of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department as well as with our neighboring municipalities and Counties in the Valley.  Our comments cover a myriad of issues such as emergency management plans including search and rescue and wildfire response, to land tenure and public access, recreation and mineral resource development. This article focuses on a few:

Read more: What's Up With Pitkin County?

   

Energy - Shining A Light On Lighting Options

Wednesday, 01 February 2012 06:14

The light bulb used to be one of the simplest hardware store purchases.  Now, a walk down the lighting aisle prompts and assortment of questions.  Is it energy efficient?  Will it switch on fast? Can I put it on a dimmer?  What is a lumen?  How long will it last?  Why so pricey?  Why is it a weird color?

Following is a brief guide to some bulb basics, with help from Consumer Reports ratings.

Bulbs can be divided into three main categories:  incandescents, compact fluorescents (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs).  We’re most familiar with incandescents, which make us of technology from over 100 years ago.  These cost the least, but emit heat and use up the most energy.  A incandescent lasts an average of 1,000 hours, or 125 days when used for eight hours a day.

More recently, halogen incandescent bulbs have become popular.  The bulbs, which cost as little as $3 for two, look and behave like incandescents by dimming and turning on immediately, but use less energy.  The Phillips EcoVantage line, which became available in April, uses 28% less energy; a 72 watt bulb replaces a 100 watt, and a 43 watt bulb replaces a 60 watt.  Halogen incandescents last as long as a traditional incandescent bulb.

Read more: Energy - Shining A Light On Lighting Options

   

Health - Napping

Wednesday, 01 February 2012 05:23

Napping has been shown to have all kinds of cognitive and medical benefits.  In a 24/7 world in which everything and everyone is wired, there is more need for a nap than ever.

The monophasic cycle, though the most popular sleep pattern of humans, may not be the most natural.  According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than 85 percent of mammals are polyphasic sleepers, or those who sleep in short segments throughout the day.

Western civilization followed this segmented pattern prior to the Industrial Revolution, but the, with the advent of electric lighting, abandoned it for the monophasic sleep most people subscribe to today.

Many countries, most notably Spain, still center their schedule around a siesta.  Most Chinese schools program a half-hour nap right after lunch.  Google, The Huffington Post and The New York Times are just a few companies that have devoted office space to napping on the job.

According to experts, many people still don’t understand that napping at work can increase your productivity and creativity.  A 2008 study by the University of New York found memory function can be improved by a 45 minute nap.  Other research has shown that naps can lower blood pressure.

However, sleep isn’t synonymous with happiness, as a 2009 Pew Research Center shows that unhappy people are more likely to nap on a given day than happy people (43 % compared to 31%).

Steve Wood
(Cherry Hill, N.J. Courier)
   
Content View Hits : 83168