Chicago
pgleick | May 9, 2013Municipalities are trying to find ways of dealing with the scourge of plastic bottles in their garbage, and with falling revenues from many sources. Plastic bottles have become a significant fraction of total garbage volume, and raise collection, handling, and landfill costs when they are not recycled. In 2011, according to NAPCOR (the National Association for PET Container Resources) 5.5 billion pounds of PET plastic bottles were available for recycling, but most of those bottles were not recycled.
One answer: impose a tax on bottled water.
Fewer than 1 in 3 of all PET bottles are recycled,…
gregladen | October 10, 2012This has been known for years. It is very frustrating to see people ask questions like "well, what we don't know is what will global warming do?" Global warming has done, already, quite a bit and it is insulting to our collective intelligence and an affront to the families of those who have died from it to pretend nothing has happened. From desertification in Africa to heat waves in Chicago, global warming has killed people. Perhaps the following video from PBS will make this a bit more palpable to those who can't grasp this concept.
grrlscientist | June 27, 2010tags: Lightning Strikes Three Buildings Simultaneously in Downtown Chicago, Chicago, lightning strikes, nature, weather, storm, wow, your inner child, Craig Shimala, streaming video
For the third time in the last 6 days, another line of nasty storms rolled through Chicago on Wednesday evening. Wednesday's storms towered up to 63,000 ft, unleashed 80 mph gusts, local 3"+ rains and 15,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes in a single hour. Craig Shimala captured the action from his balcony.
Lightning strikes three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time! from Craig Shimala.
Music…
grrlscientist | April 16, 2010tags: 5th Annual Book Cart Drill Team World Championship, Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries, 2009 American Library Association Annual Conference, Oak Park Public Library Warrior Librarians, Chicago, Illinois, library science, humor, funny, silly, streaming video
This is a very special video that is well suited to Silly Saturday. In fact, if this video doesn't convince you that you want to be a librarian when you grow up, well, you're beyond all hope and probably are a nascent alcoholic.
h/t: Faculty of 1000.
grrlscientist | April 29, 2009tags: Harry Potter, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, books, film, movies, streaming video
Image: Garrett Hubbard.
In what is probably the cleverest scheme to capture any remaining pocket change that Bernard Madoff has not swindled out of the average American, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is slated to open a Harry Potter exhibit on Thursday, 30 April. According to what I've read, Harry Potter: The Exhibition takes visitors from the Hogwarts Express train platform through the Gryffindor common room, classrooms, the Great Hall, the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid's hut…
bioephemera | March 11, 2009
Thought Patterns #1
blood on watercolor paper
Laura Splan, 2003
The International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago is calling for proposals for "Anatomy in the Gallery:"
[This program] showcases medically themed contemporary art within the unique context of the Museum's historical collections and exhibits. The program was begun in 1998 to help fulfill the Museum's mission of enriching its visitors' lives by enhancing their knowledge and understanding of surgery and related sciences.
Previous exhibitors include Laura Splan (above), Laura Kurtenbach, Geraldine Ondrizek, and Dominic Paul…