This weeks music project overview/process/how to.I will hopefully get this working and have some samples posted by next week
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A growing number of chemists are now developing biodegradable plastics in replace of those that are made by oil. Right now, bio plastics are being made from corn and other plants, more recently than others, additions of cotton.
Besides reducing greenhouse gas emissions during production, biodegradable plastics leave no waste, and can “maximize economic development by using local crops”, according to Susan Moran of the New York Times.
In the past few years, plastic forks and other disposable utensils have been made out of bio plastic, but companies are beginning to use bio plastic in non disposable products like cell phones, including the Japanese companies NEC Corporation, Unitika. and NTT DoCoMo.
As of right now, the largest producer of bio plastic is NatureWorks, based in Nebraska. It uses corn sugar to make “polylactide”. Polylactide comes in the a white pellet form, which NatureWorks sends to other companies, who then mold the bio plastic into products or packaging.
Metabolix, based in Massachusetts, is another company that produces a bio plastic. Metabolix specializes in films, specifically used in creating garbage and shopping bags. According to Metabolix, their bio plastic composts in fewer than 90 days, in a wide variety of temperatures and places, including a consumer’s back yard, or “even the ocean itself”. By creating a bio plastic that is compostable under a larger variety of circumstances, littered bio plastic, specifically the type that Metabolix produces, has a higher chance of composting even when un-intended by a consumer.
Metabolix, like NatureWorks, produces bio plastic, and then sells it in a standard form which is then molded by the purchasing company. According to the Metabolix website, their product is “Biobased, Sustainable, and Biodegradable”, meaning the “mirel”, a specific form of bio plastic is formed from all natural materials, leaves no carbon footprint, and decomposes within a relatively short amount of time.
While bio plastics are still relatively new, chemists are coming up with more efficient forms. One of the main problems with bio plastics is that when used to package food products, the food product’s shelf life becomes much shorter. Chemists are trying to find a balance between bio plastics that decompose under a large variety of situations (intended or unintended) and last long enough to keep food fresh when packaged, one of the leading uses of regular plastics.
Though not perfect, new forms of bio plastic are emerging from a large amount of chemists, hopefully meaning that we will soon have a more perfected form of bio plastic, eliminating waste and carbon emissions.
The Growing Green Classroom
Green Avengers
Okay so here’s the plan… It’s an interactive classroom where it really doesn’t change the classroom structure at all! In fact the best part is that the Green Avengers program takes the normal computer lab skills of any elementary school, and makes the normal type skill teaching also focused around learning life habits.
The idea has already been started, but it has no personality, to my knowledge. We need to give it unifying spunk! We need to build the creativity into our school systems to get children engaged, and then take a lesson from the advertising industry on what it means to brand cultural habits in the form of education, starting from the youngest form. This program is similar to DARE, only it’s more interactive, and it’s never separate from the normal lessons, as stated above. Take the time to read through this into script for the Green Avengers to see the fun, excitement, and education that all of our wonderful technology has the power to instill.
Beyond this fun point, take the time to see were the interactive ‘green’ classroom has already begun, by visiting this interesting read…
THE GREEN CLASSROOM
INTERACTIVE LESSON OVERVIEW:
1. Recycling and “What are Resources”
Teach kids the power of the environment by showing them what’s in it. Then explain how we use everything as a culture, and how we waste as a culture.
2. Water: One brush can waste to much!
This lesson is all about taking kids through a visual household to have them practice how to use water properly (IE turn it off when not using it), so they can share more eagerly with their parents.
The entire point of these lessons, after instilling behaviors, is that parents are more influenced by their children than by many other things. This is a chance to connect with adults in a “re-learning’ part of their life as well.
GREEN AVENGERS...INTRO...script style
Green Avengers….Intro
ANNOUCER:
Billions of years ago our planet was born, booming, and creating life!
SND EFX: (Explosions)
ANNOUCER:
There were booms! Bangs! And quite a bit of gas
SND EFX: (fart)
ANNOUNCER:
and algae!
ANNOUNCER:
All of this booming and banging began creating crea-tures!
CHILDREN:
(oooo!)
ANNOUNCER:
Creatures became other animals, and our trees and resources were eaten…
Like Broccolli!
ANNOUNCER:
Later down, the soon-to-be turnpike!
SND EFX: (Vrooming noises during)
ANNOUNCER:
Humans made fires! Without Marshmellows!
SND EFX: (Screaming noise)
ANNOUNCER:
Fire began sort-of eating the air!
ANNOUNCER:
Then humans kept building and building
CONSTRUCTION WORKER:(Brooklyn accent)
“Hey Roy! I need some freakin’ beams down here…yeah…freakin beams.”
ANNOUNCER:
Today, humans have made wonderful technology…like….
Computers! And medicines! And… Chia pets!
ANNOUNCER:
We’ve just been going about it the wrong way!
ANNOUNCER:
NOW!
A special force unlike any other, has formed to save our big, glob-y
looking home!
We call ourselves,…(dramatic pause)… THE GREEN AVENGERS!
We are little people!
With big ideas!
Together we will save the ‘barnicles’ out of our pretty planet!
WON’T YOU JOIN US?!
ANNOUNCER:
The GREEN AVENGERS: Every kid! One Mission! One Future!
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