Print Edition: August 2, 2008
FACTS FROM THE CRATE
It's time once again to dive into the crate beneath my desk to see what's been accumulating.
*Despite all the gum flapping about Iran helping terrorists and having nuclear ambitions by the Bush administration, the plain fact is that U.S. exports to Iran have grown tenfold during George W. Bush's years in office, according to an Associated Press analysis. More bad news is that Michigan is the top state sending goods to Iran. Good news, however, is that the U.S. has sent $158 million worth of cigarettes to Iran, which is is an effective (if round about) way of killing our enemies.
*Another smoking related bit of news came this week from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Nonsmokers who are married to smokers run a higher risk of experiencing a stroke due to their exposure to second hand smoke. People who have never smoked but are married to a smoker run a 42% increased risk of a stroke. Ex-smokers married to a smoker run a 72% increased risk.
*Living in Cadillac it might not matter if we're exposed to second hand smoke. Eight new coal-burning power plants are being considered around the state and one of those would be near Manistee. Since the prevailing winds around here are from the west, all the contaminated spewings from the plant will be heading our way.
*On the energy front, didn't I tell you in a previous column that if pushed too far America would push back. To wit, computer powerhouse companies like Intel, IBM, and National Semiconductor are sprinting into the solar energy field promising to deliver solar power faster than the government's current 2010-2015 target. The chip makers have new solar panels and silicon products in the pipeline right now and expect the field to grow at a rate of 40% per year.
In Los Angeles county officials have approved a commercial ethanol plant that will be built next to a landfill. The ethanol will be made out of biowaste from the landfill in essence turning garbage into fuel (which makes way more sense than using corn).
Even Chrysler, Ford and GM are waking up. They'll be adapting the start-stop technology used in hybrid cars to all vehicles within five years. Start-stop automatically switches the engine off but keeps accessories running when the car is idling. It reduces fuel use and emissions.
*China has been in the news due to the Olympics, but did you also hear that our FDA may loosen restrictions on Chinese seafood? For the past year five types of Chinese-raised fish have been banned because they contained chemicals. So how come the geniuses at the FDA might now lift the restrictions? Why, they've inspected 13 Chinese processing plants and found that ONLY 6% of the fish contained harmful drugs. Gee, ain't that just dandy? Of course, there are over 500 companies that process fish in China and the 13 that were inspected were hand picked by the Chinese government. Nothing fishy about that, is there?
*If your kids are going off to college in the fall (and you're footing the tuition bill) you might be happy to know that according to the Princeton Review no Michigan schools made the "Top Party Schools" list. Florida, Mississippi, Penn State, West Virginia, and Ohio U. were the top five party schools. (Hmmmm, isn't the new U of M coach from West Virginia?) Anyway, making the "Stone Cold Sober" list was Calvin College in Grand Rapids, meaning it's one of the top non-partying schools.
*Here are some interesting presidential facts from Richard Lederer, author of Presidential Trivia. The first president born in a hospital was Jimmy Carter. There has never been a bearded Democrat elected president. Warren G. Harding had the biggest feet of any president – size 14. Thomas Jefferson could write with both hands at the same time. Martin Van Buren was the first president who was born a U.S. Citizen.
*The book Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt has a lot of surprising observations about the driving habits of Americans. Merging (like when three lanes become two) is the most stressful single activity we face in everyday driving. In the 1950s 40% of daily car trips had to do with work, now the average is 16%. In 1969 half of American children walked to school, now only 16% do. Men honk their horns more than women and drivers are more reluctant to honk at people in nice cars. At shopping malls, drivers who look for the best parking space spend more time getting to the store than people who take the first empty spot they see.
*Parking problems might never be a problem again for a family in Germany. They just bought a six-ton tank to use for shopping and day trips. Dad Joachim Schoeneich has even fitted a baby seat to the British-built Fox tank for his two-year-old son. The tank is armed with a disabled 30mm gun and has three-inch thick armor plating. It only gets 5 mpg, but according to the dad, "we get the right of way at every junction."
Jim Neff is a local columnist. Comments to neffzone@gmail.com. Read Neff Zone columns online at www.neffzone.com/cadillacnews.
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