Tava Catalog

Can More Green Space Prevent Crime?

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 14:07:52 EST

An article in Science Daily says that a research sows that greening vacant urban land may affect the health and safety of nearby residents, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology this week. The team, led by senior author found in a decade-long comparison of vacant lots and improved vacant lots, that greening was linked to significant reductions in gun assaults across most of Philadelphia and significant reductions in vandalism in one section of the city. Vacant lot greening was also associated with residents in certain sections of the city reporting significantly less stress and more exercise.

Dr. Branas's study adds to the growing body of evidence that cleaned and greened lots are important elements in a revitalized community," said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. "The City's partnership with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society enhances health and safety in addition to creating jobs and increasing property values; now we have scientific proof of the benefits of this collaboration."

A Decade of Greening

In 1999, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) began a program to green vacant lots -- abandoned open spaces with no buildings -- in Philadelphia. This program involved removing trash and debris, grading the land, planting grass and trees to create a park-like setting, and installing low wooden post-and-rail fences around each lot to show that it was cared for and to deter illegal dumping. Several times a year, PHS returned to each greened lot to perform basic maintenance, such as mowing the grass, tending trees, or repairing fences.

Dr. Charles C. Branas, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and his team analyzed the impact of this program for a decade, from 1999 to 2008, using a statistical design that considered various health and safety outcomes and numerous other factors occurring on and around vacant lots, before and after they were treated, as compared to vacant lots that were not greened over the same time period.

Across Philadelphia, nearly 4,500 vacant lots totaling over 7.8 million square feet were greened from 1999-2008. Untreated control lots were randomly selected and matched to treated lots by section of the city, within four of the five sections of Philadelphia. The Northeast section was excluded because only a handful of vacant lots were greened there. Vacant lots eligible to serve as matched controls included only those that had never been greened from 1999 to 2008, but that could have been chosen by the PHS for greening.

A master database of over 50,000 vacant lots in Philadelphia from 1999-2008 was assembled from Philadelphia Bureau of Revision of Taxes and Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections records. This database was separated into lots greened by PHS and lots that were not greened. The Philadelphia Police Department provided the dates and locations for several types of crimes and arrests from 1999-2008: aggravated assaults, aggravated assaults with guns, robberies, robberies with guns, narcotics sales and possession, burglaries, thefts, vandalism and criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, and illegal dumping. The Philadelphia Health Management Corporation provided community-level health data from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey.

The Pluses of Greening

"This is one of the first rigorous studies to show that reducing physical decay in neighborhoods -through such efforts as cleaning up vacant lots -- reduces public safety crimes, demonstrating that healthier places are safer places," says co-author John MacDonald, PhD, chair of the Department of Criminology at Penn. "Public policies that promote active living can also enhance personal safety."

Vacant lot greening was associated with significant reductions in gun assaults across all four sections of Philadelphia in the study and significant reductions in vandalism in one section of the city.

Greening was also associated with residents reporting significantly less stress and more exercise in certain sections of Philadelphia. Because newly greened vacant lots may serve as safe havens, residents may have felt less stress or may have seen greater outdoor opportunities for exercise in a cleaner, more attractive, and safer environment, say the authors. Even though these findings pertaining to stress and exercise only applied to certain sections of the city, they have potentially important implications for the future study of urban vacant lot greening as a tool to enhance health.

"Violent crime may have simply been discouraged in the presence of greened and tended vacant lots that signaled someone in the community cared and was watching over the space in question," says Branas. "The effect of greening may have also been more tangible, especially for gun assaults, where vacant lots may have been a haven, storage ground, or disposal point for illegal guns. Because the penalty of being caught with an illegal gun is high, criminals may hide their guns in abandoned vacant lots."

Surprisingly, acts of disorderly conduct -- a catch-all category encompassing various violations and nuisances -- increased after the greening of vacant lots. A greened lot may serve as a new opportunity for community gatherings, bringing large groups of people together and increasing the opportunity for crowd-based nuisance crimes such as disorderly conduct, say the researchers. Community interest in maintaining a newly greened lot may have also increased calls to police and arrests for disorderly conduct.

"The large number of vacant lots we studied and the design of our analysis make this study some of the strongest evidence to date that greening vacant urban land is a promising approach to improving health and safety," notes Branas. "As with all studies, it's not the final word, and we are now moving forward with a randomized trial of vacant lot greening to even more thoroughly investigate. Philadelphia, like many cities, still has tens of thousands of vacant and abandoned lots to support such a study."

Co-authors, all from Penn, are Rose A. Cheney, PhD, Department of Surgery; Vicky W. Tam, Cartographic Modeling Laboratory; Tara D. Jackson, PhD, Cartographic Modeling Laboratory; and Thomas R. Ten Have, PhD, MPH, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology.

Published in Science Daily November 17, 2011

tags: Earthy, Eco Friendly, Environment, Nature

Camping Trips

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:59:33 EST

Well it’s almost September and a good time to plan a weekend camping trip. And best of all, nothing will bring your family together like enjoying each other's company without the TV, Internet or cell phones.

Here are some tips that will make a camping trip fun.

When looking for a spot to pitch your tent, avoid trees. A tree with dead limbs could fall onto your tent in a storm and a large root underground could conduct lighting into your tent. Not to mention sleeping on roots is well, uncomfortable. You won’t get much sleep and you'll be a real bear the next day.

Knowing how to build a fire can make or break your camping trip. A pack of kids who are all ready to make smores when dad can’t get a roaring fire going means one thing; unhappy kids. Or imagine getting back late from your day hike, everyone is starving and it's your job to get dinner started. Cooking in the dark is dangerous, especially for the cook. So trust me on this, bring a fire starter. You can get them at any store that carries camping supplies. If you end up not needing to use it, that’s great. But if you do need it, it’s available.

If building a fire is no rush then follow this method to build a fire. Gather kindling from around your camp site and build a tent like structure. Light it from below and only after it catches fire start to add larger twigs. Follow this method and you will have a fire that will last all night. But remember to douse completely before going to bed or leaving your campsite. An easy way to douse the fire is to bring empty milk containers to carry water to the site.

Prewet wipes. – Can never have enough. Kids, smores, - need I say more.

Take a tent light. Once the kids get in the tent there will be alot of rearranging that needs to happen. Plus it might be a little scary if it is their first time in a tent. Tava has the Hydro Collapsible Waterproof LED lantern that we have taken on many camping trips. Pull up the top to turn on the light, press it down to turn off.

Walkie Talkie – When I went on a cruise I saw parents giving their kids walkie talkies. The ship was so big but they could stay in touch that way. I have learned they are great for camping too. Gives you peace of mind when then kids go off to the bathroom after dark or they are just hanging around the campground.

Food - Coolers are necessary for food storage. To make things easy bring two coolers with you. In the first cooler put meats and other food to be cooked. The second cooler use for snacks and beverages. This way the raw meats will not contaminate your ready-to-eat-and-drink goods. As campers reach in for snacks and beverages many times through the day, the two cooler method will mean less opening of the cooler with the frozen food, preventing the ice from melting and the frozen food from thawing. And remember to keep coolers in the shade, away from direct sunlight.

Plan your menu well - Cook only what is enough for the group to avoid leftovers. Prechopping at home will save time. Precooking saves time too.

Cleaning your dishes – Scrape all left over’s into a plastic bag. Remember to bring plastic dishes and utensils instead of disposables. Tava has a few to choose from. Boil water at the campsite and pour it into a big tub filled with biodegradable suds. Since you will be pouring them out into the ground they must be biodegradable. Scrub dishes in one pan and rinse in the other. Take the plastic bags to nearby garbage disposable in the campground. Do not keep at your campsite because it will attract animals.

tags: Camping, Eco Friendly, Fun, Family, Summer

Fresh Air

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 11:02:08 EST

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your outdoor air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, the EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health. For information about indoor air quality please visit the Indoor Web site.

The AIRNow Web site - The U.S. EPA, NOAA, NPS, tribal, state, and local agencies developed the AIRNow Web site to provide the public with easy access to national air quality information. The Web site offers daily AQI forecasts as well as real-time AQI conditions for over 300 cities across the US, and provides links to more detailed State and local air quality Web sites.

Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 represents good air quality with little potential to affect public health, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.

An AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to the national air quality standard for the pollutant, which is the level EPA has set to protect public health. AQI values below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy-at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.

The purpose of the AQI is to help you understand what local air quality means to your health. To make it easier to understand, the AQI is divided into six categories:

Good" AQI is 0 - 50. Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
Moderate" AQI is 51 - 100. Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people. For example, people who are unusually sensitive to ozone may experience respiratory symptoms.
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" AQI is 101 - 150. Although general public is not likely to be affected at this AQI range, people with lung disease, older adults and children are at a greater risk from exposure to ozone, whereas persons with heart and lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from the presence of particles in the air. .
Unhealthy" AQI is 151 - 200. Everyone may begin to experience some adverse health effects, and members of the sensitive groups may experience more serious effects. .
Very Unhealthy" AQI is 201 - 300. This would trigger a health alert signifying that everyone may experience more serious health effects.
Hazardous" AQI greater than 300. This would trigger a health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.

tags: Environment, Health

Myths About the Fourth of July

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 04:51:17 EST

Brian Handwerk for National Geographic News writes that many time-honored patriotic tales turn out to be more fiction than fact. Here's a look at some memorable myths from the birth of the United States.

The Declaration of Independence Was Signed on July 4

Independence Day is celebrated two days too late. The Second Continental Congress voted for a Declaration of Independence on July 2, prompting John Adams to write his wife, "I am apt to believe that [July 2, 1776], will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival."

Adams correctly foresaw shows, games, sports, buns, bells, and bonfires—but he got the date wrong. The written document wasn't edited and approved until the Fourth of July, and that was the date printers affixed to "broadside" announcements sent out across the land. July 2 was soon forgotten.

In fact, no one actually signed the Declaration of Independence at any time during July 1776. Signing began on August 2, with John Hancock's famously bold scribble, and wasn't completed until late November.

Paul Revere Rode Solo

Patriot Paul Revere really did hit the road on the night of April 18, 1775, to alert the countryside that British troops were on the move. But the image of an inspired, lone rider isn't accurate. Revere was part of a low-tech—but highly effective—early-warning system.

The system did include lanterns at Boston's Old North Church, from whose steeple the church sexton, Robert Newman, held two lanterns as a signal that the British were coming. However Revere wasn't watching for them that night.

Revere and fellow rider William Dawes, who was sent by a different route, successfully reached Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that they'd likely be arrested. But Revere and Dawes were captured by the British with third rider Samuel Prescott soon afterward.

The liberties later taken with the Revere legend weren't mistakes but deliberate mythmaking by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who intended his famous 19th-century poem to stoke patriotism on the eve of the Civil War. The ride's real story is told at Paul Revere House, the Boston museum where Revere once lived and from which he left on that fateful night.

July 4, 1776, Party Cracked the Liberty Bell

U.S. independence surely prompted a party, but joyful patriots didn't ring the Liberty Bell until it cracked on July 4, 1776. In fact the State House Bell likely didn't ring at all that day. It probably did ring, along with the city's other bells, to herald the first public readings of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, according to a history of the bell published by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.

As for that crack, well, the bell had been poorly cast and cracked soon after its arrival in 1752. The bell was subsequently recast, and recracked, several times but was intact during the Revolutionary War.

Today's iconic crack actually appeared sometime during the 19th century, though the exact date is in dispute. It was also during this period that the bell became popularly known as the Liberty Bell—a term coined by abolitionists.

The Declaration of Independence Holds Secret Messages

Some revolutionary myths are of modern origin. There's no invisible message or map on the back of the Declaration of Independence, as depicted in the film National Treasure. But the National Archives admits there is something written on the back of the priceless document.

A line on the bottom of the parchment reads "Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776." Why? The large document would have been rolled for travel and storage during the 18th century, so the reverse-side writing likely acted as a label to identify the document while it was rolled up.

America United Against the British

The Revolutionary War also pitted Americans against Americans in large numbers. Perhaps 15 to 20 percent of all Americans were loyalists who supported the crown, according to the U.K. National Army Museum. Many others tried to stay out of the fight altogether.

Records from the period are sketchy at best, but an estimated 50,000 Americans served as British soldiers or militia at one time or another during the conflict, a significant force pitted against a Continental Army that may have included a hundred thousand regular soldiers over the course of the war.

Betsy Ross Made the First American Flag

There is no proof that Betsy Ross played any part in designing or sewing the American flag that made its debut in 1777. In fact, the story of the famous seamstress didn't circulate until it was raised by her grandson nearly a century after the fact, and the only evidence is testimony to this family tradition.

To be fair, there's also no conclusive evidence that Ross didn't sew the flag, and there are several reasons why she just might have done so. The Betsy Ross House on Philadelphia's Arch Street (where Ross may or may not have actually lived) tells the whole tale and leaves visitors to draw their own conclusions.

tags: History

Fun Facts About July Fourth

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:39:28 EST

On July 4th in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country. Here are some interesting facts about our nation and Independence Day from the U.S. Census Bureau.

People

In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation was 2.5 million. The estimated U.S. population for the 2011 Fourth of July is 311.7 million.

Flags

$3.2 million - In 2010, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags. The vast majority of this amount ($2.8 million) was for U.S. flags made in China.

$486,026 - Dollar value of U.S. flags exported in 2010. Mexico was the leading customer, purchasing $256,407 worth. $302.7 million - Annual dollar value of shipments of fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems by the nation's manufacturers, according to the latest published economic census data.

Fireworks

$190.7 million - The value of fireworks imported from China in 2010, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imported ($197.3 million). U.S. exports of fireworks, by comparison, came to just $37.0 million in 2010, with Japan purchasing more than any other country ($6.3 million).

$231.8 million - The value of U.S. manufacturers' shipments of fireworks and pyrotechnics (including flares, igniters, etc.) in 2007.

Patriotic-Sounding Place Names

Thirty-one places have “liberty” in their names. The most populous one as of April 1, 2010, is Liberty, Mo. (29,149) Iowa, with four, has more of these places than any other state: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.

Thirty-five places have “eagle” in their names. The most populous one is Eagle Pass, Texas (26,248).
Eleven places have “independence” in their names. The most populous one is Independence, Mo. (116,830).
Nine places have “freedom” in their names. The most populous one is New Freedom, Pa. (4,464).
One place with “patriot” in the name. Patriot, Ind. (209).
Five places have “America” in their names. The most populous is American Fork, Utah (26,263).

Early Presidential Last Names

138 - Ranking of the frequency of the surname of our first president, George Washington, among all last names tabulated in the 2000 Census. Other early presidential names that appear on the list, along with their ranking, were Adams (39), Jefferson (594), Madison (1,209) and Monroe (567).

The British are Coming!

$98.3 billion - Dollar value of trade last year between the United States and the United Kingdom, making the British, our adversary in 1776, our sixth-leading trading partner today.

Fourth of July Cookouts

More than 1 in 4 - The chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 19.0 million hogs and pigs on March 1, 2011. This estimate represents more than one-fourth of the nation's estimated total. North Carolina (8.6 million) and Minnesota (7.6 million) were also homes to large numbers of pigs.

6.8 Billion Pounds

Total production of cattle and calves in Texas in 2010. Chances are good that the beef hot dogs, steaks and burgers on your backyard grill came from the Lone Star State, which accounted for about one-sixth of the nation's total production. And if the beef did not come from Texas, it very well may have come from Nebraska (4.6 billion pounds) or Kansas (4.1 billion pounds).

6 Number of states in which the value of broiler chicken production was $1 billion or greater between December 2009 and November 2010. There is a good chance that one of these states — Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi or Texas is the source of your barbecued chicken.

Over 1 in 3 The odds that your side dish of baked beans originated from North Dakota, which produced 36 percent of the nation's dry, edible beans in 2010. Another popular Fourth of July side dish is corn on the cob. Florida, California, Georgia, Washington and New York together accounted for 68 percent of the fresh market sweet corn produced nationally in 2010.

Please Pass the Potatoes

Potato salad and potato chips are popular food items at Fourth of July barbecues. Approximately half of the nation's spuds were produced in Idaho or Washington state in 2010.

More than Three-Fourths

Amount of the nation's head lettuce production in 2010 that came from California. This lettuce may end up in your salad or on your burger.

7 in 10

The chances that the fresh tomatoes in your salad came from Florida or California, which combined accounted for 71 percent of U.S. fresh market tomato production last year.

Florida

The state that led the nation in watermelon production last year (750 million pounds). Other leading producers of this popular fruit included California, Georgia and Texas, each had an estimate of more than 600 million pounds.

81 million

Number of Americans who said they have taken part in a barbecue during the previous year. It's probably safe to assume a lot of these events took place on Independence Day.

tags: Culture, Fun, History