Shameless Self-Promotion

I’m happy to report that I am the winner of a grant from the Earth Science Information Partners to create a website called StateTectonics.com. The site will give info about earthquake risks in the US, as well as history and science in different regions of mainland US.

Now I’m sure you’re thinking, well that’s boring, it’s only going to be California. But actually, the rest of the US has earthquakes regularly, albeit maybe not quite AS strong.

The recent earthquake in DC is a good example of that. And did you know that South Carolina is actually very much at risk for earthquakes? I didn’t.

So. If you’d like to know more about earthquakes in your area, send me a note or leave a comment and I’ll do my best to dig up some info for you!

Stay tuned for StateTectonics.com!

Calories By the Numbers

To put the issues into perspective here are some figures behind the legislation itself as well as the obesity crisis:

$200 – $2000 – the fine for not posting calorie counts if required.

10% – the percent of New York restaurants required to post under the law.

$100 – the cost of a recipe analysis (which calculates calorie content) at RL Food Testing Laboratory in California

10% – the allowable variance on nutritional labels by the FDA

53% – the number of New Yorkers who are overweight or obese (as of 2005)

22% – the number of New Yorkers who are obese (as of 2007)

What People Are Saying About the Calorie Counts

Susan Klitzman (photo courtesy Hunter College, CUNY)

“I think what we’ve learned from tobacco is it really takes a multi-pronged approach to address threats to health and that there’s probably no one strategy that’s going to cure the problem.  You really need a multi-prong approach, some of it voluntary, some of it individual, some of it institutional, to address what is a very complex issue.  So certainly calorie labeling is one piece of it.” – Susan Klitzman, MPH, DrPH, Member of the NYC Board of Health and Professor of Public Health at Hunter College

“Even if calorie counts were only for restaurants with 100 locations or more, that’s still every McDonald’s, every Pizza Hut, every Burger King, and even that would be a huge public health victory…..We’re not expecting every mom and pop diner or individually-owned ethnic restaurant that has a variable and non-standardized menu to be able to do this.  It’s just reflecting reality. I still think consumers come out ahead in the end.” – Jeff Cronin, spokesman for the Center for Science in the Public Interest

“A lot of customers who come in have asked me for the calorie information. We don’t have it yet, but because so many people have asked, our managers are thinking about providing it anyway.” – Janae, cashier at Schnippers

Analyzing New York City’s Calorie Count Legislation

New York City’s Board of Health passed a law in 2006 requiring certain restaurants to post the number of calories next to food items on their menus.  The move is part of several steps – including a ban on trans fat, a proposed soda tax, and a call for a reduction of salt in diets – the city has taken to combat the rising obesity epidemic.

Recently, the legislation has taken on new importance as a similar measure was included in President Barack Obama’s extensive health care package, passed by Congress in March.

New York City’s law (NYC Health Code, Section 81.50) has been in effect since July 2007 and fines began in May 2008.  Two years later, I’m taking a look at the law to see its role in the health of New Yorkers.  

—–

Watch a photo slideshow that compares the foods of restaurants that require the labels with those that don’t.

—–

Read what those involved are saying about the calorie counts.

News on My Radar

Folks, I apologize for my sporadic posting.  I’m nearing the end of my spring term at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism and have had quite a bit of work in my inbox.  So in lieu of some news analysis, I instead give you a run down of some stories I’ve been watching, near and far:

In my neck of the woods, Crown Heights/Prospect Heights, I Love Franklin Ave. posted recently that there are plans to renovate several large dilapidated buildings in my area.  I’m really glad to hear because I walk this building almost once a week and think about what a shame it is to see buildings in such a sad state.  This area of Crown Heights is in a non-stop state of improvement right now and I really wish I had the dough to buy some property because it’s definite cash cow!

The New York Times has fabulous coverage of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, including this interactive graphic map of where the oil is and this timeline with a history of major oil spills in the world.  The amount of oil spilled is now well over 4M gallons – enough to produce about 1.9M gallons of gasoline.  With average gas prices at $2.89/gal, that’s $5.5M worth of gas.

Thank you to classmate Mitch Trinka for posting this one: Jupiter loses a stripe.

John Kerry and Joe Lieberman released a bill designed to reduce climate change, that was not particularly received well, with some saying it was a bad time.  My personal opinion is that it is the best time!  People, myself included, are incredibly upset by the oil spill damaging the environment.  What better political statement to make than that we need to take a stance on caring for the environment?  Republican sponser Lindsay Graham was absent for the release, which is very disappointing.

A family in Quebec died after a massive crater swallowed their home.

And NPR did an interview with a University of Michigan grad student that found that the physical act of washing your hands puts people mentally more at ease.

Saving the Subways

The latest round of subway cuts, announced yesterday, are cutting cleaning crews and administrative positions.  This is in addition to other plans announced earlier in the year that would cut cards for students, get rid of the W line, shorten other lines, and shorten bus routes.  And I’m not sure about other folks, but it seems like the subways, at least in my part of Brooklyn, are getting more crowded.  (This Times interactive piece shows that in other areas, it may not be the case.)

Courtesy ConcurringOpinions.com

Not that I’m an MTA decision maker or anything, but I often think while I’m waiting for the 2/3 of what could be done to help the MTA.  What do I use and what don’t I use?  Could the seats be changed to fit more people in?  What times do I never use the train?  What times are they too slow?  How can the subways get better and save money?

A couple of thoughts I had:

Do we really need station agents?  I have never, since I moved to New York, talked to one of these agents.  On off hours, I frequently find my local station agent asleep.  What function do they serve?  They can combine cards for people who have cards with half of a fare on them – could the automatic machines do that instead?  They give information – could a portal serve the same function (and stay awake at all hours)?

Could we have double decker cars?  This one I’m not so sure about.  The roof seems like it might too low, but they could dig the tracks a little deeper, potentially, to accommodate a taller car like those of NJ Transit.  I’m not sure how much cars like these would cost though.  Perhaps they could buy these for the 2nd Avenue subway line, since they will probably need to buy new cars anyway.  If the cars accommodate more people, perhaps they could save a driver or two by running just a little less frequently.

Cell phone service.  Could they offer a cell phone company the exclusive rights to provide service underground, like Verizon has in DC?  This would be a win-win because (some) riders would have the ability to use their phones on their commutes and the MTA could make money by allowing the carrier to provide the service at a fee.

Fines.  This may be my favorite.  Fine people on the subway who play their music too loud or litter.  It may be difficult to enforce if riders don’t have IDs.  Maybe they ask for a rider’s Metro card and remove the money from their fare card.

Charges.  Charge people for bringing extra-bulky items like bicycles and strollers (Park Slopers, don’t hate me!).  The bulky items take up more room in the cars, why shouldn’t they cost more to carry?

Tunnel lights.  What in the world is the purpose of lights in an empty tunnel, for example on the track between Manhattan and Brooklyn on the 2/3?  There are already lights on the trains for passengers and I would imagine it’s rare for someone to walk down a tunnel alone.  Most MTA workers carry flashlights when they’re going down a tunnel, anyway.  If they are going to have them, I would say make them motion sensitive and turn them off shortly after the motion stops.

MTA uniforms.  Let MTA employees wear jeans and a t-shirt.  Who really cares what they wear?  Why should we pay for uniforms that serve little purpose.

Ok, maybe I’m being too harsh, but I think there are creative ways to deal with any budget crisis, be it your family’s food budget or a major city’s subway system budget.

Feel free to goad me on this one!  What do you use?  What is a waste?

Soon-to-be World’s Youngest Globe-Circling Sailor

I’ve been keeping an eye on 16-year-old Australian Jessica Watson, who’s now sailing the home stretch back to Sydney in her attempt to become the world’s youngest sailor to sail around the world unassisted.  Jessica’s very pink website has a lot of cool info, including this map, tracking her progress.  She set sail back in October and should be home shortly to celebrate her accomplishment.  Go Jessica!

Jessica Watson, courtesy www.jessicawatson.com.au