Could your Nalgene bottle give you cancer?

by Catherine Bodry on

Nalgene bottles did for non-water drinkers what Harry Potter did to non-readers — they made what was previously a chore into something easy and cool. I jumped on the Nalgene bottle bandwagon years ago — I’m sort of a water addict. I crave water the way some people crave chocolate, and I drink upwards of a gallon a day. I have a water bottle with me at all times (right now it’s on the floor next to my desk).

But a Canadian outdoor-gear company, Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), is pulling Nalgenes off its shelves due to research that indicates that the bottle’s plastic material Lexan is toxic. MEC pulled other products off of it’s shelves, but so far the Nalgene bottle boycott is getting the most media attention. Lexan, a brand name for the chemical compound “bisphenol A,” a polycarbonate plastic which contains the chemical compound “bispenol A,” possibly leaches toxins into whatever the Nalgene is holding, and studies have shown that these poisons can cause cancer and low sperm counts.

The Canadian group Environment Defence tested a sample of Canadians for toxic chemicals and found that every single person had bisphenol A in his or her blood. Yikes. MEC is keeping Lexan products off of its shelves until a study of the compound by the federal government is finished.

I switched to a stainless steel bottle last year, but still pull from my Nalgenes. I wonder what my bisphenol A levels are — but I don’t think I want to know.

One for the Road: The Geography of Hope – A Tour of the World We Need

by Kelly Amabile on

From Canada, the Globe and Mail’s Top 100 books of 2007, introduces us to Chris Turner’s story, The Geography of Hope: A Tour of the World We Need, in which the author travels the world in search of finding hope for a sustainable future for his daughter. What he discovers, with regards to sustainable design, housing, power and community, is both positive and promising. Turner’s travels take him from northern Thailand to southern India, with stops in Europe and North America as well.

From the Globe’s review: Chris Turner does his daughter proud. The Geography of Hope makes an overwhelming case for an abundant, even limitless amount of hope for humanity. The book is a captivating travelogue, the writing marked by piquant observations and raw, emotional engagement with farmers, radicals, business people, activists and indigenous people the world over.

Turner’s previous book had global appeal of a different kind: Planet Simpson has been called the “…the definitive Simpsons study.” In this new book he’s turned his attention to a different topic, but with similar pop culture appeal that should attract a broad audience of readers. As the Globe points out, “…his stories are full of references to his love of driving, cold beer, the Big Lebowski and The Simpsons.” And sustainability too! Sounds like a great one to kick off the new year with, huh? As Turner says on his own website, “…a book about hope makes a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus gift, so act now!”

Cellphones to replace boarding passes?

by Catherine Bodry on

In a three-month pilot program at Houston Intercontinental Airport, passengers will be able to board flights using only a cellphone or a personal digital assistant instead of a boarding pass.

Passengers boarding Continental flights will show a code on their screen that has been sent to their phone or PDA. A bar code stores the passenger’s name and flight information, and a TSA screener will confirm the bar code’s authenticity by scanning it with a special handheld device. Passengers will still need to show photo ID.

Air Canada has also been offering this service since September, and reports that “passengers love the new service.”

What do you think?

Polish fortune-telling holiday: Get a candle, a key and a right shoe

by Jamie Rhein on

Tonight is St. Andrew’s Eve where fortunes are told if you happen to be in Poland or around a large Polish community. These days, the fortunes are male or female friendly, but in the past were female fare. Also called Andrzejki, this holiday is thanks to St. Andrew (as in one of the disciples) who is the patron saint.

The night of fortune-telling designed to predict a person’s fate in love, wealth and marriage involves a bit of practice it seems–and a vivid imagination. The love and wealth prediction is the trickiest. People gather at parties where each tells the others’ fortunes based on information gathered from melted wax and shadows.

Here’s what you do:

  1. Get a candle. Melt the wax
  2. Turn off the lights
  3. Pour the melted wax through the hole of a key into a bowl of water. Naturally, get a key with a large hole.
  4. When the wax hardens into a shape, look at it, or the shadow that it makes to see what that person’s fortune is.

This is what you can tell if you are an intuitive fortune-teller type. The person’s country of origin (if the person speaks Polish and if you are in Poland, this might be a safe bet), the person’s future love match, and what the person’s profession will be.

If this sounds a little dicey and complicated, try shoe throwing. It’s another St. Andrew’s Eve tradition. Here’s how you do this one. Everybody at the party takes off his or her right shoe. Stand in a line across a room from a door. Throw the shoe towards the door. Whoever gets his or her shoe closer to the door will get married first. I would say if you don’t really want to get married first, don’t lob it. A gentle toss will suffice. You can always say, “Ooops, it slipped.”

Here’s another way to play this one. Starting at the wall across from the door, one person puts the heel of her shoe against the wall. Another person puts the heal of her shoe against the toe of the other person’s shoe. Another person repeats the step with her shoe. Whichever shoe is the one that reaches the door is the one that the owner will get married first. Clear as mud?

I looked around to see if I can find a particular St. Andrew’s Eve event for you to go to. Nope. I did find several articles talking about it. Here’s one from the Warsaw Voice where I culled my how tos. You can practice your Polish with this one. The cities in the U.S. and Canada mentioned as having large Polish communities are Detroit, San Francisco, Toronto and New York. This article describes even more fortune-telling games.

Who visits the U.S, and why

by Catherine Bodry on

Which country sent the most visitors to the U.S. in 2006? Here’s a hint: it’s one of our closest neighbors, and it’s really no surprise. If you guessed Canada, you’re correct — Canada sent 15,992,242. And if you guessed Mexico, you’re almost correct — our neighbors to the south came in second with 13,317,000 visitors. Next on down is the United Kingdom followed by Japan, Germany, France, and the Republic of Korea.

So, what are all these tourists checking out? It’s not all Las Vegas and Disneyland: Spanish tourists are “interested in rugged western outdoor tourism, and [there’s a] growing interest in Native American culture and traditions.” Japanese want to find scenes from their favorite movies. And with their strengthening dollar, many Canadians are coming to the U.S. to shop.

Forbes has a slideshow of the top U.S.-visiting countries, and you can read the full report on the U.S.’s foreign tourists on Forbes’ website.