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Page 2, News OP/ED

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News OP/ED, Page 2

Man to sail across Pacific on recycled ship

With the amount of waste created in America today, people are discovering that recycling is a great way to cut down on the use of raw materials. For David de Rothschild, he is taking it one step further. Rothschild is building a building a sailing vessel that he plans to take across the ocean from San Francisco to Australia this April. The boat is being made almost completely from thousands of recycled plastic bottles.

“The idea is to put no kind of pollution back into the atmosphere, or into our oceans for that matter, so everything on the boat will be composted. Everything will be recycled. Even the vessel is going to end up being recycled when we finish,” Rothschild said in an interview with CNN.

The ship, named Plastiki by Rothschild, will have to cross over 11,000 miles on the Pacific Ocean before it reaches its destination in Sydney. His crew will consist of three permanent sailors in addition to himself, plus a group that will rotate between stops along the voyage. Rothschild plans to stop in Hawaii, Tuvalu, and Fiji on his way to Australia.

For Rothschild, the ship is meant to be a statement about the uses of recycled materials. “The idea is to take the Plastiki, break it down [after the voyage], and put it back into the system. So, it may come out being a jacket, a bag, more bottles. It’s infinitely recyclable,” he said. Even the electronic equipment on the boat will be charged by solar panels. On the whole the boat is made of 90% recycled materials. Only the masts from the ship were not made from recycled plastic.

For his part Rothschild has experience in adventuring. He is one of only a few people that have traveled through both the Arctic and Antarctic ice caps. He also founded the group Adventure Ecology, which uses expeditions like the one planned for the Plastiki to bring attention to environmental issues.

Although Rothschild is certainly experienced and dedicated, the integrity of any ship he constructs will be put to the test on his tip across the Pacific. His ultimate goal is for people to understand that recycling has its value and that much of the stuff we throw away still has a lot of use. As Rothschild put it, “That’s what this is all about — showcasing cradle-to-cradle products rather than cradle-to-grave.”

From the Editor’s Desk…

To Our Faithful Audience,

Since it has recently come to my attention that people actually read this section of the paper, I have made an extra effort to remove as many typos as I see and to write it before 2 a.m.

This issue is all about that little thing known as Spring Break. For some students it is a time for reckless fun, for others it’s a time to go home and hang out with Mom and Dad. For others it might be reckless fun with Mom and Dad, but hey, whatever’s clever- it’s Spring Break dude!

I hope that wherever you go and whatever you do that you take the time to not study. Class is no excuse, and don’t let me catch anyone doing otherwise. If you get in trouble, you can go ahead and say the school newspaper told you not to. To which your teacher will probably
respond, ‘We have a campus newspaper?’
In any case, I’ll check you on Beaver Beach once the weather gets nice.
Sincerely,

Tyler Peckham

Editor-in-Chief

Man Attacks Chuck E. Cheese

Chuck E. Cheese can be a hazardous place to be a kid. 34-year-old Massachusetts man Trahan Pires was fined $500 after assaulting a Chuck E. Cheese mouse. Pires thought the mouse had pinned his 11-year-old son against a video game. The boy’s family was at the restaurant to celebrate his birthday. According to the 19-year-old man inside the costume and a witness, the mascot was making his way through a crowd that was trying to knock him over and accidentally knocked into the boy. Pires apparently thought differently and ripped the mascot’s head off and started screaming at the man inside. Pires pleaded guilty and was fined. Note to all parents: don’t take out your aggression on Chuck or any other mascots.

-Gina Merlino

Man Stoops Real Low, Cat Gets Real High

In a bizarre case of animal cruelty, a 20-year-old Nebraska man was charged with putting his girlfriend’s 6-month-old cat inside a bong. Acea Schomaker was caught smoking marijuana with a piece of garden hose attached to a plastic glass box where the kitten was stuffed inside. According to Schomaker, his cat, Shadow was hyper and he was trying to calm her down. He had done this three times. Schomaker was fined $400, cited for misdemeanor animal cruelty and face drug charges as well. Shadow was dazed, but in good condition, recuperating at Capital Humane Society. Maybe this is one guy who has seen too many stoner flicks, but it could be just another case of people doing stupid things when they are high. Note to stoners: kittens and bongs don’t mix.

-Gina Merlino

Crippled Man Smugles Cocains in Plain Sight

A 66-year-old Chilean man with a fractured leg is now in custody after trying to smuggle cocaine through an airport in Barcelona. After finding the man suspicious, authorities searched his luggage to discover the drug hidden in both a six pack of beer and the legs of a stool, but that’s not the only place it was hiding. After applying a substance which helps identify cocaine to the man’s cast, the supposed medical apparatus tested positive for the drug.

After further investigation it was discovered that the man’s leg was indeed fractured. However, police believe that he may have intentionally fractured the bones in order to apply the coke cast and fool authorities who may want to verify his condition by x-ray. Officials suspect that the man was using a leg cast hoping to elicit sympathy from airport authorities and distract them from the real contents of his cast.

The police recovered a total of 10.5 pounds of cocaine. The attempted cocaine smuggler, known only by the initials J.S.P.F., was relocated to a local hospital in order to receive proper treatment for his leg and remains there under police observation.

-Teresa Barone

Woman Celebrates her 108th Birthday… or 111th?

Michigan native Mattie Caldwell celebrated her birthday on March 5 but she’s just not quite sure which birthday she celebrated. According to medical records, she was born in 1901; however, an old family bible dates her birth three years earlier in 1898. Due to her home birth, there are no medical records that can indicate which date is actually correct. Regardless of the age “It’s special,” says the 100 something woman. Caldwell celebrated with her family, including her seven plus great-great-great-grandchildren (she lost count after seven).

-Teresa Barone

Page 3, News OP/ED

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News OP/ED, Page 3

How to run a marathon: My first 26.2 Mile Running Adventure

The marathon is a race that commemorates the legend of the Greek soldier Pheidippides.  He was said to run from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon. The marathon even existed as one of the original events for the first modern day Olympics in 1896 to commemorate the legend. Since that time marathons have become popular events for amateur and professional runners all across the world, with hundreds being held annually and the official length of a marathon being set at 26.2 miles. Or, as I now like to think of it, the perfect length no human body can run without feeling like shit for at least three days.

On Sunday, March 1, I ran the B&A Track Marathon in Annapolis, Maryland. I am now writing this a full week after completing the task.
I still remember the morning I decided I was going to embark on the four month adventure of running  that I needed to get in shape. It was after I had made an intoxicated cheese steak binge at none other than Glenside’s own Michael’s Diner. After waking up and still feeling the pile of grease and meat rolling in my stomach, I realized that I was probably in the worst shape of my life. Added to the stress of life, I wasn’t really feeling too good about a lot of things, so I decided I should do something completely irrational: enter the decision to train for a marathon.

My training began with me basically seeing how far I could run. I was pretty happy that I could pull off 3-4 miles right off the start, although it wasn’t as easy as it used to be. Through the four months of training those three miles grew until they varied between 10 and 20 miles during the later weeks of my training. I’ll spare you the details, but I ended up training five days a week with usually three days being dedicated to running and two to hitting the gym.

Not too far into this whole process, I realized I was gifted with what is known as the “runner’s high.” I can say it’s not like any other high I’ve experienced…but it was much cheaper. Basically, once I got into the groove of running my body and mind get into this rhythm where I don’t even have to think about the fact that I was running anymore. Outside of the 17 mile and 20 mile runs I did to prepare for the marathon, I never really had too much trouble with the running part of my training because of this “high.”  I might go so far to say as that I liked it. But then there was race day.

I came into the marathon after taking two weeks where I was pretty much unable to run because of a sore foot and a tweaked knee I got from my 20 mile run. On top of that I went out to Olive Garden the night before to do what is known as “carbo loading,” or “eating as much crap as you can fit into your mouth in one sitting,” as I like to call it. Carbo loading is supposed to help with energy during the race. So on race day I hadn’t ran in two weeks and I felt like a fatty. The race started with me setting a good pace for the time I hoped to finish: three and a half hours. About four miles in my knee started hurting and my foot started acting up. But instead of dropping out I decided that unless the pain got unbearable there was no way in hell I was going to waste all the training that went into this race. As time went by my knee inexplicably felt better, or maybe the rest of my body started to feel worse, but I was able to keep going.

The great thing about the marathon was that it was a big change from all the running I had done on my own to prepare. Almost every couple of miles there were stands where I could get water and small crowds that cheered me on. My parents, who drove me down and came to watch me even ran with me a little on the trail at one point. Even the other runners encouraged each other. But as soon as I went into the uncharted territory of over 20 miles I really started to feel the pain.

All I can tell you is that running the last six miles was probably the hardest things I’ve ever physically pushed myself to do in my life. By the time I reached mile 25 I just remember putting my head down and just counting my breaths and each step. And then, I can’t explain how it happened, but as soon as I saw the finish line my mind suddenly went into T1000 mode from Terminator II and I sprinted the last 1/5 of the mile as fast as I think I could’ve at the beginning. My final time was 3 hours, 29 minutes, and 04 seconds, which was actually 56 seconds less than my goal. Just like the marathon took me from the worst shape I’ve been in to the probably the best shape, finishing the race took me from complete misery to one of the best feelings in my life. When all was said and done I finished 46th out of nearly 250 finishers for the marathon, plus probably another hundred that dropped out without finishing.

I’ll take it.

So now, two weeks later, after all the blisters have healed and I can walk normally again, I can finally look back at my first marathon and really be happy that I went through with it. The sad thing is that I think I’ve missed running this past week, and I know it’s only a matter of time before I get down to Kelly Drive and start running again. I guess like any good high, running has kept me coming back for more– my only question now is whether or not I’m truly addicted to the feeling. So, uhh, when’s the Philly Marathon again?

Political Preview

The Current Conservative Mindset:

So President Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan was passed? So can somebody tell me why everything is not completely fixed at this point? Wait, now he wants to repeal President Bush’s tax breaks for the wealthy? Well now he’s gone too far. If those hard-working Wall Street executives can’t keep their hard-earned money, well that’s just not fair…no wait, that’s not American. And he wants to end combat operations in Iraq by August, 2010? That’s it I can’t take this anymore. “Honey I’ll be out in the Hot Tub reading Money Magazine…What’s that? Oh of course I’ll be back in to watch the O’Reilly Factor with you.” Jeepers, I haven’t been this upset since I found out that The Colbert Report was actually making fun of me.

For those of you that haven’t been paying attention to the world of politics these last few weeks, allow me to catch you up. First off, President Obama’s economic stimulus plan was passed. He also came out with a new strategy for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is being attacked from both sides for either dong too much or too little with his plans. And to top it all of,f he lifted the ban on using Stem Cells for medical research. Not bad for somebody who hasn’t even been president for three months yet.

But unfortunately for President Obama, time is not on his side. Americans are sick of hearing about the terrible state of the economy. Trust us, we know it is bad. At this point we just want some good news, any good news. But sadly, I have none of that to give.

Lately I was thinking about the state of global economics and what it means to America. It is no secret that America is in a lot of debt, nearly $11 trillion to be more exact. A lot of this debt is in foreign holding in countries like China and Japan that invest in America. The reason they invest in our country is because we generally make money. In fact, countries were so intertwined with us that investment banks failed across the world because they had holdings in our housing market. But now that America is not so profitable anymore, what exactly is keeping everything afloat?

Like a company in the stock market, investment in America might start to look like less and less of good return. And that means we might start to see our global stock begin to fall. For years America has been the reigning economic superpower in the world, but suddenly we don’t seem so mighty any more. And the bigger they are, the harder they fall. So if America’s economy continues to fall this will not only have obvious repercussions for Americans but for the rest of the world that invests in our economy to make money. Now I’m no economist, but couldn’t this lead to a global recession of some sort?

Well, it’s best not to think about it too much, I suppose. After all these are just some passing thoughts of somebody who probably pays too much to politics. So don’t let it get to you, go have fun on spring break…

Weekly Green Tip

Green Tip: Reduce Waste

Check out Rocko’s modern life recycling song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_6DMi8jvyA

Have you thought about where your old electronics go?  Quite often your computers, cameras, phones, cords, DVD players, etc. are tipped into landfills, incinerated as solid waste, or dumped in developing countries.  Don’t like the idea of children in third-world countries picking though the smoldering remains of your trash to collect bits of metal?  Come to the Used Electronics Drive where everything will be ethically recycled!  Volunteers are needed to help sort and package the electronics.  Saturday and Sunday March 28th and 29th.  For more information contact sarah@ttfwatershed.org or sclymer@arcadia.edu

Page 4, Student Life

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Student Life, Page 4