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vendredi, mars 21, 2008

From Bay Area home fake grass leader grassestimate.com - Synthetic grass not necessarily greener

Synthetic grass not necessarily greener

By Chris Caesar


Newport Beach resident Connie Hollstein is just in love with her synthetic lawn.

It keeps her water and gardening bills low, allergies at bay, and home
— once occasionally marred by her dogs' muddy paws — conspicuously
clean.

"It looks nice — people walk by and don't even know its artificial
grass," she said, adding neighborhood kids often knock on her door for
permission to play on the lawn.

Considering the significant amounts of water typically consumed by a
square foot of conventional grass — about four feet annually — it's no
wonder the synthetic turf has become a cherished lawn ornament of
conservationists. Indeed, the Municipal Water District of Orange
County even offers a 30 cent per square foot refund to encourage
property owners to install the product.

But while modern synthetic turf has come a long way since the
Astroturf of the 1960s, the laws governing its installation have not.
Unlike Newport Beach, Costa Mesa prohibits the product in most of the
city's development zones, including single-family residences like
Hollstein's.

"[Costa Mesa has] an ordinance which dates back 16 years, when
'synthetic turf' still meant Astroturf and cheesy plastic plants,"
said Costa Mesa Principal Planner Willa Bouwens-Killeen. "It's
actually come a long way, so we were hoping City Council can come up
with something to give us better direction."

City staff cautiously suggested the Costa Mesa City Council reconsider
its ban on the product, saying the models could save the city water
and money, but could also deteriorate if neglected. Following a
preliminary discussion of the proposal at a study session last week,
some members seemed hesitant about changing some aspects of the city's
regulations.

"These days, everyone's looking at every alternative to conserve
water, though at the same time we want to keep our city looking nice,"
said Councilman Allan Mansoor. "I think it's important to keep all
options on the table — I've seen some places where that looks good in
front of homes, and if it's done right, I think that a homeowner
should have the right to do it."

"I don't see a problem in giving property owners the right, where it
makes sense," said Councilwoman Wendy Leece. "But I don't think Costa
Mesa is going to go for pulling out live grass and trees, and putting
in fake grass for the sake [of] efficiency."

While local experts said they saw some benefit to easing restrictions
on synthetic turf, they characterized the potential environmental
benefits as, at best, a mixed bag. While run-off is lessened and water
conserved, the product is developed with plastic — a petroleum-based
product — and is an inorganic addition to local ecosystems that may
rely on it.

"Intuitively, my reaction would be is that it's not obvious that it's
a really good thing for the environment, and it's not obvious it's a
bad thing," said Michael Goulden, a UCI professor specializing in
ecological cycles. "It has to beat mowing the lawn, though."

"There are a few trade-offs," said David Feldman, a UCI professor of
social ecology. "In Orange County, we use a tremendous amount of
water, and any extent to which you can save water is a huge benefit.
Most artificial turfs are using recycled plastics, too, so you're not
generating all of the bad side effects you typically do when creating
plastic from scratch. On the whole, I won't say it's a perfect
benefit, but it's a pretty fair trade-off."

City staff will likely schedule the issue for a council meeting
sometime in the next few weeks, Mansoor said.

jeudi, mars 20, 2008

Dartmouth Club, Princeton Club Organized Ivy Alumni Ski Day Trip at Mt Baldy

All Ivy Alumni Ski Day Trip at Mt Baldy

Other Club Event - All Day Event
Event Date: Saturday, March 29th, 2008 at 9:00am

The All Ivy Alumni Ski Day Trip is on!! The Dartmouth Club,
Princeton Club and the Ivy Network invites all Ivy League Alumni,
their families and friends to a day at the slopes!
For skiers- Lift tickets are $30 (thanks to a 40% discount) if
you contact Stan West (see below.) The mountain has lessons and
rental equipment available, although we could not get preferential
pricing for it. Wear something green (for Dartmouth & Ivy) and/or your
alma mater colors so we can find each other.

12:30pm Lunch at the Notch: Join us for a self-host lunch.
Look for the green, orange and other alma mater colors!

5:00pm at Baldy Lodge: Hang out with us at the Baldy Lodge for
some hot toddies after the mountain closes!

If anyone is interested in hanging arround or dinner, before
heading back ng dinner, contact Stan West
Sponsor: Dartmouth Club/Princeton Club/Ivy Network
When: Saturday, March 29, 2008, 9:00am All Day Event
Where: Mt. Baldy
Cost: Ski Lift tickets $30 (with 40% discount). Self-host Lunch
RSVP:

Princeton & Ivy League Alumni, RSVP here to let us know you
are coming or contact Norma Iris Garcia '79 at
princetonclub@prodigy.net
Dartmouth Alum contact: Stan West at (310) 641-8324/Cell
(310)339-8095 or toppkcat@aol.com
Lift Tickets For ski lift ticket discount, advance payment &
reservations required; contact Dartmouth Alum Stan West at
(310)641-8324/Cell (310)339-8095 or toppkcat@aol.com to make
arrangements or lift ticket purchase

jeudi, mars 06, 2008

Yale Tournament on GoCrossCampus.com

Yale Tournament on GoCrossCampus.com

GoCrossCampus, created by a team of undergraduate members of the Yale
Entrepreneurial Society (YES), is launching the first alumni game, the
Yale Alumni Tournament, on March 1st at http://yale.gocrosscampus.com.

The game has been phenomenally successful in its private beta launch
to college students at universities across the country, and now we
alums get to play it.

GoCrossCampus is a multiplayer social gaming platform that gives
hundreds or even thousands of Yale alumni throughout the world the
unprecedented opportunity to interact online while they compete in an
epic tourney for conquest on the Yale campus between all 12
residential colleges. Alumni join the game and fight for their alma
mater residential college against all the rival teams. The
residential college that conquers the entire Yale campus wins!

There's also a real-time chat interface on the site, so alums can
connect, socialize, and strategize with one another during the game.
The more alumni from your residential college who play, the better
your team will do in the game -- so start recruiting far and wide!
Your kids can also play using your AYA email address.

To join the game, just follow these three easy steps:

Go to http://yale.gocrosscampus.com
Click on "Register to join the fun!"
Register to play using your AYA email address, and follow the
instructions to pick your team.
That's it; you're all set to play! Links to the rules and other
information are at the top of the page. Now spread the word, and
encourage your fellow alumni to join in the fun.

GoCrossCampus (GXC) is a venture-backed web startup, with a growing
staff on both coasts, was founded in the spring of 2007 by a team of
Yale undergraduates from the Yale Entrepreneurial Society
(http://yes.yale.edu) and a Columbia undergraduate. All five founders
are still undergraduates. GoCrossCampus was incubated last summer at
the first-annual Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI) Summer
Fellowship Program (http://yale.edu/yei), a new institutional Yale
initiative dedicated to fostering student startup ventures. The
company is continuing to expand rapidly, developing its brand and
software into a groundbreaking new multi-platform team-based social
gaming destination.

For more information or to get in touch with the founders, please
contact Matthew O. Brimer, Chief Marketing Officer at GoCrossCampus,
at matt@gocrosscampus.com.

The Founders of GoCrossCampus:

Brad Hargreaves, Yale '08 ~ Chief Executive Officer

Former President, YES

Matthew O. Brimer, Yale '09 ~ Chief Marketing Officer

Vice President of Innovation, YES

Sean Mehra, Yale '08 ~ Chief Operations Officer

Co-Chief Technology Officer, YES

Jeffrey Reitman, Yale '08 ~ Chief Technology Officer

Co-Chief Technology Officer, YES

Isaac Silverman, Columbia '09 ~ Chief Development Officer

lundi, mars 03, 2008

Yale Professor Irving Weissman Recent Developments in Stem Cell Research Thurs. 3/20

Yale Professor Irving Weissman
Recent Developments in Stem Cell Research
Thursday, March 20th, 2008

Marines Memorial Club
Regimental Room
609 Sutter St., SF
6:30 PM Reception; 7-8:30 PM Program and Q&A

$30

Cash bar and heavy hors' d'oeuvres
RSVP to Bill Ziering at wmziering@sbcglobal.net

Join us for this discussion by a world-renowned expert in the area of
stem cell research. Dr. Weissman's research encompasses the phylogeny
and developmental biology of the cells that make up the blood-forming
and immune systems. In addition, the Weissman laboratory has
pioneered the study of the genes and proteins involved in cell
adhesion events required for lymphocyte homing to lymphoid organs in
vivo, either as a normal function or as events involved in malignant
leukemic metastases. Dr. Weissman has won countless prestigious
awards for his research and is well-known for his ability to present
his findings to a lay audience. Please join us for this interesting
talk from this engaging speaker!