Your Questions About Recycling

The Expert answers:

Urea recycling serves a very important purpose! Water reabsorption from filtrate in the collecting duct and the Loop of Henle is due to increased solute concentration in the renal medulla. One of those solutes is, of course, sodium chloride, but the other one is urea! Only a portion of the urea in the filtrate leaves the collecting duct. This additional urea in the interstitial fluid helps “pull out” more water from the filtrate by osmosis. The urea is then returned to the ascending limb of the Loop of Henle – after its job is done – precisely because it now can continue its journey towards excretion. This two solute system enables us to produce a concentrated urine. If we were not able to do this, we would have to drink over a hundred liters of water every day to replace what we would lose by filtration. In fact, sharks keep a high level of urea in their tissues at all times to maintain themselves as isosmotic to the seawater they live in. This urea enables them to osmoconform – that is, they do not lose water from their tissues even though they live in a very salty environment.

The Expert answers:

Well when it comes to UK we are definitely just helping to keep environmental agencies profitable as well as trying to comply (although in vain) to the standards set by the EU.

Http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7843070.stm

After reading the above article, it clearly proves one thing. We aren’t being encouraged to recycle, we are being forced to recycle. Instead of actually making recycling a truly environmental issue, the government instead just makes it a financial one by planning yet another stealth tax.

What is bizzare, is that I already have 3 bins at my UK house. One for general waste, one for cardboard/paper/plastic bottles and another for green (garden) waste/glass. I have all those at a significant increase in my council tax as it is, or in other words I am being charged for this priviledge.

Whilst I do try an do my bit by sorting my waste like many other people, i do not take it lightly when there is a possibility of my bins being tagged and me being charged extra on the top of my already extortionate council tax fee. No offence but by sorting my waste I am already doing half the job for them. I also happen to have a huge problem with the fact that the weekly collections have been scrapped and the rubbish is now collected fortnightly. If you have a large family, there is simply no way of reducing the waste when almost every single item these days comes in a box 6 times its size!!! Perhaps government should adress the manufacturers/packagers instead of penalising tax payers in order to raise yet more cash for their pathetic failed policies.

I also happen to be fortunate enough to be living between UK and Spain. Here in Spain, my rubbish collection is part of a community fee (UK’s council tax equivalent) which is not only a small fraction of what I pay in UK but also includes such as community private security and free sat TV. Here in Spain my rubbish is also collected daily (YES DAILY!!) apart from Sundays or public holidays. All refuse goes into the same bin – we don’t sort our rubbish here in Spain.

Which brings me to ask this question – how does Spain and other countries in Europe manage to do this at fraction of the cost and still adhere to EU recycling targets, whilst in UK we sort the rubbish for them and government still tries to screw us even more???

If you figure it out please let me know 🙂

The Expert answers:

A school library is a great place to have a media center. It is great for teachers who want to give online assignments, because not every student has a computer at home.

Not every student can get to the public library where you live, because some have jobs, and by the time they can go, the library is closed. Others have no transportation. So, a school library can enable these students to be able to read books for free.

According to the No Child Left Behind legislation (NCLB), it is most important for each school to improve test scores in both mathematics and in English Language Arts (ELA). For the latter, it is important that students do a lot of reading. Thus, having an assignment where students take a quick trip to the school library is a very effective way to increase test scores in ELA, and thereby increase funding for a great variety of federal (and probably state- where do you live?) programs, as well as to keep that district’s accreditation.

School libraries make great places to study after school, and again, give students exposure to materials they would not normally see on their own.

It is easy to get books donated to start your library. Here is how to begin:

(1) Join FREECYCLE (go to www.freecycle.org, and find the group in your community). Members recycle things among each other. All is free, and you can just post a request to the list that if anyone has books that would be good for your library, please donate them. You have to be able to pick them up– ask a parent, or a friend’s parent, to help with that. Get your friends to do this as well!

(2) Ask local stores and clubs to donate a few books. Bookstores may be willing to donate some older inventory, in exchange for advertising in a school newsletter or flier.

(3) Have a book drive, and request that parents and alumni send in books.

If you volunteer to get the ball rolling, and get a faculty advisor to help you, it should be easy to get approval! Then, when you have enough books, tell the mayor and other elected officials what you have, and ask them to help you by voting to fund the money to hire a librarian, at least part time.

Best wishes. : c )

The Expert answers:

It would help to see your overall GPA as of now, but you still have senior year. Do well your senior year and you will be fine. Rutgers still looks at your senior GPA so don’t contract senioritis, plus if you do contract senioritis, it will be a huge slap in the face when you start classes in the fall albeit you get accepted. Considering D’s aren’t that great but those grades are in Honors classes, the admissions will look at that and take that into account, it is a much more harder and difficult class than regular classes. You should somehow incorporate why you didn’t do well in those classes and the fact you didn’t get much sleep in your essay/personal statement and say how you overcame these obstacles and what you will do to change yourself in order to prevent this from happening in the future again. I see you have an impressive extracurriculars. Those will help too. I was in marching band (Group VI), wind ensemble, jazz band and practically always involved in the music/arts program throughout my high school years. Maybe our schools competed against each other. I know for a fact RU NB admissions loves people who are involved in music/arts – it makes you look well rounded. Trust me. If you do well your senior year, get some good letter’s of recommendation, make your personal statement sound good, you’ll be fine.

SEBS has the most requirements/pre-reqs to graduate from rutgers than the other schools. Takes alot of time, try looking into taking AP courses and take the AP exam so you get college credit. It will help take the load off of you in college and plus if you do well in those classes in high school, it’ll be great for your GPA! Good luck, it appears i won’t be here when you are a freshman, so good luck and i bid you well on your academics.

**edit:
just wanted to say that some people say that Rutgers is so easy to get into and some say it is extremely difficult. From personal experience, it was very easy to get into, I know people who did not even try in high school, people who had barely a 2.0 GPA and still got into RU New Brunswick. In your case, I know you would be accepted, but apparently Rutgers has gotten a little bit stricter with admissions with the incoming freshman every year. Just wanted to add, don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just stick with those suggestions i mentioned above.

The Expert answers:

Sell clothes on ebay! I recycle my wardrobe by selling clothes i no longer wear, then buy new ones with the money I make. It works for me b/c i tend to only wear things a couple of times…i then sell these and get something new. Works magic. 🙂

The Expert answers:

I think we should invest in a national transit system that utilizes energy efficient technology. Building a mass transit system in 12 years would cost us less than 1 year of servicing and repairing all the interstate highways in the US.

I say that we, as citizens, should move to preserve ourselves and our country by pushing for more energy efficient technology. Using less cars and planes means saving more energy and producing less pollution.

It is a fact that New York is the most energy efficient city in the U.S. As most people walk, ride bicycles, or catch the subway. New York also has the most citizens who recycle. Their land fills grow slower than any other city.

Also, I think that small businesses should receive the most help. These businesses don’t have large trusts and agreements with other businesses so it encourages more competition. More competition means more variety. The more variety we have, the more specialization there would be, which would lead to more stable jobs in the US, and not in foreign countries. 50% of businesses will fail within the first 10 years of their opening, why not help them along. Tourists are attracted to local small businesses, not large, common business. What would you rather have when traveling? A McDonald’s hamburger, or something real authentic and only available at your destination?

Citizens can help by supporting local small businesses.

The Expert answers:

There are several, but the main ones are:

1. Cost. Sustainability in general costs money. Even when you hear about savings, most are 10-40 YEARS down the road, so you have to spend money up front.

2. People. The cost in #1 does not grow on trees. Companies in the US can not raise prices so there is no money. You say why not? We are shipping enough jobs offshore already. Raise the price of goods made in the US, offshore prices will become even cheaper because people will buy the offshore goods.

3. People. People always in polls say they want it, but they will not put money up for it. Propose a 5% tax to make water and sewer systems better and watch the protest. Ask yourself or parents what they would do if their water bill went from $30 per month to $100 per month to help pay for sustainable practices. Most people will not pay it.

4. 3rd World. Noone will argue that China and other countries are trying to improve their economies, but they are doing it with the sin of pollution and unsustainability.

5. Government. The problem here is that the government is allowing jobs to be shipped out of the USA. Most people do not realize that the USA has some of the toughest and in some cases the toughest environmental laws. Not that we can’t do better, but see #1 above. Around 1% of manufacturing costs are for complying with environmental regulations. Sustainability would raise that to 5%. Until other countries pay that, it is hard to compete.

6. Sustainability Groups. There is tons of misinformation, starting with the fact that recycling newspapers is not a sustainable act. It is not. These groups only target USA companies. Sustainability is global and has to look at the entire life of products. Until these groups call for sanctions on offshore economies who have ZERO controls, they are hypocrites. You do not see them protesting at the Chinese and Indian embassies.

It all comes down to money. It costs money and people are not willing to spend it.

The Expert answers:

Probably not any time in the near future. Much of the US lacks the population demographics to support it. For all of its population, the US has a whole lot of low density regions, presenting a huge barrier on any coast to coast route. It also suffers from a lack of political will, and indeed a regionally oriented belief that government at any level has no place facilitating such things (while cheerfully accepting that it is government’s job to provide them with asphalt to drive on everywhere they go).

In some regions, though, it would be a great boon, particularly if it’s true high speed rail. You can expect to see more of it pop up on the Eastern Seaboard, along the Great Lakes, and on the West Coast (San Fran to LA, Seattle-Portland corridor, etc).

Yes, it would help with oil dependancy, because it does not necessarily have to be powered by oil, and even if it is, it is many times more fuel-efficient than flying or using personal vehicles per passenger-mile.

Yes, where it’s deployable, it would have economic benefits for facilitating travel.

Getting to work faster? Iffy. True high speed rail tends to function as an intercity connector. The more likely effect would be to extend viable commuting distances.

Yes, it does simplify travel. I’ve travelled from Washington DC to Boston on the Acela Express. Even at its neutered speeds due to unsuitable track, it’s notably faster than driving through city after city after city, and I arrive rested rather than frazzled. Check-in is massively simpler than flying, and the conditions are notably more comfortable. No stink of recycled air. Actual leg-room. Space to get up and move around. Space to sleep. And the ability to disembark directly into downtown with the ability to RAPIDLY retrieve one’s bag instead of wondering if it even came on the same plane? Oh yes. Where it’s available, it’s VERY nice to have that option.

It gets criticized for its cost, and ‘rugged individualists’ suggest that it’s cheaper to just drive one’s car. It really isn’t. It’s not like that road they drive on is FREE. In fact, the massive subsidies to drivers in the form of road construction are sucking US coffers dry at all levels of government. You think Amtrak is a drain? Look at the costs of providing the infrastructure for air travel or the interstate highway system.

The Expert answers:

Hmmm… For those that recommended overclocking, I dont recommend this, because, it slows your computer down from (in my opinion) heat stress.

OK… Speeding up your computer… Well, there are several options you can do.

1. Get and install a lighter, slimmer version of an Internet Browser (I use Google Chrome, fantastic, and prevents internet crashes :D)
2. Do disk cleanup to your hard drive. As your computer gets older, it gets slower because it has to recollect files which have been moving further and further apart. This may slow your computer down for a few hours, but believe me, finding files is a lot faster (after it is done)
3. Turn off things that you don’t need. Even when the computer is idle, a lot more RAM is needed. So for example, rememember that Steam account that you got last month and never use? Turn it off. Or MSN, turn it off if you dont need it, etc, etc.
4. Get slimmed down versions of programs. For example, remember that huge bloated Adobe Acrobat Reader? Well, ditch it in favour of something that does the job the same and slimmer. Like Foxit PDF reader, for example. 🙂
5. Do a scan for viruses which maybe slowing your PC down. I recommend Avira, does the job nicely, and it’s free 😀
6. Get rid of trial and old programs. The irratable thing about Trial programs is the fact that they will almost guarantee to ask for some £££ from you. In which, dont cough up your dosh, and instead opt for some open source software.
7. Clean out your recycle bin. RAM is still used to support the Recycle Bin. Clean it out, more RAM to work with 🙂

And etc. Hope that helps.