Health: Pre-ordering school meals leads to healthier eating

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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It’s hard to resist a tater tot when you’re hungry, but pre-ordering meals at school can lead to healthier choices.

Study in New York shows significant change in food choices

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Not long after reporting that bite-sized fruit pieces spur healthier eating at school, Cornell researchers have released new findings suggesting that pre-ordering food would also help improve the dietary habits of school kids.

The study builds on the conventional wisdom that shopping for food while hungry can lead to unhealthy choices. According to the scientists, hungry people are especially sensitive to sights and smells of foods that will satiate, but may lack in nutrient content. (more…)

Filed under: Food, Health | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Wildfires: What does it take to scorch soils?

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Summit County firefighters extinguish a wildfire along Montezuma Road in March, 2012.

Dense ground cover protects soil by holding moisture; areas in direct sunlight with sparse, dry vegetation suffered more damage

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Fire scientists trying to learn more about how and when to set prescribed burns came to a surprising conclusion when they torched a 22-acre watershed in Portugal.

After mapping the watershed and setting up an array of instruments, they carefully monitored the fire and especially soil temperatures, finding that large, hot fires do not necessarily scorch soils.

The test fire showed that in areas with dense vegetation, where the fire burned hotter, the underlying soil stayed cooler — a finding they described as an inverse effect running contrary to  previous studies and conventional wisdom. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, forest fires, forests, wildfires | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Health: Bite-size fruit a better bet for school meals

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Kids at school are more likely to eat fruit if it’s pre-sliced, a new study shows.

Study shows dramatic increase in consumption when fruit is sliced

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Most parents know that kids coming home from school are more likely to eat fruit that’s been cut into bite-sized pieces. That same technique might encourage youngsters to eat more healthy foods as part of their school lunch, according to new research from Cornell University who tested the idea in eigh elementary schools.

Previous studies and surveys have shown that kids love to eat fruit in ready-to-eat bite-sized pieces, yet in most school settings, the fruit is served whole, which could be the reason children are taking fruits but not eating them.

Most people believe that children avoid fruit because of the taste and allure of alternative packaged snacks. A study by Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab researchers Brian Wansink, David Just, Andrew Hanks, and Laura Smith decided to get to the bottom of why children were avoiding their fruit. (more…)

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Global warming: Glacier melt speeding up in Patagonia

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Patagonian ice fields and glaciers are melting quickly and contributing to sea level rise.

Southernmost ice fields thinning by about six feet per year

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The largest ice fields in the southern hemisphere outside of Antarctica are melting faster than ever — at a rate that has increased by 50 percent in the past dozen years compared to the 30 years before 2ooo. On average, the southern Patagonia ice fields are thinning by about six feet per year.

Scientists have been monitoring cycles in southern glaciers of the Andes for at least four decades, and have detected an overall loss of ice as the climate warms. Now the region is becoming a poster child for climate change, said Michael Willis, lead author of the study and a research associate at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

“We are characterizing a region that is supplying water to sea level at a big rate, compared to its size,” said Willis.

The Southern Patagonian Icefield together with its smaller northern neighbor, the Northern Patagonian Icefield, are the largest icefields in the southern hemisphere — excluding Antarctica. The new study shows that the icefields are losing ice faster since the turn of the century and contributing more to sea level rise than ever before. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, global warming | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Global warming: Cornell researchers say melting Arctic ice may be setting the stage for more extreme winter weather

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

A weakening of the polar vortex and jet stream is likely to lead to more severe winter weather outbreaks.

‘Arctic wildcard stacking the deck in favor of more severe winter outbreaks‘

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Evidence continues to mount that melting Arctic ice is having a significant effect in the mid-latitudes, where most people live, and it’s not something that’s going to take decades to develop.

Instead, researchers say, the warming of the high latitudes has decreased a historic pressure gradient at the boundary of the high- and mid latitudes. Basically, the pressure difference has decreased, and that is having a fundamental effect on the way the jet stream moves from west to east in the northern hemisphere. (more…)

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U.S. marriage rate at all-time low

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Young couples are not getting married because they don't want to deal with divorce/

Consequences of divorce a big stumbling block to new unions, according to Cornell research

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The number of married adults in the U.S has dropped to an all-time low, and researchers at Cornell University and the University of Central Oklahoma think they know why.

Must couples don’t get married because they fear divorce, perhaps for good reason. According to the latest statistics from the Center for Disease Control, exactly half of all marriages end in divorce.

Among cohabitating couples, more than two-thirds of the study’s respondents admitted to concerns about dealing with the social, legal, emotional and economic consequences of a possible divorce.

The study, “The Specter of Divorce: Views from Working and Middle-Class Cohabitors,” is published in the December issue of the  journal Family Relations. It’s co-authored by Sharon Sassler, Cornell professor of policy analysis and management, and Dela Kusi-Appouh, a Cornell doctoral student in the field of development sociology. (more…)

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Global warming: Not the maple syrup …

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Sugar maple habitat likely to shrink in a warming world.

Cornell, Forest Service researchers outline potential global warming impacts to maple syrup production

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — If you’re a maple syrup lover and you believe that the Earth is getting warmer, it might be time to stock up.

Joint research by the U.S. Forest Service and Cornell University shows that a changing climate has already affected the iconic sugar maple trees of the Northeastern U.S. and suggests that global warming could eventually affect maple syrup production

Released this week, the study suggests  climate-change stress may decrease the availability of maple syrup or shift production northward by the end of the next century because of direct changes in temperature, decreases in snowpack or increases in weather disturbances such as ice storms. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, global warming, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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