Stories by the Garden

Technology and kids

In this week's Economist, the Technology Quarterly included an article about Dean Kamen. Kamen, who is based in Manchester, New Hampshire, is perhaps best known for inventing the Segway self-balancing scooter, but he also invented the insulin pump, the home dialysis machine, and has registered upwards of 440 patents in the last 40 years.

You can read the full, fascinating article through the link above, but I especially wanted to share a couple of quotes from Kamen:

"If you look at the way science and technology are presented today, it's worse than they just don't get their fair share of time. It's like somebody brilliantly set out to undermine any prospect for the average kid -- especially girls and minorities -- to feel excited about science. When children see a scientist on television, it's either a squeaky, geeky misfit kid or a middle=-aged white male with frizzy hair and a German accent."

"Technology is easy to develop. Developing a new attitude, moving the culture, is the difficult part... The reason it takes technology 15 or 20 years to come in is because 15 years is the time it takes a kid who saw it when he was young to become a functioning adult."

Critique of Disney

I can never resist some good criticism of Disney... apparently Disney's now marketing to boys which means girls can't be the title character... Also check out Allison Bechedel's youtube about the lack of female characters in film... Kind of takes the fun out of summer...

Action on Wednesday for a Clean and Healthy Maine

Hello Everyone,

The Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine is at it again...there is going to be a small event - a "Smell Off" this Weds. at 12 noon to illustrate the problem of fragrances in personal care products.  Local "celebrities" will try to smell which products are safe.  It will be short, sweet and silly - In Lobsterman Park, in Portland (right in front of the Nickelodeon).  We will release a national report on chemical fragrances in products: http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=644 ).

It will be great to have a few people there to watch and add to the fun - if you're downtown, going to the Farmer's Market, etc... stop on by!  Let me know if you have any questions!  Tell all your friends!

Kristine


Kristine Jenkins
Outreach and Organizing Director
Environmental Health Strategy Center
565 Congress Street, Suite 205
Portland, Maine 04101
207-699-5799
kristinej@preventharm.org
www.preventharm.org

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A Cautionary Note - NYT on too much internet stimulation

As the primary blogger for the FSP blog, I'm slightly taken aback by this NYT article (Hooked on Gadgets...) .  It really just affirms what has already been suggested by last year's "Is Google Making You Stupid" essay in the Atlantic, but the bits that resonated gave me pause... e-mail as catnip and all that. . .  I will be off-line for at least 2 weeks in June and wonder if my brain will snap back into shape a bit (silly-bandz style?) or if the change is a bit more permanent than that?

I'm curious if other adults see any of themselves in it and even more curious what you think it might mean for our kids?

Fwd: Fantastic Fathers Photo Contest - Final Call for Submissions

Healthy Fatherhood Alliance Fantastic Fathers Photo Contest Win Great Prizes! A five-pack of tickets to see The Sea Dogs vs. The Akron Aeros game on Fathers Day, Sunday, June 20th See your picture on the big screen at the game Prizes from Coffee By Design Take this opportunity to honor your dad (or grand dad, or father figure) and get him on the Sea Dogs' big screen! Submit a favorite photo in one of four categories: sentimental/memories, humorous/playful, active/activity, or multi-generational. One winner will be chosen from each category, and will be shown on the big screen along with runner-up photos during the Fathers Day game. The Healthy Fatherhood Alliance is made up of: Dads, Boys to Men, STRONG Fathers Network, The BirthPlace at Mercy, Maine Health, Just for Dads, Real Life Real Talk, Kids First Center, Breakwater School, PROP, DHHS, and many more individuals The Healthy Fatherhood Alliance is a community coalition sponsored by Boys to Men Submission Deadline: June 11, 2010 Submit photo along with your name, address and phone number to fatherphotos@maine.rr.com Winners will be announced on June 14, 2010 To enter, you must be at least 18 years of age and a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident. Boys to Men employees and Board members and their immediate family members are not eligible. Your submission of the photo and entry form is your guarantee that you are the holder of any copyrights for that photo. By submitting a photo for the contest, I hereby consent to the use of this photograph singularly or in conjunction with other photo-graphs for advertising, publicity, or other purposes associated with the Healthy Fatherhood Alliance. I understand that the term "photograph" as used herein encompasses both still photographs and motion picture footage.

Girls Math Classes Include Lessons in Anxiety

Interesting women's enews about how to keep from passing on the "girls can't do math" stereotype...

Oil Spill Day of Action from 350.org

* EDIT : MOVEON is hosting a vigil on Tuesday in South Portland - Host: Mary K—fellow MoveOn member
Where: Mill Creek Park - Broadway/Ocean Street (in South Portland)
When: Tuesday, Jun. 8, 2010, at 6:00 PM

Next Tuesday, Meet Up!

By May

• 4 June, 2010 - 17:08

Next Tuesday marks 50 days since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, pouring millions of gallons of oil into a vital part of the coastal ecosystem.
To mark the day, we're working with partners on an Oil Spill day of action next Tuesday, and we're encouraging folks to take the day to host candelight vigils, call members of Congress and demand aggressive energy policy to break our addiction to oil, or to plan an even more massive event on June 26.
Why do all these activities? Because we know politicians are finally listening to us, and starting to call for aggressive changes to the way the United States uses energy. We're the biggest per capita emitters of Carbon Dioxide on the planet, and we've so far done an abyssmal job of changing that. We can't just hope that the Gulf disaster forces a change--we have to work for it.
So we hope you'll think about what you can do, with your friends and your neighbors, to make sure the pelicans on the beaches, the out of work fisherfolk, and those who live downstream from Louisiana's oil refineries, can hope for better.

BP, BPA, Plastic Bags and Silly Bandz

I've been writing a post (or op-ed) in my head for a while, now, about silly bandz but I just can't get my words out... I am torn between not wanting to be one of those people who always has to spoil the fun, not wanting to be so pessimistic that I just see the bad in things, but also wanting to voice the enviornmental underside of the silly-bandz phenomena. Not sure where that leaves kids -- it isn't right to simply shame them out of wanting what they want (and, as I know from my own experience, it doesn't really work, just creates guilt and shame and desire) but at the same time, some consciousness raising has to be a good thing.  I've talked to my own kids -- and a few of their friends -- about my worries about something that is designed to make you want to buy more, more, more and about how it doesn't seem that great to have so much plastic around... any parental wisdom out there?

Someone shared this video with me -- students at an elementary school in Grafton, VT created a display that shows how many bags per minute are disposed in the U.S.   Clearly, we do not want to be drilling 5,000 miles into the ocean just so we can conveniently schlep our fruit in the grocery store... but is this a kids problem or an adult one?  What is right for them to think about and what are they going to face, because it is happening, right or wrong?

Pirates in Damriscotta, June 12th

Description

The Mystic Pirates sail into the scenic midcoast towns of Damariscotta and Newcastle. The pirates invade at high noon, complete with a pirate ship laying down a barrage of cannon fire. Pirate activities, beginning at 10 a.m., including games, re-enactments and music will continue until 4 p.m. Children will be involved in a drama to find the Lost Treasure of the Mystic Pirates. Special pirate-themed menus will be featured at local restaurants during the event and into the evening. The event benefits Lincoln County Family Holiday Wishes.

Venue

Venue Name:	In - Town Damariscotta
Address:	Main Street Damariscotta, ME 04543

Date

June 12th, 2010

Times

10:00 to 4:00

Fees

Free

Contact Information

Website:	www.piraterendezvous.com/
Name:	Greg Latimer
Phone:	(207) 380-9912