Avery Dennison Corporation, a provider of materials for the label and packaging industry, won the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE) 2013 Environmental Award in the Design for Sustainability category for its Bottle-to-Bottle Portfolio of labeling materials, which dramatically improves the recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The Environmental Stewardship Awards, hosted by SPE, recognize corporations and other institutions that have demonstrated environmental leadership and excellence. The ceremony was held in New Orleans on March 21 at the Global Plastics Environmental Conference.
?We are excited that our Bottle-to-Bottle label has been honored by the SPE Environmental Stewardship Awards," says Donald Nolan, president of Avery Dennison Materials Group. ?As a manufacturer of pressure-sensitive label materials, we are always looking for ways to make our products more sustainable. With the ever-increasing popularity of pressure-sensitive labels, it?s critical that we make it easier to remove these materials from PET containers during the recycling process, and we are proud to be leading that charge."
According to Avery Dennison, the Bottle-to-Bottle portfolio leverages unique technology to meet an industry need to increase the recyclability of PET containers. Direct printing, paper labels and standard pressure-sensitive labels applied to PET bottles tend to lower the recycling efficiency and the quality of recycled PET. In 2010, 1.5 billion pounds of PET were collected for recycling in the United States, yet reclaimers reported yield losses ranging from 24.4 percent to 32.2 percent due to contamination by labels, adhesives and other components ? amounting to a loss of over 40 million pounds of bottles.
The Bottle-to-Bottle Portfolio for PET Recyclability was designed to help brands adhere to Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers? (APR) Design for Recyclability Guidelines for Plastic Bottle Recycling so that their PET bottles can be easily collected and do not contribute to contamination of the PET supply. The portfolio is anchored by SR3010, a proprietary ?switchable? adhesive that adheres to PET containers until its cohesive bond is broken by the caustic solution used in the recycling process. Thus, the label material releases from PET bottles during recycling process with no adhesive residue.
If you hadn't heard, South Korea's under a lot of pressure lately as a result of a spate of internet-based attacks against the country's banks and broadcasters on March 20th, which some worry (though can't confirm) was the result of a large-scale hacking campaign. The country won't simply stand idle and brace for another hit, according to the Yonhap News Agency. An unnamed senior official says that South Korea's Ministry of Defense is complementing its Cyber Command division with a policy group, not unlike its UK equivalent. The new group would coordinate online security across different military sections, refining a defensive cyberwarfare strategy and recruiting more people to bulk up the digital front lines. Provided the claim is accurate, the policy unit would ready before the first half of the year is over -- and likely not a moment too soon.
Near-Earth objects and recent asteroid events top the agenda for Planetary Defense ConferencePublic release date: 2-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Eric Dieterle eric.dieterle@nau.edu 928-225-5042 Northern Arizona University
The February 15 explosion of an incoming asteroid over in the Russian Urals was a unique event. No one in modern times had ever witnessed such a display of celestial fireworks, which injured more than a thousand people from flying glass. But for the past 20 years astronomers have been studying the cosmic impact hazard, so they were prepared to react quickly to investigate this remarkable event. The first scientific report on their preliminary findings will be presented on April 14 as part of an international meeting on Planetary Defense. This discussion will be free to the press and the public.
"Gathering for Impact!", the 2013 International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Planetary Defense Conference, will be held in Flagstaff, Ariz., on April 15-19. The conference brings together world experts on subjects related to planetary defense, including what we currently know about potentially threatening asteroids and comets, techniques that might be used to deflect a threatening object, and political and policy issues that might affect a decision to take action. The conference will include an exercise where participants develop civil protection and threat mitigation responses to a hypothetical threat.
Preliminary data indicate that the Chelyabinsk projectile was about 20 meters (60 feet) in diameter, or half the diameter of the famous Tunguska impact of 1908, which leveled more than a thousand square miles of forest. Both projectiles were stony fragments of asteroids. The energy of the Chelyabinsk blast was about 500 KT, or the equivalent of 40 Hiroshima-size atom bombs. It had about a tenth of the energy, and exploded about twice as high as, the Tunguska blast, thus doing much less damage on the ground.
Since this cosmic projectile exploded in daylight over a major city, there is an abundance of videos and eyewitness accounts. The explosion was also observed from space and was detected around the world by its atmospheric pressure wave. Further, the explosion produced a shower of small stones that spread over an area at least 15 km (10 miles) across. These meteorites are an important part of the evidence for what happened.
The special session on the Chelyabinsk Event and its Implications for Planetary Defense will be held at 7:30 pm on April 14, the evening before the opening of the week-long 2013 IAA Planetary Defense Conference. The chief organizer of the special Chelyabinsk session is David Morrison of the SETI Institute in Mt. View, California. Morrison said "The explosion over Chelyabinsk was a wake-up call to the continuing threat of cosmic projectiles. We all have a long-term stake in learning about these projectiles so that someday we will have the capability to discover objects before they collide and take necessary action to prevent a disaster."
The three invited speakers and their topics are:
David Kring (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston): A Geologic and Meteoritic Perspective of Impact Airbursts and Insights into the Chelyabinsk Event
Peter Brown (University of Western Ontario): The Chelyabinsk Airburst: A Preliminary Overview of Observations
Mark Boslough (Sandia National Lab, Albuquerque): Computational Simulations of Chelyabinsk and Tunguska Airbursts
In addition there will be other shorter papers and a concluding panel discussing the implication of this event for future efforts to protect our planet from cosmic impacts.
The conference is being hosted on the campus of Northern Arizona University (NAU). Just a short drive away is the world famous Barringer Meteor Crater, the best preserved meteor impact site in the world. Flagstaff is also home to Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered in 1930. Flagstaff is a mountain town surrounded by national forests and is close to the Grand Canyon and many other natural wonders. NAU has a high-research status, and is a leader in sustainability, science, business, green building, and cultural arts. Empowered by the Arizona Board of Regents to provide educational opportunities statewide, the university now serves approximately 25,000 students at the Flagstaff campus, offering nearly 150 combined undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
###
The IAA is an honorary society with an action agenda. The Academy has a significant scientific program this year with about 16 standalone conferences around the world. The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent organization of distinguished individuals elected by their peers for their outstanding contributions to astronautics and the exploration of space. The IAA publishes independent studies and book series. The IAA has published in 2009 a 140 pages study entitled: "Dealing with the Threat to Earth from Asteroids and Comets" (available at https://shop.iaaweb.org/). Although the IAA has many connections to other similar organizations, it is distinctive as the only international academy of elected members in broad area of astronautics and space. IAA membership consists of individuals who have distinguished themselves in one of the fields of astronautics or one of the branches of science of fundamental importance for the exploration of space. IAA membership today totals about 1244 members from 85 countries.
To encourage broader international cooperation that will include planetary defense, the IAA will host a Heads of Space Agencies Summit on space exploration with, policy makers, government representatives and leading Academicians on January 9-10, 2014, in Washington, DC. The Summit will take place in cooperation and conjunction with the ministerial International Space Exploration Forum, a policy dialogue on space exploration at government level hosted by the US Department of State. The IAA Planetary Defense Conference will be invited to provide input to the Summit.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Near-Earth objects and recent asteroid events top the agenda for Planetary Defense ConferencePublic release date: 2-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Eric Dieterle eric.dieterle@nau.edu 928-225-5042 Northern Arizona University
The February 15 explosion of an incoming asteroid over in the Russian Urals was a unique event. No one in modern times had ever witnessed such a display of celestial fireworks, which injured more than a thousand people from flying glass. But for the past 20 years astronomers have been studying the cosmic impact hazard, so they were prepared to react quickly to investigate this remarkable event. The first scientific report on their preliminary findings will be presented on April 14 as part of an international meeting on Planetary Defense. This discussion will be free to the press and the public.
"Gathering for Impact!", the 2013 International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Planetary Defense Conference, will be held in Flagstaff, Ariz., on April 15-19. The conference brings together world experts on subjects related to planetary defense, including what we currently know about potentially threatening asteroids and comets, techniques that might be used to deflect a threatening object, and political and policy issues that might affect a decision to take action. The conference will include an exercise where participants develop civil protection and threat mitigation responses to a hypothetical threat.
Preliminary data indicate that the Chelyabinsk projectile was about 20 meters (60 feet) in diameter, or half the diameter of the famous Tunguska impact of 1908, which leveled more than a thousand square miles of forest. Both projectiles were stony fragments of asteroids. The energy of the Chelyabinsk blast was about 500 KT, or the equivalent of 40 Hiroshima-size atom bombs. It had about a tenth of the energy, and exploded about twice as high as, the Tunguska blast, thus doing much less damage on the ground.
Since this cosmic projectile exploded in daylight over a major city, there is an abundance of videos and eyewitness accounts. The explosion was also observed from space and was detected around the world by its atmospheric pressure wave. Further, the explosion produced a shower of small stones that spread over an area at least 15 km (10 miles) across. These meteorites are an important part of the evidence for what happened.
The special session on the Chelyabinsk Event and its Implications for Planetary Defense will be held at 7:30 pm on April 14, the evening before the opening of the week-long 2013 IAA Planetary Defense Conference. The chief organizer of the special Chelyabinsk session is David Morrison of the SETI Institute in Mt. View, California. Morrison said "The explosion over Chelyabinsk was a wake-up call to the continuing threat of cosmic projectiles. We all have a long-term stake in learning about these projectiles so that someday we will have the capability to discover objects before they collide and take necessary action to prevent a disaster."
The three invited speakers and their topics are:
David Kring (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston): A Geologic and Meteoritic Perspective of Impact Airbursts and Insights into the Chelyabinsk Event
Peter Brown (University of Western Ontario): The Chelyabinsk Airburst: A Preliminary Overview of Observations
Mark Boslough (Sandia National Lab, Albuquerque): Computational Simulations of Chelyabinsk and Tunguska Airbursts
In addition there will be other shorter papers and a concluding panel discussing the implication of this event for future efforts to protect our planet from cosmic impacts.
The conference is being hosted on the campus of Northern Arizona University (NAU). Just a short drive away is the world famous Barringer Meteor Crater, the best preserved meteor impact site in the world. Flagstaff is also home to Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered in 1930. Flagstaff is a mountain town surrounded by national forests and is close to the Grand Canyon and many other natural wonders. NAU has a high-research status, and is a leader in sustainability, science, business, green building, and cultural arts. Empowered by the Arizona Board of Regents to provide educational opportunities statewide, the university now serves approximately 25,000 students at the Flagstaff campus, offering nearly 150 combined undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
###
The IAA is an honorary society with an action agenda. The Academy has a significant scientific program this year with about 16 standalone conferences around the world. The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent organization of distinguished individuals elected by their peers for their outstanding contributions to astronautics and the exploration of space. The IAA publishes independent studies and book series. The IAA has published in 2009 a 140 pages study entitled: "Dealing with the Threat to Earth from Asteroids and Comets" (available at https://shop.iaaweb.org/). Although the IAA has many connections to other similar organizations, it is distinctive as the only international academy of elected members in broad area of astronautics and space. IAA membership consists of individuals who have distinguished themselves in one of the fields of astronautics or one of the branches of science of fundamental importance for the exploration of space. IAA membership today totals about 1244 members from 85 countries.
To encourage broader international cooperation that will include planetary defense, the IAA will host a Heads of Space Agencies Summit on space exploration with, policy makers, government representatives and leading Academicians on January 9-10, 2014, in Washington, DC. The Summit will take place in cooperation and conjunction with the ministerial International Space Exploration Forum, a policy dialogue on space exploration at government level hosted by the US Department of State. The IAA Planetary Defense Conference will be invited to provide input to the Summit.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
AllThingsD reported last week that Twitter co-founder Biz Stone was working on a new mobile startup called “Jelly.” Today, a company blog post has emerged that gives us a few more details as to what Jelly might focus on, but it’s still hazy on details. In the post, Biz Stone, who is co-founder and CEO of Jelly Industries, Inc., says it will be for “everybody,” and will be mobile focused. Yes, it doesn’t sound like much, but Stone also said that the company is named after the jellyfish, which sheds light on the type of application he might be working on: We are inspired by this particular animal because neurologically, its brain is more ?we? than ?me.? Also, for the past 700 million years, this decentralized structure has been wildly successful. To us, it sounds like Jellyfish might have something to do with social good, or helping others out. By calling out the “we” vs. “me” aspect, it’s clear that Stone won’t be working on another social network that lets you express yourself in 140 characters, set up a bio or otherwise peacock about how amazing you are and why you’re interesting, all over the Internet. Doing “good” is another ballgame, though. You might be a generous person trying to change the world for the better, but can you prove it? Jelly sounds to us like a way to connect you to social causes and show off your contributions. The Twitter co-founder explained that “People are basically good?when provided a tool that helps them do good in the world, they prove it.” The service will be free, but won’t be available for “a while.” Additionally, Stone says that Jelly will be taking up a good part of his time, save for some of his advisory roles at companies like Branch and Fluther. Jelly is self-funded and based in San Francisco. Much like Ev Williams’ publishing service Medium, Stone is in no hurry to become a big company he says. There aren’t many central homes for philanthropy and volunteering on the web other than a site like Causes, which piggybacked Facebook’s success and open graph. The site never took off as a standalone service, lacking helpful discovery tools to connect you with causes that you might care about. For the most part, you donate here, sign a petition there, but there’s no scorecard. If you had a public-facing profile highlighting your
ATLANTA (AP) ? The criminal prosecution of dozens of Atlanta Public Schools educators presents considerable challenges for both prosecutors and defense attorneys because of the use of a complex law initially designed to dismantle organized crime, legal experts say.
Thirty-five educators within the Atlanta school system, including former Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall, were named in a 65-count indictment last week that alleges a broad conspiracy to cheat, conceal cheating or retaliate against whistleblowers in an effort to bolster student test scores and, as a result, receive bonuses for improved student performance. Prosecutors set a Tuesday deadline for all defendants to surrender to authorities.
Each defendant is charged with violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute, also known as RICO. The law is modeled on the federal statute, which Congress enacted in 1970 to take down mobsters.
Criminal RICO cases can be extremely complex with multiple elements to prove beyond the basic crime. That includes establishing a criminal enterprise, in this case the Atlanta Public Schools system, and a pattern of criminal behavior.
"It gets very complicated when you try to describe all of this to a jury and to convince a jury that a person is guilty of all of this by a reasonable doubt," said Jeffrey E. Grell, a former assistant attorney general in Minnesota and expert on RICO cases. "Particularly in a RICO case, because you have people pointing fingers of blame all over, I'm sure it's going to be very complicated."
Grell, who teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School, said the inherent nature of the law ? to prosecute "people who don't get their hands dirty" ? also makes it a challenge to secure a conviction. Although the defendant doesn't have to engage in the crime directly, prosecutors must show the defendant was directly operating or managing the criminal enterprise, Grell said.
"The critical issue is going to be intent," Grell said. "All of these defendants, the prosecution will have to prove they knowingly and intentionally set out to defraud and engage in cheating. I'm sure some of these administrators and defendants will say they did not know what was going on."
Grell said RICO cases can be expensive, especially with multiple defendants and multiple allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
The defendants include high-level administrators, principals, assistant principals, teachers, testing coordinators, a school secretary and a school improvement specialist. Hall, the former superintendent, has long denied any knowledge of the cheating.
A 2011 state investigation revealed widespread cheating by nearly 180 educators in Atlanta schools dating back to 2001. Investigators said educators gave answers to students or changed answers on tests after they were turned in, and teachers who tried to report it faced retaliation, creating a culture of "fear and intimidation."
The tests were the key measure the state used to determine whether it met the federal No Child Left Behind law. Schools with good test scores get extra federal dollars to spend in the classroom or on teacher bonuses.
On Friday, in announcing the indictment, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard used the story of an Atlanta third-grader to underscore the importance of the case, with teachers and administrators more focused on test scores than student improvement. He said the girl received the worst score in her reading class in 2006 and yet, when she took an assessment test, she passed with flying colors. The girl is now in ninth grade, reading at a fifth-grade level.
The high emotions surrounding the case and the extensive media publicity will also pose challenges for prosecutors and defense attorneys.
It's likely that one or more defendants will seek to have the case moved out of Atlanta or to have jurors brought in from another part of the state, which is allowed under Georgia law, said Ron Carlson, professor of law emeritus at the University of Georgia. Some of the defendants may also ask to have their trials be separate from the others in the hopes of strengthening their case, Carlson said.
And the stakes will increase the pressure on everyone involved in the case.
"I consider this one of the most important, one of the seminal developments in the history of American education law. It's the largest school teaching scandal yet recorded in the country," Carlson said. "A high-profile case like this one puts public attention and public pressure on the various moves made by prosecutors and defense attorneys."
Morgan Cloud, a professor at Emory University School of Law, said prosecutors will also have to work to explain the RICO law to jurors.
"When we think of racketeers we think of the Gambino family in New York ... people who engage in murder and drug dealing and prostitution," Cloud said.
___
Follow Christina Almeida Cassidy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Christina.
Though Project Anarchy may be free, it looks like all a mobile game dev could need
One of the more interesting bits of mobile news at GDC 2013 was Havok's announcement of a free version of their well-established 3D engine. For those unfamiliar, Havok is the backbone of such AAA titles as Skyrim, Black Ops 2, L.A. Noire, and many more. We had to swing by their booth to see just how well it performed. Project Anarchy handles a wide range of graphical tasks extremely well, but it also has an AI engine, allowing developers to make a fully-realized game with just a few tweaks to the demo apps included.
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Public release date: 2-Apr-2013
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AllThingsD reported last week that Twitter co-founder Biz Stone was working on a new mobile startup called “Jelly.” Today, a company blog post has emerged that gives us a few more details as to what Jelly might focus on, but it’s still hazy on details. In the post, Biz Stone, who is co-founder and CEO of Jelly Industries, Inc., says it will be for “everybody,” and will be mobile focused. Yes, it doesn’t sound like much, but Stone also said that the company is named after the jellyfish, which sheds light on the type of application he might be working on: We are inspired by this particular animal because neurologically, its brain is more ?we? than ?me.? Also, for the past 700 million years, this decentralized structure has been wildly successful. To us, it sounds like Jellyfish might have something to do with social good, or helping others out. By calling out the “we” vs. “me” aspect, it’s clear that Stone won’t be working on another social network that lets you express yourself in 140 characters, set up a bio or otherwise peacock about how amazing you are and why you’re interesting, all over the Internet. Doing “good” is another ballgame, though. You might be a generous person trying to change the world for the better, but can you prove it? Jelly sounds to us like a way to connect you to social causes and show off your contributions. The Twitter co-founder explained that “People are basically good?when provided a tool that helps them do good in the world, they prove it.” The service will be free, but won’t be available for “a while.” Additionally, Stone says that Jelly will be taking up a good part of his time, save for some of his advisory roles at companies like Branch and Fluther. Jelly is self-funded and based in San Francisco. Much like Ev Williams’ publishing service Medium, Stone is in no hurry to become a big company he says. There aren’t many central homes for philanthropy and volunteering on the web other than a site like Causes, which piggybacked Facebook’s success and open graph. The site never took off as a standalone service, lacking helpful discovery tools to connect you with causes that you might care about. For the most part, you donate here, sign a petition there, but there’s no scorecard. If you had a public-facing profile highlighting your
