There has been an agreement between the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and Emery County to deal with the lease and sell of school trust lands measuring around 2,500 acres by the Emery County. This beautiful piece of land is just located west of the Green River and there is a proposed plan of turning itself into a Green River Industrial Park in the near future.

The first right to buy an area of 1,600 acres of industrial park by Transition Power Development was given by Emery County Commissioner. The said Commission has also plans to sell 640 acres of land to Bluerock Resources, LLC, a Canadian firm for the purpose of building uranium mill. The 90% of the areas of the industrial park is now dedicated either for the nuclear reactors or uranuium plants. The Emery County and the Transition Power Development has entered into such a contract that the Emery County will not be allowed to sell the other parts of the land to any third party, even if then third party offers more money than the Bluerock Resources.

As the deal between the Emery County Commissioner and SITLA has been finalized along with Transition Power Development and Bluerock Resources; the role of the County Commissioner is almost over now. The Transition Power Development needs approval from the Emery County to sale and rezone the land. The Government Regulators at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will soon decide the fate of the nuclear project.

Looking for more household stuff to reuse? Have you overlooked the bath soaps? Not the bath salts, of course. What about the kids’ crayons and oil pastels?

Bar soaps that have thinned and softened are often left alone to melt or thrown away. The shortened crayon sticks are abandoned or ignored, and they all eventually end up in the waste can.

These items are still useful. Collect the bits of bath soaps and dry first before storing inside a small jar. Gather all the color nubs in a small box. When you have enough bits and nubs to create into new soaps and new crayons, bring them all to the kitchen.

This project could be done with some kiddie help. Ask your kids to get some muffin cups made of aluminum from the kitchen cabinet; while you take out a muffin baking pan.

Let them fill each cup with soap bits until semi-full. Set these cups aside.

Do the same with the color and pastel nubs. Let those small fingers segregate the colors with the same shade. If there were not enough nubs to fill a cup, mix them with others to create a new color shade. For example, red nubs mixed with yellow nubs can turn into an orange crayon; or red and blue into violet; or yellow and blue into green. The kids will surely have a lot of fun learning about the color wheel.

Put all the aluminum cups in the muffin baking tray and place inside the oven. Bake in very low heat, about 200 degrees for several minutes or until the soap and crayons have melted nicely. Turn off the oven and let cool before taking out the muffin tray. Let the muffin-shaped bath soaps and crayons cool off for about 30 minutes. When completely hardened, you can remove the new soaps and crayons from the aluminum cups. Ask your kids to put the cups in a sealed plastic bag for reuse.

This procedure can also get those shortened candle sticks be melted and reused in new shapes. Do not forget to stick a short wick at the center of each muffin-shaped candle during the cooling period.

Unless the green and grassy lawn in front of your house has some sentimental value to you, a greener and eco-friendly lawn may be the right one for you and your family.

To keep those grasses on your lawn as green and as plump need a lot of the following: water, pesticide, fertilizer, and gasoline for the lawn mower. According to recent studies, your lawn could be the most ‘ungreen’ space in your home because of the following reasons:

1. The lawn grasses need a considerable amount of water to stay green. During hot months, these lawns need daily watering.

2. The weekly or bi-monthly mowing produces a lot of cut-grass waste. The lawn waste may be biodegradable but they still need to be transported from your home to the landfill.

3. The lawnmower and other gardening equipment are fueled by gasoline and therefore emit carbon dioxide.

4. The monthly application of pesticide and fertilizer wash a lot of dangerous chemicals into soil and water supply. These pest killer formulations contain certain organic chemical compound such as benzene, which is also a known carcinogen.

One of the many ways to turn your lawn to an environment-friendly space is to have it covered with outdoor tiles or plain concrete. The center space can be an inviting play area for the kids, or a picnic table and some chairs for a barbecue party. You can still have some greenery in the form of potted plants or side planters, where shrubs or small trees can be grown in neat rows. There are many plant varieties that need less water and maintenance.

Another way to change your lawn is to build elevated gardens for vegetables and herbs. You will need some old wood planks, lots of hays or straws, and organic fertilizer from compost. This gardening option could mean some hard work to maintain but you will have fresh vegetables and herbs as rewards.

Endangered Species

The Siamese Crocodile is one of the rarest and most endangered species in the world, with less than 200 of them remaining in the world. Plans for the construction of a dam in the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia is threatening the lives of one-fifth of this already struggling population. The construction of the Chay Areng Dam will do untold damage to this unspoilt region; threatening not only the Siamese crocodile, but several other species living in this valley. (more…)