On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Astronaut Neil Armstrong took one famous step and became the first person to set foot there. For the few hours he and Buzz Aldrin walked on its surface, people could look up at the Moon and know that someone might be looking back at them.
                     from Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover
                                                    by Markus Motum
                                                      Candlewick, 2017

    It’s been fifty years since Apollo 17 landed on the moon. I was still in high school. Ray Walston was “My Favorite Martian” every week on TV. Although The Tornados had fallen apart by 1965, radio stations were still playing Joe Meek’s instrumental, “Telstar” which debuted in 1962. In 1964, the Beatles came to the United States and changed music forever. It seemed like the whole world was changing.
    The 1960s was a decade of social, economic, and political change. 
    Begun in the 1950s, the US Space Program tried hard to keep up with the Soviet Union. On April 12, 1961, just three weeks before Alan Shepard was launched out of Earth’s atmosphere, Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel into outer space. His feat inspired President John F. Kennedy to challenge the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): land a man safely on the moon, and bring him safely back home by the end of the decade. 
    Tragically, Kennedy did not live to see NASA meet his challenge. He did not hear Neil Armstrong talk about his small step or Mankind’s large one. He was not a witness, like all of us were, to the original moonwalk.
    And now after more than fifty years, we’re going back. 
    Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and Apollo’s twin sister, is the name chosen for this (at least) three-part mission. 
    As I write this on Monday morning, I’m tuned to NASA’s live coverage of the scheduled launch. It’s about 8:22 a.m. and the launch is scheduled for 8:33. The countdown was stalled a while ago, and as I watch, an update informs us that Engine 3 is experiencing a fueling bleed. The engine is part of the cooling system and is located on the bottom of the core stage of the rocket. Engineers are collecting data to help them discover the cause of the problem. 
    8:38 a.m. The announcement no one wanted to hear: Today’s launch is scrubbed at T-40 minutes.
    The rocket is in a stable configuration and its engineers will continue to collect data. The next available opportunity to launch Artemis I will be Friday, September 2, 2022, at 12:48 p.m., but a new plan is not in place, yet. The new plan will depend on what the test data show. The launch team will make the ultimate decision. 
    This first Artemis mission, is uncrewed. Its six-week round trip will launch from an Orion spacecraft and will collect data as it orbits the moon on its 1.3 million mile journey. Here's its projected trajectory. Orion’s return will be faster and hotter than any spacecraft has ever experienced on its way back to Earth. 
    Artemis II will be a crewed flight that will take astronauts farther into space than anyone has been before. Artemis III’s goal is to land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the moon by 2025. The crew will spend a week on the surface performing scientific studies.
    NASA’s ultimate goal is to make way for human exploration of Mars. “This 'Moon to Mars' plan involves building a new space station in lunar orbit and, eventually, a habitable Moon base.” (Royal Museums Greenwich) 
    The whole Artemis program is a NASA-led multi-year, multi-national cooperative venture between private companies and government entities.
    Several reasons call scientists, engineers, and regular folks like me (and maybe you) to continue our exploration in space.
    Technology developed to explore the moon and outer space has helped us innovate medical breakthroughs like insulin pumps, convenience items like freeze-dried food, and miraculous-seeming hand-held computers. By studying the lunar surface, we Earthlings can learn about the formation of our solar system. Traveling to the moon and beyond paves the way (in a figurative sense!) to exploring other planets. Reaching Mars is a goal of the Artemis program. Finally, we are all, especially the next generation, inspired and awed by the vastness of space and our ability to explore this fantastic frontier.    
    And isn’t our next generation who we’re all counting on? And haven’t we always counted on them?
                           -—be curious! (and embrace the future) 

And there I was
At the good old dump!
With bags of rags,
And old tin cans.
And mops and mats,
And pots and pans.
And jacks and tires,
And sacks and wires.
And cots and springs --
And lots
And LOTS 
Of things 
With STRINGS!
                                           from A Big Ball of String
                           written and illustrated by Marion Holland
                               Beginner Books/Random House, 1958
    I’ve eaten lunch many places including the park with friends, at restaurants (formal and informal) baby showers, wedding showers, backyards, and homes, mine (and others’). But last Friday was a first for me. 
    The Carbon Limestone Landfill, about a 40 minute drive from my house, was holding their annual open house. A new friend invited me to attend, and lunch was included. She warned me that food would be served on Styrofoam, and plastic, non-recyclable utensils would be on hand. She suggested I bring my own. I did. And I brought my own lunch, too.
    Two kinds of sandwiches, a variety of chips in single serving throw-away pouches, and pasta salad was lunch. Donuts and cookies were served up for dessert. As people finished eating, all table service was discarded, but after all, we were at the dump!
    Tram rides departed every 90 minutes or so for the tour, but before we climb aboard, here’s a little update on recycling in Mahoning County, Ohio. All properly recycled material stays OUT of the dump, and that’s a very good thing.
DO RECYCLE 
    paper, not shredded
    cardboard cartons, *NOT corrugated
    metal cans, empty and rinse
    plastic bottles, jugs, and jars: GLASS or PLASTIC, empty and rinse DISCARD caps
    THAT’S IT    
    *corrugated cardboard can be dropped off at a recycling site
    Here's the best information. (Check with your local county government website if you live somewhere other than Mahoning County, Ohio.)
    Our county provides curbside recycling. It’s free for residents. More about that in a couple of minutes.
    Recycling is picked up using a single-stream system. That means everything in my recycle bin goes into the same garbage-truck hopper. All my stuff and all my neighbors’ stuff is hauled to the recycling center and loaded onto a conveyer belt where it is sorted. First the metal cans are mechanically removed, then human pickers wearing gloves and masks sort through the rest. What can be sold is removed. What is left on the conveyer slips down a chute and is bundled and hauled away to the landfill. 
    Real people sort through what we put in our recycle bins. Let’s make sure it’s clean and safe, not sharp, like broken glass.
    Now for the tram ride and tour of the 340 acre Carbon Limestone Landfill.
    Our tour guide is in charge of daily operations and told us everything we wanted to know. Starting at the beginning, we saw flatbeds and large dump trucks from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, and other states along the Eastern Seaboard weighing in. Some had arrived as early as 1:00 a.m. and waited until they could unload between 4:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. From 3:00 p.m. to about 4:30 local trucks enter and unload. All trucks are monitored for radioactive waste. Local and long-haulers are weighed before and after they are emptied. They’re hosed down before they leave the facility. Between 30 and 50 long haulers unload every day. In-state and out-of-state, the landfill handles between five and six TONS of trash/garbage every single day. The fees the long-haulers pay to The Carbon Limestone Landfill in Lowellville, Ohio, pay for our county recycling program.
    After the garbage is dumped, it’s covered with layers of dirt and grassed over. As the garbage begins to decompose, it produces methane and other gasses. In a system of 200 methane extraction wells, a pressure vacuum collects the gas. The landfill gas is refined from 50% methane and 50% other gasses to 97% pure methane. It is sent to end-use facilities then distributed. The landfill produces enough electricity to power 15,000 homes per day. 
    Mining began in the original limestone quarry in the 1960s. By 1992, all the extractable limestone had been removed. The landfill began in the hole left by the quarry after the exposed land was sealed. Before the solid municipal waste (SMW) is dumped, it must be compacted to take up the least amount of space possible. A compactor reduces the SMW to 1,800 lbs/cubic yard.
    Like the gas that is piped and processed into usable methane, liquid is also piped out of the landfill. It is also treated until it is pure enough to be sent to a nearby water treatment plant where it is further refined into drinking water. 
​    The remaining liquids have to be solidified before they are buried. This is accomplished by using rejected paper pulp from a West Virginia pulp mill to suck up the extra moisture, like we’re instructed to do with kitty litter before we dispose unused paint.
    The best estimates state the site will remain active for about 36 years. For a garbage dump, the site is deceptively clean. Grass grows on the hillside, which is the 3rd highest point in the whole state of Ohio. Permits could be obtained to go higher, but like our guide said, what dump wants to be known as the highest point in the state?
    Phase I is closed. Phases II and III are active now, and Phase IV, an additional 8-1/2 acres, is under construction. Each night the new excavation is covered with soil and tarps.
    Along the ride, I did not see any wildlife except for a flock of gulls. While it is difficult to tell the difference between gulls and seagulls, gulls are land birds. They can’t perch, so they’re attracted to large, flat areas: parking lots and landfills. They tend to feed, roost, and nest in groups. Landfills provide an attractive food source, so since we’ve built it, here they come. And here they stay.  
    Guess I wasn’t the only one eating lunch at the landfill!
                                 Be curious! (and recycle with care)       

A is for Zoo.
Why? 
Because Animals live in the Zoo.
    .          .          .
Z is for Animals.
Why?
Because Animals live in the Zoo.
                                                 from Q is for Duck
                                               written by Mary Elting
                                             illustrated by Jack Kent
                                                 HoughtonMifflin, 1980
                                     (accessed on YouTube 8/13/22)
    When I was growing up, we were not allowed to have a pet with fur, so the only animals I saw close up were red-eared sliders (those little turtles we bought at the dime store with our allowance) and goldfish that we got the same way. I don’t remember any of my friends having pets. 
    When I got older, I babysat for a family with a really, really big dog. But, he was a dog nevertheless. A few years later, a different family had a cat, and surprise of all surprises! Mom let us adopt him for our own when the dad found out he was allergic to cats. Princey was the first of many cats my family shared our home with. But that’s it. Cats, turtles, and goldfish.
    At school, we studied about wild animals, jungle animals, and animals that lived in the sea. I grew up close enough to the Cleveland Zoo (now the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo) that we’d go there on field trips. I used to love to go to the zoo. The animals were exotic and exciting. Majestic elephants picked up peanuts with their finger-like trunk tips. Two-story-tall giraffes grazed gracefully on tree-tops. Lions, and tigers, and bears (oh! my!) were especially scary, but in those days they lived in cages behind strong bars. And the monkeys played like they had not a care in the world. They romped up one side and down the other of the mountain in their enclosure, Monkey Island, and were surrounded by playful seals who would sometimes balance a ball on the end of their snouts. 
    The gorillas and other big apes were a different story.
    Proponents of zoos have strong arguments. Zoo research is important to many aspects of science. The most common area of research focuses on learning about animal welfare and habits. Other studies consider habitat conservation, especially for animals being readied for return to a natural environment. Ecology research addresses species-specific conservation problems and the preservation of ecosystem health and biodiversity. Scientists study how animals interact with their environment, with each other, and with the humans who care for them.
    Many diseases can pass directly from animals to humans. In 1999, when crows at the Bronx Zoo in New York were dying of a suspected outbreak of encephalitis, a scientist at the zoo discovered the cause was really an emerging disease, West Nile Virus. A vaccine was developed for horses, where the infection can be fatal. There is no human vaccine, but if contracted, symptoms are almost always mild.
    Zoos can save species from extinction. ProCon.org, owned by the Britannica Group, lists Corroboree frogs, eastern bongos, regent honeyeaters (a critically endangered Australian bird), Panamanian golden frogs, Bellinger River snapping turtles, golden lion tamarins, and Amur leopards, among others, that have been saved from extinction by zoos. Zoos can help animals in danger from climate change and habitat loss. In 1960, Przewalski’s horses were declared extinct in the wild. Only 12 lived in zoos. Through a cooperative breeding program, several zoos have worked together to increase the number to 2,400 horses and in 1992, 16 were released into the wild. Now 800 are living wild.
    We humans understand best what we experience. Watching animal shows on TV, even PBS documentaries, do not get us close enough to ignite our sensibilities. A 2014 study has shown that people who have visited a zoo, though, know more about biodiversity and increase their actions to protect particular animals, habitats, or nature in general. People tend to protect what they love. Visiting animals where they live is a good way to learn about them.
    An Eastern Black Rhino was born in the Cleveland Zoo this year. Last year an orangutan, a gorilla, and a koala were born, and in 2019, a baby giraffe. All are doing well. All over the country and all over the world, endangered animals are born in zoos. I want to believe that all are well taken care of.
    Every year more people visit zoos than attend games of the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB combined. But the same ProCon article presents a stirring argument against zoos. A different study claims no significant difference in knowledge-gain or individual charitable contributions, so zoos are necessary. 
    Furthermore, it’s said that zoos contribute to poor health and early death of elephants, and gorillas, and an increase of infant mortality has been documented in polar bears. (ProCon.org)
    Animals in zoos can suffer psychologically, too. According to the same article, many leopards are clinically depressed. Bears exhibit symptoms of Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and giraffes have been diagnosed with anxiety. Chimpanzees can develop abnormal behaviors that could be caused by mental health issues.
    So taken all together, a deep study of the source articles for these summary facts is necessary. (The source notes are appended in the ProCon article I reference.)
    I want to believe that zoos are good places for people to learn about all kinds of animals, that animals are studied kindly, and important learning encourages people to donate time and resources for saving so many animals from extinction. More information is available than I can digest. 
    I think I know how I feel about zoos. Then I see the gorilla baby and find his mom. I gaze into her eyes, and I’m sure she knows so much more than she can say. 
                                                -—Be curious! (and kind)

    Cats here, cats there,
cats and kittens everywhere
    Hundreds of cats
    Thousands of cats
Millions and billions and trillions of cats
                                                 from Millions of Cats
                               written and illustrated by Wanda Gág
                                                   Puffin Books, 1956
    Although I like to paint my world in rainbows and shades of gray, sometimes I think in opposites. Common ones like 
    all/none
    large/small 
    feast/famine 
    loud/quiet
and some that are not so usual like
    grow/stagnate
    dearth/plethora
    banal/creative
    detritus/treasures. (This is my favorite category.)
Some words have more than one opposite like
    right/left and right/wrong 
    fast/slow and fast/temporary    
    hard/easy and hard/soft. 
Some words are contronyms, words with two meanings that contradict one another. They are their own opposite, like
    cleave (to hew apart) and cleave (to hold tight)
    trim (to add, decorate) and trim (to subtract, cut away)
    
    The obvious one-word opposite of “opposite” is “same,” which sums up our world neatly in black and white (which are only opposites when we consider the color spectrum). 
    English is a difficult language to learn. It is subtle, complex, and nuanced. The 20-volume second edition set of the Oxford English Dictionary (1989) contains 171,476 entries, but usage, grammar, and clarity are elusive for many of us. We can define a word, but might have trouble with its pronunciation. The opposite is also true. My daughter opined as she was working on a Wordle puzzle a couple of weeks ago, “just because you can pronounce it, doesn’t mean it’s a word.”
    Lots of words have opposites, but many of them don’t. Flower? Bird? Song? Brick? Ocean? I was thinking in this vein during a recent walk. Our nearby county fairgrounds was hosting the American Kennel Club’s dog show. I observed. Some dogs are huge, some are tiny. I learned. Some are workers like bloodhounds and sheepdogs. Some, like Pekinese and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are lapdogs. They live to entertain and comfort their owners. I listened. Some barked their poor, fool heads off. Some were quiet as cumulus clouds in the bright blue sky.
    It’s true that some people are dog people and some prefer cats. But cats and dogs are not themselves, opposites. Besides the obvious physical characteristics: whiskers or not; tongues (smooth and slobbery or rough and dry-ish); claws (clobbery or click-clacky), dogs and cats provide companionship. They keep us from talking to ourselves, or they let us pretend about that. They don’t judge us. Their love is unconditional, whether they show it with exuberance or a quiet lap-sit. And, with a little patience and attention, we humans can understand the needs, distress, and joy they communicate to us. 
    I’ve never known a cat to demonstrate unconditional love by slobbering all over me after jumping on me and knocking me down. I had a cat though, who would softly tap my cheek each morning, a gentle reminder to get his breakfast ready.
    Then there’s the “let’s go for a walk” difference. With the exception of two different cats who lived many years apart, my cats have been content to stay home. They do their business where they are supposed to (mostly) and I thank them for that. I like a destination when I walk. Most dogs are not welcome in the library, post office, bank, or grocery store. So that part works out well, too. My cat gets to stay home and I get to go where I want to.
    My preferences make me a cat person. I recognize and admire independence (albeit limited), a calm, unassuming demeanor, and a penchant for naptime. I would choose golf over football, a sailboat over a power boat, and meaningful ballads over raucous hip-hop.
    I like crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, and board games. I like reading to discover something old, something new, or some different perspective. I like quiet over chaos. 
    I found an interesting graphic that shows the results of a survey done by the scientists at www.NationalToday.com Turns out that when 1,000 people answered the question: Are you a dog person or a cat person, 14.2% answered cat person and 42.8% said dog person. Lots of people claimed to be both, but really? I don’t think so.
    And just as dogs are not opposite to cats, dog people are not opposite to cat people, either. Like cats and dogs, people come in different colors, genders, and temperaments. Cats and dogs, just like us, need to be nurtured, accepted, and encouraged. 
    And loved, unconditionally. 
    
                              Be curious! (and love unconditionally)

“…lots of preservatives can be found in our kitchen. What do you think you should look at?”
    “Hmmm. Preservatives make things last a lot longer. So food that lasts a long time?”
    Mom nodded. “You’re on the right track, kiddo. See if you can figure out what the preservatives might be by looking at the stickers with the printed ingredient lists.”
    “To the kitchen, Sassafras!” I announced. “We’re going on a preservative hunt!”
                   from Zoey and Sassafras: Monsters and Mold
                                                   story by Asia Citro
                                          pictures by Marion Lindsay
                                           The Innovation Press, 2017
                                             (read on Libby 7/24/22)
    How long does a Twinkie last? Really. That question began an over 40-year-long science experiment in a high school in Maine. The Twinkie sat on top of the chalkboard in the science lab for 20 years. In 2016, it went into a see-through case and sits on the school director’s desk.
    It doesn’t look quite as good as it did in 1976. It might not even be edible, but it’s the school’s claim to fame. The director contacted Hostess in 2016 to see if they’d take it as a donation, but I couldn’t discover if Hostess has replied, yet. By the way, Hostess is scheduled to report the results of its second quarter (ended June 30, 2022)  tomorrow, Wednesday, August 3, 2022, after market close. 
    Preservatives aside for a moment, food waste is a huge world-wide problem. Close to 1/3 of all food produced is wasted. At 30-40% here in the United States, we fall right in the middle of that average. Spoilage occurs at every stage of food production from the farm to the refrigerator. Problems can happen in planting, growing, harvesting, milling, and transporting. Equipment malfunctions can allow food to get too hot or too cold, and damage it before it is consumed. 
    Buying too much can be a problem. Choosing only the most beautiful peach or pineapple and leaving the rest often results in the grocery produce department’s contribution to waste. In 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s agency on Food Loss and Waste set a goal of 50% reduction by 2030. That 50% means a reduction of waste sent to landfills down to 109.4 pounds per person per year. That still sounds like a lot to me.
    Here's the USDA’s definition of food loss and waste: the edible amount of food, postharvest, that is available for human consumption but is not consumed for any reason. It does not include moisture loss due to cooking and unlike some recycling statistics, does NOT include inedible parts of food like banana peels, egg shells, and bones.
    Food waste is the largest single category of material sent to landfills. And food in landfills produces the greenhouse gas methane. So the wasting food also wastes water and land. 
    A report from the Union of Concerned Scientists describes the growing number of innovative farmers and scientists who are moving toward sustainable farming to bring food and textiles to market in ways that are compatible with our earth. The impacts are environmental, economic and social.  
    Environmental Sustainability includes building healthy soil, managing water wisely, minimizing air and water pollution, and promoting biodiversity. 
    Economically and Socially Sustainable agriculture enables farms, large, small, and medium-sized to be profitable and contribute to their local economies. It supports the next generation of farmers and workers, promotes racial equity and justice, and creates access to healthy food for everyone. Economically and Socially Sustainable agriculture prioritizes people and communities over corporate interests.
    The new field of agroecology studies and implements how to work with nature rather than against it. Agroecology promotes the interconnectedness of environmental, economic and social factors we need to create a truly sustainable world.
    But that is them. What can we do to reduce our own food waste?

• Download the free FoodKeeper app from USDA. Type in chicken, strawberries, or pickles. Tap the “go” button and discover how long you can store your items.
• Check food safety guidelines from the FDA.
• Label and date leftovers. I started doing this at the beginning of the pandemic. I was shopping less and buying more each trip. It required a little more organization, a roll of masking tape and a sharpie, but not much time.
• If you’re interested in composting, look at the EPA’s  Composting Fact Sheet. 
• Use your senses. If something smells bad, it most likely is. Get rid of it. If something looks bad, check out the website www.eatortoss.com It includes a food index and “Use-it-Up Recipes.”
• Take “use by” and “best buy” dates with a grain of salt. 

    My box of dried bowtie pasta is stamped March 29, 2024, as its “best by” date, but I’m sure my bowties won’t dry out any more if I keep them longer. Dried beans and peas? In my book dry is dry, but the USDA recommends keeping them only one year. 
    Canned goods? According to www.foodnetwork.com “best by” is a label assigned by the manufacturer. FoodNetwork.com quotes the Can Manufacturer's Institute, “canning is a high-heat process, so it preserves food and prevents the growth of any bad organisms. Canned food is forever safe. But, it notes quality may be affected. And dented and bulging cans are NOT safe! Toss the food, recycle the can.
    Preservatives are added to processed foods to make them last longer. The FDA has the primary role in approving a particular preservative or not after rigorous and ongoing testing. For more information about the safety and controversy of food additives, check LiveStrong.com They use recent and relevant research, use experts to review their articles before they’re published. They do their own “fact checking” to assure accuracy.
    LiveStrong’s bottom line is, it’s safer to eat preservatives than risk eating foods infected by bacteria and fungi. The balance comes in the next sentence. If you want to avoid eating preservatives, eat more whole foods and fewer packaged ones.
    Reducing food waste is a noble goal. On my own small scale it won’t make a dent in the 820 million people in the world who are hungry or even the one in eight Americans who face food insecurity, but working together, each of our own small efforts is part of a very big picture.
                               -—be curious! (enjoy summer’s produce)