NORTH SYDNEY CENTRE MOVES FROM PALLETS TO PELLETS . . . SALT IS SLOWLY CRIPPLING CALIFORNIA’S ALMOND INDUSTRY . . . THE NEW WORLD OF “SUSTAINABLE BEEF” . . . SUSSEX ICE CREAM IS TRYING NEW THINGS . . . OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY . . . OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

NORTH SYDNEY CENTRE MOVES FROM PALLETS TO PELLETS
Source: The Chronicle Herald
The Haley Street Adult Services Centre is getting ready to exploit a niche market to further its training and employment opportunities for adults with disabilities. The agency already recycles wooden shipping pallets by turning them into kindling that is sold at local outlets. Thanks to funding from the federal government and the provincial recycling board, the workshop is now gearing up to turn pallets into pellets for home heating. Adam Power, the centre’s assistant director, said the pellet project was the brainchild of production supervisor Randall Finnigan. He got the idea this winter while staff was discussing the shortage of wood pellets in Nova Scotia caused by the province’s two manufacturers shipping much of their product overseas. (read more)

SALT IS SLOWLY CRIPPLING CALIFORNIA’S ALMOND INDUSTRY
Source: NPR
As California’s drought drags on, its almond industry has come under scrutiny. As you've probably heard by now, almonds use a lot of water – about one gallon per nut. Most growers are relying on groundwater even more this year, because their surface water has been cut off. But that brings a different problem all together: too much salt. (read more)

THE NEW WORLD OF “SUSTAINABLE BEEF”
Source: Canadian Cattlemen
Who’s driving this bus? Amid “grocery wars,” Jamie Oliver, “hormone free” Wal-Mart and a storm of related debate, this is the core question many producers and others in animal agriculture have about the new swath of expectations and “sustainability” programs taking hold throughout the industry and the marketplace. One person with a unique, up close perspective on what’s happening and what it means, at both the ranch level and the board room level, is Cherie Copithorne-Barnes, a fourth generation rancher and CEO of CL Ranches Ltd., which grazes around 28,000 acres near Jumping Pound, Alberta, just west of Calgary. (read more)

SUSSEX ICE CREAM IS TRYING NEW THINGS
Source: CBC.ca
Sussex Ice Cream is known for its dairy-based treats, but it’s adding something new to its already impressive ice cream roster. Dave Freeze, the owner of Sussex Ice Cream, has been toying around with dairy-free options to cater to those with lactose intolerance and specific dietary needs. “I sort of buckled under the pressure, being a former dairy farmer . . . but we wanted to bring something to those people too.” Freeze says they began with different fruit sorbets made out of juice, water, and sugar. He says this year they’ve ventured into dairy-free ice cream using coconut milk. (read more)

OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY
Source: Harrison Lewis Centre
Day sky/night sky in Sandy Bay: September 11 and 12, join us at the Harrison Lewis Centre for a new way of looking at our star, other stars, and our sun.
HLC@eastlink.ca