Thursday, August 30, 2012 // Issue119,Volume77 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
N E W S P A P E R
O F T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
H O U S T O N
UH expert weighs in on West Nile scare
S I N C E
1 9 3 4
OPINION
Jessica Crawford Staff writer
This season, public health experts suggest that fall classes aren’t the only things for which students should brace themselves. Students also need to take precautions against the West Nile virus — instances of the virus have increased by 40 percent since last week, according to the CDC — especially considering many college students are on the way to or from classes at dusk or dawn. “It’s a bit impractical to always remain indoors at dusk and dawn. If you are outside, then use a repellent with DEET, Picaridin or the oil of lemon eucalyptus. They’re very easy to purchase,” said Floyd Robinson, director of the UH Health Center. Cases of West Nile in dead birds have been detected in Harris county, according to Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services. Every year, HCPHES releases information about how residents
File photo/The Daily Cougar
C-Store should sell beer LIFE+ARTS
West Nile virus is transmitted via mosquito bite. Students should kill any they see. | Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons can protect themselves from the threat of illness carried by mosquitoes. It suggests not only that residents use repellent to stay safe, but also that mosquito attracting environments such as standing water
and lawn clippings be removed from public areas. “Mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus in Harris County are nighttime fliers. They also like to come indoors,” said Sandy Kachur, the
senior public information officer at HCPHES. According to the CDC, cat or dog owners should not use DEET-based
New talent in golf lineup
UH continues its movement toward sustainable practices, commuter fair News editor
With recycling bins scattered over campus and reusable to-go containers in the dining halls, UH has clearly made an effort and succeeded to become an environmental friendly university. According to The Princeton Review, UH is currently one on the “Nation’s Greenest Colleges” for the work that is being done in sustainability research. “As an institution of higher education, we have a responsibility to teach and model for our students that it is important to be good citizens in the world in which we live so they have this mindset when they graduate,” said Emily Messa, chair of Sustainability Task Force.UH is one of many colleges to initiate trayless dining. Trayless dining reduces the amount of food waste by 25 to 30 percent and reduces the water waste
necessary to clean the trays after each use, according to the Green UH website. UH is also adamant about its recycling program, and is recycling 35 percent of its waste while reaching for the goal of 80 percent, the Office of Sustainability said on its website. “Recycling is most visible and most important to students on campus. When determining how we spend time and move toward campus progress, we see what students care about, and recycling is on student’s minds,” said Leah Wolfthal, program coordinator for Sustainability. “We use AASHE (The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) as a guide and rating system. It gives universities indicators on sustainability topics such as move-in recycling. The guide is often a starting point.” In addition to recycling, UH participates in RecyleMania, which GREEN continues on page 2
SPORTS
NILE continues on page 3
What is red, white and green all over? Julie Heffler
Blaffer Gallery given new life
GET SOME DAILY
thedailycougar.com The Central Plant at UH is fit with solar panels. | Hendrick Rosemond/The Daily Cougar
ONLINE XTRA
Solar panels now self-clean
Take the poll: How many times have you changed your major?
Jessica Crawford Staff writer
According to leading solar panel distribution company Heliotex, LLC., cleaning solar panels with commercial products such as dishwashing soap is ineffective, damaging to the building it’s on, harmful to surrounding wildlife, dangerous for the one cleaning, and the narrow pH range associated with solar panel cells makes some products corrosive to the frame. Seamus Curran, UH director of the Institute for NanoEnergy, has a
solution. He is now undergoing the patent process for his technology that makes solar panels more efficient through the maintenance of their clean surfaces. “Cleaning solar panels is expensive, and a dirty solar panel can reduce its power capabilities by up to 30 percent,” Curran said. The self-cleaning nano-hydrophobic layer, named the StormCell, that Curran developed with Research SOLAR continues on page 3
NEXT ISSUE Words from counseling and psychological services
COUNTDOWN
14
Days until the last day to drop without a W.
It’s not too late to turn back, freshmen.