991119 Are Reusable Bags Dangerous?

November 15, 2010

Are Reusable Bags Dangerous?

After a report finds high levels of lead in reusable grocery bags, a U.S. senator calls for the government to investigate

By Jaime Joyce

To help the environment, many Americans have made the switch from paper and plastic bags to reusable grocery bags. But a report by a Florida newspaper says that reusable grocery bags sold by some supermarkets contain high levels of lead. Lead is a metal that can be harmful to humans, especially young children. Now, Senator Charles Schumer, of New York, is asking the U.S. government to investigate the use of lead in reusable shopping bags.

"When our families go to the grocery store looking for safe and healthy foods to feed their kids, the last thing they should have to worry about are toxic bags, "Schumer said in a statement. "A quick and thorough investigation will allow everyone to make informed, timely decisions," Schumer added.

Shoppers, Beware

The Tampa Tribune newspaper, in Tampa, Florida, bought more than a dozen bags from Florida supermarkets. They paid a lab to test the bags for lead. The results showed that certain bags sold at Publix and Winn-Dixie supermarkets had lead levels that were a concern to health officials. Some bags had enough lead that they could be considered hazardous waste if people were to throw the bags out with their household trash.

Lead in the bags is not likely to rub off on food. But over time, paint on the bags can chip and the bags can wear out. When this happens, lead can be released.

What Consumers Can Do

The affected bags were found in Florida. But Publix has more than 1,000 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Publix says that all of its bags comply with current federal laws regarding lead content, but that they have asked the makers of the bags to reduce the lead levels in the product.

Winn-Dixie has hundreds of stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Officials at Winn-Dixie say refunds will be given to customers who return the bags.

The bags with the highest levels of lead had fancy designs and many pictures. Plain reusable bags without decoration were found to contain little lead. Consumers worried about lead levels in reusable bags can switch to cloth or string bags. Paper bags are also a good choice, since paper can be recycled.

Since 2007, Publix supermarkets have sold more than 13 million reusable bags. The store says because shoppers have made the switch to reusable bags, it has saved more than 1 billion paper and plastic bags.

Max- Reusable bags are good. We know that paper and plastic bags can be replaced by reusable bags, and it can be used many times, unlike those bags that can only use once. It also saved those plastic bags, which plastic bags would cause global warming. But, not every reusable bag is safe! Now some reusable bags have lead, which can harm our bodies. And those bags which have too much lead, is usually found in those bags which have many pictures and much paint. So I think we can use some other types of bags that are reusable like reusable bags, but don’t use plastic bags! And I was worried about many of those bags are been sold, does it cause harm to those people who they bought it? Lead can travel with many things, like water, so maybe people would be lead poisoned by not just buying the bags home, maybe some people would throw those bags to the river, and the water contains lead after that. But since they know that, they can be using paper bags instead of reusable bags (since those bags can recycle) and keep them safe.

991112 Justin Bieber Tells All

Justin Bieber Tells All
The pop star talks to TFK about his new autobiography, First Step 2 Forever: My Story
By TFK Kid Reporter Taylor Pannell


Justin Bieber is giving fans a sneak peek into his world with his new autobiography, First Step 2 Forever: My Story, on sale now. In the book, the singer describes his road to fame, from his first video on YouTube to his superstar status today. Readers are also treated to never-before-seen photos of Justin onstage and off. The 16-year-old pop sensation spoke to TFK about his decision to tell his story. Read on to see what Justin said about who he looks up to, how he deals with being in the spotlight, and more.
TFK:
Why did you want to write a book about your life?
JUSTIN BIEBER:
Well, number 1, you are probably wondering why I am wearing glasses. That's because I'm [in a British accent] "an authah." Second, you're probably wondering why I'm talking with a British accent. Well, most authors have British accents, so it's just another trademark . Just kidding! No, seriously. I decided to write a book because my fans needed to hear something from my perspective.
TFK:
What is the best part of writing a book?
JUSTIN:
Being able to put everything in my own words and being able to tell everyone how I'm feeling.
TFK:
What do you want people to learn about you?
JUSTIN:
I want people to learn that you can do anything. Just set your mind to it and be motivated to work hard, and anything is possible.
TFK:
Who do you look up to?
JUSTIN:
I look up to Shaquille O'Neal because he's tall, so I always look up to him. I can't look down on him. No, just kidding. I look up to [musicians like] Michael Jackson, Boys II Men and Stevie Wonder.
TFK:
What is most challenging about being a star?
JUSTIN:
I don't consider myself a star. I just consider myself a regular kid. I like to hang out with my friends and stuff. It's hard to be away from your friends all the time.
TFK:
How do you stay grounded?
JUSTIN:
I have great family [members] and friends who are always on my back. You know, I don't have people who always say yes to me. If I want something and it's unreasonable, then they'll say no. That really keeps me grounded. Reading the Bible keeps me grounded, too.
TFK:
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
JUSTIN:
I like to hang out with my friends, play basketball and play Xbox.
TFK:
Where do you get ideas for songs?
JUSTIN:
Some of them are just ideas in my head that I just think of and some of them are actual stories.
TFK:
Which of your songs is your favorite?
JUSTIN:
My favorite song is "Down to Earth."
TFK:
People are always talking about you. Some of the comments are positive. Some are negative. How do you deal with all of that?
JUSTIN:
I just live my life, and I don't really pay attention to it.
TFK:
You've worked with some incredible people. Do you ever feel nervous or intimidated?
JUSTIN:
Not really. They're just regular people, so I don't really feel nervous.
TFK:
What do you think you'll be doing 10 years from now?
JUSTIN:
Ten years from now, like, exactly this time of day? Ten years from now, I'll probably be celebrating the 10th year anniversary of you asking me this question. [Laughs] Just kidding. Ten years from now I'll probably be making music—good music.
      Max- Justin Bieber is a good singer recently, and there are so many fans that like him! He has a lot of songs in his album, “My World 2.0” since last year, and most of them are just love songs. Like his most popular song, Baby, about almost 400 million viewers watch this song. That’s more than America’s population! Also, some songs are also popular songs too, like Somebody To Love, is always my favorite. He also has about 1 billion viewers in all of the videos. Also, he sings with other people too. I think his album can sell many copies of it! He also won the most popular new singer award, because he deserves it (I thought the award was being awarded to Lady Gaga)! He is the most popular singer in the world, that everyone wants his concert tickets! Now, he has his first book called First Step 2 Forever: My Story and it was talking about his road to everyone’s most popular singer, and some more on his book. I think this book can be best-selling like his albums! So, I wish Justin Bieber can be even popular than now, and it can continue in the future!

991105 Graduation Trip

Graduation Trip

By Max

November 2nd, 2010

Today is the first day of this graduation trip, and I am so excited! After we got on the bus, we went to Nantou, after having a few stops. We went to aborigine’s amusement park. Everyone was so excited of what kind of thing they want to play first. This amusement park is a very big place, with many big amusement games, and there are also many kinds of aborigine shows there. We started to play after we ate lunch. Some people like to play those scary and fast roller coasters, like Mayan Adventure, and other things like that. I went to the park indoors, and played many games there. Like the Pirate Ship I often play with, and some games that are slow and relaxing. I think the scariest ride is Space Mountain, it is a fast roller coaster, and you can’t see anything when you are riding it. It was so scary that I closed my eyes during the whole time, and my glasses almost flew out! But, the reason why I ride this is because of I want to revenge. The first time I ride this is about six years ago, when I was still in kindergarten. I screamed all the way, and I cried. So when I saw this thing, I thought about this entire thing six years ago. After we got back to our starting place, we went to Sun Moon Lake by cable car. We saw this beautiful sight of the lake, and also the sunset. After that, we went to a place near to our hotel to eat dinner. Our dinner is lots of vegetables, some fish, and some soup, and drinks. I think it was so good, eating so many foods with many classmates. Finally, we went to Lakeshore Hotel, and enjoyed the night there. That place was so luxurious; it has a small living room, a good bathroom, and two good double beds.

November 3rd, 2010

Today, we went to Taipei Zoo first, and we saw many animals. We saw wolfs, penguins, pandas, snakes and many more animals. We also went to some gift shops, and we ate lunch at McDonald’s in the zoo. Unfortunately, some kind of ant bit my hand and had many red spots on there. After that, we went to Taipei’s Martyr’s Shrine to see the soldiers. They are so focusing at the ceremony they were doing, and they didn’t even move or blink! Everyone crowded to see the ceremony, and it was so good! We also went to Danshui Night Market by bus and boat. It was so cold! There are many shops at the streets, selling iron eggs, fried fish crackers, arcades, and very big ice cream. But, we decided to stay at the arcade shop to spend all our money, anyway. There are basketball machines, and machines a little bit like dancing machines, and UFO catchers. Finally, we left, and stayed on the bus until we arrived at the hotel.

November 4th, 2010

Today we went to an amusement park, and we saw some famous places that are been shrunk by size. We also took the train to the place that we can play. There are lots of games, some are indoors, and some are outdoors. There are also a lot of food shops in the park. I think the craziest ride is “Crazy Rapids”, which is a water ride that we sit on a boat and it goes up first in a short time, and starts to go down with so many turns, and also the boat is turning when it starts to go down. We screamed all the way, and it splashes a lot of water during the ride, but it was good! I also played some basketball machines, and finally it was time to go. We got back on the bus, and we sang songs during the way we go back to school. At evening, we finally arrived home.