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The Rural Missouri NEWS Service April
2007 | June 2007
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October 2007 | November
2007 | December 2007 |
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April 2007 Co-ops helping co-ops The Cooperative Development Foundation has donated $15,000 to help a band of hurricane-ravaged fishermen southeast of New Orleans regroup as a cooperative. The grant from CDF’s Katrina Cooperative Recovery Fund will go toward a feasibility study and business plan for the newly organized South Plaquemines Parish United Fishermen Cooperative. Plaquemines Parish stretches from suburban New Orleans to Louisiana’s southernmost tip, where the Mississippi River dumps into the Gulf of Mexico. It boasts some of the world’s best commercial fishing areas. But Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed nearly every dock and 80 percent of the parish’s commercial vessels. Most of the fishermen are still living in FEMA trailers. The Federation of Southern Cooperatives, a regional nonprofit that organizes cooperatives to help minority farmers and rural communities, began teaching the fishermen about the cooperative business model soon after disaster struck. The Federation continues to provide them with technical assistance and training in cooperative business practices. The cooperative already has 100 members; their articles of incorporation are awaiting approval. The CDF grant will go to the Federation, which is coordinating the feasibility study and business plan for the cooperative. The grant will supplement resources already committed by USDA Rural Services, Louisiana State University, Southern University in Baton Rouge, and Oxfam America. Cooperatives are democratically owned and controlled businesses that are motivated by service their member-users need, rather than by the need to generate profits for outside investors. The fishing cooperative will provide its members with docking facilities and services, as well as a marketing and distribution system that will re-establish the commercial fishing industry in Plaquemines Parish. “There is a wonderful Katrina recovery story evolving in Plaquemines Parish and it’s all about co-ops helping co-ops,” said CDF Board Chair Terry Lewis, who is vice president for cooperative development at NCB. “The fishermen are now taking the initiative to rebuild their lives and organize themselves to become owners of their own cooperative business.” “Even before the storms, residents of the lower portion of the Parish were living below the poverty line and earning an income of less than the average median household income,” said Cornelius Blanding, the Federation’s disaster recovery coordinator. “For generations, the fishermen of Plaquemines Parish have had no alternative to the commercial docks for purchase of essential services and sale of their catches at consistently low prices.” “The fishing families of Plaquemines Parish are truly an inspiration in their commitment to doing what it takes to successfully form this cooperative,” Lewis said. “Not only are they taking the time to learn how to be owners/managers of their own business, but they have the vision to try to change the parish’s culture by including all of the parish’s ethnic groups and fishing specialties as potential members of the cooperative.” Cook up better lighting for the kitchen Most of us don’t realize what a huge difference great lighting can make in our homes. The right lighting fixtures and portable lamps add new levels of functionality to just about any room, making it more pleasant and enjoyable to be in. What’s even better is that this isn’t at all hard to do. In fact, upgrading your lighting is fairly painless, and one of the easiest ways to instantly update your home decor. Nowhere does lighting have more of an impact than in the kitchen. Kitchen lighting has come of age in the last couple of years, with more styles and designs out there than ever before. However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when designing a new kitchen lighting plan. Use the right light for the job. Stove and sink areas demand down-lights to create task lighting for cooking and food prep. Adding lighting to these areas also allows you to show off dramatic stove tops or counter areas, the very areas where you’ve spent lots of money! The kitchen table is another focal point, as are kitchen islands and peninsulas. Even if the rest of your kitchen space features recessed lighting, a pendant or chandelier fixture in these areas can add some color or style by breaking up the space without blocking the view. Dark times ahead for old friend? It may be premature right now, but the odds are good future generations will only see the light bulb Thomas Edison invented in museums. That’s because Americans are quickly discovering the benefits of the compact fluorescent bulb. And state legislatures from California to Connecticut are proposing laws that would ban the sale of the well-known incandescent design due to its relative inefficiency. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, consumers in 2006 purchased 97 million compact fluorescent bulbs, an increase of 122 percent from the year before. That number is expected to double in 2007. Compact fluorescent bulbs can be twice as expensive. But since they last up to 10 times longer — and save consumers $30 over the life of the bulb — they are a good value. And recent rebates on compact fluorescent bulbs often result in the bulbs being free or the same price as incandescents. To save the most energy and money, replace your highest used fixtures or the light bulbs in them with energy-efficient models. The five highest use fixtures in a home are typically the kitchen ceiling light, the living room table and floor lamps, bathroom vanity, and outdoor porch or post lamp. If every American home changed out just five high-use light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR label, each family would save about $60 every year in energy costs, and together about $6.5 billion each year in energy costs, according to the Department of Energy. Energy facts How much do you know about electricity? These facts and figures from the U.S. Department of Energy may surprise you.
Avoid outdoor electrical hazards The arrival of spring brings warmer weather and an increase in outdoor work, both on the job and at home. Increasing electrical safety awareness can help ensure those activities do not result in injuries and deaths, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI). ESFI notes that following safety rules can reduce electrical deaths and injuries.
Power Line Safety ESFI also encourages those on the job to look up, look down, and look out for electrical safety hazards. On average, 325 people die and 4,400 are injured each year because of electrical hazards, according to data published by the National Safety Council. Electricity ranks sixth among all causes of occupational fatalities. The leading cause of fatal electrical incidents while on the job is contact with power lines, both above and below ground. Workers using ladders or scaffolds, and those carrying aluminum siding, poles, fencing and even lumber, need to be aware and stay clear of power lines. Such contacts caused approximately 22 percent of the work-related fatalities over a seven-year period, according to research (“Occupational Electrical Injuries in the US, 1992-1998,” published in the Journal of Safety Research). Eliminating power line contacts with equipment such as cranes, boom trucks and dump trucks could reduce workplace electrical fatalities by another 17 percent annually, the study suggests. The study also notes that construction workers, who make up approximately 7 percent of the U.S. workforce, suffer 44 percent of the electrical fatalities. Electrical safety experts suggest that the best insulator to keep workers safe from electricity is to stay at least 10 feet away from power lines. |
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