wednesday, September 24, 2003
the university daily kansar
news
3A
Milk machines offer University healthy alternative
By Amber Byarlay
abyarley@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Milk-loving University of Kansas students should have an easier time finding their favorite beverage on campus.
The University has replaced five soft drink machines with milk-vending machines in the basements of Wescoe and Strong halls and at locations in Eaton, Learned and Dole halls. Workers began installing the machines two weeks ago.
Ann Chapman, dietitian at Watkins Health center, said the University installed the machines on campus to give students healthier options.
The machines contain six flavors of milk including strawberry, banana and chocolate. One 16-ounce bottle of milk costs $1.50.
"It's an alternative to pop." Chapman said. "Obesity is on the rise and calcium intake is down."
The University did not have to
spend extra money replacing soft drink vending machines said Phil Spaeth, Kansas area manager for Treat America.
The milk machines require no extra maintenance that would increase costs, Spaeth said. If the machines lose power they will not vend milk — even if the power is turned back on.
A maintenance worker must fix the machine and, if needed, replace the milk before the machine will sell milk again, he said.
Spaeth said the five machines on campus were becoming popular.
"As people find out where they are, the sales have gone up," Spaeth said. "I think it's something students have been looking for for quite awhile."
Mike Parker, Leawood junior, said he thought the machines were a good idea, even though he hadn't used one yet.
"I always run out of milk at home," Parker said, "not necessarily because I like it so much—
"I'll go get milk, I like milk," Roos said. "Why would you put it in the first floor of Wescoe where nobody goes but English maiors?"
Erinn Roos, Apple Valley, Minn., senior, agreed that the milk machines were a good idea but said their locations could be more accessible.
I just feel better drinking it."
Chapman said she thought the availability of electrical outlets affected the location of the machines, but student traffic did too.
The machines give students an opportunity to get the recommended daily three servings of dairy products while on campus.
Calcium is an important mineral in many body functions, including maintaining weight, said Michael Zemel, director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee.
The body uses calcium to regulate cellular functions. Calcium can also affect the size of fat cells
and how people are affected by chronic diseases such as premenstrual syndrome and heart disease, he said.
Zemel, who researches calcium's role in weight loss and management, recently spoke at an obesity conference held in Overland Park.
Calcium affects the way hormones interact with cells and having too little calcium can actually make a person fatter. Zemel said too little calcium would react with a particular hormone that activates fat cell-
When that fat cell is activated the hormone directs the cell to make more fat and burn less, he said.
"You end up with a bigger, fatter fat cell," Zemel said.
Adults needed three servings of dairy a day to have enough calcium, he said. A serving includes 8 ounces of milk, 6 ounces of yogurt or 1.5 ounces of cheese.
— Edited by JJ Hensley
Lindsey Gold/KANSAN
The new milk machine on the first floor of Wescoe Hall offers six flavors of milk ranging from "Very Vanilla" to "Buncha Banana." The 16 ounce bottles are $1.50 each.
city accepts $15,000 for arboretum construction
At last night's Lawrence City Commission meeting, the Lawrence Rotary Club presented the city with a check for $15,000. The money will go toward the construction of an arboretum near Clinton Lake.The site will officially open on Nov. 15, when planting begins.
Commissioners authorized Mike Wildgen, City Manager, to sign an agreement with the University of Kansas Endowment Association for the new site for a fire and medical station. The station will be at 19th and Iowa streets.
The Commission adopted an ordinance naming Douglas County East 1600 Road north of the Kansas River as North 11th Street within the city limits.
A resolution was adopted to set
a public hearing for Nov. 11 to discuss the fate of an unsafe barn in the alley at 933 Rhode Island St.
A site plan was approved for ironwood Court, a proposed 108-unit apartment complex. The almost nine acre complex will be located at the southwest corner of West 15th Street and George Williams Way.
The City of Lawrence annexed almost three acres of Douglas County land, although the annexation was opposed by a representative of the owner. Rose Denton.
A living wage policy was debated, revised and passed by city commissioners, 5-0.
City Commission meetings are held at 6:35 p.m. Tuesdays at City Hall. The public is invited to attend. There will be no meeting on Sept. 30.
-Amanda Kim Stairrett
By Alex Hoffman
ahoffman@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Kansas receives power from out of state
Once a state that thrived on exporting energy, Kansas continues the trend of bringing in more energy than it sends out.
Kansas has been a net energy importer since 1997. In the 2003 Kansas Energy Abstract, a new report on energy production and consumption, data show Kansas imports almost 55 percent of its energy from other states.
The Kansas Geological Survey and the State Energy Resources Coordination Council published the data.
"For the state as a whole, it's a significant change," said Liz Brosius of the Kansas Geological
Survey.
trend does have its benefits to the state. One reason Kansas has become a net importer of energy is that it is getting a better price: Coal that Kansas imports from Wyoming can be bought cheaply, said Lee Allison, director of the Kansas Geological Survey.
Another reason is the aging oil and natural gas fields in Kansas. Allison said the fields were now 50 to 80 years old.
"Low-cost, reliable energy fuels the economy, not only in Kansas but in every state," he said.
They were at their most efficient in 1967, when energy production hit a high in Kansas
America, has dropped off in production. But Allison is looking for solutions.
The natural gas field in Hugoton, one of the largest in North
He is working with the energy industry to flush carbon dioxide into the oil fields in central Kansas.
He said the effort would have a dry-cleaning effect to restore their capabilities.
"It would strip the oil off and extend the life of the field," Allison said.
Coal bed methane is one option to step up natural gas production. Allison said there were more than 55 billion tons of coal under eastern Kansas.
Methane, the prime ingredient in natural gas, can be found in the coal beds. With this source in place, about 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could
come from it,he said.
Another solution is wind power as a source of electricity transmission, but the problem is most wind in Kansas occurs where demand for electricity is lower.
Allison will form a transmission task force in the next few days to discuss wind power.
Although possibilities exist to be self-sufficient in energy, it would be difficult to get back into the trend of being an energy exporter, said Scott White, a scientist in the University of Kansas Energy Research Center.
"We may be able to slow it down, but the chances of reversing it completely are slim," White said.
— Edited by Ehren Meditz
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