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KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 / NEWS
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HOUSE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
"We designed a platinum-level home, so we knew we had built a home that would meet and exceed the platinum certification criteria," Jared Eder, a 2009 master's graduate and KU alumnus who worked on the project, said. "It's nice to make it official."
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Rockhill said the design process started when the group decided what land to purchase, which didn't happen until December 2008. From there, design takes about a month. The group started building in January 2009 and finished the house in May.
The house designed and built by the team from Studio 804 is for sale at 3716 Springfield St. in Kansas City, Kan. The house is listed at $255,000.
The house has 24 solar panels and a residential wind turbine, which the group designed to return excess electricity back to the power grid. The group also placed an energy recovery ventilator in the house, which exchanges outside and inside air to maintain a more constant temperature in the house.
"It's a complex, very laborious program that everybody is involved with." Rockhill said. "It's not an easy thing. It's not like you just win an award. At the end of it, you're more relieved than anything that it's over."
That sort of energy-saving costs money, though. Studio 804 is financed through donations on its website and, in the case of this house, through money from selling the property. On the group's
See a photo gallery at kansan.com
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
website, the house is described as a single-family residence seeking "those who like to live off the grid' while enjoying the revitalized amenities that comprise the metropolitan urban core."
Studio 804 has also earned LEED recognition for the construction of a sustainable building in Greensburg in 2008 after a tornado devastated the town.
The house is listed at $325,000 at 3716 springfield.com.
Edited by Jesse Ranael
CONTROLLED PHOTO Studio 804 also designed the interior of the house with environmentally friendly technology.
HAITI
U.S. families hope to adopt orphans
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"That's all he needed to say" she said.
MIAMI — Tammy Gage cries every time she turns on the TV and sees the devastation in Haiti. And though she already has three daughters, she didn't hesitate when her husband suggested that they adopt from Haiti.
Gage and her husband Brad are among many Americans expressing interest in adopting children who have been left orphans from the quake last week. Adoption advocacy groups are reporting dozens of calls a day.
The need is vast. Even before last Tuesday's deadly magnitude-7.0 earthquake, Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries, had 380,000 orphans, according to UNICEF. There is no counting children newly orphaned by the quake, but aid groups estimate the number is in tens of thousands.
Before new adoptions can occur, officials need to establish that
The road to adoption is a long one. The orphans coming to the U.S. now are children who either had already established a relationship with potential parents in the country, or who were certified as orphans before the quake but hadn't been placed with parents yet, said Chris Bentley, a U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services spokesman.
the children are identified by the Haitian government as orphans; there have been reports of families selling their children to adoption brokers. And potential families need to be cleared, too.
"All this is a 2-year process minimum," Difilipo said. "Some families have waited five years."
New solutions may be enacted for these orphans, though, said Mary Robinson, CEO of the National Council for Adoption. Her advocacy group has gotten an offer from Puerto Rico to serve as a resting place for children until they are adopted.
State Department spokesman Darby Holladay said the orphans are one of the highest priorities for the U.S. government.
He said the U.S. Embassy in Haiti has processed immigrant visas for 46 orphan children whose cases were ready for processing. In addition, there have been 100 humanitarian waivers for orphans.
Gage and her husband Brad had discussed adopting before, but she was moved by the devastation in Haiti. "Really, I wanted to get on the next flight out and help these people," she said.
Bentley also said there will be a task force to help Haitian children come into the U.S. for adoption.
The Gage family knows that adoption can take a long time, but plans to stick it out.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
The first of 53 Haitian orphans, whose orphanage was destroyed by last week's massive earthquake, are carried off an Air Force plane in Pittsburgh. The orphans will be taken a hospital for medical care and be placed in group homes until their adoptions are finalized.
RECYCLE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
tic and collect either newspapers or office pak. He estimated that the halls had about 40 to 50 trash bins in comparison.
In addition to improving recycling in the engineering buildings. Necefer said the group wanted to prove to the engineering students and faculty that recycling is an integral part of responsible engineering. He said though the University worked to make campus buildings more efficient, students and faculty shouldn't forget to recycle.
"Being an engineer, it's like we look for where to improve efficiencies," Necefer said. "Even though recycling and waste management
isn't necessarily a direct mechanical engineering application, it's still an efficiency. This building still produces waste."
Necefer said he had seen some resistance toward the group's sustainability goal when several recycling bins were vandalized.
"Part of it is just providing the choice," Necefer said. "I'm not trying to force anything on anybody because that's counterproductive."
Necefer and other members of AISES are seeking funds from Student Senate today to help finance the project.
- Edited by Michael Holtz
K2 (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Jeremy Morris, senior forensic scientist with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.
He said that studies hadn't confirmed the long-term effects but that short-term effects include dependency.
"Does this stuff need to be looked at a little closer? Sure," Morris said. "But it needs to be taken out of the hands of the public."
The use of K2 has resulted in hospitalizations in Maine, Florida, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas, Morris said. But if the bill passes, Kansas will be the first state to make these chemicals illegal.
Matthew Rader, an employee of The Sacred Journey, said several different people had purchased the product, ranging in ages from 18 to about 75. The store doesn't sell the product to anyone under 18, he said.
Rader said he didn't know of any health problems associated with use of the product.
"There's not enough research," he said. "We see people regularly with no sign of harmful effects."
Rader said that he and other
employees were open to the idea of taxation and regulation but that he thought making these chemicals illegal would not necessarily stop anyone from using the product.
"More harmful drugs like tobacco and alcohol are already flooding schools," he said. "Outlawing instead of regulating will hurt more than help, and kids will get a hold of drugs anyway."
Morgan Monsees, a junior from Overland Park, said she had smoked K2 and described it as a relaxant. Monsees said she didn't know why lawmakers want to ban it.
"It is just another substance control issue," she said, "If it has not caused problems, then why make it illegal?"
Rader said that The Sacred Journey and other stores that sell herbs weren't causing a commotion and that he didn't see the harm in selling the product.
"We are just normal people," he said. "We aren't trying to hurt anyone."
- Edited by Ally Shaw
ODD NEWS
Thief makes off with bales of hay
WELLSVILLE, Pa. — It's a crime with high bale. Police in central Pennsylvania are trying to find out who took more than 200 bales of hay from a farm early this month. State Police said someone broke into a barn in Wellsville, York County on Jan. 3 and took about 245 bales of hay.The barn's owner does not live on the property.
Trooper Matthew Pavone said the hay is worth about $1,000.
Man bargains for longer jail sentence
OGDEN, Utah — A Utah man has chosen to fight heroin addiction by spending more time in jail. Damon Conrow was
sentenced Tuesday on a charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after asking to "plead up" to a first-degree folony. The charge had been a second-degree felony, but Conrow wanted a longer sentence.
Conrow said he'll soon be happier than he is now because he'll get off heroin. He said within about eight weeks of going to jail, he expects withdrawal symptoms to ease so he can start having normal sleeping patterns.
The 25-year-old pleaded guilty in December.
On Tuesday, 2nd District Judge Pamela Heffernan gave Conrow one last chance to change his mind and withdraw his guilty plea. Conrow declined.
Associated Press
GAY MARRIAGE
Lesbian sues feds for spousal benefits
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal employee in California is suing the Obama administration to force it to provide health benefits to her same-sex spouse.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management told Karen Golinski that it was refusing to extend benefits to her wife because federal law prohibits the government from recognizing gay marriage.
The Office of Personnel Management says the Justice Department told it to ignore the judge's ruling because it went against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.
The office made its decision over the objections of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, who called the move illegal discrimination.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Francisco federal court asks for an order to provide Golinski's spouse with health benefits afforded to spouses of federal employees.
Associated Press
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