A Sign of the Times?

Heading downtown to a favorite lunch spot (shout out to the good folks at 18 Seaboard), I ran across a beautiful sight. A Prius sandwich!

I'm left with a simple question...what is the plural form of Prius? Prii?

I have never taken Latin, so I'll leave that up for your intellectual pursuit and discussion...
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Greening the Fair - Part 2:

When I returned to the Fair on Wednesday to check out the Green NC exhibit, I wondered how I had missed it the first time around. After grabbing a map, I realized that it was no wonder I hadn't come across the exhibit on my own. If I hadn't plotted my course on the map, I'm not sure I would have found it on my own.

Having said that, I don't want to take away from the exhibit itself. Green NC had a great smattering of topics, each with its own little informational booth set up with presentations. While I felt like most of the exhibit was aimed more towards the high-school-and-younger crowd with things like dry ice experiments and recycling quizzes (though I snagged a neat little bottle opener from one of these), I did enjoy seeing mini setups of rain gardens and barrels, the fun structures built entirely of recycled materials, and actual solar panels (they're quite big). Before we left, I voted for my favorite Biofuels Center of NC logo, to help them decide what will be put on highway signs and the like. I even got a free CD out of it, although I'm not prepared to give my official review of it.

I can't help but wonder how many mapless people potentially have missed out on the exhibit. Like the one recycling bin I saw the first night, the Green NC exhibit was alllll the way on the edge of the Fair (NOTE: On trip #2, I noticed several other recycling bins set out which were not previously there). I know the Fair has a specific layout and vendors and exhibitors have to battle for good locations, but I wonder if the exhibit could have drawn more traffic if it was in a more visible spot. Or if there had been more advertising for it.

For those of you who missed the GreenNC exhibit, I'm sure it won't be the last time they have a presence. Let's just hope it's a little more visible - not just in the Kerr Scott Building, but throughout the Fair.
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Greening the Fair - Part 1: Disappointing Recycling Bin Appearances

Tobacco Road football hopes dashed every weekend. Short-sleeve days and fleece jacket nights. Plastic jack-o-lanterns grinning from under mall Christmas trees. Local elections that no one knows about. A crispness in the autumn air that can only mean one thing: State Fair time!

I don't think I have ever missed a year of the North Carolina State Fair. As a kid, it always boasted some new ride (well, it still does, but now I'm much more of the I'll-hold-your-things-while-you-go-hang-upside-down-and-tempt-fate type). Now each year's State Fair tries to out-fry the previous year's. And last year, the Fair hopped on the green bandwagon and NC Green was there to help.

2008 turned out to be the greenest Fair since 1998, the last time recycling bins were set out and made available to Fair-goers. From four recycling stations, NC Green collected almost ONE TON of recyclable material (plastic bottles and aluminum cans, mostly). Biodiesel fuel powered the Midway. "Funnel Cakes for Fuel" collected 8,500 gallons of cooking oil to be turned into more biodiesel fuel. (For more of last year's green Fair initiatives, see Greening the Fair.)

Considering last year's success, I was disappointed to find ONE single recycling bin after 4 hours of tramping around the Fairgrounds on Monday night. Granted, I wasn't operating on a one-track mind and compulsively searching for recycling bins, but who does that anyway? The one I found wasn't even in a heavily trafficked place. It was way over along the edge of the Fair, almost at the exit. There are a gazillion trash cans out there, so why not place a recycling bin next to some of them? It seems like more visible, easily accessible recycling bins would be a great way to 1) encourage recycling, 2) blow last year's one ton out of the ballpark, but 3) educate and remind people of the recent legislation banning plastic bottles from the trash!

I did not visit NC Green's exhibit (located near the Commercial and Education building, just inside Gate 11), but I plan on that being my first stop when I go back to the Fair this afternoon (my willpower is weak against corndogs and fried pickles). I think it's truly fantastic that they this and have put so much work into making it fun, interactive, and educational; I just wish they had other things more visible to the general public who might not be at the Fair for exhibits.

Stay tuned...
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