6 I Thursday, Sept. 2,2010 Senate candidate Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., is the latest politician to make a campaign stop at the Centre Hall fair. By Nick Manella COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The Centre County Grange and Encampment Fair attracts more than the average fair-goer. It’s also become a hot spot for politicians to meet local voters a move that’s become even more popular with the looming November elections. Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., is the most recent in a growing list of politicians to stop by the fair. Sestak is scheduled to appear at the fair in Centre Hall, Pa., at 1 Researchers hope cow diet changes will reduce pollution By Alaina Gallagher COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Everyone knows SUVs and aerosol cans are notorious contributors to global warm ing but what about cows? These unlikely culprits are contributing to the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere through their emission of methane gas. said Alexander Hristov, asso ciate professor of dairy nutrition at Penn State. A group of Penn State researchers including Hristov, however, believe they may have found a possible solution to reduce the amount of methane dairy cows release into the atmosphere by adding a supplement to the cows’ feed: oregano. The research project began when for mer graduate student Jessica Tekippe, Class of 2010, asked "What would be new and novel and something that would have an impact on the industry in years to come?" as an idea for her master’s project, said Gabriella Varga, distinguished profes sor of animal science. Hristov said hundreds of products were screened including plants, herbs, essen tial oils and individual compounds before oregano was deemed to be the best possible solution. The products were screened inside the lab before they were actually given to the animals, Hristov said. Once they discovered that oregano seemed to be the additive that produced the best results, it was mixed in with the feed of eight Penn State daily cows. After about two weeks, the researchers saw sim ilar results to those that occurred in the lab. The experiment yielded impressive numbers with a 40 percent reduction in the amount of methane produced and an increase of about three pounds of milk pro duced per day by the cows, Hristov said. Since methane actually causes the cows The next available time for student health insurance will be the spring semester. Deadline to purchase UHS health insurance approaches By Alexa Agugliaro COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER With the Sept. 7 deadline for students to purchase health insurance rapidly approaching, Karen Kline said the most heartbreaking part of her job is turning down students who come to her unable to afford their medical bills because of their lack of adequate health insurance. Since Penn State does not have a mandatory insurance requirement for per manent residents, the next time students can be insured won’t be until the spring, said Kline, Penn State’s manager for stu dent health insurance. “The time is now to have the conversa tion with your parents and make sure you are covered,” Kline said. Anissa Daniel (junior-human develop ment and family studies) said she’s grate ful for the many reminder e-mails she receives from University Health Services (UHS) about the health insurance dead line, though she is currently covered under her parents’ insurance as long as she is a student. Daniel said she has to start looking for affordable insurance quotes for after she graduates. Other students, like Anthony Piccolo (freshman-division of undergraduate stud ies), said they haven’t given the issue much thought at aU. p.m. Thursday for the annual Grange Eair parade, a spokesper son for Sestak’s camp said. Sestak’s oppo nent Republican Pat Toomey appeared at the fair last week. Sestak’s appearance caps off a week of heavy political presence at the fair. op*. _ , - ■ General Manager Darlene Confer said. “Anytime the 2,500 families here have a time to talk gj one-on-one with a ujflK'jrMß political candi date, especially Sestak Already this week, six candi dates and incumbents have appeared at their respective party’s booths, located in close proximity to the fair headquarters building. Additional local candidates are also expected to appear at the parade. Reduction in the amount of methane pro duced after adding the oregano supple- ment to the cow’s diet. increase in milk produced per day by the cows. to lose energy, reducing the amount of methane they produce helps them to be more efficient with their energy supply, for example producing more milk, Hristov said. Varga said the oregano did not have any negative effects on the cows nor did it alter the quality of the milk they produced. The Penn State dairy cows eat about 100 pounds of feed per day, which is comprised of a pound of oregano during the experi ment, she said. Chan Hee Lee, a graduate student cur rently involved with the research, said if the ongoing experiments yielded positive results, the use of oregano could be good news for farmers and might also benefit the environment. Researchers are currently running more trials of the oregano experiment and hoping to obtain similar results. They are also working to isolate the specific com pounds in the oregano that have this par ticular effect on the methane production,- Hristov said. If the trials are successful, the use of oregano could be environmentally benefi cial and economically advantageous to dairy farmers by enabling cows to be more efficient, Varga said. To e-mail reporter: aqgsoB7@psu.edu “For now, I feel safe with the coverage I have from my parents and I don’t find it necessary to get my own,” Piccolo said. UHS Senior Associate Director Doris Guanowsky advises students to “make an informed decision.” “Young people tend to think they are invincible, but anyone could need immedi ate surgery or break a bone,” Guanowsky said. “So many little things can add up to large expenses.” Kline said her main concern is keeping students from being in large debt. “It’s a gamble if you are not insured. Students are gambling with their financial futures as well as their health and wellbe ing,” Kline said. A Student Accident and Sickness Insurance Plan is offered by the university and automatically covers prescriptions per sickness, woman’s health exams and any type of small injury, Kline said. Guanowsky compares health insurance to car insurance. She said every driver in Pennsylvania purchases car insurance, even though they never plan on getting into a car accident. The same, she said, should go for health insurance. “No one plans to be sick or injured, but it’s always best to plan for the worst,” Guanowsky said. To e-mail reporter: amas4s3@psu.edu LOCAL to appear at Grange Fair “The Grange Fhir has always been a very grassroots-based atmosphere.” Grange Fair local ones, it’s a great opportuni ty.” Confer said Sestak’s campaign reached out to the Grange Fair in June about the appearance. Fair patrons said they were excited by the idea of meeting a big-time candidate so close to the elections. “I’m looking forward to meeting him,” said Jaclyn Osterstock, who Cn-,> Eimcr Cc^egiar. Melissa Kidd (sophomore-classical studies) enjoys the warm weather outside the Pattee-Paterno Library on Wednesday afternoon. www.fairs.sa.psu.edu/fall i : < t l - tics mu; me help - and more! “You really don’t get the chance to meet someone running for the senate up close. It’ll be interesting to be able to speak to him face to face.” has attended the fair for many years. “You really don’t get the chance to meet someone running for the senate up close. It’ll be interesting to be able to speak to him face to face. Usually you only see [these people] on TV or online.” Campaign spokesman Jordan Mishkin said Sestak has attended the parade previously. Mishkin said Sestak will be available to speak with anyone interested afterward at the SUCCEED at DRS Signal Solutions Embark on a challenging career with endless DRS Signal Solutions, the world leader in Signals i solutions for the US military and government age: do important work and succeed because of the qualities and values of people who care. We seen talented people that appreciate the mission, the commitment to technical excellence and the willingness to stretch the poss’We w i innovative approaches. If that sounds like you. we are currently looking for: Digital Signal Processing Engineers Digital Hardware Engineers Software Engineers wvvw.drs.com/careers Democratic booth on the fair grounds. “This really is a state wide race, so we were drawn to the Grange fair to take advantage of that, Mishkin said. “Also, the close proximity to Penn State is another factor.” Currently there are no plans for Sestak to appear at Penn State, but Mishkin said he's open to the idea. To e mail reporter: nwmso7o@psu.edu RF Engineers The Daily Collegian Jaclyn Osterstock Grange Fair patron c ; es. We
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