February/March 2012

ON THE COVER
Eye Fatigue: Preserving Your Eyesight in a Digital World
Compiled by Chelsea Hicks and Lucy Larner

 

When we think about health, the ideas that first come to mind are typically diet and exercise. The health of our heart, lungs, and liver will likely find its way into the discussion. No one doubts the importance of these organs, but somehow the health of our eyes falls further and further down the list. But what would be the human experience without strong vision? It is thanks to strong eyesight that Galileo could study the planets, Benjamin Franklin discover electricity, and Einstein develop the theories of relativity. It is also no doubt that throughout history we have been straining our eyes. But the modern world brings new challenges, and strains on our eyes, which are being compounded by new technologies. Books are being replaced with ereaders, notebooks with computers, and dial phones with smart phones. All this makes it even more difficult to participate in daily life without sacrificing the health of your eyes.

Whether we’re dealing with reading glasses, sunglasses, or the irritation of glare, there is no underestimating the critical role our eyes play in our daily life. Three quarters of the U.S. population uses some form of vision correction, according to the Vision Council of America, and in an age where it is considered normal to spend five-plus hours per day in front of the computer, the health of our eyes should be a priority.

Somewhere between social media, personal and work emails, smart phones, school papers, company reports, and “procrastinating” (the new term for web surfing), our eyes are experiencing fatigue. As it turns out, eyes have muscles too that tire during marathon reads and computer use, just as your biceps would if kept flexing constantly for hours on end. But the fatigue also stems from the fact that when we are focusing on a screen or a book, we blink significantly less than when our eyes are at rest, wetting our eyes only six times per minute as opposed to every three seconds. Aside from the fact that such wear and tear worsens our eyesight, it can also cause headaches and dry eyes and potentially accelerate the evolution of nearsightedness.

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Greenhouse of Glass: Problem solving through improvisation, a team for UVA sets a new standard
Compiled by Whitney Paul

 

Traveling approximately 6500 miles from Charlottesville, Virginia, two businessmen were off on an adventure in a remote landscape. Dr. David Martin and Ken Dabkowski of M-CAM, Inc., a global, full–service innovation and intangible asset management firm, traveled with Ts. Enkhtuya, vice president of the Mongolia National Business Incubator Federation (MNBIF), and a team from the MNBIF. They had originally come to attend a reception put on by EBI Think Tank Institute in Ulaanbaatar and to meet with government officials, but they had an opportunity to travel outside the capital city and explore the South Gobi Desert.

In the two decades since Mongolia’s peaceful transition to democracy began, the country has been developing slowly but steadily, and Charlottesville-based company M-CAM’s mission in Mongolia has been to contribute to development by engaging broader communities and by increasing the possibility of using modern, eco–friendly technologies. During the course of their 2010 travels, Martin and Dabkowski were able to interact with local Mongolian agricultural workers who expressed their desire to extend the growing season for tree seedling and vegetables.

Martin and Dabkowski identified a pathway for aligning the desires of Mongolian farmers with the country’s abundant resource of glass. By doing so, they were able to develop a highly valuable green technology; for the country—by melting down glass bottles to create greenhouses, enabling Mongolian farmers to extend their growing season.

By taking an integral trade view and assessing the abundance around them, they realized not only did the area have recycled glass, but that the Hasu Shivert Resort, which is located sixty kilometers from Ulaanbaatar and features a wellness center with many recreational opportunities to explore the Mongolian countryside, had an abundance of hills, hot springs, geothermal heating, knowledge and much more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking Sustainability to Your Home
Compiled by Lucy Larner

 

Environmentally friendly practices seem to be the wave of the day, with sustainable architects and builders making bold moves to create buildings that are conscious of their environmental impact. Going green is certainly in vogue, but how can you take it to the next level?

Using green remodeling techniques is a pragmatic way to save money, build a high quality home and do your part to protect the environment.

What does it mean to go green? The National Association of the Remodeling Industry Central Virginia Chapter identifies four facets of green remodeling: energy conservation, indoor air quality, reduced material waste and resource conservation, and environmentally safe products. While this list can seem overwhelming at first, being green can be achieved in ways both big and small.

Conserving energy will not only make your home more environmentally friendly; it can also dramatically reduce your utility bills.

 

 

Last Laugh: The Empty Nest
Louise B. Parsley

 

“As a mother of a certain age, I suppose it’s the cycle of life to go from being a child to wanting a child to fearing another child to wanting a grandchild … all the while, in my case, acting like a child.

Post-active-duty-motherhood, zeroing in on being a grandmother is part of the fine line of life. But until my kids clear some little hurdles such as weddings and health insurance (not necessarily in that order), I amuse myself making eyes at babies in the park, at airports, carwashes—basically stalking the diapered set like The Fried Piper.

The only problem is that I’ve never been a magnet for small children. I don’t exactly bring out the best in them —some feign a seizure, others actually have one. My kids call me the Special Prosecutor. My twenty-nine nieces and nephews call me Weezer (Shirley McLaine’s character in Steel Magnolias, “I’m not crazy ... I’ve just been in a very bad mood for forty years.”)

 

 

 

 

As featured in the December/January 2011-12 issue of albemarle Magazine

Special Section: Giving, Volunteering, and Nonprofit Service to Our Community

Our area nonprofit organizations touch our daily lives in countless ways: assistance and caring for our most vulnerable people; education and mentoring of youth and adults; artistic and cultural enrichment; protection and preservation of our natural and historic resources; spiritual and religious fulfillment; and many other vital services to our community.

albemarle magazine recognizes the many ways in which nonprofits build personal connections, enhance communities, and strengthen lives. All across the United States and especially in our local community, the lives of individuals have been touched—or will be touched—in some way by a non-profit organization.

The following section contains a sampling of the numerous worthy charities, services, and organizations in our surrounding communities. Nonprofits are essential to our quality of life. Find an organization from the list and choose to give, volunteer, or serve. Your contribution large or small, can really make a difference.