Little Free Libraries

I've decided I need another day of pleasantness.  I'll probably read something in one of the newspapers that will aggravate or outrage me, but that can wait until Thursday.

So, here's some good news.  A man with an idea has managed to propel that idea around the world:

It started as a simple tribute to his mother, a teacher and bibliophile. Todd Bol put up a miniature version of a one-room schoolhouse on a post outside his home in this western Wisconsin city, filled it with books and invited his neighbors to borrow them.

They loved it, and began dropping by so often that his lawn became a gathering spot. Then a friend in Madison put out some similar boxes and got the same reaction. More home-crafted libraries began popping up around Wisconsin's capital.

Three years later, the whimsical boxes are a global sensation. They number in the thousands and have spread to at least 36 countries, in a testimonial to the power of a good idea, the simple allure of a book and the wildfire of the internet. ...

Bol and Brooks, who runs outreach programs at the University of Wisconsin, see the potential for a lot more growth. At one point, they set a goal of 2,510 boxes — surpassing the number of public libraries built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. They passed that mark this summer.

Bol and Brooks make the little library boxes and sell them.  With a little help from an AARP grant, they hope to actually make some money with the idea, and I think that's terrific.  The really terrific part of it, however, is that neighbors, kids, elders are getting a chance to read in a free and easy way.  As much as I love my kindle, I think I would get engaged in such a project.

If you click on the link provided above, you will find a picture of one of the Little Free Libraries.  And if you go here, you can get more information on the organization Bol and Brooks have formed.

Dollars And Sense

It's always good news when a state decides to take a positive step towards solving a problem before things get totally out of hand. Minnesota has just taken such a positive step with respect to the devastating costs of Alzheimer's.

The number of Minnesotans with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia will swell from 88,000 now to 198,000 in the next 30 years, with the prospect that state coffers, families and employers could be overwhelmed by the stress and costs of care, according to a report that will be delivered to the Legislature on Thursday. ...

With average annual medical costs for an Alzheimer’s patient running about $33,000 — triple that of similar people without dementia — cutting expenses even by $5,000 per patient could save $44 million a year.

The report (which can be found here) combines common sense and innovation in its proposals to cut the financial and personal burdens of living with Alzheimer's.

The report’s first proposal: Train and encourage doctors to detect Alzheimer’s disease early — something often resisted both by doctors and families — which could save the state an average of $10,000 per patient a year.

“There is no cure, but with early detection, treatment can slow the decline by 12 to 18 months for more than half of patients,” said Michelle Barclay , a vice president at the state Alzheimer’s Association, which helped staff the 20-member group appointed by the Legislature in 2009. The group met for 15 months and involved about 100 others to develop the report. ...

Other recommendations include: Require cognitive screening for all Minnesotans 65 and older in state-paid health programs; create a “dementia clearinghouse website” with information for families and professionals; adopt a state “gold standard” for dementia care, and reinstate a geriatrics medical education program at the University of Minnesota.

No, the report doesn't have the sex appeal of the announcement of a medical breakthrough in treatment or cure, but we all know that such a breakthrough is still far down the road. The report does provide, however, some practical suggestions which will bring not only cost savings to the state but also relief to the family care givers who are too often exhausted and ground down by the burdens of Alzheimer's in a loved one.

This is an important first step, and the Minnesota state legislature will hopefully implement the suggested proposals now, before the costs are insurmountable. Other states and the federal government would also do well to study the report and to initiate some of the proposals for the same reasons.

A Good Sign

The Boston Globe had a short article that was long on positive news for that area. A European automaker has decided to use a small company in Massachusetts for the production of the batteries in its all-electric vehicle.

The Swedish automaker Saab Automotive AB is about to unveil its first all-electric vehicle, which is powered by a battery from Boston-Power Inc. of Westborough.

The Saab 9-3 ePower sport wagon will debut Sept. 30 at the Paris Auto Show. “I am absolutely thrilled,’’ said Boston-Power chief executive Christina Lampe-Onnerud, who said her company’s battery will give the car exceptional performance. “This car has 27 percent more driving range per weight and volume than any other [electric] car,’’ she said. ...

The ePower is a standard Saab 9-3 model with the gasoline engine and drivetrain removed. Instead, it is fitted with a 184-horsepower electric motor to drive the vehicle’s front wheels, along with a Boston-Power lithium-ion battery pack. Saab expects the ePower to travel up to 124 miles on a single charge. The car will accelerate from zero to 62 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 93 miles per hour. Lampe-Onnerud said the car’s recharging speed would depend on the kind of recharging equipment used. But she said the Boston-Power battery is capable of charging to full power in an hour, reaching 80 percent of capacity in 30 minutes.

The car is not the typical hard charging speed demon, but it will do the job for local commutes in most places, even in California. And it's all-electric: no gasoline will be powering it and polluting the air. But here's the best part of the story:

In June, Boston-Power said it plans to double its workforce both in Massachusetts, where it had 110 workers, and abroad, where it has 400 workers, mostly in Taiwan. It also said it plans to build a battery factory in either Europe or China.

A hundred new jobs in this country isn't much, but it's a start. If Saab's ePower is a hit with the public, both in Europe and the US, chances are more people will get jobs, not only with Boston-Power but also with other companies which will spring up to get in on the action of providing batteries for such vehicles. Even our own automakers may get inspired to build such vehicles.

It's a start, and a clean one at that.