Ever think you could get a nasty sunburn - severe enough to peel - by attending an indoor event? Seems improbable, but it can happen. And it has - three times recently in Middle Tennessee. Not ony can your skin be affected, your eyes could also be injured. This can occur if someone spends an extended period of time in a gymnasium that has one or more damaged metal halide lamps. If the protective glass that covers the bulb in that particular type of lighting is broken, UV light can filter out. Even one damaged bulb could cause injuries similar to welders' arc burns or snow blindness and can also lead to a peeling sunburn on the face and/or eyelids.

Oregon schools, warehouses and businesses will soon be getting a state safety warning about the potential danger of ultraviolet exposure from cracked metal halide lights. State officials said they will also notify the federal government about an unusual but very real danger of severe "sunburn" and irritated eyes that can come from such exposure. The warnings follow a November incident that left about 80 Lake Oswego teachers suffering a range of symptoms after being exposed to ultraviolet radiation from a cracked metal halide bulb burning in a school gym. It was similar to a 2000 incident in which several spectators at a junior high basketball game in Sutherlin suffered from sore eyes and skin rashes that resembled sunburn.

Today, the Illinois House of Representatives passed a Renewable Energy Standard (HB1871) requiring the state to buy 2% of its power from renewable energy sources by 2008, 10% by 2015, and setting a goal of 25% by 2025. The 103-12 vote puts Illinois in a strong position to take advantage of the huge environmental benefits and economic potential that renewable energy -- most specifically, wind power -- offers in Illinois.

New owner plans transition to biomass fuel

L'ANSE - Greener pastures are on the way for the J.H. Warden Generating Station. Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) and L'Anse Warden Electric Company, LLC inked the paperwork for the power plant's sale to the latter company Friday evening. Closing on the sale is expected within 60 days.

Canada is changing gears. It has announced a new plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and one that deviates from the Kyoto Protocol agreement that the nation had earlier signed. The Canadian government said that greenhouse gas emissions have only risen since the Liberal government there inked the global warming treaty. Under the revised scheme, it says that Canada will begin seeing real reductions within 3-5 years.