Tuesday, December 27, 2011

27.Video: Making opalescent glass

This short Science Channel video shows how old manufacturing methods and common minerals are used to make uncommonly beautiful glass.  To preserve raw materials, glass trimmings are recycled back into new batches of molten glass.  Skilled workers must work fast and carefully so we can enjoy stained glass windows and other art glass objects. 


Sunday, December 4, 2011

26. Garbage Dreams: Hard recycling in Cairo

We have this award-winning 2009 documentary on order via inter-library loan and will report back.  It's about the Zaballeen ("garbage people" in Arabic) in Cairo that find their jobs in jeopardy by progress. 




There is more information about the film on PBS.  Conditions are probably much worse after the recent upheavals.