Tweet The flooded Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant is not exactly like the nuclear plants at Fukushima Daichi and Fukushima Diana. There are three main differences: First of all, there’s one plant, not 12. The difference of scale is tremendous. Secondly, it was offline – shut down for refueling – when flooded. Meaning, [...]
{ 0 comments }
As any freshman economics student should know, the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, is a measure of spending, derived from the Gross National Product, GNP, defined by Simon Kuznets during the Depression (click here for econlib). GDP is, at best, an indirect measure of wealth. The Genuine Progress Indicator, GPI, defined by Think Progress in 1995, [...]
{ 0 comments }
Tweet Will moving to the new energy future – deploying Solar, Wind and other sustainable alternatives create 2.7 Million New Jobs? At “How Cities and Companies Can Work Together to Operate in the New Energy-Constrained Economy” a panel discussion (press release), Bruce Katz, Vice President and Director of the Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution, [...]
{ 0 comments }
Widely distributed technological expertise makes all sorts of things possible. Typically, Do-It-Yourselfers frequent hardware stores, lumber-yards, and work in their basements, garages, and other workshops. They build things – bookshelves, computers, etc. Henry Ford built his first cars – Model A’s – on his farm Ford Motor Co. Steve Wozniak built the Apple I in [...]
{ 0 comments }
Tweet Omaha, Nebraska. Flooding on the Missouri River at The Cooper and Fort Calhoun nuclear power stations. I suppose the good news is that given the flooding, one or both of these two Nebraska plants will be decommissioned after the floodwates recede, so there will soon be one or two fewer nuclear plants [...]
{ 0 comments }
Tweet Bucolic? Pastoral? Looks that way, but looks can be deceiving. First of all, there’s Indian Point 1. Then there’s the water issue. Other issues are waste and national security. Indian Point 1 Brought online in August, 1962. Shutdown in October, 1974. Spent fuel is stored on site. Scheduled to be closed in 2026. Operated [...]
{ 0 comments }
Tweet After Chernobyl, Hans Bethe, pictured at left, said “the Chernobyl disaster tells us about the deficiencies of the Soviet political and administrative system rather than about problems with nuclear power” (PBS). Dr. Bethe is right. Managing nuclear power and our energy infrastructure is not limited to physics and engineering. It also involves economics, human [...]
{ 0 comments }
Tweet On Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and Climate Change Ayn Rand would not “believe” in climate change. She would try to objectively determine whether the theory correctly modeled the data. While it is legitimate to question both the conclusions of scientists and the methodologies by which data are gathered, denying objective validity of the data, which [...]
{ 1 comment }
Tweet During the Great Depression the Classical Economists said “Unemployment is voluntary. Business owners will not voluntarily keep the means of production idle.” While he had been a student of classical economics, John Maynard Keynes observed that the data didn’t fit the theory. And, he reasoned, if the observable data don’t fit the theory, [...]
{ 0 comments }
Brian Heater at Engadget reports (here) a $1,000 (USD) drop in the list price of the electric plug-in Chevrolet Volt. It’s roughly a two to three percent drop. What’s more likely to get sales going, economies of scale working, and prices down are large private and government fleet orders – or sharp increases in petroleum [...]
{ 2 comments }
At a seminar on June 9, 2011, on securing the mobile worker, Apple‘s representative said “We truly did not understand what we built.” That’s a direct quote. He went on to say “Here’s how they use it at GE, and Hyatt, and in the pharmaceutical industry.” A few minutes later he said “When users tell [...]
{ 0 comments }
Taken from the web site: The Sustainable Energy Coalition, in cooperation with Members of the U.S. House and Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses, invites you to the 14th annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Policy Forum. This year’s EXPO will bring together more than 50 businesses, sustainable energy industry trade [...]
{ 0 comments }
Bjorn Carey, writing in Popular Science (print and on-line), describes a waste disposal system which relies in large part on existing boat engine heat to reduce human waste to water vapor and carbon dioxide. From 2011 Invention Awards: From Waste To Water: The exhaust of an idling engine is at least 550°F, which is hot [...]
{ 0 comments }
Via the Telegraph, their correspondent James Kirkup reports that Liam Fox, the UK’s Secretary of Defence (Defense, if you prefer), has sais that “The Ministry of Defence is facing “cyberwar” attacks on a daily basis.” Warning that Britain is now in continuous combat with an “invisible enemy” in cyberspace, the Defence Secretary said that the [...]
{ 0 comments }
According to the BBC, the European E. Coli episode is winding down: Germany’s health minister says new E. coli infections from a deadly outbreak are dropping significantly and the worst of the illness is over. Daniel Bahr said he was cautiously optimistic the outbreak had peaked, but warned that more deaths were expected as new [...]
{ 0 comments }
The same messages can be communicated by signalling the letter "K" in Morse code via signal lamp. (While a proper signal lamp may be ideal, a flashlight, probably best employing red LEDs, will certainly fit the bill).
In Morse, the letter "K" is represent as Dash - Dot -- Dash.
The ICS also has a subset, the Medical Signal Code, which uses three-character phrases to communicate brief medical messages.