the intersection of emergency preparedness, public health and environmental policy
Dan Kitchen reviews the BCB Mini Work Tool
at Toolmonger:
The BCB Mini Work Tool looks like a miniature version of the ATAX tool that Toolmonger [photopress:BCB_miniwork_tool.jpg,thumb,alignright]featured a few weeks ago. This credit card-sized piece of stainless steel integrates 11 tools in its simple frame, including a knife, saw, bottle opener, flat screwdriver, and a hole that can be used as a wrench.
BCB Miniwork Tool [BCB Survival USA]
Eric Dykstra at Toolmonger has posted about the ATAX - a new type of multitool - although - I’m guessing - it has its origins in credit-card sized flat or or flatt-ish multitools. Learn a bit more, and the design innovations seem quite impressive - not merely a larger version of the smaller think.
[photopress:ATAX_designed_by_Ron_Wood.jpg,thumb,pp_image]
Leatherman has introduced the Skeletool and skeletool CX:
The Skeletool CX has carbon-fiber handles; Erik Sofge, in his Popular Mechanics review (link below) says that it’s got a particularly comfortable grip - no small asset for a tool that, almost by definition, one uses in less-than-ideal conditions. The CX also has some attachable bits stored inside the tool. (I’m not entirely sure how they both end up the same weight - this may be the result of my misreading the specs )
FORD HAS A BETTER IDEA: HYBRIDS
Following General Motors announcement of the Volt, Ford Motor Company has just announced two new hybrids for 2010: The Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Mercury Milan Hybird. They will get 39 to 47 mpg, better than the Toyota Camry Hybrid and can operate in battery only mode. The world is changing. (0)
ENERGY POLICY & PUBLIC HEALTH
There really is no such thing as “Clean Coal.” Mining coal destroys mountains, and often kills the miners. Burning coal releases tons of carbon into the atmosphere and the oceans, and even if you could sequester the carbon, burning coal releases other pollutants, including mercury into the biosphere. The mercury makes its way into fish. This is why people, especially children and pregnant women, should not eat a lot of tuna or swordfish. Wind, solar, geothermal, ocean current, and “negawatts,” on the other hand, really are clean energy. Offshore wind turbines don’t release pollution. On the contrary, they create artificial reefs, which enhance fish habitat. This is also good for fishermen, the economy, etc. (0)
TALK MAY BE CHEAP, BUT
when the markets are falling, prices are rising, and credit is tightening, it’s a uniquely affordable indulgence. - Walter Kirn, What’s a Depression, Daddy? New York Times Magazine, Nov 9, 2008 (0)
SIERRA CLUB KILLS KING COAL (mini)
The EPA has ruled ( full text PDF ) that new and proposed coal plants must address their carbon dioxide emissions - essentially killing off the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the foreseeable future. The EPA says “You may burn coal, but you must do it cleanly.” ( Sierra Club Press Release / Full Post ) (0)
FOCUSED SOLAR MELTING STEEL?
Coolstuff and MetaCafe have videos which show the power of a focused solar array melting steel. (Click here for CoolStuff - Here for MetaCafe) It’s basic college mechanics - and also pretty amazing. (0)
CONGRATULATIONS, BARACK OBAMA AND AMERICA!
President-Elect Obama’s campaign was focused, disciplined, and effective. He has shown himself to be bright, calm, and decisive. He listens, and he has good judgment. We at Popular Logistics wish him and the country well. And we know this: If President Obama governs the way President-Elect Obama campaigned, the country will do well. Very well. (0)
SMASHING APPS: PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS
Smashings Apps has collected a number of project management tools - most if not all free. For community groups - disaster response-related or other - there’s probably something useful for all but the most tech-savvy (or best-funded) groups.
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ELECTRICITY: 100% CLEAN AND GREEN BY 2018
The Gore Energy Challenge - 100% clean, renewable, sustainable electricity in 10 years, can be described in 3 words. Reasonable, Achievable, Visionary. Here’s how:
40% Land Based Wind = 100 GW: $200 Billion.
40% Offshore Wind = 100 GW: $286 Billion.
20% Solar = 50 GW: $325 Billion.
100% Clean Energy = 250 GW: $811Billion.
Save the Earth, and the Economy - Priceless.
The Stone Age didn’t end because we ran out of stones. And the age of fossil fuels is ending not because we have run out of fossil fuel, but because we have figured out how better technologies. Biofuels, Geothermal, Marine Kinetic, Solar, Wind, and of course, Conservation. (0)
