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Obama, Compromise and Drew Westen
Can Society improve by Obama’s contiuous compromises? The New York Times printed a stunning analysis of Pres Obama today, Sunday, August 7, in its Sunday Review. The front page article is “What Happened to Obama” by Emory University’s Drew Westen. … Continue reading
Revert to policy
I made a mistake recently. This blog has some clearly stated rules and regulations, here is part. All comments must be signed. Anonymous postings are the hiding place for the irresponsible, a pool for festering nastiness. If you have something … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Farewell to American Manned Space Operations
Yet another chapter in U.S. technical excellence has closed. What have we lost? What have we accomplished? What will we do? This last flight of the Atlantis provides a reason to review the melancholy history of one of our greatest … Continue reading
Fluorescents-2: Lifetime
Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) are mandated for the US market starting in January 2012. These bulbs certainly have good press; they are more efficient, last forever, give nice bright light, and modern CFLs can be dimmed and will turn on … Continue reading
Fluorescent-1: Efficiency
What’s not to like about compact fluorescent lights (CFLs)? They use less energy than incandescent light bulbs (ILBs), they are cheaper in the long run, they put out lighting with selectable hues, they are environmentally friendly, and they are directly … Continue reading
Fusion, Seawater and Stewart Prager’s OpEd
Interesting Op Ed piece in the 2011 Jul 11 New York Times by Dr. Stewart Prager on the status and potentials for fusion power. Dr. Prager is the Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL); he does a good … Continue reading
Posted in Technology
Tagged DIII-D, Fusion, Fusion Reactor, General Atomics, ITER, JET, new york times, Plasma Physics, PPPL, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Stewart Prager
3 Comments
ANWR and The Lies of Large Numbers
Arguments have raged over use of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and will so again. Probably sooner rather than later. One side says evidence of a large quantity of oil indicates life in the lower 48 states could be … Continue reading
Posted in Natural Resources
Tagged 1002 Area, ANWR, Drain America First, energy, North Slope Oil, NPRA, Oil, Prudhoe Bay, wildlife refuge
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Drain America First
Pres Obama decided to start depleting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This week he announce that he was going to drain 30 M bbl (1 bbl means 1 barrel or 150L ) oil we have stored for emergency use. This … Continue reading
Posted in Natural Resources
Tagged Drain America First, Fox News, gas prices, IEA, Libya, Obama, strategic oil reserve, strategic petroleum reserve
5 Comments
LISA goes the way of all US tech
On April 6, 2011, the US admitted once again that it would not keep international technology commitments and withdrew from the LISA project (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) a cooperative agreement with ESA, (the European Space Agency) LISA was to be … Continue reading
Posted in Technology
Tagged David Kramer, ESA, gravity waves, LISA, LLNL, Lunar landing, MFTF-B, Moon walk, NASA, Physics Today, Saturn V, Skylab
1 Comment
Japanese energy decision time
The news has been full of the Japanese problem. Reuters and others have been all over Yahoo this week and related news outlets. Not the Fukushima fuel melt problems a couple months back, those were disturbing enough, but perfectly predictable. … Continue reading
Posted in Technology
Tagged alternative power, Fukishima, Japan, LNG, nuclear power, solar, wind
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Are Strategic Oil Reserves obsolete?
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is a pool of crude oil that we squirreled away over the years, to help us out in time of crisis. Recently, President Obama suggested that some of this resource might be used to help … Continue reading
Is there enough Uranium ore to do the job?
In a recent post, Nuclear Decisions-4, we examined whether nuclear power might be able to replace all other forms of power generation. Our answer? No, we will run out of fuel immediately we were to try. That answer assumes … Continue reading
Posted in Technology
Tagged coal, energy, fission, General Atomics, HTGR, LEU, Light Water Reactor, nuclear fuel, petroleum, reactor, resource, spent fuel, transmutation, uranium
6 Comments
Has Peak Oil happened?
The 2011 March 25 s article by Richard Kerr in the the professional journal, Science1 discussed the possibility that the peaking in world petroleum consumption may have already occurred. (Richard A. Kerr, “Peak Oil Production May Already Be Here,” Science, … Continue reading
Posted in Natural Resources
Tagged Hubbert peak, petroleum, Richard Kerr, Science Magazine
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Nuclear Decisions 4 – What does it all mean?
The world is in the middle of a crisis concerning nuclear energy. Fukushima, reprocessing breaches, loss of coolant, fuel melts, release of radioactives into the environment – a host of nuclear hobgoblins beat about our heads, screech our ears. Are … Continue reading
Nuclear Decisions 3 – Spent Fuel
Can nuclear reactor waste and spent fuel from nuclear power plants be rendered harmless to the Earth environment? The first post in this sequence, Decisions-1, brought up the two top-most safety issues that are associated with nuclear reactors, (1) loss … Continue reading
Posted in Technology
Tagged Chernobyl, cooling pool, dry cask, Fukishima, Light Water Reactor, LOCA, MOX, nuclear waste, spent fuel, transmutation, UOX, wet wood burner, Yucca Mountain
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Nuclear Decisions 2 – The LOCA issue
Why are nuclear reactors not invulnerable to loss of coolant accidents? A previous post, Decisions-1, asked whether or not the power industry anywhere should use the nuclear option to generate power, thus freeing that country from coal or petroleum dependency. … Continue reading
Posted in Technology
Tagged 3 Mile Island, BWR, CANDU, Fukishima, General Atomics, HTGR, Light Water Reactor, LOCA, PWR, spent fuel, TRIGA
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Fukushima and Reactor Decisions 1
Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi reactor complex has been headline news since the earthquake and tsunami led to a partial melt of the enriched uranium fuel in at least one of its reactors. How we humans have used energy generation technology is … Continue reading
Posted in Technology
Tagged 3 Mile Island, BWR, Chernobyl, Fermi 1, fission, Fukishima, Light Water Reactor, LOCA, PWR, reactor, spent fuel
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Light Switch or Thermostat?
Over the past month or so Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker demonstrated how people like to view issues as a choice between opposites. The new Republican governor there thinks that unions are bad, not indeterminate, and certainly never good. He … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged choices, decision making, Paul Krugman, Scott Walker, Unions, Wisconsin
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