Race to the Bottom

June 5th, 2010

What an education these kids are getting.

Let’s say you have a project with schoolkids to paint a mural on the side of the school. And some racist moron with a radio show hears about it.

“Faces in the mural were drawn from photographs of children enrolled at Miller Valley”

“We had children painting with us, and here come these yells of (epithet for Blacks) and (epithet for Hispanics).”

“The project’s leader says he was ordered to lighten the skin tone after complaints about the children’s ethnicity”

“City Councilman Steve Blair spearheaded a public campaign on his talk show at Prescott radio station KYCA-AM (1490) to remove the mural.”

Arizona has taken a comfortable lead in the US Stupidity Tournament, ahead of other leading contenders like Kansas and Texas.

Not White Enough

Coming Home

May 30th, 2010

Millions of gallon of oil spilled. Fishing industry ruined. Lives lost.

Gulf of Mexico ? Not quite. Try Nigeria.

“In fact, more oil is spilled from the delta’s network of terminals, pipes, pumping stations and oil platforms every year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico, the site of a major ecological catastrophe caused by oil that has poured from a leak triggered by the explosion that wrecked BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig last month.”

The USA is perfectly happy with oil spills. As long as it doesn’t happen in the USA.

Guess what. What goes around, comes around.

Poisoned Country

Kudzu and Ozone

May 19th, 2010

We know surface ozone is a problem. We find now that kudzu adds to it.
From the first article about the effects of ozone:

“Tree growth, measured in biomass, is already 7% less than the late 1800s, and this is set to increase to a 17% reduction by the end of the century.”

And from the second:

“Kudzu grabs nitrogen from the air and puts it into the soil. There microbes convert nitrogen into nitrous oxide, one of the pollutants that also comes from automobile exhaust. That gas escapes from the soil and into the air, and undergoes reactions that lead to the creation of ozone.”

I seem to recall another quote:

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”

Read all about it:
Surface Ozone

Kudzu and Ozone — 1

Kudzu and Ozone — 2

Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland

April 28th, 2010

NASA — The explosive eruptions of huge ash plumes at Eyjafjallajökull Volcano that grounded airplane travel throughout Europe in mid-April 2010 appeared to be declining late in the month. Small plumes continued to be observed in satellite images, such as this one from April 24, but the volume of ash and the heights of the plumes appeared less than before.

When the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this view, the summit of the volcano (image left) was shrouded with brownish-gray ash that contrasted sharply with the white cloud billowing up through the plume. The cloud may be partly steam from the volcano and partly pyrocumulus cloud generated from the heat. The ash cloud is thick over the summit, and it thins to the east. Around the margins of the image, the skies seem relatively clear; the snowy landscape is overlaid with charcoal-colored ash.
The decline in huge ash eruptions has been replaced with new lava flows, which extend between 400 and 500 meters (0.25 to 0.31 miles) north of the summit crater. The lava flow has created a gully in the ice cap that reaches north about 700 meters (0.44 miles).

References
Icelandic Met Office. (2010, April 26). Conditions and Assessment – 25 April 2010 22:30. Update on Activity Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
NASA image by Jesse Allen & Robert Simmon, using ALI data

Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland

Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland

Iceland Volcano Erupts

April 21st, 2010
Eyjafjallajokull Volcano In Iceland Erupts

Eyjafjallajokull Volcano In Iceland Erupts

The Ash Plume from Eyjafjallajokull Volcano In Iceland

The Ash Plume from Eyjafjallajokull Volcano In Iceland

NASA’s Terra satellite flew directly over Iceland on April 19, 2010, allowing the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument to capture a series of images of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano and its erupting ash plume. The top image is a view from MISR’s nadir (vertical-viewing) camera, and covers an area measuring 412.5 by 279 kilometers (256.3 by 173.4 miles). The bottom image is a stereo anaglyph generated from the nadir and 46-degree forward-viewing cameras. The plume height can be estimated by viewing the anaglyph with red/blue 3-D glasses (place the red filter over your left eye).
In these images, north is at the left, and east at the top. In addition to the main plume, there are some smaller streamers visible to the east (above) it. They are at lower altitude than the main plume. Due to the presence of wind, which causes the plume features to move between successive camera views, the anaglyph gives the misleading impression that they are below the land surface.
An analysis of these data show that the smaller streamers were just several hundred meters above the surface, whereas the main plume extended to an altitude of about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles).

High Fructose Corn Syrup

April 15th, 2010

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has been giving people quite the scare for some time now. It is a belief that the introduction of this product into our diet was the reason for increasing obesity in America; that the simple elimination of the product in our diets would make us lose that extra weight the American public has gained. Like many other Americans I believed this myth that HFCS was worse for you than the other sugars out there: honey, cane sugar, and brown sugar. But like many Americans, I was wrong. I used to read every label that I thought may have HFCS in it, and if it did I would put it back down and refrain from consuming the “evil” substance.

Just this year I have learned that HFCS is not as harmful as I thought it was. However, like other sugars, high fructose corn syrup should only be ingested in small amounts. The main reasoning for manufacturers to use HFCS as opposed to other sugars is that it is cheaper .

When choosing what food to eat, it helps to know what you are actually eating. Some foods that you wouldn’t expect to have sugar in it do, and thus it is still important to be aware of what contents you are actually eating. The best ways to go about doing this are to eat foods that are in their most natural form. This includes organic produce and excludes packaged foods. If you are choosing a food or drink item that has a variety of ingredients it may be important to read the ingredients and nutrition facts as HFCS is becoming more prevalent in foods that were once exempt of sugar additives.

The foods that many kids, and adults, find to be the most delicious are usually those foods that contain high fructose corn syrup. Kids especially are drawn to the sugary drinks and foods that are becoming more prevalent in our grocery stores and fast-food restaurants. Persuading children to eat fresher and healthier foods may be difficult, but will prove to be more beneficial for their health now and in the future. It is important to remember that high fructose corn syrup is still a type of sugar and should only be consumed in moderation.

About the author: Nicole Reising is an intern at the Office of Children’s Health Protection. She is a sophomore studying non-profit management at Indiana University.

Space Trash: NASA Extends Contract With Russia

April 7th, 2010

WASHINGTON — NASA has signed a $335 million modification to the current International Space Station contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency for crew transportation, rescue and related services in 2013 and 2014.

The firm-fixed price modification covers comprehensive Soyuz support, including all necessary training and preparation for launch, crew rescue, and landing of a long-duration mission for six individual station crew members.

In this contract modification, space station crew members will launch on four Soyuz vehicles in 2013 and return on two vehicles in 2013 and two in 2014.

Under the contract modification, the Soyuz flights will carry limited cargo associated with crew transportation to and from the station, and disposal of trash. The cargo allowed per person is approximately 110 pounds (50 kilograms) launched to the station, approximately 37 pounds (17 kilograms) returned to Earth, and trash disposal of approximately 66 pounds (30 kilograms).

Rent A Monster

March 29th, 2010

Looking at their pictures, they don’t look like monsters. Crooks, maybe. Paid $1000 a day, after misrepresenting themselves, not such a bad gig.

Except the misrepresentation consisted of made up stories of the efficacy of torture, and their expertise at it. And the client was the CIA.

“But it turns out neither Mitchell nor Jessen had any experience in conducting actual interrogations before the CIA hired them. ”

“the CIA later came to learn that the two psychologists’ waterboarding “expertise” was probably “misrepresented” and thus, there was no reason to believe it was “medically safe” or effective.”

Amazingly, these “psychologists” have not been sanctioned by the American Psychological Association or disbarred by state medical boards.

Rent a Torturer

And of the victims ? Jason Leopold reports on one of them:

“I would describe it this way,” said one former National Security official. “[Zubaydah] was an experiment. A guinea pig. I’m sure you’ve heard that a lot.”

And he wasn’t even the kingpin they claimed him to be:

“The Justice Department, in its factual return, has since abandoned every major claim that the Bush administration made about Zubaydah being a high-level al-Qaeda official and no longer believes or contends that he was ever connected to the terrorist organization or was involved in the planning of any terrorist plots”

Warning: The following link requires a strong stomach:Torture and Consequences

In the process of fighting terrorists, these men have become terrorists.

New Robots Scrutinize Solar Cells

March 23rd, 2010

The race to build a better solar cell is looping through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory where new robots are fabricating thin-film cells and analyzing glitches faster and with more precision than ever before.

How much faster? The robot working with silicon can build a semi-conductor on a six-inch-square plate of glass, plastic or flexible metal in about 35 minutes. It pivots and dishes like a point guard, sifts like a master chef, analyzes like a forensics expert and does it all while maintaining a vacuum seal on the entire process.

Simultaneously, it can analyze glitches and measure light absorption, while preparing the next half-dozen plates.

“It used to require us to go to, let’s see, one … two … three … four … five labs to do the same thing,” NREL scientist Ingrid Repins said.

And the silicon robot is one of just six such robots in six bays in NREL’s Process Development and Integration Laboratory (PDIL), the place where industry is starting to turn to test their newest cells.

The bay that uses silicon as the semiconductor for solar cells was the first to begin operating and holds all the speed and performance records so far.

Next to go on line were bays devoted to stand-alone characterization, integrated characterization and atmospheric processing.

The latest bay to start operating is the one that uses Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) as the semi-conductor in solar cells. Still being installed is the final bay, which will work with cadmium-telluride cells.

In each bay, the central transfer robot is the hub, operating like a jukebox, delivering the plate to chambers that can deposit micron-thin layers of chemicals to build the semi-conductors, or test and measure the growth of the crystals that make the cells.

Solar Companies Can Test Samples, Use Their Own Tools
Solar companies will be able to hook their own tools to the central robot and discover how their newest formulas compare. A vacuum transport tool can take the sample plates to the different, yet compatible, bays to see how an unusual process might bolster the power of a cell.

Solar companies know how to make solar cells in a dozen different ways — as shingles, as windows, as fanny packs, as attachments to space vehicles — but they constantly are searching for ways to lower costs and gain efficiency.

“The whole goal is dollars per watt,” Repins said.

President Obama has set a goal that solar energy become cost-competitive with coal and other fossil fuels by 2015.

“The gap is closing,” Repins said. “We’re getting closer. Already, First Solar is saying that for a large installation in southern California where electricity prices are relatively high, they are at parity now.”

NREL scientists are hoping their PDIL facility will help industry close that gap sooner by bringing lab-like precision to industrial-type processes.

R&D Agreement with Climax Molybdenum
For example, NREL last month signed a cooperative agreement with Climax Molybdenum of Empire, Colorado, which wants the lab to help test a new process of building sodium into the molybdenum layer of solar cells and then sputtering that sodium onto the CIGS layer.

Traditionally, the sodium leaches into the solar cell from the glass plate, but that’s not really a good way to do it because there is little quality-control in the glass-making procedure, Repins said.

For Climax Molybdenum, NREL will measure how well the company uses its tools to sputter the sodium from the molybdenum into the semiconductor, and how precisely it gets there.

“The assumption is that there will be more control getting sodium from the molybdenum than from the glass,” she said.

If it’s perfected, that’s another step toward lowering the cost of solar energy.

Solar cells are like mini-batteries, with three layers of thin films representing the two terminals and the current in between. The three layers together are about one-seventh the thickness of a human hair.

The middle layer, which absorbs the sun’s rays and acts as the current, is where the action is.

Some companies are sure CIGS will emerge as the best semi-conductor; others pin their hopes on cadmium telluride or the venerable silicon.

World Record; Now, How to Transfer It to Industry?
NREL two years ago set a world record for the efficiency of a thin-film solar cell, when its CIGS cell was able to convert to electricity 20 percent of the energy it absorbed from the sun. The record for a cadmium-telluride cell is 16.8 percent.

Today’s roof-top solar panels typically are able to convert about 10 or 11 percent of the sun’s energy, although there is a large range of between 8 percent and 20 percent efficiency.

Now, the challenge is to be able to layer a film of CIGS on commercial-sized solar panels without dropping down much from that 20 percent pinnacle.

Repins envisions that with the 20-percent formula as the template, in a few years companies can roll out kilometer-long sheets of solar cells and still achieve 16 percent efficiency — even as they strive to use the least expensive materials and put an emphasis on speed.

The difference between 11 percent and 16 percent is huge, because the cost savings multiply on each other, she said.

It means solar panels can be smaller and generate the same amount of energy, and that means lower materials costs, lower factory costs and lower installation costs.

Getting there — to reach a 16 percent efficiency level while making miles of thin-film cells a day — is the goal of the one-of-a-kind testing facility at NREL.

Sensors Can Read How Cells Are Growing
In the brightly lit PDIL on NREL’s campus in Golden, Colorado, scientists simulate the processes industry will use. The goal is to answer previously unanswerable research questions, while controlling and characterizing the surfaces of the cells, developing new techniques and devising new structures.

“The old way we used to do things, each layer required a different machine,” Repins said. “We would take out the substrate and put it into another machine.” Each time the plate was removed, humidity could weaken the cell and there were issues of cleanliness and contamination.

Now, the goal is a process that is seamless, spotless and transparent.

In each bay, lasers shine light on the cells and sensors can read how the cells are growing.

PDIL’s ultra-high-vacuum environment lets researchers study the role of impurities and defects, said NREL senior scientist Miguel Contreras. “We can do basic R&D at the material level. We can also develop analytical tools on site to test new plates and to test for quality.”

What combination of heat, metals, chemicals and time can grow the crystals to form the perfect cell? At one step excess copper is needed; at another, just enough sodium needs to leach into the middle layer.

The goal of all the depositing, analyzing and measuring is to be able to tell industrial partners why the cell isn’t growing as well as it should and what can be done about it.

“We do a post-mortem,” Repins said. For example, “‘We got 14 percent efficiency with these materials, why are you only getting 12 percent?’”

Companies want to know how they can turn the knobs to get the ultimate performance out of the cells. “This helps take that step toward telling them what to do in the process,” she said. “We can tell them, ‘this is what the sodium content should look like,’ for example. It’s one more clue.”

Bill Nemeth, a scientist in NREL’s PDIL facility, says he doesn’t have to wear a lab coat at work “because everything revolves around maintaining a vacuum,” and the researchers never come into direct contact with semi-conductors.

“We have the capability that no other place can duplicate,” Nemeth added. “This encourages cooperation.”

Goal: Fewer Impurities, Better Efficiency, Better Yield
The CIGS PDIL tool also was designed to do basic research and development on materials. The ultra-high vacuum environment allows scientists to study the role of impurities and defects, as well as what happens when the metals are deposited at the fast rate demanded by industry. That knowledge will help researchers develop analytical tools for quality control and to test for new plate materials.

“The system was designed to allow us to do things we could not do before, such as get a better look at impurities and the quality of materials, the different layers that compose the CIGS cell,” Contreras said. “It’s helping us understand better what is limiting our efficiencies, as well as learning how to improve industrial productivity.

“This gives us more insight into the physics and materials science of CIGS-based solar cells,” Contreras added. The fundamental research will “lead to better solar cell efficiency, process control, improved uniformity and improved yield.”

Learn more about NREL’s photovoltaics research.

— Bill Scanlon

Preying on the Ill

March 17th, 2010

Sell expensive insurance, then drop those who fall ill. What a business.

“Shortly after his diagnosis, however, his insurance company, Fortis, revoked his policy.”

“Fortis had a company policy of targeting policyholders with HIV. A computer program and algorithm targeted every policyholder recently diagnosed with HIV for an automatic fraud investigation, as the company searched for any pretext to revoke their policy”

Hide the evidence.

“…members of the rescission committee not record the identity of the persons present”

“…agreed with the lower court’s finding that Fortis destroyed records to hide the corporation’s misconduct.”

“Fortis demonstrated an indifference to Mitchell’s life and a reckless disregard to his health and safety.”

For no legal reason:

“…concluded that Anthem Blue Cross lacked legal grounds for cancelling policies in every single instance.”

Hide some more evidence.

“There was also evidence that documents and/or records regarding (Mitchell’s) policy were deleted; and that telephone logs and recordings contained key omissions.”

“…shredded” documents…”

These corporations are slime. Their leaders are scum. Read the article, but be warned, you need a strong stomach:

Sick Stories



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