My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on February 15, 2006

Belco Holdings Limited announced that it has entered into a contract with Current to Current Bermuda Limited, a subsidiary of the U.S. firm Current to Current Corporation based in Massachusetts, to purchase electical power generated by underwater currents. Power should be available by the end of 2007 through a generator and turbine sunk in the sea off Bermuda. This will be the first commercial venture of its size to displace a portion of the islands electrical energy needs.

Yesterday Belco executives revealed how they intend to capture ocean currents and that they initially plan on generating nearly ten per cent of the Island’s electricity needs. The agreement is a 20-year deal and is a fully submersible ocean power system. This is a radical step in generating clean electrical power. The planning has yet to be completed and final permissions and site location will be needed from government of Bermuda, although the Belco president and chief executive officer Garry Madeiros said he was confident the plans would get the green light According to Belco executives, if this pilot generator is successful, further underwater units could be sunk to meet more of Bermuda’s electricity needs.

The underwater generator is 150ft long and contains a four-blade turbine inside. Mr. Madeiros was quoted at saying that this deep sea electric generating system is “mind-boggling,” and that “This is cutting edge technology, not used anywhere else. One can’t help but get excited by this technology.”

Bermuda has taxed its current fossil fuel electrically generation system many times, experiencing a blackout in July of 2005. As the price of fuel rises, so does the cost of Island electricity and reliance on one single energy source. This techology “theoretically” could change that dependency over night.

Bermuda was chosen as the first country to pilot test generating power from ocean currents. The generator will be approximately 75 and 200 meters below sea level and will provide power to a substation on land. This will feed straight into the Belco’s power grid. Placing the generator at these depths means that they will not be affected by sea storms or hurricanes. It would also be sited too deep for divers to make contact. Energy experts from Current to Current will now investigate where the strongest currents are relation to several south shore locations and then recommend the best sites to the Bermuda government.

The inventor, Dr. Manfred Kuehnle, has hundreds of patents to his name, including the first optical spy satellite for the US Government and the first readable credit card machine. Dr. Kuehnle created an innovative gearbox in the underwater power unit, allowing it to capture currents to provide large volume electricity production, suitable for commercial use, unlike other ocean current devices. This particular unit will be built in America and barged to Bermuda. Once in place, it can be remotely controlled and monitored by both Current to Current and Belco.

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Posted By RichC on February 15, 2006

(left to right) Tony Anderson, Fayette Co. Commissioner; John Carey, Senator; John Schlichter, State Rep; Steve Durham, ASAlliances; Fred Dailey, Director, ODA; Mike Wagner, Ohio Corn Growers; Dwayne Seikman, Ohio Corn Growers; Ruth Kimmelshue, Cargill Ag Horizons; David Williamson, ODOD

The Tri-State Clean Fuels Network announced the ground-breaking for Ohio’s 100-million gallon per year Ethanol Facility in its February 14, 2006 newsletter. This is good news for Ohio and those interested in cleaner, renewable, domestic fuels that will run in existing dual fuel vehicles. (for a listing check the Department of Energy website)

A crowd of over 100 gathered in Bloomingburg, Ohio to participate in the ceremonies marking the construction of a 100-million gallon-per-year ethanol production facility. The facility, financed by ASAlliances Biofuels, LLC, is expected to generate affordable renewable energy, create 58 jobs and provide a market for 40 million bushels of corn per year. The Bloominburg facility will help meet the country’s growing appetite for affordable, cleaner-burning, renewable energy sources. One bushel of corn produces 2.8 gallons of ethanol. For every 37 gallons of ethanol produced, one barrel of imported crude oil is saved. Domestic demand for ethanol is expected to grow well into the future. Ethanol’s production capacity is expected to double in seven years.

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Posted By RichC on February 14, 2006

The U.S. now has an estimated 7066 pairs of nesting Bald Eagles in the lower 48 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today reopened the public comment on its 1999 proposal to remove the bird from the endangered species list. The director Dale Hall states that “The recovery of the bald eagle, our national symbol, is also a great national success story and the actions we take today reemphasize the management efforts that have proven so successful in recovering eagle populations. Should the eagle be delisted, we expect that the public will notice little change in how eagles are managed and protected.”

When wildlife is ‘delisted’ from the Endangered Species Act, animals and birds like bald eagles will continue to be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Both acts protect bald eagles by prohibiting killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs.

According to Sci-Tech Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also proposing a regulation to clarify the term “disturb” under BGEPA that is consistent with existing Federal and State interpretation. “Under the clarification, “disturb” would be defined as actions that disrupt the breeding, feeding or sheltering practices of an eagle, causing injury, death or nest abandonment. This is the standard the Service has used informally over the years and how states have interpreted the statute. The proposed regulation defining “disturb” would codify it.”

The low point for the Bald Eagle was in 1963, when only 417 nesting pairs were known to exist in the United States. At one time, the bald eagle flourished in every state except Hawaii. Once measures were taken to reduce pollution and clean up our use chemicals in farming, the recovery of the bald eagles re-established in most areas at an impressive rate. Most environmentalist contribute the ban on the pesticide DDT in 1972 as the turning point in saving this endangered species.

Sci-Tech Today reports that if the bald eagle is delisted, the Service will work with state wildlife agencies to monitor the status of the species for a minimum of five years, as required by the Endangered Species Act. A draft monitoring plan is expected to be released for public comment should the species be delisted. If at any time it becomes evident that the bald eagle again needs the Act’s protection, the Service will propose to relist the species.

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Posted By RichC on February 13, 2006

Update Feb 14: Paul Hackett has changed his plans to run for Senate with some arm twisting from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and New York Senator Charles Schumer. Hackett indicated his frustration saying “For me, this is a second betrayal,” Hackett said. “First, my government misused and mismanaged the military in Iraq, and now my own party is afraid to support candidates like me.”

Rumors are swirling that Paul Hackett (see Cincinnati Enquirer blog) might change his mind about running for a Senate seat and will return to fight with Rep. Jean Schmidt (R) for the Ohio 2nd district seat instead. It would be a wise decision if the Democrats in Ohio are to unite in the coming year. Paul Hackett probably has a good chance of defeating Jean Schmidt considering how close the race was last time when Schmidt had the coattails of President Bush.

We’re a few days away from a necessary decision by Hackett that will determine where the Dems will position themselves in the next election. Most Democrat would like to avoid a costly primary considering Hackett’s Senate bid has struggled since Rep. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat with a $2.4 million dollar war chest. (Hackett has $230,000 in which to run his campaign) Democratic primary is set for May 2 and most Democrats do not want a party battle, preferring the campaign be reserved in hopes to defeat Republicans.

Interestingly the Mayor of Cincinnati, Democrat Mark Mallory, issued a statement early today and then retracted (modified) it a few hours later. It reads:
“I applaud Paul Hackett for making the difficult decision to step out of the race for the US Senate and to step in to the race for the 2nd Congressional District. Paul’s passion and dedication will make him an excellent Congressman for Ohio. It is time for Democrats to come together and focus on providing a clear vision for the future of Ohio and the country.”
The later statement then reads:
Please note the corrected statement.
Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory issues the following statement about Paul Hackett’s decision to enter the race for the 2nd Congressional District.
“I encourage Paul Hackett to make the difficult decision to step out of the race for the US Senate and step in to the race for the 2nd Congressional District. Paul’s passion and dedication will make him an excellent Congressman for Ohio. It is time for Democrats to come together and focus on providing a clear vision for the future of Ohio and the country.”

The next few days should be interesting for those following Ohio politics.

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Posted By RichC on February 13, 2006

EAA284 had a good turnout this past Sunday afternoon at Red Stewart Field. February 12th at 2PM was our regularly scheduled meeting and thanks to Les Garber’s presentation it was both interesting and educational. Les, the author of “The Wright Brothers and the Birth of Aviation,” gave an outstanding presentation on the amazing engineering aspect Orville and Wibur Wright demostrated in achieving powered flight. He lectured with a Powerpoint presentation as well as several mockup models demostrating the many hurdles faced by the Wright Brothers.

I’ll included the Huffman Prarrie flight narrated by Tim Gaffney of the Dayton Daily News below.

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Tags: eaa284, flying, red stewart

Posted By RichC on February 12, 2006

Last week at the National Biodiesel conference in San Diego, Singer/ Songwriter and Activist Willie Nelson filled his tour bus and announced a new BioWillie location … San Diego, California. According to the National Biodiesel Board, the conference was an outstanding success. Perhaps Willie Nelson said it best, “It is the future. (refering to biodiesel) Nelson continued to say, “Through biodiesel, we can reduce dependency on foreign oil and adopt an energy source that’s clean renewable and helps family farmers find new uses for their products.”

As of this past Wednesday, southern California diesel owners can now fill their cars and trucks with BioWillie branded biodiesel. The 72 year old Nelson has been actively promoting biodiesel as well as running it in his personal vehicles and tour bus. This renewable alternative to petroleum is environmentally friendly, domestically produced, and made primarily from soybeans in the US. (although many other vegetable based oils can be used) According to the U.S. Department of Energy, biodiesel is America’s fastest growing alternative fuel and sales has tripled in this past year to 75 million gallons. It still only accounts for less than one percent of the diesel fuel sold nationwide, but is receiving support from environmentalist to midwestern farmers … from the politicians on the left to those on the conservative right. Even President Bush endorses biodiesel and on many occasions mentions it in speeches. Most recently he has used the national stage in addressing our “nation’s addiction to oil” and has effectively laid the groundwork for development of biofuels.

The BioWillie brand, known as B20, is a blend of 80 percent petroleum diesel and 20 percent biodiesel and is made from soybean oil and is currently available in Texas, South Carolina, Georgia and now California.

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Posted By RichC on February 11, 2006

Although Google news tells me there are over 2000 news stories about the record breaking flight of Virgin Atlantics Global Flyer piloted by Steve Fossett, I felt it necessary to close my mutiple posts with a follow up comment. (I’m sure for details there are plenty of news stories) Nevertheless, the experimental Scaled Composite plane did break the distance recorded held by the planes designer Dick Rutan and copilot Jean Yeager in 1986 by completing 26,389 miles nonstop on a single tank of fuel.

Fosset took off from the Kennedy Space Center, circled the globe once and continued across the Atlantic this morning to England. His trip wasn’t without stressful moment that included the loss of 750 lbs of fuel on takeoff, turbulance over India that threated to tear the plane apart and the loss of electical power while beginning decent from an altitude of over 50,000 feet.

Steve Fossett decided not to land at his scheduled airport (Kent, England) but made a Mayday call and an emergency landing at Bournemouth, England. His unscheduled landing with an ice coated canopy on only reserved battery powered electronic was a stressful end to a long and tiring flight. The GlobalFlyer touched down at 5:07 p.m (12:07 p.m. Eastern time), blew two tires and left spectators waiting at the Kent International Airport.

Although I’m not sure that the Guinness Book of World Records award is what stimulates Steve Fossett to make such flights he was presented with the record upon arriving to a news conference at Kent Airport less then a year after receiving an award for setting the world record for the first solo, non-stop, non-refuelled trip around the world.

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Posted By RichC on February 11, 2006

Heres a short video clip testing some of the Google Video capabilities (or lack there of) in broadcasting clips on the internet.

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Posted By RichC on February 10, 2006

Once upon a time I intended to be a photojournalist. I even spent the summer between my junior and senior year of high school on an enrichment scholarship to begin my college education in photojournalism. I’m not sure what happened to dissuade me? Nevertheless, I still admire and appreciate those with the talent to capture a still photos and create impactful and moving moments. In the cases of this years “2005 World Press Photo of the Year Awards “there were many that surpassed the proverbial “ a picture is worth a thousand words” axiom.

The above picture of a mother and child at an emergency feeding center in Niger was taken by Canadian photographer Finbarr O’Reilly. His August 2005 photo shows the emaciated fingers of a one-year old child pressed against the lips of his mother. This Reuters published photograph won the coveted 2005 World Press Photo of the Year.

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Posted By RichC on February 10, 2006

UPDATE: 1:45 EST
The Global Flyer is 51,000 feet directly above San Diego heading on a direct path toward Orlando Florida. (draw a line) If you are anywhere in this path be sure to check the sky. (although at 51,000 feet that is the highest Steve has flown so far) I suspect that the coverage will start to become a bit more mainstream as the flight nears completion; I’ll attempt to snatch some video when it becomes available. The webmaster has indicated 22 million hits to their site so far and is holding up just fine. The landing is scheduled to be at Kent International Airport – 18:30UTC on February 11th.

Interesting comments from Steve Fossett during his path over India:

Steve has admitted that during a period of “severe” turbulence he feared a wing might break and had put on his parachute in case he had to abandon the plane mid-air.

The tubulence occurred approximately 14:30UTC Thursday as he flew over Bhophal in India. Although Steve informed Mission Control about the turbulence and said he was “uncomfortable” he did not let the team know the full extent of the trouble.

It was only later in the evening that he revealed he had put his parachute on and that the turbulence had been a frightening experience.

Steve said: “I was afraid it was going to break up. It was a scary time and I had my parachute on and I was prepared to bail out in case a wing broke.”

The aircraft feels turbulence four times more than a commercial aircraft would. Due to the fragile nature of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer there is a possibility that severe conditions could damage the plane and break a wing. (see link)

Earlier Update:: Should reach the southern west coast of the US at 10 a.m. PST. Look up.

Since I’m following the flight and the GlobalFlyer I thought it would be really cool if someone was able to see the flight. Its probably a long shot for the naked eye viewers, (at 45,000 feet) but if you’re in San Diego or the Baja area and the sky is clear maybe you’ll consider looking up? I’m hoping someone has the ability to photograph this??? (let me know if anyone sees a photo of the GlobalFlyer over the US show up on the web)

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