Re: Jobs, not trees! (Collapse, Chapter 2)
At 12:38 AM Wednesday 8/16/2006, Doug Pensinger wrote: Jim Sharkey wrote: I am generally a believer in global warming, but you're citing a city below sea level, situated on the hurricane-prone gulf, whose commerce lifeblood eroded what protections the terrain had provided, as a counterargument to the point that the poor are more concerned about eating than conservation? I would argue that in NO's case, many of Diamond's other factors for disaster had as much, if not more, of an impact as any overall climate change in the case of the Katrina disaster. First of all, no one is arguing that anyone is _more_ concerned about ecology than eating. The argument is; are they worried about eating to the exclusion of any kind of ecological concerns. Secondly, because other factors played a part in the disaster does not mean that NO residents are not cognizant of the one factor that not only could continue to haunt them in the form of storms but that in fact could doom their city altogether due to rising sea levels. Third, you may recall that hurricane Rita, a second cat 5 storm was on a path very similar to Katrina and actually did hit Western Louisiana. So while one 100 year storm in a season might not fuel the imagination too much, the prospect of a second hitting shortly after the first had to have given the residents there food for thought. I just disagree with Alberto's statement that ecology is for rich people. Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations in the world and is most vulnerable to rising sea levels. Do you think that theyâll be shouting Jobs, not dry land? If they had money, they could move to higher ground. -- Ronn! :) Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot remain in the cradle forever. -- Konstantin E. Tsiolkovskiy ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Jobs, not trees! (Collapse, Chapter 2)
Doug Pensinger wrote: I just disagree with Alberto's statement that ecology is for rich people. Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations in the world and is most vulnerable to rising sea levels. Do you think that [UTF-8?]theyâll be shouting Jobs, not dry land? I can compare Bangladesh with the poorest areas in my hometown, Rio de Janeiro, who is located between sea and mountain[*]. _If_ rising sea waters is not a myth [**], then the coastal areas would be the first to sink. But no poor guys worry about ecology, and keep doing disastrous things to the environment, like dumping trash in the sea or razing the tree coverage of the hills. Alberto Monteiro [*] take mountain with a grain of salt. About 500 meters is the highest it gets. [**] if you put ice in a cup, and let it melt, the water level doesn't rise. Sea levels might rise if we consider ice in Antarctica and inland, but there might be other factors here. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Jobs, not trees! (Collapse, Chapter 2)
Alberto Monteiro wrote: [*] take mountain with a grain of salt. About 500 meters is the highest it gets. If I'm taking a 500-meter mountain, I'm going to want more than just one grain of salt with it. :) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Jobs, not trees! (Collapse, Chapter 2)
Julia Thompson wrote: [*] take mountain with a grain of salt. About 500 meters is the highest it gets. If I'm taking a 500-meter mountain, I'm going to want more than just one grain of salt with it. :) Ok, but what I am trying to say is that, despite being the size of Continental USA + 1/2 Alaska, Brazil does not have any big mountains. Those that settled our territory, apparently, took almost all of South America that were outside of the Andes :-) The highest peak is at 3000 meters; compare this to other similiar-sized countries: Russia: 5642; China: 8848; Canada: 5959, USA: 6194, India: 7816, Argentina: 6982, Mexico: 5636, Antarctica: 4892. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_peaks_by_prominence Yes, if the seas rise, we will be the first to vanish! :-) Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
CO Fire Tribe tomorrow
Julia - thought you'd be interested @ this: tomorrow -- at the library, no less! -- this group will be performing various pyro-nontechnics. Should be fun; the Hawaiian singer and dancers last week was very enjoyable to watch. http://www.columbinecourier.com/story_display.php?sid=3613 (_way_ down at the bottom) Traditional dancing and music from Hawaii, New Zealand and Tahiti will be featured in an outdoor performance at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at Bemis Public Library. The Rocky Mountain Polynesians is a group of adult performers dedicated to promoting the authentic culture of the Polynesian islands. Hear the stories behind the dances and the musical instruments used; and The Colorado Fire Tribe will appear on the front lawn of the library from 8 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17. Flame throwing, acrobatics and dramatic fire dancing will be performed from 8 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug.17, on the front lawn of Bemis Public Library. http://www.cofiretribe.com/ There are several groups affiliated in the 'tribe' - Burning Man is mentioned as inspiring some of the members. Debbi Farenheit 451? Maru :) __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Weekly Chat Reminder
As Steve said, The Brin-L weekly chat has been a list tradition for over six years. Way back on 27 May, 1998, Marco Maisenhelder first set up a chatroom for the list, and on the next day, he established a weekly chat time. We've been through several servers, chat technologies, and even casts of regulars over the years, but the chat goes on... and we want more recruits! Whether you're an active poster or a lurker, whether you've been a member of the list from the beginning or just joined today, we would really like for you to join us. We have less politics, more Uplift talk, and more light-hearted discussion. We're non-fattening and 100% environmentally friendly... -(_() Though sometimes marshmallows do get thrown. The Weekly Brin-L chat is scheduled for Wednesday 3 PM Eastern/2 PM Central time in the US, or 7 PM Greenwich time. There's usually somebody there to talk to for at least eight hours after the start time. If you want to attend, it's really easy now. All you have to do is send your web browser to: http://wtgab.demon.co.uk/~brinl/mud/ ..And you can connect directly from William's new web interface! My instruction page tells you how to log on, and how to talk when you get in: http://www.brin-l.org/brinmud.html It also gives a list of commands to use when you're in there. In addition, it tells you how to connect through a MUD client, which is more complicated to set up initially, but easier and more reliable than the web interface once you do get it set up. -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ This message was sent automatically using cron. But even if WTG is away on holiday, at least it shows the server is still up. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Jobs, not trees! (Collapse, Chapter 2)
I just disagree with Alberto's statement that ecology is for rich people. Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations in the world and is most vulnerable to rising sea levels. Do you think that they’ll be shouting Jobs, not dry land? In a sense ecology is for the rich; it is up to the rich who use a vastly disproportionate amount of the worlds resources and who have the technologic skill to do something about the environment to do it. This is not charity it is self-preservation for the haves as well as the have nots. A major economic and environmentatl upheaval will create chaos. It will scramble the deck. Those on top are unlikely to be on top afterwards not because they are inherently corrupt but because being on top is luck in the first place and you tend not to get lucky too many times in a row. Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
U.S. Wind Energy Capacity Reaches 10,000 MW
http://powerelectronics.com/power_systems/awea_wind_energy_081606/ U.S. wind energy installations now exceed 10,000 MW in generating capacity, and produce enough electricity on a typical day to power the equivalent of over 2.5 million homes, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced today. Wind energy is providing new electricity supplies that work for our country's economy, environment, and energy security, said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. With its current performance, wind energy is demonstrating that it could rapidly become an important part of the nation's power portfolio. As the U.S. wind energy advances beyond the 10,000-MW level, AWEA released several figures and statistics to illustrate some of the economic, environmental, and energy security benefits of wind power development. For example, according to the release, wind energy was the second-largest source of new power generation in the country in 2005 after natural gas. It is likely be so again in 2006, according to the Energy Information Administration. The release also stated Americas wind resource potential is vasttheoretically more than twice enough to meet current U.S. electricity supply needs. President Bush said earlier this year that wind could meet 20% of the countrys electricity supply (the share that nuclear power provides today). AND: Diesel Engines Jumpstart Ultracapacitor Applications http://powerelectronics.com/passive_components_packaging_interconnects/alcoa_maxwell_ultracapacitor_081606/ http://tinyurl.com/modmz Alcoa AFL Automotive and Maxwell Technologies will collaborate on the development of a cold start system for commercial transportation vehicles. The companies will incorporate Maxwell's BOOSTCAP ultracapacitors with AFL's power management system to develop an efficient engine starting system. Increasingly strict environmental regulations preclude the ability of operators to allow their trucks to idle overnight. More than 20 states have enacted or are proposing regulations that prohibit running diesel truck engines overnight to power heating, cooling, entertainment and other driver-comfort features. However, running those loads on battery power can leave the batteries with insufficient power to start the vehicle, especially in cold weather. With the AFL-Maxwell cold starting system, the ultracapacitor pack would provide what amounts to an on-board jump-start capability, explained Allen Zwierzchowski, President, Worldwide Components AFL Automotive. The BOOSTCAP ultracapacitor series supports a short-circuit current within the range of 3.5 kA to 4.8 kA, which greatly exceeds the current consumption of a diesel starter motor. Furthermore, according to Michael Sund, VP of Marketing for Maxwell, the ultracapacitors would be maintenance free for the life of the vehicle. At present, the design for the cold starting system is expected to require three 16-V BOOSTCAP modules. The BOOSTCAP modules can operate within a temperature range between -40°C to 65°C. When operating within this specific range, the capacitors can support over one million charge and discharge cycles. To maintain this reliability, the systems ultracapacitors will not be placed within the engine compartment. Once the cold starting system has matured for commercial vehicles, the technology could be extended to consumer vehicles, such as RVs. Sund stated research is also being done within the consumer auto industry to develop this capability. Sund continued that another potential benefit of this system is a reduction in battery size without a reduction in cranking current capacity, nor would weight, size or cost penalties be incurred in the overall system. This might lead to advantages in other types of vehicles, especially general aviation aircraft. However, neither Maxwell nor AFL has suggested this is a potential application. Yet another potential application deals with boosting the cranking voltage of a 12-V battery to 28 V through the use of a BOOSTCAP module in series with the battery during cranking. According to John Miller, V.P. of Advanced Transportation Applications at Maxwell, a BMOD2600 module (430 F, 16 V) in series with a standard 12-V lead-acid battery could provide that capability. While the voltage of the ultracapacitor stage will decay faster than a second lead acid battery would, the decay is manageable for this application. Sund cited industry data showing that last year, approximately 253,000 class 8 trucks and nearly 90,000 class 7 trucks were purchased in the U.S. alone. With such a huge potential market and possibly larger aftermarket, the adoption of the cold engine starting system could potentially revolutionize the motor vehicle industry. For truck drivers and other traveling motorists who would no longer hear the continuous idling of diesel engines, this revolution would be literally silent. xponent Odd Interests
Re: U.S. Wind Energy Capacity Reaches 10,000 MW
U.S. wind energy installations now exceed 10,000 MW in generating capacity, and produce enough electricity on a typical day to power the equivalent of over 2.5 million homes, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced today. Praise George W. Bush, whose policy of high oil prices made it economically viable the search for alternative energies!!! It's a pity that he won't be elected a third time. Maybe the next USA president will be a Clinton-like idiot who will let oil prices fall down :-/ Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
