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Posts Tagged ‘Scientific American’

10 Interesting Links From November 16th

November 17th, 2009 Greg Smith No comments
  • Foodborne illness: An acute and long-term health challenge for the 21st century | Science Blog – CFI's report, The Long-Term Health Outcomes of Selected Foodborne Pathogens, calls for a new approach to foodborne illness research and surveillance and provides expert reviews about some of the long-term health outcomes for five foodborne pathogens. The outcomes range from hypertension and diabetes to kidney failure and mental retardation.
  • Arizona lands solar manufacturing facility – Phoenix Business Journal: – The company, which is based in Wuxi, China, and has its American offices in San Francisco, has not settled on a site as of yet. Company officials cited its work with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council as well as the state’s renewable energy standard and potential research relationships with Arizona State University as the reasons behind its decision. The plant will initially employ about 75 people with the potential to double that within the first year.
  • Local News | ‘Missing’ SeaTac man found with new name, in new state | Seattle Times Newspaper – Earlier this year, Christine Francisco got a divorce and, in an interview with KIRO-TV, said she had subsequently learned her husband had been leading a double life, complete with hidden bank accounts.
  • Mysterious Porpoise Deaths Blamed On Berserk Dolphins – News Story – KTVU San Francisco – Marine biologists have figured out why a growing number of dead harbor porpoises have been found on California beaches in recent years: dolphin attacks.
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup: A Recipe For Hypertension, Study Finds – Over the last 200 years, the rate of fructose intake has directly paralleled the increasing rate of obesity, which has increased sharply in the last 20 years since the introduction of HFCS. Today, Americans consume 30% more fructose than 20 years ago and up to four times more than 100 years ago, when obesity rates were less than 5%. While this increase mirrors the dramatic rise in the prevalence of hypertension, studies have been inconsistent in linking excess fructose in the diet to hypertension.
  • News : Desalinization plant presents sustainability, waste concerns – Rio Rancho Observer – Jensen is also concerned with what happens after 100 years. “The deepwater isn’t renewable, so when it’s gone, it’s gone,” he said. “So, if it’s being used to promote more growth and more development and more housing, when that water runs out, there’s going to be a huge question of where the water comes from to supply the new population. That is a serious issue.”
  • Report: Motorola looking at selling unit – Motorola Inc. is seeking to sell its largest division, which includes Tempe operations, according to a report Wednesday. Motorola has a location in Tempe at 2900 S. Diablo Way. The Schaumburg, Ill., company is exploring a sale worth about $4.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal's Web site, which cited "people familiar with the matter."
  • Al Jazeera English – Americas – Rio gangs down police helicopter – Suspected drug traffickers in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have shot down a police helicopter monitoring a shootout between rival armed gangs.
  • Florissant deer gores woman who tried to pet it – The Denver Post – A young buck mule deer gored a 63-year-old woman near Florissant on Monday after she apparently called to the animal in an attempt to pet him, officials from the state Division of Wildlife said today in a news release.
  • Birth Control Pills Affect Women’s Taste in Men: Scientific American – Studies suggest that females prefer the scent of males whose MHC genes differ from their own, a preference that has probably evolved because it helps offspring survive: couples with different MHC genes are less likely to be related to each other than couples with similar genes are, and their children are born with more varied MHC profiles and thus more robust immune systems.
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    Congress Did Not Outlaw Incandescent Bulbs In 2012

    December 24th, 2007 Greg Smith 1 comment

    A lot of information on the intertubes on the energy bill passed by congress, like engaget, has incandescent bulbs banned by the year 2012. In fact congress did not specifically ban incandescent in favor of florescent technology or any technology. Trying to find a news source which actually reported the specifics was difficult, a article on thedailygreen.com has more information.

    Under the measure, all light bulbs must use 25% to 30% less energy than today’s products by 2012 to 2014. The phase-in will start with 100-watt bulbs in 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70% more efficient.

    They also say that florescent bulbs meet the 70% standard. What happens to bulbs higher than 100 watts? Scientific American had this to say

    About two dozen categories of light bulbs are exempt from the U.S. law’s efficiency requirements, including oven and refrigerator bulbs, candelabra lamps, plant lights, replacement traffic signal bulbs and the summer necessity — the yellow bulb that doesn’t attract insects.

    Althought they will have a tough time meeting the 70% standard in 2020, incandescent are far from dead. I’m all for more efficient bulbs, but I am not a fan of the current compact florescent technology. I spent a small fortune on dimmable CFL bulbs only to be left with a pile of dead CFLs of which most lasted less than a year. I am not impressed with their dimming ability either (all of my switches are dimmable as part of my home automation system).

    Whatever happens, incancesdents will get more efficient and CFLs and LEDs will get better/cheaper, and I will be happy to replace them with whatever works best. It may not matter anyways, 2012 is the end of the world.

    Categories: Home Automation, Home Improvement And Automation Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,