Disqus - Latest Comments for Casandrita

Re: Tree Shaped Wind Turbines to be Installed in Paris

Casandrita — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 23:36:44 -0000

If the 63 Aeroleaf tree can produce 2400 kWh per year when subjected to turbulent 2 m/s average wind speeds, this wind turbine would be a great aesthetically pleasing way to generate electricity from renewable sources where a solar array cannot be installed or to augment a solar array during times when wind resource exceeds solar resource.

From an aerodynamic perspective, I propose that some of the leaves are in the wind shadow of others, the tree trunk, and/or tree branches. As such, the performance of 1 Aeroleaf cannot simply be multiplied by the number of leaves on the tree to predict tree performance. Whole tree performance still needs to be confirmed / validated. Additionally, the maintenance of all the parts (e.g., bearings & generators), costs of maintenance, and performance under various climatic conditions (dirt, dust, rain, snow, and ice) still need to be evaluated.

Looking forward to hearing more about this initiative once the tree is 'planted' and in operation.

Re: Bill Watterson: Invent Your Life’s Meaning

Casandrita — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 16:15:41 -0000

I've always been amazed when I hear, "It's just a job", from those truly unhappy in their job / career choice. This 'job' consumes a 3rd of our adult life, of which another 3rd is normally spent sleeping. Its significance and impact should not be treated lightly as it affects our ability to enjoy and/or accomplish anything within the remaining 3rd.

I hope that what I am seeing is people standing up for themselves and that the corporate phrase "work - life balance" will eventually have true meaning. I believe that this will only come about if we demand it and support nothing less :)

Re: Why Can’t I Finish?

Casandrita — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 15:51:28 -0000

Hello Elizabeth,

Thank you for posting this awesome article. It has allowed many of us to not feel that we are the only ones in the battle while highlighting some of the primary barriers and the strategies through which to overcome them.

I've tried to digest all four barriers/strategies in a broader construct, seeking answers to my dilemma, while, in the end seemingly seeking barrier # 5 and its associated strategies :(

I definitely grapple with #1, but also suffer from big-picture thinking. As a simple example I present the following residential refurbishment project: Insulating the header cavities at the top of unfinished basement walls.

The obstacle to getting this project completed is that it would be prudent to replace all of the 'original' 'old-style' 'knob & tube' electrical circuits, prior to insulating the cavities through which such wiring would be run. With that in mind, I now also delay the installation of baseboards and wainscoting in the kitchen & bathroom, knowing that I will need to access the wall cavities on the 1st & 2nd floor to complete the wiring project.

This is known as 'scope creep', but I really believe that doing it any other way will only require more work in the future and/or yield poor results. But now I have a huge project on my hands and 4-5 projects unfinished while I grapple with the wiring project.

Can my example be generalized to fit the intent behind the definitions of barriers #1 through #4? Does a 5th barrier need to be defined to encapsulate my challenge? Final analysis suggests that my barrier to completion is due to the fact that the project (including scope creep) now exceeds my technical capabilities while my financial circumstances do not allow for outsourcing :(

Hope that I've not monopolized the discussion and that others with perfectionistic big picture scope creep challenges will benefit from your response.

Warmest regards,
Ruth

Re: BRIGHTON: Mill deal sparks worry about forest | The Chronicle Herald

Casandrita — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:22:44 -0000

Please don't let the Mill, out of province corporate greed, and/or the need for jobs (with a questionable tenure at best) destroy Cape Breton ;) That's all I ask.

Re: S.C. HGTV Dream Home Earns LEED Platinum Rating

Casandrita — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:00:32 -0000

"PVC is not green" - commenter brings to mind a very good question:

What is 'green' when it comes to building materials?

Is harvesting old growth trees for timber more green than 'mining' rock and other aggregates for stone facades and foundations? Is the new, aforementioned material 'more green' than recycling waste product to produce PVC? Should all building materials be repurposed waste from buildings torn down to qualify as being green.

In the midst of the green movement, I feel that not enough thought has been put into defining the term 'green', while appreciating that this could be quite a complex undertaking.

I give the following as a simple example: Should we dry our hands with paper towel made of 100% post consumer waste product, a continuous role of fabric that needs to be washed, heated air, or high pressure air?

Each has a life cycle cost and it's own set of environmental implications.

How do we compare coal-fired generation to run electric hand-drying devices against water & chemicals to clean fabric against tree-harvesting to produce paper towels? Who's to say which is best? How do we really quantify what best is?

So .. I propose that we work towards something sustainable through managing & conserving our non-renewable resources while finding cool ways to re-introduce our waste products into the production stream vs. landfill sites.

Re: Solar Powered Pot Farms Sweep The Nation!

Casandrita — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:13:19 -0000

I had high hopes for this alternative use for solar PV, including its use in support of growers of other green matter, given that the grid-tied citizenry seem to need incentives, favourable ROI figures, and other such measures for them to truly understand and appreciate its potential. Is it illegal to grown plants using solar PV?

Re: This Smart Industrial Redevelopment Concept Cuts Corners

Casandrita — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 23:57:26 -0000

Thanks for sharing this pretty funky looking development! Just to confirm energy consumption figures: It reads as though you meant to say, " ... the annual heat demand of the building is just 3.33 kilowatt 'hours' per square meter" vs. " ... 3.33 kilowatt 'house' per square meter." On a similar thread, I am wondering if the per square meter is 'house foot print' or 'liveable floor space'. Either seems to be a great improvement :)

Re: Coal-Plant CO2 Captured, Stored Underground In US First

Casandrita — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:17:12 -0000

It sounds too much like what we are doing with nuclear plant waste i.e., let's bury it so that future generations can deal with it - proviso being: technological advancements will have solutions in the future. I propose that we should focus on electricity generation technologies that don't create waste.

Re: Kickstarter Rescues Startups That VCs Won't Touch, But Here's What's Missing

Casandrita — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:09:45 -0000

I agree whole-heartedly on all points raised by Robert.

I am aware of so many older-generation 'rocket scientests' so concerned about IP that they are willing, while not realising the implications there of, to literally take their ideas to the grave.

Personally, as a bit of a penniless philanthropist, I am more concerned about getting my ideas out there - seeing them come to life - than I am about IP and $'s.

I would also like to see the Kickstarter community evolve to tackling real projects of greater significance than watches and other gadgets. Nothing wrong with gadgets, but there are greater things that this community could assist in bringing to life :)

There is a huge funding gap when it comes to post-concept ideas lacking developed prototypes. It is in this area that funding is really needed. While SDTC claims to be addressing the funding gap, they are really more interested in funding a proven concept through to commercialisation ... as is every other funding mechanism. As an innovative society, we really need funding to support cool concepts including prototype demonstration through to commercialisation.

Re: Green Jobs Must Ensure Gender Pay Equality Worldwide

Casandrita — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:53:35 -0000

The studies seem to ignore what types of work women seem to migrate towards. Aggregate averages across industries, roles and genders yield relatively meaningless numbers. There are certain positions that women just will not occupy i.e., de-slagging castings with a grinder in a forgery. I'm surprised that men even sign up for such a job?

As a female professional engineer having also been involved in the military, I had to chime in on this article with my thoughts. I have lived through Ontario Canada initiatives
trying to encourage more women to enrol in the combat trades; I have lived through the SAE trying to encourage young girls to become involved in manufacturing. At the end of the day, I would like to propose that professional women have a very different focus than
men. I propose that there are industry sectors that women, on average, are never going to be interested in.

Unfortunately, these sectors and positions are amongst those within the highest income bracket. So the real question becomes: "Why aren't women interested in these positions?" AND "Why are these positions paid more than those that women are typically interested in?"

Cynically, I believe that I can answer both of these questions, but I choose to carry on in a diatribical fashion to elicit further thought on the topic.

To compare what women earn vs. men, without highlighting fields and types of roles that women vs. men typically hold, yields a relatively useless picture of reality / data set. I
believe that the reality is that the fields in which women exceed and the roles that women choose to play are typically paid less.

A useful study would encompass identifying what these fields & roles are and why they pay less than those traditionally populated by males and what these male dominated fields and roles are in comparison.

Psychology can explain (without excusing it) why men are paid more for the exact same job with similar credentials to those held by the female competitor. That's not to say it
should be condoned, but there is no mystery here.

I believe the real disparity comes from the fact that women gravitate towards positions that support sustainable economic development while our current socio-economic system values and rewards unsustainable growth lead by aggressive entrepreneurs.

There is still great hope for developing countries, wherein women are a strength to be reckoned with on many fronts.

Perhaps they can achieve what we in North America cannot.

Re: Green Jobs Must Ensure Gender Pay Equality Worldwide

Casandrita — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:31:30 -0000

Why does no one actually seek to evaluate the reality? The reality is that the clean tech sector jobs are basically technology and people transfer from pre-existing industries since they are in fact a combination of various industries as opposed to something entirely new.

For women in this industry, there are numerous obstacles aside from the fact that the usual players from automotive and oil industries are moving into this sector. At the manual labour construction-related level, these jobs require heavy lifting. On other fronts ... it's not as green as it sounds ... it's still primarily about ROI.

Professional women will play enormous roles doing the right thing, obviously.

Unfortunately, most of this work is done through NGOs, not private sector organisations, within the renewable energy industry.

Then again, if you are interested in Sales, Marketing, Receptionist, and all the usual public faces that private sector corporations need, there is a huge demand for women to give these ex-petro and ex-chemical companies a 'green' face, best presented through women :)

Personally, I think that women should start to collaborate with women in order to do what they know to be right. As women, from a socio-economic standpoint, we need to move past competition to collaboration. We know what needs to be done and have the power to make it happen. Traditional structures based on power will not enact the change that is required.

Re: Sunlight Into Hydrogen: It Works If You Concentrate

Casandrita — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:17:38 -0000

Fascinating technological solar energy amplification breakthrough! Hopefully we can find applications other than hydrogen production.

Hydrogen production requires inputs to create hydrogen. Unfortunately, one of the main inputs is water. I propose that we consider the following key challenges regarding the production of hydrogen, in the middle of the desert, into a form that can be used as an alternative fuel:

Challenge #1: Water is typically in short supply in the desert.

Challenge #2: There are concerns that water scarcity will become the next big global crisis. Unless these desert installations also include desalinization plants, the undertaking would be using potable water and become as contentious as turning food crop into fuel only worse i.e. turning potable water into fuel in the midst of a global water shortage.

Challenge #3: So now we have this hydrogen fuel manufacturing facility out in the middle of the desert, which will require vast amounts of fuel (traditional) to ship water (heavy) from where it 'grows', followed by a further need for fuel to ship the hydrogen to storage facilities near urban centres where it would be consumed.

So, while fantastic in the realm of scientific research, undertakings involving hydrogen production seem entirely impractical in reality. In fact, more than just impractical; aside from the contentious use of water, appropriate life-cycle analysis may show that the amount of fuel required to support the logistical aspects of a hydrogen fuel industry, exceeds the amount of fuel produced.

I propose that systems engineers be brought into the midst of the scientific community to thoroughly evaluate the practicality. I know that we all like to invent exciting new technologies and that during these challenging economic times even the universities are being pressured to bring innovations to the table that can be commercialised. I'm just suggesting that lifecycle analysis needs to be conducted beforing charging full speed ahead.

But don't give up ... :)

Re: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Casandrita — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:27:36 -0000

Shane .. you are a saint :O)
Take care and don't change,
Ruth

Re: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Casandrita — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:33:23 -0000

Hi Shane,
Unfortunately you misread my post. I was commenting on the fact that I liked your more well-rounded definition i.e., "having you life under control" while actually admitting that I haven't managed that yet. On a more positive note, I have removed 95% of the obstacles ... the other 5% is 'me' ... lol. Enjoy your holiday ;O)

Re: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Casandrita — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:11:12 -0000

Hi Shane, If you are still staying on top of feedback on your post, I wanted to let you know that I really related to you 5 word description of the Safety need as I never did in the past i.e., “having your life under control” - perfect - many thanks from one unable to get past this level ;O( I'm a control freak .. lol