Disqus - Latest Comments for Adam

Re: Portsmouth library first municipal building in NH to get eco “gold star”

Adam — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 00:53:17 -0000

That's great news about the Plymouth State dorm. I hadn't heard about that before. It sounds like they've got a small cogeneration plant for that building. UNH is also doing some good work with cogeneration.

Re: Tidal power for the Seacoast?

Adam — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 13:30:15 -0000

Dave thanks for your post. As you noted, tidal power is real, and I think it has a good future. Here are some other resources on this topic:

- EPRI has done some good work summarizing the potential of wave and tidal energy here: http://www.epri.com/oceanenergy/streamenergy.html

- NYC currently has a pilot project online in the East River. I wrote a brief post about that here: http://seacoastnrg.org/2007/01/02/nycs-new-tida...

Re: Biofuel, shmiofuel …

Adam — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:01:34 -0000

Perhaps we should put the cow chips to work and capture the methane instead.

David, you've hit on several good issues in this post, one of which is really puzzling to me. I grew up in the farm country of western Mass. On the old yankee farms where I worked as a boy, the cows were fed hay, not corn. Fertilizer, other than manure, wasn't needed. It seemed like a very self-sufficient and sustainable cycle. Why has that changed, and why wouldn't hay be a viable option for feed?

Re: Maple syrup lamentations - climate-change edition

Adam — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 04:11:37 -0000

Someone still keeping the spirit alive: http://amykane.typepad.com/northhampton/2007/03...

Re: Mass. firm wants to store wind power

Adam — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:02:54 -0000

It's certainly an interesting idea. The conversion processes would reduce efficiency, but since the original (wind) fuel is clean and free, the net could be very attractive.

Another idea for dispatachable storage is to use pumped-storage hydro. A plant in Northfield Mass uses this technique, pumping water to a upper reservoir at time of low power demand, and letting it flow back down through turbines to provide supplemental power at times of peak demand. An advantage with this system is that the danger of highly compressed air is avoided. Wind power could drive such a pumped-storage system.

http://www.neenergyinc.com/generation/north.asp

Re: Google’s “sewer ISP” joke almost appeared in Milford

Adam — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 05:21:22 -0000

Will voice over sewer protocol (VoSP) be next?

Re: Will climate change even change our soil?

Adam — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 05:24:31 -0000

A very good story. I imagine few have even thought about this aspect of climate change.

Another soil-related topic: "arctic" soils. When snowpacks and glaciers melt, the soil beneath is exposed and thawed. The soil contains many organic components, such as methane, a potent greenhouse gase, that may be released, further worsening the greenhouse effect.

Re: Two tidal-power projects studied in Portsmouth

Adam — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 05:58:43 -0000

I too am skeptical of the NH Tidal Energy Company. They don't even have a website that I can find--and who wouldn't make a website, if only to generate good buzz?

None the less, I hope we'll both be astonished before too long.

Re: One Laptop Per Child, the latest version

Adam — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 02:44:50 -0000

I remember that several years ago Bill Gates did some tours of Africa for his philanthropic foundation. At the time he said something along the lines of, it doesn't make sense to provide software to communities not having clean water, sufficient food, or basic health care. And I believe that's one reason why his foundation chose to focus more on meeting basic needs, such as immunization.

Nonetheless, I still think anything that inspires young (or old) minds is worthwhile.

Re: “Is the carbon-neutral movement just a gimmick?”

Adam — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 16:46:34 -0000

Cleanair-CoolPlanet, based in Portsmouth, recently published a consumer's guide for those wishing to make use of carbon offsets. http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org

Re: Supreme Court stops EPA from weakening coal-plant pollution regs

Adam — Tue, 01 May 2007 12:45:32 -0000

I have to assume that our New Hampshire coal plants in Bow and Newington have something to do with it, too. I can't imagine that all that soot you mentioned in your "lung association" post originates from the Midwest.

Re: Of triangles, circular manhole covers, and Reuleaux polygons

Adam — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:16:18 -0000

Dave, a very interesting story! I hadn't heard of this before. Thanks.

Re: Of triangles, circular manhole covers, and Reuleaux polygons

Adam — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:17:36 -0000

I forgot to ask, any pictures of the triangular manhole covers available?

Re: Making biofuel from trees … maybe

Adam — Fri, 25 May 2007 05:33:30 -0000

A interesting and optimistic column, Dave. Good work.

Re: A look at “Professor Origami”

Adam — Thu, 31 May 2007 05:24:04 -0000

Good article! The New Yorker recently ran a piece on another origami/phd, Robert Lang. It may interest you. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/0...

Re: Different setting, same climate-change warnings

Adam — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 05:17:16 -0000

I don't think the argument is really about whether or not we are in any optimal climate for the planet. The climate is, however, optimal for our lives and communities in the sense that our homes, farms, industries and economies have developed to the current state at least in part because we've had some experience and history, on a scale that exceeds human lifetimes, that the climate is relatively stable, and does not change rapidly.

Established, accepted, peer-reviewed and published scientific studies of the earth's temperature over the last 2000 years show similar patterns of historical temperature fluctuation, and concur that the warming trend since the 19th century has been dramatic, to the point that the last 15 years have not only been some of the warmest in the instrumental record, but also the warmest in at least the last 1000 years, and likely the last 2000. Yes, temperatures over the millenia have gone up and down. Yes, there were some articles in the 70's about cooling--a 30-year perturbation that was superimposed on the overall trend of the last century: warming. Yes, there will still be record cold days, and you can point to any number of these weather events. But it is a clear, unambiguous fact that the climate system--not simply today's weather in some isolated location--is warming.

Similarly, established, accepted, peer-reviewed and published scientific studies of the sources of this warming, such as
summarized by the recent UN IPCC reports, concur that the net effect of human activities over the last 250 years has been to cause warming, chiefly by the production and emission of greenhouse gases. In the language of the UN reports, these conclusions can be stated with a very high degree of confidence, greater than 90%. Even if anthropogenic greenhouse gas
emissions were sharply reduced now, the warming will continue for decades, if not centuries.

This is what science is telling us. The climate is clearly warming, and rapidly, due to human activities. The effects are
such that they are observable, salient, and have measurable impact on relatively short time scales. The changes and effects are happening right now. And as these climate changes continue, they will likely be extremely disruptive to our way of life, including our homes, farms, industries and economies.

Yes, thankfully there will always be those who voice dissent. But it's not as if these voices have not been heard. They've in fact had a powerful advocate, in the form of our President. And even he is willing, although I think it begrudgingly, to accept some of the facts that climate science has presented.

Re: Different setting, same climate-change warnings

Adam — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:43:17 -0000

Yes, in fact I did read it. And you are asking me to take a letter to Science in place of peer reviewed publications.

And here are some links where the the author in your original link (Peiser) refutes his own letter.

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1...

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/ep...

http://timlambert.org/2005/05/peiser/

In the above, an unvetted, non-reviewed followup interview (in short, some junk available on the internet, just like what you found) Peiser states: "Which is why I no longer maintain this particular criticism. In addition, some of the abstracts that I included in the 34 "reject or doubt" category are very ambiguous and should not have been included."

He then states:
"I do not think anyone is questioning that we are in a period of global warming. Neither do I doubt that the overwhelming majority of climatologists is agreed that the current warming period is mostly due to human impact."

Of course there is disagreement. Of course others will argue with global warming and its causes. Of course there will be skeptics.

But you have been stating what is or isn't science. A letter to the editor that you found on the internet, and that the author himself later retracted, isn't science. And yes, I'm going to continue to appeal to recognized authorities and experts, like NOAA.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/pa...

Re: The most amazing change I’ve seen in my life …

Adam — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:58:51 -0000

I guess it's not live free and die...at least not in public.

Re: A bit of Windpower History

Adam — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:31:07 -0000

Great post, Earle. Any pictures of the old windmill?

Re: Vermont Yankee nuclear plant faces fans and foes

Adam — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:21:34 -0000

If memory serves, isn't Vermont Yankee the sister plant to Rowe (Mass.) Yankee? Rowe was, I think, the first US commercial nuclear plant to be de-commissioned. The process started several years ago. It may not yet be done.

Re: Study: Global warming costs outweigh benefits to U.S.

Adam — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:56:18 -0000

Everyone knows it's at least $14.24 billion.

Re: Bush the senior gets a windmill

Adam — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 05:52:19 -0000

And I would add unintelligible as well.

Re: Interesting tidal power test off Maine coast

Adam — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:58:46 -0000

Great article, David. Thanks for bringing that story to light.

Re: Can theism and science mix?

Adam — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:47:52 -0000

You might enjoy reading Dawkins' book, "The God Delusion". In it, he makes some interesting points against Gould's magisterium argument.

Re: Developing maglev for Inner Mongolia

Adam — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:18:33 -0000

In another lifetime, I actually had the good fortune to work on maglev studies as part of the National Maglev Initiative, back in the early 90's. It's very interesting technology, but the transportation applications so far have been pretty sparse. The only working passenger systems I know of are the Transrapid test system in Germany, and one or two low-speed, people-mover tram systems in Asia. I think the infrastructure costs are pretty daunting to make a large scale, high volume passenger system.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this venture.

Re: Fast trains are hard to build

Adam — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:39:46 -0000

I myself am a big fan of mass transit. For travel to Boston, the Seacoast area is served by C&J Trailways, adjacent to Route 33 at 95. C&J provides hourly service to Logan, and approximately hourly to Boston's South Station. I use it frequently to travel to Logan, and judging by the parking lot, many other people do as well.

Re: Talking about new energy, climate change

Adam — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:36:49 -0000

I look forward to your report on the UNH energy conference. I had hoped to attend--had even registered--but have too many conflicts on my schedule to attend.

Re: Biodiesel Cog Railway ready to be unveiled

Adam — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:24:22 -0000

Do you know if this is an addition to the existing coal-burning locomotive, or a replacement for it?

Re: Folding Paper 12 Times

Adam — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:57:16 -0000

You've probably seen how they tackled this on the show, Mythbusters. It helps to have a forklift and a steamroller.

Re: Weatherizing your home - and others

Adam — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:29:21 -0000

Well done. I am scheduled to do this myself in December.

Re: Where does PSNH put its coal ash?

Adam — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 11:01:08 -0000

A good story to pursue. Thanks for doing so.

Re: Making our house more air tight

Adam — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:24:49 -0000

Well done, David. Please keep us posted on the impact, such as on your heating bills.

Re: Why there’s such a fight over Merrimack Station power plant

Adam — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:09:52 -0000

150 pounds of mercury per year is a chilling statistic. I hate the thought of that much mercury being spewed into the air each year.

Re: Dinosaur footprints to lure Mass. tourists?

Adam — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:16:53 -0000

I grew up in the Pioneer Valley, many years ago, in the most rural part of Massachusetts. I can vouch for its pastoral beauty, and its desperate need for jobs (cheesy or not).

Re: The Last Thrill

Adam — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:21:37 -0000

Thanks for your comment, and especially for tagging me on this meme, Cody! And I enjoyed your post. Let me know if/when that T|h book gets published!
Regards,
Adam

Re: RWA Resource Recovery Solves Local Social Issues in NYC

Adam — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 06:38:55 -0000

Hi Cody,
I'm participating in the "thinking blogger" meme, and I've tagged your site with a <a href="http://seacoastnrg.org/2007/06/20/tagged-i-think/
">thinking blogger award. Please keep up the good work.
Regards,
Adam

Re: Whale Power: More Efficient Fan Blades Mimic Humpback Fins

Adam — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:17:30 -0000

My guess is that these trailing edge shapes work as small vortex generators, which help reduce flow separation and drag.

This type of aerodynamic assist with vortex generators is also becoming more popular for use in cars and trucks. They are particularly useful near the blunt trailing edges of boxy vehicles, such minivans, SUVs, and large trucks.

Vortekz (http://www.vortekz.com/) and Airtab (http://www.airtab.com/) offer vortex generator kits for installation on cars and trucks.