New York Times: It’s easy to forget, 130 years after outdoor electric lighting first cast its glow through the night, that the sky is actually full of stars. But largely as a result of a remarkable partnership between science and business that took root in Tucson during the 1970s, an idea is gaining acceptance: that darker skies can be achieved with new products and technologies. Darker skies can generate real benefits not only for astronomers, but also for businesses from gas stations and parking lots to Nascar tracks.
Washington Post: Despite the current boom in green power, renewable sources such as the sun and the wind still provide just a tiny fraction of the U.S. electricity supply. The rest is mainly fossil fuels: coal, gas, oil. To replace one with the other over the course of a decade, energy experts say, would make the Manhattan Project look like a science-fair volcano.
And even if we wanted to try Gore's plan to make the US 100% dependent on renewable energy in under 10 years, his goal is likely to get more distant every year. That's because, even as Americans demand more action on climate change, their laptops and flat-screen TVs are demanding more electricity every year -- and they're not asking whether it's clean or dirty.
"This goal is so far outside the realm of possibility," said Richard Newell, a professor of environmental economics at Duke University. "It would be practically infeasible, politically impossible and economically and environmentally unwise."
The Wall Street Journal: The Bush administration, escalating its response to Russia's actions in Georgia, has placed under review talks with Moscow focused on missile defense and nuclear-weapons disarmament, according to U.S. officials.
Science Magazine: Soaring fuel prices and flat budgets are forcing the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to shorten or defer dozens of research studies in the Antarctic.
The Daily Texan: The UT Tower shone a vivid orange glow Thursday evening even though the football season has yet to begin.
San Diego Tribune: The U.S. Department of Energy yesterday pledged nearly $500,000 in grants and technical assistance to San Diego as part of an effort to make the city a national model for solar power production.
Wall Street Journal: The Roman Catholic Church has for centuries commissioned statues of saints and other pious heroes. It's now wrestling with a more sensitive tribute -- a monument to a man who may be its most illustrious heretic.
Nature: In some copper oxides, superconductivity emerges when fixed electrons become mobile. A microscopy technique reveals that this process is associated with the transfer of electrons between real and abstract spaces.
The Washington Post: While people who study elections usually scrutinize individual voters, politicians, advocacy groups, issues, campaign contributors and volunteers, historian Allan Lichtman and geophysicist Vladimir Keilis-Borok, decided to think about an election the same way geophysicists regard earthquakes. Getting too close to the phenomenon -- the views of individual voters and campaigners -- is like trying to study an earthquake by analyzing every single molecule of rock and soil.
"The systems that generate elections and earthquakes are complex systems," said Keilis-Borok, who is now a professor of earth sciences at the University of California at Los Angeles. "They are not predictable by simple equations, but after coarse-graining -- averaging -- they become predictable."
In a paper in the International Journal of Forecasting, Lichtman predicted a political earthquake this November: The incumbent party will crumble, and Sen. Barack Obama will be elected president.
Christian Science Monitor: From five miles away, the Nevada Solar One power plant seems a mirage, a silver lake amid waves of 110 degree F. desert heat.
As the first commercial “concentrating solar power” or CSP plant built in 17 years, Nevada Solar One marks the reemergence and updating of a decades-old technology that could play a large new role in US power production, many observers say.
“Concentrating solar is pretty hot right now,” says Mark Mehos, program manager for CSP at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Co. “Costs look pretty good compared to natural gas [power]. Public policy, climate concern, and new technology are driving it, too.”
Today the United States has 420 megawatts of solar-thermal capacity across three installations – including Nevada Solar One. That’s just a tiny fraction (less than 1 percent) of US grid capacity. But Nevada Solar One could signal the start of a CSP building boom.
The Guardian: The British government will lose its leadership position on climate change and risk scuppering a global deal to cut emissions if it presses ahead with a new generation of dirty coal power, say leading US scientists and environmental leaders.
The heads of three influential groups, the Sierra Club, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Natural Resources Defense Council, representing more than 2 million members, have written to the foreign secretary, David Miliband, warning that the UK proposals for up to eight new coal plants threatens the chance of the US joining a post-Kyoto international agreement to be agreed in 2009.
A recent report by the IPPR said the European Union's goal of reducing emissions from the power sector and heavy industry through its emissions trading scheme would collapse if the go-ahead were given to seven new coal plants in the UK and up to 75 across Europe./p>
Wired: The research that could, perhaps, lead to nuclear isomer bombs one day remains contentious in America; the weight of the physics establishment says the science is unproven, even unlikely. But what is the rest of the world doing? In particular, what about the Russians, who carried out some of the earliest work in this area?And what about the Chinese?
United Press International: The US space agency says it has renamed its newest spacecraft -- the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST -- in honor of Enrico Fermi.
The New York Times: When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.
Space.com: In another frustrating foul-up on the path towards converting Soviet-era military missiles into cash-paying satellite launchers, a military-industrial team in Moscow has announced the "indefinite suspension" of plans to launch an earth resources survey satellite for Thailand.
The reasons: at the last moment, for the second time, overflight permission has been revoked by a country downrange of the launch site. First Uzbekistan, and now Kazakhstan, denied permission for dropping the booster's spent first stage onto their territories.
Science: Explaining how an area the size of Alaska got to be higher on average than the highest peak in the contiguous United States doesn't seem all that difficult: Just blame India. The roving subcontinent plowed into Eurasia beginning 50 million years ago and hasn't stopped yet. When it comes to working out the details, however, the Tibetan question remains the most contentious in tectonics.
The problem is that researchers can't see much of what's going on beneath the plateau. Is the underlying rock strong and rigid or flowing like molasses? In the 22 August issue of Science, geoscientists Leigh Royden, B. Clark Burchfiel, and Robert van der Hilst of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge argue that rock has flowed west to east beneath the plateau to inflate its eastern side and that the flow has been throttled by tectonic doings as far as thousands of kilometers away.
Nature News: The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has retired the last of its wooden-hulled ships on the same day it commissioned a modern research vessel.
On 13 August, the John N. Cobb was retired in Seattle, Washington, after 58 years of service. The ship conducted fishery studies off the coast of Alaska and was reportedly kept running with parts scavenged from nautical museums.
ScienceNOW: For decades, researchers have noticed that mangled birds litter the ground surrounding wind turbines, and recently they've found that dead bats actually outnumber the birds, by as many as four times in some places. This was a surprise, as bats' sonar should allow them to detect moving objects even better than they do stationary ones.
The findings suggest a sudden drop in air pressure that ruptures blood vessels in the bats' delicate lungs, says Erin Baerwald, an ecology graduate student at the University of Calgary in Canada.
CNN: North Korea said Tuesday it has stopped disabling its nuclear plants and will consider restoring them because the United States has not removed it from a list of states that sponsor terrorism.
New York Times: The United States used to have several submersibles — tiny submarines that dive extraordinarily deep. Alvin is the only one left, and after more than four decades of probing the sea’s depths it is to be retired. Its replacement, costing some $50 million, is to go deeper, move faster, stay down longer, cut the dark better, carry more scientific gear and maybe — just maybe — open a new era of exploration.
Science: Every June, US climate scientists descend upon Breckenridge, Colorado, to kick the tires on the nation's foremost academic global climate model. Some years there is added pressure, as scientists try to tune up the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) for simulations that will feed into the next report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is one of those years, and scientists are more worried than usual.
The question is whether they can meet a 1 October deadline for completing a critical part of their increasingly complex simulation of the interplay of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, land, and ice. "We're all very nervous," says atmospheric modeler Philip Rasch, who works remotely for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in nearby Boulder and who oversees the atmospheric component of the model. A big reason for the concern is the budget cuts that have affected the center, which hosts and manages CCSM.
Nature: Conductors and semiconductors usually behave like conduits for fluids of electrons. But sometimes the electrons' spins conspire to produce unconventional behaviors that can be turned off and on with magnets.
CERN: CERN has today announced success of the second and final test of the Large Hadron Collider’s beam synchronization systems which will allow the LHC operations team to inject the first beam into the LHC. Friday evening 22 August, a single bunch of a few particles travelled down the transfer line from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator to the LHC. After a period of optimization, one bunch was kicked up from the transfer line into the LHC beam pipe and steered counter-clockwise about 3 kilometers around the LHC.
“Thanks to a fantastic team, both the clock-wise and counter-clockwise tests went without a hitch. We look forward to a resounding success when we make our first attempt to send a beam all the way around the LHC,” said Lyn Evans, LHC Project Leader. Both the counter-clockwise and clockwise tests are part of the preparations to ready the LHC, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, for the eventual acceleration and collision of two beams at an energy of 5 TeV per beam. This unprecedented event is foreseen to take place by end 2008.
Upcoming events marking LHC start-up:
10 September: The first attempt to circulate a beam in the LHC will be made on 10 September at the injection energy of 450 GeV (0.45 TeV). This historical event will be webcast through http://webcast.cern.ch , and distributed through the Eurovision network. See http://www.cern.ch/lhc-first-beam for further details.
3 October: CERN will host the LHC Grid Fest, a celebration of the LHC Computing Grid, a global computing grid designed to handle 15 million gigabytes of LHC-related data every year. The day will feature presentations, demonstrations, tours of the CERN Computer Centre and more. See www.cern.ch/lcg/lhcgridfest for more details.
21 October: CERN will host the Official Inauguration of the LHC with representatives of CERN member and observer States. No accreditation as yet.
Related Links
Double first for Large Hadron Collider Nature News
The New York Times: The destruction by the Swiss government of thousands of files related
to the business dealings of a family of Swiss engineers suspected of helping smuggle nuclear technology to Libya and Iran was partly because the United States had urged that the files be destroyed, according to New York Times reporters William J. Broad and David E.
Sanger. The purpose, former Bush administration officials said, was less to thwart terrorists than to hide evidence of a clandestine relationship between the Tinners, the family at the heart of the case, and the CIA.
BBC: Astronomers looking through the data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the world's largest survey of galaxies, have found a new haul of objects closer to home - including one with a potentially exotic origin.
Various: Eight scientific organizations have called for Congress and the next president to almost double research investments in weather prediction, climate research and monitoring in order to protect the country from climate change and natural disasters.
The proposed plan, which was sent as a document to the presidential campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama, would cost the nation about $9 billion above the current $10 billion already allotted for fiscal years 2010-2014.
The groups include the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union.
"With more than a quarter of the U.S. gross national product sensitive to weather and climate, these events substantially impact our national health, safety, economy, environment, transportation systems, and military readiness," the document states.
The document stressed the need for more research in five areas:
- Observations. Fully fund the Earth observing system from satellite and ground-based instruments as recommended by the National Research Council.
- Computing. Greatly increase the computer power available for weather and climate research, predictions and related applications.
- Research and Modeling. Support a broad fundamental and applied research program in Earth sciences and related fields to advance present understanding of weather and climate and their impacts on society.
- Societal Relevance. Support education, training and communication efforts to use the observations, models and application tools for the maximum benefit of society.
- Leadership and Management. Implement effective leadership, management and evaluation approaches to ensure that these investments are done in the best interest of the nation.
Related Links
Making Climate Forecasting More Useful New York Times
More funding urged for climate research USA Today
Advice to the New Administration and Congress: Actions to Make our Nation Resilient to Severe Weather and Climate Change (official site)
USA Today: The technology storehouse supporting NASA's effort to launch astronauts back to the moon by 2020 is dependent on proper funding and clear mission goals, but lacks a comprehensive testing plan, according to a new report.
Released Thursday by the National Research Council, the 158-page report stemmed from a 10-month review of NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) which is charged with developing and providing the new technologies required for the agency's return to the moon and beyond.
NPR: The 2001 anthrax attacks led to a huge, expensive clean-up effort and sparked a brand new industry called "biodefense." NPR's David Kestenbaum and Andrea Seabrook talk about how monitoring, vaccination, and other costly biosecurity programs have borne limited results.
The Economist.com:The UK as a “disarmament laboratory”? Tell that one to veterans of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Earlier this year they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Easter protest march to Aldermaston, home of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) where research and design work continues on Britain’s Trident-based nuclear warheads. Yet AWE has lately been turning its nuclear skills to a rather different purpose: finding solutions to some of the many difficulties that disarmament would pose if it ever turned from slogan to reality
New York Times: In February, the Florida Department of Education modified its standards to explicitly require, for the first time, the state’s public schools to teach evolution, calling it “the organizing principle of life science.” Spurred in part by legal rulings against school districts seeking to favor religious versions of natural history, over a dozen other states have also given more emphasis in recent years to what has long been the scientific consensus: that all of the diverse life forms on Earth descended from a common ancestor, through a process of mutation and natural selection, over billions of years.
But in a nation where evangelical Protestantism and other religious traditions stress a literal reading of the biblical description of God’s individually creating each species, students often arrive at school fearing that evolution, and perhaps science itself, is hostile to their faith.
The Boston Globe: Barry Canton, a 28-year-old biological engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has posted raw scientific data, his thesis proposal, and original research ideas on an online website for all to see.
To young people primed for openness by the confessional existence they live online, that may not seem like a big deal.
But in the world of science - where promotions, tenure, and fortune rest on publishing papers in prestigious journals, securing competitive grants, and patenting discoveries - it's a brazen, potentially self-destructive move.
BBC: Two weeks after the collapse of a £12bn takeover by the French state-controlled nuclear giant EDF, British Energy has revealed that it is still engaged in talks.
Wall Street Journal: The Bush administration's landmark nuclear-cooperation agreement with Russia is unlikely to gain passage before President George W. Bush leaves office, the latest sign of how Russia's offensive in Georgia has roiled the international scene.
BBC: Data from the UK Met Office shows that temperatures in the first half of the year have been more than 0.1 Celsius cooler than any year since 2000.
MSNBC: Satellite offers a modern look at how mankind watched the stars long ago
Nature: Institute pulls plug on basic research.
The Washington Post: A Bush administration proposal to exempt India from restriction on nuclear trade has aroused skepticism from several members of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, diplomats said yesterday, making it increasingly unlikely that a deal will be reached in two-day meetings that begin today in Vienna.
Guardian Unlimited: Scientists have developed a cheaper way to make hydrogen from biofuel that could be a solution to previous difficulties with storage and transport of the gas
USA Today: The nation's new moon rockets will be outfitted with shock absorbers to buffer astronauts from jackhammer-like vibrations during rocky rides into orbit.
A spring-and-damper ring will separate the first and second stages of Ares 1 rockets, which NASA is developing for missions to the International Space Station, the moon and later Mars.
BBC: The chairman of the world's biggest computer chipmaker has said the US "education system is in crisis and failing the youth of today".
Craig Barrett, who made his "one political statement" at the Intel developers' forum being held in San Francisco, urged US politicians to act.
He told the audience: "Nations are as strong as their educational systems.
"The rest of the emerging world recognises this is the key to staying competitive."
He went on: "It's time our political leaders acknowledged that and declare there is a crisis and do something about it."
Wired: A group of NASA, US Air Force and academic scientists have presented a paper at the Joint Propulsion Conference in Hartford, Connecticut, that analyzes many of the designs for advanced propulsion that others have proposed for interstellar travel. The calculations show that, even using the most theoretical of technologies, reaching the nearest star in a human lifetime is nearly impossible.
SPACE.com: Something beneath the surface is changing Earth's protective magnetic field, which may leave satellites and other space assets vulnerable to high-energy radiation.
The gradual weakening of the overall magnetic field can take hundreds and even thousands of years. But smaller, more rapid fluctuations within months may leave satellites unprotected and catch scientists off guard, new research finds.
The Times: Women can win cash payments of £1,000 a year to study science as universities struggle to fill places on undersubscribed courses, an investigation has found.
An undercover reporter was told by Leicester University physics department that she was a strong candidate for the money partly because women were “underrepresented” on the course.
The policy, which critics argue is the result of “social engineering”, is evidence of the booming market in cash awards to fill some courses.
Reuters: A newly discovered "minor planet" with an elongated orbit around the Sun may help explain the origin of comets, researchers said on Monday.
The object, known as 2006 SQ372, is starting the outward portion of a 22,500-year orbit that will take it 150 billion miles away from the Sun
Wall Street Journal: In the garage of his house, Frank Sanns spends nights tinkering with one of his prized possessions: a working nuclear-fusion reactor.
Mr. Sanns, 51 years old, is part of a small subculture of gearheads, amateur physicists and science-fiction fans who are trying to build fusion reactors in their basements, backyards and home laboratories.
Called fusors and based on a 1960s design first developed by Philo T. Farnsworth, an inventor of television, the reactors are typically small steel spheres with wires and tubes sticking out and a glass window for looking inside. But they won't be powering homes anytime soon -- for now, fusors use far more energy than they produce.
Sydney Morning Herald: 50 years after the US military's nuclear tests on the Marshall Islands ended, islanders are still fighting to make their environment safe. A US radioactive dump is cracking up, but Washington is refusing to spend any more money on a clean-up.
ScienceNOW: This might be a rare case about which Einstein was wrong. More than 60 years ago, the great physicist scoffed at the idea that anything could travel faster than light, even though quantum mechanics had suggested such a condition. Now four Swiss researchers have brought the possibility closer to reality. Testing a concept called "spooky action at a distance"--a phrase used by Einstein in criticizing the phenomenon--they have shown that two subatomic particles can communicate nearly instantaneously, even if they are separated by cosmic distances.
Nature News: With the world's love of cars showing little sign of abating, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to make vehicles less polluting and oil dependent. Nature's Duncan Graham-Rowe looks at some of the technologies that could keep us on the road
ScienceNews: The spacecraft of tomorrow may look as svelte as their brethren of the past, thanks to a new type of thermal coating. At the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, today, researchers presented evidence that the new material--called a thin-film variable emittance electrochromic device--can protect sensitive electronics from the harsh environment of space, including impacts from micrometeorites. The material could usher in a new generation of tiny, long-lasting spacecraft, experts say.
Silicon Republic: Ireland has landed in the top 10 countries worldwide for attracting investment in renewable energy.
NPR: Back in 55 B.C., Julius Caesar invaded Britain for the first time. He kept a detailed record of his journey, straightforward enough for Latin students to read today. But in that record, Caesar failed to mention the actual date of his landing.
It's a puzzle that's had scientists and historians duking it out for centuries. Now, Donald Olson, a professor of physics at Texas State University, thinks he's got the answer. He explains how the stars aligned to shed light on this ancient mystery.
The New York Times: This spring, in what he called “a triumph of metrology,” Adam Riess from Johns Hopkins University and Lucas Macri of Texas A&M University,announced they had used the Hubble Space Telescope to make the newest and most precise measurement yet of the Hubble constant-- the measure that tells astronomers how fast the universe is growing, how big it is and how old it is.
MSNBC: The Vatican keeps tabs on science, integrates new research into theology
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