Monthly Archives: April, 2012

Energy in the 21st Century Update: We are not Running out of Fossil Fuels, Not in This Century and Not in the Next

There are four reasons for making this claim. Conservation in the Developed World is reducing demand even though growth in demand is occurring in the...

Transportation Update: Are Ice Bergs in the North Atlantic and Northwest and Northeast Passages Still a Threat

I couldn't miss the opportunity to memorialize RMS Titanic in this blog on the 100th-year anniversary of it sinking. Could it happen again? Could...

Our 20th Century Space Legacy – A Martian Update

Two headlines appeared in papers published on April 12 and 13 this year. One stated "Life on Mars Discovered from Decades Old Data" and...

Our 20th Century Space Legacy – Part 7: Exploring Mars

Mars has always been less a mystery to astronomers than Venus. Through Earth-based telescopes the surface of the planet can easily be seen showing...

Energy Update: Hydraulic Fracturing Science and Technology – What We Know and What We Don’t

Hydraulic fracturing, called fracking for short, is a mining process designed to release gas and oil trapped in bituminous sedimentary rock formations. Fracking is...

Robotics Update – Design and Build Your Own Robot Using Your Computer Printer

Today it can take considerable resources, effort and time to build a single robot. But at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania and...

Climate Change Update – The Trifecta that Ended the Last Ice Age

With regular recurrence the Earth has endured 100,000 year cycles of continental glaciation throughout the Pleistocene Epoch starting approximately 2 million years ago give...

Climate Change Update – Insect-Borne Diseases Spreading as Our Atmosphere Heats Up

Malaria, Lyme Disease, West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Chagas, Chikungunya and many other diseases infect humans through insect carriers. Ticks...

Energy Update – Sourcing the Right Algae for Bio-fuels

What makes algae such an attractive alternative to other bio-fuel sources? There are lots of it around. We can grow it in wastewater. We can grow it...

Our 20th Century Space Legacy – Part 6:The Soviets go to Venus

The Soviet Union conducted an ambitious scientific program focused on studying Venus. They called their robotic spacecraft missions Venera and Vega. The launch technology...

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