A reader sent me this, noting, : The job market for conservative anti-vaccine radio hosts is really heating up. New job openings every week.
Good one! If these jackasses could keep the disease to themselves and not infect innocent people, this really wouldn’t be the tragedy that it is now.
I had a talk with a friend last night that went like this:
Friend: Do you think the pandemic has been handled perfectly?
Me: I would say it’s been handled as well as possible, given that we’ve never encountered anything like this, we’re constantly learning, and the disease itself is mutating. We’re trying to hit a moving target.
Friend: What about the bubonic plague? (more…)
Shown at left is a new concept in wind. Let’s do some math and determine how well this will do against one big wind turbine of the same size.
Keep in mind that the power generated by a wind turbine is a function of its “swept area,” meaning the area of the circle made by the tip of the blades.
Let’s say this array is in the shape of a square with sides of n. (more…)
A reader sent me this, remarking “long-term effects of Ivermectin.” When my wife laughed so hard she almost lost consciousness, I thought I would write a quick post on it.
The anti-science contingent in the United States is growing larger and more ferocious with each passing month. In turn, it’s becoming more dangerous to our civilization, as it impedes our ability to control the pandemic and mitigate climate change.
Here’s a funny little meme on Americans’ pathological distrust of science.
Most of the people who reject science are selective in the type of science they reject. Most of these nut-jobs accept that we shoot rockets into space and that doctors know how to set broken legs.
The line of demarcation seems to be scientific disciplines whose activities may benefit anti-capitalists and damage civil liberties. Both pandemic control and climate change mitigation require some level of sacrifice. Ergo, they are both fake.
The current insanity gripping America, featuring, as it does, superstition and ignorance, was foretold by many wise people.
Sinclair Lewis said, “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
Those under 50 years of age have probably never used one of these, and young people are even unlikely to know what it is.
Until the advent of the Internet in the mid-1990s, along with email (the “killer” app), the telephone was virtually the only way people communicated with one another electronically.
Today’s social media has changed all that, yet some say that the change has been a net negative, the desocialization of our children and the spreading of disinformation.
Excellent question. It all depends on how and if we get through this disaster with the Trump supporters, the stolen election narrative, and all the anti-science garbage that is currently making it difficult if not impossible to control the pandemic.
This could turn out to be just a tragic but short-term event like the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, the genie we have let out of the bottle here is far larger in scope: an entire country rather than an isolated area, and tens of millions of people, rather than residents of a small town. Yet it is possible that somehow we’ll come to our senses, get our educational system back on track, and pull ourselves out of this mess. Finding Trump guilty of multiple felonies like election tampering and inciting a riot will be an important start.
On the other hand, this could be remembered as the definitive start of the demolition of American democracy, and the United States as a superpower. For many decades, people have been saying that the “American Empire” is in the process of falling. Perhaps the events of the last five years will be remembered as the time at which this slow erosion reached critical mass and the implosion occurred in very short order.
Using hydrogen as a fuel source may bring back unpleasant memories of the Hindenberg Disaster in 1937, but our technology has evolved quite a bit since then. Today, hydrogen fuel cells are self-contained, emit water and oxygen as their only exhaust and while not as common as electric vehicles or other green and sustainable options, are slowly emerging as another eco-friendly alternative.
Beyond passenger cars and construction equipment, there are also applications for this clean technology as a tool for disaster recovery. How can hydrogen fuel cells help aid recovery after a natural or human-made disaster?
Climate change is having a devastating effect on natural disasters around the globe. Heatwaves, floods, massive storms, and wildfires are sweeping the globe, devouring everything in their path. As the planet warms, thanks to climate change, these disasters will only continue to get worse.
Many of these disasters will also happen in quick succession — wildfires will strip the landscape, then the rains that follow will trigger flash floods because there is no longer any vegetation to stop the heavy rains from washing away the top layers of soil.
These chain reactions are happening everywhere. Heatwaves — even in places like Europe and the Pacific Northwest that typically have mild summers — are leading to droughts and wildfires.
There are a variety of challenges that affect the population after a disaster but the most common is power loss. High winds break power lines, wildfires overrun power stations, and leave homes and businesses without power.
In addition to making things uncomfortable for residents, a lack of power can interfere with emergency responders and their ability to help those affected by a disaster. These can be clean alternatives that are easy to transport and set up. Homeowners can even invest in fuel cell generators for their own homes as a backup power source instead of relying on more traditional diesel generators or battery backups.
They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but while we can’t prevent weather or natural disasters, we can prepare for them and even predict them with a growing amount of accuracy.
We can track hurricane paths, study earthquakes and predict where tsunamis might land or when volcanoes might erupt. Other disasters, like wildfires, floods, and tornadoes, are more difficult to predict, leaving those in their paths with minutes to take shelter or escape — if they’re lucky. The average lead time for a tornado warning is only about nine minutes as of 2021.
Researchers are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to better predict these disasters before they happen, by collecting data on past events and comparing them to current criteria. From there, these systems can determine the probability of a disaster occurring. Google is working on a system to predict flooding in India, a part of the world prone to monsoons. The downside of these systems is that the computers that run the programs, and the sensors that collect the data both require power.
A hydrogen fuel cell backup generator could be invaluable if the power grid fails during a disaster, allowing researchers to continue to collect data throughout the disaster to aid in the predictions of new ones.
Some forms of restoration — such as starting repairs after floods or other forms of water damage — need to start as soon as possible, as soon as it’s safe to return to the space. The longer that water damage is allowed to sit, the more likely it is that mold and mildew will grow, making the damage even more difficult to repair. Hydrogen fuel cell generators could help to support property restoration efforts before the power grid is back up and running.
Disasters aren’t always avoidable, but hydrogen fuel cell technology can help support both rescue and recovery efforts while we wait for the power grid to be restored.
The nation marvels at the implosion of Rudy Giuliani, a man who, 20 years ago, was deemed “America’s Mayor” for his leadership following the 9/11 attacks, and today is a near-destitute guy facing numerous criminal investigations, shaving in a restaurant.
He’s clearly mentally ill, and this will become even more obvious when he’s forced to speak in public when his criminal cases move forward. If the damage he has inflicted on our country weren’t so extreme, people would likely just feel sorry for him.
