How About 500,000 New Jobs?

A new study from the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness estimates 500,000 jobs would be created in the construction and operation of planned nuclear power plants. The council projects 52 new reactors, one fuel recycling plant and four uranium enrichment plants to be built.

Ancient Natural Nuclear Reactor

Two billion years ago parts of an African uranium deposit spontaneously underwent nuclear fission. My graduate Professor, Paul K. Kuroda predicted this in 1956. The scientific community thought he was nuts. His vindication occurred in 1972 with the discovery of the ancient reactor in the Oklo Mines in the Belgian Congo. This was "thinking outside the box." He was an amazing man and a brilliant scientist. He passed away in 2001.

I personally met George A. Cowan at Prof. Kuroda's home in 1977. A group of us graduate students sat in the Kuroda's living room a did a lot of listening. We were eating it up.

The Real Costs of Fuel Efficient Autos

This article describes the increased cost in producing more fuel efficient autos and how politicians are not very willing to tell you how this will affect your bank account.

There is a very interesting paragraph about why SUV sales skyrocketed to 50% of all vehicles sold in recent years. This is a good example of unintended consequences of government policies.

It is my opinion that the mpg can be increased without additional cost using several existing technologies. One in particular is using carbon composites in place of metals. Amory Lovins has been trying to convince the automakers to use more carbon composite for year. It is safe and super light weight.

DTV Antenna & Steadycam on MAKE: television

Got your digital converter box? Great reception on those rabbit ears? Probably not. Click here to get a video instruction on building a very functional antenna. There is a bonus of how to build a steadycam.

What Companies Are Actually Doing Well?

Here is an article from the NYT that gives a list of companies that are actually thriving during this economic downturn.

The Car of the Future Promised for October

Contending to win the $10 million Progressive Automotive X Prize, Aptera Motors is rolling out this fall the 2e, an all-electric three wheeled two-seater that gets 200 mpg and goes 100 miles on a charge.

Watch out for those tractor trailer rigs!

Nuclear Archaeology

Some of the old original plutonium (99.96% pure) from the Manhattan Project was unearthed in Hanford, WA back in 2004 and has stirred up some historical interest.

This plutonium was determined to originate in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  Be sure to check out the photos.

Tapping the Earth for home heating and cooling

When the old gas furnace/AC dies, some people are opting for the installation of a geothermal system--also called a ground-source heat pump, a water-source heat pump, or geo-exchange system. This is even being done in New England.

Drilling is typically where the expense comes in. The geo-exchange pumps themselves for home run between $17,000 and $30,000. Another problems is this type of system is not well understood by engineers and contractors, but that could be changing.

A Look At Clayton's I-House

Clayton Homes of Maryville, Tenn. is about to offer an environmentally friendly prefab home. It makes use of solar panels, tankless water heaters, and rainwater collectors. This article from Popular Mechanics gives a preview. They probably need to add a storage area.

View The Web On Your TV

This is an interesting piece of computer technology that allows you to view Internet content on your TV.

Some people are using this to replace their cable tv subscription. You will need to run this on a PC that runs the Mac or Linux OS. It is a free download.

Smartphones As A Music Source

The trend is that smartphones will be changing the way we listen to music sooner than you would think.

The next great thing in music technology will be smartphone applications that replicate the experience of listening to interactive, customized radio stations at a computer.

The Evolution of 3D Television

It appears that 3D television is the 'next big thing' in home entertainment. Sets should be in stores in late 2009 or early 2010. They will require glasses. Broadcast 3D TV may be a few years down the road due to the expense and technical challenges of bandwidth.

A Wind Turbine for Every Rooftop?

Here is the low down on the current affordable versions of rooftop wind turbines. Jumping through the permitting hurdle is necessary in some areas.

End Of The Internet As We Know It

Here is an assessment of where internet technology is going and how it will continue to change the way we live and how we do business.

Not So Fast the Electric Cars, Buried Study Says

Here is an assessment of a French study on the practicality of implementing electric vehicles. Appears that Mr. Sarkozy was not very happy about the conclusions. A lot of money is being invested in battery technology. Biofuels may be the best alternative.

Coal Combustion: Nuclear Resource or Danger

Here is an article written by Alex Gabbard of ORNL's Metals and Ceramics Division.  

Most have heard or read the news stories of the massive coal ash release from TVA's Kingston Steam Plant site in December 2008.  

This release occurred about 20 miles west of my home.   TVA is hard a work on the clean-up and is just beginning to deal with damage claims.

From what I have gathered, this was a problem waiting to happen.  Actions were proposed over several years to prevent something like this, but as government agencies are apt to do, they put off any action due to a multitude of reasons: budget problems, lack of resources, etc.

TVA is not the only power company that must deal with this type of 'waste.'  Technically the coal ash is not considered as waste.

Concerns of the population in the Kingston, Tenn. area are now about contaminated drinking water and air pollution.  Recovery will be expensive and of long duration, maybe years.

Personally, I would rather live near a well run nuclear power plant than a well run coal burning power plant.

The Tom Bearden Website

Today I stumbled upon a website belonging to a retired Lt. Col. Tom Bearden.  He lives in Huntsville, AL and claims to be some kind of expert on the subject of zero point energy.

He seems to have a quirky past history and most of the scientific community is apparently not riding on his bandwagon.  Therefore, this link is posted for your amusement only.

This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

"When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command.  Very often, that individual is crazy." -- Author unknown

The Fix Is In

Today's blog from Catherine Austin Fitts has a warning of a potential drop in the U.S. dollar.

She provides a link to Barrons that is advising people to get out of U.S. Treasuries now.

If you haven't read Catherine's history (Dillon, Read, & Co. Inc.  And the Aristocracy of Stock Profits) in the link I provided last month, I encourage you to read it.  Sooner the better.

Electric Field Boosts Fuel Efficiency

Now here is something that I missed back in September. A Temple Univ. physics professor has developed a simple device that generates an electric field on the fuel line near a fuel injector that boots the fuel efficiency as much as 20%.

Once this device gets patented, it could save tens of billions of dollars in the trucking industry. This is a major breakthrough for 2008.

Grape Extract Kill Cancer Cells

An antioxidant called resveratrol in grape seed extract has been shown to have anti-cancer properties as well as positive effect on the heart. It appears to me that the number of anti-cancer natural compounds just keeps growing.

So open that bottle of red wine and/or some natural grape juice and drink up!