Busy Summer

August 8, 2015
I have not posted anything because I was in China for two weeks (family reasons) and I was brutally busy in the preceding weeks. These days I will be preparing my exhibit for the annual meeting of the American Ecological Society. It is only 40 minutes from where I live so this is a rare opportunity for me to display my book for instructors all over the U.S.
 

Ax-Grinding at Ratemyprofessor

July 5, 2015

Someone recently made the "misteak" of registering for my class. To set the record straight, I never give "pop quizzes". I give frequent quizzes and allow students to prepare a 4X6 notecard which may be used during each quiz. If you want to vent about your professor, then "you can be my guess" but at least tell the truth. This is why I recommend better screening of college applicants.

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Solar Impulse Lands in Hawaii!

July 3, 2015
The Solar Impulse just landed in Hawaii after 5 days of solo flight from Nagoya, Japan. This is a big deal because it is perhaps the riskiest portion of the first RTW flight on a manned plane that is powered entirely by photovoltaic panels. Kudos to Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg for making it happen. As you may well know, the Piccard family has been setting records for dangerous pioneering research for generations. But how many of you know that Bertrand's grandfather served at the rea...
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New Lithium-Sulfur Batteries Could Double Energy Density While Lowering Costs

July 1, 2015
This new lithium battery that uses sulfur as the oxidizing agent could dramatically increase the range of electric vehicles while lowering the price due of the low cost of sulfur. Lithium however is still rare and expensive. If there is a possibility of combining sulfur with more commonly available alkali metals like sodium in batteries the price should be dramatically lower. The sacrifice in energy density (sodium is heavier than lithium) may be worth it to those with short commutes who do n...
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A Realistic Assessment of the Hydrogen Economy and Fuel Cell Cars

June 27, 2015
Even though I have a personal fascination with fuel cells and even incorporate a fuel cell activity into my lab manual, I think it is a waste of resources to invest in the "hydrogen economy". This article does a great job of summarizing the economic and technological hurdles of using hydrogen as a major transportation fuel. First, it utterly demolishes the myth that hydrogen is a "green" fuel since the only practical source of hydrogen is natural gas. Second, it shows how lithium batteries ar...
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The High Cost of Carbon Emission Reduction

June 22, 2015
Realistic economic trade-offs of policies designed to reduce carbon emission are seldom addressed by environmentalists outside the Copenhagen Consensus, so it is refreshing to see this issue brought up in this journal. Even though the authors rightly emphasis the problem of using agricultural land for biofuel (a policy that I have always strongly opposed), they also touch upon the high cost of carbon reduction technology, which in turn gives consumers less disposable income. The proponents of...
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Battery-Powered Ferry in Norway

June 15, 2015
Given the range limitation of battery-powered transportation I do not expect to see electric cargo vessels in the near future, but this electric ferry that carries passengers and cars takes advantage of the fact that ferries usually cover the same small distance. The installation of a battery unit at the port has cut down fueling time to 10 minutes, making this lag time comparable to that of its diesel counterparts.
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Off-Grid Microshelter

June 10, 2015
This charming little shelter that provides all its utility needs was developed in Eastern Europe. It looks tiny from the outside, but the pictures of the interior convey an efficient use of the limited space. While this may be too small for regular housing, it may provide an interesting model for larger plans. I look forward to seeing the price tag when it becomes available.
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Poor Man's Refrigerator

May 29, 2015
This item is particularly interesting because most environmentally-friendly products are not cheap. This is sold in India for people who lack electricity or cannot afford an electric refrigerator. It is amazingly simple and cost-effective. I would only like to see how cool it keeps food on a hot day.
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WHO Glitch Resolved & New Video About Using the WHO Website

May 22, 2015
The glitch at the WHO website has been resolved. The filtering system does not work for downloading data to so that downloading is quicker. This means I had to change the procedure from what was written in the lab manual. Another part of the problem was that the Safari browser was not downloading the excel file in a usable format, so I used Google Chrome. Now that these problems have been solved I was able to complete the video so that those who are using this lab activity know what changes n...
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About this blog

This blog was originally created in January 2013 to serve as a means for providing updates on science activities from the environmental science lab manual Ecology, Development, and Sustainability. I have now expanded its purpose to include other items of interest to science teachers. 

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