Skimaire High Tech: September 2010

Saturday, September 25, 2010

interesting innovators

102 mpg car wins $5 Million X-Price: The Edison 2 VLC (Very Light Car) combines sound physics with innovative design:
http://www.wservernews.com/UY0HR7/100927-102mpgcar

Human-powered aircraft with flapping wings makes aviation history. Leonardo da Vinci would be pleased:
http://www.wservernews.com/UY0HR7/100927-aircraft

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Hollecrest & Associates Inc -"Turnaround Consultants" http://www.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/cp?l=eng&e=123456239975 .

Back to Eden communities
Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford
backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

Did doctors jumpstart the HIV pandemic?

Did doctors jumpstart the HIV pandemic?

HIV - spread by good medical intentions -What is still a matter of debate is how a blood-borne disease infecting one or a few individuals in a remote area could ever spread to the more than 33 million people who were infected by 2008, and kill two million of them.

a interesting read Sieg

Thursday, September 23, 2010

BMW addresses its aging workforce | Vault

BMW addresses its aging workforce | Vault

productivity and merit incentives are the way to go

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

fuel saving device

'Stop-start' system coming to U.S. cars
DETROIT (UPI) -- A relatively simple and inexpensive fuel-saving technology from Europe will soon be introduced on vehicles in North America, engineers say.

So-called start-stop systems that turn off a car when it is idling and reignite the engine when the driver releases the brake will be coming to the United States and Canada in the next five years, The Detroit News reported.

The technology is widespread in Europe and will be embraced in North America as a tool to meet increasingly stringent fuel-economy and emissions requirements, auto experts say.

"Engineers kill for one-tenth of a mile per gallon," Joe Phillippi of AutoTrends Consulting Inc. said. "In city driving, it would make a huge impact."

Estimates vary, but the consensus is shutting off the engine at a stop can improve fuel economy as much as 15 percent.

Consumer acceptance could be a challenge.

"It is a strange sensation because the engine suddenly turns off," said analyst Stephanie Brinley of EMC Strategic Communications in Troy, Mich. "It is quick and seamless, but you can tell it happens."

Half of the new cars in Europe will have start-stop technology in 2012, and North America will reach that figure in 2016, said Frank Frister, product manager with Bosch North America, one of the companies developing stop-start systems.

Copyright 2010 by United Press International

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc -"Turnaround Consultants" http://www.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/cp?l=eng&e=123456239975 .

Back to Eden communities
Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford
backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

Monday, September 20, 2010

'Shoddy' work puts heat on IPCC chief - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

'Shoddy' work puts heat on IPCC chief - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

But the Dr. Pachauris of the world are on the cutting edge of political correctness.

One cannot escape the conclusion that climate change activism is yet another ploy to distribute wealth and establish a new elite that brooks neither dissent nor contradiction.

Thursday, September 02, 2010

gas target

Gas mileage could triple with 'evolution'
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (UPI) -- Cars could get triple current fuel economy figures by 2035 if U.S. drivers will accept smart technology over pure horsepower, a researcher says.

As federal regulators prepare the next round of fuel economy mandates, John DeCicco of the University of Michigan and the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute says the most cost-effective answer is steady progress in advanced combustion engines and hybrid drive, an institute release said Tuesday.

DeCicco says the solution is a "revolution by evolution" rather than politically trendy breakthrough technologies that will remain too expensive for most consumers.

"If we really prioritize efficiency, we can get just as far with less sticker shock," he said. "Evolutionary change can be of profound consequence for cutting oil use and greenhouse gas emissions, and do so with manageable costs and minimal risks for automakers."

Optimizing internal combustion engines and more adoption of grid-free hybrids will enable new fleet efficiency levels to reach 52 mpg by 2025 and 74 mpg by 2035, he predicts.

"The fleet I've modeled for 2025 does not give up any of the performance and creature comforts consumers already enjoy," he said. "You don't have to go back to being Fred Flintstone, but you will see lower fuel costs instead of ever more mass and muscle."

Copyright 2010 by United Press International

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc -"Turnaround Consultants" http://www.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/cp?l=eng&e=123456239975 .

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

The brighter side of global warming

Receding ice could unlock arctic trove
HELSINKI, Finland (UPI) -- Receding arctic ice from global warming may open new avenues for tourism and trade and could reveal vast new natural resource reserves, researchers say.

The northern ice cover is becoming smaller and thinner, and scientists predict the Arctic Ocean could lose its icecap completely during summertime by the end of the century at the latest, and possibly as early as the 2030s, Finland's Helsingen Sonomat reported.

Twenty years from now it may be possible to travel to the North Pole by ship, they say. Russia has already organized luxury cruises to the North Pole in its nuclear-powered icebreakers, but the next generation may be able to reach the top of the world in their pleasure boats, they say.

More important would be what the opening of the sea channels could mean for world trade. The Northeast Passage along Russia's north coast and the Northwest Passage through Canada's Arctic archipelago would shorten the sea journey from Asia to Europe and to the east coast of North America by as much as a third.

The receding ice could also allow access to rich natural resources.

More than a quarter of the world's catches of fish currently come from Arctic waters. An estimated 20 percent to 30 percent of the world's untapped natural gas resources and 5 percent to 13 percent of oil resources are in the Arctic region, researchers say.

All this new opportunity would require the cooperation among countries, politicians in Arctic states say.

In April the World Wide Fund for Nature published a report on questions concerning the administration of the Arctic Ocean.

"Arctic states must remember that the Arctic Ocean is not their backyard," report author Professor Timo Koivurova of the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland said. "International maritime law already guarantees the commercial fleets and fishing fleets of all countries in the world access to the area. It would be sensible to get them to commit to a treaty concerning the Arctic region."

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