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Finally 2010 – Is Fusion Man the New World?

Can this be the answer to congestion in the cities? Is this going to be the new mode of transport? I heard about this first on the Radio on the way to work and honestly could not picture it. Those jet engines he has strapped to his back can’t be eco friendly or good for global warming but it is intriguing. Imagine that the Fusion Man actually symbolizes a new direction in our evolution. I mean this actually gets close to what I imagined 2010 to be like.

This is from Reuters May 14 – Known as ‘Fusion Man’, a former pilot has stunned crowds by flying a jet-propelled wing for nearly ten minutes at a peak speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).

Yves Rossy, a Swiss former military pilot and Airbus commander for Swiss airlines completed an official demonstration on Wednesday (May 14, 2008) in the Swiss Chablais region, where he was released from a plane at 2438 metres (8000 feet) with his wing folded.

He deployed his craft after a short free-fall and began his flight. After a flight of almost ten minutes, he deployed his parachute, folded the wing and landed at the Bex airdrome.

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Storms and global warming

The severe Cyclone Nargis that ravaged the southern Asian country of Myanmar (formerly Burma) has brought the country literally to its knees with a death toll of over 22,000 and hundreds of thousands of people homeless and without food, clear water and other basic necessities. The storm was so severe, that the country’s autocratic military government has had no choice other than to beg the outside world for assistance due to a total breakdown in the country’s infrastructure.

Southern and eastern Asia are accustomed to receiving severe storms, and one which recently hit the country of Bangladesh also caused widespread flooding and damage, although not on such a scale as occurred in Myanmar. The frequency of these storms, and their increasing severity, are being blamed by many environmentalists as a consequence of the word-wide phenomena now being referred to as global warming. Global warming is also being blamed for very high temperatures in countries like India, a neighboring country whose eastern regions border on Myanmar. Already in early May, daytime temperatures in Indian cities such as Delhi are reaching 41 degrees Celsius (106F) resulting in more deaths from the intense heat that doesn’t seem to let up until the late summer monsoon season finally arrives.

The monsoon season brings problems of it’s own as it often results in widespread flooding in low lying regions such as India’s own river delta regions, especially in eastern India. The monsoons that arrive have been fiercer than in former years, and the result is widespread damage and loss of property for many people whose lives are on a mere subsistence level in normal times.

Katrina Storm HavocSevere weather has also played havoc in other parts of the world, including Europe, Central and South America, and in North America as well. Hurricane Katrina, the category 5 storm that slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast in late August 2005, caused devastating damage not only to the city of New Orleans, but to the entire southern part of the state of Mississippi. The damage inflicted to southern Mississippi coastal towns and cities was so severe that some communities were virtually obliterated by powerful winds and storm surges, with walls of water forced up from the Gulf of Mexico.

What happened in Mississippi is now being compared to the Irrawaddy Delta region of Myanmar, where similar storm surges sent mountainous walls of water as high as seven meters (30 feet) up narrow river inlets, destroying virtually everything in its path. Witnesses there claim that the damage is as bad as the tsunami tidal wave which struck parts of southern Asia on December 26, 2004 and killed more than 150,000 souls.

While many meteorologists and other scientists studying climate change do not consider these severe weather occurrences as consequences of global warming, many others do link these storms with what is now being referred to as “the greenhouse effect”. As a result, many experts say that the problems with the world’s weather are bound to get worse before getting better.

For the unfortunate citizens of what was once one of the most beautiful and prosperous countries of southern Asia, in pre-junta days, it may be a long time before they and their country recover from the effects of Cyclone Nargis. And the death toll from hunger and disease may push the total death toll from this storm to well over 30,000.

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The Price of Bio Fuels

India FarmerA recent posting in this web blog noted the problem of rising grain prices, most notably rice. It now seems that virtually all food items are increasing in price at a pace so great that the end result may be mass hunger and even starvation in many parts of the world, including so-called affluent countries like ones in Western Europe and even the U.S.A. Already, the price of basic cereal grains, notably wheat and corn are double in price to what they were just a few years ago. And many common vegetables, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, are selling at very high prices.

Global warming, or the hysteria being generated by this subject, is only part of the problem, however. There are other factors, both environmental and political, that are resulting in near-empty supermarket shelves and some countries and food riots in others. It’s easy to see why food shortages are now a way of life in most of Africa and parts of Asia. But now, millions of Americans are really feeling the bite that weekly grocery bills are taking from their incomes. And it’s not only bread, breakfast cereal, and other products made directly from grain that is causing food prices to run to as much as $250 a week for a family of four. Meat items are also becoming very expensive due to sharp increases in animal feed and fodder.

The answer to at least part of the problems of food shortages, coupled with high prices, lies in what we are now putting into our automobile gas tanks. Bio fuels, especially ethanol made from corn and sorghum, are re-directing thousands of tons of food grains into alcohol based fuels to make up for fuel shortages caused by increasingly scarcer and more expensive fossil fuels; most notably petroleum. Just ten years ago, American farmers complained of having massive grain surpluses, particularly in corn producing states like Indiana and Iowa. Due to low market prices, farmers were receiving subsides from the U.S. Government and were even being paid not to produce these crops.

Enter the ethanol age, when farmers are suddenly receiving high prices for growing ethanol producing grains with the encouragement and blessing of a government that continues preaching self-sufficiency in energy by augmenting crude oil with ethanol. The rush for farmers to grow crops for conversion into ethanol has resulted in countries like Brazil dedicating almost their entire agricultural production to growing crops like maize and sugar cane for conversion into ethanol. Poor Brazilian farmers, in their frenzy to grow “ethanol crops”, are destroying their country’s rain forests at an alarming pace to have more land available for growing these crops. The same thing is happening in many other countries too, with the result of less attention being given to growing crops for food.

Bio fuels in themselves are also ecologically polluting and contribute to the “greenhouse effect” and other symptoms of global warming. While these crops may not pollute our planet as bad as petroleum, bio fuels do cause pollution in their own way. And worst of all, every bushel of grain used to make ethanol means less available grain to be available for basic food commodities.

Less available grain means less and more expensive food products, especially for those whose main diet is composed of basic foods like bread items, including pastas. Perhaps it’s now time to “reverse” the emphasis on growing cereal crops for fuel and begin growing more crops again for food. If not, the day will soon come when a loaf of ordinary ‘store bread’ will cost more than a gallon of Bio fuel. And the cost of that bun on a McDonald’s or Burger King hamburger will cause it to be much more pricy than it is today. After all, you can’t eat that stuff that goes into your car.

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Where is the Rice?

Rice Farmer in VietnamWorld food prices appear to be on the rise, almost to the point where people the world over are beginning to see for themselves the consequences of global warming. With populations booming in most Asian countries, particularly heavily populated ones like China, Japan, India and Indonesia, find that these rising food prices are affecting one of the worlds’ most basic yet stable food commodities – rice.

The old saying that bread (largely made from wheat and similar grains) is “the staff of life” no longer appears to be the case, as rice, Asia’s most commonly eaten food, is gaining in popularity. This fact is not really surprising as some of Asia’s most heavily populated countries depend heavily on the starchy grain which contains not only a good percentage of needed carbohydrates but essential vitamins as well. Rice has been a food staple in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years; and out of the world’s 6.5 billion inhabitants, rice is a vital food grain for at least 3 billion human beings.

Rice is relatively easy to grow and can be cultivated in marshy or swampy regions where other food grains are scarce. An average grain of brown rice (rice which still has the rice germ and bran hull) contains 78% carbohydrates, Vitamins B and E, proteins, and minerals such as potassium. Although people living in North America and Europe tend to eat the bleached white rice, which has less food value, more and more people are opting out for whole grain rice, found in better quality supermarkets and whole food stores. A 200 gram serving of cooked, brown rice contains 282 calories, 1.6 gm of dietary fiber, 1 mg of iron, 220 mg of magnesium, 198 mg of potassium, 0.3 mg of vitamin B1, 0.4 mg of vitamin B2, and 1.4 mg of zinc.

The most popular types of rice are long grain, Persian style, Basmati (popular in countries like India) and round, which is the basis for most Sushi recipes. Recent world weather fluctuations has resulted in severe damage to many Asian rice crops which is causing chromic to severe rice shortages in countries where inhabitants depend heavily on successful annual rice crops to ward off starvation. Rice shortages in Asian countries are also finding their way their way to Western countries, where rice has also become an important part of many peoples daily diet due to its easy digestibility and nutritional benefits.

Much emphasis has recently been placed on foods having a high GI or Glycemix Index. Foods with high GI indexes put weight on people faster and are high in glucose. White rice has a high GI or Glycemic Index and is therefore less healthier than brown varieties which have a much lower GI index.

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Hybrid Cars Green Transportation Now

The Lexus HybridGlobal warming and the high price of crude oil has made the hybrid car an ecological innovation which is gaining immensely in popularity. For those who are not yet familiar with this new concept, a hybrid vehicle is a car or other type of vehicle in which two types of power, combustion and electricity, are used to provide more fuel economy as well as less exhaust emissions. A hybrid vehicle, or parallel engine hybrid to be exact, uses both a gasoline powered engine and an electric one to provide power. The two engines are usually mounted at opposite ends of the vehicle, with the gasoline powered one in front, and the electric one in the rear. Specially designed batteries are mounted in the floor of the vehicle, and they provide power to the electric engine to power the vehicle in more congested driving situations such as heavy highway traffic or city driving. By utilizing a concept of kinetic energy and special generators, the batteries for the electric engine are constantly being charged while the vehicle is in motion.

Some hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius and Lexus GS 450h, have specially designed transmissions to help conserve fuel when the gasoline engine is being used and to assist either the gasoline or electric engine with the power they need to travel at sufficient speeds on interstate highways and other motorways.

When the electric engine is being utilized to power the vehicle, not only is it more silent, but virtually no exhaust emissions are being emitted into the atmosphere, which is a great benefit against the “greenhouse effect”, largely responsible for global warming.

A hybrid car can achieve a fuel mileage capability of around 55 miles to the gallon as compared with even the most fuel efficient gasoline or diesel powered cars which average around 30-35 miles per gallon. The purpose of a hybrid drive system is two-fold: to improve fuel economy and to reduce polluting exhaust emissions of both carbon dioxide (Co2), which is the greatest contributor to global warming, and carbon monoxide which pollutes the air and harms people by reducing the blood’s ability to transport oxygen throughout the body. In addition to federal regulations to reduce the polluting contents of refined fuels, certain states like California have initiated very strict laws relating to exhaust emissions by restricting the amount of pollutants such as carbon monoxide from vehicles. For this reason alone, hybrid vehicles are becoming very popular in California and other states with heavy traffic congestion.

While not a perfect situation (electric or hydrogen powered cars have yet to be perfected for long range driving of at least 300 miles or 480 km) the hybrid car makes sense when gasoline sells for a average of $3.00 per gallon in America and even more in European countries. A good case in point is when New York City Mayor Bloomberg ordered several hundred hybrid SUV’s for use as taxi cabs in his city. So from a “green” or environment standpoint, the idea of the hybrid vehicle is definitely one whose time has come.

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Al Gore’s global warming message reaches the Royal Palace at Oslo

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore may not yet be running again for the Presidency, but his message is definitely clear: unless immediate steps are made to protect the environment and reverse global warming, our continued life on Earth is definitely at risk. Speaking during an hour long interview on CNN’s Larry King Live program last July, Mr. Gore related in dept his opinions on how lack of intense effort on the part of the present U.S. Administration is spelling disaster to our quality of life, if not life itself.

Mr. Gore’s Academy Award winning documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, gave a not very optimistic account on how the worlds’ eco-system has been severely damaged by Man’s obsession with the use of fossil fuels and other dangerous pollutants, which, in Gore’s opinion, is largely responsible for the state of our environment, including melting Arctic and Antarctic ice shelves at an alarming pace. Gore’s concern for world environment problems goes back many years when he became concerned with many species of animals becoming extinct including a small species of owl that used to inhabit the redwood forest regions of Oregon and Washington State. That concern as well as for the decrease in the atmosphere’s ozone layer (that protective layer against the sun’s damaging radiation) gave him the title of “Mr. Ozone” and made him the brunt of jokes by entertainment comedians including NBC’s Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.

America isn’t the only ecological culprit though, as fast developing nations such as China are consuming fossil fuels in alarming amounts with little or no ecological controls. China’s number of private automobiles alone has more than quadrupled in past five years alone; and its heavy industries have become one of the world’s prime consumers of fuels such as coal and fuel oil, and has turned this country housing more than a fifth of the world’s population into one of the worst polluted.

The melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice is expected cause the worlds oceans to rise at least 7 to 10 meters in the next 10 to 20 years. That’s enough to inundate most world coastal towns and cities, in which at least a billion of the world’s population live. Outside of the possible extinction of many varieties of animal species, including polar bears, seals and walruses, and many species of birds, The oceans themselves will be less able to support marine animals and vegetation as they will become too acid in their content, thus killing the marine vegetation on which many marine animals thrive, and reducing the water’s oxygen content by as much as 25%.

Judging from current realities regarding severe changes in our environment, particularly weather patterns, people are laughing less at “Mr. Ozone” and are now beginning to listen to his warning. An Inconvenient Truth has won Mr. Gore both an Academy Award and an Emmy, America’s most prestigious awards from both the motion picture and television industries.

And now, to crown his achievements for the benefit of Mankind, Al Gore has been awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize along with a special U.N. scientific panel: the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). Both Gore and the IPCC will share equally in the prize which will be awarded in a special ceremony in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.

Whether of not Gore does decide to throw his hat into the Democratic Party Presidential race, his message is certainly worth listening to and acting upon. Despite the current Administration’s apprehensions, a few years of ecological ‘adjustment’ is paramount, including drastic curtailment of the use of fossil fuels and switching over to more environmentally friendly energy sources, such as solar energy and hydrogen based fuels. If this doesn’t occur, our future on this planet, an “island we cannot leave”, may be very unpleasant indeed.

Please continue your crusade, Mr. Gore; and perhaps more and more people will listen. We simply have to listen before it will be too late.

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Al Gore’s Global Warming Wake Up Call

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore may not yet be running again for the Presidency, but his message is definitely clear, unless immediate steps are made to protect the environment and reverse global warming, our continued life on Earth is definitely at risk. Speaking during a recent hour long interview on CNN’s Larry King Live program, Mr. Gore related in depth his opinions on how lack of intense effort on the part of the present U.S. Administration is spelling disaster to our quality of life, if not life itself.

Mr. Gore’s Academy Award winning documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, gave a not very optimistic account on how the worlds’ eco-system has been severely damaged by Man’s obsession with the use of fossil fuels and other dangerous pollutants, which, in Gore’s opinion, is largely responsible for the state of our environment, including melting Arctic and Antarctic ice shelves at an alarming pace. Gore’s concern for world environment problems goes back many years when he became concerned with many species of animals becoming extinct including a small species of owl that used to inhabit the redwood forest regions of Oregon and Washington State. That concern as well as for the decrease in the atmosphere’s ozone layer (that protective layer against the sun’s damaging radiation) gave him the title of “Mr. Ozone” and made him the brunt of jokes by entertainment comedians including NBC’s Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.

Judging from current realities regarding severe changes in our environment, particularly weather patterns, people are laughing less at “Mr. Ozone” and are now beginning to listen to his warning. Gore’s severe criticism of the Bush Administration’s lack of attention to this increasing problem is one the former VP’s main topics these days. That President George Bush has refused to have his country join the global effort to curtail use of fossil fuels “because it would be damaging to the U.S. economy” is most likely due the President’s own family interest in the oil business, as well as that of his Vice President, Dick Chaney, whose long career with the international oil well servicing company Halliburton has been in the news several times. The Bush family also appears to have close relations with the Saudi Royal Family, from whose country the U.S. still receives nearly 20% of its total petroleum supplies. Although some current attention is beginning to filter out of the Oval Office of the White House, especially in the aftermath of American eco-disasters like Hurricane Katrina, this attention is far less than it should be to help reverse what may become an irreversible ecological trend.

America isn’t the only ecological culprit though, as fast developing nations such as China are consuming fossil fuels in alarming amounts with little or no ecological controls. China’s number of private automobiles alone has more than quadrupled in past five years alone; and its heavy industries have become one of the world’s prime consumers of fuels such as coal and fuel oil, and has turned this country housing more than a fifth of the world’s population into one of the worst polluted.

The melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice is expected cause the worlds oceans to rise at least 7 to 10 meters in the next 10 to 20 years. That’s enough to inundate most world coastal towns and cities, in which at least a billion of the world’s population live. Outside of the possible extinction of many varieties of animal species, including polar bears, seals and walruses, and many species of birds, The oceans themselves will be less able to support marine animals and vegetation as they will become too acid in their content, thus killing the marine vegetation on which many marine animals thrive, and reducing the water’s oxygen content by as much as 25%.

Whether of not Gore does decide to throw his hat into the Democratic Party Presidential race, his message is certainly worth listening to and acting upon. Despite the current Administration’s apprehensions, a few years of ecological ‘adjustment’ is paramount, including drastic curtailment of the use of fossil fuels and switching over to more environmentally friendly energy sources, such as solar energy and hydrogen based fuels. If this doesn’t occur, our future on this planet, an “island we cannot leave”, may be very unpleasant indeed.

We simply have to listen before it will be too late.

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The ‘Electric’ Sun

With dwindling crude oil now hovering in the $65 to $70 per barrel range, and worries about continued global warming being one of the worlds most talked about environmental topics, interest in solar energy is becoming more and more popular in today’s world. That’s right, the sun, or Sol as many still refer to that huge, gaseous ball of energy, 93 million miles away; around which the plant earth rotates once every 365 days. In fact, we humans, and all life for that matter, are so utterly dependant on the sun’s continuous supply of energy, that if deprived of it – for even a few hours, drastic climatic and environment effects will take place.

Interest in harnessing energy from the sun is not new; and even ancient philosophers and astronomers constantly tried to think up ways to utilize more of the sun’s life giving energy. Within the past fifty years, these dreams have begun to become reality as scientists and engineers have begun to create the means of generating energy from the sun’s rays. Israel is one of the pioneers in this endeavor, as the leaders of this tiny country realized from the outset that with little natural energy resources available, ways must be found to create energy at the lowest costs possible. These endeavors have resulted in the majority of homes and apartment buildings having solar energy converters to heat water. Though primitive by many standards, these sun boilers, are composed of two or three large solar ‘collection’ plates, warming water as it flows through them, and afterwards stores the water in insulated tanks for use afterwards – especially at night. Condominium buildings in Israel are now required to have a series of these plates installed to collect enough hot water for use by several families at a time.

While this method has helped save on energy costs, more ambitious researchers all over the world are working of ways to use the sun’s energy to create electricity; enough electricity to run one’s electric powered car, operate appliances and machinery, and keep people comfortably cool in summer and warm in winter. These new photovoltaic or solar electric systems are being designed to convert the sun’s rays into plentiful, low cost electricity. Photovoltaic or PV systems evolve around a specially made crystalline silicon material resembling strips of PVC. This material, when hit by solar rays, creates electricity by a photo-chemical process not much different than the more primitive sun boilers already mentioned. Enough of this material, built into the roof and hood of a car, or affixed to the porch or roof of a house, can create enough electricity to actually operate electricity powered motors – as long as sun shines, that is. The main challenge up to now is storing this energy for use when Sol has either gone to bed or is ‘hiding’ behind a blanket of clouds. Scientific laboratories are still trying to perfect fuel cells and other energy storing devices that will enable this electricity to be stored (like in a large battery) and used as needed. Obviously, solar energy powered devices will work better in locations where the sun shines at least 300 or more days a year; which is why locations such as the Middle East, the American Southwest, and other ’sun friendly’ locations will benefit the most from solar power.

Solar energy is also one of the most environmentally friendly energy sources as well; and could one day help reverse the damage already caused by over-use of fossil fuels. It’s about time everyone, including major oil companies, see the potential benefit of “going (solar powered) electric”.

Source: US Department Energy Site

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Hot – and Getting Hotter! The Earth Heats Up from Global Warming

It’s a hot time in this old world all right! New scientific studies are showing worrisome findings that the earth’s temperatures are reaching the warmest they’ve been in over a million years. That’s bad news for the 6.5 billion inhabitants of this planet, as well as for most of the animals who inhabit it – especially those inhabiting colder regions. These studies show that the earth’s temperature has been rising rapidly, in the area of nearly 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit or 0.2 degrees Celsius in the past 30 years alone. The average surface temperature is now around 15-16 degrees Celsius; and if it rises another 1 degree C. serious, possible irreversible effects will occur, so said a researcher from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

The higher temperatures are mostly being caused by human induced heat from burning forest land for crop planting, as well as exhaust emissions from automobiles and coal and oil burning power facilities, the researcher, James Hansen, noted. Another researcher, Alan Robock from Rutgers University, noted that further temperature rises of 2 to 3 degrees Celsius will make the earths temperature the same as at was around 3 million years ago, when the ocean levels were about 30 feet higher than they are today.

What this means for all of us, including Wally the Walrus and his pals is that life will be quite different on old Terra Firma, especially in the Earth’s Arctic regions, where effects of global warming are becoming even more accelerated. Arctic regions, where polar ice and snow actually reflected the suns rays, now have areas of dry land and open water which are absorbing solar heat. Animals such as Wally and his friends, as swell as Polar Bears, seals, and other Arctic creatures could even become extinct within the next hundred years.

How are these changes effecting people living in other areas, including here in Israel, is becoming evident with different weather patterns and temperature changes. For example: those hot, sultry, summer days (and especially nights) used to come only in about mid to late July. Now, we feel them in mid June! Winter temperatures are warmer as well, with far too many balmy, even summer-like days in mid-January. It might not be long before average summer temperatures in Israel may be similar to what they are now in countries like Kuwait and Dubai!

If the oceans do rise, even 10 or 15 feet, large coastal cities will have massive problems, especially those on the coast of large oceans including New York City, Antwerp, Hong Kong and Tokyo, may find themselves partially under water. Even Israeli coastal cities will not be immune, as some of this water will eventually find itself into the Mediterranean.

It’s not too late to try to reverse some of these trends, although these efforts will drastically affect the lives of most people with use of fossil fuels being either severely curtailed or even banned altogether. For creatures like Wally, however, these efforts may be too little – too late.