tingilinde

but new jersey isn't denmark

It is very important to encourage car dependancy and thinking about the last century I guess. And it isn't just this school - "no bike" policies are increasingly common in suburbia.

Many studies indicate kids are terrible drivers, so providing parking places for kids with cars and none for bikes is a bit daft. If the road is an issue, perhaps it makes sense to recognize kids are important and reduce the speed limit to 20 or 25 mph (something that probably makes sense in all towns to encourage bike use). Maybe the students will learn a bit about activism.

and there are other things to consider...

(thanks for the link Greg)

getting the right size

Many types of alternate energy plants seem to be most efficient between 100 kW and a few megawatts. Home scaled production tends to get spendy and there are few advantages for greater scale. Nanoscale Solar has recognized this an is focusing their products in that direction (april 16 posting ... the direct link is broken)

snip

While rooftops are surely a good application too for solar panels, it is a business that’s difficult to scale rapidly in a truly meaningful way. Crawling onto rooftops and mounting solar panels in compliance with building codes is fundamentally always a somewhat less efficient proposition.

In fact, municipal solar power plants are one of the most rapidly deployable forms of power: whereas it takes 10-15 years to get a new coal plant done (if ever given their carbon risk) or 5 years for a concentrating solar-thermal plant (also requiring a connection to the transmission grid), a municipal solar plant can be completed in as little as 12 months.

Furthermore, a unique feature of photovoltaic power plants is that they utilize power inverter electronics with increasingly intelligent features. Enlightened utilities around the world are now recognizing these as a very good way to manage and improve grid power quality. This is especially a point of pain at the outer branches of the electric grid where power quality is hard to manage otherwise. (Any U.S. utility executive who is concerned about the new world of local power but desires to learn more should join this trip.)

Municipal solar power plants offer an attractive level of efficiency, scale, and benefit in solar. This is just not yet known very well to the public in the United States and in California where this segment has been stifled not least by the policy gap that exists in California between the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (geared towards >20MW systems) and the California Solar Incentives (designed for <1MW systems).

But towns and cities throughout Europe and Asia have already proven the concept, and more and more — in fact increasingly entire counties — are now implementing plans to go 100% renewable based on a mix of solar and biofuels. It works, it is economic, and it is possible now. It is a silent revolution going on that the press rarely reports about.

There may be other benefits - communities that go this route may be more inclined to worry about local conservation.

got dark?

Home sites for serious amateur astronomers -- over 7,200 feet up in New Mexico.

isolated and clear

the long and short of it

Height in humans turns out to be interesting to study. It is easily measured, but is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Most of the variation is genetic, but is far from trivial - a few years ago some convincing evidence was found looking for single-letter differences — single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs — in the genetic code that occur more often in taller people compared to shorter people. (' first heard this on a Quirks and Quarks program). The scan zeroed in on a single-letter difference, either a ‘C’ or ‘T’, in the HMGA2 gene that accounted for an estimated 0.3% of the height variation among study participants. Compared to individuals with two ‘T’-containing copies of the gene, those with one ‘C’-containing copy of the gene tended to be taller by about half a centimeter, and those with two copies were nearly a centimeter taller. It only accounted for a small percentage of observed variation in the population, but more work has been done.

Now something like a few dozen SNPs have been identified accounting for a few percent of the difference. Lots of work to do, but an interesting technique that requires a large number of measurements.

The link and abstract

Nat Genet. 2008 May;40(5):575-83. Epub 2008 Apr 6.

Genome-wide association analysis identifies 20 loci that influence adult height.

Weedon MN, Lango H, Lindgren CM, Wallace C, Evans DM, Mangino M, Freathy RM, Perry JR, Stevens S, Hall AS, Samani NJ, Shields B, Prokopenko I, Farrall M, Dominiczak A; Diabetes Genetics Initiative; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, Johnson T, Bergmann S, Beckmann JS, Vollenweider P, Waterworth DM, Mooser V, Palmer CN, Morris AD, Ouwehand WH; Cambridge GEM Consortium, Zhao JH, Li S, Loos RJ, Barroso I, Deloukas P, Sandhu MS, Wheeler E, Soranzo N, Inouye M, Wareham NJ, Caulfield M, Munroe PB, Hattersley AT, McCarthy MI, Frayling TM.
Genetics of Complex Traits, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science, Peninsula Medical School, Magdalen Road, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK.

Adult height is a model polygenic trait, but there has been limited success in identifying the genes underlying its normal variation. To identify genetic variants influencing adult human height, we used genome-wide association data from 13,665 individuals and genotyped 39 variants in an additional 16,482 samples. We identified 20 variants associated with adult height (P < 5 x 10(-7), with 10 reaching P < 1 x 10(-10)). Combined, the 20 SNPs explain approximately 3% of height variation, with a approximately 5 cm difference between the 6.2% of people with 17 or fewer 'tall' alleles compared to the 5.5% with 27 or more 'tall' alleles. The loci we identified implicate genes in Hedgehog signaling (IHH, HHIP, PTCH1), extracellular matrix (EFEMP1, ADAMTSL3, ACAN) and cancer (CDK6, HMGA2, DLEU7) pathways, and provide new insights into human growth and developmental processes. Finally, our results provide insights into the genetic architecture of a classic quantitative trait.

cutting car use

Gas prices are replacing weather and politics as a topic of conversation. It is relatively easy to do something about it at a personal level. Changing your driving style and combining trips should be low hanging fruit for most people, but most balk at resorting to human power for short trips.

We live in a dense (condominium) community that is very close to a large shopping center. Sidewalks are available, but one rarely sees residents carrying groceries by hand, cart or bicycle (there are a few eccentrics such as us who do). Another shopping center is about four miles away and connected by sidewalks and a bike path.

Getting a sensible commuter bike makes a lot of sense if you have places to go that are within five to ten miles. For people who worry about their physical shape, or who have hills to contend with, there are human-electric hybrids. Electric Cyclery in Laguna Beach is a good example (I visited them last Fall - the staff was knowledgeable). The BionX hybrid approach seems to be popular. There are a variety of kits and you can install yourself or have it done at any bike shop.

Some friends in Davis, California replaced their second car with two good commuter bikes. After a year they reported no real need for the second car - the loss of convenience was more than compensated by the thousands of dollars they had saved (car payments, maintenance, insurance, gas) and both of them have lost weight and are now in good physical shape. Nancy says she looks ten years younger (she is in her mid forties) and feels like she did in her twenties. Their total driving mileage is less than half of what it was when they had two cars. Of course your mileage may vary and few places in the US are as bike friendly as Davis.

cleaner and more efficient trucks?

I don't know anything about the American Trucking Association, but they have announced steps to make trucking more efficient. Some are surprising from an industry group (lowering speeds). Others are familiar - more combination trucks (which may be more dangerous).

Setting governors on new trucks to limit speeds to no more than 68 mph and reduce the national speed limit to 65 mph for all vehicles. A truck traveling at 75 mph consumes 27% more fuel than one going at 65 mph, according to the ATA. Bringing speed limits down to 65 mph would save 2.8 billion gallons of diesel fuel for trucks in a decade and reduce CO₂ emissions by 31.5 million tons—equal to a year’s CO₂ generated by 9 million Americans, or the total population of the State of Connecticut. Automobile consumption of gasoline would drop by 8.7 billion gallons, with an accompanying drop in CO₂ emissions of 84.7 million tons.

Reduce engine idling. The ATA recommends pursuing a federal solution that reduces non-discretionary idling—i.e., idling when stuck in traffic—through highway infrastructure improvements and reduces discretionary idling through incentives for new technology.

These types of idling annually consume an estimated 1.1 billion gallons of diesel fuel. Options currently available to fleets to minimize discretionary idling have the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions by an estimated 61.1 million tons over the next ten years—the equivalent of 16 million Americans not driving for a year.

Increase fuel efficiency by encouraging participation in the US EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership Program.

Reduce congestion by improving highways, if necessary by raising the fuels tax. The ATA has recommended a 20-year program, focused initially on fixing critical bottlenecks. Longer-range ideas include creating truck-only corridors which would permit carriers to further increase the use of more productive vehicles. If congestion in all 437 urban areas were eliminated, the reduction in truck CO₂ emissions would be 45.2 million tons over ten years—equal to the annual output of a population the size of the State of Colorado.

Use more productive truck combinations. Permitting truck combinations to be more productive will help reduce the number of trucks needed on the road. Research shows that increased volumes of freight can be moved with less fuel and fewer emissions by using a smaller number of large trucks rather than a larger number of small trucks. A reduction of 294.7 million tons of CO₂ could be achieved with these changes.

Support national fuel economy standards for trucks. The American Trucking Associations supports setting technologically feasible national fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that reduce fuel consumption if they do not compromise the performance of the vehicles.

the new baby ferret has a name!

the scenic view

er - thanks Linda

Maybe this is what some of our roads will look like after long gas tax holidays

growth areas

bike mechanics are in demand in some areas Bike use in the US is still so low that this will probably only be seasonal here.

One wonders what happens if oil demand remains high relative to production capacity to continue to force prices upward. We are very much in a world where the US is not the only driving force. What happens when events, vacation spots, shopping centers, etc become psychologically too expensive? Much probably depends on how quickly change takes place and people have a rich history of getting used to new price points, but I wouldn't want to have a shopping center two gallons away from most users.

What are the levels that will cause real change and will we see them? Will people give up on things like global warming and move to coal to liquid fuels (starting to being done in a big way in China and India) and stupid things like even more corn ethanol? Will we keep getting politicians who only pander?

tire inflation

One surefire way to loose money is to have under-inflated tires. Twenty percent under-inflation is commonly seen and leads to premature tire failure, poor handling and excessive fuel usage. Tirerack claims 5% loss of fuel economy and 25% decrease in tread life at this level.

Over-inflation has problems too. Shorter tread life and loss of handling in some cases. The best route is to follow the instructions in your owner's manual or on the driver's doorjam.

But how to inflate - when the tires are warm or cold? What do you do about temperature differences in the day? Here are a few guidelines, but to first order checking tire pressure in the morning and adjusting pressure every two weeks or so is probably good enough. Many studies suggest you will see mileage improvements from three to five percent and having the tires last longer isn't a bad deal either.

steampunk edges towards mainstream

yikes - mentioned in the NY Times

The fashion does nothing for me, but I like fantasy gadgets. (perhaps the correct computer for you Shel?)

"cheap" first person video

My FPV Movie from Crash9 on Vimeo.

Yann has commented on first person video, but this is a turnkey kit for $550

social advertising

commentary on social ads from around the world (a tip of the hat to Jheri the hatlady)

Even an unusual Hungarian public service announcement to promote the use of bicycles

driving for higher gas mileage

I suspect tips like these will become more common as the Summer approaches.

I'm not looking forward to lines of cars "drafting" on the freeways and some of the suggestions here don't mix well with heavy (eg. normal in many areas) traffic. Use your judgement!

family guy/matrix mashup

In case you missed it ...