tingilinde

germany has a lot of pv solar...

Wow - 22 gigawatts ...

snip

... Germany turned to solar like never before last Friday and Saturday as the nation's PV installations fed 22 gigawatts of electricity into the grid at one point, providing nearly half of the country's energy needs.

In doing so, Germany answered some critical questions as it reshapes its policy away from nuclear power and toward renewable sources like solar, wind and biomass. Chief among the concerns is how much intermittent solar Germany can seamlessly integrate into its grid without causing major disruptions.

During one 24-hour period, Germany’s PV accounted for nearly a third of the nation’s energy needs on midday Friday when the nation’s factories and offices were humming along, and then it approached 50 percent midday Saturday as residents enjoyed a sun-filled weekend.

...

 

Of course this drops to near zero at night as there is very little storage in Germany (or anywhere), but an important point is output somewhat matches demand.

walkable neighborhoods

A Brookings study on compact, amenity-rich walkable places (pdf)

Findings

An economic analysis of a sample of neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area using walkability measures finds that:

° More walkable places perform better economically. For neighborhoods within metropolitan Washington, as the number of environmental features that facilitate walkability and attract pedestrians increase, so do office, residential, and retail rents, retail revenues, and for-sale residential values.

° Walkable places benefit from being near other walkable places. On average, walkable neigh- borhoods in metropolitan Washington that cluster and form walkable districts exhibit higher rents and home values than stand-alone walkable places.

° Residents of more walkable places have lower transportation costs and higher transit access, but also higher housing costs. Residents of more walkable neighborhoods in metro- politan Washington generally spend around 12 percent of their income on transportation and 30 percent on housing. In comparison, residents of places with fewer environmental features that encourage walkability spend around 15 percent on transportation and 18 percent on housing.

° Residents of places with poor walkability are generally less affluent and have lower edu- cational attainment than places with good walkability. Places with more walkability features have also become more gentrified over the past decade. However, there is no significant differ- ence in terms of transit access to jobs between poor and good walkable places.

The findings of this study offer useful insights for a diverse set of interests. Lenders, for example, should find cause to integrate walkability into their under 

and from the conclusion section:

Considering the economic benefits, walkability should be a critical part of all strategic growth plans. The implications of this study cut across the federal and state, metropolitan, and place levels.

Public policy should become more favorable toward walkable placemaking. Currently, many federal and state subsidies substantially favor low-density development and tip the scales against walkable development. Further, many local zoning codes make walkable development illegal, necessitating costly and time-consuming zoning changes with no guarantee of success. Federal, state, and local policy makers should conduct a systematic review of existing public policies that are biased against walkable development, and adopt new measures aimed at facilitating (or at least removing roadblocks to) this type of development.

For their part, local and regional planning agencies should incorporate assessments of walkability into their strategic economic development plans. Planning entities should identify where regional- serving and local-serving walkable urban places exist within a metropolitan area, seek out those places that are positioned to become more walkable, and determine potential locations of future walkable places. This type of assessment will help determine where infrastructure and other built environ-
ment improvements are needed. Since high-density walkable urban places seem to account for a
small amount of a metropolitan area’s existing land mass, it is probable that the infrastructure cost per dwelling unit or commercial square foot will be a fraction of that of existing low-density drivable suburban infrastructure costs.46

At the same time, the apparent supply-demand mismatch for walkable places may be contributing significantly to the price premium these places demand. To the extent that this is the case, the short- and medium-term shortage of walkable places makes them inaccessible (unaffordable) to many people who desire to live in such places. As such, it is important to have an affordable housing strategy in place while those improvements are being implemented.

Beyond the direct and indirect policy implications, the results of this study should also inform five sets of stakeholders: private developers and investors, social equity advocates, the public sector, place managers (such as business improvement districts and redevelopment agencies), and citizen-led groups/activists. 

...

 

 

 

is social media a bubble?

I suspect to some extent it is if the main value is measured in terms of how much of the economy can it directly influence and perhaps capture...  If Facebook's model is to become another tool that makes the connections between seller and buyer easier and more likely I can't imagine why the IPO was valued so high.  User growth may indeed be another billion in the next few years, but that will mostly come from segments of the world economy that total less than 10% of the economic consumption of the first billion.  

They are in need of a model or two that will allow them to justify their valuation - my guess is they won't manage it, but at least I'm not a knowing investor (the funds we have money in may be in to some extent - that would be their own folly).

In the meantime I expect more than a few negative articles like this one in the Atlantic along with more than a few rumors and huge amounts of speculation.

 

mini modernist

Modernist Cuisine is a remarkable piece of work that takes a snapshot at explaining one laboratories approach to the rapidly developing science of food.  You can learn a lot reading it, but one criticism is many of the restaurants require kit well beyond what most (nearly all) home cooks have access to.  It is easy to come up with a basic tool list that goes beyond $100k...

But now a new title is being released geared to the home cook.  Pre-orders are being taken at Amazon at about a quater the price of the original and I suspect sales will be high if it is up to the claims.  About 400 new recipes, although I suspect the detailed explaination of why things are done will not be present.

I would love to see a marriage of some of these techniques and vegetarian cuisine ...  René Redzepi of Noma fame has been quoted as saying vegetarian cooking is largely uncharted territory with enormous potential and he suspects it may be a candidate for a huge push in culinary creativity in the near future.  Of coure one can always experiment on their own, but things are much more interesting when real talent is involved.

 

squashing arachnophobia

A technique for conqurering a fear of spiders is shown to be quick (a few hours) and effective over the long term - caught on Science Friday's current podcast and also available here.

 

dutch repair cafes

Jörgen notes the emergence of Dutch repair cafes (via The NY Times)  There appear to be similar signals in the US in the maker community and I notice much less pure consumerism among the 20 somethings I know than what appeared to exist even a half generation back...

One wonders if this is the leading edge of real change or just a short term adjustment to the terrible economy?

 

 

better than fighting...

Bart notes a video showing how the Pakasti/Indian border is officially closed every day.  You need to watch it!

biking sharing in nyc

Biking is becoming more popular in NYC - David Bryne writes about why he bikes there.  This Summer bike sharing will begin.  It will be interesting to see how popular it becomes.

Still, the city - or any American city - have a long way to go.  Integration of active transportation (human powered - like walking and bike riding) into cites takes a lot of work and careful attention to detail.  

A paper by John Pucher and Ralph Buchler of Rutgers (pdf) examines the how and why of the successes of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany - existence proofs that it can be done.

Abstract

This paper shows how the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany have made
bicycling a safe, convenient, and practical way to get around their cities. The analysis relies
on national aggregate data as well as case studies of large and small cities in each country.
The key to achieving high levels of cycling appears to be the provision of separate cycling
facilities along heavily traveled roads and at intersections, combined with traffic calming of
most residential neighborhoods. Extensive cycling rights of way in the Netherlands,
Denmark, and Germany are complemented by ample bike parking, full integration with
public transport, comprehensive traffic education and training of both cyclists and
motorists, and a wide range of promotional events intended to generate enthusiasm and
wide public support for cycling. In addition to their many pro-bike policies and programs,
the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany make driving expensive as well as inconvenient
in central cities through a host of taxes and restrictions on car ownership, use, and parking.
Moreover, strict land use policies foster compact, mixed-use developments that generate
shorter and thus more bikeable trips. It is the coordinated implementation of this multifaceted,
mutually reinforcing set of policies that best explains the success of these three
countries in promoting cycling. For comparison, the paper portrays the marginal status of
cycling in the UK and USA, where only about one percent of trips are by bike.

 

The Dutch, Danes and Germans decided it was important and have worked policy for decades. It could be done in the US and other areas if there was political will - it would not be expensive and would have a very positive effect on health as well as using less oil.

An excellent talk by John Pucher on the subject and the foils.

a curious way to see the world

Not exactly the easiest path ...

 

happy birthday jessica!!

 

 

Happy Birthday Jessica!!!

 

cutting your medical costs...

Green stuff rules  - all you need is cash (via the LA Times)

thanks for the link Bjarne

 

siggi's skyr and other breakfast goodnesses

I had some siggi's skyr for breakfast - namely their orange and ginger flavor with some chopped pecans added.  One of my favorite breakfasts, although their plain with some blueberries or raspberries and nuts is just as good.

Skyr is an Icelandic yogurt like milk product - technically it is a fresh acid-set cheese.  It has the consistency of greek yogurt, although the texture and flavor are different.  Very high protein and low fat and, sadly, very expensive in the US.  I tend to get it only when there is a deep sale and, even then, it is more expensive tan a good greek yogurt like Total.

siggi's is widely available in the Northeast US and at places like Whole Foods in the rest of the country.  Jheri got me started on it by mentioning she liked siggi's better than any of the new Danish skyrs and that it was as good as most that you find in Iceland.  

If you like good Greek yogurts you might enjoy a well-made skyr.

anyway - I still have a few cartons in the 'fridge thanks to a two for $3 sale ...  I'm already looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.

Next to siggi's skry, a high quality Greek yogurt like Total makes a great breakfast.  It is just below my personal value threshold and I tend to have some Total every day.  Spendy, but not that spendy.

Skyr or a really good greek yogurt is wonderful with a whole grain breakfast.  This is one of my favorites -

 

Recipe time.  

This is something I have been doing for breakfasts for the past week or so.  Basically whole wheat with scallions and a bit of olive oil and soy sauce.  It is really excellent and holds me well until lunch.  Use whatever ratios you like - I prepared a batch and measured for a guide.  I also like to use khorasan wheat which has a large kernel.  Kamut is the variety I like - mine is from Montana although it also grows in Alberta.  You can use any good olive oil, but I find rosemary infused oils add quite a bit - you can make your own, but start with a good olive oil.  I like Sciabica’s as I know where it is coming from in California and it is excellent - as good as any fine oil I’ve tried.  You pay a lot for good olive oils, but they are worth it is you care about your food. Here is their rosemary evoo.  We've been using them for about 15 years now and find them to be very friendly with great service.

 

  ingredients

° 150 grams of whole wheat kernels

° 4 scallions - chopped

° 25 grams of rosemary infused olive oil 

° 30 grams pecans - chopped

° soy sauce to taste

° a finishing salt like Maldon (optional)

 

technique 

° Simmer the whole wheat for about 90 minutes in “enough” water.  I use a crock pot and "enough" water is something like 350 grams.  It should still have some texture when finished. 

 ° Drain the wheat and mix in the pecans and scallions. Mix in the olive oil and add soy sauce to taste.  I like to get it almost salty enough and then add a bit of Maldon salt at the end.

 

... about two servings.  Scale it as you like .  This is terrific at any time and particularly good as a savory breakfast, although I would have it with greek yogurt on the side, rather than mixed in.

 

 

runs with bikes

a remarkable dog - via the BBC

 

how bike-friendly is your state?

The reslts of a new survey by the League of American Bicyclists ..  the League does good work, but this strikes me as a bit generous.

For those who want to understand what is possible and how it can be achieved (there are existance proofs), John Pucher of Rutgers has done extensive research on the subject. He's a very friendly guy - I have a pointer to a still relevant survey/summary here.

 

 

where privacy is not much of a concern...

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