Sunday, September 28, 2014


News Clips For The Day


Hunt is on for 2 suspects in shooting of Ferguson cop
CBS/AP September 28, 2014, 7:42 AM

FERGUSON, Mo. - A search for two suspects in a St. Louis suburb that's undergone racial unrest continued Sunday after a Ferguson police officer was shot in the arm following an encounter with two men at a community center who ran from him and then opened fire during a foot chase, authorities said.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a media briefing early Sunday that the officer approached the men around 9:10 p.m. Saturday because the community center was closed.

As the officer approached, the men ran away. When the officer gave chase, "one of the men turned and shot" with a handgun, Belmar said.

The officer was hit in the left arm, reports CBS affiliate KMOV in St. Louis.

"[The suspect] returned with fire and the officer was able to block it with his arm," said Belmar, "The officer said he was able to get a couple of shots off. We have no indication that [the suspect] was shot."

The officer was taken to a hospital and is expected to be okay, however, an official condition has not been released.

Belmar said detectives were working to piece together the information and that he didn't believe the shooting was in any way connected to protests for Michael Brown.

The officer was shot in the arm and is expected to survive, he said. Belmar did not identify the officer or give further details about his condition. He said the officer returned fire but said police have "no indication" that either suspect was shot.

A search was underway for the suspects early Sunday in Ferguson, the St. Louis suburb that's been the scene of racial unrest in the wake of the August shooting death of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer.

Belmar said he did not think the officer's shooting was related to two separate protests about Michael Brown's shooting that were going on Saturday night around the same time.

Around midnight at the police station, approximately two dozen officers stood near a group of about 100 protesters who mingled on a street corner, occasionally shouting, "No justice; no peace."

Nearby, part of a road was closed in town as police conducted a search for the suspects. Numerous law enforcement agencies were responding, and police helicopters were canvassing the area.

The officer's shooting comes after Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson issued a videotaped apology to Brown's family earlier in the week and attempted to march with protesters, an effort that led to a clash with activists and several arrests on Thursday.

Brown's parents told The Associated Press on Saturday they were unmoved by the apology.

Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, said, "yes," when asked if Jackson should be fired, and his father, Michael Brown Sr., said rather than an apology, they would like to see the officer who shot their son arrested.

A county grand jury is weighing whether to indict Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in Brown's shooting.

The Justice Department, which is investigating whether Brown's civil rights were violated, is conducting a broader probe into Ferguson police. On Friday, it urged Jackson to ban his officers from wearing bracelets supporting Wilson while on duty and from covering up their name plates with black tape.

Ferguson residents complained about the bracelets, which are black with "I am Darren Wilson" in white lettering, at a meeting with federal officials this week..

Brown's shooting has also focused attention on the lack of diversity in many police departments across the country. In Ferguson, of 53 officers in a community that is two-thirds black, only three are African-American.

Also early Sunday, not far from Ferguson, an off-duty St. Louis city police officer was injured on Interstate 70 when three suspects fired shots into his personal vehicle, a police spokeswoman said.

Schron Jackson said the officer, who has nearly 20 years of experience, was being treated at a hospital for a minor injury to his arm from broken glass. She said there is no reason to believe the two shootings were related.




“St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a media briefing early Sunday that the officer approached the men around 9:10 p.m. Saturday because the community center was closed. As the officer approached, the men ran away. When the officer gave chase, 'one of the men turned and shot' with a handgun, Belmar said. The officer was hit in the left arm, reports CBS affiliate KMOV in St. Louis. '[The suspect] returned with fire and the officer was able to block it with his arm,' said Belmar, 'The officer said he was able to get a couple of shots off. We have no indication that [the suspect] was shot.'... Around midnight at the police station, approximately two dozen officers stood near a group of about 100 protesters who mingled on a street corner, occasionally shouting, 'No justice; no peace.' Nearby, part of a road was closed in town as police conducted a search for the suspects. Numerous law enforcement agencies were responding, and police helicopters were canvassing the area.... The Justice Department, which is investigating whether Brown's civil rights were violated, is conducting a broader probe into Ferguson police. On Friday, it urged Jackson to ban his officers from wearing bracelets supporting Wilson while on duty and from covering up their name plates with black tape.”

In this last incident two men who were standing in front a closed community center were approached by police and ran. When the police chased them they shot one of the officers. It seems to me that running and then shooting unprovoked shows the likelihood that the suspects were conferring over a drug sale, both wanted for a prior crime, or just afraid of the police in general. This article does not state that the police did anything specific to frighten them. We need more information here, but it is probably evidence of a generalized distrust of the police. After all, the only thing Brown and his companion were doing when that event occurred in August was walking down the street in the road – surely no more than a misdemeanor.





Vaccination refusals alarming health officials
By CARTER EVANS CBS NEWS September 27, 2014, 8:42 PM

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. -- Public health officials say they're alarmed at the growing number of cases of measles and whooping cough. They blame parents who are now refusing to immunize their kids. And it's happening mostly in wealthy communities.

By his own admission, Dr. Bob Sears may be the only pediatrician in Southern California who does not advocate child vaccinations.

"I would say about half of my patients are not vaccinating," he said.

It's a growing trend, especially in affluent communities like Santa Monica and Malibu, where nearly 15 percent of kindergarteners are not immunized. In the Orange County community where Sears practices, almost 10 percent of kindergarteners were not vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control says public health is compromised when more than 8 percent of students are not immunized.

Sears does not feel he's a part of the problem.

"Fortunately my patients are scattered all over Orange County and Southern California," he said.

Dr. Margaret Van Blerk, who is also a pediatrician in Orange County, takes exception to Sears' perspective.

"I completely disagree," she said. "The research shows that if we don't vaccinate children, they're more likely to get sick and potentially get diseases that can kill them."

Highly contagious diseases like measles are on the rise. California has seen 61 cases so far this year, the highest in two decades. Twenty-two of those cases are in Orange County.

When Brook Olsen last came to Dr. Van Blerk's office "there was a sign on the door saying there's an outbreak of measles. It freaked me out," she said. "In Orange County!"

"I tell parents that you don't necessarily have to live in fear of these diseases," Sears said. "You have to respect them, you have to understand them, but they're fairly unlikely to happen to any child."

Dr. Sears says he's not anti-vaccine, but people need to know about the risks.

"Parents don't want their baby or their child to have a bad side effect. They don't want to be a victim of a very severe vaccine reaction," he said.

But Van Blerk countered: "If you don't vaccinate your child, then you're taking a risk," she said. "You're gambling, and usually at gambling, you lose."




“'I would say about half of my patients are not vaccinating,' he said. It's a growing trend, especially in affluent communities like Santa Monica and Malibu, where nearly 15 percent of kindergarteners are not immunized. In the Orange County community where Sears practices, almost 10 percent of kindergarteners were not vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control says public health is compromised when more than 8 percent of students are not immunized. Sears does not feel he's a part of the problem.... Dr. Margaret Van Blerk, who is also a pediatrician in Orange County, takes exception to Sears' perspective. 'I completely disagree,' she said. 'The research shows that if we don't vaccinate children, they're more likely to get sick and potentially get diseases that can kill them.' Highly contagious diseases like measles are on the rise. California has seen 61 cases so far this year, the highest in two decades. Twenty-two of those cases are in Orange County.... Dr. Sears says he's not anti-vaccine, but people need to know about the risks. 'Parents don't want their baby or their child to have a bad side effect. They don't want to be a victim of a very severe vaccine reaction,' he said.”

Most people don't understand medical issues well enough to make a decision like this against the recommendations of the medical community. There is a trend now among upper middle class liberals who were “hippies” in the 1960s and '70s to follow alternative medicine of all kinds, including acupuncture and other Chinese medicine, food supplements and megadoses of vitamins, chiropractic, faith healing, homeopathy, and undoubtedly more practices that I don't know about. The key with all these people is that they don't trust scientifically trained doctors, considering them to be “uncaring.” Such doctors may have treated them “disrespectfully” when they complained of multiple hard to diagnose symptoms and as much as accuse them of being hypochondriacs.

Unfortunately many of those patients are, in fact, hard core hypochondriacs, and have no real illness. Other doctors like chiropractors, chiropodists, holistic and integrative medicine practitioners are more likely to go out of their way to listen politely to the hypochondriac and treat them for something, which makes the patient feel better, but costs lots of money. The placebo effect is one of the most interesting scientific truths about medicine. You can tell that I am against these doctors, whom I view as con artists, and the failure to get a good diagnosis from a well-trained physician is likely to cause serious trouble for the patient – even death.

See the two articles below on CAM. There is a surprisingly high rate of approval of these non-scientific practices, so that many insurance companies will now pay for their treatments. It doesn't surprise me that large numbers of gullible but well-meaning parents are no longer vaccinating their children. Luckily measles and whooping cough aren't as serious as Ebola, but there is an NPR article in today's website on how superstition is preventing proper cooperation with public health officials in Africa in the battle against Ebola. It is possible that I hate the widespread acceptance of irrational beliefs almost as much as I hate the deeply seated and callous aggression that seems to be such a large component of human psychology (not quite as much, though). Anyway, here are the complementary articles.



http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/consumer-health/in-depth/alternative-medicine/art-20045267

Complementary and alternative medicine
You've heard the hype about complementary and alternative medicine. Now get the facts.

By Mayo Clinic Staff
May26, 2004

“Complementary and alternative medicine has never been more popular. Nearly 40 percent of adults report using complementary and alternative medicine, also called CAM for short. Doctors are embracing CAM therapies, too, often combining them with mainstream medical therapies — spawning the new term "integrative medicine." But what is CAM? This guide explains the ABCs of CAM....”



http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=281559

JAMA, JUNE 25, 1938, Vol 110, No. 26 >
Chiropody: Theory and Practice

ABSTRACT

“The first part of the book is a review of the anatomic structures of interest to the chiropodist. The author warns the chiropodist that many of the conditions which the latter is called on to treat can be successfully handled only by a qualified surgeon. The writer of the foreword to the first edition calls attention to the fact that modern fashions in footwear and overindulgence or carelessness in the pursuit of various sports have increased the frequency of foot complaints. There is today a large number of persons who are attempting, with and without training or qualification, to deal with them. The manuscript has been reviewed, read and corrected by an orthopedic surgeon....”





Oklahoma beheading suspect described as "a little odd" – CBS
AP September 27, 2014, 7:10 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY - A spokesman for an Oklahoma City Islamic group says a man accused of beheading one woman and attacking another at a food processing plant from which he was fired was seen as "a little odd" and "a little weird" by those who attended the same mosque he did.

Saad Mohammed, director of information for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, said Saturday that Alton Nolen began worshipping at one of the group's mosques in May and that he has seen him there several times since.

He says Nolen wasn't outgoing and that his behavior didn't raise any red flags. Mohammed says Nolen attended services where sermons were delivered against beheadings like those committed by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, militants. He says Nolen's actions do not reflect the beliefs of Islam.

Nolen, 30, remains hospitalized in stable condition following Thursday's attack at the Vaughan Foods plant in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis said. He said Nolen will be charged with first-degree murder and assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and that he may also face federal charges.

"We've already interviewed him and charges will be filed on Monday," Lewis said.

Lewis said Nolen was fired right before the attack, and that he then drove from the building that houses the company's human resources department to its main distribution center.

Once inside, he attacked 54-year-old Colleen Hufford with a knife in the center's administrative office area, eventually severing her head, according to police. Nolen then repeatedly stabbed 43-year-old Traci Johnson before Mark Vaughan, a reserve sheriff's deputy and the company's chief operating officer, shot him.

Johnson survived the attack and is also conscious, Lewis said, adding that she is listed in stable condition.

"She is talking. We have interviewed her," Lewis said.

Although the investigation is ongoing, Lewis said police learned Nolen was discharged from Vaughan Foods for "numerous reasons" involving "personnel issues," but that he didn't know the specifics.

Police asked the FBI to help investigate Nolen after co-workers told investigators he had recently started trying to convert several employees to Islam. He said police asked the FBI to look into Lewis' background because of the nature of the attack, which followed a series of high-profile videotaped beheadings by ISIS militants.

Lewis said investigators learned Nolen had attended a Muslim mosque in the Oklahoma City area but that he did not know which one.

In a statement, FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Finch said the motive for the attack had not been determined, but that there is no reason to believe there was a threat to anyone else.

"We don't have any reason to believe there is any danger to the area," Lewis said.

According to Oklahoma Department of Corrections records, Nolen served time in prison and is on probation for assault and battery of a police officer. He also was convicted of cocaine possession with the intent to distribute in 2011.

The records show that Nolen has what appear to be religious tattoos, including one referencing Jesus and one in Arabic that means "peace be with you."




“A spokesman for an Oklahoma City Islamic group says a man accused of beheading one woman and attacking another at a food processing plant from which he was fired was seen as "a little odd" and "a little weird" by those who attended the same mosque he did. Saad Mohammed, director of information for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, said Saturday that Alton Nolen began worshipping at one of the group's mosques in May and that he has seen him there several times since. He says Nolen wasn't outgoing and that his behavior didn't raise any red flags. Mohammed says Nolen attended services where sermons were delivered against beheadings like those committed by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, militants. He says Nolen's actions do not reflect the beliefs of Islam.... He said Nolen will be charged with first-degree murder and assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and that he may also face federal charges. 'We've already interviewed him and charges will be filed on Monday,' Lewis said.... Nolen then repeatedly stabbed 43-year-old Traci Johnson before Mark Vaughan, a reserve sheriff's deputy and the company's chief operating officer, shot him.... Police asked the FBI to help investigate Nolen after co-workers told investigators he had recently started trying to convert several employees to Islam. He said police asked the FBI to look into Lewis' background because of the nature of the attack, which followed a series of high-profile videotaped beheadings by ISIS militants. Lewis said investigators learned Nolen had attended a Muslim mosque in the Oklahoma City area but that he did not know which one.”

This is another case of a person with serious mental problems passing as only “a little weird.” The fact that he had recently joined the Islamic religion and was probably impressed by news videos of ISIS beheadings makes it seem even more threatening, as ISIS voices threats against us. A member of his mosque said that Nolan “attended services where sermons were delivered against beheadings.” As a fact, however, I personally don't feel entirely sure that his mosque was definitely not preaching a radical belief, and I'm sure the federal authorities will be paying close attention to all mosques in this country, as they probably should be. Politically oriented religion – including the “Christian” churches that preach racial hatred in some parts of the country – are all dangerous. They foster hatred as a philosophy and they are illogical and radical, drawing in more mentally disturbed people than healthy people. This was one good case of an armed off-duty police officer being on the scene of the attack. It could have been much worse otherwise.







RENEWABLE ENERGY


Tiny Spanish Island Nears Its Goal: 100 Percent Renewable Energy – NPR
by LAUREN FRAYER
September 28, 2014

Five industrial wind turbines form part of the Gorona del Viento power plant on the island of El Hierro. By the end of this year, the power plant is set to generate 100 percent of the energy El Hierro needs, making it the world's first energy-independent island powered only by renewables.

On days with little wind, water stored in El Hierro's upper reservoir is released through a pipe that cuts through the rocky hillside, falling through turbines and into this lower lake, for storage. On days with surplus wind energy, this water is pumped up the mountain to the mountaintop lake, for storage.

It actually takes quite a lot of fossil fuel power to reach the tiny Spanish island of El Hierro. You have to catch a commercial jet flight, a propeller plane and then a ferry to reach what was once the end of the known world, before Columbus set sail.

But once you're there, there's no need for fossil fuels at all. The ancient island off the west coast of Africa is now a model for the future, within months of running on 100 percent renewable energy, which consists of a mix of wind and hydro-power.

El Hierro, the most remote of Spain's Canary Islands, is now billing itself as the world's first energy self-sufficient island that has never been hooked up to a power grid.

A Danish island, Samso, is also energy-independent, but was previously hooked up to the Danish grid and didn't make the change in isolation, like El Hierro.

Because of the topography of the surrounding seabed, El Hierro, an active volcanic island with a population of about 10,000, could never hook up to Spain's power grid.

Instead, it used big barges to ship in 6,600 tons of diesel fuel — the equivalent of 40,000 barrels of oil — each year, to power electricity generators. It was an expensive, time-consuming and dirty endeavor ... until now.

This past summer, El Hierro inaugurated the Gorona del Vientopower plant, a $110 million wind and water turbine farm. By the end of this year, the plant will generate all of the island's energy needs of up to 48 gigawatt hours per year.

The plant consists of five big industrial windmills and two lakes. On windy days — and there are plenty — the windmills harness the Canary Islands' Atlantic gusts. When production exceeds demand, such as at night, excess energy is used to pump water from a sea-level lake up into a natural volcanic crater half a mile uphill.

When the wind dies down, the water is released down through a pipe connecting the two lakes. On its way, it passes through turbines, which generate hydro-power.

Everything is connected with sensors so that within five seconds of the wind dying down, the hydro portion of the plant kicks in. For island residents, the lights don't even flicker.

The technology used in both the wind and water portions of the plant is simple, but El Hierro is the first to combine the two components, says Juan Manuel Quintero, an engineer who serves on the board of the Gorona del Viento plant.

"The wind machines, we basically ordered out of catalog; we didn't invent the technology. Same with the water turbines," Quintero says. "The innovation we made is hooking up the two systems together."

The Spanish government, a local university and a Spanish power company all collaborated on the project. Gorona del Viento is one of the last major efforts the Spanish government approved before the financial crisis forced it to cut all subsidies for renewable energy.

"We're lucky the crisis came when the project was almost finished," says Alpidio Armas, president of the El Hierro cabildo, a role roughly equivalent to that of a U.S. Governor.

El Hierro has long been known as a place people emigrated from. It's a harsh outpost far from the Spanish mainland, in the middle of the Atlantic. But Armas hopes the Gorona del Viento power station could revitalize the place, and make local residents proud of their island.

"When they turn on the light, they think of the windmills moving and maybe they think, 'We are different than the rest of the world, because we are catching electricity from these windmills and not from conventional engines,'" Armas says.

The Gorona del Viento power station is the talk of the cafes in El Hierro's biggest settlement, Valverde. Many residents hope their island's new 'green' credentials might draw ecologically-minded tourists.

"It seems like a good investment for us, and everyone benefits — economically and environmentally," says local resident Ildefonso Santana.

It won't immediately affect their pocketbooks, though. Electricity prices are set at the national level, so El Hierro's residents won't pay less for wind and water energy than they were paying for diesel-generated power before.

But they will get energy security for the future, says economist Gonzalo Escribano of the Elcano Royal Institute, a think tank in Madrid.

"How much will be the price for oil in 20 years' time? We don't know! But we are sure that we will still have wind in the Canary Islands in 20 years time," Escribano says. "And the price, or the cost to generate an additional gigawatt, will be ... zero."

Meanwhile, El Hierro is already planning its next energy project. It wants all the island's cars to be electric by the year 2020.




“Five industrial wind turbines form part of the Gorona del Viento power plant on the island of El Hierro. By the end of this year, the power plant is set to generate 100 percent of the energy El Hierro needs, making it the world's first energy-independent island powered only by renewables. On days with little wind, water stored in El Hierro's upper reservoir is released through a pipe that cuts through the rocky hillside, falling through turbines and into this lower lake, for storage. On days with surplus wind energy, this water is pumped up the mountain to the mountaintop lake, for storage....

The island is “what was once the end of the known world, before Columbus set sail.” That's really interesting and must be fun for those who live there. “El Hierro, the most remote of Spain's Canary Islands, is now billing itself as the world's first energy self-sufficient island that has never been hooked up to a power grid.” It did, however, use barges to bring in over 6,000 barrels of diesel for individual generators. It was dirty and expensive. “'The wind machines, we basically ordered out of catalog; we didn't invent the technology. Same with the water turbines,' Quintero says. 'The innovation we made is hooking up the two systems together.' The Spanish government, a local university and a Spanish power company all collaborated on the project. Gorona del Viento is one of the last major efforts the Spanish government approved before the financial crisis forced it to cut all subsidies for renewable energy.” The water and wind systems are hooked up by a sensor which can tell immediately – within five second – when the wind stops blowing, so that the water system kicks in without the lights even flickering, according to the article.

Big coal and oil in the US has continued to fight the use and development of renewables, and this story proves that there are ways around power failures-- on of the main stumbling blocks of renewable energy according to big oil and coal. This case on El Hierro required the presence of two lakes, one up high enough to produce energy from falling water and the other at sea level, but there are at least ten other energy sources that can be used using current technology. See this article on website http://listverse.com/2009/05/01/top-10-renewable-energy-sources/. Skimming it I have detected the following methods: tidal movement, waves, solar, wind, hydroelectricity, radiant energy (used by Tesla to power a wireless telephone in 1896!!), Geothermal (from volcanoes), biomass (living and recently dead biological material), compressed natural gas and nuclear. This is a very interesting and informative article, and written for the non-scientist. Have a go at it.





Will They Fly? Wind-Power Alternatives Buffeted by Technical Squalls NBC
BY MIGUEL LLANOS
First published September 27th 2014

Energy startups are trying to get power where no one has gone before: hundreds of feet up in the air, harnessing wind that blows steadier and stronger than on the ground.

But along with technical challenges that come on the cutting edge of the renewable energy industry, they now must factor in cheap natural gas — an obstacle for all kinds of alternative power technologies, say experts.

Altaeros Energies, a 10-person enterprise out of Boston, is a case in point. Started by MIT grads, the company is already four years into developing its BAT (Buoyant Airborne Turbine) — a 40-foot diameter, helium-filled blimp wrapped around a wind turbine — and weighing in at around a ton.

The goal: Float BATs some 2,000 feet up, in 30- to 45-mph winds, in order to generate power sent down a cable that tethers each to the ground.

CEO Ben Glass, an aerospace engineer, tells NBCNews.com that the BAT’s beauty is that it repurposes proven blimp and wind technology — combining them to get two to three times more electricity than turbines on the ground since the BAT can adjust its height and alignment as winds change.

“We try to invent as little as possible,” he says, and instead “take mature technology and combine it to make a useful product.”

But combining those technologies at altitude and in high winds translates into engineering challenges. And these ideas are so new that getting permits from government agencies just for testing is its own labyrinth.

Altaeros did get a $740,000 grant from the Alaska Energy Authority, which is always looking for ways around the expensive and dirty use of diesel generators in remote parts of the state.

By the end of next year, Glass says, a BAT should be flying outside Fairbanks, adding enough power to the local grid to supply a dozen homes as part of an 18-month pilot project.

The Alaska Energy Authority will monitor not just how the BAT handles the elements, says emerging energy program manager Alan Baldivieso, but also key logistics like the “ease of anchoring the device, and time and effort to raise, lower and stow the device.”

Altaeros’ brethren in this niche known as airborne wind energy include KiteGen of Italy and Makani, a Bay Area startup bought by Google in 2013. Both have radically different designs and aim for much larger power generation than Altaeros.

KiteGen this month unveiled its “Power Wing,” which has the wingspan of a jetliner and aims to produce power by flying figure-8 patterns 1,000 feet or higher while tethered to the ground. The pull from the wind would activate a generator to produce electricity, but KiteGen acknowledged its road to viability is “still long.” (See KiteGen's animated video of how the system would work below.)

Makani, which declined to comment for this story, is developing a tethered glider that flies in circles hundreds of feet above ground, with wind currents turning four rotors that drive a generator on the ground.

And it's not just startups that are looking at airborne wind — NASA has a small team developing a a system of three rotors moving around a stationary hub to capture energy at around 1,000 to 2,000 feet, while also being used to monitor anything from crop conditions to sharks along miles of beach.

"It's the multifunctionality that could make them affordable," says project manager Mark Moore, adding that his next steps include a test flight hopefully by yearend. Having watched this niche from his NASA seat over the last five years, Moore also sees a big obstacle in cheap natural gas.

"That makes it difficult for new wind energy to get established," he says.

It’s a hindrance, agrees Dan Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, because “most markets are rushing to gas without using it to enable renewables” by creating cogeneration systems that use gas when solar or wind are unavailable.

Kammen’s take on airborne wind is that its “great potential” also could be undermined by the issue of where to site these tethered devices.

That could be especially problematic for a company envisioning fleets powering at large scale, but Altaeros says its model — serving remote areas — takes care of that as well as the natural gas issue.

In Alaska, for example, many remote areas have no access to natural gas-fired power plants and diesel power can cost up to $1 per kilowatt hour.

Altaeros says it can easily beat that and even a recent target of 18 cents a kWh.

“We’re pretty confident we can get well below 18 cents in the medium term,” says Glass.

Altaeros also envisions supporting areas hit by natural disasters, and selling to mines and oil sites where power is needed only as long as a resource is being extracted.

Expecting commercial sales to begin in 2016, Glass plans to hire a few more people soon and, in the meantime, rely on private investors as well as federal and state grants.

“You have to be patient and let the technology mature. If you push it too soon, the perception, while not true, is that the technology failed.”

What bodes well for cutting-edge companies like Altaeros is that energy is shifting from the hub-spoke system of large power plants feeding wide areas, says Dana Christensen, deputy director for science and technology at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.

“One can envision, in the not too distant future, a lot more energy storage in the home” and a choice of where to get it from, he says. “It will be driven a lot by personal preference.”

But Christensen also has a warning based on hydrogen fuel cells, which have yet to live up to the hype a decade ago about revolutionizing cars.

“You have to be patient and let the technology mature,” he says. “If you push it too soon the perception, while not true, is that the technology failed.”

Up in Alaska, high hopes exist for technologies like airborne wind — BAT is one of 20 cutting edge projects funded with $11 million. “Alaska faces some of the highest energy costs in the nation and, as a result, we continue to push the boundaries of innovation in the search for more affordable energy,” says Baldivieso.

But there plenty of unknowns, starting with how many communities might be served by the BAT or similar devices.

“We just don’t know at this time,” says Baldivieso, citing issues like permits, “realistic operating altitudes” and reliably getting BAT power to the grid. “There are many unanswered variables.”




“Energy startups are trying to get power where no one has gone before: hundreds of feet up in the air, harnessing wind that blows steadier and stronger than on the ground. But along with technical challenges that come on the cutting edge of the renewable energy industry, they now must factor in cheap natural gas — an obstacle for all kinds of alternative power technologies, say experts.... The goal: Float BATs some 2,000 feet up, in 30- to 45-mph winds, in order to generate power sent down a cable that tethers each to the ground...it repurposes proven blimp and wind technology — combining them to get two to three times more electricity than turbines on the ground since the BAT can adjust its height and alignment as winds change....'We try to invent as little as possible,' he says, and instead 'take mature technology and combine it to make a useful product.'... Altaeros’ brethren in this niche known as airborne wind energy include KiteGen of Italy and Makani, a Bay Area startup bought by Google in 2013. Both have radically different designs and aim for much larger power generation than Altaeros.... In Alaska, for example, many remote areas have no access to natural gas-fired power plants and diesel power can cost up to $1 per kilowatt hour. Altaeros says it can easily beat that and even a recent target of 18 cents a kWh. 'We’re pretty confident we can get well below 18 cents in the medium term,' says Glass. Altaeros also envisions supporting areas hit by natural disasters, and selling to mines and oil sites where power is needed only as long as a resource is being extracted.... What bodes well for cutting-edge companies like Altaeros is that energy is shifting from the hub-spoke system of large power plants feeding wide areas, says Dana Christensen....”

This article closes with “there are many unanswered variables,” and warns that in many cases something like natural gas would be less expensive, but there is a great deal of hope here for the future, and for niche markets of various kinds. Meanwhile, new science is being developed pretty fast, it seems to me, now that entrepreneurs are ignoring the challenge of big oil and coal and Republican congressmen, and pushing on with their projects. We may have a very positive business environment around energy technology in another decade or two. I am encouraged.






Chelsea Clinton Gives Bill And Hillary Their First Grandchild – NPR
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and KEN THOMAS
September 27, 2014

Bill and Hillary Clinton are grandparents. The couple's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, has given birth to her first child, a daughter named Charlotte.

Chelsea Clinton announced the baby's birth on Twitter early Saturday.

Clinton spokesman Kamyl Bazbaz said the child was born on Friday, but he did not immediately provide additional details. The couple lives in New York City.

The baby arrives as Hillary Clinton deliberates on whether to seek the White House in 2016, a decision that could put her on a path to becoming the nation's first female president. Clinton is the leading Democratic contender to succeed President Barack Obama, her former 2008 campaign rival, and has said she expects to make a decision around the beginning of next year.

The baby has been eagerly anticipated as Hillary Clinton considers her political future — she has called the prospect of becoming a grandmother her "most exciting title yet." She even has picked out the first book she intends to read to her grandchild, the classic "Goodnight Moon."

The former secretary of state has said she didn't want to make any decisions about another campaign until the baby's arrival, pointing to her interest in enjoying becoming a grandmother for the first time. If Clinton decides to run for president, her campaign would coincide with the baby's first two years.

Former President Clinton has been eager to become a grandfather. During an event with former President George W. Bush in September, Mr. Clinton's cell phone rang on stage and he joked that only two people had the number "and they are related to me," musing that he hoped he wasn't becoming "a premature grandfather."

"Every day I get up and I say, 'You have to remember whose child this is. Do not interfere. Be there when you are welcome. Be loving but not judgmental," Clinton said to laughs in an interview with CNN at his annual Clinton Global Initiative, only days before the baby's arrival.

Even Obama got into the act. Addressing the annual Clinton confab, Obama quipped that if Chelsea Clinton went into labor during his speech, "she has my motorcade and will be able to navigate traffic."




“Clinton spokesman Kamyl Bazbaz said the child was born on Friday, but he did not immediately provide additional details. The couple lives in New York City.... 'Every day I get up and I say, 'You have to remember whose child this is. Do not interfere. Be there when you are welcome. Be loving but not judgmental,' Clinton said to laughs in an interview with CNN at his annual Clinton Global Initiative, only days before the baby's arrival. Even Obama got into the act. Addressing the annual Clinton confab, Obama quipped that if Chelsea Clinton went into labor during his speech, 'she has my motorcade and will be able to navigate traffic.'”

Bill Clinton's quote about “whose child this is” makes me think that Chelsea has inherited not only his, but also Hillary's strong temperaments. I remember when she made the news at the college prep school which she shared with Carolyn Starr, the daughter of Kenneth Starr, who was Bill's mortal political enemy during his famous Whitewater trial. The two girls got into a heated argument that made the news. Her father said she had to develop a thick skin, with Wayne's World doing a cruel skit about her and John McCain making an equally bad joke. According to this article – http://nymag.com/news/features/44454/index3.html – “Nevertheless, this year’s presumptive Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, had to apologize for telling this joke at a Washington dinner in 1998: “Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father.” Politics has been really much more heartless in the last 30 years than in the '50s when I was young. Of course in those days there were the occasional racist jokes and I understand Republicans were equally unkind to Eleanor Roosevelt for being less than beautiful. That's okay. She had inner beauty and was, besides, absolutely brilliant.