All posts by Jeremy Eades

I'm an English teacher in Japan. I have an interest in the brain and language acquisition, not to mention writing and the pipedream that I'll become the next Asimov. Or something like that. Nice to meet you!
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Good news for solar power, but problems remain

From FuturePundit, we get a rough outline of the solar situation in the US.  Basically, solar power is growing more popular, but the percentage of homes using solar power is still tiny.  According to this article at the Wall Street Journal, various problems await homeowners looking to install solar panels.  In addition to months-long waits, one of the biggest problems is that the panels are installed incorrectly, making them very inefficient.

Overall, though, solar usage is growing and expanding into markets beyond conventional home power.  Golf carts, pool heaters, and solar water heaters are all becoming more popular.  Other good news includes a move from solar thermal cells, where the sun heats up liquid that is used to make electricity, to photovoltaic cells which convert sunlight directly into electricity.

As a young, single guy who hasn’t lived in a place more than three years since high school, buying a house and making it energy efficient won’t happen anytime soon.  I plan on keeping a close eye on developments, however.

(image via Beige Alert)

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Multi-touch computer as an expensive coffee table

It seems like the time is ripe for new technology in the way we view media and interact with computers.  First we saw wearable monitors, and now Microsoft’s come out with a tabletop touch screen with a range of applications.  The Microsoft Surface will be available only to companies at first, so it’s got applications for ordering food, a map function to help you find your way in a mall or hotel, and a jukebox function compatible with the Microsoft Zune ("subject to DRM restrictions, of course").  Possible home functions include Paint, a photo application, and a sort of jigsaw puzzle where each piece displays part of a movie and you must arrange them in the proper order.

At a launch price of $5,000-$10,000, it’s just as well your average Joe won’t be able to buy it.  But Microsoft hopes the price will come down as demand grows and technology gets cheaper.  And when it gets cheap enough, I’ll be there ready to play at being John Anderton (without the cops chasing me, of course).

(image from kjd)

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(Yet another) reason why biofuels may not be the answer

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In addition to worries about driving up food prices around the world, especially in developing nations, there comes a study from Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul Crutzen that biofuel may be even worse for us than fossil fuels.  The team calculates that biofuels can release 50-70% more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, as well as release roughly twice as much nitrous oxide (N2O) as previously thought.

I think the problem here is that everyone is looking for a way to maintain their current standard of living and not admit that this level of energy usage will have to decrease.  The funny thing is, it’s not all that difficult to reduce the usage, if only just a little.  I think it’s actually more difficult to get your car converted to biodiesel than biking/walking to nearby places and not leaving lights on.  But that’s just me.

(via SciTechDaily) (image from neilsphotoalbum)

Update: Apologies, I misread the news report. I should’ve found the original paper first. It turns out that Dr. Crutzen found that N2O was marketdly increased, and if the environmental effects of N2O were converted into how much cooling CO2 would do, it comes out to be the afore-stated 50-70% increase. Which is a lot. Dr. Crutzen also stated he did not take into account the fossil fuel required to power the agricultural process (plowing, harvesting, etc), not did it take into account any beneficial co-products. He only focused on N2O production. It seems there is also some controversy about the efficacy of the calculations used. Please see the paper here(pdf).

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News flash: space germs can kill

From the Department of Science that Scares Me comes this little piece on salmonella sent to space that came back more dangerous than before.  The researchers describe it as a mutation that allowed the bacteria to survive in a certain kind of environment – microgravity – that fortuitously allowed them to be more effective (read: deadly) in organisms.

Thanks for giving me something more to worry about.  Sheesh!

(via DailyTech)

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China’s One Child Policy has some flaws (surprise, surprise)

If you’re concerned about the environment and reducing your carbon footprint, forget about local food and driving a Prius.  One of the biggest reductions you can make is to not have that second kid you were thinking of.  It’s worked in China, hasn’t it?

Well, not really.  Chinese culture works similar to the West in that the male child retains the family name.  But in addition, that male child will be around to take care of the aging parents.  Girls, on the other hand, basically become part of their husband’s family and have little to no contact with their birth family.  While that may be changing in the cities and more modern areas, the old ways prevail in rural China.  And there’s a lot of China that still behaves that way.

So what to do?  Well, first off a family hoping for a boy that first time around will abort any females.  Demographically, this is a nightmare as it leads to a surplus of males, some of whom will resort to violence to spread their genes, while others might resort to something a bit kinky, like wife-sharing.

If you can’t get your boy the natural way, China’s got a market for that, too. Roughly 190 children a day go missing in China.  For comparison, England and Wales combined report less than half that number in an entire year.  A boy can fetch several hundred pounds, about six months’ salary for a factory worker.

Something must be done about the population, but trying to make a law about something like this without taking culture into account can lead to big problems.  A better way might be providing contraception to those who need it.

(image via September Mourning)