Friday, February 8, 2008

Check this out...

by Vinny

Here is an interesting article on biofuels and how they actually could HURT the environment. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/science/earth/08wbiofuels.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Clear Skies

posted by Riley

Almost one hundred years ago Orville and Wilbur Wright built the first fully functional airplane. In the last one hundred years, aeronautical engineers have been working towards the ultimate aircraft. As of this year, the European aeronautics scientists believe they have found that ultimate aircraft, project Lapcat or, Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies has designed an aircraft called A2 that will burn liquid hydrogen at Mach 5. The A2 is only in the design stage but Lapcat’s designers at Reaction Engines (http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/index.html) feel confident in its design.
The A2’s predecessor named Concorde wasn’t as successful. Many of the Concorde’s qualities were incapable of the goals that were hoped to be fulfilled. Now, Lapcat’s scientists are sure they will succeed after some minor adjustments are made. Scientists have estimated that the A2 will be able to fly at Mach 5. There are some problems though with such high speed planes. At mach five windows will be shredded in seconds. Another is that not all civilians are comfortable or safe at such speeds. The bright side is that a 22 hour flight would be reduced to four short hours. This is not a for-sure plane but it looks like a pretty good goal.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Green Jobs

In the United States, the wind energy industry currently employs about 45,000 people and had $9 billion worth of investment last year, which is a 45 percent increase from 2006," says Randall Swisher, executive director of American Wind and Energy Association. Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hilliary Clinton both say that they would funnel federal money into job-training for workers to become experienced in green industries. The Republician candidates also say they have plans to stimulate clean energy, but none have adressed the workforce training for these energy fields. TPI Composite Inc., a company that builds wind turbines, promised to created 300 jobs in three years at a base pay of $12.25 an hour. As long as alternative energy keeps expanding, there will be many future jobs in this field.