Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Fifty-seven years ago this week, the USN/Convair YF2Y-1 Sea Dart became the first and only seaplane ever to exceed the speed of sound. Convair test pilot Charles E. Richbourg was at the controls of the experimental sea-based fighter. In 1948, the United States was looking to develop a sea-based supersonic fighter as a means projecting naval
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Ontario’s Liberal government has entrenched the legal rights of 1,800 proposed renewable energy contracts – making it impossible for a new government to cancel them. The Liberals have changed the terms for approving contracts under its feed-in tariff program or FIT. Under the old system, the Ontario Power Authority, which signs the contracts with power developers, could
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
The U.S. Agency for International Development will continue its series of weekly seminars at the National Press Club. Tomorrow, USAID will hold its fifth and final seminar, entitled “Geospatial Information Systems: More than Making Maps, It’s about ‘Thinking Spatially.'” Read More
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
After appearing to make progress in cooling tensions over the South China Sea in recent weeks, Southeast Asia and China face the potential for more trouble ahead as oil and gas companies expand their exploration work in the contested waters. Read More
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
When the City Planning Commission and City Council last year completed action on the first true master plan ever created for New Orleans’ long-term development, they were only halfway through the task of changing the way the city regulates land use. Still to come was the first real revision in decades of New Orleans’ comprehensive
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
With the wide acceptance of global warming as both real and potentially problematic, geoengineering — defined by the UK’s Royal Society as “the deliberate large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change” — is currently experiencing a surge of interest. Despite the differentiated nature of the challenges, the greatest risk and uncertainty
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Polarcus Ltd. plans to begin soon a 3D multi-client seismic acquisition project over the Bjarmeland Platform in the Barents Sea offshore Norway. Industry pre-funding is supporting the survey, which could cover an area of 1,100 sq km (425 sq mi) by the time it is completed. The Polarcus Samur vessel is expected to take up to
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Home owners in high-risk flooding areas will have a harder time finding insurance as a result of the enormous damages inflicted by last month’s record-breaking thunderstorm. Certain areas are now being blacklisted by insurance companies who have received over 60,000 claims resulting from the three hour downpour. Read More
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Harnessing energy from moving water is an ancient technology. Hundreds of years ago, water-powered mills were used to produce flour from grain, operate pumps, saws and other tools. Since the late 19th century, the kinetic energy in flowing water has been used to generate electricity. A hydroelectric system involves putting up a dam to store vast
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
A panel of government and industry representatives has approved the first six interoperability standards to help guide the creation of an intelligent energy distribution grid. The Catalog of Standards is being developed by the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to fill technical gaps identified in the development of a smart-grid
