contrails

It may be a little premature to decommission your home heating system
just yet.

http://tinyurl.com/yj52vby

delboy wrote:

If AGW is shown to be a scientific myth, I trust that the UK
Government will withdraw Airport Passenger Duty (tax) and other
'green' taxes.

Derek Copeland

Some people in the US are no saying, if WE had instituted escalating
fuel taxes 20 yrs ago, we would not now be dealing with gas-guzzlers,
but instead choosing from more miserly fuel consumers like Them Thar
folks in Europe....

Air Ticket taxes are disincentivizing air travel - but not so much as
the "look Ma! she's nekkid" equipment now being installed....

Brian W

Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Jan 11, 4:39 pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
"Only 19 percent of the ice cover was over 2 years old, the least in the
satellite record and far below the 1981-2000 average of 52 percent."

I don't know about you, but it seems clear to me that if ice was at
the lowest level ever two years ago and has since staged a huge
recovery, then saying that 81% of the the ice cover is less than two
years old doesn't actually add any new information and certainly is
not bad news.


On the face of it, this looks like the opinion of a person with a 2 year
time horizon, but there's more to it: if 81% of ice in some location
disappeared at least 2 years ago, then we are not seeing catastrophic
results from that.

Or are we? :-)

Brian W

On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:47:53 -0800, Tom Gardner wrote:

2) If everyone turns their thermostats one degree closer to the outside
temperature, drives a smaller car, and switches off phone chargers when
not in use, will an energy crisis be averted?

My sister pointed out recently that British people tend to keep their
houses warmer than we did/do in NZ, so turning down the thermostat is not
a hardship - just put on a pullover over your T-shirt in winter.

Smaller cars is a problem for us in the trailer towing fraternity. My
main gripe with the current crop of electric and hybrid cars is that
nobody mentions towing, that I've seen anyway. There's one exception:
Aptera say NO TOWING up front. I guess the same goes for many of the rest
but they're too chicken to mention it.

Hungry chargers are just stupidly bad technology and should be banned.
Chargers that use no power[1] when they're plugged in but not connected
to anything have been around for at least 8 years, so there's no excuse
for selling one that burns power when its under no load.

Anyway, I just looked at four chargers I happened to have handy and
here's what it shows they burn when plugged into the mains and
disconnected from the things they charge:

18 month old Lenovo laptop PSU (65w o/p) 0 watts.
my much older Thinkpad 560Z PSU (54w o/p) 1.9 watts.
iPAQ 3630 PSU (10w o/p) 2.0 watts.
2001 Motorola T250 phone charger (2.5w o/p) 0 watts.

[1] I recently bought myself a power meter for a tenner from Maplins. It
which reads to 0.1 watts, so a reading of 0.0 should mean 50 mW
consumption or less. These power meters are simple to use: they have a 13
amp plug on the back and a 13 amp socket on the front, so you just plug
them in between the wall and the device you want to measure.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Jan 11, 4:39 pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:

"Only 19 percent of the ice cover was over 2 years old, the least in the
satellite record and far below the 1981-2000 average of 52 percent."


I don't know about you, but it seems clear to me that if ice was at
the lowest level ever two years ago and has since staged a huge
recovery, then saying that 81% of the the ice cover is less than two
years old doesn't actually add any new information and certainly is
not bad news.

It has not staged a "huge" recovery. 2009 is the _third lowest year_ in
the 30 year satellite record. And the loss of multi-year ice is crucial:
"The ice cover remained thin, leaving the ice cover vulnerable to melt
in coming summers."

That's from http://nsidc.org/news/press/20091005_minimumpr.html

While you are on that page, take a look at fig. 3 to see the extent of
the recovery.

And finally, the examination of the ice from ships found the ice was
less that the satellites were reporting:

"Recently published research by Barber and colleagues shows that the ice
cover was even more fragile at the end of the melt season than satellite
data indicated, with regions of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas covered by
small, rotten ice http://nsidc.org/cgi-bin/words/word.pl?rotten%20ice
floes."

There is no good news from the National Snow and Ice Center, regardless
of the The Mail says.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Gary Evans wrote:
It may be a little premature to decommission your home heating system
just yet.

http://tinyurl.com/yj52vby

Hi Gary - you need to read beyond the article, and look at their
reference. Here is what I posted earlier---------------

And along those lines, be sure to read what the US National Snow and Ice
Data Centre in Colorado, a source they reference, says regarding 2009:

"Arctic sea ice extent remains low; 2009 sees third-lowest mark"

"We still expect to see ice-free summers sometime in the next few decades.”

"Arctic sea ice extent at end of December 2009 remained below normal"

"The linear rate of decline for December is now 3.3% per decade."

"Despite the cool summer, the ice remained thin and vulnerable at the
sea ice minimum, with little of the older, thicker ice that used to
characterize much of the Arctic."

"Only 19 percent of the ice cover was over 2 years old, the least in the
satellite record and far below the 1981-2000 average of 52 percent."

Finally, look at fig. 3 on this page:

http://nsidc.org/news/press/20091005_minimumpr.html

No good news at the NSIDC, unfortunately, despite The Mail's spin on it.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

On Jan 12, 1:56*am, Martin Gregorie
wrote:
On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:47:53 -0800, Tom Gardner wrote:
2) If everyone turns their thermostats one degree closer to the outside
temperature, drives a smaller car, and switches off phone chargers when
not in use, will an energy crisis be averted?

My sister pointed out recently that British people tend to keep their
houses warmer than we did/do in NZ, so turning down the thermostat is not
a hardship - just put on a pullover over your T-shirt in winter.

Smaller cars is a problem for us in the trailer towing fraternity. My
main gripe with the current crop of electric and hybrid cars is that
nobody mentions towing, that I've seen anyway. There's one exception:
Aptera say NO TOWING up front. I guess the same goes for many of the rest
but they're too chicken to mention it.


It's interesting how 4x4s suddenly went from being reviled 'gas-
guzzling destroyers of the planet' and 'Chelsea Tractors' to being the
best thing since sliced bread, during the UK's recent return to the
ice age!

As far as I am aware, none of the current electric or hydrid vehicles
have much in the way of towing capacity, which would be a big problem
for glider pilots, even those who own electrically powered self
launchers such as the Antares. It should be accepted that some
vehicles do need to be gasoline or diesel powered for some
applications.

Derek Copeland

On Jan 11, 7:54*pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Gary Evans wrote:
It may be a little premature to decommission your home heating system
just yet.

http://tinyurl.com/yj52vby

Hi Gary - you need to read beyond the article, and look at their
reference. Here is what I posted earlier---------------

And along those lines, be sure to read what the US National Snow and Ice
Data Centre in Colorado, a source they reference, says regarding 2009:

"Arctic sea ice extent remains low; 2009 sees third-lowest mark"

"We still expect to see ice-free summers sometime in the next few decades..”

"Arctic sea ice extent at end of December 2009 remained below normal"

"The linear rate of decline for December is now 3.3% per decade."

"Despite the cool summer, the ice remained thin and vulnerable at the
sea ice minimum, with little of the older, thicker ice that used to
characterize much of the Arctic."

"Only 19 percent of the ice cover was over 2 years old, the least in the
satellite record and far below the 1981-2000 average of 52 percent."

Finally, look at fig. 3 on this page:

http://nsidc.org/news/press/20091005_minimumpr.html

No good news at the NSIDC, unfortunately, despite The Mail's spin on it.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly


Eric, have you looked at all of the information on Rutan's web site?
http://tinyurl.com/pfy9tk
There is just so much conflicting information out there and both sides
are soooo convinced that they have it right.
There appears to be just as good an argument on either side but as I
mentioned before religions require both faith and sacrifice. If you
really think the ice is going away there are two choices. One is to
try and convince everyone else that they must join the new religion of
self-flagellation and some how turn this whole thing around by paying
third world countries not to cut down any more trees. The other more
direct action would be to measure exactly how high your house is above
the sea level and act accordingly while prices are still up. You do
live on high ground right?

On Jan 11, 6:56*pm, Martin Gregorie
wrote:
On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:47:53 -0800, Tom Gardner wrote:
2) If everyone turns their thermostats one degree closer to the outside
temperature, drives a smaller car, and switches off phone chargers when
not in use, will an energy crisis be averted?

My sister pointed out recently that British people tend to keep their
houses warmer than we did/do in NZ, so turning down the thermostat is not
a hardship - just put on a pullover over your T-shirt in winter.

Smaller cars is a problem for us in the trailer towing fraternity. My
main gripe with the current crop of electric and hybrid cars is that
nobody mentions towing, that I've seen anyway. There's one exception:
Aptera say NO TOWING up front. I guess the same goes for many of the rest
but they're too chicken to mention it.

Hungry chargers are just stupidly bad technology and should be banned.
Chargers that use no power[1] when they're plugged in but not connected
to anything have been around for at least 8 years, so there's no excuse
for selling one that burns power when its under no load.

Anyway, I just looked at four chargers I happened to have handy and
here's what it shows they burn when plugged into the mains and
disconnected from the things they charge:

18 month old Lenovo laptop PSU (65w o/p) * * * *0 * watts.
my much older Thinkpad 560Z PSU (54w o/p) * * * 1.9 watts.
iPAQ 3630 PSU (10w o/p) * * * * * * * * * * * * 2..0 watts.
2001 Motorola T250 phone charger (2.5w o/p) * * 0 * watts.

[1] I recently bought myself a power meter for a tenner from Maplins. It *
which reads to 0.1 watts, so a reading of 0.0 should mean 50 mW
consumption or less. These power meters are simple to use: they have a 13
amp plug on the back and a 13 amp socket on the front, so you just plug
them in between the wall and the device you want to measure.

--
martin@ * | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org * * * |

I suspect the concept of "powered trailers" will pop up more
frequently. This is not an unproven concept since the mining industry
has used it for years.

If you use a load cell to measure the push-pull loads at the trailer
hitch, the data can be used to control electric motors in the trailer
wheels. If a glider trailer housed a large battery, possibly charged
with a large solar panel on top and wheel motors, it could minimize
the loads imposed on the towing vehicle by essentially powering
itself. The wheel motors would also provide regenerative braking.

The whole car-trailer combo then becomes a parallel hybrid which
permits the use of a much smaller and less powerful car. The fuel
savings while towing would be small compared to the fuel savings
achieved by driving a small, fuel efficient yet tow capable car when
not towing.

The energy capacity of the trailer battery pack coupled to an inverter
could also power things like power tools and polishers when parked at
the airport.

On Jan 12, 11:12*am, bildan wrote:
On Jan 11, 6:56*pm, Martin Gregorie
wrote:



On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:47:53 -0800, Tom Gardner wrote:
2) If everyone turns their thermostats one degree closer to the outside
temperature, drives a smaller car, and switches off phone chargers when
not in use, will an energy crisis be averted?

My sister pointed out recently that British people tend to keep their
houses warmer than we did/do in NZ, so turning down the thermostat is not
a hardship - just put on a pullover over your T-shirt in winter.

Smaller cars is a problem for us in the trailer towing fraternity. My
main gripe with the current crop of electric and hybrid cars is that
nobody mentions towing, that I've seen anyway. There's one exception:
Aptera say NO TOWING up front. I guess the same goes for many of the rest
but they're too chicken to mention it.

Hungry chargers are just stupidly bad technology and should be banned.
Chargers that use no power[1] when they're plugged in but not connected
to anything have been around for at least 8 years, so there's no excuse
for selling one that burns power when its under no load.

Anyway, I just looked at four chargers I happened to have handy and
here's what it shows they burn when plugged into the mains and
disconnected from the things they charge:

18 month old Lenovo laptop PSU (65w o/p) * * * *0 * watts.
my much older Thinkpad 560Z PSU (54w o/p) * * * 1.9 watts.
iPAQ 3630 PSU (10w o/p) * * * * * * * * * * * * 2.0 watts.
2001 Motorola T250 phone charger (2.5w o/p) * * 0 * watts.

[1] I recently bought myself a power meter for a tenner from Maplins. It *
which reads to 0.1 watts, so a reading of 0.0 should mean 50 mW
consumption or less. These power meters are simple to use: they have a 13
amp plug on the back and a 13 amp socket on the front, so you just plug
them in between the wall and the device you want to measure.

--
martin@ * | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org * * * |

I suspect the concept of "powered trailers" will pop up more
frequently. *This is not an unproven concept since the mining industry
has used it for years.

If you use a load cell to measure the push-pull loads at the trailer
hitch, the data can be used to control electric motors in the trailer
wheels. *If a glider *trailer housed a large battery, possibly charged
with a large solar panel on top and wheel motors, it could minimize
the loads imposed on the towing vehicle by essentially powering
itself. *The wheel motors would also provide regenerative braking.

The whole car-trailer combo then becomes a parallel hybrid which
permits the use of a much smaller and less powerful car. *The fuel
savings while towing would be small compared to the fuel savings
achieved by driving a small, fuel efficient yet tow capable car when
not towing.

The energy capacity of the trailer battery pack coupled to an inverter
could also power things like power tools and polishers when parked at
the airport.

The problem with EVs isn't power, it's on-board energy storage.

I have a friend who is a hybrid/EV enthusiast. He reckons the holy
grail is 40 mile range. Okay, adequate for most people buying
groceries or going to work, but completely useless for XC travel. We
need 1 - 2 magnitudes of improvement in energy density and 3 or 4 in
re-fueling time before you can reasonably talk about competing with
existing gas/diesel for hauling pilot/plane/crew to a site several
hundred miles distant.

That, or we turn I80 into a giant sized nuclear powered HO slot car
track :-).

Back to trailers: From fuel consumption numbers, I can back out that
my Komet trailer/glider has an effective fuel consumption of 120 miles
to the gallon at 60 - 65 mph on level road, no wind. Figure about 6
hp. Two or three times that under acceleration or ascending steep
grade. The point is: it's a small load. A decently capable EV could
tow it without difficulty.

-Evan Ludeman / T8