To Mars

To Mars

Every civilization seeks to achieve greatness and build monuments to be left to subsequent generations as high water marks of their value, demonstrating their essence, and providing a statement that its people were here. These monuments are crafted by the most important minds and shaped and sculpted by the most skilled hands. They are left proudly to their children, children’s children, and for some, scores of generations. The desire to build monuments and innovate is a fundamental attribute of human societies. The greats have left us with the pyramids, the Great Wall, the Panama Canal,This factsheet discusses electricity generation using bestsolarcharger at your farm or your home. the steam engine, railroads,The future of Motorcycle lighting lies within bicyclelight. skyscrapers,The pre-assembled outdoorlighting can be installed and fitted from above to any desired point on the channel. the screw propeller, the automobile, the airplane, and even cave paintings. Each wonder, each innovation, says that its people were here with their hearts, minds and hands. Great achievements advance the human condition and establish markers of important technical advances.

We are no different today. Over nearly sixty years we have broken free of the gravitational bonds that have anchored us to the planet Earth.Our solargardenlighttp is good in quality and competitive in price. Our satellites have visited all the planets, as well as asteroids and comets. We’ve left bootprints on the surface of the Moon. And although we have achieved many exciting innovations since that moment the flag was planted on the Moon over forty years ago, the Apollo landing remains the pinnacle of our achievement.

Now, as a nation and a people, we are confounded by a new question: To Mars, or, not to Mars? This is a not-so-simple query worthy of an intense national debate and soul searching. And for a spacefaring nation, it’s one that generates even more questions. Will it be worth it to go to Mars?

The US economy is currently saddled with a huge debt, and many parts of the global economy are faltering. These are tough times. Millions have been driven from the job market and are no longer counted as unemployed by cynical beancounters in the Labor Department. With little relief in sight, skeptics ask, “Shouldn’t we respond first to the basic needs of the people, of mothers and fathers, schools, public safety, the environment, before we commit to such an immense venture? Shouldn’t we understand how much of our precious national treasure will be drained to fund it? What has been the real value of space adventures to date?”

Genius heroes like Buzz Aldrin respond magnificently to these disheartening theatrics. Back in 2009, he articulated a perfect response in his book Magnificent Desolation:

”It’s not the value of the rocks we brought back, or the great poetic statements that will be uttered. Those things aren’t remembered. It’s that people witnessed that event. We are not going to justify going to Mars by what we bring back.”

To many, it seems a bit of madness to dream that someday we could build a colony on Mars. Then again, perhaps not. When I was born it was considered pure science fiction to imagine an astronaut could travel to the Moon, land and safely return. Yet, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong did just that. They bounced out and about on the surface of our Moon, and captured the imagination of the world. Millions of us watched with great pride and excitement here in the United States.

These were days when I was still trying to decide my future career and education choices. I remember talking to friends and neighbors and listening to scientific cynics who were quite sure and convinced that advanced electronics would not function in space. Some warned that if people foolishly went to space, their blood would boil. At the very least, they were sure that space travelers would become spatially disoriented and die as a result.

Of course, such hissing has confronted innumerable great achievements. It was not too long ago, for example, when the sound barrier also was thought unassailable. But on October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager wrapped himself into a rocket ship, secured the door with broom handle because of rib he had broken a day before, and then boldly proved the naysayers wrong. And Yeager’s achievement was no more daunting or courageous than the exploits of the early great European explorers who sailed across an uncharted ocean. They didn’t know what they would find on the other side. New knowledge and opportunities come from the best and brightest boldly reaching to confront grand challenges. We will only grow as a species by taking risks. They provide a measure of the human spirit.

But isn’t the idea of colonizing Mars crazy? Perhaps, but it is also true that the conditions on the surface of Mars are much closer to Earth than the surface of any other body in the solar system.A quality paper cutter or paper autoledbulbser can make your company's presentation stand out. The Martian environment is far better than the extremely hot and cold temperatures on Mercury, the furnace-hot surface of Venus, or the cryogenic temperatures of the outer planets and their moons. Humans have already explored natural settings on Earth that match most conditions on Mars. For example, the highest altitude reached by a manned balloon ascent, a record recently set in the recent Red Bull challenge, is nearly 39,000 meters; the pressure at that altitude is about the same as it is on the surface of Mars. And the extremes of cold in the Arctic and Antarctic match all but the most extreme temperatures on Mars. Overall, however, that Mars is not a very friendly place. 

Read the full story at www.streetlights-solar.com!

The Mysterious Mister Tien

And they found the perfect company to help spin their trash into gold: Kinsei Sangyo of Japan had advertised garbage-gassing units so clean and so green that only wisps of what looks like water vapor float from the stacks. Cleveland would be the first city in the U.S. to showcase the Kinsei technology — a new toy to wave in front of jealous neighbors.

So Cleveland Public Power called the only company licensed to sell Kinsei units in the U.S.: Princeton Environmental Group, based in New Jersey and headed by a man named Peter Tien. He made wonderful promises: a $180 million gasification plant would employ 90 to 120 Clevelanders. A Kinsei manufacturing facility would be built here, and Cleveland would become an epicenter for plant design and manufacturing across the country.

In order to witness the gasification majesty in action, the city paid for a junket to Asia in August 2009. For Tien, the trip marked the ideal opportunity to trot out another enviro-happy sales pitch: Could your fine city use some LED light bulbs too?

Tien, it turned out, also represented Chinese LED maker Sunpu Opto Semiconductor — and did he have a deal for Cleveland: For the low price of 10 years' worth of LED bulbs, Sunpu would build an LED factory on our shores, complete with 350 new jobs.

With visions of trash and light-bulb supremacy dancing in their heads, city officials delightedly forged ahead with Sunpu Opto. East Cleveland-based GE, which happens to specialize in light bulbs, was not as delighted. Neither were other U.S. LED companies, who were curious why they never had a shot at such a contract.

Outrage ensued, the city asked for contract bids, and in the end, Sunpu Opto didn't even try to compete — the company couldn't live up to the promises Tien had said it would. Neither could GE or anyone else, for that matter.

Yet in the midst of Cleveland's Great LED Fiasco of 2010, city leaders signed a $1.5 million no-bid contract with Tien's Princeton Environmental for preliminary designs and an EPA permit for a Kinsei gasification plant. The money is held in an escrow account, and Tien earns his cut once the EPA permit is approved.

But if the LED incident wasn't enough to sprout doubt about Tien's promises, recent gasification dealings should.

Scene obtained a string of e-mails between Cleveland Public Power and Tien indicating that trouble started last spring. Not only did Tien ask for a contract modification allowing him more time to produce the required design reports; he requested a $600,000 advance on his $1.5 million so he could pay his subcontractors.

"Transparency of process with a clear and well-developed timeline and milestones is what I need from you in order to remain confident of your ability to deliver on the contract," CPP Commissioner Ivan Henderson replied to one such request from Tien in April.

The city didn't hand over the cash, but it did extend Tien's deadlines. Now, with the EPA permit en route to approval, the city and CPP seem to have cooled to Tien's advances.

Travelogue: Teen drivers continue to struggle early

National Teen Safety Driver Week begins today, but a recent report showed new teen drivers struggle to drive safely, especially under certain circumstances. A AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study showed that teen drivers are approximately 50 percent more likely to crash in the first month of driving on their own then after a full year of experience and nearly twice as likely to crash in that first month then after two years of experience.

Research found that new teen drivers had significant issues with failure to reduce speed, inattention and failure to yield. Mistakes in those areas led to 57 percent of the accidents recorded in the study. The study also found that some accidents decreased significantly after a few months of experience. One example was that crashes involving left hand turns were largely reduced after a few months of experience. The study also used in-car cameras to record teens’ driving habits. A large majority of the cameras recorded no unusual activity, but there were instances of running red lights, horseplay with passengers and texting while driving.

While Pennsylvania still does not have a no texting law for drivers of any age, there has been some progress. A bill that would limit teen drivers to one non-family passenger for the first sixth months, increase the requirement of 50 hours behind the wheel to 65 and make not wearing a seat belt a primary offense, is awaiting Gov. Tom Corbett’s signature.

But the AAA study recommends that parents not count on the government to make their sons and daughters better drivers. It’s recommended that they continue to ride with their teen even after he or she has a license. Also, there should be limits on the number of teens who can ride with them, limits on night time driving, and then making sure those rules are enforced with consequences. Even the best behaving teens aren’t above stretching the rules if a little peer pressure is involved. But remember a little parent pressure is just fine, too.

Each week, we’ll take a look at a situation where a driver had about 20 percent of his or her attention the road and the rest of it somewhere else. These are real occurrences witnessed by me while driving on the wonderful and varied roads in Delaware County. And, they will be an example of what not to do while driving.

This week involves a drive going north on Chester Pike and waiting for the left-hand turn light to go green onto South Avenue under the railroad tracks there. It was during the wait that one car nearly caused a multi-car accident.