Solar Power Satellites - Japanese Government - $21B Work In Progress

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Saturday September 05, 2009 · 7:15 PM PDT

2009/09/05 · 19:15

Mitsubishi, IHI to Join $21 Bln Space Solar Project (Update1)
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By Shigeru Sato and Yuji Okada

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and IHI Corp. will join a 2 trillion yen ($21 billion) Japanese project intending to build a giant solar-power generator in space within three decades and beam electricity to earth.

A research group representing 16 companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., will spend four years developing technology to send electricity without cables in the form of microwaves, according to a statement on the trade ministry’s Web site today.

. . .

Japan is developing the technology for the 1-gigawatt solar station, fitted with four square kilometers of solar panels, and hopes to have it running in three decades, according to a 15- page background document prepared by the trade ministry in August. Being in space it will generate power from the sun regardless of weather conditions, unlike earth-based solar generators, according to the document. One gigawatt is enough to supply about 294,000 average Tokyo homes.

More below the fold.

alizard

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Wednesday August 06, 2008 · 3:07 AM PDT

2008/08/06 · 03:07

Prescription Data Used To Assess Consumers
Records Aid Insurers but Prompt Privacy Concerns

Health and life insurance companies have access to a powerful new tool for evaluating whether to cover individual consumers: a health "credit report" drawn from databases containing prescription drug records on more than 200 million Americans.
[snip]
A health privacy proposal pending in Congress would expand federal officials' ability to regulate such "downstream" organizations, audit their activities and impose civil fines. The bill also includes a prohibition on the sale of electronic medical records.

alizard

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Sunday July 13, 2008 · 3:46 PM PDT

2008/07/13 · 15:46

It was suggested that I post this as a diary to get these ideas out, it's a slow news Sunday afternoon, here it is. I've run it up the flagpole, let's see if anyone salutes.

This is basically a set of recommendations for what a President and Congress who actually wants to solve the problem can get going while a program with long-term fixes is put together; something to do for the first "100 days".

Some of you may already have seen this or portions of this, these are some ideas that have been cooking in my head for a while and I decided to put them together and see how people react. There are a lot of things

What I propose here is not THE solution but I'd settle for a decent starting point to stabilize the situation while we work on the long-term answers.

Also note that the best jobs program the Obama Administration can possibly create would be a serious crash program of the sort described here to transition off fossil fuel, creating jobs across the occupational and educational spectrum.

alizard

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Saturday June 28, 2008 · 1:54 AM PDT

2008/06/28 · 01:54

It was suggested I turn this post into a diary. Here it is.

ACLU poll says that a supermajority of the American people oppose telecomm amnesty and warrantless wiretaps.

America as shown by polls also want

Out of Iraq
something done about global warming
national health care

The center is where the American people actually are.

They sound pretty progressive to me.

In American political-speak, "running to the center" is espousing rhetoric and programs to appeal to the GOP/DINO "CENTRISTS", who are well to the corporatist right of where polls show the American people are.

alizard

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Wednesday June 11, 2008 · 10:25 PM PDT

2008/06/11 · 22:25

What happens if something goes seriously wrong with the US food chain?

The U.S. Has No Remaining Grain Reserves

...U.S. has nothing else in our emergency food pantry. There is no cheese, no butter, no dry milk powder, no grains or anything else left in reserve. The o°©nly thing left in the entire CCC inventory will be 2.7 million bushels of wheat which is about enough wheat to make 1⁄2 of a loaf of bread for each of the 300 million people in America."

alizard

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Thursday May 15, 2008 · 12:53 PM PDT

2008/05/15 · 12:53

reprinted from my post within the referenced diary by popular demand... with a few minor edits.

The spot on the ballot next to Obama's name which I plan to fill in with an opaque spot before mailing it in is listed under President of the United States. NOT Messiah.

Read this diary. It's how Obama and his people built a bottom-up political machine based on giving people empowerment tools and letting us do what we thought needed doing.

That is how I expect him to govern. (within the limitations of the system in general and the Constitution in particular.)

I see him as helping us get the tools and resources together so we can work with him in building an America which will be a place people want to come to, not flee a generation from now. This means we don't get a free ride and neither does he.

alizard

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Saturday March 22, 2008 · 8:01 PM PDT

2008/03/22 · 20:01

To paraphrase an old saying, a billion here and a billion there and soon, you're talking about real money".

Billion-dollar IT failure at Census Bureau

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 7:51 pm

The US Census Bureau faces cost overruns up to $2 billion on an IT initiative replacing paper-based data collection methods with specialized handheld devices for the upcoming 2010 census. The Bureau has not implemented longstanding Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations and may therefore be forced to scrap the program. Harris Corp., the contractor associated with this incompetently managed initiative, was awarded a $600 million contract to develop the handhelds and related software.
. . .
Computer World blogger, Frank Hayes, summarized the situation succinctly, "The fancy custom handhelds might work. But if they don't, the Census Bureau will use paper instead."

fair usage quote, rest at the URL

alizard

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Sunday February 03, 2008 · 7:21 PM PST

2008/02/03 · 19:21

FutureGen "Cleanish Coal" Plant Cancelled
By Alexis Madrigal EmailFebruary 01, 2008 | 6:04:57 PMCategories: Energy

Futuregen_artistcon200px The controversial attempt to build a coal plant that captures and stores its greenhouse gas emissions took another step backward yesterday. The Department of Energy pulled its financial support from a project known as FutureGen, which would have been a first-of-its-kind cleanish plant. The DOE cited the rising costs of the project. From the environmental blogs through cleantech to the Wall Street Journal, the move was seen as slowing the development of so-called carbon capture and sequestration technologies.

Rhetorically, it sure looks bad for the Bush administration to bang the clean coal technology drum during the State of the Union and then cut its most visible support for the technology the next day.

Rest at the URL.

alizard

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Monday December 24, 2007 · 8:58 PM PST

2007/12/24 · 20:58

fair usage quote of NYT article
December 22, 2007
No Joke, Bulb Change Is Challenge for U.S.
By CLAUDIA H. DEUTSCH

The new energy bill signed this week makes it official. When 2012 hits, stores can no longer sell the cheap but inefficient incandescent light bulbs that are fixtures in most homes.

Even so, light bulb manufacturers say that worries about greenhouse gases and the high cost of energy had them moving away from conventional incandescents way before Congress weighed in. For quite some time, they note, they have been trying to soften the light emitted by compact fluorescent lights, bring down the cost of light-emitting diodes, and yes, find ways to increase the efficiency of incandescents.

Many of the products are already on the market, and more will be available before the deadline kicks in,

alizard

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Tuesday September 25, 2007 · 2:10 AM PDT

2007/09/25 · 02:10

From a Colorado State University press release:

New Low Cost Solar Panels Ready for Mass Production

Colorado State University's method for manufacturing low-cost, high-efficiency solar panels is nearing mass production. AVA Solar Inc. will start production by the end of next year on the technology developed by mechanical engineering Professor W.S. Sampath at Colorado State. The new 200-megawatt factory is expected to employ up to 500 people. Based on the average household usage, 200 megawatts will power 40,000 U.S. homes.

alizard

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Sunday June 17, 2007 · 11:39 PM PDT

2007/06/17 · 23:39

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Microsoft Muscles the NYS Legislature

Software giant moves to weaken NY Election law

The 800 pound gorilla of software development has moved forcefully into New York State, supported by voting machine vendors using Microsoft Windows in their touch screen voting machines and other systems. Over the last two months Microsoft and a cadre of high paid lobbyists have been working a full-court press in Albany in an attempt to bring about a serious weakening of New York State election law. This back door effort by private corporations to weaken public protections is about to bear fruit.

Poll

68 votes Show Results

MS wants voting machine code uninspected because

68 votes Vote Now!

MS wants voting machine code uninspected because

they believe this is the best way to get free and fair elections

1 vote

ask Karl Rove

67 votes

State lawmakers want to turn computer repair techs into government informers

alizard

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Thursday May 03, 2007 · 4:41 PM PDT

2007/05/03 · 16:41

Bill number is the California version - and yes, it got out of committee.

AB1475: SUMMARY : Makes commercial computer technicians mandated reporters for the purpose of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA).

is the most dangerously stupid computer law proposal I've EVER heard of in 20 years of computer journalism.

We've got to stop electing "Internet tubes"-level computer illiterates to public office, and this is a reason why.

The following is a letter I'm planning to send my state legislator as soon as I decide whether to print/mail or fax it. I encourage people who have similar laws under consideration in your states to post bill numbers and pointers to your state legislature websites.

The only other comment I have is . . . there's a slippery slope here.

The computer 'professional' mandated to report kiddie pr0n today may be mandated to report "subversive activity" tomorrow.

Poll

60 votes Show Results

Do you want a high school kid you paid $20 for computer repair to deciding what belongs on your computer?

60 votes Vote Now!

Do you want a high school kid you paid $20 for computer repair to deciding what belongs on your computer?

Yes (please explain in comments)

5 votes

No.

55 votes

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Solar Power Satellites - Japanese Government - $21B Work In Progress

apply for medical insurance, insurers get your prescriptions

Emergency first aid for global warming

Obama's running to the center? WHAT center?

our strategic food reserve-FUBAR!

regarding "Obama to Pull a Big Switcharoo"

$2B overrun on $600M contract?

Bushco gives up on clean coal

Incandescent Light banned in 2012

$1/watt solar cells by early 2009?

Microsoft tries to rewrite NY election laws

State lawmakers want to turn computer repair techs into government informers