Democracy works for Endangered Species Act, study finds; Citizen involvement key in protecting and saving threatened species

ScienceDaily (Aug. 16, 2012) ? When it comes to protecting endangered species, the power of the people is key, an analysis of listings under the U.S. Endangered Species Act finds.

The journal Science is publishing the analysis comparing listings of "endangered" and "threatened" species initiated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency that administers the Endangered Species Act, to those initiated by citizen petition.

"We found that citizens, on average, do a better job of picking species that are threatened than does the Fish and Wildlife Service. That's a really interesting and surprising finding," says co-author Berry Brosi, a biologist and professor of environmental studies at Emory University.

Brosi conducted the analysis with Eric Biber, a University of California, Berkeley School of Law professor who specializes in environmental law.

Controversy has surrounded the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since it became law nearly 40 years ago. A particular flashpoint is the provision that allows citizens to petition the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list any unprotected species, and use litigation to challenge any FWS listing decision. Critics of this provision say the FWS wastes time and resources processing the stream of citizen requests. Another argument is that many citizen-initiated listings are driven less by concern for a species than by political motives, such as blocking a development project.

The study authors counter that their findings bolster the need to keep the public highly involved.

"There are some 100,000 species of plants and animals in North America, and asking one federal agency to stay on top of that is tough," Biber says. "If there were restrictions on the number of citizen-initiated petitions being reviewed, the government would lose a whole universe of people providing high-quality information about species at risk, and it is likely that many species would be left unprotected."

The researchers built a database of the 913 domestic and freshwater species listed as "threatened" or "endangered" under the ESA from 1986 on. They examined whether citizens or the FWS initiated the petition, whether it was litigated, and whether it conflicted with an economic development project. They also looked at the level of biological threat to each of the species, using FWS threat scores in reports the agency regularly makes to Congress.

The results showed that listings resulting from citizen-initiated petitions are more likely to pose conflicts with development, but those species are also significantly more threatened, on average, than the species in FWS-initiated petitions.

"The overriding message is that citizen involvement really does work in combination with the oversight of the FWS," Brosi says. "It's a two-step system of checks and balances that is important to maintain."

The public brings diffuse and specialized expertise to the table, from devoted nature enthusiasts to scientists who have spent their whole careers studying one particular animal, insect or plant. Public involvement can also help counter the political pressure inherent in large development projects. The FWS, however, is unlikely to approve the listing of a species that is not truly threatened or endangered, so some petitions are filtered out.

"You could compare it to the trend of crowdsourcing that the Internet has spawned," Brosi says. "It's sort of like crowdsourcing what species need to be protected."

Many people associate the success of the ESA with iconic species like the bald eagle and the whooping crane.

"To me," Brosi says, "the greater accomplishment of the act is its protection of organisms that don't get the same amount of attention as a beautiful bird or mammal."

For example, the FWS turned down a petition to list the Mojave Desert population of the Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, but that decision was reversed. The Desert Tortoise is now in the ESA highest threat category, and populations of the entire species are thought to have declined by more than 90 percent during the past 20 years.

"One of the biggest threats it faces is urban and suburban expansion, which could have made it politically challenging for the FWS," Brosi notes. "And yet, the Desert Tortoise is a keystone species that helps support dozens of other species by creating habitats in its burrows and dispersing seeds."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Emory University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. B. J. Brosi, E. G. N. Biber. Citizen Involvement in the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Science, 2012; 337 (6096): 802 DOI: 10.1126/science.1220660

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/C-KofQbvovs/120816141533.htm

ben breedlove kid cudi ben breedlove matt barnes hcm loretta lynn gene kelly zoe saldana

Future of concentrating photovoltaics focus of technology roundtable at UC Santa Barbara

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 16-Aug-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Mikaela Mennen
mikaela@iee.ucsb.edu
805-893-5496
University of California - Santa Barbara

UC Santa Barbaras Institute for Energy Efficiency and the Center for Energy Efficient Materials Host a Technology Roundtable on Concentrator Photovoltaics

Concentrator photovoltaics offer the potential to provide the lowest cost electricity in regions such as the US desert southwest, where the solar resource is enough to satisfy the entire energy needs of the US many times over. Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) is a technology that uses optics such as lenses or curved mirrors to concentrate a large amount of sunlight onto a small area of solar photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. Compared to non-concentrator photovoltaics, CPV systems save money on the cost of the solar cells because only a small area is required. However, advances are still needed to make concentrator photovoltaics the clear choice for power generation in areas with high amounts of direct sunlight.

On July 25-26th, 2012 the Institute for Energy Efficiency and the Center for Energy Efficient Materials brought together key stakeholders from the private sector, academia and government for a highly interactive, facilitated discussion to inform and focus research in the CPV field. This Technology Roundtable provided a unique opportunity to shape the direction of research and innovation in this promising area. The title of the roundtable was Focus on Concentrator Photovoltaics: from cell to system. Topics included required cell efficiencies, cell costs, technological innovations for both cells and systems, and the bankability of CPV projects.

The overall goal of the roundtable was: To identify what it will take for concentrator photovoltaics to supply 100 GW of solar electricity in the US by 2030.

The Technology Roundtable was led by Dick Swanson, President Emeritus and Founder, SunPower Corporation, along with a professional co-facilitator. Mr. Swanson wrote a paper in 2000 titled The Promise of Concentrators which discussed the future of concentrator photovoltaics and the technological advancements that were needed at that time. This workshop was an opportunity to reassess the industry, its potential and its challenges. It also provided an opportunity to review the latest data and to form a new roadmap to help the CPV industry reach its potential, in the short and long term.

Representatives from NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy were in attendance, including the Director of DOE's SunShot Initiative. Other participants included representatives from Sandia National Laboratories, Semprius, Emcore, Spectrolab, SolFocus, Solar Junction, GreenVolts, Abengoa Solar, Soitec, the Bay Area Photovoltaic Consortium, Ioffe Institute, ISFOC, Fraunhofer CSE, Penn State, University of Arizona, MIT, Yale, Stanford, Ohio State, Universidad Politcnica de Madrid, and UCSB, among others.

A post-roundtable report is being prepared identifying the group's key findings and next steps, which will be distributed to inform and expedite research in the field. Stay tuned to the Institute's website to view the report: www.iee.ucsb.edu/CPV2012.

Steering Committee:
Dick Swanson, President Emeritus and Founder, SunPower Corporation
Richard King, Principal Scientist, Spectrolab
Dan Friedman, Group Manager, III-V Materials and Devices, National Renewable Energy Lab
Jim Speck, Professor, College of Engineering, UC Santa Barbara

This event was co-hosted by UC Santa Barbara's Institute for Energy Efficiency and the Center for Energy Efficient Materials (an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences). Sponsors for this Technology Roundtable included the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Initiative and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The Institute for Energy Efficiency's Technology Roundtables are small-group, facilitated workshops that bring together leading stakeholders from industry, government and academia to accelerate the development of a target energy efficiency or renewable energy technology.

###

About the Institute for Energy Efficiency

The Institute for Energy Efficiency is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to researching and developing technological solutions for an efficient, sustainable and clean energy future. The Institute's cutting-edge research activities leverage the considerable expertise of U.C. Santa Barbara's highly acclaimed faculty, scientists, engineers and researchers, including five Nobel Laureates. By fostering collaborations, sponsoring research, and expediting the commercialization of new technologies, the Institute strives to deliver significant advances in energy efficiency in the near term.

For further information please visit http://iee.ucsb.edu

About the Center for Energy Efficient Materials (CEEM)

The Center for Energy Efficient Materials (CEEM) is an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the US Department of Energy. The principal activity of the Center is a cross-disciplinary multi-institution research program directed at critical energy challenges in three key focus areas of fundamental science and engineering: photovoltaics, thermoelectrics, and solid-state lighting. Innovative materials and novel devices for sustainable energy efficient applications are unifying themes. A highly collaborative research enterprise, CEEM engages participants from five institutions: the University of California Santa Barbara (the lead institution), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the University of California Santa Cruz. A corresponding education program provides a rich learning experience for undergraduate and graduate students.

For further information please visit http://ceem.ucsb.edu


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 16-Aug-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Mikaela Mennen
mikaela@iee.ucsb.edu
805-893-5496
University of California - Santa Barbara

UC Santa Barbaras Institute for Energy Efficiency and the Center for Energy Efficient Materials Host a Technology Roundtable on Concentrator Photovoltaics

Concentrator photovoltaics offer the potential to provide the lowest cost electricity in regions such as the US desert southwest, where the solar resource is enough to satisfy the entire energy needs of the US many times over. Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) is a technology that uses optics such as lenses or curved mirrors to concentrate a large amount of sunlight onto a small area of solar photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. Compared to non-concentrator photovoltaics, CPV systems save money on the cost of the solar cells because only a small area is required. However, advances are still needed to make concentrator photovoltaics the clear choice for power generation in areas with high amounts of direct sunlight.

On July 25-26th, 2012 the Institute for Energy Efficiency and the Center for Energy Efficient Materials brought together key stakeholders from the private sector, academia and government for a highly interactive, facilitated discussion to inform and focus research in the CPV field. This Technology Roundtable provided a unique opportunity to shape the direction of research and innovation in this promising area. The title of the roundtable was Focus on Concentrator Photovoltaics: from cell to system. Topics included required cell efficiencies, cell costs, technological innovations for both cells and systems, and the bankability of CPV projects.

The overall goal of the roundtable was: To identify what it will take for concentrator photovoltaics to supply 100 GW of solar electricity in the US by 2030.

The Technology Roundtable was led by Dick Swanson, President Emeritus and Founder, SunPower Corporation, along with a professional co-facilitator. Mr. Swanson wrote a paper in 2000 titled The Promise of Concentrators which discussed the future of concentrator photovoltaics and the technological advancements that were needed at that time. This workshop was an opportunity to reassess the industry, its potential and its challenges. It also provided an opportunity to review the latest data and to form a new roadmap to help the CPV industry reach its potential, in the short and long term.

Representatives from NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy were in attendance, including the Director of DOE's SunShot Initiative. Other participants included representatives from Sandia National Laboratories, Semprius, Emcore, Spectrolab, SolFocus, Solar Junction, GreenVolts, Abengoa Solar, Soitec, the Bay Area Photovoltaic Consortium, Ioffe Institute, ISFOC, Fraunhofer CSE, Penn State, University of Arizona, MIT, Yale, Stanford, Ohio State, Universidad Politcnica de Madrid, and UCSB, among others.

A post-roundtable report is being prepared identifying the group's key findings and next steps, which will be distributed to inform and expedite research in the field. Stay tuned to the Institute's website to view the report: www.iee.ucsb.edu/CPV2012.

Steering Committee:
Dick Swanson, President Emeritus and Founder, SunPower Corporation
Richard King, Principal Scientist, Spectrolab
Dan Friedman, Group Manager, III-V Materials and Devices, National Renewable Energy Lab
Jim Speck, Professor, College of Engineering, UC Santa Barbara

This event was co-hosted by UC Santa Barbara's Institute for Energy Efficiency and the Center for Energy Efficient Materials (an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences). Sponsors for this Technology Roundtable included the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Initiative and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The Institute for Energy Efficiency's Technology Roundtables are small-group, facilitated workshops that bring together leading stakeholders from industry, government and academia to accelerate the development of a target energy efficiency or renewable energy technology.

###

About the Institute for Energy Efficiency

The Institute for Energy Efficiency is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to researching and developing technological solutions for an efficient, sustainable and clean energy future. The Institute's cutting-edge research activities leverage the considerable expertise of U.C. Santa Barbara's highly acclaimed faculty, scientists, engineers and researchers, including five Nobel Laureates. By fostering collaborations, sponsoring research, and expediting the commercialization of new technologies, the Institute strives to deliver significant advances in energy efficiency in the near term.

For further information please visit http://iee.ucsb.edu

About the Center for Energy Efficient Materials (CEEM)

The Center for Energy Efficient Materials (CEEM) is an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the US Department of Energy. The principal activity of the Center is a cross-disciplinary multi-institution research program directed at critical energy challenges in three key focus areas of fundamental science and engineering: photovoltaics, thermoelectrics, and solid-state lighting. Innovative materials and novel devices for sustainable energy efficient applications are unifying themes. A highly collaborative research enterprise, CEEM engages participants from five institutions: the University of California Santa Barbara (the lead institution), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the University of California Santa Cruz. A corresponding education program provides a rich learning experience for undergraduate and graduate students.

For further information please visit http://ceem.ucsb.edu


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-08/uoc--foc081512.php

levon oklahoma city bombing robbie robertson the curious case of benjamin button secret service prostitute rich ross april 20

MultiCultClassics: 10422: Jay-Z Hollywood = Bud Light.

Advertising Age reported more details that may reveal how Steve Stoute and Translation succeeded in completely securing AOR status on Bud Light. Stoute apparently tapped his entertainment connections?and even turned the client into an executive movie producer. While it would be nice to see the agency actually produce a breakthrough campaign, it?s hard to knock Stoute for doing what gets things done in the advertising industry. That is, building relationships trumps building brands.

New Jay-Z Movie Will Be Backed By Budweiser

Ron Howard, Brian Grazer To Film Documentary of ?Made in America? Concert Next Month

By Rupal Parekh

Anheuser-Busch InBev?s reasoning behind strengthening ties with Steve Stoute?s agency Translation is becoming more clear, given news today that the ?Made in America,? concert festival the agency put together is now being made into a film by Hollywood heavy-hitters Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

What?s more, when the movie comes out, the brewer?s U.S. Marketing VP Paul Chibe will have equal billing with rapper Jay-Z as an executive producer. Mr. Stoute is a co-producer with Mr. Grazer, while Mr. Howard is the movie?s director. The filming will largely take place during the two-day festival in Philadelphia in early September, which features some 25 hip-hop and electronic-dance music acts.

As Mr. Chibe tells the story of how the film came about, Mr. Stoute presented the concert idea to the brewer, but it was Mr. Chibe who took it a step further, suggesting that a film of the event be made?using heavyweight talent?with Budweiser serving as an investor.

?The way that Budweiser remains an icon is to be a force in pop culture,? said Mr. Chibe. ?Things like this are exactly the kinds of things that a brand like Budweiser should do.?

Mr. Stoute worked with Mr. Grazer, who co-founded movie and TV production company Imagine Entertainment with Ron Howard, on the film ?8-Mile,? starring Eminem. After Mr. Chibe suggested the concert movie, Mr. Stoute rang up Mr. Grazer, who says it was a ?fortuitous event.?

?Ron and I try to do new things, and this is a new thing; I like high-stakes creative challenges,? said Mr. Grazer. Asked what we can expect out of the film, he said ?I hope what happens is that we are able to find a vertical narrative that drives the story but integrates in all these great acts and a lot of it is filtered through the perspective of Jay-Z?s mind?it?ll have footage and the story will be informed by the footage that Ron shoots but it will have a story and narrative that drives through it.?

Mr. Grazer noted the film will be assembled ?pretty quickly? and then the filmmakers will choose a distributor. They do not yet have a timetable for when they hope it to be released. But it?s safe to say we can expect the film to be submitted into film festivals.

Mr. Grazer added that he?s excited about the involvement of Budweiser in the film, and when asked why he said: ?I like their media campaigns. They always capture my interest?they are dynamic and progressive. That?s the extent of my knowledge of Budweiser.?

Earlier this month, Anheuser-Busch InBev dumped its lead agency for Bud Light, Dentsu-owned McGarryBowen, after only eight months. Without a review, McGarryBowen was supplanted by Translation Advertising, a roster agency brought aboard in tandem with McGarryBowen that was originally intended to handle work for line extensions such as Bud Light Lime and Bud Light Platinum.

When Translation took over as the main agency for Bud Light, people near the situation told Ad Age that among the reasons were a frustration with planning executives and problems with testing. But now it feels like whatever problems there may have been, it?d be difficult for the agency?whose founder John McGarry boasts some of the best connections in adland?to compete with the entertainment and music industry connections that Mr. Stoute can offer.

In short, Mr. Stoute may be the one person on Madison Avenue with a more robust rolodex than Mr. McGarry.

On Budweiser?s part, the involvement in this film feels like an increasing move toward branded entertainment and an attempt to be more central to the cultural conversation. Budweiser in the past has sponsored concert tours for acts like the Rolling Stones, and it used to run a concert series called ?SuperFest,? but this is a huge investment in music and entertainment on behalf of the brewer.

Additionally, given the strengthened relationship with Translation, whose roots are in multicultural advertising, and the concert?s lineup being heavy on hip-hop (in addition to Jay-Z, the acts include Drake, Rick Ross, Wale, Janelle Monae, and Jill Scott), it also signals a focus on Bud?s part to try and capture more fans in the urban demographic.

?This is us being innovators and thinking differently and trying to connect with our consumers,? said Mr. Chibe.

Source: http://multicultclassics.blogspot.com/2012/08/10422-jay-z-hollywood-bud-light.html

jeremy shockey new orleans saints ireland bracket vangogh yield crossbow

Jennifer Garner goes 'Green' | Jen Garner Net

It still amuses actress Jennifer Garner to hear that her visits home to Charleston cause a stir. The Hollywood star snickers slightly at the mention of being the subject of Facebook updates and tweets while she was in Charleston recently.

The actress, who was calling from her seat in the back of a car on her way to do press for her new film, ?The Odd Life of Timothy Green,? hadn?t heard.

?I don?t use them,? she said, referring to Facebook and Twitter. ?I do think Facebook is a great way to get in touch with old friends, but I prefer to just come home and see my friends when I see them.?

Garner was home a few weeks ago. She returned to Charleston to speak at the Southern Leadership Conference on behalf of Save The Children, a children?s rights advocacy group. Garner is an artist ambassador for the organization.

She said she was originally only going to be in town for a couple of days but managed to stretch out the time to nine days, long enough to convince her parents to come along with her to the premiere of ?Timothy Green,? which is in theaters now.

Garner told them to bite the bullet, hop a flight, brave the human wall of paparazzi and come see it with her.

She said, ?I told them, if there?s a premiere, if there?s ever something [of mine] you?re going to go to again, this is it!?

And really, there couldn?t be a better film for her to take her parents to. Over her career, Garner has been in a couple of movies that might have been a little awkward for Mom and Dad. She played a prostitute in ?Catch Me if You Can,? the comic book super villain Elektra in ?Daredevil,? and her character in ?Arthur? was pretty unpleasant.

Her turn as Laura Pickler in the upcoming dark comedy ?Butter? (which she also produced) may again find her taking on a quirky, but not entirely likable character.

However, ?The Odd Life of Timothy Green? is solid family fare. It?s a light, magical comedy about an infertile couple (Garner and Joel Edgerton) who bury a box of wishes for a child in their backyard and wind up with a 10-year-old boy on their doorstep.

The film is light on the movie magic, but heavy on human emotion.

?It?s not a big FX film,? Garner said. ?It feels to me like an old-fashioned Disney film.?

Garner said the film, co-written and directed by Peter Hedges (?Dan in Real Life,? ?What?s Eating Gilbert Grape??), follows several relationships in the film, which change as a child enters their lives. How he gets there is fantastical, but the result isn?t.

?Everyone should recognize themselves somewhere in the movie,? she said.

Garner, with three children of her own, is the furthest thing from childless, but she said she understood her character from the perspective of a first time mother.

?As a parent, I couldn?t help but relate to her nervous energy, her first time out of a box and how she wanted to everything to go right and make sure her child was happy all the time and treated well by everyone else ? and that?s not realistic, of course.

?You learn that pretty quickly, but a lot of the time you have to go through it to learn it.?

The film, she believed, has a broad family appeal. Kids are supposed to think it?s really a movie for them, and parents are supposed to think it?s really a movie for them. Either way, she said, ?The Odd Life of Timothy Green? is supposed to be for everybody. It?s a family film about families, regardless of how the family is put together.

Garner said, ?I didn?t think the movie was trying to make a huge statement about adoption or foster care, but maybe it is. It?s definitely pro-adoption, pro-foster care. It?s definitely pro-making-a-family-however-you-can.?

Source: http://wvgazette.com/

Source: http://jen-garner.net/wp/2012/08/16/jennifer-garner-goes-green/

cinnamon challenge lou dobbs rock salt david letterman march of dimes james randi wargames

Google wants Motorola to ditch the bargain bin and crank out more high-end smartphones

Phone companies are losing the high-speed Internet game. In the second quarter, the landline phone industry lost a substantial number of broadband subscribers for the first time, as cable companies continued to pile on new household and small business customers, thanks to the higher speeds they offer in most areas.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-wants-motorola-ditch-bargain-bin-crank-more-192014547.html

j r martinez long island serial killer wizard of oz jeff green saturday night live aortic aneurysm minnesota timberwolves

Disney Invents Method to Clone Humans Into Robots [Video]

This is half fascinating, half scary, and 100 percent freaky: Disney has invented a process to clone real humans into silicone-skinned robots. Their method analyzes the face of a target using 3D motion capture cameras. Then it calculates the precise shape, density and composition of a synthetic skin that accurately mimics that specific human's expressions: More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/b20Ohzqix4U/disney-invents-method-to-clone-humans-into-silicone+skinned-robots

kevin youkilis Tropical Storm Debby fox news legend of korra lebron james magic mike trailer Alan Turing

Hypersonic jet aims to hit Mach 6

Hypersonic jet WaveRider is to undergo another test flight above the Pacific Ocean aiming to reach Mach 6.

At this speed - more than 4,300mph (6,900km/h) - it could travel from London to New York in about an hour.

The project is funded by the Pentagon and Nasa, and is part of plans to develop faster missiles.

During a test in June 2011, WaveRider travelled at Mach 5, but failed to reach the target speed.

It is one of several projects currently under way to create a hypersonic aircraft.

The research could also be used to build a commercial plane, able to reach much higher speeds than today's jets, after Concorde was decommissioned in 2003.

Five-minute flight

A B-52 bomber will lift the wingless unmanned jet from US Edwards Air Force Base in California to 50,000 feet (15,250m).

The craft will then be dropped, and after a free fall of about four seconds, its engine is supposed to ignite.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis


While it's the prospect of rapid transatlantic flight that has caught the headlines, the technology in the X-51A WaveRider could have a potent military application too.

If it works, then this engine technology could power the world's first hypersonic cruise missile.

The Pentagon's ambitious Prompt Global Strike programme has the goal of enabling the US military to strike a target anywhere on Earth within an hour. The WaveRider could make such a goal a reality.

X-51A WaveRider should then climb to 70,000ft (21,300m) and eventually reach Mach 6.

The Mach number is the ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound. Mach 1 is the speed of sound - approximately 768mph, depending on various factors including temperature and altitude.

So Mach 6 is six times the speed of sound. Concorde's cruising speed was Mach 2 - it flew from London to New York in just over three hours.

The WaveRider test flight is expected to last for about five minutes. At the end of it, the aircraft will break into pieces and fall into the Pacific.

The test is essentially a repeat of last summer's attempt, when the hypersonic aircraft reached Mach 5, but the engine failed to attain full power.

Concorde's legacy?

European aerospace and defence giant EADS believes that hypersonic passenger flights are likely to appear in the near future. In 2011, EADS presented its own concept of a commercial high-speed aircraft designed to fly at Mach 4.

"The business community who wanted to be in New York in three hours made Concorde highly viable, and now there's interest on both sides of the Atlantic to jump a generation and go from supersonic flight to hypersonic flight," EADS' vice-president of business development, Peter Robbie, told the BBC.

"Such an aircraft will be very expensive, of course, because of the enormous amounts of energy that is required to get to such speeds.

"But the idea of going from Tokyo to Paris in two-and-a-half hours is very attractive for the business and political community - and I think that by about 2050, there may be a viable commercial aircraft."

In August 2011, US military scientists attempted to get another unmanned hypersonic experimental aircraft to reach Mach 20 - 20 times the speed of sound.

However, they lost contact with the Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) after it had separated from its rocket.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19257769#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

star trek 2 kathy ireland brooke mueller all star weekend lent undercover boss barbara walters

Best Brand of Dog Food Ingredients | Mom Product Reviews

I feel like I could browse selections for days, and still never be 100% certain what the best brand of dog food is! There are so many options available today, and so many different places you can purchase dog food that it is almost overwhelming! I just want to be sure my dogs have the best dog food, but with so many options it is hard to be sure!

You will never truly know if the dog food you have selected is the right one until you get it home and taste tested by your dog! You can ask the previous owner or breeder what your dog used to eat, or you could get recommendations from your vet. If these options aren?t available to you, here are some tips on shopping for dog food.

Always look at the labels when purchasing food for your pup or even for yourself! Labels will tell you what you can find inside the can or bag, and how much of it. You want to look for meat, pork, or poultry as some of the top ingredients. Chicken meal, or other meat meal, is also satisfactory to fill this requirement as chicken meal is meat that goes through a heating process.

Some people are wary of animal byproducts, but this FDA article says they are just fine to feed to our furry friends!

?Some people prefer to pass up animal by-products, which are proteins that have not been heat processed (unrendered) and may contain heads, feet, viscera and other animal parts not particularly appetizing. But protein quality of by-products sometimes is better than that from muscle meat.??

Also, there is a recommendation that I wasn?t aware of that suggests switching your pets food every few months to provide a variety in diet! Just as we eat a variety of different foods, pets need the same for optimal health!

Source: http://momproductreviews.org/best-brand-of-dog-food-ingredients/

dan marino passing record ipad 2 cases movie times serene branson matthew mcconaughey to catch a predator davenport

Unique, Fun Experiences ? Sontes

Guest Post by?Alison Rentschler. Read on to find out why she?s one of our repeat guests!

I spent several years working in restaurants in the past, as anything from server to host to manager. So I?m admittedly a little picky about the service, food and experience I have whenever I go out to eat.

Alison Rentschler

At S?nt?s, I have had several great experiences when meeting friends for drinks, getting a late-night dessert, trying a few appetizers to start out the evening, or enjoying a full dinner. S?nt?s has a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere, and I?ve enjoyed going there for many different occasions. I especially enjoy the nights when there?s live music, as S?nt?s often hosts local musicians.

Something I really appreciate about S?nt?s is the service?from the host to the bartender, servers, and managers. I?ve had excellent, knowledgeable service throughout many experiences. Servers often have helped me decide which menu items to order and explained items in a way I could understand.

Also, I appreciate that I can go to S?nt?s for just a drink after work, or I can go for dinner during a girls? night out with friends. I?ve also had the opportunity to attend some of S?nt?s? special events, such as a bacon-themed dinner or an Irish-themed dinner and dance. These were such fun experiences?I?d highly recommend the special events S?nt?s offers throughout the year.

Also, I enjoy trying the wide variety of food at S?nt?s, and how I can always try many new items. And I like the fresh food S?nt?s offers from local farms?it just tastes better when food is that fresh!

Overall, I really appreciate that I can have this fun, interesting experience at S?nt?s, a different experience from many other restaurants, for about the same price that I?d pay at another restaurant. I think S?nt?s? mix of excellent food and drinks, great service, and comfortable atmosphere are what make S?nt?s unique, and why I will keep going back.

Alison Rentschler is a writer living in Rochester. She?s a big fan of good food and drinks, especially wine, cheese, chocolate, and bacon.

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

Source: http://sontes.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/unique-fun-experiences/

westboro baptist church news channel 9 insanity workout mass effect 3 launch trailer yelp huntsville al channel 2 news

Miami Real Estate ? What Is A Passive House? Miami Has Them?

August 13th, 2012

What Is?A Passive House?? Are There Any Passive Homes In Miami?

A passive house is?described as a ?super well insulated, airtight home,??empowered ?to cut energy consumption by 90%.

The origin of the term was ?Passivhaus? and it is a strict high-efficiency building standard developed in Germany in the ?80?s.? It is about achieving a standard of energy efficiency in a building which reduces the building?s ecological footprint.

passivhaus miami south florida - real estate - green house - ecofriendlyThe objective of this movement is to build structures which require little energy for heating or cooling of? our spaces.? It is approached as part of the process of the design, then becomes a component of ??the architectural design.? The passive building idea is more often associated with new buildings but it is also used for refurbishing structures.

Most of the passive house buildings in the world have been built in Germany, the Scandinavian countries and New Zealand.? The German Passivhaus Institute is presently at odds with the American Passive House Institute, on account of the American counterparts? proposal to relax certain standards.

Cost Of Passive Houses

A Passive House costs more to build than the average house.? A home buyer has a choice between a house that will cost thousands of dollars a year to heat or cool versus a high performance house that will cost very little to heat or cool.? Access to solar energy, superinsulation, advanced window technology, air tightness, ?energy recovery ventilation are all components of the passive design.

Passive Houses In Tropical Climates: e.g. Miami!

Passive Houses in tropical climates are very much in the developmental stage not to say in a ?wish? stage!? Considering Miami?s population density, continued growth and construction, and what it takes to cool our homes, wouldn?t it be brilliant to allocate some thought and resources?to this building type for Miami?s future?? I know little or nothing about Passive Houses; however, the thought they might help lighten the impact of Miami?s buildings and endless construction?on the environment is exciting!

I couldn?t find any trait of a Passive House in Miami, do we have any?

A Passive House is a vehicle to achieving a net-zero energy building!

?

Curious about your? Miami home?s value?? We will provide a no-obligation market evaluation of your home today.

Miami Real Estate Experience and Market Knowledge You Can Trust!

Monica Ferrari, 305. 213. 5902 and Jose Luis Pere, 305. 588. 6498

[email?protected]????? [email?protected]

www.MyMiamiMoves.com

?

*pictures from Inhabitat (http://inhabitat.com/passivhaus-the-greenest-building-standard/passivhaus-section/)

Leave a Reply

Source: http://mymiamimoves.com/2012/08/13/what-is-a-passive-house-miami-has-them/

luke kuechly brad miller chandler jones peyton hillis carolina panthers fletcher cox charlotte bobcats