tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83557406876139424382024-03-05T02:34:59.909-05:00Phil McKennaEnvironmental Stories From The PRC and BeyondPhil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-18508092399706263602010-02-11T15:07:00.003-05:002010-02-11T15:40:30.566-05:00Solar Shingles Heat Up<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCZ6yKm9wZH7GdSUrzbX6ufI8CY1DYknn72ZEiwjWhia3bykTloQTYmQLfE9HoAFLozhJk5z6ZvYjlsVBfY1qXGT7rTmWKo4NGZWRV0sc_AWerNlQ0crdvbD2o5U0N9anzxPpuiqsi_8g/s1600-h/shingles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCZ6yKm9wZH7GdSUrzbX6ufI8CY1DYknn72ZEiwjWhia3bykTloQTYmQLfE9HoAFLozhJk5z6ZvYjlsVBfY1qXGT7rTmWKo4NGZWRV0sc_AWerNlQ0crdvbD2o5U0N9anzxPpuiqsi_8g/s200/shingles.jpg" width="200" /></a><span id="goog_1265914580866"></span><span id="goog_1265914580867"></span>Check out a recent story I wrote for Technology Review on a new <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/business/24383/?nlid=2678">plug 'n' play solar shingle</a> from Dow Chemical. Dow plans to release a small test batch of the solar embedded shingles later this year and while they haven't yet announced who will get them, I think they'd compliment <a href="http://greenprcs.blogspot.com/2009/11/vacuum-tube-solar-hot-water-comes-to.html">my solar hot water system </a>quite nicely. <br />
<br />
My guess is this and other attempts to merge solar panels with conventional building materials will initially cost a premium and the technology will likely encounter some hiccups along the way. But, eventually, I think solar embedded shingles will become a standard part of new roofs. Like one industry analyst told me, "two hundred years ago they didn't build buildings with electrical systems in the walls and wiring buildings was a really expensive retrofit. Today, its standard practice."<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Credit: The Dow Chemical Company</span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-86398074710708873062009-11-29T14:34:00.000-05:002009-11-29T14:34:56.547-05:00Sleeping With Swine Flu<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokiYEoO3eialkHEWdJicH4WyOCn__CvKGwJahcJ9lI1nHFS-KnT3HNy06VH-XZkmiQD92441jJZ4qkkLYkaL7TlKpZ9GaV7cEb1dOixC0IOHM70V_eGLEcEigNYiZYGQjRhgJKBr1CB5S/s1600/sleeping+with+swine+flu+Globe+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokiYEoO3eialkHEWdJicH4WyOCn__CvKGwJahcJ9lI1nHFS-KnT3HNy06VH-XZkmiQD92441jJZ4qkkLYkaL7TlKpZ9GaV7cEb1dOixC0IOHM70V_eGLEcEigNYiZYGQjRhgJKBr1CB5S/s200/sleeping+with+swine+flu+Globe+image.jpg" /></a>"If this turns out to be swine flu, would you still sleep with me or would you sleep on the couch?" My wife had come home from work looking like death warmed over, with barely enough energy to finish her dinner. She'd heard rumors of students and teachers coming down with H1N1 at the school where she works, but nothing had been confirmed. I dismissed her question at the time, saying we'd take it as it comes, and though it wasn't yet 8 o'clock, I started coaxing her toward bed. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/11/29/sleeping_with_swine_flu/">A story I wrote in today's Boston Globe Magazine </a>charts my thought process later in the evening as I weigh whether or not I should join Rachel in bed and why, if one of us is to be banished to the couch, she assumes it would be me.<br />
<br />
Rachel and I are regular readers of the "Coupling" stories written by local writers on the back page of each week's Sunday magazine. I didn't figure I'd ever have anything to contribute, but when I got to thinking about the swine flu question she'd posed to me, it seemed like such an obvious fit I just had to submit it.Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-69344934235807798532009-11-29T09:34:00.000-05:002009-11-29T09:34:15.212-05:00Vacuum Tube Solar Hot Water Comes to Cambridge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6j3glatsFDsyYYFQLSKCXGdUqNwcG0WEAMu2abfFaHPpTZ37ka57_UT7_w5KIQNHY8NKanW3b6Ur_Ig-vn8OBUOCid2FVVgsrHUzgctOVa0v6vC73pX6PVdq9TvE64lWWKTem3Ofm_xBS/s1600/bruce+install.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6j3glatsFDsyYYFQLSKCXGdUqNwcG0WEAMu2abfFaHPpTZ37ka57_UT7_w5KIQNHY8NKanW3b6Ur_Ig-vn8OBUOCid2FVVgsrHUzgctOVa0v6vC73pX6PVdq9TvE64lWWKTem3Ofm_xBS/s200/bruce+install.jpg" /></a>One of the first home improvements Rachel and I made when we purchased our condo here in Cambridge this spring was a solar hot water installation on our rooftop.<br />
<br />
The system we had put in uses vacuum tubes, a newer, more efficient type of solar collector than the black box flat panels of old. As a writer covering energy and the environment in Cambridge and China, I'd spent the past three years tracing this new and exotic technology back to the factories and cities in China where they are surprisingly commonplace. <br />
<br />
I first read about the tubes three years ago in <a href="http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2007/02/04/nothing_new_under_the_sun/">a story in the Boston Globe</a>. A family in Newbury, MA was using a massive installation to provide hot water and heat for their giant barn of a house. <a href="http://www.boston.com/realestate/gallery/green_gallery2?pg=12">A photo that went with the story</a> showed their installation covered in frost on a cold winter day. Somehow, despite the cold, the tubes were still kicking out 120 to 160 degree water.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceH4UXhky11-ppMfct_s5oejKpslSYkJL5vvEJffYpYRGNAGw6RRlrNms35oE0_stnQMhF6ah-Cyxp32sigliHH83wc-fLmOtleK8u7R0-IJRwTk20wcIynplYi54d1PVyY0xNYJJrQVU/s1600/vacuum+tube+diagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceH4UXhky11-ppMfct_s5oejKpslSYkJL5vvEJffYpYRGNAGw6RRlrNms35oE0_stnQMhF6ah-Cyxp32sigliHH83wc-fLmOtleK8u7R0-IJRwTk20wcIynplYi54d1PVyY0xNYJJrQVU/s200/vacuum+tube+diagram.jpg" /></a>The secret behind vacuum tubes that allows them to work just as well in winter as summer is, just as their name suggests, a vacuum space. The diagram at the right shows how the tubes work. Sunlight passes through a clear outer glass tube and travels through an evacuated space or vacuum where all of the air has been sucked out. The sunlight passes through this vacuum and then hits an inner black pipe that absorbs the sun's rays converting the sunlight to heat. What's key about all of this is that whereas light rays can pass through a vacuum space, heat can not. All of the heat is therefore trapped inside by this highly efficient, transparent insulator.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5AMZ1yIQAOxJfjRH3I3NpqgP8sdxl6IdXuwUGcoLkPamfyGOskWdcNOuYD01KnsGsdnhgIrJ5GlQieN8ynN_MERErwOkqOxjDIt_1zzLnk74qKA9_nGsk8E9oKwMt0fpxzb1vzVhPLva/s1600-h/Sunda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5AMZ1yIQAOxJfjRH3I3NpqgP8sdxl6IdXuwUGcoLkPamfyGOskWdcNOuYD01KnsGsdnhgIrJ5GlQieN8ynN_MERErwOkqOxjDIt_1zzLnk74qKA9_nGsk8E9oKwMt0fpxzb1vzVhPLva/s200/Sunda.jpg" /></a><br />
After I read the story in the Globe I found out that there are thousands of factories kicking out these tubes in China and roughly 1 in 10 Chinese people use them for their hot water.<br />
<br />
Six months after first hearing of the tubes, I toured the RnD center of one of these factories in Beijing for <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19626291.500-china-special-the-solar-power-king.html">a story I wrote for New Scientist</a>.<br />
<br />
The story also led me to Rizhao, a city on the coast between Beijing and Shanghai where 99 percent of residents get their hot water from the sun. Here is a video I made from a rooftop of the city while talking with Rizhao's mayor, Li Zhaoqian.<br />
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fYDBTPep8ic&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fYDBTPep8ic&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
By the time we had a chance to buy a place of our own I was totally sold on the technology and couldn't wait to put the tubes in on our own place. Evacuated tubes are still hard to come by in the US, however, and most of the installers I spoke with insisted they were no better than the flat panel solar collectors that had been around since the 70s. The estimates I got for flat panel installations, however, were twice the size of what I figured I could get by with using vacuum tubes. Then I found Bruce, a contractor with <a href="http://www.neshw.com/">New England Solar Hot Water</a>, who, like his company's name suggests, only does solar hot water installations. Bruce and his crew had been doing vacuum tube installs for years and were stoked to hear I'd actually toured some of the factories where they get their parts.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2k7n2X-uIaF1Xhvbkqq2kywjlOCRgsrpwIM3uo2gdX3wJvPgBB25incYKY3pY3OzZXbNSPmShVoqW8aqu0H8jMyUhPIZbxuCERgIAkR2V6EBWmFU7F_eFNDie1WzveekEzHwVpvwnJ9xE/s1600/deck2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2k7n2X-uIaF1Xhvbkqq2kywjlOCRgsrpwIM3uo2gdX3wJvPgBB25incYKY3pY3OzZXbNSPmShVoqW8aqu0H8jMyUhPIZbxuCERgIAkR2V6EBWmFU7F_eFNDie1WzveekEzHwVpvwnJ9xE/s200/deck2.jpg" /></a><br />
In mid June they installed the collectors shown on the right that heat all of our domestic hot water; the water we use for showers, laundry, and in our sinks. The system is backed up by natural gas but on a sunny day like today, its unlikely we'll need it. At 9am, with an outside temp of 43 F, our tubes are already a toasty 95 F and climbing. Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-58005752098557459682009-11-21T11:58:00.000-05:002009-11-21T11:58:40.794-05:00DOE Bets $150 Million on Clean Tech<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfX8K36utbrfGN387BCfq16y3g9BpbqyBQkEocgnJdgfHvUUTEQeYy22P8gSnTE5v0ZGyJNNgW_eIc49D8_iz6EpSndCGHK7QUdJ-gf1v3PlmeJEIyMnWLp_g4o_0fyyykQYIfs2LnWuZ/s1600/doe.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfX8K36utbrfGN387BCfq16y3g9BpbqyBQkEocgnJdgfHvUUTEQeYy22P8gSnTE5v0ZGyJNNgW_eIc49D8_iz6EpSndCGHK7QUdJ-gf1v3PlmeJEIyMnWLp_g4o_0fyyykQYIfs2LnWuZ/s200/doe.gif" /></a>If you had $150 million to spend on boundary-busting energy research, where would you put the cash? The US Department of Energy's <a href="http://arpa-e.energy.gov/">Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy</a> (ARPA-E) has committed that amount with one lofty aim: to transform the planet's energy future: But which technologies are its best bets?<br />
To find the answers, check out <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427355.300-us-bets-150m-on-renewable-energy.html">a story I wrote this week in New Scientist</a>.<br />
This was an interesting story to write in that the Department of Energy had just dolled out millions of dollars for projects so risky that most were expected to fail, yet even if a few succeeded, they could have a transformative effect on the planet's energy future.<br />
What made the story more interesting is the vast majority of recipients, from industry giants to little known start up companies, had such a strong financial interest in keeping their projects under wraps that few would divulge what they were working on, even after they received secured funding.<br />
<a name='more'></a>To catch a sneak peak of the 30 odd projects that received funding-<a href="http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/10/26/flodesign-five-other-local-organizations-win-multimillion-dollar-arpa-e-awards/">five of which came out of Cambridge, MA and the surrounding area</a>-I filed a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of Energy. The FOIA request turned out to be really helpful especially with <a href="http://www.foroenergy.com/">Foro Energy</a>, a geothermal company working on a top secret new drill bit. If the company, which received the single largest grant from ARPA-E, is successful they could unlock massive reserves of currently untapped geothermal energy buried miles beneath the Earth's surface.Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-21739917100340677682009-11-09T20:56:00.000-05:002009-11-09T20:56:02.026-05:00Gore At Harvard<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3c3-rVMZnzVwhGzOf4SojNQtNFPRop0r40iFxgdA50Vml7tuVw2nP20P8Qro_TTZTjzNvoY7wEDMWql5fwDJo_1aEwh6Iw07Qwlui50jS-tCepDf1GSe1n07chZOd0mHWEzDoiXOGOXzi/s1600-h/Gore+Our+Choice+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3c3-rVMZnzVwhGzOf4SojNQtNFPRop0r40iFxgdA50Vml7tuVw2nP20P8Qro_TTZTjzNvoY7wEDMWql5fwDJo_1aEwh6Iw07Qwlui50jS-tCepDf1GSe1n07chZOd0mHWEzDoiXOGOXzi/s200/Gore+Our+Choice+.jpg" /></a>Former US Vice President Al Gore wasn't quite ready to give up telling inconvenient truths as he discussed his latest book <a href="http://www.rodale.com/al-gore-our-choice"><i>Our Choice: A plan to solve the global climate crisis</i></a> at Harvard this weekend.<br />
<br />
Gore took the stage to a standing ovation before a capacity crowd at the First Parrish Church Meetinghouse in Harvard Square on 7 November to discuss his compilation of "all of the most effective solutions that are available now and that together will solve this crisis". <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
His talk, however, was a real letdown. Instead of laying out a blueprint for change, he droned on for close to an hour and a half reciting his tired inconvenient truths of climate change and the challenges of tackling political inertia.<br />
<br />
Read <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2009/11/al-gores-convenient-solutions.php">my full write up </a>of the talk on New Scientist's newly launched <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/">CultureLab</a>.Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-79458233129082770532009-11-04T10:27:00.000-05:002009-11-04T10:27:24.232-05:00Out of Guangxi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDl3NYhJVBbg6Ko6BH_rMfITMhKwG1zFRmA5lnAO8sXxlMrReuIM7glCCcrliuro9QfxlZrHAxgNjpbRB3w809k245ftBwVneQfWowo9ypsPFn3Bg7s4yRAYwIVR8cT9ONjBbzgCK_Se5/s1600-h/human+mandible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDl3NYhJVBbg6Ko6BH_rMfITMhKwG1zFRmA5lnAO8sXxlMrReuIM7glCCcrliuro9QfxlZrHAxgNjpbRB3w809k245ftBwVneQfWowo9ypsPFn3Bg7s4yRAYwIVR8cT9ONjBbzgCK_Se5/s200/human+mandible.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Check out the <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18093-chinese-challenge-to-out-of-africa-theory.html">story I wrote for New Scientist</a> this week on what Chinese paleontologists believe to be a 110,000 yr old human jaw bone (see photo on right).<br />
<br />
If their claims about the fossil they found in China's southern Guangxi province prove true, it would raise some interesting questions about human origins.<br />
<br />
Specifically it could challenge the widely held belief that modern humans are the direct descendents of Homo sapiens that migrated out of Africa around 100,000 years ago.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The fossil was uncovered in Chongzuo just 2 km from the Ecopark that I've visited a few times in the last couple years to write about biologist<a href="http://greenprcs.blogspot.com/2008/09/pan-wenshi-and-white-headed-langurs.html"> Pan Wenshi and the white headed langurs.</a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSQebO33phCizEUY-vQwoVArS71DMXXCDhDBe8a27RcBtPhZkeC8UZDGPUo2TUeQyKPG_LWB82LP9TXZvZu-VnDYHmeREc7nCt1yg6idpRuezJj56thtEbCH6RS-hVmTOPBSjAcohLRea/s1600-h/karsts+of+Chongzuo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSQebO33phCizEUY-vQwoVArS71DMXXCDhDBe8a27RcBtPhZkeC8UZDGPUo2TUeQyKPG_LWB82LP9TXZvZu-VnDYHmeREc7nCt1yg6idpRuezJj56thtEbCH6RS-hVmTOPBSjAcohLRea/s200/karsts+of+Chongzuo.jpg" /></a><br />
The area has some really steep limestone "karst" mountains that offer protection for the langurs today and are likely what preserved the recently uncovered fossil for so long. The limestone peaks have been rising for the past 2 million years at the same time that the landscape around them has subsided. As a result a cave that 110,000 years ago was easily accessible, is now more than 30 meters up a steep cliff face.<br />
<br />
The team that found the jaw bone also excavated the fossilized remains of panthers, rhinos, and elephants from surrounding caves. And I thought the langurs were impressive.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Credits: Fossilized mandible, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Karst mountains, <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chongzuo Biodiversity Research Center, Peking University.</span></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-79628996210307638902009-10-24T17:17:00.001-04:002009-10-24T17:25:15.098-04:00Obama At MIT<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyJ2eNUDExqh3YJxW6NdWNQEWjKV9y-s85zmNMR7YG6BH5KT-MgBubeJbUMn9KNfqHMXDfqlEiuxM2NkeqB6H7Wdy1ZdkXNQrOrkcOlDcByHcZ2idh12KlTA7achIe-c96nJ58H3QF4Dt/s1600-h/barack-hope-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyJ2eNUDExqh3YJxW6NdWNQEWjKV9y-s85zmNMR7YG6BH5KT-MgBubeJbUMn9KNfqHMXDfqlEiuxM2NkeqB6H7Wdy1ZdkXNQrOrkcOlDcByHcZ2idh12KlTA7achIe-c96nJ58H3QF4Dt/s200/barack-hope-poster.jpg" /></a>Check out <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18040-obama-says-us-in-global-race-to-develop-clean-energy.html">the story I wrote and filmed</a> for New Scientist of President Obama's address at MIT on Friday. <br />
Prior to his clean energy speech, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hz13IY28A6Jx1XbBR7Cp1WIiCQGgD9BGUO6O0">the cynics</a> had already written it off as a token "official" event to justify private funderaisers he would attend later in the day for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd.<br />
While there may be some truth to their claims, his arrival inside MIT's Kresge Auditorium created a buzz that was nothing short of flipping the switch on <a href="http://www.psfc.mit.edu/research/alcator/">Alcator C-Mod</a>, the University's nuclear fusion reactor.<br />
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_hqMOlbDt34&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_hqMOlbDt34&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
Obama faces some <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/21/21climatewire-obama-to-give-senate-climate-bill-a-push-wit-53858.html?scp=5&sq=climate%20bill&st=cse">tough challenges</a>, <a href="http://people-press.org/report/556/global-warming">increasing skepticism</a>, and <a href="http://en.cop15.dk/">looming deadlines</a> as he and others look to move climate legislation through Congress. Here's hoping they succeed. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">image credit: Shepard Fairey & AP</span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-65466053064574476192009-10-20T11:28:00.000-04:002009-10-20T11:28:01.539-04:00Clean Beams<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK__h9kllasR5HArObv-gPj76QQiwfTpIubk5YxIgB-YJcl8kBltU9vI-rkH3hfRHh4tzjail_eqNL8IqWX7cVQsrfUGftxaiongSa-wxEz0qYuTyMccq5c_eKdYcDGCTkCV3O0OcYeK_s/s1600-h/ebeam_x220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK__h9kllasR5HArObv-gPj76QQiwfTpIubk5YxIgB-YJcl8kBltU9vI-rkH3hfRHh4tzjail_eqNL8IqWX7cVQsrfUGftxaiongSa-wxEz0qYuTyMccq5c_eKdYcDGCTkCV3O0OcYeK_s/s200/ebeam_x220.jpg" /></a>Consumers may never hear of <a href="http://www.aeb.com/Electron_Beams/">Advanced Electron Beams</a>, but the technology the company has developed could fundamentally change the way everyday products are made in processes that could save millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.<br />
<br />
Check out the following story I wrote about the company for Technology Review; <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/business/23712/">Clean Tech's Hot New Tool </a><br />
<br />
AEB replaces the heat and/or chemicals that are typically used to drive industrial reactions with electron beams.<br />
<br />
For example, car manufacturers today use massive ovens to bake paint onto car bodies. If you zap the paint pigment with a cloud of electrons instead, you can get the paint to stick to the body panels with no heat in a process that uses 90 percent less energy. AEB isn't the first to make electron beams by a long shot, but if all works out, their smaller, cheaper beams may be the first to make it main stream.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Credit; Advanced Electron Beams<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-16062489671462132542009-10-18T19:22:00.001-04:002009-10-18T20:58:42.013-04:00EcoRock<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhoRYdtqyClW1J27cLe-cBKAAAclvXtV78FZR9bZEP_hKFUrcyKr3eH8OFOehzvE3NHPRvTqCehyphenhyphenliDdTbA5RygedbJKUVYYdlnEgAbM7_Uu6NmUfxHJWHVXApz4bJ2tf3jCA1b9Hxj4T/s1600-h/ecorock-drywall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhoRYdtqyClW1J27cLe-cBKAAAclvXtV78FZR9bZEP_hKFUrcyKr3eH8OFOehzvE3NHPRvTqCehyphenhyphenliDdTbA5RygedbJKUVYYdlnEgAbM7_Uu6NmUfxHJWHVXApz4bJ2tf3jCA1b9Hxj4T/s200/ecorock-drywall.jpg" /></a>I recently co-authored the following feature for New Scientist profiling some of the hottest new technologies for a cleaner, less energy intensive world.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427281.400-better-world-top-tech-for-a-cleaner-planet.html">Better World: Top Tech For a Cleaner Planet </a><br />
<br />
It was a fun project to work on and one that got me scouring the planet for the best in Clean-Tech. <br />
<br />
Not every new development that I proposed made the cut, but, one in particular that deserves honorable mention is <a href="http://www.seriousmaterials.com/html/ecorock.html">EcoRock</a>; a new type of drywall (or sheet rock) that requires 80 percent less energy to manufacture than the conventional stuff. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>It turns out that drywall manufacturing today requires baking gypsum at 550 F in a process that emits on the order of 200 million tons of carbon dioxide globally each year. That's the equivalent annual output of more than 15 million cars.<br />
<br />
The EcoRockers came up a with new recipe for their sheet rock that solidifies through a chemical reaction instead of heating. <br />
<br />
The building material should be available on the West Coast this coming year, but at $14-$20 per 4x8 ft sheet, the cost will likely be double that of conventional drywall. Here's hoping the price nose-dives as production ramps up.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Credit: EcoRock</span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-23800477632722067392009-10-10T22:37:00.013-04:002009-10-10T23:09:18.417-04:00Love That Dirty Water<img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2f-DM1fRP5XyIM_ACzqWUvcWIe_Rg1TYodojYopUHFKfa260FGuioBF5Jk_KmJBzDrWYkqysZ_2qZPZFqeK58O71m7I2-ykqDdHLE5XKdawiNgSZxhSsYkOgMAE9uOloCud_LGp_Jbm1V/s200/Rachel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391166104967266978" border="0" /><i>"Raw sewage flowed from outmoded wastewater treatment plants. Toxic discharges from industrial facilities colored the river pink and orange. Fish kills, submerged cars and appliances, leaching riverbank landfills, and noxious odors were routine occurrences."</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">-<a href="http://www.crwa.org/cr_history.html">Charles River History, </a></span> <span style="font-size:85%;">Charles River Watershed Association</span><br /><br /><div>The river Charles has come a long way since the above description</div><div> from the 1960s. The EPA now gives it a B+ in its annual <a href="http://knight.miami.edu/blogs/joe/files/2009/08/charlesriverreportcard.jpg">Charles River Report Card</a>, up from a D just 14 years ago.<img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kSrYHsWbi-5W9gGC3vPN5mAxfGegXGj0fUqSeOc-wcp1un72HFyfDbO3YMfU1-t-OqLuz_26h1OH_8rg4QesZbWPmIZTmMHe8jyH2OMnCA4soba-P-mdae_jR4uc6ZRw0g-c42M4xvQa/s200/Ben+and+Heather.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391166243134419186" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>Rachel and I spent the afternoon with friends Ben and Heather paddling a section of the river in Newton, MA, about 10 miles west of Cambridge. <span class="fullpost"></div><div><br /></div><div>The river still has room for improvement--<a href="http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/2008/10/oysters_help_clean_the_charles.html">and additional cleanup efforts</a> are underway--but I'd give our afternoon an A+.</div><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIumXioEXOMhlh7bYjPDYQzAovJVWbjROOprdRg-sgH7vCtJHVU7mGAITnBp9PzxvWQ2eGHHP6vtIMIVvsHbrZ56hF5fL92Gs8bcbfuxtbxDGSXpPA-LGHBoXm5_6FsGvCRBPze7VMLkch/s200/swans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391167030209203618" border="0" /><br /><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWJZhJPNrCfCjJvR4o1mnnzWsPW9SzmIV0XTbPpe3XxtvMPyMLBMGiHYReIFjXNsrdTMKvNJ9AYiUVZonxsngsrr_UhtC5vvd2xsiQfY8KG25FW7X9XG5a85QOnKo4eEeYEukJQvGvx4X/s200/Lily.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391166478017262338" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div><br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-38233824101044373412009-10-06T21:14:00.009-04:002009-10-07T09:31:51.334-04:00Dash for Green Cash<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5SdjAC3zXJoh8-21tjyLmfqm1YDZIG9HfqH_BC5ZY2ZY4vD07U_Ryxl7St8iyFD-a2x8B3-tiNdCJNErT00yQWw0Puq8oVgHG46J5_8EcL0-CR66rd6aDz-i1VjajB8UhitvF_72535F/s1600-h/money.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 122px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5SdjAC3zXJoh8-21tjyLmfqm1YDZIG9HfqH_BC5ZY2ZY4vD07U_Ryxl7St8iyFD-a2x8B3-tiNdCJNErT00yQWw0Puq8oVgHG46J5_8EcL0-CR66rd6aDz-i1VjajB8UhitvF_72535F/s200/money.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389664467320659282" border="0" /></a>If you invested in green funds the past couple years, you likely lost your shirt--even more so than others--in the current recession according to <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2009/10/06/if_youre_renovating_think_green_tax_credits_can_put_money_in_your_pocket/">an article in today's Boston Globe</a>. But the smart money today, the article goes on to say, is in another type of green investing; eco-improvements on your home that will reduce your cost of living.<br /><br />Nowhere does this seem to be more true than in Massachusetts. I've been looking into installing solar photovoltaic panels on our condo and with the combination of state and federal tax credits and rebates, they are practically giving the stuff away. <span class="fullpost"><br /><br />From what I can tell, a 5 kw, $50,000 system that would cover all of our electric needs and allow us to sell back to the grid would cost $12,000 after a $22,000 <a href="http://www.masstech.org/solar/res2009.html">state rebate</a>, a<a href="http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=US37F&re=1&ee=1"> 30 % federal tax credit</a> (with no cap), and a <a href="http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=MA06F&re=1&ee=1">15 % state tax credit</a> (with a cap at $1000).<br /><br />Unfortunately, it seems too many people have caught on to how good of a deal this is and <a href="http://www.masstech.org/solar/rebateletter10_09.html">starting tomorrow night at midnight</a> the state is scaling back its rebate. The 50K system that currently goes for $12,000, will now come in at $15,500.<br /><br />Anybody want to spot me 12K by midnight tomorrow?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USCurrency_Federal_Reserve.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span><br /><br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-26402481445590891552009-09-28T00:11:00.027-04:002009-09-30T09:59:22.744-04:0021st Century Barnraising<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_L-6_pUCUULtR9fvOTT3g10UMWbKUXQ7F43wpeBPZHBMATz6-yQWqWd9bU5JW-KLVzj4MT8HHqTiXaoM1FtXShYUeeNihr0aLjOotmM0MsO46xNIBPtRdsdEnwzX2Tn6mew8Bc1OLQgq/s1600-h/Audrey.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_L-6_pUCUULtR9fvOTT3g10UMWbKUXQ7F43wpeBPZHBMATz6-yQWqWd9bU5JW-KLVzj4MT8HHqTiXaoM1FtXShYUeeNihr0aLjOotmM0MsO46xNIBPtRdsdEnwzX2Tn6mew8Bc1OLQgq/s200/Audrey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387239609491492386" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyo4XvSBWldqdrDGBEzpxWXjsHtG1fIJaFiskGMHx8Bgej-WL9aBAbPHIhnWgZn40I1O_z3CFxWFPgUpivQCE6_-4ZfNYO2yKAaNIC_ge0sbkORSYDnKIyVRuMvE3rv97ELeiCqkqtXoZQ/s1600-h/Jason.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyo4XvSBWldqdrDGBEzpxWXjsHtG1fIJaFiskGMHx8Bgej-WL9aBAbPHIhnWgZn40I1O_z3CFxWFPgUpivQCE6_-4ZfNYO2yKAaNIC_ge0sbkORSYDnKIyVRuMvE3rv97ELeiCqkqtXoZQ/s200/Jason.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386371045543830178" border="0" /></a><br />For Centuries New Englanders have gathered to help their neighbors raise barns. This past Sunday my wife, Rachel, and I joined a group of our fellow Cantabrigian's in raising the energy efficiency of a neighbor's home.<br /><br />For over a year the nonprofit <a href="http://www.heetma.com/index.php">Home Energy Efficiency Team</a> (HEET) has organized monthly weatherization parties for buildings here in Cambridge, MA. The hosting home provides the food, local weatherization companies donate insulation, caulk, foam, and other weatherizing essentials, and volunteers provide free labor in exchange for learning how to better insulate their own home. <span class="fullpost"><br /><br />Each barnraising starts and ends with a "<a href="http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/energy_audits/index.cfm/mytopic=11190">blower door</a>" test to determine how airtight <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89i0p_kpgpz4Iv6hntvzEm_J0QBpQpwj7hyphenhyphen_tp3I8hyphenhyphenHKdNo4SF5Vt4VRimwjzjNLxDrzKcv0XfyQhBVaSCvFp63mY7CasGaAwsCqHjAi9bj77wtjdqKeXHqFLTvNkUzvjuQiX9vLFKON/s1600-h/blower+test.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89i0p_kpgpz4Iv6hntvzEm_J0QBpQpwj7hyphenhyphen_tp3I8hyphenhyphenHKdNo4SF5Vt4VRimwjzjNLxDrzKcv0XfyQhBVaSCvFp63mY7CasGaAwsCqHjAi9bj77wtjdqKeXHqFLTvNkUzvjuQiX9vLFKON/s200/blower+test.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387239758706160994" border="0" /></a>or leaky the building is. I'd heard about blower doors before but I'd never seen one in action. It's essentially an airtight collapsible door with a large fan in the middle of it (see photo). To run a test you jam the blower door into the building's front entrance, shut all other doors and windows, and then fire up the fan which tries to pump additional air into the building. Air flow monitors connected to the fan tell you how much air is being pumped in, which in turn tells you how leaky the building is.<br /><br />What I learned from the test is that even with all doors and windows closed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpFqAa0hnes-0T1y6tWxYhpTVA1u97z4Q1L3c56cwShW2E9Pmlfy3rTH3sjYNLJbA6jgo4_FYQu53LUpPBEtrX7n9-jOkhKmjUieA2hT-HDwCRWzI1gpb6gSDJjwsdZzPGTif3totAklh/s1600-h/Rachel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpFqAa0hnes-0T1y6tWxYhpTVA1u97z4Q1L3c56cwShW2E9Pmlfy3rTH3sjYNLJbA6jgo4_FYQu53LUpPBEtrX7n9-jOkhKmjUieA2hT-HDwCRWzI1gpb6gSDJjwsdZzPGTif3totAklh/s200/Rachel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386370762472903890" border="0" /></a>, buildings, even well insulated buildings, still leak a massive amount of air. Based on Sunday's pre-weatherization test, all of the tiny cracks and gaps in the three story home's window frames, door frames, and various other joints throughout its walls added up to the equivalent of a gaping 40" by 10" hole. <br /><br />The core HEET team, including some pro insulators, gave us our marching orders; seal up as many cracks as possible and reduce that gap!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5om3Ck0Yopw-L5tCFTsLK29_7Ufkr7aBUjEliQr3n8vdi7KOKdG97zQO_wsoTIxHqmtZ99_5Vq7czT_IB_7uhf15zUyBpoB9CzpYut1pVFWh0WTAAVFI92l8S4I_RGhw7GwBypsfCns6k/s1600-h/Heather.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5om3Ck0Yopw-L5tCFTsLK29_7Ufkr7aBUjEliQr3n8vdi7KOKdG97zQO_wsoTIxHqmtZ99_5Vq7czT_IB_7uhf15zUyBpoB9CzpYut1pVFWh0WTAAVFI92l8S4I_RGhw7GwBypsfCns6k/s200/Heather.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387250475788860626" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Three hours and a half dozen boxes of pizza later, they ran a second blower test and air flow through the building had decreased by 25 percent! Not bad for an afternoon's work. <br /><br />For anyone interested in joining in the fun, HEET is planning a massive <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGs4cC0xb2RkUGlHdC13a3p0d1E0T1E6MA..">weatherization blow out</a> next month to coincide with the <a href="http://www.350.org/plan">Inte</a><a href="http://www.350.org/plan">rnational Day of Climate Action</a> on October 24.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnx4pFKkEkTUVT9M1NNEezIl8X4SjA2rH2YiO1qr9BjQUuPoMDLY50My2hJVR3_tPQ7-i8zH459Y-LK2Z8n_UhMOjSQgOmcyBNxH36aM-wobQlX_pKO7_CaYRnhHrB23PyTLH9LehUTW9/s1600-h/calking.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnx4pFKkEkTUVT9M1NNEezIl8X4SjA2rH2YiO1qr9BjQUuPoMDLY50My2hJVR3_tPQ7-i8zH459Y-LK2Z8n_UhMOjSQgOmcyBNxH36aM-wobQlX_pKO7_CaYRnhHrB23PyTLH9LehUTW9/s200/calking.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386371733525048690" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfO2DuDvjm_nw2wYvV6Ig1wZKpZitOU49NSVUb9hwUB3iJDUrgpclIbQdw4sIldaox9OZIFrFV-S319XLtJU_efSdWJGOM2Sv64FscMnq7L-AJAb47jVJA3trvWjjLSND6NCgDzsmJ_scf/s1600-h/insulating.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfO2DuDvjm_nw2wYvV6Ig1wZKpZitOU49NSVUb9hwUB3iJDUrgpclIbQdw4sIldaox9OZIFrFV-S319XLtJU_efSdWJGOM2Sv64FscMnq7L-AJAb47jVJA3trvWjjLSND6NCgDzsmJ_scf/s200/insulating.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386371524109350402" border="0" /></a><br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-23937267411869330772009-04-17T09:44:00.002-04:002009-04-17T09:51:40.672-04:00First Sip<span class="description">Check out a couple of <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2008/09/pan-wenshi-and-white-headed-langurs.html">white headed langurs</a> in southern China as they come down out of the trees to drink from a recently built pond at the <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-in-chongzuo.html">Chongzuo EcoPark </a>in Guangxi Province, China. </span><br /><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8SO3l8brSTw&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8SO3l8brSTw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-26952144697063525082009-04-05T21:31:00.005-04:002009-04-06T21:35:58.286-04:00King Cobra III<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwGa__BDaohiMC0iQfU41nVr33bGlENfyPEnOL5639-Tr5MCRY4l6cDpRkxD37lM5WXgIKJngYyLotrYEYCpgAv4bTjfMaby7DSryAjeAi-f0JN8koGlnZc1j_Cmj92Gi_cgyFRX1kAeu/s1600-h/cobra+close+up.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwGa__BDaohiMC0iQfU41nVr33bGlENfyPEnOL5639-Tr5MCRY4l6cDpRkxD37lM5WXgIKJngYyLotrYEYCpgAv4bTjfMaby7DSryAjeAi-f0JN8koGlnZc1j_Cmj92Gi_cgyFRX1kAeu/s200/cobra+close+up.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321552310191829874" border="0" /></a>A couple days after our <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/king-cobra-ii.html">recent run-in with a king cobra</a>, Pan pulled the snake out of the freezer for a full dissection. <span class="fullpost"><br /><br />He and his assistants spent a couple hours weighing, measuring, counting rings, extracting venom, and IDing organs. The cobra was likely 2-3 years old—on the cusp of breeding age—was just shy of 2 meters long, weighed 900 g (2 lbs), and had 56 dark bands from head to tail.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXzcho1c2hyz5-V_C032P_XnkUst7UafjhYYqDr-jhC99GjQCZ8Ju4_A1GrNiVelr9xc8W48Oy__M6Os5D5thtxyfaOEO8xFv-kcXa-URoKY_H7uh8xoFVp-HH65TTlOtFqs75h94cnL8/s1600-h/weighing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXzcho1c2hyz5-V_C032P_XnkUst7UafjhYYqDr-jhC99GjQCZ8Ju4_A1GrNiVelr9xc8W48Oy__M6Os5D5thtxyfaOEO8xFv-kcXa-URoKY_H7uh8xoFVp-HH65TTlOtFqs75h94cnL8/s200/weighing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321552463874787218" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.eol.org/pages/1055746?vetted=false&category_id=267"><br />Like all king cobras</a>, it likely fed exclusively on other snakes and may have limited its diet even further to a single species.<br /><br />At one point <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2008/09/pan-wenshi-and-white-headed-langurs.html">Pan</a> entertained thoughts of extracting the cobra's venom and injecting it, bit by bit, into a pig or water buffalo to cultivate antivenom. If someone was then bit on the reserve, they could simply withdraw some blood <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDyd1SzOBCNklhSLlgcvKcBiGlvZYq1n4K4GJqiEXQBNNz6N30hbqLWzXYVmD5Ba2MIA5EidnjzYqeFO9PTXTcY1IdDDGwAf5Ru8VAP9stGma6_plXfoORxSkT2MEqsqOCTlic9hjuBhM6/s1600-h/venom+extraction.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDyd1SzOBCNklhSLlgcvKcBiGlvZYq1n4K4GJqiEXQBNNz6N30hbqLWzXYVmD5Ba2MIA5EidnjzYqeFO9PTXTcY1IdDDGwAf5Ru8VAP9stGma6_plXfoORxSkT2MEqsqOCTlic9hjuBhM6/s200/venom+extraction.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321553070831522290" border="0" /></a>from the by-then-resistant animal and inject it into the stricken person.—Snake antivenom available in hospitals worldwide is obtained in <a href="http://www.fda.gov/Fdac/features/995_snakes.html">more or less the same way</a>, by slowly building up venom antibodies in a horse or sheep.<br /><br />I figure Pan, who had a successful lab career before turning to conservation biology, would have as good a chance as anybody at hacking his own antivenom.<br /><br />Still, I'm not sure I'd want the blood of a barnyard animal injected in me and hope I never have to choose between that and trying to hold out for an additional 2 hours to get <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-rp7hVf4cEV7NmWBhHvrp6eWbFVw7zq276lNurownyMQ0xp-msNkOO4ke4vNDwCmk_KMsaYUM1GOQeXPvysdbIBzziOskJO3fxpoEFcYNCyZsuIw5uly2LXpajov0ca9HwBcsS9vI8fK/s1600-h/skinning.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-rp7hVf4cEV7NmWBhHvrp6eWbFVw7zq276lNurownyMQ0xp-msNkOO4ke4vNDwCmk_KMsaYUM1GOQeXPvysdbIBzziOskJO3fxpoEFcYNCyZsuIw5uly2LXpajov0ca9HwBcsS9vI8fK/s200/skinning.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321552689844208946" border="0" /></a>to the nearest hospital. Then again, future bite victims may not have the luxury of weighing such options as Pan wasn’t able to extract enough venom for the experiment.<br /><br />After the dissection was completed, Pan gave the gal bladder to Jintong, the park worker who <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/king-cobra-ii.html">accidentally ran over the snake</a>. In Chinese medicine, snake gall bladder is <a href="http://www.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/fachschaft/bs/06_04ChineseMedicine.pdf">thought to improve eyesight</a> and Jintong said he would put it in alcohol and share it with his family and friends.<br /><br />This being China, we then divvied up the snake meat with Jintong and his family, chopped it, fried it in oil, added a dash of salt and hot pepper, and ate it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0_zcyHd8a25AfLUE1DVLKHwFYjXgThdU5ub8XOUKtwJZ5cDwMr1rd5G_AYefM6q6Q-m0BIbmqdvcFhQ1E4JX0ym9oSdB6Jfovj1jSl7-LbtXajM4kKbfD1cW7G_-KGybn39wWwU0Huf0/s1600-h/chicken+and+snake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0_zcyHd8a25AfLUE1DVLKHwFYjXgThdU5ub8XOUKtwJZ5cDwMr1rd5G_AYefM6q6Q-m0BIbmqdvcFhQ1E4JX0ym9oSdB6Jfovj1jSl7-LbtXajM4kKbfD1cW7G_-KGybn39wWwU0Huf0/s200/chicken+and+snake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321553319415700578" border="0" /></a><br />It was pretty bony, like a small fish, and I hate to say it, but it really did taste like chicken.<br /><br />Phil<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRU_9TAiCyXXWN__QTdLTeRUPuxhhxl4GDhEnyUlVkgRurVTvmq-3ZVXlbCtvhy0NvuKdy0yarQIUHGxulKKEHRIrKXSy8gjqgGWD0JHN-UD5QMj0PrYCgi7mwc_gSlaltSgrPuGVTMs8C/s1600-h/cobra+on+a+plate.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRU_9TAiCyXXWN__QTdLTeRUPuxhhxl4GDhEnyUlVkgRurVTvmq-3ZVXlbCtvhy0NvuKdy0yarQIUHGxulKKEHRIrKXSy8gjqgGWD0JHN-UD5QMj0PrYCgi7mwc_gSlaltSgrPuGVTMs8C/s200/cobra+on+a+plate.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321553529486995090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3fhKmMHiY5dwg0t2pZvfx1du0o5QyS472XYYRC3ct35Kqbj1YmATfW8DziDuNYk3L8cShm0KDhmcfoyA9TXiAFHrGFAasjp8n8E4wQffyZHfEYDXjs-AlRqb2r6RuxzYAEZbpImzsUjv/s1600-h/tastes+like+chicken.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3fhKmMHiY5dwg0t2pZvfx1du0o5QyS472XYYRC3ct35Kqbj1YmATfW8DziDuNYk3L8cShm0KDhmcfoyA9TXiAFHrGFAasjp8n8E4wQffyZHfEYDXjs-AlRqb2r6RuxzYAEZbpImzsUjv/s200/tastes+like+chicken.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321553846197478098" border="0" /></a><br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-86248116487011712402009-03-25T20:47:00.006-04:002009-04-06T20:26:49.835-04:00King Cobra II<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_LFA0AAtjna7j4Y33gpyIJ_fj2-eYAYHfC_14xl4a8S2iyhvPX084tahSxuxmh3SDfz6eHiRSbNm6nMPvOJ3UPvbpQWV4OSVnBK30YjR9v1kVB3s6dWbWAM9cz9bxHeXT_BRAPIhJz54/s1600-h/DSC_0208.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_LFA0AAtjna7j4Y33gpyIJ_fj2-eYAYHfC_14xl4a8S2iyhvPX084tahSxuxmh3SDfz6eHiRSbNm6nMPvOJ3UPvbpQWV4OSVnBK30YjR9v1kVB3s6dWbWAM9cz9bxHeXT_BRAPIhJz54/s200/DSC_0208.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317294062933058898" border="0" /></a>I started walking back to my room at the <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-in-chongzuo.html">Chongzuo EcoPark</a> the other evening after watching the langurs come down the mountain to their roost.<br />It was a warm evening and I'd stayed watching them settle into <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/dr-pans-secret-lair.html">their cliff face caves</a> a bit longer than usual. By the time I began the roughly 15 minute hike back to the reserve's headquarters, it was already quite dark.<br />I hadn't bothered to pack a flashlight as I knew the path fairly well and preferred to let the moonlight guide me.<br />Then, I started thinking about all the <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/king-cobra.html">warnings I'd recently read about cobras</a>.<span class="fullpost"> I flipped open my cell phone for what little light it offered and grabbed the first stick I could find.<br />After a couple minutes of fumbling around, Jintong, one of the reserve's staff, drove towards me driving an electric cart. He said he'd just run over a snake and proceeded to unfurl a very recently deceased, very large king cobra. He hit the snake on the path I was about to walk down, about 100 meters from my room.<br />Then, before I thought to ask for a ride, anywhere, he drove on. I froze, convinced every branch and twig I saw on the path before me was a king cobra.<br /><br /><a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2008/09/pan-wenshi-and-white-headed-langurs.html">Pan</a> told me afterwards that I needed to be especially careful this time of year. The temperature here on the edge of the tropics was just starting to rise and snakes were beginning to come out in the evenings to lie in open paths warmed by the sun.<br /><br /><a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2008/08/frogfurters-adventures.html">Rachel</a> would later tell me it snowed again in Boston and that sounded pretty nice to me.<br /><br />Phil<br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-3387055040700266542009-03-18T23:28:00.005-04:002009-04-06T20:24:15.634-04:00The Chicken Coop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3HQc7nIveRf7A9-2ynab9AqoKUSOEqQM48_kU-B3J-6hlA0u3AThofEozgSMspTWpFbm5DSkC2_usyp9Ti-jd9MEDyHYYd0vr9aqJSGQYxbA8U89iUvuUYHrqaFP6GEQ7HKBNossC21F/s1600-h/pans+bed+small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3HQc7nIveRf7A9-2ynab9AqoKUSOEqQM48_kU-B3J-6hlA0u3AThofEozgSMspTWpFbm5DSkC2_usyp9Ti-jd9MEDyHYYd0vr9aqJSGQYxbA8U89iUvuUYHrqaFP6GEQ7HKBNossC21F/s200/pans+bed+small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314738392574561474" border="0" /></a>Not far from the entrance to the <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-in-chongzuo.html">Chongzuo EcoPark</a> there is a collapsing cinder block building that once served as the living quarters for <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2008/09/pan-wenshi-and-white-headed-langurs.html">biologist Pan Wenshi</a> and his students.<br />I’ve seen animal enclosures in Chinese zoos that are nicer than this.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />The building—an abandoned army barracks—had no running water, no electricity, no door, and a gaping hole in one wall. Pan’s bed, shown here, was a thin wicker mat laid over a row of boards. Stumps and logs were used for seats and benches. Field notes were compiled by candlelight, and when it rained, water flowed into the building.<br />In 2000, the county government took pity on Pan and, to honor <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/science/23monk.html?_r=1&8dpc">what he'd done for surrounding villages</a>, they spent $1 million on park improvements, including a rather architecturally inspired research facility and living space.<br />Until recently, the cinder block building and its Spartan furnishings served as a museum of the not-so-good-ol’ days of '96 to '00. Since my last visit, it received a long overdue conversion to its current use; a chicken coop.<br /><br /><br />Phil<br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-52200592088442987422009-03-17T11:06:00.004-04:002009-04-06T20:20:15.127-04:00Happy St. Pat's<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DhHMbW0i9F3dPxyW6mJV_5UO1-NkO1usjHiQkHJo9iU81t-AYs0eDXyPESZA-qOG2pWZkvV4U_pueqdty3kAWCODx8NzpUaWPqBh754TUXuI8EOeZPKZGa2MdpciBOnTzKjcdVGUqKlR/s1600-h/st+pats+small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DhHMbW0i9F3dPxyW6mJV_5UO1-NkO1usjHiQkHJo9iU81t-AYs0eDXyPESZA-qOG2pWZkvV4U_pueqdty3kAWCODx8NzpUaWPqBh754TUXuI8EOeZPKZGa2MdpciBOnTzKjcdVGUqKlR/s200/st+pats+small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314178521880831538" border="0" /></a><br />Happy St. Patty’s Day from the PRC. I took a break from <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-in-chongzuo.html">monkeying around in Chongzuo</a> to spend a couple days in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangshuo">Yangshuo</a>, China.<span class="fullpost"><br />Yangshuo was a once gorgeous, now overrun mountain town on the Li river in southern China that has been a backpacker mecca since us <span style="font-style: italic;">laowai</span> started descending on the country in droves in the 1990s.<br />The place is by no means the quiet retreat it once was, but anyplace serving the pride of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James%27s_Gate_Brewery">St. Jame's Gate</a> on March 17 works for me.<br />I spent the evening with Paul, an Englishman, and Joe, a local kid all of 10 years old.<br />Paul has taught English here for the last three years. He makes close to $1000 a month teaching business English in one of Yangshou’s many private schools. At this pay, he says he lives well; enough to eat out each night at the many restaurants catering to foreign tourists. He says he can’t stomach the local food, but he has a Chinese girlfriend and says the weather here beats dreary ol’ England any day.<br />Paul can’t stay long though as it’s “quiz”, or trivia, night at another nearby pub.<br /><br />Joe is friend of Paul’s and, based on his English skills, I get the feeling this isn’t his first night hanging out at <a href="http://www.guilin-yangshuo-guide.com/yangshuo-bars.html">The Alley Bar</a>. When Paul called him on his lack of green, he ran home and put on the sweater seen here. –When I ask Joe what St. Patty’s is all about, he says it’s when people wear green and drink stuff from Ireland. He says there is more to it than that, but he can’t remember the rest.<br />Joe first learned English from a Australian and does a wicked rendition of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodile_Dundee">Crocodile Dundee's</a> “that’s not a knife, this is a knife”.<br />His favorite sport is rollerblading.<br />“I get nice air,” he says.<br /><br />Out of the blue, Joe hits me with the following riddle.<br />“Who is too rich?” he asks.<br />“Bill Gates,” I counter knowing China’s obsession with the world’s richest man.<br />“No, a river; it has banks on both sides.”<br />I go to give the kid a high five but he counters with “down low”, and then, withdrawing his hand, “too slow.”<br />Something tells me that of the two of them, Joe has the better gig. <br /><br />Phil<br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-20617661612336384812009-03-13T09:57:00.005-04:002009-04-06T20:17:02.435-04:00King Cobra<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacsE_QSsGpy9DReSTfon15Al2EbgKuCbtrVhk8RgbbfVekG5Ij_PgnXvInSKU8VOf4Pk-o-Pj1buX9OrwqNyOlqMPC5mMjye0_05O8Ax9yLnZ3ChVSKNoeJKWDHlvmgzrPHNmFvUYseae/s1600-h/King+Cobra+Small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacsE_QSsGpy9DReSTfon15Al2EbgKuCbtrVhk8RgbbfVekG5Ij_PgnXvInSKU8VOf4Pk-o-Pj1buX9OrwqNyOlqMPC5mMjye0_05O8Ax9yLnZ3ChVSKNoeJKWDHlvmgzrPHNmFvUYseae/s200/King+Cobra+Small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312679954854718930" border="0" /></a>I could see moving to <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-in-chongzuo.html">Chongzuo</a>--the weather is nice enough, the food is delicious, and the wildlife can't be beat--if it weren't for the snakes.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />The reserve's walking paths are lined with billboards warning visitors of king cobras and urging them to stick to the main paths. Like most people, though, I tend to take warning signs aimed at tourists with a grain of salt.<br /><br />But just to be safe, I did some Googling the other day to find out just what these snakes are all about.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pitara.com/discover/earth/online.asp?story=21">A children's educational website</a> informs me that;<br />-The king cobra holds a record length of 5.58 m (18.3ft) for a venomous snake.<br />-It has a head as big as a man’s hand and can stand tall enough to look you straight in the eye.<br />-the king’s venom is actually less lethal than a common cobra’s. However, the king makes up for it by delivering more venom per bite...enough to kill an elephant or 20 people.<br /><br />"<a href="http://www.tigerhomes.org/animal/avoid-snake-bites.cfm">Tigerhomes</a>" notes;<br />-Nearly ALL snakes will avoid man…there are however snakes known to aggressively attack man such as the King Cobra of Southeast Asia…<br /><br /><a href="http://www.priory.com/med/ophitoxaemia.htm">Medicine On-Line</a> weighs in with;<br />"The most common and earliest symptom following snake bite is fright, particularly of rapid and unpleasant death. Owing to fright, a victim attempts 'flight' which unfortunately results in enhanced systemic absorption of venom. These emotional manifestations develop extremely rapidly (almost instantaneous) and may produce psychological shock and even death."<br /><br />And here, again from Medicine On-Line, is the kicker;<br /><br />"On an average - cobras and sea snakes result in about 10% mortality [28]-ranging from 5-15 hours following bite."<br /><br />I don't think I'll be straying from any paths again anytime soon...<br /><br />Phil<br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-35089900533695134262009-03-12T09:21:00.016-04:002009-04-06T20:15:24.968-04:00Bulbuls, Wagtails, and Great Tits!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52trYIIXw2mrd47dNhXQG07WAwY2agbB6j7mqap9S8ZD61jusA8uJEx1RR6UaGtS5oDOS_IKxxCvpBJjnRs23C_kEZePI-LfjurAwrD3PC3L6bMuuMHpQaCJJda8XDFZwcdCCwPWKJqUg/s1600-h/red+whiskered+bulbul1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52trYIIXw2mrd47dNhXQG07WAwY2agbB6j7mqap9S8ZD61jusA8uJEx1RR6UaGtS5oDOS_IKxxCvpBJjnRs23C_kEZePI-LfjurAwrD3PC3L6bMuuMHpQaCJJda8XDFZwcdCCwPWKJqUg/s200/red+whiskered+bulbul1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312296104044081410" border="0" /></a>There is a saying about the people of southern China that they eat anything with four limbs except tables, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/reader/0198549407?_encoding=UTF8&query=aeroplane#reader">anything that flies except airplanes,</a> and anything that swims except ships.<br />Perhaps, but birding in southern China's <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-in-chongzuo.html">Chong</a><a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-in-chongzuo.html">zuo EcoPark</a> is nonetheless amazing! <span class="fullpost"><br />Noisy flocks of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-whiskered_Bulbul">red-whiskered bulbuls</a> are found in spades in the reserve’s trees and tall grass. The birds remind me of the Steller's jays that steal French fries off the plates of unwary diners at <a href="http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/">Nepenthe</a> in Big Sur, California.<br />The following images—courtesy of the Peking University Chongzuo Biodiversity Research Institute—are all birds I’ve seen here this past week.<br /> <span style="font-size:78%;">red-whiskered bulbul above<br /><br />common tailorbird</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhnYZCkSzVOBsGexc5_8AAEiZrtZo-WMo71SYc2B5jojtNApmhd1hpJZgoiuaoXikfmdZol5gS4JA5z9zeAfJAcW598cmEXfbbrIcALnv-JZ7eEj4-jLilTHw_DMUsi6xXYUbfXbYg-Ih/s1600-h/common+tailorbird2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhnYZCkSzVOBsGexc5_8AAEiZrtZo-WMo71SYc2B5jojtNApmhd1hpJZgoiuaoXikfmdZol5gS4JA5z9zeAfJAcW598cmEXfbbrIcALnv-JZ7eEj4-jLilTHw_DMUsi6xXYUbfXbYg-Ih/s200/common+tailorbird2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312300818060970642" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />great tit</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvzElCD3fTePSvmd8-mp75XpDW5S9EqbH6VduuEVfe2s0vsYSq5UWxaz8tEFFAtSICfbr4AbDDuhoKlkk2s8RmPIjnG5kB4xt5ShrYvtkCRUJyMLjCwt4xSBDiT4w9ZZXz1IKddzhSD9Y/s1600-h/great+tit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvzElCD3fTePSvmd8-mp75XpDW5S9EqbH6VduuEVfe2s0vsYSq5UWxaz8tEFFAtSICfbr4AbDDuhoKlkk2s8RmPIjnG5kB4xt5ShrYvtkCRUJyMLjCwt4xSBDiT4w9ZZXz1IKddzhSD9Y/s200/great+tit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312300820817687458" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />cattle egret </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfu-aRo9h2Qa8yUxByIyrgNJ7iJzy4s29x8dshrJSK2EWJCXOEs3tkDEkoininVMvVRGOJieXJXpSmhq854_L6c2zDZMm3kkXKb4sGcwJuXQ7gAtXCrTGEruAdNwIknev0xSBwqSn7dpmb/s1600-h/cattle+egret.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfu-aRo9h2Qa8yUxByIyrgNJ7iJzy4s29x8dshrJSK2EWJCXOEs3tkDEkoininVMvVRGOJieXJXpSmhq854_L6c2zDZMm3kkXKb4sGcwJuXQ7gAtXCrTGEruAdNwIknev0xSBwqSn7dpmb/s200/cattle+egret.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312300817208494242" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />white breasted waterhen</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekPKvGp2EDr4DP8ZlcwUynBOHNUOg6rQHCCudzhRvjhErcZKekufkSK5WcRBxeV35UN7-1MzhjZkMBwOCIggb6qcMaYVc9KlZ8DAnYRZOEbq_FLe5lnc5znQgzcE9dIHRUCURilczuBC1/s1600-h/white+breasted+waterhen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekPKvGp2EDr4DP8ZlcwUynBOHNUOg6rQHCCudzhRvjhErcZKekufkSK5WcRBxeV35UN7-1MzhjZkMBwOCIggb6qcMaYVc9KlZ8DAnYRZOEbq_FLe5lnc5znQgzcE9dIHRUCURilczuBC1/s200/white+breasted+waterhen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312300817823380050" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />white wagtail</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHV6iUr2MHK712GOl_jYYbm56IDlhWqNb3n4qaFBtZ3xus_xcdTRW-_FgdlMZmVQV9CiT-FLdaGh7LoSFRf5m0P-4q0sbY70nhp_somhUW0-pk-8th94s7X1NZmBXZ8CMmbuW2Y9rUwct/s1600-h/white+wagtail1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHV6iUr2MHK712GOl_jYYbm56IDlhWqNb3n4qaFBtZ3xus_xcdTRW-_FgdlMZmVQV9CiT-FLdaGh7LoSFRf5m0P-4q0sbY70nhp_somhUW0-pk-8th94s7X1NZmBXZ8CMmbuW2Y9rUwct/s200/white+wagtail1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312300816211381954" border="0" /></a><br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-4677218482070769452009-03-11T09:42:00.008-04:002009-04-06T20:12:53.086-04:00Dr. Pan's Secret Lair<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-Jz0IrKYsTvHPPjYBkmcxd82KcEYRHvAnRYdNlTuOvCbAvs9wUn_-COPD0OrgJz7JbsjUP9sfdQ1CchHMenO5xBZLAbXLnZECnk3wKyMUoTmHWpwnyI1vJgFktbqzHSc-vRRlkmrp3pB/s1600-h/DSC_0514.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-Jz0IrKYsTvHPPjYBkmcxd82KcEYRHvAnRYdNlTuOvCbAvs9wUn_-COPD0OrgJz7JbsjUP9sfdQ1CchHMenO5xBZLAbXLnZECnk3wKyMUoTmHWpwnyI1vJgFktbqzHSc-vRRlkmrp3pB/s200/DSC_0514.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311935842256677202" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At first glance, the Chongzuo EcoPark, where <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-in-chongzuo.html">biologist Pan Wenshi studies white-headed langurs</a>, appears as timeless as a Chinese landscape painting. Rugged <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karst">karst</a> peaks shoot straight out of rice paddies and sugar cane fields tended by villagers and their water buffalo. It's a scene that seems little changed for thousands of years.<br /><br />The reality, however, is much more interesting.<span class="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Kf5xEZADRGZEolDbjtYFzGTW8NUekpyakf-CynS8CpbjwsRHaes-oaYe1S5ZE4Arxcp9K9duu51G48LLdDMXEfpvWP6SfloBw0ewJNp6lIw4nTeNoLjU_kvMgM3RIGtcoV6t2EkRI__e/s1600-h/DSC_0003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Kf5xEZADRGZEolDbjtYFzGTW8NUekpyakf-CynS8CpbjwsRHaes-oaYe1S5ZE4Arxcp9K9duu51G48LLdDMXEfpvWP6SfloBw0ewJNp6lIw4nTeNoLjU_kvMgM3RIGtcoV6t2EkRI__e/s200/DSC_0003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311931096654468162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The Chongzuo EcoPark is a former military base that was in the process of being decommissioned when Pan first arrived thirteen years ago.<br />Few signs of the area’s military past remain except for a massive munitions storage depot carved into the middle of one of the reserve’s mountains.<br /><br />Six-inch-thick steel reinforced cement doors guard the entrance to the now abandoned depot, but much of the inside remains a natural limestone cave.<br /><br />On one side of the mountain the cave opens to a cliff face about 70 meters <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QYtRIRVZqxnYiDTs1QgsesS4WgAaMG4RDgHvUNB0FJMkaUJd6YVWlPtuXSqSaW9-ASD-fbAyMoQpAve6xIo5dtEJtFiwTjpvRKiGlZbJFbrkYsXRtW0-wwZLybfXyHCWKFLCKZVyV5Lh/s1600-h/DSC_0074.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QYtRIRVZqxnYiDTs1QgsesS4WgAaMG4RDgHvUNB0FJMkaUJd6YVWlPtuXSqSaW9-ASD-fbAyMoQpAve6xIo5dtEJtFiwTjpvRKiGlZbJFbrkYsXRtW0-wwZLybfXyHCWKFLCKZVyV5Lh/s200/DSC_0074.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311931411487512610" border="0" /></a>above the valley floor where a langur family roosts most nights. Pan's assistants—LiJun, JinTong, and Lin—recently drilled a couple of cameras into the cliff face for some close up observations.<br /><br />The Chinese biologist is fascinated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociobiology">sociobiology</a>, the theory that certain social behaviors—such as the practice of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infanticide_%28zoology%29">infanticide</a> by male langurs—are evolutionarily advantageous.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tftRHoAhx0V9AqFM_hLsx3Sw-OiRzE_9J9CuQ_a-poIxSYJvNxohislZQ3rj_d2dQyOVRqdsIF4tAuoJP4yt_Mye4xFtllHTZFgMd5APtPdHOAsGTH4IybM5T4tdUXJkm6Hwa-j0Ahek/s1600-h/DSC_0091.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tftRHoAhx0V9AqFM_hLsx3Sw-OiRzE_9J9CuQ_a-poIxSYJvNxohislZQ3rj_d2dQyOVRqdsIF4tAuoJP4yt_Mye4xFtllHTZFgMd5APtPdHOAsGTH4IybM5T4tdUXJkm6Hwa-j0Ahek/s200/DSC_0091.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311937298748517330" border="0" /></a><br />With these cameras—which connect to a tent-enclosed-desktop inside the cave—he hopes to unlock the secrets of the animal's monkey business.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEght0MFuc5Gc9T5-Av-_jV2spQ7bNmAs_1SZAvCFII-WRy0_TuhsUI1DMFBu6-I5iTrMGw6Mmy46I3v2xvb5z3sDX8UuzR55EK9ZYinT300CrYSzrZGRJCOYloCcALqDYx435nkHIGBdeqE/s1600-h/DSC_0203.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEght0MFuc5Gc9T5-Av-_jV2spQ7bNmAs_1SZAvCFII-WRy0_TuhsUI1DMFBu6-I5iTrMGw6Mmy46I3v2xvb5z3sDX8UuzR55EK9ZYinT300CrYSzrZGRJCOYloCcALqDYx435nkHIGBdeqE/s200/DSC_0203.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311932484008446258" border="0" /></a><br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-70236255820452188402009-03-09T23:59:00.008-04:002009-04-06T20:09:16.522-04:00Back in Chongzuo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGN_QiTMtZYi8FOwjoDdZD6tfk0d6-2cL-j0wPmXVoquAVK3weC1kzT6JZO9fOV618NMJH-9MAHgRBJ_0k2zg_aQHOVwguTnlUElWwKM30CGFTDmm63whyphenhyphenRQv0T1CHKGFQvZAfNRcysASR/s1600-h/9265_RJ.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGN_QiTMtZYi8FOwjoDdZD6tfk0d6-2cL-j0wPmXVoquAVK3weC1kzT6JZO9fOV618NMJH-9MAHgRBJ_0k2zg_aQHOVwguTnlUElWwKM30CGFTDmm63whyphenhyphenRQv0T1CHKGFQvZAfNRcysASR/s200/9265_RJ.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311445233046138642" border="0" /></a>I wrote a story last fall on Pan Wenshi—<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/science/23monk.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Phil%20McKenna&st=cse">China's founding father of conservation biology</a>—and the white headed langur, an endangered monkey he’s spent the past decade trying to save.<br /><br />At the time, Pan told me I really should come back in late winter when the year’s newborns still have their bright, canary yellow fur. I knew that Pan and his students also do an annual census of the langurs through the winter months, so when the chance came for me to make a return visit, I jumped on it.<span class="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrs_TpFfLBXN8bfELxTUCET-6qx67aWOToqzloRaw9ZNSRFIFCRNJ4UthhCzy1Ka4VGMOpIddGifvWmW-LXBHj9erupZWtlz6srI6n6fAZ_TH1jUXutsu24gElb3feZi0Hf0sJpBzmn3y/s1600-h/WING9542.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrs_TpFfLBXN8bfELxTUCET-6qx67aWOToqzloRaw9ZNSRFIFCRNJ4UthhCzy1Ka4VGMOpIddGifvWmW-LXBHj9erupZWtlz6srI6n6fAZ_TH1jUXutsu24gElb3feZi0Hf0sJpBzmn3y/s200/WING9542.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311444408804905154" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I’m now mid-way through a two-week stay at the Chongzuo Eco Park, a 24-square km nature reserve a stone’s throw from the Vietnam border in southern China. The very phrase Chinese-nature-reserve may sound like a complete contradiction of terms, but this tiny island of biodiversity—in a country that is admittedly otherwise choking on its own pollution—is absolutely breathtaking.<br /><br />When Pan arrived here 13 years ago, locals were well on their way to poaching the last remaining langurs, felling what was left of their forest habitat for firewood, and blasting their mountain home into limestone quarries.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx876zlRLl04pmInLyoExe3LkVGuQ-HHbgvHP3c4-Gl4Xroy8oyj2Ed65_aJ_7E7TVLkucGhqWsn7g2-yXD5GTNo4d85ROzoJ4kNgU08OB2kFcPX5AIMGS-cpxuKoEO0dy4RNnW7ySJWt/s1600-h/DSC_0017.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx876zlRLl04pmInLyoExe3LkVGuQ-HHbgvHP3c4-Gl4Xroy8oyj2Ed65_aJ_7E7TVLkucGhqWsn7g2-yXD5GTNo4d85ROzoJ4kNgU08OB2kFcPX5AIMGS-cpxuKoEO0dy4RNnW7ySJWt/s200/DSC_0017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311444791123172450" border="0" /></a><br />Over the past decade, however, he’s had phenomenal success working with surrounding villages to help bring them out of poverty and to foster in them an interest in wildlife protection. The end result has been rapid reforestation within the reserve and a five-fold increase in the langur’s population--including one really cute newborn that we’ve been watching the past few days.<br /><br />Phil<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />Images of langur and reserve courtesy of Peking University Chongzuo Biodiversity Research Institute.</span><br /></span>Phil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-56299549750807088702008-12-16T15:53:00.008-05:002008-12-17T08:04:32.392-05:00More Bad News for The Big 3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALDycg31tbD-aA_BB6buMPLwC47h5a5QVVprsNqnUzDvwA8OUAQMOiPv1uNVH0sB9DtqW2mbBMiixQdLIzNyJEAbyfTUnQ4a0X2wlD0b1d88i9QZKzzxjxoVfwoeuxMaGcnezb2IYBSTq/s1600-h/f3-dm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALDycg31tbD-aA_BB6buMPLwC47h5a5QVVprsNqnUzDvwA8OUAQMOiPv1uNVH0sB9DtqW2mbBMiixQdLIzNyJEAbyfTUnQ4a0X2wlD0b1d88i9QZKzzxjxoVfwoeuxMaGcnezb2IYBSTq/s200/f3-dm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280496059095634530" border="0" /></a><br />The amount of time the Big 3 Automakers have <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2008/12/this-blog-originally-appeared-in-new.html">to get their act together</a> on energy efficient transport just got a lot shorter.<br /><br />On Monday a Chinese automaker began selling <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chinacar13-2008dec13,0,1669363.story">the world's first mass produced, plug-in-electric vehicle</a>. The car, The F3DM by <a href="http://www.byd.com/">BYD</a>—Build Your Dream—sells in China for <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/byd-f3dm-electric-plug-in-hybrid-china.php">$22,000 and gets 62 miles on battery-only power</a>. The Volt, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt">GM’s plug in hybrid</a> will cost twice as much, get a third fewer miles to the battery, and won’t come out for another two to three years.<br /><br />Interestingly, BYD rose from the ashes of <a href="http://www.grist.org/news/2008/12/15/Chinacar/">a bankrupt state-owned auto company</a> it purchased in 2003; recession be damned, let the Big 3 fail if they must so that someday they, or their successors, might make something relevant.<br />END OF POSTPhil McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09249687571022065124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-72577472219057826502008-12-12T14:39:00.004-05:002009-04-06T20:09:31.222-04:00Why We Should Let the Big Three Failƒ<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtonXkd3kkVGxukeXCkQS86aqbjXIFDEx_-jeKzt2EGeVMQUXHbIkA0dfflpg5OOq-hXvv2Qr_Reci1vkfFeSn7cFMPkBn7Ci-BI2t_l7GVUjo6Lux-GVwij9n8qdbRbOtdweIsaBiW0E/s1600-h/dinosaur.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtonXkd3kkVGxukeXCkQS86aqbjXIFDEx_-jeKzt2EGeVMQUXHbIkA0dfflpg5OOq-hXvv2Qr_Reci1vkfFeSn7cFMPkBn7Ci-BI2t_l7GVUjo6Lux-GVwij9n8qdbRbOtdweIsaBiW0E/s200/dinosaur.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278992434021094562" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">[This blog originally appeared in New Scientist. <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/12/why-we-should-let-gm-and-ford.html">See the original here</a>.]</span><br /><br />The second attempt at a federal bailout for the Big 3 US automakers <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/12/12/14b_auto_bailout_collapses_in_senate/">fell apart early this morning</a> when their union refused to trim their workers' rather cushy benefits packages.<br /><br />I say good riddance. Let the dinosaurs die. It's time for auto industry version 2.0.<br /><br />One alternative getting a lot of attention recently is <a href="http://www.betterplace.com/">Better Place</a>, a Silicon Valley start-up with a business model that could quickly turn the automotive industry on its head.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />Basically, it's a refueling system for all-electric vehicles that, if successful, would lead to a complete gutting of the internal combustion engine.<br /><br />Better Place doesn't sell cars; rather, it sets up a national grid of refueling stations, ideally powered by renewable energy. Drivers swap out their drained batteries for fresh ones at their stations in a matter of minutes and pay Better Place by the mile, like buying minutes for a cell phone.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/12/12/a_visionary_for_electric_cars/">Israel, Denmark, Australia</a>, and, as of last week, <a href="http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/12/03/hawaii-seeks-better-place-through-electric-cars/">Hawaii</a> are all on board. Renault-Nissan will provide the cars with the easy-to-swap batteries, and <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10119265-54.html">Japan is testing the company's stations</a> for a remake of their transport system.<br /><br />Tom Friedman plugged this new model earlier this week - and dissed what was then a likely bailout for the Big 3 - in an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/opinion/10friedman.html?_r=1&em">editorial for the <i>New York Times</i></a> saying:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Our bailout of Detroit will be remembered as the equivalent of pouring billions of dollars of taxpayer money into the mail-order-catalogue business on the eve of the birth of eBay... into the CD music business on the eve of the birth of the iPod and iTunes... into a book-store chain on the eve of the birth of Amazon.com and the Kindle... into improving typewriters on the eve of the birth of the PC and the Internet."</blockquote> The Better Place model may be a part of the solution, but until heavy, steel-body autos go on a serious diet, battery-driven cars are going to be prohibitively expensive.<br /><br />Amory Lovins of the <a href="http://www.rmi.org/">Rocky Mountain Institute</a> gave a <a href="http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/environments/articles/us-energy-answers-there-taking-says-amory-lovins">great talk at Harvard</a> last week on <a href="http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid191.php">Hypercars</a> or ultralight vehicles made of advanced composites (that is, carbon fibre instead of steel) that, by virtue of their light weight, are 3-5 times more fuel-efficient.<br /><br />Advanced composite car ideas have been batted around for years: GM did a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Ultralite">one-off concept car back in 1992</a>, but it seems no one has been able to get the economics right for mass production. Until, perhaps, now.<br /><br />This summer, a Japanese paper reported that Nissan, Honda, and <a href="http://www.toray.com/">Toray</a> - the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toray_Industries">largest carbon fibre manufacturer in the world</a> - are coming together with the goal of making vehicles <a href="http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/07/toray-nissan-ho.html">40% lighter than today's models</a>.<br /><br />Last week <a href="http://philmckenna.blogspot.com/2008/12/its-beginning-to-feel-like-1980-again.html">I proposed giving the Big 3 whatever they asked for</a> so long as the money was tied to significant CAFE standard increases. Now, I'm taking it back. The automotive industry is changing too quickly and GM, Ford, and Chrysler are too far behind.<br /><br />I say if the US is going to compete in a new, fuel-efficient world, it will be with scrappy start-ups that aren't tied to 20th-century pensions. What do you think?<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(image: Wikimedia Commons)</span><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-51586479000853490742008-12-11T20:28:00.006-05:002008-12-12T11:03:33.117-05:00Chu On This!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHJmjPdlcsI5P750WliLTBscwNIqJiFSx1UnUtrT438CpUigQc9gM4u5Kp8TERphSz6YxRgCipM8DEzwOZNd6ZcCbpiw86lxDTmL42_flFDpeIsUayJyYXXcvAjMpP3mPhB5tB_BX_bM/s1600-h/chu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 153px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHJmjPdlcsI5P750WliLTBscwNIqJiFSx1UnUtrT438CpUigQc9gM4u5Kp8TERphSz6YxRgCipM8DEzwOZNd6ZcCbpiw86lxDTmL42_flFDpeIsUayJyYXXcvAjMpP3mPhB5tB_BX_bM/s200/chu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278712306433508226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">[This story originally appeared in New Scientist. <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/12/obamas-cabinet-may-be-first-wi.html#more">See the 0riginal Here</a>.]<br /><br /></span>"<a href="http://www.techbanyan.com/2892/steven-chu-epa/">Chu is the man</a>!" "<a href="http://community.nytimes.com/blogs/comments/dotearth/2008/12/10/energy-choice-nobelist-with-climate-passion.html?permid=17#comment17">Chu gets it!</a>" "<a href="http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/12/10/12127/542#comment1">Chu is hardcore!</a>" <p>The eco-blogosphere is caught in an orgiastic frenzy over the <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16253-nobel-laureate-may-be-next-us-energy-secretary.html">pending announcement</a> of Nobel laureate and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab director Steven Chu as US energy secretary.</p> <p>So what's all the excitement about?</p><p>First, Chu would be the first person with a Nobel Prize in science to ever serve in the cabinet of a US president. The <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/12/10/chu-may-join-rare-ranks-of-nobel-winning-cabinet-secretaries/">only other Nobel laureate in such a position</a> was US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973. </p> <p>But what makes Chu "hardcore" is the full-on assault he's launched against <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/topic/climate-change">climate change</a> since taking the helm of Lawrence Berkeley in 2004.</p><br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><p>His <a href="http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Director/">homepage</a> says he is on a "mission" to make the national lab "the world leader in alternative and renewable energy research, particularly the development of carbon-neutral sources of energy".</p> <p>In the past four years, he's formed some cutting-edge energy science centres, including the Joint BioEnergy Institute and the Energy Biosciences Institute. One of them, <a href="http://www.lbl.gov/msd/helios_site/index_helios.html">Helios</a>, will draw on <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19826603.600-synthetic-biology-rewriting-the-code-for-life.html">synthetic biology</a>, a discipline that aims to rewrite the basic operating instructions of living cells, to produce new sources of clean energy. </p> <p>In 2007, Chu co-authored "Rising Above the Gathering Storm", a <a href="http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11463&page=1a">report</a> put out by the National Academy of Sciences that called for an <a href="http://opencrs.com/document/RL34497">energy agency</a> similar to the <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13908-fifty-years-of-darpa-a-surprising-history.html">Defense Advanced Research Project Agency</a> (DARPA) as a way to fund developments in renewable energy.</p> <p>The same year, he co-chaired a <a href="http://www.interacademycouncil.net/?id=12161">report</a> commissioned by the governments of China and Brazil outlining steps they could take toward a sustainable energy future. With Chu, who is a Chinese-American researcher and a foreign <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Chu">member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, heading the DOE, I wouldn't be surprised to see further collaborations on this front in the coming years.</p> <p>The only possible <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19426005.200-biofuel-issues-rekindle-berkeleys-radical-flame.html">blemish</a> in Chu's eco-career was sealing the deal on a $500 million biofuel development handout from oil giant BP for the national lab, UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois that some felt would compromise the institutions' academic integrity. </p> <p>Check out a video of Chu speaking at the <a href="http://www.cleanenergysummit.org/">National Clean Energy Summit</a> in August. He seems like a bit of a numbers wonk, but is adamant about energy efficiency and clean energy research and development. Who better to lead the <a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/energy-choice-nobelist-with-climate-passion/?ref=science">world's biggest assemblage of scientists developing renewable power</a>?</p><br /><p><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GfLaQUD86Mw&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GfLaQUD86Mw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></p> <p> <i>Phil McKenna, correspondent (Image: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab/Roy Kaltschmidt)</i></p><p><br /></p><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355740687613942438.post-3893793856573538912008-12-04T20:17:00.011-05:002008-12-12T11:35:23.022-05:00It's Beginning To Feel Like 1980 Again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZNIiG8S19lDRoXDWvEnUpDmmMIyEV0BafHswcnOmPO9QHYdBKaxDltls0DpHNLVMfJKLsRj12KfWChtskk7vhSRv4sgUa7VKWNDOGI5ozxPFzTZNp2VVeHIANTQGkv5GHBXtSi-6a-U/s1600-h/1980s_Chevy_Suburban.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZNIiG8S19lDRoXDWvEnUpDmmMIyEV0BafHswcnOmPO9QHYdBKaxDltls0DpHNLVMfJKLsRj12KfWChtskk7vhSRv4sgUa7VKWNDOGI5ozxPFzTZNp2VVeHIANTQGkv5GHBXtSi-6a-U/s200/1980s_Chevy_Suburban.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276109554698891538" border="0" /></a><br />[Some great historical perspective on the Big 3 Bailout by Elizabeth Kolbert in the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk">Talk of The Town</a> in this week's <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/">New Yorker</a>. See the top of the story below. Kolbert gets after Obama for not taking a strong stand on the issue but then fails to do so herself. I say give the Big 3 everything they want, but this time break the boom-bust-cycle by tying the money to a <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/astevenson/we_can_invest_in_a_cafe_driven.html">significant CAFE standard increase</a>.]<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The Secretary of Transportation’s report to Congress begins on a dark note. “Over the past year, the domestic auto industry has experienced sharply reduced sales and profitability, large indefinite layoffs, and increased market penetration by imports,” it states. “The shift in consumer preferences towards smaller, more fuel-efficient passenger cars and light trucks . . . appears to be permanent, and the industry will spend massive amounts of money to retool to produce the motor vehicles that the public now wants.” The revenue to pay for this retooling, though, will have to come from sales of just the sort of cars that the public is no longer buying—a situation, the report observes, bound to produce “financial strain.”<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">“To improve the overall future prospects for the domestic motor vehicle manufacturers, a quality and price competitive motor vehicle must be produced,” the report warns. “If this is not accomplished, the long term outlook for the industry is bleak.”</span><br /><br /><span class="fullpost">The Secretary’s report was delivered to Congress in 1980, a year after what may soon become known as the first Chrysler bailout... --Get the full story <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/12/08/081208taco_talk_kolbert?printable=true">here</a>. Copyright © 2008 CondéNet</span><br /></div><span class="fullpost"><br />Image Courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wikimedia Commons</a><br /><br />Phil<br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0