Heat from the Earth, or
geothermal - Geo (Earth) + thermal (heat) - energy can be readily accessed by drilling water or steam wells in a process similar to drilling for oil. Domestic geothermal energy is an enormous, and underused heat and power resource that emits little or no greenhouse gases. Mile-or-more-deep wells can be drilled into underground reservoirs to tap steam and very hot water that can be brought to the surface for use in a variety of applications. In the U.S most geothermal reservoirs are located in the western states, Alaska, and Hawaii. About 8,000 megawatts of electricity are currently produced globally including about 3,000 megawatts of capacity in the United States. The
US Department of Energy believes that an additional 15,000 megawatts of geothermal electricity…
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Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
Even though a women's menstrual cycle will continue to be regular in her 30's and 40's, the quality of the eggs ovulated each month will be poorer than those of her 20's. Though not as abrupt or noticeable as menopause in women, changes in fertility do occur in men as they age. The causes of
infertility are multiple:
Female factors
- Ovulatory dysfunction
- Tubal/uterine/peritoneal factor
- Endometriosis
- Cervical factor
- Immunological problems, chromosomal abnormalities, cancer chemotherapy, and serious illnesses
- One should distinguish infertility and fecundity problem (the ability to produce a live offspring after pregnancy occurs) when immunological problems are involved
Male factors
- Abnormal semen: decreased sperm counts, failure of sperm maturation
The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) defines
infertility as the failure to achieve a successful pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected intercourse. Earlier evaluation and treatment may be justified based on medical history and physical findings and is warranted after 6 months for women over age 35 years. In the United States one in six couples are
infertile. In large urban areas where women often delay childbearing for sake of their career, the proportion can be as high as one in five. This high incidence is confirmed by the oft-quoted statistic that in the United States over 3 million women a year visit a physician because of difficulty in conceiving. To put things in perspective however,
male factor infertility is the sole cause…
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The 50 million American families who work hard and pay their mortgage promptly each month may view this current $275 billion mortgage-refinancing scheme as inherently unfair. Your chances of winning this lottery are greatly enhanced, if you made no down payment, you bought more house than you could afford and defaulted on your payments. If you foolishly worked hard and paid all your bills on time your chance of winning is practically zero.
In 2008 there were approximately 2.5 million
foreclosures out of the 55 million mortgages outstanding, a rate of about 4.5% or 25% of the 10 millions homes that are "
underwater" - i.e. the house is worth less than the outstanding mortgage. It is reasonable to assume that the ability to make monthly payments is the…
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Ideology to the left of us, ideology to the right of us -- boldly they rode into the jaws of the unknown, into the mouth of financial hell -- rode the five hundred and thirty five. Theirs is not to reason why; theirs is but vote and whine...
For the political class who see the current recession as harbinger of depression, embracing an incomprehensible stimulus plan provides the irrational exuberance of hope. Better to have relied on reason than a potpourri of repackaged old and tired ideas.
To argue with either side is a waste of time, as each will abandon reason at the first challenge. As John Locke succinctly put it: "Every sect, as far as reason will help them, gladly use it; when it fails them, they cry out it…
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Coal, which is by far the dirtiest fossil fuel, generates half of the electricity in the United States and 82% of the carbon dioxide emissions created by power production. Since it is abundant and cheap, it is likely to continue to play a major role in electricity generation for the foreseeable future. In the rhetoric of its champions, The United States is the Saudi Arabia of coal. Despite the introduction of
wind,
solar and other clean technologies, the
Department of Energy in its Annual Energy Outlook 2008 projects a small, 0.03% annual increase, in coal utilization through 2015. Surprisingly, maybe shockingly, they expect that growth rate to accelerate to 1% from 2015 to 2030 unless there are restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions or new clean technology…
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Hydroelectricity is the most widely used form of
clean renewable energy in the world, generating over 19% of the world's electricity. It requires no fuel and produces no direct emissions or by-products. The United Nations estimates that the technically exploitable potential for
hydropower is 15 trillion kilowatt-hours per year, amounting to half of the total projected global electricity needed in 2030. In the United States, hydropower has fallen to 10% of the electricity supply mix down from14%, 20 years ago. In terms of electricity production, hydropower accounts for only 7% of America's current power needs.
Source US Department of Energy
In theory, the mechanics of a
hydropower plant
There are two basic types of
solar electricity plants:
Solar thermal, also called Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), and
Photovoltaic. CSP generates high-temperature heat through the use of various mirror configurations, which is then used to make electricity utilizing traditional heat-conversion technology. Photovoltaic solar power in contrast, converts sunlight directly into electricity.
Concentrating Solar Power
Solar thermal electricity is an attractive renewable energy option in the southwestern United States and other Sunbelt regions.
Concentrating Solar Power (CPS) systems can be sized at a capacity for village power (10 kilowatts), or a number of smaller systems can be connected to a larger grid. According to the
Solar Energy Industries Association, solar thermal electric systems operating in the U.S. today using parabolic trough design meet the needs of over 350,000…
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As the world's
most inventive country we have the unique opportunity to patent our way out of the current recession and thrive in the 21st century global economy. What should we export to create high paying permanent jobs and redress our balance of payments? Ideas. It's what we do better than any other country. One country, the United States, accounts for more than one-third of
international patent applications. It's time to leverage what we do best, innovate, and create the jobs we need for today, tomorrow, and decades to come.
In hard economic times we should be looking ever more closely at our export markets and ask ourselves the basic question: What innovative products can we sell to the nearly 500 million inhabitants of the European Union, the…
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More than 60% of adult Americans are
overweight and a staggering 33.3% of adult men and 35.3% of women are
obese. Even more disturbing 12.4% of
children 2-5 years, 17% % of those aged 6-11, and 17.4% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years are obese. The Center for Disease Control
(CDC) defines overweight in adults as a Body Mass Index (
BMI) between 25 and 29.9 and obesity as a BMI 30 or higher. BMI is calculated dividing a persons weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. To make the calculation simple the Department of Health and Human Services and others provide a simple
calculator based on height in feet and inches and weight in pounds on their websites. For
children
