The down side to wind power
To estimate the impacts of wind power, Keith and Miller established a baseline for the 2012‒2014 U.S. climate using a standard weather-forecasting model. Then, they covered one-third of the continental U.S. with enough wind turbines to meet present-day U.S. electricity demand. The researchers found this scenario would warm the surface temperature of the continental U.S. by 0.24 degrees Celsius, with the largest changes occurring at night when surface temperatures increased by up to 1.5 degrees. This warming is the result of wind turbines actively mixing the atmosphere near the ground and aloft while simultaneously extracting from the atmosphere’s motion.This research supports more than 10 other studies that observed warming near operational U.S. wind farms. Miller and Keith compared their simulations to satellite-based observational studies in North Texas and found roughly consistent temperature increases.Miller and Keith are quick to point out the unlikeliness of the U.S. generating as much wind power as they simulate in their scenario, but localized warming occurs in even smaller projections. The follow-on question is then to understand when the growing benefits of reducing emissions are roughly equal to the near-instantaneous impacts of wind power.The Harvard researchers found that the warming effect of wind turbines in the continental U.S. was actually larger than the effect of reduced emissions for the first century of its operation. This is because the warming effect is predominantly local to the wind farm, while greenhouse gas concentrations must be reduced globally before the benefits are realized.Miller and Keith repeated the calculation for solar power and found that its climate impacts were about 10 times smaller than wind’s.“The direct climate impacts of wind power are instant, while the benefits of reduced emissions accumulate slowly,” said Keith. “If your perspective is the next 10 years, wind power actually has — in some respects — more climate impact than coal or gas. If your perspective is the next thousand years, then wind power has enormously less climatic impact than coal or gas.“The work should not be seen as a fundamental critique of wind power,” he said. “Some of wind’s climate impacts will be beneficial — several global studies show that wind power cools polar regions. Rather, the work should be seen as a first step in getting more serious about assessing these impacts for all renewables. Our hope is that our study, combined with the recent direct observations, marks a turning point where wind power’s climatic impacts begin to receive serious consideration in strategic decisions about decarbonizing the energy system.”This research was funded by the Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research. When it comes to energy production, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, unfortunately.As the world begins its large-scale transition toward low-carbon energy sources, it is vital that the pros and cons of each type are well understood and the environmental impacts of renewable energy, small as they may be in comparison to coal and gas, are considered.In two papers — published today in the journals Environmental Research Letters and Joule — Harvard University researchers find that the transition to wind or solar power in the U.S. would require five to 20 times more land than previously thought, and, if such large-scale wind farms were built, would warm average surface temperatures over the continental U.S. by 0.24 degrees Celsius.“Wind beats coal by any environmental measure, but that doesn’t mean that its impacts are negligible,” said David Keith, the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and senior author of the papers. “We must quickly transition away from fossil fuels to stop carbon emissions. In doing so, we must make choices between various low-carbon technologies, all of which have some social and environmental impacts.”Keith is also professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.One of the first steps to understanding the environmental impact of renewable technologies is to understand how much land would be required to meet future U.S. energy demands. Even starting with today’s energy demands, the land area and associated power densities required have long been debated by energy experts.In previous research, Keith and co-authors modeled the generating capacity of large-scale wind farms and concluded that real-world wind power generation had been overestimated because they neglected to accurately account for the interactions between turbines and the atmosphere. “The direct climate impacts of wind power are instant, while the benefits of reduced emissions accumulate slowly.” — David Keith In 2013 research, Keith described how each wind turbine creates a “wind shadow” behind it where air has been slowed down by the turbine’s blades. Today’s commercial-scale wind farms carefully space turbines to reduce the impact of these wind shadows, but given the expectation that wind farms will continue to expand as demand for wind-derived electricity increases, interactions and associated climatic impacts cannot be avoided.What was missing from this previous research, however, were observations to support the modeling. Then, a few months ago, the U.S. Geological Survey released the locations of 57,636 wind turbines around the U.S. Using this data set, in combination with several other U.S. government databases, Keith and postdoctoral fellow Lee Miller were able to quantify the power density of 411 wind farms and 1,150 solar photovoltaic plants operating in the U.S. during 2016.“For wind, we found that the average power density — meaning the rate of energy generation divided by the encompassing area of the wind plant — was up to 100 times lower than estimates by some leading energy experts,” said Miller, who is the first author of both papers. “Most of these estimates failed to consider the turbine-atmosphere interaction. For an isolated wind turbine, interactions are not important at all, but once the wind farms are more than five to 10 kilometers deep, these interactions have a major impact on the power density.”The observation-based wind power densities are also much lower than important estimates from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.For solar energy, the average power density (measured in watts per meter squared) is 10 times higher than wind power, but also much lower than estimates by leading energy experts.This research suggests that not only will wind farms require more land to hit the proposed renewable energy targets but also, at such a large scale, would become an active player in the climate system.The next question, as explored in the journal Joule, was how such large-scale wind farms would impact the climate system. “If your perspective is the next 10 years, wind power actually has — in some respects — more climate impact than coal or gas. If your perspective is the next thousand years, then wind power has enormously less climatic impact than coal or gas.” — David Keith
[1] Products are not designed or intended for use in primary medical image interpretation. The healthcare environment is like no other workplace, and with the unique requirements of caring for another person, it’s no wonder it has evolved with highly specialized IT hardware and solutions that differ from traditional offices and corporate environments. Every day, healthcare IT decision makers, from small private practices to clinics to large hospital settings, face the choice of balancing the need to provide exceptional patient care with limited budgets and strict compliance standards.From a monitor perspective, most of us can get by in our daily jobs with one or two of the many award-winning monitors Dell has to offer for your office environment. As for the professional who specializes in color-critical work, Dell’s premium UltraSharp line of monitors with OLED, 4K and 5K resolution offer the very best in monitor performance, so it’s fitting that a healthcare professional would also want a specialized products from Dell.At the 2015 Radiology Society of North America annual conference, we introduced the 24-inch Medical Review 24 Monitor (MR2416), and today we’re pleased to announce our follow-up to that product, the Medical Review 22 Monitor (MR2217), a more compact 21.5-inch monitor. Dell jumped into the medical imaging market with the MR2416 and focused on delivering top “features designed to make daily usage easier for healthcare workers, including an active screw-on cable clip to secure cables within the housing as well as mechanical pop-up Power and OSD buttons on the side of the monitor, designed to be easy to find even with gloves on.”(InfoTech Lead). Upon release, DOTmed praised the MR2416 for meeting the day-to-day needs of healthcare professionals and helping improve practice – from better diagnosis, improved patient care and sanitation.With soaring prices on medical monitors and the need to meet IT compliance standards, it’s highly possible that a healthcare IT decision maker’s constrained budget might lead to non-medical monitors being used in healthcare environments and potentially hindering medical professionals from provide the best care possible. Through our Dell Medical Review Monitors and our partnerships, we can address the entirety of a facility’s medical display needs with the reliability of the #1 provider of monitors worldwide for the past two years and in North America for the past 16 years.Now with Dell’s Medical Review Monitors addressing the needs within clinical care and diagnostic review use[1], the MR2416 and MR2217 feature the following:DICOM calibrated – with Dell’s expertise in display technology, the MR2217 is DICOM Part 14 calibrated for consistent grayscale and image viewing with a matte screen and backlight stabilization that maintains calibration. This 16:9 monitor is also small enough to fit in the tight spaces of an existing workspace or on a workstation on wheels and features a unique cable clip that makes it even easier and safer to transport. We even designed it with raised buttons specifically to make it easier to operate while wearing gloves.Aligned with infection control initiatives – like the MR2416, our newest medical monitor has a light-colored exterior, making it easy to see blood stains and contaminants, and the monitor’s smooth, ventless design minimizes dirt and contaminant trapping. The MR2217 is easily cleanable to be consistent with infection control protocols.Ease of Use and compliance – when showing a patient x-rays or other medical images using a typical commercial monitor, healthcare professionals have to reorient the patient. To address this, the MR2217 has a 60-degree swivel for easy viewing from any angle. In addition, the hospital-grade IEC60601-1 power supply is safe for use near patients.With its accessible price, superior screen performance and unmatched reliability with Dell’s three-year Advance Exchange Service, the Medical Review 22 Monitor is another example of how Dell monitors are easy-to-use and designed with customer-focused innovation so healthcare professionals can focus on their most important customers.
Share:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Pixabay Stock Image.NEW YORK – New York State ranks 13th in average gas per gallon prices based on the latest figures from AAA, with a state average price of $2.27 per gallon, but even lower prices are predicted as people drive less during the fall season.Officials are citing lower demand for gasoline as the main driving factor in lowered prices. The highest average price in the United States is California, at $3.23 per gallon, while Mississippi leads the nation with a low price of $1.85 per gallon.During the last month, state average prices have fluctuated between $2.28 and $2.16 per gallon.New York had a 2020 high of $2.65 per gallon in January. The state’s lowest average was $2.05 per gallon in May. The national gas price average is $2.18 this week, which is one cent less than last week, the same price as a month ago, but 48 cents cheaper than mid-September last year.On the week, all states saw gas prices decrease or remain stable at the pump. The majority of state averages have pushed cheaper by a penny or two since last Monday.With the nation entering the fall driving season, which typically sees fewer road trips, a continued drop in demand will likely lead to pump prices continuing to decrease.
View Comments Whether you’re single or in a relationship, everybody can celebrate love—that’s what Valentine’s Day is all about. That’s also what the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots is about, and nobody knows that better than Charlie Sutton, one of the musical’s dancers. Sutton directed and choreographed a beautiful dance video for the holiday, which he dedicates to “the lovers and dreamers of New York City.” The clip features a cover of The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather” by Alyson Stoner and Max Schneider and some amazing moves by Lindsay Janisse and Marty Lawson. Check it out!
View Comments Lea Salonga Miss Saigon recently turned 25, and a special celebratory gala performance of the West End revival took place on September 22. Following the show, members from the original company of the Boublil and Schönberg musical took to the stage and joined the new cast in renditions of “The Movie in My Mind,” “The American Dream” and more. Those taking part included the Tony and Olivier-winning Kim and Engineer, Lea Salonga and Jonathan Pryce, as well as original Chris, Simon Bowman. Take a look at just a snippet of the festivities below, and stay tuned for more footage of the event from BBC Radio 2!
Star Files
Miranda Hart as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie'(Photo: Matt Crockett) British comedian Miranda Hart will make her West End debut as Miss Hannigan in a revival of Annie. The Nikolai Foster-helmed production, which previously toured the U.K., will begin performances on May 23 at the Piccadilly Theatre, where it is set to open on June 5.”Miss Hannigan is a dream role, and certainly has been for me, but I never thought it would be a reality,” Hart said in a statement. “But here we are, and I have a newly found musical theatre-esque spring in my step! I hope people will leave the theatre feeling life is a little better and dreamier and jollier after watching it, as much as we feel that performing it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some leg-warmers to put on…”Hart is most known for her semi-autobiographical BBC sitcom Miranda. Her additional film credits include Call the Midwife, Spy, The Infidel and Magicians. On stage, she’s appeared in Cruising, Come Out Eli and All About Me, as well as her stand-up tour My, What I Call, Live Show. She is also the author of Is It Just Me?, The Best of Miranda and Peggy and Me.Additional casting for the Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin musical will be announced later. The production will feature choreography by Nick Winston, sets and costumes by Colin Richmond, lighting by Ben Cracknell and sound design by Richard Brooker. View Comments
FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享Taiwan News:Taiwan’s largest solar power station was officially launched on July 17 in Changhua, with the 347 hectare site expected to have a total power capacity of 320 megawatts.The floating solar plant will be built on reclaimed land in Xianxi Township, Changhua County as part of a purpose-built renewable energy area.The solar facility is part of the Executive Yuan’s two year solar energy plan, which hopes to lead to national solar capacity of 1.52 gigawatts.It is expected that annual power generation of the solar plant could reach as high as 436 million kilowatt hours.In conjunction with Taiwan Power Company’s new solar power facility, the area will be the largest solar factory in Taiwan, reports suggest.The solar power station received NT$16.3 billion (US$0.534 billion) in total investment with Chenya, Hougu and Yeheng Energy winning contracts to build the facility.More: Taiwan’s largest solar power station officially launched Taiwan begins work on country’s largest solar station
By Dialogo April 12, 2010 The Red Cross has become truly international in Haiti since the earthquake, with representatives of the organization arriving in the Caribbean country from various regions of the world in order to help their Haitian colleagues. “The Haitian Red Cross is small, and with the disaster, its structures were severely affected. For this reason, the International Red Cross came to support them and help them move forward. Now they’re taking on more of a leading role, because we’re leaving and they have to continue on,” said Cesar Augusto, the head of the Colombian Red Cross mission. Thirty Colombian members of the Red Cross are working in Haiti and will stay for a year at most, Cesar Augusto explained. “After the initial search-and-rescue stage, we are organizing health clinics in order to begin the process of rebuilding,” he added.
July 1, 2002 Jan Pudlow Associate Editor Regular News Court hears lawyers for children arguments When dependent kids are sent to mental health treatment centers Court hears lawyers for children arguments Associate Editor A bevy of lawyers pro and con gathered at the Florida Supreme Court for oral arguments June 6 on this question: Should dependent children sent to mental health treatment centers against their will have their own attorneys?And it was Justice Harry Lee Anstead who asked this simple, pointed question that no doubt many were wondering, too: “I am having difficulty, really, seeing why the Department (of Children and Families) wouldn’t want all the help it could get.”Why not have both a guardian ad litem and lawyer for the child, so the judge has the best information to make the best decision about the child?It was Linda Wells’ job to deliver the answer, on behalf of the Department of Children and Families and several members of the dependency court in Miami-Dade County who oppose giving this select group of about 300 children attorneys and hearings before they are sent to mental-health facilities.“Because history has proved that this extra involvement creates an insurmountable barrier, and it is actually helpful, but it is more harmful that it is helpful,” Wells responded.“I am standing here representing the people who really have to live with this rule. This isn’t academic with us. This is reality,” Wells said.The reality of the group of children affected by this proposed amendment, she said, are primarily “teenagers who have very serious problems, mental illness problems, who have been disruptive and had multiple placements because they run away from home, because they are truant from school, because they are suspended from school, because they are expelled from school. We have provided every kind of less restrictive therapy we can think of, in every other setting we can think of. And because they are busy running away and not participating in it, they are not getting their therapy and are not getting educated,” Wells said.The procedure proposed in the amendment to the rule, Wells continued, requires the appointment of an attorney for the child and a hearing before sending the child to the treatment center. But, Wells asked: Where are these attorneys going to come from, especially in small rural counties?“It is going to have to be a pro bono attorney, because there is no funding for government lawyers, and there is a separation of powers issue that rears its ugly head,” Wells said.“I have to tell the court, because I have to live with this rule, I cover Miami-Dade and the Keys. I have not been able to get an attorney to represent dependent children in anything for three years, in Marathon Key and Plantation Key, where dependency courts sit. And your rule says in five days of getting the independent evaluation, we have to have a hearing, and the attorney and the guardian ad litem must appear, or I am not placing that child. I have a desperately ill child on my hands, and if a lawyer doesn’t show up in five days, I can’t place that child. Where are we going to get a pro bono lawyer in Wakulla County, Levy County, Hendry County? The legislature didn’t place that hurdle on me before I can place a child. As a practical matter, I am not going to be able to place this child. I have foster homes, but these children won’t stay in them. They won’t go to school.”Comments were invited after an October 25, 6-1 opinion written by Justice Barbara Pariente, in case no. SC00-2044 , Amendment to Rule of Juvenile Procedure, Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.350. (A story on comments filed with the court can be found in the April 1 issue of the Bar News. )On the side arguing against the proposal to give these children lawyers and pre-placement hearings are several circuit judges, the Children’s Court Improvement Committee, the Department of Children and Families, and a sharply split Bar Juvenile Court Rules Committee who say such children do not have a constitutional or statutory right to have their own attorneys, that guardians ad litem ably advocate for the child’s best interest. They are of the opinion that it is best left up to the judge, on a case-by-case basis, whether a particular child needs an attorney or is present at a hearing that would be held after the placement in a mental health facility.On the other side are six Supreme Court justices, children’s advocates, law clinic professors, the Florida Public Defender Association, the Bar Public Interest Law Section, and the Bar Commission on the Legal Needs of Children who insist it should be mandatory that foster children be represented by attorneys, just as are delinquent children about to lose their liberty or adults sent involuntarily to psychiatric hospitals. And, they argue, these children should be present at a hearing, with their lawyers at their side, before they are sent to a psychiatric facility against their will.11th Circuit Judge Sandy Karlan, speaking on behalf of the Commission on the Legal Needs of Children, made five succinct points:• “Our commission voted that all children in this position should have an attorney.”• “That attorney should follow the standards of the attorney-client rule under ABA standards.”• “We have identified in our brief sufficient areas where there are attorneys to represent these children and there is a sufficient number of attorneys.”• She noted that there may be new funding sources available for lawyers for children.• “We have, after three years of listening to the children and the experts from around the state and nationally, come to the conclusion and recommended that children be entitled to know everything about their cases, that they be provided with the information, that they participate.”Karen Gievers, for the Children’s Advocacy Foundation, got in a zing at four 11th Circuit judges who serve in the juvenile division: Cindy Lederman, Lester Langer, Jeri Cohen, and William Gladstone, senior judge, who said in their comments to the court that appointment of counsel in not necessary or “even always beneficial to the child’s interests in all cases,” and judges can tell in court whether the child needs an attorney.Said Gievers: “The tragedy of that misperception could not have been more obviously underscored by the fact that one of the judges who felt that, based on their experience on the bench, that they knew when the child needed a lawyer, was in the Rilya Wilson case,” referring to the 5-year-old girl who vanished for 15 months before the Department of Children and Families reported her missing in April.“We have found that children as early as three have been put at Lakeside Alternatives, a mental health facility in Orlando, and kept there up to 10 months — not because the children’s mental status or needs warrants that, but because it was an easy placement. We have got to remember the children.“This rule does not address the broad spectrum. I recognize and respect that,” Gievers continued. “But to the extent we are talking about children who are the pawns, really, in the situation between parents who have allegedly abused or neglected them, and the department that is trying to modify the parents’ behavior, the children have no control over how they get out. It is essential that this court, as quickly as possible, at least adopt the rule that gives the bright line, when a child does not want to be in a placement or does not express approval of being in that placement, that that child have an attorney.”
Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York Refresh and replenish your skin with Ole Henriksen Fountain of Truth TM Facial Water. This botanical blend is made up of sweet orange, mandarin oils, white tea, and pomegranate that energize and hydrate the skin to give you a natural glow, $22. Available at sephora.comGive your eyes and lips a boost with L’uvalla Anti-Wrinkle Eye/Lip Cream. The product that is formulated in the south of France is made with cold-pressed essential oils that are restorative and nourishing and Gamarde spring water, revered for its minerals and healing properties ideal for sensitive skin. (New customers can use FIRST20 discount code saving 20 percent on entire order to $52 (reg. $65.99). Available at luvalla.comClear up blemishes for a flawless complexion with AHAVA Clearing Facial Treatment Mask with Dead Sea Mud. The mask unclogs pores, detoxifies skin and reduces excess oil to deliver a healthier complexion. The Jojoba granules exfoliate the skin to boost cell turnover, and the Magnolia Bark Extract offers antioxidant properties, $30. Available at ahava.comThe Brazilian Bum Bum Cream is a full-body cream that helps tighten and smooth the look of skin. The cream is a Brazilian blend of cupuacu butter, the superfruit and antioxidant acai, coconut oil, and guarana, a native Amazonian plant whose fruit contains one of the most potent forms of caffeine, to help support natural circulation and boost energy. $45. Available at dermstore.comT.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial TM by Drunk Elephant was included in the 2017 Best Beauty Awards by Allure for its outstanding properties and results. The AHA/BHA mask reveals improved skin texture and tone. $80. Available at sephora.com