Through the years, I have  often mentioned some of the opportunities available to inventors and entrepreneurs in trying to reshape out energy usage and infrastructure. After my trip to Florida for the last few days, I am reminded of another industry that needs to be disrupted and changed, and that is the airline industry. Unfortunately, this is one that is tougher to crack because of a mountain of regulations and the massive - sunk - legacy costs in the current infrastructure. Congratulations to Southwest for doing what they can to make the flying experience a little cheaper and slightly more convenient, but for the average jane or joe, flying is a nightmare. It is an exercise in patience standing through the myriad of lines for hours (for security, for ticketing, for food, to board and un-board, to claim your bag, to get a rental car, etc…) It is an exercise in hidden costs that make every trip more expensive than you thought. It is an exercise in discomfort as you are crammed into seats, aisles, and bathrooms that don’t fit a lot of people. All this being said, flying is quite nice for anyone who can afford a private jet or to pay for first class – which is sadly just a tiny sliver of society. The rest of us wait for someone to shake up the industry. (side note: most of the people working in the industry are not really to blame, they generally do their best in a flawed system.)

NASA’s (Boeing built) blended wing airplane design

While musing about how horrible flying is, particularly in the U.S., my wife mentioned that we should have airplanes shaped more like “flying saucers”, then there would potentially be more room for people to sit. I have often thought about different aircraft designs, but it is hard to beat the “tube with wings” design for ease of manufacture and ease of flying. Thankfully, some people are working on new designs. Check out this new blended wing design from NASA. It could potentially shave 50% off of fuel costs if it had a state of the art engine. If such airplanes are ever developed, I hope there is some consideration for passenger comfort – a balance to be struck between efficiency and price. If airlines stuff new airplanes with as many seats as possible, we will just be back to square one.

Other than the unpleasantness of flying, my recent trip was enjoyable, and as usual I took note of how things look in a different part of the country – in a different city – from an environmental perspective. At first glance, Orlando does not seem as bad as LA, Phoenix, Miami, or Chicago because it is more spread out. There is plenty of sprawl but it is not as continuous as some other American cities. You will pass many small forests, swamps, and lakes moving from one side of the city to the other. Because the terrain has plenty of trees you cannot see how big the city is from ground level. You cannot see the downtown area from very many locations, so it seems like you might be in a smaller city. However, the problem with Orlando is that mass transit is almost non-existent. If you live in Orlando, you need a car. It is so spread out that it takes 30 minutes or more to complete almost any daily task. Forget about walking. Orlando was built for cars. Sidewalks are hard to find outside of a few select areas. Besides that, it would take you all day to walk to most destinations. Orlando had the distinction (at least as recent as a couple years ago) of having the highest vehicle-pedestrian accident rate in the nation. When there are hardly any sidewalks, that is bound to be a problem. Big cities in the south, like Orlando, also have a big energy budget for air conditioning. I was talking with friends about utility bills and they mentioned how electricity can run in the hundreds of dollars per month range. They asked me what my utility bill was like and I said I paid between $100 and $200 per month for gas and electricity combined. The gas being for heat of course. Heating a domicile, as it turns out, was a rather foreign concept to them. If the climate continues to warm, air conditioning will have to evolve and become more efficient, otherwise the big cities will continue to scorch in the Summer. Air conditioning, while cooling to interior of buildings, adds to the heat outdoors. When you have millions of air conditioning units operating is close quarters (in the city) it only adds to the urban heat island effect.

I didn’t happen to notice much alternative energy. I can’t say that I saw one solar panel or wind turbine. So Phoenix and Denver have Orlando beat in that regard.

Other than having to spend a lot of time driving from destination to destination, Orlando does offer some of the world’s best entertainment in the theme parks. It is also, of course, a nice destination to escape the cold of Winter if you are so inclined.

Have a nice Friday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Alternative Energy, Environment, Travel

The task of keeping up with technological change gets harder by the day. One human brain (mine) just can’t grasp the complexity and rapid progress. Just the other day, I was mentioning the robotic transformation of manufacturing, Anthony commented about how microcontrollers are easier than ever to embed into almost everything, and now Toyota and Lexus are introducing driver assistance technology that gets us ever closer to self-driving cars. Of course, as blog readers should know, Google has been sending their autonomous cars out on to the highways for over a year now and their record – in real traffic – in California! - is flawless. This is something I keep bringing up, but I am not sure too many people appreciate, how close the roads are to be taken over by “robots”. It is not a question of function. The electronics, the sensors, and the software are already here. Audi already has a car that parks itself (with video). The only thing keeping self-driving cars from hitting the road are cost, laws, regulation, and fear. People are fearful that the “robots” cannot drive as well. I am not too worried. If the Google car can drive thousands of miles through traffic without an accident, that is better than most humans. Heck, robots have been flying planes and driving trains for decades now. Boats should not be much of a problem either. When you really think about it, most driving is not very difficult. The situations that require sophisticated manuevering on the part of the driver are few and far between.

On the cost front, Audi is already shrinking the parts needed to incorporate self-driving technology into cars. It will be expensive at first, but not out of the reach of typical wealthy early-adopters.

On the regulation front, lawyers are wrangling over liability, legal, and safety issues, but I am unsure why self-driving cars should not be regulated like other mass transportation. There are plenty of automated trains around the world. Getting into a self-driving car would be just like getting into a miniature passenger rail car or bus. The door opens, you sit down, the vehicle goes to your destination. The only difference is the driver. Instead of a person (bus driver), there is a “bot”. For self-driving cars, just as in the case of a bus, the “riders” are not legally liable for anything relating to “driver” error or vehicle malfunction. It is the company that built the car and developed the “robot” driver that should be legally liable when the car causes trouble. This is unless, the driver “takes the wheel” for whatever reason. Right now the laws in Nevada, California, and Florida assume that self-driving cars are a human-machine combo and the driver is still liable for everything. Let me tell you this, when I get a self-driving car, there is no way I will be driving it. What would be the point? The point is to relieve yourself from the burden of driving. I would much rather be talking, working, sleeping, or partying while the bot drives.

Of course, besides cars, “bots” (software and machines) are showing up everywhere.

• There is a humanoid robot on the ISS.
• Plenty of new robots are showing up at this year’s CES.
• Bots run the Internet and financial markets for the most part.
• We have mostly autonomous military airplanes and new land based quadruped robots almost ready for action.
• Here is one of the fastest recent robots, modeled after a cockroach.
• Bots have even been proposed for lifeguard duty.

NASA’s humanoid robotic astronaut

While most of these inventions and uses for bots are done for “good” (except for the military applications – which are designed to help destroy things), one cannot help but get a little uneasy feeling about how fast it is all developing. When self-driving cars arrive, you will always be tracked as the cars will be maintaining a near constant connection to the internet and will have very advanced recording devices – essentially a “black box” for the car. This has implications for privacy and freedom. There are also concerns about safety as so many machines and devices become connected and autonomous. Will some of these be hacked and used for nefarious purposes? Could someone kill you by hacking into your self-driving car?

And then we come back to the issue of jobs. Some people speculate that people will find new areas of work once robots take over most of the mundane and physical work to make the human world go ’round, but I don’t think most people will have the skills or knowledge for advanced “futuristic” jobs. There is a chance that most people could be left behind, as portrayed in this very good short science fiction story about the future (with a happy ending).

In the end, I accept that things change.  Even my profession will likely be automated away. Standing in the way of progress is a good way to get steam rolled, so I figure the best thing to do is to guide progress and stay informed as best as I can so that the future is brighter, no matter how things evolve.

Have a good Thursday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Technology

The rumors have been flying for the past few years that December 2012 will be the end of the world.  A lot of the hysteria has been fueled by the so called Mayan calendar reaching the end of its cycle at that point.  Throw  in the wacky weather and climate of the past few years, unprecedented  March heat, earthquakes in Clintonville, WI, terrible world economies, and a movie dealing with Earth’s demise, “2012″, and you have all you need to stir up a frenzy.

Well some NASA folks have set out to debunk all the end of the world hysteria.  They have put together a nice article that basically says there is no science, no evidence, and no facts to support the claim that 2012 is the end.  They dive into the following items and explain why we should not be overly concerned about them for this year.

• Planetary alignment
• Magnetic pole shifts
• Planets or brown dwarfs approaching Earth
• Meteors, comets, and asteroids
• Giant solar storms
• Super novas
• Super volcanoes
• Mayan calendar

Well if you are worried that our days are numbered, please check out this NASA link.  It should give you a bit of reassurance if nothing else.   http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html

Posted under astronomy, Natural Disasters, Science, World Weather

While we didn’t have the best view of the Northern Lights around here last week when the big geomagnetic storm was hitting the Earth, some in the southern hemisphere certainly enjoyed the aurora.  In fact an astronaut on the International Space Station took photos of the Southern Lights between Australia and Antarctica.  The green hues and expansive vista are out of this world. 

Courtesy: NASA, taken by Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers

Posted under astronomy, Space

Some NASA astronauts just released one amazing video.  It’s a four minute and 56 second video that time-lapses the International Space Station’s rotation around the earth. 

The video is amazing.  It’s quality is superb.  And when you see it you get the opportunity to see features of the Earth from a perspective you’ve likely never seen before. 

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights are incredible to see looking down on the Earth instead of from the surface to the sky.  Seeing the collective lights of our planet’s cities matched under the clouds visible from space is beautiful. 

Plus, the trance-like music the video is set to is very relaxing! 

Check out the video here: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8373771/astronauts-share-orbit-of-earth-in-stunning-time-lapse-sequence

Posted under astronomy, Environment, new media, Science, Technology

With news of another satellite falling back to Earth in the near future I came across this interesting story from NASA. 

The agency has selected twenty of its followers on Twitter to get an exclusive look at the soon-to-be launched National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite.

The satellite will help us with weather observations, but one of its duties will to be giving us a closer look at climate issues. 

To learn more check out this website from NASA!

Posted under Climate Change, Environment, International Weather, Nature, new media, Science, Space, Uncategorized, Weather NEws, World Weather

I know I promised a couple months ago to not regularly review space news here in the blog, but sometimes the news is so interesting that it trumps most other subjects. This is the case with a NASA announcement yesterday about the discovery of a life form (bacteria) on earth that uses arsenic instead of phosphorous for the basic building blocks of its cellular machinery. Read more here. This particular bacteria can construct DNA and other basics of life with arsenic! While this might not seem so radical to many people, it really is a big discovery. The bacterium “looks” like most other bacteria found here on earth but it is the first that is known to ”live” with something other than phosphorous.

Not only does this mean there could be other unknown forms of life on earth but also different types of life forms out there in the cosmos – and that is why NASA is excited. Being a fan of science fiction, I have always held out the possibility of life forms existing elsewhere in the Universe that use different configurations of matter and energy to survive. I have never expected that the only life that is possible is DNA-programmed carbon-based life we are so familiar with here on earth. Finally, this discovery should open up the imaginations of astrobiologists and researchers around the world. For so many years, the focus has been on looking for life that “looked” like us (or other living things on earth). Now perhaps the search can expand to other “signs” of life.

Therein lies a problem. How does one define “life”? We are very familiar with carbon-based life here on earth, but if other life forms use different configurations of matter and energy that we are not familiar with, how will we know they are “alive”? The definition of “life” or a “living” thing is not as easy as it looks. Here is an article from a few years back that wrestled with the question. Here is a prep page for a university final exam that goes over a lot of the concepts as well.

Forecast update: The latest computer model runs continue to show most of the snow with the upcoming storm system will stay in southwestern Wisconsin, mostly out of our area. There is a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY in effect for Clark, Jackson, Monroe, Juneau, and Adams counties for tonight and Saturday but I am starting to doubt that those areas will reach the 3 inch criteria for an advisory. It still looks like Wausau will end up with a dusting or a half inch at most. An inch or so is possible around Rapids and Point.

Have a happy weekend! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under forecast, Space

First up the US Drought Monitor. When looking at this week’s report be mindful that it does not include the soaking rain that fell on Tuesday – the heaviest of which fell in the Northwoods which is suffering the driest conditions. Next week is when we should see some improvement in the drought status in northern Wisconsin, especially if we end up with some heavy rain tonight and Friday. Computer models are indicating a potential of over 2 inches of rain with some of the downpours. If there is some training of the thunderstorms or if they remain fairly stationary then there could be some localized flooding. Flash flooding, while very dangerous, can fill up a lake very quick. I hearken back to last year when we had the drought and it brought lake and river levels down – everywhere except central Taylor county. On June 22nd of 2009 there was a round of thunderstorms that produced over 5 inches of rain in the Chequamegon National forest near Perkinstown. Later in the Summer, I believe it was in August, there was still water over a few of the roads in that area. The lake levels were still well above normal – perhaps a foot or two in some cases (just judging by a glance). Even if there is no localized flooding to bring some lake levels up rapidly, the jet stream pattern still looks favorable over the next couple of weeks for continued chances of rain. I am still hoping for more rain of course, to make up for the huge deficit of the past 7 years, but I am already starting to hear complaints from a few friends. People like sunny weather. Most don’t understand how important rain is. Unfortunately, we can’t control when it falls (not yet) and sometimes it falls on the weekend.

Space News:

Here is a story I have been following for about 5 years now – that of the plucky JAXA spacecraft Hayabusa. It left on a asteroid hunting mission 7 years ago and is returning to earth this weekend. With luck, Hayabusa will return to earth with a sample from the asteroid it visited. I say with luck because the mission did not go exactly as planned. There were several malfunctions that made the sample collection go awry and almost prevented the spacecraft from getting back to earth. It also has to survive one of the highest velocity atmospheric re-entries ever attempted before it can be collect in southern Australia. I’ll be sure to post an update on Hayabusa next week after it lands. More info on Hayabusa.

If JAXA is able to get a first ever sample from an asteroid, it will continue its string of successful space exploration missions. Last year, JAXA successfully operated a lunar orbiter which captured high definition video of the moon. Just yesterday, JAXA unfurled the world’s first solar sail on its spacecraft IKAROS. For more on JAXA’s recent and potential future successes, read here. It is interesting and inspiring to see other countries successfully explore space and it makes me wondering if NASA is losing its leadership position. Then again, the only part of NASA’s program that has suffered is human exploration of space (which I think should be taken over by private/commercial enterprises). NASA’s robotic mission and satellites continue to impress.

Have a fine Thursday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Drought, Space

Perhaps you caught wind of changes in the NASA budget proposed by the current administration. It came out with the federal budget earlier this week. The biggest change is that the Constellation program – that was supposed to send humans back to the moon – has been axed. The focus will instead shift to developing new rocket technologies and continued exploration with satellites and robots. There is also a focus on monitoring the earth. Another carbon observatory is in the planning stages. I mentioned a few months ago how I was somewhat displeased with NASA’s focus on monitoring the climate. I realize that weather/climate satellites are within the realm of NASA’s mission but I have always equated NASA with exploration, not introspection (monitoring the climate of the earth). If I were President (how many times have you heard that phrase…lol), I would most certainly set NASA on a goal to explore space – to go further and to explore new worlds. Searching for signs of life on Mars, areturn trip to Titan, and an exploration of Europa would be high on my list. One thing I agree with is less emphasis on human space travel within NASA. It is not that I don’t want humans to physically explore space, it is because private companies are probably better suited to offer these services in the next decade. I am unsure how NASA ended up losing its lead, effort, and budget on human space travel, but it did, and it seems there is more hope and inspiration coming from companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Bigelow Aerospace. Spaceport America is laying concrete for one of the larger airstrips in the world! Some perhaps overly-optimistic commercial space entreprenuers project private flights to the moon by 2020. Things are hapenning in the private arena and I am glad that NASA will be using more private/commercial services in the future, and will focus less on human spaceflight. NASA does robots very well and should keep up the good work.

Speaking of NASA and robots, it appears that Spirit is stuck for good. The mission managers might have continued different driving maneuvers to free Spirit but the Martian winter is approaching and they didn’t want to draw down the batteries too much. As Spirit sits now, it might be able to remain “alive” through the winter. The new mission for Spirit will be to conduct as many science experiments as possible in its stationary position.

Staying in space, take a look at these cool views of the sun’s corona during the recent total eclipse. I am always amazed at the dynamic space and plasma environment around the sun.

Another cool image (looking down from space) is this one of the man-made Islands created in Dubai. Perhaps it is a sign of exorbitant spending during the recent real estate boom, but it sure is interesting and an example of mammoth engineering.

Regarding a celestial object closer to home, did you know about all the different names of the full moon throughout the year? Most people know about the Harvest Moon, and maybe a few have heard of the Hunters Moon, but what about the Worm Moon or the Beaver Moon. Most of these have roots in Native American or early settler culture. Not all of them are perfectly aligned with our climate here in Northcentral Wisconsin because we are a little farther north, but it is pretty close.

Have a good Thursday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Space

First and update on the weather for today and this week. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for Price county through 4pm today.A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for Ashland county through 6am Tuesday and for Iron county until noon Tuesday. Snow amounts could be around an inch or two around Phillips, Park Falls, Three Lakes, Eagle River, and Arbor Vitae. Far northwestern Vilas county and the north half of Iron and Ashland counties could enf up with 4 to 7 inches of snow – most of which will come in the form of lake effect or lake enhanced snow this evening and overnight. For the rest of the area, the weather still looks mostly dry. Sorry snow-lovers. There might be a dusting up to a half inch in central Wisconsin this afternoon and evening, otherwise no major storms are in the works for the foreseeable future (through next week). The next chance of measurable snow will be Monday of next week. Right now it looks like an inch or so is possible.

The biggest news of the week is the cold weather heading our way. The coldest day we have experienced thus far this winter occurred on January 2nd  – seems like a long time ago doesn’t it? The low temperature was -10 and the high temperature was 5. Coming up this Thursday I am forecasting a high of only 4, and that is looking generous. There might be enough wind for wind chill advisories as well so get ready to put on extra layers of clothing. At this point, it doesn’t look like the extreme cold will last very long. By Sunday highs should climb back up into the 20s.

Updates, Updates, Updates.

First some space news updates. I have been following the development of private space ventures for some time now. One company in particular that has gotten off to a good start is Bigelow aerospace. Here is a recent article from a reporter who was allowed into their manufacturing facility. It is nice to know that they have built and are already testing their “large” space hotels – the ones that will hold 6 people. They are also thinking outside of the box by plying their wares to NASA as cheap instant inflatable moon bases. Just attach three of them together and you end up with a lot of living space. Such a set-up could also be moved around to different spots on the moon. The bad news, it appears they have delayed the launch of their biggest “hotel” until 2015 at the earliest. Originally, they projected a couple of years earlier.

A rocket that could help Bigelow launch their space hotels is the Falcon 9 from SpaceX. This particular rocket passed its final safety test recently and should be making its maiden voyage in a couple of months.

Something else that SpaceX might be launching in the future are space solar power panels. I blogged about Japan’s ambitions to develop space solar power in the past. “Space Solar Power” is the concept of putting large solar panels in space and then ”beam” the energy back down to earth. The Japanese are eyeing the use of microwave radiation to beam the energy back down to the surface. Unfortunately, I think they are going to run into some resistance. Even if it can be proven “mostly” safe, I don’t think that will matter in a lot of citizen’s minds. People will not like to hear that the atmosphere and the planet is being “microwaved”. The microwave beam would be focused like a laser and would be beamed down to the surface in unpopulated areas, but the beam will still likely be a few kilometers in diameter, but I am unsure if that would be enough information to dissuade much of the public from objecting. Perhaps beaming infrared energy back down to earth would be better. EADS Astrium, Europe’s largest space company is proposing just that. This would probably be viewed as safer. They hope to put a demonstration satellite in orbit by 2015, which is a much more aggressive time frame than the Japanese who are projecting a functional space solar power plant by 2030. One problem I can envision for space solar power plants – something that is not talked about much – is space junk and meteorites. There are so many small objects orbiting the earth that there could be significant degradation of the solar panels due to tiny collisions.

Speaking of collisions with metorites, here is an amazing story. A meteorite crashed into a doctor’s office in Virginia. You can read about it ands see a picture here. It weighed a half a pound and was about the size of an adult human’s fist. As amazing as this sounds, I am surprised that more meteorite impact are not observed every year -  given the large human population and all of the recording equipment we have employed around the world.

Scientists do expect more meteorite impacts in the future, particularly from large meteors/asteroids. They are on the watch for these because they could have wide ranging planetary effects if they hit the earth. The goods news is that they are looking for these near earth objects. The bad news is that they require more money in order to identify the close to 90% of the asteroids (500 feet wide size range) that have gone undetected.

One weapon in the endeavor to protect the earth from asteroids/meteors is the new WISE satellite. It has only been in operation a couple of weeks and has already spotted some new near earth objects.

Lastly, no sign of life yet from the Mars Phoenix lander. More listening efforts will be conducted in February and March.

Coming up tomorrow, new news on the IPCC and the Himalayan Glacier scandal.

Have a good Monday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Alternative Energy, Space, Winter Weather