What's New Robert L. ParkFebruary 26, 2010

WHAT NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 26 Feb 2010   Washington, DC

1. ENERGY: THE BLOOM BOX DEFLOWERED.
The Hubbert Peak, IPCC reports, melting ice caps, does all this foretell =
a=20
disaster?  Maybe for polar bears, but for alternative energy pitchmen it'=
s=20
the mother lode. The free-energy scams such as Joe Newman's Energy Machin=
e=20
and Dennis Lee=92s Hummingbird motor will still find mom-and-pop investor=
s=20
hoping to stretch their meager retirements, but the big money awaits a mo=
re=20
sophisticated pitch. Consider the Bloom Box. The pitchman, K.R. Sridhar,=20
CEO of Bloom Energy in Sunnyvale, is not your typical scam artist, but an=
=20
artfully understated business executive.  He can go on 60 Minutes or Good=
=20
Morning America and never make a slip. But there are warning signs. What =
is=20
it he=92s selling? "It starts with beach sand=94 he says, opening a box o=
f the=20
stuff. It's like saying a diamond is a lump of carbon. Silicon dioxide is=
=20
the most abundant mineral on Earth, and essential to modern electronics.=20
With the help of animation, he explains that plates made of the stuff=20
enable hydrocarbon gases to react with oxygen, producing an electric=20
potential. It's a fuel cell. He never says so, maintaining the fiction th=
at=20
this is something really new. It=92s not. Fuel cells date back to 1838, b=
ut=20
have found little application. The magic calls for painting the two sides=
=20
of the plate with secret green and black ink respectively.  Well there's =
a=20
little more to it, but CEOs don't worry about details. Oh, and the Bloom=20
Box is not cheap. However, Google, FedEx and Wel-Mart can afford to test=20
the Bloom Box. Everybody loves the idea of distributed energy production,=
=20
where we have our own power plant in the backyard. But a Bloom Box is not=
=20
totally isolated; it needs to be tied to a gas pipeline. Is this the=20
future? Probably not.

2. WATER: EUROPEAN HYDROLOGICAL SATELLITE GETS FIRST RESULTS.
The European Space Agency has released the first results from its Smos=20
satellite, launched in November.  Smos carries a single instrument - and=20
interferometric radiometer called Miras which is 8 m across. Miras measur=
es=20
changes in the wetness of the land and the salinity of ocean water by=20
observing variations in the natural microwave emission from Earth=92s sur=
face=20
received by 69 different antennas which interfere to produce the image.=20
This interferometric technique was borrowed from radio astronomy.  Smos=20
should result in better understanding of the hydrological cycle as water =
is=20
exchanged between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere.

3. GARBAGE PATCHES: THEY=92RE NOT JUST IN THE PACIFIC.
The "great Pacific garbage patch" consists of marginally buoyant plastic=20
particles that have accumulated in a current gyre measuring hundreds of=20
miles across. The likelihood that similar patches exist in Atlantic gyres=
=20
has, until now, been largely ignored.  Recently however, fine mesh nets=20
towed behind research vessels have found similar patches in the North=20
Atlantic.

4. ELECTROSENSITIVITY: ALUMINUM FOIL CLOTHING IS NOT FASHIONABLE.
I don't imagine aluminum foil is very comfortable either, but there are=20
people who wrap themselves in it before they venture out into the world o=
f=20
cell phones. Should society be more tolerant and provide EMF-free zones?=20
Absolutely not! There=92s a bunch of things that really bother me, but I=20
resolutely endure them, refusing even to claim that they are a health=20
threat.  It=92s my contribution to a peaceful world.=20

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
---
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