P24 Pick Points

Half-a-dozen or so stories of interest:

One of the anticipated changes coming down the pike were that LED’s would be the next replacement light source. It appears that, at present, LEDs aren’t as good as at first thought However “green” jobs have been leading the economy in California, matching those in the biotech industry. But the old image of the west is changing, with horse farms and stables disappearing in Southern California.

An interesting web site from Lawrence Berkeley (where Dr Chu is from) shows current electricity demand too bad it doesn’t work.

Alaska is looking at putting in dams as a way of generating hydroelectric power ( but there are problems.) They are also discussing wind farms as a means of providing for those villages that have been having problems. Where they have been installed power costs have dropped. A pioneer project near Nome has already started to 10% of the local power needs. Bear in mind that the economics are a little different up there, where they currently pay $0.38 per kWh.

Britain is seeking comments on the selection of different ways of extracting energy from the tides. It is a topic for which there are arguments on both sides.

And if you have ever flown. particularly to India, you might enjoy this letter.