To lift enthusiasts of distributed generation to heaven, our 1996 paper Elektron on pp. 157-158 proposed a “splicer”, a multi-purpose household energy alliance of 5 kW, to produce electricity, heat, or whatever you like. Honda and Plug Power report progress toward a kind of splicer with their “Home Energy Station.”

Torrance, CA-based Honda R&D Americas, Inc., together with its partner Plug Power, Inc. Latham, NY has launched Home Energy Station III providing electricity for the home and hydrogen for future fuel cell-powered vehicles (H&FCL July 05). This third-generation system which operates on natural gas as primary fuel, is roughly 30 % smaller than its predecessor and produces about 25% more power. It’s rated at up 5 kW. Honda says it’s more energy efficient, hydrogen storage and production capacity is up about 50% via a new improved natural gas reformer, and start-up time has been cut to about one minute. The system will be tested at Honda R&D Americas.

The New York Times reported 8 December that USA corn yields have risen 31% since 1995. Despite the drought in Illinois in the summer of 2005, that State produced a bumper crop. While for more than 30 years, many experts have forecast a leveling of yields, farmers keeping lifting yields and creating the chance to spare Nature. Alternatively, the success of corn farmers feeds the rise in meat consumption by the Chinese and others. Cesare Marchetti shows that increases in Chinese meat consumption in kilocalories per day fits well a double logistic that will saturate in a few years (not far from European meat eating but below USA). The early deviations from the second logistic also show the havoc that politics can create. Mao was an enemy of meat.

We and our associates are well-known fans of magnetically levitated trains for high-speed transport. We are pleased to learn that the experimental Japanese maglev train attained speeds as high as 500 km/hr during tests in 2005. In a low pressure tunnel, one might say the sky would be the limit for maglev speed!

The All Birds Barcoding Initiative (ABBI) issued its Inaugural Workshop Report. The meeting was attended by 48 participants from 23 countries. At the close of the meeting, co-chair Allan Baker drew a comparison with the Human Genome Project. There was early resistance to and skepticism of the Genome Project that gave way to collaboration and success. Based on his experience and research results to date, Baker predicted that the ornithological community would come to accept and support barcoding and that ABBI would be highly successful.

The Census of Marine Life issued today a press release, largely prepared by Jesse, about its highlights for 2005. 2005 has been a great year for the
CoML.

News Release
CoML_highlights_public_12.14.05.pdf

Images
http://www.coml.org/medres/high2005/highlightimages.htm

Media Coverage
http://www.coml.org/medres/medres1.htm