TSA to stop using all x-ray body scanners

The TSA has announced that it plans to remove all x-ray (or backscatter, as it’s also known) body scanners and use only the radio-wave based scanners. The backscatter technology has received much criticism over health concerns and a lack of scientific testing to show they’re safe, and while the TSA finally started investigating the health risks associated with those machines in December of 2012, they say the decision to stop using these machines is due to the company’s inability to provide a timely software upgrade that would replace the actual image of the passenger with an avatar or other abstract graphical representation.

I’d written about the concerns with backscatter technology previously, and am hesitant to get too excited about this news. My concern now is that the study into the health effects will be terminated (as it should, to save money), yet OPI Systems (the backscatter scanner manufacturer) will upgrade their software and slightly change their hardware to allow them to release a ‘new’ model of scanner later this year which the TSA will then accept as a replacement for the 174 backscatter machines currently due to be sent back to OPI. Since it’s a ‘new’ machine, it’ll restart the clock, so to speak, for getting the TSA to begin investigating the health impact of it, then there will be a long, protracted study, etc, with the technology being used all the while. Of course, that’s just my pessimistic speculation..for now, it’s a victory for health as the machines are due to be removed and replaced with a safer technology.If you’re curious..check out this link for a good side by side comparison of the two scanner technologies.

January 18, 2013

Next generation hybrid cars

The Prius has been the shining example of hybrid technology for many years, but let’s face it, its design is aging and the technology isn’t keeping up. Ford has really led a charge lately with fuel efficient hybrids, such as this Fusion Energi that provides 21 miles of electric range (up to 85mph) and a combined MPGe of 100. All this in a big, traditional family car…not bad! They have a similar drivetrain in the smaller C-Max and given those choices, I’m not sure why anyone would choose a Prius anymore (except for perhaps wanting a car with a more normal-sounding name…).

I think of these Fords as second-generation hybrids…they offer better styling and usability, as well as electric-only mode. What’s really cool are the third generation hybrids being worked on, especially the Volkswagon XL1. The XL1 is really optimizing ALL pieces of the puzzle…slippery aerodynamics combined with a maximum efficiency diesel engine to produce an astounding 235mpg! Note that this is just a two-seat car, but imagine one of these as your commute vehicle…pretty cool!

January 17, 2013

The cost of living on Mars

What would it cost to fly to, and live on, Mars? Check out this cool infographic from SmartPlanet for the answer. The bottom line is it’s a lot of money, but is feasible, especially if you send more than one person (economies of scale kick in). It’s pretty cool to think that I might see this in my lifetime.

January 17, 2013

Nissan Leaf price drop

Great news for electric cars…Nissan just dropped the price of their all-electric Leaf, now starting at $28,800. Depending on where you live, tax credits and other incentives may lower the price to as low as $18,800! That’s with the $7500 federal tax credit, and a $2500 tax credit available in some states.

January 16, 2013

Tesla Model S dyno test

I love cars…especially the sounds they make. Which is why I found this particularly interesting – it’s a dyno test of the all-electric Tesla Model S! It’s strange, hearing an electric car do this.

For comparison, here’s one of my favorite dyno test videos of a fossil-fuel car, in this case a turbocharged Lamborghini Murcielago.

January 15, 2013

Climate change in the news

Climate change is becoming more of a focus for me…we’re learning more and more, but also starting to see more effects of this. So, I’ll be posting summaries, like this one, of various climate change stories I find on the web, rather than posting them one at a time.

First up, the latest National Climate Assessment, produced by more than 300 government scientists and outside experts, paints a bleak picture for this country. The report, still in draft form, predicts warming and more extreme weather events. Read more here.

A forthcoming report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was leaked online (not due to be released until September of 2013 as it is not yet peer-reviewed), and paints a grim picture for our civilization…if we continue on our current path, warming will be ‘a catastrophic and unmanageable 10F over much of Earth’s habited and arable land.” The report also concludes that it is ‘virtually certain’ that human activities are responsible for this global warming. Read much more about this report here.

The World Bank is raising the red flag about global temperature increases above 4C (7F), saying that “we’re on track for a 4C warmer world marked by extreme heat waves, declining global food stocks, loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, and life-threatening sea level rise.” Food security is in doubt as temperatures rise, with crop yield reductions and extreme temperatures likely leading to shortages and hunger. What’s worse is that this 4C ‘danger zone’ is something that our current policies can’t even meet – we’ll overshoot that easily. Read more here.

The BBC reports that current CO2 emissions are too high to curb climate change, and are increasing, rather than decreasing as we need.

The Washington Post reports that, while there is a wide range of predictions from the various climate models, the National Center for Atmospheric Research is finding that warming is likely to be on the high side of predictions – not good, as it means we’ll substantially overshoot the target world leaders have agreed upon as the limit to avoid catastrophic consequences.

It’s basically all bleak news these days…but what makes it worse is that we have the technology and resources, right now, to make significant reductions in our CO2 emissions but we fail to act. Future generations will pay the price…and it doesn’t have to be this way.

January 14, 2013

2012 was the hottest year on record for the US

Not surprisingly, 2012 was the hottest year ever (in recorded history, since 1895) in the continental US. The 53.3F average temperature was 3.2 degrees above the average for the 20th century, and one degree above the previous high set in 1998.

Also interesting was that, while there were 362 all-time record highs set across the country, there were zero all time record lows recorded. 2012 also ranked as the driest year since 1998, and with 61% of the continental US in moderate to exceptional drought.

Read more in the USA Today or Washington Post. And let’s hope for a more average 2013…and the political and social willpower to end this crazy terraforming project we’re on before it’s too late.

January 8, 2013

Lego Mindstorms EV3

Lego is releasing its third iteration of the popular Mindstorms robotic construction platform, called Mindstorms EV3. If you don’t know what Mindstorms is…well it’s more than I can get into in a simple blog post here. It’s basically a fantastic way to teach kids about robotics.

Read this article at GeekDad for a rundown on what’s new in EV3. Pretty much what you expect…newer, better, with smartphone integration. While this latest release is targeted towards educational users, I expect this to appear on many kids’ Christmas lists later this year (and probably on some parents’ lists, too…).

Mindstorms EV3 should be shipping in the second half of this year.

January 7, 2013

Gravity travels at the speed of light

Researchers in China have managed to measure the speed of gravity, cool! They found that it travels at roughly the speed of light (.93 to 1.05X, specifically, with a relative error of 5%). This doesn’t really uproot any scientific doctrine, but anytime we can scientifically prove things like this it helps the whole field advance. Read more here.

January 6, 2013

Power-harvesting sensors

I’m seeing some interesting progress in the industry with harvesting ambient power to drive low-power devices, like wireless sensors. While it still seems to be in the lab stages, it’s quickly advancing and I expect it’ll become a part of our lives in the near future. Texas Instruments has recently introduced a small device (the TPS62736) to help use the minuscule amounts of power harvested from any source really (solar, radio wave, thermoelectric, magnetic, or vibration). We’re talking about microwatts and milliwatts here, but it’ll be cool to see devices that no longer need batteries (not to mention, keeping that battery waste out of the landfills will be good for the environment). Imagine a smoke detector that never needed a new battery, for example. Anyway, cool technology…it’ll be here before you know it!

January 6, 2013