Innovations
in STEM Education: A Conversation With PCAST's Jim Gates
Science Insider (04/29/10) Mervis, Jeffrey
An upcoming President's Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology (PCAST) report will address the issue of improving pre-college
math and science education in the United States. Its recommendations could
include grants, a new federal agency, and increasing funding to programs that
let students do science themselves, says University of Maryland's James
Gates. Gates is co-chair of a PCAST working group on science, math,
engineering, and technology education. Gates says the National Science
Foundation, the National Defense Education Act, and the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have helped foster technology innovation.
However, he says there is "nothing like DARPA in the education
system" and something like that needs to be directed at education.
Another step the federal government could take is to find ways to jumpstart
market-based solutions, according to Gates. He notes that there is a change
taking place in the education system, as 46 governors have agreed to sign a
common core of standards in what could be a unitary thesis that will control
what happens in the schools.
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/04/innovations-in-stem-education-a-.html
Going Green by Saving Blue
Buildings (04/10) Vol. 104, No. 4, P. 46; Kind, Joanna
Water efficiency is of growing importance in efforts to facilitate
environmentally friendly building management, and there are a number of
principles that building professionals can follow to improve water
efficiency. The first is to measure the amount of water consumed by landscaping,
and building managers can track landscape water use and target reductions
with submeters. A second principle is smart
landscaping, and tips to realize this include planning a plant palette that
can be sustained exclusively via rainfall, and creating an efficient water
landscape using aids such as EPA's WaterSense Water
Budget Tool. Water-efficient landscaping should be handled by a licensed
landscape architect or a qualified site planner. To achieve uniform
distribution of water, building professionals should specify that their
irrigation system design, installation, and maintenance be managed by
qualified professionals who follow best practices. Water should only be
applied when necessary, and appropriate irrigation schedules can be created
and maintained by various tools, including weather-based irrigation
controllers, soil moisture-based irrigation controllers, rain sensors, freeze
sensors, and wind sensors. Finally, proper service and maintenance of the
irrigation system is essential, and methods include frequent monitoring and
annual or biannual audits.
http://www.buildings.com/Magazine/ArticleDetails/tabid/3413/ArticleID/9714/Default.aspx
Big Wind Farm Off Cape Cod Gets
Approval
New York Times (04/29/10) Seelye, Kathleen
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on April 28 approved the first
offshore wind farm in the United States, a move that ends a nearly decade
long political battle and could pave the way for significant offshore wind
development along the East Coast. The decision is expected to give a
significant boost to the nascent offshore wind industry in the United States,
which has lagged far behind Europe and China in harnessing the strong and
steady power of ocean breezes to electrify homes and businesses. “This will
be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic Coast,” Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar said. Opponents said they would continue to fight
construction of the 130-turbine wind farm, known as Cape Wind, which would
sprawl across 25 square miles of Nantucket Sound. In approving the Cape Wind
project, Salazar said he would "strike the right balance" between
energy development and protecting the area. "I find that the public
benefits weigh in favor of approving the Cape Wind project at the Horseshoe
Shoal location," Salazar said. "With this decision we are beginning
a new direction in our nation's energy future, ushering in America's first
offshore wind energy facility and opening a new chapter in the history of
this region." The controversial Cape Wind project was unveiled in 2001.
The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and Cape Cod landowner Bill Koch's
Oxbow Corp. have spent millions of dollars on lobbying and advertising trying
to block the project since 2002. Cape Wind has spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars on lobbying during the same period.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/science/earth/29wind.html?ref=business
Where Are Cities Headed
Urban Land Institute (04/01/10) Nyren, Ron
A group of real estate development, architecture, and urban
planning experts recently discussed the role of cities in an urbanizing
world, and offered insights into how cities will shape future development
efforts. The most successful cities are those that understand the important
role the public sector provides in infrastructure funding, such as mass
transit. Major transformative development, particularly in urban areas,
requires public support, primarily due to the large upfront costs. Cities
need to create a critical mass and a sense of place before the private sector
will be willing to invest in the area. If cities have rail transit, they
should encourage building around that rail by planning, establishing zoning,
and engaging in land assemblage. Walkable urban
environments will no longer be relegated to city centers, and will become
part of the transformation of the suburbs. Seattle recently passed a living
building pilot ordinance that will allow for some innovative projects to
advance, including buildings made from sustainable materials that use only as
much energy and resources as they generate on site. The Seattle Department of
Planning and Development gave the developers the flexibility they needed to
make innovative green solutions possible. Developers and investors with deep
pockets are using the recession as an opportunity to collect properties, and
hopefully, through zoning and planning currently underway, when these people
are ready to move forward they will launch sustainable projects.
http://www.uli.org/~/media/Documents/ResearchAndPublications/Magazines/UrbanLand/2010/March.April/Nyren_Feature.ashx
Geothermal Power Projects Pick Up
Steam
Government Technology (03/24/10) Nichols, Russell
The United States and other countries are increasingly exploring
and exploiting the potential of geothermal power. Klamath Falls, Ore., has
long used geothermal energy for heating purposes, and the city has an agenda
to tap geothermal sources to provide electric power courtesy of a $1.6
million initiative to convert extra geothermal energy into grid power.
"We are going to use the power first to run pumps in the system,"
says City Manager Jeff Ball. "Anything over and above that will be sold
back to the grid." The project is moving forward backed by an $800,000
stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The latest geothermal
technology trends date back to 2006, when United Technologies constructed the
Chena Hot Springs power plant in Alaska, which could produce power from water
heated at less than 165 degrees Fahrenheit. In 2009, the Oregon Institute of
Technology bought the technology and built an on-campus plant that generated
about 200 kilowatts when it went online in February. Toni Boyd with OIT's
Geo-Heat Center estimates that the United States is one of two dozen nations
with geothermal operations up and running.
http://www.govtech.com/gt/749891
Sub-Committee Working To Protect PE's
The NYSSPE
Special Inspection Sub-Committee along with members of the Practicing
Institute’s Executive Committee recently met with several NYC Department of
Buildings officials to discuss the pending regulation changes that will
create three classes of projects. The Sub-Committee is working closely with
the Department of Buildings to ensure that the new regulations for Special
Inspections are properly executed without arbitrarily placing burdensome
requirements on PE’s. If this change is enacted only Class I Special
Inspection Agencies will have to be accredited by July 1, 2010. Class II and
Class III will cover the types of projects that a sole practitioner is likely
to handle. How and when they will need to be accredited is not clear yet but
the deadline for these two classes would be pushed back under the draft
pending amendment to the DOB rules.
To Stamp or Not to Stamp
Section 7209 of
Article 145 of the State Education Law requires every professional engineer
to have a seal. It does not specify the type of seal to be used, with an
embossing seal, rubber stamp or electronic version all being acceptable to
the Department and the State Board for Engineering and Land Surveying. Section
7209 also identifies when a professional engineer is required to sign and
seal documents. In general, all plans, specifications and reports prepared by
the professional engineer or by a full-time or part-time subordinate under
their supervision, shall be signed and sealed when filed with public
officials. In addition, whenever a document is signed and sealed, a stamp is
required with appropriate wording warning that it is a violation of this law
for any person to alter any document that bears the seal of a professional
engineer, unless the person is acting under the direction of a licensed
professional engineer.
For more
information please visit the State Board of Education's website: http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/pels/peguide3-seals.htm
Agency to Cover Water Costs Associated
with Hudson Dredging
In response to
concerns raised by the towns of Halfmoon and
Waterford about using Hudson River water as their source of drinking water
while the dredging project proceeds, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announced today that it has agreed to pay the additional cost incurred
to draw water from the Troy system until November 2012. The Agency is
overseeing a precedent-setting cleanup to reduce levels of Polychlorinated
Biphenyls (PCBs) in river sediments, which are damaging the environment. The
Agency will cover the towns’ incremental water costs full-time through the
end of the dredging season in 2012. EPA will also pay for the extra costs
during all of the remaining dredging seasons until the Hudson dredging is
complete. “Our decision to cover the
extra cost of drawing water from Troy on a full time basis will eliminate any
cause for concern about drinking water in these towns,” said Judith Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “EPA shares the goal of
communities along the Hudson – to work for a healthier, cleaner Hudson – and
we are taking this step in order to err on the side of caution.”
Look, No Hands: Cars That Drive Better
Than You
New Scientist (04/06/10) Fleming, Nic
Semi-autonomous vehicles that can steer, accelerate, and evade
collisions without human assistance are expected to be on highways by 2015,
while fully autonomous vehicles could begin to appear on public roads by about
2020, according to General Motors executive Alan Taub.
Vehicle manufacturers in both the United States and Europe see direct
vehicle-to-vehicle communication as a methodology for forming ad hoc,
reconfigurable networks that will share information on road conditions, local
weather, and traffic accidents at less cost and less complexity than building
roadside infrastructure. The European Safe Road Trains for the Environment
project envisions a convoy of up to eight cars as little as one meter apart,
guided by the software of a professionally driven lead vehicle with
instructions relayed wirelessly. The potential of fully autonomous vehicles
was demonstrated by Carnegie Mellon University's Boss robotic car, which
bested other autonomous vehicles in a simulated urban environment in the U.S.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Urban Challenge three years ago.
Boss' computer constructs a model of the immediate environment by processing
data from radar, laser sensors, cameras, and global positioning systems. The
model is used to plan the optimal route and provide the vehicle with
situational awareness.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627542.100-look-no-hands-cars-that-drive-better-than-you.html
New Nuclear Plant Construction on
Horizon?
Reed Construction Data (04/05/10) Engebretson,
Wayne
The commercial construction sector may experience major growth in 2011 due to
the possible development of several nuclear power plants. President Barack
Obama recently announced he will make a budget request of $54 billion in loan
guarantees for new nuclear reactors, though it is still unclear how many will
be needed or will be built. The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that
energy demands will increase 28 percent by 2035. Nuclear energy currently accounts
for 20 percent of the U.S.'s energy consumption. The DOE estimates there will
be a minimum requirement of one plant built per year, starting in 2016, to
meet projected energy demands while maintaining the percentage of power from
nuclear reactors. Legislators have expressed a desire for as many as 100 new
nuclear plants. Nuclear power plant construction is undoubtedly expensive,
with the Nuclear Energy Institute placing the cost of a single reactor at
about $9 billion. However, the benefits of building new nuclear reactors can
be extremely high for the manufacturing and construction industries. The NEI
estimates that the construction of a nuclear plant employs 1,400 to 1,800
people, with employment often peaking at 2,400, and construction lasting around
four years in addition to a year and a half of pre-construction planning and
preparation. The total time needed to build a reactor can be up to nine
years, spanning from acquiring a permit to operation. A single plant can
require approximately 66,000 tons of steel, 400,000 cubic yards of concrete,
44 miles of pipe, 300 miles of electrical wiring, and 130,000 electrical
components.
http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2010/04/new-nuclear-plant-construction-on-horizon/
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