A Federal Renewable Electricity Requirement

Rising energy prices and climate change have changed both the economics and politics of electricity. In response, over half the states have enacted "renewable portfolio standards" (RPS) that require utilities to obtain some power from "renewable" generation resources rather than carbon emitting fossil fuels. Reports of state-level success have brought proposals for a national standard. Like several predecessor Congresses, however, the most recent one failed to pass RPS legislation. Before trying one more time, legislators should ask why they favor a policy so politically correct and so economically suspect. Support for a national program largely stems from misleading claims about state-level successes, misunderstandings about how renewables interact with other environmental regulation, and misinformation about the actual benefits renewables create. State RPS programs are largely in disarray, and even the apparently successful ones have had little impact. California's supposedly aggressive program has left it with the same percentage of renewable power as in 1998, and Texas's seemingly impressive wind turbine investments produce only two percent of its electricity. The public may envision solar collectors but wind accounts for almost all of the growth in renewable power, and it largely survives on favorable tax treatment. Wind's intermittency reduces its efficacy in carbon control because it requires extra conventional generation reserves. Computer-generated predictions about a national RPS are generally unreliable, but they show that with or without one the great majority of generation investments for the next several decades will be fossil-fueled. Even without the technological and environmental shortcomings of renewables, the case for a national RPS is economically flawed. Emissions policies are moving toward efficient market-based trading systems and more rational setting of standards. A national RPS clashes with principles of efficient environmental policy because it is a technological requirement that applies to a single industry. Arguments that a national RPS will create jobs, mitigate energy price risks, improve national security and make the United Sates more competitive internationally are in the main restatements of elementary economic fallacies. It is hard to imagine a program that delivers as little in theory as a national RPS, and the experiences of the states indicate that it delivers equally little in practice

NIMBUS SPACECRAFT DEVELOPMENT

Nimbus meteorological satellite system for data on worldwide atmospheric processes - real-time weather forecasting and researc

Metal Parts Generation by Three Dimensional Printing

Mechanical Engineerin

Electroweak Measurements of Neutron Densities in CREX and PREX at JLab, USA

Measurement of the parity-violating electron scattering asymmetry is an established technique at Jefferson Lab and provides a new opportunity to measure the weak charge distribution and hence pin down the neutron radius in nuclei in a relatively clean and model-independent way. This is because the Z boson of the weak interaction couples primarily to neutrons. We will describe the PREX and CREX experiments on ${}^{208}$Pb and ${}^{48}$Ca respectively; these are both doubly-magic nuclei whose first excited state can be discriminated by the high resolution spectrometers at JLab. The heavier lead nucleus, with a neutron excess, provides an interpretation of the neutron skin thickness in terms of properties of bulk neutron matter. For the lighter ${}^{48}$Ca nucleus, which is also rich in neutrons, microscopic nuclear theory calculations are feasible and are sensitive to poorly constrained 3-neutron forces.Comment: A contribution to the upcoming EPJA Special Volume on Nuclear Symmetry Energ

Potential for epistemic injustice in evidence-based healthcare policy and guidance

The rapid development in healthcare technologies in recent years has resulted in the need for health services, whether publicly funded or insurance-based, to identify means to maximise the benefits and provide equitable distribution of limited resources. This has resulted in the need for rationing decisions, and there has been considerable debate regarding the substantive and procedural ethical principles that promote distributive justice when making such decisions. In this paper I argue that, whilst the scientifically rigorous approaches of evidence-based healthcare are claimed as aspects of procedural justice that legitimize such guidance, there are biases and distortions in all aspects of the process that may lead to epistemic injustices. Regardless of adherence to principles of distributive justice in the decision-making process, evidential failings may undermine the fairness and legitimacy of such decisions. In particular, I identify epistemic exclusion that denies certain patient and professional groups the opportunity to contribute to the epistemic endeavour. This occurs at all stages of the process, from the generation, analysis and reporting of the underlying evidence, through the interpretation of such evidence, to the decision making that determines access to healthcare resources. I further argue that this is compounded by processes which confer unwarranted epistemic privilege on experts in relation to explicit or implicit value judgements, which are not within their remit. I suggest a number of areas in which changes to the processes for developing, regulating, reporting and evaluating evidence may improve the legitimacy of such processes

A Photometric Study of the Eclipsing Binary Star UV Lyncis

UV Lyncis is a short period, over contact eclipsing binary star. These stars are physically in contact with each other, sharing a common atmosphere. Photometric observations were made on 10 nights in February and March 2014 using the 0.3 meter robotic telescope and a CCD science imager at the Waffelow Creek Observatory. 3051 images were acquired, calibrated and then reduced to record the changing brightness as the two stars orbited and eclipsed each other. Data collected resulted in complete light curves in 5 band passes and several times of minima. A period analysis confirmed previous studies that the orbital period is slowly increasing due to mass streaming from the hotter less massive star to the cooler more massive star. Light curves were then analyzed with light curve synthesis programs to model the physical properties of the stars and their orbits. The solution to the modeling of the light curves combined with radial velocity measurements resulted in the determination of the stars absolute parameters including masses, temperatures, luminosities and sizes. In addition, it was discovered that a small region near the contact point on the cooler star was hotter than the rest of the star by a few hundred degrees

Regenerative fuel cell energy storage system for a low earth orbit space station

A study was conducted to define characteristics of a Regenerative Fuel Cell System (RFCS) for low earth orbit Space Station missions. The RFCS's were defined and characterized based on both an alkaline electrolyte fuel cell integrated with an alkaline electrolyte water electrolyzer and an alkaline electrolyte fuel cell integrated with an acid solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) water electrolyzer. The study defined the operating characteristics of the systems including system weight, volume, and efficiency. A maintenance philosophy was defined and the implications of system reliability requirements and modularization were determined. Finally, an Engineering Model System was defined and a program to develop and demonstrate the EMS and pacing technology items that should be developed in parallel with the EMS were identified. The specific weight of an optimized RFCS operating at 140 F was defined as a function of system efficiency for a range of module sizes. An EMS operating at a nominal temperature of 180 F and capable of delivery of 10 kW at an overall efficiency of 55.4 percent is described. A program to develop the EMS is described including a technology development effort for pacing technology items