About Breath on the Wind
Breath on the Wind We share this World; its past, present resources and our combined future. With every aspiration, the very molecules we use for life are passed to others through time and space so that each of us may be considered a Breath on the Wind. This part of the world's consciousness lives in NYC; has worked in law, research, construction, engineering; has traveled, often drawn to Asia; writes on Energy and Electric Vehicle issues and looks forward to all your comments.
"If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect." -- Benjamin Franklin
August 25th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) has been an elusive ISR goal for the Department of Defense through numerous false starts and half-completed contracts, but on August 7th at 6:49 pm EST a new LEMV hybrid blimp first took to the air at Lakehurst Navel air station in NJ. The vehicle is based upon a design by Hybrid Air Vehicles, LTD, and developed by Northrop Grumman. Many new considerations have come into the design of this airship but there are some old myths to be dispelled as well.
July 29th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The experience of testing a Mitsubishi I for 4 days is a bit like getting to know someone, a date. As I slowly found out more about my partner in different settings, I was also able to observe reactions of family, friends and the people we met along the way. Some initially treated the vehicle with disdain while others saw a rock star.
July 8th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
BioLite has been developing solid-fueled stoves with an unusual thermoelectric technology for several years. The camp stove, which started shipping in June, creates the ideal conditions to burn any local biofuel, rather than having to carry in a petrochemical-based fuel. While not designed for mystical caves, the pastel beauty of deserts, or snow-bound wonderlands with no usable vegetation. it is a perfect companion for a hike in the woods.
June 28th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
When applied poorly the Return on Investment measurement can have us working for our money instead of making our money work for us. We want certainty and we need accuracy, but when our need for certainty over-reaches our desire for accuracy we tend to accept any answer...
June 18th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
When we think electrical cars we are usually trying to be well grounded ... or trying to save the Earth. Some cars are mostly for show. Others are tuned for performance. This "test" by Car and Driver is just plain fun. They raised the question of what could be done to a stock Nissan Leaf to make it drive more like a Porsche 911 Carrera
June 11th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
In commerce, a black knight is someone who makes an unwelcome takeover bid. John Petersen is not an EV supporter. Rather, his disclosure exudes a contempt for the EV that is pervasive throughout his work, while he admits to previous commitment to lead-acid batteries and a present ownership in Axion Power. A recent article throws down the gauntlet as he tries to take over the EV conversation: the Black Knight rides again.
June 5th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
A new study finds that climate change will impact the 91% of US and 78% of European power that is produced using thermal power plants. In the near future, power potential is expected to be reduced from 4 to 16% with the possibility of a complete system collapse tripling or more
May 31st, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
With a view that the largest future expansion of wind turbines will be offshore, a team coördinated by Bernat Codina has applied expertise in meteorology and aeronautics to create a system ready to find potent wind resources in the open ocean.
May 29th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The fourth annual GEA International Geothermal Energy Showcase concluded Wednesday, May 23, in Washington DC. The conference featured countries and projects in 6 different regions of the world: Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Turkey, Latin America, the Caribbean, and East Africa. Presentations by corporate and country leaders, for many of the projects, were very similar, but a few had unique challenges. Ultimately, what started out with policy, charts, and graphs ended up with a human face and concerns in Nevis and East Africa. The showcase was well-organized, resulting in a virtually flawless program.
May 22nd, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The phoenix and a dragon is a common motif on Chinese pottery, often used as wedding gifts. Aptera (a wingless bird) is an electric car company that ceased operations in December after many setbacks, but its ideas and assets have taken flight again, purchased by the Jonway Group, a Chinese company. This might be considered an auspicious omen.
May 16th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Meta-materials (MM: materials beyond the imagination) have been largely confined to tricks in the lab because the required components of silver and gold are not well adapted to semiconductor manufacturing processes and too much of the material is lost. These MM have the ability to bend narrow wavelengths of light, sound, and seismic waves. They have been used to make objects seem to “disappear.”
May 14th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
In perhaps a little over a year Nautilus Minerals will begin mining operations in the deep ocean off Papa New Guinea. New tools, ships and techniques are anticipated to yield copper, gold and silver.
May 2nd, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Are wind turbines that produce electricity "bad" and contributing to global warming or is it all just hot air? (Hint: the answer has something to do with the air, but not the global climate.)
Our world is warming. Just a little, but it is enough to cause considerable and catastrophic climate changes. We know that for anything to warm there must be a source of energy. Wind turbines produce electricity. That is energy. Couldn't that be a source? Archimedes solved one problem by jumping out of a bath and running through the streets naked, exclaiming "Eureka!" ("I have found it" in ancient Greek). We can also understand the wind turbine effect by thinking of being naked in a bath.
April 20th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Paul Stenquist of the New York Times attempted to educate us last Sunday by suggesting that pollution from electric cars is as clear as a sixth grade math problem. However, by 9th grade, we should begin to understand that although we can add any numbers together, it is the relationship between those numbers and something in the real world which gives us sensible results
April 6th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
They are at the entrance to the 2012 New York International Auto Show, their first auto show, with only one vehicle, but what a vehicle. Terrafugia is a Massachusetts company sure to become increasingly known as the people who make vehicles that can fly to more than 5000 public airports and then be driven home to a garage. Foul weather can ground the pilot of a light aircraft but with the "Transition" the sport pilot's license gives way to a driver's license and the journey continues.
April 2nd, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
I traveled to Atlantic City recently for the 63rd Annual Atlantic Builders Convention to answer a question: "What technical innovations are being discussed and seen at the 'street level?'” We were told that consumers are the biggest factor in a home’s efficiency but, unfortunately, modern homes do not tend to come with an owner’s manual
March 27th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
We have had high oil prices before and I expect that, as before, we will complain about the prices as they increase. They will reach a high point that we begin to accept. And that peak will be followed by a recession and a price decline for months or a year before they once again begin their upward trend. It is as if we are being tested and slowly being acclimated to the new price. This is not to suggest that this is a conscious process or someone is manipulating prices. But in a world where only a handful of major oil companies control almost all the market share, some cooperation is possible and, to some extent, might be expected
March 19th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The US military is a consumer with different priorities. They make their own assessments and have determined as far back as 2010 that there is likely to be shortages of fuel by 2015. If by one war or embargo or a well placed weather event, supplies of oil are interrupted their tanks, ships, aircraft and supplies will have limited mobility
March 12th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Electric vehicles can already be fuel-efficient, however in very cold or very hot weather, when air conditioning or heating requires the same energy used for driving the vehicle, range can suffer. "A 5-pound EMOF-based heat pump [electrical metal-organic framework] the size of a 2-liter bottle could theoretically handle the heating and cooling needs of an electric vehicle."
March 8th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
There are many who recognize our Seas contain a vast yet, largely unknown world: mankind's new frontier that is far closer, with a long history, requiring less investment and perhaps more immediate returns than space. Offshore Wind development is not only a major development into that frontier but a test to see how we may limit or enhance that development with regulations
February 17th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Imagine confusion, trying to navigate streets in a Chinese haze where you can't see across the street. It is like being in a dense fog where you are afraid to breath. Street signs are invisible even if you could understand them. Crossing the street on foot is more a matter of trust or hope than observation. The situation is in many ways similar to our gaze into a murky transportation future. "Is that an EV or a too silent hybrid bearing down on us out of the gloom? Do we hear the clatter of a diesel engine approaching or is that a familiar gasoline powered car about to run us over?" An unknown future creates anxiety
February 16th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The Devil is always in the details. It is being widely reported on the web that a new University of Tennessee study shows that, when electric cars are charged by grid power where the energy mix is 90% coal, they are more polluting than petrol vehicles. But when we take a look at the actual study, several clarifications come to light that tend to discredit the study and marginalize the results
February 13th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Greenpeace has resorted to uplifting the imaginations of the Cincinnati city Council as it took to the air to inflate their agenda. "Cleaner is Cheaper" cites the words on the Blimp floating around the city
February 8th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The Department of Energy (DOE) has been under fire with several investigations for loans to companies that have later filed bankruptcy. The most infamous and largest is with Solyndra, but Ener1 and Beacon Power also received loans. Of these, the situation at Beacon Power presents a bit of a special case.
