US to “Zone the Ocean” to Divvy Up Space for Wind Farms, Oil Rigs and Fisheries

Is it possible to issue zoning permits for the ocean? Some US states think so. Due to the growing clashes between fishermen, offshore wind farms, oil rigs, and recreation-seekers, some believe that it’s high time we start zoning the ocean itself.

The purpose would be to fairly distribute ocean areas to different industries—an undertaking easier conceived of than done.

According to the Washington Post:

To resolve these conflicts, a handful of states — including Massachusetts, California and Rhode Island — have begun essentially zoning the ocean, drawing up rules and procedures to determine which activities can take place and where. The federal government is considering adopting a similar approach, though any coherent effort would involve sorting out the role of 20 agencies that administer roughly 140 ocean-related laws.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/us-zone-ocean-wind-farms-oil-rigs.php

Missing Planets Attest To Destructive Power Of Stars’ Tides

This is an artist’s concept of a hypothetical 10-million-year-old star system. The bright blur at the center is a star much like our sun. The other orb in the image is a gas-giant planet like Jupiter. Wisps of white throughout the image represent traces of gas. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle, SSC)

During the last two decades, astronomers have found hundreds of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. New research indicates they might have found even more except for one thing – some planets have fallen into their stars and simply no longer exist.

The idea that gravitational forces might pull a planet into its parent star has been predicted by computer models only in the last year or so, and this is the first evidence that such planet destruction has already occurred, said University of Washington astronomer Rory Barnes.

“When we look at the observed properties of extrasolar planets, we can see that this has already happened – some extrasolar planets have already fallen into their stars,” he said.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090427193242.htm

Sikorsky ‘progressing’ with X2 helicopter effort

Sikorsky Aircraft is offering a bit of a look at its X2 helicopter concept.

The X2 Technology design is intended to showcase a range of possibilities for advancing what a helicopter can do–most notably, how fast it can fly. Sikorsky aims eventually to use its X2 demonstrator to push helicopter cruising speed to 250 knots, or nearly twice as fast as today’s machines, such as its Blackhawk.

Sikorsky said Monday that it is “progressing” toward that high-speed milestone. It is showing off the Light Tactical Helicopter design at this week’s Army Aviation Association of America annual convention in Nashville, Tenn.

The Palm Beach Post reported last month that the X2 prototype was headed to a Florida airfield, where it would make the airspeed record attempt by the end of the year.

The first test flight for the X2 took place in August 2008. In the 30-minute exercise, the X2 performed maneuvers such as hovers, forward flight, and hover turns.

The look of the X2 is striking in a couple of ways. First, it uses a pair of coaxial rotor systems on top, rather than the single rotor found on most helicopters. Second, the tail rotor faces backward, like the propeller on boat, in order to provide push for the aircraft; on helicopters with a single main rotor overhead, the tail rotor is oriented along the main axis of the aircraft, like a bicycle wheel, to provide lateral stability.

Even with that unusual design, Sikorsky says, the X2–which also features fly-by-wire controls–would retain “such desirable helicopter attributes as excellent low speed handling, efficient hovering, autorotation safety, and a seamless and simple transition to high speed.”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10232687-76.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Motorcycles in California may soon need smog tests

I think it is a about time, car’s aren’t the only things that pollute, they should be smog’ing all motor vehicles that burn fuel.

For several decades, drivers in California have had to go through an annual ritual of getting the emissions systems of their cars tested to make sure they comply with state regulations. While air quality in the Golden State has undoubtedly improved since the 1960s, smog is still a major problem in places like Los Angeles. In an effort to address that, the California legislature is now considering expanding those smog checks to motorcycles.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/05/04/motorcycles-in-california-may-soon-need-smog-tests/

Ford Conducts Design of Experiment Investigating Thermoelectric Energy Regeneration

Conceptual schematic of direct thermoelectric generator mounted in a vehicle’s exhaust stream. Indirect configurations are also possible. Adapted from Hussain et al.

At SAE 2009 World Congress in Detroit last month, Ford Motor Company presented a research paper that detailed the results of an initial investigation, termed a Design of Experiment, into thermoelectric exhaust heat energy recovery in conjunction with a hybrid powertrain.

The investigation, conducted by Ford engineers Quazi Hussain, Clay Maranville, and David Brigham, used computer modeling to predict the performance of TE devices of various physical configurations, using average highway-speed exhaust gas flows and temperatures of a 2.5L engine with an Atkinson-cycle engine, as used in Ford’s Escape hybrid SUV.

<!––>The exhaust energy content of Atkinson-cycle engines, which are used in many hybrid powertrains, is lower than conventional IC engines due to the cycle’s inherently higher thermal efficiency. One of the goals of the study was to investigate what the expected output of a TE generator could be for such an engine.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/05/ford-teg-20090504.html#more