Book Review by Albin J. Gasiewski When it was suggested to me by Cleon Anderson, the 2005 President of the IEEE, to read “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, my initial reaction was to think that I had already heard all that I needed to know about globalization. Fortunately, my curiosity and Cleon’s insistence got the better of me, … Read More
$25M Bounty Offered for Global Warming Fix
Richard Branson is offering $25M as a bounty for a fix to global warming. The person or organization that can devise a method to remove at least a billion tons of carbon dioxide a year from the atmosphere will be able to claim the bounty. There are a few catches, of course. There can’t be any negative impact on the … Read More
Earth's Constant Hum Explained
It has been known for some time that there is a constant hum that emanates from the Earth, which can be heard near 10 millihertz on a seismometer.
How Google Earth Images Are Made
The Google Librarian Central site has up a piece by Mark Aubin, a Software Engineer who works on Google Earth. Aubin explains some of the process behind capturing satellite imagery for use with the product. ‘Most people are surprised to learn that we have more than one source for our imagery. We collect it via airplane and satellite, but also … Read More
Sounds Bring Google Earth to Life
The BBC is reporting that a Californian company has created software that can layer relevant recorded sounds over locations in Google Earth. The firm, Wild Sanctuary, has thousands of hours of recordings from all over the world. Company director Dr. Krause has spent over 40 years collecting sounds from natural and man-made habitats. ‘… his recordings include more than 15,000 … Read More
Alternatives to Photovoltaic Solar Power?
One of the big problems with solar power has been that it costs more than electricity generated by conventional means. But some experts think that, under certain circumstances, the premium for solar power can be erased, without subsidies or dramatic technical breakthroughs. A sufficiently large solar thermal power plant (also called concentrated solar power, or CSP) could potentially generate electricity … Read More