Dumbing down Australia — the view from Bloomberg

“Having this reliance on the bottom end of the economy, like small businesses, is a short-term fix,” said Andrew Hughes, a lecturer at the College of Business and Economics at Australian National University. “Cutting back on research is insanity.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-25/australia-dumbs-down-as-government-bets-on-baristas-over-brains / ANU Australia betting on plumbers coffee-shop owners scientists researchers drive nation’s next wave of economic growth refrigerators black-box flight recorders bionic ears Wi-Fi cut research budget tax cuts write-offs this year’s budget small firms buy equipment espresso machines lawnmowers plan build stronger more prosperous Australia government reducing spending budget shortfalls 30 percent drop in commodity prices end mining investment boom small businesses lifted consumer confidence boosted shares of retailers Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. JB Hi-Fi Ltd. reliance on the bottom end of the economy small businesses short-term fix Andrew Hughes lecturer College of Business and Economics at Australian National University Cutting back on research is insanity counting on Calculators Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD Australia scientific enterprise transition into technology innovation and development Chief Scientist Ian Chubb declining levels of participation science mathematics students calculators jobs equire an understanding of science Australian school students underperform science mathematics tests high-income economy in Asia New Zealand 34-nation OECD power brains market China India Japan South Korea spend so much more research development think long-term global Innovation Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane ranked 81st out of 143 global innovation efficiency measure, putting it close to average turning ideas to our advantage spending A$9 billion ($7 billion) a year on science budget shortfall predicted tax revenue collapse in iron ore prices low wage growth researcher Danielle Edwards A$385,000 research grant in Australia little prospect of further employment in her native country losing talent through lack of investment left science country government needs reverse job cuts to its national science agency CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation better investment in science help future productivity James Harrison built the world’s first practical commercial refrigerator 1854 1990s of Wi-Fi John O’Sullivan’s radio-astronomy team CSIRO, Australia turning inventions into commercial successes bottom seven countries government spending research and development proportion of gross domestic product GDP OECD scoreboard lower-skilled careers employment Singapore South Korea students skipping university Singapore increasing R&D spending manufacturing shutdown stimulating economic renewal invest wealth-generating activities higher education research innovation /

Formula E, round 8, Berlin, Germany, Saturday 23 May 2015 (video)

Complete results, including race & qualifying:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/results/berlin-eprix.aspx

Driver standings:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/results/driver-standings.aspx

Team standings:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/results/team-standings.aspx / Formula E, round 8, Berlin, Germany eighth race all electric racing series fourth race open wheeler ePrix stadium races F1 FIA electricity sport electric vehicles EV terrific acceleration pass passing possible tracks with tight corners technology range race organizers identical cars Spark-Renault SRT_01E built French company Spark Racing Technology carbon fiber aluminum chassis Dallara electric powertrain electronics McLaren Electronics Systems Williams Advanced Engineering building 200 kiloWatt battery pack batteries powertrain generate 270 horsepower five-speed paddle shift gearbox fixed gear ratios Michelin 18 inch tires wet dry conditions sound 80 decibel whine full grid 20 cars FIA Formula E strategy street courses dedicated circuits tire wear grip management battery life charge prematurely testing drivers learn knowledge teams construction constructors constructing FanBoost pit stop second fully charged car advances in battery technology battery swaps charging battery Renault Michelin DHL Qualcomm Richard Branson Virgin Racing team Leonardo DiCaprio Venturi team lithium ion LiIon battery charge recharge range battery management system BMS /

Sustainable electricity making progress around the world

Burlington, Vermont now runs on 100% renewable electricity & has done it without raising rates since 2009
http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/02/burlington-vermont-runs-100-renewable-energy/

Orkney Island, (16 kilometres (10 miles) north of Scotland) is now running on 100% renewable electricity — largely wind


South Australia 30% + renewable
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_South_Australia

Tuesday 30 September 2014: a combination of wind energy & solar provided more than 100% of the South Australia’s electricity needs, for a whole working day between 9.30am & 6pm
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/south-australia-hits-100-renewables-for-a-whole-working-day-86069 / renewable sustainable green electricity power solar wind turbine windmill generator storage hydro hydro-electric hydroelectric hydro electric Burlington Electric Vermont powered 100 percent by renewables Greenburg Kansas town coal fossil fuel Vermont’s largest city energy portfolio hydropower plant Vermont’s progressive politics residents local utility Burlington Electric without raising rates since 2009 case study communities investing renewables Vermont’s local topography biomass power station fueled mostly by wood chips woodchips McNeil Generating Station biofuels logging residue culled tree material scrap yard waste wood power station generate megawatts MW electricity city’s power needs electricity electric power energy wind power 40 MW project solar energy solar array hydro electricity hydropower Maine plant Winooski River smart grid project energy more efficiently efficiency photovoltaic PV Sandra Levine environmental attorney old Maine hydropower plant energy portfolio keeping electricity cost-competitive /

Uber is working on an autonomous car too

Credit: Ethan Lott/Pittsburgh Business Times

Google, Tesla, Mercedes, Audi & Delphi are working on autonomous cars. Now Uber has joined in.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/techflash/2015/05/exclusive-heres-your-first-look-at-ubers-self.html

http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/22/8643047/uber-self-driving-car-first-pictures

Delphi autonomous car has driven from San Francisco to New York City
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/delphi-autonomous-car-cross-country/

Maybe Apple
http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/4/7976101/apple-cars-roof-mounted-cameras

Some of the advantages of autonomous vehicles are obvious. A little less obvious is more productive investment. / wear and tear motor electric vehicle EV energy fuel resources invest investment park road petrol gas diesel Google search engine battery LiIon lithium ion battery charge recharge autonomous car vehicle Uber developing self-driving self driving cars plans create autonomous vehicles research cars vehicle cruising the streets of Pittsburgh Uber Advanced Technologies Center box of electronic components on the roof device rotating LIDAR sensor map the immediate surroundings device identical profile to LIDAR components Google's self-driving vehicles the so-called Apple car Uber vehicle autonomous not a self-driving test car early research mapping safety autonomy systems research autonomy systems vehicle falling asleep at the wheel Uber's plans build a self-driving car borrowing engineering talent Carnegie Mellon University's robotics center research center centre CMU Uber's research employing drivers eliminate expense /

Saudi Oil Minister: “... eventually, one of these days, we are not going to need fossil fuels”

And the rest of the quote, from Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali Al-Naimi at a business & climate conference in Paris:

"In Saudi Arabia, we recognise that eventually, one of these days, we are not going to need fossil fuels, I don't know when, in 2040, 2050 ... so we have embarked on a program to develop solar energy.”

If the Saudis, with their vested interest in oil have noticed, there’s a message there for the rest of us too.

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2015/5/22/policy-politics/saudi-oil-minister-fossil-fuels-doomed-were-switching-solar?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=1370620&utm_campaign=cs_daily&modapt= / Saudi Arabia's oil minister switch energy focus solar power an end to fossil fuels Reuters Saudi Arabia fossil fuels we have embarked on a program develop solar energy Ali Al-Naimi business climate conference Paris news service reports exporting fossil fuels exporting gigawatts electric electricity Reuters minister world's energy mix fossil fuels oil prices as low as $US30-$40 barrel would not make solar power uneconomic /

Only carpenter bees can unlock the pink gentian flower

Flowers & pollinating insects evolved together. Flowering plants provide a reward, (usually in the form of nectar) & insects carry pollen from flower to flower.

A problem for the plant is that some of the pollen may be wasted, if the insect next visits a different species of flowering plant.

Some insects & plants are adapted to one another — in South Africa, pink gentian flowers provide pollen as a reward, which they keep locked, & only carpenter bees have the key:



For the plant, the advantage is that it doesn’t have to invest energy in producing nectar, & its pollen is more efficiently transferred to other flowers of its own species. A guaranteed source of food with exclusive access is the reward for the carpenter bee. / wings carpenter bees pink gentian flowers release their pollen beating at a frequency anthers vibrate pink gentian grows Southern Africa pollinated bumble furry carpenter bees flowering flowers gentian spread petals wide curving white style three large stamens long thick anther covered yellow pollen pollen-feeding insect yellow anther hollow pollen held inside tiny hole top of the anther extract bee making high-pitched buzzing noise wings alights anther beating its wings lowers the frequency note buzz approximately middle anther vibrate just the right frequency release pollen grains spout hole at the top yellow fountain evolution evolve adapt adapted /

Hybrid batteries repurposed at Yellowstone National Park

You may remember previous posts about plans to repurpose electric vehicle batteries to such purposes as storing excess electricity at periods of low demand for use at times of peak load, or to store solar electricity for use when the Sun isn’t shining.

Here’s a practical example at Yellowstone National Park: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098326_used-toyota-hybrid-batteries-repurposed-at-yellowstone-national-park / original purpose battery packs hybrids electric cars useful battery energy-storage capacity diminishes over time packs no longer suitable for use in cars automotive service life battery packs usable capacity other applications reuse re-use recycle re-cycle power powering energy electricity storage cluster of buildings remote part of Yellowstone National Park used Toyota Camry Hybrid battery packs store energy generated solar panels Lamar Buffalo Ranch field campus system Camry Hybrid nickel-metal-hydride NiMH battery packs recovered Toyota dealers total of 85 kilowatt-hours storage capacity pack disassembled tested converted stationary energy-storage use battery-management systems Indy Power Systems re-wired in parallel arrays of 52 packs each solar array power Lamar Buffalo Ranch five buildings generates electricity power six average U.S. households USA U.S.A. U.S. Toyota onsite battery packs solar power storing energy sunlight isn't available more dependable source of power micro-hydro turbines capture energy from a nearby stream recycle batteries Toyota recycling program repurposing growth energy-storage business significant demand battery packs pair with solar arrays nickel-metal-hydride Toyota hybrids precious metals higher-capacity lithium-ion cells LiIon electric cars vehicle EV recycling secondary use battery packs landfills automotive service /