Day of Mourning for Fort Hood

Science and Technology on the Hill wishes to commemorate and dedicate this site to the victims and families of the Fort Hood shootings.
I am a U.S. Army veteran and have friends who are serving on the post. The Army is a family and we should all pray and keep our hearts and thoughts focused on these great soldiers and warriors.

Check Out Energy Business Review

I have been adressing the energy industry lately in my posts and I have come across a site that should be of interest to many of you following the sector. Energy Business Review is a great source for industry news, feature articles, financial information, blogs, newsletters, and company profiles in many different areas of the energy space.

Five Technologies That Could Change Everything

On Monday, October 19, The Wall Street Journal ran a special section on "5 Technologies That Could Change Everything." This section focused on green energy game-changers.

The five new technologies considered were space-based solar energy; advanced car batteries; renewable-energy storage; carbon capture and storage; and next-generation biofuels.

In my opinion, there are only two technology paths that are worth the time and money: "Carbon Capture and Storage" and maybe "Next-Generation Biofuels."

First, carbon capture and storage means that carbon dioxide from burning coal and coal-burning power plants can be removed from smokestacks, compressed, and then stored deep underground where the emissions can not harm the air. Think about it. The U.S. has over 200 years supply in coal. Coal burning power plants provide the majority percentage of U.S. power and it is usually relatively cheap. Why not keep using coal if emissions can be captured and stored safely? Sure coal extraction can be damaging to the environment, but you would be surprised at the efforts a coal company performs for successful land reclamation projects.

Second, biofuels could make sense even though the federal government subsidies for ethanol have been a major mistake and the use of ethanol as a transportation fuel just never panned out. Plus farmers kept producing corn for ethanol instead of cereal and grains for food which hurt the global food market. The best rationale for biofuels is that they are liquid and the whole U.S. apparatus for tranporatation fuel is already configured for liquid distribution and infrastructure - refineries, pipelines, stations, etc. However, the U.S. is several years, if not decades, away from successfully using biofuels. Research is currently being conducted on the use of cellulose, switch grass, and algae - with mixed results.

I am skeptical of the three other game-changing technologies for renewable and alternative energy that the Wall Street Journal highlighted. Space-based solar power is something out of "Buck Rogers" and does not even deserve a mention here. Utility storage for wind and solar power is also a utopian vision at this time. The use of wind and solar power is not cost-effective and is not practical for many states. The U.S. has been trying wind and solar since the 70's and it is still not working the way advocates would like.

Advanced car batteries or electric vehicles are not enough to matter in the whole scheme of things. It would take rapid exponential growth in the number of electric vehicles to make even a small change in fuel consumption and pollution limitation.

U.S. Army Signs Solar Energy Deal

It is no surprise that the U.S. Department of Defense is an energy consuming beast. Whether it is an aircraft carrier or an Abrams tank - there's always an opportunity to conserve energy.

Now there is a chance to produce renewables. Check out this solar energy project in the stifling desert base called Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert, California. No shortage of sunshine there.

Fort Irwin is where we train desert war fighters at the National Training Center.

Find out more about the solar project here.

Why We Should Pay Attention to IPTV

It is time more people pay attention to IPTV or Internet Protocol Television. IPTV makes it possible to watch live television on a subscription basis with a PC that has a broadband Internet connection.

IPTV also allows one to watch programs on a regular TV with a box converter that sits on your current television so you can get a live feed from your computer. You pay a monthly subscription fee and pick the shows you want to watch. There are also plans for mobile computing and IPTV for smart phones such as Blackberry devices and I-Phones.

What about Netflix and Hulu you ask? Why is IPTV better? IPTV is live and local news, weather and sports. There will always be a demand for live and local television or for live TV from another country. If you live in the U.S. but would like news from your native country, IPTV can get you a subsription to that local channel. Netflix and Hulu are simply "one view" movies and television shows that you usually do not want to watch again. They are programs on demand, but not live television feeds. And Netflix and Hulu can not give you live TV directly on your computer.

Imagine being able to see your favorite soccer team from Italy play live from your home in Chicago. The Dallas Cowboys are already using IPTV on their televisions throughout their new stadium. So it looks like IPTV is off and running.

Canada Should Be Cautious About Using Large Biometric Databases

Canada is also working to adopt the use of fingerprint and facial recognition technology at its borders and to its passports according to a June 11, 2009 article in the Globe and Mail. An industry trade group representative says the Canadian government should be very diligent in using large biometric databases. Roger Sullivan said that governments must also ensure the data are protected from identity thieves.
"The danger is that, somehow, that thumbprint is disassociated with my name or is also associated with some bad guy," he said.

Science and Technology on the Hill has written about this biometric problem repeatedly and one company has a solution. Personal Identity Solutions with its recoverable biometrics patent-pending technology is fast becoming the industry standard for biometric data security and assurance.

Europe Takes A Closer Step Toward Digital ID's

Digital identification passports and biometrics are beginning to converge and Switzerland is the new area of concentration for the latest innovation. On May 17, Swiss voters narrowly approved a government plan to switch over to electronic passports, tied to a national fingerprint registry. A microchip will store Swiss travelers' personal data such as fingerpints and a photo. At borders and airports, travelers will have their photos taken and fingerprints scanned to make sure the data matches on their passports. According to London's Independent "All EU nations must institute fingerprint-enabled e-passports by next summer. Germany, France, and the Netherlands already issue them."

Lockheed Martin is working on a similar system for the U.S., while the FBI is working on a project called "Server in the Sky" to link the world's biometric databases. The London's Independent reports that "the group, the International Information Consortium, says a global biometric clearing house would help nations combat terrorism and rapidly identify victims in major disasters. Northrop Grumman is supplying the technology, although the initiative has met with resistance from privacy groups."

Here is the problem with one global database, what if the data gets hacked? Once you lose your biometric identity you can not get it back. But one firm has thought of a remedy. Personal Identity Solutions is working on a Recoverable Biometric process - to find out more go here.