i-Tree: Re-leaf for Trees Worldwide

Forest management helps to maintain our world’s forest from destruction by fire, deforestation, and pestilence.   Next week the U.S. Forest Service is releasing software called i-Tree, used to detect invasive species of pests in forests.  

All too often, pests such as the Asian longhorned beetle are introduced to a population biologically incapable of protecting itself.   As a result, forests often become blemished long before the invasive species is detected and exterminated.   

Forest management is crucial to maintaining this finite resource that has a vital role in our ecosystem.  SCIENCE SCREEN REPORT Volume 40 has an excellent episode titled: FOREST MANAGEMENT – Conserving our Resources.

Source:
http://blogs.usda.gov/2011/03/03/i-tree-software-to-help-communities-fight-invasive-species/

The Power of the Ocean

The alternative energy industry is quickly growing.  As the costs of oil climbs, governments look to renewable resources to power homes, businesses, and vehicles.  Not one to shy away from showing off its ever-present power, the ocean is now among one of the many resources being tapped for alternative energy. 

Recently, the Air Force Academy constructed and tested a 1:300 scale wave tank and converter (capable of converting ocean wave power into electrical power).   Ultimately, researchers were able to obtain 99% efficiency from the converter.  The principal researcher, Stefan Siegel, believes a full sized unit will work in a real world setting.  The academy will conduct a 1:10 scale test at Texas A&M’s wave tank facility, one of the largest in the world. 

 

Simultaneously, Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) is working with the Navy to produce PowerBuoys that use a hydraulic pump (activated by the bobbing of the buoy in the wave) to power a generator linked to the power grid.  The buoy is capable of producing enough energy to provide electricity to 25 homes.  Proponents for wave energy tout the constant power production of the ocean, unlike the unpredictable wind and the ever setting sun. 

 

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/international/2010/02/25/earth.frontiers.hawaii.wave.bk.a.cnn

http://blogs.forbes.com/williampentland/2011/02/27/air-force-perfects-ocean-power/

Sail Powering Cargill Ship

Powering shipping vessels may soon take on a new look.  SkySails is equipping companies with computerized, parasail-like kites capable of reducing a ship’s fuel use by up to 35%.  This reduction in fuel can help turn around the prediction that by 2050, the shipping industry will be accountable for up to 18% of global greenhouse emissions.  

Cargill, food and livestock supplier and sponsor for SCIENCE SCREEN REPORT and SCIENCE SCREEN REPORT FOR KIDS, signed up this week to have a 320-square meter kite tied to a ship that hauls loads up to 30,000 deadweight tons.  In 2012, when this kite-driven vessel is in operation, it will be the largest equipped with a SkySail kite.   Many believe that the leadership of large corporations such as Cargill, will lead the way for other shipping companies to look toward this eco-friendly way of shipping products and supplies.   

Source:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1732700/cargill-propelling-meat-across-the-ocean-with-skysail-kites-green-shipping

Elementary, my dear Watson

IBM’s supercomputer, aptly named “Watson”, was represented on Jeopardy! via tablet screen, while the full computer version was in its permanent location: a building in New York.  Watson is comprised of 90 servers.  If Watson were to operate on a single CPU, it would take two hours to answer a single Jeopardy! question, whereas the average Jeopardy! contestant can answer a question in an average of three seconds. 

Ken Jennings wrote “I for one welcome our new computer overlords.”  While jesting, one cannot help but wonder about the practical applications of Watson.  The application of the Watson system can be applied to answer questions asked in a complex manner.  Watson could revolutionize the way diagnosticians approach a patient’s mysterious symptoms, a financial analyst advises a client, or the way a customer service representative at a call center helps a customer find a solution. 

Sources:

Hanna, J. (2011, February 17). Computer finishes off human opponents on 'Jeopardy!'. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/16/jeopardy.watson/index.html?hpt=T1

IBM. (n.d.). Industry perspectives. Retrieved from http://www-943.ibm.com/innovation/us/watson/watson-for-a-smarter-planet/industry-perspectives.html