Comment $400 Million Each is not Affordable (Score 1) 509
Give me a break.
Comment To Many People Already (Score 1) 904
Who in their right mind would want to live that long? Humans, specifically the number of humans, is already an ecological disaster.
Comment Arrogance -- Pure Arrogance (Score 1) 241
The human arrogance of thinking we as a species are capable of knowing everything, machine assisted or otherwise, is the source of many of the most serious mistakes we have made. Everything from the introduction of insects from other countries to control our pests (and having the introduced species run wild) to plans to fertilize the oceans to address global warming -- arrogance, the root of much of the worlds bad deeds.
Submission + - Gas Wants to Kill The Wind (scientificamerican.com)
RABarnes writes: The Scientific American has posted an article about the political efforts of natural gas and electric utilities to limit the growth of wind generated electricity. Although several of the points raised by the utilities and carbon-based generators are valid the basic driver behind their efforts is that wind-generation has now successfully penetrated the wholesale electricity market. Wind was okay until it became a meaningful competitor to the carbon dioxide producing entities. Among the valid points raised by the carbon-based generators are concerns about how the cost of electricity transmission are allocated and how power quality can be improved (wind generation — from individual sites — is hopelessly variable). But there are fixes for all of the concerns raised by the carbon-based entities and in almost all cases they have been on the other side of the question in the past.
Comment The Slashdot Paradigm (Score 1) 376
It is clear that the premise of the posted article is false. Broadband in the US is neither universally available nor of the quality of modernized countries. The more basic problem is that Slashdot feels free to allow the post of the most absurd items at times - read it on Slashdot and you had better bring a load of salt with you - a grain will not do.
Dying Man Shares Unseen Challenger Video 266
longacre writes "An amateur video of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion has been made public for the first time. The Florida man who filmed it from his front yard on his new Betamax camcorder turned the tape over to an educational organization a week before he died this past December. The Space Exploration Archive has since published the video into the public domain in time for the 24th anniversary of the catastrophe. Despite being shot from about 70 miles from Cape Canaveral, the shuttle and the explosion can be seen quite clearly. It is unclear why he never shared the footage with NASA or the media. NASA officials say they were not aware of the video, but are interested in examining it now that it has been made available."
A Hyper-Velocity Impact In the Asteroid Belt? 114
astroengine writes "Astronomers have spotted something rather odd in the asteroid belt. It looks like a comet, but it's got a circular orbit, similar to an asteroid. Whether it's an asteroid or a comet, it has a long, comet-like tail, suggesting something is being vented into space. Some experts think it could be a very rare comet/asteroid hybrid being heated by the sun, but there's an even more exciting possibility: It could be the first ever observation of two asteroids colliding in the asteroid belt."
Comment More Like An Ad (Score 2, Informative) 594
The CNN story is more like an ad than a fact-based article. A few more facts would be helpful - as presented the car is not that impressive.
Chevrolet Volt In a Gasoline-Only Scenario 594
s122604 sends in a performance review of the Chevy Volt, paying particular attention to what happens after the initial plug-in capacity has been depleted. This reader adds, "The review indicates that the performance is adequate, and perhaps better than anticipated. If the Volt can deliver technically, especially with the possibility that it could retail for less than expected (WSJ subscription may be required), does GM have a potential hit on its hands?" "How well will General Motors' Chevrolet Volt drive once it gets past its 40 mile all-electric driving range and starts to rely on power generated by its gasoline engine? That's been a question for both critics and fans of the Volt, and with just 11 months to go before this car hits the market, I got the answer."
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