WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama is hosting European Union leaders for a summit Monday that is likely to focus on the European debt crisis.
Obama will meet at the White House with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The Obama administration is watching warily as European countries struggle to bolster confidence in the euro currency. The crisis has seen smaller eurozone nations Greece, Portugal and Ireland bailed out and is now threatening much bigger economies, such as Italy and Spain.
The Obama administration has expressed concerns that the crisis could damage the U.S. economy.
LONDON?? She was just 13 when Rupert Murdoch asked her to sing at his wedding.
Charlotte Church was given a choice: a 100,000 pound fee, or a chance to generate good will with the media magnate by performing for free. She wanted the cash, but her record company and manager said no, it was better to make friends with Murdoch, head of a global news and entertainment empire.
"Despite my teenage business head screaming 'Think how many tamagotchies you could buy!' I was pressured into taking the latter option," she told Britain's press ethics committee. "This strategy failed ... for me."
Church, 25, told Britain's media ethics inquiry Monday that the Murdoch press, and other British tabloids, had ruthlessly tormented her since she was a child singing sensation, blowing her credibility "to bits" and badly damaging her career.
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Story: Hugh Grant confronts British press at phone hacking hearing
She said press intrusion had a devastating impact on her family life and particularly on her mother. Church said her mother had tried to kill herself in part because she knew a newspaper was planning to expose her husband's extramarital affair.
The former teenage singing sensation told the inquiry in calm, measured tones how cameramen tried to take photos up her skirt and down her blouse and published "intimate" details about her sex life when she was just 17.
"I couldn't get my head around that," said Church, 25, who blamed tabloid phone hacking for much of her lost privacy.
"I've been made a caricature for so long, and this person portrayed in the tabloids really isn't me," she said. "It's not the person I am, and it's had a massive impact on my career. As an artist, I find it hard to be taken seriously because my credibility has been blown to bits."
Church also described how one newspaper had a countdown before her 16th birthday to mark the moment when she would reach the age of consent and be old enough to legally have sex.
"It just felt horrible," she said.
Church, a pop and opera singer with a spectacular voice, was the latest prominent person to tell the committee how Britain's unscrupulous press has invaded their privacy and damaged their lives. She said she suspected her closest family members of leaking secrets when in fact the media were getting details about her life from illegal phone hacking.
Prime Minister David Cameron set up the inquiry in response to the scandal that began with illegal eavesdropping by the News of the World tabloid.
Murdoch closed the newspaper in July after evidence emerged that it had illegally accessed the mobile phone voice mails of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims in its search for scoops.
More than a dozen News of the World journalists and editors have been arrested, and two top London police officers, along with Cameron's media adviser and several senior Murdoch executives, have resigned.
The inquiry, led by Judge Brian Leveson, plans to issue a report next year and could recommend major changes to Britain's system of media self regulation. In its first two weeks, the committee has heard a stunning litany of press abuse.
Story: JK Rowling tells UK phone-hacking hearing: Children 'deserve privacy'
Church told the inquiry how impressed she had been with Murdoch's power when she went to sing at his wedding in the United States ? and how her effort to gain his favor was a dismal failure.
"He flew us on his private jet to New York, which was amazing, then we went onto his boat, which had a grand piano on it, which I was amazed by, and I sang at the ceremony," she said.
Before Church testified, a man who had been arrested on murder charges and then cleared told the committee that tabloids had destroyed his reputation with false front-page stories.
Christopher Jefferies said the negative coverage of him was so widespread that some people still assume he is a "weird character" who should be avoided, even though he was cleared of wrongdoing.
He was arrested last year by police investigating the murder of his tenant, Joanna Yeates. Another man has since been convicted of the crime.
Jefferies said he felt he could not go out in public because of the smears.
Broadcast journalist Anne Diamond told the committee that the Murdoch press had waged a vendetta against her ? even sending a reporter impersonating a doctor to the hospital when she was giving birth.
Last week, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller all testified about the devastating impact that unscrupulous British media have had on their lives, along with the parents of murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler and missing 3-year-old Madeleine McCann.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
As a preventive measure, voluntary male circumcision is gaining favor as a large-scale attack against HIV's spread. But scaling it up will cost billions of dollars
By Katherine Harmon
?|
November 29, 2011
CUTTING RISK: Is investing in an imperfect prevention method a wise attack on HIV/AIDS in Africa?Image: iStockphoto/muzon
For the Xhosa in South Africa, a boy's coming of age is often marked by an elaborate and lengthy set of rituals. One of the ordeals is circumcision, which is traditionally performed by a healer and occasionally leads to an ineffective cut, infection or even death. The young men who emerge from the ceremony healthy, however, achieve not only new social status but are also much less likely to become infected with HIV.
Adult male circumcision, in which the foreskin of the penis is surgically removed, has emerged as one of the more powerful reducers of infection risk. Some studies are finding that it decreases the odds that a heterosexual man will contract HIV by 57 percent or more. With HIV vaccine research still limping along, condoms being underused and the large-scale vaginal gel trial Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic (VOICE) just called off early last week after disappointing results, the operation has been gaining ground.
For the past three years 13 countries in southern and eastern Africa at the heart of the HIV/AIDS epidemic have been on a mission to circumcise 80 percent of their men by 2015 in an effort to cut in half the rate of sexual transmission of the disease from 2011 levels. And a new series of nine papers, published online Tuesday in PLoS Medicine, assesses whether the ambitious goals could work?and whether they are worth it.
The analyses "give a pretty optimistic assessment," says Atheendar Venkataramani, a resident physician and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was not involved in the new papers. But from his own research in the field, he says, he is inclined to share the optimism.
Cutting costs
Because HIV and AIDS are still incurable, infection means a lifetime of antiretroviral therapy. So with more people getting infected every day, the cost of treatment for the ever growing global HIV population is increasing. A surgical procedure, such as a circumcision, is not cheap either, but when compared with indefinite treatment, the one-time cut is poised to be a cost saver.
The estimated price tag for all of the 13 countries (Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) to reach the 80 percent male circumcision rate by 2015 would be somewhere on the order of $1.5 billion, the authors of one of the papers suggest. To keep that saturation constant for another 10 years would cost a further $500 million. These 20.3 million circumcisions, however, could prevent some 3.4 million new HIV infections in both men and women, according to the new findings. From 2016 to 2025, after accounting for the initial expenditures, the programs would save some $16.5 billion.
Previous research had concluded that male circumcision programs would be cost-effective, but this is some of the first large-scale work to incorporate information specific to country?and in some cases, region?to assess costs and savings. The recent data can go straight to the countries' respective ministers of health and, perhaps even more important, to the countries' ministers of finance, points out Emmanuel Njeuhmeli of the U.S. Agency for International Development, who is a co-author of several of the papers. "Understanding the science is not enough?they need to have the resources," he says of the countries' health ministries. And that can be a lot to ask of a sub-Saharan African country such as Lesotho, which has a GDP of $2.1 billion and where much of the population lacks even basic medical care.
The philanthropic paradigm that funded the organized Jewish community for much of the 20th century is in terminal crisis. Federated giving and allocation platforms no longer are the dependable revenue streams they once were. Within the organized Jewish community, at least three factors are challenging assumptions that governed donor behavior for generations:
Increasing numbers of individual Jews question not only the significance of Jewish communal involvement in their own lives but also the relevance of inward-looking Jewish institutions to global concerns.
At a time when Jewish federations and human service agencies report growing demand for their core priorities ? educational initiatives, anti-poverty programs, health services, assistance to the aging ? they face a sharply declining donor pool.
Many of those who do give to federations, especially younger donors, expect to be able to direct their contributions to specific beneficiaries and programs, irrespective of the budgetary needs of the broader service platforms. Growing numbers of donors want to know the measurable impact of their gifts and grants.
While the traditional Jewish nonprofit economy is reacting to these seismic shifts, a new sector dedicated to public benefit is flourishing in North America and around the globe. This ?impact economy? encompasses social enterprise, social entrepreneurship, social business, and impact investing, and it does not focus purely on profit or social benefit. Instead, the impact economy combines multiple bottom lines: financial returns, social gains, environmental benefits, and economic development. Impact investing rapidly is becoming a vital part of contemporary individual, institutional, and foundational investment portfolios. Analysts estimate that by 2020, the global impact economy will reach $400 billion to $1 trillion, mostly from individual investments of less than $25,000 each.(1)
Impact investing in social enterprise blurs the boundaries between profit seeking and charitable giving. This is a market paradigm governed as much by Adam Smith?s The Theory of Moral Sentiments, writes the White House?s Jonathan Greenblatt, as it is by Smith?s The Wealth of Nations.(2) Social enterprise transforms welfare recipients into stakeholders in their own socioeconomic future; impact investment transforms donors into investors who can expect to do (reasonably) well while doing good. For example, bonds available through the Community Investment Initiative created jointly by Jewish Funds for Justice and the Calvert Social Investment Foundation provide inexpensive microcredit in economically distressed regions. At the same time, they guarantee investors the return of principal plus interest of 1 percent to 2 percent interest. Social venture funds, another impact investment vehicle, build on principles of ?patient capital? and can achieve an even more sustained impact and higher payouts. In many respects, these financial instruments are 21st-century versions of Maimonides?s highest levels of tzedakah; they create job opportunities and enable beneficiaries to sustain themselves.
Social enterprise also offers Jewish donors and investors the opportunity to apply Jewish principles and values within the organized Jewish community and around the globe. Jews are disproportionately represented among impact investors and social entrepreneurs alike, just as they are in other areas within the public benefit sector. Jewish community involvement in social enterprise honors and involves Jews working globally in tikkun olam and expands our understanding of what it means to ?do Jewish.? Agencies gain the added benefit of access to the latest innovation engines for improving core human service delivery. In Los Angeles, for example, Beit T?Shuvah, a combined Jewish congregation and substance-abuse-recovery organization, won Los Angeles Social Venture Partners? 2010 Social Innovation Fast Pitch competition through its social venture, BT Communications, a nonprofit advertising and social media agency that employs and trains treatment center residents.
Impact investing generates self-renewing revenue streams that fund core priorities. Furthermore, access to those streams attracts and engages high-net-worth investors and funders who may not be interested in traditional Jewish federated philanthropy. Research suggests that for most investors, funds for impact investing are redirected from other investment vehicles rather than from charitable commitments, which results in more funding for the social good. In short, greater investment in the impact economy could generate a net increase in overall Jewish giving.
The future of the Jewish nonprofit sector depends on new mixes of investment income, charitable gifts, and earned revenue. With an investment mix that includes high-growth, socially responsible industries, such as clean energy, financial returns on impact investments will not only benefit investors, but also provide backstop funding to social service programs that lack an adequate donor base. They also can supplement funding for truly philanthropy-dependent initiatives focused on identity, culture, or broad-based social change ? many of which struggle to find stable income and do not have earned income streams. While there are no panaceas for the challenges facing the field of social service, the natural parallels between Jewish values and those of the impact economy augur a creative and promising future for the Jewish philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.
(1) Hope Consulting, 2010, ?Money for Good: The U.S. Market Opportunity for Impact Investments and Charitable Gifts from Individual Donors and Investors?; J. P. Morgan, 2010, ?Impact Investments: An Emerging Asset Class?.
(2) Jonathan Greenblatt, ?Investing for Change: The Emergence of the Impact Economy.? Huffington Post, January 14, 2011.
Shawn Landres is the co-founder and CEO of Jumpstart ? a nonprofit that works across the globe to empower organizations and leaders committed to compelling, relevant, and meaningful visions of Jewish life. Jumpstart?s most recent publication is The Jewish Innovation Economy: An Emerging Market for Knowledge and Social Capital. A 2009 Ariane de Rothschild Fellow and a 2010 Nahum Goldmann Fellow, Landres is a member of the ROI Community, a Jerusalem-based global community for young Jewish innovators initiated by philanthropist Lynn Schusterman. He serves on the Sh?ma Advisory Committee and on the board of Keshet, a grassroots advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Jews. He was named to the Forward 50 in 2009 and to Jewcy.com?s The Big Jewcy 100 in 2011. He thanks Joshua Avedon, Jonathan Greenblatt, and Renata Landres for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.
Reprinted with permission from the October 2011 issue of the journal?Sh?ma, as part of a larger conversation about philanthropy and tzedakah.
JERUSALEM ? Israel's prime minister intervened to halt renovation work on a pedestrian walkway adjacent to the most sensitive holy site in Jerusalem to avoid inflaming public opinion in the Arab world, an Israeli official said Monday.
The renovation is meant to replace a rickety wooden ramp leading up to the enclosure known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Aqsa. The ramp was meant to be temporary when it was constructed in 2004 to replace an earlier one that collapsed in a snowstorm, but fears of sparking Muslim anger have prevented any further work since then.
The dismantling of the temporary walkway, which Jerusalem city officials have deemed potentially unsafe, was supposed to have begun in recent days, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the work postponed, Netanyahu told a security and foreign policy committee in Israel's parliament.
He cited the recent anti-government unrest in neighboring Egypt, implying that anger there could be turned against Israel if his government were seen to be endangering a holy site that has repeatedly served as a flashpoint for violence.
"It was my assessment that given the demonstrations in Cairo, on that specific day, that specific week ? it was not the time," Netanyahu told the committee, according to an official who participated in the closed session. He spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the subject.
The official gave no date for the resumption of work. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation, the Israeli body directly responsible for the ramp, would not provide details on the project, and spokesmen for Netanyahu and Jerusalem City Hall declined to comment.
In 2007, when Israel began preliminary work to replace the temporary ramp with a new one, an outcry from Muslims eventually forced Israel to shelve the plan.
The walkway, which is not part of the compound, is located in the Old City's Jewish Quarter and is used by non-Muslim visitors and tourists. Muslim worshippers use a number of other entrances from the adjacent Muslim Quarter.
Israel says it has quiet contacts on the subject with the Islamic Waqf, the body in charge of the day-to-day running of the compound under Israel's security control.
The Waqf, which does not wish to be seen as collaborating with Israel, traditionally denies any contact with Israeli authorities, and a senior Waqf official said Monday that there was "no coordination" with Israel.
The ramp renovation constituted "an attack on al-Aqsa," Abdul Azim Samhadana said. "Israel is destroying this pathway in a way that is provocative and which attacks the sentiments of Muslims," he said.
On Monday, neighboring Jordan denounced the Israeli work as "unilateral" and aimed at "Judaizing" Jerusalem, according to an official government statement.
Jordan's king, Abdullah II, raised the issue Monday during a meeting in Amman with Israeli President Shimon Peres. A statement from the palace said the king urged Israel to "refrain from any measures that could change the features of Jerusalem, or affect Islamic and Christian holy places in the Holy City."
Jordan, which held east Jerusalem until losing the area in the 1967 Mideast war, still controls the Waqf, giving it a custodial role at Muslim holy sites in the city.
Underlying the opposition to the seemingly minor work is Muslim anger over the fact of Israeli control at the compound, Islam's third holiest site and a potent national symbol for Palestinians.
The compound was the site of two biblical Jewish temples and has been at the center of the Jewish faith for three millennia. Today, Jews pray outside at the adjacent Western Wall. For the past 1,300 years, it has been home to the golden-capped Islamic shrine known as the Dome of the Rock and to the al-Aqsa mosque.
_______
Additional reporting from Diaa Hadid in Jerusalem and Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan.
Follow Matti Friedman on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/mattifriedman
Pointing and holding up objects in order to attract attention has so far only been observed in humans and our closest living relatives, the great apes. Simone Pika from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and Thomas Bugnyar from the University of Vienna, however, now provide the first evidence that ravens (Corvus corax) also use so called deictic gestures in order to test the interest of a potential partner or to strengthen an already existing bond.
From early childhood on, children frequently use distinct gestures to draw the attention of adults to external objects. So-called deictic gestures such as "pointing" ("look here") and "holding up of objects" ("take this") are used by children for the first time at the age of nine to twelve months, before they produce their first spoken words. Scientists believe that such gestures are based on relatively complex intelligence abilities and represent the starting point for the use of symbols and therefore also human language. Deictic gestures are thus milestones in the development of human speech.
Surprisingly, observations of comparable gestures in our closest living relatives, the great apes, are relatively rare. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Kibale National Park in Uganda, for example, use so-called directed scratches, to indicate distinct spots on their bodies to be groomed. Deictic gestures thus represent an extremely rare form of communication evolutionarily and have been suggested as confined to primates only.
According to the two researchers from Seewiesen and Vienna, however, such behaviour is not restricted to humans and great apes. For two years, Simone Pika und Thomas Bugnyar investigated the non-vocal behaviour of individually marked members of a wild raven community in the Cumberland Wildpark in Gr?nau, Austria. They observed that ravens use their beaks similar to hands to show and offer objects such as moss, stones and twigs. These distinct gestures were predominantly aimed at partners of the opposite sex and resulted in frequent orientation of recipients to the object and the signallers. Subsequently, the ravens interacted with each other, for example, by example billing or joint manipulation of the object.
Ravens are songbirds belonging to the corvid family like crows and magpies, and they surpass most of the other avian species in terms of intelligence. Their scores on various intelligence tests are similarly high than those of great apes. Ravens in particular can be characterized by complex intra-pair communication, relatively long-time periods to form bonds and a relatively high degree of cooperation between partners.
This new study shows that differentiated gestures have especially evolved in species with a high degree of collaborative abilities. "Gesture studies have too long focused on communicative skills of primates only. The mystery of the origins of human language, however, can only be solved if we look at the bigger picture and also consider the complexity of the communication systems of other animal groups" says Simone Pika from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology.
###
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: http://www.mpg.de
Thanks to Max-Planck-Gesellschaft for this article.
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Genetic buzzer-beater genes may save fishPublic release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jim Barlow jebarlow@uoregon.edu 541-346-3481 University of Oregon
University of Oregon's RAD technology opens route to see important genetic markers in rainbow trout
EUGENE, Ore. -- Two distinct populations of rainbow trout -- one in Alaska, the other in Idaho -- share a genetic trait that could have huge implications for fisheries conservation and management, an eight-member research team reports.
The common trait is a similar rapid rate of development that has allowed these different salmomid subspecies to adapt to their native rivers in Alaska and Idaho. The researchers, in a paper put online ahead of publication in the journal Molecular Ecology, say the similarity, a gene variant, resides in a specific portion of their genomes from where this local adaptation is triggered.
Understanding and applying that knowledge could help guide current and future efforts to save species on the brink of extinction and help rejuvenate dwindling populations, especially as changing conditions alter fish environments, says lead author Michael R. Miller, a National Science Foundation-funded doctoral student in the University of Oregon lab of co-author Chris Doe, a UO biologist and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
The research employed two technologies developed at the UO: the cloning technology pioneered on zebra fish 35 years ago by molecular biologist George Streisinger and a speedy genome-analysis tool known as RAD (restriction-site associated DNA markers). Miller and UO biologist Eric Johnson, with input from William Cresko, also a UO biologist, published their initial RAD-tagging technique in 2005.
The clone lines of rainbow trout used in the study were provided by co-author Gary H. Thorgaard, a fish geneticist at Washington State University. He had worked briefly as a postdoctoral researcher with Streisinger in 1978 to learn about a then-developing zebra-fish cloning technique later detailed in a 1981 Nature paper.
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are members of the salmon family. They have a natal homing instinct in which they return to their native streams or rivers to spawn. Occasionally, some end up in other locations and have to adapt, or evolve, to survive in a new habitat. In studying the genetics of populations in the North Fork Clearwater River in north-central Idaho and in the Swanson River of south-central Alaska, researchers noted similar, speedy rates of development -- a conserved trait that generally is not the case in rainbow trout, Thorgaard noted.
"We found that these two very distinct populations are using the same conserved variant of the same gene sequence to achieve this adaptation," Miller said. "We have not identified the exact gene or gene mutations, but we have identified a region of the genome that is very similar."
RAD gene-sequencing technology allowed the researchers to sort through the fish genomes -- rainbow trout populations have between 58 and 64 chromosomes -- until they isolated the gene variants, also known as mutations or alleles. "RAD gives us much better details with a much higher resolution on genetic markers than what we could ever see before," Thorgaard said.
"RAD is being applied widely in the field of fisheries genetics," Miller said. "This technology is having a huge impact on salmon genetics, for conservation, management and restoration."
The findings suggest that the same genetic method of adaptation may be used by other salmonids, which includes salmon, steelhead trout, char, freshwater whitefish and graylings. The gene variant found in the study may have arrived just in time for struggling fish populations, researchers said.
"The study suggests that the same genetic types that are associated with adaptation in one population may also be used by another experiencing similar conditions in another area," Thorgaard said. "This increases our understanding of how adaptation occurs and could help in characterizing populations for conservation purposes."
Potentially, Miller said, matching fish with the same genetic variants could prove beneficial in increasing populations in distressed areas. "Many southern populations, in California, for instance, are already extinct or depressed, and these populations likely contain gene variants that may become important for the future adaptation of more northern populations as the environment changes," he said. "If these populations go extinct, we are potentially hindering the future adaptability of other populations."
###
Co-authors on the paper with Miller, Doe and Thorgaard were Joseph P. Brunelli and Paul A. Wheeler, both colleagues of Thorgaard at Washington State, and Sixin Liu, Caird E. Rexroad III and Yniv Palti, all of the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture, Agricultural Research Service-USDA, in Kearneysville, W.Va.
The National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Agriculture supported the research.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
Media Contacts: Jim Barlow, director of science and research communications, 541-346-3481, jebarlow@uoregon.edu, and Eric Sorensen, science writer, Washington State University News Service, 509-335-4846, eric.sorensen@wsu.edu
Sources: Michael R. Miller, UO doctoral student, mmiller@uoregon.edu, and Gary H. Thorgaard, professor of biology, Washington State University in Pullman, 509-335-7438, thorglab@wsu.edu
Links:
Michael Miller page: https://sites.google.com/site/millermichaelryan/
Doe Lab: http://uoneuro.uoregon.edu/doelab/
Gary Thorgaard faculty page: http://sbs.wsu.edu/faculty/?faculty/3
Audio with Michael Miller:
* Findings: http://bit.ly/tu1G6Q
* The implications: http://bit.ly/uOvqfs
* Brief summary: http://bit.ly/rw1YJz
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Genetic buzzer-beater genes may save fishPublic release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jim Barlow jebarlow@uoregon.edu 541-346-3481 University of Oregon
University of Oregon's RAD technology opens route to see important genetic markers in rainbow trout
EUGENE, Ore. -- Two distinct populations of rainbow trout -- one in Alaska, the other in Idaho -- share a genetic trait that could have huge implications for fisheries conservation and management, an eight-member research team reports.
The common trait is a similar rapid rate of development that has allowed these different salmomid subspecies to adapt to their native rivers in Alaska and Idaho. The researchers, in a paper put online ahead of publication in the journal Molecular Ecology, say the similarity, a gene variant, resides in a specific portion of their genomes from where this local adaptation is triggered.
Understanding and applying that knowledge could help guide current and future efforts to save species on the brink of extinction and help rejuvenate dwindling populations, especially as changing conditions alter fish environments, says lead author Michael R. Miller, a National Science Foundation-funded doctoral student in the University of Oregon lab of co-author Chris Doe, a UO biologist and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
The research employed two technologies developed at the UO: the cloning technology pioneered on zebra fish 35 years ago by molecular biologist George Streisinger and a speedy genome-analysis tool known as RAD (restriction-site associated DNA markers). Miller and UO biologist Eric Johnson, with input from William Cresko, also a UO biologist, published their initial RAD-tagging technique in 2005.
The clone lines of rainbow trout used in the study were provided by co-author Gary H. Thorgaard, a fish geneticist at Washington State University. He had worked briefly as a postdoctoral researcher with Streisinger in 1978 to learn about a then-developing zebra-fish cloning technique later detailed in a 1981 Nature paper.
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are members of the salmon family. They have a natal homing instinct in which they return to their native streams or rivers to spawn. Occasionally, some end up in other locations and have to adapt, or evolve, to survive in a new habitat. In studying the genetics of populations in the North Fork Clearwater River in north-central Idaho and in the Swanson River of south-central Alaska, researchers noted similar, speedy rates of development -- a conserved trait that generally is not the case in rainbow trout, Thorgaard noted.
"We found that these two very distinct populations are using the same conserved variant of the same gene sequence to achieve this adaptation," Miller said. "We have not identified the exact gene or gene mutations, but we have identified a region of the genome that is very similar."
RAD gene-sequencing technology allowed the researchers to sort through the fish genomes -- rainbow trout populations have between 58 and 64 chromosomes -- until they isolated the gene variants, also known as mutations or alleles. "RAD gives us much better details with a much higher resolution on genetic markers than what we could ever see before," Thorgaard said.
"RAD is being applied widely in the field of fisheries genetics," Miller said. "This technology is having a huge impact on salmon genetics, for conservation, management and restoration."
The findings suggest that the same genetic method of adaptation may be used by other salmonids, which includes salmon, steelhead trout, char, freshwater whitefish and graylings. The gene variant found in the study may have arrived just in time for struggling fish populations, researchers said.
"The study suggests that the same genetic types that are associated with adaptation in one population may also be used by another experiencing similar conditions in another area," Thorgaard said. "This increases our understanding of how adaptation occurs and could help in characterizing populations for conservation purposes."
Potentially, Miller said, matching fish with the same genetic variants could prove beneficial in increasing populations in distressed areas. "Many southern populations, in California, for instance, are already extinct or depressed, and these populations likely contain gene variants that may become important for the future adaptation of more northern populations as the environment changes," he said. "If these populations go extinct, we are potentially hindering the future adaptability of other populations."
###
Co-authors on the paper with Miller, Doe and Thorgaard were Joseph P. Brunelli and Paul A. Wheeler, both colleagues of Thorgaard at Washington State, and Sixin Liu, Caird E. Rexroad III and Yniv Palti, all of the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture, Agricultural Research Service-USDA, in Kearneysville, W.Va.
The National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Agriculture supported the research.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
Media Contacts: Jim Barlow, director of science and research communications, 541-346-3481, jebarlow@uoregon.edu, and Eric Sorensen, science writer, Washington State University News Service, 509-335-4846, eric.sorensen@wsu.edu
Sources: Michael R. Miller, UO doctoral student, mmiller@uoregon.edu, and Gary H. Thorgaard, professor of biology, Washington State University in Pullman, 509-335-7438, thorglab@wsu.edu
Links:
Michael Miller page: https://sites.google.com/site/millermichaelryan/
Doe Lab: http://uoneuro.uoregon.edu/doelab/
Gary Thorgaard faculty page: http://sbs.wsu.edu/faculty/?faculty/3
Audio with Michael Miller:
* Findings: http://bit.ly/tu1G6Q
* The implications: http://bit.ly/uOvqfs
* Brief summary: http://bit.ly/rw1YJz
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Higher petrol taxes don't hurt the poor Public release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Thomas Sterner thomas.sterner@economics.gu.se 46-317-861-377 University of Gothenburg
Increased petrol taxation is a very effective instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A common argument against such a measure is that it hits poor people the hardest. Yet a new study by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, the largest ever of its kind shows that it is middle- and high-income earners who are generally affected the most by petrol taxes, especially in poor countries.
The UN climate negotiations COP17 are currently underway in Durban, South Africa. The global emissions of greenhouse gases must decrease by at least two percent per year in order to keep our planet's temperature from rising by more than two degrees Centigrade.
"Petrol taxes are effective and actually don't affect poor people disproportionally. Powerful lobbyists have tried to undermine the whole idea of petrol taxes, claiming that the effects are too hard on the poor. Our results contradict this view, especially with respect to developing countries," says Thomas Sterner, Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Gothenburg and lead author in the UN climate panel's (IPCC) working group Mitigation of Climate Change.
Thomas Sterner is also the editor of the new book Fuel Taxes and the Poor, The Distributional Effects of Gasoline Taxation and Their Implications for Climate Policy, authored by 35 renowned researchers.
The 35 researchers studied data from 25 different countries to investigate the concern that petrol taxes affect poor people the most. The team included leading researchers from China, India, Indonesia, USA, Latin America, as well as many countries in Africa and Europe.
"The reason why the global climate negotiations are so slow has to do with global justice. Poor nations have not caused climate change and they want to be compensated rather than being forced to pay for adaptation and mitigation; they want their share of the atmospheric commons. Our research shows however, that increased fuel taxes are not, per se, incompatible with sustainable growth, reduced poverty and an improved climate," says Thomas Sterner.
The researchers conclude that although in some high-income countries particularly the US, petrol taxes may indeed be regressive and affect the poor more, in most countries, and particularly in the poor it is the middle-and high-income earners who are generally hit harder the tax is progressive. India, China and many African countries are examples, where cars and fuels are luxury products. In many European countries such as Sweden the petrol tax is roughly neutral.
About 25 percent of the global emissions of fossil CO2 can be traced to the transport sector, and this share has increased in recent years. In the EU it has grown from 20 to 30 percent in the last 20 years.
Thomas Sterner emphasizes that international climate negotiators should emphasize global justice and pay attention to distributional effects. "An increased petrol tax effectively reduces emissions of greenhouse gases from the transport sector, at the same time as it exemplifies these justice aspects."
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Higher petrol taxes don't hurt the poor Public release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Thomas Sterner thomas.sterner@economics.gu.se 46-317-861-377 University of Gothenburg
Increased petrol taxation is a very effective instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A common argument against such a measure is that it hits poor people the hardest. Yet a new study by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, the largest ever of its kind shows that it is middle- and high-income earners who are generally affected the most by petrol taxes, especially in poor countries.
The UN climate negotiations COP17 are currently underway in Durban, South Africa. The global emissions of greenhouse gases must decrease by at least two percent per year in order to keep our planet's temperature from rising by more than two degrees Centigrade.
"Petrol taxes are effective and actually don't affect poor people disproportionally. Powerful lobbyists have tried to undermine the whole idea of petrol taxes, claiming that the effects are too hard on the poor. Our results contradict this view, especially with respect to developing countries," says Thomas Sterner, Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Gothenburg and lead author in the UN climate panel's (IPCC) working group Mitigation of Climate Change.
Thomas Sterner is also the editor of the new book Fuel Taxes and the Poor, The Distributional Effects of Gasoline Taxation and Their Implications for Climate Policy, authored by 35 renowned researchers.
The 35 researchers studied data from 25 different countries to investigate the concern that petrol taxes affect poor people the most. The team included leading researchers from China, India, Indonesia, USA, Latin America, as well as many countries in Africa and Europe.
"The reason why the global climate negotiations are so slow has to do with global justice. Poor nations have not caused climate change and they want to be compensated rather than being forced to pay for adaptation and mitigation; they want their share of the atmospheric commons. Our research shows however, that increased fuel taxes are not, per se, incompatible with sustainable growth, reduced poverty and an improved climate," says Thomas Sterner.
The researchers conclude that although in some high-income countries particularly the US, petrol taxes may indeed be regressive and affect the poor more, in most countries, and particularly in the poor it is the middle-and high-income earners who are generally hit harder the tax is progressive. India, China and many African countries are examples, where cars and fuels are luxury products. In many European countries such as Sweden the petrol tax is roughly neutral.
About 25 percent of the global emissions of fossil CO2 can be traced to the transport sector, and this share has increased in recent years. In the EU it has grown from 20 to 30 percent in the last 20 years.
Thomas Sterner emphasizes that international climate negotiators should emphasize global justice and pay attention to distributional effects. "An increased petrol tax effectively reduces emissions of greenhouse gases from the transport sector, at the same time as it exemplifies these justice aspects."
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A woman has gone public with what she says was a 13-year consensual affair with presidential hopeful Herman Cain. But Cain is denying the story. NBC's Lisa Myers reports.
By msnbc.com's Michael O'Brien
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A new woman alleged a 13-year-old affair with Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain on Monday, prompting the former Godfather's Pizza CEO to issue fresh denials of any wrongdoing.
Cain sought to offer a pre-buttal to an Atlanta FOX affiliate's report, which is set to air this evening, featuring a woman who alleges she maintained an affair with Cain.
Cain offered no specific rebuttals to any of the forthcoming claims, explaining that he would not respond to allegations before the report had aired them. But he did acknowledge a relationship with the new woman, whom he called an "acquaintance" that he had tried to help.
"We will address these when they come out. At this point, I just want to give you a heads-up, I don't have anything to hide," Cain said on CNN.
A preview for the station's report, which is set to air at 6 p.m., says that?Atlanta woman Ginger White?claims to have had a 13-year-long affair with Cain, which she would detail publicly.
The woman is just the latest accuser of Cain, whose once-promising White House bid has been weighed down by a series of women to have come forward and accused him of sexual misconduct; other women have accused Cain of harassment, not an affair. Some of the women have made the claims publicly, while others' identities have not been made public.
Still, Cain lumped the forthcoming allegation with the previous ones, which he has steadfastly denied and called "baseless." When asked specifically if he had an affair with this latest accuser, Cain replied: "No, it was not."
Cain's attorney responded to the FOX affiliate in more evasive terms: "This appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults - a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life," attorney Lin Wood said.
The businessman's campaign had blamed a variety of opponents -- from fellow Republican contenders, to Democrats -- for the trickle of accusers, and Cain himself indicated Monday that he thought the latest allegation stemmed from someone who wished to slow his campaign.
"What this says is that somebody's awfully afraid that I'm doing too well in this Republican nomination, to continue to dig up these stories to put a cloud and a damper on my campaign," he said without accusing a campaign or person specifically.
Cain also emphasized that he continued to carry on with his campaign, though he acknowledged for the first time that, if the media scrutiny of his personal life takes too large of a toll on his family, he might drop his White House bid.
"I'm not going to allow this sort of thing to cause me to drop out simply because it's tough on me," he said. "I don't want it to be tough on my family, and there comes a point where, if it's tough on my family, I have to consider that at that particular point and time."
When asked specifically about whether that would mean he could drop out, Cain said: "I'll make that decision dependent on the circumstances of how it's impacting my wife and my family."
It sounds like there is yet another reason power off your cell phone on your next flight. Australian airline Regional Express issued a press release stating an incident involving an exploding iPhone.?No one?on the flight was harmed during the event that involved lots of smoke and a red glow.
Shortly after the regional flight from Lismore to Sydney landed, a passenger?s cell phone started ?emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow.? The report states that the flight attendant extinguished the red glow successfully, which implies that the glow was actually a fire, but there is no note of an open flame. A picture of the phone has been included, and it is indeed an iPhone 4.
The phone pictured appears to not only have some fire damage, but also had some damage to the back glass. Now it?s not clear how much damage was caused by the combustion, or by the flight attendant extinguishing the phone. While there may be a list of problems users of the iPhone 4 have complained about, explosion is not on the list but this isn?t the first report of an Apple iDevice exploding.
The phone in question has been given to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau for analysis. While it seems unlikely that an undamaged phone would randomly explode, it is possible, and the fact that the airline issued the press release and it didn?t come from a person seeking money from the company helps us believe the story. We have heard about an exploding Motorola Droid 2? before, but no one was hurt.
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This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup. Seeing as characters and monsters have insane power, allow us to debate Kyoudo (how strong a character is) here. This will change as they get stronger. The numbers do not determine a battle's outcome entirely however?
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Beginning Power Lvls go from 0-10,000. We'll generally have Skyscraper/City Busters. Thankfully I can haxorz the island to be HUUUUGE.
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At the moment, Emmalee is particularly weak because she doesn't really even know she has power yet, let alone know how to control her power yet, let alone have it be powerful. I would say that she is more powerful with her emotions, so her starting power should be pretty low.
She kinda sucks unless she's pissed. Heh. Hehe... >.>
*shot*
**Edit- after much observation, I realize I should have posted this huhrrrr.
*shot again*
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MADRID ? A Spanish savings bank has fired two directors and is investigating two former executives for allegedly syphoning off euro20 million ($26.5 million) into secret pension funds, the bank said Saturday.
The board of directors of Caixa Penedes bank had "required the departure" of its president, Ricard Pages, and director general Manuel Troyano. It said both men had agreed to leave, the bank said in a statement.
The decision comes after state prosecutor for the northeastern region of Catalonia, Teresa Compte, said her office was investigating all four on suspicion of involvement in illegal activity.
Regional newspaper La Vanguardia said the case was the first time prosecutors had investigated senior executives for "criminal responsibility" in their handling of a savings bank.
The prosecutor named the other two former executives as Joan Caellas and Jaume Jorba.
Caixa Penedes along with partners Cajamurcia, CajaGRANADA and SA NOSTRA owns Banco Mare Nostrum, S.A. (BMN). The group received euro916 million ($1.21 billion) in restructuring aid from the Bank of Spain's Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB).
The fund was set up to aid institutions meet higher reserve requirements and is aimed at strengthening their finances and quelling fears that Spain might be Europe's next country to need a bailout.
Caixa Penedes said its board "disapproved of the content, method, lack of transparency, unusual nature and disproportionate size" of the remuneration package the four directors had helped themselves to.
The pension funds were set up in another institution without the knowledge of Caixa Penedes's board.
Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, spokesman for trade union Comisiones Obreras said that if the money could be recovered it could help offset the euro45 million ($59.53 million) in wage bill savings BMN had recently said it would seek from its work force. He said many BMN employees are members of Comisiones Obreras.
The investigation comes as Spain is burdened with an unemployment rate of 21.5 percent ? nearly 5 million people out of work ? the eurozone's highest.
The country's borrowing costs have also risen to an almost unsustainable level of 7 percent interest rate on 10-year bonds. An auction of 12- and 18-month bonds last week also went badly, with Spain forced to offer very high interest rates to investors.
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Mazda?s Capacitor Based Automotive Regenerative Braking System
It is called 'i-ELOOP'.Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 24, 2011
Mazda's 'i-ELOOP' regenerative braking system
Mazda released details on a groundbreaking regenerative braking system that uses a super capacitor in leiu of a battery for quick storage. The system, which Mazda calls 'i-ELOOP', will begin to appear in Mazda's vehicles in 2012. Mazda claims that in real-world driving conditions with frequent acceleration and braking, 'i-ELOOP' improves fuel economy by approximately 10 percent. We know better but there will always be an advantage with regenerative braking rather than throwing it away any time you have to step on the brake.
Mazda's regenerative braking system is unique because it uses a capacitor that temporarily stores large volumes of electricity. Compared to batteries, capacitors can be charged and discharged rapidly and are resistant to deterioration through prolonged use. 'i-ELOOP' efficiently converts the vehicle's kinetic energy into electricity as it decelerates, and uses the electricity to power the climate control, audio system and numerous other electrical components.
Regenerative braking systems are growing in popularity as a fuel saving technology. They use an electric motor or alternator to generate electricity as the vehicle decelerates, thereby recovering a portion of the vehicle's kinetic energy. Regenerative braking systems in hybrid vehicles generally use a large electric motor and dedicated battery.
Mazda developed its regenerative braking system to handle a large influx of current and slowly give it back. And they somehow did it without the use of a dedicated electric motor but instead of a reversing alternator which sounds to me like a dedicated motor generator by a different name?
'i-ELOOP' features a new 12-25V variable voltage alternator, a low-resistance electric double layer capacitor and a DC/DC converter. 'i-ELOOP' starts to recover kinetic energy the moment the driver lifts off the accelerator pedal and the vehicle begins to decelerate. The variable voltage alternator generates electricity at up to 25V for maximum efficiency before sending it to the Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) for storage. The capacitor, which has been specially developed for use in a vehicle, can be fully charged in seconds. The DC/DC converter steps down the electricity from 25V to 12V before it is distributed directly to the vehicle's electrical components. The system also charges the vehicle battery as necessary. 'i-ELOOP' operates whenever the vehicle decelerates, reducing the need for the engine to burn extra fuel to generate electricity. As a result, in "stop-and-go" driving conditions, fuel economy improves by approximately 10 percent.
There is no way to improve fuel economy by 10% through a 12-25V system but on the Japan Test cycles known to the world as magic pixie dust, maybe 10% is about right?
The name 'i-ELOOP' is an adaptation of "Intelligent Energy Loop" and represents Mazda's intention to efficiently cycle energy in an intelligent way.
'i-ELOOP' also works in conjunction with Mazda's unique 'i-stop' idling stop technology to extend the period that the engine can be shut off.
Mazda is working to maximize the efficiency of internal combustion engine vehicles with its groundbreaking SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY. By combining this with i-stop, i-ELOOP and other electric devices that enhance fuel economy by eliminating unnecessary fuel consumption, Mazda is striving to deliver vehicles with excellent environmental performance.
SuperCap systems used for hybridization in R&D projects from the past found the Super Cap to be prohibitively expensive with the resultant payback smaller than what was hoped. Who knows, maybe Mazda has discovered the holy grail but when I hear of 12-25V systems returning a 10% increase in fuel efficiency, I will be just as skeptical as I am with SKYACTIV which so far has produced 7 more HP and the same highway fuel economy from the much hyped 2.0L in the new Mazda3 as the standard every day 2011/2012 Elantra with its MPFI 1.8L.
Re: Mazda?s Capacitor Based Automotive Regenerative Braking System
Your skepticism is justified. I doubt even powering the alternator with magic would improve fuel economy by 10% in normal circumstances in a non-hybrid car. It would be possible if we assume unusually heavy electrical demands, and a lot of time idling or moving very slowly.
Last edited by RedylC94 : Today at 02:58 AM.
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Re: Mazda?s Capacitor Based Automotive Regenerative Braking System
Regen is meaningful in that it recovers kinetic energy that would otherwise be turned into waste heat. But it is a lossy system, due the energy conversions between wheel and battery.
I've read that in the Prius the energy recovery efficiency is ~40%. A smart Prius driver
minimizes the losses by using regen as little as possible by "driving without brakes',"
traffic and topography permitting. If you're really trying to drive efficiently, regen is a
measure of your mistakes in being caught going too fast in changing real world
conditions.
So, different drivers will see different amounts of regen and determing "real savings"
would require removing the human factor somehow.
Stopped in my Prius w/ScanGuage, I do notice a slow reduction in charge in the HV
battery as it feeds the 12V bus via the DC-to-DC converter. So, Madza's regen system
coupled with the i-Stop would provide an alternate energy source for the "housekeeping"
electrical loads when stopped. I wonder though if the small gains are worth the necessary
extra cost and complexity.
I expect to see the old "What's the payback period?" question come up soon.
All that said, Mazda is to be complemented in doing something to recover otherwise lost
energy. I'd guess that driving in the "Zoom-zoom" style would generate a lot of regen,
but very little energy recovered relative to the amount of fuel that propelled the zooming
in the first place.
.
Last edited by Rokeby : Today at 09:15 AM.
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Re: Mazda?s Capacitor Based Automotive Regenerative Braking System
Quote:
The Prius system allows Toyota to gear it really tall-since the electric motor can kick in to prevent lugging.
Great point. The Prius normally uses the electric motor to get going from a dead stop (assuming the ICE is warmed up). I hadn't thought about the savings from higher gearing, but starting on electric also avoids gas-wasting high throttle/low rpm usage of the ICE.
I'm not a big fan of regen. As rokeby says, braking of any kind, regen or not, is often a sign of inefficient driving: you've wasted energy to get more momentum than you need.
Another problem with regen is that most often it's a high current/short time event. For example, braking to a stop sign or red light: 10-20 seconds of regen?? Batteries recapture charge better from longer, lower current events. The SOC in either of my cars rarely budges after a typical stop like this. Maybe a capacitor captures energy from these events better than a battery does.
What DOES show on the SOC is regen during long descents and gradual decels on long freeway offramps, but these opportunities are less frequent.
I sometimes think that the main advantage of regen is that it reduces wear on the friction brakes so less money spent on brake jobs!!
Mazda's iStop autostop technology seems really great. Apparently they haven't used it more because of the demands on the battery during autostop, and this cap storage is a missing piece of the puzzle.
Last edited by lightfoot : Today at 01:19 PM.
Quote:
I'm not a big fan of regen. As rokeby says, braking of any kind, regen or not, is often a sign of inefficient driving: you've wasted energy to get more momentum than you need.
Another problem with regen is that most often it's a high current/short time event. For example, braking to a stop sign or red light: 10-20 seconds of regen?? Batteries recapture charge better from longer, lower current events. The SOC in either of my cars rarely budges after a typical stop like this. Maybe a capacitor captures energy from these events better than a battery does.
Ok, guys. Step down from your hypermile horse for a moment: brakes are there for a reason. You will need to use them, and likely more in the future as traffic density increases. There's not a way for our road system support 380 million hypermilers unless we leave the driving to computers, otherwise you'll have to always maintain 10x extra spacing for the one person out there that doesn't...
As for the technology, one of the more inefficient pieces of regen braking is the charge loss to the battery. Charging to a capacitor is far more efficient, although not as efficient as directly spinning a mechanical flywheel. In any event, Mazda will be able to get more that the 40% recovery number of the Prius's.
Where Mazda's mild hybrid will still lose out is the lack of a good EV only mode, but this will be as effective as Honda's IMA. At the end of the day, that's all it's about, is using less energy to support the inefficiencies of having a human driver that doesn't want to be efficient.
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Re: Mazda?s Capacitor Based Automotive Regenerative Braking System
I think lightfoot has the key in mentioning i-stop. i-stop works with piston positioning instead of using an auxiliary battery. So, in addition to the gains by use of a smart alternator, and, I presume, higher efficiency in the charge and discharge process, many of the gains with i-eloop may simply be making up for deficiencies in i-stop.
The cost of the capacitors is obviously a key issue. However, just as the Prius' HSD saves by displacing multiple conventional parts, i-stop plus i-eloop displaces the auxiliary start/stop battery, and should reduce the draw from the main 12V battery and extends its life. Then, an extremely durable capacitor would have value at end of vehicle life. However, if large capacitor is heavy if could negatively affecting fuel economy. To become a dominant system the capacitor has to be durable and cheap enough to beat the displaced battery-based systems. But for Mazda's purpose, it just has to be cheap and durable enough to be able to make a profit on it: it does have a coolness factor on its side. I hope it at least indicates some price drops in large capacitors.
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Re: Mazda?s Capacitor Based Automotive Regenerative Braking System
Quote:
Ok, guys. Step down from your hypermile horse for a moment: brakes are there for a reason. You will need to use them, and likely more in the future as traffic density increases. There's not a way for our road system support 380 million hypermilers unless we leave the driving to computers, otherwise you'll have to always maintain 10x extra spacing for the one person out there that doesn't...
Umm, this IS the hypermiling site, so why shouldn't we be on that horse??
Other thoughts: - I think all hypermilers DO use brakes, we just try to drive so that we are not forced to use them, which also happens to be a big part of safe defensive driving. - Population of the USA is about 310 million, not all are drivers. About 190 million licensed drivers in 2000. - I'm baffled why hypermiling would put a strain on the road system. Surely lower speeds would allow increased traffic density?? - Between 30,000 and 40,000 people die in traffic accidents on US highways every year, even larger numbers of serious injuries, so what we're doing now isn't working very well. Maybe it's time to change things??
Quote:
At the end of the day, that's all it's about, is using less energy to support the inefficiencies of having a human driver that doesn't want to be efficient.
Using technology to support unsafe driving by people that don't want to change to safer driving behaviors hasn't worked, so why believe that technology will work any better to make them more efficient? The number of people that manage to get a Prius down to 40mpg is a good hint. Humans are remarkably good at circumventing technology.
It would make more sense to put effort into improved driver training and testing*, retesting for relicensing, traffic enforcement, etc. Changing driving behavior can improve both safety and fuel efficiency at the same time. And lower speeds could enable engineers to design cars so that they are just as crash-worthy at the lower speeds as current cars are at high speeds, only much lighter/smaller, which would improve fuel economy.
So I'm stayin' on that horse, thanks!
* - Given the current political climate, it's unlikely that government would do this, but maybe insurance companies would. In the motorcycle arena, insurance companies more or less force you to take motorcycle safety training before they will insure you, and those courses are supported by the manufacturers and are very good.
I'll leave it there, this is way way OT, apologies!!
Last edited by lightfoot : Today at 01:56 PM.
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It sounds like there is yet another reason power off your cell phone on your next flight. Australian airline Regional Express issued a press release stating an incident involving an exploding iPhone.?No one?on the flight was harmed during the event that involved lots of smoke and a red glow.
It is called 'i-ELOOP'.Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 24, 2011
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