Watts Up With That?

The new US stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor, was deployed for the first time to Asia earlier this month. On Feb. 11, twelve Raptors flying from Hawaii to Japan were forced to turn back when a software glitch crashed all of the F-22s’ on-board computers as they crossed the international date line.

The delay in arrival in Japan was previously reported, with rumors of problems with the software. CNN reported that every fighter completely lost all navigation and communications when they crossed the International Date Line. They reportedly had to turn around and follow their tankers by visual contact back to Hawaii. According to the CNN story, if they had not been with their tankers, or the weather had been bad, this would have been serious.

I have to think there’s going to come a time when wars are fought by warrior hackers, each trying to take down the other sides computers. Or there may come a day when an airliner falls out of the sky because software failed on all the redundant systems. I sure hope not.

A “computer glitch” when the reporter sent my story to copy editing added an extra “o” to the word “Outlook” in the title, sending my entry into “etherland”.

You can view the entire Outlook Special online at:
http://www2.chicoer.com/specialSections/Outlook_2007/Outlook_2007.pdf (takes awhile to download, my article on Page45, which they added afterwards)

Or you can read it below. If you have been thinking about putting solar on your home, here is a guide. Enjoy.

ER Sustainability Outlook 02/27/07

Sustainability is a trend that is growing not only here, but also throughout the world.

It is an attempt to provide the best outcomes for the human and natural environments both now and into the future. Essentially you could think of it as balanced use of the planet, where the use doesn’t outstrip regeneration.

Locally there have been a number of movements towards this goal, particularly with solar power. Butte County is particularly well suited for solar power. Climate records show that we have 219 sunny days and 57 partly cloudy days per year on average, which makes solar power viable. It wasn’t always that way, and it’s only now that solar power is becoming economically viable due to increased electricity costs, increased solar cell efficiency, and state rebate programs to help home and business owners kick-start the process.

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The California legislature may want to revisit the wording of their proposed ban on incandescents (AB 722). California assemblyman LLoyd Levine, a Democrat from Van Nuys in Los Angeles, wants to make California the first to ban incandescent light bulbs (by 2012) part of its new initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. But somebody hasn’t thought this through completely.

Why do I suggest a change? Two reasons: 1- There’s a new efficient challenger to the old tungsten filament light bulb. 2- The Compact Flourescent Lamps touted as “Eco Bulbs” have a small amount of mercury an other heavy metals in them, making disposal a problem. Some landfills won’t take them!

GE has announced an advancement in incandescent technology that promises to increase the efficiency of lightbulbs to put them on par with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL).

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