Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Cyanobacteria is a yucky surface problem that (ominous music) comes from the watery deep!
There’s nothing quite as nice on a day as jumping into a cool clear New Hampshire lake. Unless it has been hit with a cyanobacteria bloom, that is; then it’s gross. And dangerous. The number of these blooms, which can release toxins that sicken or even kill people and...
Vermont utility tries ‘smart’ service panels
As you all know, the electric grid needs to be reinvented, top to bottom. Easy to say, hard to do. Part of that is making pieces of the "dumb" one-way network more flexible. Green Mountain Power in Vermont, which has a history of interesting innovation including a...
Should I treat the vaccine card like an ID card (but it doesn’t fit in my wallet) or a car title (stored away)?
Life during the COVID Era has been, as the saying goes, one darn thing after another. The latest darn thing: Vaccination card panic. Those cards from the CDC bearing stickers marking your vaccinations are a real-life version of Monopoly’s Get Out of Jail Free card....
There’s more than one way for genetic adaptation to survive climate change
From UNH News Service: As climate change continues to trigger the rise in temperature, increase drier conditions and shift precipitation patterns, adapting to new conditions will be critical for the long-term survival of most species. Researchers at the University of...
Keene OKs “community power,” first in NH
(For a different unusual approach to providing electricity in N.H., see Don Kreis' latest column about the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, which just returned $4 million to its member customers: here.) The Keene City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to...
NH patents through May 9
By Targeted News Service The following patents were assigned in New Hampshire from May 2 to May 9. *** BAE Systems Information & Electronic Systems Integration Assigned Patent for Radiation-Hardened D Flip-Flop Circuit BAE Systems Information and Electronic...
More people dying than being born here, two years running
From Ken Johnson, UNH professor and demographer extraordinaire: In 2020, 15,600 more people died than were born in New England. This is the first time that deaths have exceeded births in the region. A record 154,000 deaths occurred in New England, due partly to...
Seasonal camp dating back to 12,500 BC gets national recognition
New Hampshire doesn't have a whole lot of pre-Contact sites for archaeology and anthropology, but we have more of them than many of us realize - as I mentioned as far back as 2014. Most of them aren't publicized from fear that people will swipe stuff or just trample...
We can see farther from Mount Washington than we used to
If your vehicle bears a “This Car Climbed Mount Washington” sticker, there’s a 60% chance that you were a little disappointed in the trip. That’s how often the summit is covered by clouds. But if you were there during the other 40% of the time, you probably saw...
Hey, whisky makers: New England white oak is better for your barrels, so check the certificate!
Six months ago I noted that UNH was pursuing a unique certification mark for New England's white oak wood. Well, they got it! Here's the story from UNH News Service: The University of New Hampshire has been issued a registered certification mark from the U.S. Patent...
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