Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Documenting skeletal remains found on historic ‘poor farm’
From UNH News Service: On a bright autumn afternoon, a plain wooden box crafted by a local cabinet shop containing skeletal remains was returned to its final resting place during a simple reburial ceremony in Brentwood. Researchers and students from the University of...
Devil’s in the details for Vermont’s Clean Heat Standard
Vermont is the first state to pass a Clean Heat Standard - the heating equivalent of clean-power goals that many states have for electricity. Not surprisingly, the details are complicated, as Canary Media reporter (here): advocates criticize that it doesn't prioritize...
Ocean mapping vessel (non-autonomous variety) makes NH its home
From National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler and its crew of 14 have returned to their homeport in New Castle, New Hampshire following a successful 18 month hydrographic survey mission. Ferdinand R. Hassler, a...
Climate disasters make ‘ham radio’ more valuable
Note: Right after this ran in the Monitor I got a notice that Members of the New Hampshire Amateur Radio Emergency Service will conduct their annual Simulated Emergency Test on Saturday November 2. For information, see http://nh-ares.org/ The carnage left in the wake...
NH patents through Oct. 6
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Oct. 6. *** Methods and Systems for Protecting a Secured Network...
Mass. town will use batteries right: grid help, backup power, cut electric bills
Canaery media has a story (here it is) about a Wakefiled, Mass., municipal project that seems to be taking full advantage of battery storage: By next year, a site off a tree-lined road running between the town’s two high schools will host a 15-megawatt-hour...
Four states will vote on adding ranked-choice voting and one on opposing it
Alaska, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon will have citizen initiatives on the ballot Nov. 5 about adopting ranked-choice voting for some races and Colorado might or might not have one as well, while Missouri will have a vote on whether to prohibit it. Ballotpedia has a story...
Feds support a long transmission line in Maine – no, not that one
From AP: A $425 million federal grant is breathing new life into a proposal for a wind power project that would provide enough electricity for about 450,000 homes, along with construction of a transmission corridor in northern Maine's Aroostook County to get the...
NH testing a slo-o-o-ow public EV charger – a very good idea
An electric vehicle charger is being unveiled in a Concord parking lot Wednesday and it’s gathering a lot of attention for a very odd reason: It’s really slow. “The reality is that cars are parked over 90% of the time. This is a great way to...
Autonomous boats will be exploring the Gulf of Maine
In October, NOAA, the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center and additional partners from the federal government, academia and the private sector will test the simultaneous, remote operation of two DriX uncrewed...