Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Airport gets an EV charger – for airplanes
An electric-car-charging station has just been installed at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Actually, that isn’t quite accurate. It’s really an electric-car-and-electric-plane-charging station. That might surprise you because there aren’t any electric...
Town of Bow sneaks around NH’s silly municipal solar limit
New Hampshire's anti-solar-power legislature puts a cap of 5 MW on any municipal solar array, if it wants to be net metered (that is, paid for excess power sent into the grid). There's no reason for this cap, which used to be just 1 MW, except that established power...
NH lawmakers take on AI before we understand it, which is fine by me
Here’s a statement I used to firmly believe but now realize is often wrong: “Government should not pick technology winners and losers.” It can be true, of course, but there are times when the representatives of “we the people” need to take the lead away from...
COVID did something good: Made us eliminate a whole strain of flu
All the annoying stuff we did as a result of COVID-19 appears to have had a side-effect, eliminating an entire strain of flu, reports CNN. (Full story is here) For 10 years, Americans have had access to flu shots that protect against four strains of the virus: two A...
Drat – HydroQuebec line through NH gets yanked
National Grid has decided not to go ahead with the 211-mile Twin States Clean Energy Link, yet another plan to bring hydropower down from Quebec through New Hampshire. IndepthNH has a good story about it (here) with comments from Consumer Advocate Don Kries that (a)...
Science on Tap: Sharing cities with pollinators
The SEE Science Center is holding a Science on Tap discussion on Tuesday, March 12. Science on Tap events are informal discussions with local scientists and experts on a particular topic. 2023-2024 is the eleventh season of Science on Tap On March 12 the topic will...
NH patents through March 3
(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 March 3. *** Firing Pin Lock SIG SAUER, INC., Newington, New Hampshire has...
2 NH colleges in Solar Decathlon Design Challenge
The 9th Solar Decathlon Design Challenge held by the Department of Energy is ongoing, with the final competition next month. Two UNH colleges are among the 37 schools with finalist teams, some from as far as Pakistan, Peru and South Korea. The goal is to "create...
Maine is of two minds about digging up a whole bunch of lithium
There are 10 different bills being considered by the Maine legislature right now about the state's laws against large (over 3 acre) open-pit mining. The reason: There's a whole bunch of lithium available near the New Hampshire border. One problem, as I learned from an...
Why you can’t afford a house – in one number
A housing/development site called Realtyhop.com took data from 2022 and data from the 1970 census to compare median house prices with median household income to create a "multiplier". The higher the figure the harder it is to buy a house. The full study is here. Data...
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