Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
GOP in NH legislature kills a slew of new energy bills
By small margins of 6 to 10 votes (out of 400 lawmakers), the slim GOP majority in the New Hampshire legislature killed pretty much every bill trying to ease the state into the 21st century's energy economy. Net metering, greenhouse gas emissions, RECs, solar...
Workforce and weather threaten Maine’s cedar-log industry
Bangor Daily News has a story about how erratic winters and shrinking forestry workforce is threatening the state's industry of cutting cedar for log homes and fence posts. Cedar is rot-resistant and has long been favored for these jobs. Northern white cedar thrives...
Where are all the birds?!?!
From NH Audubon: Early returns from NH Audubon’s annual Backyard Winter Brid Survey point to fewer birds at feeders this winter. Why? It turns out the answer is not that simple. According to Dr. Pamela Hunt of NH Audubon, “there are many factors that influence the...
Northern Woodlands looks at forest carbon
The idea of "forest carbon" is pretty straightforward - trees store carbon so it doesn't help heat up the world! woo-hoo! - but has a lot of complicated elements. Northern Woodlands, a terrific magazine about forestry and forests that's published on the New...
‘Advanced recycling’ isn’t going too well in N.H. so far
Last year, at the behest of the American Chemistry Council trade association, New Hampshire became the only state in New England to classify so-called “advanced recycling” facilities for plastics as manufacturing operations, rather than as more tightly regulated solid...
Why doesn’t my toilet alert me if it has a leak?
You’ve probably heard the saying popular in home-insulation circles that the cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use. The same goes for water. Leaky toilets and dripping faucets can waste an awful lot of water over the course of days and weeks. Concord wants...
N.H. testing new ballot-counting devices
The towns of Ashland, Winchester, Londonderry and Milford will test new ballot-counting devices at this year's elections - which should happen Tuesday, March 14, although many towns are delaying voting because of the Nor'Easter. The Ballot Law Commission has...
N.H. patents through March 12
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through March 12. *** Sporting Implement BAUER HOCKEY, LLC, Exeter, New Hampshire has been assigned a...
NH town may remove solar tax breaks
Boscawen could become the first town in New Hampshire to remove a long-standing ordinance that makes rooftop solar exempt from property taxes if voters agree at town meeting. Town meeting was postponed by Tuesday's storm. it will be held Saturday, March 25. At least...
The winter that wasn’t, at least not much
The winter of 22-23 was the 4th warmest (as in average temperature over the three months) on record in Concord, says the Northeast Climate Center at Cornell University. Worcester, Mass,. had its warmest winter ever. Surprisingly, the snowfall at Concord (the official...
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