Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Easter saw record-low demand for electricity in New England
Turning on renewables for the electric grid is great but what really needs to happen, to reduce future climate change, is for fossil fuel plants to turn off. That happened Easter Sunday when New England saw a record low "load," the term for amount of electricity...
To celebrate Earth Day, let’s stop picking up litter – make the companies do it
Few activities get more public support than picking up litter from the side of the road. But to mark Earth Day, I’m about to argue that we shouldn’t do it. Wait – don’t go! Hear me out. This idea has been percolating in my head for a while and coalesced...
Solar is a brewery’s backstop as the industry tightens
The craft beer industry is undergoing a shakeout after years of growth, so if you’re going to expand your small brewery it helps to have some help. Like 182 solar panels. “It’s the idea of sustainability but I would almost say it’s now survivability,” said David...
Coal-fired plant in NH says transition to solar is still on, despite Trump’s efforts
As the Trump administration goes all-in with efforts to reinvigorate the nation’s use of coal, the owners of the region’s last coal-fired power plant say they still plan to eventually replace the Bow facility with solar panels and batteries. In a statement released...
It takes a village to keep invasive bugs at bay
You don’t have to tell Alan Cattabriga that the invasive spotted lanternfly is a real pain. The senior manager at Millikan Nursery in Chichester has been out in the rain looking for the nasty bugs’ egg masses on imported plants more times than he cares to remember....
State-owned dams have a deterioration problem
Interesting look at New Hampshire's dam situation from New Hampshire Bulletin (story is here), talking about a long-running problem: it costs money to keep dams in shape, we don't want to spend the money so lots of dams are in bad shape, and most of them serve no...
Good news, please? Lake trout have returned to Lake Champlain
VTDigger reports: "Native lake trout has returned to thrive in Lake Champlain. Severely affected by overfishing and habitat destruction in the 1800s, the lake trout in the lake have benefited from a restoration program that cooperating fish and wildlife agencies have...
Issues with NH patent list because – well, you know why
The weekly list of New Hampshire patents gathered by Targeted News Service is facing problems. This appears, I'm told, to be related to gutting the Patent Office along with all the other valuable government agencies decimated by the push to make government small...
Record number of flu fatalities in N.H. this season
More people have died in New Hampshire from the flu this season than in any other season on record, according to the state. There have been 71 deaths attributed to influenza this season, one of them a child, according to the weekly report from the Department of Health...
N.H. has become majority male for first time in decades
ADDENDUM: This article's data is from the state economic analysis; Ken Johnson, UNH's demographics guru, says federal Census Bureau estimates indicate we're still slightly (50.1%) female - that's a lower percentage than any other New England state or the country as a...
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