Solar Crosses Threshold to Net-Positive Energy Production

Last year, US energy-related carbon?emissions were at the lowest levels since?1994, emitting "only"?5.3 billion metric tons of carbon.

This is largely from declining?coal use due to?cheap natural gas,?lower demand for transportation fuels and a mild winter, says the US Energy Information Agency.

Although we don't like to think that?solar energy?contributes?to emissions, it does, and there's good news there too.

To get the solar industry where it is today required huge inputs of electricity, and ironically,?most of that comes from coal-fired power plants.?

For example, to?produce polysilicon - the basic building block?of?most solar panels -?silica rock must be melted at?2,000 degrees Fahrenheit using electricity, commonly from coal-fired power plants.

Does the solar industry consume more dirty electricity than the clean electricity it produces?

Before society can truly benefit from the clean electricity solar produces, they have to pay back all the energy it took to produce the solar panels in the first place.?

Stanford researchers believe?that tipping point?occurred around 2010 and if not, it certainly will by 2015.

"The good news is that the clean electricity from all the installed solar panels has likely just surpassed the energy going into the industry's continued growth,"?writes Mark Golden of?Stanford University.

As the industry has advanced, it's required less and less energy to manufacture and install solar PV, according to research at?Stanford's Global Climate & Energy Project.

Much less silicon is used these days to make solar panels and much less?of it is wasted in the manufacturing process.?Solar cell efficiencies, requiring?fewer panels,?and thin-film solar leaves out silicon altogether.

At current growth rates, solar?could produce?10% of the world's electricity by 2020.?

At today's energy payback rate, producing and installing all those?PV modules?would consume around 9% of global electricity, but that could drop to less than 2% if?energy intensity rates keep declining.

But for this to happen, the same?attention that's being paid today on?reducing?financial costs of solar has to be applied to reducing energy inputs to manufacturing.

Accounting for?energetic costs and benefits is necessary for any new?technology, including energy efficiency upgrades in buildings that have?large upfront energetic costs, say?Stanford researchers. They?are currently applying this?analysis to energy storage and wind power.

Read the article:?

Source: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24745

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Sony Vaio VPCZ2390X/B Intel Centrino Bluetooth Driver 14.1.1.3 for Windows 7 x64

This utility installs the originally shipped version of the Intel Centrino Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed Virtual Adapter driver.

Important Notes
- During the installation of this file, be sure that you are logged in as the Administrator or as a user with Administrative rights.
- To ensure that no other program interferes with the installation, save all work and close all other programs. The Taskbar should be clear of applications before proceeding.
- It is highly recommended that you print out these instructions for use as a reference during the installation process.

It is highly recommended to always use the most recent driver version available.

Do not forget to check with our site as often as possible in order to stay updated on the latest drivers, software and games.

Try to set a system restore point before installing a device driver. This will help if you installed a wrong driver. Problems can arise when your hardware device is too old or not supported any longer.

Source: http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/NETWORK-CARD/INTEL/Sony-Vaio-VPCZ2390X-B-Intel-Centrino-Bluetooth-Driver-14113-for-Windows-7-x64.shtml

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O2, Three UK to offer Sony Xperia SP

Latest Sony mid-ranger "coming soon" to Three, O2 launch expected this month

Data-friendly mobile operators O2 and Three have announced that they'll range the Sony Xperia SP. Though there's no release date on Three just yet, O2 says it expects to launch the SP sometime this month.

The Xperia SP follows Sony's high-end Xperia Z onto the market, but also borrows design elements from some of Sony's 2012 handsets, including the illuminable "transparent element" below the screen. Notable specs include a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, a 720p "HD Reality" display and an 8-megapixel Exmor RS rear shooter.

There's no on-contract pricing available yet, but with SIM-free prices emerging at around £300, we imagine both networks will have plans which offer a free Xperia SP on contract.

Source: O2, Three

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/6QZoQRAH7dQ/story01.htm

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24-year-old dies after wisdom teeth surgery

By Melissa Pamer and Tony Shin, NBCSanDiego.com

A family is asking questions after a 24-year-old man died following an oral surgeon's operation to remove his wisdom teeth late last month.

Marek Lapinski, of Murrieta, Calif., went into cardiac arrest during the common surgery, according to medical records provided by a friend of the family.

Lapinski died three days after the March 21 surgery at a clinic run by Dr. Steven Paul in?Temecula, Calif.

Thomas Keiser, the friend of Lapinski's family, called the death a "senseless tragedy."

Paul's attorney said in an email that the surgeon provides "state of the art services and monitoring for his patients," but wrote that "no surgical procedure is without risk."

"All standard protocols" were followed during surgery, Paul's attorney Clark Hudson said in the email.

"The circumstances regarding Mr. Lapinksi?s complications are not completely understood. What is understood is that Mr. Lapinski?s complications occurred despite the fact there were no apparent contraindications for his oral surgery, routine anesthetic medications were being used for the procedure, and immediate measures were undertaken to revive the patient as soon as the patient began to decompensate," Hudson wrote.

The ambulance report states Lapinski's doctor told first responders that he began to wake up and cough during the procedure, and was then given propofol, a surgical anesthetic that killed singer Michael Jackson. Lapinski had "surgical gauze in (his) airway," the report stated, as well as a "small 'surgical cone'" that could not be removed.

Lapinksi was taken to Rancho Springs Medical Center from Paul's office. The patient was later transferred to UCLA Medical Center, according to Keiser.

More news from NBCSanDiego.com

An investigator at the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner said Lapinski's body still had not been examined, so no cause of death was available.

April Lapinski told NBC4 her son had been an "good kid."

"Our lives are ruined,"?April Lapinski?said.?"We don?t have him and he was the center of all of our lives."

She wants a full investigation of the death.

Marek Lapinski was a founding partner in a San Diego company called Total 3rd Dimension, which developed thermal and night-vision equipment for military use.

Lapinski had grown up in Wexford, Penn., and attended Duquesne University before moving to the San Diego area for work.

He played football at Duquesne, where a coach told a local Patch website that he was being mourned.

A day before his surgery, he had tweeted, "gettin my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Loading up on some #soup and #yogurt."

A memorial page for Lapinski has been set up on Facebook. The website in his honor includes a way to make donations for a memorial fund.

?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a47de4a/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C0A30C17580A1650E240Eyear0Eold0Edies0Eafter0Ewisdom0Eteeth0Esurgery0Dlite/story01.htm

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The Engadget Interview: HTC President of Global Sales Jason MacKenzie

Shortly after Facebook's big reveal this morning, we caught up with HTC President of Global Sales Jason McKenzie and spent a few minutes with him discussing the First. As expected, he was pretty excited about this collaboration between his company, Facebook and AT&T. Jason revealed to us that HTC's strategy involves ultimately catering the First to hardcore (or at least frequent) users of the social network, whereas a device like the One will be more appealing to those who aren't interested in staying constantly connected. Interestingly, HTC seems to have put Facebook in the driver's seat here, as the First will not only come pre-loaded with Facebook Home (and its firmware optimizations), but no sign of Sense anywhere. It's certainly a departure from HTC's usual branding efforts, so it'll be intriguing to see exactly how well the device sells on AT&T. We have our full interview with Jason below, so take a few minutes to get the First scoop.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, AT&T, Facebook

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/04/engadget-interview-htc-jason-mackenzie/

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My first four wildflowers to bloom each year

One of the joys of early spring is watching for the first plants to emerge and bloom in the landscape.

By Gene Bush / April 3, 2013

The dwarf snow trillium is always one of the first bloomers in the writer's Indiana garden, no matter what the weather is. Its charming white flowers are an attractive welcome to spring.

Courtesy of Gene Bush

Enlarge Photos

I perform my walks of expectation around the garden as if I could hurry spring along and make it happen by my frequent looks. Usually my walks begin two to three weeks before the official calendar date for spring to begin. Every year's weather is different, not necessarily tied to a calendar, but more to cycles and events beyond a gardener's control.

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However, I remember and know where all my plants are located from last year, so I ignore my head and follow my expectations into the gardens, all bundled up against cold rains and wet snows.

Whatever weather Mother Nature presents each spring, there is at least a sequence of events that I can expect: Some plants emerge with foliage and patiently wait for the time to present their blooms, while others push up blooms between leaves and unfurl almost immediately.

The following four plants are the first to come up, but also bloom, in my Midwest garden in late winter or on the first day of spring.

Dwarf snow trillium

The dwarf snow trillium (Trillium nivale), Zone 3 to 6, is not only the first plant to bloom in my garden, it is consistently the first plant to emerge each spring. [See first photo above.] The common name fits well, for it is not unusual to see snow and sleet while it is in bloom. I have yet to see the weather damage foliage or flower on this diminutive plant. Usually the stems, with three blue-green leaves of heavy substance, reach about 4 to 6 inches in height and are crowned with three-petal white flowers.

Sharp-lobed hepatica

Second in bloom sequence is the sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba), Zones 3 to 8. First stems arise from the old tattered stem and foliage. They're covered with soft, whitish hairs, and have a tight fuzzy ball at the top. The little ball waits for a bit of sunlight and splits open to become a five to seven-petaled flower. [See second photo above; click on the arrow at the right base of the first photo.] Color can be white, pink, or blue; mine is white. The three-to-five- part leaves are shaped like the outline of a human liver and heavily mottled. Given time, the tight clumps can produce five to 100 blooms on a plant less than a foot tall.?

Trout lilies

Trout lilies (Erythronium americana), Zones 4 to 7,? emerge as a multitude of small single leaves from immature tubers checking out the weather before the mature tubers awaken. They are of such heavy substance, they resemble carvings from wax. Soon, twin mature leaves unfold from the drift with a single stem in the center. [See third photo above; click on the arrow at the right base of the first or second poto to go to the third picture.] A yellow bell hangs from the stem reflecting sunshine stored up from last season. Leaves are mottled in shades of brown over green providing the common name.

Spring beauties

Spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), Zones 4 to 9, are exactly that. Their first appearance is a tiny grass-like blade in deepest brown-bronze, perhaps to disguise itself from browsing, but more than likely to catch every weak ray of sunlight. The leaves will turn to green as the flowers appear. Only one-half-inch across, the five-petaled flowers are white to pink with prominent deep red-lavender veins. They tend to seed about and form tiny open drifts only 3 to 6 inches in height.

Disappearing and reappearing

Dwarf snow trillium, trout lilies, and spring beauties are ephemeral, meaning they go dormant soon after setting seed and aren't seen again until they return next spring. Hepatica has a presence above ground all 12 months of the year.

-----

Gene Bush, a nationally known garden writer, photographer, lecturer, and nursery owner, gardens on a shaded hillside in southern Indiana. His website is at Munchkin Nursery. He also writes the Garden Clippin's Newsletter. To read more by Gene here at Diggin' It, click here.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/WvwXpBCx3MA/My-first-four-wildflowers-to-bloom-each-year

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Missing woman found dead at bottom of Chicago high-rise trash chute

The body of an elderly woman missing since Saturday was found Monday at the bottom of a trash chute of the Chicago high-rise building in which she lived.

Florence Banta, 80, lived on the 17th floor of the Astor Condominiums, in the 1500 block of North Astor Street.

Her body was found on the ground floor of the trash chute by a building engineer, a Cook County Medical Examiner's Office spokeswoman said.

The building is the same in which a 16-year-old fell to his death in a trash chute a little more than a year ago.

A spokesman at Chicago's Department of Buildings explained at that time that the city code -- written with fire safety in mind -- required a minimum of 18-inch clearance so trash could fall safely but said nothing about maximum size or safety concerns for people or animals.

Banta had previously been reported missing and had last been seen Saturday, said police spokeswoman Antoinette Ursitti.

Read more from NBCChicago.com

Authorites were not releasing further information about Banta's death on Monday evening.

An autopsy to determine manner and cause was scheduled for Tuesday.

NBCChicago.com

Related:

Teen falls 46 stories to death down high-rise garbage chute

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