SCI-TECH
A Voice on Free Trade
by Yasha Melanie Husain
Posted March 9, 2013
We seek dictum in law and not its metaphor. And, in addition to the law, precedence, not malarkey. These notions apply not only to domestic legal practice or “tender” but to international treatises and agreements.
Free trade agreements, in light of this, are not intended to be fodder for unacceptable market manipulation or corruption. Yet, as a reflection of both the recent Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks, nontransparent and transparent negotiating tools alike reveal seeming abuses of the law's intended purpose.
In the February 13, 2013 Washington Post-Bloomberg article, by Howard Schneider, “With trade already flowing, U.S. and European Union aim for something deeper,” a title that's seemingly steeped in irony, Schneider reports, in response to the US-European trade talks:
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The National Commission on Forensic Science
By Yasha Husain
February 19, 2013
In today's fast-paced world, we shouldn't let science seemingly run ahead of us and we as citizens not understand its laws. What does this say for forensic science and the new National Commission on Forensic Science? It suggests that in the United States we should remain abreast of even this cutting edge commission, ensuring the work of the agency is as forthright and commendable as the work of any other agency that provides services for the citizenry.
In that case, when you look up forensics on Wikipedia, interestingly what you come across first is the famous Eureka! story of the scientist, Archimedes, of Syracuse. That story is noted as an early development of forensics science:
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Energy from the Sun
By Yasha Husain
February 3, 2013
Truth be told, all energy is solar, and countless sustainable forms of solar energy are available to us, which we should be exploiting.
Following is a blueprint of how to do solar energy in America, creating a robust, localized system, that also stretches from coast to coast.
To begin with, build a national grid that is minimalist and a flexible structure, that can take and leave local, sustainable, energy sources, that contribute to one stable energy pool, with capacity for constant and directional power, locally.
Second, local solar, energy sources should include the following:
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Enneagram: a foundation for the sciences
By Yasha Husain
February 3, 2013
In Enneagram, as it is increasingly well-known in psychological circles, there are nine character or personality types, each with positive and negative traits, and a means for achieving universal balance.
The nine character types, around the circular, Enneagram symbol, are: 9. Peacemaker or Mediator. 1. Perfectionist. 2. Guide or Helper. 3. Producer. 4. Artist or Individualist. 5. Sage or Thinker. 6. Column or Support. 7. Visionary. 8. Justice or Truth.
To achieve balance at any of these positions requires the knowledge of the whole Enneagram, and the wisdom of Type 9, the Peacemaker, which is all-encompassing.
It is only one of the ways of Enneagram that it may be perceived as this microcosm of the mind from which, once the wisdom of Enneagram is understood, one can extrapolate and begin to see the whole truth.
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The Future of Space Travel
By Yasha Husain
January 15, 2013
NASA should, in coordination with all of the space agencies around the world, via the United Nations, launch and build a space colony on the moon that will, in order that it be developed, first search for in situ water, minerals, rock and earth that can be used to build on the moon. The colony would be optimally located in view of resource allocation. The colony ought to be built according to the principles of conservation and in light of budget expenses. The visionary space and earth architect, Nader Khalili, wrote extensively about how we can build environmentally friendly colonies or habitats in space.
The colony on the moon would be used for scientific research, including studying solar reflection off of rotating and static materials, curved and flat, that can be used as conduits of energy, that is energy research from space excluding the creation of beams of energy to earth, which have potentially negative effects; preparation for further space exploration missions to planets and moons of the solar system; other science projects aimed at expectant discoveries that may produce “spinoffs,” fruitive uses of science, for earth and space science.
For the coordinated effort, the UN should have a panel set up to review all science projects to be done at the colony, for their safety, purpose and direction. All projects entering space should be determined to be safe by this panel of experts, which would also coordinate the international projects being carried out at the colony.
As the international colony unfolds, in the spirit of cooperation and scientific progress, in space science more generally, a separate panel at the UN ought to be created for the registering and coordination of all other space exploration missions by countries now officially tied together by an international department at the UN. The panel should cover the work of both public and private agencies and companies, all of whom can work side-by-side in affiliation with the UN panel(s), and by way of the UN rules. Each operator would still have the room to act with an independent spirit, their ideas and goals being well outlined and integrated internationally.
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An American Reconstruction Department
By Yasha Husain
December 29, 2012
A logical next step for the Obama Administration and its efforts to triumph against the challenges of the 21st century, is, strategically speaking, the creation of an American Reconstruction Department, a Franklin Roosevelt-type initiative.
All wings of the proposed Reconstruction effort, listed below, would be carried out concurrently by diverse teams of experts, the heads of which meet bi-monthly. Expenditures will come chiefly from already distributed, or budgeted, dollars, in exception of R&D and special projects, e.g. pilot projects, including ones that meet the needs of poor, underserved or polluted communities.
For each wing of the department, there will be three "well-schooled" and "well-rounded" experts with a specialty in their field area, be it, for clean energy, wind, solar or geothermal. Each will be a holistic, which also implies, global, thinker, in their own right, but above them will still be a world-class expert, who is firstly a holistic and global thinker, whose job it is to arrive at the most common sense energy solutions for localities, regions and the nation, with the rest of his or her team, or panel, and the nation.
The panel of the Clean Energy wing would,
for example, work in coordination with the Department of Energy. It would have a specially appointed person to work with think tanks, and the media, to get the word out of the progress of the Department. The panel member's closest relationships would be to Congress, as selected Congress members would be asked to help write legislation, and all of Congress would act as constant liaison between the nation's people and the Reconstruction Department.
The head of the Reconstruction Department may be a residing Senator or Congressperson.
In light of climate change and the international economy, domestic and world affairs would largely be tackled with the follow-through of an American Reconstruction Department.
The idea for the Department comes not only from Roosevelt's defeat of the Great Depression, but from Japan, which in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and in response to its environmental demands, instituted a nationwide, regional and community-based reconstruction effort, according to Habitat for Humanity, which ran a special ad about Japan in Bloomberg Businessweek (Oct. 22-28, 2012).
It's true that after the 2008 financial crisis has wound down, Obama's in earnest planning stage is finally upon us. No better time, then, to start the ambitious goal setting, based on a long range vision, with a centralized department, with outreach capacity to communities across the nation, and world.
The logical next step in the Obama Administration's efforts to promote change is an American Reconstruction Department, that could be replicated internationally, its various wings:
1. Celebrating the Family and Perfect Love
2. Emergent Education, Adapting to 21st Century Needs, Including Job Creation
3. The Role of Faith in Culture
4. Exchanging Nonviolence
5. Guideposts: Sharing the Wisdom of All Time
6. Harnessing the Creative Potential Utilizing “Perfect Knowledge” (Self-realization)
7. On the Nature of Competition: Holistic Competition
8. On the Role of Science: Holistic Science
9. Holistic Farming
10. Helping Hands for the Poor
11. Developing Cognitive and Behavioral Health Advancements, Thinking Out-of-the-Box
12. Integrative, Holistic Medicine
13. Sound Design Materials
14. Graduated Engineering
15. Architecture and Design
16. Rail and Vehicular Design and Transfer
17. Clean Energy Projects
18. Remediation
19. Environmental Monitoring
20. Technology Transfer
21. Realigning Military and Intelligence to Carry Out More Diplomatic Missions
22. Mixing of Economies
23. Cross Cultural Exchange for the Continuation of Cultural Heritage
24. Global Participation
25. Development
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Give Initiative a Chance
by Yasha Melanie Husain
First appeared in The Leader Herald (Gloversville, NY)
September 20th, 2012
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Cleaner, Greener Communities initiative, an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability now in its planning stages, is an opportunity to push a sustainability agenda for New York state that relies on energy efficiency, renewable energy and other carbon abatement measures.
Building on what's been developed by the 10 Regional Economic Development Councils, the CGC only stands to improve the state's efforts to go green in a way that's truly sustainable.
A bottom-up approach, the CGC is an opportunity for local experts, administrators and the public to draw up sustainability plans that best suit their region before the plans are finally submitted to the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority - the agency that oversees the CGC - in January 2013.
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Blog: Decision '09, The Science Debates
Debate #3: Elusive Water Vapor: High
Altitude Hydrogen Jets, and the Delicate
Stratosphere (12/31/09)
Moderator Question:
What do we know about manmade water vapor emissions in the lower stratosphere and the implications of risks involved in their release?
Background:
Water vapor remains among the most elusive of greenhouse gases. Perhaps in part because of its innocuous sounding name, its story has seldom been told.
A 1996 study, however, titled, “Molecular Hydrogen and Water Vapour Emissions in a Global Hydrogen Energy Economy,” by Zittel and Altmann, assumed that about 20 percent of planes at the time flew in the upper troposphere / lower stratosphere. The report, presented at the 11th World Hydrogen Energy Conference, declared a hydrogen fleet of planes emitting water vapor emissions would need to fly well within the troposphere to keep from disrupting the delicate, dry balance in the stratosphere. Starting in 1996, the year the study was published, NASA's modified U2 spy plane, the ER-2, began collecting samples of stratospheric air from which to draw such conclusions. Since then, scientists have continued to elaborate on Zittel and Altmann's findings as well as apply unique methods of analysis in their attempts to understand the potential for stratospheric ozone destruction from commercial hydrogen fleets.
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Blog: Decision '09, The Science Debates
Debate #2: Green Energy in the American Southeast (5/14/09)
Moderator Question:
It's been said that in the southeastern portion of the United States there's not a lot of solar or wind resources.
But could the solar and wind potential there in fact be utilized to create hybrid energy systems reliant on a host of renewables including offshore wind, concentrated solar, and the energy carrier hydrogen, when it's produced from the sun or wind via electrolysis?
According to the latest science, what are some of the more promising green energy options for the American Southeast?
Expert Commentary:
Below are a number of expert voices that weighed in for this debate. While the views expressed are divergent they also contain overlapping ideas about the future of southeast energy.
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Why Not Build Your Own
Solar-Powered Lawn Mower?
By Yasha Husain
First appeared in The Sunday Gazette (Schenectady, NY)
August 12, 2007
For anyone looking for a project to keep them busy this summer, how about building a solar-powered lawn mower?
By doing a simple Google search and punching in "solar powered electric lawn mowers," a handful of sites will come up offering step-by-step instructions for how to convert a gas-powered mower to run on solar power.
The sites are replete with information from weathered tinkerers; they include listings of the parts needed, including: a used or old mower (or a new gas or electric mower), an electric motor that runs from a 12-volt battery, and a solar panel.
Benefits from making the conversion: zero emissions (not counting the emissions involved in the manufacture of parts); savings (since there won't be a need anymore to buy gas for the lawn mower); noise reduction (the electric motor has a relaxing sound reminiscent of a large fan); and know-how (look at the mower as a steppingstone toward bigger and better solar home-improvement projects).
Significant polluter
According to the EPA, up to 5 percent of the nation's air pollution results from garden equipment, and in metropolitan areas, the percentage is often much higher. In 2001, a Swedish study showed that running a gas-powered lawn mower for an hour is nearly the same as driving a car for 100 miles, and that analysis, compared with others, is conservative.
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In NYS, Why Not Safe Disposal of Unused Prescription Drugs?
By Yasha Husain
First appeared in The Sunday Gazette (Schenectady, NY)
August 5th, 2007
In the past few years, across the country, there's been a growing interest in take-back medicine programs that provide communities with designated drop-off locations for the safe disposal of unused pharmaceuticals...
Getting take-back medicine programs up and running had a lot to do with the 1999-2000 watershed study by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that tested for the presence of wastewater organic compounds, also known as emerging contaminants, in 139 streams in 30 states. Emerging contaminants, including prescription and nonprescription drugs, and hormones and steroids, were found in 80% of the samples collected.
A 2006 report by Dr. Kim Winton of the USGS goes a long way in outlining how these emerging contaminants adversely affect the physiology of wildlife, as well as humans.
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Time for a New Direction for Fulton County's
Waste Management Operations
By Yasha Husain
First appeared in The Sunday Gazette (Schenectady, NY)
April 22, 2007
To save money down the road, and to do more to protect the environment in which people live and breathe, more responsible forms of waste management, the kinds taking place in Europe, Peel, Ontario in Canada, and San Francisco, could begin to be administered here.
At the Fulton County landfill on Mudd Road not only have household wastes been landfilled, but also construction and demolition materials, contaminated soils, industrial sludge from tanneries, wastes incoming from an area with an operating paper mill, sewage sludge, and asbestos.
While the landfill, which has been open since 1989, is considered state-of-the-art because it contains a double composite liner to minimize leakage and contain gases, regulations still allow a maximum of twenty gallons per acre per day of leakage. And the liner itself is helpless against the two main instigators of complete failures at landfills: 1) the deterioration of cover after the landfill has been capped and 2) clogging of leachate lines.
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Top Ten Reasons to Inhabit Outerspace
by Yasha Melanie Husain
Published at Space.com
July 23, 2000
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Astro Architects: Designing Our Future in Space
by Yasha Melanie Husain
Published at Space.com
November 17, 2000
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Space-Friendly Architecture: Meet Nader Khalili
by Yasha Melanie Husain
Published at Space.com
November 17, 2000