Katie Hallinan, 12, of Gardnerville, Nev., left, helps her father Pat, right, in starting their Super Decathlon airplane during the West Coast Festival of Giants at Castle Airport in Atwater, Calif., Thursday, May 21, 2015. The four-day event will run through Sunday and features over 200 model aircraft including turbine-powered aircraft which can reach speeds of over 200 mph.
| Andrew Kuhn akuhn@mercedsunstar.com
Article source: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/article21636537.html
(CNN)Climate change is all about degrees.
Six degrees Celsius of warming may not sound like much — probably because “temperatures can swing by 6 degrees within an hour if a warm front passes, and it doesn’t mean the end of the world,” said Mark Lynas, author of a book called “Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet.”
But if we raise global average surface temperatures by just 6 degrees above pre-industrial levels, Lynas told me, we’ll create “a scenario which is so extreme it’s almost unimaginable.”
“Most of the planetary surface would be functionally uninhabitable,” he said. “Agriculture would cease to exist everywhere, apart for the polar and sub-polar regions, and perhaps the mid-latitudes for extremely heat-tolerant crops. It’s difficult to see how crops could be grown elsewhere. There’s a certain level above which plants just can’t survive.
“There’s a certain level where humans biologically can’t survive outside as well … The oceans would probably stratify, so the oceans would become oxygen-deficient, which would cause a mass extinction and a die off in the oceans, as well — which would then release gases and affect land. So it’s pretty much equivalent of a meteorite striking the planet, in terms of the overall impacts.”
I chatted with Lynas, a science writer
Article source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/21/opinions/sutter-6-degrees-climate/index.html
For years now, drone advocates have cited precision agriculture—crop management that uses GPS and big data—as a way to boost crop yields and profits while resolving water and food crises. Unfortunately, for all the hype surrounding the concept drones haven’t had a significant impact on the agriculture business, at least, until now.
With the debut of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Section 333 exemption (which permits companies to fly drones commercially on a case-by-case basis) in November that’s poised to change, particularly in the United States. For the first time agriculture drones will legally be able to gather widespread data across an entire growing season, allowing companies to test their business models and technologies together for the first time—and ideally make a profit in the process.
“This is the first year we’ll actually be able to see, by the time the growing season is over, the impact on the farmer and the impact of the quality of the grapes,” says David Baeza, whose precision agriculture startup Vine Rangers uses drones and ground robots to gather data on vineyard crops.We’re really excited about that.”
Before the F.A.A. began offering permits for commercial drones, companies like Vine Rangers couldn’t charge farming operations for their services, which meant they were often relegated to working with farms (often smaller independent ones) on exploratory pilot programs.
The shift in regulatory policy will now allow Vine Rangers and other certified firms—many of which are in the startup phase—to assist both large and small farming operations with water and disease
Article source: http://fortune.com/2015/05/18/drone-agriculture/
Saturday’s Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Fly-in at the Salinas Municipal Airport was a smash hit.
Airport Manager Brett Godown said Monday that he was pleased with the turnout.
He should be.
It’s great that Godown, the city and AOPA could pull this off. My hat’s off to them. How great would it be if the city staged a general aviation convention (camp-in?) of this type every year?
“The weather on Friday and Saturday was a bit finicky but that didn’t deter (AOPA) members coming and seeing some of the best Salinas has to offer (my opinion is slightly bias),” Godown said in an email.
Folks, even if you don’t particularly like aviation (and that would be just weird), understand that Saturday marked a big deal for our city’s airport. Though admission was free, the event was served as a big economic multiplier for the city economy. Just think of the hotel nights, gas purchases (aviation and car) and restaurant meals bought. Nothin’ but upside, eh?
Oh, and despite there being so many aircraft around not a single accident was reported. According to Godown, the Salinas Air Traffic Control Tower experienced 1,300 operations (takeoffs and/or landings)
Article source: http://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/columnists/jeffmitchell/2015/05/18/salinas-airport-untapped-economic-gold-mine/27561003/
More than 200 model aircraft will fly over Castle Airport throughout the next four days during the 18th annual West Coast Festival of Giants that starts Thursday.
The event is the second-largest in its kind in the country, according to organizers. It brings pilots from many West Coast regions. This year, more than 200 aircraft pilots will come from states including Washington, Oregon and Arizona.
In the past, the event has attracted pilots from as far as the Philippines, organizers said.
Scott Malta, president of the Merced-based Central California Model Flyers Club, said the aircraft that will be displayed and flown will represent many eras of aviation.
There will be military aircraft from World Wars I and II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars. Aircraft from the golden age of aviation – the 1920s and 1930s – will also be on display.
The event will run through Sunday. Flying will start Thursday at noon and at 9 a.m. each day thereafter. The Festival of Giants is open to the public and admission is free, with a $5 daily or $10 full-event charge for vehicle parking.
Free shuttle service will be available Sunday to transport people to and from Castle Air Museum, where Open Cockpit Day will be taking place.
Malta said turbine-powered aircraft flying is a must see and hear for people of all ages.
“It’s a great family outing,” Malta said. “The model aircraft look like real airplanes; they are well-designed and decorated.”
According to Malta, the event is a
Article source: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/article21518562.html
Climate change is all about degrees.
Six degrees Celsius of warming may not sound like much — probably because “temperatures can swing by 6 degrees within an hour if a warm front passes, and it doesn’t mean the end of the world,” said Mark Lynas, author of a book called “Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet.”
But if we raise global average surface temperatures by just 6 degrees above pre-industrial levels, Lynas told me, we’ll create “a scenario which is so extreme it’s almost unimaginable.”
“Most of the planetary surface would be functionally uninhabitable,” he said. “Agriculture would cease to exist everywhere, apart for the polar and sub-polar regions, and perhaps the mid-latitudes for extremely heat-tolerant crops. It’s difficult to see how crops could be grown elsewhere. There’s a certain level above which plants just can’t survive.
“There’s a certain level where humans biologically can’t survive outside as well … The oceans would probably stratify, so the oceans would become oxygen-deficient, which would cause a mass extinction and a die off in the oceans, as well — which would then release gases and affect land. So it’s pretty much equivalent of a meteorite striking the planet, in terms of the overall impacts.”
I chatted with Lynas, a science writer in the UK, about how to avoid a 6-degree world, the international goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees — and how to talk to kids about climate change.
The following
Article source: http://www.kcci.com/national/sutter-on-6-degrees-of-climate-change/33142996
A mini-drone that fits in the palm of your hand could give the military an upper hand on the battlefield by providing key intelligence readings. Hundreds of these small, plastic drones could be dropped off a flight and left to scatter across the battlezone. Though they don’t have any engines, these “Cicada” drones are equipped with sensors that help adjust the gliding pattern, directing the drone towards a dropzone with an accuracy within a couple of feet. These are hard to spot since they easily disguise as a bird from afar and once behind the lines can use their sensors and microphones to spy on enemy positions. These can also prove very useful for civilian missions, most notably for gathering meteorological data.
Cicada, the “paper airplane with a circuit board”. Image: © AFP Laurent Barthelemy
The name “Cicada” is after a species of insect that lays dormant underground for a couple of years, before it bursts through by the swarms. Once outside the insects quickly reproduce, then drop to the ground dead. Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory felt inspired and wondered if they could design and deploy drones that are so tiny and numerous, that’s impossible for the enemy to shoot down every single one them. This is how the military’s Cicada, or Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft, was born. It’s the smallest and cheapest of any military drone developed thus far. The prototype cost only a thousand dollars, while
Article source: http://www.zmescience.com/research/technology/cicada-drones-disposable-067547653/
