My Prius Gives Me Brain Cancer

       
    Being part of the old media such as newspapers is tough.  People once depended on their daily newspaper for information.  But now they go to the internet and newspaper reading is way down.
      So the New York Times figures that if you can't beat them, join them, and yesterday they posted an article of urban legend quality on the "possibility" that your hybrid car will give you brain cancer.
    Admittedly, everyone lives in an environment that is saturated with electromagnetic radiation.  However, this article is a bit lean on the facts.  They found a fat lady that claims that her hybrid car makes her fall asleep.  The New York Times also managed to elicit a statement from said Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer for the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, who said “Additional research would improve our understanding of the issue.”
    On the other hand there is no perfect technology, and each new technology has its risks.  As far as health goes, the electromagnetic fields emitted by a hybrid vehicle can be considered much less noxious than the pollution caused by automobile exhausts and other byproducts of the petro-complex.  But 100 years ago, automobiles were a much cleaner altenative than horses uses for transport, which left piles of manure cluttering the streets of our large cities.
    Well, if the thought of electromagentic pollution troubles you that much, you can wear an aluminum foil helmet while driving your hybird but, as this MIT study shows, this approach to protection from invasive electromagnetism may also be somewhat problematic.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 30, 2008

---

       Patent Day

      

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday.  Today, the USPTO issued 3,979 patents.

    Of the 3,979 patents issued today,

   17 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    14 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    47 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");
   
   6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    8 contained the term  "wind turbine".

    My favorite patent for today is that of  Christopher Kinkaid of Oregon Wind Corporation,  who developed a segmented vertical axis air rotor and wind generator apparatus.  
    See: USP 7,364,406.  
 
      Robert E. Goozner - April 29, 2008

---

Procter & Gamble's Invention Submission Portal

   
    Most companies hate to have people submit ideas and invention ideas to them.  It is usually a waste of time and fraught with risk.  The main risk is that the outside idea would parallel with some internal research being performed by the company.  This is often called "poisoning the well."  

    When "poisoning the well" occurs, the outside party manages to stake a claim to some research & development that already exists inside the company.   Then, the company might get sued by the outsider (or get shaken down in some other fashion).  Big companies know that juries almost always favor the little guy.  Think of Ford and intermittent windshield wipers.

    As a result, the big company will (or should) always erect internal barriers such that the outside idea does not come to the knowledge of the R& D people.  As a result, most of the time, the idea submitted to the company will be handled by some marketing guy close to retirement, who's task is to send back a polite letter to the submitting party to very nicely blow him or her off.

    However, Procter & Gamble (P&G) seems to be taking a somewhat different strategy.  P&G has developed a   Connect + Develop program so that people with ideas can submit them for consideration by P&G.  They have even put a nice brochure on the internet describing the program.

    What isn't apparent is how the idea is handled once it is submitted.  The probability that it would be considered by relevant R&D personnel is very low.  The barrier between internal R& D and the outside must be maintained.  The question still is: How do I get serious consideration of my idea?

    Of course having a very good idea will help.  On the other hand, you must raise the big company's comfort level.  Although it may sound counterintuitive, one way would be to apply for a patent before submitting the idea.  This can be a provisional patent, which can be quick and inexpensive. Provisional patents are discussed further on my IP Page. By applying for a provisional patent you have staked your claim describing the subject matter and the date.  The company (such as P&G) can use this information to determine if it is clean versus any internal R&D.  Then, you have a better chance of penetrating the barriers erected to keep your idea on the outside.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 28, 2008

---

Earth Day Pictures

    I finally got around to working up some of the pictures I took at Earth Day 2008 last Sunday.  I parked my car next to the golf course at East Potomac Park and walked to the mall.  I was soaking wet by the time I got there.  The crowd was sparse but quite young, mostly people in their teens and twenties.  There was music and free yoghurt made from soybeans.

    I saw booths from people pushing environmental causes and products.  Some countries has booths too, like Switzerland.  The "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" also had a booth but I gave it a wide berth; I don't know what financing narco-terrorists like FARC with petro-dollars has anything to do with environmentalism.

    I put a gallery of picures of Earth Day on a separate page.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 25, 2008

---

Publication Day  

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday.  Today, the USPTO issued 6,238 publications.

    Of the 6,238 publications issued today,

    50 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    55 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   150 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");
   
    11 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    17 contained the phrase  "wind turbine".

    My favorite publication for today is from Fengyan Zang et al., of Sharp, who developed solarcell structures using porous column titanium dioxide films deposited by CVD.
See: U.S Publication 20080092955.

    Anothe favorite is by Izrafeel Razack of Las Vegas, who is working on wave energy for vessels submerged in a liquid.  There are waves in Las Vegas? See US Publication 20080092535
      

       Robert E. Goozner - April 24, 2008

---

Car of the Future

  
     Last night PBS aired a show on the car of the future.  The show was hosted by Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk.  The show covered alternative fuels (their pluses and minuses, such as problematic ethanol).  Alternative technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid vehicles were discussed, such as the Toyota Prius and the Chevy Volt.  Nova has put up a web site featuring the show on the car of the future.

    There was also a comment on the show of how buying gasoline sends money to very bad people.  However, I have yet to see a cost analysis (anywhere) of the true costs of sending out petrodollars to support some of the most corrupt, autocratic and intolerant regimes in the world, and how some of the money eventually is funneled to terrorist acitvities, anti-western and anti-semitic propaganda, wahabiism, etc.  There is also no analysis of such subsidiary costs as our adventure in Iraq, a misbegotten venture by Bush & crew (who are from the oil industry) to somehow make the middle east a stable place.  The bill for Iraq is now in excess of $500 billion and counting, as reported by the National Priorities Project.

    In other developments the Washington Post this morning was slathered with self-serving ads from energy companies about how low their profit margins are.  This means that the energy bill might move forward in Congress soon and the energy companies want to protect their billions in tax breaks.

    Also, the Wall Street Journal this morning was fulminating over a proposed rule change to increase the CAFE mileage requirements (the mandated fuel efficiency of automobiles).  However, the Wall Street Journal article posted online here by Christopher Conkey and Stephen Power seems to be more balanced.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 23, 2008

---

Patent Day
      

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday.  Today, the USPTO issued 3,985 patents.

    Of the 3,985 patents issued today,

    8 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    8 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    57 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");
   
   7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    5 contained the term  "wind turbine".

    My favorite patent for today is that of  Selena Chan et al. of Intel,  who developed methods for uniform metal impregnation into a nanoporous material, which may find applications in photovoltaic solar cells.  
    See: USP 7,361,313.  
 
   I went to the Earth Day festivities at the DC Mall on Sunday, and it was very wet.  I took some pictures that I will try to post soon.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 22, 2008

---

SunChips Made With Sun Power  

   
    I was vegetating in front of the TV the other day when I noticed a short advertisement touting that SunChips are now being made using solar energy.  I looked into this and found out that Frito-Lay's plant in Modesto, California has been equipped with a solar collector covering almost 60,000 square feet (10 acres) to collect enough solar heat to make 145,000 bags of chips daily, as is descrbed  in the SunChips web site.

    The ad campain to go with the new solar SunChips (with a somewhat negative spin) is reported by Stuart Elliot in the New York Times.  The plant is also covered by Christina Salerno in the Modesto Bee, who notes that only half the solar collectors will be in place by the April 22 launch date.  However, when complete, there will be enough solar energy available to run the SunChips manufacturing line, or 14,700 million BTU per year.

    Despite the puffery, this is a good development.  Frito-Lay, like any corporation, looks at the bottom line.  The building of this plant indicates that the solar collector will pay for itself over a reasonable amortization schedule, which would probably be 7 years.  Noting that I used to design plants during my earlier career, this means that the solar collector not only must be paid down over 7 years, but the opportunity cost of the money (say 7% per year) and a reasonable return on investment (ROI) must be realized.  

    It would be great to look at and analyze these numbers and graph out comparative ROI's (versus "conventional" energy sources), but this type of analysis is usually  a strictly held trade secret.  I can't image Frito-Lay actually releasing these numbers.
   
    On the other hand, the presence of the Modesto plant itself is evidence of a reasonable ROI verses "conventional" energy sources.  If more of  these plants are built, that would be further proof.

    Regarding advertising, that would have been a cost anyway, because you need advertising to sell chips with or without a green angle.

    Rober E. Goozner - April 18, 2008

---

Publication Day  

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday.  Today, the USPTO issued 5,469 publications.

    Of the 5,469 publications issued today,

    40 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    32 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   127 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");
   
    5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    6 contained the phrase  "wind turbine".

    My favorite publication for today is from Gregory Scholes et al., who developed light harvesting antennae for organic solar cells.
See: U.S Publication 20080087326.

    I am also starting to see business method applications pertaining to solar energy, such as Gary Kremen's application for  underwriting the financing of solar consumer premises equipment  (U.S. Publication 20080091589).  

Earth Day

    Earth day is coming on April 20, 2008.  If you are in the Washingon DC area, there will be all kinds of activity going on at Earth Day on the National Mall.  Also, April 21-27, 2008 is going to be DC Green Week.

       Robert E. Goozner - April 17, 2008

---

More on Plug-in Hybrids

   I have been writing about plug-in hybrids lately, and there are a lot of resources on the web for people who are interested.
    These include the Plug-In Hybrid Development Consortium, which is made up of component suppliers working together to accelerate the commercial production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The Consortium also works to build political support and secure new funding for PHEV development.

    Another good organization is the California Cars Initiative for Plug-in Hybrids, a non-profit organization that has built prototypes, including the world's first plug-in Prius, and are working on others to show what can be done now with existing technology.

    Plug In America lobbies for electric cars, especially in Californiaand you can see their video on YouTube. Plug-in Partners is a national grass-roots initiative to demonstrate to automakers that a market for flexible-fuel Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) exists today.

    If you're a hands-on type of person the X-prize foundation is offering a $10 million prize in a contest for the best 100 mpg car.

*  *  *  *  *
Google Patents

    If you're researching patents, a very good resource is Google's patent search engine.  The results include a PDF file of the patent and a link to the patent at the USPTO.  

    The down side of using Google's patent search engine is their failure to keep it up to date.  Currently, you can search patents only up to January 1, 2008.  Patents issued after this date are not on the database.  So currently, Google is out of date by over 1 quarter.  This is a great disadvantage for people researching fast moving fields like nanotechnology, alternative energy, etc.

    Google's search engine also does not include patent publications.

    As a result, Google's patent search engine could use some more effort to keep it up to date and to include publications.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 16, 2008

---

Patent Day
      

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday.  Today, the USPTO issued 3,966 patents.

    Of the 3,966 patents issued today,

    17 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    12 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    69 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");
   
    4 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    1 contained the term  "wind turbine".

    My favorite patent for today is that of  Howard Lee of UltraDots.Inc,  who developed a quantum dot having silicon or germanium at the core, which may find applications in solar cells.  
    See: USP 7,358,525.  
 
    In other news, today is tax day, and contrary to what Matt Lesko says, the government really does not give away free money.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 15, 2008

---

Publication Day  

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday.  Today, the USPTO issued 3,741 publications.

    Of the 3,741 publications issued today,

    27 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    21 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   77 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");
   
    5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    8 contained the phrase  "wind turbine".

    My favorite publication for today is from Jian Li et al., who developed an organic photovoltaic cell that can be manufactured by using an organic solvent having a low environmental load and high safety.
See: U.S Publication 20080083455.

    Another favorite publication for today is by Edward Anthony Hill, who is working on harnassing wave power in Oceanside California with an adaptive tidal current extraction device (U.S. Publication 20080084067)

       Robert E. Goozner - April 10, 2008

---

California Leads in Plug-in Hybrids

  
    The California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board declared that by 2012-2014, they want car makers to produce at least 58,333 plug-in hybrid vehicles, along with up to 7,500 "pure zero-emission vehicles" -- essentially fuel-cell vehicles or hydrogen fueled combustion cars such as the BMW Hydrogen 7 -- or 12,500 battery-electric vehicles with a range of at least 100 miles. (Read summary PDF)

    Surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal is supportive of the initiative, because it appears to be less stringent than requiring pure zero-emission vehicles.

    Of course California, being a bastion of America'a car culture, is already at the cutting edge with a coterie of engineers who are modifying stock Prius hybrids to be plug-in hybrids, as is reported by National Public Radio.

    If your are interested in purchasing a plug-in Prius, you can contact EnergyCS in California, although this is not explicitly set forth in their web site.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 9, 2008

---

  Patent Day

Cherry Blossoms

    The cherry blossom season here in the DC area is almost over, and the petals are starting to fall.  Here is a picture of a sprig of cherry blossoms in front of my house in Arlington.

 *  *  *  *  *

Biofuel Setback in Germany

    The German environmental minister, Sigmar Gabriel, has decided to cancel the planned 10 volume percent requirement for biofuels in gasoline and diesel.  The maximum requirement will remain at 5 percent.

    The fear was that the higher percentage of biofuel may potentially harm a large number of automobiles, about 375,000, and about 189,000 vehicles would need to start filling up with the highest grade of gasoline "Super-Plus."

    As a result, of the decision, an additional 30 million euros will be earmarked for biofuel research in Germany.

    If you can read German, here is the Environmental Ministry's press release.

    Robert E. Goozner - April 7, 2008

Defend Your Billions

Fill Er Up

    I bought gas for my car this weekend.  At $3.35 per gallon, it took over $27 to fill up my Prius.  I try to live an energy efficient lifestyle, for example, I live in a small house close in to the city.  The footprint of the house is so small that I even don’t have a driveway, and the Prius parks on the street and shows the requisite number to scratches and dings to attest to its pedigree as a city car.

    So it’s not like that I live in an overdone mini-mansion so far out in the suburbs that I have to drive an SUV 50 miles each way to work every day.

    However, the $27 still hurts.

    Because that $27 turned into petro-dollars to be funneled through colossal oil companies to be sent to places like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, countries who support for terrorism, religious intolerance, advocacy of genocide and (last by not least) support for narco-terrorism are so very well known.

    But I read somewhere that the economists say oil is fungible and that if we don’t buy it someone else will.  This is the argument that economics trumps morality and that, I suppose, the Chinese model of amoral capitalism should be followed.  And if a country like Tibet stands in the way, well that just too bad and aren’t the Olympics cute.  Or is this just the negation of the eternal exhortation to adolescents: “If everyone else is doing it, does that make it right?”