February 26, 2014 The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and its British counterpart, the Royal Society, issued a report (.pdf link, may take a few seconds to load) addressing twenty issues in question/answer format, among them the recent slowing in the increase of world temperatures, the connection between greenhouse gases … Continue reading
Category Archives: SOLUTIONS
700 Appraisers’ Decisions
You Only have to Make 700 +/- Decisions in the Next Six Hours by Diana Jacobs It’s a curious time in which the appraiser finds themselves practicing. There is greater oversight with demands for shorter turnaround time. There are appraisal management companies (AMCs) that shop the appraiser’s turnaround time and … Continue reading
Looser Underwriting Standards
News reports indicate that major banks in the U.S., including J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, have begun lowering their underwriting standards for one-to-four family homes. The reason: continued decline in new mortgages in January, a Mortgage Bankers Association projection that total originations will decline to $1.116 trillion from approximately … Continue reading
The Appraisal Menace
Background The origin of the concept of land as an asset is lost in the mists of time. Ancient Greece adhered to it, and the 8th century Franks featured fiefs and personal vassalage which bound the vassal to their king. In 1066 the Normans took the system with them when … Continue reading
Scientists’ Warnings 12/04/2013
On December 3, 2013, a group of world renowned scientists in a wide array of disciplines issued a comprehensive report detailing the frightening consequences that will follow if global warming is not halted and reversed. Meeting in Columbia University’s Low Library, they discussed their study and their –so far- unsuccessful … Continue reading
Advanced Hydrogen Turbine
Background Siemens Energy, along with numerous partners, has an ongoing U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program to develop hydrogen turbines for coal-based integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power generation that will improve efficiency, reduce emissions, lower costs, and allow for carbon capture and storage (CCS). Siemens Energy is expanding this … Continue reading
Aquafacture Details
Characteristics Basically, aquafacture is a process that uses a dedicated grid of solar-generated electricity and seawater to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen is then pumped up to a nearby mountaintop to a cluster of 5 or more power plants using Advanced Hydrogen Turbines (currently under development) that do not require fuel … Continue reading
Basics
Introduction We are now in the 21st century, the age of weapons of mass destruction, computers, the internet, and interplanetary exploration. But when it comes to water, we still depend on natural precipitation to fill our reservoirs, lakes, rivers and aquifers, much like ancient civilizations did thousands of years ago. … Continue reading
Solar Cells 44.7% Efficient
Press Release September 23, 2013 The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin jointly announced today having achieved a new world record for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a new solar cell structure with four solar subcells. Surpassing competition after only … Continue reading
Solar Batteries
June 21, 2013 SMA Solar, Germany’s largest solar company and the world’s largest maker of inverters, a device to feed solar-generated energy into the electricity grid, announced the introduction of a new battery set to store surplus daytime solar energy for up to three hours of nighttime use. The new … Continue reading