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Abandoned Mines Hold Potential to Capture Wind Energy

By Guest PostDecember 19, 2011Environmentabandoned open pit mines, al rudeck, don fosnacht, electricity demand, energy providers, Europe, great river energy, iron range, minnesota, minnesota power, power supply, pump water, pumped hydro storage, pumped hydro storage process, renewable energy sources, renewable energy technology, reservoirs, rick lancaster, university of minnesota, wind, wind energy

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL — Minnesota’s Iron Range is pocked with ponds – abandoned open pit mines – that could help energy providers more efficiently use intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wind, to meet state renewable energy mandates. A study released Friday by the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute shows that the water-laden pits have the potential to store wind energy using a process developed in Europe in the late 1800s.

The pumped-hydro storage process would use excess late-night wind energy to pump water uphill from the pits to a higher-elevation holding pond. Then, when electricity demand goes up during the day, the process reverses the flow and captures the energy in hydro turbines. For every 100 megawatts used to pump the water upward, the plant generates nearly 80 megawatts through the turbines. (more…)

Laborers of Love

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2011General, Natureancient corinth, ancient human skeleton, apostle paul, archaeologist, archaeology lab, artemis, bank of the mississippi, birds of prey, bob kriel, bremer village, bubo, county roscommon, czech republic, deane morrison, excavations, gillian monnier, Greece, horned owl, ireland, john soderberg, keith manthie, minnesota, neanderthal site, peregrine falcon, raptor center, roman cemetery, sue mccarthy, university of minnesota, young owls

*Three volunteers who make a difference*

A murmur runs through the audience as Bob Kriel withdraws his gloved hand from a darkened cage in the front of a small lecture room.

On the glove sits Bubo, a great horned owl. With his piercing eyes and imperial demeanor, this large bird with mottled gray feathers instantly dominates the room.

Kriel, a retired physician who still does clinical research at the University of Minnesota, volunteers weekly at the U’s Raptor Center, where sick and injured birds of prey receive treatment. (more…)

Deforestation Causes Cooling in northern U.S., Canada

By Guest PostNovember 24, 2011Environmentalbedo effect, atmosphere, carbon, climate monitoring strategies, cooling, david hollinger, deforestation, florida, forests, global warming, local climate, manitoba, minnesota, north Carolina, northern latitudes, open areas, reflection of sunlight, solar radiation, surface temperatures, turbulent, vegetation types, xuhui lee

Deforestation, considered by scientists to contribute significantly to global warming, has been shown by a Yale-led team to actually cool the local climate in northern latitudes, according to a paper published Nov. 17 in Nature.

“If you cut trees in the boreal region, north of 45 degrees latitude, you have a net cooling effect,” says Xuhui Lee, the study’s principal investigator and professor of meteorology at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. “You release carbon into the atmosphere by cutting down trees, but you increase the albedo effect — the reflection of sunlight.” (more…)

USDA Moves 120,000 Users to Microsoft’s Cloud

By Guest PostDecember 8, 20101 commentTechnologyapplication, ato, authorization to operate, calendaring, california, chris smith, cloud infrastructure, curt kolcun, e mail, federal agency, federal information security management act of 2002, fisma, icrosoft, international traffic in arms regulations, itar, messaging, microsoft exchange online, microsoft office, microsoft online services, minnesota, new york city, office live meeting, productivity, united states department of agriculture, usda, zip car

*The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is moving its e-mail, document sharing, and other collaboration tools to Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure to save money and improve efficiency.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 8, 2010 — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it is moving its on-premises e-mail and productivity applications to Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, becoming the first cabinet-level federal agency to embrace the cloud.

In one of the largest cloud federal government deployments ever, the USDA is moving its 120,000 users to Microsoft Online Services, consolidating 21 different messaging and collaboration systems into one, said Chris Smith, the USDA’s chief information officer. The USDA plans to start the shift within the next four weeks. (more…)

Tag Archives: minnesota

Abandoned Mines Hold Potential to Capture Wind Energy

Laborers of Love

Deforestation Causes Cooling in northern U.S., Canada

USDA Moves 120,000 Users to Microsoft’s Cloud