In my last post, “Soulcraft and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance The Demise of Shop Classes,” I discussed Matthew B. Crawford’s recent book, Shop Class as Soulcraft, in which he examines the consequences of the disappearance of high school shop.

Crawford acknowledges that community colleges to some extent are able to “salvage” the lack of high school shop. This is certainly true as you may read in my post, “Green Technology at Your Community College.” CCs are providing an essential service to the workforce. Government studies show that the highest paying jobs, especially green jobs, will come from the CCs. ( Jessica Milano and Conor McKay at the Democratic Leadership Council. San Jose Mercury News.)

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 In his book, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, Mathew B. Crawford, tells how he discovered that he could not get a meaningful job with his advanced degree—a PhD in political philosophy from the University of Chicago.

He worked for a while in a cubical as an indexer abstracter making $23,000 a year and at another time as a SAT tutor making $15 an hour. Crawford finally found satisfaction as a “gearhead” fixing motorcycles.

Crawford laments the loss of high school shop classes, and the misinformed notion that schools must produce “knowledge worker,” by preparing students for four-year programs. According to Crawford, three-forth of high school shop classes in California have disappeared since the 1980s. He sees the present system turning out an army of clerks that he likens to the Dilbert cartoon. 

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Mass production has been used since the industrial revolution as a means of creating large quantities of standardized products. It has many advantages over one-at-a-time production. It reduces coast and provide interchangeable parts.  Its disadvantages are that it can over produce and it dehumanizes labor.

Mass production will often continue to build inventory in spite of an economic slump. Large inventories can lead to massive layoffs. Unemployment reduces consumption and a viscous circle ensues.

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By its acquisition of ScanWind, GE is incorporating combined European and American wind energy technology. In 2004 Finnish Arctic Wind Power contracted Norwegian ScanWind to supply gearless permanent magnet wind generators originally developed by German Siemens. It was imperative that these generators be highly reliable and require little maintenance in harsh environments.

Gearless generators were chosen since they offer high reliability especially in harsh environments. They also provide a higher efficiency converting rotational energy into electrical since the friction of a gear train is eliminated.

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The Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) cites the case of a widowed public school teacher that retired with a $900 monthly pension. She would have been eligible to receive $600 survivor benefits based on her husband’s Social Security contribution, but the windfall elimination provision (WEP) eliminated all of her survivor benefits. What is WEP?

The Reagan administration believed that reducing taxes would boost the economy. According to this “supply side” economic theory, less tax meant more profits, which would be plowed back into in to the private sector creating jobs and goods. The theory didn’t work and the deficit soared.

The administration looked for “revenue enhancements” that wouldn’t look like taxes (at least not taxes on business) to buy time for its theory to work. Social Security became a target of this quest. Especially, Social Security benefits received by public employees.

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Exciting developments are occurring in solar PV (photovoltaic) power generation. New technologies are improving manufacturing processes. Thin-film and organic (plastic) films promise to reduce PV power cost. Solar “grid-parity,” the time when solar power will cost the same as fossil fuel power, is coming soon. 

PV refers to devices that turn sunlight into electricity. In a previous post, I discussed generation by solar thermal (Solar Thermal: The Other Solar Energy). Both schemes have advantages and disadvantages.

PV can turn solar energy into electricity that can supply households and industry without using any moving parts. Since mechanical devices are less reliable than electronic, these systems are nearly maintenance free. Solar Thermal requires a heat engine, such as a steam engine, and an electrical mechanical generator to produce electricity.

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Aora-Solar, an Israeli company, has constructed, licensed and launched the first solar thermal energy (STE) natural gas hybrid electric generator (June 2009). At the time of this post, it is being tested in Kibbutz Samar in southern Israel. Such hybrids can lower the carbon footprint of existing natural gas power plants. The Israeli design is modular and permits small plants that can serve communities without long distance line losses. Florida Power and Light is scheduled to launch their first hybrid in 2010.

As I discussed in a previous post, electricity can be generated by high temperature or concentrated solar power (Solar Thermal: The Other Solar Energy). Basically, solar rays are concentrated and directed to a heat collector that transfers their heat to a heat engine (usually a closed circuit steam engine) that drives an electric generator.

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These is something in this bill for almost everyone. There is also something for almost everyone to hate. Alan During gives 14 things he love and 6 he hates about Waxman-Markey.

It’s no surprise that the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufactures oppose this bill, but so does Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Dow Chemical and Ford Motors support it.

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Oil peaked several years ago. Now coal has peaked. The Costs of their production will soar when the global economy recovers and demand returns. Some say that this is a bad time to launch an ambitious energy policy as that envisioned by the American Clean Energy and Security Act. They claim that this Act will raise taxes, and cost jobs. At the time of this post, a draft of this proposed Act is a bill before Congress.

According to Brenda Pierce, head of the of a US Geological Survey team that recently conducted a study of US coal reserves, “We really can’t say we’re the Saudi Arabia of coal anymore.” (wsj 6-8-09) It’s not that her survey found less coal, but analysis shows that the cost of recovering it is escalating.

The DOE (Department of Energy) published a similar analysis on US oil reserves several years ago. Several studies of world oil and coal reserves have shown that these energy sources have peaked. That is, once the world economy returns to its pre-recession level, the price of fossil fuels will surge.

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During the last presidential election, both candidates promised some form of “national service.” While neither was specific, they seemed to favor some form of domestic Peace Corps perhaps by expanding AmeriCorps. Neither candidate was specific about the goals of national service. If one of the goals is to bring people into the workplace then perhaps OJT coupled to work-studies (co-op) may be the answer.

William James coined the term “national service” in his essay, “The Moral Equivalent of War.” According to James, mandatory service could teach peace and democratic values. John Dewey argued that democratic values could not be taught by authoritarianism

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The US hasn’t had a draft since 1973. The last time a draft bill was introduced before Congress was in 2003 during the Iraqi War. It was unanimously defeated. Even its author voted against it. So why are men denied government jobs or college loans because they neglected or refused to register with the Selective Service System?

The function of the Selective Service is just to collect names. It serves no other purpose. It doesn’t provide names to military recruiters or provide recruitment information to registrants. It does provide severe penalties for none compliance.

Failing to register through negligence or intention can ban men from government jobs, college loans and even college. What is really amazing is that this life sentence is irrevocable.

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Californian just voted down a set of “revenue enhancements.” Now Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening to layoff fire, police, and teachers. This will certainly increase the already soaring unemployment and foreclosure rates. Schwarzenegger is now considering releasing nonviolent prisoners, shortening the school year, legalizing and taxing marijuana.

Most of the “measures” or propositions on this special election (May 19) were desperate attempts to bailout California from an extreme budget deficit. Only one of the measures passed. It would prohibit pay raises for legislators unless the budget is balanced.

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 Hopefully, the future will record that we had a crisis, but sized the opportunities afforded by the mounting promises of renewable energy and rode them to success. Hopefully, the future will not record that we were bogged down by the narrow interest of lobbyist and missed this golden opportunity.

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Incandescent lamps have illuminated residents for over a hundred years. While energy efficient fluorescents have shined in industry since the ‘40s, only recently have they brought claim flicker less illumination to homes. A new dawn is coming with many bright ideas to reduce global energy. More efficient LEDs are already on the market and plasma lamps show astonishing performance in the lab. These new lights will change the architecture, construction and the decor of our homes and will greatly reduce the demand for electrical energy.

While incandescent bulbs are extremely inefficient, only 10% of the energy they consumes is given off as light, they have been the main residential lighting for over a hundred years.

While the much more efficient florescent light was invented soon after the incandescent and has been in industry for almost 70-years; its harsh flicker created by the electrical alternating frequency, has discouraged its use in the home.

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The old electromechanical electric utility meter changed little in principle over the last hundred years. In the next coming decades the smart meter will progress as much over this meter as the PC has over the typewriter. It will utilize a microcontroller as sophisticated as any PC. It will have its own web page that can be part of your home page and your social network. It can evolve to best serve the most efficient use of renewable energy.

The present meters are also called “Thomson” meters after the supposed inventor Elihu Thomson the first CEO of General Electric (after restructuring of Edison General Electric). Thomson’s meter was like a clock with a torsion pendulum. Instead of a spring, the force between two magnets governed the speed of the pendulum.

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Laurence Summers—head of the National Economic Council—responded to criticism of the Geithner Plan, “I don’t know of any economist who doesn’t believe that functioning capital markets in which assists can be traded are a good idea.” Economist Paul Krugman responded (NYT) saying that if Summers believe that bribing traders to participate is “better functioning” then Summers should get out more. Many economists believe that this plan could be disastrous.

The Plan would auction bad mortgages held by banks. The government would join the highest bidder with an equal purchase and provide a loan to the bidder up to 85% of the bid. The loan is supposed to provide leverage such that small upward movements will bring large gains to the speculator. According to Summers and Geithner, such auctions will determine their “fair” market value.

Of course small movements downward will bring loss to the speculator as well as the taxpayer, but the speculator can count on the government to do all it can to jack up home prices. Many economist, financers, and bankers have found the Plan disastrous.

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning (2008) economist, challenges the notion that such an auction will determine fair value as “market mystique.” He analyzes the arithmetic of the Plan and shows that it’s just another attempt to subsidize the real estate industry and mortgage bankers.

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Despite public outrage over AIG bonuses, Obama had a good week. He traveled across America expressing his own outrage over the bonuses. He was warmly greeted in Orange County, California—once a bastion of conservative Republicanism. Republican Governor Swarzenegger warmly embraced him and assured him that California supported the stimulus plan. Obama appeared on the Tonight Show displaying his quick wit with the show’s host Jay Leno.

Leno raised the issue of congress threatening to tax the bonuses at 90%. “As a American,” he said that he was distressed that Congress could use the tax laws to punish a particular group. Obama responded that he understood the anger. Significantly, he did not endorse Congress’s response.

Nor did Obama mention that Congress voted for these bonuses when it passed the bailout or whether he or congress was aware of this clause in the Bill. Senator Cris Dodd (D-Conn) had appeared outraged at the bonus and told CNN that he was unaware of such an amendment. Later he told CNN that he didn’t write the clause, and later he admitted adding the clause at the insistance of Treasury Secretary Geithner.

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Skyline Community College in Marin, California is offering a course in solar voltaic installations. Students earn certificates while working in the field encountering real problems. They master skills and concepts in both electrical and construction technology.

The Los Angeles Community College District has created a sustainable energy curriculum, which integrates construction and electrical technology with chemistry, engineering and physics. The goal is to remove their nine campuses from the grid.

The LACCs will teach students to install solar panels that will produce 1-megawatt at each of its campuses. This is sufficient power for the daytime load and enough to produce hydrogen gas by electrolyses for full cells to power the night load.

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The US State Department has warned students not to go to Mexico during spring break since drug gangs threaten violence. Drug cartels are threatening the stability of nations around the globe, assassinating police and government officials. A record opium crop is providing funding for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Can decriminalization of narcotics be a solution? Neuroscience offers new hope to cure addition.

While Mexico is not yet officially on the US State Department’s warning list, it is fast approaching. Gangs often interrupt police radios threatening police offers. These officers are often killed in hours. The military is replacing the police in an attempt to cut down on drug violence. More than 6000 people died in Mexico from such violence in 2008.

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Obama has placed scientists in key positions. He promises to reinstate funding for embryonic stem cell research. Obama’s stimulus package provides for an increase in basic science research and immediate construction of green energy projects. A movement is under way to remove Nord as head of the CPSC.

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