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From Green Right Now Reports

Plant-based plastic has been finding more and more places in the marketplace, as cups, bottles and plates.

But while PLA, or Polylactic acid plastic, meets the environmental test at the front end, being made of eco-friendly and biodegradable ingredients, it has faced an end-of-life issue: It can’t be recycled with the bulk of petroleum-based plastics in the waste stream, the PETE and HDPE plastics that major recyclers collect and sell.

The PLA industry has been trying to solve that issue. It has looked at technology that would help recyclers separate PLA plastic from conventional plastics at processing plants.

Another solution is to recycle PLA plastic, melt it down, at its own special facilities. It’s already being done on a major scale in Europe. This week the industry announced that a newly formed U.S. PLA recycling company, Plarco Inc., will become a major collector of post-consumer PLA waste, helping to close the recycling loop for PLA.

Plarco, based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, will be recycling PLA plastic by melting it back into lactic acid, which can then be used as a building block for virgin PLA plastic, the most widely used type of biodegradable plastic among the new generation of polymers made from plants instead of petroleum.

The new cradle-to-grave or as bioplastic industry like to call it ‘cradle-to-cradle’ supply chain (because new product can be built from waste) will look like this: Plarco will be contracting with BioCor, which purchases and resells scrap PLA, to be BioCor’s exclusive recycler of post-consumer PLA. Plarco will sell the recycled product to Minnesota-based NatureWorks, the world’s leading producer of PLA (marketed as Ingeo).

After the lactic acid is reclaimed by Plarco, NatureWorks will ship it to a Nebraska facility where it can be turned into the Ingeo biopolymer.

“Plarco’s recycling process will help to create true cradle-to-cradle reuse of post consumer and post industrial PLA,” said Plarco CEO Charles L. (Chuck) Terry, in a statement. “Our contractual relationships with both BioCor and NatureWorks and the trend toward greater use of biopolymers bode well for Plarco’s sustained business growth.”

Plarco is already able to convert certain types of PLA waste into lactic acid suitable for production of virgin PLA resin, and will soon it will accept all types of PLA waste at its Eau Claire facility.

Belgium-based Galactic, a world scale producer of lactic acid, and EnviroGreen are stockholders in the new venture.

On April 13, a forum was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., which discussed the influence of corporate special interests and big money on public policy and United States democracy.

The event—in honor of Thomas Jefferson’s 267th birthday—was sponsored by the People’s Lobby Coalition for Public Funding Only of All Elections and the Green Party of Florida. Some of the topics discussed by the attendees included the effect of corporate money on healthcare, energy and the economy. They also analyzed the issue of military expenditures in light of campaign contributions from defense contractors.

"[We talked] about the correlation between the influence of the 13,000 plus special interest lobbyists and our elected officials’ voting trends in relation to these issues," said Jennifer Sullivan, organizer of the event.

She added that the outcome of the event will lead the group to propose "necessary changes to our election system to restore democracy."

Speakers at the event included Dr. Margaret Flowers, congressional Fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program, filmmaker Jesse Johnson, chair of the West Virginia Mountain Party, and Pat LaMarche, weekly columnist for the Bangor Daily News and the 2004 vice-presidential nominee of the Green Party of the United States.

It could be the biggest thing from the UK to hit American shores since the British Invasion — or at the very least it could do more harm to a teenager than a Beatles song. A Scottish brewery is slowly unleashing a beer on the former colonies that contains an astounding 32% alcohol by volume.

The beer, called Tactical Nuclear Penguin and made by Scottish microbrewery BrewDog, has shipped a small amount of their potent potable to a handful of stores in California and New York. Additionally, stateside folks are also buying bottles of the beefed-up beer through the BrewDog site.

Reads the label on the bottle:

This is an extremely strong beer; it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. It is exactly the same manner you would enjoy a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.

BrewDog has already faced opposition to their high-alcohol beverages on their own soil. Regulators ordered their Toyko beer, with an 18.2% alcohol content, be pulled from shelves over the company’s marketing of the product. BrewDog responded by releasing a 1.1% alcohol beer they dubbed Nanny State.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin isn’t even the strongest beer made by BrewDog. A few months ago, after German brewer Schorschbrau unveiled a beer with a hefty 40% alcohol content, the Scots one-upped them, literally with their 41% offering Sink the Bismarck!.

One thing that will keep people from throwing back a 32% beer like it’s a Bud Lite is the price. One bottle of the Tactical Nuclear Penguin will set you back around $53… per bottle.

Super-High-Alcohol Beer Heads to the U.S. [Time]

Last week, a United States court of appeals issued a ruling blocking the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) attempts to prevent internet service providers from restricting access to content, applications and services offered by competitors. Now, a group of journalist is pushing back, urging the FCC to reclaim its right to regulate broadband networks.

UNITY: Journalists of Color—an organization representing more than 8,000 professionals in that field—has called on the commission to reclassify broadband as a "telecommunications service," which would make it a basic utility subject to regulation, and reverse actions taken by previous commissions that favored a deregulatory approach.

"Without the authority to set net neutrality rules, the FCC cannot promote a level playing field," said UNITY president Barbara Ciara.

"[We] oppose any technological, legislative or content strategies to block innovation and free speech on the internet," she added.

The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC had overstepped its jurisdiction when it attempted to impose net neutrality rules on Comcast, which had blocked its subscribers from using the file-sharing website BitTorrent.

Analysts say companies such as AT&T and Verizon would also be hit by "net neutrality," but it would benefit applications providers such as Google, Skype and Facebook.

Might We Suggest…

• HTC Incredible Specs Confirmed via Leaked User Manual
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Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

Few life sciences companies have gotten as much mileage from a pilot trial that enrolled two dozen patients as San Diego’s Histogen, a startup developing a variety of therapies derived from human cells that are grown in the laboratory. On the other hand, we have discovered at Xconomy that the appetite for news about potential treatments for baldness is unusually high.

Histogen has announced a one-year follow-up study of 24 patients who participated in an experiment using its Hair Stimulating Complex, or HSC, shows “statistically significant” new hair growth. Participants in the study, which was done in Honduras, also showed a statistically significant increase in hair density.

The latest findings basically extend results that Histogen reported last July from the study, in which HSC, which consists of certain proteins and other molecules secreted by human fibroblast cells grown in a laboratory culture, was injected just below the scalp. The persistence is what’s significant in the latest study, Histogen founder and CEO, Gail Naughton, tells me by phone.

“Most of the experts asked, ‘How long will it last before hairs drop off?’ ” she says. Naughton adds that currently approved treatments for baldness, such as finasteride (Propecia) or monoxidil (Rogaine), must be used every day to prevent hair loss. She maintains that Histogen’s treatment appears to have some lasting effect, at least in 85 percent of these patients.

Histogen laid off all 36 of its employees last year after its fund-raising efforts were knocked into a hat when a cross-town rival, Carlsbad, CA-based SkinMedica, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the startup. With the case still pending, Naughton says Histogen managed to raise additional funding needed to keep a core group of 12 employees working, and to support the follow-up research. Since my last update three months ago, Naughton says Histogen also has gotten a commitment for substantial funding needed to underwrite additional research in Singapore.

UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

Is the Queen of Kabbalah so out of touch with popular culture that “she’s never heard of” Glee, the television musical hit that has much of America singing?

(Glee Fun Fact: Over 13.6 million viewers tuned in for the show’s spring season premiere on FOX Tuesday night.)

The much-awaited Madonna episode of Glee debuts next week, but Madge herself isn’t one of the millions of Americans who will be Gleeking as the Glee Club of McKinley High tackles some of The Material Girl’s biggest career charttoppers in a episode dedicated to her 27 year career.

A tipster tells PopEater’s Naughty of Nice: “Madonna doesn’t have a TV and has no idea what ‘Glee’ is. The show did ask her if she wanted to make an appearance in the much-hyped Madonna episode. She said ‘no thanks’ and, to be honest, she would rather they sing an Elton John song than butcher one of hers.”

She’ll go on The Marriage Ref but not TV’s hottest series? Interesting…. Whether she tunes in or not, Madge will pocket approximately $100,000 in royalties from Glee’s Madonna special.

Be sure to watch next week’s episode “The Power of Madonna” on Tuesday, April 20 @ 9 PM. The Glee Club will perform some of the Material Girl’s greatest hits, including “Express Yourself” and “Like a Prayer.”

Google Inc. will report its quarterly results soon after the close on Thursday and based on the past four quarters, here’s what investors can expect.

In terms of the stock’s relative strength, the previous three months is inconclusive. In the fourth quarter of 2009, Google shares had been doing well until three weeks before reporting, when it dropped sharply, according to Birinyi Associates. The stock then sold off on the earnings results.

In the first quarter of 2009, the stock had essentially been a strong performer. It rallied after the earnings, but traded basically flat the next day.

The final hour of trading is also inconclusive. The fourth quarter of 2009 saw a stready rise in the hour before markets closed, but the stock eventually sold off.

In the third quarter of 2009, Google rallied sharply in the final minute or two. The stock also opened up the next day. However, Birinyi notes that it had a similar move in the second quarter of 2009 but then opened lower.

Despite the fact that this doesn’t give investors much to go on, analysts at Birinyi did make one noteworthy suggestion. When Google beats, it has an average gain of roughly 4%. When it misses, investors lose almost 10%.

Jonathan Ratner

Element Partners has hired named Sujit Banerjee as a managing director at the firm’s Philadelphia headquarter. Banerjee had been a part-time operating partner last year.

At Element Banerjee will oversee the firm’s investments in power storage, semiconductors, and power electronics, and will expand Element’s efforts in photovoltaic. Since joining on a part-time basis he’s co-sponsored investments in energy storage company Deeya Energy and Petra Solar, a maker of solar microinverter.

Element Managing Partner David Lincoln:

We have worked with Sujit as a co-investor over the course of the last nine years, and he has repeatedly demonstrated exceptional capabilities and instincts as an investor. He has been an invaluable resource to us over the years, and we are confident that his strong technical background will complement our investment capabilities.

See full press release

Things like this are what make phones with physical keyboard awesome. Granted, this may be possible with an all touch screen device but it will surely be a tougher feat to accomplish. Game Gripper has successfully converted a Motorola Droid into a classic controller.

For only $14.99 this can be yours. It has been tested with GameBoid, Nesoid, and SNesoid. If I had a droid I would be all over this. Nesoid is one of my most used apps and this controller will make playing a breeze and more enjoyable. Head over to Game Gripper and purchase yours now.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Arizona House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that puts the state within reach of having some of the toughest immigration laws in the country.

FOX News provides an explainer on select provisions of Arizona Senate bill 1070:

It would:

– Create a new state misdemeanor crime of willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document.

– Allow officers to arrest immigrants unable to show documents proving they’re legally in the country.

– Ban so-called soft immigration policies at local police agencies and allow people to sue if they feel a government agency has adopted a policy that hinders the enforcement of illegal immigration laws.

– Prohibit people from blocking traffic when they seek or offer day-labor services on street corners.

– Make it illegal for people to transport illegal immigrants if the drivers of vehicles know their passengers are in the country illegally and if the transportation furthers their illegal presence in the country.

The provision is designed to target law enforcement policies that prevent officers from asking people about their immigration status, but opponents worry it will make victims and witnesses scared to work with police and prosecutors.

The bill, introduced by state Sen. Russell Pearce, would give an unprecedented amount of immigration enforcement power to local police officers — something that has divided groups in Arizona.

From the Los Angeles Times:

…police were deeply divided on the matter, with police unions backing it but the state police chief’s association opposing the bill, contending it could erode trust with immigrants who could be potential witnesses.

Immigrant rights groups were horrified, and contended that Arizona would be transformed into a police state.

“It’s beyond the pale,” said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “It appears to mandate racial profiling.”

During the debate, the bill managed to win support from some state senators who expressed misgivings about the legislation.

One of the bill’s provisions is to prevent “sanctuary cities” from not enforcing immigration laws, and Republican state Rep. Russ Jones said he couldn’t think of one sanctuary city in the state. “I don’t see this as a problem, and I wonder what we’re fixing,” he said. Nonetheless, he voted for it.

A similar supportive vote came from Republican Rep. Lucy Mason, who said the bill doesn’t focus on where it needs to: the border.

This bill could represent a reaction by Republicans to border violence, in the wake of the recent death of an Arizona rancher who is believed to have been killed by an illegal immigrant or a drug smuggler. His death has gotten attention from both the media and lawmakers looking ahead to the November elections with promises of stronger border security.

And given recent comments from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R-Ariz.) about the rancher’s death, this bill looks likely to become law.

The text of the House version is nearly identical to a Senate bill approved in February, but changes were made to create a prosecution exemption for people who drive illegal immigrants to church or who provide emergency services, according to a Phoenix Business Journal article.

Amsterdam ha sido la ciudad elegida por la marca nipona para presentar su último modelo híbrido, orientado a un público diferente que el Honda Insight. Para los jóvenes amantes del motor es para quien Honda ha diseñado este coche que es una mezcla de realidad y futuro. Los valores de la ciudad holandesa y del coche coinciden plenamente: cosmopolita, tecnológica y moderna.

También ha pensado en mujeres ejecutivas y hombres modernos para buscar atraer a la marca nuevos clientes e incrementar la cuota de mercado en los híbridos, claramente ocupado por Toyota y su Prius. Se añade así otro segmento más, el deportivo, que junto al segmento C (Insight) y el segmento B con el Jazz próximamente para arrebatar clientes a su rival más directo en la lucha ecológica. ¿Lo conseguirá con este modelo? Veamos sus características.

Diseño exterior

Unas líneas muy marcadas y agresivas, mezclando la deportividad con la eficiencia aerodinámica, para un consumo muy ajustado y menores emisiones es la premisa fundamental en la que se ha centrado la marca. El concepto lo pudimos ver con nuestros propios ojos en el Salón de Madrid de 2008 y poco ha cambiado desde entonces.

Su línea estética, alargada y que puede recordar a algún modelo anterior de Honda quedan presentes en todo momento. Apenas supera los 4 metros de longitud mientras que de altura se queda rozando los 1,4 metros y 1,74 de anchura. Es un coche pequeño, corto, pero con una distancia entre ejes de casi 2,5 metros, lo que le otorga un carácter muy deportivo.

El frontal es una parrilla que permite la entrada de aire para refrigeración del motor en forma de boca, con un faldón delantero que casi todas las marcas ya incluyen en sus modelos más deportivos. Lo diferente es que tiene una terminación en punta, ayudado por las formas en ángulo que hacen los faros, aunque no le permite bajar de 0,30 de coeficiente aerodinámico. No está mal para un coche de 4 metros. Menos, sería excelente. El techo es panorámico, no se puede abrir y únicamente se monta en la versión más alta, la GT plus.

Los pilares del parabrisas mirándolo por delante se difuminan perfectamente con los marcos de las puertas. Los espejos no salen de la carrocería directamente sino que tienen un soporte auxiliar que permiten mejorar la aerodinámica. Como en toda la gama de la marca, incluyen intermitentes. El tirador de la puerta recuerda a coches altamente deportivos. Aunque las llantas son de 16 pulgadas de serie, se pueden incorporar opcionalmente las de 17 pulgadas. Más no, por estética y por eficiencia en la conducción. Aun así, los neumáticos que monta no son eficientes.

El perfil es muy aerodinámico, terminando en un culo cortado para mejorar el flujo de aire. La forma no cambia nada, los híbridos son así. Por detrás no se ven tubos de escape, aunque en la conducción en modo sport (hablaremos de ello en la segunda parte), el sonido es puramente deportivo.

Diseño interior

Montarse en el habitáculo es acceder a un coche futurista, con mandos en color azul, similar al Honda Civic, aunque, para bien, la instrumentación está delante del conductor, no en la parte central del salpicadero. Los asientos de piel son óptimos, envuelven bastante el cuerpo y son cómodos. tanto al tacto como a la conducción. Cuando se abaten para acceder a plazas traseras, no recuperan su posición, sino que hay que volverla a establecer mediante las tres palancas de altura, respaldo y distancia al volante. Es un coupé de 2+2 plazas y en la parte trasera no cabe un adulto de 1,70 metros. Está destinado únicamente a niños.

La postura de conducción es agradable, una posición bastante baja pero incómoda para los brazos. En la parte izquierda para apoyar el codo queda muy arriba el borde del cristal y por la parte derecha no existe reposabrazos central, ni siquiera como opción. Los mandos son accesibles fácilmente para evitar distracciones. Dispone de bastantes espacios guardaobjetos, tanto con como sin tapa: salpicadero, bajo consola central, guantera, puertas…

Algo que vemos bajo de gama es su ausencia del climatizador bizona para cualquier versión (lógico para un coche que busca la eficiencia y menor consumo). Además, hay dos salidas de aire de las cuatro frontales que tiene en el habitáculo, que no pueden cerrarse, una de conductor y otra de pasajero, por lo que hay que ponerse de acuerdo en tema de climatización, algo que no será fácil.

El maletero tiene una capacidad de 225 litros para la versión sport y 215 litros para las otras. Es suficiente para dos personas normales, que son los que al fin y al cabo van a viajar en el coche, aunque puede verse limitado en ocasiones. Si abatimos los asientos obtendremos un maletero de una berlina media, unos 400 litros. Además, su cortina para ocultar la carga del mismo no se ajusta a la perfección, quedando huecos en los laterales que permite ver la misma. No es un aspecto destacable del coche ni mucho menos.

La versión que hemos probado se corresponde con la GT plus que entre otras cosas incorpora el techo panorámico y los asientos delanteros en piel con respecto de la versión GT y ésta con respecto a la versión sport equipa de serie entre otras, el control de crucero, auto encendido de luces y limpiaparabrisas, faros de xenon, subwoofer y radio de alta calidad, Bluetooth con mandos en el volante, asientos calefactables, sensor de parking trasero y restrovisores exteriores plegables eléctricamente. La diferencia de precio son, con respecto a la versión sport, un extra de 1.500 euros para la versión GT y de 3.300 euros para la GT plus.

Mañana veremos su comportamiento en carretera, ofreceremos datos del motor y precios.

by Bruce Nilles

Several coal industry executives withstood some heat today during a hearing before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. “The Role of Coal in a New Energy Age” hearing featured a slate of four speakers who attempted to defend their industries—with one denying anthropogenic global warming -as part of the clean energy future of the U.S.:

Gregory Boyce, President and CEO, Peabody Energy Corporation
Steven F. Leer, Chairman and CEO, Arch Coal, Inc.
Preston Chiaro, Chief Executive for Energy and Minerals, Rio Tinto
Michael Carey, President, Ohio Coal Association

We had some folks tweeting from inside the hearing, and here are two choice quotes from the testimony of the coal industry representatives:

“All that we’re asking is that the (Environmental Protection Agency) step back and reconsider its endangerment finding… There needs to be another independent review of the data to put to rest all of those issues.” – Gregory Boyce

“The role for coal in the new energy age is greatly hampered by the regulatory assault waged by the Obama Administration and in particular, the Environmental Protection Agency.” – Michael Carey

There was extensive “rah-rah-ing” for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology during the hearing, but even Michael Carey of the Ohio Coal Association admitted that “CCS is 15-20 years away from commercial deployment.”

Activists brought the hearing to a halt proclaiming “coal is dirty!”Photo: Flickr via Greenpeace, with permissionThe testimony was briefly interrupted at the start by several youth activists who walked to the speakers’ table wearing facemasks, dumped lumps of coal on the table, and then displayed their blackened hands while another activist in the back of the room yelled, “COAL IS DIRTY!” until security escorted them from the room.

Once testimony started again, the Peabody, Arch and the Ohio Coal Association reps made it clear that any U.S. move to cut its carbon pollution would have little effect on global warming. The three all talked about the need to reduce emissions and how they are working on reductions emissions via CCS. But they were also clear in their position that they should not have to cut emissions until CCS is ready. Committee member Rep. Jay Inslee had a great answer to that: “That’s like saying when people stop robbing banks, then we will put a law in place to make robbing banks illegal. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Beyond that, the three also demonstrated that they continue to push for new coal plants despite the threat of global warming. The three also took swipes at the Clean Air Act’s authority over greenhouse gases, as it’s no surprise the coal industry would love to block EPA’s ability to protect the public’s health and safety by enforcing limits on global warming pollution under the Clean Air Act – limits reaffirmed by the Supreme Court almost three years ago

Thankfully, at least Rio Tinto’s Preston Chiaro had some positive statements on global warming and clean energy. The company is part of USCAP, and Chiaro said the company wants cap-and-trade in order to bring more stability to its business: “We will either shape policy, or we will have policy thrust upon us.”

Rio Tinto also at least believes that humans are causing global warming, unlike Carey of the Ohio Coal Association, who used part of his testimony to rip the science and refer to the anti-global warming Petition Project (which has been debunked, by the way).

The hearing’s website stated the intent well:

For the first time in recent memory, the CEOs of America’s top two coal mining companies, and a leading international company, will come to Capitol Hill to answer questions on their positions on climate change, clean energy policy, and the challenges that currently face their industry.

“Just as our national energy policy is at a crossroads, so, too, is the coal industry,” said (Committee Chair) Rep. Edward J. Markey. “Whether it’s climate science, the viability of ‘clean coal,’ or safety concerns, I believe Congress requires answers from the coal industry on their ability to be a part of our clean energy future.”

Reps. Markey and Inslee did a phenomenal job taking the coal industry to task for their global warming doubts and for the industry’s accusations that the government is assaulting them via regulation – when Congress has in fact been including billions for CCS in its recent energy and climate bills.

“If there is a ‘war’ being waged here, it’s being waged by your industry against our grandchildren,” said Inslee at one point. “Is it fair for the coal industry to be able to put CO2 in the atmosphere at zero cost?”

So while the speakers attacked all they could – the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency, and even the reality of global warming itself – Reps. Markey, Jay Inslee and others held their feet to the fire.

It is clear that the coal industry continues to wear blinders while living in the past. Coal is not a part of our clean energy future.

Related Links:

Chicago considers getting serious about coal pollution

President Must End 200 Years of Regulated Manslaughter

The hazards of using toxic coal ash for land development

The U.S. Library of Congress announced this morning via its official Twitter account that it will be acquiring the entire archive of Twitter messages back through March 2006. In addition to a massive printed collection, the Library already has an extensive collection of other digital assets. The Library of Congress is the biggest library in the world.

The Library does extensive work with data format standards, the semantic Web and other platforms for outside analysis. The addition of Twitter into the organization’s offerings could foster an enormous amount of academic research. From a new kind of historical record to an unprecedented opportunity for discovering patterns of social interaction, this is big.

Sponsor

When the Library of Congress was founded in the year 1800, publishing was very expensive and relatively few people did it. Today, thanks to blogs, YouTube, Facebook and certainly Twitter it’s a new world. Publishing is far faster, easier and more accessible today than at any point in human history. That might seem obvious, but on a day like today it’s worth thinking about some more.

For now there are more questions than answers with regards to this Library of Congress Twitter news. Will the archive include friend/follower connection data? Will it be usable for commercial purposes? Will there be a Web interface for searching it, and will that change the face of Twitter search for good? Is there any way that the much larger archive of Facebook data could be submitted to the same body for analysis of the same kind?

These kinds of large data sets are poised to become one of the most important resources the Internet creates. As Kenneth Cukier wrote in The Economist’s recent Special Report on Big Data, “Data are becoming the new raw material of business: an economic input almost on a par with capital and labour.”

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said today that there are 105 million registered users on the service. How will those users feel about their tweets being archived for posterity? Will non-U.S. users be included (it is a U.S. based company) and object? Lots of questions remain.

There’s no word from Twitter itself about this news but we expect details to become public during the Chirp developers conference starting in just a few minutes. Update: Twitter HQ just told us that a blog post about this news is forthcoming.

It’s hard to imagine a more significant milepost in social media’s early march toward becoming an essential component of our social experience.

Discuss

The crack of a bat, the whip of a baseball, for generations these skills of America’s pastime have been noted by the eyes of those who gauge the game. Trained scouts and coaches watch and help build players, honing their skills from the time they are drafted all the way until retirement. But now technology has caught up with America’s pastime.

As San Francisco Giants CIO Bill Schlough tells me, “when a new technology emerges and does have an impact on the team, we want to be among the first to have a competitive advantage…those competitive advantages don’t last for long though.”

As Bill explains, new technology is quickly embraced by teams, so any competitive advantage likely only last for a few months and a year at the most. So this new modern tech throwing baseball minds a curve by modern science, means every single pitch can be tracked by a computer. Noting the speed, spin, even every movement down to a fraction.

The technology is developed by Sportvision, the same guys who brought you that yellow first down marker line on your television set for football, or the glowing puck for NHL games. Now this technology is now being used by every single big league club to track their pitches and you can also see it on Fox Sports coverage of Major League Baseball games. You can see by the video posted below, I did my best to check the system out.

So how does this all work? Placed strategically around AT&T ballpark in San Francisco, the camera’s mounted by Sportvision are monitored by people on computers hired to run the system in each park and what began as tracking pitches can now also be used to track every single player and umpire…guaging how fast they run, react and even the route the take to get to the baseball. No more will reputation or flash have an impact on a player, but true numbers and times will and can be assigned.

President of Sportvision Mike Jakob says, “It gives you information, it helps give you greater insight, greater perspective into how amazing these athletes really are.”

And while teams can use this information to evaluate players, fans can also use the new technology…tracking the speed of the pitch on a MLB smartphone app for example. That means as a fan, you can accurately yell at the umpire for a bad call…all the way from the cheap seats. What do you think?

by Agence France-Presse

A sea turtle swims along the Great Barrier ReefPhoto courtesy The Lightworks via FlickrSYDNEY—Australian police on Wednesday vowed to “throw the book” at two crewmen from the Chinese coal carrier that ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, smashing coral and spilling oil, and damaging the famous marine park.

Australian Federal Police allege the men were the master and chief officer-on-watch onboard the Shen Neng 1 when it rammed into a coral shoal inside the World Heritage-listed area at full speed on April 3.

Oil from a huge Chinese ship which grounded in the Great Barrier Reef has hit a world-renowned nature sanctuary, officials said Wednesday, raising fears for seabirds and baby turtles now hatching there.

Clean-up crews and environmental experts were helicoptered to North West Island, a breeding site for hundreds of thousands of seabirds and turtles, where clumps of oil have fouled about one kilometer (half-a-mile) of beach.

The 230-meter (750-foot) Shen Neng 1 leaked about two tonnes of oil after blundering into the reef on April 3, angering officials who have promised stiff punishment. The giant coal-carrier was refloated and towed away on Monday.

“It hasn’t come ashore in large globules or carpets,” Patrick Quirk, general manager of Marine Safety Queensland, told public broadcaster ABC.

“Our advice from the rangers on the island is that it’s at the top of the tide line in patches, and that gives us some comfort. But we need to get our specialist beach clean-up experts and they’ll report to us immediately what is there and if needed we’ll fly out more people to the island.”

Queensland’s state transport minister Rachel Nolan said initial reports described only a “very small amount” of oil. However, Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett feared oil may also have hit other islands.

“I’m certainly very concerned that some of the neighboring islands there, like Tryon Island, might also have also been contaminated,” he told the ABC.

Conservationists describe North West Island as a globally important nesting site for seabirds and green and loggerhead turtles, which are currently hatching and travelling down the beach.

Darren Kindleysides, director of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said even small amounts of oil can affect wildlife.

“We’re not talking about a supertanker going aground and releasing tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of oil,” he said.

“But we are talking about oil reaching a coral key which is globally important for seabird breeding and the nesting of green and loggerhead turtles. Unfortunately this is the time of year we have turtle hatchlings going down the beach … so that is a real concern.”

Australian officials have expressed anger after the Shen Neng 1 blundered into part of the world heritage-listed reef at full speed, accusing the crew of taking an illegal route.

About two tonnes of oil spilled out of the giant ship when it rammed into Douglas Shoal, creating a three-kilometer slick.

The vessel also carved a kilometers-long gouge in the delicate coral reef which experts say could take 20 years to recover.

Officials are probing claims ships ferrying Australia’s booming resources exports to Asia are taking short-cuts through the world’s biggest coral reef, which is already under pressure from rising sea temperatures and pollution.

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Bluetooth controllers? Meh. Why reinvent the wheel when the tire just needs new treading?

Take the Motorola Droid. With its big ol’ physical QWERTY keyboard, it has plenty of buttons for gaming (read: playing ROMs) — it’s just that they’re not very conveniently placed. Enter the GameGripper, a snap-on accessory that converts your Droid’s old, boring keyboard into a full fashioned game pad.

Here’s whats going on: You slip the GameGripper over your Droid’s keyboard, and the buttons on the GameGripper line up with those below it. It’s only going to work for those games where key mapping can be redefined — but given that key mapping support is pretty much standard for emulators (which I’d imagine will be the most popular use case), that shouldn’t be an issue for most.

The GameGripper will set you back $15 bucks (plus $5 for shipping) — which, given that it appears to be a fairly independent operation (read: Guy. Garage. Go!), seems plenty reasonable. Not touting a Droid? Don’t sweat it. Plans are in the works to make GameGrippers for the BlackBerry Bold, Moto Devour, and Palm Pixi, and they’re open to other devices if enough people request it.

Check out the GameGripper here.

[Thanks Hyrum! Good luck!]

Police in Yucaipa are looking for four teenage boys who posted nude and semi-nude photos of at least eight girls on a social networking site.

The incident, which involved students at Yucaipa’s 9th Grade Campus, came to light Monday when police were notified of a website showing illicit photos of the 14- and 15-year-old girls.

The photos had been freely sent by the girls to their friends, said Arden Wiltshire, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s
Department. But then someone posted them on a major website, which was not identified.

The practice of sending nude or semi-nude photos via cellphone or computer  is known as "sexting."
Wiltshire said statistics show one in five teenagers have done it – 22% of teen girls and 18% of boys.

Fifteen percent of teenage boys send racy photos of their ex-girlfriends far and wide once they break up, she said.

The suspects in this case are four 15-year-old boys. They are being sought for possession of harmful matter depicting a person under 18 and sexual exploitation of a minor.

— David Kelly