14 March 2011 Spring break sprung

We return to classes today. As much as I enjoy the chance to learn, I found it very difficult to roll out of bed this morning.

Today is also the first workday since DST was implemented. The concept of DST was to save energy by allowing as much work as possible to be accomplished without using electricity. The nature of work for most of us has changed sufficiently from the era of WWI as to render this all but invalid. Even at high noon, local time, if we work indoors we burn lamps to see. I used to adapt to the time changes rather easily. Somewhere around age 55, I lost that easy adaptation.

There is also the fact that I sleep very well next to Gloria. Dragging one’s self from a comfortable, happily shared bed should be difficult. It is.

The current events in the Pacific tied into my Volcanology class very well. We began hearing Dr. Gregg’s report of his trip to Kilauea and the National Volcano Observatory. That covered the existing eruptions and the new linear vent development. We also spent about half the class discussing the 11 Mar earthquake and tsunami. These horrible events actually have direct links to Volcanology. The Ring of Fire is extremely active now and may become even more so. I was sorry to see class end this morning. There was more participation in the class than I’ve noticed so far. I may follow this semester with a Natural Hazards course if Gregg teaches it next fall.

The conflict in Libya is still unresolved. Compared to the nightmare in Japan, Libya is of no great concern beyond its geographic and cultural region. The Arab League has opted to support a no fly zone if it is not enforced by a NATO agent. They want Khadafy stopped if it is not done by a Western state and if they don’t have to do it. They will object to a U.S. enforced no fly zone almost as vociferously as I will. They will not act to implement such a solution using either a single Arab nation’s airpower or that of an Arab coalition. Thus, nothing will be done to stop Khadafy’s use of airpower against civilians. The Arabs will complain that they are proscribed from killing other Muslims. They will also complain that the Western nations won’t support their needs in the matter. No changes seem to be coming from that quarter.

Japan is sitting on the potentiality of a triple core dirty bomb. With three nuclear plants in the first stages of core meltdown and no way to affect repairs to allow introduction of core coolant, there is little else that can be done except population evacuation. The introduction of sea water into the plant is an indication of how desperate the situation has become. Those reactors and their supporting structure are never going to generate power again.

It may be time for commercial power companies to look at the design specs used to construct and operate U.S. Navy reactors. Those over engineered systems demanded by Rickover have stood the test of time and hard usage. They were built for performance, safety, and longevity, not for power production by low-bid builders and operators. Nuclear power is necessary to our future power consumption. Like anything else corporations become involved in, the greed factor always over-rides safety.