Tom McClintock: Yosemite National Park: Closed for Preservation

California Assemblyman Tom McClintock wrote an excellent editorial in the August 24th  Wall Street Journal  about plans that the National Park Service is making to reduce the "amenities" in Yosemite Valley.
Tom McClintock: Yosemite National Park: Closed for Preservation -    The NPS has been working on this plan for quite a while, and it now over 2500 pages. Here is a link to it.   It is called the Merced River Plan, and it is obviously too much for one person to read and fully comprehend. Here is a link to a "summary fact sheet."   It appears to me that the issue is that the River was added to the list of "wild and scenic rivers" that require protection.  This created a conflict between the goals of a National Park, and the goals of maintaining a wilderness-type of river.  Apparently the goal of the NPS plan is to do more to "preserve" the natural state of Yosemite Valley, and reduce the impact and "footprint" of the millions of visitors each year.  By eliminating swimming pools and ice skating rinks, they think they can reduce the number of people and the length of the stay of the visitors there.  Of course Tom McClintock's district includes Yosemite National Park and the "gateway communities" that service the park, so the economies of those communities will be severely affected by any downturn in tourism to that area. Brian H. Ouzounian is the co-founder of the Yosemite Valley Campers Coalition. on August 1st, wrote an editorial in the New York Times that complains that the NPS Merced River Plan will destroy the Affordable Family Vacation.    I agree with him!  We want to make our National Parks as accessible as possible to families.  It appears that fewer American families are visiting the National Parks.  They are spending more time "online" and less out doors.  I think it is important that children learn up close and personal about the natural history of our country.  Being able to actually touch rocks, antlers, streams and trees is very important to children's understanding of the world.  

After 20 years, my family returned to Yosemite Valley this past summer.  I did notice some changes!  However I thought most of them were for the better.  The traffic and parking throughout the park made a lot more sense!   One thing I did notice was that it seemed that most visitors were from foreign countries.  I saw very few typical American families in the park -- that clearly demonstrates that Yosemite is a HUGE international tourist draw. People may come and visit San Francisco or LA --but they can visit cities anywhere.  There is only one Yosemite Valley --and it could never be duplicated!  It is not just a National Treasure, but is an INTERNATIONAL treasure!  If foreign visitors are willing to take those long bus rides into Yosemite at a fairly high expense, it is clear that Yosemite is bringing in lots of foreign travel dollars, and that it would bring in even more if we could manage it properly.

I concur completely with the concept of preservation.  I agree we should preserve these National Park treasures for "all time" Yosemite National Park is HUGE -- and much or most of that land can and should be preserved from damage.  However does this small area of the Valley is unique.  I'm not sure it needs to be restored to a wilderness-type of environment.  Yes any development or improvements need to be carefully planned to minimize the impact on the environment.  But I believe it could be done in such a way that more people from all over the world could enjoy a visit to the park.

One of the problems of Yosemite Valley is too many vehicles, and the long, twisty drive to get into the valley.  I believe that all cars (and trucks) could be banned from all of the entrance roads into the valley, and all cars be banned from the actual valley floor.  Instead, a very large "Incline" cable car could connect the top to the bottom for moving freight and people in and out of the valley.  The ride on the car would itself be an adventure.  While on the valley floor, a series of people movers following the current roadways would afford visitors a way to get around the park.   Yes such a system of incline cable cars and people movers would require a lot of planning, and would be a huge undertaking to construct.  However it doesn't seem that it would be all that much more complicated than the construction of the current roads and tunnels.

One of the recommendations of the Merced River Plan is to eliminate the swimming pools -- which will force more families, and children to swim in the Merced river.  This will likely result in more pollution to the river from people, and injuries or drownings in the river.  Another one is to eliminate bike rentals in the park.  That would mean that the many tourists that come on busses would not have access to bikes, and would need to use shuttle busses?  People who want to use bikes would need to bring them (on trailers) or rent them outside the park (a long drive).  How does that improve the environment?

I also think we need to "follow the money" and find out who is going to gain from the changes proposed in the Merced River Plan.  By eliminating camping, bicycles, swimming pools and other amenities in Yosemite Valley, will that "scarcity" make the prices of the remaining services all that much higher?  Who will profit?  It's is clear that the vendors who have NPS franchises in the park are gouging the visitors with extremely high prices. We camped outside the park.  We didn't spend any money there--everything was too expensive!   It seemed to me when we visited that there was probably need for more "competition" -- more bike rental companies, more, competing lodging alternatives, not less.  If the NPS does issue these franchises, they should exercise control over the fees charged.  Otherwise we may find out that there are some franchise holders are making unfair profit at the expense of US Citizens.

Apple, Samsung, IBM, World's Universities in Graphene Gold Rush - WSJ.com

Wow,
This gold rush for Graphene patents is really something!  It seems like a much bigger frenzy than lasers were after they were invented --and now they are used almost everywhere!    If just a few of these patents are turned into products, it will possibly change the world.  This Wall Street Journal article says it all!

Apple, Samsung, IBM, World's Universities in Graphene Gold Rush - WSJ.com:

Wonder Material Ignites Scientific Gold Rush

Atom-Thin Graphene Beats Steel, Silicon; A Patent "Land Rush"

By 

GAUTAM NAIK

CONNECT

Graphene is an extremely thin, strong and flexible material derived from the graphite found in everyday pencils. Scientists are racing to exploit those attributes for an array of new applications. WSJ's Gautam Naik reports. Photo: Daniella Zalcman.

CAMBRIDGE, England—A substance 200 times stronger than steel yet as thin as an atom has ignited a global scientific gold rush, sending companies and universities racing to understand, patent and profit from the skinnier, more glamorous cousin of ordinary pencil lead.

The material is graphene, and to demonstrate its potential, Andrea Ferrari recently picked up a sheet of clear plastic, flexed it and then tapped invisible keys, triggering tinkly musical notes.

The keyboard made at Dr. Ferrari's University of Cambridge lab was printed with a circuit of graphene, which is so pliable that scientists predict it will fulfill dreams of flexible phones and electronic newspapers that can fold into a pocket.

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Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

Dr. Andrea Ferrari, head of graphene research at the University of Cambridge, inspects equipment used for experiments on the atom-thick material.

It is the thinnest material known. But it is exceedingly strong, light and flexible. It is exceptional at conducting electricity and heat, and at absorbing and emitting light.

Scientists isolated graphene just a decade ago, but some companies are already building it into products: Head NVHEDYY 0.00% introduced a graphene-infused tennis racket this year. AppleInc., AAPL +0.47% Saab ABSAAB-B.SK -0.80% and Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT +0.13% have recently sought or received patents to use graphene.

"Graphene is the same sort of material, like steel or plastic or silicon that can really change society," says Dr. Ferrari, who leads a band of about 40 graphene researchers at Cambridge.

Graphene faces hurdles. It is still far too expensive for mass markets, it doesn't lend itself to use in some computer-chip circuitry and scientists are still trying to find better ways to turn it into usable form. "Graphene is a complicated technology to deliver," says Quentin Tannock, chairman of Cambridge Intellectual Property, a U.K. research firm. "The race to find value is more of a marathon than a sprint."

Interest in graphene has exploded since 2010, when two researchers won a Nobel Prize for isolating it. Corporate and academic scientists are now rushing to patent a broad range of potential uses.

"As soon as I find something, boom! I file a patent for it," says James Tour, a graphene expert at Rice University in Houston.

Apple has filed to patent graphene "heat dissipators" for mobile devices. Saab has filed to patent graphene heating circuits for deicing airplane wings. Lockheed Martin this year was granted a U.S. patent on a graphene membrane that filters salt from seawater using microscopic pores.

Others have applied for patents on graphene used in computer chips, batteries, flexible touch screens, anti-rust coatings, DNA-sequencing devices and tires. A group of scientists in Britain has used a graphene membrane to distill vodka.

There were 9,218 published graphene patents and patent applications filed cumulatively as of May around the world, up 19% from a year earlier, says Cambridge Intellectual. Over the past five years, it says, the cumulative number of graphene patent filings has more than quintupled.

"It's a land grab," says Mr. Tannock of Cambridge Intellectual. By trying to patent just about every finding, "you have the option for suing your competitors later and stopping them." Many graphene patent filings appear legitimate, but some seem speculative and others may be decoys to mislead rivals, he says.

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Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

'As soon as I find something, boom! I file a patent,' says an expert in graphene, which coats the disc, pictured.

Graphene's biggest short-term promise is in high-speed electronics and in flexible circuitry such as that in Dr. Ferrari's keyboard, because of expected demand for use in pliant electronic displays. Companies such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.005930.SE +0.38% and Finland's NokiaCorp. NOK1V.HE -1.00% have filed for patents covering various graphene uses in mobile devices.

One of the hottest areas is graphene ink used to lay down circuitry, which a few companies have begun to sell. Dr. Ferrari's lab last year filed for a patent on a graphene ink that can be deposited by inkjet printers.BASF SE BAS.XE -1.85% is experimenting with graphene ink to print flexible circuits into upholstery that can heat car seats, a technology it says could be in the market in a few years.

"Graphene combines various effects" that make it distinctive, says Matthias Schwab, a lab team leader in BASF's graphene-research operation. "I am seeing no other materials that can do it."

In effect, graphene has only two dimensions, in a microscopic structure that resembles chicken wire. In a study published five years ago, Columbia University researchers concluded it was the strongest material measured. They calculated it would take an elephant balanced on a pencil to puncture a graphene sheet the thickness of Saran Wrap.

It absorbs and emits light over the widest range of wavelengths known for any material. It conducts electricity far better than silicon. Unlike silicon, which is brittle, graphene is flexible and stretchable.

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Graphene circuitry promises to eventually be cheaper than conductive materials such as copper and silver because it can be made from graphite—the plentiful stuff of an ordinary pencil lead—and can also be created by combining certain gases and metals, or synthesized from solid carbon sources.

Rice University's Dr. Tour demonstrated in 2011 that graphene can be synthesized using carbon from sources as diverse as grass, Girl Scout cookies and cockroach legs.

Dr. Tour's lab has filed for multiple graphene patents, including for ribbons to reinforce composites that he says are strong enough to use in high-pressure natural-gas tanks that can be molded into cars. Patenting quickly, he says, "gives us a foothold on the technology."

One factor holding graphene back is cost. Some U.S. vendors are selling a layer of graphene on copper foil for about $60 a square inch. "It needs to be around one dollar per square inch for high-end electronic applications such as fast transistors, and for less than 10 cents per square inch for touch-screen displays," estimates Kenneth Teo, a director at the Cambridge unit of Germany's Aixtron SE AIXA.XE -1.92% that makes machines to produce graphene.

Graphene must often be combined with other materials to exploit its properties, and scientists are still trying to figure out how to do that effectively.

It also has a significant shortcoming: It can't easily be made into a switch. International Business Machines Corp. IBM -0.32% was initially optimistic about using graphene in computer chips but found electrons travel too fast in it to switch off easily, making it hard to turn current into the "ones" and "zeros" of digital code.

Labs around the world are trying to solve the problem. But for now, "we don't see graphene replacing silicon in microprocessors," says Supratik Guha, director of physical sciences at IBM's research unit, who says he remains a big proponent of graphene. IBM is a major graphene-patent filer.

Graphene could still meet the fate of other touted materials that failed to live up to their promise. The discovery of high-temperature superconductors garnered a Nobel Prize in 1987 and led to a flood of patents and predictions of technologies such as superfast magnetically-levitated trains. The world is still waiting.

That still leaves plenty of scientific enthusiasm. In 2012, scientists published 45% more papers on graphene than in 2011, according to Thomson Reuters Web of Science, an index of journals.

It's a global race: Chinese entities had filed for the most graphene-patent applications cumulatively as of May, followed by U.S. and South Korean filers, says Cambridge Intellectual. Samsung accounted for the most filings, followed by IBM and South Korea's Sungkyunkwan University.

While labs work out graphene's kinks, some of the patents have found their way into products. Vorbeck Materials Corp., of Jessup, Md., makes a graphene ink it says is being used to print circuits in antitheft packaging in a few U.S. stores, which it declined to name.

Head's racket is reflected in an application it filed for a patent on graphene in a wide range of sports gear, from golf clubs to ski bindings. A Head representative referred inquiries to its website, which says graphene's strength lets it use less material in the racket, allowing the designer to redistribute the weight for more power.

Bluestone Global Tech Ltd., a Wappingers Falls, N.Y., startup, makes graphene sheets it says it ships to customers in the U.S., Singapore and China. "Within half a year, graphene will be used for touch screens in commercially available cellphones," predicts Chung-Ping Lai, its chief executive officer.

The graphene frenzy was unimaginable before 2003, when many scientists believed an atom-thick layer of anything couldn't keep from falling apart.

That year, Andre Geim stumbled upon graphene's wonders. A Russian-born scientist at the University of Manchester in Britain, he wanted thin graphite to study its electrical properties. A doctoral student suggested using cellophane tape.

Dr. Geim and his colleagues used the tape to peel off layers of graphite until they got to a layer so thin it was transparent. When they could peel no further, they had graphene. Not only did it not fall apart, it was strong, flexible and possessed astonishing electrical properties.

Other scientists were initially skeptical. "Not many people believed us," says Dr. Geim. But by March 2006, when he presented at a Baltimore conference, his session was packed, recalls Cambridge's Dr. Ferrari. "Finally, I understood how significant the material was going to be," he says.

In 2010, Dr. Geim and a colleague, Konstantin Novoselov, won the Nobel Prize in physics for their graphene work. By that time, corporate labs, universities like Rice and Harvard University, and academic institutions in China had begun to increase graphene research. In 2010, Japanese and South Korean scientists unveiled prototype graphene touch screens.

Labs at Samsung and Sungkyunkwan University, in particular, began to stand out for the volume of their research. "Although the basic research on graphene started in Europe and the U.S., the early research for commercial applications started in Korea," says Changgu Lee, a Sungkyunkwan graphene researcher. "We want to keep the lead."

A Samsung spokeswoman declined to comment on the company's graphene work.

Among those expressing enthusiasm for graphene is the U.S. military. In late 2011, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md., signed an agreement to study graphene's properties with Northeastern University in Boston. The agreement is mainly funded by a $300,000 grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa.

The university plans to use graphene to design better night-vision goggles and other such detectors, says Srinivas Sridhar, a Northeastern physics professor. A Darpa representative, in an email, confirmed the project.

A walk through Dr. Ferrari's labs this summer gave a window into the research. One of his associates, Felice Torrisi, showed how tape could peel graphene from a graphite clump. "This is obviously not scalable" for industrial purposes, said Dr. Torrisi.

That speaks to a big goal in the graphene race: finding the best ways to manufacture it. A large number of patent filings describe methods of manufacturing graphene.

Dr. Torrisi next held up a vial of ink consisting of graphene in water. A nearby inkjet printer whizzed away, depositing the ink on a plastic sheet to form a near-invisible circuit. Ink printed on plastic was the trick behind the keyboard Dr. Ferrari tapped to trigger music from attached electronics.

In other Cambridge lab rooms, researchers showed off an early prototype of a graphene-based laser that can shoot out ultrafast pulses of light and graphene sensors that can detect any wavelength of light.

Graphene's heat-conducting properties appear to be at the heart of Apple's patent application, which includes drawings of a graphene "heat dissipator" behind components in a "portable electronic device." An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Saab wants to take advantage of graphene's lightness and conductivity by embedding it in wings for deicing. The research is still in early stages, "but it is certainly part of our plan for introducing flying applications," says Mats Palmberg, who oversees future products at Saab's aeronautics unit.

Lockheed expects its graphene membrane to be "more effective at seawater desalination at a fraction of the cost" of current technologies, it says in a news release.

The discovery of graphene has also led scientists to hunt down scores of other two-dimensional materials with unusual properties, says Dr. Geim, the Nobel laureate. "Graphene opened up a material world we didn't even know existed."

Not even long passwords will save you from a hack attack

According to this article in PC World, we're not safe with simply long passwords:
Not even long passwords will save you from a hack attack | PCWorld:
They also need to be very complex, add numbers, symbols, and probably use "two step" methods too.