Life

Wave-produced Energy The Wave Of The Future?

April 27, 2017 By Sherry Tingley

Will energy from waves become a usable source for power?

Scientists estimate that the energy inherent in the movements of oceans, if it were harnessed, could provide power to meet a quarter of America’s energy demands.

But even with increasing pressure on other energy sources, including oil, gas and coal, research into ocean activity as a source has not been urgent. The potential for wind and solar power tends to get more attention.

The U.S. Navy has stepped up with a test site in the waters off Hawaii to see if wave energy is a feasible area for more research. If it becomes a reality, it could be a boon to coastal cities around the world. In fact, Hawaii’s island cities have the highest electricity rates in the U.S., making the prospect attractive. The cities rely on fossil fuels shipped across the ocean. State officials have issued a mandate that Hawaii will be using renewable energy fully by 2045.

Surfers already know what the waves coming in to Hawaii are like. They are powerful and roiling. One of the challenges for the experimentation is to find buoys that can capture both the side-to-side and up-and-down ocean motions.

Any device designed to capture electricity generated by the motion would have to withstand long-term thrashing as well as the powerful storms that sometimes hit the coast. Not to mention the corrosive effects of constant exposure to salt water.

Patrick Cross, specialist at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute in Manoa, which manages the test site, recognizes the challenges but is confident buoys can be designed that will do the job.

Being able to harness the energy now going to waste in the oceans would go a long way toward achieving the U.S. goal of reducing emissions from carbon-based fuels by a third by 2030. Many states are involved in efforts to develop renewable energy sources as well.

Some European countries also are pursuing the wave energy potential. They have spent more than $ billion on the effort, while the U.S. has put about $334 million into its research. Marine Energy Council, a trade group representing Great Britain and other European countries, is heading the research effort there. China and Norway also have been building and testing devices.

At present, the U.S. effort off Hawaii consists of two buoys anchored a half mile offshore. The Azura extends 50 feet below the ocean surface and stands some 12 feet above. It converts both horizontal and vertical movements in the ocean to about 18 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power about a dozen homes.

Plans are for Northwest Energy Innovations of Portland, Ore., a company working with the Navy, to build a prototype that can generate at least 500 kilowatts of energy, enough to power hundreds of homes.

Researchers are aware that the prospect of hundreds of buoys bobbing in the ocean could trigger opposition from environmentalists – the same problem that has stifled some wind turbine research.

Millennials Falling Behind Boomers

April 8, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

Millennials are 20 percent behind what their parents were doing at the same age in life.

In the normal course of things, it is expected that each generation of Americans will be better off financially than the one before it. That is not holding true for the Millennials. They are lagging behind their Boomer forebears by an average 20 percent in earnings.

The Federal Reserve’s latest figures, as interpreted by the advocacy group Young Invincibles, show that, with median household income at $40,581, the Millennials are 20 percent behind what their parents were doing at the same age in life.

The facts run counter to the wisdom that education is the answer, since the Millennials outstrip their elders in that category.

The M generation boasts less home ownership and has half the net worth of the Boomers. Their education debt is significantly higher, the data show.

The scenario is not good for the new administration, which has pledged a return to post-World War II economics. Culture and identity issues that split the country are factors. White Americans still earn much more than Latino or Black peers, but they have also seen their incomes drop the most, relative to the Boomers.

Many of the Millennials bemoan the fact that at their ages, their parents had homes and were rearing families. Too many of today’s college graduates are working at low wages in jobs that have nothing to do with the courses they took.

Education does have an effect in boosting incomes, but the median college-educated Millennial who has student debt is earning only slightly more than a Boomer without a degree did in 1989, the figures say. More young Americans have a college education, with some 35.6 percent of those 25- to 29-year olds boasting a degree, compared with 23.2 percent in 1990.

In1989, home ownership for the earlier age group was 46 percent. It has dipped now to 43 percent, and the median net worth of the average Millennial is $10,090, 56 percent less than that enjoyed by the Boomers at the same age.

Despite being born at a time when opportunities seemed at a crest, downward mobility is the trend for white Millennials if the current numbers tell it like it is.

Annual Price Of Raising A Child

January 12, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

That Darling Newborn Will Cost You $233K

Ah! Isn’t he/she cute? But take a closer look at what that darling little one is going to cost you over the next 17 years.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the estimated costs of rearing a child today is $233,610. That’s about $14,000 annually. The figure is based on a middle-income family with two children. Kids cost more in the city, also, than they do in rural areas.

The estimates, released recently by the department, are based on 2015 data, so the cost probably increased while you weren’t looking last year. The bottom line is about 3 percent higher than for the previous year, an increase that outstrips overall inflation.

It’s enough to give new parents the heebie-jeebies. The figures calculated by the USDA are used by state governments and courts to prepare child support and foster care guidelines.

The bulk of the costs fall right where you’d imagine: housing, food, transportation, health care, education, clothing and miscellaneous expenses.

Housing Costs

In case you had’n’t noticed, housing is expensive, accounting for 26 to 30 percent of a family’s expenditures. The USDA figures the cost for another child by calculating the cost of an added room to a home. The department admits that it doesn’t calculate into the figure such items as a family’s desire to live in more expensive neighborhood that offer better schools and other amenities attractive to those rearing children.

Middle income married-couple families living in the urban Northeast reported the highest costs – about $253,770 for the 17-year total, ocmpared with the urban West at $235,140; the urban South at $221,730 and the urban Midwest at $217,020. The average rural amount was $193,020. Lower-income families averaged $174,690 per child through age 17. At the other extreme, higher-income families will spend, on average, $372,210.

Food Costs

Following housing on the expense list are health care and food. For the middle-income family, food takes up about 18 percent of the child-rearing budget. Child care and education eat up another 16 percent. Education costs have consistently increased each year since 1960, when the USDA started calculating the costs. At that time, education only devoured 2 percent of the child-rearing costs. Child care also has become an increasingly expensive item with more women entering the labor force.

Education Costs

The report doesn’t even consider the costs of higher education, which usually don’t kick in until after the child is 17. The average annual cost of college now is $47,370 for a private institution, $20,090 for a public college.

New parents who groan at the costs of diapers and formula have even bigger surprises ahead. Between the ages from birth to 2, the little cherub costs only around $12,680 while a teenager 15 to 17 will dip into the family’s finances to the tune of about $13,900 each year. The costs of food, transportation, clothing and health care all escalate for the teens.

Good news for larger families! Those with three or more children spend an average of 24 percent less per child. That’s because kids in large families share rooms, wear hand-me-downs, and inherit older siblings’ toys. Child care facilities often offer sibling discounts.

On the flip side, a single child costs an average 27 percent more.

Health Care Spending Per Person Hits New High

October 10, 2016 By Twila Van Leer

Rising healthcare costs are a big concern.

Health Care Problem For New President

Whoever wins the current presidential election will inherit a scary health care reality when he/she takes office. For the first time in history, health care spending in America has topped, on average, $10K per person. That means the new president will be stuck with an unprecedented problem in how to provide the health care that was initiated during the Obama years.

Increase In Total Cost

The bean counters in the Department of Health and Human Services announced the new high last month and predicted that the total cost will increase by 5.8 percent annually from 2015 to 2025. That’s less than the increases from 2007-09, just before the Great Recession, but faster than in the post-recession years, when health care spending kept pace with modest economic growth.

Average Per Person

The per-person average of $10,345 is part of the $3.35 trillion total in health care expenditures expected this year. The annual increase for 2016 is expected to be lower than the forecasts for the rest of the decade.

Attributing Factors

DHHS experts attribute the rise to a stronger economy, faster growth in medical prices and an aging population. The Medicare and Medicaid programs that provide for the elderly and needy are both expected to see new demands as the baby-boomers shift into these categories. By 2025, the experts say, government spending at all levels will account for nearly half of all health care expenditures, an estimated 47 percent.

Obamacare

If Obama’s health care reforms survive attacks from the Republicans, the experts project that more than 90 percent of Americans will have some form of medical insurance.

Republican and Democratic Plans

The figures are causing major angst for both major political parties. Republican nominee Donald Trump has declared he will do away with Obama’s plan while preserving Medicare and seeing that Americans are not “dying in the streets.” Democratic choice Hillary Clinton promises to expand government health care benefits.

Prescription Drug Costs

Both candidates say they will tackle the high costs of prescription drugs and the resultant drain on health care dollars. But the extension of benefits to millions of Americans through Obama’s plan will inevitably add to the overall total unless changes are made.

Out-Of-Pocket

The DHHS report, published in the journal Health Affairs, also predicts that Americans will pay more out-of-pocket for care as the number of people covered by high-deductible plans continues to grow.

Caregiver Survival Tips

July 8, 2016 By Twila Van Leer

Anyone caring for the ill or elderly people needs to know a few caregiver survival tips. Caregiver burnout is a reality that can drain physical and psychological resources to the limit.

Caring for a family member who is ill or disabled can be a draining, depleting experience that calls for adjusting schedules and setting priorities, according to experts. The solution is effective time management that gives you some breathing room during demanding days.

Caregiver Survival Tips

Focus on what must be done and put other items into a “can wait” category. Do the most demanding things first, at the beginning of the day when you’re at your best. Be flexible so you can handle unexpected demands.

Make Some Time For Yourself

Failing to eat healthfully, exercise and allow yourself some “down” time to restock and restore can quickly lead to burnout. Try to prepare some healthy snacks, rather than grabbing what’s fast and convenient. (How come that seems to include everything you have an appetite for?)
Some physical activity, such as a walk, can help defuse stress and give you a mental lift. Don’t let your caregiving responsibilities keep you from getting adequate rest. If your patient naps, you do the same.

Use Technology To Help With Time Crunches

You may spend a lot of time in medical settings with your “patient.” Use a smartphone or other portable device to make use of waiting time to keep others updated, check your emails or simply listen to music or podcasts for a break.

Organize And De-Clutter

Caring for a person who is ill or otherwise in need of constant attention can be stressful. Messiness in the surroundings can multiply that stress. An organized environment will make it easier to deal with the demands of caregiving. Clean up messes as you go. Have a place for everything and keep “stuff” in its proper place. That takes a lot less time than cleaning up when things get into disarray.

Know And Acknowledge Your Limitations

Be honest about how much you can give to the demands placed on you. Often, the person being cared for is a loved one and you may be tempted to push yourself beyond your limits to provide the needed care. But failing to recognize signs of burnout may be detrimental to both you and the person for whom you are providing care. If it is possible, build a network of family or friends who can give you a needed break now and again. Look into community and social resources for help as needed. Physicians and other caretakers may be able to offer suggestions.