Solar

Two-thirds of Americans think the environment is getting worse, but most haven't made major changes to help the air, soil and water, according to recent Gallup polls. If you're one of the procrastinators, your number of excuses just got smaller. Thanks to the recently passed federal stimulus bill, Maryland energy grants and a maturation of the alternative energy industry, the incentives to go green in big ways and small are higher than they've ever been. Wind-generated electricity is the cheapest in history.

I know Mama always warned us never to look directly at the sun. The lenses of our eyes concentrate sunlight on our retinas, and that can cause burns and permanent vision loss. But with proper protective gear, astronomers can give us a safe and fascinating view of the sun. From 9 to 11 this morning, the Howard Astronomical League will hold a "solar viewing event," featuring an array of sun-safe equipment. It's set for the Central Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia. The weather looks perfect.

In Baltimore CountyDriver error caused fatal bus crash, investigators sayTOWSON -- Investigators have determined that driver error caused a fatal school bus accident Monday, police said yesterday.Virginia T. Carter, a veteran school bus driver, had leaned over to pick up a piece of paper from the floor as she drove a small school bus west on Golden Ring Road near Red House Run Elementary School early Monday afternoon, said Baltimore County Police spokeswoman Cpl. Vickie Warehime.The bus drifted to the right, bumping a curb and throwing Carter, who was not wearing a seat belt, onto the floor, Warehime said.

One of the most mysterious of all nature's rhythms -- the 11-year rise and fall of solar activity -- is rising toward a violent climax, and scientists say society has never been more vulnerable.Since the last "solar maximum" in 1989, the networks of high-technology communications and satellites have expanded like condos on the beach -- smack in the path of the coming solar "storms."Space station astronauts will be working in harm's way. And electric utilities are more reliant on cross-country transmission lines that can behave something like Ben Franklin's kites during big solar events.

'Parade of States'Think you're a whiz at U.S. geography? Test your knowledge of our 50 states, their flags, flora, fauna and features, Saturday at "A Parade of States" at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and 1812 Museum.Kids can take the Great State Challenge Trivia Quiz, enjoy puzzles, join a parade through the garden and visit the museum's stone map of the United States. Adults can take a more difficult version of the quiz. Tours of the house and museum will be offered. All visitors will receive a 4-by-6-inch state flag of their choice to take home.

It arrived a day late, but that blast of magnetic energy that erupted from the sun on Monday has finally blown past the Earth. It triggered changes in the Earth's magnetic field and brilliant auroral displays as far south as Boston, but no reported damage.Excited scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt said the solar storm's impact was first detected at about 8 p.m. Thursday, and continued to be felt for at least 18 hours. Its arrival produced a flood of data from a new fleet of satellites and ground stations.

A storm of magnetic energy -- the second since January -- began sweeping past Earth late yesterday, threatening to disrupt vulnerable radio communications and electric power systems today or tomorrow.Alerted by a fleet of solar observatories, federal officials were advising vulnerable industries, such as power companies and communications satellite operators, to take whatever precautions they could.A similar, smaller solar magnetic storm in January is thought to have silenced a $200 million Telstar communications satellite, interrupted radio communications at an Antarctic base and triggered auroral displays.

GREENBELT -- A space storm that erupted from the sun and swept across the solar system to Earth earlier this month has given scientists their best look yet at the details of these violent interplanetary weather events.The blast of high-energy solar particles was born on the sun Jan. 6 and reached Earth on Jan. 10, where it began pumping vast amounts of energy into the Earth's space environment. It triggered auroral displays, disrupted some radio communications and may have played a role in the Jan. 11 failure of the $200 million Telstar 401 communications satellite.

FOR FREDERICK-BASED Solarex, the future is suddenly bright. For the first time in years, the solar-power business is growing -- at 20 percent a year. Third World countries see solar energy as a cheap way to bring electricity to thousands of far-flung villages. New technology has dramatically cut production costs and raised energy efficiency. Within a decade, the price of solar may yet be competitive with oil and gas.This is a marked change for an industry that has failed to meet expectations since Jimmy Carter pointed to solar energy as a cheap alternative to oil in the 1970s.

Unlike Maryland's athletes, local companies going for the gold in Atlanta aren't getting much of it.After spending years preparing and competing for the chance to do business at the Olympics, Maryland companies say, for the most part, they're not making much money on the games, but the exposure they're getting is making their participation worthwhile.Solarex of Frederick provided the technology for the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center's solar-paneled roof, which, although "it's the largest rooftop system in the world, is not our most lucrative project," said the solar electric company's president, Harvey Forest.

On one of the fields where students learn about agriculture, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore will soon be planting a new kind of crop with a constantly renewable yield - 20 acres' worth of photovoltaic panels, the largest solar farm in the state. The 2.1-megawatt system, to be built by Beltsville-based SunEdison, will generate electricity for the 4,100-student campus in Princess Anne when it's finished, which is expected by the end of the year. "We hope it will be a model for other universities as well as the surrounding businesses in the area," said Suzanne Street, the university's spokeswoman.

When it comes to what people put on the roofs of their houses, ugly is in the eye of the beholder. Some people love rooftop decks. Some people think they're eyesores that destroy the historic nature of Baltimore's waterfront communities. (And some people love their rooftop decks and hate everybody else's.) But what if the structure you're trying to put on top of your house has a purpose more noble than providing a good place to drink beer and watch the fireworks? That question is dividing Federal Hill over the effort by one homeowner, Marsha Vitow, to install a small wind turbine on top of her rowhouse.

Today is the day to set your sundial. On this date the "equation of time" is zero. That means solar time and clock time are in agreement, and noon on your sundial should agree with noon on your watch. This is also true on Sept. 1, Dec. 25 and April 15. The rest of the year, your sundial might run as much as 16 minutes fast or 14 minutes slow. Blame Earth's tilt and elliptical orbit.

A long-range space-weather forecast: After the quietest low in a century in the 11-year cycle of solar activity, NOAA scientists predict the next solar peak will top out in May 2013 at the lowest level since 1928. But even "weak" solar cycles can act up. A similar cycle in 1859 produced a solar storm that set fires in telegraph offices and sparked Northern Lights bright enough to read newspapers by.

Two-thirds of Americans think the environment is getting worse, but most haven't made major changes to help the air, soil and water, according to recent Gallup polls. If you're one of the procrastinators, your number of excuses just got smaller. Thanks to the recently passed federal stimulus bill, Maryland energy grants and a maturation of the alternative energy industry, the incentives to go green in big ways and small are higher than they've ever been. Wind-generated electricity is the cheapest in history.

J ohn McDaniel of Baltimore and others were surprised to learn here that Baltimore's average first frost was 18 days later than Annapolis'. It may be the "heat island" effect, in which buildings and pavement retain and radiate more solar energy than less-urban areas. Average July temperatures in Washington are 3.5 degrees warmer than at Dulles Airport. January's are 3.2 degrees warmer.

McCormick & Co. plans to announce today that it will begin using solar energy at its distribution center and spice mill in Hunt Valley by early next year. The spice maker signed an agreement to have Constellation Energy build a one-megawatt solar power system at the two facilities, located at its headquarters campus. McCormick will purchase electricity generated by the system from Constellation. The two companies did not disclose financial details. The solar energy project will be McCormick's largest effort at its U.S. facilities to use alternative sources of energy, said Alan Wilson, McCormick president and chief executive officer.

Solar energy tax credit extension is urged Three prominent Maryland Democratic elected officials stood on a grassy hill atop a former landfill in Ellicott City yesterday urging congressional Republicans to stop blocking the extension of federal investment tax credits for solar energy. The credits are set to expire Dec. 31, but Democrats and Republicans are at loggerheads over the issue. Democrats want more wind, solar and renewable energy incentives, but Republicans have objected to paying for them by assessing oil companies.

General Motors announced plans yesterday to install 8,700 solar panels on the roof of its White Marsh transmission plant by spring through a partnership with Beltsville's SunEdison, North America's largest provider of solar energy services. The 300,000-square-foot solar project will be one of the biggest on the East Coast, generating enough electricity to power up to 150 households and reducing the plant's utility bill along with its reliance on Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. The proposal is part of an effort to lessen the automaker's impact on the environment and cut costs amid hemorrhaging U.S. sales.

John Polyniak in Lake Shore says the downtown temperature he gets from the phone company's weather line is so much higher than BWI's that "it seems irrelevant. ... Is the thermometer laying on the tar atop the Maryland Science Center?" It's actually on a phone company building downtown. It's a hot spot, but downtown summer temperatures are always higher than BWI's because of urban "heat island" effects - solar energy reradiated by concrete and asphalt. The Sun's station at Calvert and Centre streets is a cooler choice: baltimoresun.