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    State green tech survey sees growth

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    Sopogy Solar
    File Photo | Ryan Ozawa

    A state survey backed by federal stimulus funds predicts that “green jobs” will grow by over 25 percent in the next two years.

    The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) today released job projections related to Hawaii’s renewable energy and energy efficiency occupations, commonly known as “Green” Jobs. The report is a product of a $1.2 million competitive federal stimulus grant Hawaii was awarded a year ago.

    Two goals of the grant were to define what a “Green” job is and then to survey employers to identify job projections and skill sets. The state and counties will utilize this information to assist job seekers in finding employment or job training.

    The department defined Green jobs as those that engage in at least one of five core green areas: (1) Generate clean, renewable, sustainable energy; (2) Reduce pollution and waste, conserve natural resources, recycle; (3) Energy efficiency; (4) Education, training and support of a green workforce; and (5) Natural, environmentally-friendly production.

    Key findings include:

    • Green jobs in the private sector of Hawaii are estimated at 11,145, which accounts for 2.4 percent of total private employment. Green jobs are identified in 203 occupations across 19 major industry groups. Sixty-five percent of Hawaii’s green jobs are found in three major industries – Construction, Professional Services, and Administrative & Support, Waste Management & Remediation Services. Five occupations — Janitors & Cleaners, Forest & Conservation Technicians, Security Guards, Electricians, and Heating & Air Conditioning Mechanics & Installers — account for 28 percent of the green workforce.
    • Current green job vacancies are estimated at 670, which represent 1.5 percent of Hawaii is total unemployment. Nearly three-quarters of these vacancies occur in three industries – Construction, Agriculture and Professional Services.
    • Businesses anticipate green employment to grow faster than the overall labor market in Hawaii. Between 2010 and 2012, employer worksites project the number of green jobs to increase by 26 percent to 14,048, accounting for 2.9 percent of total employment. Occupations expected to experience the most growth in green jobs during this period are solar and insulation technicians. All counties report an increase in the number of green jobs by 2012, with Oahu projecting the largest number (1,885 new green jobs) and Hawaii County the highest rate of growth (42 percent).
    • Community colleges and trade schools fulfill 62 percent of the education and training requirements for reported green jobs. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification was the most commonly cited qualification.
    • Businesses report an average of 3.5 green practices per worksite, with the largest numbers found in Maui and Kauai counties. Recycling, use of recycled products, and energy-saving light bulbs are the most common practices. Over 90 percent of worksites report at least one green practice.

    Policy makers, business leaders and the public can utilize this “green” intelligence to help guide their strategic decision-making in areas such as investment, education and workforce development. The results of the survey will also allow State, County and private workforce development agencies to train Hawaii’s labor force and place them into employment.
    The report provides a framework for assessing green jobs in the private sector of the State of Hawaii. Survey responses, from a statistical sample of all Hawaii businesses, provide data on over 4,000 worksites for the first quarter of 2010. This represents a 44 percent overall response rate.

    The Hawaii Green Jobs Initiative is a partnership between the DLIR, Hawaii Workforce Development Council, Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges, and the four county Local Workforce Investment Boards. The U.S. Department of Labor funds this program through a competitive grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

    For further information, visit www.GreenJobsHawaii.org.

    Endangered bird nesting at Midway Atoll

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    Short-Tailed Albatross
    Short-Tailed Albatross on Midway Atoll. Photo courtesy USFWS Pacific.

    An important – and hopeful – milestone in the conservation of the endangered short-tailed albatross was recorded at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in November.

    On Nov. 16, refuge staff observed an adult short-tailed albatross incubating a freshly laid egg on Eastern Island, one of three small flat coral islands that comprise Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge about 1,200 miles northwest of Honolulu. Since then, refuge staff have observed the male and female trading off incubation duties.

    The adult male was banded as a fledgling in 1987 on Torishima Island, a Japanese possession. The female was banded as a fledgling in 2003, also on Torishima.

    If the pair’s breeding effort is successful at Midway Atoll Refuge, it would mark the first confirmed hatching of a short-tailed albatross outside of Japan in modern history.

    Establishing a new nesting colony is one of several important steps needed to continue the rare bird’s recovery because volcanic activity regularly threatens the short-tailed albatross’ main nesting grounds on Torishima. The species’ recovery also depends on reducing the threats of contaminants, especially oil contamination at sea and plastic ingestion; reducing bycatch of these seabirds from commercial fisheries; and addressing invasive species and other competitive species at nesting colonies.

    The pair first “met” at Midway Atoll Refuge during the breeding season four years ago (2007-08). That season, they were observed spending only a little time together. During the second season (2008-09), their time together increased. By the third season (2009-10), they arrived at the Eastern Island breeding colony together in October and built a nest. Now, in their fourth breeding season (2010-2011), they appear to have copulated and laid an egg.

    The short-tailed albatross, listed as endangered since 1970, is the largest seabird in the North Pacific with a wing span of seven to 7.5 feet. It is known for the golden, yellow cast on its head and nape; for its large, pink bill with blue tip and black border around the base; and for its pale bluish feet and legs. Its life span is 12 to 45 years. Pairs begin breeding at about seven or eight years of age, and mate for life.

    Once thought to be the most abundant albatross species in the North Pacific with a population of more than 5 million adults, short-tailed albatross were hunted for feathers, and harmed in other ways, to near extinction.

    By the 20th century, only two colonies remained on remote Japanese islands – Torishima Island in the Philippine Sea and Minami-kojima Island near Taiwan in the East China Sea. In 1939, the short-tailed

    albatross’ main breeding grounds on Torishima were buried under 30 to 90 feet of lava after a volcanic eruption. Population numbers plummeted to 10 nesting pairs. Since then, conservation efforts have helped increase the population to approximately 2,400 birds, which forage widely across the temperate/subarctic North Pacific and can be seen in the Gulf of Alaska, along the Aleutian Islands and in the Bering Sea.

    Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge has actively planned to host a nesting colony for more than a decade, and this conservation effort seems to be paying off. Short-tailed albatross were rarely seen on Midway Atoll before the effort began. This season marks the pair’s first known mating and nesting attempt. Refuge staff and volunteers will continue to monitor the nest daily with the use of a remote video camera.

    About the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

    The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

    Hawaii firm unveils digital medical wristband

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    MEDICOM Wristband
    MEDICOM Wristband | Courtesy Photo

    MEDICOM Technologies, Inc., a purveyor of technically advanced medical identification solutions, has introduced a multimedia-enabled interactive medical wristband. The device readily presents an individual’s complete medical history to emergency treatment personnel in critical situations.

    The first-of-its-kind, patent-pending MEDICOM Medical I.D. Wristband could be an industry game changer, boasting an array of audio, video and voice-driven health and entertainment features that the company says is unsurpassed in today’s marketplace. All in a stylish wristband design.

    Created for the 65 million Americans with chronic medical conditions requiring regular physicians’ care, the computerized MEDICOM Medical I.D. Wristband is described as the first and only device with audio-visual capabilities that can store, display, edit, voice and transfer a patient’s complete medical history in up to nine languages to first responders, EMT’s, and hospital personnel in any emergency medical situation.

    For non-emergency use in leisure time, consumers may also view photos or listen to songs, voice recordings, 20 FM radio stations, or watch movies via earphones that plug directly into the device.

    With a touch of a button the wristband’s graphic 1.5” LCD screen with digital display presents, in a scrolling fashion, comprehensive health data automatically pre-parsed into 14 intuitive files that may be individually selected, scrolled in either direction, and paused for easy viewing. The information can also be uploaded from the wristband to an ambulance lap top or hospital computer via a standard USB 2.0 cable connection.

    “The medication scheduling file, for example, will help an ER doctor avoid administering contra-indicated medications and the patient from spending any excessive time in the hospital going through unnecessary and expensive diagnostic treatment,” explains James Klink, founder and CEO of MEDICOM Technologies, Inc. “If the patient arrives at a hospital unconscious, the staff will have access to the individual’s insurance information in another file to authorize admittance, and can also quickly find the patient’s blood type, degree or class of medical disease, any special treatment requests the patient may have including process for resuscitation, organ donation, languages understood other than English, and basically any other data needed to effectively treat the specific patient.”

    Available in two styles – stainless steel or black leather – its fashion accessory design removes the stigma often associated with medical I.D. devices, thus encouraging more self-conscious and style-savvy adolescents and adults with chronic pre-existing medical conditions to wear one and have it at-the-ready when an emergency presents.

    Also more affordable than other medical identification solutions on the market that charge recurring annual fees, the MEDICOM Medical I.D. Wristbands sell for an economical one-time charge of $125 for the stainless steel banded model or $115 for the leather banded model.

    The company points out that other, lower-tech medical I.D. products do provide patient information as readily, requiring emergency or hospital personnel to spend precious minutes calling an 800-number for basic medical history and instruction, and presumes that there will be no problems with the I.D. number transfer, telephone connection, or the data access computer at that critical time.

    “Our purpose with this medical I.D. innovation is to empower patients to be more aware of their personal health and better inform, alert, and facilitate the transfer of knowledge to EMTs and other first responders, physicians and hospital personnel,” Klink continues. “Our device enables patients to receive the personalized emergency care that is needed relative to their specific chronic illness or advance directives. It also allows patients to get in and out of the hospital faster, safer, and less expensively. This results in fewer malpractice lawsuits, thereby reducing physician malpractice premiums and the expenses insurance companies pay out.”

    “Only a small percentage – a paltry 4% – of those with chronic illnesses and who should be wearing a medical identification device currently owns one,” Klink notes. “With our solution being so feature rich, easy to use, and wearable as a bona-fide fashion accessory, we believe many more consumers will opt to safeguard their health and welfare in emergency medical situations.”

    How It Works

    MEDICOM Wristband
    MEDICOM Wristband | Courtesy Photo

    From any Internet-enabled computer, consumers may enter from 2GB to 8GB of vital medical, personal, and entertainment information via an intuitive Web site template, and then transfer the data to the MEDICOM Medical I.D. Wristband via a standard USB 2.0 cable/port connection.

    The MEDICOM Medical I.D. Wristband will store and, at the touch of a button, instantly display a user’s personal demographics; medical conditions; emergency contact information; all medications, dosages and times taken; advance directives and special treatment requests; x-ray disks and recent medical/lab results; medical/dental Insurance information; I.D. photo, allergies; physicians and pharmacy addresses and phone numbers; medical history including any diseases, surgeries, immunizations, etc.; as well as a miscellaneous folder to input medical appointments, notes, and virtually any additional medical information of note (charting & graphing, diet/exercise programs, Web favorites, etc).

    Updates and edits to keep personal data current and accurate are also done at the push of a button. In addition, any medical data can be downloaded to the MEDICOM Medical I.D. Wristband from any physician’s office, laboratory, medical or other relevant facility in the world via any Internet-enabled computer.

    Klink concludes, “This device is critical to the millions of individuals in the United States alone with chronic medical conditions. Having such robust medical identification allows them to function with complete peace of mind in their everyday lives, providing immeasurable value.”

    About MEDICOM Technologies, Inc.

    Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, MEDICOM Technologies, Inc. is a purveyor of technically advanced medical identification solutions. Its flagship, patent pending MEDICOM Medical I.D. Wristband presents a patient’s complete medical history to emergency treatment personnel in critical situations. The company’s first-of-its-kind medical identification solution offers a comprehensive array of audio, video and voice-driven health and entertainment features unsurpassed in today’s marketplace in a stylish wristband design and at an affordable price point. Learn more online.

    UH prof writes nanoscale physics guide

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    Klaus Sattler
    Klaus Sattler | Courtesy Photo
    Human organs from nanomaterials, particles penetrating the skin, quantum dots for cancer detection, and nanorobots that destroy toxic chemicals—what is all this about? Does such research help us to realize a sustainable future? How can we educate a new generation of nanoscientists and nanoengineers?

    A new book publication three and a half years in the making, titled “Handbook of Nanophysics,” gives answers to such important questions. Published by CRC Press, it was edited by UH Mānoa Physics Professor Klaus D. Sattler, who directed the collaborative effort of 683 contributing authors from 47 countries. Even before its release, the book was widely considered to be a groundbreaking publication.

    In 1980, Sattler—a pioneer in the development of nanophysics—built the first atomic cluster source that became one of the foundations for today’s nanoscience. He operates a laboratory in the UH Mānoa Physics Department with highly sensitive scientific equipment for nanophysics research.

    Authors of the handbook, including two UH Mānoa faculty members, are from major national and international universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, University of Chicago and the University of Austin. They reside in major cities such as Singapore, Paris, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Berlin, and also smaller countries including Bulgaria and Morocco. They are all world experts in their fields with profound knowledge of the state-of-the-art science.

    From the UH Mānoa campus, Chemistry Professor John Head has contributed with a chapter on “Predicting Nanocluster Structures,” and Professor Mehrdad Ghasemi-Nejhad of the Department of Mechanical Engineering has written “Smart Composite Systems with Nanopositioning.” Various other Mānoa faculty members have participated in the peer-review process of the handbook.

    “Handbook of Nanophysics” is the first comprehensive reference to cover both fundamental and applied aspects of physics at the nanoscale. A unique feature of the handbook is its science/tutorial hybrid style. Each peer-reviewed chapter presents a didactic treatment of the physics underlying the nanoscale materials and applications along with detailed experimental results. State-of-the-art scientific content is enriched with fundamental equations and illustrations.

    The handbook covers a broad range of topics: Principles and Methods (Vol. 1), Clusters and Fullerenes (Vol. 2), Nanoparticles and Quantum Dots (Vol. 3), Nanotubes and Nanowires (Vol. 4), Functional Nanomaterials (Vol. 5), Nanoelectronics and Nanophotonics (Vol. 6) and Nanomedicine and Nanorobotics (Vol. 7). The handbook consists of 304 chapters and 5,670 pages.

    Nanophysics brings together multiple disciplines to determine the structural, electronic, optical, and thermal behavior of nanomaterials; electrical and thermal conductivity; the forces between nanoscale objects; and the transition between classical and quantum behavior. Facilitating communication across many disciplines, this landmark publication encourages scientists with disparate interests to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects and incorporate the theory and methodology of other areas into their work.

    In the last several years, nanoscience has experienced a tremendous increase in activity. About one million scientists are now involved in nano-scale research. Besides research done at the University and government labs, many studies are performed at industry labs. Corporations like Intel, Hewlett-Packard, DuPont, and especially IBM are also pioneering nanotechnology.

    UH research focuses on vertebrae development

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    Dr. Jinzeng Yang
    Dr. Jinzeng Yang | Courtesy Photo
    Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have developed innovative techniques that could have profound effects on congenital cervical vertebrae malformation research.

    In the cover-featured research article of the November issue of Molecular Reproduction and Development, researchers looked into congenital cervical vertebrae malformation in humans that can cause neural problems and increase susceptibility to stillbirth in women. Research advancement on abnormal vertebrae development has been limited due to the lack of lab animals with taxonomic equivalency to humans (animal models), and restrictions on human subject research.

    Leading the research effort was Dr. Jinzeng Yang, a molecular biologist in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources’ Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences. Researchers from Yang’s laboratory have developed a new mouse model that reveals how patterning and developmental proteins can influence cervical vertebrae formation.

    The mouse model uses a gene suppression technique that induces skeletal formation. The mice and their offspring appear normal but have striking cervical vertebrae formation. Yang’s new gene suppression technique offers benefits, in this case, over the mouse model generated by complete gene removal (knockout mice), which cause mice to die shortly after birth.

    Yang’s laboratory has been studying myostatin, a protein playing a dominant role in reducing muscle mass. By genetically blocking the function of myostatin by its partial DNA sequences, mice were developed with 40 percent more muscle mass.

    Yang’s graduate student Zicong Li, the first author of the publication, hypothesized that this gene suppression strategy would also work to stimulate skeletal development by inhibiting growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11), a similar protein to myostatin, and produce live animals. Previously, the mice with complete removal of the GDF11 gene or knockout mice died shortly after birth. In collaboration with Dr. Stefan Moisyadi’s laboratory in the UH Institute of Biogenesis Research, they generated the transgenic mice by using a new single plasmid system of piggyBac transgene delivery, which offers greater transposition rates and precision.

    The original research article is titled, “Transgenic Over-Expression of Growth Differentiation Factor 11 Propeptide in Skeleton Results in Transformation of the Seventh Cervical Vertebra into a Thoracic Vertebra.” The publication is available online.

    Work was supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health.

    Kauai utility pleads guilty to seabird take

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    Newell's Shearwater
    Newell's Shearwater | Photo by Brenda Zaun/USFWS

    The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) entered a plea agreement today in federal court in Honolulu to resolve violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.

    KIUC pleaded guilty to count one and count 16 of a 19-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in May 2010.

    Count one charged a violation of the ESA by knowingly “taking” at least 14 Newell’s shearwaters, a federally protected threatened species, at or near Keālia Beach. Count 16 charged a violation of the MBTA by the “taking” of at least 18 Newell’s shearwaters, also protected as a migratory species, at KIUC’s Port Allen facility.

    Under the ESA, “take” means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.

    “The Department of Justice sought a criminal prosecution of KIUC only after a long history of attempts to resolve ongoing violations,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The resolution of this case will set an example for others and help in the successful recovery of the Newell’s shearwaters, a threatened native species that is part of Hawai‘i’s cultural and natural heritage.”

    In accordance with the terms of the plea agreement, KIUC was sentenced to the maximum statutory fine of $40,000 for the two counts to which KIUC pleaded guilty and a period of probation of 18 months with specific conditions intended to avoid additional violations during the period of probation.

    In addition, KIUC agreed to modify and reconfigure power lines associated with the highest incidences of take. KIUC must also monitor two stretches of inland power lines to help determine the number of protected birds colliding with those lines. KIUC is also required to apply for an incidental take permit that would authorize, as required by law, the taking of such threatened species under certain conditions and requirements.

    And the plea agreement also required that, as community service, KIUC make a payment of $225,000 to an account, established at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to benefit protected seabirds on Kaua‘i. The plea agreement stated that this requirement was aimed at repairing the loss to Kaua‘i of these culturally and ecologically important seabirds, while recognizing KIUC’s annual funding of the program since 2003.

    “What would we and Hawai‘i be if these birds vanished from the earth? I say we would be diminished as a community and as a place; a place so special compared to all others,” said Paul Chang, Special Agent in Charge of Law Enforcement in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region. “The result of this case allows me to believe there is hope for all of us working together to preserve Hawai‘i’s unique wildlife. This is Pono.”

    The Newell’s shearwater (known in the Hawaiian language as ‘a‘o) is a seabird native to the Hawaiian Islands. The majority of the world’s population of Newell’s shearwaters nests on the island of Kaua‘i, specifically in burrows on inland mountains.

    Adult Newell’s shearwaters fly between the ocean and these nesting areas from spring through fall of each year. Young shearwaters leave these inland mountain nests and make their first flight to the sea from September to December each year, typically at night. The young birds use mountain air currents or physical drop offs to become airborne. If a young shearwater falls to the ground in a location without conditions such as those that occur in the inland mountains or at sea, it usually will be unable to regain flight. The species is identified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.

    In its plea agreement, KIUC admitted that it knew Newell’s shearwaters could collide with its power lines and that such collisions could kill and otherwise harm the birds. A scientific report completed and made public in 1995 recommended actions to reduce the take of seabirds by utility lines, including modifying the configuration and locations of power lines. According to the indictment, KIUC did not undertake any of the recommended line modification/reconfiguration actions except for a limited stretch of power line near Keālia Beach after being notified in March 2007 that it was a target of a federal investigation.

    KIUC admitted in its plea agreement that since June 2005, at least 14 Newell’s shearwaters were found dead near KIUC power lines near Keālia Beach and Donkey Beach. At least ten more shearwaters were found since 2005 near other KIUC power lines, including lines in and near the Wailua River Valley, Waimea River Valley, ‘Ele‘ele, and Kapa‘a.

    Necropsies of some birds concluded that they died from blunt force trauma consistent with a collision with a power line or other solid object. Eyewitnesses have observed such collisions with KIUC power lines.

    KIUC further admitted it knew that young shearwaters are attracted to lights and this attraction may cause the birds to collide into power lines or fall to the ground from exhaustion due to circling the lights. KIUC acknowledged it knew that modifying or shielding lights so they shine only downward significantly reduced the light attractions and related harm to the birds. KIUC admitted that although it shielded streetlights in 2003, after being required to do so in an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it failed to shield its lights at the Port Allen facility. KIUC acknowledged that nine Newell’s shearwaters were found on the ground at or near the Port Allen facility in an eight-day period in October 2006.

    The Endangered Species Act prohibits the unauthorized taking, including harming and harassing, of species listed as threatened or endangered. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the unauthorized “taking”, including wounding or killing, of bird species listed as migratory.

    Assistant Attorney General Moreno credited Special Agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the investigation of the case culminating in the Indictment and subsequent plea agreement.

    The case is being prosecuted by the Environmental Crime Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice.

    Sopogy receives Patriot Award from Department of Defense

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    Sopogy®, Inc., a leader in micro concentrated solar power (MicroCSP®) technology, announced that it has received the Patriot Award presented by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense organization, in recognition of extraordinary support and commitment to its employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve.

    During a ceremony with employees, Sopogy was recognized for their support to military reserve employees by going above and beyond the legal requirements for granting leave and accommodating schedules for overseas deployment and training, as well as offering the same job status upon return to the United States.

    “We are honored to receive this recognition,” said Darren Kimura, President and CEO of Sopogy. “It is truly a privilege to support our military employees and we are especially proud to count them among our associates. We salute each member of the National Guard and Reserve for their courage, respect and loyalty in serving our country.”

    Sopogy, Inc. engages in the development, design, manufacturing and marketing of MicroCSP technologies – a comprehensive, low temperature, low cost approach to solar thermal. MicroCSP technology brings the economics of large Concentrating Solar Power systems to the industrial, commercial and utility sectors in a more manageable, durable and faster to deploy kit. The technology is designed for the 2-50MW power class, 100-1,000 ton solar thermal air conditioning size and unlimited quantities of industrial process heat. Sopogy’s two megawatt solar thermal field has been operational in Kona, Hawaii, U.S.A. since March 2009 and demonstrates the effectiveness and reliability of MicroCSP with Sopogy’s proprietary thermal energy storage solution. Sopogy’s award winning SopoNova solar collector was named New Product of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers and received Plant Engineering Product of the Year. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Honolulu, HI, U.S.A. Please visit www.sopogy.com for more information.

    IDIA Lab Launches Immersive Learning Experience on Blue Mars

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    Ball State University’s Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA) announced today the release of IDIA Lab City, a new immersive learning experience powered by Blue Mars, Avatar Reality’s 3D social world platform. Visitors to the new area can virtually tour and examine stunning, realistic recreations of artifacts and artworks in their original historical contexts, including sculptures at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and a IDIA’s premiere effort in Blue Mars showcases several examples of recent grant supported research projects. For example, students in IDIA’s Immersive Seminar in Virtual Worlds 3D laser-scanned sculptures in Ball State University’s Museum of Art collection, resulting in accurate and detailed replicas in IDIA’s simulation.

    IDIA director John Fillwalk, also an associate professor of art at Ball State, believes that these new efforts in Blue Mars are also an excellent example of the university’s Emerging Media Initiative (EMI) and its focus on accelerating economic benefits to the state of Indiana through technology transfer and the preparation of increasingly media-savvy human capital.

    “Part of our mission at IDIA is to develop new technology solutions for our expanding range of clients that are interested in engaging next generation media design, to the economic benefit of both the state and the university,” said Fillwalk.

    With Blue Mars still in its beta phase, IDIA is exploring various new ways that the platform might be used, from learning and the arts to gaming. Future IDIA initiatives in Blue Mars will include the design of immersive artworks, shared media collaboration tools and the development of an open virtual campus for use by educators interested in engaging the platform as an environment for learning.

    The premiere projects can be viewed by downloading Blue Mars for free at http://www.bluemars.com/. There will be an in-world meet and greet tour with IDIA staff held in IDIA Lab in Blue Mars on Tuesday November 23, 2010 at 2 PM PDT. All are welcome!

    Hawaii Forest & Trail honored as ‘Business of the Year’

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    Hawaii Forest & Trail was honored as the Rotary Club of Kona 2010 Business of the Year at their recent monthly membership meeting and luncheon.

    The Rotary Club of Kona has been honoring local businesses in the West Hawaii community with quarterly awards for several years. The Business of The Year award recognizes recipients for their outstanding commitment to the community.
    This year, the service club decided to move from quarterly awards to honoring one business that aligned with its own dedication to community service as a source for hard work and a better life in the community.

    The 2010 Business of the Year Award honored Hawaii Forest & Trail for its commitment to environmental education, creating a healthy workplace and for e hoomaluo (conserve our natural resources), a program within the company designed to support and inspire the conservation of Hawaii’s natural resources through corporate giving, stewardship and sustainable business practices.

    “This is an exciting time for Hawaii Forest & Trail. We inspire guests everyday on our guided nature tours. Through this inspiration, we turn guests into stakeholders in Hawaii and Hawaii Forest & Trail,” said Hawaii Forest & Trail President and Founder Rob Pacheco. “As we inspire others to conserve Hawaii’s rich natural and cultural resources, a deeper experience emerges for our visitors and community.”

    Hawaii Forest & Trail has received several awards including 2009 Rand McNally Best of the Road Editor’s pick, Hot Blue 100 List, and was a recent recipient of the Ecotour Operator of the Year Award by the Hawaii Ecotourism Association.
    Hawaii Forest & Trail was founded and is operated by Rob and Cindy Pacheco, who share their passion and knowledge of Hawaii’s natural beauty with visitors from all over the world. Hawaii Forest & Trail’s vision is to inspire the conservation of Hawaii’s natural resources.

    Most recently, Hawaii Forest & Trail Hawaii launched their new company-wide conservation initiative entitled e hoomaluo (conserve our natural resources). The program mission is to support and inspire the conservation of Hawaii’s natural resources through corporate giving, stewardship and sustainable business practices.

    UH study predicts more global warming

    Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
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    The type of marine stratus clouds off the South American coast studied in the model simulations. Image courtesy of Cameron McNaughton.
    Current state-of-the-art global climate models predict substantial warming in response to increases in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The models, though, disagree widely in the magnitude of the warming we can expect. The disagreement among models is mainly due to the different representation of clouds. Some models predict that global mean cloud cover will increase in a warmer climate and the increased reflection of solar radiation will limit the predicted global warming. Other models predict reduced cloudiness and magnified warming.

    In a paper recently published in the Journal of Climate, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa researchers have assessed the performance of current global models in simulating clouds and have presented a new approach to determining the expected cloud feedbacks in a warmer climate.

    “All the global climate models we analyzed have serious deficiencies in simulating the properties of clouds in present-day climate,” said lead author Axel Lauer of UH Mānoa’s International Pacific Research Center. “It’s unfortunate that the global models’ greatest weakness may be in the one aspect that is most critical for predicting the magnitude of global warming.”

    To study the clouds, the researchers applied a model representing only a limited region of the atmosphere over the eastern Pacific Ocean and adjacent land areas. The clouds in this region are known to greatly influence present climate, yet current global models do poorly in representing them. The regional model, developed at the IPRC, successfully simulates key features of the region’s present-day cloud fields, including the observed response of clouds to El Nino. Having evaluated the model’s simulation of present-day conditions, the researchers examined the response of simulated clouds in a warmer climate such as it might be in 100 years from now. The tendency for clouds to thin and cloud cover to reduce was more pronounced in this model than in any of the current global models.

    Added co-author Kevin Hamilton of IPRC, “If our model results prove to be representative of the real global climate, then climate is actually more sensitive to perturbations by greenhouse gases than current global models predict, and even the highest warming predictions would underestimate the real change we could see.”

    About the IPRC

    The International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is a climate research center founded to gain greater understanding of the climate system and the nature and causes of climate variation in the Asia-Pacific region and how global climate changes may affect the region. Established under the “U.S.-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective” in October 1997, the IPRC is a collaborative effort between agencies in Japan and the United States.

    About the University

    The University of Hawai`i at Mānoa serves approximately 20,000 students pursuing more than 225 different degrees. Coming from every Hawaiian island, every state in the nation, and more than 100 countries, UH Mānoa students matriculate in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit http://manoa.hawaii.edu.

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