Tuesday, July 10, 2012

While Cape Wind is debated, land-based development of wind power takes off

While Cape Wind is debated, land-based development of wind power takes off


Despite controversy that has slowed the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, land-based wind farms are expanding rapidly in the region.

One company alone, First Wind Holdings LLC of Boston, has installed enough turbines in the Northeast over the past few years to generate nearly as much power as the long-awaited offshore wind farm. Other companies, too, have developed wind projects in New England states.

Driving this growth are technological advances reducing the cost of wind turbines and increasing their efficiency, making wind power more competitive with traditional power sources — particularly in the Northeast, where electricity costs can run as much as 60 percent above the national average.

Turbine prices have dropped about 30 percent over the past few years, and new turbines are able to generate electricity at lower wind speeds.

Meanwhile, average electricity prices in the Northeast can top 15 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to a US average of 9.52 cents. New wind technology can generate power at an average cost of about 10 cents per kilowatt hour, excluding subsidies, according to the US Energy Department.

“Some of the states in the Northeast have been some of the fastest-growing markets,” said Elizabeth Salerno, director of industry data and analysis at the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group in Washington. “Power prices are relatively high [there], so by delivering wind projects, you can develop a pretty affordable source of generation.”

First Wind has built wind farms in eight locations in Maine, Vermont, and upstate New York. With the 34 megawatts that will be added when the company completes its wind farm near Eastbrook, Maine, First Wind’s projects will have the capacity to generate nearly 420 megawatts of electricity, compared to Cape Wind’s 468 megawatts.... continued

Injured hiker saves rescuer hit by copter blades

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - When he broke his leg and needed to be evacuated from a national forest in Northern California, U.S. Air Force doctor Jeremy Kilburn never thought he would be called on to save the life of his rescuer.


But that's just what happened when a California Highway Patrol officer sent to help Kilburn last week in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest was hit by the rotor blades of a helicopter. The injured Kilburn and the officer, Tony Stanley, switched roles.

Kilburn told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Stanley suffered a fractured skull.
When he learned of the injury, Kilburn hobbled, fell and crawled about 50 yards on his broken leg to Stanley.

"Yes, you're in pain, but this guy is dead or dying or something," he said. "All my military training told me I had to get to this guy now. The adrenaline just kicks in."

Stanley, who was unconscious, had lost blood, but that wasn't Kilburn's main concern. He was worried about his breathing.

He inserted a tube in the back of Stanley's throat to help keep his airway open and directed another person to keep pressure on his skull.

Kilburn, a critical care pulmonologist with the Air Force assigned to Nellis Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas, Nev., has experience treating brain injuries and had just given a talk about managing a patient's airway in such cases.

He wanted to do a more elaborate procedure to secure Stanley's airway, but decided against it.

"I just had this thought that doing something fancy is going to get me in trouble here," he said. "Let's do simple things."

When Stanley started to come to, Kilburn decided that was the time to try to get him out of there.

Stanley was put on a stretcher, loaded onto the helicopter and taken to a hospital.

The CHP has declined to reveal his condition, but Kilburn said on the flight over, Stanley gave him a thumbs up. He is hopeful Stanley will make a full recovery.

Stanley, 40, was one of two officers called out to pick up Kilburn, who said he suffered his broken leg when his dog nudged him after a long hike and he landed awkwardly. He was able to contact the CHP with the help of a camp group from Santa Cruz that had access to a satellite radio, he said.

The helicopter landed on a granite rock next to a steep embankment. As Stanley started to climb up the embankment to reach Kilburn, he was hit by the aircraft's rotor blades,........

Read more: http://ow.ly/c9tSx
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Teen Boy Loses Arm After 11-Foot Alligator Attacked Him in Florida River





“He’s been around alligators all his life,” the friend continued. “He’s smart enough – he knows if he offered him his arm he wouldn’t take his torso, so he was smart. He took the risk.”

Paramedics arrived and took the teen to the hospital, and before long trappers arrived on scene to try to find the gator responsible in hopes of recovering Langdale’s arm. Several hours and gators later, they indeed found both and sent the arm to the hospital. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be reattached.


Apparently Fred is in good spirits, however, saying he’s glad the gator got his right arm, because he uses his left to steer his airboat. He also said that he wants “the head” of the gator, to rest his prosthetic on once he has it.



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Source: http://ow.ly/c9oZO

Monday, July 9, 2012

Stranded baby beluga dies in Alaska

Alaska -
A baby beluga whale that was believed to be just 2 days old when it was found stranded after a storm in Alaska's Bristol Bay has died at a research aquarium where it received round-the-clock care by a team of marine mammal experts.
Read more: http://wfxt.m0bl.net/r/13ums

Great bike ride on the Eastern Trail in Maine Sunday 21.4 miles!




View 7/8/2012 11:26 AM E TRAIL in a larger map  (No Image? Click this link: http://ow.ly/c6Tw9)

7/8/2012 11:26 AM Eastern Trail in Maine
Recorded: 7/8/2012 11:26 AM

Start/Finish: 43.506092,-70.442935 Thornton Academy Parking Lot (Saco, ME)

Mid-point (turn around): 43.58790, -70.31004 Pleasant Hill Disc Golf (Scarborough, ME)

Summary: This was a great ride and there were lots of great people along the ride.  The most ground can be covered on bike.  I recommend using mountain bikes on this trail as it can be sandy in spots and the wider tires help a bit.  Overall the trail has been well maintained.


The views were limited in this stretch of trail but it was very quiet and peaceful with the occasional open  stretch of marsh with an occasional egret to view.  The green heads were limited but present.  The trail system is funded and payed for by the surrounding eight communities, but is maintained by Granite State Gas Company who's pipeline runs the length of the trail system.


This particular trail system runs from Canada to Florida and more information can be found at: easterntrail.org   

Updated 15 hours ago


Created by My Tracks on Android.
Total distance: 34.37 km (21.4 mi)
Total time: 3:50:45
Moving time: 2:32:00
Average speed: 8.94 km/h (5.6 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 13.57 km/h (8.4 mi/h)
Max speed: 38.70 km/h (24.0 mi/h)
Average pace: 6.71 min/km (10.8 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 4.42 min/km (7.1 min/mi)
Min pace: 1.55 min/km (2.5 min/mi)
Max elevation: 22 m (74 ft)
Min elevation: -33 m (-107 ft)
Elevation gain: 867 m (2844 ft)
Max grade: 11 %
Min grade: -16 %
Recorded: 7/8/2012 11:26 AM
Activity type: bike

Shark at Rye beach: Lifeguards called swimmers out of the water at a Rye beach on Monday after a shark was spotted...

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Child injured while hiking at Middle Sugarloaf Mountain

Rescue called off after child found to be OK

TWIN MOUNTAIN, N.H. - A 5-year-old boy is recovering after injuring himself while hiking at the Middle Sugarloaf Mountain.

State police said they got a call about the incident about 2 p.m. Sunday.

Troopers said the caller said the boy had slipped on a rock and hit his head before the call was disconnected.

Several agencies responded to the call and a New Hampshire Fish and Game officer eventually met the caller and was told the boy was not as badly thought as was initially feared.

The officer said he hiked up the trail to confirm the boy's well being and was able to find the boy's family.

Officials said the officer determined the boy only suffered a small wound on the back of his head and was not bleeding anymore. The officer said the child was in high spirits.

The boy's mother told officers her son didn't need any treatment but she thanked everyone for their quick response.

The caller told authorities he did try to call 911 to tell them that help wasn't needed anymore.

Officers said that as soon as they canceled that investigation, they got a call about a hiker who was possibly injured in Huntington Ravine.




Source: http://ow.ly/c65T3

16 year old Teen rescued after suffering injury while hiking in Maine


GREENVILLE, Maine - The Maine Warden Service said a 16-year-old girl from Wisconsin was injured Friday while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Officials said the teen was part of a group of 11 girls that was hiking the 100-Mile Wilderness from Monson to Mt. Katahdin. The group was part of an organization from New Hampshire called the American Youth Foundation, officials said.

The Maine Warden Service said the girl injured her ankle at about 7 p.m. and was no longer able to hike the rugged portion of the Appalachian Trail. The group camped out for the night and met a rescue team Saturday morning.

Maine game wardens, along with members of the Maine Forest Service, the Greenville Fire Department, and Appalachian Mountain Club, helped carry the injured hiker about two miles over very treacherous terrain, officials said. The rescue took about four hours.

The hiker was taken to Dean Hospital in Greenville for treatment.



Source: http://ow.ly/c62IP

Rescue team aids dehydrated hiker on Little Haystack

12:54 PM EDT Jul 08, 2012

LINCOLN, N.H. - New Hampshire Fish and Game Department aided a dehydrated hiker in Franconia on Saturday.

Officials said the hiker fell ill on Franconia Ridge between Little Haystack and Mount Lincoln about 4 p.m. Saturday.

A rescue team met with the hiker a short time later. After rest and rehydration she was able to hike back out of the area on her own.

New Hampshire Fish and Game officials recommend that hikers bring at least 2 liters of water to hydrate with.




Source: http://ow.ly/c62kl

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Lyme Disease Facts and the Ticks who are causing it!

Since recently having been bitten and currently being treated for a tick bite and potential Lyme exposure I have decided to help with awareness!


This was my wake up call to letting as many people know about Lyme disease as I can reach! 


I was surprised to see how little is done to educate for a growing problem, especially in the Northeast Region of the United States where Lyme is so prevalent.  If known what to look for early, it is nearly always curable.


Lyme disease is caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato..Of the total vector-borne illnesses found in the United States, Lyme disease is by far the most prominent and it accounts for more than 95% of the vector borne cases of illness in the country. Lyme disease has surpassed AIDS as one of the fastest growing infectious epidemics in our nation, with a cost to society measured at approximately $1 billion annually.



Reported Lyme disease cases in the US have more than doubled since the CDC began recording cases in 1991. In 2007, 27,444 cases of Lyme disease were reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, a 40% increase from 2006!


Tick-borne Lyme disease used to show up in a little fringe of the coastal northeast United States. A bad disease, but in small terrain. Small numbers. Well, look again. Lyme disease is spreading far and wide.

Across Pennsylvania, into Ohio, southwest Michigan, northern Illinois. Heavy in Wisconsin, in Minnesota, showing up in North Dakota, even California. Look south and it’s big in New Jersey, Maryland, northern Virginia. And creeping beyond. It’s a story of ticks and deer and foxes and coyotes and birds. And pain.



The source of many bites is the deer tick, which often resides on animals in forests, the doctors said. The experts recommend that when going into the woods, individuals should travel in the middle of the day and be careful to stay on paths and avoid animal trails.



Larval and nymphal deer ticks often hide in shady, moist ground litter, but adults can often be found above the ground clinging to tall grass, brush, and shrubs. They also inhabit lawns and gardens, especially at the edges of woodlands and around old stone walls where deer and white-footed mice, the ticks' preferred hosts, thrive. Within the endemic range of B. burgdorferi (the spirochete that infects the deer tick and causes LD), no natural, vegetated area can be considered completely free of infected ticks.

Deer ticks cannot jump or fly, and do not drop from above onto a passing animal. Potential hosts (which include all wild birds and mammals, domestic animals, and humans) acquire ticks only by direct contact with them. Once a tick latches onto human skin it generally climbs upward until it reaches a protected or creased area, often the back of the knee, groin, navel, armpit, ears, or nape of the neck. It then begins the process of inserting its mouthparts into the skin until it reaches the blood supply.

In tick-infested areas, the best precaution against LD is to avoid contact with soil, leaf litter and vegetation as much as possible. However, if you garden, hike, camp, hunt, work outdoors or otherwise spend time in woods, brush or overgrown fields, you should use a combination of precautions to dramatically reduce your chances of getting Lyme disease.



Precautions:
Experts also say that people entering the woods should wear protective clothing that covers their skin as well as boots and shoes. Shorts and sandals should be avoided.


When returning from the outdoors, people should check their bodies for clinging insects. Since some ticks that aren’t engorged are very small, use a mirror to check for insects or seek assistance from someone. Any clothes that were worn should be placed in the dryer for at least five minutes on high heat to kill any deer ticks that may have found their way onto the fabric.


Of the repellents that can keep ticks away, DEET is the most commonly recommended.


Property owners also should keep their land drained and dry if possible. The number of rodents should be controlled and deer presence should be limited with fences and deer-resistant plantings.


Lyme disease has many more symptoms than listed below but this is a summary of the major symptoms:

Overall: 
> After experiencing the bite or a flu-like episode, you started having one health problem after another or have not felt completely well since. 
>  You appear deceptively well, even when in intense pain and feeling terribly unwell. 
>  Your symptoms wax and wane, change, come and go. 
>  Some symptoms stay, some come and go, some are dramatic and others merely annoying. 
>  You find yourself describing your symptoms as weird or bizarre. 
>  All these symptoms started after a certain month, season or incident. 
>  You have persistent malaise, with periods of worsening symptoms, often cyclical, repeating about every four weeks. 
>  Whenever you are stressed your pain rises to a higher level. 
>  Whenever you fall, injure, or cut yourself - the injury and its associated pain lingers an exaggerated amount of time. 
>  Alcohol reacts on you. 
>  Your head is unclear, can't remember, thinking is off... 
>  Your medical tests have all turned up negative. 
>  Your MD insinuates your symptoms are not real.  
>  You know that something about your health is definitely not right . 


Body Temperature Disturbances 
> Body temperature feels unregulated 
> Can’t stand hot or cold temperatures. 
> Body temperature below 37oC ( 98.6°F)  
> Ice cold body parts and patches anywhere on body that do not match environment. 
> Unexplained sudden over-heating throughout body. 
> Unexplained chills (difficulty getting warmed up) 
> When sleeping: Night sweats (drenching) or intense body heat. 
> Unexplained sweats/fevers/feeling very hot, day and night. 
> Unexplained fevers (high or low grade) Recurrent episodes of fever 


Cognitive Disturbances 
> Brain fog; Like a cloud reducing your clarity of mind. 
>Brain block when trying to focus. Mimics Brain injury 
> Difficulty in thinking and processing information. 
> Difficulty reading, especially for enjoyment.  
> Difficulty in planning and organizing 
> Difficulty in problem solving/decision-making 
> Difficulty to see or take in the whole picture. 
> Difficulty with multi-tasking. 
> Difficulty to think quickly and to respond quickly. 
> Difficulty with judgment; Saying something without processing it correctly. Inability to think it through and its consequences. 
> Difficulty making decisions. 
> Difficulty estimating/figuring time. 
> Difficulty in tracking objects in motion. 
> Difficulty with calculations. (Inability to hold numbers in head or to add/subtract on the spur of the moment.) 
> Difficulty getting started or completing a project. 
> Slow processing of information 
> Difficulty in performing sequential tasks. 
> Difficulty learning new tasks 
> Suddenly forgetting how to perform routine tasks and remembering how, much later. 
> Problems with letter or number reversals (Mimics Dyslexia) 
> Intermittent spelling and writing difficulty. 
> Difficulty maintaining focus or concentrating.  
> Easily distracted. 
> Racing thoughts. Impulsive. Mimics schizophrenia 
> Losses in fields of attention/executive functions such as inability to maintain divided or sustained attention and memory  
> Inattention: distractibility, easily sidetracked, trouble staying focused, trouble sitting still.  
> Talking a lot, in constant motion, hyperactive. Mimics ADD/ADHD- Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder  
> Impulsivity:  impatient, interrupts others, saying something without thinking first. 
> Interrupting others in mid conversation or contributing to the conversation long after it is finished. Misspeaking.  
> Difficulty to keep up to a conversation or to understand what is being said. Auditory processing problems. Disrupted participation in conversation. 
> Difficulty in expressing ones self. Difficulty in word finding. Speech comes out as stammering, slurred, slow, hesitating. Word search, name block. Speech errors, wrong word comes out. Halting speech. 
> Emotional and expressive incontinence. 
> Slow processing, recalling, or remembering of information or what was read. 
> Difficulty with basics, social, and day to day functioning. 
> Declining performance in school or work. 
> Feeling a significant decline in intellectual acuity. 
> Feeling a loss of competence. 
> Intermittent distorted memory. Short/long term memory lapses. Forgetfulness, poor or loss of  short term memory.  Impaired memory functions (lost items, missed appointments, retold stories) Dementias 
> Tendency to get geographically disorientated; suddenly forgetting where a familiar destination is. Getting lost. Going to the wrong place. Mimics Alzheimer Disease. 
> Progressive decline in cognitive abilities over the years. Drop in measurable IQ Infection 


Dental Disturbances 
> Difficulty chewing, pain in teeth,  
> Dental problems; chronic gingivitis, receding  gums, thinning enamel. 
> Sudden pain within each tooth 
> Painful gums 
> Painful/stiff jaw, mimics TMJ 


Digestive System Disturbances 
(Borreliosis-caused Gut Palsy) Nerves sending incorrect messages to digestive system. Gastrointestinal tract paralysis and related abnormalities can occur anywhere along the entire length of the tract.  
>Paralysis or partial paralysis of the tongue, gag reflex, esophagus, stomach, and nearby organs, small and/or large intestines. 
> Change in smell/taste. 
> Difficulty chewing, swallowing, or speaking. 
> Disturbances of tongue, gag reflex, numbness. 
> Frequent heartburn  
> Gastroesophageal reflux or Rumination Disorder (which often leads to feeling starved and then over-eating) 
> Eating disorders; under or over-eating.  
> Not knowing when you are hungry or full. 
> Unexplained weight gain or weight loss. 
> Stomach pain 
> Upset stomach 
> Nausea, vomiting. 
> Belly pain, abdominal cramps, intestinal spasms 
> Bloated belly. 
> Unusual constipation: putty like/unresponsive to laxatives. 
>(Stops for many days and suddenly restarts for no particular reason) Intestinal pseudo-obstruction. 
> Unexplained diarrhea with sometimes blood in runny stools. Mimics Irritable Bowel Syndrome. 
> Colitis (inflammation of intestine) Mimics Crohn’s disease 
> Reluctance to go to school/work /going out to eat because of bouts of diarrhea. 
> During night, rectal muscle/bowel cramping giving an urge to defecate. Proctalgia fugax 
> Fecal soiling in children after being trained. 
> Mild Liver function abnormalities; liver infection, inflammation, enlargement, elevated enzymes, (spirochaeta hepatitis) 
> Enlarged spleen, 
> Gallbladder and bile duct disturbances 
> Disturbances of any part of the intestines. 
> Intestinal Microbial Flora imbalance 
> Heightened response to alcohol, sweets or caffeine 


Ears and Hearing Disturbances 
Eight nerve  
> High pitched whining, buzzing, clicking, ringing, buzzing, hissing, humming, ticking, whistling, roaring, beeping or a "whooshing" sound, as of wind or waves, or other sound in one or  both ears.Tinnitius 
> Pain in ear(s) with no medical cause. 
> Sound sensitivity (Some noises causes extreme irritability) 
> Decreased hearing in one or both ears. Hearing loss. Plugged ears. 
> Ears popping


Treatment:
Early treatment of LD (within the first few weeks after initial infection) is straightforward and almost always results in a full cure. Treatment begun after the first three weeks will also likely provide a cure, but the cure rate decreases the longer treatment is delayed.

Doxycycline, amoxicillin and ceftin are the three oral antibiotics most highly recommended for treatment of all but a few symptoms of LD. A recent study of Lyme arthritis in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that a four-week course of oral doxycycline is just as effective in treating late LD, and much less expensive, than a similar course of intravenous Ceftriaxone (Rocephin) unless neurological or severe cardiac abnormalities are present. If these symptoms are present, the study recommends immediate intravenous (IV) treatment.

Treatment of late-Lyme patients can be more complicated. Usually LD in its later stages can be treated effectively, but individual variation in the rate of disease progression and response to treatment may, in some cases, render standard antibiotic treatment regimens ineffective. In a small percentage of late-Lyme patients, the disease may persist for many months or even years. These patients will experience slow improvement and resolution of their persisting symptoms following oral or IV treatment that eliminated the infection.

Although treatment approaches for patients with late-stage LD have become a matter of considerable debate, many physicians and the Infectious Disease Society of America recognize that, in some cases, several courses of either oral or IV (depending on the symptoms presented) antibiotic treatment may be indicated. However, long-term IV treatment courses (longer than the recommended 4-6 weeks) are not usually advised due to adverse side effects. While there is some speculation that long-term courses may be more effective than the recommended 4-6 weeks, there is currently no scientific evidence to support this assertion. Click here for an article from the New England Journal of Medicine which presents clinical recommendations in the treatment and prevention of early Lyme disease.



For more details on Lyme disease Visit the CDC Website