Short Takes – 4-14-25

Segula presents compressed air storage system for residential applications. EES-News.com article. Pull quote: “The air bottles may have a size of 50 L or 80 L depending on the household’s needs, with 5 compressed bottles of 50 L ensuring a storage capacity of 10 kWh or around 15 h, according to the manufacturer. With 5 80 L bottles, the storage capacity is 16 kWh or 15 h, while 10 bottles of the same size can reportedly ensure 32 kWh or 48 h.”

Legal questions linger over deferred resignation program as feds feel pressure to accept offer. FederalNewsNetwork.com article. Pull quote: “Some legal questions around the program still linger. For instance: What authority allows agencies to place employees on administrative leave for more than 10 days? And how enforceable is the agreement if an agency decides to change its mind later on?”

Meet the researchers testing the “Armageddon” approach to asteroid defense. TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: ““We knew right away it was a huge success,” says Moore. The implications were immediately clear. The experimental setup was complex, but they were trying to achieve something extremely fundamental: a real-world demonstration that a nuclear blast could make an object in space move.”

“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline. ProPublica.com article. Pull quote: “While much of the country is focused on the spiraling measles outbreak concentrated in the small, dusty towns of West Texas, cases of pertussis have skyrocketed by more than 1,500% nationwide since hitting a recent low in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Deaths tied to the disease are also up, hitting 10 last year, compared with about two to four in previous years. Cases are on track to exceed that total this year.” Another vaccine preventable disease meets vaccine hesitancy.

La Niña is dead after just a few months. What happened? LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “Researchers aren't certain why the latest La Niña was so delayed, but warmer-than-average ocean temperatures in 2024 might have played a role. The March data revealed that temperatures are now minus 0.018 F (minus 0.01 C) relative to the average, so well above the La Niña threshold and almost identical to the long-term average.” No discussion about hurricane season impacts.