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Western Star Trucks Australia / August 30, 2016 .

Western Star Trucks Australia / August 30, 2016 .

Western Star Trucks Australia / August 30, 2016 .

Western Star Trucks Australia / August 30, 2016 .

Western Star Trucks Australia / August 30, 2016 .

We'll Likely Never See Nikola Motor's Super Electric Truck in Real Life autoevolution / August 30, 2016 A few months ago, a new company called Nikola Motor came out of the blue and announced plans for a heavy duty electric semi that will revolutionize the way we look at trucks forever. It was so much better than our current diesel machines that we all felt like fools for not coming up with this idea sooner. Well, that was on paper, because in reality, the Nikola One isn't that good. In fact, it isn't at all, because nobody's seen even a square inch of its body. As far as everyone's concerned, it doesn't exist. Sure, the company says it will unveil it this December (that's four months from now, in case you were wondering) and also claims it has already received 7,000 pre-orders for the truck that had a combined value of over $2.3 billion. Not bad for a company nobody really knows that much about. The initial concept relied on an onboard gas turbine to produce the required energy, a setup that may not please the purists as it would still produce emissions, but we all agreed it was still better than diesels. Besides, the Nikola One came with 2,000 hp of electric power and 3,700 Nm or 2,730 lb-ft of torque from zero revs, so it had everything going for it regarding its ability to move heavy cargo efficiently. On paper. Now, though, only three months after the first time this project broke cover and two months after the [alleged] 7,000 pre-orders were announced, the company issued a press release. In it, it announces nothing less than a complete change in the vehicle's powertrain. No, it won't get a diesel unit, but it will use hydrogen fuel cells instead. A "custom-built hydrogen-electric 800V fuel cell," to be more exact. Of course, this doesn't change the bombastic claims the company made about the truck. It will still be "more powerful than any other production diesel truck on the road and have a range of over 1,200 miles between fill-ups." Yes, on paper, which is where the Nikola One might live its whole life after all. Tesla co-founder explained why fuel cells would never work in transportation, and it's all down to the energy equation, which is "terrible." "[...] It turns out that the amount of energy per kilometer driven is just terrible. It’s way worse than almost anything else you can come up with." But Nikola Motors is pushing things even further. It claims it will produce the necessary hydrogen in "zero emission solar farms built by Nikola Motor Company. These solar farms will produce over 100 megawatts each and will use electrolysis to create hydrogen from water. Even our manufacturing facilities will be run off of zero emission hydrogen energy.” Right. There's no time frame on the solar farms, but Nikola Motors intends to have at least 50 hydrogen stations ready by 2020 across North America, so it would make sense if they were built sooner than that. It all sounds extremely optimistic and this major change in the vehicle's design will only raise more doubts. We'd be very curious to know how many of those [alleged] 7,000 orders still stand after this new information was released.

Nikola Motor Company's electric truck just became a lot harder to sell CNET / August 30, 2016 The startup has abruptly changed course with its battery-electric truck, opting for a hydrogen fuel-cell power train, instead. Hmm. Remember Nikola Motor Company? The not-so-originally-named startup promised to break into the auto industry with a battery-electric semi truck cab, called the Nikola One. A number of folks put down deposits based on that information, but now, the company has changed the truck's method of propulsion, which is...worrisome. Nikola announced today that its Nikola One would feature a hydrogen fuel-cell power train. It's still electric, although it appears to ditch the natural-gas range extender in favor of hydrogen. The company claims this move makes its truck entirely emissions-free, which is good, but it's still a puzzling move. Here's why it's strange. A number of folks [allegedly] put down deposits on a $375,000 semi cab that was marketed as being entirely electric -- as in, you can plug it into the wall and take power from the grid, all across the country. Now, the trucks will be powered by compressed hydrogen gas, which relies on an infrastructure that's so far into its infancy it's barely experienced cell mitosis. All of a sudden, your ability to fill up around the country has disappeared -- and with it, I imagine, more than a few of those deposits, which I hope are refundable. To that end, Nikola's promised that it plans to produce its own hydrogen, via "zero-emission solar farms built by Nikola Motor Company," per its press release. The company said it will have over 50 filling stations in place by 2020. That's one per state. The truck's purported 1,200-mile range will help out there, because it may take hours to find a station, if you ever do. It's all just very strange. I, and many of my colleagues, still don't know what to make of all this. Either way, we'll know more once the truck is unveiled to the world on December 1 in Salt Lake City.

Nikola Motor Company Announces U.S. and Canadian Class 8 Trucks Will Be Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered and 100% Emission Free Nikola Motor Company Press Release / August 30, 2016 Nikola (pronounced Neek-oh-la) Motor Company recently announced that it achieved zero emissions with its electric-powered drivetrain. At that time, details about how Nikola achieved zero emissions were kept confidential pending finalization of key supplier agreements. Today, Nikola is announcing that the electric drivetrain used in the U.S. and Canadian markets will be powered by a custom-built hydrogen-electric 800V fuel cell. Nikola’s hydrogen class 8 trucks will be more powerful than any other production diesel truck on the road and have a range of over 1,200 miles between fill-ups. It will achieve nearly 20 MPG with zero emissions under full load, surpassing all the government mandates set forth for the next 10 years, including the EPA’s recently announced Phase 2 GHG standards. “The desire to be 100% emission free in the U.S. and Canada is a critical piece of our long-term engineering and environmental efforts, not just in vehicle energy consumption, but also in how energy is produced. Nikola will produce hydrogen via zero emission solar farms built by Nikola Motor Company. These solar farms will produce over 100 megawatts each and will use electrolysis to create hydrogen from water. Even our manufacturing facilities will be run off of zero emission hydrogen energy,” said Trevor Milton, CEO, Nikola Motor Company. “Nikola plans to have a nationwide network of over 50 hydrogen stations for customers to begin fueling by 2020. This will make Nikola Motor Company the first company in the world to be 100% emission-free from energy production to transportation to consumption. Say goodbye to the days of dirty diesels and after treatment in the heavy duty class 8 market,” added Milton. More information will be announced about Nikola’s nationwide sales, service and warranty network in the coming weeks. Please see Nikola’s website for more information on the location of the future hydrogen stations. The CNG turbine version of the Nikola One will be available for other countries where hydrogen is not readily available. https://nikolamotor.com/pdfs/Nikola_Hydrogen_Final.pdf

Transport Engineer / August 30, 2016 Boughey Distribution has taken delivery of 25 Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks – the first phase of a 100-vehicle order, placed after the Actros came out top in a trial of four marques. Supplied by dealer Roanza Truck & Van, the new additions are Actros 2545 models with BigSpace cabs and are powered by 449bhp 12.8-litre engines, driving through PowerShift 3 automated transmissions. The evaluation was carried out over three months and a key focus was fuel efficiency. But this wasn’t the only criteria, as Boughey’s group fleet engineer Paul Brimelow explains: “The most economical truck in the world is no good if the manufacturer’s network cannot support it. So while the Actros returned the best fuel figures, we had to be sure the back-up will be there when we need it, too. “Roanza and Mercedes-Benz displayed a highly professional and flexible approach, putting together a package that meets our needs perfectly. I have every faith they’ll keep our business moving.” For the initial fuel trial, each manufacturer supplying a vehicle equipped with telematics, and a driver-trainer. The trucks were then sent out on a predetermined route from the operator’s headquarters near Nantwich, with four identical and equally-loaded trailers, first with the ‘expert’ at the wheel and a Boughey driver observing, and then with the roles reversed. After that, the trucks went into normal operation, with the four drivers taking turns in each vehicle. Results were then compared, both between the four trucks and with the operator’s existing fleet. “The Actros delivered the best overall fuel performance, and by a margin,” says Brimelow. “Not only was it the most economical of the contenders, but it was also the most consistent, with smaller variations between the different drivers. When we crunched the numbers it was a clear winner in terms of whole-life cost.” Boughey Distribution maintains its fleet in-house, and Roanza has supplied training and diagnostic equipment for its technicians, as well as installing an imprest parts stock which is managed on site. “The dealer has been very willing to work with us and we’re delighted with this arrangement, which will help to keep our workshop flowing smoothly,” adds Brimelow. .

Transport Engineer / August 30, 2016 Continental haulage business Hannon Transport has taken delivery of 40 Schmitz Cargobull refrigerated semi-trailers, each equipped with the manufacturer’s new TrailerConnect temperature and mapping telematics. The company also specified Schmitz Cargobull’s MF6 Multifunction Floor, claimed to offer 35% longer service life, with an easy-clean profile for hygiene deliveries, while also meeting PIEK* low-noise loading and unloading requirements. * http://www.piek-international.com/ Hannon Transport managing director Aodh Hannon went for 20 mono-temp and 20 dual-temp trailers, bringing the company’s trailer fleet to 150 – all Schmitz Cargobull. “I always buy from Schmitz Cargobull because the company delivers exactly what I want, every time,” states Hannon. “And with TrailerConnect, we now have access to the best trailer telematics system on the market,” he continues. “We’ll be able to track everything that happens with our freight with printed proof of the integrity of our operations – all on trailers that are highly cost-effective to purchase and operate.” The new trailers will operate on routes between Ireland and the Netherlands, transporting flowers and chilled food – with Hannon’s transport office using TrailerConnect for full monitoring. Temperature data is recorded in real time and SMS and email alerts are available for fleet managers and drivers in the event of problems. Maintenance and scheduling data is also available, enabling tracking and recording of every aspect of the trailer’s life. .

Scania Group Press Release / August 30, 2016

Scania Group Press Release / August 30, 2016

Scania Group Press Release / August 29, 2016

Scania Group Press Release / August 30, 2016 Scania’s new generation of trucks has been tested in secret for several years by real customers and drivers from across the planet. One of these extensive testing programmes was conducted in northern Italy. Scania has always seen customer participation in the testing of its new products as an obvious and essential part of product development. Field tests of the latest generation of trucks have involved a large number of customers and professional drivers who, under great secrecy, have tested the new vehicles in real-life operating conditions. In total, Scania’s new generation of trucks have been tested over more than 10 million kilometres – the equivalent of 250 laps around the Earth. “When you’re developing a new generation of trucks, it’s very important to get a grasp on the product’s quality early on,” says Anders Karlqvist, Head of Scania’s Field Test Operations. “For this reason, Scania’s development engineers need to follow field-test vehicles for as large a distance as possible, and under as realistic working environments as possible.” Super-secret vehicles In the city of Trento in northern Italy lies a very special service workshop. Just four people have keys to the premises, and for a few years a number of super-secret vehicles have been serviced here. Apart from field test engineer Ines Kasumovic and service technicians Nicola Mattivi, Eric Stenico and Marco D´Ascanio, only selected transport company owners and their designated drivers have been trusted to get close to these field-test trucks from Scania. Kasumovic has followed and monitored the work of the service technicians, the drivers and the transport companies on an ongoing basis throughout the field tests. What’s working well and what can be improved? Assignment: the first customer ”Put simply, my job is to understand how the customer, driver, and service technicians experience and work with the new truck,” says Kasumovic. ”I report all this back in detail to Scania Research and Development in Södertälje.” Throughout the day and long into the evenings, the camouflaged field-test trucks transport parts for the automotive industry in northern Italy or bottles for the wine industry across the entire country. But every evening, the drivers and vehicles return to their respective transport companies so that the trucks can be protected overnight. When the vehicles come into the secret workshop, they are inspected by Kasumovic, who extracts the data and carries out the necessary updates as quickly as possible to allow the vehicles to get out in service again. In the case of faults or stoppages, she makes a decision with help from the whole organisation on what measures should be taken against the anomalies, be they big or small. Quick decisions “It can be both lonely and extremely labour intensive to work as a field-test engineer,” says Kasumovic. “You’re mostly left to your own devices to make quick and important decisions. This means that you need to know something about just about everything in the vehicle. A good network within Scania can also be handy to have when new situations pop up. However, the fact that it’s sometimes stressful is fully compensated by the fact that I’m able to get close to customers and experience how the new product works in actual operation.” Over two or so days, the field test truck is updated with everything from new rearview mirrors and masking plates to new software. The truck is camouflaged so that none of its new features are revealed. Inside the secret cab, all new panel features are hidden behind black curtains that can be drawn when the drivers need to stop to load and unload cargo or fill up on fuel. Challenging field tests ”It’s very special to be a field-test driver,” says Aris Esposito. “You need to be constantly aware of your surroundings, check where you stop, and who might be approaching the truck. This is especially challenging when you’re loading and unloading. At the same time as you’re supervising the loading, you need to have strict control over what’s going on in the vicinity.” Esposito concludes, “But it’s a big opportunity to be involved in testing and developing Scania’s new generation of trucks. For me it’s the crowning achievement of the 26 years that I have worked as a professional truck driver.” Proud test customer Rigotto Tiziano, who together with his wife owns and operates Autotrasporti Rigotto Tiziano, says he felt honoured when he was asked to take part in a field test for Scania’s new generation of trucks. “I thought only big international transport companies were trusted in this way,” he says. “Now I just felt proud. We’re a little company, but we must be doing something right to be considered for something like this.” Tiziano concludes, “I started planning immediately and chose my best driver for the field-test truck. I want to give as much as possible so that Scania can complete this project in the best possible way.” Photo gallery - https://www.scania.com/group/en/the-italian-job/ .

You have a new truck, under warranty, with just 1,400 miles. When you called Volvo Group's Mack brand customer satisfaction hotline (U.S. and Canada) at +1 (866) 298-6586 , what did they say?

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Nikola Chooses Hydrogen Fuel Cell to Power Emissions-Free Truck Heavy Duty Trucking / August 30, 2016 Nikola Motor Company will be powering its emissions-free Class 8 trucks with hydrogen fuel cells in the U.S. and Canada, the company has announced. The vehicles will make use of a custom-built, hydrogen-electric 800-volt fuel cell that Nikola said will be able to achieve nearly 20 mpg with zero emissions under fuel load and a range of over 1,200 miles between fill-ups. The company also said the trucks will surpass all government mandates, including the recently announced Phase 2 GHG standards. Nikola plans to produce hydrogen with zero-emissions solar farms that it is building and to have a nationwide network of over 50 hydrogen stations for customers by 2020. “The desire to be 100% emission free in the U.S. and Canada is a critical piece of our long-term engineering and environmental efforts, not just in vehicle energy consumption, but also in how energy is produced,” said Trevor Milton, CEO of Nikola Motor Company. “These solar farms will produce over 100 megawatts each and will use electrolysis to create hydrogen from water. Nikola announced the Nikola One zero-emissions Class 8 tractor earlier this year, offering reservations for the as-yet-unreleased vehicle for $1,500. The company received more than 7000 reservations for the vehicle as of August and will offer the vehicle through a truck leasing program. More information will be announced about Nikola’s nationwide sales, service and warranty network in the coming weeks, the company said. The vehicle is set to be unveiled on Dec. 1 in Salt Lake City. A CNG -turbine version of the Nikola One is planned for countries where hydrogen is not readily available. For more information, click here.

Heavy Duty Trucking / August 30, 2016 Glider kits — new trucks that are equipped with older engines and drivetrain components — will be almost outlawed by 2021 due to provisions of the federal Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Economy rules released earlier this month. Starting in January of ‘21, they’ll be allowed only for their original purpose, which was reclaiming late-model powertrains from wrecked trucks. This goes back many years, to when glider kits were bought as service parts. Today, three truck builders produce glider kits for assembly by individuals and commercial concerns. “We support GHG Phase 2 and we are presently working through the details,” stated David Giroux, spokesman for Daimler Trucks North America, whose Freightliner arm builds most glider kits used in the United States. Kenworth and Peterbilt also produce glider kits, and Heavy Duty Trucking is seeking comment from them. Though they make up a small percentage of total new truck sales, gliders produce far more exhaust emissions, says the Environmental Protection Agency, which wrote the new rules with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The EPA became concerned after a surge in sales, from a few hundred per year 10 to 20 years ago to more than 20,000 in 2015. Most of those were undisguised efforts to get around modern emissions limits and the expensive engines needed to meet them, the agency feels. And most were high-mile highway trucks whose older engines, often with electronic controls but no other pollution-control equipment, spew many times the exhaust emissions of new engines. Last year’s proposals to do away with glider kits sparked many comments from producers who argued that total impacts on emissions are minuscule; that many gliders (such as concrete mixer trucks) run low annual mileages; and that they are built mainly by small companies that provide valuable jobs. EPA and NHTSA noted all those arguments but said none addressed the basic issue of higher particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen emissions. “Although glider vehicles would make up only 5% of heavy-duty tractors on the road, their emissions would represent about one-third of all NOx and PM emissions from heavy-duty tractors in 2025,” the agencies said. “By restricting the number of glider vehicles with high polluting engines on the road, these excess PM and NOx emissions will decrease dramatically, leading to substantial public health-related benefits.” Instead of abruptly outlawing them, however, the new rules will phase out gliders over the next four years. Beginning this January, volume production and sales of gliders using “pre-emission” diesels will be greatly curtailed – and the agencies said they hope that this won’t spark a “pre-buy” of gliders between now and January. Meanwhile, low-volume builders, including individual truckers, can continue to buy and assemble glider kits using older engines until 2021. “For calendar year 2017, each manufacturer’s combined production of glider kits and glider vehicles will be capped at the manufacturer’s highest annual production of glider kits and glider vehicles for any year from 2010 to 2014,” the rule states. “All vehicles within this allowance will remain subject to the existing Phase 1 provisions, including its exemptions. “Any glider kits or glider vehicles produced beyond this allowance will be subject to the long-term program,” meaning they must use engines that are certified as emissions-legal for the same year the glider kit is built. The phase-down using that calculated cap will last one year, until January 2018. It appears that provision will curtail and eventually kill off the glider business grown by various dealers and service companies in the United States. Among them is Fitzgerald Gliders, which last year assembled more than 3,000 glider kits, most of them highway tractors. The company primarily used rebuilt and remanufactured 1998-2001 Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines, which are known for their fuel economy and performance. Truckinginfo is seeking comment from Fitzgerald and other builders. It also appears that builders of front-discharge mixers, who derive much business from the glider trade, will also have to phase out their glider assembly operations. They include Oshkosh, Indiana Phoenix and Terex Advance, who’ve also been asked to comment. Terex Advance has said it has built trucks with currently certified diesels combined with used (and usually rebuilt or remanufactured) transmissions and axles. But the dollar savings over an all-new truck were only 10%, versus 30% or more when an older engine is also used. It’s likely that by 2021, they and everyone else in the business will have to use engines certified to meet emissions limits set for the same year that the glidered trucks are built. “The provisions being finalized are intended to allow a transition to a long-term program in which use of glider kits is permissible consistent with the original reason manufacturers began to offer glider kits – to allow the reuse of relatively new powertrains from damaged vehicles,” the agencies say in the rule. Usually, that will mean engines that have run fewer than 100,000 miles are still within their original intended service life for pollution control equipment or are under three years old.

Peterbilt Offers Cummins Westport Near-Zero Natural Gas Engine Heavy Duty Trucking / August 30, 2016 Peterbilt Motors is offering the Cummins Westport ISL G “Near Zero” NOx emissions natural gas engine for its Model 567, 520 and 320 trucks. The new engine’s performance and efficiency matches the current ISL G with 320 horsepower and 1,000 lb.-ft. of torque available. The engine option is aimed at customers with linehaul, vocational and refuse applications. The ISL G Near Zero engine’s emissions are 90% lower than the current EPA NOx limit, made possible with a three-way catalyst in the aftertreatment, advanced engine calibration and a closed crankcase ventilation system. Like the current ISL G engine, the new model will operate on 100% natural gas, which can be carried on the vehicle in either compressed or liquefied form. The ISL-G Near Zero can also run on renewable natural gas. The ISL G NZ is the first mid-range engine to meet the 0.02 g/bhp-hr optional Near Zero NOx Emissions standards for medium-duty truck, urban bus, school bus, and refuse applications, according to Cummins Westport. It meets California Air Resources Board certification eight years in advance of the 2023 California Near Zero NOx schedule. The engine will be available for production in Models 520 and 320 by year's end and in the Model 567 early next year.

Transport Topics / August 30, 2016 Peterbilt Motors Co. will soon offer the Cummins Westport ISL G “Near Zero” engine as an option on three of its vocational trucks, the Denton, Texas-based manufacturer said August 30. Peterbilt is offering the ISL G Near Zero in its Model 567, a vocational truck, and Models 520 and 320, both low-cab-forward refuse haulers. Near Zero refers to emissions of nitrogen oxide compounds, or NOx, at a level of 0.02 gram per brake horsepower-hour — 90% lower than the current federal standard of 0.2 gram. The 8.9-liter ISL G uses natural gas, either compressed or liquefied, as truck fuel and is manufactured by a joint venture owned by Cummins Inc. and Westport Innovations. Peterbilt said the engine produces 320 horsepower and 1,000 pound-feet of torque. Near Zero is the latest version of the ISL G, which has been in production since June 2007. Peterbilt will start making Models 520 and 320 with the new engine before Dec. 31. Production for Model 567 with Near Zero will follow early next year. The ultra-low NOx engine is particularly important in California, where the state government has a program to limit NOx emissions as well as those of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. “Peterbilt is producing increasingly efficient products. The addition of the ISL G Near Zero emissions engine strengthens Peterbilt as an environmental leader,” said Scott Newhouse, Peterbilt’s chief engineer. Related reading - http://www.cumminswestport.com/models/isl-g-near-zero

P-Laser is a Belgian manufacturer of industry grade cleaning lasers. These lasers are capable of cleaning oxides, dust, oil, paint and other. http://www.p-laser.com/index.aspx . .

The Guardian / August 30, 2016 For Levi Brinegar, alone atop his mountain, a storm can feel like the end of the world. Clouds swallow the peak, winds howl and lightning blazes. “The tower shakes. During the last one the windows cracked. The lightning was 50 feet away. It was like strobe lighting going off. It was crazy.” Brinegar, 26, endures this, and more, for $12 an hour. He could not be happier. He reckons he has the best job in the world. “It’s fun. I’ll definitely try to get back next year.” Brinegar is a fire lookout for the US Forest Service. He has spent the summer on a peak in Montana’s Helena-Lewis and Clark national forest armed with binoculars, a compass and a radio, scanning the wilderness for smoke. Dozens more like him do the same across the US every summer, perched in 15ft by 15ft wooden cabins atop remote towers with sweeping panoramas, a low-tech, very human first line of defense against conflagrations. They are known, unofficially, as the “freaks on the peaks”. The nickname is affectionate, not derogatory. It recognizes certain qualities needed to operate in lonely eyries – an embrace of nature, solitude and disconnectedness. And an ability to shift mental gears and respond when tempests and fires interrupt serene observation of cloud and canopy. “We have a certain reputation,” said Leif Haugen, 46, a veteran who trains other lookouts. “It takes a certain type of person to do it. All lookouts have their own individual oddities.” The challenge, Haugen said, was to accept nature’s rhythm. “New lookouts often have all these plans, they’re going to read all these books, or paint, or photograph, or learn an instrument. Then they’re amazed by how much they just sit there on the catwalk, watching weather. Those who can be content with themselves, and not having a list, have the most success.” For some, inhabiting a sanctuary of contemplation far from modernity’s noise is a spiritual experience. In the semi-autobiographical story A River Runs Through It, based on his Montana upbringing, Norman Maclean noted: “It doesn’t take much in the way of mind and body to be a lookout. It’s mostly soul.” When not gazing at clouds for signs of lightning, and forests for plumes of smoke, some lookouts knit, some hike, some study birds, deers, foxes and bears. Quite a few write. The poet Gary Snyder worked as a lookout in Washington state’s North Cascades. Edward Abbey, who worked as a ranger and lookout in Utah and Arizona in the 1960s and 1970s, captured the job’s mystical appeal in novels such as Desert Solitaire and Black Sun. Philip Connors quit his editing job at the Wall Street Journal after 9/11 and moved from New York to New Mexico where he has spent 14 summers, keeping vigil over Gila national forest for $13 an hour, and writing about it. “At the beginning I thought of it as a paid writing retreat with good views,” he said in a phone interview. “It has turned into something larger. I’ve become pretty deeply invested in this place.” Connors, 43, accepted the peak freak moniker. “It’s way of acknowledging we’re the last of a dying breed. And that what we do is pretty far outside the cultural mainstream. We don’t have cable television or high-speed internet. We get paid to look out the window all day.” Almost all are manned by just one person but some have couples, such as Chuck Manning, 71, head of the Northwest Montana chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, and his wife. “I think it’s a great experience for a couple to be in a small lookout,” he said. “You’re in a very confined area. You really learn to get to know each other.” Staffed lookout towers began a century ago, peaked at about 10,000 in the 1950s, then gradually declined to just a few hundred. Wisconsin has become the latest state to close its last towers, deeming aircraft and cameras cheaper and safer. Volunteers maintain and restore some former lookouts to safeguard the heritage. The Forest Service rents out many decommissioned towers as holiday rentals. In Montana, New Mexico and other parts of the west the numbers of staffed, operational lookouts has stabilized over the past decade, stalling, if not reversing, the trend towards obsolescence. It seems human eyes and intelligence can still do things that drones, satellites and infrared cameras cannot. One reason is the policy of letting more fires burn. Fires can actually benefit ecosystems by clearing brush and regenerating forests. But they can swiftly explode out of control, hence the need for constant vigilance. “The techno-fetishists always dream of replacing us (but) we can do things for firefighters on the ground that a camera attached to a drone just can’t do,” said Connors, noting that many lookouts stay in the job for decades, acquiring deep knowledge of terrain and weather. Another reason is the increasingly unpredictable fire behavior. They burn fiercer, bigger and more frequently – a new normal attributed in part to climate change. “Fire behavior has ramped up. It’s different to what it used to be,” said Haugen, a lookout near Montana’s border with Canada for 23 years. Record-high temperatures and drought-induced tinderbox conditions can turn a spark into a wall of flame within minutes. A recent example is the Blue Cut fire in California, which destroyed hundreds of structures, torched 37,000 acres and forced 80,000 people to flee. Lookouts are tasked with spotting puffs of smoke early, feeding correct coordinates to fire crews and averting such disasters. “Every time I see that smoke I get real excited,” said Brinegar, clutching binoculars as he circled the catwalk on the Stonewall tower, 8,270ft above Montana’s majestic wilderness, the Rockies in the distance. The dirt path up to the tower winds through swathes of charred, spectral trees, the legacy of a 2003 inferno from which this part of the forest has yet to recover – a stark reminder of what is at stake. Since taking over the outpost in July – this is his first season – Brinegar has called four fires, including one on Nevada Mountain, 17 miles away. Each time helicopters and ground crews doused the blazes before they exploded. Upon spotting smoke, a lookout uses a table-sized 360-degree compass known as a fire finder to identify the location, then relays it to base. Twice Brinegar has confused mist known as water dogs with smoke, a common rookie mistake. “I’ve learned to take my time if I’m not sure, wait maybe 10 minutes before calling it.” Most days are uneventful: rise at 7am, breakfast on military rations (there is electricity and a stove but the former infantry soldier prefers rations to cooking), check in with base, scope the landscape, measure humidity, file a weather report, lunch, more scoping, a supper of potatoes and sausages, maybe a DVD, sunset, bed. Brinegar savors the solitude. Having grown up in rural California he finds cities crowded and noisy. “I’m not a people person. I miss the woods, the quiet. Being by yourself you figure out what you want to do with your life.” When not on duty he hikes and checks out deer, goats and other wildlife. The tower’s heavy door is studded with spikes to deter grizzlies, but he has yet to see one. He does, however, wear a bearskin cape, bought online for $300. Storms are exciting and nerve-wracking, said Brinegar, who sports a long, auburn beard. “It feels like a miniature earthquake. The water in your glass sways.” With 90mph winds roaring and hail hammering the panes he hunkers on a wooden stool – “the lightning seat” – which has glass jars on its feet to insulate it against conducting electricity. The tower also has lightning rods and grounding cables to protect against a direct strike. Every five to seven days Brinegar rides an all-terrain vehicle down to Lincoln (population 1,100) for a night or two, then returns. There is phone signal, so he can text and email, but otherwise has little human contact beyond his twice-daily radio reports. Fire season here will end when the snows come, perhaps later this month. Until then Brinegar will continue his vigil and maybe, he said with a sheepish grin, watch The Shining a few more times. “I’ve watched it five times already.” Photo gallery - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/30/us-national-parks-fire-lookout-forest-wildfire

The Wall Street Journal / August 30, 2016 In-Q-Tel provides only limited information about its investments, and some of its trustees have ties to funded companies In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit venture-capital firm that invests taxpayer money in startups developing technology useful to the CIA, provides only limited information about its investments, and some of its trustees have ties to funded companies. Forterra Systems Inc., a California startup focused on virtual reality, was in need of money and its products didn’t have much commercial appeal. Then funds came in from a source based far from Silicon Valley: In-Q-Tel Inc., a venture-capital firm in Virginia funded by the Central Intelligence Agency. One catalyst for the 2007 infusion, according to a former Forterra executive and others familiar with it, was a recommendation by a man who sat on the board of the venture-capital firm—and also on the board of Forterra. In-Q-Tel pumped in cash, Forterra developed some tools useful to the military, and government contracts started coming in. Like the agency that founded it, the CIA-funded venture-capital firm operates largely in the shadows. In-Q-Tel officials regard the firm as independent, yet it has extremely close ties to the CIA and runs almost all investment decisions by the spy agency. The firm discloses little about how it picks companies to invest in, never says how much, and sometimes doesn’t reveal the investments at all. Even less well-known are potential conflicts of interest the arrangement entails, as seen in this Forterra example and others continuing to the present. Nearly half of In-Q-Tel’s trustees have a financial connection of one kind or another with a company In-Q-Tel has funded, a Wall Street Journal examination of its investments found. In-Q-Tel’s hunt for promising technology has led the firm, on at least 17 occasions, to fund businesses that had a financial link of some sort to an In-Q-Tel trustee. In three instances a trustee sat on the board of a company that had an In-Q-Tel investment, as in the Forterra case, according to the Journal’s examination, which was based on a review of investment records and interviews with venture-capital and In-Q-Tel officials, past and present. In-Q-Tel differs from other venture-capital firms in an important way: It is a nonprofit. Instead of trying to make money, it seeks to spur the development of technology useful to the CIA mission of intelligence gathering. Tangled connections are endemic in the venture-capital business, where intimate industry knowledge is essential to success. Other venture-capital firms, however, are playing with their own money, or that of private investors. In-Q-Tel uses public money, to which strict conflict-of-interest rules apply—at least $120 million a year, say people familiar with the firm’s financials. It sometimes deploys this capital in ways that, even if not by intent, have the potential to benefit the firm’s own trustees by virtue of other roles they have in the tech industry. In-Q-Tel investments often attract other funding. Each dollar In-Q-Tel invests in a small business typically is matched by $15 from elsewhere, the firm has found. That makes the small business likelier to succeed and makes its stock options more valuable for whoever has some. In-Q-Tel said it needs to work with people who have industry connections if it hopes to find promising technology. Some of its trustees, it said, are so enmeshed in the tech world it would be hard to avoid any ties that might be interpreted as conflicting. Besides technology, trustees come from a variety of backgrounds including academia, national security and venture capital. “In-Q-Tel put in place rigorous policies to safeguard taxpayer funds, prevent possible conflicts-of-interest and stay focused on developing technology to meet mission requirements,” said a CIA spokesman, Ryan Trapani. “We are pleased that both the In-Q-Tel model and the safeguards put in place have worked so well.” The firm permits its trustees to recommend investing in businesses to which they have ties, so long as they disclose these internally and to the CIA. Trustees are required to recuse themselves from reviews and votes after such recommendations. To succeed, “you want a board who knows what the hell they are doing,” said Jeffrey Smith, who helped design In-Q-Tel when he was CIA general counsel and is now its outside counsel, as well as a senior counsel at law firm Arnold & Porter. “This is to some extent a balance, and we know that,” he said. In the Forterra case, Charles Boyd, a retired Air Force four-star general, joined the boards of both Forterra and In-Q-Tel in 2006. The following year, In-Q-Tel sank money into Forterra, according to an In-Q-Tel news release at the time. The amount couldn’t be determined. Gen. Boyd said he made an initial recommendation for In-Q-Tel to invest but didn’t take part in its decision to do so. He said he received no compensation from Forterra for recommending to In-Q-Tel that it invest in the startup. “It definitely was a win-win from our perspective to have Charles on the board and open those doors for us,” said Chris Badger, who was Forterra’s vice president of marketing. He said there was discussion within Forterra about whether “In-Q-Tel’s funding model was really generating a good benefit for the taxpayer.” The money from In-Q-Tel and subsequent federal contracts proved insufficient. Forterra failed to attract commercial interest and closed in 2010 after selling off pieces of itself. The purchaser was another company where an In-Q-Tel trustee served on the board of directors. Investors in Forterra, including In-Q-Tel, took heavy losses, according to people involved in the unwinding. Gen. Boyd had no personal investment in Forterra, In-Q-Tel said. He did have nonqualified stock options, according to In-Q-Tel, which said holders of such options didn’t receive anything for them when Forterra stopped operating. Gen. Boyd said the only compensation he received from the small business was $5,000 as it was closing down. He left In-Q-Tel’s board of trustees in 2013. For the CIA, a captive venture-capital firm is a way to encourage and shape technology development without getting bogged down in bureaucracy. In-Q-Tel’s beginnings trace to a plan hatched in the late 1990s by George Tenet, then the CIA director, who expressed frustration that access to pioneering technology was held back by byzantine government procurement rules. Congress approved the creation of In-Q-Tel by agreeing to direct money to the organization, and its funding levels increased markedly in later years. The venture-capital firm started investing in 2000, in businesses that made satellites, analyzed data, translated languages and stored data, gaining a chance to shape the technology. In-Q-Tel has at times received funds to invest from other agencies, among them the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Defense Department, but the CIA remains the main source of its funding. In one case, In-Q-Tel invested in a business that analyzed chemical compounds in carpets, resulting in a method to detect deadly chemicals in Afghanistan and Iraq, said the venture-capital firm’s chief executive, Christopher Darby. Another time, it put money into a satellite antenna maker, leading eventually to the development of portable satellite antennas that can help troops or intelligence agents communicate in remote locations, Mr. Darby added. “I’ve been told by our customers that the technology that we’ve delivered has saved countless lives,” he said. In an example of the financial links some trustees have within the technology world, Mr. Darby also serves on the board of a for-profit tech company. In-Q-Tel doesn’t invest in that company, which is called Endgame Inc. But the company competes with other firms in its field—cybersecurity—that sometimes seek In-Q-Tel cash. If that happens, Mr. Darby doesn’t take part in reviewing the funding requests, he said. On the Endgame board, Mr. Darby serves as nonexecutive chairman. He said stock options he receives are “de minimis” next to the roughly $2 million a year he earns as In-Q-Tel’s CEO. The CIA has reviewed his role at Endgame and signed off on his work there, people familiar with the arrangement said. Of about 325 investments In-Q-Tel says it has made since its founding, more than 100 weren’t announced, although the identities of some of those companies have leaked out. The absence of disclosure can be due to national-security concerns or simply because a startup company doesn’t want its financial ties to intelligence publicized, people familiar with the arrangements said. While moneymaking isn’t In-Q-Tel’s goal, when that happens, such as when a startup it funded goes public, In-Q-Tel can keep the profit and roll it into new projects. It doesn’t obtain rights to technology or inventions. At In-Q-Tel’s headquarters tucked in the back of an office park in Arlington, Va., the lobby is sparse, with three blank digital screens on the wall and an American flag in a stand. Some executives wear jeans, reflecting a Silicon Valley ethos. Its spy-world ties also are evident, in frosted windows and fingerprint scans required to enter certain rooms. In-Q-Tel’s investments include one made last year in CyPhy Works, a Massachusetts company that produces small surveillance drones. CyPhy’s board includes Anita Jones, a computer scientist and former Defense Department official. She is also a trustee of In-Q-Tel, appointed in 2002. Ms. Jones didn’t connect CyPhy with In-Q-Tel, said CyPhy’s chief executive, Helen Greiner. The suggestion to seek In-Q-Tel funding came from another investor. At In-Q-Tel, Ms. Jones stayed out of discussions of whether to invest, the firm said. After In-Q-Tel put money in, it suggested certain modifications to one of CyPhy’s surveillance drones, a model that can stay aloft for hundreds of hours because it is powered through a microfiber tether. The resulting new drone, called the Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications, or PARC, is used by the U.S. government and is available for commercial purchase. In-Q-Tel “could see the military opportunity,” Ms. Greiner said. “They work with their customer base to say, ‘This is what these guys are doing now, but what would be the most useful?’ ” Asked if In-Q-Tel’s investment boosted the value of any stock options held by Ms. Jones, she and CyPhy said in a written statement that “the transaction may or may not have had an effect on the value of options held” by her. Forterra’s case was the only time In-Q-Tel funded a business that had been recommended by a trustee who was on that business’s board, according to the venture-capital firm. It said that other times when it funded businesses where a trustee was a director, the trustee wasn’t the one proposing the investment. Connections between trustees and funded companies often are indirect, such as parallel investments by In-Q-Tel and by the primary employer of an In-Q-Tel trustee. Three of In-Q-Tel’s 12 trustees work for other, larger venture-capital firms. In-Q-Tel has invested in at least 13 businesses in which those other firms already held stakes. In-Q-Tel trustee Peter Barris is a co-managing general partner at New Enterprise Associates, one of the largest venture-capital firms. Mr. Barris joined In-Q-Tel’s board in 2006. Four years later, In-Q-Tel invested in a data-storage startup at which New Enterprise already held a stake, a company called Cleversafe. Mr. Barris didn’t recommend the investment or vote on it, according to him and other In-Q-Tel officials. A few years later, New Enterprise Associates increased its stake in Cleversafe to 25%, and Mr. Barris joined Cleversafe’s board. Later still, he was involved in a restructuring at Cleversafe that polished up the data-storage business for a $1.3 billion sale. At the time of the sale in 2015, Mr. Barris was on the board of Cleversafe as well as the boards of two of its investors: In-Q-Tel and Northwestern University. Mr. Barris said that this triple connection was unusual, but that all of the investors’ interests were aligned. “I could argue that In-Q-Tel benefited from [New Enterprise] rather than the other way around,” he said. Mr. Barris added that on at least three occasions, he has recommended In-Q-Tel look into investing in companies to which New Enterprise Associates had a connection, but In-Q-Tel didn’t invest. Ronald Gilson, a Columbia Law School professor who has written about governance and venture capital, said In-Q-Tel’s unique semigovernmental model puts it in the situation of needing expert advice while trying to avoid overly cozy financial relationships. “On the one hand, if you wanted really pristine independence, it means you are going to need people who don’t have commercial ties to the industry,” Mr. Gilson said. “On the other hand, if you have people without any commercial ties to the industry, they are not much use.” .

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Cultural decay and declining standards of behavior in the United States ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Colorado man tries to murder 2-year-old son Associated Press / August 30, 2016 A Colorado man has admitted to willfully crashing his car in an effort to kill his 2-year-old son. The toddler, Isaiah Lopez, who was unrestrained in the vehicle, suffered a concussion and broken leg but is expected to recover. Nathan Weitzel, 29, was charged with attempted murder and is being jailed on $500,000 bail in connection with the August 21 wreck in Centennial, Colorado. Weitzel told investigators he took his son to play in a park before the crash and thought of ways he could kill him. He drove around looking for a good location to end his son's life. When he believed he found one, Weitzel put his own seat belt on but refrained from putting his son into the child seat. Then he intentionally drove into several cars at 75 miles per hour. After the accident, witnesses say the child was fading in and out of consciousness. According to court documents, witness Cindy Rosa called 911. She saw Weitzel, “hitting the child … it looked like an elbow. It was horrifying.” People in the area came to Isaiah's aid. Weitzel also admitted to using cocaine that day. "He used to be a really good climber," said mother Nancy Lopez of the child. "He loves to play and run around. He can’t walk now; he’s not going to be walking for another two months." The mother said she takes care of Isaiah full-time, but the toddler spends weekends with his father. Weitzel was arrested and taken to the Arapahoe County Jail. He’s been charged with attempted first-degree murder, child abuse, assault, criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance and vehicular assault. .