No tilting
BP and ChevronTexaco have announced the full commercial start-up of their new, 22.5-megawatt “wind farm” in The Netherlands and the sale of the “green” electricity it produces into the Dutch national power grid.
The 23-million dollar project, located at the companies' jointly owned Nerefco oil refinery near Rotterdam, generates enough electricity to run some 20,000 Dutch households.
It's called the first large-scale European wind project on a “brownfield” refinery site and will displace 20,000 tons of greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) emissions each year.
All-Pro trucker
Hollywood has yet to do a rags-to-riches story about a truck driver becoming a superstar in the National Football League. But now that Michael Lewis of the New Orleans Saints has made that jump, filmmakers may be calling his agent.
The Associated Press has named Lewis, who made the Saints as a 29-year-old return specialist just last season, the All-Pro kick returner. A nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcaster who cover the NFL chooses the team. Lewis, who did not play college football, drove a beer truck for a Budweiser distributor in New Orleans to help support his family before making it big in the NFL. “I love driving a truck,” says Lewis, one of the league's smallest players at 5-ft. 8-in., 165 lbs. “I love meeting all the different people. And I know I got a lot of people out there who are supporting me. I don't want to let them down.” Lewis shattered the NFL's single-season record for combined kickoff and punt return yardage with 2,432 yards. Though he eclipsed the record by 245 yards, returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and a punt return for another, fans still call him “The Beer Man.”
Be on time… and wear ‘plugs
Lighting and what's called pyrotechnics are a central part of the current pop-music concert experience. To ensure the high-value, sensitive equipment that pops the lights and fireworks is in place on time, top-notch special-effects firm Strictly FX has tapped Philly-based Stonepath Logistics to handle transportation for its renowned displays. Strictly FX clients include the Super Bowl and performers Lenny Kravitz and NSync.
LETTER OF THE MONTH
Congratulations on a good article (see Patent Pending, 12/02, pg. 84). Several years ago when I was the chairman of the Missouri Motor Carrier Association, I attempted to get the industry more involved in getting younger people involved in truck-driver training. Unfortunately, some of the major carrier members were not having trouble getting drivers so it was vetoed. Until the industry determines that they need to cater to the younger individual and get them interested in driving a truck before they are 21, we will be doomed to not having enough qualified drivers… Now, if only we could get Congress to recognize that a properly instituted training program with pre-screened candidates can produce safe young drivers.
— Larry Daniel, president
The Daniel Company of Springfield
Springfield, MO
[email protected]
Time Travel
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington DC will be completely doing over its transportation hall with the installation of a new exhibition, “America on the Move,” to open on Nov. 19.
The museum says “America on the Move” will “transport visitors back in time and immerse them in the sights, sounds, and sensations of transportation in the U.S. from 1876 to the present.”
The exhibit will showcase the Smithsonian's popular transportation collections in historic settings, including an actual chunk of the Mother Road herself, Route 66.
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