Our recent editorial on the problem of high school math being taught by unqualified teachers (http://machinedesign.com/article/why-johnny-cant-do-algebra-0925) continues to get a lot of comments. Some of them, remarkably, are from teachers who see nothing wrong with algebra classes taught by a gym teacher having no training in math. ...

It’s always interesting to review the results of our annual engineering salary survey. We showcased the highlights in our last issue, but this year some of the most-noteworthy findings only emerged as we combed through the data to update our online engineering-salary calculator. The statistic that sprang out at us was the relatively high ...

On the eve of the recently completed Wind Power Conference, Siemens Energy put out a press release trumpeting an order for 33 of its 2.3-MW wind turbines. The units are destined for a wind farm in North Dakota expected to have a generating capacity of up to 75 MW. You might think a wind farm with 33 wind turbines would make a significant dent ...

  One of the most active topics on the Machine Design forums has been the pros and cons of rail lines. Now that gas prices have begun to creep up again, it might be a good time to revisit the idea. It is all the more interesting in light of the Obama administration's plans for a new national network of high-speed passenger rail lines. ...

Readers interested in changing careers for greener pastures might take a hint from the World Business Summit on Climate Change which wrapped up recently in Copenhagen: Environmental alarmism is a growth industry. The meeting was basically a warm-up for negotiations to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto is a United Nations treaty that ...

This from a publication called UU World  News item: UUs participate in global warming conference, rally   ''..........Organizers called the March 2 blockage the largest mass action ever held in the U.S. against global warming. Protestors had to brave a snowstorm, frigid temperatures, and bitter winds for the march.........''

Here is an interesting statistic from the Competitive Enterprise Institute:   In 2007, the New York Independent Budget Office reported that New York City was spending 23 percent more to recycle waste than it would cost to dispose of it. It also spends $6 million annually to “educate” citizens on sorting recyclables. But markets for ...

Here is an interesting item from the U. of Missouri. Mizzou was suing one of its own professors over royalties from a patent invented in University labs. What is not said in the item or the comments is that Universities asserting rights to royalties from patents by their employees is a good way to ensure there won't be any patents coming out ...

  Suppose you could ask your encyclopedia to not only spit out facts, but to perform an analysis with those facts or compute the answers to a math problem for you. A free Web site set to go live this month promises to do all this. Its called WolframAlpha and you can watch a demo of it and read a write up from the Chronicles of Higher ...

Spring is in the air, and it is time once again for business magazines to begin unveiling their annual “best of ” lists. Get ready to hear about the best companies to work for, most admired companies, best plants, and many more. Those of us who don’t work for establishments anointed by one of these lists might gaze wistfully at the ...