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Show ft A6 Wednesday, March 21, 2007 In 1839, Edmond Becquerel discovered the process of using sunlight to produce an electric current in a solid material. That's right; the basic technique tech-nique for generating electricity in this way - the "photoelectric effect" - has been known for 175 years. Only 20 years later, however, how-ever, "Colonel" Edwin Drake .drilled the first practical oil well in Pennsylvania, ushering in the world-wide scramble for petroleum. After all, coal had already been driving the industrial indus-trial revolution for more than a century. The known mechanics mechan-ics of harnessing the controlled burning of carbon compounds could be applied to oil very easily, eas-ily, leading to what some call the "second industrial revolution." revolu-tion." Solar electricity has languished lan-guished in the shadows ever since. As fossil fuels approach depletion, the future of solar power will be brighter. ,' Photoelectric cells work in the following way. Light is composed of units called photons pho-tons (as opposed to the atoms that are the units of matter). These photons, generated 92 million miles away in our nearest near-est star, strike the atoms of the solar cell, and are absorbed. ' The energy of the absorbed photon is transferred to the negatively charged electrons that orbit the nucleus of the atoms in the solar cell. With their newfound energy, these electrons escape from their normal orbiting positions, and become part of the electrical flow, or current, in an electrical Icircqit. That is what electricity We're Taking Vernal to New Heights! Mountain America Credit Union is opening a new branch in your neighborhood at 1818 W. Highway 40, Vernal. Our Grand Opening Celebration will be on Thursday and Friday; March 22nd and V ji NOTES FROM THE UINTAH MOUNTAIN CLUB olar Pwr The amount of space offered on a normal-sized house could supply the electrical needs of the family that lived below. To generate 3kw (kilowatts) would require panels equaling an area of 300 sq ft, or in other words, a rectangle 30 feet long and 10 feet wide. Most homes built nowadays usually exceed 1,000 square feet, more than three times the necessary area. The beauty of solar electricity electrici-ty is this; we already have built the infrastructure to distribute it, in the power lines that connect con-nect every home and building. Surplus electricity beyond a family's needs, as well as the extra electricity generated gener-ated when they weren't there, could be returned to the Rocky Mountain Power grid as "credits," "cred-its," to be cashed in by that family fam-ily later. Of course, it is always possible that some ambitious homes could go "off the grid," and become completely independent inde-pendent of an outside source of electricity. People living in remote areas without power line access were, in fact, instrumental instru-mental in advancing the idea of electrical self-sufficiency. If it is possible for an orbiting satellite sat-ellite to be independently powered, pow-ered, it is possible for a human family. Of course, industry could invest in facilities that mass-produced mass-produced solar electricity. It would require a power plant of many solar panels, mounted on relatively flat ground, in an area with few people, abundant abun-dant sunshine and little cloud cover. Sound like any place we know of? Rectangular panels of -' photoces?yeach tilted J tcjW(j r!( 23rd. Boost your spirits with light refreshments and prizes for the kids. 1$ account at any of our four Uintah Basin branches and receive a FREE box of checks. To find out about joining Mountain America, visit our Web site at www.macu.com or call (435) 789-8777. Uintah Branch 1818 W. Hwy. 40 Altamont Branch 3986 N. 15675 West Vernal the south at the optimum angle for its latitude, could be placed around Bonanza Power plant, for example. If they were arrayed in north-south rows spaced so that the ground itself would receive about half of the light it now gets, they could generate vast amounts of electricity. elec-tricity. Best of all, most of the land of this type, in Uintah County and throughout the West, is now owned by the U.S. Government. How ironic if, when Bonanza Power plant comes to the end of its useful life, it had a second career as a facility that generated solar electricity. electric-ity. Unfortunately, instead of investing our money in an energy source that promises to permanently solve our supply problem, the U.S. government has only grudgingly given tax credits or funding for research into solar. At the same time it has stubbornly backed , to the hilt the fossil fuels energy that we know without doubt will eventually fail us. What we need is some of that "vision thing" that we have long claimed to possess. 1 Enter to win a money tree loaded with cash, a portable DVD player play-er or an iPod! During the Grand Opening Celebration, open a new checking Vernal Branch 801 W. Hwy. 40 Roosevelt Branch 200 N. 823 East Mountain America CREDIT UNION NCUA Mmbwihip required, txmd en eligibility. Express I ( RELAY it FOR LIFfc The Uintah Basin Relay for Life register of survivors needs to be re-built. Cancer survivors survi-vors are asked to provide their information to Katrina Harris or Mindy Harwood. A special form is in their ad, or you may use plain paper to mail the information, including: Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Daytime and Evening Phone Numbers, T-shirt Size (S, M, L, XL, XXL), YearsMonths the person has been a survivor, and e-mail address (optional). The mailing address is Mindy Harwood, 1324 E. 4000 S., Pipeline Group sponsors Contractor Awareness program The Pipeline Group's annual "Public Education - Contractor Awareness Program" will be held at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 29, 2007, at the Uintah Western Park Convention Center, 300 E. 200 South, in Vernal. The program will be sponsored by a group of companies com-panies with a common goal of preventing accidents and damages dam-ages to underground pipelines and utilities. A free breakfast will be catered by the Golden Corral for all persons involved in excavation related activities in Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah counties. Following the breakfast, break-fast, a brief safety program will be presented which stresses the importance of accident prevention preven-tion by identifying pipeline and utility rights of way, use of one-call systems, and the importance of working with pipeline and utility companies to safely excavate in the vicinity vicin-ity of underground facilities. Sponsors will provide promotional promo-tional materials; includin- -I r-V "y - They all got tested for colorectal cancer. They have peace of mind, do you? Screening saves lives. Screening tests can help find precancerous polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. If you're over 50, take time to see your doctor and get screened. Schedule your appointment in the month of March and receive $100 off your Out-Of Pocket expense. Uintah Basin Colon Cancer Project Dr. Gary White: 722-6143 Dr. Glenn Robertson: 725-2030 Dr. David Krzymowski: 722-6143 Uintah Basin Medical Center AgHealthiamJbr the Basin Vernal. UT 84078. The American Cancer Society Relay for Life is an 18-hour 18-hour team event that brings people from local businesses, schools, churches, and families fami-lies together for a night under the stars while team members take turns walking or running run-ning the track. A survivor does not have to be a member of a Relay Team or pay a fee to be involved in any of the survivors' survi-vors' celebrations. Katrina and Mindy are saying, say-ing, "Please respond, even if you were on the list last year. We really want to you to come to the Relay this year on June 1 and 2. Survivors' check-in begins at 5 p.m. on Friday. Join us for a celebration of survivorship, survi-vorship, while raising money to help fund cancer research." Last year the Uintah Basin Relay for Life was the top fund-raising fund-raising relay in the entire State of Utah, bringing in over $150,000. notification information for their companies, safety related brochures and other safety reminders. Each year many lives are injured or lost, plus millions of dollars in repairs and lost products prod-ucts are incurred due to "third party" incidents - someone digging dig-ging into a pipeline. Thousands of communications, some life-threatening, life-threatening, may be disrupted when expensive fiber-optic cables are damaged or severed. These types of excavation can be financially devastating to the responsible party. This safety program is an attempt to help those who do excavation work to avoid such situations. Sponsors for the program include: Chevron Pipe Line Co., Colorado Interstate Gas Co., El Paso Field Services, Northwest Pipeline Corp., Questar, and Westport Field Services (a division divi-sion of Anadarko Petroleum). For more information call (800) 982-8752 or visit their web site at www.pipelinegroup.com 33110 Pi SS Busy People Busy Schedules Colorectal Cancer? Support Group invites guests Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that affects the central nervous system. sys-tem. Although unpredictable and chronic, MS is not contagious conta-gious and is not directly inher. ited. Most people with MS have a normal or near-normal life expectancy. The majority 0f people with MS do not become severely disabled. There are now FDA-approved medications medica-tions that have been shown to "modify" or slow down the underlying course of MS. The local MS Support Group welcomes anyone who is interested inter-ested in learning more about MS, whether living with MS as a parent, spouse, child, friend, partner, or having been diagnosed diag-nosed with it. The group members mem-bers help with the MS Walk, which will be on April 28 in Vernal, but they meet once every month to share ideas, to help one another and to learn about new treatments. Although they currently meet at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday night of each month, a different day of the month can be designated desig-nated to allow for participation. participa-tion. For information about the group or about MS, call Vernie Heeney, 789-1903. A guest at the MS Support Group last Thursday night positively radiates the results of an alternative treatment of homeopathic therapy. The individual related, "Diet is so important; I eat vegetables, chicken, fish, fruits, beans and eggs. Treatment may include vitamins and minerals, massages, mas-sages, live cell (from lambs), chelation and hydro-colon therapies." ther-apies." Toxins throughout the body are removed regularly, and cells are refurbished and regenerated in targeted areas. "Many other auto-immune deficiencies and chronic illnesses ill-nesses can be modified in this way," the guest said. "One of the most important factors is attitude. Through faith find hope I will beat MS." ' m m |