Chris Baltimore

In less than a month, teams from 20 universities from around the world will gather on the National Mall in Washington DC for the 2009 Solar Decathlon, hosted mainly by the Department of Energy.

In the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, where lawmakers are mulling first-ever U.S. carbon dioxide regulations, teams will compete to build and operate small homes that derive all their energy from the sun's infinite supply.

Some teams to watch are Cornell University and its "Silo House," with three circular rooms, Virginia Tech and its Lumenhaus, which focuses on channeling natural light, and Team Germanyfrom Technische Universitat Darmstadt, which won the 2007 decathlon with a high-tech design.

Another team to watch is Rice University, which will feature its Zerow House, a no-nonsense solar house meant to be affordable to low-income families.  (The name combines Zero and Row, since row houses are a Houston icon.) Click on the YouTube link below to see a short tour of the Rice house narrated by Brent Houchens, a mechanical engineering professor at Rice.

Several different strategies will be in play during the contest. Some teams will seek to wow the judges by deploying the most high-tech solar arrays, appliances and interior designs. Team Germany is fielding another high-concept entry this year, and its stated philosophy is to "push the envelope with as many new technologies as possible."

That strategy is evident in looking at the team's modernistic 2-story cube, which is almost totally covered with PV panels and can churn out over 11 kilowatts of electric generation, more than enough to satisfy the house's needs. Others, like Rice's Zerow House, are focusing on affordability and livability -- which could be a wise strategy in these lean financial times.

All the entries will demonstrate a concept known as "smart metering," where a home's power usage meter can spin both forwards and backwards and keep track of power sent onto the utility grid. Residents would get a check from their utility if they generated more electricity than they used. Most U.S. residential meters are not capable of the feat currently, but some U.S. utilities are warming to the idea.

Teams will also compete in feats of solar competency meant to prove their prowess not only in architectural design and affordability, but also everyday household tests that any homemaker will appreciate. Those include the Hot Water contest -- using solar collectors to heat 15 gallons of water to 110 degrees Fahrenheit in 10 minutes or less, and the Appliances contest, which includes the dreaded towel test - washing and drying 10 loads of laundry during a week.

So why have Americans been slow to adopt solar technology when other countries like Germany have gone for them whole hog? Are more government incentives needed or is it a matter of lifestyle? Are Americans willing to sacrifice comfort and convenience to slash their carbon dioxide emissions and save energy?

Photo credit: REUTERS/Chris Baltimore (Zerow House in Houston)

August 29 is a notable day in U.S. history -- it's the birthday of the late pop icon Michael Jackson (in 1958) and the day that Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, flooding 80 percent of the city and killing 1,500 people (in 1995).

A group of musicians who think the King of Pop has stolen the Crescent City's thunder are seeking to combine the two through an art campaign called "Jackson Squared."

The New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund group has commissioned pop artist L. Steve Williams Jr. to paint "Jackson Squared," which shows Jackson, with his signature white glove and epaulettes, astride the statue of Andrew Jackson in the city's Jackson Square. In the background, a red hurricane warning flag flaps in the breeze.

"He's probably going to get more press on his birthday than one of the worst disasters in U.S. history," said musician Jeff Beninato, chairman of the group. "This is a way to forever tie the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, with the City of New Orleans, the cradle of rock and roll."

Beninato's group has secured charitable donations of money, furniture, and even band uniforms for Hurricane Katrina victims, with the support of musicians like Dr. John, Wilco and REM.

It's not the only Jackson-related event. Actor Spike Lee is promoting an event in Prospect Park in Brooklyn to commemorate the "Thriller" singer's birthday.

Fossett Entertainment Group will also throw a block party to commemorate Jackson's birthday near his childhood home in Gary, Indiana, according to local media reports.

The "Thriller" singer suffered cardiac arrest and died  on June 25 at age 50 in Los Angeles, where he was preparing for a string of concerts in London.

He died from a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol given in a cocktail of drugs, leading authorities to suspect his doctor of manslaughter, court documents show.

So what does 8/29 mean to you? Has U.S. media given just coverage to the horrible destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina? How will you mark Michael Jackson's 51st birthday?

A looming battle between two prominent Texas Republicans is heating up after U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison confirmed that she'll leave the Senate this fall to challenge Texas Gov. Rick Perry for his post in 2010.

Hutchison, Texas' senior senator whose term ends in 2012, has not formally decided to run against Perry -- the longest-serving governor in the state's history -- and will likely make that announcement in August, she told Dallas radio host Mark Davis in an interview on Wednesday.

Hutchison told Davis that she will likely resign her U.S. Senate seat "sometime in October, November ... in that timeframe," and return to Texas to focus on her gubernatorial campaign, with a primary run-off by May 2010.

"I'm coming home to try to give leadership to Texas," said Hutchison, a television news reporter before she entered politics. "For him to try to stay on for 15 years is too long," she said, referring to Perry.

A big question is the possibility that Texas could turn Democratic in coming years. In a recent article, The Economist said Texas -- a long-time bastion of conservative Republicanism and home of former U.S. President George W. Bush -- could swing Democratic in coming years due to a rising population of immigrants.

The last time a Democratic governor sat in the Austin statehouse was 1990, when Anne Richards won the governorship. She was replaced by Republican George W. Bush, who went on to become U.S. president.

Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (Hutchison at hurricane briefing in Austin in 2008, across the table from Perry and then-president Bush)

As the influence of traditional music critics at newspapers and magazines wanes, a new breed of critic, armed only with a computer and an Internet connection, is filling the void.

Though the Baby Boomer generation got their music recommendations from the likes of Rolling Stone Magazine and similar outlets, the next generation of music fan attending the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, is seeking out a new "tastemaker" -- the blogger.

That's due in part to staff cutbacks by U.S. newspapers and other publications, which has forced them to focus on big-name national acts and give local bands short shrift, said  Robert Duffy, founder of music blog called donewaiting.com.

"If you picked up the local paper you wouldn't know what's going on on the local music scene outside maybe the orchestra," Duffy, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, said at a panel on blogging at the 10-day music, film and interactive networking event on Thursday. "They're not thinking about local music."

Though old-style music reviewers gained notoriety by "slamming" bands with negative reviews, modern-day bloggers -- who often have day jobs -- only have time to write about bands they actually like, said Glenn Peoples from Nashville, Tennessee, who runs a music industry blog Coolfer.com.

In some ways bloggers have replaced the "cranky record store clerk" as the source for musical hints, Peoples said.

However, Justin Gage, founder of blog Aquarium Drunkard in Los Angeles, said he still relies on long-term clerks at record stores like Amoeba Music for advice.

Gage and Duffy both agreed that bloggers can play a big role in convincing music publishers to sign record deals with bands. "That word-of-mouth thing - you can't beat it,"  Gage said.

Janet Timmons, editor of Out the Other.com in Nashville, said her blog focuses almost exclusively on in-town acts, mostly rock bands. "We're one of the last really enthusiastic mediums," said Timmons, who has posted many blogs about the Nashville  band The Features.

- Photo credits: Reuters/Chris Baltimore (Top: Festival-goers line up in the Austin Convention Center; Middle: The band "Two Hours Traffic" from Prince Edward Island in Canada perform; Bottom: Festival-goers take in a performance at SXSW)

For Mark Tidwell and Charles Rawl, former employees who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Texas billionaire Allen Stanford's financial empire, this week's move by U.S. securities regulators to charge Stanford and two associates with "massive, ongoing fraud" brought a certain kind of redemption. But for the thousands of investors who now cannot tap into their accounts until a court-appointed receiver sorts out claims, it could be a long wait.

Tidwell and Rawl both worked in Stanford's posh Houston headquarters until December 2007, when they say they were forced to leave. In an interview with Reuters in Houston on Feb. 19. 2009, the two talked about their growing concerns while working at Stanford, as well as the silver-spooned culture that prevailed. Click here to hear audio

Mark Tidwell, 40, a former senior vice president at Stanford, recalls a plush dining room with a new menu every day, and perks aplenty for employees fortunate enough to make the "Top Producers Club."

"You know it's different when you pull in because there is a security guard that greets every car that pulls into the parking garage," Tidwell said.

Photo credit: Reuters/Chris Baltimore (Tidwell, left, and Rawl, right, pictured at a Houston law office on Feb. 19, 2009)

Republicans have chosen Louisiana's young governor, Bobby Jindal, to deliver a high-profile national address that will follow on the heels of President Barack Obama's first State of the Union Address to the U.S. Congress on Feb. 24.

The choice of Jindal,  37 years old and of Indian heritage, points to a search for new leaders for the Republican Party, which is still reeling from the loss of its majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate to Democrats and the White House to Obama.

Jindal - who proved his mettle as an able administrator and communicator after Hurricane Gustav tore across Louisiana in September - has been tapped as a rising star in the Republican Party.
A darling to conservatives like talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who has dubbed him as "the next Ronald Reagan," Jindal will have a chance to polish his credentials before a national television audience later this month.

"Here in Louisiana, we have first-hand experience with reforming government and cutting taxes to stimulate our economy in uncertain times," Jindal said in a statement on Wednesday. "This is a terrific opportunity to talk about our great state to the nation."

Too bad many in Louisiana won't be listening. Feb. 24 is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, the big party in these parts, especially in New Orleans, before the start of Lent.
 Photo Credit: Reuters/Jeff Haynes (JIndal shakes hands with a then President-elect Obama)

SAN ANTONIO - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to change Washington when he takes office in January 2009, but you may see evidence of the change at your local bar even sooner.

San Antonio celebrity bartender Malcolm Cates, who has been credited with introducing several trendy new cocktails, has whipped up the "Barackatini," which he says reflects a "new tone" in Washington.

"A Barackatini consists of rum, fruit, a splash of club soda to keep it mellow," Cates says. "After all, (Obama) does very well under pressure."

Cates says the Bush administration favored "traditional" cocktails like the vodka tonic. But Obama's time in the Oval Office will usher in a new era of exotic drinks made with champagne and rum, he said.

Also look for trendy night spots to highlight "ultra premium" vodka and rum, he said.

(Reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio)

- Photo credit: Reuters/Carlos Barria (Obama speaks to reporters in Chicago on Nov. 7, 2008)

 Welcome to the front lines of global warming in the United States - the Harding Ice Field in Alaska, the biggest icefield in the United States.
   At the Exit Glacier north of Seward - the only glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park reachable by foot - the giant cerulean blue ice sheet gives every sign of staying put.
   But one only has to glance at the many signs along the roadway and footpath to the glacier's edge to mark its retreat  - it hit its peak size in 1815 and has been receding ever since. Signs along a footpath leading to the base of the glacier show just how far it has retreated.
   The glacier lost about 10 feet from its front face over the summer of 2008.
   Since the 1980s, land-based glaciers and ice caps like this one in Alaska have contributed the most to sea level rise than any other source within their category, which includes other land-based glaciers like Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro and the Chacaltaya Glacier near La Paz, Bolivia, said Brenda Ekwurzel, a climate expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists.
   Unlike the ice cover around the North Pole or giant floating ice sheets, land-based ice contributes directly to sea-level rises.
   According to a 2007 report by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, glaciers and ice caps have the potential to raise global sea levels by between .15 meters and .37 meters.
   That pales in comparison to the giant ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, which could raise sea levels by 63.9 meters if they fully melted.
   At the Aialik Glacier in the Harding Icefield - reachable by boat or plane, the living nature of the ice was more evident.
   On a visit to the glacier via tourboat on Aug. 15 on a trip hosted by the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, several chunks of ice broke apart and crashed into Aialik Bay.
   Throughout the visit, the ice cracked and groaned, with a sound like thunder claps that punctuated the still air.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As Barack Obama gains momentum in his battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential nomination, there are signs that the scrappy New York senator's inner fighter may be giving way to the uniter who will knit the fractured party back together once the bruising nomination process ends. 

But parsing her recent campaign speeches from West Virginia and South Dakota to Oregon and Kentucky, Clinton does not appear ready to give up the fight just yet.  

At a speech late on Friday here, Clinton appeared initially to aim for a conciliatory tone toward Obama, only mentioning her challenger to draw comparisons between women and blacks -- two groups that she said had suffered greatly under the original U.S. Constitution written by America's founders. 

"Neither Senator Obama nor I nor many of you were fully included in the vision of our founders," Clinton said.

"We're here for one reason - to make sure the next president is a Democrat," Clinton told the dinner held by the Kentucky Democratic Party. "Once we have a nominee I know in my heart we will come together as a party."

But later in the speech she used very specific pronouns: calling for "a Democratic president who will roll up her sleeves and get to work for all of you."

A day earlier in Charleston, West Virginia, Clinton had dismissed calls for her to drop out of the race as "déjà vu all over again,"  and recalled similar entreaties before she won the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. 

"There are people who said we need to end this before we get to West Virginia. Well, I don't think so," Clinton said. "I was never supposed to win Indiana." 

Clinton has vowed to continue running until the voting concludes on June 3, but she and campaign aides have hinted she would step aside if it is clear that Obama will be the nominee. 

So which is it? Hillary the Fighter or Hillary the Uniter? Time will tell.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credit: Reuters/Chris Baltimore (A Clinton supporter holds up boxing gloves at fundraiser in New York City.)