Articles written by Don C. Brunell
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European Data Centers Looking to Capture Heat
Coupled with the rapid growth of data centers we rely upon for internet service and information storage is an increased demand for electricity to power millions of computers and cool the mammoth build...
Time to change other Washington
It is time to change the way things are done in our nation’s capital---the “Other Washington!” The year-end Christmas dash to pass a $1.7 trillion spending monstrosity is the straw breaking the...
Veterans' Wreaths Spread Across America
The Holiday Season is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving lost loved ones. Evergreen wreaths placed on veterans’ graves across America help to ease that pain. More than 2.5 million...
Expanded Panama Canal Challenges Washington Ports
The $5.4 billion expansion of the Panama Canal is paying off for East Coast and Gulf of Mexico seaports. It is putting pressure on the Pacific Ocean-based terminals to be more competitive. The...
People returning to stores
The good news is, despite higher prices, inflation and safety concerns, more Christmas shoppers are browsing on-line but making in-store purchases. The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported this...
Late Fire Wildfire Season Points to Need for Better Forest Management
Last summer, our state’s wildfire season was below normal---a welcome relief for firefighters and smoke-choked Washingtonians, especially city dwellers. However, that all changed this fall. First,...
Honoring fallen heroes goes beyond lowering flags to half-mast
Lowering our flags to half-staff is a solemn act that recognizes our fallen heroes, whether they be men and women in our armed forces or police officers killed in the line of duty. It is a vivid...
Recycling Lithium Batteries Must Accelerate
Demand for Electric Vehicles (EV) is soaring---accelerated by climate change concerns. EVs reduce tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks and buses which are responsible for 30 percent of our greenhouse...
Recovery hinges on returning to work
To “Build Back America” key workers must return to jobsites. It is not good enough for President Biden to lean back on low unemployment numbers claiming success when employers cannot find workers....
Firewood, the new gold in Europes energy crisis
With Russian President Vladimur Putin cutting off natural gas supplies, Northern Europeans are scrambling and reverting to firewood to heat their homes, boil water and cook. It is rapidly becoming a...
Garbage important energy source
If you live in Spokane, you know about its waste-to-energy facility which burns up to 800 tons of solid waste a day and can generate 22 megawatts of electricity---enough to power 13,000 homes. It is...
Herculean efforts are needed to free Seattle of drugs and crime
Over the years, Seattle leaders faced “Herculean” challenges yet found the will, resources, and determination to come together and tackle them. Today’s conundrum is to overcome the city’s...
Innovators can increase fresh water supplies
In Washington, this year we’re fortunate to have escaped the historic droughts plaguing other parts of the world. The Columbia River basin water system has been at normal levels which is good for ou...
Drained Snake River reservoirs would look like dry riverbeds
If you want a glimpse of parched river bottoms behind “would be breached” lower Snake River dams, look at recent photos of European rivers and lakes. On parts of picturesque Rhine River there is...
Gas engines part of reducing CO2
Implausible as it may seem, gasoline powered vehicles can be part of reducing carbon emissions. They need to be part of the solution and not brushed aside. Take for example, Glacier National Park in...
Restore U.S. semiconductor edge
Surprisingly, recent U.S. Presidents and congressional Democrats and Republicans agree America’s economic and national security hinge upon tiny, yet powerful semiconductors. Semiconductor computer c...
Congress should reassert itself
While critics contend the U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants was a “gut punch;...
Drones help scorched forests
Regenerating millions of western forested acres scorched by wildfires is a Herculean task costing hundreds of billions. However, healthy growing woodlands are essential to reducing atmospheric CO2 and...
Dam hydropower hard to replace
Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, both Democrats, issued a draft report which estimates that breaching the four lower Snake River dams and replacing their electricity and other benefits would cos...
COVID-19 clawback spurs robotics
Prior to the corona virus outbreak, economies in the industrial world were moving along fairly smoothly-— reliable supply chains with “just in time” component arrivals, predictable product...
Gov. Inslee, Sen. Murray targeting wrong dams
Gov. Jay Inslee and Senator Patty Murray have their priorities backward when it comes to rebuilding Snake River salmon and steelhead runs. Instead of focusing on ripping out dams with fish passages...
Laminated products reduce fire risk
Wood buildings are making a comeback in the Pacific Northwest thanks to new laminated timber products. Even very large buildings are now constructed with laminated beams and are successfully competing...
Electric blueprint unveiled at fair
Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair was awe-inspiring. It previewed developments that would improve our daily lives in the next millennium. While “Century 21” memories have faded, three of its...
Look north to increase gas supplies
The news that President Biden plans to resume leasing of federal land for oil exploration maybe good five years from now, but that action alone won’t bring down record gas prices at the pump in the...
Ukraine needs it's sunflower power
Sunflowers are to Ukraine what tulips are to western Washington. During the blooming season, both are spectacular and represent the best in the people who cultivate and visit those fields. In late...
