Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London, Keith Barnham, started his research career in experimental high energy nuclear physics at the University of Birmingham and worked in research laboratories at CERN in Geneva and at UC Berkeley. In the first half, he discussed how the solar revolution will enable the sun to supply all our energy needs and how we can avoid the threats posed by global warming, oil depletion and nuclear disaster. Barnham invented a solar cell with three times the efficiency of today's rooftop panels.
He suggested that solar cell technology is analogous to that used with silicon semiconductor chips, and they have similar potential to made smaller and less expensive. Germany's solar power photovoltaic system is so successful that much of the country's energy needs are met by that and wind power, Barnham noted, adding that their achievement can serve as a model for the rest of the world. Interestingly, Sweden, a country that doesn't get much sunlight over the winter, has been able to harness heat stored inside the Earth as an energy source, he reported.
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In the latter half, Bigfoot hunters Dan Baker and Ray Gardner, founders of American Primate Exploration group, spoke about their efforts to track the North American primate known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch. They have focused their investigations in the southeastern Ohio area (Ohio is ranked as the 5th most frequent state to have Bigfoot sightings in the US). Gardner detailed the possible Bigfoot sighting that ignited his initial interest. He and two hunters saw neon green eyes staring at them when they shone a light at a creature estimated to be at least 5 ft. tall that was above the weed line in a field at a large park. As the creature retreated into the woods, they were able to make out some details of its body.
Baker described being inside a possible Bigfoot home-- a dome-like structure composed of interwoven tree branches like a basket. The two have concluded that Bigfoot is a flesh and blood creature that may be a relic of an early hominid species, and because of its human-like qualities, they have adopted a no-kill policy. They have made castings of several large anomalous tracks, but believe the creature often walks on all fours, and thus typically doesn't leave much in the way of tracks. Further, Bigfoot may have trichromatic vision, which helps them to evade game or trail camera traps-- the IR or UV light that acts a trigger system for the camera could appear as bright blue light to them, Gardner explained.
News segment guests: Robert Zimmerman, Mish Shedlock