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December 30, 2005
Ambitious growth plans by refiners come with uncertainty
China Confirms Seventh Human Birdflu Case
Like previous human victims of the H5N1 virus in China, she apparently contracted the disease in an area that has not officially reported previous outbreaks among birds. The H5N1 virus has killed more than 70 people in Asia since late 2003 and is endemic in poultry flocks across parts of the region.
Court orders that BPA to continue summer water spill for fish
DOE ANALYSIS-- Higher crude imports drive unexpected stock build
Environmental Groups Seen as Balancing Dual Loyalties
Environmental groups that frequently spar with the Bush administration over protecting the air, water and human health also have collected millions of dollars in U.S. government grants, failing in one recent case to properly account for the money.
Europe-US gasoline arbitrage opens on strong US demand
"The US has caught us all off guard. I was as bearish as anyone about December gasoline and I have certainly been surprised. The US wants gasoline and they are paying big numbers to get it," one London-based trader said.
Ex-Soviet warheads light Nebraska homes
Most people now going gray can remember childhood school drills where they were admonished to duck and cover in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.
COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have already stuffed their 2006 desk calendars with meetings as the agency faces one of its heaviest -- and for the electric utility industry, most significant -- workloads since the FERC's predecessor agency, the Federal Power Agency, was created in 1930.
GE Energy's Nuclear Business Wins Contract to Boost Mexico Nuclear Plant's Output
The Laguna Verde contract - which should culminate with EPU implementation in 2009 and 2010 - is GE's latest power uprate project, as a growing number of plant operators around the world continue to seek ways to boost the production, efficiency and safety of their reactor fleets.
Goldman Sees Markets as Solution to Global Warming
Goldman Sachs Group thinks it can battle global warming, not by hugging trees, but by doing what comes naturally to a Wall Street powerhouse: trading. Goldman last month joined a growing list of investment banks, under pressure to withhold funds from projects that boost greenhouse gasses, that have promised to help protect forests and fend off global climate change.
Governments work to save energy, air-- Catawba Valley could be off EPA's sanction lists in 2008
The plans show that the 10 governments involved -- collectively, on air-quality issues, called the Unifour Air Quality Compact -- have concrete plans for conserving energy, therefore reducing emissions, he said.
The EPA has threatened Catawba Valley governments in the past with sanctions and fines because of high levels of atmospheric ozone in the air. Since then, the governments have worked to find ways to reduce ozone emissions through the Air Quality Compact.
Illinois ethanol plant to pay $2 million to settle case
The plaintiffs alleged the company skirted air pollution rules at its Pekin, Ill., ethanol production plant by failing to get the proper permit before making a major modification at the plant. The company also failed to install pollution controls that the permit would have required.
More than a Million Face Extreme Food Shortages in Ethiopia
More than a million Ethiopian cattle herders face extreme food shortages after the failure of rains that normally replenish water sources and sustain livestock through the dry season, a famine early warning group said.
Native Americans try to Reap the Wind for Power
Twenty-five windmills in San Diego County that stand 20 stories tall began generating electricity this week, offering powerful evidence that Native American tribes are turning to the wind to rebuild their economies.
Oil tipped to fall to $50 'barring incidents'
Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, said crude would continue to fall from record highs over the next 12 months, although gas and electricity prices could climb.
Rare Seabirds Being Spotted in California
Scientists are stumped about why thousands of rare seabirds are suddenly being spotted on land in Northern California. Scientists said many of the birds are emaciated and weak from flying in strong ocean storms, which may have pushed them onto land to look for food. Some have fallen victim to predatory cats and gulls, while others have reportedly been struck and killed by drivers along Highway 1.
Renewed Interest in the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle
The growing demand for electricity in the U.S. is fueling an interest in building new power plants. Although there is some activity in developing renewable resources, such as wind and solar energy, the more traditional energy sources are likely to be relied on for the majority of large increments in power generation. Yet, volatile natural gas prices, tightening emission regulations, and an abundant world coal supply provide an ideal backdrop for integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) to be a mainstream "clean coal" commercial offering.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 123005
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at predominantly unsettled levels. Isolated active periods may be possible on 30 December due to a favorably positioned coronal hole. Quiet to unsettled levels are expected on 31 December and 01 January as the coronal hole moves out geoeffective position.
Salt Tide Threatens Water Supplies in South China
A severe drought in southern China's Guangdong province is letting sea water flow further up rivers than usual, contaminating fresh water with salt and disrupting normal supplies, state media said on Thursday.
The other gas crisis; A Ukraine-Russia price row
Driving to New York City this holiday season? What if you couldn't drive through New Jersey because that state and New York had been unable to agree on the tolls at the Lincoln Tunnel? That's not a bad analogy for what is happening right now, as winter sets in, between Russia and Ukraine in their dispute over the pipeline bringing Russian gas to Europe and to Ukraine itself.
U.S. EPA moves on new 3% renewable fuel standard
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require fuel makers to ensure that nearly 3 percent of the gasoline sold in 2006 comes from renewable fuel, such as ethanol.
US DOE meeting to discuss post-storm energy industry recovery
Venezuela demands $235-mil in taxes from 4 more foreign companies
Venezuela Recovers Stolen Radioactive Capsule
Venezuela said on Thursday it had found a capsule of highly radioactive material that was aboard a truck stolen 10 days ago. It was the third incident involving such devices this year. Officials said an investigative police detective, two state security police agents and a salesman were arrested in connection with the theft.
December 29, 2005
China Firm to Spend $2.5 Billion on Renewable Power
A Chinese state-owned energy firm plans to invest at least 20 billion yuan ($2.48 billion) over the next five years in biomass, garbage treatment and other alternative energy projects, state media said on Wednesday.
Chinese hire U.S. firm for clean fuel test
Chinese officials have engaged a Denver company to demonstrate a low-emission vehicle fuel system based on natural gas and hydrogen.
Fort Collins Expanding Hythane (HCNG) Trials
Fort Collins, Colorado, is moving ahead with the investigation of Hythane—a 15% by volume hydrogen, 85% CNG mixture—as a transportation fuel.
GreenShift to build biodiesel plant in Indiana
GreenShift Corp. has unveiled plans to build a 30-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel production facility in northeastern Indiana.
The facility will be one of five such plants that the company´s Mean Green BioFuels Corp. subsidiary plans to build, own and operate by the end of 2006. The annual production capacity of the biodiesel plants will range from 20 million to 60 million gallons.
Guatemala's Volcano of Fire Keeps Rumbling
Guatemala's Volcano of Fire belched more ash and lava on Wednesday and continued raining debris on nearby villages one day after it began erupting.
Iran sees gas pipeline to India ready by 2012 despite US pressure
More renewable fuels will be at the pump
U.S. drivers will be able to gas up their vehicles next year
with nearly 3 percent of clean-burning, domestic renewable fuels
such as ethanol.
New England not ripe for mergers of utilities
Unless and until major New England utilities such as NStar, National Grid USA, or Northeast Utilities merge with each other or with New York companies, analysts say, they're probably too small to be interesting takeover candidates for huge national players.
New Solar Cell Could Make Solar Power Cheaper
Scientists in California have developed an ultra-thin, solar cell. The manufacturing process is currently long and complicated. But with the tremendous growth of solar power in the United States, it will probably be worth the effort. So researchers at the University of California-Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are trying to make a very thin but durable solar cell that will have more applications and generate more energy than the bulky solar panels now in use.
No Declaration for Indigenous Peoples This Year - Maybe Next
The long-awaited international declaration on the rights of
indigenous peoples may see the light of day in 2006, after more than 10 years of
complex efforts by a United Nations working group, experts announced.
The negotiations that took place this year gave rise to a glimmer of hope that
the next session of the U.N.
"...it's clear that a crude oil stock draw should have been reported in the last five weeks or so. After all, the combination of reported imports, production and strategic stock changes fell short of reported crude oil intake into oil refineries."
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 122905
The geomagnetic field ranged from unsettled to minor storm levels. A recurrent trans-equatorial high speed coronal hole stream was responsible for the elevated conditions. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at predominantly unsettled to active levels with isolated minor storm periods possible through 29 December.
US '06 Gasoline Sales to Meet Ethanol Standard - EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday it expects the US oil industry will meet the EPA's new standard that requires 2.78 percent of gasoline sold next year to be renewable fuel, such as ethanol.
US EPA to judge ethanol mandate compliance on a collective basis
Under this regulation, refiners, blender and importers together will be responsible for ensuring that 2.78% of the gasoline sold or dispensed to consumers in 2006 must be a renewable fuel. An individual refinery, blender or importer will not be responsible for meeting the 2.78% standard for the specific gasoline it produces, EPA said.
Will Washington Engage Morales
After years of demonising Evo Morales, whose unprecedented first-round victory in Bolivia's presidential elections Sunday has stunned analysts here, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush must now decide whether to engage him.
Xcel Energy Plans Major Wind Acquisition in Colorado; Would Become Largest Provider in U.S
Xcel Energy announced today that it intends to acquire 775 megawatts of new wind power capacity for its Colorado system by 2007. The additional capacity would make Xcel Energy the nation's largest utility user of wind power.
December 28, 2005
Ark. city looking for alternatives as contract with Duke expires
Buying into a power plant 150 miles away on the Mississippi River is being eyed by city officials hoping to find a way to stabilize electricity costs.
For 20 years, North Little Rock has been able to lock in low, fixed rates to keep its customers from getting shocked by large rate increases. But market rates are being pushed higher by increased natural gas prices at a time when North Little Rock's contract with provider Duke Energy of Charlotte, N.C., is to expire in March 2007.
China Dumps Chemicals to try to Clean Toxic River
China is dumping chemicals into a southern river to try to neutralise a toxic spill and contain the second environmental disaster to hit the country in as many months, a local official and state media said on Friday.
China Losing Ground to Severe Erosion
More than a third of China's land is affected by soil erosion, state media said on Tuesday, underlining a threat to the country's ability to provide enough food and water for its 1.3 billion people. China last year lost more than 1.6 billion tonnes of soil.
China Sends Carbon to Russia to Fight Toxic Spill
China has sent Russia a second batch of activated carbon to help mitigate the effects of a toxic spill in a river flowing towards the border dividing the two countries, the official Xinhua news agency said.
China's Huaneng launches green coal-electricity company
China's leading power producer HUANENG and seven other energy and investment companies jointly launched a green coal-electricity company that takes zero discharge as its goal here on December 23. The new company will research, construct and operate China's first demonstrative power station with a near zero pollution discharge.
Consumers Slow to Get on 'Green' Bandwagon
When it comes to going green in home building, consumers often talk the talk, but would rather have granite countertops than extra insulated walls.
Despite the seemingly obvious environmental benefits, long-term financial advantages and the prospective 70 percent increase in heating costs this winter, the well-publicized and much-ballyhooed nationwide trend of building energy-efficient homes is slow to catch on with consumers in this area.
Costs swell for MOX faciity, says DOE's IG
The MOX fuel fabrication facility, to be built at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, is part of DOE's program to make reactor fuel out of surplus weapons plutonium.
When hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept ashore in the Gulf Coast region, a large swath of Entergy's service territory went dark in one of the most calamitous events ever to hit a utility. In an exclusive interview with EnergyBiz, Wayne Leonard, 54, the company's chief executive officer, reflects on the deeper implications of the crisis and the profound challenge of overseeing Entergy's business continuity and service restoration. His commentary, edited for style, follows.
Gazprom tests limits of customers' dependence
As Gazprom seeks to wean former Soviet states from subsidized energy, the state-owned Russian company is walking a delicate line between reaping the benefits of world market prices and pushing its customers toward diversifying their energy sources so as to reduce their dependence on Russia. With the stakes high for Gazprom 70 percent of its revenues are earned from the third of its gas sales that go to Europe some countries are beginning to seek alternative sources of energy or start long overdue economic reforms aimed at saving energy and generating renewable energy resources.
Iran supports crude oil price range between $50-60bbl- official
Iraqi workers force Baiji refinery closure over product price row
LIHEAP backers hope US Congress will OK $2-bil more in funding
The spokeswoman said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Republican-Tennessee) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat-Nevada) said they would arrange for a floor vote on a separate, emergency supplemental bill to provide $2-bil in additional funding to LIHEAP. In some states, the program is facing the prospect of running out of money by the end of January,.
Maine sea floor bubbling like soup
Gas trapped in the mud off the Maine coast occasionally bubbles to the surface, creating craters on the sea floor as large as the Rose Bowl, according to scientists at the University of Maine. Between Portland and Eastport, there are 70 known methane gas fields, primarily in the deepest and muddiest bays close to shore.
Nuclear Plant Now Overshadows China Protest Village
Chinese government officials are pushing forward with a coal-fired power station that sparked a bloody protest in southern Guangdong and have now scheduled a nuclear power plant close to where villagers died. Observers said that in Dongzhou and many parts of rural China the clash between projects to fuel growth and rural citizens increasingly embracing ideas of political rights is fuelling rising protest, even as China's leaders promise a more "harmonious society".
Opportunity Seen for Taiwan Chip Sector in Solar Cells
If the chip-making industry can integrate solar energy to produce highly efficient solar cells, it will help Taiwan reduce its dependency on imported energy, according to a think tank. The production process involved in developing low-cost solar cells have many common features as in semiconductor production; in fact, some solar cell manufacturers are studying how to use new chips and related technology to lower production costs.
A bid by billionaire Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. to acquire PacifiCorp, which owns Utah Power, is amassing support from community leaders across the state. MidAmerican would bring a lot of experience and greater attention to local energy needs, Anderson said Friday. "And they've promised to give increased emphasis on conservation programs and developing cleaner and more renewable energy sources."
Recycling center receives $100,000 to promote e-recycling in W.Va.
The NCER is teaming up with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and recyclers Amandi Services and SDR Technologies to host a series of electronics collection events throughout the state in 2006.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 122805
Solar activity was at very low levels. Most spotted regions showed some decay during the period with no significant solar activity reported. No new regions were numbered today. A recurrent high speed trans-equatorial coronal hole stream became geoeffective late in the period. The solar wind speed increased from near 300 km/sec in the early part of the period to greater than 600 km/sec at the time of this writing.
Evo is president!'' was the chant of thousands of Bolivians who took to the streets on Dec. 18. For the first time ever in Bolivia, an Indian leader had won the national vote for the presidency of this impoverished and deeply traditional Indian country. One of South America's most indigenous nations has turned a milestone, with an Indian population turning out to vote en masse for their preferred Indian leader.
Villagers Block Roads around U.S. Steel Serbia to Protest Pollution
Dozens of villagers blocked roads Tuesday around U.S. Steel Serbia to protest alleged pollution by the steelmaker. The blockade near the town of Smederevo, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Belgrade. The villagers say that pollution in the area has increased considerably since last summer, but that the authorities have done nothing to determine the danger to people's health.
What's moving the oil markets 122805
The market has been quiet with many traders extending their holidays, sources said. "Volumes are pretty low. I think people are just doing the necessary and that's it until January. I doubt any funds would want to ruin their bonus at this stage of the year," a London-based broker said.
December 27, 2005
British Biologist Uses Carbon Trading To Grow Forests
"Conventional conservation is a disaster story," Swingland, the founder
of Britain's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the
University of Kent, said in an interview.
"What isn't a disaster is where you make a business of it, and
everybody's lives are improved by it, and we give them ownership of
their own future."
British Voters split over nuclear power
The poll finds that neither the pro- nor the anti-nuclear lobby can rely on a clear majority of public support: 48% of people oppose expanding nuclear energy, while 45% support it. The findings show the scale of the public relations exercise required. About 19% of the UK's electricity is generated by its 14 nuclear power stations, but this is expected to drop to 7% by 2020 as older reactors are switched off.
Crude follows natural gas lower on mild forecasts
This morning, many consumers will be getting the gifts that keep on taking.
It's the power adapters that drain a little bit of electricity all the time, even though no device is plugged into them.
Europeans missing their Kyoto targets
Britain and Sweden are the only European countries honouring their Kyoto commitments to cut greenhouse gasses, according to a think-tank report.Although the US is portrayed as the ecological villain for refusing to sign up to the agreement, 10 out of the 15 European Union signatories - including Ireland, Italy and Spain - will miss their targets without urgent action, the Institute for Public Policy Research found.
Gold leads precious metals complex on upward course
The dollar has been slightly weaker against the euro, but that has not been the chief reason for the rebound, which is apparently renewed investor interest in gold, specifically, and precious metals in general.
Gulf Hurricanes Triple Requests for Rigs-to-Reefs
Damage to offshore oil and gas platforms from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has tripled the number of requests to converts rigs into artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Kyoto Protocol is a Prescription for Failure With a few additional comments
The clear facts are few. Climate models, the basis for so much dread, consistently over predict warming without calibrating adjustments. Second, producing lower and no carbon energy systems is the technology challenge of the century; not of the next decade or so. Third, developing countries struggling to thrive are rapidly becoming the major sources of CO2 emissions. Fourth, the growth in atmospheric levels of CO2 can be slowed; not reversed. We are where we are and there is no going back politically or economically.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 122705
Solar activity decreased to very low levels. The six spotted regions on the visible disk were limited to minor B-class activity.
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on 27 December. A recurrent high speed coronal hole stream is expected to become geoeffective on 28 December and continue through 29 December.
Unsettled to active conditions with isolated high latitude minor storm periods are expected to accompany the high speed stream.
Russia, OPEC vow closer cooperation with annual meetings
OPEC president Sheikh Ahmed Fahad al-Sabah held talks Monday with Russian industry and energy minister Viktor Khristenko, where two formed the framework for better Russian-OPEC cooperation. "It was stressed that there should be a
pragmatic and sustained process of dialog," Russia and OPEC said.
Study Finds Climate Change May Melt Permafrost
The federal study applied one supercomputer climate models to the future
of permafrost.
Under the most extreme scenario outlined, warming temperatures could
thaw the top 11 feet of permafrost near the ground surface in most areas
of the Northern Hemisphere by 2100, altering ecosystems across Alaska,
Canada and Russia. "We could be underestimating the rate of global
temperature increase."
December 26, 2005
Aquarium Scientist Predicts Quick Recovery for Most Coral Reefs Impacted by Deadly Tsunami
In the aftermath of last year’s cataclysmic tsunami, Dr. Gregory Stone of the New England Aquarium co-led an expedition to survey the damage caused to Thailand’s coral reefs. The expedition’s results indicate a quick recovery for most of the reefs affected by the tsunami, as reported in a recently released technical report available on the New England Aquarium Web site and in December’s issue of National Geographic.
China Dumps Chemicals To Try To Clean Toxic River
China is dumping chemicals into a southern river to try to neutralise a toxic spill and contain the second environmental disaster to hit the country in as many months, a local official and state media said on Friday.
China River Spill Reaches Russian City, Water OK
A chemical spill that poisoned drinking water for millions of Chinese has reached a major city in Russia's far east, a news agency said on Thursday, but the concentration of pollutants was no longer considered dangerous.Coal begins to make its comeback from the bottom of a dark and very deep pit
Forget about the nuclear renaissance. Old King Coal is back. Drax, Europe's biggest coal-fired station, has just floated on the stock market, International Power is extending the life of its one UK coal plant and now E.ON of Germany has unveiled plans to build the first new coal-fired station in Britain for 30 years.
Commission Grants Gas Rate Increase
As if it couldn't get any worse for natural gas customers in Kentucky, get ready to tighten the purse strings even more and the teeth of winter isn't here yet.
Dynetek Delivers Hydrogen Fuel Storage Solutions to TUG Technologies
This demonstration project utilizes Dynetek's Hydrogen Fuel Storage System solutions by providing Hydrogen to tow tractors powered by a Ford Motor Company internal combustion engine. The Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2 ICE) vehicle platform provides the reliability necessary for the adoption of Hydrogen as an alternative vehicle fuel.
Energy Review Disrupted By Nuclear Protest
He said: "Round the world you can sense feverish re-thinking. Energy prices have risen. Energy supply is under threat. Climate change is producing a sense of urgency."
Green groups pan EPA plan to tighten rules for particle pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to tighten air quality standards for fine particle pollution, but both environmentalists and power plant operators are criticizing the plan.
Environmental and health groups including the American Lung Association and Clean Air Watch have criticized the proposal as not doing enough to protect public health, saying the reductions are less than the reductions the EPA´s own staff recommended in June after analyzing health studies.
"It was clear to the American Lung Association, to EPA´s own staff scientists and to the independent scientific review panel that much tighter limits were needed," ALA President John Kirkwood said.
Heavy Snow Causes Havoc in Japan, Korea
In the western prefecture of Fukui, two nuclear power plants automatically shut down because of technical problems with electric transmission systems caused by the heavy snow, but the reactors were not damaged and there was no radiation leak, their operator, Kansai Electric Power Co. said.
Some of the heaviest snowfall on record for this time of year has hit the country since last week, even in some southern prefectures that rarely see snow, but has spared Tokyo.
In northern Niigata, snow had piled up as high as 184 cm (72 in). The Meteorological Agency expected more snow in the coming days, and warned people in affected regions to take precautionary measures.
How GE Captures New Energy Markets
Some forms of new energy are already on their way to becoming big businesses for GE. It expects to report more than $2 billion in wind-turbine sales to private developers and private and government utilities this year. That's up 300% from $500 million in 2002, when GE acquired a struggling wind-power business from Enron. Some 5,500 of the turbines have already been installed around the world, and another 1,600 are due to go up this year. GE is the only U.S. manufacturer.
Katrina debris removal is moving along, La. DEQ reports
Forty-six percent of the debris caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that is under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been removed, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said.
And 70 percent of the debris that is being handled by other authorities, such as individual cities, also has been collected, the DEQ said.
Many Local Leaders Weren't Aware of Government Pollution Health Risk Scores
The health-risk scores that the government created over the last decade to identify communities with potential hazards from industrial air pollution caught many local officials by surprise. The mayor said he never had been told EPA calculated industrial air pollution health risk scores for every square kilometer of the United States even as his office worked to reduce local pollution.
Mexico's Snowy 'Smoking Mountain' Spits Ash, Rocks
Mexico's giant Popocatepetl volcano threw up an ash column almost 2 miles high and spat glowing rocks down its snow-clad slopes Sunday, but nearby towns were not affected, officials said.
Mortgage Packages to be Developed for Green Buildings
"We're trying to develop a tool and an analytic model that will make both the benefits and the costs of green buildings more transparent," says Scott Muldavin. A seasoned real-estate finance expert who developed the initial commercial MBS (CMBS) risk-rating system for Standard & Poor's
Organics Market Growth Stifled by Undersupply
Organic Monitor said that the shortage of organic products is making producers look outbound for raw materials. Increasing volumes of organic fruit, vegetables, grains, seeds, beans, and herbs are being imported into the US.
Pigs Also at Risk if Deadly Bird Flu Reaches US
If deadly bird flu spreads to the United States, the disease could have a sweeping impact on pig production because the animals are susceptible to the H5N1 disease, according to industry and veterinary experts.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 122605
The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled on 25 and 26 December. On 27 December, active to minor storm periods are possible due to a coronal hole high speed stream moving into geoeffective position.
Strong Growth Seen in Britain's Organic Food Sales
Britain's organic food and drink market will increase 72 percent by 2010 to reach 2 billion pounds ($3.47 billion), research company Mintel said on Thursday.
Thousands Protest Against Pakistani Dam Plan
Thousands of people gathered in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Thursday to protest against a plan to build a dam on the Indus river that the government says is vital for the country's development.
Two More Straw Power Plants Under Construction in China
Two new unique power plants that are fueled by straw are under construction in east China's Jiangsu Province.
Construction began in Jurong on Wednesday and Suqian Sunday and both plants, with an installed capacity of 24,000 kilowatts each, are expected to start operation in December 2006.
A September 2004 inspection found that parts of the turbine building could become flooded as a result of seismic conditions -- primarily earthquakes -- or equipment failures, the NRC said. The flooding could lead to a malfunction of equipment needed for safe shutdown of the plant.
Kewaunee was shut down in February for extensive system and structural modifications to address the potential flooding problem.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced six grants to train workers in Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming for careers in the energy industry. The grants awarded today are part of a nearly $27 million investment in support of the nation's energy workforce under the president's High Growth Job Training Initiative, a strategic plan to prepare workers for jobs in expanding industries.
Ukiah OKs repair of old power plant
They plan to fire up the city's defunct hydroelectric plant at
Lake Mendocino and buy into a new facility.
The city, which is the electrical utility for its residents,
expects the hydroelectric plant to be operational by May 1.
"It will provide some cost control and stability that we don't
have now," said City Councilman John McCowen.
December 22, 2005
API chief warns US senators against abandoning gasoline, diesel
Ethanol and other so-called "renewable" fuels could have a major impact in the future, but it would be a huge mistake for Washington to attempt to force the nation away from gasoline and diesel at this point, a top oil industry official warned lawmakers on Nov 16.
Red Cavaney, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, told members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that such a forced transition "would involve extremely high costs and a massive commitment of resources," with no assurances that it would meet the nation's energy needs.
State Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Monday asked federal authorities to force Calpine to honor its long-term energy contracts with California to prevent the state from suffering possible blackouts and surging electricity costs.
Canada Looks Set To Require Ethanol in Gasoline
Both Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, Tuesday, and Conservative leader Stephen Harper, Wednesday, said they would require that renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, make up 5 percent gasoline and diesel fuel.
Conference puts focus on global warming threat
Hundreds of international experts and leaders - including many from First Nations communities in Canada - brought the urgency of a changing climate to the attention of the world at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal in early December. The 11-day conference was a U.N. initiative to encourage preventive measures against global warming.
Deregulation spawns energy conglomerates
Deregulation and mergers have so transformed the industry that by and large, utilities are no longer the safe, predictable -- and boring -- investments they once were.
Earth energy shows stronger potential than geothermal in EU
Europe had installed 4,531 MW of earth energy heat pumps by the end of last year, reporting an increase of 20% over 2003. The 25 countries have 379,183 units installed, compared with 310,353 in 2003.
EU Outlines Labelling Plans for Organic Farming
Organic farmers across the European Union will soon have to move away from national labels for their produce and clearly inform consumers that it comes from the EU, a draft law on organic farming said on Wednesday.
EU Says Waste Rising Fast, States Must Recycle More
The European Union will tell its 25 member states to develop national programmes to tackle soaring waste levels as part of a bid to create a "recycling society", officials said on Wednesday.
Fire still rages after Shell Nigeria pipeline blast
Shell Tuesday was forced to close two oilfields and shut in 170,000 b/d of crude output after an attack on the pipeline, which is located in the Opobo Channel in Nigeria's southern delta and feeds into the Bonny terminal, where the benchmark sulfur sweet crude oil is exported.
France Looks to Catch Up in Wind Energy
Only a massive immediate investment in wind energy and the installation of thousands of wind turbines over the next decade will permit France to reach its target of further reducing carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new report by a state agency.
FTC says no concern on US ethanol production
Ethanol production in the US is "not unduly concentrated" the Federal Trade Commission concluded in its first mandated analysis of the market.
FTC, required under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to perform an annual market concentration analysis of ethanol production, said the sector falls under the "unconcentrated" or "moderately concentrated" models.
Geothermal Power Growth Surges in 2005, Says GEA
In 2005, over 15 countries moved to expand their geothermal power production, according to the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), the U.S. industry trade association. "The outlook for future growth is surging," commented Karl Gawell, GEA's executive director.
Global business group outlines pathways for stable emissions
Wind power capacity must expand significantly within the next 20 years, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
By 2025, generation from biomass and other renewables (excluding hydro) is multiplied by a factor of 18 compared with 2002 levels,
Incidents Draw Questions About Russia's Nuclear Industry
Molten metal splashed from a smelter at a Russian nuclear power plant, killing one worker and severely burning two others, but authorities said Friday that no reactors were affected and no radiation escaped.
While relatively minor, the accident Thursday occurred on the same day prosecutors announced a "catastrophic radioactivity situation" involving improperly stored materials at a chemical factory in the southern Russian region of Chechnya.
Iran, China set up working groups to speed oil-LNG-petchem pacts
Navy fined for missing deadline on Wash. weapon site cleanup
The site contains abandoned military ordnance from an ammunition depot that operated during World Wars I and II. The Navy had converted part of the property to residential housing.
New Toxic Slick Cuts River Water Supplies in China
A toxic waste spill from a zinc smelter, the second environmental disaster to hit China in weeks, halted water supplies from a southern river for eight hours and threatened cities downstream, state media said on Wednesday.
Northeast governors sign emissions accord
Governors of seven Northeast states yesterday officially signed an agreement aimed at stabilizing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and providing economic incentives for energy efficient systems.
Not just the energy committee anymore
While the energy committee is central to any new legislation, other panels have become more active since the US saw average gasoline prices top $3/gal in early September. In mid-November, the Commerce, Environment and Foreign Relations committees examined alternative fuels and oil supplies.
The Commerce and Environment panels heard arguments for and against a more-rapid shift to alternative fuels, while the Foreign Relations Committee continued its examination of the effect of US oil use on American diplomacy and security.
Ohio orders landfill to isolate radioactive waste
An Ohio landfill is being told by the state to enhance the site´s screening procedure to identify and isolate incidental low-level radioactive waste. Incidental amounts of low-level radioactive waste are occasionally included in residential solid waste.
On Hill, a new, bipartisan push for cutting oil use
Increasingly concerned about the cost of oil and the risks associated with importing it, bipartisan groups of House and Senate lawmakers have filed bills seeking to give biofuels and alternative fuel vehicles a prominent place on American highways.
The lawmakers, hounded by constituents over high gasoline prices, want to reduce oil demand by lessening the transportation sector's gasoline use -- and thus the US need for crude -- by boosting production of fuel-efficient cars and ethanol.
OPEC seeks to boost China fuel market share
OPEC countries, which produce 40 per cent of the world's oil, are stepping up efforts to secure their market share in China, as the group competes with Russia to supply the world's fastest-growing energy market.
PG&E to pay fine for Humboldt Bay-3 violations
Philadelphia gives away wrapping paper to encourage recycling
The Philadelphia Recycling Office is giving away free wrapping paper throughout the city to help bring attention to recycling during the holiday season.
"Although we think of the holidays as a time of year filled with grand celebrations and overindulgence, we need to remember to protect our planet, to conserve, and use our natural resources in moderation," said Philadelphia Streets Commissioner Clarena I. W. Tolson.
Primordial Comet Dust to Drop to Earth in January
The spaceship Stardust is coming to the end of its seven-year, 2.9 billion mile (4.8 billion km) round-trip mission to fly by comet Wild 2, catching dust that could give astronomers clues about how the planets formed some 4.5 billion years ago.
The power-plant construction plans of Florida's major electric utilities will leave them too heavily dependent on natural gas as a fuel source, says a staff report from the Florida Public Service Commission.
"Unfortunately for the bulls, what once threatened to be a products supply crisis created by hurricane damage is well behind us,"
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 122205
Solar activity has been very low. The largest event was a B4.4 flare. The geomagnetic field has been quiet to unsettled. Solar wind speed has declined steadily throughout the day from about 550 km/s to 450 km/s. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled for the next three days (22 - 24 December).
State regulators ask federal agencies to look into gas prices
The South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff has requested a federal inquiry into natural gas prices that continue to rise. Scott said some analysts have suggested that natural gas marketers are taking profits by keeping prices high despite statistics that show the nation has adequate supplies for the 2005-06 winter months.
US automakers to continue to face challenges in 2006-- S&P
In its assessment of the near-term outlook in the auto market, S&P found that "market share for these two companies has eroded significantly, and sales of their most profitable products have plummeted." Because of weakening sales, both GM and Ford could again begin using heavy incentives to entice buyers.
US Senate passes defense spending bill after dropping ANWR clause
US Senator says Alaska suit more proof of oil industry misdeeds
December 21, 2005
Oil companies may be gearing up for a buying trend. And natural gas producing companies could be the apple of their eye. ConocoPhillips' $35 billion bid for Burlington Resources may typify a potential trend, one based on the need to acquire valuable assets necessary to meet expected future energy demand.
A Bright Future with the California Solar Initiative
The California Million Solar Roofs Initiative, its legislative incarnation SB1, and now the proposed California Solar Initiative (CSI) have captured the imagination and widespread, enthusiastic support of the solar and environmental communities and the California public at large. The state's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) - which last week unveiled the most promising version of the plan - received as many as 50,000 public comments in support of the initiative. Many newspaper editorials from all across the state have spoken out in favor of the plan. And as opposed to the legislative process, there is little doubt the plan won't be passed when PUC commissioners meet on January 12 to cast their votes.
Alaska charges BP, ExxonMobil with anti-trust violations
Calpine files for bankruptcy, secures $2-bil lifeline
China, already a world leader in the widespread use of solar water heaters, is starting to push hard into harnessing wind energy.
As air pollution chokes much of the country and soaring crude oil prices bite into state finances, authorities are sharply raising their targets for the use of renewable energy, particularly from wind farms.
Chinese Companies, World Bank Deal Sign $930 Million Deal To Sell Pollution Credits
A World Bank fund signed deals Monday to buy pollution credits from two Chinese chemical companies for $930 million under a plan that lets richer countries meet commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by paying for reductions in poorer economies.
Chinese Cos Sign Country's Largest Wind Power Generation Deal
State-owned China Power Investment Corp. and Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd, China's largest wind electric power generator manufacturer, have signed an agreement on equipment supply for 3 billion yuan (US$371.6 million) worth wind power plant construction projects in East and Northwest China.
CHRONOLOGY - Congress Wrestles With ANWR Oil Drilling
The refuge, run by the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service, has been dubbed "America's Serengeti" for its caribou, migratory birds and other species. ANWR also sits atop several billion barrels of crude oil, making it one of the most promising US onshore oil prospects.
ComEd Customers Set Winter Peak Demand Record
Cold temperatures throughout northern Illinois and the Chicago area pushed ComEd customer electricity usage to a new winter peak yesterday.
Congressional Budget Cuts Force Layoffs at NREL
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden plans to lay off as many as 100 scientists and researchers, or 11 percent of its total staff, beginning early next month as it faces drastic cuts in its budget. The fiscal 2006 cuts, estimated at more than $20 million, or 10 percent of its $200 million budget in fiscal 2005, are the result of Congress earmarking or diverting a big chunk of federal funds toward other projects.
EPA Proposes New Health-Based Soot Limits on Air Pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed stricter daily
limits Tuesday for how many microscopic particles of air pollution, or soot, are
safe for all Americans to breathe from the nation's smokestacks and tailpipes.
The proposed new health-based air standards represent one of
government's most far-reaching decisions.
EPA proposes rules for reducing sewage discharge
Federal regulators have proposed a new policy for reducing the discharge of untreated sewage from municipal sewage treatment systems during heavy rainfalls.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will accept public comments on the proposal for the next 30 days.
Fire still rages after Shell Nigeria pipeline blast
Ford issues auto industry´s first climate change report
Ford Motor Co. is issuing the automobile industry´s first report regarding climate change, carbon dioxide emissions and global energy.
Gasoline May Rise on New '06 Green Rules - Lundberg
US consumers recovering from record high gasoline costs last summer may now face a nearly 60-cent price surge next year because of stricter environmental regulations, an industry expert said.
Hydropower Industry Exploiting New Regulatory Loophole, Putting America's Rivers at Risk, Groups Say
Under a new federal regulation issued last month, a number of companies that operate hydroelectric dams on rivers across the country hope to evade requirements meant to protect the health of rivers. If successful, numerous utilities would be able to avoid installing fish ladders, making sure rivers have enough water, and protecting fish and wildlife that are affected by their dams.
Kansas studies integration of renewable energy with traditional utility power
In Minnesota, companies such as John Deere and The Schwan Food Company have entered the wind energy arena, and local governments are benefiting through production taxes.
Kansas Energy Council recently voted to commission a study on the how the state and the energy industry would be affected by legislation requiring energy companies to purchase a percentage of their energy from a renewable source, such as wind.
Such legislation could act as an incentive for private companies to invest in wind energy, as they're doing in Minnesota and Iowa, Nagengast said.
Key Facts about ANWR's Land, Oil, Wildlife
Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday planned to try to force Republicans to drop a provision attached to a massive defense spending bill that would allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The drilling measure has been bitterly debated in Congress for more than two decades.
LADWP Board of Commissioners Moves to Accelerate Renewable Energy Goal to 20pct by 2010
The Board of Water and Power Commissioners for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) took the first step today toward increasing renewable energy sources to 20 percent of the City's power mix by 2010--seven years ahead of the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goal that was adopted by the Board and the City Council earlier this year.
Loophole in utility rules costs consumers
A San Diego energy conglomerate has reaped more than $70 million in profits from Boston-area electric consumers this year by exploiting flaws in the deregulated wholesale power markets, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said yesterday.
Norwegians, Dutch Generate Power with Salt and Fresh Water
The new devices are based on a natural process; when a river runs into the ocean, a huge amount of energy is unleashed because of the difference in salt concentration. The two projects use different methods to harness the electricity. The Dutch apply something called reverse electrodialysis while the Norwegians use a kind of osmosis. Both methods rely on membranes or thin films made of special material used for chemical separation.
OPEC to allow oil stocks to build over next 3 months
OPEC ministers met in Kuwait City Dec 12 and agreed to hold their official ceiling at 28-mil b/d but withdrew an offer of 2-mil b/d of spare capacity that expires at the end of December because there had been no demand for it.
Preferred Renewable Return - A New Market Based Incentive for Renewables
Renewable energy has been plagued by the fact that its' greatest benefits are not a part of the economic equation that is usually used when making decisions for more power plants. Things like clean air and water result in improved health, but those health benefits don't make renewable energy look cheaper or dirty fuels look more expensive in a straight cost of service calculation.
Public Data Show Chemicals in Tap Water
Drinking water may have a lot more in it than just H20 and
fluoride, according to an environmental group's analysis of records in 42
states.
A survey by the Environmental Working Group released on Tuesday found
141 unregulated chemicals and an additional 119 for which the
Environmental Protection Agency has set health-based limits. Most common
among the chemicals found were disinfection byproducts, nitrates,
chloroform, barium, arsenic and copper.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 122105
The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to active levels. Solar wind speed increased to about 680 km/s after 0200Z with an accompanied increase in temperature. At time of issue, solar wind speed was still elevated at approximately 560 km/s. These solar wind signatures are consistent with a small coronal hole high-speed-stream.
Research Helps Colorado Thrive Using Renewable Energy
The OEMC initiated these strategic two studies, "The Handbook on Renewable Energy Financing for Rural Colorado" and "Distributed Wind Generation Study for Northeast Colorado," to help the people of Colorado assess feasibility of renewable energy technologies. They detail existing projects and discuss the potential of renewable energy in driving economic development in rural communities, particularly potential benefits to agriculture, utilities, consumers and other industries in Colorado.
Seven northeastern US states sign accord to cut CO2 emissions
Shipping Firm to Pay $10.5 Million in US Pollution Case
MSC Ship Management (Hong Kong) Ltd's MSC Elena used a specially fitted steel pipe to funnel the 40 tonnes of sludge and waste overboard."The defendant knowingly violated anti-pollution laws, intentionally dumping oil-contaminated waste directly into the ocean -- and even went so far as to manufacture a so-called 'magic pipe' to accomplish the crime," Sullivan said.
The False Promises of Solar Energy
Someone once said that "Anything is possible if you don’t know what you are talking about". Discussions of energy in general and several types of "alternative energy" in particular are filled with the lack of the basics of energy. Throw in concepts of energy density and "dispatchability" and its get more complicated.The Laws of Thermodynamics, of Heat Transfer, and the equations for both kinetic and potential energy apply to most discussions of energy and impose immutable constraints on all energy supply systems.
The Gas Company Offers Energy-Efficiency Rebates to Help Customers Save Money
With the increased use of natural gas for heating as winter approaches, Southern California Gas Company (The Gas Company) is offering customers hundreds of dollars in rebates for the purchase of energy-efficient appliances.
December 20, 2005
A combustible mixture in Nigeria's oil-rich delta
Separatist leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who signed a peace treaty with the government last autumn, chooses his words carefully. His only aim, he says, is the disintegration of Nigeria, through violent struggle if necessary.
Arctic booms as climate change melts polar ice cap
These are the Klondikers of global warming: men from all over the world who have come to Hammerfest, gateway to the Barents Sea, to make their fortune from new resources -- oil, gas, fish and diamonds -- made accessible by the receding ice.
Big gas users face supply and price problems
LONDON Companies which are heavy users of gas are "very likely" to face interruptions to supply or pay sky-high prices this winter, or suffer both, a parliamentary report said on Tuesday.China's 2006 oil demand to grow 6.5 percent
China's demand for crude oil in 2006 will reach
331 mm tons, up 6.65 % from 2005, according to data from the State Council.
The report said that with oil prices currently above $ 50, the tight
supply-demand situation will not see relief next year and the oil industry will
continue to struggle with high transportation costs.
Crunch time for UK over looming energy shortfall
The UK will face a 20 % shortfall in its power
supply by 2015 unless action is taken now, according to a significant new
report. The report was compiled by a panel of 150 experts from all sectors of
the energy industry.
By 2015, nine of the country's eleven nuclear power stations will have closed
along with many coal fired power plants, due to the European Large Combustion
Plant Directive.
Entrepreneur Seeks Capital To Produce Alternate Fuels
There is money to be had. Venture capitalists ponied up $520 million for stakes in 69 energy startups in 2004, the first up year in venture energy investing since funding peaked at $1.26 billion in 2000 during the technology boom, according to Clean Edge Inc., a San Francisco-based energy research firm.
FERC Approves Duke Energy-Cinergy Merger
FERC's approval is the latest in a series of recent merger-related regulatory actions. In November, regulators in South Carolina and Kentucky approved the merger. And in August, the companies satisfied Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
Greenland and Iceland set to become hydrogen fuel leaders
Iceland and Greenland plan to do this through the development of hydrogen fuel, "the new oil" of the 21st century.
To produce hydrogen fuel, all you need is water and a basic source of power to help break water down into its elements, hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen, when compressed, makes an efficient fuel: it can be used with fuel cells to power vehicles; it can provide electricity and heat; and it can turn renewable energies, such as solar, geothermal, hydro-electric or wind power, into a stored energy source.
Growing international tension over the Arctic
Strained relations between Norway and Russia in the Arctic region have in recent months produced a series of territorial and environmental disputes. Though this has mainly expressed itself in conflicting claims over fishing rights, both countries are vying to control oil and gas extraction and transportation rights in the still largely pristine Arctic Ocean.
Hydrogen to fuel India's vehicles by 2010
The Indian government said it would develop decentralised hydrogen- based power generation stations of about 1,000 MW each and 1 mm hydrogen fuelled vehicles by 2010.
The challenges now confronting North American natural gas markets are formidable. Despite starting the year with a seemingly adequate supply scenario of ample storage levels, rising rig counts and good prospects for increasing LNG imports, by the end of summer the reality of the "supply treadmill" had re-appeared. A very hot summer season, the warmest on record for a few states in the Northeast, drove air conditioner usage harder, forcing more gas burn by power generators than the last two summers.
New solutions in the pipeline for Iraq's crippled oilfields
Northern Iraq's oilfields are a prime target for rebels looking to disrupt the country's economy, but now local authorities have come up with innovative ways of getting the vital liquid flowing.
OPEC calls on European countries to cut oil taxes
The world's top energy producers, under pressure to meet global demand, have called instead on leading consumer states, mainly in Europe, to cut taxes on oil to alleviate hikes in prices.
Organic Food Takes Seed in Asia after SARS, Bird Flu
Like most organic outlets across east Asia, Huang's business is doing well."As people's wealth increases, so does their standard of living, and people with money become more concerned about their mortality and start paying attention to their health," said 50-year-old Huang, who has eaten organic food all his life.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 122005
The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to active. Solar wind speed showed an increase up to about 470 km/s. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled during the next three days
Truck with Radioactive Capsule Stolen in Venezuela
"We have a state of emergency at a national and regional level and are looking for the capsule everywhere," civil defense director Col. Antonio Rivero told Reuters. The truck was stolen in the central-western Yaracuy state.
U.S. Democrats To Fight Arctic Oil in Defense Bill
Senate Democrats Monday threatened a filibuster to stop Republicans from adding language to a must-pass defense spending bill that would allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
U.S. Greenhouse Gases Rose Two Percent
The so-called greenhouse gases, led by carbon dioxide, methane and
nitrous oxide, rose to 7.12 million metric tons, up from 6.98 million
metric tons in 2003, the Energy Department's Energy Information
Administration said.
That's 16 percent higher than in 1990, and an average annual increase of
1.1 percent.
Wyoming Launches Cloud-Seeding Project
Wyoming is embarking on an $8.8 million, five-year cloud-seeding project that aims to bolster mountain snowpack, and possibly yield proof of whether cloud seeding actually works. Millions of dollars is already being spent, especially in the West, to spew silver iodide into storm clouds in order to coax more rain and snow to fall.
December 19, 2005
Agri-Ethanol to build East Coast´s first ethanol plant
Agri-Ethanol Products LLC will build a $150 million ethanol production plant near Aurora, N.C., the nation´s first on the East Coast.The plant will produce 114 million gallons of ethanol annually. The company expects to start construction in the first quarter of 2006.
Alaskan Volcano Showing Signs of Erupting
A sulfurous steam plume, hundreds of miniature earthquakes and a new swath of ash on snowy Augustine Volcano have scientists looking for a possible eruption in the next few months.
Brazil expects to achieve oil self-sufficiency next year
Brazil expects to achieve oil self-sufficiency next year by producing nearly 2 mm bpd of oil, Finance Minister Silas Rondeau said.
Canadian carbon dioxide storage experiment a stunning success
An experimental project in Canada to inject
carbon dioxide into oil fields has proven successful, removing 5 mm tons of the
heat-trapping "greenhouse" gas, while enhancing oil recovery, the Energy
Department said.
If the methodology could be applied worldwide, from one-third to one-half of the
carbon dioxide emissions that go into the atmosphere could be eliminated over
the next century and billions of barrels of additional oil could be recovered,
the department said.
Canadian Natives are Alarmed by a Shortage of Sons
Growing up with smokestacks on the horizon, Ada Lockridge never thought much about the pollution that came out of them. A budding environmental activist, she recently made a simple but shocking discovery: There are two girls born in her small community for every boy. A sex ratio so out of whack, say scientific experts who helped her reveal the imbalance, almost certainly indicates serious environmental contamination by one or more harmful chemicals.
Chavez uses oil to expand his influence around Latin America
While Cuban leader Fidel Castro tried to export his revolution throughout Latin America in the 1960s with AK-47s, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is fighting to expand his ''21st century socialism'' with oil barrels.
China starts construction of 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactor
China has started construction of its first homegrown 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant near the boomtown of Shenzhen in the southern province of Guangdong, state press said.
Chinese Pursue Suit as Toxic Slick Reaches Russia
A toxic slick flowing along a Chinese river has reached the border with Russia, even as Chinese plaintiffs say local courts are dragging their feet in hearing a case against the company that caused the spill, media said.
Climate, Storms Hit Extremes in 2005
Catastrophic storms like Hurricanes Katrina and Stan took weather extremes to new levels in 2005, with flooding and heatwaves touching almost every continent, the United Nations weather body WMO said on Thursday.
Collapsed Portion of Reservoir Made of 'Rubble Material'
ST. LOUIS — Inspectors were shocked to discover that the collapsed portion of a mountaintop reservoir was made of rocky "fill" instead of the granite that was assumed for decades to be the main material, the state's chief reservoir inspector said Thursday.
While inspectors might not have been able to predict the collapse, they would not have been as dismissive of the leaks if they knew part of the wall was made of fill, not granite, Alexander said.
Indeed, every five minutes, the United States spends more than $ 2 mm on
imports of oil and other petroleum products. As long as this country relies on
oil, we will be susceptible to instability in the Persian Gulf and other regions
of the world. Rising oil consumption in China and other developing nations will
only make matters worse by stretching supply lines even thinner.
In the meantime, our nation will continue to emit more global warming pollution
than any other country in the world, with dangerous consequences for our
economy, natural heritage and citizens.
No reasonable person would deny that we need a fuel that is “Made in the USA,” clean and plentiful. But innovation is required to achieve the breakthroughs that will make such a fuel affordable and widely available.
EPA Introduces New Drinking Water Rules
EPA finalized two related drinking water protection rules today-- one that reduces the risk of disease-causing microorganisms from entering water supplies and another that requires water systems to limit the amount of potentially harmful "disinfection byproducts" (DBPs) that end up in drinking water.
EPA Outlines Next Federal Actions to Protect the Great Lakes
First new US refinery in 30 years to be built in Arizona
The Mexican government will permit construction and operation of a pipeline to deliver crude oil to a proposed new Arizona gasoline refinery that would be the first such project built in the United States in nearly 30 years, the company behind the project said.FPL Group may buy Baltimore power company
The parent company of Florida Power & Light Co. reportedly is in talks to buy Constellation Energy Group Inc. of Baltimore for $11 billion, a deal that would create the third-largest utility in the nation, with operations throughout most of the country and parts of Canada.
Groups join to stem US appetite for oil
Efforts to stem America's appetite for oil,
nearly two-thirds of it imported, is getting new attention in Congress with a
push from an unusual coalition of environmentalists, evangelical Christians and
conservatives.
The diverse groups are putting pressure on lawmakers to find ways to curtail oil
use, especially in transportation, and to promote alternative fuels and new
technologies less dependent on fossil fuels.
Groups Sue to Protect Polar Bears
Three environmental groups sued the federal government Thursday, seeking to protect polar bears from extinction because of disappearing Arctic sea ice.
Honda to Mass-Produce Solar Batteries - Report
Honda Motor Co., Japan's third-biggest auto maker, plans to build a 10 billion yen ($86 million) factory to produce solar batteries, the Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported on Sunday.
As the two men researched hydrogen, market conditions shifted and made their idea too valuable to sell to others, Cole said. Natural gas costs soared, making traditional hydrogen production methods more expensive. Instead of manufacturing hydrogen using natural gas, ForeverGreen will charge a fee to dispose of hazardous waste such as old paints and inks and then manufacture hydrogen from the waste.
Nuclear Waste Found in Ruined Chechen Factory
Investigators have found nuclear contamination tens of thousands of times above safe levels on the premises of a ruined factory in Russia's Chechnya, officials said on Saturday.
Oil need is America’s security risk
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., joined a bipartisan
group of lawmakers trying to curtail America's appetite for oil by getting
automakers to switch from making gas guzzlers to more fuel efficient models.
"Failure to act, we fear, will make America like a pitiful giant, tied down and
subject to the whims of small [oil-producing] countries," said Lieberman, who
described US dependence on foreign oil as a national security risk.
Pentagon's fuel deal with Kyrgyzstan is a big lesson
Soon after the American invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, the Pentagon opened an air base in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and made a deal to get jet fuel from the only two suppliers in the country. The companies just happened to be linked to relatives of the country's president.
Pump some seriousness into energy policy
Yet, the Senate is attacking the problem by hauling oil executives to hearings on "price gouging." Even by Senate standards, the cynicism here is breathtaking. Everyone knows what the problem really is. It's Economics 101: increasing demand and precariously tight supply. We have a unique but fleeting opportunity to permanently depress demand by locking in higher gasoline prices. Put a floor at $ 3.
"I am calling on the government to suspend the application of this decision. We should not punish Iraqis who risk their lives to go vote (in Thursday's vote) by increasing the price. If the government does not suspend this decision I will submit my resignation."
Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum told a
press conference Monday as he threatened to resign
unless the government cancelled a decision to increase
gasoline prices, a move that has prompted demonstrations
throughout the country.
Renewable energy projects chosen by Connecticut
Electric plants driven by wind, biomass and fuel cells are the first three projects to win approval under a state program designed to boost the amount of "clean" electrical power generated for Connecticut.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 121805
Solar activity was at low levels again today. Region 836 (S10W91) produced a C1 x-ray flare. The geomagnetic field was at quiet top unsettled levels today.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 121905
Solar activity was very low. Today's activity consisted of a few B-class events. Solar activity is expected to be very low to low. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled during the next three days.
Snowstorms Kill Two Czechs, Shut Prague Castle
Up to 70 cm (28 inches) of snow fell in some areas, causing traffic jams, mountain rescue chief Rudolf Chlad told Czech Television.
Falling trees -- uprooted by gusts of wind reaching 144 kmph (89 mph) -- blocked roads, cut power lines in a number of areas and swept trucks off the roads.
Students harrassed after Peaks vigil
American Indian members of ''Youths of the Peaks'' were taken from their high school classrooms and questioned by Flagstaff police, after holding vigils calling for the protection of the sacred San Francisco Peaks. The police raid on Coconino High School students came Dec. 7, the morning after Navajo, Hopi and other Indian youths held a candlelight vigil in downtown Flagstaff for prayer and the protection of the Peaks.
Synthetic fuel is the key to US energy independence
The US has an abundance of natural resources that can replace imported crude oil: coal, biomass and oil shale. When crude oil is selling above $ 40 per barrel, it is cheaper to make gasoline and diesel from coal or other sources of hydrocarbon molecules, using a technology known as Fischer-Tropsch chemistry.
The Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
While forest Indian bands in Brazil were being chased and murdered in early December by new settlers who would destroy them in order to re-demarcate their traditional lands, at the United Nations the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, remains a work-in-progress.
Move over, Ben Franklin. Todd Livingstone has a plan to solve the energy crisis by capturing huge amounts of energy from lightning.
The idea itself is not new. But Livingstone, an inventor and electronics technician from Boston -- the town where Benjamin Franklin was born 300 years ago next month -- has added a unique twist. Using lasers to capture lightning bolts, he wants to channel them through a large tank of water, producing near-limitless amounts of hydrogen.
Tsunami's Environmental Damage Huge
Human Impact Bigger
There's enough tsunami trash in this Indonesian city to make a
three-story-high pile covering 30 football fields. In Sri Lanka, the volume of
waste dumped in lagoons and waterways is more than twice what was generated by
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, by U.N. estimate.
The environmental devastation in the worst-hit countries is immense, yet
experts say it pales in comparison with what humans had already managed
to inflict before the giant waves struck on Dec. 26, 2004.
US biodiesel production expected to triple
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) anticipates
75 mm gallons of biodiesel production in 2005, three times the 25 mm gallons
produced in 2004. A federal tax incentive, state legislation and a diesel
shortage all contribute to the rise in demand.
"The recent energy crunch causes us to think about energy in a way that we
haven't in decades. Americans are recognizing that conservation and alternative
energy are a big part of the answer to our energy questions.
US House approves opening ANWR to development; Senate to vote
December 16, 2005
A Close Look at Investing in Renewable Energy
"However, it is clear that for there to be a truly meaningful switch in
the current energy mix away from fossil sources ... levels of investment in
clean energy will have to go up by a factor of at least five over the next
decade, which translates into a sustained growth rate of nearly 20 percent per
annum."
-- Michael Liebreich, New Energy Finance founder and CEO
America is Held Over an Oil Barrel
"America is held over an oil barrel. We need to work together to
provide new energy to hope and think big again. We are calling for a movement
for energy independence from foreign energy sources. President Bush and Congress
must invest in clean energy technology and new infrastructure that will create
new jobs and make our country a leader in innovation again."
-- Jerome Ringo, Apollo Alliance president
British Energy Plans for Longer Life Rather Than New Nuclear Plants
BRITISH Energy said yesterday that extending the life-spans of its eight-strong fleet of nuclear power stations was central to its plans for the industry, but insisted it was not lobbying the government to build new ones.
Cal PUC Increases Solar Funding by $300 Million
The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has increased funding
by $300 million for solar photovoltaic technologies.
This is the first step in jumpstarting the commission's implementation
of what was originally called the Governor's Million Solar Roofs Initiative,
which is now called the California Solar Initiative.
California Readies Largest U.S. Solar Energy Plan
"The bottom line is that about three billion
dollars over ten years will be the biggest solar incentive in the country and
second biggest in the world behind Germany."
-- David Hochschild, Vote Solar Initiative director of policy
California Solar Rebates Tripled for Next Year
Cantwell to Lead Democrats on Energy Independence Message
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid announced that Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will take the lead for Senate Democrats' efforts to make America energy independent by 2020.
The International Energy Agency cut its forecast for growth in Chinese oil demand next year for a second month as it projected a decline in the amount of fuel oil the nation will burn to generate power.
The agency, which advises 26 industrialized countries on energy policy, expects Chinese oil demand to rise 6 percent to 7.03 million barrels a day next year.
energyportal24 Goes International
The English version of energieportal24 has been launched in the beginning of this week. Under the URL www.energyportal24.com a new international web portal is being presented: the website for renewable energies focusing on the hydrogen and fuel cells technology.
Federal gov´t expands wind energy program on public lands
The U.S. Department of the Interior has completed an environmental review that will expand the federal government´s wind energy program on public lands, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Dec. 15.
The review will allow the Bureau of Land Management to amend 52 land-use plans in nine western states, which will generate more than 3,200 megawatts of wind energy, enough electricity to power nearly a million homes.
House passes brownfield bill; proposal heads to Senate next
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Dec. 13 aimed at revitalizing abandoned industrial sites, commonly known as brownfields.
The Brownfields Redevelopment Enhancement Act would make it easier for small communities to apply for grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for revitalization projects at abandoned, potentially contaminated sites.
IEA raises its estimate of growth in oil demand
The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for 2006 growth in oil demand for the first time since Hurricane Katrina disrupted production in August.
It said more oil would be needed from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as U.S. consumption recovers.
When it comes to discussing jobs in the energy sector, it's difficult to ignore a pervasive trend, namely outsourcing. While the term engenders fears of job loss, it is also viewed as a way to allow companies to focus on their bread and butter and grow their revenues. If companies don't cut down their expenses, they may not remain viable, and consumers can turn elsewhere for those essential services.
Mexico, Colombia, Dominica, Centam reach joint energy agreement
The declaration calls for the construction of a refinery, a plant for liquefied natural gas, a hydroelectric dam and a gas pipeline stretching from Mexico to Panama.
Yesterday, the 122nd and final wind turbine was commissioned at the Intrepid site near Schaller in northwest Iowa. On Nov. 30, the 135th and final wind turbine was commissioned at the Century site near Blairsburg in north central Iowa. Together, the two sites have the capacity to produce enough electricity to power 100,000 homes.
No Agreement on Northeast CO2 Emissions Pact
Talks broke down Wednesday among state officials trying to reach an agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the Northeast.
OPEC sees 'significant' 2006 stockbuild at current output
Panel explores solar energy ; Meadowlands set for feasibility study
The Meadowlands Commission is exploring how to power thousands of North Jersey homes and businesses with what could be the largest solar energy system in North America.
"The weather report pushed crude and gasoil futures down yesterday evening and this morning is just a continuation of that," a London based broker said as the National Weather Service official 90-day outlook issued Thursday showed that conditions for the first quarter of 2006 will be warmer-than-normal for large parts of the US.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 121605
A few small B-class flares occurred during the last 24 hours, mostly originating from Region 835. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet.
Sky-high power prices give British Energy a boost
Rising power prices helped to cement a first-half profit at British Energy Group (BGY.L: following January's financial restructuring, the country's biggest electricity producer said on Tuesday.
Solaire Building Conserves Up to Nine Million Gallons of Water per Year
Green has taken on an entirely new meaning at The Solaire
building in Battery Park City, N.Y.
As one of the world’s first “green” high-rises, The Solaire utilizes
a multi-faceted approach to water and energy conservation in an upscale,
27-story, 293-unit residential complex.
Today's rising electric utility costs combined with the promise of cheap and reliable power during hurricane season have more and more Floridians looking to the sun for help.
But a dearth of qualified installers, long waits for pricey solar- electric systems and a lack of financial incentives have made the Sunshine State lag way behind when it comes to converting solar rays into electricity.
Texas to Lead U.S. In Offshore Wind Energy
Texas has sold a lease for an 11,000 acre tract in the Gulf of Mexico that backers believe could become the first wind energy farm along the U.S. coast.
UN Launches $500 Million Emergency Relief Fund
The new Central Emergency Response Fund is 10 times larger than an existing standby relief fund of $50 million. UN officials hope the creation of a standing account will allow for relief to reach areas hit by disasters and famine quickly.
In the past, "We had to wait for commitments before we could really start massive operations. Now we will be able to do that from the beginning, and not have to wait for individual commitments," he said.
Universities to get $12-million for nuclear research
December 15, 2005
Americans in Air Pollution Hot Spots Worry about Kids
The people who breathe the nation's most unhealthy factory air worry about more than just asthma and other respiratory problems. They also want to know if their daily dose of toxic pollution is slowing the academic and physical development of their children.
Breach at Ameren Plant Unleashes Flood in Missouri
A mountain-top reservoir that feeds a hydroelectric plant ruptured Wednesday and unleashed floodwaters that swept away vehicles and destroyed homes in southeast Missouri, officials said.
CALIFORNIA PROPOSES $3.2 BILLION SOLAR PROGRAM
This is it. The big enchilada. Yesterday, the California Public Utilities Commission issued the much-anticipated proposed decision for an 11-year, $3.2 billion incentive program for solar energy systems on California rooftops. This is the biggest solar program in the nation and, after Germany, the second biggest in the world.
Cities adopt cheaper, simpler recycling
Say goodbye to those little recycle bins. No more banging around in the garage tying up cardboard or separating paper from cans and bottles. In the 21st century, all recyclables go into one big fat tub.At least that's the way a growing number of US cities are recycling now - using one bin and a controversial system called "single stream" that boosts recycling rates and lowers costs. But critics say it also degrades some of the material being recycled.
DOE ANALYSIS-- High crude, product imports meet soaring demand
DuPont to Pay $16.5 Million in EPA Settlement
DuPont Co. Wednesday said it would pay $16.5 million in fines and other charges in a settlement with the US Environmental Protection Agency over use of a chemical compound used in nonstick cookware.
EPA Would Ease Pollution Reporting Rules
If the Bush administration has its way, some factories won't have to report all the pollution spewed from their smokestacks, making it harder for government scientists to calculate the health risks of the air Americans breathe.
Experts Say Arkansas Duck Numbers Down 50 Percent
Drought conditions during the summer left Arkansas wetlands dry this winter, forcing a 50 percent decrease in the number of ducks statewide, waterfowl experts said Wednesday. "There's a lot of concern about the aquifers in Arkansas," James said. "The two major ones are showing signs of going dry. We have the ability to pump water, but it's so dry that there's no water to pump."
Exxon Pipeline Leak May Hit Arun LNG Supply - Official
The Arun LNG plant is in Aceh, the Indonesian province on the northern tip of Sumatra island that bore the brunt of the tsunami in December 2004. The plant largely escaped damage.
Indonesia, the world's top LNG exporter, is struggling to meet export commitments for 2005, as output has declined and supplies have been diverted to the domestic market.
FDA Should Begin Regular Testing for Mercury in Fish
GotMercury.Org calls upon the FDA to require regular testing of seafood for high levels of mercury and to remove fish above the FDA’s own “action level” of 1 part per million (ppm). Currently, the FDA does not have a system of monitoring seafood for mercury and is not taking action to remove mercury-contaminated seafood from the market.
Fish with Chips' Reveal Ocean Migration Routes
Thousands of salmon, tuna and other fish with electronic tags are revealing mysterious Pacific Ocean migration highways that may give clues about how to rebuild dwindling stocks, scientists said on Wednesday. "Fish with chips" - hi-tech implants that enable either satellite or seabed tracking - were one of the breakthroughs to uncover ocean migration paths, scientists in the 73-nation Census of Marine Life (COML) said.
Gas costs push fertilizer firms to idle N American plants
Group Accuses Progress Energy of Security Lapses at Nuclear Plant
The N.C. Waste Awareness & Reduction Network alleged in its complaint that Shearon Harris guards, employed by an outside security firm, have been forced to cheat on recertification tests, forced to work with a broken bone, and allowed to sleep or watch television on their shift.
Humans Came to Northern Europe Earlier Than Thought - Study
Stone tools found embedded at the base of cliffs in southeastern England show that early humans lived in northern Europe 700,000 years ago - much earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday. Early humans were known to have inhabited the warmer parts of southern Europe 780,000 years ago but researchers thought they had not ventured across the Alps into the north for about another 200,000 years.
IRAQ Election Comes Up Amid Tension and Hope
Unlike the Jan. 30 elections this year, Sunni Arabs are expected to turn out
in massive numbers for this new round.
According to the figures released by the Electoral Commission of Iraq, about
7,000 candidates from 228 slates will be contesting for the 275 seats in the
parliament. The parliament will elect a government for a four-year term.
Legend Investment Completes First Sale of Solar Panels
Norwegians, Dutch Mix Sea and River to Make Power
"Water will be the coal of the future," French science-fiction writer Jules Verne predicted in 1874.
The Dutch Centre for Sustainable Water Technology or Wetsus, and Norway's independent research organisation SINTEF, working with power company Statkraft, have invented devices that generate electricity by mixing sea and river water.
People Back Atomic Power but not New Plants - Survey
Most people back the use of existing nuclear power plants but are against building new reactors as some states are considering, a survey conducted in 18 countries for the UN nuclear watchdog showed on Wednesday.
Recycling takes the 'next step'
SENECA — When Ontario County constructed a pole barn for its recycling program during the late 1980s, it was designed so it could be converted into a storage building for salt, just in case the program didn’t last.But clearly, recycling’s here to stay. In a big way.
A new home for the local program has been built less than 100 feet from that old pole barn on Routes 5&20. The “single-stream” recycling building was hailed as part of the “next step of evolution” of the industry during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday night.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 121505
Solar activity was low during the past 24 hours due to two C-class flares. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled for 15 December and should be predominantly quiet for 16-17 December.
US Senate bill would require at-reactor nuclear waste storage
US Senate energy chief says ANWR language won't be in budget bill
What's moving the oil markets 121505
The market was focused on cold weather in US Northeast and US natural gas stocks due to be released later Thursday, one broker said.
World opinion against the building of new nuclear plants - IAEA
A majority of those surveyed in 18 countries around the world said they were opposed to the building of new nuclear plants, according to a poll published today by the UN nuclear watchdog.
December 14, 2005
$1 million grant program aims to boost renewable energy
Wisconsin hopes to help jumpstart more investment in renewable energy including ethanol, biodiesel and waste-to-energy power under a $1 million grant program announced Monday.
Accelerated deployment of renewables is needed to combat climate change
The conference should recognize the full benefits of renewable
energies, stop the proliferation of obsolete technologies and take
into account the externalities of all energy sources, the group
said. The 10,000 delegates should give the highest priority to
renewable energies and it will be necessary for the conference to
increase efforts for integrated renewable energy solutions.
“It is a matter of urgency to present to the world community again
and again the manifold benefits of renewable energies which offer the only
viable long-term solution for the mitigation of climate change,”
All About REACH, The EU Chemical Reform Bill
European Union ministers approved a major new chemicals reform bill known as REACH on Tuesday. Below are several facts about the draft law
Blair praises climate ‘breakthrough’
Prime Minister Tony Blair has added his praise to the outcome of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal, calling the agreements brokered at meeting ‘a vital step’. The PM’s comments come after statements earlier in the year that appeared to indicate an increasing level of support towards the US approach to climate change policy and loss of faith with Kyoto-style programmes, which angered environmental campaigners.
Calif. regulators unveil $3.2B plan to expand solar power
Changes To Land Cover May Enhance Global Warming In Amazon, Reduce It In Midlatitudes
New simulations of 21st-century climate show that human-produced changes in land cover could produce additional warming in the Amazon region comparable to that caused by greenhouse gases, while counteracting greenhouse warming by 25% to 50% in some midlatitude areas.
Cinergy's Rogers sees wave of electric consolidation
The industry is under pressure from the financial community to grow
earnings.
But while the economy is growing, power demand is not growing as
quickly as the economy or as it has historically, Rogers said.
The US is less energy-intensive than it was 30 years ago, he added, and
he expects the trend to continue.
Rogers thinks upward pressures on natural gas, coal and emissions
credit prices will last for a while.
That's going to keep power prices higher and boost volatility.
He sees consolidation as the answer for firms seeking to meet high Wall
St earnings hopes
College Wants to Be a Wind Center
An eastern New Mexico community college has moved a step closer to realizing its ambition to become a national training center for the wind power industry.
Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari has received the thumbs up in a study that looked at the feasibility of establishing a training program for wind turbine maintenance workers.
Greater energy efficiency makes the most of national energy resources, reduces the costly results of energy shortages, lessens our reliance on energy imports, and minimizes the impacts of pollution. Consumers want relief. And interest groups and policymakers are joining forces to come up with new ideas to lower prices and encourage energy efficiency. What's going on?
Energy Deals Are Set to Get Hotter in 2006
ConocoPhillips's $30 billion acquisition of the natural gas producer Burlington Resources, expected to be announced this week, would cap what has been a frothy year for energy deals. So far in 2005, Chevron has won Unocal, Chinese and Russian companies have reached deals from Venezuela to Kazakhstan, and even Warren Buffett has bought a power company.
Energy Department Sends Energy Saving Team to Federal Government Site in Denver, Colo.
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today announced that a federal Energy Saving Team has been sent to the Denver Federal Center in Denver, Colo., as part of the comprehensive national energy efficiency effort being undertaken by the Bush administration. Through this no-cost assessment, the DOE Energy Saving Team is working with the facility to identify opportunities to save energy and money.
Firefighters extinguish final blazing tank at UK fuel depot
Green groups confident even as pressure grows and ANWR vote nears
Kyoto boosted by Montreal talks
The UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal has been widely praised as a success by ministers and green campaigners, following its conclusion at the weekend. The meeting concluded with agreements to start urgent discussions on a new round of emission reduction targets for the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol which starts in 2013, to review and improve the existing Kyoto strategy, and to adopt a ‘Five Year Plan of Action on Adaptation’ to help the least developed nations tackle climate change.
Liberty Waste Services to open landfill in eastern Ohio
Liberty Waste Services LLC is opening a new municipal solid waste landfill near Steubenville, Ohio, that is permitted to accept 5,250 tons of waste each day.
Methane-Gas Use Lets TEP Cut Back on Coal
In the six years since TEP began producing electricity from methane produced at the city's Los Reales Landfill, the program has saved 100,000 tons of coal, the utility says.
No Room at Cemetery, so Mayor Proposes a Ban on Death
There's no more room to bury the dead, they can't be cremated, and laws forbid a new cemetery. So the mayor of this Brazilian farm town has proposed a solution: outlaw death.
Northeastern Ohio river to be cleaned in $50M multiparty project
A joint federal, state and local effort will carry out a $50 million cleanup of contaminated sediment from the Ashtabula River in Ohio.The project falls under the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 and is the largest such proposed cleanup in scope and costs under the act, an initiative to clean up 31 pollution hot spots on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes.
Peak dose at Yucca Mt. long before 1-million years, NRC says
Renewables are ready to reduce GHG emissions, says EU commissioner
Renewable energies are “key instruments to win the battle against climate change” and are a ready-to-go technology, says the environmental commissioner in Europe.
“Renewable energy needs a long-term and stable policy framework,” Stavros Dimas told a side event at the COP11 conference in Montreal.
Renewables in U.S. to grow by 1.8% a year
Primary energy production will be led by coal at 34 quad, dry natural gas at 21, oil at 12, with renewables and nuclear both at 9 quad by 2030, out of a national production total of 89 quad. Emissions of CO2 will be increased to 8,115 Mt by 2030 from 5,815 Mt in 2004, an annual increase of 1.2%.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 121405
Solar activity was very low. Today's activity consisted of several B-class events. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled during the next three days (14-16 December).
Rising natural gas prices could boost coal use
Senator Predicts Congressional Shift on Climate Change
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) predicted last week that the U.S. Congress could enact a mandatory program to control greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. within the next two years. Bingaman's comments came in the keynote address delivered to a forum of international legislators participating in the climate change talks in Montreal, Canada. Bingaman is the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee.
Senior Republican says execution of Energy Policy Act is too slow
U.S. agency to help farmers cope with high energy costs
U.S. farmers will be offered US$1.4 billion this year to create renewable energy systems and businesses.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has formed an Energy Council to examine departmental programs to ensure that they fit into a comprehensive energy strategy, and to ensure that agricultural producers are represented during national energy discussions.
U.S. governor urges federal action to promote renewables
The governor of the state of Pennsylvania wants the U.S. government to address the energy needs of the country by increasing the role of renewable energies.
The federal government can take “simple steps” to “change the course that our economy and our nation will take in the next decade,” says Edward Rendell in a letter to president George Bush.
U.S., Canadian Officials Sign Great Lakes Water Pact
The agreement, announced in Milwaukee, includes strict rules that will
make it difficult for additional communities on the edges of the Great
Lakes watershed to use its water. Previously, governors could
arbitrarily decide to include or exclude communities seeking water from
the lakes.
The pact also aims to prohibit commercial exports of lake water --
restricting withdrawals to 5-gallon (20-liter) receptacles.
US Democrats Seek Energy Independence by 2020
US Democrats launched a plan Monday for energy independence by 2020 that seeks to relieve historically high oil and gas prices by cutting reliance on foreign sources of energy. Some energy analysts say the United States, which consumes about a quarter of the 80 million barrels of oil the world uses daily, will be dependent on imports for many decades into the future because alternatives only provide a percentage point or two of the country's energy.
US Wants Oil Refineries, Native Tribes Seek Permit
In 1997, a group of Native American workers stranded by a blizzard on an oil installation came up with the idea of building a refinery on reservation lands, bringing tax revenues and jobs to a place where unemployment hovered between 60 and 70 percent. Eight years later, as the White House presses for new refineries to meet rising demand and cool record fuel prices, the tribes of Fort Berthold are still waiting for a federal permit to build their plant.
December 13, 2005
We all know about the world-class
spas and golf resorts.
But Arizona is also home to the Sonoran Desert, and with help from the
National Geographic Society, some regional tourism offices are hoping to
capitalize on the Arizona-Sonora region's cultural heritage. In the
process, they hope, they can keep a unique desert region safe from
harmful tourist expansion.
It seems that turkey vultures, seagulls and other feathery varmints have been causing fits for motorists on a section of the Florida Turnpike that runs alongside the Palm Beach County landfill in West Palm Beach. So the county recently hired a U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooter to come out and cull the flock. But that idea caught flak from multiple directions
BP Alternative Energy Targets $1 Billion Photovoltaics Revenue by 2008
BP Alternative Energy will build on the success of BP Solar that projects photovoltaics (PV) revenues of $1 billion in 2008, and will manage an investment program in solar, wind, hydrogen and combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power generation. BP will double its investment in renewable energies to create a low-carbon power business with a growth potential to deliver $6 billion a year within the next decade.
Business Groups Back Expanded U.S. Gulf Oil Drilling
Citing rising fuel costs and a widening energy gap, a coalition
of business leaders Monday backed a proposal to expand oil and gas exploration
in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
The group, led by Associated Industries of Florida, called on Congress
to approve a proposal to allow for drilling within 125 miles of Florida's coast.
Climate Actions Must Consider Economic Growth, U.S. Official Says
Success in addressing climate change requires putting climate actions in a broad agenda that promotes economic growth and energy security, reduces poverty and pollution and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions, says Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky.
Climate Change- Obstruct globally
As Americans endure the embarrassment of the U.S. performance at a global warming conference, Seattle residents can hold their heads a little higher. At least, Mayor Greg Nickels made a good showing at a U.N. conference in Montreal.
The Bush administration's most notable act was a walkout on one set of critical talks. The U.S. delegation was there to obstruct, not advance international action. For a country with leadership responsibilities, that was pathetic, rude and ineffective.
EIA expects new plants, increased capacity in U.S. nuclear future
Energy industry's biggest shortage, Future executives!
For years, energy analysts have been warning that their industry will run out of employees faster than it runs out of oil or gas. By some estimates, half the workforce will retire in the next 10 years. But the biggest need, they say, is to replenish the ranks of senior management.
Researchers are developing new technologies to carry this adaptable fuel in gas, liquid, or solid state.
If burned as a vehicular fuel, hydrogen can be combusted at the high compression ratios and efficiencies demanded by internal combustion engines. When combined with oxygen in automotive fuel cells to generate electricity without combustion, hydrogen fuel raises the car's energy efficiency and produces only heat and water as byproducts. When hydrogen is burned with air in an internal combustion engine, some nitrogen oxides are formed, but fewer than the pollutants generated by fossil fuels, according to the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse in Merrifield, Va.
Fire-fighters say close dousing Total's UK fuel depot fire
Gas Drilling Raises Dust Clouds Throughout the West
Cooper lives along a gravel road that has become a major artery for trucks and workers in one of the many coal-bed methane gas fields in northeast Wyoming. The traffic kicks up clouds of dust that have drawn complaints from residents who say it's not only unsightly, but potentially dangerous to asthma sufferers and even livestock.
Global oil market balance to change little by 2010-- IEA
Great Lakes Cleanup May Hit $20 Billion
The cost of a Great Lakes cleanup plan unveiled Monday by a White House-backed group could reach $20 billion, a price that Washington has already said the U.S. government cannot afford.
GreenShift Acquires Rights to Patented Carbon Dioxide Reduction Technology
Ohio's technology was developed to remove carbon dioxide, one of the primary greenhouse gases, from the smokestacks of fossil-fueled power plants in a way that leverages nature's own solution: photosynthesis. Industrial quantities of carbon dioxide, however, require industrial amounts of photosynthetic activity, and power plant emissions, which are called flue gases, average temperatures in excess of a very hot 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit).
Kazakhstan Develops Alternative Energies
Under the Program for the Development of the Electric Energy Industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan up to 2030, 5 MW wind power station will be constructed by 2010 at Dzungarian Gates, Kazakhstan - in Almaty Oblast at the Chinese border.
Mo. air commission upholds air permit for coal-fired unit
Without comment or discussion, the commission accepted the recommendation of a consultant it had hired to review the Sierra Club's challenge.
OPEC output up 80,000 bd in November
OPEC's ten members with quotas produced a combined 28.35-mil b/d of crude in November, up 80,000 b/d from October's 28.27-mil b/d, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials showed Dec 8.
"Expectations of a higher trend in oil demand growth appear justified, as non-OECD economies take a larger share of the world oil market. But there appear to be enough supply-side projects to match that growth," the IEA said in its November report referring to the future prospects for the supply/demand balances.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 121305
Solar activity was very low. Today's activity consisted of a few B-class flares. Solar activity is expected to be very low to low for the next three days (13-15 December). The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled for 13 December and should be predominantly quiet for 14-15 December.
Toxic cloud fear as oil blaze rages
The biggest industrial fire in peacetime Europe continued to rage at an oil terminal in Hertfordshire last night, sending a spectacular plume of toxic black smoke into the sky and raising fears for the health of local residents.Police described it as "miraculous" that no one was killed.
UK Government-- Microgeneration could make a significant contribution to the UK's future energy mix
Mini wind turbines, solar panels and other small scale technologies could provide a substantial portion of the UK's energy needs by 2050, according to a new report from the Energy Saving Trust, that is published today.
US appeals court upholds decision rejecting EPA 'Clean Unit' rule
US cold weather, weak dollar limits IPE Brent losses Tuesday
US retail power price seen falling to 7.1 ctskWh by 2015- EIA
White House Pushes Congress to OK Alaska Drilling
Bush administration officials Monday urged Congress to include opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling in a broad budget-cutting bill that could see a vote this week.
December 12, 2005
Air Products boosting hydrogen
Air Products and Chemicals will spend $10 billion on hydrogen capital projects over the next 10 years, twice what it spent over the past decade, a top official told investors Wednesday.
Alaska '04 Oil Spill Damages Still Being Tallied
A year after a cargo ship wrecked off an Aleutian island, split in two and caused the worst Alaska oil spill since the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, damages and costs are still being tallied, government and shipping officials said.
Breakthrough as US joins climate talks
AMERICAN delegates have signed up to talks on long-term measures to tackle global warming in what is seen as a major breakthrough on climate change.
The refusal of the US government to accept any deal
involving a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions appeared to have
killed off any chance of a breakthrough at the summit in Canada over the
weekend.
US delegates walked out of the climate change
conference in Montreal, but they later returned and agreed to sign up to
non-binding talks.
Bush Threatens U.N. Over Clinton Climate Speech
Bush-administration officials privately threatened organizers of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, telling them that any chance there might’ve been for the United States to sign on to the Kyoto global-warming protocol would be scuttled if they allowed Bill Clinton to speak at the gathering today in Montreal, according to a source involved with the negotiations who spoke to New York Magazine on condition of anonymity.
Businesses Move Past Kyoto Regardless of US
Growing numbers of businesses are taking action on global warming regardless of what UN climate talks bring now or in the future. "We made a decision long ago we are not going to debate anything on global warming, we are going to take the bull by the horns and reduce emissions," said Kevin Lowery, a spokesman for Alcoa Inc.
Cash Minerals expands Yukon exploration
Climate conference delivers agreement on twin-track talks
Clinton Steals Show at UN Climate Talks
Former US President Bill Clinton told UN climate talks in Canada on Friday that the Bush administration was "flat wrong" to reject the Kyoto accord and said cutting greenhouse gases was good for business and the planet.
DuPont Tops BusinessWeek Ranking of 'The Top Green Companies'
Topping the list of BusinessWeek's ranking of "The Top Green Companies" is an experienced hand at making the most out of changing regulations, DuPont. Back in the mid-1980s, DuPont created a profitable business selling substitutes for chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants that were destroying the earth's protective ozone layer. Tackling climate change "was a natural extension of this experience,"
Earth's Magnetic Pole Drifting Quickly
Earth's north magnetic pole is drifting away from North America
and toward Siberia at such a clip that Alaska might lose its spectacular
Northern Lights in the next 50 years, scientists said Thursday.
Despite accelerated movement over the past century, the possibility that
Earth's modestly fading magnetic field will collapse is remote.
Federal energy regulators have taken the first steps toward implementing the 2005 Energy Policy Act. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has proposed transmission pricing changes in an effort to promote needed investment. Investors have long been weary of putting capital towards transmission infrastructure, largely because the returns don't justify the risks. Simply, it takes too long to go through the permitting process and the allowable rates of return don't reflect that. Transmission investment has declined in real terms -- adjusted for inflation -- from 1975 to 1998.
The 2005 installment of the NEETF/Roper Report Card is a must-read for anyone interested in helping Americans gain the knowledge that will lead to environmentally responsible actions. The report delves deeply into what people know and provides sobering evidence of the limited knowledge Americans have about the root causes of environmental problems and how their personal actions are connected to them.
EPA Offers Free Online Energy-Efficiency Training to U.S. Businesses
As U.S. businesses and organizations face high energy prices this winter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program is offering a suite of free online training sessions that show how to incorporate energy efficiency into an organization's planning.
EPA´s review of WTE standards maintain status quo
Large municipal waste-to-energy plants will have to continue operating at high levels under proposed amendments to the emission limits of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency´s performance standards.
Forget Climate Targets, Timetables, Australia Says
Short-term targets and tight timetables are no solution to fighting climate change, Australia's environment minister said on Thursday on the sidelines of a UN climate conference. "This inane preoccupation with short-term targets is incredibly bad public policy. This (climate change) is a problem that took 150 years to create. We've increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by 30 percent over the last 150 years and we've got 45-50 years to fix it.
Group claims Texas industries under report air emissions
Air emissions such as sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide from some large industrial facilities in Texas are being underreported by 80 percent, a nonprofit group alleges.
The Environmental Integrity Project, which describes itself as a nonprofit and nonpartisan group that wants to see better enforcement of environmental laws, said 20 sites did not disclose nearly 16,000 tons of pollutants they released in 2003.
They include 15 gas-processing plants, two refineries a chemical plant and a carbon black site, the EIP said.
Guidebook Details Control of Urban Runoff Pollution
House okays tax extension package, without oil company penalties
House panel OKs bill to beef up federal scrutiny of gas market
The amendment, which seeks to address natural gas price transparency issues, clarifies surveillance and record keeping authorities by the CFTC by requiring the commission to prevent and detect manipulation of the natural gas markets, by increasing record keeping requirements for people who operate on the exchanges, and by increasing the penalties for violations.
Brian J. Jankura was wrong (``Hydrogen may not be the answer,'' Voice of the People, Nov. 28) that we can't use our Ovonic triple-junction photovoltaics to break up water through electrolysis. We can, and we do.He was right, though, that ``manufacturing'' the fuel requires electricity. That electricity comes from the sun's light (photons) interacting with our thin-film lightweight solar cells to produce electricity.
IPE Brent rebounds as US cold weather continues, OPEC meets
Making society independent of fossil fuels - Danish researchers reveal new technology
With the new hydrogen tablet, it becomes much simpler to use the environmentally-friendly energy of hydrogen.
Microsoft, Other Major Companies Complete Phase-Out of PVC Plastic
Microsoft, along with Kaiser Permanente, Crabtree and Evelyn, and others, have joined the fast-growing ranks of major corporations demonstrating concern about the environmental health impacts of their products or packaging by phasing out PVC plastic (polyvinyl chloride or vinyl). Hazardous chemicals are used and released in this commonly used material, the second highest selling plastic in the world. Studies show links between chemicals created and used during the PVC lifecycle and cancer, reproductive and immune system damage, and asthma.
OPEC communique confirms no change to current output quotas
Pall Filtration Technology Verified to Remove Arsenic from Drinking Water
Municipal and community water providers are racing to meet EPA’s January 23, 2006 deadline for reducing arsenic in drinking water. The new ruling reduces the maximum allowable level of arsenic in drinking water to 10 ppb. Results of the independent performance testing showed the Pall Aria Microfiltration System reduces arsenic to undetectable levels (below 2 ppb),
President Signs Bipartisan Drinking Water Bill
"OPEC countries have been accelerating investment, expanding their production capacity to meet rising demand, and build comfortable spare capacity, which is expected to reach 2.5-mil b/d in 2005," the group's President Sheikh Ahmed Fahad al-Sabah said during his opening address to the OPEC meeting in Kuwait City. "OPEC will add another 1-mil b/d of capacity by 2006."
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 121005
Solar activity was low. New Region 835 (N19E78) produced a C1 flare at 08/2141 UTC. This region also produced a few small B-class flares over the past day.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 121205
Solar activity is expected to be very low to low for the next three days (12-14 December). The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to active levels, with a minor storm period at high latitudes from 1500-2100Z. Solar wind speed showed an increase up to 550-660 km/s after 0800Z which was accompanied by enhanced interplanetary magnetic field and temperature.
Scientists Say Fissure Could Be a New Ocean
Ethiopian, American and European researchers have observed a fissure in a desert in the remote northeast that could be the "birth of a new ocean basin," scientists said Friday.
The case for hydrogen as an industry transformer
Wondering where the automotive industry is headed? Spend time with General Motors Corp.'s research and development chief, Larry Burns and you will come away with a pretty good idea.
Total confirms explosion at British fuel depot
The company said firm details were still not known, although UK police said there was no reason to suspect the explosion had been caused by anything other than an accident.
U.S. Under Fire as World Climate Talks End
The United States stood alone in resisting new international
talks on ways to combat climate change Friday as most countries moved closer to
extending the Kyoto Protocol to curb global warming beyond 2012.
The United States, the largest producer of heat-trapping greenhouse
gases, was blocking an accord on the launch of a new dialogue among all
190 states at a meeting in Montreal -- not just Kyoto members -- on ways
to rein in greenhouse gases.
UN Climate Hits Russian Roadblock
Moscow's refusal also blocked approval of a separate Canadian plan to launch new talks on a long-term fight against climate change to include Kyoto outsiders such as the United States and developing nations such as India and China.
UN Climate Talks Agree to Push Kyoto Forward
Environment ministers agreed at UN talks on Saturday to begin a new round of negotiations to decide the shape of the Kyoto Protocol after the first phase ends in 2012. Following are highlights of their decisions.
UN Talks Set Road Map for Kyoto Beyond 2012
Environment ministers agreed on Saturday to a road map to extend the Kyoto Protocol climate pact beyond 2012, breaking two weeks of deadlock at UN talks aimed at curbing global warming.
US agreement paves the way for fresh climate change talks
Talks will begin next year on the future of international co-operation on climate change, after the US withdrew its objections to such discussions at the end of a marathon negotiating session on Saturday in Montreal.
US winter gas supplies to be sufficient, but expensive- officials
Veggies Retain Traces of Antibiotics, study finds
One more reason to eat organic: Conventionally grown vegetables may be more likely to serve up a dose of antibiotics along with their nutritional properties.
What's moving the oil markets 121205
Prices appeared to be relatively unaffected by the weekend's explosion at a major oil depot at Buncefield near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. The depot, which is the fifth largest in the UK is a major supplier of gasoline and jet fuel to petrol stations and airports across southern England. The facility handles around 2.37-mil mt of petrol and other products a year. Buncefield is also understood to be a major supplier of jet fuel to Heathrow airport.
December 9, 2005
Amazon Drought Ending, Yet Sickness Looms
The Amazon basin's worst drought in more than 40 years is ending as rainfall returns to normal, though officials fear diseases will spread as rising rivers stir up muck from stagnant pools of contaminated water.
Anti-Pollution Gasoline Tax Urged by Californian Panel
An advisory panel appointed by California's governor urged the state on Thursday to impose a new tax on gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum products to fund efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Calpine Corp. once towered. Today it is teetering. Bankruptcy may be inevitable. The independent power operator just canned its top two executives, leading many to say that the company is en route to restructuring, or declaring bankruptcy. CEO Pete Cartwright left, along with CFO Bob Kelly. Acting CEO Kenneth Derr has said that bankruptcy remains a viable option.
Calpine reaches deal with lenders, withdraws request to court
Canadian RE Organization to Counter U.S. Kyoto Projections
To counter a U.S. analysis reporting indications that consumption of renewables will decline under the Kyoto Protocol climate change treaty, the Canadian Association for Renewable Energies says more work is needed to promote renewable energies, calling for greater emphasis on green heat, green power and green fuel options.
Castro-- Rich Nations Endangering Planet
Cuban President Fidel Castro accused rich countries on Thursday of squandering the world's natural resources, burning too much energy and endangering the planet. Castro said the "colossal waste" of capitalist consumer society was not just putting the world economy at risk, but also seriously threatening the global environment with gas emissions.
CPS gets deal for coal plant to proceed
In a compromise with environmentalists expected to clear the way for a new coal-fired power plant, CPS Energy has agreed to substantially step up its conservation and renewable energy programs, part of a wide-ranging deal.
The agreement could set precedent on many fronts, Smith said -- most notably on the issue of coal gasification technology.
The argument over gasification was the major obstacle in the case
Epsilon Finally Weakens into Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm Epsilon, which had never been a threat to land, was about 995 miles (1,605 km) southwest of Portugal's Azores islands by 10 p.m. EST (0300 GMT).Its maximum sustained winds had dropped to 65 mph (100 kph), below the 74 (119 kph) threshold at which tropical storms are categorized as hurricanes, and it was expected to be absorbed by a cold front by Friday.
EU, G77 countries agree on talks to extend Kyoto Protocol
GE Energy Unveils New 200 Watt Solar Module
Predictably, power industry giant GE Energy stacked up a host of new project and product news developments in order to unveil them at the U.S. power industry's major annual trade show. While most of the company's announcements were in the traditional power sectors, they did unveil some renewable energy news, including a new 200-watt polycrystalline solar module.
Great Lakes Near Ecological Breakdown-- Scientists
Stresses from polluted rivers to invasive species threaten to trigger an ecological breakdown in the Great Lakes, a group of scientists hoping to sway US environmental policy said on Thursday. Seventy-five scientists who study the world's largest collective body of fresh water released their report on the myriad problems that need cleanup or restoration ahead of two key policy announcements next week.
a new national initiative to advance climate-friendly, sustainable enterprises in India. The new Green Business Initiative will launch two programs in India to advance sustainable enterprises and facilitate the development of corporate greenhouse gas inventories and subsequent investments in greenhouse gas mitigation projects.
Indonesia Urges US to Join Climate Change Pact
Indonesia urged the United States to back the Kyoto Protocol climate change pact on Wednesday, saying the threat from climate change for the world's fourth most populous nation was very real.
New York Surcharge Would Support Renewable Energy
"The only way to reduce energy bills over the long haul is to reduce our reliance on traditional forms of energy. But we need to know that the millions of dollars that will be spent on these to-be-determined projects will actually benefit consumers, particularly when energy costs are rising beyond the ability of our citizens to pay." Investigating a new 2 percent utility bill surcharge created by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to fund the use of renewable energy in New York.
Oil Firms May Pay $10 Billion to Drill in Alaska
Energy companies may pay as much as $10 billion for the rights to drill for crude oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), double the government's official estimate, the Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 120905
Solar activity was low. A C1 flare occurred. C-class activity is possible in Regions 826 and 830 as well as the new region rotating onto the disk. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled.
Research Advances Hydrogen Fuel Production
"What we discovered was surprising. Both hydrogen and oxygen diffuse through the protein rather quickly, yet there are clear differences."
Oxygen may be necessary for life, but it sure gets in the way of making hydrogen fuel cheaply and abundantly from a family of enzymes present in many microorganisms. Blocking oxygen's path to an enzyme's production machinery could lead to a renewable energy source that would generate only water as its waste product.
Internet SOLAR HOME DESIGN ONLINE EDUCATION Solar Energy International (SEI) is adding a new online distance course to their RENEWABLE ENERGY EDUCATION PROGRAM.
In addition to their Photovoltaic Design & Installation online course, SEI hopes to reach more people seeking to make practical use of the planet's abundant renewable energy resources. This Internet course focuses on how-to build energy efficient, sustainable solar homes.
U.S. Promoting More Efficient Use of Energy in Caribbean Basin
The United States is promoting a more diversified and efficient use of energy resources in the Caribbean Basin because it is the most oil-dependent region in the world, says Matthew McManus, an expert on energy with the U.S. Department of State.
UN Climate Talks Speed Third World Investments
Negotiators at UN climate talks agreed on Thursday to speed investments in clean-energy projects in the Third World as host Canada struggled to enlist the United States in a long-term fight against global warming. Negotiators from 160 nations, overcoming an objection by Saudi Arabia, also agreed on a set of rules to ensure compliance with the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol, which obliges many developed nations to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases.
US climate delegation chief rules out further UN negotiations
US House OKs bill with bond, tax provisions for Katrina recovery
The legislation (HR 4440) would establish tax-exempt bond authority of about $15-bil to rebuild devastated infrastructure in the so-called "Gulf Opportunity Zones." These "GO Zone Bonds" would be issued by the states and municipalities for rebuilding, renovating and acquiring property including utility transmission lines.
US States Differ Over Emissions Plan
A split emerged on Wednesday between two US state governors who are developing plans with other states to reduce damaging carbon dioxide emissions.
Nine states in the northeast United States are planning to launch a market in carbon emissions by 2009 that would cut global warming gases, in a break from the policy being pursued by President George W. Bush's administration.Massachusetts' Republican Governor Mitt Romney proposed rules on Wednesday in his state alone that would cap the price that companies would pay for carbon dioxide credits.
December 8, 2005
70 homes added to area affected by Katrina oil spill near New Orleans
Another 70 homes have been added to the area potentially affected by a large oil spill caused by Hurricane Katrina in St. Bernard Parish.
Capital of Texas becomes first city to pledge 50pct from renewables
The capital of the state of Texas has pledged to become the first city in the United States to enter a national contest for cities to source half of their electricity from wind, solar or bioenergy.
“I will accept the challenge that Austin remain the number one city, the number one utility in the country for renewable sales and that we, in fact, become the first city in the country to reach the 50% renewable goal,” says mayor Will Wynn. “We accept the challenge, and we're going to figure out how to get there from here.”
Chinese Toxic Spill Official Found Dead
A vice mayor in charge of evacuating a Chinese city where a chemical plant exploded is believed to have hanged himself, an official said on Wednesday, as a toxic river flow resulting from the accident spread.
Coal prices predicted to stay strong through 2006 based on demand
Developed nations are ‘burning Asia's future,’ claims environmental group
Industrialized nations must stop exporting climate change to developing countries if social, economic and environmental disaster is to be averted, warns a report on the power sector in Asia and its impacts on climate.
“Providing the necessary energy services without further destabilising the climate or destroying the health, welfare and livelihoods of communities, can be achieved by the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, micro-hydro, wave and biomass power, coupled with increasing energy efficiency and conservation,” says Greenpeace in the report, ‘Burning our Future,
Energy Bills Get Another Effort in MD Legislature
Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomery, and a coalition of environmental advocates yesterday rolled out an ambitious legislative package to address energy conservation issues and increase the use of renewable energy in Maryland.
The federal government's doing nothing about it, so the states have to take independent action, said Garagiola at an event in North Baltimore.
Epsilon Still a Hurricane in Atlantic
Stubborn Hurricane Epsilon clung to life in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, days after forecasters predicted its demise.
EU Governments Agree on Rules To Tackle Pollution from Mining Waste
The new law requires EU governments to monitor and control how mining companies handle silt, coal ash, waste rock and contaminated or toxic materials taken from mines and seek to prevent such waste seeping into rivers, lakes or reservoirs.
Greenpeace seeks closure of BCLP power plant project in Thailand
Activists from environmental group Greenpeace scaled a giant coal loading crane in Thailand, demanding that Bangkok abandon a power plant and spend more on renewable fuel sources. "This coal plant is one of the bad examples of international financial institutions like the Asian Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation getting involved in financing such dirty projects."
India joins ITER project as full partner
Inuit Accuse Washington of Violating Human Rights
Inuit indigenous peoples formally accused Washington on Wednesday of violating their human rights by failing to do enough to fight a thaw of Arctic ice undermining their hunting culture.
IPE Brent rebounds as cold US weather looks set to continue
Japan to withdraw crude tariff, products tariffs under review
Japanese government currently imposes Yen 3,202/kl ($4.18/bbl) tax on HSFO imports, on top of a "petroleum tax" of Yen 2,040/kl ($2.66/bbl) which is not presently subject to review. The "petroleum tax" is equally imposed on all the refined products and crude oil imports to Japan to fund financial resource for the country's natural resources exploration, stockpiling and development of alternative energy.
Judge Blocks Land Clearing for Oil, Gas Drilling in Michigan Forest
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked an energy company from clearing land in preparation for oil and natural gas drilling near a forest and a river.
Ministers Try to End Deadlock at Climate Talks
Environment ministers from across the world tried to break a deadlock on Wednesday over how to involve the United States and developing nations in tackling global warming.
"There is an urgent need to send a signal to the world about the future," he said.
Kyoto's first phase, which runs from 2008 to 2012, only covers about 40 wealthy developed nations. Many countries and green groups say the pact will only be effective if all nations, and particularly the biggest polluters, are on board.
But doing so means a huge economic shift for many countries and particularly for rapidly growing developing nations such as India and China, who say cleaning up could limit growth. The developed world should be taking more of a lead, developing nations say.
New nukes question raises concerns for UK power market-- S&P
New Solar Panels for Hybrid Cars Improve MPG
Solatec LLC(TM) is pleased to introduce flexible, rooftop-mounted Solar Panels for Hybrid Vehicles, starting with a kit for the 2004-2006 Toyota Prius. The $2,195 kits will be available nationwide through dealer franchises.
Norway provides Uganda with 19 million dollars for energy projects
Norway has agreed to provide Uganda with over 19 million US dollars to boost its petroleum exploration and electricity transmission up to 2008, according to local press reported on Wednesday.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 120805
Solar activity is expected to be very low to low. A small C-class flare is possible in Region 826. The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly quiet.
Salmon lawsuit worries utilities
A federal lawsuit requesting more water for endangered chinook salmon on the Columbia and Snake rivers has local utilities worried about large spikes in next year's energy prices.
Scientists Say Greenland Glaciers Retreating
Two of Greenland's largest glaciers are retreating at an alarming pace, most likely because of climate warming, scientists said Wednesday. One of the Greenland glaciers, Kangerdlugssuaq, is currently moving at about nine miles a year compared to three miles a year in 2001. The other glacier, Helheim, is speeding at about seven miles a year -- up from four miles a year during the same period. "It's quite a staggering rate of increase."
Secretive study paints dire picture at Hanford
Mismanagement and other problems with cleanup of radioactive pollution at Hanford nuclear weapons factories means the effort could cost as much as 67 percent more than first estimated and take four years longer than promised, according to a closely-guarded federal report.
The study, completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in May, focused on construction of a plant to seal radioactive waste in glass, considered a key step in cleaning up one of the world's most polluted sites. The report estimated costs could soar $4 billion, from $5.8 billion to $9.65 billion, making it among the most costly construction projects in the country.
Solar PV shipments rise 65% in U.S.
Shipment of solar PV cells and modules rose 65% in the United States last year, with a five-fold increase in imports.
“2004 was a big year for photovoltaic cells and modules, returning to the pattern of strong growth seen between 2000 and 2002,” says the Department of Energy in its annual evaluation of manufacturing activity in the sector.
South Korean-US joint nuclear hydrogen research centre opens
A South Korea-US joint research centre opened Wednesday [7 December] to study ways of using atomic power to produce hydrogen gas, officials said Wednesday. The joint project is expected to help South Korea to prepare for a time when hydrogen will become a significant energy source, they said.
Toyota Motor developing home fuel cells
The system makes hydrogen gas from natural gas, petroleum gas or kerosene and takes advantage of chemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity and provide hot water.
U.S. corporations double purchase of renewables
Twelve large companies in the United States have doubled their purchase of renewable energy, and have expanded to 140 facilities in 15 states.
US resisting overtures on climate change talks-- participants
Virginia; Dominion Reactor in Connecticut is Running Again
Dominion Resources Inc.'s Millstone 3 nuclear reactor in Connecticut has resumed operation after automatically shutting down Thursday. The turbine was taken off line because of vibrations.
World Bank commits US$2.5 billion to renewables over 15 years
The World Bank Group committed US$212 million to new renewable energy projects this year, representing a 15-year total commitment of $2.5 billion.
The WBG annual progress report says it also funded $87 million in energy efficiency and another $449 million for large hydro (over 10 MW capacity) in the most recent fiscal year, for a combined total of $748 million compared with $339 million in the previous year.
December 7, 2005
An American Energy Harvest Plan
". I believe that our nation should acknowledge the unexpected earnings
of our energy giants and, as a result, redirect our tax dollars to invest in the
research infrastructure that will have the leadership, diligence and
single-minded purpose that we know from history can change the path we take to
the future."
- Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell
Arctic, Tropical Islands Unite in Climate Fight
"As we melt, the small developing island states sink," she told a news conference in Montreal, where about 190 nations are meeting to try to find ways to curb the emission of greenhouse gases released from burning fossil fuels.
Bypassing Bush, Americans Take Local Road to Kyoto
While US President George W. Bush refuses to accept the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions, at least 40 million Americans will find themselves bound to the international treaty to curb global warming.
CALIFORNIA MILLION SOLAR ROOFS CAMPAIGN UPDATE
On November 15, Administrative Law Judge Kim Malcolm issued an interim decision to increase solar funding to $300 million for next year, the largest it has ever been, and the rebate will be set at $2.80/watt. This is expected to be approved after the 30 day public comment period. On December 13, the PUC is expected to release its proposed decision to create the full ten year, $3 billion solar solar incentive program.
Colorado Could be the Next Solar State
Through the success of a ballot initiative in Colorado, new solar installations like the one on this solar home in Denver, Colorado, could fetch some hefty rebates from utilities like Xcel Energy.
EIA predicts US Gulf oil shut-ins to be 297,000 bd in March
EU to push for global co-operation
"Time is running out,” said Commissioner Dimas. "Montreal gives us the opportunity to start a debate on future climate policies, which must involve all major emitters in order to be effective. The European Union will continue to make a strong case for global action against climate change. I call on all our partners to join us in these efforts.”
Forecasters See More Big Hurricanes Ahead
The worst may be past for the United States and Caribbean after the costliest hurricane season on record, but 2006 could be tough too, a noted forecasting team predicted on Tuesday.
Incentives Could Lure China to Carbon Dioxide Market
Rapidly growing economies like China could be encouraged to join a UN plan to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases if they were offered creative "no lose" incentives, experts said on Tuesday.
Indonesian government preparing national energy policy
Gas and coal can be used as good substitutes for oil in the provision of energy sources for the generation of electricity, the operation of industrial plants and public transport vehicles as well as household activities, Antara news agency Tuesday quoted Nenny as saying.
Louisiana continues to see no change in restored oil, gas output
NEW JERSEY PROPOSES MAJOR SOLAR EXPANSION
When one hears the words ‘New Jersey’, many people do not immediately think of environmental leadership. In fact, the state’s reputation gives rise to visions better described by ‘industrial wasteland’ or ‘toxic miasma’.
Think again.
North Sea 'carbon capture' boost for coal reserves
THE shock rise in oil prices and the battle to curb global warming has created a need for new measures to boost biofuels, energy-saving and carbon storage in used North Sea oil and gas wells, Mr Brown said yesterday.
The technology of carbon storage - pumping carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations into disused wells and saltwater aquifers - offers the possibility of "clean coal'' power stations and actually enhances the efficiency of exploiting the last oil and gas reserves.
Nuclear debate gives N.C. power
The last U.S. nuclear reactor was approved when the Berlin Wall was firmly in place, abortion had just been legalized in the United States and women were still burning their bras.
But the power source that seems more Cold War than War on Terror is poised for a comeback -- and North Carolina, possibly even the Piedmont Triad, is at the forefront of the movement.
NZ resorts to Plan B over power
Electricity spot prices reached 20c a kilowatt hour (kWh), well above average prices, yesterday afternoon, at which point the diesel- powered Whirinaki station was switched on.
Auckland power industry consultant Bryan Leyland said the country had its "back against the wall" in terms of generation options.
Ozone Hole Recovery May Take Longer
The eventual recovery of the gaping ozone hole over Antarctica,
first discovered two decades ago, may take years longer than previously
predicted, scientists reported Tuesday.
Researchers suspect that's because of all the older model refrigerators
and car air-conditioning systems in the United States and Canada that
are still releasing ozone-killing chemicals. Both countries curbed those
chemicals in newer products.
Putin says Iran nuclear issue should be settled within IAEA
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the Iranian nuclear issue should be settled within the framework of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency].
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 120705
Solar activity was very low. Solar activity is expected to be very low to low. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled. Isolated active periods are possible on 07 December.
Report Says 2005 Will Be Warmest, Stormiest Year on Record, Likely Due to Global Warming
This year is likely to go down as the hottest, stormiest and driest ever on Planet Earth, making a strong case for the urgent need to combat global warming, said a report released Tuesday at the U.N. Climate Change Conference.
Senators urge US to take more active role in climate change talks
The link between hurricanes and global warming
The 2005 hurricane season is now officially rated as the busiest on record by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The 2005 season included 26 named storms, of which 13 grew big enough to be classified as hurricanes. Of these, seven turned out to be major hurricanes of category three or higher on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale. This was five more major hurricanes than average for a typical Atlantic season. Hurricane Wilma in October became the strongest Atlantic storm ever recorded, breaking the previous record set in 1988.
It wasn't just strength, it was frequency.
The study concluded that tropical storms are lasting 60 per cent longer and their wind speeds are up to 15 per cent higher. "This work implies that global tropical cyclone activity is responding in a rather large way to global warming," Emanuel says.
In other words, the evidence is mounting that global warming can indeed affect the formation of hurricanes but as yet no one can say for sure whether this is happening now.
Traditionally Energy-Savvy, Japanese Business Turns Attention to Global Warming
Since they experienced two oil crises in the 1970s, Japanese firms, especially manufacturers, have made enormous efforts to save energy. As the result, primary energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product has been reduced, and the country now a world leader in energy efficiency. This spirit has been passed to modern businesses in their efforts to curb global warming, and positive results have emerged.
The UK and Norway have signed an agreement this week that could lead to carbon emissions being stored in the North Sea. Both governments will embark on research into sequestration, injection and storage of CO2 in depleted oil fields beneath the sea.
US DOE, energy companies to build $1-bil coal-fired power plant
US Snubs Canada Call for Two-Year Talks on Climate
The United States snubbed a call by host Canada on Tuesday for 189-nation climate talks in Montreal to launch a two-year search for new ways to fight global warming.
Watchdog warns BP over diverting oil from UK
Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, has stepped up efforts to ensure Britain has enough natural gas this winter, warning the likes of BP that it would use its powers to ensure that import terminals at the Isle of Grain storage facility were properly utilised.
What’s happening in Montreal with the Kyoto Protocol
You might ask, then, what 10,000 people are doing in Montreal over the course of these two weeks? Well, the COP/MOP does have items on the diplomatic agenda in addition to the post-2012 issue I mentioned. Some 2,000 -- 3,000 governmental representatives are working from dawn to dusk -- and into the evenings -- on many issues relating to the Framework Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.
World Weather Disaster Losses Hit Record in 2005
With devastating Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in the United States and never-before-seen hurricanes approaching Europe, the world in 2005 will show the highest-ever financial losses for weather-related natural disasters.
December 6, 2005
Arctic Feels the Heat from Climate Change
The chief scientist aboard the Canadian icebreaker CCGS Amundsen knows all about climate change. Every year, the ocean-going laboratory carries out extensive surveys of the ocean in the Canadian Arctic and signs of rapid warming are growing ever more alarming for indigenous people in the region and a greater threat for polar bears and seals.
Brazil Says Deforestation Slows, Critics Cautious
The Brazilian government said on Monday the deforestation of the Amazon rain forest fell by 30 percent in the 12 months up to August but it failed to convince environmentalists there would be a lasting effect.
Bush makes another pitch for ANWR drilling, refinery expansion
Canada, EU persist in bid to discuss climate strategies with US
EU members agree to aim for 9% energy savings over nine years
Europe's Health Woes May Worsen With Global Warming
Rising rates of deadly heat strokes, salmonella infection and hay fever across Europe are linked to global warming and should push governments to act faster on preventing climate change, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
FTC finds US ethanol production 'not unduly concentrated'
"Viewed in isolation, these concentration levels do not justify a presumption that one firm, or a small group of firms, could wield the market power necessary to set prices or coordinate on prices or output," FTC said in the report. "Moreover, the concentration figures overstate the likelihood of anticompetitive behavior in light of significant new entry in ethanol production and marketing that will occur in the next year and is expected to continue for several more years."
Green May Mean Money for Many at UN Climate Meet
Financiers sniffing opportunity jammed lecture halls steps away from the convention building where environment ministers hope to launch talks on the next phase of the UN Kyoto Protocol this week. And "carbon funds" that operate much like mutual funds, in which investors purchase greenhouse gas emission credits mainly from environmentally friendly wind, solar or agriculture projects, have also taken off this year.
Heartland chill could heat up market activity in the Ill. Basin
Hurricane Epsilon Refuses to Die in North Atlantic
Hurricane Epsilon spun through the open Atlantic on Monday and defied forecasters' expectation that it would weaken as it moved over increasingly colder water. Hurricanes need warm water for fuel and forecasters were perplexed at Epsilon's tenacity in the chilly north Atlantic, where it had been expected to fizzle.
Is utility consolidation the order of the day?
Consolidation in the US electric utility industry will continue to gather steam over the next couple of years, according to analysts. "Expect 50% consolidation over the next five years," predicted Gary Hunt, president of Global Energy Advisors at an industry conference. Driving the trend: "The next round of generation is already out there, sitting in the ground," said Hunt. A high number of gas-fired power plants built between 1999 and 2001 are mostly sitting idle.
It looks like it´s time to bid R.I.P. to the Kyoto Protocol
Despite its tender age and its ratification by 156 countries, the international treaty aimed at cutting emissions of greenhouse gases is on its deathbed, according to this report from Sunday´s New York Times.
NYC to require stores to accept rechargeable batteries for recycling
The law requires retailers selling rechargeable batteries in the city to accept them back from consumers even if they didn´t buy them at their store. Retailers also must post a sign at their store´s entrance notifying customers that they are required to recycle rechargeable batteries and that the store is a collection point.
Pacific Islanders Move to Escape Global Warming
Rising seas have forced 100 people on a Pacific island to move to higher ground in what may be the first example of a village formally displaced because of modern global warming, a UN report said on Monday.
"Concern over colder weather forecasts in Europe and the US has pushed oil prices back up close to $60/bbl for WTI front month despite further assurances from OPEC that it will maintain production at high level,"
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 120605
Solar activity was very low. Region 826 (S06W35) continues to decrease in area. The geomagnetic field was mostly quiet. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels today. Isolated active periods are possible on 07 December.
Southern Company Subsidiary to Open the Nation's First Mercury Research Center This Month
In a dedication ceremony today, Southern Company's Gulf Power subsidiary announced that the nation's first-of- the-kind comprehensive Mercury Research Center will begin operations this month at its Plant Crist electric generation plant, which is located north of Pensacola, Florida.
The Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005; An Uncertain Law of Indeterminate Effect
If The Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005 proves anything, it proves that a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina is just as likely to politically empower big business, with its concerns over production and availability, as it is to fire up activists, with their concerns over the effect of shattered oil reservoirs on the environment.
The bill, which would encourage construction of new refineries, passed the House of Representatives by a mere two votes.
U.N. Talks Seen Averting Deadlines for Climate Pact
U.N. climate talks in Canada are likely to avoid setting a target date for agreeing a successor for the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol, disappointing environmentalists who want a 2008 deadline, delegates said Monday.
UK announces 10% increase in tax on North Sea profits
Unusual Signals from the Natural Gas Markets
Long-time and long-term bulls on natural gas (as we are) need to look carefully at storage and production levels and the prices in the futures and spot markets. These signs suggest the potential for lower prices in the very near-term.
From a long-term resource perspective, however, the implications are extremely adverse. The truly new resources simply do not exist at the quantities and the costs to which the country has become accustomed. None of this should surprise most industry observers. It is simply that, weather permitting, the crisis is likely to be deferred beyond the current heating season.
US Supreme Court won't review ruling on Utah nuke waste laws
Utilities facing massive investment needs
Worldwide, electric and gas utilities face an investment need of some $12.7 trillion between 2005 and 2030 to meet growing energy infrastructure and capacity needs, according to some analysts. The challenge: poor or confusing regulatory schemes make investors hesitant, according to the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
December 5, 2005
...so domestic prices are surging
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently raised its third-quarter price forecast for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude to $59.17/bbl and said monthly average WTI prices would remain above $55/bbl for the rest of this year and next—levels already surpassed. Imbalances, real or perceived, in domestic markets could cause light crude prices to average above $60/bbl, said the EIA, which is the statistical arm of the US DOE.
A solution to climate change in the world's rainforests
A novel economic model for reducing deforestation is being proposed by the Coalition for Rainforest Nations at the current United Nations climate change conference in Montreal. A new player in the climate change game, the coalition is proposing economic incentives for conserving tropical forests while contributing to climate stability.
After Hurricanes, a Renewed Interest in Underground Power Lines
Remember that sense of doom and helplessness when the lights flickered and your life was hurtled back into Stone Age darkness?
Arctic Peoples Seek UN Help to Slow Warming
Alarmed by a rapid thaw of Arctic ice, indigenous peoples want a 189-nation conference in Canada to step up protection of their hunting cultures.
Billions Saved by Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Top environmental officials for the state of California and the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo have found significant empirical evidence that greenhouse gas pollution can be substantially reduced at a profit rather than a cost. The findings, to be presented next week to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Montreal, are documented in the first large-scale case studies on the economic impact of reducing greenhouse-gas pollution.
Bottled Water Consumption Overtakes Milk, Coffee and Beer in the U.S. Market
British nuclear plants put back 'on agenda'
Challenged by environmentalist protesters, Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced that Britain will decide next summer whether to reverse its opposition to building new nuclear power stations.
The new technology consists of a series of large, high-speed flywheels that recycle electricity cleanly and efficiently. Extra energy on the grid is sent to the flywheels, which store it for immediate use when needed. Whenever the grid needs more energy to stay in balance, a signal is sent and the flywheels convert into generators to add power.
California relies on dirty coal power plants-study
California must insist that U.S. western states that supply it with electricity clean up coal-fired power plants that pollute cities, national parks and alpine forests, several environmental groups said in a study issued on Thursday.
China Environment Chief Resigns Over Toxic Spill
China's environment chief resigned on Friday following a two-week crisis over a toxic spill that polluted a northeast China river, forced the shutdown of tapwater supplies to millions of Chinese and raised alarm bells in Russia.
China to close 4,000 small coal mines annually in forthcoming three years
"We can at most keep 10,000 or so small coal mines," said Zhao, who also promised to drastically reduce the incidence of major accidents with coal mines in two years.
Colorado residents pay off nuclear plant decommission bill
The state Public Utilities Commission allowed Public Service in 1993 to charge customers $1 per month to cover the $125 million cost of decommissioning the plant. The payoff was complete in August.
The sign points one way for executives and the pay they earn: up. But corporate boards have stopped rubber stamping fat salary increases. Shareholders have forced them to take a long, hard look at how they compensate the top folks at companies.
EPA establishes new rules for smallest incinerators
Federal environmental regulators have established new performance standards to reduce emissions of air pollutants from the last remaining category of waste incinerators requiring Clean Air Act Regulation.
The new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules apply to municipal waste incinerators burning less than 35 tons per day and institutional waste incinerators at schools, churches and civic organizations.
EPA to review emission tests on electric power plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Dec. 1 that it would extend until Feb. 17, 2006, the public comment period on proposed changes to the New Source Review Program that would provide nationwide consistency in how states implement the program for electric power plants.Exide Ups Lead-Acid Battery Prices
Exide will increase prices 6 percent on all batteries, cells, chargers and parts sold in North America. The price of network power batteries will increase 2.5 percent effective January 1, which will result in an overall price increase of 5 percent when coupled with the 2.5 percent increase implemented in October 2005.
Finnish government shies away from nuclear in new energy plan
The strategy, which updates an earlier plan from 2001, said all types of generation are possible. However, it doesn't advocate nuclear and it specifically proposes more biofuel and renewables.
Forty-Four Acres of Coastline Collapse in Hawaii
About 44 acres of coastline collapsed into the ocean this week, setting loose a glowing stream of lava that shot out from the newly exposed cliffside 45 feet above the water.
Fuel cells for stationary power
The reluctance of power companies to invest in newer power plants because of lack of returns and the widening gap between the demand and supply of power are expected to motivate the distributed power generation.
"Enhancing or building new power plants could cause power utilities' reserve margins to exceed peak demand," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Viswanathan Krishnan. "This scenario can drive the distributed power generation sector, for which the fuel cell technologies are considered the most appropriate
Gorbachev Urges More Action on Environmental Problems
Nobel Peace laureate Mikhail Gorbachev on Saturday urged governments and individuals to do more to tackle major environmental problems like global warming, which he blamed for this summer's deadly floods in Europe.
Great Lakes Region Works to Save Water
When the Metalworks company set out a couple of years ago to manufacture office furniture in a more environmentally friendly way, a consultant made a suggestion: Why not use less water?
Groundwater Replenishment System Wins 2005 Governor's Award
Group Says Lake Erie Gets Sewage Overflows
At least 8.9 billion gallons of untreated sewage flows yearly into Lake Erie and the rivers that feed it during storms that overwhelm sewer systems -- the same as if 2.5 billion toilets flushed simultaneously into the lake, an environmental group reported Wednesday.
H2O Innovation Helps Restaurants Respect Quebec Environmental Regulations
How Much Arsenic Is in Your Drinking Water?
Hundreds of Individuals, Environmental and Health Groups Unite Around Biodiese
The Oregon Environmental Council’s programs focus on protecting kids' health from toxic pollution, cleaning up Oregon's rivers and protecting our climate by curbing vehicle pollution.
Hydrogen atoms manipulated below surface of palladium crystal
For the first time, scientists have manipulated hydrogen atoms into stable sites beneath the surface of a palladium crystal, creating a structure predicted to be important in metal catalysts, in hydrogen storage and in fuel cells.
Hydrogen on the Highway-- Driving a Fuel-Cell Car
The car's motor runs on electricity generated by a hydrogen fuel cell located under the seats. High-pressure hydrogen tanks are located in the rear. Water is generated as a byproduct, and some of it is used for humidification. Honda Diagram
Imported electricity fails state standards
California increased its dependence on polluting, coal-fired power plants during the past decade while renewable energy use remained stagnant, according to three environmental groups that released a report Thursday highlighting what one clean-air advocate described as "California's dirty little secret.''
In Alaskan Village, Erosion is Measured in Skulls on the Shoreline
Like most of Alaska's riverside villages, Akiak is literally losing ground. The Kuskokwim River, fueled by storms and swift water during the spring breakup, claims five to 20 feet of riverbank a year.
In Booming Gulf, a Lack of Water Has Cities Eyeing Their Sewage
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — As swimming pool suburbia spreads across the desert sands of the booming Gulf, developers and governments are wrangling with a major problem: There is almost no fresh water here.
Inuits Transformed by Global Warming
While Canada's isolated northern aboriginals are not sitting at
the same table as the 180 nations attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference,
they have a front-row seat to the chilling effects of global warming.
From eroding shorelines, to thinning ice and loss of hunting and polar
bears, Canadian Inuits of the Arctic north have seen rising temperatures
transforming their lives.
Is 'Waste-to-Energy' Really a Renewable Energy Process?
Renewable energy is being interpreted very broadly these days, with both the nuclear industry trying to don the label and certain State portfolio standard definitions which include coal bed methane and deep well gas. In federal DOE programs, hydrogen made from natural gas and coal is being "spun" as renewable as are supposed 'clean' coal technologies. The core renewable energy technologies -- biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind -- are generally non-controversial, except certain environmental groups try to contain these, especially larger hydropower and certain biomass resources, from time-to-time.
Leaders push for cleaner energy
As neighboring states proceed with plans to build nearly two dozen coal-fired power plants, Los Angeles leaders said Thursday that the city Department of Water and Power will cut its use of coal- generated power in favor of "green" energy.
Liquefied gas plan closer to approval
The Coast Guard yesterday gave energy giant BP preliminary approval to bring liquefied natural gas tankers up the Delaware River to Gloucester County with two big ifs:
BP has to implement "necessary" security measures.
And someone has to come up with the money to pay for them.
Massachusetts may drop from CO2 pact
Massachusetts may drop out of pact that calls for freezing power plant carbon dioxide emissions at their current levels, state sources said.
Most Japanese Would Accept Environment Tax - Survey
A substantial majority of Japanese would accept the idea of an environment tax on the carbon produced by burning fossil fuels, according to an Environment Ministry survey released on Sunday.
New mercury plan pushed, EPA, utilities oppose it
Two groups representing state and local air-quality regulators have offered states an alternative route to reach the Bush administration's new mercury emission limits on coal-fired power plants. The newly proposed plan seeks deeper cuts faster from power generating units, but according to the groups' leader, the proposal's flexibility and certainty has attracted interest.
Oil and gas prices-- Any which way but down
Stephen Brown, director of energy economics at the Federal Reserve in Dallas, released his own formula for linking the price of the two commodities, a relationship he began studying after hearing other economists talking about the oil-to-gas price ratio shifting from 10:1 to 6:1. The new equation, which Brown claims has been 80% accurate over the past five years, indicates that the market is in for a long period of $10/mmBtu or higher natural gas, based on the 12-month 2006 NYMEX crude oil futures strip.
OPEC president says has 'support' for keeping output steady
Ovation Products Reports Successful Testing of New Water Purification Technology
Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings
Revenues and profits for many firms surged last year over previous years. The turnaround from our last global survey is dramatic.
Asset- and revenue-rich integrated oil and gas companies (IOGs) dominate the top rungs of the 2005 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings. There are only 31 IOGs in the 250-company ranking, but when you look at the table that starts on the next page, you'll notice that this segment monopolizes the top 12 spots.
Proposed Changes to Michigan Drinking Water Rules Will Better Protect Public Health
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 120305
Solar activity increased to high levels today. Region 826 (S02E09) continues to show strong growth in magnetic complexity and sunspot area. Magnetic analysis shows a strong east-west neutral line through the delta spot in the geometric center of the sunspot cluster. Sunspot area more than doubled since yesterday. Region 826 produced two major flares. The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to active levels.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 120505
Solar activity was low. Region 826 (S04W21) produced the only C-flare of the period. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to active with minor storm periods possible on05 December due to transient flow from the 02 December CME. On 06 December quiet to unsettled conditions are expected. On 07 December, quiet to active conditions are expected.
Research by Congress Says EPA Studies Favored Bush Air Pollution Plan
Researchers who work for Congress say the Environmental Protection Agency skewed its analysis of air pollution legislation to favor President Bush's plan. The EPA said its analysis showed the superiority of the Bush proposal, which relies on market forces to cut pollution from the nation's 600 coal-burning power plants but does not address global warming.
Researchers find revolutionary, cheaper way to make fuel cells
Though the technology for cleaner fuels exists, the high cost of materials and production prevents their widespread and affordable commercial availability.
A group of scientists at the University may have solved the problem by using cheaper metals as catalysts in converting chemical energy into electric energy of a fuel cell.
Run Your Car on Cow Fuel, Canadian Company Says
A C$14 million ($12 million) factory near Montreal started producing "biodiesel" fuel two weeks ago from the bones, innards and other parts of farm animals such as cattle, pigs or chickens that Canadians do not eat.
Russia to Ban Some Norwegian Salmon, Lead Found
Russia is set to ban salmon imports from certain Norwegian fish farms after vets discovered dangerously high levels of lead and cadmium in samples.
Russia's Native People on Amur River Worry about Livelihood in Wake of Chinese Spill
Yevgenia Osadchaya is beside herself with worry, wondering how her family will survive when the toxic slick flowing from China pollutes the Amur River that provides the livelihood for her family and her native Nanai people.
Shell's Sakhalin oil project should be reined in
It has been a windfall year for international energy companies, and with ever-growing demand for gas and oil, the race to find more of these resources is on. But at what cost? In their quest to maximize profits, many companies are failing to meet their corporate and social responsibilities to local communities and the environment.
Test-driving the hydrogen future
The stubby Honda two-door cut through Manhattan traffic like a skateboard. It accelerated smoothly, braked quietly, and-best of all-consumed no gasoline and generated no greenhouse gases. Sticker price: upwards of $1 million.
Thousands March in Montreal to Urge Climate Action
Thousands of environmentalists, some banging drums or dressed as polar bears, marched in Montreal on Saturday to urge the United States and other nations at a UN climate conference to do more to curb global warming.
U.S. and China Collaborate on Sustainable Development Projects
UK Government to Review Current and Future Energy Policy
The UK is conducting a major new review of the country's energy policy. Wind power has played a major role in the UK's efforts to use renewable energy to meet its emissions targets.
UN Seeks to Streamline Third World Energy Scheme
A UN scheme to promote clean energy such as wind and solar power in the Third World is set to win a bigger budget at UN climate talks in Canada, but some experts said on Friday that planned reforms are half-hearted.
University Teams Receive EPA Grants to Develop Sustainable Designs
SPECIAL OCEAN CURRENT STUDY:
The regional patterns of change are also shown on this page; high-latitude winters will warm faster due to feedback from the melting of sea-ice, and there will be some ocean areas where rises are quite limited. Rainfall changes will be most marked in tropical regions. These patterns, and the global mean rises, are not very different from those previously predicted with flux-adjusted models. Using the new model we see relatively large decreases in rainfall over Amazonia and parts of Africa, but this may be due to changes in the model other than omitting flux-adjustment. Predictions from the new model have been used to investigate impacts on a number of socio-economic areas, and these are described in later sections of this report.
CO2 'highest for 650,000 years'
Current levels of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere are higher now than at any time in the past 650,000 years.
"We find that CO2 is about 30% higher than at any time, and methane 130% higher than at any time; and the rates of increase are absolutely exceptional: for CO2, 200 times faster than at any time in the last 650,000 years."
Could the Atlantic Current Switch Off2
The Atlantic Ocean overturning that maintains Europe’s moderate climate has slowed by 30 per cent according to scientists from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton in research published today in Nature. Climate models suggest that increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will result in a slowdown of the Atlantic overturning circulation. Scientists fear that disruption to this circulation could result in a several degree drop in temperatures in as little as 20 years.
Could the Atlantic current switch off?
The Atlantic circulation largely responsible for Europe’s temperate climate slowed by nearly one third since 1957, say scientists from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. Between 1992 and 2004 the flow reduced from 20 Sverdrups to 14 Sverdrups, a drop of 30 percent. Sverdrups are a measure of ocean flow, with one Sverdrup equivalent to one million tonnes of water a second.
Global warming - will we freeze?
Britain is much warmer than other countries on the same latitude, and this is partly due to the Gulf Stream - a current of warm water that flows from the Gulf of Mexico past the shores of western Britain. It is part of a larger system of ocean currents (with a hundred times the flow of the Amazon) often called the 'conveyor belt'. The engine that drives this conveyor is in the Arctic; surface sea water there is cooled by bitter winds, becomes denser, sinks to the bottom of the ocean and flows south - the return current of warm surface water is the Gulf Stream. But this sinking process can be disrupted when fresh water overlays the salty ocean water - fresh water from rain, rivers or melting ice; an increase in fresh water could slow down or even switch off the Gulf Stream.
NASA researchers using Earth observation satellites are reporting a significant loss in Arctic sea ice this year. On 21 September sea ice extent dropped to 2.05 million square miles, the lowest extent yet recorded in the satellite record. Incorporating the 2005 minimum using satellite data going back to 1978, with a projection for ice growth in the last few days of this September, brings the estimated decline in Arctic sea ice to 8.5 percent per decade over the 27 year satellite record.
An ocean current in the North Atlantic is getting weaker. That may be bad news for north-west Europe. Most readers will be familiar with the Gulf Stream, which carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the edge of the Arctic Ocean. They may be less familiar with the Deep Southerly Return Flow (DSRF), an ocean-bottom current that returns part of this water back to warmer climes. As the map shows, the Gulf Stream splits in two. Part of its water returns past the coast of Africa in a loop known as the subtropical recirculation. The rest takes the DSRF route. The northern arm of the Gulf Stream and the DSRF together constitute what is known as the Atlantic Conveyor Belt.
What do the currents of the ocean really look like?
Well let's start by saying that they are not the nice steady currents of the books and school atlas. It would be better to start by thinking of a weather map with high and low pressure regions acting like eddies and pushing the clouds around in a fairly random manner.
End Study...News continues.
Why can't we get a standard net-metering policy across the entire country?
The goal has been to get the solar interconnection components to conform to UL 1741 and then for the system certification to be in compliance with IEEE 1547. Now 39 states have net metering laws based on these two standards and they are all different. In the recently-passed 1724-page Energy Policy Act of 2005, Title XII which deals with Electricity (Sections 1251, 1254), interconnection expert Chris Cook states, "Rather than mandating federal net-metering standards and interconnection standards, the two sections direct states to undertake consideration and make a determination with respect to each standard. It is impossible to say with certainty if states will have broad or narrow discretion in meeting the requirements of these sections.
“Urgent action is needed to diversify the energy supply and to curb CO2 emissions. Hydrogen and fuel cells are part of a broad range of emerging technologies that may help achieve this goal”, said Claude Mandil, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) today in Paris, at the launch of a new study: Prospects for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. “To enter the market however, Hydrogen and fuel cells need significant technical breakthroughs, cost reduction and appropriate policies. Huge public and private investment and R&D efforts are required to meet the expectation of a new generation of vehicles with nearly zero emissions and to reduce oil dependence in transport”
Yucca Mountain application appears unlikely to go to NRC in FY-06
December 2, 2005
Activists to Canada-- Warming Threatens Hockey
Activists at the UN climate change conference in Montreal shot straight for the Canadian heart on Thursday by warning of the unthinkable - the end of ice hockey due to global warming.
Allies Hope Overcome US Climate Talk Refusal
Major US allies expressed confidence on Thursday that they could persuade a reluctant Washington to consider new ways to fight global warming at a 189-nation environmental conference.
Arizona Lawmakers Pledge to Ban Big-Box Subsidies
"The practice of competing to see who will kick-back the most taxpayer money to certain mega-businesses has gotten obscene," declared Arizona State Representative Rick Murphy, one of several leading Republican lawmakers who say they will push for a ban on retail subsidies when the state legislature convenes in January.
Blair's Pounds 150 a-year nuclear power tax
FAMILIES will have to pay a 'nuclear tax' for decades to help fund up to 20 new atomic power stations, it was warned last night. Britain's 25million households could face a Pounds 150 a year levy on their electricity bills.
BSC launches regional training centers for energy workers
Bismarck State College, the recognized national leader in energy education, continues to expand its technical outreach into new partnerships with community colleges in Colorado, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, and elsewhere.
Call for global action on renewable energy
A joint declaration was made at the 2005 Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference calling on governments to speed up the use and expansion of renewable energy. The conference was opened at the Great Hall of the People.
China and Russia to build cross-border oil pipeline
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has vowed to enhance energy co-operation with China and has assured his counterpart Wen Jiabao that the construction of a key cross-border crude oil pipeline will go ahead as per an earlier agreement.
China revamps scene in Persian Gulf
The rapid, almost unfathomable growth in
the Middle Kingdom’s energy demand is creating dynamics in global energy markets
with broader security implications. Although China has its own fields, its
production nowhere near meets its demand of 6.5 mm bpd in late 2005.
China is already the world’s second largest oil consumer after the United States
replacing Japan in the number two position. A net importer since 1993, China now
purchases close to 3 mm bpd from abroad.
Chinese president calls renewable energy 'a must'
Chinese President Hu Jintao and US and European
officials called for a sharp rise in the world's use of solar and other
non-polluting power sources as they opened an international meeting on renewable
energy.
Some 1,200 delegates from 80 countries joined Chinese leaders at the Great Hall
of the People, the seat of China's legislature in central Beijing, to discuss
using solar power, wind energy and hydropower instead of coal and oil.
Chinese River Town Shuts Down Water Supply as Toxic Slick Arrives
Another town on a poisoned Chinese river shut down its water system Wednesday after Communist Party members went door-to-door giving out bottled water in an effort to show that China's leaders can protect the public from the latest environmental disaster.
CO2 Solution seeks partnership in power plant sector
Corporate Renewable Energy Group Hits 360 Megawatt Mark, Launches Similar Effort in Europe
Some of the largest companies in the world today announced
that they have increased their purchases of renewable energy.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) and members of its Green Power Market
Development Group announced 185 new megawatts (MW) of renewable energy purchases
and projects, bringing the total number of MW under contract to 360 – the
average size of a coal-fired power plant. At 360 MW, these companies are more
than a third of the way to their goal of building markets for 1000 MW of new,
cost-competitive green power in the United States.
Directors of industry in energy call ; Government targets for power dismissed
TOP bosses have dismissed Government targets for renewable power and demanded the UK push for energy market deregulation in Europe. Energy has soared to the top of the business agenda as gas and oil prices leapt ahead, squeezing profit margins as firms tried to cope with rapidly rising higher costs.
Energy Body Urges Bigger Investment in Clean Fuels
Huge investment is needed to develop clean new fuels to reduce the world economy's dependency on oil and cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday.
Energy treaty is milestone on road to stability in south east Europe
Energy market liberalisation across the European continent took an historic step forward with the signing in Athens of a treaty expanding the EU single market in energy to the Western Balkans.
EU says will fulfil Kyoto target early, in 2010
The European Union will meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2010, two years before the global environment treaty's final deadline, a report by the EU executive showed on Thursday.
Faulty Pump Shuts Nuclear Plant; Kewaunee Reactor Expected to Resume Operation Soon
On Monday night, the reactor's main water pump tripped and the plant didn't have sufficient steam to run, so the plant shut down automatically about 10:20 p.m. Monday,
Eric Niakissa knows putting cooking oil in his gas tank is illegal in France, but with pump prices at $ 5.90 a gallon for diesel, he's willing to take the risk.
India on Standby as Tropical Storm Nears Coast
The Indian army and navy were put on standby on Thursday as a tropical storm in the Bay of Bengal approached the southeastern coast, the latest weather threat to a region already reeling from heavy rains and flooding.
Iran said it supported Iraq's stability and called for expediting the construction of an oil pipeline and railway between the two neighbours. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told visiting Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, who is scheduled to meet US officials in Washington, that Tehran supports Iraq's territorial integrity and believes a powerful government in Baghdad suits its interests.
Iran to become energy crossroad of region
“Iran would take another step closer to be energy crossroad of the region should an electricity network connection agreement with the Republic of Georgia, via Armenia, be reached
Iranian president stresses expansion of ties with Iraq
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said independence,
freedom and establishing a powerful government in Iraq is to the interest of the
region.
The president also expressed concern on terrorism gripping Iraq and loss of
lives of many innocent people saying that "these events are the tragic outcome
of the occupation by foreign forces."
"Insecurity is an excuse for the continuation of the presence of US forces in
the region."
Kazakhstan aims to become leading oil and gas exporter by 2012
The president also said that the share of industrial production "in the
structure of GDP would increase 40 % by the start of the next decade, compared
with 2005." Nazarbayev said that a target has been set of becoming one of the 50
most developed countries in the world over the coming years.
"The oil and gas sector and the entire extraction industry will become the main
donor for achieving this task," he said.
Kenya-- Sustainability alleviates poverty
Efforts continue to prevent communities from turning back to illegal logging, by providing them with alternative sources of income. According to the United Nations, about two thirds of Africa's population is affected by land degradation, while the same proportion of cropland could become unproductive as a result of degradation within the next two decades. While just 17 % of the world's forests are found in Africa, more than half of all deforestation takes place on the continent.
Legislation Would Require All Vehicles to Be Flexible Fueled
On November 10th, several Senators from midwestern states introduced the Fuel Security and Consumer Choice Act. The bill would require all U.S. marketed vehicles to be manufactured as Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) within ten years. FFVs can use both regular gasoline and varying blends of renewable fuels like E-85 (motor fuel with 85 percent ethanol content).
Mexican Volcano Spews Smoke, Rains Ash on Homes
The 17,887-foot (5,452-metre) volcano's tongue-twister of a name (pronounced poh-poh-kah-TEH-peh-til) means "smoking mountain" in the indigenous Nahuatl tongue.
Popocatepetl reawoke in 1994 after decades of inactivity.
It has sparked to life several times since then, most notably in 2000 when it tossed red-hot rocks far above its crater in a series of explosions. Tens of thousands of people living nearby were evacuated.
Mexico denies its energy plan seeks to check Chavez's influence
Mexico said that its energy initiative in
Central America comes in response to long-established plans and does not seek to
"check" the possible influence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the
region.
Mexican President Vicente Fox said in Mar del Plata, Argentina, at the 4th
Summit of the Americas that his government is pushing a Central American energy
integration plan that will need an investment of $ 7.5 bn and includes the
construction of a refinery.
Ken Saro-Wiwa fought for an end to the environmental damage that was turning his homeland into what he described as a “wasteland”, endangering the people's health and livelihoods. Today oil spills still blacken the land and pollute the waterways. Hundreds of gas flares burn day and night, filling the sky with soot and fumes.
Oil and politics fuel battle in Azerbaijan
Near BP's giant oil terminal south of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, graffiti by a Roman soldier underline how long great powers have struggled to control an arid stretch of Caspian Sea coast.
Oil fails to enrich Equatorial Guinea
The shiny four-wheel-drive cars cruising Malabo's streets are a daily reminder to Balbina Asie Peliko that oil has brought wealth to some in Equatorial Guinea. To her, oil has just brought more misery.
OPEC’s oil prices keep on declining
The average price of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) basket of 11 crudes stood at $ 53.32 a
barrel earlier.
The organization's oil prices have been declining for five consecutive weeks,
loosing $ 8 from the record high of $ 61.37 per barrel on Sept. 1.
Over 150 nuclear reactors in operation in Europe
For many years, about one third of all the electricity produced in the EU has been nuclear-generated. When the EU grew from 15 to 25 member states on 1 May 2004, the number of EU nations using nuclear energy rose from 8 to 13.
Pa. gets recommendation to approve utility merger
A Pennsylvania judge recommended that state regulators approve the merger of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and Exelon Corp., a union that would create the country's largest power-generation company.
Packaging Made from Corn Debuts at SAM's CLUB
According to the companies, replacing conventional packaging with NatureWorks PLA for just four items, will translate to more than 100 million containers per year for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. "With this change to packaging made from corn, we will save the equivalent of 800,000 gallons of gasoline and reduce more than 11 million pounds of green house gas emissions from polluting our environment
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell traveled to the nation's capital on Thursday to call upon the president to do all he can to address the energy needs of the United States.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 120205
Region 826 (S02E22) continued to show explosive growth in both magnetic complexity and sunspot area. The geomagnetic field was at quiet to active levels. The elevated conditions are due to a recurrent high speed coronal hole stream.
The utility workforce is graying while the companies they work for are moving well into the black. But the increased profitability has yet to translate into new job opportunities. That will soon change as older workers retire and as market conditions evolve.
Russia and Japan to speed up Pacific pipeline talks
On Oct. 31, senior Japanese and Russian government officials agreed to speed up talks on possible cooperation in building oil pipelines linking Eastern Siberia with the Russian Far East, Japanese officials, said.
Russia’s oil output to rise in 2006
Oil production would rise 2.5 % this year, and oil produced above plan would
be exported, he said.
In the estimation of the federal energy agency, the production of natural gas
will increase 1 or 1.5 % next year, and the same increase is expected this year.
Gas production was rising steadily in Russia, Oganesyan said.
US foreign policy, petroleum and the Middle East
Testimony of Robert Ebel, CSIS's Chairman, before the Subcommittee on Near Eastern and Asian Affairs, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on Oct. 20, 2005.
-- How has US foreign policy been shaped by our need for affordable oil?
-- What effect would greater energy efficiency and alternative energy sources
have on US foreign policy?
December 1, 2005
Albertsons' 'green' policy tackles energy costs
Visit any local Albertsons grocery store and you'll see a bright yellow-and-black sign at the entrance, informing you that the store is cutting back on the amount of energy it uses.
Australia Says 'Son Of Kyoto' Deal Not Possible
A United Nations climate change meeting in Canada is unlikely to produce a "son of Kyoto" deal and setting new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not the answer, Australia said on Wednesday.
Bush, Climate Change and Undertime
Environmentalists really seem to be acting as if they smell blood in the water. And growing rift between the president and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has been one of our staunchest allies, is especially troubling. And "undertime"? - productivity is encouraged by allowing drivers to go home early if they finish their route early. The system breaks down when undertime becomes a regular or expected benefit.
China Asks UN to Inspect Toxic River Spill
China has invited experts from the United Nations to assess the chemical spill on the Songhua River that has threatened the health of millions of people in the country's northeast. The international experts will assess the continued presence and effects of pollutants that poured into the Songhua River on Nov. 13, when a chemical plant in Jilin province exploded and poured 100 tonnes of benzene-based chemicals into the river.
Death Toll From China Mine Blast Rises to 161
EPA, DuPont Finalize Settlement over Chemical Used To Make Teflon
Federal regulators have reached an agreement with DuPont to settle allegations the company hid information about the dangers of a toxic chemical known as C8 used in the manufacture of Teflon. The EPA alleged that DuPont for 20 years covered up important information about C8's health effects and about the pollution of water supplies near the company's Washington Works plant.
EU Emission Trading Comes of Age, Not so in US
Europe's carbon trading market has evolved into a multibillion-euro force in its first year under Kyoto, but the United States will not develop such a robust market without commitments to cut emissions, trade experts said on Wednesday.
EU Study Finds Climate Change Major Environmental Challenge for Europe
Climate change is Europe's biggest environmental challenge, as the temperature on the continent is rising a third faster than the global average, according to a report by the EU's environmental agency.
Forests Urged as New Front in Global Warming Fight
Forest preservation should be the new front in the fight against global warming with Third World nations earning cash for protecting trees, tropical countries told a UN climate conference on Wednesday.
ITM Power claims improvements in fuel cell systems that ease way to market
One catalyst can be chosen to operate in an acid environment with the fuel, while a second (different) catalyst operates in an alkaline environment with the oxidant.
The second advance involves direct electrical control of fuel cell power output. The company said conventional fuel cells work well when operating steadily at full power, but the methods available to change the power output are problematic.
Key Warming Ocean Current Slowing Down - Scientists
The Atlantic Conveyor, a life-giving ocean current that keeps northern Europe warm, is slowing down, scientists said on Wednesday.
According to the theory, rising air temperatures cause ice caps to melt, making the water less salty and therefore less dense so it can't sink and flow back south.
The scientists on Wednesday said this was the first time that observations had put flesh on the bones of the theory.
Lithium Technology Reports Rapid Revenue Growth
During the last year we have focused on increasing our market share for our high power, high capacity large format batteries, especially in rapidly emerging specialties required by the defense sector, and strengthening our position in the alternative and hybrid power sectors. We are very pleased with the success of our strategy, and the progress in our business lines."
New Climate Change Deal to Take Years - UN Chief
Backers of the UN's Kyoto Protocol on curbing global warming may need 3-5 years from now to work out a successor to the pact that runs out in 2012, the UN's climate change chief said on Tuesday.
Port welcomes electric utility vehicles
Port of Stockton officials today expect to take delivery of four electric utility vehicles to replace an aging fleet of gasoline-powered pickup trucks. The shift to electric vehicles is one sign of trend toward environmentally friendly practices by ports up and down the West Coast, he added.
Rebuilding Cancun's Beaches To Take a Year, Says President Vicente Fox
It will take a year to rebuild all the famous white sand beaches in Mexico's Caribbean resort of Cancun after Hurricane Wilma ripped them away last month, President Vicente Fox said Tuesday. Fox said specialized technology would be used to pump sand from the bottom of the ocean onto the wrecked beaches.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 120105
Solar activity increased to moderate levels today. White-light observations in Region 826, depict a rapid growth phase in sunspot area since yesterday. This region has also developed in magnetic complexity. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at predominantly unsettled to active levels. Minor storm conditions with a chance of high latitude major storm periods are possible on 01 and 02 December.
Study Finds Midwest Warming May Harm Ducks
The study looked at how climate change could affect the Upper Midwest,
where North America's best duck breeding grounds are, over the next 50
to 100 years.
The area, known as the prairie pothole region, produces 50 percent to 80
percent of the continent's ducks.
Tokyo Gas Offers Residential Co-Generation Systems
The company was the first in the world to bring out a residential fuel cell (FC) co-generation system named "LIFUEL.” Interest in residential co-generation systems is already running high in society as a whole.
UN Examines Prospect for Climate-Change Litigation
Companies which contribute to climate change will increasingly face legal action, law firm Freshfields said on Wednesday, launching UN-sponsored research which highlights investors' environmental responsibilities. In October, the UN brokered an agreement by 21 institutional investors, jointly representing $1.7 trillion of assets, on six principles for socially responsible investment, principles due to be formally declared next March.
UN Talks Adopt Kyoto Rules on Global Warming
Countries meeting at UN environmental conference adopted on Wednesday the rules for limiting emissions of greenhouse gases under the UN's Kyoto Protocol, but Saudi Arabia held up a key section on policing the accord. The voluminous rules include details of accounting for greenhouse gases, how to encourage investments in developing countries, rules for trade in greenhouse gas emissions and reams of other operational details.
US Forecasters See Active 2006 Hurricane Season
With the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season officially closing Wednesday, US government and private weather forecasters already see indications 2006 will be another active year for hurricanes.
Utah energy proposal meets with resistance
A bill that would create a legal framework for Utah's energy future met with resistance Tuesday -- from lawmakers who want the state to investigate nuclear power, and from Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who doesn't want the Legislature to create a Cabinet-level position to oversee energy policy.
Wal-Mart wins Waste News Environmental Award
Wal-Mart has won the first Environmental Award as determined by the editorial staff of Waste News.
The award recognizes a company that Waste News editors believe made the most environmental progress in the way it operated in business in 2005.
Waste News cited Wal-Mart’s green building projects, its plastics recycling program and its pledges to reduce waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions as some of the reasons for bestowing the honor on Wal-Mart.
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