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“ Being Indian is an attitude, a
state of mind, a way of being in harmony with all things
and all beings. It is allowing the heart to be the
distributor of energy on this planet; to allow feelings
and sensitivities to determine where energy goes;
bringing aliveness up from the Earth and from the Sky,
putting it in and giving it out from the heart. ”
— —Brooke Medicine Eagle
December 30, 2011
Brazil's environment inspector fined Chevron Corp 10 million
reais ($5.4 million) for breaching the terms of the U.S. oil
company's environmental license when tackling an offshore spill
at a well it drilled in November.
The United States is also haunted by a bloody and deceitful
past, as we are reminded today, the anniversary of the Massacre
at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890.
As the curtains close on another volatile year, we expect
January 1 to usher in more of the same. It is clear that
politics in Europe and in the US will provide the backdrop for
many of the year’s events. And politics will be front and
center in a big way for many issues that will affect US
insurance companies.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today
declared the recent deaths of ringed seals in the Arctic and
Bering Strait regions of Alaska an unusual mortality event,
triggering a focused, expert investigation into the cause of
these deaths.
Arthur Laffer, the architect of Ronald Reagan’s economic
plan, announced today that he is endorsing Newt Gingrich for
president.
"Newt has the best plan for jobs and economic
growth of any candidate in the field,” said Laffer, the renowned
economist who is the father of The Laffer Curve and supply-side
economics.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today
finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories
that are part of the agency's Renewable Fuel Standard program
(RFS2). EPA continues to support greater use of renewable fuels
within the transportation sector every year through the RFS2
program, which encourages innovation, strengthens American
energy security, and decreases greenhouse gas pollution.
A former nuclear regulator, an economic analyst and a
congressional think-tank adviser say 2011 marked the fall of the
so-called U.S. nuclear renaissance, despite regulators' approval
last week of a new reactor design.
The head of an Iranian exile group holed up at a camp in Iraq
said Wednesday that the first of the camp’s residents are ready
to move to a new location picked by the Iraqi government,
solving a potential crisis.
Recent threats by Iranian officials that they could use
military force to close the Persian Gulf by blocking the Strait
of Hormuz is a dangerous development. The closing of the Strait
would wreak economic havoc across the globe, and continue to
destabilize the Gulf region. More than 40 percent of all traded
oil moves through the narrow Strait of Hormuz. The United States
is taking this threat seriously and a US Fifth Fleet Spokeswoman
said such action by Iran will not be tolerated. In this
analysis, LIGNET assesses the prospects and costs of an Iranian
action.
Debris from the tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11
could reach the Hawaiian islands as early as this winter,
according to scientists with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. But they say there is still
uncertainty over exactly what is still floating, where it is
located, where it will go, and when it will arrive.
Skywatchers will be hoping for clear skies from today because
particles from a recent solar storm will slam into Earth and
produce amazing Northern Lights, or auroras.
On the downside, experts expect radio blackouts for a few
days, caused by the radiation from the flare – or coronal mass
ejection (CME) – causing magnetic storms.
The historic cultural repression of residential schools, and
a public school curriculum that ignores Aboriginal existence in
Canada, have created generations of spiritually and financially
impoverished individuals, bruised by a system indifferent to
their needs, who often turn to addiction, crime or begging to
survive.
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly told a Senate committee
recently that the Environmental Protection Agency "ignores
reality" by insisting on the most-advanced pollution control
technology to update coal-fired power plants.
Shelly insists that the coal-fired plants - two on the Navajo
reservation and one nearby - can meet EPA regulations with far
less-expensive upgrades than regulators are demanding.
With Nevada's Yucca Mountain out of the running as the
permanent graveyard for U.S. nuclear waste, scientists now are
looking for other places to entomb the stuff, including rock
formations common in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Access to freshwater resources has always been a critical
need for human and all forms of life on Earth. With a world
population estimated at just shy of 7 billion and growing, the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization says agricultural
production will need to increase 70% by 2050. As agriculture
takes up most of human water use, that’s going to put vastly
greater demands and strains on our water resources at a time
when climate change is changing temperature and precipitation
levels and patterns in ways that cannot be predicted at local
levels but are likely to make this even more difficult to
achieve.
Mideast saber rattling surrounding the Strait of Hormuz will
unlikely escalate into a full-scale military conflict, but
should that happen, the United States and the rest of the world
will fall into a crippling depression, says commodities research
analyst and trader Stephen Schork.
Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday that an oil spill offshore
Nigeria, the largest in the oil-producing African nation since
1998, has been contained after less than 40,000 barrels leaked
into the Atlantic.
...series of articles looking at how to get a wind project
off the ground. Get access to all the articles quickly here...
Just as several new plug-in electric vehicles are headed to
showrooms, the government is letting expire a tax credit for
installing home and commercial charging equipment.
Tokyo Electric Power Co asked a government-backed bailout
body on Tuesday for an additional 690 billion yen ($8.8 billion)
to help compensate victims of the nuclear crisis at its
Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
To help Japan's biggest utility, known as Tepco, meet costs
running into trillions of yen for compensation and cleanup, the
government had already agreed in November to provide 890 billion
yen through a bailout fund.
Technology is at once a hugely constructive and a hugely
destructive force, and for the most part we have been content to
ignore the latter while enjoying the benefits of the former.
But, suggests Ian Michler, it's high time that we begin to think
seriously — and innovatively — about tempering its damaging
effects.
Debris will not go away completely, even in a best-case
scenario. Marine debris is an ongoing problem for Hawaii and
West Coast states whether or not there is a Tsunami. Garbage
and other harmful items regularly wash up on these beaches,
reefs and other coastal areas.
December 27, 2011
A landmark clinical trial that showed HIV drugs can be as
effective as condoms in preventing transmission of the virus
that causes AIDS was declared Science magazine's breakthrough of
the year on Thursday.
Paul Quinn thinks he has an answer for America's energy
problems, and it starts with eucalyptus.
Quinn is part of a Florida boom in "biomass," the business of
turning organic materials into energy. Proponents of at least a
dozen new electric plants hope to one day create power by
burning eucalyptus, debris from logging operations or solid
waste.
For every liter of water that goes into a plastic bottle of
water, two liters of water were used to make the plastic bottle
and bottle the water. This eye-opening fact and others were
published today in a new report from Food & Water Watch
entitled, Why the Bottled Water Industry’s EcoFriendly Claims
Don’t Hold Water.
Chronic pollution is less of a concern in a rural state such
as South Dakota than in other states, but toxins emitted from
the state’s expanding ethanol industry are becoming more
significant, a federal environmental data shows.
A century ago almost all Europeans were Christians, but today
just three-quarters of the population identify themselves with
that faith — and Europe is no longer the epicenter of
Christianity.
Though it has not officially begun in Ashtabula County,
“fracking”, a natural gas drilling process, is fraught with
legal and environmental implications for local residents.
Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels
have increased by 49 per cent in the last two decades, according
to the latest figures by an international team, including
researchers at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research,
University of East Anglia.
A few small drops of mercury can contaminate a 20-acre lake
and the fish that happen to reside there, thanks to coal-fired
plant emissions. That’s a major reason why the EPA’s decision to
regulate the emissions of mercury, lead and other toxic
pollutants from coal- and oil-fired plants is a major victory
for the health and environmental welfare of the nation
Iran stands ready to expand its military and security ties
with Iraq, its armed forces chief of staff said Sunday, a week
after the exit of US forces from the neighbouring Arab country.
The departure of the US troops "was due to the resistance and
determination of the Iraqi people and government," he said.
"I hope the humiliating failure of the United States after
nine years of occupying Iraq will serve as a lesson for them to
never think of attacking another country," he said.
If you’re a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy (or gal)... and
you want to make sure your food storage plan is 100% complete...
then it’s critical that you understand the ramifications of the
ongoing Texas drought and how it’s affecting the beef industr
Authorities in Africa’s top oil producer blame the Boko Haram
for a surge of violence in the mainly Muslim north and Abuja in
which hundreds of people have died this year.
The report estimates that some 83 GW of coal-fired capacity
is at risk of retirements as a result of new rules from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. Those rules could push costs up
significantly, but utilities may be reluctant to raise rates to
cover increased costs, the report said. If this trend becomes a
broad one, it could change the sector’s outlook from stable to
negative, Fitch said
two M-class flares, 5 CME's have been observed , Three CME's
were associated with eruptive filaments and two were associated
with flares, Of these five CME's two are forecast to become
geoeffective.
Dr. Nicolas Stenger constructed a relatively small,
millimeter-thin plate, made of both soft and hard
microstructured polymers. Different rings of material within the
plate resonated at different frequencies, over a range of 100
Hertz.
...while pursuing an off-the-grid lifestyle can simplify and
improve a family’s quality of life in numerous ways, staying
warm in the winter while keeping energy consumption down can
prove to be quite the sticky wicket.
Researchers at the University of Texas say it is possible to
hike the energy yield of solar cells by exploiting what they
call a photon's "shadow state", doubling the number of electrons
that may be harvested in the process. They claim the discovery
could up the theoretical maximum efficiency of silicon solar
cells from 31 to 44 percent.
Pauline Holeton has a message for local utility workers --
keep your hands off her electric meter.
The head of the Arab mission is the Sudanese General Muhammad
Ahmad Al-Dabi, a veteran of the oppressive campaign of his
government against Muslim, but non-Arab African tribes in
Darfur.
The Syrian regime itself shows no signs of a change of
policy. In fact the opposite is the case.
It’s a safe bet you will have heard, perhaps paraphrased many
times over, Benjamin Franklin’s observation: “Those who would
give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Why would I make such a bet?
People develop estrogen dominance as a result of a high-carb
low-fiber diet, consuming excess fructose, drinking alcohol,
having a “Tired-Toxic Liver (see chapter in Secrets to a Healthy
Metabolism), or environmental factors…all of which we have some
power to control.
The future of hydrogen vehicles is both promising and full of
questions. Everyone from Nissan to Toyota to Mercedes-Benz
continues to work on the technology, but it still trails
battery-electric powertrains in real-world sales and use.
A coalition that says it represents 97 percent of the U.S.
solar industry on Tuesday urged solar panel maker SolarWorld to
withdraw a petition asking President Barack Obama's
administration to slap punitive duties on China for unfair
trading practices.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas offers a glimpse into how
the markets are doing domestically and internationally.
Several objective and scientifically sound studies have shown
that arsenic is present in chicken feed, which means it can
easily spread out of their digestive systems and into their
muscles to collect and become more concentrated every time the
chickens eat.
December 23, 2011
The Environmental Protection Agency released far-reaching air
pollution regulations Wednesday, 21 years after they were
mandated by Congress.
The rules require coal- and oil-fired power plants to lower
emissions of 84 toxic chemicals to levels no higher than those
emitted by the cleanest 12% of plants. Companies have three
years to achieve the standards, and the EPA has made clear a
fourth year, and perhaps even more time, is also available to
them.
Facing a manufacturing overcapacity and a growing need for clean
energy, China announced a plan that could have impacts on both
fronts.
What if TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline that many in US
Congress are fighting so hard to get built carries crude oil
hundreds of miles through the Heartland only to have it loaded
onto tankers and shipped overseas?
Chinese writer
Chen Wei has been sentenced to nine years in jail for "inciting
subversion of state power".
Mr Chen published several essays online calling for freedom
of speech and reform of China's one-party system.
He was among hundreds of dissidents detained earlier this
year after online calls for protests in China inspired by the
uprisings in the Middle East.
“We are already involved
in a cyber-war with China and we are only reading about a small
percentage of the actual attacks that are occurring.”
no one ever suggested the danger was from CO2. Everyone has
always said it was CO2 achieving the tipping point when frozen
methane hydrates would be released, that was the real danger.
And that only happens in a short period at the beginning of a
warming period. So his attempt to average over longer time
periods is totally inaccurate.
A group of doctors, sportsmen, scientists and parents led by
the American Lung Association gathered Monday to urge Maine's
senators to support clean air legislation
U.S. scientists say they've made a major advance in renewable
energy technology with an inexpensive "solar paint" that can
produce energy.
In early January, investors in
the continent's cap-and-trade system still had to pay some
euro14 ($18.30) for the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide
into the air. By last week, the price of one emission allowance
had tumbled to a meager euro6.41 - making it much cheaper to
pollute and slashing the financial incentives for companies to
invest in low-carbon technologies.
The type of agriculture practiced in a given region depends
heavily on the climate and weather that region receives. So
naturally, with climate change, agriculture will be forced to
change. Certain crops will have to be discarded for alternative
crops which may grow better in the new climate. In other cases,
agriculture will simply be no longer sustainable. Farms may have
to close down or move to different latitudes or elevations. The
unpredictable nature of climate change will make this quite a
conundrum for farmers and the world at large.
After a two year expensive, exhaustive undercover operation,
including multiple armed raids on Allgyer's farm, FDA agents and
a team of ten federal lawyers amassed over two hundred and
seventy-six pages of evidence allegedly proving what Allgyer
openly admits, that he is selling fresh (raw, unpasteurized)
milk to customers who knowingly carry the milk across state
lines.
Scientists seeking to fight future pandemics have created a
variety of "bird flu" potentially so dangerous that a federal
advisory panel has for the first time asked two science journals
to hold back on publishing details of research.
Finnish authorities have launched an investigation after
impounding 69 Patriot missiles from a ship bound for China.
Astronomers have
detected the first Earth-sized planets, which are orbiting a
star similar to our own Sun.
In the distant past they may have been able to support life
and one of them may have had conditions similar to our own
planet - but they now lie outside their star's "habitable zone".
As the gas well count swells to outnumber the residents,
Pavillion, in west-central Wyoming, has found itself at the
epicenter of a national debate over the potential threat that
drilling fluids pose to drinking water.
The Fukushima Daiichi reactors are in “a state of cold
shutdown,” with temperatures at the bottom of the reactor
pressure vessels and containment vessels below the boiling point
and radiation levels at the plant boundary below 100 millirem
per year, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. Japan’s
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda made the announcement Dec. 16.
A small village located in Bavaria in
southern Germany is reaping the results of forward-thinking. In
1997, the town of Wildpoldsried wanted to build a thriving
economy that would attract industry and create local jobs. I
A prominent member of Iran's parliament has accused Arab
countries of colluding to exploit more than equitable volumes of
oil and gas from fields shared with Iran, the official IRNA news
agency reported Wednesday.
Commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari said it would be up to
the country's leadership to decide whether a test of closing the
strategic maritime oil corridor would be included in the
exercise.
An arrest warrant against former Vice President Hashemi, a
Sunni Muslim, by the largely Shiite central government on
terrorism charges and a string of powerful bombings in Baghdad
today mark the beginning of the serious political and security
challenges the Iraqi government faces in the wake of the
withdrawal of US troops. Without international troops to
separate hostile factions, minor incidents could spin out of
control and lead to renewed ethnic conflict.
Decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will
take three or four decades, Japan's government said on Wednesday
as it unveiled plans for the next phase of a huge and costly
cleanup of the tsunami-wrecked complex.
As a nation, we are spending way too much energy arguing about
energy. With all the energy-related debates going on today about
everything from environmental regulations to the role of
government subsidies, it is time to step back and remember that
all of us in the energy space share many of the same long-term
objectives.
There is certainly an abundance of advocates for renewable
energy; Wind, Solar, and Nuclear, which I support as an
important part of the power supply portfolio. At the same time
we have a shortage of advocates for two of the most abundant
resources here in the United States; Natural Gas and Coal. Many
express concerns about the environmental impact of coal and
rightfully so, however it is still a significant domestic
resource. On the other hand natural gas coupled with existing
low emissions technologies produce affordable reliable power
with low levels of pollutants.
The new plasma 'brush' could revolutionize cavity
repair,..have successfully lab-tested a plasma "brush" that can
painlessly clean and prep cavities so well, there's no need for
mechanical abrasion prior to filling.
The Obama administration has made no secret of its support
for renewable energy, but in the case of the offshore wind
there's a question of whether the administration has enough
tools at its disposal to get the industry--which still doesn't
really exist in the US--off the ground.
Conspirators are
plotting to bring down Pakistan's civilian government, Prime
Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
Without specifically blaming the military, he said it was
accountable to parliament and no institution could be a state
within a state.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Monday night on CBS
News that despite the efforts to disrupt the Iranian nuclear
program, the Iranians have reached a point where they can
assemble a bomb in a year or potentially less.
John Searl, of Searl Magnetics, is perhaps one of the most
legendary figures in free energy. It is asserted that many years
ago he built complex discs that defied gravity, and generators
that could extract free energy from the environment.
When it comes to their progress in replicating the effects
critical to the operation of a SEG, they have made three major
milestones, with progress on a fourth.
We use a staggering 2 million plastic bottles every five
minutes in the United States, the large majority of which are
PET plastic. And our rate of recycling is worse than dismal: not
quite 13 percent nationwide.
Glimmers of hope are emerging.
Hundreds of older plants — which together make up the largest
remaining source of unchecked toxic air pollution in the United
States — will have to cut emissions or shut down.
A Saudi prince, in a remark designed to send chills through
the Obama administration and its allies, suggested that the
kingdom might consider producing nuclear weapons if it found
itself between atomic arsenals in Iran and Israel.
electricity costs have gone up faster than inflation for 5
years straight.
And that means the average household
now pays $1,419 for electricity each year -- an extra $300
per year compared to the year 2006.
[ed: Simply take the power into your own hands. Start
buying alternative energy generation products.]
Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) yeterday released the results of its
Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), showing average fixed
mortgage rates at or near all-time record lows helping to keep
homebuyer affordability high. The 30-year fixed averaged 3.91
percent for the week, a new all-time low, dropping below last
week's 3.94 percent, the previous record low. The 15-year fixed
matched last week's all-time record low at 3.21 percent.
Adjustable rate products also hit new all-time lows in this
week's survey.
C5/Sf flare, Type IV radio emissions with a CME, not expected
to be geoeffective. a slight chance for an M-class event. he
geomagnetic field is expected to remain at mostly quiet levels
for the next three days (23-25 December).
The state Public Utilities Commission authorized NV Energy to
raise its rates, with the increase on an average single-family
home in Las Vegas an estimated 10-11 percent.
The electric utility had sought an increase of more than 20
percent.
The other shoe has dropped in the looming trade war over
alleged Chinese dumping of solar panels on the American market.
A coalition of manufacturers and project developers has formed
to counter the move toward tariffs that has been launched.
An old landfill is more of a liability than an asset: A big,
flat open space that you can't build on, that belches methane
and that threatens groundwater if it's not maintained.
Among many federal tax incentives set to expire at the end of
the year absent action by Congress is one that helps small
businesses and big power companies, including ones in New
Mexico, pay for renewable energy systems.
The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating a 13,000-gallon spill
from an oil rig leased to Shell, operating about 26 miles
southeast of last year's BP Plc Macondo oil well disaster, a
Coast Guard spokesman said on Monday.
Since 2009, Florida's Monroe,
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have reported
several cases of Dengue fever - a virus that has not been seen
in the United States since 1945. Although the re-emergence of
Dengue is worrisome, what is even more alarming is how Florida
is considering combating the problem.
A MRI scan of the brain may be a tool that helps pinpoint the
risk of developing Alzheimer's disease years before memory
problems begin.
A punishing drought in Texas has not only damaged crops,
killed cattle, and led to widespread fires, but has also killed
off a significant portion of the state's trees: between 100 and
500 million trees have perished to drought stress according to
preliminary analysis. The estimate does not include tree
mortality caused by fires.
Currently, the police use the devices without a court order
or any judicial oversight. Attached to a suspect’s car, the
devices provide a complete log of where someone goes over the
time period that the GPS is in place.
Winter was when the people would spend more time inside. The
days were shorter and the nights were longer and so much time
was spent around the light and the warmth of the fires. It was a
good time to make and mend clothing and repair tools. Men,
women, and children would sit in close proximity to one another
and enjoy each other’s company while taking the opportunity to
discuss issues, report on various events, joke, tease one
another, and tell stories.
There are three incredible things to keep in
mind about the Declaration. First, there had never been anything
like it in history. Second, look at the end of the Declaration.
Its signers were being hunted by British troops. General Gage
had an order to find and detain them as traitors.The third thing
about the Declaration is even more extraordinary in light of the
first two: It opens by speaking of universal principles.
Two tropical lows off northern Australia could develop into
cyclones in coming days as the La Niña weather pattern persists,
but pose no immediate threat to mining and crop regions
devastated by cyclones and flooding in early 2011.
The EIA’s reported crude stock draw was far beyond analysts’
expectations of a 2.25-million-barrel decline and more than
double the 4.575 figure released late Tuesday by the American
Petroleum Institute.
Despite the substantial draw, crude stocks are on par with
the five-year-average level of 322.365 million barrels.
A fight pitting Chinese solar panel makers and their American
installers versus U.S.-based solar manufacturers flared on
Tuesday after the head of a group favoring low-cost Chinese
panels asked the manufacturers to withdraw trade complaints
filed with the American government.
The future is ours, if we’re willing to reach out, do
the hard work, and take hold of it. For instance,
food prices are crazy. You may feel that you’re captive to
whatever the grocery stores want to charge you, but I’m here to
tell you that you have options you don’t even know about.
Whether you live in the country or live in the city—you have
options!
The researchers observed it takes some time for nitrate to
reach the river, and their analysis suggests that the jump in
nitrate concentrations from 1968 to 1972 is due to the delayed
groundwater response to ploughing of permanent grasslands during
World War II.
The sorting out has begun for the renewables industry, with
some companies thriving while others fall by the wayside. At the
same time, renewable energy is gaining in competition with
nuclear power but faces tough challenges from natural gas.
December 20, 2011
The Henry Hub is the pricing point for natural gas futures
contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
The Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration
keeps track of the daily changes to the spot prices. Power
Engineering figured out the monthly averages and has the
figures up to December 14, 2011.
Conditions at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant are far worse
than its operator or the government has admitted, according to
freelance journalist Tomohiko Suzuki, who spent more than a
month working undercover at the power station.
A survey conducted by The Associated Press (AP), based on
interviews with 55 power plant operators and on the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) prediction of power
plant retirements, estimates that more than 32 mostly coal-fired
power plants in a dozen states will be need to be shut down and
an additional 36 might have to close because of new federal
emissions control regulations.
A bubble rose through a hole in the surface
of a frozen lake. It popped, followed by another, and another,
as if a pot were somehow boiling in the icy depths.
Every bursting bubble sent up a puff of methane, a
powerful greenhouse gas generated beneath the lake from
the decay of plant debris. These plants last saw the
light of day 30,000 years ago and have been locked in a
deep freeze — until now.
Forward fuel prices indicate that some 11% of US coal-fired
generation will become more costly to operate than gas-fired
generation in 2012, according to a Bernstein research report
released Friday.
...up until now the fundamental reason for the high
conductivity of lead dioxide has eluded scientists.
The process that led to an American Electric Power rate
increase approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
last week could be described as double-secret negotiations.
Before official negotiations ever took place,
behind-the-scenes conversations between AEP and the PUCO were
used to put the outline of a deal in place, according to
documents obtained by The Dispatch through a public-records
request.
Almost ten.
That's the estimate of total US liquids production by 2016
that the International Energy Agency foresees, in millions of
b/d, out of the US by 2016. The IEA, in its latest monthly
report, was downright ebullient in its forecast of what the US,
and to a lesser degree, other non-OPEC countries were going to
be producing over the next few years.
This week, the Colorado Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission unanimously approved a new rule
requiring drillers to disclose all the chemicals -- and their
concentrations -- used in the hydraulic fracturing process.
Maj. Gen. Adel Emara, a member of
the council that took power after Hosni Mubarak's February
ouster in a popular uprising, defended the use of force against
protesters.
"There is a methodical and
premeditated plot to topple the state, but Egypt will not fall,"
said Emara. "The media is helping sabotage the state. This is
certain," he added.
"A gathering storm of hunger is approaching South Sudan,
caused by crop failure and market disruption," said WFP director
in South Sudan, Chris Nikoi. "Food prices have already doubled
or tripled in some areas, leaving hundreds of thousands of
children vulnerable to malnutrition at a key developmental stage
of their young lives."
"The incidence of flu across the United States is extremely
low — there are virtually no outbreaks — and not a single child
has died. Yet, the flu vaccine is being pushed as if it's the
greatest health advance ever discovered.
Despite appearances of nothing going on, there were around 37
unique stories posted that touch on Andrea Rossi's E-Cat from
the near dozen dedicated sites as well as at least 6 mainstream
stories. The main highlight was reaching the goal of 10,000
pre-orders for the home E-Cat modules.
Shamrock Farms, located south of Phoenix, is poised to lose
its USDA organic certification. The action at Shamrock Farms is
the result of a USDA investigation into organic livestock
practices triggered by a complaint from The Cornucopia
Institute.
Lead pipes once used routinely in municipal water
distribution systems are a well-recognized source of dangerous
lead contamination, but new research from Washington University
in St. Louis suggests that the partial replacement of these
pipes can make the problem worse.
A company named Luxury-Sea is building a boat with a special
device that is claimed to generate electricity from ocean water,
to both produce hydrogen to fuel its engine as well as power its
on-board electronics.
"What the kids will do is become solar energy experts," Evans
said. "We like that Mount View can become a demonstration site.
Schools, businesses and other organizations can come in to see
what solar energy is all about and to see solar demonstrations.
Nitrogen derived from human activities has polluted lakes
throughout the Northern Hemisphere for more than a century and
the fingerprint of these changes is evident even in remote lakes
located thousands of miles from the nearest city, industrial
area or farm.
The Pakistan government has reached agreement with major gas
consumers for a rationing plan as the country's gas shortfall
surges to 1.6 Bcf/day this winter, 33% higher than during the
same period last year, a Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
official said Monday.
Rescuers searched for more than 800 people missing in the
southern Philippines on Sunday after flash floods and landslides
swept houses into rivers and out to sea, killing more than 650
people in areas ill-prepared to cope with storms.
The largest flare of the period was a B8 x-ray event, Solar
activity is expected to be at predominantly low levels for the
next three days (20 - 22 December). The geomagnetic field is
expected to be remain at quiet levels for the next three days
(20 -22 December). Even though quiet conditions are expected, a
small coronal hole high speed stream is expected to become
geoeffective on day 1 (20 December).
The Arab Spring toppled long-term despots in countries such
as Libya and Tunisia, and a civil war is being waged in Syria
between the Sunnis and the Alawites that could spread to Jordan
and Saudi Arabia, Graham, son of the legendary evangelist the
Rev. Billy Graham, said during an exclusive interview with
Newsmax.TV
At UCS, we believe that scientific analysis—not political
calculations or corporate hype—should guide government policies.
After ten months of secret dialogue with Afghanistan's
Taliban insurgents, stakes could not be higher.
Senior U.S. officials say the talks have reached a critical
juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is
possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end
the Afghan war
At one time, natural gas was seen as little more than a
superfluous byproduct of the oil extraction process. But once
the potential of natural gas as an energy source became clear, a
new era in energy production was soon off and running. Today,
natural gas accounts for 23 percent of the world’s total energy
consumption, and the International Energy Agency is projecting
that by 2035, natural gas use across the globe will expand by an
astounding 44 percent.
A new Advanced Energy Economy
(AEE) survey discovered that 62 percent of Americans believe
gasoline will increase to $5 or more per gallon within the next
five years. And 8 in 10 Americans say America's dependence on
foreign oil is either a "major problem” or "crisis," and that
the cost had become a “burden.”
Syria has signed an Arab League proposal aimed at ending
violence between government forces and protesters, Syrian
Foreign Minister Walid Moallem announced, as an opposition group
reported nearly 50 deaths in one day.
I stopped at Sam's Club last night. A pork tenderloin I could
buy for around $19 just a few weeks ago was now selling for $32.
It seems that a lower-than-expected corn crop yield is going to
make bad economic news just a little bit worse, and especially
now around Christmastime. Corn prices will be at an all-time
high for the next year, and we're beginning to see that reality
on the grocery store shelves.
The stock market took a late afternoon fall after European
Union finance ministers failed to come up with the full amount
of money pledged for a bailout fund.
A looming court battle to block the $180 million project in
southern Minnesota also is helping fuel a fight in Congress to
pull the plug on the entire federal wind subsidy program created
by President Obama's 2009 stimulus package.
December 16, 2011
The UK Government has revealed a year-on-year increase in the
amount of sulphur dioxide emissions, which reverses a 40-year
downward trend.
After a grueling week in which their internal dissension was
aired on television, the five members of the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission face an even bigger hurdle - figuring out
how to work together.
A surge in mega-hydropower projects across the world in the
coming decade will only be affected marginally by last week's
decision to delay building a large dam across the Mekong,
Southeast Asia's longest river.
Every year, tens of millions of dollars in state taxpayer
money go to for-profit companies to run Arizona's largest K-12
online schools.
European negotiators wanted a binding agreement, and the United
States seemed content to sit on the sidelines. The real focus of
the U.N. climate talks, though, rested with China, India and
Brazil — nations destined for huge growth in their economies and
their emissions.
Legislation like Rep. Kucinich’s (see our other article in
this issue) is desperately needed as GMO infiltrates more and
more products. But the big shocker is that it’s now even in
organic baby food!
Renewable energy capacities will more than triple and demand
for natural gas will grow 2 percent annually through 2036,
according to the latest Energy Market Perspective (EMP) released
by consulting firm Black & Veatch.
The developer of the largest wind farm ever proposed in North
Carolina says the project has stalled because no utility wants
to buy the power the project would produce.
China has further revised up its solar power development
target for 2015 by 50 percent from its previous plan, state
media reported on Thursday.
The Clean Energy Trust is reviewing more than 100
applications submitted for the 2012 Clean Energy Challenge
business competition. The Challenge seeks the best business
ideas in the Midwest with the potential to bring new clean
energy technology to the marketplace.
Former US president Bill Clinton on Tuesday made a clarion
call for a green economy fuelled by clean energy.
Arsenic and other toxic chemicals in concentrations hundreds
of times higher than you would want in a cup of tap water are
showing up under and near several coal ash dumps in the
Lowcountry and Midlands, a review of state records reveals.
Half the generating units at the state's 10 largest coal
power plants are at least 50 years old. Many may not be worth
retrofitting under the array of environmental standards,
including rules on mercury and other toxic emissions, that are
due this week.
Electric bills have skyrocketed in the past five years, a
sharp reversal from a quarter-century when Americans enjoyed
stable power bills even as they used more electricity.
Energy policy riders are not delaying a package of federal
spending bills that US lawmakers are racing to pass before the
end of this week, a senior Democrat in the House of
Representatives said Tuesday.
Storage energy is critical to developing the full potential
of Smart Grid, without this tool some promises about a SMART
GRID may not be met. The development of this technology is not
only important for Electric Cars, but for other areas of the
Grid.
Talks to limit global temperature
rises to 2C will not prevent the possibility of dangerous
climate change, warns the scientist who first raised the alarm
over global warming.
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday held its key benchmark lending
target, the federal-funds rate, at 0.25 percent.
The
Federal Reserve Open Market Committee said in a statement that
while the economy may be growing, and while inflation remains
stable, "significant downside risks" do remain.
Two powerful new bills will help control GMOs
Promising an end to decades of autocracy, a veteran human
rights activist on Tuesday was sworn in as president of Tunisia,
the country that inspired the "Arab Spring" uprisings in North
Africa and the Middle East.
Japan
declared its tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant to
be in cold shutdown on Friday, taking a major step to resolving
the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years but some critics
questioned whether the plant was really under control.
Workers in Germany's once booming solar energy industry face
a shakeout of major proportions following declines in the price
of solar panels over the past year.
The plan, proposed by Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan and
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, would retain traditional
Medicare as an option for new retirees when it goes into effect
in 2022, while private insurance would be able to compete with
the government-run plan, CBS News reports.
Due to increasing costs of production, a slowed demand for
electricity, and fresh memories of disaster in Japan, production
of nuclear power fell in 2011, according to the latest Vital
Signs Online (VSO) report from the Worldwatch Institute...
The groups in October filed a petition asking the NRC to
block a restart pending a re-licensing process focusing on
seismic risks; analysis of the earthquake vulnerability of the
dam on Lake Anna, which provides the plant with cooling water;
and re-examination of safety and compliance issues for
spent-fuel storage casks, which shifted slightly during the
quake.
The gold standard would limit what the U.S. could borrow, but
as Bell pointed out, such a currency regime would do away with
excessive spending and inflationary threats that today's loose
monetary policies are unleashing on the economy and eating into
personal savings.
Yesterday marked the completion of a five year collaboration
between the United States and Canada to survey the Arctic Ocean.
As the changing Arctic climate causes the ice to melt, this
region will become more accessible to resource recovery. The
project's goal was to delineate the continental shelf beyond 200
nautical miles from the coastline.
juwi solar Inc., or JSI, a developer and engineering,
procurement and construction, or EPC, contractor of solar power
plants, and Salt River Project, have signed a 20 year power
purchase agreement, or PPA, for 19MW of solar photovoltaic
energy from a facility to be built in Queen Creek. SRP will
purchase all of the solar energy produced at the Queen Creek
power plant, which is expected to be online by the end of 2012.
A private company is outfitting all 15 public schools on
Kauai with solar power systems at no cost to the state under an
agreement expected to save about $30 million in utility costs
through the next 20 years, state officials announced Tuesday.
One of the three initial developers that expressed interest
in building wind energy projects off the coast of South Jersey
is putting all of its wind projects on hold -- a sign officials
say is indicative of poor federal policy, a difficult economic
climate and the extreme expense involved in the project.
The results of two recent experiments at the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC) near Geneva suggest physicists are close to
discovering the Higgs boson, the so-called God particle.
Combined, the two experiments have narrowed the possible band of
possible Higgs boson masses to between 115 and 130 GeV
(gigaelectron volt).
Imagine a parachute on a high-performance jet. The pilot
wears it but hopes to never use it. And he's not in the clear
even if he does. Offshore oil and gas drillers should have the
same attitude about blowout preventers.
In a hundred years trees may be growing where there are now
glaciers. The warm climate of the last few years has caused
dramatic melting of glaciers in the Swedish mountains. Remains
of trees that have been hidden for thousands of years have been
uncovered. They indicate that 13,000 years ago there were trees
where there are now glaciers. The climate may have been as much
as 3.5 degrees warmer than now. In other words, this can happen
again, according to Lisa Öberg, a doctoral candidate at Mid
Sweden University in a new study.
Monsanto has unleashed a micro-monster that could kill us
all.
That's according to Dr. Don Huber, an agricultural scientist
and expert in microbial ecology, who's convinced that
Monsanto's genetically engineered "RoundUp Ready" crops are
responsible for a new micro-monster that's causing an
outbreak of new plant, animal and human diseases.
Capgemini yesterday released the findings of its most recent
Executive Insight Survey that found Fortune 1000 companies are
feeling the pressures of late payments on their bottom line. The
top three areas affected by delayed cash flow, as cited by the
surveyed executives, include growth (29 percent), hiring (27
percent) and revenue (20 percent).
Jaczko is an ardent opponent of the Yucca Mountain nuclear
waste repository and has pressed for stricter regulation of the
industry in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
But while that may be what the lawmakers -- mostly
Republicans -- cared about. Based on the hearing today it
doesn't seem to be what motivated the NRC commissioners to take
a stand against their chairman: What they were most concerned
with was Jaczko's conduct since March's Fukushima Daichi nuclear
meltdown in Japan.
The leak of so-called heavy water happened just before 4 p.m.
at the Point Lepreau plant on the southwest tip of the province
and prompted the evacuation of the idle generating station, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
The big shortcoming of wind power is that breezes don't
always blow when electricity is needed most.
Now, a solution to that supply-and-demand problem may have
been found -- in abandoned ore pits on the Iron Range.
OPEC ministers December 14 agreed on a new crude production
ceiling of 30 million b/d that covers all 12 members, including
Libya and Iraq, but does not include individual quotas.
Representatives from across the US renewable energy industry
on Wednesday urged members of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on
Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure to extend tax
incentives for wind, solar and biofuels that are scheduled to
expire at the end of this year or next.
Renewable energy capacity will more than triple, while
doubling its overall percentage of the U.S. energy mix, by 2036.
In addition, natural gas could overtake coal as the primary fuel
for U.S. power generation.
two, low level C-class flares during the past 24 hours, A
coronal mass ejection/erupting prominence was observed from the
southwest limb at about 0736Z but is not expected to be
geoeffective.. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet.
THE NEED for accessible clean technologies is accelerating,
and Governments, investors and industry continue to drive a
tidal wave of technological innovation.
As part of this flux, an increasing number of energy clusters
and hubs are evolving throughout the world, their stated aim
being to provide a solution to the challenges of scaling up
clean-and renewable energy technologies.
Even though Beacon Power has placed its 20-megawatt flywheel
operation in eastern Rensselaer County on the market to repay a
$39 million U.S. Department of Energy loan, it is still hoping
to manage the plant.
The use of the Russian Northern Sea Route (NSR) in the Arctic
for shipping cargoes eastward to the Asia-Pacific region has
become more intensive this year as Russia continues testing this
challenging route, registering new shipping records and offering
lower tariffs for ice breakers’ services that make navigation
through the area difficult, icy waters more attractive.
Small modular reactors, or SMRs, would have a generating
capacity of 600 megawatts or less. They would be factory-built
as modular components and then shipped to their desired location
for assembly, a University of Chicago release said Tuesday.
Solar power is a booming business in the U.S., with more
domestic solar installations completed in the third quarter of
this year than during all of 2009, according to a report
released Wednesday by GTM Research and the Solar Energy
Industries Assn.
Stratolaunch Systems has announced its planned
air-launch-to-orbit system, which will get spacecraft into orbit
using the largest aircraft ever flown
The Texas Railroad Commission Tuesday passed a rule requiring
disclosure of hydraulic fracturing chemicals, becoming the
second state regulatory body to pass similar rules on the same
day.
The farm bill is up for renewal in Congress next year,
something that occurs once every five years.
The biggest funding in the farm bill is for food stamps
(SNAP), the country's main anti-hunger program. The final bill
will have a major impact on the environment, from the use of
water, land and fossil fuels to issues such as organics, genetic
engineering and biofuels. It is how the federal government will
set overall food and agricultural policy for the country. And of
course, we are what we eat.
Buoyed by renewed pledges of customer support, TransCanada
Corp said on Thursday it not only wants to proceed with its
stalled Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline but to
undertake a $600 million expansion and extension.
Unfortunately, the overuse of fertilizer on US cropland has
resulted in huge environmental problems. Plant nutrients like
nitrogen and phosphorus drain into waterways, polluting them and
suffocating life by removing the oxygen.
Fuel cells have the potential to replace the internal
combustion engine in vehicles. But to replace gasoline as a
fuel, hydrogen must be safely and densely stored, yet easily
accessed. Limited by materials unable to serve both goals,
hydrogen storage technology has lagged behind other clean energy
candidates.
Nearly nine years after American troops stormed across the
Iraq border in a blaze of shock and awe, U.S. officials quietly
ended the bloody and bitterly divisive conflict here Thursday,
but the debate over whether it was worth the cost in money and
lives is yet unanswered.
US gasoline stocks typically build this time of year,
although this increase exceeded analysts’ expectations of a
2-million-barrel build.
Many months of scrutiny, planning, breath-holding and angst
had gone into the sale, held December 14 at the Superdome in New
Orleans. ...
slowly, things had begun to come back, if not to pre-Macondo
normal, then at least to a routine that largely continued to
improve along a more dependable track. As the first post-Macondo
sale, Western Sale 218 represented the capstone of the process.
Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense
it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and
how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but
there is something happening within our country that has been
evolving for about ten to fifteen years. The pace has
dramatically quickened in the past two.
A new study released this week finds that with stable tax
policy the wind industry can create and save 54,000 American
jobs in the next four years, including growing the wind
manufacturing sector by one third to 46,000 American
manufacturing jobs. This will keep the wind sector on track
toward supporting the 500,000 jobs by 2030 projected in a report
by the U.S. Department of Energy during the George W. Bush
administration.
World society has become addicted to economic growth. We base
our entire economies on the need of exponential economic growth
and when that stagnates, the wheels fall off the wagon, the
wagon burns to the ground, the banks go under, and we're left
with one big mess. We base our wealth building on tertiary
wealth (intangibles such as stock and paper money) that has no
real value unless the systems of primary and secondary wealth
exist (the resources and marketability of what the earth
provides).
Unfortunately, those resources are limited
and finite.
At the same time that module prices are declining at a
record-setting pace, large markets like China and India have
doubled down on future solar plans and adopted extremely
aggressive targets.
December 13, 2011
Clashes between Syrian troops and army defectors are said to
have killed 23 people Sunday, while activists reported attacks
on workers striking against the government of President Bashar
al-Assad.
Ocean acidification — caused by climate change — looks likely
to damage crucial fish stocks. Two studies published today in
Nature Climate Change reveal that high carbon dioxide
concentrations can cause death1
and organ damage2
in very young fish.
We sent abroad more 430,000 more barrels of refined gas, the
stuff you get at the pump, than we imported in September,
according to government data. That is more than double what it
was at the beginning of this year, reports CNN.
This year, residents of Midland, Texas sued Dow Chemical for
dangerous levels of hexavalent chromium in their drinking water.
Chromium-6 is a cancer-causing chemical made infamous by Julia
Roberts' film, "Erin Brockovich." There are currently no
drinking water standards for chromium-6, and the chemical
industry is delaying a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
assessment labeling it a potent carcinogen.
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari in the S.B.
1070 case is an important step in what I hope will be the
ultimate vindication of S.B. 1070. One little-noticed aspect of
the 9th Circuit decision to be reviewed is its conclusion that
S.B. 1070 unlawfully trespasses on federal monopoly of foreign
relations.
U.S. bank credit is growing
at the fastest pace in three years, giving the Federal Reserve
confidence in the economic expansion’s staying power.
Mitigating the impact of carbon dioxide emissions by
capturing CO2 and burying it has always been an audacious
concept. In practice it is also proving to be expensive and
therefore slow in adoption.
China's major solar panel companies -- whose low-cost
products led some American factories to close, helped create the
Solyndra controversy and spawned talk of a trade war -- were
bankrolled in the United States by the world's largest
investment banks.
"In the Sahel, drying out of the soil directly kills trees.
Tree dieback is occurring at the biome level. It's not just one
species that is dying; whole groups of species are dying out."
According to the IPCC report, there were 4,942 power plants
worldwide that emitted a total of 10.53 billion metric tons.
The immensity of the problem dwarfed AEP’s brief two-year
experience, which demonstrated that the infrastructure needed to
capture and bury even 10% of all the CO2 worldwide would be
massive.
Even though mercury is known to degenerate brain neurons and
disrupt the central nervous system, it is still found in
processed foods and mandatory vaccines. In this second part of
the series examining the intentional dumbing-down of society,
this article will discuss the presence of mercury in common
foods and vaccines.
The Baltimore-Washington Electric Vehicle Initiative, or
BEVI, is footing the bill for the equipment with state money,
and the city will pay for the installation out of a $171,000
federal stimulus grant
Energy prices, whose volatility throughout 2011 led to
breakneck shifts and swings, remain the wild card factor in
US economic growth forecasts for 2012.
Speaking at the Barclays Research Global Outlook event in
New York last week, Dean Maki, the bank's head of US
economic research, who is calling for a 2.5% growth in US
GDP into the new year, said drags on the economy from
earlier in the year like a surge in retail gasoline prices
and impact of the Japanese earthquake have faded.
Fluids used to drill for natural gas likely polluted an
aquifer in Wyoming, U.S. regulators said on Thursday, offering
the first evidence since 1987 that chemicals used in fracking
have contaminated drinking water supplies.
For fighting depression, exercise has been shown to
outperform psychotropic drug therapy in numerous studies.
Furthermore, it has demonstrated this positive effect without
any risk of adverse effects. Exercise should be the first
recommendation given to a patient suffering from depression.
“While FERC’s position is not a surprise, we believe it is
misguided and ignores other federal laws intended to keep the
electrical system reliable and protect fish,” Corwin said. “In
the midst of a tough economy, it is frustrating to see a FERC
ruling that could increase electricity rates and undermine BPA’s
ability to operate its electrical system in times of
over-generation.”
“Fever is a protective mechanism,” explains Dr. Vincent
Pedre, a board-certified internist affiliated with Mount Sinai
Medical Center in New York. “It is part of how the immune system
acts to protect the body from infection.”
Teijin has developed an automotive molding process that cuts
the cycle times of its carbon fiber components to under a
minute. Other carbon fiber companies use thermosetting resin
processes that take more than five times longer to set,
according to Teijin. These longer molding times are a primary
reason why carbon fiber has been so expensive and limited to
high-end performance cars.
It's time for a moment of honesty: I'm not nearly as
prepared as I need to be. Oh sure, I keep a few extra things
around in the house - water, cans of food, toiletries, some cash
- but I'm certainly not confident in my personal preparations.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have been placed on a war footing
amid signs that the United States and its allies are taking
action to cripple the country’s nuclear weapons development
program.
The money supply statistics for Italy continues to be
alarming. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, who often writes on the issue
for the Telegraph had been ringing the alarm bell about the
declining money supply indicators.
No matter how the High Court rules in March 2012, health care
in this country is and will continue to be an utter and complete
disaster for the vast majority of Americans. Millions
of Americans already can't get the care they need - and
no law will change that.
Yesterday, as the climate talks in Durban were coming to the
close, delegates from around the world finally arrived at a
compromise. After a marathon negotiation which spanned three
sleepless nights, the delegates managed to save the
international process and stave off collapse.
After two strong sales years,Vestas Wind Systems, which has
four factories in Colorado, is bracing for the market to "fall
off a cliff" if Congress fails to renew a wind-energy tax
credit.
U.S. cybersecurity analysts believe that as few as 12
different Chinese groups could be responsible for the majority
of cyberattacks on the United States.
In 2010, safe drinking water and sanitation were declared
human rights by the United Nations General Assembly. The recent
national poll shows that many Americans agree. In fact, the 61
percent of Americans that supported safe drinking water and
sanitation ranked it highest among key U.S. development projects
including ones that strengthen basic healthcare, improve
opportunities for education, and defense or military training in
developing countries.
A new study released today finds that with stable tax policy
the wind industry can create and save 54,000 American jobs in
the next four years, including growing the wind manufacturing
sector by one third to 46,000 American manufacturing jobs. This
will keep the wind sector on track toward supporting the 500,000
jobs by 2030 projected in a report by the U.S. Department of
Energy during the George W. Bush administration
The U.S. EPA and the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation announced that the United States side
of Lake Ontario is now a no discharge zone.
Reporting guidelines have been changed periodically since the
early 1980’s, and each revision has made it easier to fudge the
numbers. If we were still using the pre-1983 standards, the
headline unemployment wouldn’t be 8.6 percent.
It would
be 21 percent, more than
double that.
With oil prices hovering at or above $100/barrel, there is no
great pressure on the oil producer club to do anything drastic
for the time being.
Pakistan will shoot down any U.S. drone that intrudes its air
space per new directives, a senior Pakistani official told NBC
News on Saturday.
One sun-drenched August morning, armed officers wearing
sunglasses and bullet-proof vests descended on a market in
Venice, Calif., searching for illegally sold goods. It marked
the end of a year-long investigation where undercover agents
posed as customers.
Their target: raw, unpasteurized milk.
The latest iteration of solar areas on public lands is
smaller than previously devised but promises to be more quickly
made available for development.
Is this the policy solution to
the opening of large tracts of public lands in the West for
solar development?
Solar activity is expected to be low for the next three days
(13-15 December). The geomagnetic field is expected to be
quiet for the next three days (13-15 December).
Demographers have been predicting that Americans will
increasingly leave the suburbs to move into urban areas, but a
new report shows that to be anything but the case.
When first introduced to the notion of modifying food by
inserting foreign genetic material, I inclined in favor of it.
After all, changing the genes of a plant to cause it to yield
more, resist pests, and altogether serve us better sounded like
a pretty good idea. How attractive it must be to farmers that a
GM seed should increase yields while providing its own internal
pesticide. But at the same time, knowing how often
well-intentioned quests to mold nature have gone seriously awry,
I was hesitant to form an opinion before obtaining more facts.
Salt River Project has signed a second agreement for the
purchase of 49 megawatts of geothermal energy from a plant that
will be built in Southern California. The proposed geothermal
generating station will be owned and operated by Hudson Ranch
Power II LLC, and will be constructed in the Imperial Valley
near the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea geothermal resource is one
of the world’s hottest and most prolific for the production of
energy.
Support grew on Thursday for an EU plan to agree a global
climate change pact with binding targets by 2015, after poor
nations vulnerable to climate change forged alliances with
developed countries.
The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power
plant is considering dumping water it treated for radiation
contamination into the ocean as early as March, the firm said on
Thursday, prompting protests from fishing groups.
Analysts with Great American Group, a leading provider of
asset disposition, valuation and appraisal services, say that
despite a number of challenges – including the European economic
crisis, the east coast hurricane, the Standard & Poor downgrade
of the U.S. credit rating and small car supply constraints in
Japan -- year over year auto sales improved in August, September
and October.
England was once so proud of its colonial regime that it
boasted, “The sun never sets on the British empire.” Today,
colonialism is a bad word. It is fashionable to say we live in a
‘post-colonial’ world.
The truth is the world continues to involve relations of
domination and exploitation, under new names: “globalization,”
for example.
...under the Platform, all nations will be required to commit
to reducing emissions starting in 2020. But that will require
the climate summit in Qatar next year to launch negotiations
toward an agreement by 2015 to include targets that countries
will have to achieve in 2020.
It is critical that you realize that the MOMENT
you're forced to draw your gun in self-defense there will be
100+ decisions that you'll need to make in a split second.
December 9, 2011
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region fell to its lowest in
23 years in the year through July, the government said Monday,
attributing the drop to its tougher stance against illegal
logging.
The convulsions of the Arab Spring find
new life as Yemen, Syria and Egypt struggle to transition to new
forms of government.
Exploration for oil and gas in offshore Arctic waters is set
to intensify as new technologies allow operators to drill safely
in more remote areas, Statoil CEO Helge Lund said Thursday.
Even as renewable capacity surges ahead despite a down global
economy, this past weekend brought a sobering reminder that
market forces continue to pull the world toward carbon emissions
— and not away from them.
Tehran's capture of a largely intact, top secret U.S. drone,
which it displayed on state television, not only lays bare
America's surveillance program over Iran, but it also puts
sensitive, advanced technology in hostile hands.
The world's three biggest polluters China, the United States
and India refused to move toward a new legal commitment to curb
their carbon emissions Tuesday, increasing the risk that climate
talks will fail to clinch a meaningful deal this week.
BP Plc accused Halliburton Co of destroying evidence that
the oilfield services company did inadequate cement work on the
Gulf of Mexico oil well that blew out last year, and asked a
federal judge to punish Halliburton.
Despite the cancellation of a major project in Germany to
seal carbon dioxide in the ground so that it does not worsen
global warming, the technology is not dead, the head of a main
energy company said in an interview published Tuesday.
Outraged by the execution of four captives by FARC rebels,
tens of thousands of Colombians protested across the nation on
Tuesday to demand an end to half a century of guerrilla violence
and kidnapping.
Native Americans understand through very personal experience
that this country’s history is one of conflict and compromise.
At our finest moments, Indian and American political leaders
have worked together to promote a positive vision and a sense of
responsibility toward future generations. In many cases that
partnership has resulted in achieving a common ground where
mutually beneficial compromise is possible.
With opulent resources of sun and wind, a desperate need for
economic stability and growth, and recent changes to investment
and energy policy, Greece could be worth taking a closer look at
when it comes to renewable energy investment potential. Indeed
in recent weeks, the Greeks have courted representatives of the
German solar industry – trying to persuade companies that the
Greek market is ripe for investment; and spark an employment
revival in the process.
Will it be enough to neutralize nuclear threat, or will
Israel launch preemptive strikes in 2012?
Davis-Besse's new reactor vessel head features control rod
nozzles made of an enhanced material.
Economic crisis and the top three polluters China, the United
States and India, loomed as obstacles to a new global deal at
the start of a second make-or-break week of U.N. climate talks
in the South African city of Durban.
A member of Egypt's ruling military council said today that
it would have a role, albeit indirect, in appointing the body
that will write a constitution instead of leaving it to elected
lawmakers.
The forecast projects optimism about the U.S. economy for
2012. The manufacturing sector, overall, is positive about
prospects in 2012 with revenues expected to increase in 17
industries, while the non-manufacturing sector appears slightly
less positive about the year ahead, with 15 industries expecting
higher revenues.
There are over 8 million of them in California alone. There
are over 4 million in Texas. Nationwide there are 22 million of
these devices called "smart meters," those surveillance monitors
that the American people willingly or unwillingly let into their
homes without realizing the full extent of what they are doing.
Eight energy trade groups have begun circulating a letter to
members of the US House of Representatives in support of two
separate bills aimed at minimizing the impact of financial
regulatory reform on energy companies and other end-users.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today
announced it will provide up to $1.8 million for projects across
the country to protect Americans’ health and help restore urban
waters by improving water quality and supporting community
revitalization.
European markets, at first uncertain, grew more positive towards
an EU summit deal on Friday after a large majority of European
nations backed a Franco-German plan to enforce stricter budget
discipline in an attempt to bring the euro debt crisis under
control.
With greater water scarcity in some regions and increasing
global demand for high quality water, international trade
agreements need to help save water globally. This was the main
conclusion of a special report, published by the UNESCO-IHE
Institute for Water Education.
The problem with the FDA’s draft guidance on New Dietary
Ingredients is that it allows FDA to arbitrarily deny the sale
of any supplement created (or modified) in the past seventeen
years.
It turns out clouds aren't the biggest thing holding back
solar power development in Western Pennsylvania.
A mish-mash of fragmented, confusing and costly municipal
regulations and a lack of funding options to mitigate
installation costs has hurt solar power installation more than a
lack of sunshine, said Sharon Pillar, program manager for
PennFuture's solar programs in Western Pennsylvania
A federal meeting about FirstEnergy's technical analysis of
cracks in the concrete Shield Building at the Davis-Besse
nuclear power plant has been scheduled for Dec. 15.
More than 12 million low-income people in Africa, Asia, and
Latin America will gain access to clean energy following four
companies’ commitments made today to theBusiness Call to Action.
Outdoor sports equipment has evolved thoroughly over the
years, from simple designs crafted out of everyday materials
like wood and twine to advanced, highly specialized gear
composed of space-age materials like carbon and Kevlar. This
evolution has empowered generation upon generation of elite
athletes to push their sports to more difficult terrain, more
distant locations and more awe-inspiring feats. The better the
gear, the better the sport.
The geopolitical climate in the epicenter deteriorated
significantly in 2011, as has religious freedom in most of the
Arab and Persian world.
Global carbon dioxide emissions from industry rose about
three percent in a weak global economy this year, a study
released on Monday showed, adding fresh urgency to efforts to
control planet-warming gases at U.N. climate talks in South
Africa.
Greece's coalition government on Wednesday passed an
austerity 2012 budget aimed at shrinking its debt mountain with
tax hikes and spending cuts, hours after protesters clashed with
police outside parliament.
Dominion Virginia Power is under fire from the Sierra Club
and alternative-energy proponents after the Virginia State
Corporation Commission last month approved the company's
proposal to charge some self-generating customers a monthly fee.
Even though solar power is typically cheaper in California
than elsewhere in the U.S., the group purchase promises savings
of as much as 33 percent on a residential solar array.
"Right now, the transmission lines we have in here is pretty
much maxed out," said Allen.
But that's not the only problem. San Luis Valley is an
agricultural area producing potatoes, grain, alfalfa and pasture
for cattle. Farmers are concerned about land going to the solar
industry.
The United States economy never really emerged from the
recession that began in 2008 and is possibly headed for a more
chronic depression, and the prognosis for recovery doesn't look
good, especially in 2013, says international investor Jim
Rogers.
A private researcher, Joe Eck, has claimed to have made a
discovery in the field of superconductors -- materials that have
zero electrical resistance. He claims to have found a
copper-oxide compound that is not only superconductive, but
shows signs of superconductivity at room temperature -- a
potential "Holy Grail" of science.
Though Kepler 22b is not the first such planet to be detected
in recent years, it is the first one orbiting a star similar to
our Sun and at a distance where it is capable of possessing
liquid water, which most scientists regard as essential for life
to exist.
Kuwait's ruler has dissolved parliament to set the stage for
elections in the politically tense Gulf nation.
There is a surprising reason why the government won’t go
after drug companies for serious crimes. It is because
government programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans
Administration would then be barred from doing business with
them!
Egypt’s military rulers said Wednesday that they would
control the process of writing a constitution and maintain
authority over the interim government to check the power of
Islamists who have taken a commanding lead in parliamentary
elections.
Reportedly the world’s first grid-scale flywheel energy
storage facility, the 20MW Beacon Power Stephentown plant is a
power sector landmark, demonstrating the commercial viability of
a major technical innovation.
A team of scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring
Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite to confirm major
reductions in the levels of a key air pollutant generated by
coal power plants in the eastern United States. The pollutant,
sulfur dioxide, contributes to the formation of acid rain and
can cause serious health problems.
A new study finds a link between high levels of arsenic in
drinking water and shortness of breath, suggesting that the
known carcinogen may also be doing damage to organ systems...
"Using wood materials can help reduce a building's carbon
footprint, and now building professionals have an easy-to-use
calculator that quantifies these benefits."
...hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, is able to
dramatically help veterans with post-concussion syndrome (a form
of traumatic brain injury) and post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD)
The North Carolina school principal who suspended a
9-year-old boy for saying a female teacher was "cute" has been
forced to retire over the decision.
...state’s opposition was based on the accident at the
Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan back in March. The NRC said in
the article that any lessons learned from the Fukushima accident
would be implemented..
Badri said a threat against any member of the oil producer
club could affect oil supply to world markets and that an EU ban
on oil imports from OPEC member Iran would remove a large volume
of crude that would be difficult to replace.
When coal-fired or nuclear power plants make electricity,
they use a lot of water. And our increasing thirst for energy is
putting this country's water resources at risk. In places where
freshwater supplies are scarce, this can have serious
implications.
The Show-Me state produces wind energy but isn't among the
states ranked as having the best potential like Kansas. Missouri
fares better when it comes to solar energy but is still viewed
as being a step behind.
This week more than 750 large companies, small businesses and
organizations sent a letter to Congress calling for a one-year
extension of the Department of Treasury's Section 1603 Program.
The 1603 grant program, which ends Dec 31, 2011, was
originally enacted to address the shortage of available
tax equity as a result of the 2008 financial crisis.
While the tax equity market has shown improvements since
then, it still has not recovered to the pre-recession
days. In addition, there is now even greater
demand for clean energy projects.
A few low level C-class flares. The geomagnetic field
is expected to be quiet for days 1-2 (9-10 December) before
increasing to unsettled and active conditions on day 3 (11
December) due to a coronal hole high speed stream.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday refrained from admitting a
public interest case in which the petitioners sought the
creation of an "independent regulatory mechanism" to oversee the
safety of India's nuclear energy projects.
Solar PV energy can now be produced for less than $1 a watt
although the public is being kept in the dark about its true
viability, according to a new study by Queen's University.
Clean energy can help meet growing electricity demand and
minimize pollution in the Southern United States, but progress
to adopt renewable energy strategies has been hindered by a
number of myths, according to a new study by Duke and Georgia
Tech researchers.
Many consumers realize the benefits of protecting the earth's
resources, and some are hoping to become more energy
independent. Mark Haverkos is one of those people.
Exotic energy technology opens up countless possibilities
that could allow for a future beyond our imagination. Instead of
a future based on scarcity and a shortage of resources, free
energy could allow for human civilization to innovate away
nearly every problem facing humanity. The following is the
bright future that keeps me motivated to continue promoting
alternative energy.
The roots of the American Revolution go back ten years prior
to America's birthday. In fact, those roots go back to a
hundred-year-old tree. Let me explain...
There are two central concepts to the design - the use of an
inflatable skeleton rather than rigid poles, and the use of a
geodesic shape for the structure - actually part of the shape of
a carbon molecule in its diamond form.
An IAEA report says Iran told the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) on November 22 that 28 cascades, or interlinked
units of normally 164 centrifuges, are now enriching uranium.
They bring TVA's Green Power Switch program to 16
solar-generation sites throughout its service area, with a total
capacity of 472 kilowatts.
The average household served by TVA uses about 14,000
kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.
Illegal aliens in Arizona continue to receive public
assistance and other benefits at the expense of Arizona tax
payers. In fact, public benefits to illegal aliens costs Arizona
residents as much as $2,569,000,000 annually, and U.S. tax
payers as a whole up to $85 billion a year!
After the rapid expansion of the US PV market in the last few
years, the US solar industry is likely heading for a period of
slower growth. ClearSky Advisors' recent analysis of the PV
market in each of the 50 US states shows that -- contrary to
many hopes -- the US market will not be able to provide
immediate respite to all those photovoltaics manufacturers that
are suffering from the current over-capacity and margin squeeze.
The Post reported that the partial remains of 274 soldiers
were sent to the King George landfill in what the newspaper
calls a "secretive practice" by the Air Force. Even the medical
waste contractor, MedTrace Inc. of North East, Md., said it was
not told that the boxes it was picking up contained the remains
of fallen soldiers.
December 6, 2011
Corruption continues to plague too many countries around the
world, according to Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption
Perceptions Index released yesterday. It shows some governments
failing to protect citizens from corruption, be it abuse of
public resources, bribery or secretive decision-making.
Last January, UtiliPoint published an IssueAlert article
offering commentary on issues to watch in the U.S. utility
industry as 2011 unfolded.i As 2011 comes to a close, this
article will compare that commentary with an analysis of how the
year's issues actually unfolded.
According to the Los Angeles Times, items such as books, CDs,
luggage, boom boxes, mattresses, dining chairs and electric
razors were left behind.
Although Kabul has faced many challenges over the last
decade, corruption may be a greater threat to the Afghan state
than the Taliban and the insurgency.
An Alaska-based fuel company will bring in a Russian tanker
with ice-navigation capabilities to deliver 1.5 million gallons
of fuel to Nome, after a winter storm prevented fuel barges from
reaching the coastal community of about 3,600 in Western Alaska
in November, the company said Monday.
Two farmers, including a snake charmer, were so angry at tax
officials in northern India that they dumped dozens of snakes,
including four deadly cobras, on the floor of the tax office,
The Guardian reports.
The Arctic is entering a new state with warmer air and water
temperatures, less summer sea ice and snow cover, and changed
ocean chemistry, finds the annual Arctic Report Card. Less
habitat for polar bears and walruses but increased access to
feeding areas for whales characterizes the new Arctic pattern.
Being in the clean tech industry these days is a little like
how it must feel to be one of the Republican presidential
candidates. One day things look great, you’re the talk of the
buzz-o-sphere, riding a surge of momentum as The Next Big Thing.
But wake up the next day to a piece of breaking bad news, and
suddenly it’s nothing but doom and gloom, everyone’s trashing
me, and how long can I actually stay in this race?
According to the station, a district spokeswoman said she
could not go into detail, but said the boy was suspended for
"inappropriate behavior" after making "inappropriate
statements."
This week at the Tokyo Auto Show in Japan, Bridgestone showed
off its latest development - puncture-less air-free tires. The
tires are still in the concept phase, but have been successfully
tested on single-person vehicles in Japan traditionally used for
elderly people.
Coordinated action from the world's Central Banks to inject
liquidity into the European financial system may spark a global
stock-market rally, but it won't solve the underlying issues
plaguing the European economy such as a political unwillingness
to carry out tough reform policies, experts say.
Maritime relations between India and China deteriorated in
November, as China flexed its muscles and threatened to tighten
the “string of pearls” around India. Although the increased
Chinese naval presence is largely an effort by China to secure
energy flows, it has spurred regional security concerns. India
remains better positioned than China in the Indian Ocean, and
can limit China’s encroachment by focusing on bilateral security
agreements with Australia and avoiding moves that will
antagonize Beijing.
China's Ministry of Commerce expressed on Saturday its "deep
concerns" over the preliminary ITC ruling, saying that the
ruling was made without sufficient evidence showing the US solar
industry has been harmed.
Workers at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility have
discovered a leak of 45 metric tons of radioactive water,
operator Tokyo Electric Power Company said in a statement
Monday.
It's unclear whether the contaminated water reached the
Pacific Ocean.
The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan,
the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss
National Bank are today announcing coordinated actions to
enhance their capacity to provide liquidity support to the
global financial system.
Demand response (DR) as a topic is well into its adolescent
years. Together with its siblings, Time of Use and
Interruptible Rates, DR has opened the door for large commercial
energy customers to reduce costs while improving electric grid
stability.
A recent study, published online in the Journal of the
American Medical Association, has shown that people who eat
canned (tinned) foods are actually ingesting more of a
hormone-disrupting chemical than was previously thought.
After concern last summer of an imminent double-dip recession
in the U.S., the data got a bit brighter in the fall. The
economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter and has
created almost 2.8 million private- sector jobs since the labor
market bottomed in early 2010.
The United Nations hopes delegates attending global climate
talks in Durban, South Africa, will agree on the design of a
multi-billion-dollar fund to help poorer nations green their
economies and adapt to more chaotic weather.
Brighten clouds with sea water? Spray aerosols high in the
stratosphere? Paint roofs white and plant light-colored crops?
How about positioning "sun shades" over the Earth?
Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels
have increased by 49 per cent in the last two decades, according
to the latest figures by an international team, including
researchers at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research,
University of East Anglia.
The cumulative installed capacity for CPV systems was around
23MW in 2010. As the technology is still developing, most of the
CPV projects are in the pilot or prototype stage
The global net loss of forest over 1990-2005 was smaller by a
third than earlier estimated but deforestation still threatens
environment and food security, the United Nation's food agency
said on Wednesday unveiling new satellite-based data.
More than 280 million acre-feet of groundwater has been
withdrawn from the Mississippi embayment aquifer system between
1870-2007, according to a new water modeling tool developed by
the U.S. Geological Survey.
This cumulative withdrawal, which is the equivalent of five
feet of water over 78,000 square miles, contributes to one of
the largest losses of groundwater storage anywhere in the United
States.
French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to their credit, took a tougher
stance that President Obama. They imposed sanctions on Iran’s
Central Bank. They also called all nations of goodwill to follow
their lead.
The Beijing sky was so dark that many
drivers kept their headlights on throughout the day, giving the
city an eery, netherworld feeling.
Olson traces the migration of the extreme left from economic
Marxism to "cultural Marxism," replacing the theory of class
warfare with a cultural war which pits revisionism against our
best values and traditions.
Global temperatures in 2011 are currently the 10th highest on
record and are higher than any previous year with a La Niña
event, which has a cooling influence. The 13 warmest years have
all occurred in the 15 years since 1997.
Food prices continue to climb. Incomes are spiraling
downward. Record numbers of Americans are on food stamps. In a
time when putting food on the table is more challenging than it
has been for generations, we can take a page from our nation's
history to feed our families. The nation is still rich with
game, large and small, and smart, resourceful citizens are
filling their freezers with the land's bounty.
And now Uncle Sam has just asked more from you, in tax
dollars, with the Federal Reserve’s intent to prop up the
struggling euro to avoid a financial collapse across the pond.
Wall Street reacted to this with the Dow jumping loops, closing
above 12,000 in the single largest gain since August.
This week’s breakdown in Iran’s diplomatic relations with the
UK and other European states reflects desperation by the Iranian
regime over its increasing isolation and could lead the regime
to step up its support of terrorism and to an acceleration of
its development of a nuclear weapons program. If Iran’s
isolation lasts a year or more, it may lead Tehran to consider
conducting a nuclear test, which could lead to a preemptive
strike by Israel.
Kamakura Corporation reported last week that the Kamakura
index of troubled public companies showed the sixth month of
deterioration in the last seven months, rising 0.38% to 7.64% in
November. The index hit an intra-month high of 8.10% just a few
days before November month end. At the 7.64% level, corporate
credit quality is at the 70th percentile (with 100
being best all time credit quality) over the period from 1990 to
the present.
A man from Nyköping in eastern Sweden has been denied a power
wheelchair despite having had both of his legs amputated as the
local health authority remained "uncertain if the impairment was
permanent".
The cost of a solar cell is given per unit of peak electrical
power. Manufacturing costs necessarily include the cost of
energy required for manufacture. Solar power must become more
efficient and less expensive to compete with energy produced by
fossil fuels.
Aboriginal groups in the Canadian Pacific province of British
Columbia said on Thursday they had formed a united front to
oppose all exports of crude oil from the Alberta tar sands
through their territories.
You may have heard or read about a declining honey bee
population and thought: Who cares I don’t like bees. The problem
is without bees we would all go hungry very fast. If the
honeybees continue to vanish this could lead to a world wide
food shortage.
A pioneering scanning technique promises to give doctors the
first accurate test for Alzheimer’s disease in living patients,
allowing earlier treatment to slow the progression of the
dementia-causing illness.
With grid parity on the horizon in some North American
regions, PV is "positioned to take significant market share from
other energy sources," said Craig Stevens, president of NPD
Solarbuzz. "
Just a couple of years ago, this prediction for US oil
production would have sounded preposterous. But Tudor Pickering
Holt's chief energy strategist now thinks the number could grow
from the current level of 5.7 million b/d to more than 7 million
b/d in the near future
After an oil spill at sea, toxic substances in the spilled
oil can continue to damage marine life for a long time, even
though the oil appears to be cleaned up, according to a new
study by researchers from Norway, the UK, Spain and France.
...organic grain production reduces greenhouse gas emissions
relative to chemical-intensive no-till and chisel-plow
production systems. In fact, the research concludes that the
organic system removes more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere
than it contributes, while the other systems result in net
increases.
The debate over whether the world's reserves of hydrocarbons
have now peaked and are in decline has lost relevance over
recent years as new technology allows oil companies to find and
exploit new hydrocarbon sources, the CEO of Repsol Antonio
Brufau said Tuesday.
The California Public Utilities Commission levied the fine
Dec. 1, according to The Wall Street Journal. Investigators
found that faulty repairs by PG&E to the pipeline that allowed
gas to leak caused the explosion in Rancho Cordova.
Ronald Reagan did not believe America was in
decline, but he did believe it had been suffering under
wrongheaded economic policies. In response, he offered his own
plan, a program for creating economic freedom that came to be
known as Reaganomics.
C3 flare, Two coronal mass ejections (CMEs), e are
currently waiting on model runs to determine the possibility
of a glancing blow from these events. M-class
flare probabilities,
The March 11 earthquake was not a major factor in the
accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan,
according to a report from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
Investigation Commission. The commission found that the tsunami
was the “direct cause” of the disaster.
U.S. researchers say subjecting chunks of rock to extreme
conditions in the laboratory could help in curbing climate
change.
U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Charles E. Schumer
(D-N.Y.) today hailed the passage of an amendment they sponsored
to close loopholes that put American manufacturers of solar
technology at a disadvantage to foreign competitors
At the heart of the debate is the question of how best to
create jobs in a sector that has been touted by President Obama
and many others as a potential sunrise industry for the future.
The world financial system is on the brink of collapse, with
developed markets running full speed ahead toward
disintegration, says billionaire financier George Soros.
Although developing countries are battling a slew of problems
themselves, such as corruption and tattered infrastructure, they
will likely end up faring better than markets in the big,
industrialized nations, Soros says.
A US congressional hearing on the proposed Keystone XL
pipeline extension grew somewhat testy Friday over the issue of
keeping the products refined from Canadian oil sands within the
US.
When state commissioners sat down with two FERC commissioners
and FERC staff at the 123rd Annual Meeting of the National
Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), it was
made clear the commissioners are still grappling with the
dictates of FERC Order 1000.
The end of the last ice age and the processes that led to the
melting of the northern and southern ice sheets supply
information on changes in our climate. Although the maximum size
of the ice sheet in the northern hemisphere during the last ice
age is relatively well known, there is little reliable data on
the dimensions of the Antarctic ice sheet.
Quileutes do not turn into wolves.
Quileute culture has no references to vampires or Cold Ones.
Quileute men are not shirtless and prone to violent
resolution of disputes.
Quileute women are not passive and subservient (three of five
members of the Tribal Council, including the chair, are women).
One dollar per watt: that’s the mark the solar industry is
hoping to hit in order to become cost-competitive with
conventional energies. In a bid to reach this magic number in
the next two years, various Asian manufacturers are striving to
reduce costs by increasing volume production. An alternative
direction that will benefit the industry in the long term is to
target increased efficiencies primarily through new
manufacturing processes, new higher-quality materials for
metallization and changing the structure of the cell.
Most flu vaccines are preserved with mercury. There is no
excuse for injecting any living being with mercury. Furthermore,
the flu vaccine is not very effective.
U.N. climate talks in Durban, South Africa, from November
28-December 9 are aimed at agreeing new measures to stem rising
emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases.
Following is a look at how the world discovered global
warming and international steps to try to address it:
Arizona is the third-largest employer in solar-related fields
in America with nearly 5,000 jobs across 980 solar
establishments in the state, according to the National Solar
Jobs Census for 2011 report released by The Solar Foundation.
Nationally, the solar industry is expected to add about 37,000
jobs by 2013, with many anticipated to be created in Arizona.
SolarWorld's trade complaint could put these jobs in jeopardy.
U.S. commercial crude inventories climbed 3.932 million
barrels to 334.747 million barrels during the week ended
November 25, driven mainly by a rise in imports, while refiners
reduced runs, data released by the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA) showed Wednesday.
President Obama's program to fund renewable energy
initiatives is set to expire at the end of the year. Overall
funding of clean energy and clean technology projects is
expected to decline in 2012. The program backed $32.9 billion in
energy projects and encouraged companies like Google and
Citiback to become equity partners in wind and solar.
Foreign sales of U.S. weapons rose to $34.8 billion in fiscal
year 2011 and should hover around $30 billion this year, the
Pentagon said on Monday.
The release of the monthly US export/import numbers is
starting to draw attention from a wider range of the media. The
release Tuesday of export/import numbers from September is proof
of that, as it was highlighted in various media around the
country.
Over the past several years, the U.S. wind industry has been
fueled by a combination of renewable portfolio requirements and
a federal production tax credit (PTC), which provides a 2.2
cents per kWh tax credit during the first ten years of
operations. The PTC, however, is set to expire at the end of
2012 which could bring this high flying industry to a screeching
halt.
The Chinese government is encouraging domestic companies to
pursue innovative desalination technologies With China's
tremendous growth, the migration of people from rural places
into urban areas is becoming more significant.
Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are convinced that the End of Days
has come. They believe the Shia messiah known as the “Twelfth
Imam” or the “Mahdi” will appear soon to establish a global
Islamic kingdom known as the caliphate.
What’s more, they believe the way to
hasten the coming of the Twelfth Imam is to annihilate Israel
...
Wind has continued its recovery from the depths of 2010 but
continues to be dogged by the specter of a policy train wreck,
courtesy of Congress, in the next year or so.
There’s a lot of debate about whether or not it’s safe to eat
GM foods, but what’s being argued for is simply that they be
labeled. We’re living in a time where it’s illegal not to tell
consumers if a product is made in a room where nuts are handled,
but food can be tinkered with at the DNA level and no one is
obligated to say so.
The central banks of the wealthiest countries, trying to
prevent a debt crisis in Europe from exploding into a global
panic, swept in Wednesday to shore up the world financial system
by making it easier for banks to borrow American dollars.
When complete, a towering pair of coils will fill a football
field-sized area with massive electric bolts that researchers
hope will reveal some of the mysteries of this beautiful but
deadly force.
Standard and Poor's reduced its credit ratings on several big
banks in the United States and Europe on Tuesday as the result
of an overhaul of its ratings criteria. A few surprising
results: Most US and UK institutions got their ratings reduced
by one notch, while ratings for firms like Deutsche Bank,
Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, and Credit
Lyonnais were left unchanged. What changes in the methodology
would explain this?
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for News of March 2009 go to:
News_Mar09
for News of February 2009 go to: News_Feb09
for News of January 2009 go to:
News_Jan09
for News of December 2008 go to:News_Dec08
for News of November 2008 go to: News_Nov08
for News of October 2008 go to: News_Oct08.
for News of September 2008 go to:
News_Sep08
for News of August 2008 go to:
News_Aug08
for News of July 2008 go to:News_July08
for News of June 2008 go to:
News_June08
for News of May 2008 go to:
News_May08
for News of April 2008 go to:
News_Apr08
for News of March 2008 go to: News_Mar08
for News of February 2008 go to:
News_Feb08
for News of January 2008 go to:
News_Jan08
for Current Events go to:
Events
for News of 2008 go to:
News_2008
for News of 2007 go to:
News_2007
for News of 2006 go to:
News_2006
for News of 2005 go to:
News_2005
for News of 2006 go to:
News_2006
for News of 2005 go to:
News_2005
for News of 2004 go to:
News of
2004
for Events of 2008 go to:
Events of 2008
for Events of 2007 go to:
Events of 2007
for Events of 2006 go to:
Events of 2006
for Events of 2005 go to:
Events of
2005
for Events of 2004 go to:
Events of
2004
for News and Events of 2003 go to
News and
Events Archive 2003
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