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February
25, 2011
When you read the NEWS you should always keep
yourself in a centered position to better receive and translate
that "news" into a positive energy.
REMEMBER:
The natural world is the source of human life. We live from
the earth,
from the plants and animals, from the fire, the rain, and wind,
the rocks and sea, the sacred places,
and the voices of the ancestors.
The world is alive with feeling, awareness, and wisdom.
It has deep medicine.
To be on good terms with the natural world
is to be on good terms with your own life.
UNLIKE MANY OTHER SECTORS OF THE U.S.
economy, the nuclear energy industry is growing. In
fact, it's beginning to boom, with the potential to
help the United States reduce its carbon footprint
while also making a major and positive impact on the
U.S. economy over both the near and long term.
Some Arizona lawmakers are tired of the federal government
telling the state what to do.
They don't believe federal requirements, Supreme Court rulings or
decades of precedent are good reasons to require state taxpayers to
pay to educate illegal immigrants or provide them with health care.
And, this year, they're doing something about it
Tens of thousands of people waved flags and flooded this tiny
sheikdom's capital Tuesday as the king vowed to free political
prisoners in his latest attempt to end an uprising.
With the Obama Administration seeking $36 billion in loan
guarantees for new nuclear power plants, the Union of Concerned
Scientists is taking aim at nuke subsidies.
As he said on his Fox News show, the
Democrats know that if they lose in Wisconsin
and that if Gov. Scott Walker wins, it
means that all across the country the public
employee unions will finally have to give up
their outrageous pay demands, lavish
benefits and fat pensions.
Power in a small box? Skeptics say that fuel
cells will never multiply to the point of offering
an alternative to centralized, large,
power-generation plants.
Could it be untrue, could we get much higher? The Door's late
front-man Jim Morrison didn't think so when he sang the 1967 hit
Light My Fire, but when it comes to the oil market,
industry players aren't all singing the same tune.
The New Zealand police now put the death toll from the
Christchurch earthquake at 102 and this figure is still expected
to rise. The South Island city of 340,000 was hit by a magnitude
6.3 earthquake on Tuesday, sustaining its second major quake in
five months.
Two years into his tenure, President Obama's legacy is shaping
up. At stake is how his agenda has eased the recession and
specifically those policies tied to the creation of a New Energy
Economy.
In a new experiment, the Italian “energy catalyst” has
been run at Bologna University for 18 hours.
“In my opinion, all chemical sources are now excluded,”
physicist Giuseppe Levi told Ny Teknik
When asked by an energy-savvy professional to
explain the difference between energy efficiency and
demand response, my response came easily. But when
asked a follow up about why this person should care
what the difference is, I was more perplexed.
The European Union is not worried about the loss of Libyan oil
supplies as it is importing alternative crude from producers such as
Saudi Arabia, the European Commission's energy spokeswoman Marlene
Holzner said Thursday.
Just as the U.S. and global economies are finally
strengthening, they face a new danger: Rocketing oil prices,
which topped $100 a barrel Wednesday.
Two years ago, reading the tea leaves on electric
vehicles (EVs), Johnson pressed for and received his
current role as manager of electric transportation
and emerging technologies. Now, EVs are here and NV
Energy is ready. It will offer its residential
customers with smart meters a chance to opt in on
time-of-use (TOU) rates, with a one-time chance to
opt out after 12 months and return to the
traditional flat rate. NV refers to this TOU plan as
"an experimental program."
A few weeks ago, US solar market analyst Paula Mints published
an article essentially arguing that solar is about to reach an
"un-incentivized future." Don't hold your breath.
French oil major Total has started to suspend some of its oil
production in Libya where protests against Moammar Qadhafi's rule have
killed hundreds, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Lindsey Williams said yesterday that his insider sources say
U.S. gas prices will go up to $4 and $5 a gallon by the end of 2011, and
up to $6 and $7 per gallon in 2012; and the U.S. Dollar will collapse
completely by the end of 2012, wiping out the wealth of the Arab oil
countries; and US will then open US oil fields in violation of secret
agreements. Ramifications of free energy technology emerging as a stop
gap.
Revolution in the Wings
Sometimes it is the little things that matter
most.
With that in mind, the Electric Power Research
Institute is putting $1 million of seed money
annually behind each of four potential breakthrough
technologies
On Global Warming:
In the 'Global Warming Debate' are we cherry
picking our evidence? Are we relying on modeling
techniques that do not predict near-term future
events so how can we rely on them to predict the
next twenty years?
Energy efficiency is a faster and a much less costly way to
reduce carbon emissions, according to the group.
It also says alternative sources of energy are viable as prices
drop for the production.
ON HAWAII ISLAND, THE LARGEST IN THE
ALOHA STATE, WE have a unique story in the
world of electric generation, a story I believe will
become valuable to many across the country.
Several years ago many enthusiasts went
'hog wild' installing their HHO units with good results but
without the full attention needed to handle the vehicles' fuel
delivery system. There was also the added problem of limited
resources to explain the correct handling for the many different
vehicle manufacturers. The result was a perception that HHO
would not work with certain engine types. Nothing can be farther
from the truth. HHO
works with gasoline and diesel engines and here's a good overview of how
to do it.
Home prices took a big hit at the end of 2010, even as the rest of
the economy gained steam.
National home prices fell 4.1% during the last three months of 2010,
compared with 12 months earlier, according to the latest report from the
S&P/Case-Shiller home price index,..
A residential rooftop solar PV system in Los Angeles, CA, has a
cheaper cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity delivered than the
most cost effective, utility-scale concentrating solar power
plant.
Decisions on pricing are almost among the toughest ones facing
business executives. Customers and competitors alike put
tremendous pressure on firms that raise prices. At the same
time, ongoing increases in the costs of health care benefits,
energy, raw materials, wages, and other factors of production
cannot be easily overcome without price increases. The question
most often asked in discussions about pricing is “How real are
those price pressures?”
The United States is encouraging the development of solar energy
at least in three ways: contract with big solar energy generating
companies, install solar panels on roofs of big companies and other
public buildings, and encourage residents to install solar panels on
their home roofs.
Iran plans to generate renewable energy over the next three years
with capacity totaling 2,100 megawatts (MW) to meet its energy demand,
IRNA reported quoting Iran's Energy Minister Majid Namjoo as saying.
Iranian warships sailed through the
Suez Canal to reach the
Mediterranean Sea for the first time since 1979 as Israel
stressed its objection to their voyage to Syria.
The Kingdom is set to invite four international energy firms to
take part in the country's peaceful nuclear programme as
strategic partners
The Justice Department under President Barack Obama has
quietly dropped its legal representation of more than a
dozen Bush-era Pentagon and administration officials -
including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and aide
Paul Wolfowitz - in a lawsuit by Al Qaeda operative Jose
Padilla, who spent years behind bars without charges in
conditions his lawyers compare to torture.
Forces loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi made good on threats to
trigger a civil war in Libya on Wednesday night, by taking up
positions across the capital, Tripoli and launching a rearguard
fight against rebels in major cities.
The wind industry is at an important fork in the road regarding
community noise standards. Although developers have successfully
used setbacks of 1200 feet and less in farm and ranch country for
many years, they are now facing growing numbers of wind farm
neighbors in other regions struggling with turbine noise. This has,
in turn, spawned widespread resistance to traditional siting
standards around the country.
The Obama administration's crackdown on mountaintop removal took
a hit in the U.S. House, with passage early Saturday morning of a
spending bill that blocks such initiatives.
A fleet of electric cars and charging stations is coming to
Oregon.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants wind energy to benefit
people without endangering animals.
The FWS recently released a draft of its voluntary guidelines for
land-based wind energy project development in an effort to encourage
responsible selection of project locations.
Nigerian militant leaders declared Friday that the country's most
prominent rebel group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta,
no longer exists and was not capable of unleashing any further violence
on the oil and gas industry.
Shareholders Urge Energy Companies to Tackle Risks from
Climate Change, Water Scarcity and Other Environmental Threats
As might be expected when regarding such a controversial topic
such as the establishment of a nuclear power plant, opponents to the
plan were ready for a meeting of the Pueblo County Planning
Commission on Tuesday.
Today, the Philippine Department of Energy tested Ismael
Aviso's electric car, showing that running off wall power, the 11 kW DC
motor ran at 45% efficiency, but with Aviso's on-board generator which
harvests ambient energy from the surroundings, the motor ran at 133%
efficiency (overunity).
NATURAL GAS PRICES MAY BE STUCK IN THE
bargain basement, but pipeline companies are rushing
to connect to shale gas fields in the southern and eastern
United States as if they contained gold.
The energy generation fleet of America is going to be cleaner in
decades to come, one industry leader predicts. And solar will be
playing an increasingly important role, according to the head of
a solar association.
Now, I know you’re all thinking this headline is a joke,
but as usual, I’m very serious, and I’m just framing my
secret in a clever, attention-grabbing headline. Before I
explain this headline, let me first tell you what the secret
isn’t, and why.
The secret isn’t better technology.
Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is almost entirely isolated from
the international community now, as EU leaders call for
sanctions and the African Union condemns his actions
A number of influential rabbis say unrest in the Arab world signals
the coming of the War of Gog and Magog and the soon coming of
the Messiah, reported a leading Israeli news service on Wednesday.
Many other states were a
little better prepared and had a little more
foresight before gas prices started going sky high
again, they invested in CNG infrastructure!
Arizona only has 2 public CNG stations in Tucson and
5 in Phoenix
Electron 2MeV Integral Flux exceeded 1000pfu
Radio Events Observed
M3 x-ray event...This region is still rotating onto the visible disk. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled for the next three days (25-27 February).
Seeing is believing. That was the first that thought came to
my mind when I visited the onshore Khurais oil field in Saudi
Arabia's vast desert this week.
Located some 150 km (100 miles) southeast of the capital
Riyadh, the Khurais oil field began pumping 1.2 million b/d in
2009, the largest single increment from any single oilfield in
the kingdom's history.
Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali Naimi said February 22 he does
not expect the oil price spike of 2008 to be repeated and that
recent market volatility is unlikely to last because oil markets
are well supplied, spare capacity is plentiful and there is no
shortage.
Leifer thinks this oil rain is an unprecedented oil spill
phenomenon - a combination of the Gulf's high humidity and
the columns of thick smoke from burning oil. A lot of things
about the BP blowout made it unlike other oil spills.
We Energies sued the federal government 10 years ago, after the
U.S. failed to open its Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump.
After more than a decade of litigation and negotiation, the
Milwaukee utility said it has reached a settlement that will return
$31 million to We Energies customers from Uncle Sam.
Frogs appear to be very sensitive to progestogens, a kind of
pharmaceutical that is released into the environment. Female
tadpoles that swim in water containing a specific progestogen,
levonorgestrel, are subject to abnormal ovarian and oviduct
development, resulting in adult sterility.
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the parents of a child who
suffered seizures after a routine vaccination cannot sue the
drugmaker.
THERE IS MUCH PRESS ABOUT THE CURRENT
U.S. natural gas glut. The glut won't last
for long. According to astrophysicist Michio Kaku,
if the world economic growth rate averages 3 percent
annually, within a century or two our civilization
will need to master all forms of terrestrial energy
and harness the potential resources of the entire
planet including modifying the weather, mining the
oceans, and extracting energy from the center of our
planet.
Dick Morris, a veteran pollster with thirty years of experience in
national and international polling, is announcing the launch of The Dick
Morris Poll, which will focus on timely political issues and candidates.
Drawing on his polling expertise, Dick will provide the results and an
analysis of each poll.
Time magazine's intelligence columnist reported on Tuesday
that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has ordered his security
forces to sabotage the country's oil facilities, citing a source
close to the government.
The repetitive noise of wind turbines can be annoying to people,
a sound expert told a Lee County panel Wednesday.
Leslie Frank, an acoustical engineer, said the noise from
turbines has been known to cause stress.
On January 5 this year, a young Tunisian jobless graduate called
Mohamed Bouazizi doused himself with gasoline and set himself
alight after police took away the fruit and vegetables he was
selling illegally. In doing so, he lit the flame under an
unprecedented wave of political protest across North Africa and
the Middle East that has brought down the governments of Tunisia
and Egypt.
The climate
inside of the United Nations is changing. UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will emphasize the
employment of more sustainable fuels without trying
to extract firm commitments on carbon reductions.
U.S. existing home sales rose 2.7% in January 2011 to 5.36
million annualized units, building on the 12.5% increase to 5.22
million annualized units seen in December 2010 (previously
reported as 5.28 million). The increase comes as a surprise as
market expectations were for sales to decline to 5.20 million in
the month.
In
his monthly update on the level of foreign oil imports in the
U.S., energy expert T. Boone Pickens said that based on the
latest figures from the Federal Reserve Economic Database, the
U.S. imported 62 percent of its oil, or 366 million barrels in
January 2011, sending approximately $ 32.6 billion, or $ 730.711
per minute, to foreign countries.
At least 75 percent of the world's coral reefs are under such
intense pressures - both local and global - that their very
survival is threatened, finds the most detailed assessment of
threats to coral reefs ever undertaken, published on Wednesday.
The case studies detail the early experiences of four U.S.
locations on the leading edge of home-charging implementation.
Fossil industry leaders such as T. Boone Pickens
like to tout America's abundant supplies of natural gas.
And of course, they're right. Due to such robust supply,
current prices for the stuff are very, very low....
Notice something strange here? Destroying the water table
is fine, the government says, and boosts American
competitiveness, but upsetting a bird is absolutely horrible
and must be stopped at all costs?
As even pro-union FDR understood, collective-bargaining rights for
government workers is the ultimate conflict of interest. What is really
at stake in the Wisconsin donnybrook is whether individual liberty or
government power has the upper hand in our country.
February
22, 2011
When you read the NEWS you should always keep
yourself in a centered position to better receive and translate
that "news" into a positive energy.
REMEMBER:
The natural world is the source of human life. We live from
the earth,
from the plants and animals, from the fire, the rain, and wind,
the rocks and sea, the sacred places,
and the voices of the ancestors.
The world is alive with feeling, awareness, and wisdom.
It has deep medicine.
To be on good terms with the natural world
is to be on good terms with your own life.
They survived live fire, explosive devices, terror attacks and
grueling desert conditions. But upon returning home to seek
treatment for the mental anguish that too often accompanies war, U.S.
soldiers are now being killed by the pharmaceutical industry in record
numbers.
ICE Brent crude futures climbed above $105/barrel Monday as the
deepening political unrest in Libya began to affect the country's oil
production, up $2.36/b from Friday's close. US light crude futures on
NYMEX surged by $3.30/b to $89.50/b.
"First, He Brought a Dead Man
Back to Life — Not With Medicine,
But With Prayer"
A changing climate means allergy-causing ragweed pollen has a
longer season that extends further north than it did just 16 years
ago, U.S. scientists reported on Monday.
The United Nations' top climate change official said on Tuesday
that food shortages and rising prices caused by climate
disruptions were among the chief contributors to the civil
unrest coursing through North Africa and the Middle East.
Solar installers and project developers
are avidly exploring emerging power electronics technologies, such as
microinverters and power optimization through maximum power-point
tracking (MPPT). Although these new technologies genuinely increase
power harvest in certain solar applications, their low efficiencies and
high up-front costs in others have been obscured by hype, according to a
new report from Lux Research.
Strict curbs on soot and ozone air pollution would limit global
warming by 0.5 degree Celsius (0.9 F) in a step toward achieving
tough world climate goals, a U.N.-backed study showed on Friday.
6.3 M - SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND
6.2 M - NEAR EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA
Ecuadorian plaintiffs who won a US$8.6 billion dollar judgment
against oil giant Chevron earlier this week for pollution of
their Amazon homeland plan to appeal the ruling. They say the
amount awarded is too low to compensate for the damages they
suffered from 30 years of oil production by Texaco, since
purchased by Chevron.
4349 pfu
Fewer big, predatory fish are
swimming in the world's oceans because of overfishing
by humans, leaving smaller fish to thrive and double in force over the
past 100 years, scientists said Friday. Big fish such as cod, tuna, and
groupers have declined worldwide by two-thirds while the number of
anchovies, sardines and capelin has surged in their absence, said
University of British Columbia researchers.
It's easy to miss amid the drama of Egypt - though the two
stories are connected - but the world is in the grip of a
full-blown food crisis. According to the U.N., world food prices
hit a record high in January, meaning food is now more expensive
than it has ever been in real terms since the U.N. first began
tracking the numbers in 1990.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to have fled the
capital Tripoli after anti-government demonstrators breached the
state television building and set government property alight,
London's Daily Mail reported early Monday.
A rash of earthquakes affecting two small American cities in the past
week have baffled geologists - though locals are blaming gas companies.
The north-central Arkansas cities of Greenbrier and Guy have been
affected by more than 30 earthquakes since Sunday ranging in magnitude
from 1.8 to 3.8.
Geologists are still trying to discover the exact cause of the recent
seismic activity but have identified two possibilities.
Jolted to action by deficit-conscious newcomers, the
Republican-controlled House agreed early Saturday to cut $61
billion from hundreds of federal programs and shelter coal
companies, oil refiners and farmers from new government
regulations.
On largely party lines votes, the House approved several
amendments to deny funds to federal agencies to implement the
healthcare overhaul, which Republicans deride as a costly
government intrusion into the marketplace.
The czars — special appointees who in many cases answer directly
to President Barack Obama and the White House chief of staff
—
have been a source of controversy since the early months
of the
administration.
climate experts predict that sea levels will rise as ocean
temperatures increase and the polar
caps melt. Contingency plans are already being
formulated by vulnerable US coastal cities. According to a new study led
by scientists at the University of Arizona (UA), rising sea levels could
cover up to nine percent of the land area in 180 US cities by 2100.
Channeling 2 percent, or $1.3 trillion, of global gross domestic
product into greening sectors such as construction, energy and
fishing could start a move toward a low-carbon world, a report
launched on Monday said.
WE ARE OFTEN TOLD that we possess the most
powerful military in the world and that we will face no serious threat
for some time to come. We are comforted with three reassurances aimed at
deflecting any serious discussion of national security: (1) that Islam
is a religion of peace; (2) that we will never go to war with China
because our economic interests are intertwined; and (3) that America won
the Cold War and Russia is no longer our enemy. But these reassurances
are myths, propagated on the right and left alike. We believe them at
our peril, because serious threats are already upon us.
“The design fulfills the requirements of the brief for a bespoke
five star hotel while returning hard standing to the Green Belt
and improving the physical layout and visual attraction of the
entire site,
"Physics of the Impossible" author Michio Kaku on the consequences of a
massive solar storm to our global infrastructure and economy."
Many skywatchers have never seen the elusive innermost planet Mercury
due to its rapid orbital motion and the fact that it never strays far
from the Sun. (This includes lots of professional astronomers as well!)
March offers a great opportunity to spot it at one of its periodic
elongations. During the second half of this month, Mercury will be
readily visible to the unaided eye in the darkening western sky after
sunset.
A wave of anti-government protests in several Middle East
countries has driven crude prices to their highest levels in
more than two years, North Sea Brent climbing above $104/barrel
this week.
The passive house movement, popularized in Europe, where
thousands of such homes have been built, is starting to catch on in
the United States as consumers look to lower their utility bills.
These homes don't require pricey solar panels or wind turbines but
focus on old-fashioned building science to reduce energy use by up
to 90%.
Burst Observed. Noise Storms
Quantum dot solar cells could offer a cheaper, more
efficient alternative to conventional photovoltaic materials.
There certainly has been a lot of encouragement from the
freedom-advocacy community for him to run again. He has a
grandfatherly, disarming way of speaking of very difficult and
divisive issues in a common-sense, charming way. He has a
strong foundation in principles of freedom and is able to
articulate that message powerfully, resonating with people from
a wide spectrum of backgrounds, parties and religious beliefs
The ambitions of Russia's giant producers -- state-controlled Rosneft,
Gazprom and its oil arm Gazprom Neft, and privately owned companies
Lukoil and TNK-BP -- all have their sights firmly set on expansion
outside of Russia.
A University of Georgia scientist has gone public with video and
slides showing how oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of
the Gulf of Mexico. The images demonstrate that the oil isn't degrading
as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor.
As G-20 finance ministers met in Paris today, warnings that food
riots could erupt in the face of steeply rising prices are
resounding around the world. Members of the European Parliament
called on the G-20 to take action. Many leaders are identifying
extreme weather patterns and climate change as primary factors
in poor crop yields.
Let algae do the dirty work.
Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology are developing
biodiesel from microalgae grown in wastewater. The project is doubly
"green" because algae consume nitrates and phosphates and reduce
bacteria and toxins in the water. The end result: clean wastewater
and stock for a promising biofuel.
Enormous amounts of the fertilizer phosphorus are discharged
into oceans due to inefficiencies in farming and a failure to
recycle wastewater, the United Nations Environment Programme
warns in its 2011 Year Book released today.
* the Radicals -- Muslims who believe Islam is the answer and violent
jihad is the way;
*the Reformers -- Muslims who believe that Islam is the answer but jihad
is not the way, that the Islamic world needs more freedom, more
openness, more protection of human rights and civil rights and even
democracy;
*the Revivalists -- Middle Easterners who have renounced Islam
and come to believe that Islam is not the answer, jihad is not
the way, that following Jesus Christ is the way, and that the
only hope for the region is to skip back in history before Islam
and revive what they once had: first century, New Testament,
Biblical Christianity
While the federal Environmental Protection Administration is about to
impose regulations and taxes on carbon emissions by executive fiat - in
the name of stopping global climate change - the United States has
already dramatically cut its emissions and probably has already complied
with the Kyoto/Copenhagen goals for reduced emissions. And this
has been done without taxes, without regulations, and without government
intervention.
A U.S. judge asked lawyers in the long-running Chevron Corp
pollution dispute in Ecuador's Amazon rain forest to do more work on
Ecuadorean law before he decides whether any judgment against the
oil company can be enforced.
Forecasting space weather is vital because solar storms and flares
can have a harmful impact on human beings. A solar storm can disturb
radio signals and affects cell phones, televisions, GPS etc writes
Kunwar Alkendra Pratap Singh
In the anti-laser, incoming light waves are trapped in a cavity
where they bounce back and forth until they are eventually
absorbed
Unseasonably cold weather in eastern Europe is likely to linger
into March, but Britain looks set to enjoy slightly milder than
normal temperatures, U.S.-based Weather Services International (WSI)
said on Monday.
February
18, 2011
Mahmoud Abbas is trying to force a U.N. vote to condemn Israel
for building "settlements" on territory the Palestinians claim
is theirs but refuse to sign a peace treaty to get. The good
news: the Obama administration is threatening to veto the
resolution if it comes before the Security Council. The bad
news: the U.S. is proposing to condemn Israel in a different
manner to appease Abbas and the Islamic world.
As world food prices reach new highs, a handful of U.S.
politicians and hard-hit corporations are readying a fresh effort to
forestall the use of more U.S. corn and soybeans as motor fuel.
They are likely doing so in vain, say experts.
Saudi Arabia, the oil Goliath which holds in its hands the only
significant spare production capacity that can meet any potential global
supply disruption, has been besieged by bloody riots in neighboring
Bahrain and a growing anti-government protest south of its border in
Yemen.
Arizona Public Service Company will hold a webinar on Wednesday,
February 23, to prepare respondents for the issuance of a renewable
energy request for proposal (RFP) planned for April 2011.
Thousands of funeral mourners called for the downfall of
Bahrain's ruling monarchy as burials began Friday after a deadly
assault on pro-reform protesters that has brought army tanks
into the streets of the most strategic Western ally in the Gulf.
Thawing permafrost is triggering mudslides onto a key road
traveled by busloads of sightseers. Tall bushes newly sprouted on
the tundra are blocking panoramic views. And glaciers are receding
from convenient viewing areas, while their rapid summer melt poses
new flood risks.
The United States' reliance on coal to generate almost half of
its electricity, costs the economy about $345 billion a year in
hidden expenses not borne by miners or utilities, including health
problems in mining communities and pollution around power plants, a
study found.
Consumers paid more in January for everything from food and
gas to airline tickets and clothing. The price increases reflect
creeping but still-modest inflation.
Gold investment in China, the second-largest consumer after
India, may gain 40 percent to 50 percent this year as investors
increase purchases of the precious metal as a store of value,
said the World Gold Council
Coal industry leaders have raised their voices to express
opposition to tighter air quality controls on carbon-based energy
production as well as strict adherence to water quality standards
they say will adversely impact surface mining, but the coal industry
-- at least in the southern West Virginia metallurgical coal fields
-- has been thriving.
The Obama Administration today proposed a FY 2012 budget of
$8.973 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). This proposal reflects President Obama's commitment to
ensuring the government lives within its means while ensuring
that EPA can carry out its core mission: protecting public
health and our environment while reducing air and water
pollution in communities across America.
The difference between clean energy policies with a
democratizing influence and the bewildering U.S. system
can be illustrated with a close look at the federal
investment tax credit for solar power. The
investment tax credit returns up to 30% of a solar PV
system value to the developer, and the credit can be
carried over for 5 years (until 2016, when the entire
tax credit may expire as it has in the past).
Man-made greenhouse gas emissions are linked to more frequent
heavy rainfall, two studies published found on Wednesday, portraying
a clearer human fingerprint after a spate of floods around the
world.
The world added about 16 gigawatts of new solar photovoltaic (PV)
power in 2010, double the growth seen a year earlier, the European
Photovoltaic Industry Association told Reuters on Monday.
A U.S. government investigation of the Trans Alaska oil pipeline
has found potentially major safety issues on the line that ships 12
percent of domestic oil supply, making its operation risky until
repairs are made, according to a letter sent by regulators to the
operator and viewed by Reuters on Friday.
HyperSolar intends to produce a thin, flat, clear solar
concentrator, that could boost the amount of sunlight reaching
solar cells by up to 400 percent.
Bracing for what the IRS calls the largest set of tax law
changes in 20 years, a newly released IRS budget reports that
the agency is seeking to bolster its resources in preparation
for Obamacare implementation to the tune of 1,054 new auditors
and staff — at a cost of $359 million to taxpayers.
The study is published in the journal PLoS ONE today. The
research team discovered many climate variability signals,
called teleconnections, in the data. For example, changes in
Lake Baikal water temperature correlate with monthly variability
in El Niño indices, reflecting sea
surface
temperatures over the Pacific Ocean tens of thousands of
kilometers away.
Rapid recent solar and wind price falls are likely to bring new
markets and mass adoption a step closer over the next decade and
raise the prospects of mergers.
The biggest
solar
flare in four years has blasted out from the
sun, and is expected to reach Earth late tonight.
Montana's governor on Tuesday barred Yellowstone buffalo exposed
to a livestock disease from entering his state, effectively granting
a temporary reprieve for the 217 buffalo targeted for slaughter.
Though praised by many regional leaders, some environmentalists and
industry groups -- who for decades have faced off in courts and the
public square over public lands -- picked at parts of the plan even
while welcoming the secretary's effort.
Many agricultural pesticides - including some previously
untested and commonly found in food - disrupt male hormones,
according to new tests conducted by British scientists. The
researchers strongly recommended that all pesticides in use
today be screened to check if they block testosterone, which is
critical to men's and boys' reproductive health.
Affirming the financial risks that climate change and other
environmental concerns pose to leading energy companies, investors
announced today the filing of 66 climate and energy related
shareholder resolutions with 41 coal, electric power and oil
companies in the 2011 proxy season, making 2011 a record for
shareholder engagement in the energy sector, even in the face of
Congressional inaction on climate change.
A group of four major oil companies said Thursday it is ready to
deploy an interim well containment system in the US designed to cap a
leaking deepwater well and deal with a resulting spill.
Texas' main electric grid operator already has begun making
changes in how it will handle situations like the Feb. 2 power
emergency that led to rolling blackouts in much of the state, the
organization's CEO said Monday.
President Obama’s FY 2012 budget seeks $520.7 million for the
Office of Fossil Energy (FE) to support improved energy security
and rapid development of climate-oriented technology.
By a four- to-one margin, an overwhelming majority of Americans
support the use of federal loan guarantees to encourage investment
in the clean- energy technologies identified by President Obama in
his recent State of the Union address, a new national survey shows.
several C-class events, the largest of which was a C6.
M-class activity likely and a slight chance for an
isolated X-class event for the next three days (18-20 February).The
geomagnetic field is
expected to be active with a chance for isolated minor storm periods
for day one (18 February). This activity is due to the effects of
two CMEs; the first associated with an M6 event at 13/1735Z and the
second associated with an X2 event
The Middle East is likely to plunge into serious humanitarian
crisis due to depletion of water resources, unless remedial
measures are introduced urgently, says a new Strategic Foresight
Group report, The Blue Peace: Rethinking Middle East Water.
While conducting research into brain-gut interactions, a team
led by researchers from
UCLA and the Veterans Administration may have inadvertently
stumbled across a new treatment for hair loss.
Rising seas spurred by climate change could threaten 180 U.S.
coastal cities by 2100, a new study says, with Miami, New Orleans
and Virginia Beach among those most severely affected.
Two biomass plants, intended to help the San Joaquin Valley clean
up the air, have been tagged with one of the state's largest
air-pollution fines in recent history.
Assuming tribal sovereignty is respected in any development
process, Indian country is in an optimal position to embrace
solar energies as a tool for sustainable economic development.
The Solowheel electric unicycle from Inventist has a top
speed of 12mph, a range of 12 miles on one charge and to move
off, a user puts both feet on the platforms on either side of
the wheel housing and leans forward
And then there are the increasing prices of food. Food
accounts for almost half the average Egyptian household
expenditure. In 2008 there were riots in Egypt over the rising
price of bread, which was part of the dramatic global food price
inflation in that year. The global recession ended that
round of inflation, but in recent months the prices of foods and
other commodities have been jumping up again.
Enormous amounts of the fertilizer phosphorus are discharged
into oceans due to inefficiencies in farming and a failure to
recycle wastewater, the United Nations Environment Programme
warns in its 2011 Year Book released today.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.0 percent with an
average 0.7 point for the week ending February 17, 2011, down from
last week when it averaged 5.05 percent. Last year at this time, the
30-year FRM averaged 4.93 percent.
The minutes of the January meeting show a
modestly upgraded forecast for the U.S. economy in 2011 although with
the expectation of slow progress toward the Fed's dual objectives of
price stability and full employment. The minutes indicate that incoming
data "would need to be solid for a while longer to justify a significant
upward revision to their outlook." As such, we see no need to change our
view that the Fed will complete its current round of U.S. Treasury bond
buying and maintain the Fed funds target in its current range.
An increasing share of refinancing borrowers chose to shorten
their loan terms during the fourth quarter. Of borrowers who paid
off a 30-year fixed-rate loan, 32 percent chose a 15- or 20-year
loan, the highest such share since the first quarter of 2004. Of
borrowers who refinanced a 20-year loan, 70 percent chose a 15-year
loan, the highest such percentage found in Freddie Mac’s quarterly
analysis.
U.S. consumer prices increased by 0.4% in
January 2011, thereby beating market expectations for a 0.3% increase,
although in line with RBC's forecast. The annual inflation rate rose to
1.6% as a result, slightly faster than December 2010's 1.5% pace. Core
inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, posted a 0.2% monthly
gain, also beating expectations for a 0.1% rise, and the annual rate
rose to 1.0%. The rise in the core inflation rate marked the third
consecutive increase from October 2010's 0.6% all-time low.
US Energy Secreatary Steven Chu faced pushback from Republicans on
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday over the
Obama administration's efforts to ramp up renewable energy spending and
cut oil and gas research in its fiscal 2012 budget request.
The national conversation about wasteful welfare for
highly profitable dirty energy corporations has gone from
the dramatic
statement by the Chief Economist of the International Energy
Agency that fossil fuel subsidies are one of the biggest
impediments to global economic recovery ...
Senate Democrats in Wisconsin failed to show up Thursday for
a vote on a "union-busting" bill that has prompted police
officers to launch a dragnet for the missing lawmakers.
Republicans hold a 19-14 majority but a vote cannot be taken
until at least one Democratic senator is present.
Recalculating the global use of phosphorous, a fertilizer
linchpin of modern agriculture, a team of researchers warns that the
world's stocks may soon be in short supply and that overuse in the
industrialized world has become a leading cause of the pollution of
lakes, rivers and streams.
With its "Nano Hummingbird" the company has for the first time
achieved controlled precision hovering and fast-forward flight
of a two-wing, flapping wing aircraft that carries its own
energy source and relies only on its flapping wings for
propulsion and control.
About 84 percent of American people say they will purchase clean
energy; the reality is considerably less.
Currently, fewer than 3 percent of actually do, Antonia "Toni"
Bouchard, Arizona state director for Smart Power, told the Yuma City
Council during a presentation at Tuesday's worksession.
February
16, 2011
What You Must Do NOW to Limit Your Exposure — /
and Reverse Your Current Level of Damage
Concerned about our rising population having serious water
supply issues in the not too distant future,
Lilypad floating city designer Vincent Callebaut has come up
with a floating amphibious garden that can clean our rivers as
it travels the waterways of Europe..
Mathematicians are creating their own version of the periodic
table that will provide a vast directory of all the possible
shapes in the universe across three, four and five dimensions,
linking shapes together in the same way as the periodic table
links groups of chemical elements.
After a year of calling for the bursting of the Treasury
bubble, I am seeing it unfold in front of our eyes. /
For more than a year, I have been calling for the collapse of US
Treasury bonds, which will lead to massive rise in interest rate
while growth remains tepid.
In renewable energy, as in everything else, we tend to
focus on our own problems, and on today's news. We worry
about profitability, about competition, and we feel guilty
looking to government for any kind of hand-up.
the premier source for clean-tech job seekers, employers, and
recruiters. Search current openings among the job categories
listed below.
Before the Obama administration rode to
Washington in January 2009, it said science would prevail when making
policy. It is trying. But some business groups are bucking the trend,
saying that the White House must strike a better balance between the
economy and the environment.
Egypt is fated to be the first domino. The revolution there will
inevitably spread to all of the Middle East and North Africa. The
question is: Will it be an Islamic fundamentalist revolution or a
democratic one?
Our growing reliance on coastal waters for food, trade and
tourism means that these delicate ecosystems need to be more closely
monitored to guarantee their future sustainability.
The probability that the U.S. will be hit with a weapons of
mass destruction attack at some point is 100 percent, Dr. Vahid
Majidi, the FBI’s assistant director in charge of the FBI’s
Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, tells Newsmax.
We all know that the human body is nothing to be meddled
with, pardon my pun, and we all know that metals such as lead or
mercury are poisonous. It would seemingly be common sense then that
such poisons are kept out of our bodies, yet all over the world
people have mercury directly adhered to their teeth by dentists to
fill holes left after drilling cavities. Having trusted that the FDA
and medical care providers wouldn’t put them in harms way, many now
suffer from mercury poisoning due to amalgams.
If state clean-energy tax credits are quadrupled, as one Athens
state lawmaker proposes, then the company's sales would also
quadruple. But if the credits are allowed to expire at the end of
the year, sales would fall off a cliff.
France, as current head of the Group of 20 countries, will
help the transition to a global financial system based on
"several international currencies," French Economy Minister
Christine Lagarde said on Monday.
The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 10.2 percent as of
February 12, much above the official estimate of 9 percent,
A total of 212,502 people worldwide visited their local streams,
rivers, lakes and other water bodies in celebration of World
Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) 2010, according to the program's
Year in Review report released this week by the Water
Environment Federation (WEF) and the International Water
Association (IWA). The 2010 results represent a 73 percent
increase in program participation from the previous year.
Strong networks are the foundation of a modern
economy. Railroads, highways, communications, air
traffic and electricity networks provide the
capability to move people, goods, information and
energy. Networks can make possible transactions that
would not otherwise have happened, and high-capacity
networks eliminate bottlenecks that stifle business
and cause markets to be inefficient. Networks
support a growing economy and save us money.
Networks benefit us all.
As if flouride and hexavalent
chromium in public water supplies aren’t bad enough, health
authorities are now pushing for the addition of drug statins as
well. Drug companies claim that statins will lower cholesterol and
prevent heart attacks and strokes, but researchers have proven that
the drugs only benefit a quarter of people taking them. There are
some very troubling side-effects, especially if there is no history
of heart problems.pan
The Republicans have the same issues as
the Democrats. They might be able to muster the support to pass
controversial legislation in the House but they can’t do the same in the
Senate. And they certainly can’t get President Obama to endorse their
efforts to clip the U.S. EPA of its powers to regulate carbon dioxide.
The current Fed emphasizes communication policy and transparency
more than any of its predecessors. Despite the emphasis,
however, the Fed continues suffer communications problems and is
less than transparent as it employs “talk” to shape expectations
and perceptions about the economy and policy.
Greater confidence in the economy is leading investors to
move money out of gold and into riskier assets in search of
bigger profits.
Iranian lawmakers are calling for the execution of two
leading figures behind the mass anti-government protests that
have rocked Tehran and other cities in the Islamic Republic.
Italian engineer Andrea Rossi and Professor Sergio Focardi of
the University of Bologna announced in January 2011 that they
have mastered an energy catalyzing technology that produces heat
from a reaction between hydrogen, nickel and some other - so far
secret - ingredients. Their press conference on 14 January 2011
was preceded by an invitation-only demonstration of the reactor
attended by press and scientists
Japan lost its 42-year ranking as the world's second-biggest
economy to China in 2010, with data out Monday showing a
contraction in the last quarter due to weak consumer spending
and a strong yen.
Federal stimulus programs designed to kick-start the economy
can't be labeled as failures because in reality, they never led
to a surge in public spending, says Nobel economist Paul
Krugman. /
Despite claims that government spending is out of control, when
taking into account cutbacks at the state and local levels,
there haven't been out-of-proportion hikes in public spending
via stimulus programs during the last decade.
This is yet
another example of the US medical-industrial complex run amok. Lyme is
one of the most serious epidemics of our time. Yet the opinions of 2% of
the medical community are dominating the beliefs and practices of the
mass majority of practicing Lyme physicians!
To follow the money in the renewable energy business, there's no
better place to look than Ed Feo, managing director of USRG
Renewable Finance. I recently caught up with him to get a read
on 2011 and review some of the highlights or maybe lowlights, of
the year that just ended.
University at Buffalo researchers are creating a new and unusual
"app" for the smart phone: tracking air pollution.
This threat to
edible corn comes on top of GE alfalfa (a major, major threat to organic
agriculture) and GE sugarbeets. Please take action on this vital issue.
The Obama Administration and its acolytes on the Bowles-Simpson deficit
reduction commission are propagating the myth that it is Social Security
and Medicare that are driving the deficit over $1.5 trillion.
Discretionary spending, they plead, is but a tiny part of the budget,
not much worth fooling with.
Iranian riot police fired tear gas and paintballs at protesters
holding anti-government demonstrations in Tehran on Monday,
websites and witnesses said, while an Iranian news agency
reported that a gunshot killed a bystander.
Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and co-chief investment officer of bond giant
Pimco, says that the U.S. Federal Reserve will at least partially
inflate its way out of the debt crisis.
245 MHz Noise Storms
X2 x-ray event at 15/0156Z associated with a Tenflare
and a Type II radio sweep. A halo CME was associated with this event,
This region also produced multiple C-class events the largest
being a C4 at 15/0432Z. New Region 1161 (N11E38)
has grown and is currently a magnetically simple D-type sunspot
The geomagnetic field has been predominately quiet with isolated
unsettled conditions to begin the period. Solar wind data from the ACE
satellite indicated a drop in total field to around 4nT
group, but did not produce any flares.
In collaboration with two Columbian Universities the EPFL
students developed a device that can explode IEDs remotely by
using energy from their electromagnetic impulses.
Nouriel Roubini, the economist who predicted the financial crisis,
said U.S. stocks may gain in the next few months as company earnings
remain resilient.
“I think tactically for the next few months equities could rise...
Former Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld’s new memoir, “Known
and Unknown,” sets
the record straight on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction
and warns of impending dangers from countries such as Iran and
North Korea.
Entrepreneurs believe the future of nuclear power
will be captured by versatile, small units that are
affordable and scalable.
They are out taking orders and getting ready to clear
federal regulatory hurdles.
Space weather is the concept of changing
environmental conditions in near-Earth space. It is
distinct from the concept of weather within a planetary atmosphere, and
deals with phenomena involving ambient
plasma, magnetic fields, radiation and other matter in
space.
Summary For February 7-13
An R2 (Moderate) Radio Blackout was observed on 13 February.
Outlook For February 16-22
R1 (Minor) and R2 (Moderate), with possible R3 (Strong) Radio Blackouts
are expected through 21 February.
The use of feed-in tariffs (FiTs) to pay for renewable generation
now overwhelmingly dominates European renewable energy policy, according
to the most recent meeting of the International Feed-in (tariff)
Cooperation council (IFIC).
Thinking big while focusing on small, a solar company
and a national energy lab combined talents to develop a
solar power concentrator that generates electricity at
prices competitive with natural gas.
The local gas-distribution company attributes the problems partially
to cold temperatures that froze gas impurities called hydrates at
wellheads in the Texas Permian Basin, said utility spokeswoman Libby
Howell.
The USDA tells us that more than 500 biorefineries will be need to be
built between now and 2022 in the United States to meet the added
requirements for advanced biofuels. With those refineries costing
somewhere around $8 per gallon of capacity, or north of $300 million
each, the total price tag for bioenergy expansion will be in the region
of $150 billion.
The mainstream media does not cover the full extent of the damage the
Obama Administration has inflicted on this country. Even FOX News often
doesn't have the time to go into sufficient depth to explain what is
happening.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.05 percent with an
average 0.7 point for the week ending February 10, 2011, up from
last week when it averaged 4.81 percent. Last year at this time, the
30-year FRM averaged 4.97 percent.
Retail spending in January 2011 rose only 0.3% relative to
expectations of a 0.5% increase. As well, the gain in December
2010 was revised down slightly to 0.5% from an initially
reported gain of 0.6%. It was a similar story on an ex-auto
basis for which sales rose 0.3% but was below expectations for a
0.5% gain.
The Senate approved a bill on Tuesday to extend for 88 days three
provisions of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act set to expire in two
weeks. The Democratic-led Senate took the action on a bipartisan
vote
of 86-12, giving it more time to address civil-liberty concerns
about
the provisions that authorize expanded U.S. powers to track
suspected
terrorists."
The U.S. State Department began sending Twitter messages in Farsi
on Sunday in the hopes of reaching social media users in Iran.
On the Twitter account, USA darFarsi, the department told
Iranians, "We want to join in your conversation."
The second and third tweets were more pointed.
Clean water is essential for life. Nearly one billion people around the
world lack access to safe water and approximately 3.5 million deaths
each year are linked to water-related diseases.1,2 The scarcity of clean
water is most apparent in developing countries where limited resources
are available for water treatment.
Slate today posted this
overview of the status of our
nation's landfill waste disposal system. While there's nothing new here
for those of us who study this stuff daily, if you're looking for a
short, straightforward primer, this is a pretty good one.
February 11, 2011
ahumanright.org is a charity group that plans to buy a
used satellite, and use it as the first step in a network that
would provide free Internet access to everyone in the world
Alaska's US senators have introduced legislation to allow
construction of a natural gas pipeline through the Denali
National Park, a contingency state leaders want in the event a
larger North Slope pipeline project fails or faces severe
delays.
The Carlsbad community in southeastern New Mexico is admittedly
attracted to nuclear waste. When it was virtually the only community
in the country willing to host the nation's first nuclear waste
repository almost 40 years ago, that interest may have seemed a
little desperate.
Some years ago now, the late Vine Deloria wrote that as Indians
emerged from a time when survival demanded that they emphasize
their distinctness, it was natural for them to begin emphasizing
instead the characteristics that they shared. Likewise, as we
continue to emerge from eras and the aftereffects of
assimilation and termination, when the American state was
interested only in throttling us, it seems reasonable that we
embrace our commonality with ordinary Americans—the
characteristics we share with them instead of the distinctions
that set us apart
Several state legislators are pushing a bill that would make
compensation for wind turbines more similar to the system used in
the oil industry.
The city of Buffalo, New York, banned the natural gas drilling
technique of hydraulic fracturing on Tuesday, a largely symbolic
vote that demonstrates concern about potential harm to groundwater
from mining an abundant energy source.
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that merchants can
no longer ask for the ZIP codes of customers who make purchases
with credit cards because such requests violate a state
consumer-protection law.
Hackers in China have infiltrated the computer systems of several oil
and gas majors for over two years stealing sensitive information on oil
and gas field operations and assets bids, according to a report by
cyper-security firm McAfee Thursday.
Remember 2010? U.S. and international scientists reckon it tied
for the warmest year on record, supporting findings of unequivocal
global climate change. Climate skeptics remain unconvinced.
A total closure of the Suez Canal and the Sumed Pipeline would have
minimal impact on supply or crude oil prices, Richard Newell, Director
of the US Energy Information Administration, told a House subcommittee
Thursday.
I have to be honest here: I told the guy that I didn’t
know, that my gut level was that they would be treated about
the same as swimming pools are. That is, in certain markets
they would add value, but seldom add enough value to justify
installing one (at least on simply this basis) and that in
other markets they might even detract from value.
The guy was taken back with my answer! “Oh no!!!! They’ve
got to add value because they save people money on their
electric bills."
Egypt's military announced on national television that it
stepped in to “safeguard the country” and assured protesters
that President
Hosni Mubarak will meet their demands in
the strongest indication yet that the longtime leader has
lost power. In Washington, the
CIA chief said there was a “strong
likelihood” Mubarak will step down Thursday.
Massive crowds have gathered across Egypt, including hundreds
of thousands of protesters in and around Cairo's Tahrir
[Liberation] Square, calling for Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian
president, to stand down.
Electric-car owners not only don't buy gasoline, they also don't
pay gas taxes.
A bill introduced in the state Senate would try to get back some
of that money for the state.
Landfill gas projects protect health while fueling industry
and job creation
It might be titled the “Tale of Two
Cities.” Ah, but that moniker has been taken. So, we’ll just call for it
what it is: The tale of two continents: Europe and the North America, or
more precisely the United States.
The family of a woman who died after the power was shut off at
her home is suing National Grid.
Kay Phaneuf, 54, died after the power was shut off at her 18
Charles St. home on June 21.
A coalition of environmental and consumer advocates will fight a
proposal by the state's largest electric utilities that would make
it easier to raise rates to pay for new nuclear plants.
Congress commissioned the
Environmental
Protection Agency to study hydraulic fracturing, or
"fracking", after complaints that the process pollutes water.
The EPA is slated to make public initial results of the study by
the end of next year.
Ace independent economist Gary Shilling warns that the
sluggish U.S. expansion combined with economic troubles overseas
could lead to deflation.
Americans want
deficits cut, and there is a new set of leaders in
Congress who committed themselves last year to cutting
wasteful government spending. And, while over 70 percent of
Americans are unaware how much of their money is given in
welfare checks to highly profitable dirty energy companies,
when they find out, only
8 percent want it to stay that way.
Authorities placed one of Iran's opposition leaders under house
arrest Thursday, posting security officers at his door and
detaining one of his aides, in response to his calls for a rally
in support of anti-government demonstrations in Egypt, his
website said.
Even though the likelihood of a new nuclear plant being built in
Minnesota anytime soon is remote, Rep. Terry Morrow's getting a jump
on raising concerns.
Egypt's Hosni
Mubarak resigned as president and handed
control to the military on Friday after 29 years in power,
bowing to a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations
by hundreds of thousands. "The people ousted the president,"
chanted a crowd of tens of thousands outside his presidential
palace in Cairo.
Protesters’ hopes that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would
step down were dashed Thursday evening when he warned his nation
in a televised address that “we cannot allow this chaos to
continue.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an important
address to a policy conference in Jerusalem on Monday of some
400 European lawmakers and dignitaries, organized by the
European Friends of Israel. During the address, which I
encourage you to read in its entirety, Netanyahu warned of
several serious threats to world peace and Western civilization:
La Niña persisted during January
2011 as reflected by well below-average sea surface temperatures
(SSTs) across much of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. However,
some weakening was evident in certain atmospheric and oceanic
anomalies...A lessening of the negative subsurface oceanic heat
content anomalies (average temperatures in the upper 300m of the
ocean...
Flood and storm-battered northern Australia is likely to suffer
more frequent weather extremes, according to a study of coral cores
that reveal a centuries-old climate record for the region.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's reviews of requests by nuclear
power plants to transition to a risk-informed approach to fire
protection might not be completed before the end of the decade, John
Grobe, deputy director for engineering and corporate support at the
agency's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, told a public meeting
Wednesday.
Brent crude oil futures gained more than $1/barrel in early Asian
trade Friday as Egypt braced for the biggest anti-government protests
since the start of the January 25 revolt against President Hosni
Mubarak, who was clinging to power even after delegating some powers to
his vice president.
Sea temperatures off the Antarctic Peninsula have cooled over
the past 12,000 years, according to a study on Wednesday that
may help scientists understand the impact of modern global
warming on the frozen continent.
Region 1153 produced a few br / B-class and C-class events early
in the period before rotating off. olar activity is
expected to be very
low to low over the next 3 days (11-13 February).
The geomagnetic field was mostly quiet with an isolated period of
unsettled conditions between 10/06Z and 10/09Z at mid latitudes.
Under our feet and ubiquitous, lowly soil can be easily
overlooked when it comes to addressing climate change and
population growth. But in the January-February issue of the Soil
Science Society of America Journal, a team of scientists say
soil is an essential piece of the biosphere and more attention
should be paid to protecting it.
In laying out his vision for a stronger, more innovative country,
President Obama, during last month's State of the Union address,
called for clean energy to take over 80 percent of the nation's
electricity needs by 2035.
The primary source of these changes is what happens on the Sun.
Changes in the near-Earth space
environment affect our society. The best known
ground-level consequence of space weather is geomagnetically
induced currents, or GIC. These are damaging electrical currents
that can flow in power grids, pipelines and other conducting
networks and cause disruptions and black outs.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said another 2
million foreclosures are expected in the U.S. this year, adding
to the 7 million that have occurred since the economic crisis of
2008.
“U.S. foreclosures are continuing apace,” Stiglitz told a
conference near Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, today. “A
quarter of U.S. homes are underwater.”
National working group concludes sounds or vibrations emitted
from wind turbines have no adverse effect on human health
US Midwest refining margins are outpacing Gulf margins,
although a steep WTI crude contango and strong product prices,
notably for jet and distillates, should encourage Midwest
refiners to boost already high runs.
With cholera on the rampage in Haiti and almost 40 other
countries, scientists are reporting the development of a key
advance that could provide a fast, simple test to detect the
toxin that causes the disease.
America has the poorest health of any
part of the advanced industrialized world - and the most industrialized
"phude" [food] in the world. We are a horrifyingly heavily
vaccinated country and we have cataclysmic incidence of autism,
neurological and developmental disorders and cancers.
The Obama administration official charged with implementing new
greenhouse gas emissions regulations said a Republican-backed bill to
strip the US Environmental Protection Agency of that authority would
endanger American health and welfare.
The embattled government of Egypt had not met even a minimum
threshold of reforms demanded by the people of the country, the
White House said on Wednesday, warning that massive protests
will likely continue until real reforms are instituted.
There’s no better illustration of the value of distributed
renewable energy than the U.S. military.
A Utah company says it will bring more nuclear waste to its
Tooele County landfill site as part of an agreement with a Swedish
nuclear waste processor.
Military veterans are much more likely to be homeless than other
Americans, according to the government's first in-depth study of
homelessness among former servicemembers.
When Winged Things Collide: In an
item posted today by the Wall
Street Journal, the Associated Press reports that the Airline Pilots
Association is reconsidering (well, to be perfectly accurate, "assessing
... based on additional information") its opposition to a proposed
garbage plant being built near to La Guardia airport:
February 8, 2011
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) reactor oversight
process, introduced 10 years ago to better monitor safety at
nuclear power plants and trigger appropriate agency responses,
has failed to improve nuclear safety, according to a report
released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
SolarReserve, a U.S. developer of utility-scale solar power
projects, announced today that it has received its final
Certificates of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) by unanimous
decision (5-0) from the Arizona Corporation Commission for its
150 megawatt (MW) Crossroads Solar Energy Project
An architect of Australia's stalled climate-change policy has
linked the nation's recent natural disasters with global warming and
called for a new political push to cut carbon emissions.
Blasting U.S. energy policy as “irresponsible,” Senate Energy
Committee Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called for
balancing investment in clean alternative energy with “greater
investment in the fuel we depend on today.”
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it will spend $27
million on a new effort to reduce the costs of solar power by 75
percent by the end of the decade in a bid to make the renewable
power source as cheap as fossil fuels.
We're in the midst of a global food crisis - the second in
three years. World food prices hit a record in January, driven
by huge increases in the prices of wheat, corn, sugar and oils.
These soaring prices have had only a modest effect on U.S.
inflation, which is still low by historical standards, but
they're having a brutal impact on the world's poor, who spend
much if not most of their income on basic foodstuffs.
Simple changes like installing better building
insulation could cut the world's energy demands by three-quarters,
according to a new study.
Native Alaskans and others fighting to conserve Bristol Bay’s
watershed were ebullient on Monday when the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency announced it would study the region’s
unprotected areas to gauge the effects of large-scale
development on water quality and salmon.
Record high global food prices showed no sign of relenting
following a rash of catastrophic weather, highlighted by a major
U.S. snowstorm and a cyclone in Australia, which could put yet more
pressure on prices and spark further unrest around the world.
A growing global population has lead to increasing demands for
food. Farmers around the world rely, at least in part on
phosphorus-based fertilizers in order to sustain and improve crop
yields. But the overuse of phosphorus can lead to freshwater
pollution and the development of a host of problems, such as the
spread of blue-green algae in lakes and the growth of coastal ‘dead
zones'.
Forests for People is the theme of the UN's International Year
of Forests 2011 - launched at a ceremony today at UN
Headquarters in New York attended by world leaders, Nobel Peace
Laureate Wangari Maathai and forest experts.
A 25 km-long oil slick off Iran's Gulf shore will take at least
two months to clean up and could do irreparable damage do the local
marine environment, news agencies reported on Monday.
Many nations in the West and Middle East fear Iran's space
program could also bolster its ballistic missile program and ability
to conduct space-based surveillance. The U.S. and other countries
have cited fears that Iran's nuclear program and missile program
could allow it to target Europe and Israel with atomic weapons.
the root of her problem? Campylobacter - Britain's most common
food-poisoning bug. Wynne tested positive for the bacteria after
visiting her GP. Although she can't be sure how she caught it,
it's likely it came from eating chicken, the most common source.
Continuing this winter and into the spring, a moderate-to-strong
La Niña is predicted to reign across most of the United States. This
natural cycle, brought about by cooler temperatures in the
equatorial Pacific Ocean, has historically meant lower-than-average
precipitation for the Southwest.
The drop in unemployment the Obama Administration reported for January is
totally phony. Real, unweighted data showed an increase from 9.1% to 9.8%
in joblessness rather than a cut in the highly weighted figure from 9.4% to
9.0%.
Put those weighted numbers on a diet!
Malaysian
engineers are harnessing the country's biodiversity to
find alternative raw materials for high-tech electronic products such as
electric vehicle batteries. They have discovered that bamboo, coconut
shells and durian fruit skins can be converted into an activated form of
carbon used to make the components of electric batteries known as
'supercapacitors'.
Economist Allan Meltzer says the Fed need to take three steps
to head off looming inflation and prevent a re-run of the 1970s.
These are: Increase the short-term interest rate it controls to
1 percent; announce a specific, detailed plan that explains how
it proposes to reduce about $900 billion of the more than $1
trillion banks continue to hold in excess of their legally
required reserves; and end QE2, its latest round of Treasury
bond purchases.
The study assessed the levels of Methymercury in swordfish and
tuna in a variety of restaurant and retail stores in major
markets across the United States, revealing considerably higher
levels of Methymercury than previously reported by the
FDA in other tests and studies.
Scientists have discovered a new type of mosquito in Africa
unlike any documented before and say it could further complicate the
fight to control malaria.
Researchers have developed a one-minute sideline test for
athletes, that accurately detects concussion
Sara Murray reported last week at The Real Time Economics
Blog (Wall Street Journal) that, "Nearly a year and a half into
the economic recovery, some 43.6 million Americans continued to
rely on food stamps in November.
Purdue University has cancelled plans for a new campus coal
plant, making the plant the
150th to be defeated or abandoned since the beginning of the coal
rush in 2001. Thanks in part to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign,
in the last two years no new coal plants have started construction and
the industry has announced the phase out of over 50 plants.
Qatar's newly appointed oil minister Mohammed al-Sada said Tuesday
that the rise in oil prices to above $100/barrel for the first time
since the global financial crisis of late 2008 was a reaction by oil
markets to geopolitical concerns over events in Egypt.
Rand Paul, the newly elected firebrand Tea Party senator from
Kentucky, is mounting a full-on attack on spending, targeting
what he terms “corporate welfare” as well as taking direct aim
at President Barack Obama’s clean-energy initiatives.
All but five percent of the world's energy needs could be met
from renewable sources by 2050, a report by conservation group
WWF and energy consultancy Ecofys showed on Thursday.
several low level B-class
events. Region 1153 showed an increase in areal coverage, sunspot
count, and magnetic complexity. Solar Activity Forecast: Solar
activity is expected to be at
very low levels with a slight change for C-class activity for the
next three days (08-10 February).
Russia sees the planned U.S. missile defense system as a
potential threat to its nuclear forces and may review its
participation in a landmark nuclear arms treaty, officials said
Monday
Manufacturers from developed nations have been capitalizing on
the low labor costs of emerging economies for a long time. It's
a familiar story: Product design happens in, say, the United
States, and manufacturing gets cranked out in Southeast Asia.
Then the products are shipped to the developed world for final
sale. But in recent years a new trend has emerged. Many of these
same companies are now moving R&D, distribution, and sales to
China, India and elsewhere in the developing world because they
see market opportunities where the GDP is growing dramatically
and household incomes are on the rise.
A congenital defect combined with U.S. government plans to kill bison
exposed to an
infectious cattle disease could doom America's last
wild herd of pure-bred
buffalo at Yellowstone National Park, a genetics
expert said in a new study.
It didn't take long.
The new Republican leadership appears ready to approve FULL FUNDING
for the Obama Administration's insidious – yet resoundingly rejected
– agenda for America.
CSIRO research has shown that some mining by-products can
be effective in preventing nutrients from entering river systems,
thereby reducing the potential for algal blooms.
Former conservative Democratic officials are helping to churn
the Deep South into a red sea as they find friendlier waters in
the Republican Party, according to
a report in the Los Angeles Times. And the expatriates
aren’t just fringe elements of the Democratic Party but rather,
former stars expected to make the party shine..
February 4, 2011
Agave, currently known for its use in the production of alcoholic
beverages and fibers, thrives in semi-arid regions where it is less
likely to conflict with food and feed production. Agave is a unique
feedstock because of its high water use efficiency and ability to
survive without water between rainfalls. An article in the current
issue of Global Change Biology Bioenergy evaluates the potential of
Agave as a sustainable biofuel feedstock.
A widespread drought in the Amazon rain forest last year was
worse than the "once-in-a-century" dry spell in 2005 and may have a
bigger impact on global warming than the United States does in a
year, British and Brazilian scientists said on Thursday.
The concentration of mercury in humans and
animals that live in polar regions is on the increase.
Polar
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bears and humans that eat marine mammals are the most
affected. But why is there more mercury in the Arctic than elsewhere?
n 2004, Argentina received a wake up call. The Latin American
nation experienced a deep energy crisis as a result of a
shortage in natural gas caused by the demand for energy
skyrocketing and outstripping supply. Since then the country has
made a conscious effort to diversify its energy sources, with
wind power attracting particular attention.
A bill that nearly became law last year has been
reintroduced in the Pennsylvania Senate.
The so-called "Castle Doctrine" measure, which expands an
individual's right to deadly self-defense, passed the Senate
and House by wide margins last year, but was vetoed by Gov.
Ed Rendell.
There has been a breakthrough in solar photovoltaic (PV) module
recycling, according to experts at the 2nd International conference on
PV Module Recycling in Madrid, Spain.
A proposed pipeline from Canada's oil sands to refineries along
the Gulf of Mexico would help "essentially eliminate" U.S. oil
imports from the Middle East in a decade or two, according to a new
study commissioned by the Department of Energy.
The country’s home ownership rate, after holding steady for
months, dropped to 66.5 percent in the fourth quarter from 66.9
percent in the third quarter. That's the lowest level since
1998.
Australia has endured two of its deadliest summers on record,
blamed in part on global warming, but record fires, floods and
cyclones have not persuaded it to take strong action on climate
change.
Cyclone Yasi, a Category 5 storm packing winds of up to 285 kph
(177 mph), roared across north Queensland Wednesday night,
smashing buildings and infrastructure, and knocking out power in
coastal towns and cities.
id="ContentBody1"
In 2005, 99.5% of water abstracted was from freshwater sources,
with the balance coming from seawater desalination or wastewater
reuse [1]. Surface water provided the majority of the water
resource, but 36% came from groundwater sources. Groundwater is
under increasing threat since it is effectively a non-renewable
source, taking millennia to accumulate, but just a few years or
decades to deplete. Also, groundwater is deteriorating in quality
due to human activity, becoming polluted from agricultural
residuals, and in some areas by saline intrusion.pan
The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will develop the
first standard to limit how much of a rocket fuel ingredient — one
linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and young children — can be
allowed in tap water.
Record high global food prices showed no sign of relenting
following a rash of catastrophic weather, highlighted by a major
U.S. snowstorm and a cyclone in Australia, which could put yet more
pressure on prices and spark further unrest around the world.
At the annual World Economic Forum this past weekend in
Davos, Switzerland, U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) Director Rajiv Shah stood beside CEOs from Monsanto and
other infamous giant corporations, and announced U.S. support
for a "New Vision for Agriculture."t;
The potential investment value of new power projects globally fell
53% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2010 compared to Q3, according to the
EIC Monitor, whereas renewable energy projects have seen growth in
number of projects and potential investment value.
The Gulf of Mexico should recover from the massive BP oil spill
by the end of 2012, the administrator of the $20 billion victims
compensation fund said Wednesday.
Here's how your Senator voted on Obamacare repeal:
With population growth
also comes the need for more and more water, whether it is for direct
consumption (i.e. use in the home or outside the home) or
indirect
use (i.e. water consumed to produce crops, energy, and other items
consumed) and the numbers are pointing up. Again putting increased
pressure on water prices.
...using naturally occurring crystals rather than metamaterials,
two research teams working independently have demonstrated
technology that can cloak larger objects in the broad range of
wavelengths visible to the human eye.
Iran may be able to make a nuclear weapon in as little as one
or two years if it chose to do so, an influential think-tank
said on Thursday.
A Muslim cleric Wednesday said Egypt will be ruled by Sharia
law and eventually the United States – and the whole world –
will fall to radical Islam. In a heated interview with Fox News’
Sean Hannity, Sheik Anjem Choudary also called for the
destruction of Israel, saying the Jewish state needs to be
“repelled” for what it has done to Muslims.
More social unrest in Egypt and elsewhere is on the way,
which is bullish for commodities, says investor guru Jim Rogers.
Currencies, meanwhile, will stay in turmoil, which should also
bring out the commodities bulls, Rogers tells CNBC.
Kamakura Corporation reported Wednesday that the Kamakura
index of troubled public companies jumped significantly in
January after setting an all time low of 4.36% on December 17.
The index jumped 1.49% to reach 5.94% in January after ending
December at 4.45%
Five South Dakota lawmakers have introduced legislation
that would require any adult 21 or older to purchase a
firearm "sufficient to provide for their ordinary
self-defense."t;
Looters broke into the Cairo museum housing the world's greatest
collection of Pharaonic treasures, smashing several statues and
damaging two mummies, while police battled anti-government
protesters on the streets.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s
declaration he will step down later this year after almost 30
years of autocratic rule failed to appease protesters who want
him to quit immediately, and prompted a call from President
Barack Obama for the transition to “begin now.”
Thousands of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak
battled in Cairo's main square Wednesday, raining stones,
bottles and firebombs on each other in scenes of uncontrolled
violence as soldiers stood by without intervening. Government
backers galloped in on horses and camels, only to be dragged to
the ground and beaten bloody.
Research undertaken by Taxand reveals that multinationals are facing
larger tax bills coupled with a sizeable increase in regulation, further
to tax changes introduced by governments in 2010.
Astronomers
identify six planets orbiting a sun – the most similar system to
our own yet discovered – 2,000 light-years away
The Obama administration is secretly crafting a plan for
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to leave office immediately – a
plan that includes a place for the fundamentalist Muslim
Brotherhood to be in an interim government...
President Obama better hope that the crowds clamoring for an overthrow
of the Mubarak regime really do achieve a functioning liberal democracy
rather than an Iranian-style theocracy. His reelection hopes could be
doomed if Iran takes over.
President Obama moved one step closer in his efforts to "reset"
relations with Russia today.
Extraneous shocks are a key part of the oil market, but as geopolitical events they lie outside the ambit of economic forecasts.
The explosion of unrest in North Africa, and its significance for the wider Arab region, have brought political risk back to the fore for an industry otherwise in rude health.
Despite the dip in 2009, oil company revenues remain buoyant.
Traffic on American roads soon could run a bit cleaner.
One of the biggest problems with the move towards a
hydrogen economy is currently the production of hydrogen
fuel takes a lot of energy, which generally comes from burning
fossil fuels. For hydrogen vehicles to make sense, cleaner more
efficient hydrogen production methods will need to be developed.
One promising approach takes its lead from the natural processes
of photosynthesis in order to
convert sunlight into hydrogen fuel.
Washington state and the province of British Columbia launched a
joint effort on Wednesday to warn residents of North America's
Pacific Northwest about the danger that climate change poses to
coastal communities.
Key headline this morning: "Muslim Brotherhood wants to end
Egypt-Israeli peace deal." Surprise? Not to those who understand
Radical Islam. The problem is that the President and Vice
President continue to demonstrate that they don't understand the
jihadists' history or objectives. As a result, they are making a
mounting series of mistakes in this crisis, and it could cost
the U.S. and our allies dearly.
Electric vehicle drivers won't be getting a free ride when it
comes to paying for Oregon's roads, if advocates of an odometer fee
have their way.
Al-Qaida has the time, materials and talent to assemble
radioactive “dirty” bombs, according to leaked documents
obtained by the
London Telegraph newspaper.
New Region 1152 (S18E11) was numbered today after producing a B2 x-ray event. slight chance for a C-class flare for the next 3 days..The geomagnetic field is forecast to be mostly unsettled to active with the chance for a minor storm on day 1 (4 February) due to coronal hole effects in conjunction with the anticipated arrival of the CME from 30 January.
Revolve (previously known as Sovereign Earth) say that its
bottle will produce, on demand, over 100 gallons of water per
filtration cell. The filtration medium removes up to 99.99% of
all contaminants found in tap water, including chlorine, heavy
metals, industrial pollutants, agricultural runoff chemicals,
trace pharmaceuticals and microbial cysts.
The Oct. 9 headlines read: “Sweat lodge disaster”...
The man responsible, self-help spiritual entrepreneur James
Arthur Ray, claimed the New Age retreat would absolutely “change
your life.”
It did...
Signaling defeat, at least for the moment,
Senate
Democrats said Tuesday they won’t allow any earmarks in spending bills
this year.
Siemens is building a molten salt concentrating solar power (CSP)
test facility in Portugal to test molten salt as a heat transfer medium
for CSP.
Blustery gusts keep a wind turbine spinning at Inland Power and
Light's corporate headquarters on the West Plains, but solar
panels are the real powerhouse at the utility's alternative
energy pilot project.
For wind energy aficionados, one of the most interesting
stories to make its way across the internet last week involved
an academic study claiming that the installation of 3.8 million
5 MW wind turbines could generate half the world’s power needs
by 2030.
A private sector model with a state rather than Federal-based
regulatory framework is the approach that will "most likely
result in a robust CO2 [carbon dioxide] pipeline system"
When weighing up the impact of
electric-vehicles on the environment two factors come to the
fore. EV's produce no emissions locally, but depending on where
the energy comes from, they can still be producing greenhouse
gases back at the power plant ... the so called "long-tailpipe"
argument. That's one. The second is
batteries ...
Despite a US Government report which details the cataclysmic
dangers of introducing GMO salmon, which outfeed and outbreed
wild salmon, ensuring their total demise, the GMO happy FDA can
see no reason why these fish, which have not been tested for
safety and which will not be labeled under FDA regulation sees
no reason not to approve this monstrosity.
It's an interesting time to be involved with electricity. The
power industry is on the verge of the biggest changes since the
days of Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. Recent
breakthroughs around the world in power transmission systems
have made it imperative for the U.S. to develop a more
intelligent, flexible, long-haul transmission network that can
carry renewable energy from remote locations to major population
centers.
An estimated 100,000 protesters
are gathering in Egypt's capital for what is being
called the "Day of Departure" as pressure mounts on the
president to resign.
Turkey is aiming to have five nuclear power plants with a total of 20
reactors by 2030, a spokesman for Turkey's energy ministry told Platts
late Tuesday, confirming statements made in the Turkish media by the
ministry undersecretary Metin Kilci.
Several energy companies may have violated environmental rules by
injecting diesel into the ground without permits as part of a
controversial natural gas drilling technique, according to findings
from Congressional probe released on Monday.
The ISM manufacturing index remained in expansionary territory
for the eighteenth consecutive month in January, and the pace of
growth accelerated for the sixth straight month as the index
rose to 60.8 from 58.5 in December
The number
of illegal immigrants in the United States leveled off at around
11 million last year, ending a two-year slide since the start of
the recession, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Initial unemployment insurance claims fell 42,000 to 415,000 for
the week ending January 29, 2011, reversing most of the previous
week’s surprising 54,000 jump to a revised 457,000 level
(initially reported as 454,000).
The final tally is out: The U.S. installed 15 MW of
utility-scale geothermal power in 2010, down from 176 MW the
year before. Not exactly a rousing number – but also not a fully
accurate picture of how the industry is doing.
US congressional lawmakers are weighing whether a "clean energy" goal
of 80% by 2035 -- as proposed by President Barack Obama -- should be
accompanied by provisions nixing environmental regulations seen as
barriers to developments needed to meet that target.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.81 percent with an
average 0.8 point for the week ending February 4, 2011, upfrom last
week when it averaged 4.80 percent.; Last year at this time, the
30-year FRM averaged 5.01 percent.
On a party-line vote of 51-47, the Senate rejected a Republican
measure to rescind the law that aims to provide more than 30 million
uninsured Americans with medical coverage while requiring nearly all to
be insured or pay a fine. Sixty votes were needed to clear a procedural
hurdle against repeal.
California's US senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, have
renewed legislative efforts to tighten the US pipeline inspection regime
in response to September's fatal Pacific Gas and Electric explosion.
The ISM non-manufacturing index indicated that the sector
expanded for the fourteenth consecutive month in January and the
pace of growth unexpectedly accelerated, as the index rose to
59.4 from 57.1 in the previous month, its highest level since
August 2005
In the past 16 years, there's probably no word I've thought more
about than "waste." And I mean the word: what it means, how it's
used, how it's perceived, what its implications are.
Your weed might be gnarlier than
you think. So what's an eco-conscious stoner to
do?
In the 1950s, the accusation "who lost China" resonated throughout
American politics and led to the defeat of the Democratic Party in the
presidential elections of 1952. Unless President Obama
reverses field and strongly opposes letting the Muslim brotherhood take
over Egypt, he will be hit with the modern equivalent of the 1952
question: Who Lost Egypt?
February 1, 2011
Fraud and mismanagement at Afghanistan’s largest bank have
resulted in potential losses of as much as $900 million — three
times previous estimates — heightening concerns that the bank
could collapse and trigger a broad financial panic in
Afghanistan, according to US, European, and Afghan officials.
The U.S. Clean Energy Leadership Index is a must-have
tool for clean-tech decision makers. The annual report, state
report cards, and market insight reports navigate the complex
landscape of clean energy by focusing on the most important and
objective technology, policy, and capital developments
Arizona solidified its reputation last year as one of the
most liberal gun states in the nation after the Legislature
passed a law allowing people to carry concealed weapons without
a permit.
Each year, when writing the CE Views column immediately after the
annual Clean-Tech Investor Summit (co-produced by International Business
Forum and Clean Edge), I’ve been struck by how it always seems to
coincide with a major event with deep implications for the clean-tech
industry. Usually this has come on the political stage: President
Obama’s inauguration, the balance-tipping election of Massachusetts
Republican Senator Scott Brown, or even former President George W.
Bush’s State of the Union assertion that we are “addicted to oil.”
More people in the United States are installing solar panels in
their homes for electric power. The cost can be expensive, so some
neighborhoods have formed community groups to help homeowners save
money. The first community to do that in the Washington area was the
Mount Pleasant neighborhood, where 75 households have joined the
Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative.
Most of us are aware that heart disease is the leading cause of
death in the US – and globally. But did you know that one in
three Americans (36.9 percent) have some form of heart disease,
including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart
failure, stroke and other condition
FACT: Deaths related to brain decay have increased by a
shocking 46 percent over the past few years in the U.S. In fact,
according to the Alzheimer's Association, someone in this country
develops symptoms of cognitive decline every 72 seconds.
Fertilizing the oceans to boost the growth of tiny plants that
soak up greenhouse gases is unlikely to work as a way to slow
climate change, a U.N.-backed study showed on Monday.
In the past several days, the dynamic of the protests in Egypt
has changed rapidly, and not for the better. What started out as
a genuine and positive pro-freedom movement is being steadily
coopted by the Muslim Brotherhood and other violent and
extremist forces. There is now a growing risk that the overthrow
of the Mubarak regime could lead either to an authoritarian
military regime, or a Radical Islamist regime. We must pray
neither scenario comes to pass. The people of Egypt would be
further oppressed. The U.S., Israel and the West would be
endangered..
Research papers out of the University of Bologna confirm that
much more energy is coming out of the reactor than is required to run
the reactor, including a self-running mode; and that radiation is not
escaping from the machine.
A federal judge in Florida rules that the health-care law passed by
Congress last year is unconstitutional. Three other federal judges have
also ruled on the health-care law – one against, two in favor – setting
up a potential Supreme Court showdown.
There are two ways to look at the street fights unfolding in
Cairo and other Middle Eastern capitals: As the inevitable
spread of freedom and democracy to pockets of the world long run
by iron-fisted monarchs and strongmen. Or, and possibly also, as
the beginning of the end of a Western economic recovery, since
chaos in oil-producing nations brings with it energy
instability. Couple that with inflation created by central bank
printing presses, and you could easily end up with much, much
higher oil prices
The claim is that the energy required to turn the small motor is
much less than the energy gained from the imbalanced larger
wheel turning a generator.
Moody's Investors Service warned that lack of U.S. government
action on the budget deficit increases the likelihood of a
negative outlook on the country's top AAA credit rating.
So why am I, a Comanche, hiking the Trail of Tears?
What do I hope to accomplish? What am I trying to say? All good
questions. Let’s start at the beginning, on how this whole idea
came to pass.
A Kansas State University scientist is digging deep to solidify
information about potential tungsten contamination in the nation's
groundwater and aquifers.
Tungsten is a naturally occurring metallic element that in its
alloy or solid form is primarily used for incandescent lightbulb
filaments and X-ray tubes.
The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Province in Iraq has not yet started
exporting crude oil despite a reported agreement that exports would
resume from February 1, Iraqi oil ministry sources said Tuesday.
Billionaire energy investor T. Boone Pickens may have missed
out on last year's commodity boom, but the long-time bull told
Reuters he sees further gains in store for oil prices that are
now pushing $100 a barrel.
...to enable the remote distant detection of explosives,
airborne pollutants and greenhouse gasses. The technique differs
from previous remote laser-sensing methods in that the returning
beam is not just a reflection or scattering of the outgoing beam
but an entirely new laser beam generated by oxygen atoms whose
electrons have been "excited" to high energy levels.
A faint partial-halo CME,
visible in STEREO behind C2 imagery at 30/0310Z and LASCO C3 imagery at
30/1954Z, indicate the CME is earthward directed. Solar activity
is expected to be at
very low levels with a chance for C-class events for the next three
days (31 January - 02 February). The geomagnetic field is expected
to be at predominantly quiet levels
One key factor few are seeing at the moment: economics.
Egyptians are suffering double-digit inflation and record food
prices in recent years, and particularly in 2010. Most people
are already dirt poor. Soaring food prices are causing them to
fear they may not be able to feed their families. This is
creating a "perfect storm" of anger against the Mubarak regime
-- it's corrupt, authoritarian, anti-human rights, and resistant
to all positive economic and political reform.
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory have come a step closer to the
development of a commercially-viable full-spectrum solar cell.
Traditionally, due to their limited band gap (energy range),
semiconductors used in solar cells have only been able to
respond to a certain segment of the solar spectrum
A wave of applications from small-scale, solar-electric
developers clogged the application pipeline for connecting to the
electric grid, slowing the process of implementing renewable power
in California, according to a report released earlier this week by
state regulators said.
Have you ever wondered exactly how scientists track climate change
and the warming of the world at a global level? Estimating the overall
surface temperature of the Earth isn't easy when you have to account for
seasonal variations across six continents and four oceans. It requires
compiling data from satellites positioned high up in the atmosphere and
from hundreds of meteorological stations scattered across the globe.
However being able to compare average global temperatures from year to
year is incredibly important, and allows scientists to track the
progress of climate change.
The fly ash the coal company wants to dispose of in the strip
mine filling project contains 20 percent of waste produced from
the burning of coal and 80 percent of carbonation shale and rock
The refrigerator runs off mains power, solar power, or a
combination of sources. It incorporates True Energy's Sure Chill
technology, which utilizes high-density polyurethane foam
insulation and an undisclosed “innovative phase change material”
to store energy until it’s needed...
Weekly oil data from the US Energy Information Administration and the
American Petroleum Institute should show a build of about 3 million
barrels in US commercial crude stocks for the reporting week ended
January 21, analysts polled by Platts said Monday.
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu Friday acknowledged that political
unrest in Egypt and Tunisia, which border several Middle East oil
producing states that the US imports from, could cause oil prices to
rise.
The U.S. State Department says it will evacuate about 1,200 Americans
from Egypt today, and another 1,000 on Tuesday - a reflection of
escalating concern surrounding week-long protests against the government
of President Hosni Mubarak.
Utility companies and their supporters have successfully quashed
a state law that would have required some of them to purchase wind
or solar power from providers in Missouri or surrounding states.
January 28, 2011
Oil rich Abu Dhabi sees renewable energy as the theme for the
next chapter of its place in history. But writing that chapter
has proven a lot tougher than its leaders initially anticipated.
There is a special magic that sometimes happens with sports
teams, particularly young, struggling teams, when the right
group of talented, hungry people, who believe in something come
together and, well, make magic happen
Global investors are taking more risks
with their money and targeting the U.S. as one of the best places to put
their funds as they grow increasingly confident in the economic outlook.
Despite economic uncertainty, an increasing number of Americans
are ramping up their investment activity, when compared to
levels seen in May 2010.
...a new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance
(ISLR), details how Ontario’s bold clean energy program -- in
just over a year -- has resulted in the promise of 43,000 clean
energy jobs and over 15,000 megawatts in applications by clean
energy projects
...napping an hour can dramatically restore and boost your brain
power. Amazingly, they found a nap can actually make you
smarter.
FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY, THE UNITED STATES HAS
had access to abundant, reliable and affordable energy needed
for America to create the largest and most dynamic economy in
the world. However, our great legacy and the promise of future
achievements cannot be taken for granted. With half of our
annual trade deficit related to energy and 70 percent of our oil
coming from foreign sources,..
A North Atlantic current flowing into the Arctic Ocean is warmer
than for at least 2,000 years in a sign that global warming is
likely to bring ice-free seas around the North Pole in summers, a
study showed.
Hurt by falling natural gas prices, low demand for power and
lack of a long-term renewable energy target, the American wind
industry saw installations fall almost 50% last year, according
to figures released by the American Wind Energy Association
(AWEA)
UK-based
Cella Energy has developed a synthetic fuel that could lead to
US$1.50 per gallon gasoline. Apart from promising a future
transportation fuel with a stable price regardless of oil
prices, the fuel is hydrogen based and produces no carbon
emissions when burned.
U.S. coal-fired power plant pollution is linked to the premature
deaths of an estimated 8,000 to 34,000 people each year, officials
of a non-profit group say.
Chemical dispersants that BP injected directly into its damaged
wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico last year, had still not degraded
three months after they were applied, according to the first
peer-reviewed research on the fate of the chemicals, published
today.
Reminders of the town's past as an industrial powerhouse are about to
be unearthed as National Grid looks to clean up by-products left behind
from a former coal gasification site.
As reported in the January 13, 2011 New York
Times, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) warned the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that the move to phase out a fluoride-based
pesticide "could create unintended consequences for public health, food
safety, and the economy."
US crude stocks climbed a larger-than-expected 4.836 million barrels
the week ending January 21 on an increase in imports and a decrease in
refinery inputs, an analysis of the data released Wednesday by the
Energy Information Administration showed.
If Congress and the White House intend to move forward with a "clean
energy standard" (CES), it will be a huge contradiction to include
nuclear reactors and coal-fired power plants, according to three
experts.
Extinction cascades are often observed following the loss of a
key species within an ecosystem. As the system changes to
compensate for the loss, availability of food, territory and
other resources to each of the remaining species can fluctuate
wildly, creating a boom-or-bust environment that can lead to
even more extinctions.
On Wednesday morning at 11:30am eastern, I am scheduled to be a
guest on Glenn Beck's radio show to discuss an original
documentary film, "Rumors of War," that Glenn will launch on
Wednesday night.
An emerging
group of Republican leaders in Congress are putting
together the elements of a new energy plan to help
define a new national energy policy.
It's happened in places like Louisiana,
Arkansas and Kentucky. Hundreds of birds mysteriously found dead.
Folks in Yankton, South Dakota, thought they
were being added to the list after hundreds of dead birds were found
there on Monday. Turns out the unpleasant feathered discovery
has a solid explanation. They were poisoned.
Geothermal developers would have more reasons to locate and start
projects on state-owned lands in Idaho, under legislation introduced
Tuesday in the House Resources and Conservation Committee.
Too slow, too expensive, too risky: the multi-billion dollar Mixed
Oxide Fuel (MOX) program, under construction at the River Site, continues to be controversial. A
technology chosen by the
States in the mid-1990s to contribute to the
nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, today it is being held out
as a solution for America's energy future
The National Organic Coalition (NOC) today is shocked and
disappointed over the decision by USDA Secretary Vilsack to
de-regulate Genetically Engineered (GE) Alfalfa.
Smog- and asthma-causing emissions to be cut by 8,500 tons per year
Quantifying the economic value of green infrastructure's
benefits is the key to helping municipalities adopt this
innovative and cost-effective stormwater management approach,
according to a new report by the Center for Neighborhood
Technology (CNT) and American Rivers
New research shows that 2010 set new records for the melting of the
Greenland, expected to be a major contributor to projected
sea level rises in coming decades.
"This past melt season was exceptional, with melting in some areas
stretching up to 50 days longer than average...
...for these technologies to have an impact they must of course
be implemented – and on a large scale. What has been sorely
lacking is a plan to accomplish such a Herculean feat. Now
researchers from the University of California-Davis and Stanford
University have published a study that details one scenario to
completely convert the world to clean, renewable energy sources
– and they say it could be done in 20 to 40 years using
technology available today at costs comparable to fossil
fuel-based energy.
New research by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the
Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) identifies more than 530
low-oxygen "dead zones" and an additional 228 sites worldwide
exhibiting signs of marine "eutrophication." Eutrophication occurs
when water bodies are over-fertilized by nutrients that are washed
into surface waters from farms and urban areas.
Clean energy advocates applauded the bold initiative, but
cautioned against the inclusion of nuclear, clean coal and
natural gas in a "clean energy standard."
President Obama has grand plans for a green nation -- 1 million
electric vehicles on the road within four years and clean power
sources providing 80% of the nation's energy by 2035.
But a day after getting a surprisingly extensive shout-out in
Obama's State of the Union address -- he sees clean tech as the
country's best chance to seize its "Sputnik moment" -- industry
officials were less than enthused and questioned whether the
ambitious targets were even attainable.
Lee County's first wind farm doesn't appear to have affected nearby
residential property values, the county assessor said Tuesday.
This has been a big week for advanced biofuels, but mixed
messages about the viability of everything from algae to woody
cellulose show the industry is at a crossroads, experts say.
The state of New York has made $250 million in funding available for
renewable-energy projects.
With the retirement of aging
coal-fired power plants and electricity demand projected to grow by more
than 20 gigawatts over the next 25 years, it’s a safe bet that shovels
are going to hit the ground for new generation capacity. Where that
capacity will come from, and how it will be financed, is a question that
has spurred both lively debate and a great deal of confusion among power
industry executives.
Solar activity was at low levels. Region 1149 (N16W90)
produced two C1 flares at 27/1201Z and 27/2003Z. A Type II radio
sweep was observed at 27/1208Z, with an estimated velocity of 901
km/s.There remains a
slight chance for a C-class flare as Region 1149 rotates off the
limb.The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels, with isolated unsettled
periods at high latitudes.
Bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress today to help
communities determine whether there is a connection between
clusters of cancer, birth defects and other diseases, and
contaminants in the surrounding environment.
Researchers from Upstate New York institutions, including the
University at Buffalo, have documented elevated levels of two
industrial pollutants in carp in eastern Lake Erie, adding to the
body of scientific work demonstrating the lasting environmental
effects of human activity and waste disposal on the Great Lakes.
Using seawater and calcium to remove carbon dioxide (CO2)
in a natural gas power plant's flue stream, and then pumping the
resulting calcium bicarbonate in the sea, could be beneficial to the
oceans' marine life.
In a move widely expected to invigorate the state's wind power
industry, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
on Monday announced $250 million in renewable-energy incentives
available for developers across the state.
In a ruling on an issue that has long vexed the state's dairy
industry, a divided Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that two
Wabasha County farmers can seek $4 million in damages from Xcel Energy
for damages to their herd through stray voltage.
The un-incentivized future approaches, and it is time to call off
the hunt for the next big incentive -- because if the solar industry
(all technologies) does not, it is surely doomed. Well, maybe doomed
is too harsh, disappointed is better. Along with disappointed add
chronically over capacity and consistently margin constrained.
The United States continues to slumber while a catastrophe lies in
wait. Increasing numbers of analysts and policymakers are warning of
another super price spike for oil and the likelihood of "peak oil"
more generally.
Still waiting for the hydrogen economy to ignite and save us from
the oil squeeze and environmentally unsustainable fossil fuels?
New Zealand engineer John Fleming is part of an effort to bypass
the hydrogen era and go directly to the nitrogen-hydrogen economy.
There is nothing that paralyzes industry more than uncertainty on
impending legislation and regulatory policy. We now face a Democratic
administration struggling with a Republican House of Representatives.
Looming carbon legislation, as well as new regulations on air emissions,
power plant water effluents, and renewable portfolio standards have
already resulted in courtroom battles as stakeholders, federal and state
regulators all jockey for control. Until these issues are sorted out
through policy or mandate, power-industry investment decisions are a
risky business and a tremendous challenge for today's utilities.
The U.S. Air Force, the No. 1 government buyer of renewable energy,
plans to quadruple its on-base solar-energy use in four years, an Air
Force official said.
China has surpassed the United States in electricity production from
wind power, a U.S. trade group says.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.80 percent with an
average 0.7 point for the week ending January 27, 2011, up from last
week when it averaged 4.74 percent. Last year at this time, the
30-year FRM averaged 4.98 percent.
Today's Fed statement was largely a repeat performance of
mid-December's stance with the long-held range for the fed funds
target maintained at 0% to 0.25%, the commitment to buy the
entire $600 billion in assets by the end of the second quarter
of 2011 reaffirmed and principal payments from maturing
securities that the Fed already holds continuing to be
reinvested. The tone of the Fed's assessment of the economic
outlook was only modestly upgraded from December.
The US House of Representatives Tuesday fulfilled a Republican pledge
to cut federal spending by passing a bill that would to return the
government's budget to the fiscal 2008 level.
The report was signed by some of nation's foremost organizations
advocating for changes in how we consume and manage freshwater,
one of the nation's most important and strategic resources.
As impressive as that figure is, the company has now managed to
squeeze a combined fuel consumption of just 0.9-liter/100 km
(261 mpg) with its third-generation VW 1-Litre prototype – the
XL1.
Trash System Trashed: A labor-backed advocacy group called the
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy released a study yesterday
pointing a finger the city's waste disposal system and calling it
polluting and wasteful.
Social Security's finances are getting worse as the economy
struggles to recover and millions of baby boomers stand at the
brink of retirement.
Investment in marine energy technologies is increasing. But with
limited success in the sector thus far, it's still uncertain how
far that investment will go
Utilities will spend approximately $56 billion on transmission through
2010. (Edison Electric Institute,
2010)
A study from researchers at Imperial College London seriously
suggests that it may be wise for fast food outlets to provide
statin drugs free of charge with the condiments, so that
customers can neutralize the heart disease dangers of fatty
food.
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