Digg Is A Fascinating Place – But as a Blogger it is depressing

Digg is a great place and as an Environmentalist/Energy person I get many of my ideas for posts there. But it can be depressing sometimes. Over the weekend people posted hundreds of articles to the point where I had to go nearly 10 PAGES into their posting to try to catch up. I never did.

 http://digg.com

http://digg.com/news/science/upcoming

Here is just a sampling of their first page. It is amazing.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/ecological-stimulus-package-investing-natural-capital.php

Ecological Stimulus Package:

Investing In Natural Capital

by Earthwatch Institute on 02.16.09

Business & PoliticsBy: Jeanine Pfeiffer, Earthwatch Institute

What if we gave our environment the same wallop of attention we’re giving our economy? What if we valued natural capital as highly as financial capital?

The US Congress has passed a $790 billion economic stimulus package. Last November, the Chinese government approved a four trillion yuan (US $586 billion) financial stimulus plan.

The Chinese plan included 350 billion yuan (US$51 billion) for ecological and environmental projects. These projects, according to the Chinese Minister of Environmental Protection, Zhou Shengxian, will emphasize treating pollution and supporting rural environmental efforts and green industries.

In the US, President Obama’s administration is proposing a ten-year $150 billion plan to create clean energy industries, green jobs, and change consumption habits. The plan aims to reduce greenhouse emissions, but also includes intriguing bullet points like clean coal technology and constructing the Alaska natural gas pipeline.

Where’s the environment – left on the “outside”?
Absent from any of these plans, debates, and discussions on economic stimuli and environmental plans (several million hits on the internet, last time I checked), is a clear focus on our ecology, our natural capital.

Thinking environmentally is not the same as thinking ecologically. In common speak, the word “environment” refers to our surroundings –the “out there” part of our world. An environment can just as easily include tons of concrete buildings, asphalt highways, and diverted waterways as it can include rain forests, furry critters, and mountain streams.

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 http://lafora.com.br/2009/02/o-ar-que-resfria-sua-casa-aquece-o-mundo/

 

“O ar que resfria sua casa aquece o mundo”

Da Prolam Y&R do Chile para campanha de alerta contra o aquecimento global para a Columbia.

Tags:

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http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/5-dark-labor-pitfalls-in-the-new-green-e.php

 

3 Labor Pitfalls in the New Green Economy

One of the most compelling concepts behind the new green economy is its ability to create jobs in the US. You certainly can’t outsource the installation of a solar system or high-efficiency windows. Industrial-scale wind turbines are enormous, thus favoring local production.Although these concepts are true, there are some pitfalls to watch for:

1. Outsourcing Manufacturing

The US has lost 6 million manufacturing jobs in the last three decades.

2. US Subsidies Benefiting Offshore Manufacturers
US Law requires domestic sourcing for many programs and agencies, including the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, Clean Water Grants for Water Treatment, and the Energy Policy Act of 1992.

3. Low Wages
Not all green jobs pay a lot of green, even when receiving generous local subsidies. A recent study of green jobs found recycling plant workers making as little as $8.25 an hour and manufacturing jobs in renewable energy products paying as low as $11 an hour.

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http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000734_Los_Angeles_South_Central_farmers.html

This is a quick update to bring a few time-sensitive items to your attention that you may want to check out.

First, I’ve just posted an exclusive interview with Dr. Steve from his Real Health show. He interviews me about the economic stimulus bill (15 minutes duration). This was recorded just yesterday, and thanks to Dr. Steve, we got it posted here: http://www.naturalnews.com/podcasts…

Dr. Steve’s Real Health show is the best health podcast on the ‘net, by the way. Listen to all 71 episodes here: http://web.mac.com/drsteve720/Site/…

On a separate topic, when I saw this next YouTube movie, I finally came to realize that the human species is probably not going to make it. What YouTube movie could possibly have such a powerful impact on my perspective of the human race? Watch it yourself and you’ll see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wusC…

Watch LAPD cops stand guard as the food supply of hundreds of poor L.A. families is being bulldozed into dust… this is madness in the extreme, and it’s happening right here in the United States of America, by the orders of city officials!

If you’re not already in tears after seeing that video, watch the aftermath of the city’s bulldozers here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juMe…

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http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/02/12/fish.migration.study/index.html

February 12, 2009 — Updated 2227 GMT (0627 HKT)

 Fish migrating to cooler waters, study says


(CNN) — Climate-driven environmental changes could drastically affect the distribution of more than 1,000 species of commercial fish and shellfish around the world, scientists say.

 

Red areas on this map show regions that are expected to have the greatest increase in fish populations by 2050.

 

Red areas on this map show regions that are expected to have the greatest increase in fish populations by 2050.

For the first time, researchers using computer models have been able to predict the effect that warming oceans, fed by greenhouse-gas emissions, could have on marine biodiversity on a global scale.

A new study predicts that by 2050, large numbers of marine species will migrate from tropical seas toward cooler waters — specifically the Arctic and Southern Ocean — at an average rate of 40 to 45 kilometers (about 25 to 28 miles) per decade.

These migrations could lead to “numerous extinctions” of marine species outside the Arctic and Antarctic, especially in tropical waters, according to the study’s projections.

“These are major impacts that we are going to see within our lifetime and our children’s lifetime,” said William Cheung, lead author of the study, set to be published this week in the journal Fish and Fisheries.

Climate change provides us with a kick in the pants,” added Cheung, a marine biologist and lecturer at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. “We can’t think about climate change and biodiversity without thinking about the impact it will have on people.”

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http://www.ec.gc.ca/education/default.asp?lang=en&n=3D1A3FBA-1

Go on Stand By

A computer that runs 24 hours a day is eating up electricity, and money out of your wallet. stand by

Pay attention to that humming sound: that’s your computer sucking up energy. Whether you work in an office or at home, powering a computer is probably using more electricity than you think, and contributing to your personal greenhouse gas emissions, particularly when the electricity is generated with fossil fuels like oil or coal.

Research shows that most people leave their computer on throughout the entire business day, including lunchtime and meetings, but only use their computers an average of four hours a day. Plus, running a computer continuously at full power generates heat, which causes indoor temperatures to rise and increases the demand for air conditioning in the summer months.

If you work from home, consider that your network of home computers, monitors and printers can use more than 200 kilowatts per year per computer. Tally how much time one computer is on each day and multiply that by its energy usage. Now take a look at your electricity bill and see how the costs of staying connected can add up.

Going on stand by can be good

Reduce your energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by enabling the monitor’s energy-saving features when you are away from your computer for a short period of time. In “stand by” mode (also called sleep mode, hibernate or power down mode), your computer typically drops to 50% of its maximum power consumption.

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From the green economy, to air conditioning, to bulldozing poor peoples gardens, to climate change to power vampires, how is a simple blogger to compete…yet I will continue to try.

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Oh and a lady wanted me to post a link with her site. So:

http://www.torontorealestatedirect.com?pg=NCYKt

Valentine’s Day Energy Blogs – Those that talk of the energy of love

Yes youall know that I am a google whore, but heh this year is on a roll. Martin Luther King’s Birthday in the same week that an African American is sworn in as President. Lincoln’s 200th Birthday in the same week as Valentine’s Days 600th Birthday. It’s true Valentine’s Day was invented by Gregory Chaucer 8 years after his likely death. Your first Romantic Blog is all about financial love. Ignore the buff guys name:

http://www.billgross.com/

 

How Electricity Should Be Priced – Proportional to Use

Here’s a very bold idea on how electricity should be priced that I believe could completely change the world in several positive ways.

It would be the first, global, progressive pricing scheme that would give “life-line” like service to all in need of the freedom and convenience of basic electricity.  Second, it would, at the same time, provide the incentive for renewable energy to blossom, in an extremely fair and global way.

The idea is this – take the lowest possible electricity price anywhere on the planet, about $0.03 per kilolwatt hour, and offer that rate to everyone on the planet, for their first kilowatt hour (per month, per person).  For each doubling of usage, increase the rate $0.01.  So if you use 2 kilowatt hours per month, your rate is $0.04.  For 4 kilowatt hours per month, per person, your rate is $0.05.

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This collection of “alternative energy” was a lot like love, starting fast and quickly dieing down:

 http://www.bioeconomyblog.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Launch of the AlternativeEnergyBlogs

AlternativeEnergyBlogs is a gateway to the following Alternative Energy Blogs:

The Bioeconomy Blog
The Bioeconomy Blog is devoted to the promotion of all key literature relating to biorenewable fuels, most notably bioethanol and biodiesel. It will focus on the economic, environmental, medical, political, and social aspects of bioeconomy initiatives. The Bioeconomy Blog is a companion to the The Bioenergy Blog, which is devoted to the technical aspects and technologies associated with production.
[http://www.bioeconomyblog.blogspot.com/]
Facebook Group
[http://iastate.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2350983131]

The Bioenergy Blog
is devoted to the documentation of key literature relating to biorenewable fuels, most notably bioethanol and biodiesel. It is focused on the technical aspects and technologies associated with the production of these fuels. The Bioenergy Blog is a companion blog to The Bioeconomy Blog, which is focused on the non-technical aspects of bio-based fuels.
[http://thebioenergyblog.blogspot.com/]
Facebook Group
[http://iastate.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2363348674]

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This Blog reminds me of the J. Geils Band’s take on love…but is that Love Stinks or Whammer Jammer baby!

http://enviropundit.blogspot.com/

Bà R?a-V?ng Tàu: ?? lén 20 t?n ch?t th?i nguy h?i ra ??ng ru?ng

L??ng ch?t th?i này d?ng b?t có nhi?u màu xanh, vàng, ??, ?en… khác nhau ???c ?óng trong thùng phuy. Ông Tr?n Ti?n D?ng, chuyên viên Chi c?c B?o v? môi tr??ng t?nh BR-VT, cho bi?t ?ây là lo?i ch?t th?i nguy h?i, có kh? n?ng gây nguy hi?m cho môi tr??ng n??c và không khí xung quanh. Hi?n ??n v? này ?ã l?y m?u g?i xét nghi?m.

Ng??i dân t?i ?ây cho bi?t kho?ng 20 gi? ngày 7-11, có b?n xe ?ông l?nh và m?t ôtô mang bi?n s? TP.HCM ch?y ??n khu v?c này, ?? l?i các thùng phuy này r?i b? ?i. Trên thân nhi?u thùng phuy v?n còn ghi Nhà máy d?t Th?ng L?i TP.HCM. Phòng C?nh sát môi tr??ng Công an t?nh BR-VT ?ã vào cu?c ?? ?i?u tra v? vi?c.

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As if you could tell right? Love can be all over the map. Sunny, rainy, warm and cold on the same day. Much like this last Blog for the day:

 http://entropyproduction.blogspot.com/

Misplaced Priorities

So the Securities Exchange Commission is said to be probing Apple over accusations that they may have misled the public over the state of Steve Jobs’ health.

Let’s play a word association game:

Pancreatic cancer
+
Corporate executive
=
?Healthy?

One can imagine that if Jobs had cancer in the Islets of Langerhans, the portion of the pancreas responsible for insulin regulation, that yes, he might have some diabetic-like health issues associated with that. Doesn’t the SEC have something better to do? E.g. meanwhile we learn that Merrill-Lynch maneuvered to deliver $3 billion inbonuses before being bought-out by Bank of America. Merrill-Lynch lost over $20 billion in that quarter, and BoA is demanding that it be bailed out by the US taxpayer now for the same amount. This idea that financial companies need to pay out bonuses to retain “top talent” during a period when the financial sector is undergoing a severe contraction is a canard. Where are they going to go work, the construction industry?

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Abraham Lincoln’s Favorite Energy And Green Blogs – Imagine things like “mulepoop.com”,

maybe “waterwheelsforprofit.net”, or “womensworkisneverdone.org”. So today we look at more blogs present and not that talk about energy and the environment. Here is one that has not been updated since 2006, but I like the phrase “After the Goo”.

http://postpetroleum.blogspot.com/

to oil.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

After the Goo

It is now imperative that we move to new sources of transportion fuels.

Even George Bush admits that we are addicted to oil.

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This one is cute, funny and current:

 

7 Megawatts, Not for the Faint of HAWT

WRI (World Resources Institute) estimates that there would be 30,100 jobs and $450 million/yr energy savings created with every $1billion invested in green recovery. And, even the U.S. Department of Energy during the WPE error conducted a study that has recommended that a major source of investment in the near term be wind power.

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This one is also cute, funny and up-to-date. Tyler Hamilton is a hunk too.

http://tyler.blogware.com/

LNG lobby’s “truth” about CO2 emissions smells fishy

February 11th, 2009 So, a Washington-based lobby group called the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas has come out with a study that analyses the lifecycle emissions of LNG versus coal. The aim of the study is to make sure U.S. legislators “know the truth” about clean-burning LNG as they consider climate-change legislation. Their conclusion — surprise, surprise – is that LNG for power generation contributes, on an apples-to-apples basis, about 70 per cent less greenhouse-gas emissions compared to even the cleanest coal technologies. Put another way, they say that an existing coal power plant in the United States produces two and a half times more greenhouse gas emissions than a comparable LNG power plant.

That sounds, well…. completely unbelievable. Read the rest of this entry »

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But that is nothing compared to what the typical nasty industry player spends on the web. Just look at this disgusting site. You would think that the Canadians would be smarter than that:

http://www.coal.ca/content/

Home
We wish to acknowledge the generous support of our 2008 Canadian Conference on Coal Sponsors:


Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, The Coal Association of Canada represents companies engaged in the exploration, development, use and transportation of coal. Its members include major coal producers and coal-using utilities, the railroads and ports that ship coal, industry suppliers of goods and services, and municipalities that have an interest in furthering the objectives of the Coal Association.

 

47th Canadian Conference on Coal
coal_assoc._47th_logo_final_ol The Coal Association of Canada would like to thank sponsors, delegates, guests and all others involved in making the 47th Canadian Conference on Coal, ‘Coal Renaissance: Affirming its Role Today, Determining it for the Future’, our most successful conference to date. 

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So to end on a less odious note, here is a practical, nonstudly, inyourownhome site:

http://www.energyboomer.typepad.com/

HOW TO ADD WINDOW INSULATION TO SAVE MONEY

 

Winter Window Here are some inexpensive ways for you to add insulation to you existing windows that will save you money on your next heating or air conditioning bill.

 

Add clear shrink wrap on the inside

You can add a layer of clear plastic to the inside of the window. This seals off any air leaks and traps a layer of insulating air at the window. Being clear it still lets in light and lets you see out. I highly recommend the 3M Scotch Brand materials for cutting the energy waste at your windows.

It is easy. First sit down and read everything printed on the box. Remember, “if all else fails, read the directions.” The directions are an easy read and the illustrations are very helpful.

The first step of the job is to put their special two-sided sticky tape all around the window frame. What is special is that it sticks good, but you can peel it off easily too. If you put it on crooked, like I do, you can fix it without throwing it away and starting over.

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SeaGen – Need I say more?

A generation ago those of us in the alternative energy world, utility policy and energy conservation had a one word battle cry. Hood River. The town in Oregon that demonstrated many of the priniciples that we had fought for and Energy Corporate America had fought against. Well SeaGen is one of THOSE.

http://ecoscraps.com/2008/04/06/animation-seagen-tidal-power-turbine/

SeaGen Shatters Tidal Power Generation Record

 Written by Timothy B. Hurst

Published on December 18th, 2008

Posted in alternative energy

 Since its inception, we have been keeping a close eye on Marine Current Turbine’s SeaGen project in the UK, the world’s first commercial scale tidal stream turbine. Well, today there is more big news to report from the strong tidal flows of Strangford Lough as SeaGen has generated at its maximum capacity of 1.2MW for the first time. Thus far, this is the highest power produced by a tidal stream system anywhere in the world and exceeds the previous highest output of 300kW produced in 2004 by the company’s earlier SeaFlow system, off the north Devon coast.

Generating at full power is an important milestone for the company, and in particular our in-house engineering team. We are very pleased with SeaGen’s performance during commissioning,” said Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines (MCT). “It demonstrates, for the first time, the commercial potential of tidal energy as a viable alternative source of renewable energy.”

According to company officials, now that SeaGen has reached full power it will move towards full-operating mode for periods of up to 22 hours a day, with regular inspections and performance testing undertaken as part of the project’s development program.

 seagen.jpg

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Or You can go to the website itself:

http://www.seageneration.co.uk/

Welcome to the SeaGen

Project Website

  

SeaGen is the name given to the 1.2MW tidal energy convertor that will be installed in Strangford Lough in April 2008. Sea Generation Ltd is the project company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marine Current Turbines Ltd. SeaGen has been has been licensed for a maximum installed duration of 5 years.

Marine Current Turbines Ltd have been operating the 300kW Seaflow tidal energy system at Lynmouth, Devon since May 2003 and are recognised as being one of the worlds leading tidal energy system developers.

 main-image.jpg

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Just Can’t Seem To Find That Cat – This is my third and maybe final try

Still no luck finding the car I saw in San Francisco. I even tried searching images to see if I could locate a picture. It was a Volkswagen like car but it was narrower in the body and had wheel wells that were not integrated into the body like this littles electric from India:

 http://www.revaindia.com/

http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2008/12/5/Business/15418

Sunny side up

PAAVAN MATHEMA

 It is a sad irony that Nepal, with its sunny winters and the highest hydropower potential of any country in the world, suffers from endless power cuts.

The country is better placed than most to take advantage of renewable energy sources, but successive governments have done almost nothing to make this happen. Private entrepreneurs, however, have stepped in and one of the pioneers in this field has been Lotus Energy.

“You see the dark houses, the power cuts, you see the pollution on the road and you feel that you have to do something,” says Adam Friedensohn who set up Lotus Energy when he moved to Nepal 15 years ago to promote solar and wind energy technologies.

With partner Jeevan Goff, Friedensohn has set up the company to provide Nepalis with affordable solar alternatives for lighting. Starting with just three staff in 1993, Lotus now employs 100 and has branches across Nepal.

Friedensohn started out with trying to light up rural areas of Nepal with solar power, but quickly got involved in trying to find a solution to the extremely polluting Vikram three wheelers. Lotus collaborated with other parters to start Electric Vehicle Company (EVCO). The project to replace the diesel powered smoke belchers with battery-powered three wheelers became a runaway success, and ‘Safe tempo’ has today become a household word.

 http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/05/reva-takes-2008.html

REVA Takes 2008 Frost & Sullivan European

Automotive Powertrain Company of the Year Award

30 May 2008

Frost & Sullivan presented its 2008 European Automotive Powertrain Company of the Year Award to Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) for demonstrating excellence in sales volumes, superior market penetration and high levels of customer satisfaction within the electric vehicle (EV) industry. In 2007, on average one REVA electric car was sold per day in the United Kingdom.

 RECC has successfully tested and evaluated lithium ion batteries for the REVA quadricycle. The newly developed lithium ion batteries provide a driving range of more than 140 kilometers (87 miles) compared to 60-80 km from the existing lead acid battery pack.

The company’s current REVAi has been designed to facilitate upgrades to li-ion packs when they are made available for sale this year. With the incorporation of the new AC electric motor, the REVAi increases the mid-range torque by 40% and offers a boost mode for short term acceleration.

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How Many Countries Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb? Apparently Many

Will we ever learn?

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081212/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_poland_climate_talks

Poor nations to get funds

 to fight climate change

POZNAN, Poland – Negotiators at a U.N. climate conference broke through red tape and freed up millions of dollars Friday to help poor countries adapt to increasingly severe droughts, floods and other effects of global warming.“This could be the one thing to come out of Poznan,” said Kit Vaughan of WWF-Britain.The decision in the final hours of the two-week conference could begin to release some $60 million (euro45 million) within months, according to delegates and environmentalists following the closed-door talks.“This is an important step,” said delegate Mozaharul Alam of Bangladesh.Alam said ministers and senior delegates from dozens of countries decided to give a blocked fund’s governing board the authority to directly disburse money to developing countries for projects to reduce greenhouse gases.

Until now, the U.N.-backed Adaptation Fund board could not operate because its board had no right to approve and sign those contracts.

The fund is derived from a 2 percent levy on offset investments that industrial nations make on green projects in the developing world. The negotiators have been discussing other ways to ramp up the fund into the billions.

The agreement was one of the few concrete goals the delegates set for Poznan when the talks began Dec. 1. Delegations from nearly 190 countries are negotiating a new climate change pact, to be completed next December in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, that would succeed the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

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So You Think I Hate Coal Companies – Well actually I do but apparently they have their uses

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/12/10/heerlen-minewater-project/

Old Coal Mines Adapted

to Generate Geothermal Energy

by Bridgette Steffen

December 10, 2008

 Recently the town of Heerlen in the Netherlands repurposed an old abandoned coal mine into a brilliant source of geothermal energy. The project takes advantage of flooded underground mine shafts, using their thermal energy to power a large-scale district heating system. Dubbed the Minewater Project, the new system recently went online and provides 350 homes and businesses in the town with hot water and heating in the winter and cool water in the summer.

 In the Netherlands, coal was one of the main sources of energy from the turn of the century up until around 1959, when large amounts of cheap natural gas were discovered in the north. The coal industry lost market share and mine after mine was closed down – in the city of Heerlen, for instance, the coal mine was closed and the shafts were flooded with water and have been unused for the last 30 years

Five new wells were drilled in various locations around town to access the underground mine shafts. Each well is 700 meters (2,300 ft) deep and can pump out nearly 80 cubic meters (2,800 cubic feet) of water per hour. The water temperature at the bottom of the well is 32 C (89 F) and gradually cools to 28 C at the surface. Warm water from the mine is brought to the surface where a heat pump extracts the heat in order to supply hot water to households in the area. Meanwhile the Minewater is pumped back down 450 meters to be reheated. In the summer, to provide cooling, water will be pumped from a much shallower depth of 250 meters, where it is not so warm.

 The area supplied by the Minewater is a relatively new development and includes a supermarket and a brand new cultural center and library as well as many homes and businesses. While the cost of the heating and cooling is not much different than before, customers can be assured of stable prices in the future compared to the cost they could incur by using fossil fuels.

minewat-lead01.jpg

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Around The World In 80 Days – Well not quite but

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7766249.stm

‘Solar taxi’ goes round the world

A solar-powered car has arrived at the UN climate change talks in the Polish city of Poznan after a round-the-world trip covering almost 40 countries.

At the wheel of the “solar taxi” was Swiss teacher Louis Palmer who made the 52,000km (32,000 mile) 17-month trip.

He said the feat proved solar power was a viable alternative to oil-based fuels and could help fight global warming.

But he said the prototype would need serious modification before it could be mass produced.

The small blue-and-white three-wheeler tows a trailer packed with batteries charged by the sun. It can travel for 300km on a single charge and reach speeds of 90km/h (55mph).

“People love this idea of a solar car,” Mr Palmer said outside the venue of the UN climate talks. “I hope that the car industry hears…and makes electric cars in future.”

Mr Palmer, 36, said the car ran “like a Swiss clock,” breaking down only twice during the gruelling trip through 38 nations starting in Lucerne in July 2007.

If It’s Good Enough For The Queen Why Not Us – America is always behind

Maybe that will change with a Democrat in the White House:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/22/technology/queen_turbine.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008092212

Her majesty’s big,

honkin’ windmill

The Queen of England is buying

 the world’s largest wind turbine,

which towers over Big Ben and

will light up thousands of British

homes.

By Todd Woody, senior editor

Last Updated: September 22, 2008: 12:15 PM EDT

(Fortune Magazine) — It’s been a century or so since Britain ruled the waves, but Queen Elizabeth II will soon reign over the wind. Earlier this year the Crown Estate, which manages royal property worth $14 billion and controls the seas up to 14 miles off the British coast, agreed to purchase – for an undisclosed sum – the world’s largest wind turbine.

It’s a 7.5-megawatt monster to be built by Clipper Windpower of Carpinteria, Calif. Now the Royal Turbine is getting even bigger: Clipper has revealed to Fortune that Her Majesty’s windmill has been supersized to ten megawatts, producing five times the power generated by typical big turbines currently in commercial operation. The giant’s wingspan stretches the length of two soccer fields. At 574 feet, the turbine soars over Big Ben and roughly equals 111 Queen Elizabeths (the actual queen) plus one corgi stacked on top of one another.

The Queen’s turbine will displace two million barrels of oil as well as 724,000 tons of CO2 over its lifetime. This prototype will be the flagship for Clipper’s Britannia Project, an effort to create a new generation of massive-megawatt turbines to be placed on deep-sea floating platforms. When the windmill goes online in 2012 somewhere off the British coast, it could power 3,700 average homes.

 http://gizmodo.com/5053873/queen-of-england-buying-the-worlds-largest-wind-turbine

 We don’t know how much it cost her, but word is that the Queen of England has put down some mega-bucks to buy the world’s largest wind turbine. The 10-megawatt monster machine built by Clipper Windpower of Carpinteria, California will have a wingspan larger than two soccer fields and will stand 574 feet tall when completed. The windmill is expected to displace two million barrels of oil as well as 724,000 tons of CO2 over its lifetime. It will also serve as the flagship for Clipper’s Britannia Project, an effort to produce massive new turbines on deep-sea floating platforms. If all goes as planned, the Queen’s windmill will light up thousands of British homes starting in 2012.

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Mini nuclear power plant proposals – The BBC scooped the Guardian by 7 years

Wonder who will print this story in 7 more years?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1504564.stm

Scientists funded by Japan’s Atomic Energy Research Institute are developing a nuclear reactor so small that it would fit into the basement of a block of flats.

The reactor, known as the Rapid-L, was conceived of as a power source for colonies on the Moon, New Scientist magazine says. But the 200 kilowatt reactor measures only six metres (20 feet) by two metres (6.5 feet).It uses molten lithium-6 as a coolant in a system which the researchers hope will automatically shut down if it overheats.Planning trouble“In future it will be quite difficult to construct further large nuclear power plants because of site restrictions,” Mitsuru Kambe, head of the research team at Japan’s Central Research Institute of Electrical Power Industry (CRIEPI) told New Scientist.“To relieve peak loads in the future, I believe small, modular reactors located in urban areas such as Tokyo Bay will be effective,” he said.Conventional nuclear reactors use solid rods to control the rate at which the nuclear fuel releases energy and thereby control the temperature of the reactor.

Liquid solution

The rods absorb neutrons, the subatomic particles which keep the nuclear chain reaction going.

But they have to be lowered in and out of the reactor to control it. The Japanese researchers aim to make the process automatic by using molten lithium-6 instead.As the temperature rises in their reactor, the molten liquid expands and rises through tubes into the reactor core, absorbing neutrons and slowing the chain reaction to a safe rate.Mr Kambe was both optimistic and realistic about the future of his team’s work.“Rapid power plants could be used in developing countries where remote regions cannot be conveniently connected to the main grid,” he told the magazine, adding:“The success of such a reactor depends on the acceptance of the public, the electricity utilities and the government.”The reactor would still face the problems of waste transport and disposal associated with larger power stations.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/09/miniature-nuclear-reactors-los-alamos

Mini nuclear plants to

power 20,000 homes

£13m shed-size reactors will

be delivered by lorry 

  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday November 9 2008 00.01 GMT
  • The Observer, Sunday November 9 2008
  • Nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power 20,000 homes will be on sale within five years, say scientists at Los Alamos, the US government laboratory which developed the first atomic bomb.

    The miniature reactors will be factory-sealed, contain no weapons-grade material, have no moving parts and will be nearly impossible to steal because they will be encased in concrete and buried underground.

    The US government has licensed the technology to Hyperion, a New Mexico-based company which said last week that it has taken its first firm orders and plans to start mass production within five years. ‘Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a watt anywhere in the world,’ said John Deal, chief executive of Hyperion. ‘They will cost approximately $25m [£13m] each. For a community with 10,000 households, that is a very affordable $2,500 per home.’

    Deal claims to have more than 100 firm orders, largely from the oil and electricity industries, but says the company is also targeting developing countries and isolated communities. ‘It’s leapfrog technology,’ he said.

    The company plans to set up three factories to produce 4,000 plants between 2013 and 2023. ‘We already have a pipeline for 100 reactors, and we are taking our time to tool up to mass-produce this reactor.’

    The first confirmed order came from TES, a Czech infrastructure company specialising in water plants and power plants. ‘They ordered six units and optioned a further 12. We are very sure of their capability to purchase,’ said Deal. The first one, he said, would be installed in Romania. ‘We now have a six-year waiting list. We are in talks with developers in the Cayman Islands, Panama and the Bahamas.’

    The reactors, only a few metres in diameter, will be delivered on the back of a lorry to be buried underground. They must be refuelled every 7 to 10 years. Because the reactor is based on a 50-year-old design that has proved safe for students to use, few countries are expected to object to plants on their territory. An application to build the plants will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission next year

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