Monthly Archives: August 2011

The solar-equipment industry has begun its biggest consolidation in at least two years as photovoltaic systems plunge in price, forcing weaker companies to team with competitors or close shop. -BloomBerg
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(ENS) – Eliminating $380 billion in subsidies to industries that damage the environment could go a long way toward resolving U.S. budget challenges, a coalition of groups from across the political spectrum said today in a new report. The report, “Green Scissors 2011,” identifies cuts to “wasteful spending that harms the environment,” that would...
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“Scientists at Tulane have found a natural bacteria (dubbed TU-103) that produces butanol. While butanol-producing bacteria aren’t new, there are a few important points about this particular bacterium. It is the first natural bacteria that converts cellulose directly to butanol without the cellulose needing to be processed into sugar first, and it can do...
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“The University of Kentucky-University of Louisville team demonstrated that an alloy formed by a 2 percent substitution of antimony (Sb) in gallium nitride (GaN) has the right electrical properties to enable solar light energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, a process known as photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. When the alloy is...
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The earthquake that prompted the shutdown of a Virginia nuclear power plant last week may have been more severe than the plant’s reactors were designed to withstand, federal regulators said. The revelation is likely to put increased pressure on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to quickly implement a series of safety recommendations intended in...
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“Even if you have no knowledge—despite Herculean efforts to obtain it—that some piece of your guitar, no matter how small, was obtained illegally, you lose your guitar forever,” Prof. Thomas has written. “Oh, and you’ll be fined $250 for that false (or missing) information in your Lacey Act Import Declaration.” Federal agents swooped in...
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WOW – first they outsourced your job (to save a nickle) then the sold you an impossible home loan foreclosing on your house and then they nearly emptied your pension after draining your savings account…. Finally when you thought you gave all you could, they go after your food. Imagine what is going on...
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Nearly 1 in 5 children lived in poverty in the U.S. in 2009. That’s 15 million kids. Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi ranked lowest on the study’s 10 indicators of child well-being. New Hampshire, Minnesota and Massachusetts ranked highest. Altogether, there are now almost 46 million people in the United States on food stamps, roughly...
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The ABLE project is a social enterprise based on a former landfill site in Wakefield in the U.K. The scheme combines the production of fish and horticultural produce with a unique outdoor learning facility, training young people in horticulture, aquaculture and environmental skills. Among other activities, the ABLE project is demonstrating a “closed-loop” no-waste...
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 The Brazilian authorities have this week confirmed that wind power in the country currently costs less than natural gas, after a series of energy auctions saw wind farm operators undercut other forms of energy generation. Seventy-eight wind power projects won contracts in last week’s energy auctions held by Brazil’s National Electric Power Agency, totalling...
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Peak Energy Inhabitat reports (quoting World Architecture News and The Times – the LaRouchies also seem to have an interest in the topic) that Russia has “approved” the long talked about Bering Strait rail tunnel / energy corridor – a critical component in Bucky Fuller‘s vision of a global energy grid – Russia Green...
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 Embarrassed by her middle class affluence after a visit to Guatemala, Dee Williams grabbed her hammer, built a tiny house on wheels, downsized to less than 400 possessions, and parked her house in a friendapos;s yard. Her living arrangement then blossomed into a multi-generational family / community. Dee shows us her warm and comfy...
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Ok, those Germans are just showing off now. Not only has the nation announced plans to shut down all of its nuclear power plants and started the construction of 2,800 miles of transmission lines for its new renewable energy initiative, but now the village of Wildpoldsried is producing 321% more energy than it needs!...
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“Websites in Schleswig-Holstein must remove their Facebook Like button by the end of September 2011 or they will face a fine of up to €50,000 ($72,000).” Northern Germany has announced that the Like button, with its ability to track a user’s movement across the internet, violates German and European privacy law. But without tracking...
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Rank Country Military expenditure, 2010  % of GDP, 2009 0 a 0 0 1 United States 698,105,000,000 4.7% 2 People’s Republic of China 114,000,000,000 2.2% 3 France 61,285,000,000 2.5% 4 United Kingdom 57,424,000,000 2.7% 5 Russia 52,586,000,000 4.3% 6 Japan 51,420,000,000 1.0% 7 Germany 46,848,000,000 1.4%
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MTV is promoting its latest social engineering program pushing a generation of sleeping sheep to believe that if you just simply “Give a Sh*t” about the world’s problems, they will go away. So to spread the word and make a difference, MTV’s asking people everywhere to tweet or post what they give a shit...
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Join us for a Webinar on August 31 Lighting improvements are one of the easiest and most cost-effective energy improvements for businesses. Financial incentives are often provided by utility companies and local energy efficiency programs. Learn how to save money and energy through lighting improvements. This seminar will focus on industrial and warehouse applications....
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Costco was an early leader in offering electric-vehicle charging to its customers, setting an example followed by other retailers, including Best Buy and Walgreen. By 2006, Costco had installed 90 chargers at 64 stores, mostly in California but also some in Arizona, New York and Georgia. Even after General Motors crushed its EV1 battery...
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Washington Post – Over the next 18 months, the Environmental Protection Agency will finalize a flurry of new rules to curb pollution from coal-fired power plants. Mercury, smog, ozone, greenhouse gases, water intake, coal ash—it’s all getting regulated. And, not surprisingly, some lawmakers are grumbling. Industry groups such the Edison Electric Institute, which represents...
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While Chevy VOLT sales continue to die (MSNBC) with bleak sales forecast (YAHOO)… tax payers are stuck with the bill. The Chevy Volt has only sold about 3,200 units thus far…Nevertheless, Government Motors is ramping up for more Volt production.  According to Yahoo Auto news, GM is forecasting “sales of around 16,000 for the...
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California has dropped their $5,000 electric car rebates – LA Times
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NASDAQ – No one knows precisely at what point oil begins to substantially hinder consumer spending and slow commercial activity – but this much is known: every $1 per barrel rise in oil decreases U.S. GDP by about $100 billion per year and every 1 cent increase in gasoline decreases U.S. consumer disposable income...
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Japan insists its nuclear crisis was caused by an unforeseeable combination of tsunami and earthquake. But new evidence suggests its reactors were doomed to fail - Independent Related U.S. Problems??? Alabama Nuclear Reactor, Partly Built, to Be Finished – The directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority unanimously approved a plan on Thursday to finish...
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7th grader Aidan Dwyer, who used phyllotaxis — the way leaves are arranged on plant stems in nature — as inspiration to arrange an array of solar panels in a way that generates 20-50% more energy than a uniform, flat panel array. Aidan wrote, “I designed and built my own test model, copying the...
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Oil from the Macondo Well site is fouling the Gulf – and BP is scrambling to contain both the crude and the PR nightmare that waits in the wings. Reliable sources tell us that BP has hired 40 boats from Venice to Grand Isle to lay boom around the Deepwater Horizon site – located...
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U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels were 5,638 million metric tons carbon dioxide (MMTCO2) in 2010, an increase of 3.9 percent from the 2009 level, according to Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 2010, an online analysis released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This is the largest percentage increase...
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While nations are struggling to feed their starving people pushing U.S. corn export to record profits… supplies run short as food prices boom. For the first time ever, more of the corn crop may go into gas tanks than into the stomachs of cattle and poultry destined for kitchen tables. The prediction drew little...
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Goods and services from China accounted for only 2.7% of U.S. personal consumption expenditures in 2010, of which less than half reflected the actual costs of Chinese imports. The rest went to U.S. businesses and workers transporting, selling, and marketing goods carrying the “Made in China” label. Although the fraction is higher when the...
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The reactor at the leading edge of what has been cast as a “nuclear renaissance” has taken a step forward. The staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Tuesday that it had finished its evaluation of the safety of the proposed Vogtle 3 and 4 reactors, a Southern Company project near Augusta, Ga....
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Amid growing shortages of life-saving drugs, some back-door suppliers are capitalizing on the problem, jacking up prices for medications for cancer, high blood pressure and other serious problems by as much as 4,500 percent, a new hospital survey shows. So-called “gray market” medical suppliers — vendors who operate through unofficial channels — inflated prices...
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The comet Elenin which will pass by Earth October 16 has generated such an inordinate amount of doomsday reports from a number of different sources that NASA today issued a release meant to address a variety of them. To address the myriad concerns, NASA said its scientists compiled a list of the most popular...
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UCLA Engineers Create Energy-Generating LCD Screen that allows gadgets like smartphones and laptops to convert sunlight, ambient light, and their own backlight into energy. Equipping LCD-enhanced devices with so-called polarizing organic photovoltaics will recoup battery loads of lost power, and enable smartphone users to scour Yelp, scan Twitter, and update their Facebook page without...
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An experimental electric vehicle called “Schluckspecht” (“boozer,” or “tippler” in German) has set the record for achieving the longest drive in a battery-powered vehicle on a single battery charge. Its record-breaking distance was 1,013.8 miles (1,631.5 km). The trip lasted 36 hours and 12 minutes. The Schluckspecht E, as the winning machine is called,...
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Forbes - One of the most lethal by-products of nuclear fission, Strontium-90 was found in the bones of nine of 13 fish collected from the Connecticut River last summer, and for the first time, in the edible flesh of one fish. That fish was collected nine miles upstream from the Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power...
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CBO -  Report ordered by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural ResourcesThis legislation would establish the Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA) within the Department of Energy (DOE) and authorize that new agency to provide various forms of financial assistance for clean energy projects developed by nonfederal entities. CEDA’s financial liabilities would be limited...
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The U.S. Navy’s help is coming from an unexpected source: the sun. The Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit 2 in Virginia has been testing five prototype lightweight field power kits that include solar cells as a key component. The kits replace fifty pounds of equipment with a compact system that weighs...
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“The world’s first nuclear barge has been impounded while still under construction — but not because of looming safety or environmental concerns. The shipyard’s parent companies are embroiled in bankruptcy proceedings, and Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, was worried that a creditor would end up with this valuable nuclear asset, and asked the bankruptcy...
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Cigarette companies are suing to try to stop the latest government health warnings ordered for packs of cigarettes. - CBS News Seriously??? WTF is the problem with having accurate warnings depicting what really happens. Haase – Last Time I checked:Smoking Deaths Cost U.S. $92 Billion a Year. Total costs, including health care, more than...
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Ron Paul came in second in last weekend’s Iowa straw poll, finishing less than 200 votes behind Michele Bachmann. Why is the longtime Texas congressman, an early champion of many of the ideas that are so popular with Tea Partiers at the moment, not considered a serious contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination?...
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BBC -  A second leak point has been found in the flow line beneath the Gannet Alpha oil platform, 113 miles (180km) off Aberdeen. Shell has been dealing with the release of an estimated 216 tonnes – 1,300 barrels – from a leak near the platform discovered last week.The oil company said it was...
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More colleges offering organic, sustainability agriculture programs as consumer interest grows Plenty of others are doing the same at dozens of universities that now offer courses, certificates or degree programs focused on organic and sustainable agriculture. Experts said those graduates shouldn’t have trouble finding jobs as the agriculture industry replaces aging farmers — the...
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Riots, wild markets: Did space storms drive us mad? (Reuters) Everyone is pointing fingers — at blundering politicians, hooded thugs, disaffected youths, bumbling police and greedy bankers — but could the cause for all the madness really be the star at the center of our solar system? There isn’t a lot of evidence pointing...
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Accounting Problems: You think Enron’s accounting was troubled? The Pentagon has very little accountability when it comes to its books. Since first submitting financial accounts in 1991, the Pentagon “has been unable to account for trillions of dollars, well over almost $10 trillion by my own account,” says Glain. Ending the Wars: Ending operations...
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As U.S. leaders fail to pass sustainable debt deal, $4 Trillion was Wiped Off World Stocks In Two Weeks and may be leading to a global tipping point: When food shortages and rising prices drive people to desperation, social unrest soon follows. It’s as true today as it was in 18th-century France. According to...
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Mussels With Hydrogen Fuel Cells Found  – “According to scientists, there are mussels at the bottom of the ocean that are efficiently converting hydrogen into energy in their very own, nature-made hydrogen fuel cells (abstract). The mussels were found near hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor and have onboard symbiotic bacteria that convert hydrogen...
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A research group for the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) has been studying the use of bacteria in the measurement and decontamination of radioactive cesium. The group cultured bacteria in soil and investigated its cesium accumulation ability, confirming that about one-tenth of the bacteria in the soil were able accumulate cesium. The group...
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JFS -  a Japanese manufacturer of paints and coatings, announced on April 26, 2011, that it has developed a new type of paint with high solar reflectance called “Alescool.” Simply applying this paint, the company says, can help cut electric power cost of air conditioning by 40 percent during summer in Japan. The paint...
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Bloomberg reports that radiation fears are pushing up Japanese rice prices – Rice Futures Halted in Tokyo as Radiation Weighs On First Trades Since ’39. Rice futures in Tokyo surged in their first appearance on the bourse since 1939, triggering a suspension of trade, on concern radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant may...
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TPR -… the law requires the government, in particular the President and the Federal Reserve, to create jobs. This legal duty comes from three sources: full employment legislation including the Humphrey Hawkins Full Employment Act of 1978, the 1977 Federal Reserve Act, and the global consensus based on customary international law that all people...
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…This custom-built machine is a throwback to the aesthetics of 1920s boardtrack racers, right down to the copper rivets, Brooks leather saddles and even, if you so wish, white tires. Derringer pitches its hybrids as ‘the next generation motorbike’—a claim that some electric moto makers might disagree with. (We’re told that ‘The ultra-clean four-cycle...
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WOW - “Do you have a few old, dusty beige-box computers kicking around that you’d like to turn into money? Or perhaps you’d just like to get rid of them, but you lack the means to dispose of them properly? Well, if you’re in the US you’re in luck: Apple will now provide postage-paid...
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“A team of researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory have designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection. The researchers tested their drug against 15 viruses, and found it was effective against all of them — including rhinoviruses that...
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“The Christian Science Monitor reports that a U.S. Energy Department advisory panel has endorsed fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, a promising technology that injects a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals underground to fracture rock and release shale gas previously thought unretrievable, paving the way for tens of thousands of new wells. If fracking can...
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“Thorium, an abundant and radioactive rare earth mineral, could be used in conjunction with a laser and mini turbines to easily produce enough electricity to power a vehicle. When thorium is heated, it generates further heat surges, allowing it to be coupled with mini turbines to produce steam that can then be used to...
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(CNNMoney) – When the unexpected strikes, most Americans aren’t prepared to pay for it. A majority, or 64%, of Americans don’t have enough cash on hand to handle a $1,000 emergency expense, according to a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
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Iowa now gets a higher percentage of its power from wind than any other state in the nation. The Des Moines Register is reporting that Iowa’s wind generation hit the 20% mark last quarter, supplying the state with a full one fifth of its energy needs. That’s really good — like, Denmark good. Stats...
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Western hedge funds have begun buying up vast parcels of land all over Africa. According to a series of new reports by the Oakland Institute, over 148 million acres in the last three years alone have been purchased — that’s an area larger than California. The reports say the purchased land is often used...
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Short Sweet and bitter… U.S. Debt downgrade doesn’t mean what you think. The downgrade is just another signal that big time inflation is coming. The U.S. Treasury borrows money by issuing bonds. Because it has a massive spending problem and can’t live within its means it runs a perpetual and ever expanding deficit. The...
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Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues are weighing the use of more untested policy tools after two rounds of bond buying totaling $2.3 trillion failed to spur sufficient economic growth and reduce unemployment below 9 percent. The Federal Open Market Committee holds its regular meeting today in Washington following the worst day for...
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WDNR- The estimated 50,000 or more Wisconsin waterfowl hunters whose favorite hunting partner has four legs, a tail, and doesn’t mind swimming in cold water may want to take some precautions against their friend coming down with serious illness from ingesting water containing potentially toxic blue-green algae. “Working together with dogs is part of...
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The court vacated the EPA’s guidance and ruled that it could not offer an alternative that allows violations of the old one-hour standard to continue On Jan. 5, 2010, EPA published guidance to the states that would allow them to waive fees under Section 185 of the Clean Air Act relating to compliance with...
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The U.S. House of Representatives on Aug. 1 passed H.R. 2715, a bill to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, which regulates the amount of lead in children’s products. The bill was passed under suspension of the rules by a vote of 421-2. The Senate followed the House’s lead and...
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 4 issued a final rule on what was previously known as the Inventory Update Rule (IUR), which dictates the amount and types of information it collects on commercial chemicals from chemical manufacturers and importers.  The information required by this rule, which is promulgated under the Toxic...
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EPA on July 27 announced that it would delay issuing new National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone (NAAQS),“The legal defensibility of the 2008 decision posed major challenges for the federal government given the strength of the scientific record at that time,” responded Administrator Jackson. “I decided that reconsideration was the appropriate path based...
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Click to enlarge… NY Times
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“The satellite observations suggest there is much more energy lost to space during and after warming than the climate models show,” Spencer said in a July 26 University of Alabama press release. “There is a huge discrepancy between the data and the forecasts that is especially big over the oceans.” In addition to finding...
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NPR – “If you add up all the promises that have been made for spending obligations, including defense expenditures, and you subtract all the taxes that we expect to collect, the difference is $211 trillion. That’s the fiscal gap,” he says. “That’s our true indebtedness.” We don’t hear more about this enormous number, Kotlikoff...
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Some bedbugs have begun carrying a deadly staph virus, researchers report, bringing a dangerous new twist to the resurgence of bedbug infestations … Infestations have overwhelmed schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, and hotels, particularly in large cities. Adding a new and dangerous twist to the bedbug resurgences, Canadian researchers have discovered bedbugs carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus...
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Standard & Poor’s announced Friday night that it has downgraded the United States credit rating for the first time, dealing a huge symbolic blow to the world’s economic superpower in what was a sharply worded critique of the American political system. Washington Post …if the US credit rating is reduced from AAA many pensions...
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US gross debt shot up $238 billion to reach 100 percent of gross domestic product after the government’s debt ceiling was lifted, Treasury figures showed. On Tuesday, the Treasury had to add more than $200 billion of commitments immediately after President Barack Obama signed into law an increase in the debt ceiling. The liabilities...
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“With China having 97% of the market share of rare earth elements, many countries are nervous about being able to get supplies of key elements needed for high tech gear. Quantum Rare Earths Developments Corp. has reported they have discovered a potential huge source of rare earth elements, right in the middle of the...
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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced July 28, 2011 in a press release that HUD will be investing $95 million to support stronger, economically competitive communities through their Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. From the release:This year’s Regional Planning Grant program will encourage grantees to support regional...
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The U.S. Department of Energy announced today the next step of its comprehensive website reform, making energy.gov a cutting-edge, interactive information platform and saving taxpayers more than $10 million annually. Through a complete overhaul of its front-end and back-end design, energy.gov modernizes how consumers and businesses access the information and resources they need to...
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Here is a summary of just a few Clean Fuel Buses and FacilitiesThe U.S. Department of Transportation requests proposals for the Clean Fuels/Bus and Bus Facilities Program.  This program will support: 1) The purchase or leasing of clean fuel buses, including buses that employ a lightweight composite structure, 2) Construction or leasing of clean...
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CBO’s analysis examines the main factors that influence the cost to the federal government of providing loan guarantees for the construction of nuclear power plants. It includes illustrative cost estimates using the methodology specified by the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, which determines the budgetary cost of the program, and also estimates prepared...
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Curiosity will be powered by the heat given off by the natural decay of (Pu-238) non-fissile isotope of plutonium with a half-life of 87.7 years.  An alpha emitter, it is easily shielded. The non-fissile  isotope of plutonium are essential to a number of spacecraft missions, particularly those bound for the outer solar system. United...
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The Energy Foundation is increasing its work in the industrial energy efficiency (including CHP) realm and is looking for a 50 to 100% time consultant to support this work.   If any of you or your colleagues and contacts are interested, please see job announcement  link here
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“Nissan has developed a system that allows a vehicle to supply electricity to power a house during a power outage or shortage. A prototype of the charging system running on a Nissan Leaf electric car was unveiled in Japan on Tuesday. A two-way charging device that would typically convert the household electricity supply to...
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“German scientists working at Berlin’s Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications have set a new world record for Visible Light Communication technology after they succeeded in using regular red, blue, green and white LED light bulbs as the basis for building a new 800Mbps capable ultrafast Wireless Local Area Network. Dr. Anagnostis Paraskevopoulos explained: ‘With the...
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H.R. 2273, Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2011 H.R. 2170, Cutting Federal Red Tape to Facilitate Renewable Energy Act H.R. 2171, Exploring for Geothermal Energy on Federal Lands Act H.R. 2172, Utilizing America’s Federal Lands for Wind Energy Act H.R. 2173, Advancing Offshore Wind Production Act S. 519, Hoover Power Allocation Act...
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NASA and the US Air Force to clean up the areas around the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which have been contaminated with decades worth of carcinogenic chemicals from launching Shuttles, the Apollo moon missions, and other rockets. The KSC cleanup is expected to take 30 years, and will cost...
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With the incident at Fukushima causing much renewed concern about the risks of nuclear power this year, the NY Times brings news that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has released the preliminary version of a safety report due out in April 2012, based upon new science about the behavior of Cesium-137. The report finds...
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S. 512, would direct the Secretary of Energy to enter into cooperative agreements with private-sector entities to develop standard designs for small modular nuclear reactors as well as processes for licensing such reactors with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The bill would authorize DOE to cover up to 50 percent of the cost of...
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Will financially crippled states be forced to take our nations waste to pay the bills? “Brian Wingfield writes in Bloomberg that the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future has sent a draft report to Energy Secretary Steven Chu recommending that US communities should be encouraged to vie for becoming a federal nuclear-waste site...
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We forget that wind energy was one of the most competitive markets in the early 1900′sDon’t worry, someone next week will sell investors on this “new tech” Read full here at PopSci Books
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