| SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness, | |
| Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; | |
| Conspiring with him how to load and bless | |
| With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; | |
| To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, | 5 |
| And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; | |
| To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells | |
| With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, | |
| And still more, later flowers for the bees, | |
| Until they think warm days will never cease, | 10 |
| For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells. |
The first thermonuclear reactor is expected to be built by 2016. The European Union will cover 40% of the costs and the other participants will contribute 10% each.
From EnergyDailyHello, Sandia? 2016?
The headline below is from the Unofficial ITER Fan Club.
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that it would cost .12% of the world's domestic product to substantially reduce our collective greenhouse gas emissions.
- GDP of the world economy: US$60 trillion
- .12% of $60 trillion: $70 billion
- Total population of the earth: 6.5 billion
- Cost per person to significantly reduce heat-trapping gas worldwide: $10 a year
- Cost of saving the planet from droughts, famine, mass flooding, species extinction and rising sea levels: priceless.
Conservation will be the new ethic. It's the only way, really, given that freshwater is a limited resource and costly to transport for any distance, unlike other natural resources. Higher prices will be a motivating factor. Consumers, both business and residential, will pay more. In some places, they'll pay a lot more with rates that escalate as use increases.
There will be limits on use, some of them by government mandates, as is the case in several California counties already. But most communities with less severe water issues will rely on pleading, cajoling or tax incentives to cut water usage.
Water technology companies will thrive. Sales of equipment for filtration, ultraviolet oxidation and vapor compression, for instance, will rise 15% annually for five years and probably beyond, up from about $1.8 billion today. Leading manufacturers of the equipment, as well as manufacturers of water-efficient appliances, include CH2M Hill, Separation Dynamics, Siemens, EZ Environmental Solutions and SETS Systems.
Watch Australia. When it comes to water, Australia's present may be our future. Climate changes that occurred there about a dozen years ago that dropped the country's average annual rainfall in half forced the nation to adopt among the most innovative conservation projects, substantially reducing per capita water use. Several Australian firms that flourished with their country's programs are also well positioned to benefit from an expanding U.S. market. Among them are Perpetual Water, which makes on-site and in-home water recycling systems, and Caroma, which specializes in highly water-efficient bathroom fittings and accessories.
From Kiplinger
... India, already one of the world's top polluters, has never measured methane emissions from its 4,500 large dams and has therefore never taken it into account in official data.
According to a study by scientists from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, methane equivalent of 825 million tons of carbon dioxide is released annually by India's dams.
Government officials say methane emissions from dams is not an issue.A joint statement issued after the talks in Tokyo said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Bharrat Jagdeo agreed to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, develop renewable energies, manage sustainable forests, ensure provision of clean drinking water and take disaster prevention measures related to rising sea levels.
Jagdeo travelled to Japan last Saturday after the conclusion of the Conference of the Caribbean in Washington DC. According to the joint statement, there was also an exchange of notes on Monday for a water supply project in Corriverton. Discussions were also held on other bilateral issues.
Meanwhile, according to GINA, Jagdeo reiterated Guyana's support for Japan's bid for a permanent place on the UN Security Council.
From Stabroek News
"We're trying to open doors for these companies, by saying positive action on climate change is the best way forward, but, we're also firmly "closing the back door" so they can't evade prosecution in the future," said Ms Atkinson.
Cases around the world show climate change litigation is being increasingly used to deal with major greenhouse offenders.
...In an unusually emotional statement to the press, sent from an Equisure board meeting Friday in London, Uttley told his version of events over the summer, which eventually led to the delisting of Equisure shares on the American Stock Exchange.
"The simple truth was consumed in the belly of deception, but now has been vomited for the world to see," Uttley began.
He then proceeded to tell a story of three men, whom he described as "liars," "cheats," and "scallywags," who worked with law enforcement officials and the press to spread false rumors about the company with the intent of buying Equisure out at 50 cents a share, a tiny fraction of the stock's trading price of $15, before AMEX suspended trading Aug. 1.
Isn't that damn fine bloviating? It's hard to research but I think Uttley et. al. got away with $100 mil.
Here's Russ George of Planktos responding (I think) to Greenpeace's submission to the recent meeting of the International Maritime Organization, in the Ottawa Citizen:
...And yes, we do this for profit and expect to earn good returns for those who invest in our public company stock....
...After all of this work, I was shocked when Planktos came under attack from fringe environmentalists, who were later joined by a few other organizations and scientists with unfounded reservations about Planktos's methods....
...Why, in a time when our beloved planet is in dire straits, would environmentalists turn on their own? Why is the suspicion and cynicism so deep that it would lead to falsified and emotionally charged mudslinging in press releases and letters to the editor? Why the refusal by some to discuss our approach in more accurate detail and to report on those accurate details? And why the refusal by media and others to consider the possibility that their opening volley was misaligned?
Perhaps it is a kind of fundamentalism that drives this, where all for-profit companies are intrinsically evil, all interventions -- even restorative ones -- a form of desecration. Perhaps they fear that if the patient, in this case Mother Earth, is somehow brought back from the edge of death, their raison d'etre will disappear. I have a hard time understanding what their motives might be.
It seems all is fair game once the enemy is identified. But what if the company or person in the sights is not actually an enemy? What if that company and its people are deeply aligned with the same principles, and our snap judgments have led us to see them with dark red glasses?
In a time of dire straits, we really need all hands on deck, working together to find solutions. We are not yet sure of exactly how effective iron fertilization is as a method to restore oceans and alleviate global warming. Our best estimates are that one-half of global carbon excess could be turned into a revived plankton forest...
Verbal mudslinging serves only to degrade our collective green cause and postpone possible solutions. Instead of leading us to come together and collaborate far more extensively than ever before, it leads to factionalism, suspicion, and infighting. It obscures the noble quest for truth. That's why it is so damaging and unfortunate.
What I most dearly hope is that we can all move beyond infighting and into solidarity in finding, researching, and providing true solutions to the perils ahead.
Russ George is founder, president and CEO of Planktos, KlimaFa and HaidaClimate.
As they say on the nature shows:
"Sadly now, there can be but one outcome"
Solar has since agreed to sell the business to another bulletin board company called Diatom Corp. for 45 million shares. That will give Solar a controlling interest in Diatom, which is now trading as Planktos Corp.
Skalbania is neither an officer nor director of Solar, but his footprints are all over it. Solar's principal executive office is listed as 145-925 West Georgia St., which is Skalbania's office.
Skalbania's business card describes him as "manager" of Solar and a director of Planktos Inc., which operates as a subsidiary of Solar. He also owns big blocks of Solar stock through two private B.C. companies, Baycove Capital Corp. and Regal RV Resorts Inc.He is also a big booster. When I dropped into his West Georgia office, he tried to persuade me that Planktos has viable solutions to global warming. He appeared genuinely enthusiastic, but I have trouble sharing that enthusiasm.
As a businessman, Skalbania has had a very checkered career. In the early 1980s, his highly levered business empire collapsed, leaving behind dozens of creditors who were owed millions of dollars.
He then turned to the stock market, where he became involved in a series of Vancouver Stock Exchange companies. One was Ponderosa Ventures, which rose to $5 on the basis of a series of acquisitions that eventually went bankrupt.
One of those acquisitions was Columbia Trust. In 1987, RCMP alleged in search warrant information that Skalbania converted for personal use nearly $2 million of a $3-million loan provided by Standard Chartered Bank to Columbia Trust. The RCMP recommended that charges be laid, but to their chagrin, the Crown decided not to proceed.
In June this year, delegates from across the EU will again gather over two days for the 3rd Annual Obesity Europe Conference, to engage in a pro-active and progressive debate on the current and future trends relating to obesity and nutrition within Europe.
The framework for the event continues to be the current regulatory landscape and this year there will be a fresh look at not only the various actions being taken by the EU Commission, industry and NGO's within the context of policy implementation and scientific innovation, but also the fundamental importance of the social and environmental perspectives that impact upon consumer's abilities when making various lifestyle choices.
State-run Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and London-listed carbon-credit company EcoSecurities (ECO.L:) have signed a deal to try and make Dubai the regional centre for trading carbon offsets.
The two are eyeing several projects in the United Arab Emirates that could cut greenhouse gas emissions and generate carbon emissions reduction certificates (CER) under a United Nations scheme.
From Reuters
Methane gas is a renewable source of energy, which is used for cooking, lighting, running engines and for generation of electricity. The cost involved is low when compared to other fuels, according to Saji Das, Managing Director of Biotech.
Initially, the digesters are filled with `Biotech culture' consisting of water and cow dung to start the digestion phase. Once the microbes are cultured in the plant, it will grow and remain inside the treatment plant.
From The Hindu
CERs, each equivalent to the reduction of one tonne of CO2, trading on a secondary market are currently valued at around 14.50 euros.
From Reuters
A retail sales tax rebate on all solar equipment has been extended until the end of 2009, and the province will also offer a $500 rebate on the purchase of a solar domestic hot water system, matching the rebate offered by the federal government. That's $1,000 off a system that typically costs $5,000 to $6,000.
As for larger solar thermal projects done for industry or government institutions, the province over the next four years is also matching a federal commitment to pay 25 per cent of any project, to a maximum of $80,000. Those combined contributions could cover half of a project's cost....
From theStar.com
To which After Gutenberg responds:
On the other hand, to throw a bit of Lake Ontario cold water on the pitch, a 2005 policy analysis from Greenpeace failed to designate either Canada or Siberia as one of the five most promising regions in the world for development of large scale, thermal solar projects. Conversely, it indicated that such application is inappropriate for those regions.
In promoting cool, green Canadian companies, Tyler just might be stretching his credibility a bit too far. But, in all fairness, we eco-warriors do like to see photographs of toasty, solar-heated, housing in the middle of cruel winter, accomplished with a combination of passive solar, low-cost solar thermal, black paint and duct tape. With considerable engineering, it even could be justifiable and certainly has appeal since it demonstrates homeowner cleverness.
For my money Oregon is the place you oughta be, load up the truck and move to Sublimity.
While we're not naming any names, firms whose partners might potentially contribute to winning political campaigns of the future, and which can successfully advise clients to do the same, may be positioned to help determine the content, if not the spirit, of climate related regulations and treaties under a future administration. From that, could come even political appointments.
I'm not sure if TH knows that Vinson & Elkins was Enron's counsel. They have a picture of Enron's sign being taken down.
ANKARA, Turkey -- Istanbul will not be among the cities set to hold a Live Earth concert next month.
Organizers cited insufficient interest and sponsors for the July 7 event.
Rich countries can meet their targets under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming by funding emissions cuts in developing countries, but such funds have drawn criticism both for alleged abuses and for focusing on big, industrial projects.
...Now simple, replicable activities, like changing an old inefficient light bulb, can by-pass bureaucratic hurdles, opening the way for private individuals to apply.
...China cornered 60 percent of emissions cuts in a market worth $4.8 billion last year, after a clutch of big chemical plants claimed carbon credits for destroying an especially potent greenhouse gas.
...By contrast, sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa has seen less than 1 percent of total investment.
Miguez is now working with Brazil's Ministry for Development Industry and Trade to enable as many as hundreds of thousands of car drivers to get carbon credits for filling their tanks with ethanol instead of gasoline.
From Reuters
“Every minute by which that we can shorten flight time saves 62 liters of fuel and 160 kg. of carbon emissions. The U.N. identified a 12% inefficiency in global air traffic management. That's a $13.5- billion bill for wasted fuel and 73 million metric tons of unneeded carbon emissions.”
— Giovanni Bisignani
Aviation Week & Space Technolog
04/16/2007
THE risk of a 1930s-style economic slump has been heightened by "euphoric" markets tapping cheap global credit, one of the world's pre-eminent financial institutions has said.
In its annual report, the Bank for International Settlements noted that the conditions that led to the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Asian crises in the 1990s reflected the current environment.
From The Age
India, which is among the fastest growing economies globally, is currently the fifth largest emitter of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.
According to the government's own data, annual emissions of carbon dioxide would rise from 1 billion tonnes at present to 5.5 billion tons per year by 2031, meaning India would overtake Japan and Russia to become the world's third largest carbon dioxide emitter after the United States and China by 2030.Climate change
On site, Glastonbury's “I Count” campaign, aims to get 100,000 festival-goers to sign up in support of preventing climate change.
Lucy Pearce, “I Count” campaign manager, described it as creating a “massive, popular, irresistible movement for change”.
Three main campaign sponsors are charities Oxfam and WaterAid and environmental group Greenpeace, all of which benefit from funds from the festival.
An ecological theme ran throughout the muddy pastures.
From The Australian
More than 1,200 hurt at sodden Glastonbury
From The Independent
Man Dies At Glastonbury Festival
From UltimateGuitar.com
“Contrary to public perceptions, renewable energy is not the silver bullet that will soon solve all our problems,” he writes.
From the head of Exxon (not a member of USCAP)From the Times of London
From The Irrawady
Chen Feng, the chairman of China Hainan Airlines, said "now is not the time" to fix blame but to create an international solution, noting that the West was the original polluter when its industries were ruining the environment 100 years ago.
"So the way I see it is, you (the West) were robbers and bandits before you became right-minded people," he told the discussion.
Ralph R Peterson, the chairman of a US management, design and construction firm, said Asia's economic growth path appears unsustainable because of high and inefficient energy consumption that contributed to pollution.
He said Southeast Asian nations produce 11 percent of global output and use 21 percent of world oil. China's output is 5.5 percent of world gross domestic product while it uses 15 percent of global energy. India's energy efficiency is one tenth of global average while China's water use per unit of GDP is four times the world's average.
No mention of zǒugǒuTrade War or Toga Party? Is it ethical to buy goods from China and India?
Gas shortages
If the Russian government responds to Gazprom's proposal and intervenes in the export agreements on Sakhalin-1, China will not have any access to Russian gas, despite a growing need for energy supplies to power its booming economy.
Such an action will also heighten concerns over the growing influence of state-run Gazprom and the Kremlin's grip on its domestic gas industry.
Russian gas accounts for 25% of supplies to the European Union (EU).
But critically, it means that gas shortages in Russia must be more serious than what is being said, analysts believe.
Update: IEA Studies Safety Net for Natural-Gas Supply, Official SaysBy Stephen Voss and Mathew Carr
June 19 (Bloomberg) -- The International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 oil-consuming nations, may build a ``safety net'' of natural-gas stockpiles to buttress supply, said the agency's executive director, Claude Mandil.
``The safety net for natural gas is to be studied and considered,'' Mandil said today at the Financial Times Global Energy Leaders Summit in London.
The plan for stockpiles is likely to be different from the oil industry's safety net of crude and oil products, he said. ``It is a must for OECD countries and all consuming countries.''
The IEA has also started discussions with other, non-IEA consuming nations, including China and India, he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Voss in London at sev@bloomberg.net Mathew Carr in London at m.carr@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: June 19, 2007 06:12 EDT"Carbon will be the world's biggest commodity market, and it could become the world's biggest market overall," said Redshaw, the head of environmental markets at Barclays Capital. But he said that in his current job, unlike some of his previous ones, including a stint as a British power trader at Enron, "I don't have to compromise on anything when I get out of bed in the morning."
If greed is suddenly good for the environment, then the seedbed for this vast new financial experiment is London. A report released Tuesday by International Financial Services London, a company promoting British-based financial services, said that British companies were the leading global investors in carbon projects and that more carbon was traded in London than in any other city.
...Carbon could become "one of the fasting-growing markets ever, with volumes comparable to credit derivatives inside of a decade," said Chris Leeds, 38, the head of emissions trading at Merrill Lynch in London, who plans to expand his team to five traders from two by the end of this year.