Autumnal Equinox: Why First Day of Fall 2010 Is Different

Autumnal Equinox: Why First Day of Fall 2010 Is Different

Brazilian billionaire plans $1B electric vehicle facility with 100,000 unit annual capacity — Autoblog Green

Brazilian billionaire plans $1B electric vehicle facility with 100,000 unit annual capacity — Autoblog Green

When you're ranked by Forbes as the world's eighth richest person, then spending a mere one billion dollars to build an electric vehicle (EV) factory in Rio de Janeiro is probably akin to us more common folk digging some coins out of the couch cushions and using that change to get some gas. Or, at least something close to that effect.

This is the plan of Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, who believes that the production facility could be completed in four year's time and then be capable of pumping out 100,000 EVs per year. But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is not keen on electric cars. President Silva questions whether EVs can be produced on a commercial level that will profit both the automakers and the nation. Silva's skepticism may be partially due to the nation's booming biofuel industry and strong promotion for flex-fuel cars. While Batista asserts that a profit will be realized, Brazil, like other democratic countries, is not solely run by powerful billionaires and the EV production facility's fate ultimately lies in the hands of the powerful few. But if it's given the nod, then Batista's vision to produce, "a domestically made car with foreign know-how, from Europe and Japan" could become a reality in just a few years.

Why We Need CCS -- at Any Cost | Climate | GreenBiz.com

Why We Need CCS -- at Any Cost | Climate | GreenBiz.com


Policy makers and thinkers of all varieties around the world these days are grappling with the design of smart, efficient policy; the challenge ahead of them is daunting. Energy demand is rising, especially in developing countries, while at the same time scientists tell us we must dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions or face catastrophic climate change events. This urgency and tension is palpable -- at energy forums and events like Climate Week -- as we seek a new way ahead in international collaboration on energy policy.

The acceleration of carbon capture storage (CCS) technology deployment is a critical within this agenda. CCS is a critical component of any sustainable energy and greenhouse gas policy. It is not the only one – we need energy efficiency solutions, renewable energy options and more nuclear. But we also need CCS because of our continuing reliance on fossil fuels.

If there is no CCS, we will be in very dire straits. Because there are some very important economies for which we cannot expect a drop in the use of coal, for example the United States, China, Russia, South Africa.

Activists tout anti-nuclear policy, renewable energy at forum - CNA ENGLISH NEWS

Activists tout anti-nuclear policy, renewable energy at forum - CNA ENGLISH NEWS

Nuclear power is not a good option for energy production, even as some advocate a "nuclear renaissance" to curb carbon emissions, anti-nuclear activists and scholars said at a forum Saturday.Speaking on the first of the two-day No Nuke Asia Forum, Lee Heonseok, a representative of South Korea's Energy Justice Action, said that due to concerns over climate change, countries around the world are promoting carbon emission reduction and renewable energy

CTV Toronto - Bruce Power got millions to not produce electricity - CTV News

CTV Toronto - Bruce Power got millions to not produce electricity - CTV News

The people of Ontario paid Bruce Power nearly $60 million in 2009 to not generate electricity for the province, CTV Toronto has learned.

A deal between the nuclear generator, a private company, and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) sets out a guarantee for a certain amount of power to be purchased -- even if it's not needed. The technical term is called surplus baseload generation. The agency agreed to pay Bruce $48.33 for each megawatt hour of electricity that was not needed.

In 2009, demand for electricity was down in Ontario, largely as a result of the recession. This meant Bruce's nuclear reactors weren't operating at full capacity.
As a result, the OPA paid Bruce power $57.5 million for about 1.2 terawatt hours of electricity that was not produced. A terawatt is a million megawatts.

Wal-Mart boosts on-store solar with thin-film tech | Green Tech - CNET News

Wal-Mart boosts on-store solar with thin-film tech | Green Tech - CNET News

Retail juggernaut Wal-Mart is using panels from First Solar and MiaSole in what is expected to be one of the largest business installations of thin-film solar technology.

Wal-Mart on Monday said that it is adding solar panels at between 20 and 30 store locations in California and Arizona, building on the 31 stores in California and Hawaii already equipped with on-site solar. The majority of the new installations will use thin-film solar panels, a technology a number of companies are developing to undercut traditional silicon cells on price.

First Solar's cadmium telluride panels have been available for years and are widely used, often by utilities. But Walmart also plans to use panels from MiaSole, an upstart supplier of panels with cells made from another thin-film material--a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenide (CIGS). Wal-Mart's adoption of CIGS panels could help scale up the technology and bring it to business customers quicker, the company said.

IBM chief: Smarter energy isn't 'futuristic' | Green Tech - CNET News

IBM chief: Smarter energy isn't 'futuristic' | Green Tech - CNET News


In a rare public-speaking occasion, IBM CEO Sam Palmisano said that the energy infrastructure needs to be further digitized and focused on the consumer.

Palmisano, the keynote speaker today at the GridWise Global Forum conference here, argued that modernizing energy requires a systems engineering approach, rather than the piecemeal upgrades happening now.

Smart meters and sensors on power lines give system operators more information to work with. But the system as a whole needs to become more resilient and efficient. The challenge for industry is to make sense of the enormous amount of data that this "Internet of things" puts out, he said.

NASA - Antarctic Ozone Hole 2010

NASA - Antarctic Ozone Hole 2010

The yearly depletion of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica – more commonly referred to as the “ozone hole” – started in early August 2010 and is now expanding toward its annual maximum. The hole in the ozone layer typically reaches its maximum area in late September or early October, though atmospheric scientists must wait a few weeks after the maximum to pinpoint when the trend of ozone depletion has slowed down and reversed.

The hole isn’t literal; no part of the stratosphere — the second layer of the atmosphere, between 8 and 50 km (5 and 31 miles) — is empty of ozone. Scientists use "hole" as a metaphor for the area in which ozone concentrations drop below the historical threshold of 220 Dobson Units. Historical levels of ozone were much higher than 220 Dobson Units, according to NASA atmospheric scientist Paul Newman, so this value shows a very large ozone loss.

Earth's ozone layer protects life by absorbing ultraviolet light, which damages DNA in plants and animals (including humans) and leads to skin cancer.

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite acquired data for this map of ozone concentrations over Antarctica on September 12, 2010. OMI is a spectrometer that measures the amount of sunlight scattered by Earth’s atmosphere and surface, allowing scientists to assess how much ozone is present at various altitudes — particularly the stratosphere — and near the ground.