Clean energy projects across the United States last year attracted $US17billion, almost double the amount invested in the previous year., according to environment news service GristMill. In the same year the carbon trading market grew from zero to $11billion. Some of the fuinds came from ethical investors, but the bulk was mainstream groups such as superannuation funds, venture capital organisations and hedge fund groups. The investors are moving ahead of federal governments in the US, UK and Australia who have ignored calls from state governments and industry bodies to regulate in favour of alternate energy sources and ameliorate global warming.
Author: admin
-
NBA Star speaks out for Sharks
Claro Cortes IV/ReutersLast week, Yao Ming, the 7-foot-6 Shanghai-born N.B.A. star, declared at a Beijing press conference held by WildAid, the conservation group, that he would never eat shark fin soup again.
Mr. Yao stated that “endangered species are our friends.”
Swearing off shark fin may not sound like much to Westerners, but here in China, this most expensive delicacy has a long and honorable history.
Emperors loved shark fin soup because it was rare, tasty and difficult to prepare. The soup is served at wedding banquets by families eager to show appreciation to their guests. And Hong Kong and Beijing government officials — not to mention thousands of businessmen hoping to close the next big deal — swear they absolutely have to treat their guests to shark fin soup as a show of respect and honor.
“This is the very basic dish for business dinners in Hong Kong,” said Tan Rongde, 56, a banker. “If you don’t order that, you will lose face.”
-
Nationals attack Howard on energy
Oil oligopoly: Nationals Senator Ron Boswell said Prime Minister John Howard’s Energy Statement still allowed the oil companies a stranglehold on fuel supply and distribution in major markets.
Govt inadequacy: Boswell questioned whether the Government had done enough to bring lower cost biofuels to ordinary Australians.
Control of LPG: He criticised the package for its concentration on LPG and accused major companies of "controlling the production and distribution of LPG".
Below biofuels target: He added that the major oil companies were still only accounting for about 10 megalitres of biofuels in the transport fuel mix. "That is a long way from the promised 98 to 124 megalitres," he said.
Paltry ethanol funding: Of the $1.6 billion in the package, just $17.2 million was allocated to further develop the ethanol market he said.
Potential market: Yet ethanol was cheaper than petrol and Australia could be producing 110 megalitres of it if only oil companies would sell it.
Mainly independents: Ethanol was available only at about 260 of the nation’s 6300 outlets, he said, and most of them were independents.
Companies fare poorly: Just 41 of Caltex’s 1790 outlets sold it, 25 of Shell’s 1110 and 50 of BP’s 1300. Mobil did not sell it at all.
-
Israel killed 241 US soldiers
CSI Forensics Proves Who Killed US Marines
Around 6:20 am, October 23, 1983, a terrified city is awakened by a deafening explosion. The ground shakes. Have the Israelis begun another bombing rampage? A towering mushroom cloud billows from the rubble of what had been the U.S. barracks at Beirut International Airport where the 1st Battalion 8th Marines had been sleeping.
The "official version" put out by the federal government still repeated today was that the explosion was caused by a truck loaded with "2,000 pounds of dynamite" rammed the building. No one with any knowledge of explosives believed the "official version, because that explosion could not have been caused by TNT, just as fuel oil can’t melt steel; or as General Parton proved, a Ryder truck of fertilizer could not bring down the Murrah building.Against the evidence and common sense, immediately, the blame was laid on "terrorists almost certainly Hezbollah" – and guilt by word association blaming two of Israel’s bitterest enemies, Iran and Syria. But the official story never tells you.
The Mossad had advance knowledge of the notorious suicide bombing in Beirut but didn’t pass on that information to American intelligence. By Way of Deception, Confessions of ex-Mossad agent, Victor Ostrovsky. "Intelligence lies are like the Russian dolls, open one, find another. The real story – like 911 – is even worse than they knew but didn’t warn us."
U.S. military intelligence’s equivalent of CSI (Crime Scene Investigators), using the most sophisticated, high tech diagnostic tests, forensically examined evidence found at the scene of the terrorist explosion that killed 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut – They know where the bomb came from, but the stunning truth has been suppressed for 23 years. Even without full disclosure of those test results, experts on explosives and terrorism believe more than enough proof exists to establish who is guilty. The truck that blew up the Marine Barracks was loaded with 666 pounds of enhanced RDX "rag bombs."
The Israelis call RDX, "rag bombs," because they use it to kill "rag-heads" or to blame bombings on "rag-heads." Also, the "safest" way to handle it is in "rags" that have been soaked in RDX and dried. Their planted bombs often look like a pile of dirty "rags."
The only active sources of RDX in 1983 were the United States, Canada, France, Sweden, China – and Israel.
But even 666 pounds of RDX (the most powerful, non-nuclear explosive in the world) couldn’t have done the damage caused by "The largest non-nuclear explosion in history." Only "enhanced RDX," an Israeli specialty, could have caused that holocaust.
Forensic Evidence Points to Israelis Guilty of Massacre of U.S. Marines!
The RDX that killed our Marines was "enhanced" with propane gas and primed with PETN boosters or detonation cord, according to Yosef Bitar, Lebanon’s top explosive expert. Bitar is an expert; between 1975 and 1983 he had defused 1,870 bombs! Gas-enhanced RDX bombs are exotic devices. Only explosive experts with a great deal of practical experience can prepare a gas-enhanced bomb. The bomb must be prepared so that first the gas cylinders are exploded to create a cloud in which the RDX is detonated. The gas cloud "amplifies" the exploding plastic charge.In November of 1982 (when gas-enhanced bombs first started appearing in Lebanon) the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF G-2) intelligence headquarters was destroyed by one of these new devices. Many senior Israeli officers were killed. The Israelis say the explosion was an accident and blame it on a cigarette or match- even though RDX (aka cyclonite, hexogen or T4) base is very stable and difficult to detonate.
Israel has made so much RDX and other exotic weapons of mass destruction they are making their own nest uninhabitable. A biological treatment process for wastes contaminated with the explosive RDX (cyclonite) is under investigation in the laboratory using wastewater of a munitions factory in Israel. This study is designed to find solutions for the removal of both RDX and nitrate residues in these wastes, materials that can contribute to groundwater contamination. A bacterium was isolated from soil contaminated by RDX capable of aerobically removing nitrite residues from RDX, which is the first step in the biodegradation of RDX. They spend fortunes of the money congress sends them to study the kinetics of RDX and HMX biodegradation in the groundwater of the Israeli Coastal Aquifer. So much soil and groundwater has been polluted Israel has to import tons of RDX and other nasty chemicals.
The only place that officially admits to making RDX is Chemko in Slovakia. To buy it requires a government license. Chemko has never traded "with an Arab country." However, in letter dated May 2003, the Czech ministry says it has "no objections" to the "application of the company Chemko to issue a license for the export of explosives to Israel (RDX – 55 t, oktog鮠[HMX] – 15 t)."
The first stage of the present crisis in Lebanon began when former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated on Feb 14, 2005. Tellingly, the huge bomb used to kill him and everyone unfortunate enough to be within "collateral damage" range was made out of RDX.
The Beirut bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines was "the largest non-nuclear explosion in history," according to General Paul X. Kelley, past-Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Ralph Forbes had appointments to the U.S. Air Force Academy and West Point, but eager to help his country fight Communism he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps instead. While on active duty he volunteered for combat missions in both Lebanon and Vietnam. "Thank God, they didn’t send me; because today I know the real purposes of these wars were not for America, but against her." -
Eco-friendly Britons rush for affordable solar panels
Eco-friendly Britons seeking relief from soaring domestic energy bills can now pop down the high street and pick up solar panels for their homes. Electrical goods group Currys became the first major retailer in Britain to sell the power panels after Britain experienced its hottest month on record in July.
Test market: Currys announced it would stock panels at three stores around south London as part of a test to capitalise on growing environmental awareness of climate change and concerns over energy efficiency.
Cheap: According to Currys, its solar panels, which retail at 1,000 pounds (1,473 euros 1,887 dollars) each, can cut household energy bills by up to 50 per cent and reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by up to two tons.
Rising energy price the driver: "Our customers are becoming more environmentally aware all the time," Currys managing director Peter Keenan said. "But this is far more than a ‘green solution’ for the home, it is also a perfect way of safeguarding against seemingly inevitable energy price rises."
Installation cost a deterrent to date: Since the start of 2006, all major energy providers in Britain have imposed steep price hikes linked to soaring wholesale energy costs. The cost of fitting an average three-bedroom house with enough solar panels to cover half its electrical requirements would be around 9,000 pounds, the company added.
Up to 18 years to recoup: At that price the sales outlook is far from sunny, since an average household could take between seven and 18 years to fully recoup the cost through lower energy bills. Specialist suppliers in Britain currently charge up to 16,000 pounds to kit out a house with solar panels.
Planning restrictions being eased: The move by Currys tallies with British government efforts to ease planning restrictions for the panels’ installation. They are to be manufactured by the Japanese electronics group Sharp at its plant in Wrexham, North Wales and sold at Currys branches in Croydon, Fulham and West Thurrock.
Solar sales can be stimulated by policy: In Germany and Japan, meanwhile, solar panel sales have shot up because households are allowed to sell excess electricity back to the national grid. Last month, the British government set a target of 20 per cent of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, following a long-awaited review of the country’s energy policy.
Reference: World Business Council for Sustainable Development, website: http://www.wbcsd.org
Erisk Net, 11/8/2006