Homeearth Security

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Italy returns to nuclear power after two decades

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article5797154.ece

Italy and France yesterday Tuesday signed a co-operation agreement on nuclear power that marks the return of Italy to nuclear energy two decades after it was banned by a referendum.

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, and President Sarkozy signed the accord at a Franco-Italian summit in Rome also attended by the heads of Enel and Electricite de France (EdF). Mr Berlusconi vowed to reintroduce nuclear-generated electricity shortly after he returned to power for the third time in last April's elections, saying that construction of new reactors would begin by 2013.

***If Obama stops dirty coal, as he must, what will replace it? An intro to biomass cofiring

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009/2/23/141747/203?source=rss
GRIST: Biomass cofiring will be the focus of a couple of posts since, although rarely-discussed, it is probably the cheapest, easiest, and fastest way to provide new renewable baseload power without having to build any new transmission lines.

UK faces 'climate criminal' claim

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7906383.stm
BBC:Campaigners have said the UK will be a "climate criminal" if it allows a new coal-fired power station in Kent.

In a letter to climate change minister Ed Miliband, the World Development Movement (WDM) demands the scrapping of plans for Kingsnorth.

The WDM says new coal-fired power stations will increase the impact of climate change on poor countries.

**Environmentalists Advance on Emissions in Supreme Court

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/washington/24mercury.html

The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for the Environmental Protection Agency to issue new regulations on emissions of mercury, lead, arsenic and other pollutants from the nation's coal-fired power plants.

Environmental groups hailed the action as a final blow to Bush administration efforts to frustrate tight regulation of the emissions, but any new Obama administration rules may draw their own court challenges.

*The Tar Sands, and ForestEthics, get major attention in the media

http://www.forestethics.org/article.php?id=2279

ForestEthics has a long history of gaining major media attention with edgy ads, and we've struck again. This time, we shed light on the dirtiest oil on Earth, Canada's Tar Sands:

We teamed up with the Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations to place a full-page ad in USA Today, depicting Canadian Tar Sands oil oozing over the continental United States.
Also, we ran "Personals" ads directed at Obama during his recent visit to Canada.

*** The Moral Case Against Tar Sands

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-jervey/the-moral-case-against-ta_b_168582.html
HUFF POST: Lost in all the climate talk, though, is the fact that on the local level, tar sands extraction and processing is one of the greatest social and ecological injustices of our time.

FedEx's Smith Favors Carbon Tax Over Cap-And-Trade

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200902231648DOWJONESDJONLINE000540_FORTUNE5.htm
Congress should consider imposing a "carbon tax" to curb pollution and use the proceeds to reduce U.S. payroll taxes, FedEx Corp. ( FDX) Chairman and Chief Executive Fred Smith said Monday.

A carbon tax would be a much more efficient way to reduce pollution than a cap-and-trade system that would cap the emission of air pollutants and permit trading in pollution credits by firms that stay below the cap, Smith said in response to questions after a speech to the National Press Club.

*Home Energy Tax Credits to Save You Thousands In 2009

http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/renewable-energy-tax-credit-47100802
Home energy tax credits are available for solar energy, energy efficiency, biodiesel and hybrid cars, home solar panels and more. See which federal home energy tax credits you can claim in 2009.

** HealthLink plans demonstration at Salem power plant

http://www.wickedlocal.com/swampscott/news/x1056821074/HealthLink-plans-demonstration-at-Salem-power-plant
LOCAL: HealthLink, based in Swampscott, will hold a demonstration in front of the Salem Harbor Generating Station at noon Sunday, March 1, in connection with the nation-wide action in Washington to pressure President Barack Obama to create sustainable energy policies.

The rally at the plant coincides with demonstrations at three other plants in Massachusetts — two in Somerset and one in Northampton.

Meadowlands NJ solar panels start soaking up the sun

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/02/23/ap6084794.html

FORBES: The 65,000-square-foot roof of the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus became a solar generator, capable of producing 412 kilowatts of electricity without the environmental concerns posed by oil tankers, nuclear waste, coal mine runoff and natural gas pipelines.

That's enough juice to power about 50 single-family homes, according to Alfredo Matos, PSE&G's vice president for renewables and energy solutions, or about 40 percent of the Exposition Center's needs.

President Obama’s Climate Change Challenge

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2009/02/president-obama%E2%80%99s-climate-change-challenge/
Britannica

Global Warming Gets Obama Administration Attention, Despite Economy

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/global-warming-47022301
DAILY GREEN: Hillary Clinton talks climate in China, the EPA prepares CO2 regulations - and California farms suffer from a climate-induced drought.

*** Clinton and Gore talk Smart Grid

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19194.html
POLITICO: Bill Clinton and Al Gore told a roomful of climate change heavyweights Monday that the nation must push on with a national clean energy Smart Grid — or risk losing the battle on climate change. Attending an energy summit at Washington's Newseum, the former president and vice president praised the new Obama administration and Democratic congressional leaders for their work on the economic recovery package, saying it would allow the nation to move forward on dealing with climate change by utilizing more renewable energy.

*** Gore, Clinton headline energy conference YESTERDAY in DC. [watch for VIDEO email]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hP1MeJ5rEOxzGy1ncVpvaaQDhIxgD96HDHFO0
[watch for VIDEO email]

** Federal officials prioritize placement of power grid [and YOU are doing what to insure this?]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hP1MeJ5rEOxzGy1ncVpvaaQDhIxgD96HFMP00
AP: Democratic congressional leaders and the Obama administration indicated Monday that they will push for greater federal authority to locate electric transmission lines, saying a national power grid stands in the way of developing alternative energy sources.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he will soon introduce legislation that includes giving federal regulators authority to override states on electric grid placement decisions as part of a package of energy proposals the Senate is expected to take up in the coming weeks.

**** Nation's leaders urge action on better electricity grid

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/23/electricity.grid/
CNN: U.S. political, business and environmental leaders urged the nation Monday to act quickly to build a unified, national electricity grid, both to diminish the impact of global warming and to boost the economy."We need to move with a sense of urgency," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said at a forum called the National Clean Energy Project: Building the New Economy, which was hosted by the Center for American Progress Action Fund."We need a very, very smart grid," said the Nobel laureate physicist and former director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory...Former President Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and UN Foundation President Timothy Wirth....

US budget to have CO2 revenues by 2012-W.House

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2440610920090224
REUTERS: U.S. President Barack Obama's budget accounts for revenues from an emissions trading system in 2012, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday."That's true," Gibbs said when asked whether a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases would be in place in time for revenues to be generated by 2012.The president, a Democrat, has said he wants the United States to take the lead in fighting climate change.

**** Why the Obama Climate Change Plan Won't Work

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/02/23-1
COMMON DREAMS: President Obama's proposed cap-and-trade plan for reducing greenhouse gases will not achieve the reductions quickly enough to prevent devastating climate change, according to an analysis posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The broad political support for cap-and-trade scheme is rooted in its biggest flaw - that an incremental approach designed to keep prices for carbon-based energy low will be insufficient to accomplish a quick shift in energy sources.

UK branded a 'climate criminal' in global coal plant protes

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/UK_branded_climate_criminal_in_global_0222.html
RAW STORY: Environmental activists from 27 groups representing more than 40 developing nations have launched a global protest against British plans to build new coal plants. The groups are concerned that global warming will disproportionately impact developing nations with "increased floods, droughts, sea-levels and disease" affecting "hundreds of millions of people."

Ontario weighs nuclear options

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/591485
As much-ballyhooed Green Energy Act makes its debut, the province is forging ahead with its plan for a two-reactor plant at Darlington.

National Geographic Slams Tar Sands

http://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.com/2009/02/national-geographic-slams-tar-sands.html
The march edition of National Geographic will have a photo spread of the Athabasca Tar Sands. According to CanWest, the feature will include several pictures of Athabasca's ...

Guadeloupe Strikes: A Warning to Obama?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/guadeloupe-strikes-a-warn_b_168960.html
HUFF POST: On February 12, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told Congress that the global economic crisis was the most serious security challenge facing the United States and that it could topple governments and trigger waves of refugees, the Los Angeles Times reported.A week later, the French government was sending police reinforcements to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe after a month of strikes and protests over low pay and high prices followed by clashes between police and protesters.

US, China pledge joint effort on economy, climate change

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/US_China_pledge_joint_effort_on_economy_climate_change_999.html
Less than a tenth of the funds promised to developing countries by rich nations to help them adapt to global warming has actually been delivered, a study by The Guardian newspaper showed ..

Have literally gone "blind" putting up >>> ****** Yesterday's Fiscal Summit. URGENT OPPORTUNITY.

I can't make out what I'm typing - working round the clock to get this crucial Playlist up for you. Hence, today's posts are light. More tomorrow.

Subject: ****** Yesterday's Fiscal Summit. URGENT OPPORTUNITY.

Watch this Playlist top to bottom.

SHARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=67C4B4C376F39D5E
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=67C4B4C376F39D5E
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=67C4B4C376F39D5E
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=67C4B4C376F39D5E

Never will you get a better:

* Leadership course
* Magnificent display of leadership
* Education in democracy
* Image of what a President looks like, MUST look like

Patriotic necessity.

****** Yesterday's Fiscal Summit. URGENT OPPORTUNITY.

Monday, February 23, 2009

WP POLL: Obama leads the Republicans in Congress by 61-26 percent in trust. [WILL WE SUPPORT THE QB!?!!??!!?]

http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/story?id=6939993&page=1
WP/ABC: Obama clearly holds the upper hand, both in overall approval and on the dominant issue of the day. He leads the Republicans in Congress by 61-26 percent in trust to handle the economy, the biggest such lead for a president in ABC News/Washington Post polls since late 1991. (Bill Clinton came close at the start of his first term.)
[WILL WE SUPPORT THE QB!?!!??!!? If we do, it will be the first time in history.]

"Dear [Quarterback] Obama": The President Reads 10 Letters a Day from the Public, With Policy Ramifications

[Best Quarterback (we're the so-far-AWOL team) in the history of the world. Our last, best hope. Hold me accountable on that. Start L.]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/dear-president.html
ABCNEWS: The letter to President Obama came from a woman in Arizona whose husband lost his job. He was able to find work, but the new gig came with one-third the pay; the family is struggling to make their mortgage payments....

**Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip. Approaching the tipping point on climate change

VIDEO HERE >>> http://www.tfigblog.com/the_future_is_green/2009/02/wake-up.html
This brilliant animated film by Leo Murray was just brought to my attention and I wanted to waste no time in posting it here. It does a masterful job of explaining, in lay terms, exactly how close we are to a tipping point, beyond which it may be impossible to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of global warming.

Envisioning a new, interconnected energy system

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20090222_Envisioning_a_new__interconnected_energy_system.html
PHILA INQUIRER: The smart grid will rely on two-way communications, perhaps with data carried over the power lines themselves. That data can tell a manufacturer to ratchet back its operations as demand peaks - something that already happens through intermediaries that sell so-called "demand response" into today's electrical system. The smart grid will make such demand response widespread.

Hip, Hip Hooray for the G's - Google, GE and Green Energy!

http://www.examiner.com/x-2938-Atlanta-Web-Examiner~y2009m2d21-Hip-Hip-Hooray-for-the-Gs--Google-GE-and-Green-Energy
EXAMINER: Did you know that Google is investing a lot of money - in the millions - to change the country's energy infrastructure more into the likes of the Internet, making energy decentralized and distributed, and possibly saving you and I lots of money?Partnered with GE in many green initiatives, the company envisions a smart electric grid that would be controlled and monitored by a vast computer network that would determine prices based on real-time supply and demand. If this happens, it will change the way that you and I use and pay for electricity.