Photovoltaic Solar Power

Graphene Organic Photovoltaics: Flexible Material Only a Few Atoms Thick May Offer Cheap Solar Power

2010-07-23T16:30:00.001-04:00

While graphene's existence has been known for decades, it has only been studied extensively since 2004 because of the difficulty of manufacturing it in high quality and in quantity.

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com

A University of Southern California team has produced flexible transparent carbon atom films that the researchers say have great potential for a new breed of solar cells.

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have been proposed as a means to achieve low cost energy due to their ease of manufacture, light weight, and compatibility with flexible substrates," wrote Chongwu Zhou, a professor of electrical engineering in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, in a paper recently published in the journal ACS Nano.

Workers on Doomed Rig Voiced Concern About Safety

2010-07-22T10:49:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.nytimes.com

A confidential survey of workers on the Deepwater Horizon in the weeks before the oil rig exploded showed that many of them were concerned about safety practices and feared reprisals if they reported mistakes or other problems.

“This fear was seen to be driven by decisions made in Houston, rather than those made by rig based leaders,” the report said.

“I’m petrified of dropping anything from heights not because I’m afraid of hurting anyone (the area is barriered off), but because I’m afraid of getting fired,” one worker wrote.

“The company is always using fear tactics,” another worker said. “All these games and your mind gets tired.”

A Worried View of the Amazon From Within its Forest

2010-07-21T16:48:00.001-04:00

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

Lou Gold, a longtime commenter who lives in the Brazilian portion of the Amazon basin, is an invaluable member of the worldwide Dot Earth community (people from more than 200 countries have visited the blog). He reacted strongly to my recent cautiously upbeat statement — made while conducting an onstage interview with a Brazilian ecologist — about prospects that the rain forests there could persist through this century even as human numbers and appetites crest. Gold posted a series of comments following the Amazon piece, and has consolidated them with a post on his blog, Visionshare. You can read the full post below.

Your Own Tropical Island Made Out of Plastic Bottles (Video)

2010-07-20T07:58:00.002-04:00

On a bad day you might be thinking to yourself, maybe I should do this.

This man has given up his job, family and possessions to build an island that floats on plastic bottles he’s found and used as buoys.

Click above to watch and listen.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Photovoltaic Solar Power

Natural Gas: The New King Of Electric Power

2010-07-12T23:33:00.001-04:00

Boom and bust.

clipped from seekingalpha.com

On March 24, 2008, Chesapeake Energy (CHK) announced a significant new natural gas discovery in the Haynesville Shale, setting off the ‘great shale land grab,’

natural gas production has grown nearly 14%, which is in sharp contrast to the flat performance of production in the decade before that.

While gas production has enjoyed a significant uptick over the last few years, the same cannot be said for consumption.

Steve Cook on Gold

2010-07-12T09:50:00.001-04:00

Good information.

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

From Steve Cook at
CJS Research

The price of gold (GLD) traded down last week, touched the lower boundary of an up trend dating from October 2008 and then bounced. It looks like it will open down modestly this morning. All our Portfolios will Add to their GLD position at the Market open. This will bring the size of this position to approximately 9% in each Portfolio.

Night flight for solar plane -- HB-SIA carbon-fiber aircraft

2010-07-08T13:51:00.001-04:00

Good slideshow.

clipped from www.reuters.com

Green Building Market to Surge by 2015

2010-07-07T11:11:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.jetsongreen.com

Over the next five years, according to a subscription report published by Environmental Leader, total United States green building market value is expected to increase from $71.1 billion to $173.5 billion. The EL Insights report projects a compound annual growth rate of 19.5% in green building market value from 2010 through 2015.

American demand for green building products is expected to reach $80 billion by 2013, according to a separate report by the Freedonia Group, Inc. The Freedonia report estimated an increase in demand of about 7.2% per year on average over five years.

"Climategate" Leak Report Vindicates Scientists

2010-07-07T09:27:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.cbsnews.com

An independent British report into the leak of hundreds of e-mails from one of the world's leading climate research centers has largely vindicated the scientists involved, a finding many in the field hope will calm the global uproar dubbed "Climategate."

While Russell's report said there was no evidence to show Jones or any other scientist had subverted the peer-review process, it did revisit the now infamous e-mail exchange between Jones and a colleague in which the climatologist refers to a "trick" used to "hide the decline" in a variable used to track global temperatures.

Energy Needs of China’s Consumers Swamping Efficiency Gains

2010-07-05T10:12:00.002-04:00

Already, in the last three years, China has shut down more than a thousand older coal-fired power plants that used technology of the sort still common in the United States. China has also surpassed the rest of the world as the biggest investor in wind turbines and other clean energy technology. And it has dictated tough new energy standards for lighting and gas mileage for cars.

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

Keith Bradsher has filed an important story showing how the energy demands of China’s emerging consumer class are overwhelming the central government’s efforts to cut industrial energy waste and blunt growth in carbon dioxide emissions.

The article provides a closeup view of the demographic and economic forces that are destined to make Asia the dominant influence on the planetary greenhouse for decades to come, by almost every analysis.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Photovoltaic Solar Power

Climate Change May Broil Cities

2010-06-30T16:23:00.002-04:00

Got a summer home in Bismark yet?

clipped from www.scientificamerican.com

SWELTERING CITY: New models suggest that climate change will cause average temperatures in cities to rise; cooler nights will become less frequent.
ISTOCKPHOTO

Cities were already known to retain more heat than the rural environments that surround them, but new modeling from researchers in the United Kingdom now suggests that urban areas are also more sensitive to changes in climate. Furthermore, they will experience greater increases in average temperature with rises in atmospheric carbon dioxide, and the cooling effects of night will become more of a memory than a reality.

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. -- where Congress is debating over whether to pass a climate bill -- is getting a memorable preview of what new computer models are predicting. Last week's temperatures broke a 100-year record, and forecasters expect this June will be the hottest ever recorded in the area.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Photovoltaic Solar Power

Life in 2050 -- Climate Out of Control

2010-06-30T15:50:00.004-04:00

Bill McKibben on the Symptoms of Global Warming
The author and activist says we may see out-of-control rises in sea level, enormous shortfalls in crop yields and wars over available fresh water

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Photovoltaic Solar Power

Why haven’t the solar panels been reinstalled at the White House?

2010-06-30T12:14:00.001-04:00

I couldn't embed the video in Amplify so you'll have to follow the link. Look down and click "Why haven’t the solar panels been reinstalled at the White House?" to watch and listen.

Don't laugh too hard. Vote by hitting the recommend button.

clipped from www.whitehouse.gov

WhiteHouse.gov is the official web site for the White House and President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. This site is a source for information about the President, White House news and policies, White House history, and the federal government.

A Nobelist’s Energy Pitch for Obama

2010-06-29T09:16:00.002-04:00

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

A recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics, Richter was a signatory on a letter from 34 Nobel laureates to Obama last year pushing for a big and sustained rise in the federal investment in energy research. (He told me he is unaware of any response from the White House.) He also has written “ Beyond Smoke and Mirrors,” a cogent road map for facing the daunting long-term challenge of cutting emissions of greenhouse gases even as humanity’s growth spurt crests in the next few decades.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Photovoltaic Solar Power

Crude Greed Song

2010-06-29T09:14:00.001-04:00

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

Crude Songs

Rumor: Google to Take On Facebook With “Google Me”

2010-06-27T21:22:00.001-04:00

via Louis Gray

clipped from techmiso.com

The internets is abuzz this morning after Kevin Rose dropped a potential bombshell rumor on twitter. According to Rose, Google is positioned to enter the social networking space very soon to compete against Facebook with a new service potentially called “Google Me.”

Mortgage Delinquency Rates 90+ Days (Map)

2010-06-26T14:31:00.002-04:00

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Mortgage Delinquency Rates 90+ Days (Map)

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

America's Richest Oilmen

2010-06-18T10:03:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.forbes.com

Harold Hamm of Continental Resources owns more oil and gas than any other American. And none of it's in the deepwater.

In Pictures: America's Richest Oilmen

Global Heat warmest since thorough record keeping began in 1880

2010-06-15T23:55:00.001-04:00

Hot.

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

The National Climatic Data Center has released its summary of global climate conditions so far this year and finds that the month of May, as well as the period from January through May, were the warmest since thorough record keeping began in 1880.

Here’s the way he summarizes the warming-downpour connection:

We cannot say that any of this year’s flooding disasters were definitely due to global warming, and part of the reason for this year’s numerous U.S. flooding disasters is simply bad luck. However, higher temperatures do cause an increased chance of heavy precipitation events, and it is likely that the flooding in some of this year’s U.S. flooding disasters were significantly enhanced by the presence of more water vapor in the air due to global warming. We can expect a large increase in flooding disasters in the U.S. and worldwide if the climate continues to warm as expected.

Why James Cameron Is Diving Deep on Gulf Oil

2010-06-05T16:31:00.001-04:00

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

In a 20-minute phone conversation on Friday, the film director described the meeting of deep-sea minds, which took place on Tuesday and has resulted in a memo, signed by the participants, that he provided to the Coast Guard and other agencies overseeing BP’s efforts to stanch the seabed gusher. He told me he’ll make the document public once the agencies have had time to review it.

Cameron also defended his involvement on the issue and clarified his views of BP, which he said were distorted by media coverage of his talk midweek at a digital media conference. Here are a few of his thoughts:

James Cameron, best known as one of the world’s most successful filmmakers, this week found himself slammed in some circles for pulling together a brain trust of underwater technology experts to provide advice to the Obama administration for next steps in the unfolding Gulf of Mexico petro-calamity.

Oil Could Reach Atlantic Coasts (VIDEO)

2010-06-03T18:51:00.004-04:00

6,816,000 Americans on the Dole

2009-06-11T09:50:00.001-04:00

Sometime you have to look beyond the obvious. Continuing claims for unemployment set a record for the 19th consecudtive week. Nearly 6.82 million American are now receiving unemployment checks weekly. What happens when the benefits run out?

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

In the week ending June 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 601,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 625,000. The 4-week moving average was 621,750, a decrease of 10,500 from the previous week's revised average of 632,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 5.1 percent for the week ending May 30, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate of 5.1 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 30 was 6,816,000, an increase of 59,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 6,757,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,750,500, an increase of 57,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 6,693,250.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.238 million.

Source Department of Labor

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email

Bob DeMarco is a citizen journalist and twenty year Wall Street veteran. Bob has written more than 500 articles with more than 11,000 links to his work on the Internet. Content from All American Investor has been syndicated on Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Pluck, Blog Critics, and a growing list of newspaper websites. Bob is actively seeking syndication and writing assignments.

More from All American Investor

Bond Vigilantes Take over in the Long End (Graph)
Ten Year Treasury Yield in Orbit (Graph)
Ten Year Interest Rates Rising (Chart)
Option ARM--The Toxic Mortgage
Systemic Risk Defined--Too Big to Fail
Ray Dalio on the current state of affairs in the market
Roubini Predicts U.S. Losses May Reach $3.6 Trillion
60 Minutes -- Cold Fusion

Kindle: Amazon's 6" Wireless Reading Device

Follow All American Investor on Twitter

The Housing and Credit Crisis Explained

2009-06-09T14:25:00.000-04:00

This presentation on the Housing and Credit crisis is the best I have seen. It explains everything from soup to nuts.

Each slide contains a graph that is well explained.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Once you get through this, you will understanding the current credit crisis in housing, and what to expect in the years ahead.

If you take the time to view and read this you will be fully informed.

Hit the full screen button in the upper right hand corner of the panel below.

T2 Partners Presentation on the Mortgage Crisis

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Research Business & Economics Finance Non-fiction world culture

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email

More from All American Investor

Kindle: Amazon's 6" Wireless Reading Device

Follow All American Investor on Twitter

Original content All American Investor

Is Gold Ready to Glitter? (Outlook, Chart)

2009-05-12T14:25:00.000-04:00

Read the complete article at All American Investor

June Gold, Bar, Chart

Gold has a tendency to be seasonally week from March through August. As a result, it is always risky to speculate in gold during this time frame.

In April, we wrote that gold was likely to test the 865 - 875 area. This happened, the market held, and made a very nice double bottom. This is now an area of major support.

Right now gold is running into resistance in the 827 area.

Any close over 827.50 would indicate that gold is ready to move higher.

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email

100 Million Adults Touched by Alzheimers

2009-05-06T12:48:00.003-04:00

Astounding. More information at the Alzheimer's Reading Room.

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com

Read more on this topic.

Alzheimer's Reading Room: 100 Million Adults Touched by Alzheimer's

Nasdaq Composite 15 Year Perspective --Going Nowhere Fast (Chart)

2009-05-03T19:56:00.001-04:00

Follow the link for more.

clipped from efhutton.blogspot.com

Sometimes it is helpful to look at the market from a long term perspective. I think most believe the current bear market is new. However, the long term view indicates we have been in a bear market since the Nasdaq Composite topped out at 5,132 in March, 2000.

HBO The Alzheimer's Project Open to all Cable Subscribers

2009-05-02T14:22:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com

HBO is opening The Alzheimer's Project to all cable subscribers. Got cable? Find the HBO channel and you are good to go starting May 10.

Want a free copy of The Alzheimer's Project DVD? Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading Room and then go here to find out how to do it.

60 Minutes Clean Coal Dilemma Over Coal Generated Power (Video and Text)

2009-04-26T20:08:00.000-04:00

60 Minutes Clean Coal Dilemma Over Coal Generated Power (Video and Text)

60 minutes Preview The Dilemma Over Coal Generated Power

2009-04-26T18:26:00.005-04:00

Energy CEO Jim Rogers wants to substantially reduce his plants' carbon footprint by 2050. But NASA climatologist Jim Hanson says we only have 20 years to make that achievement.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, knows that to help stop global warming he'll have to do something about the 100 million tons of carbon dioxide that his coal-fired power plants emit each year. But right now, he's building two more, because job one is to keep power flowing to his customers, and removing the carbon dioxide is out of the question, at least for many years to come.

Rogers speaks to 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley for a report on America's dependence on coal - the dirtiest fuel and biggest contributor to global warming - to be broadcast this Sunday, April 26, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Jim Hansen, NASA's top climate scientist, says coal is the greatest threat to the planet, requiring immediate action."We are going to have to have a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants within the next few years and phase out the existing ones over the next 20 years…to preserve the climate like the one that has existed the last several thousand years," he tells Pelley.

But Rogers says a moratorium is not practical. "Mr. Hansen, can't get done, won't get done," responds Rogers. "We've got to keep our economy going… To do what you ask me to do now is just not doable," he says. "We can't abandon coal," he says of America's most abundant and inexpensive fossil fuel. "We have to find a way to keep it and use it in the future and that means the ability to clean it up," he tells Pelley.

Rogers says he has big plans to make his company carbon free - but it'll take at least 40 years. To help get there, says Rogers, his coal plants will have to use a new technology called carbon capture and storage, which turns the carbon dioxide into liquid and pumps it deep underground.

The problem is there are hundreds of coal-burning power plants in the U.S. alone: each would need to capture and store its carbon - and each would cost billions to build. In addition, the world's energy systems will need to be retooled. "We can do that, but it's going to take trillions of dollars to do it," Rogers says.

The Alzheimer's Project DVD -- Free Copy

2009-04-21T14:01:00.001-04:00

Follow the link to the Alzheimer's Reading Room to obtain your free copy of the DVD.

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com

Subscribers to the Alzheimer's Reading Room can now obtain a free copy of The Alzheimer's Project.

I don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to viewing this documentary. I am an HBO subscriber and they really do a great job with all their entertainment. I am very confident we will be smiling, and crying, as we watch this documentary.

Google Downside Reversal? (Chart)

2009-04-20T13:47:00.001-04:00

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Action today could be signaling a downside reversal in Google. So far the low is in the critical 380 area. If 380 is breached it would signal additional downside in Google.

Cold Fusion and Palladium (Chart)

2009-04-19T22:46:00.001-04:00

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Every decade or so the topic of cold fusion comes up. When it does you sometimes see Palladium, the commodity, soar. Will 60 Minutes trigger a new bull market in Palladium?

Penn State Solar Decathlon team ready to make Natural Fusion a reality

2009-04-15T18:13:00.002-04:00

clipped from www.pennstateclips.com

"Natural Fusion was born out of the idea of building an integrated house and using things that have been used for years but in a new way," said ThomasRauch, team member and media liaison. "Its redefining the engineering processand what is considered the cross-disciplinary educational process."

30 Year Mortgage Interest Rate Chart (Update)

2009-04-10T13:47:00.001-04:00

30 Year Conventional Mortgage Interest Rate

Current Interest Rate 4.78 Percent

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email

Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

Follow All American Investor on Twitter

Stocks the Nervous Norvis Market (Chart and View)

2009-04-09T18:40:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of Nervous Norvises out there.

When the market moves down for a couple of days your typical Nervous Norvis bull gets sweaty palms and heart palpitations. A couple of days down and the bears are pounding their chest. The only thing the bears can think about is bad news. Left to wonder of course, why is the market going up with all this bad news--the world is coming to an end.

The Stock market is in a classic uptrend from the capitulation low.

Review:

During the capitulation phase the slope of the market became too severe to maintain and the market hooked off the lows as should have been expected. See: S and P Monthly Chart indicates a sharp rally is coming soon. S and P 500 in the 676 area. See: S and P 500 Rally Comes as Predicted
Next we got very bullish news that most investors missed. See--Stocks Don't Fight the Tape.
It became obvious that the market was ready for a major technical retracement in a longer term bear market. See: They called me crazy, S and P 900-1000
Since the uptrend started, above 750 on the S and P 500, the market has traded according to a textbook.
A rule that worked--always buy two days down in an uptrend. You could have bought the market at the 768 area; and again, this week around the around 816 area.

At the moment:

The market continues to make higher lows. The most important ingredient of a trend.
The market found support on a dip three times. This indicates there are buyers below the market. This is necessary to raise confidence.
Bears continue to try and sell the market. The big difference they are running for cover at the first sign of strength.
The slope of the green line (midpoint, support) continues to point up and is strengthening.
The blue line is picking up momentum and as long as this continues it will help propel the market higher,
The market is once again approaching the red line (two standard deviations up) and this should be watched. Short term traders should resist the urge to buy the market when it is at, near, or above the red line. This is where nervous norvises really get killed.
There is still substantial resistance from 850-875. This is where the market will likely wear out bulls who lack patience. They will get out and will likely start chasing it right into the top and before the next major test of the downside.

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email

More from All American Investor

30 Year Conventional Mortgage Rate (Chart)
Top Hedge Fund Managers Make Billions in 2008
Systemic Risk Defined--Too Big to Fail
Ray Dalio on the current state of affairs in the market
Roubini Predicts U.S. Losses May Reach $3.6 Trillion
Option ARM--The Toxic Mortgage
Warren Buffett's Annual Letter to Investors (Cliff Notes Version)

Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

Follow All American Investor on Twitter

Get Your TARP Before it is Too Late

2009-04-08T00:22:00.001-04:00

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Last one in is a rotten egg.

I moved to Florida just before the run of monster hurricanes. I had to look on as shortage of tarps caused additional hardship. People with leaking roofs couldn't get tarps, so when it rained the water just poured through the roof causing additional damage.

Now I find myself wondering if there are enough TARPs (Troubled Asset Relief Program) to go around.

The Treasury Department has decided to extend bailout funds to a number of struggling life-insurance companies.

It appears that if you own a bank holding company or a savings and loan, you are qualified for a TARP.

Soon these insurance companies will be crying "pour mouth" because they aggressively sold variable rate annuities tied to the performance of the stock market.

Sooner or later, the Treasury is going to run out of TARP. Reminds me of the saying--"last one in is a rotten egg".

S & P 500 Up 24.53 Percent in 20 Days (Chart)

2009-04-05T12:03:00.001-04:00

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Missouri Family avoids Foreclosure Keeps Cave

2009-03-12T12:13:00.001-04:00

Curt and Deborah Sleeper had plans to auction their 15,000-square-foot home which is built inside a former limestone and sandstone cave.

Then along came John Demarest,

the founder and owner of Logical Source, Inc., a document managing company based in Fairfield, N.J., has offered the family a private mortgage contract consisting of a 15-year loan with a low interest rate.

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email

The news only gets better, the Sleepers are now planning to throw a cave party. Not in their cave, but in the cave of a friend.

Tom Kerr's cave has 5 million square feet and includes a 60-acre lake.

Mama mia. I bet you would like to see that cave--well you can. Tickets to the party are now on sale--15 bucks in advance online--or 20 bucks at the door. They plan to donate the proceeds to other families facing foreclosure. Good news all around.

UPDATE: Missouri Family Will Keep Cave
Cave Dwelling Family Can’t Refinance; Selling Home on eBay

Follow All American Investor on Twitter
More from All American Investor

Systemic Risk Defined--Too Big to Fail

Ray Dalio on the current state of affairs in the market

Roubini Predicts U.S. Losses May Reach $3.6 Trillion

Six Errors on the Path to the Financial Crisis

Who Caused the Financial Crisis?

Option ARM--The Toxic Mortgage

Debt Binge--The Perfect Financial Storm

Warren Buffett's Annual Letter to Investors (Cliff Notes Version)

Bold Endeavors: How Our Government Built America, and Why It Must Rebuild Now

Mortgage Modification Plan--Making Homes Affordable

2009-03-04T11:50:00.000-05:00

The Treasury Department released the guidelines of its mortgage modification today. The program will help up to 9 million homeowners avoid foreclosure. The guidelines will enable mortgage servicers to begin modifying mortgages right away. Please note: the Treasury program also includes incentives for removing second liens on loans.

You can follow this link,
Making Home Affordable , and find the links to self assessment questionnaires and contact information.

Or hit these links:

Here is the link to the main website Financial Stability.gov. The links below lead to the detailed information (PDF format):

Ok, you are good to go. Good luck. If you found this information helpful let us know.

Bob DeMarco is a citizen journalist, blogger, and Caregiver. In addition to being an experienced writer he taught at the University of Georgia , was an Associate Director and Limited Partner at Bear Stearns, was CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. Bob currently resides in Delray Beach, FL where he cares for his mother, Dorothy, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Bob has written more than 500 articles with more than 11,000 links to his work on the Internet. His content has been syndicated on Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Pluck, Blog Critics, and a growing list of newspaper websites. Bob is actively seeking syndication and writing assignments.

More from All American Investor

Systemic Risk Defined--Too Big to Fail

Ray Dalio on the current state of affairs in the market

Roubini Predicts U.S. Losses May Reach $3.6 Trillion

Six Errors on the Path to the Financial Crisis

Who Caused the Financial Crisis?

Option ARM--The Toxic Mortgage

Debt Binge--The Perfect Financial Storm

Warren Buffett's Annual Letter to Investors (Cliff Notes Version)

Bold Endeavors: How Our Government Built America, and Why It Must Rebuild Now

S and P 500 no longer Oversold

2009-03-04T10:28:00.000-05:00

The S and P 500 is no longer oversold. The market should start finding support today under 685. The market does look a bit tired, so a one or two day rally would not be a surprise. By the same token, a market capitulation late this week and on Monday would not come as a surprise.

Coming up tonight. How to prepare and score big during a market capitulation

clipped from charts.barchart.com

All American Investor: S and P 500 no longer Oversold

Buffett admits sucking his thumb

2009-03-02T00:14:00.000-05:00

During 2008 I did some dumb things in investments. I made at least one major mistake of commission and several lesser ones that also hurt. I will tell you more about these later. Furthermore, I made some errors of omission, sucking my thumb when new facts came in that should have caused me to re-examine my thinking and promptly take action.

All American Investor: Buffett admits sucking his thumb

Stock Market Crash--25 year look--Chart

2009-02-27T13:29:00.001-05:00

clipped from efhutton.blogspot.com

I want to issue a major note of caution here. The formation above could be signaling a market capitulation. Think about it like flushing a toilet. You know what goes down the toilet=, but then the bowl fills right back up. My guess is, if flushed it will be a great opportunity. Markets rarely capitulate, however, when everyone is looking for it.

A look at this long term pattern shows that the market is extremely vulnerable. The fundamental news, especially the size of budget deficit continues to weigh on the market. The only question now is do we go down slow or fast.

Test of Banks Could lead to a Bottom in the Stock Market

2009-02-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

This is one of the better articles I have read on the stress test--Stress Test for Banks Exposes Rift on Wall St. It has me thinking about the long term direction of the stock market.

I think if you read this article carefully you might conclude that much of what is being written about banks is getting discounted in the stock market. I am not saying everything is beautiful. Quite the contrary, we are teetering on the brink of disaster. But, I find myself asking myself constantly--has the market discounted the news. It is always hard when things look bleak to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, the market always discounts the future long before the future gets here. The market always bottoms when things look bleakest to the herd. The herd tends to focus on the recent past, rarely looking forward into the future."

Test of Banks Could lead to a Bottom in the Stock Market

Find the Wind

2009-02-06T07:50:00.001-05:00

Ever think about starting your own wind farm? Well, first you have to find the wind. Here you go.

Maybe you just want to know how windy it is? Or maybe you just have an interest in wind.

clipped from firstlook.3tier.com

Find solar fast

2009-02-06T07:46:00.001-05:00

We got Solar down here is south Florida.

clipped from firstlook.3tier.com

Worried about the Economic Stimulus Package--You will be after you read this

2009-02-02T20:19:00.000-05:00

Ready for a stomach ache, here goes.

Milwaukee Public Schools would reap $88.6 million over two years for new construction under the economic stimulus package just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives - even though the district has 15 vacant school buildings, a large surplus of property and no plans for new construction.

The amounts for MPS are particularly eye-catching, and not only because they are the largest in the state. Enrollment is declining every year, and the last major wave of construction in MPS - the $102 million Neighborhood School Initiative launched in 2000 - resulted in projects that are underused, have not met enrollment projections or have closed. A series in the Journal Sentinel in August detailed how tens of millions of dollars in construction spending did not produce the expected results, and the project as a whole has not led to a higher percentage of students attending neighborhood schools.

If you are interested in ascertaining the validity of this information and the source go to, The Mikwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinal: Milwaukee Public Schools may be in line for millions in stimulus package

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email

Yes We Can Include Energy

2009-01-21T06:59:00.004-05:00

President Obama made it clear in his Inaugural address that energy will play a central role in the “remaking of America”. In his speech, the President cited both energy and the environment as symptoms of the crisis facing America.

The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.

“With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.” He even nodded to America’s higher per-capita use of energy and natural resources: “[N]or can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.”

Obama’s Big Speech: Yes We Can Include Energy

Google’s Footprint: The Environmental Impact of Internet Searches

2009-01-14T10:35:00.001-05:00

clipped from blogs.wsj.com

Forget the economic meltdown, rising unemployment, and trillion-dollar deficits. The burning question of the day is: Are your Google searches killing the planet?

To recap: The Times of London reported on Sunday research purportedly showing that Internet searches, by flitting from desktops to servers around the world, have a significant environmental impact—7 grams of carbon-dioxide emissions, to be exact. Or, to use the British standard for energy consumption, about half as much as comes from boiling a “kettle of tea.” Multiply that by Google’s five billion searches a day, and the green-talking Internet darling started to look like an environmental villain.

Except that the numbers in the study were widely inflated, Google contends. It says a Google search produces about 0.2 grams of carbon dioxide. Tech outlets and the blogosphere have been buzzing with claims and counter-claims about Google’s true environmental footprint.

Steven Chu: Okay, Coal’s Just a ‘Pretty Bad Dream’

2009-01-14T10:33:00.001-05:00

clipped from blogs.wsj.com

“If the world continues to use coal the way it has been—I mean China, India, Russia—then it is a pretty bad dream,” Dr. Chu said. China has yet to tackle even coal’s basic particulate pollution problem, he said. But coal is also a “very abundant resource,” Dr. Chu added, making it “imperative” that the U.S. learns to capture carbon-dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.

“If confirmed, I will work very hard to extensively develop” clean-coal technology, he said. Nodding to widespread environmental opposition to continued use of coal—clean or otherwise—Dr. Chu said, “Even if we turn off coal, China and India will not.”

Bernie Madoff's Victims: The Slideshow

2009-01-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

Bernie Madoff's Victims: The Slideshow

Solar Power, Inc. to Present at the 11th Annual Needham Growth Stock Conference

2009-01-07T09:48:00.001-05:00

For more information about the conference, visit: www.needhamco.com

clipped from www.reuters.com

Solar Power, Inc. (OTCBB:SOPW), a vertically integrated manufacturer of
photovoltaic (PV) modules and marketer, designer and installer of PV solar
electric systems for commercial, public and residential customers in the United
States today announced that the Company will present at the 11th Annual Needham
Growth Stock Conference held at the New York Palace Hotel in New York City. Mr.
Jeff Winzeler, Chief Financial Officer, is scheduled to present at 9:00 a.m.
(EST) on Tuesday, January 6, 2009.

JA Solar Signs Deal with Solar Power

2009-01-07T09:45:00.001-05:00

The deal allows the Chinese company to further penetrate into lucrative U.S. markets.

clipped from green.tmcnet.com

Chinese solar power company JA Solar Holding Co. has signed a deal with Solar Power to supply 60 megawatts of solar cells.

Solar Power says the 60 megawatts of solar cells are enough to power about 45,000 homes and the company will also use them to make solar modules for projects in Japan, Asia and the United States.

“This agreement represents a strategic alliance between our companies. Through SPI we will be able to expand sales of our cells and gain deeper penetration into the U.S. market,” said Samuel Yang, CEO of JA Solar.

Solar energy project makes advances in costs

2009-01-07T09:42:00.001-05:00

At a cost of 7.5 cents a kilowatt-hour it costs less than the 9-cent benchmark for conventional electricity.

clipped from www.latimes.com

Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy in San Diego, just took the wraps off a 10-megawatt solar farm in Nevada. That's small by industry standards, enough to light just 6,400 homes. But the ramifications are potentially huge.

A veteran analyst has calculated that the facility can produce power at a cost of 7.5 cents a kilowatt-hour, less than the 9-cent benchmark for conventional electricity.

If that's so, it marks a milestone that renewable fans have longed for: "grid parity," in which electricity from the sun, wind or other green sources can meet or beat the price performance of such carbon-based fuels as coal and natural gas.

‘Generation E’ — Innovating, Motivating

2009-01-05T19:42:00.001-05:00

This article contains lots of interesting information.

Read and let us know your reaction.

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

I’ve gotten to know a heap of young people of late — people I call “Generation E” — who are working on every facet of the climate-energy challenge. Some are trying to spread awareness of climate science and its implications. Others are working on ways to cut the human impact on the environment as inventors or entrepreneurs.

Gazprom Prepares To Leave Ukraine Shivering

2009-01-02T09:24:00.001-05:00

The Russian energy company is poised to cut off the gas supply to Kiev as disagreements regarding debt repayment and pricing persist.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that there would be "serious consequences" for Ukraine if the country were to intercept gas supplies destined for the rest of Europe.

Gazprom Prepares To Leave Ukraine Shivering
Melinda Peer

With negotiations between Russian energy company Gazprom and Ukraine at an impasse just a few hours before the firm's midnight deadline, it looks increasingly likely that Kiev residents will start 2009 without supplies of gas. Gazprom engineers are prepared to make good on a threat to shut down the gas pipelines in the absence of an agreement.

After Gazprom reiterated on Wednesday that failure to resolve the dispute over Kiev's $2.0 billion gas-supply-related debt would result in a cutoff, the company said. Without a new gas supply contract, Gazprom said it "won't have any legal grounds to supply gas beyond the customs territory of the Russian Federation to Ukraine." Shares of Gazprom trading on the pink sheets gained 10 cents, or 0.7%, to $14.40, during New York's afternoon trading session.

"The talks with Ukraine haven't brought any concrete result," said Alexey Miller, chairman of Gazprom's management committee. "We are seeing now during the talks that the gas issue has ceased to be an economic one, but is a political bargaining chip for Ukraine," he added, as concerns spread regarding the availability of gas supplies for European states that get gas from pipelines that transit through Ukraine.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that there would be "serious consequences" for Ukraine if the country were to intercept gas supplies destined for the rest of Europe. Previously, Ukraine had said Europe's supply would be unaffected by the dispute.

The two sides have been engaged in negotiations regarding Kiev's $2.0 billion debt ahead of Wednesday's deadline but had made little headway as of late Tuesday. (See "Gazprom Feels The Pinch.") According to TradeTheNews.com, by early Wednesday, both sides appeared to be set on resolving the dispute by means of political intervention from Moscow, but little progress was achieved Wednesday, as the players argued over supply pricing for the coming year. Gazprom raised the country's prices by 40.0%, but they are still cheaper than those Western Europe is paying.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T12:49:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year

Wishing each and everyone of you a wonderful new year.

Sun, Stone and Stimulus

2008-12-31T08:14:00.003-05:00

I just finished reading a good article over in the MarketBeat section of the Wall Street Journal. If you have the time it is worth reading.

A number of strategists have put forth the theory that the beginning of a new presidential administration will spark a bit of a market rally, in part because it has happened in the past, and in part because of expectations for a stimulus package focused on infrastructure.

First Solar, a maker of solar panels and builder of solar power plants, is trading around $136, up 59% from its low in November, cutting its losses for the year to less than 50%. First Solar, a stock-market star in late 2007 and early 2008, is set to have another run in early 2009 because of gathering momentum, technicians say.

“The initial target would be the December 18 high around $149, about 13% from here,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “If it clears that first level, I wouldn’t be shocked at all if it goes up to the $180 level, its Nov. 14 high.”

Go Read It

Sneak Peek at Energy 2009

2008-12-30T13:49:00.003-05:00

Forbes has a good article looking ahead at energy in 2009.

A year ago the worry was that oil demand would outstrip supply. Today, the Saudis alone have more than 3.5 million bpd of spare production capacity.

Tailwinds will soon give alternative energy a boost in the form of the energy policies and subsidies from the incoming Barack Obamaadministration

Obama's energy plan calls for the "responsible domestic production of oil and natural gas." Translation: He'll focus on maximizing existing energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf, revise the Bush administration's 2007-12 drilling plan and reinstate the executive order banning offshore drilling.

Get some nice stock ideas while you are there.

Go read it

Passive Houses the Alternative Energy Wave of the Future?

2008-12-30T08:33:00.003-05:00

Are passive houses the alternative energy wave of the future? In these houses there are no drafts, no cold tile floors, no snuggling under blankets until the furnace kicks in. There is, in fact, no furnace.

Even on the coldest nights in central Germany, Mr. Kaufmann’s new “passive house” and others of this design get all the heat and hot water they need from the amount of energy that would be needed to run a hair dryer.

The most interesting part of this revolution is that passive houses only cost about 5 to 7 percent more than conventional houses.

No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in ‘Passive Houses’

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

DARMSTADT, Germany — From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the stylish new gray and orange row houses in the Kranichstein District, with wreaths on the doors and Christmas lights twinkling through a freezing drizzle. But these houses are part of a revolution in building design: There are no drafts, no cold tile floors, no snuggling under blankets until the furnace kicks in. There is, in fact, no furnace.

In Berthold Kaufmann’s home, there is, to be fair, one radiator for emergency backup in the living room — but it is not in use. Even on the coldest nights in central Germany, Mr. Kaufmann’s new “passive house” and others of this design get all the heat and hot water they need from the amount of energy that would be needed to run a hair dryer.

“You don’t think about temperature — the house just adjusts,” said Mr. Kaufmann, watching his 2-year-old daughter, dressed in a T-shirt, tuck into her sausage in the spacious living room, whose glass doors open to a patio. His new home uses about one-twentieth the heating energy of his parents’ home of roughly the same size, he said.

Architects in many countries, in attempts to meet new energy efficiency standards like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard in the United States, are designing homes with better insulation and high-efficiency appliances, as well as tapping into alternative sources of power, like solar panels and wind turbines.

The concept of the passive house, pioneered in this city of 140,000 outside Frankfurt, approaches the challenge from a different angle. Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows, the architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a passive house can be warmed not only by the sun, but also by the heat from appliances and even from occupants’ bodies.

And in Germany, passive houses cost only about 5 to 7 percent more to build than conventional houses.

Decades ago, attempts at creating sealed solar-heated homes failed, because of stagnant air and mold. But new passive houses use an ingenious central ventilation system. The warm air going out passes side by side with clean, cold air coming in, exchanging heat with 90 percent efficiency.

“The myth before was that to be warm you had to have heating. Our goal is to create a warm house without energy demand,” said Wolfgang Hasper, an engineer at the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt. “This is not about wearing thick pullovers, turning the thermostat down and putting up with drafts. It’s about being comfortable with less energy input, and we do this by recycling heating.”

There are now an estimated 15,000 passive houses around the world, the vast majority built in the past few years in German-speaking countries or Scandinavia.

The first passive home was built here in 1991 by Wolfgang Feist, a local physicist, but diffusion of the idea was slowed by language. The courses and literature were mostly in German, and even now the components are mass-produced only in this part of the world.

The industry is thriving in Germany, however — for example, schools in Frankfurt are built with the technique.

Moreover, its popularity is spreading. The European Commission is promoting passive-house building, and the European Parliament has proposed that new buildings meet passive-house standards by 2011.

The United States Army, long a presence in this part of Germany, is considering passive-house barracks.

“Awareness is skyrocketing; it’s hard for us to keep up with requests,” Mr. Hasper said.

Nabih Tahan, a California architect who worked in Austria for 11 years, is completing one of the first passive houses in the United States for his family in Berkeley. He heads a group of 70 Bay Area architects and engineers working to encourage wider acceptance of the standards. “This is a recipe for energy that makes sense to people,” Mr. Tahan said. “Why not reuse this heat you get for free?”

Ironically, however, when California inspectors were examining the Berkeley home to determine whether it met “green” building codes (it did), he could not get credit for the heat exchanger, a device that is still uncommon in the United States. “When you think about passive-house standards, you start looking at buildings in a different way,” he said.

Buildings that are certified hermetically sealed may sound suffocating. (To meet the standard, a building must pass a “blow test” showing that it loses minimal air under pressure.) In fact, passive houses have plenty of windows — though far more face south than north — and all can be opened.

Inside, a passive home does have a slightly different gestalt from conventional houses, just as an electric car drives differently from its gas-using cousin. There is a kind of spaceship-like uniformity of air and temperature. The air from outside all goes through HEPA filters before entering the rooms. The cement floor of the basement isn’t cold. The walls and the air are basically the same temperature.

Look closer and there are technical differences: When the windows are swung open, you see their layers of glass and gas, as well as the elaborate seals around the edges. A small, grated duct near the ceiling in the living room brings in clean air. In the basement there is no furnace, but instead what looks like a giant Styrofoam cooler, containing the heat exchanger.

Passive houses need no human tinkering, but most architects put in a switch with three settings, which can be turned down for vacations, or up to circulate air for a party (though you can also just open the windows). “We’ve found it’s very important to people that they feel they can influence the system,” Mr. Hasper said.

The houses may be too radical for those who treasure an experience like drinking hot chocolate in a cold kitchen. But not for others. “I grew up in a great old house that was always 10 degrees too cold, so I knew I wanted to make something different,” said Georg W. Zielke, who built his first passive house here, for his family, in 2003 and now designs no other kinds of buildings.

In Germany the added construction costs of passive houses are modest and, because of their growing popularity and an ever larger array of attractive off-the-shelf components, are shrinking.

But the sophisticated windows and heat-exchange ventilation systems needed to make passive houses work properly are not readily available in the United States. So the construction of passive houses in the United States, at least initially, is likely to entail a higher price differential.

Moreover, the kinds of home construction popular in the United States are more difficult to adapt to the standard: residential buildings tend not to have built-in ventilation systems of any kind, and sliding windows are hard to seal.

Dr. Feist’s original passive house — a boxy white building with four apartments — looks like the science project that it was intended to be. But new passive houses come in many shapes and styles. The Passivhaus Institut, which he founded a decade ago, continues to conduct research, teaches architects, and tests homes to make sure they meet standards. It now has affiliates in Britain and the United States.

Still, there are challenges to broader adoption even in Europe.

Because a successful passive house requires the interplay of the building, the sun and the climate, architects need to be careful about site selection. Passive-house heating might not work in a shady valley in Switzerland, or on an urban street with no south-facing wall. Researchers are looking into whether the concept will work in warmer climates — where a heat exchanger could be used in reverse, to keep cool air in and warm air out.

And those who want passive-house mansions may be disappointed. Compact shapes are simpler to seal, while sprawling homes are difficult to insulate and heat.

Most passive houses allow about 500 square feet per person, a comfortable though not expansive living space. Mr. Hasper said people who wanted thousands of square feet per person should look for another design.

“Anyone who feels they need that much space to live,” he said, “well, that’s a different discussion.”

Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming

2008-12-14T11:02:00.011-05:00

Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming

This book boils it all down for you into easily understood, sometimes amusing explanations, and illustrations. This is your roadmap into understanding global warming and will turn you into authority on the subject.

The book covers the work of IPCC Working Groups One, Two, and Three. While the reports of these three groups are available online, each is well over 700 pages plus appendices. Mann and Kump have boiled down the essence into five parts, with mostly two-page articles full of colorful graphics, for a total of just over 200 pages of engaging science (A'ndrea Elyse Messer)

Bakugan Battle Pack is #1 Hot Christmas Toy

2008-12-03T10:42:00.000-05:00

Bakugan Battle Pack is #1 in Amazon Games and Toys

Obama’s “number 1 priority”

2008-11-11T19:56:00.001-05:00

By spawning “a new energy economy,” Obama can create millions of new jobs, decrease our dependence on foreign oil and avert catastrophic climate change. But the politics of launching that new energy economy — even with enlarged majorities in Congress — remains challenging.

– Peter Barnes is an entrepreneur and writer whose books include Who Owns The Sky? and Climate Solutions: A Citizen’s Guide. The views expressed are his own. –

By Peter Barnes

A few days before the election, Barack Obama told Time’s Joe Klein:

Finding the new driver of our economy is going to be critical. There’s no better driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy … That’s going to be my No. 1 priority when I get into office.

That’s exactly the right choice for numerous economic, geopolitical, and ecological reasons. By spawning “a new energy economy,” Obama can create millions of new jobs, decrease our dependence on foreign oil and avert catastrophic climate change. But the politics of launching that new energy economy — even with enlarged majorities in Congress — remains challenging.

In facing this challenge, Obama will be constrained both by a gargantuan budget deficit and his campaign vow not to raise taxes on anyone making under $250,000 a year. And because of the recession, he can’t suck buying power out of the economy. On the contrary, he needs to stimulate spending by consumers.

He also faces a tight international timetable: in December 2009, the nations of the world will assemble in Copenhagen to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. If Obama is to have any credibility in those negotiations, he must pass significant legislation before then.

How, then, can he fulfill his No. 1 priority?

There are many opinions about what should be part of a comprehensive energy policy, but the centerpiece nearly everyone agrees on — the great lever that will tip the whole economy toward clean energy — is a strong, descending cap on carbon emissions. If done correctly, such a cap will raise the price of polluting, spur innovation and conservation, and shift billions of dollars of private investment into new technologies for the next 40 years. But designing the cap correctly is critical; a half-baked, loophole-ridden and overly complex system will do more harm than good. The devil is in the details — and, of course, in the politics.

The most critical details involve where to place the cap and what to do with the permits the cap will create. The simplest and most effective place to put the cap is upstream — that is, on the small number of companies that bring carbon into the economy. An upstream cap could be administered without monitoring smokestacks, without a large bureaucracy, and without favoring some companies over others. It would work for the obvious reason that, if carbon doesn’t come into the economy, it can’t go out.

The declining number of permits that would be issued under the cap should then be auctioned rather than given away free — all polluters would pay, and there would be no politically chosen winners or windfall profits. Fortunately, Obama pledged during the campaign to do just this. But that leads to another crucial detail: what to do with the auction revenue, which over time will total trillions of dollars?

There are two possibilities: spend the money on a variety of energy-related programs, or give the money back to the people. While there’s broad agreement that some public spending is necessary to solve the climate crisis, it’s by no means clear that permit revenues should be used for that purpose. The reason is that permit revenues, though initially paid by energy companies, are ultimately paid by consumers in the form of higher energy prices. They are, in effect, a sales tax on carbon — a tax that will fall on millions of Americans earning under $250,000 a year, and that will rise as the cap tightens.

Obama’s best choice is to fund energy-related programs from other sources (including long-term debt) and return all the carbon revenue to the people. This can be done through yearly tax credits, or better yet through monthly cash dividends wired like Social Security payments to people’s bank accounts or debit cards. The advantage of cash dividends is that they’d tangibly and frequently remind people that higher carbon prices are coming back to them — and help them pay mortgages and other bills that fall due on a monthly basis. The whole system might then be called “cap-and-dividend” or “cap and cash back.”

Like Social Security benefits, carbon dividends would be taxed as ordinary income; the government would then recoup about 25 percent of the revenue and could use that money as it sees fit. More importantly, ordinary families would get the lion’s share of the auction revenue, and get it in a way that rewards conservation. Since everyone would get the same amount back, those who use the most carbon would lose and those who use the least would gain — their dividends would exceed what they pay in higher prices. Low-income families in particular would gain because they use less energy than others and would pay little or no taxes on their dividends. In addition, the overall economy would benefit from this periodic replenishment of consumer demand.

The most persuasive argument for cap-and-dividend, though, isn’t economic but political. As the presidential campaign revealed, energy prices are an explosive issue. A carbon cap will raise fuel prices not just once, but for years to come. The potential for backlash — for frenzied cries of “Drill, baby, drill!” — is never-ending. If America is to reduce carbon emissions to the level scientists say is necessary, it’s crucial that families’ pocketbooks be protected for the duration. Cap-and-dividend does this by permanently linking dividends to carbon prices. As carbon prices rise, so — automatically — do dividends. If voters scream about rising fuel prices, as they surely will, politicians can truthfully say, “How you fare is up to you. If you guzzle, you lose; if you conserve, you gain.”

Moreover, for a carbon cap to endure, it must have broad bipartisan support. A revenue-neutral cap is far more likely to garner Republican support than one that’s linked to a large increase in government spending. Consider, for example, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, who supports a declining cap on carbon but not a spending bill that earmarks trillions of dollars over 40 years. Though it’s not glaringly evident, there are more Republicans like him. This doesn’t mean Obama shouldn’t spend public money on energy; it means he should separate such spending from the cap.

The ultimate reason for paying equal dividends from carbon revenue may be this: it fits Obama’s vision of how government ought to work. In this vision, the government’s job is to serve ordinary people, not special interests. It is to be fair and transparent. And it is to unite rather than divide us, to move us from a “you’re on your own” society to one in which “we’re all in this together.”

Cap-and-dividend fits this vision perfectly. It curbs carbon emissions in a way that’s simple to understand and administer, favors no special interests, and provides a degree of security to all. It treats all Americans as co-owners of the air and allocates trillions of dollars in a completely transparent way. It would be a signature Obama policy, one that sets the tone for his whole administration and remains as memorably linked to him as Social Security is to Roosevelt.

Urgent regulation needed for nanomaterials: experts

2008-11-11T19:53:00.001-05:00

"...having analyzed the potential health and environmental impacts which flow from the properties of nanomaterials, we concluded that there is a plausible case for concern about some (but not all) classes of nanomaterials," the Royal Commission experts from the scientific, legal, business and medical communities wrote in a British government-funded report.

Urgent regulation needed for nanomaterials: experts

LONDON (Reuters) - More testing and regulation of nanomaterials used in an increasingly number of everyday products is urgently needed, experts said on Wednesday.

"...having analyzed the potential health and environmental impacts which flow from the properties of nanomaterials, we concluded that there is a plausible case for concern about some (but not all) classes of nanomaterials," the Royal Commission experts from the scientific, legal, business and medical communities wrote in a British government-funded report.

In particular the report cited tiny soccer-ball shaped carbon molecules called buckyballs that may have potential uses ranging from novel drug-delivery system to fuel cells, as well as carbon nanotubes and nanosilver.

Recent studies have found buckyballs -- short for buckministerfullerenes -- may threaten health by building up fat and have linked carbon nanotubes to potential lung cancer risk.

"We are very conscious of the extent to which knowledge about the potential health and environmental impacts of nanomaterials lags significantly behind the pace of innovation, although this could change as new scientific information arises," the study said.

Nanotechnology, the design and manipulation of materials thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair, has been hailed as a way to make strong, lightweight materials, better cosmetics and even tastier food.

Major corporations and start-ups across almost every industry invest in nanotechnology, which found its way into $147 billion worth of products in 2007, according to Lux Research.

But scientists are only just starting to look at the impact such tiny objects might have, and the British report warned existing regulations may not be able to keep up with technology.

"We are also concerned that more sophisticated later generation nanoproducts will raise issues which cannot be dealt with by treating them as chemicals or mixtures of chemicals," John Lawton, an ecologist, who chaired the report, said in a statement.

The report, to which the government must reply, also determined that there were not grounds for a blanket ban or moratorium on nanomaterials.

Specifically, it also called on the government to recognize a "degree of ignorance and uncertainty in this area" and lay out the time it will take to address these.

(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Louise Ireland and Maggie Fox)

Global investors urge action on climate change

2008-11-11T10:48:00.001-05:00

"As institutional investors, we are concerned with the risks presented by climate change to the global economy and to our diversified portfolios," said Mike Taylor, chief executive of London Pensions Fund Authority. "We are ... urging world leaders to implement strong and effective policies to support us in allocating capital toward low carbon investments."

Global investors urge action on climate change

Global institutional investors holding more than $6 trillion in assets pushed policymakers Tuesday to quickly hash out a binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean technology.

More than 130 big investors, including London Pensions Fund Authority, want countries to agree to reduce the climate- warming emissions by 50 percent to 80 percent by 2050.

Those numbers are in line with global warming policy favored by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who supports an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by mid-century.

The investors also want policymakers to set long and medium term emission reduction targets for developed countries and to provide for an expanded and more liquid global carbon market.

Already big U.S. investors, such as the California Public Employees' Retirement System, with $185.6 billion of assets under management, have been calling for legislation to promote new and existing clean technologies.

They have also called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to force publicly traded companies to disclose climate-related risks along with other factors that affect their business.

"As institutional investors, we are concerned with the risks presented by climate change to the global economy and to our diversified portfolios," said Mike Taylor, chief executive of London Pensions Fund Authority. "We are ... urging world leaders to implement strong and effective policies to support us in allocating capital toward low carbon investments."

The group of global investors want countries to sign on to a new binding agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol climate pact, which set binding targets for industrialized countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Union is aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020 and increase the share of wind, solar, hydro, wave power and biofuels in their energy mix by the same date.

The United States is alone among major industrialized countries in rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, but is participating in discussions to craft a follow-up global agreement.

"It is time to put an agreement in place where the United States is involved," said Mindy Lubber, the president of Ceres, a coalition of investors and environmental groups working on climate change issues.

The global group of investors is hoping its voice is heard ahead of a December climate change convention in Poland.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Andre Grenon)

Mossberg Video: Buying a Decent Computer on the Cheap

2008-10-30T13:35:00.000-04:00

Are you in the market for a computer? Walt Mossberg shares some tips on finding a decent computer during these tough economic times. You might want to bookmark this article for the day when your computer goes adios. Also discusses Apple versus PC. Not surprising, says if its PC stay away from Vista. Some good stuff and cheap like he says.

Ill Wind: FPL Cites Bad Third-Quarter Breezes

2008-10-28T15:16:00.001-04:00

How long before there is futures contract on wind? This news might make Boone Pickens a bit nervous.

Follow the links and read more.

clipped from blogs.wsj.com

FPL Energy, the biggest U.S. renewable-energy operator, said wind conditions in the third quarter were the worst it has seen since starting a wind-power database in the early 1970s. Electricity generated by FPL’s wind farms—esecially in prime wind-power country like Texas and the Great Plains—came in well below the expected output. FPL’s Texas wind generation, for example, was just 72% of expected output in the quarter—and just 53% in September.

Granted, variable wind is just that. FPL enjoyed a better-than-average second quarter of wind, and for the year the company’s wind-power operations have generated 98% of the juice they expected.

Using the Internet Promotes Memory and a Healthy Brain

2008-10-28T11:38:00.001-04:00

Learning how to execute sophisticated searches on search engines like Google is good for your brain. Over the long haul it keeps your brain sharp and promotes brain health

clipped from alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

I just finished reading an article about how using the Internet promotes memory and a healthy brain. This should be of great interest to the millions of baby boomers facing the possibility of Alzheimer's disease in their future. A Pew/Internet study showed that seventy five percent of Leading Boomers (age 51-59) use the Internet. The numbers are lower for Matures (age 60-69) at fifty four percent.

The brain study found that Internet savvy users that use search experienced greater brain activity. While there are no conclusive studies at this time, boomers should be thinking about ways to keep the brain healthy and memory sharp as they age. It appears the use of the Internet helps.

"This suggests that just searching on the Internet may train the brain -- that it may keep it active and healthy," said Small, whose research appears in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Energy Seed LED Lamp Concept Could Give New Meaning to Battery Recycling

2008-10-14T11:19:00.001-04:00

For a more long-term approach to the problem though, there's always the option of using rechargeable batteries.

clipped from www.goodcleantech.com

So your alkaline batteries can't power any of your gadgets anymore. In fact, they're so drained they can't even be used for the remote control. With the Energy Seed concept designed by South Korean Sung Woo Park, these old batteries are given a whole new purpose. Instead of being sent for recycling (or more realistically, being thrown away), they could be used to power LED street lamps.

MDI's AIRpod Is a Minute Air-Powered Car

2008-10-14T11:12:00.001-04:00

Want one for the trunk of your car?

clipped from www.goodcleantech.com

Europe-based company MDI Corporation already promised a six-seater compressed air-powered car for the US come 2010. Here's another vehicle from the brand, although it's far from the family-sized vehicle the US will get. The AIRpod is a minute car by MDI powered by compressed air that's slated for a Europe release on 2009. The vehicle can seat three (non-claustrophobic) people, with one forced to sit facing backwards (that someone would probably have to be immune to motion sickness).

The AIRpod has a maximum range of 130 miles (220 kilometers) and a top speed of 40 miles per hour (70 kph), making it suitable for city driving which is probably the company's aim in the first place. Using compressed air as a power source means huge amounts of air are compressed into a small tank that would have to be released slowly to move the car's pistons

, the AIRpod is expected to be really efficient and of course, since it runs on air instead of fossil fuels, it's also environmentally-friendly.

The North Wales Tidal Energy Project

2008-09-10T11:23:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.exploration-architecture.com

The North Wales Tidal Energy Project by Grimshaw employs a new form of technology to generate tidal energy using an offshore lagoon instead of a barrage. The lagoon would be constructed out of rock and boulders and would create 30 linear kilometres of new rocky shore. In contrast to barrage schemes this proposal would have a very positive environmental impact - boosting biodiversity and providing breeding grounds for birds. Above one of the turbine halls a pavilion was included in the design to provide space for a renewable energy exhibition centre with seminar rooms.

The Sahara Forest Project

2008-09-10T10:33:00.001-04:00

Clever plan. Would cost.

clipped from www.exploration-architecture.com

The Sahara Forest Project combines two proven technologies in a new way to create multiple benefits: producing large amounts of renewable energy, food and water as well as reversing desertification. A major element of the proposal is the Seawater Greenhouse - a brilliant invention that creates a cool growing environment in hot parts of the world and is a net producer of distilled water from seawater. The second technology, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) involves concentrating the sun's heat to create steam that drives conventional turbines, producing zero carbon electricity twice as efficiently as photovoltaics. The two technologoes have very promising synergies that make the economic case even more attractive.

Client - Seawater Greenhouse Limited

Architect - Exploration

Environmental Engineer - Max Fordham & Partners

Measure Your Home Energy Use With The Spark Lamp

2008-09-10T10:32:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.impactlab.com

Measure Your Home Energy Use With The Spark Lamp

September 7th, 2008 at 11:21 am

The Spark Lamp concept by Beverly Ng is an LED lamp that you can flip over during the day to recharge itself using solar power. It’s designed to educate the owner about their power consumption. The lamp sports integrated WiFi which wirelessly keeps track of you home’s power usage. When you turn the lamp on, it will change colors and flash to tell you what your home’s power consumption is.

It’s no accident that it looks like a houseplant as a metaphor for how plants are powered by sunlight through photosynthesis. The Spark Lamp was created in reaction to the Swedish’s government response to the energy crisis. In Sweden, future homes will have smart meters that will give real-time feedback to homeowners on the internet. But data on a website is not all that engaging so the Spark lamp was developed to enhance the experience.

Via SlipperyBrick

When will Congress act to promote alternative energy?

2008-09-10T10:30:00.001-04:00

They talk a good game, but the tax credits needed to boost the industry in a massive way are being held up. If and when Congress gets serious about removing our dependence on foreign oil we'll know it...they'll extend the tax credits that are set to expire this year.

This would not only be a major shot in the arm for the industry, but for our entire economy as well!!!

clipped from www.fool.com

Our politicians like to talk a good game about helping wean us off our dependence on foreign fossil fuels, but they won't let something like that get in the way of good partisanship.

T. Boone Pickens has been expending a lot of energy boosting the "Pickens Plan" to invest in natural gas and wind power. He might get more mileage if he devoted some of that time to persuading Congress to extend the tax credits that have helped fuel growth in the alternative energy field. If the credits are allowed to expire at the end of the year, the wind and solar industries may end up being as limp as a ship's sails on becalmed seas.

Experts Confirm Open Water Circling Arctic

2008-09-08T12:32:00.001-04:00

There have been some breathless headlines in the last few days about the North Pole’s being an “island” for the first time in 125,000 years.

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

[UPDATE 9/6: The National Ice Center on Friday said that a navigable passage has opened through sea ice along the entire Russian Arctic coast, although the center added that patches of dangerous thick ice still pepper the area. In a statement, the center said: "This is the first recorded occurrence of the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route both being open at the same time." The full statement is below in the comment string. Here's an animation loop of the retreating sea ice.]

New “Green” Designation Available for Realtors

2008-09-08T12:17:00.001-04:00

Take the three day course and become a green specialist.

clipped from blogs.wsj.com

A new tool is now available for investors looking to buy a so-called “green” building, a property that has environmentally-friendly features like energy and water efficiency and that produces minimal pollution and waste. A new program instituted by the National Association of Realtors(R) has begun certifying brokers as green specialists. Brokers can earn the designation from NAR’s Green Resource Council by taking three days of courses or completing the program online at their own pace.

Woman turns pizza oven into solar, wins awards (iJet)

2008-09-03T16:22:00.001-04:00

Nicole Kuepper has a dream. She wants to bring power and light to the 2 billion people in the world who lack electricity. She envisions enabling people to "read at night, keep informed about the world through radio and television and refrigerate life-saving vaccines".

"What started off as a brainstorming session has resulted in the iJET cell concept that uses low-cost and low-temperature processes, such as ink-jet printing and pizza ovens, to manufacture solar cells."

The 23 year old PhD student won two Australian Museum Eureka Prizes - the nation's top science awards.

Nicole Kuepper

The processes she developed for the iJET solar cell don't require the very expensive clean rooms and high-temperature ovens of traditional solar panel manufacturing plants, but rather pizza ovens, nail polish and inkjet printers, making them accessible to developing countries.

While it could take five years to commercialise the patented technology, providing renewable energy to homes in some of the least developed countries would enable people to "read at night, keep informed about the world through radio and television and refrigerate life-saving vaccines". And it would also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Ms Kuepper said that the solar cells should be of high enough quality to be used anywhere in the world.

More Information

Nicole has a Eureka moment - twice

Global Warming - Ink Jet to the Rescue

Wind Energy Bumps into Power Grid's Limits

2008-08-28T11:00:00.001-04:00

There seems to be a consistent problem with new energy sources getting to the final distribution point. Now with the new solar craze, I have to wonder...what is the solution?

The Energy Challenge

When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.

That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands.

The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.

Read Full article here.

Monitoring the Planetary Emergencies

2008-08-25T10:33:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.federationofscientists.org

The identification of Planetary Emergencies and their categorisation into
fifteen main groups

To date the World Federation of Scientists has established the following
Permanent Monitoring Panels and Working Groups:

Biotechnology

Brain and Behaviour

Climatology

Defence Against Cosmic Objects

Desertification

Energy: www.energypmp.org

Floods and Extreme Weather Events

Information Security: www.itis-ev.de/infosecur/

Limits of Development

Missile Proliferation

Mother & Child

Pollution

Motivations for Terrorism

Mitigation of Terrorist Acts

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy

Water

Ring Road: What Happens to China’s Environment After the Olympics?

2008-08-23T12:33:00.001-04:00

clipped from blogs.wsj.com

This Sunday, the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics will bring an end to the 2008 Games—and to the sudden spotlight on China’s environmental somersaults during the “green” olympics.

Back to work, you (AP)

Zookeeper feeds baby squirrel in Bulgaria

2008-08-22T12:01:00.001-04:00

I know its off track but I couldn't' resist.

clipped from blogs.usatoday.com

Water Desalination: Freshwater from the Sea

2008-08-20T11:03:00.002-04:00

“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” So lamented Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ancient mariner 210 years ago. Today’s scientific advances in water desalination promise to edit that script into “and every drop to drink,” dramatically increasing our ability to transform sea water into fresh water and quench the thirst of 1.2 billion people facing shortages of water.

Did You Know?

Ocean water contains about 35,000 parts per million of salt. Fresh water contains less than 1,000 parts per million.

The first scientific paper on desalting was published by Arab chemists in the eighth century.

Desalination/distillation is one of mankind's earliest forms of water treatment. In ancient times, many civilizations used this process on their ships to convert sea water into drinking water.

Today, desalination plants are used to convert sea water to drinking water on ships and in many arid regions of the world, and to treat water in other areas that is fouled by natural and unnatural contaminants.

The largest inland desalination plant in the world, the El Paso-Fort Bliss desalination plant, has a design capacity of approximately 27.5 MGD (30,800 acre-feet).

The average cost to produce 1 acre-foot of desalinated water from seawater ranges from approximately $800 to about $1,400.

The size of each reverse osmosis membrane pore used in the desalination
process is about 1/100,000th the size of one human hair.

Listen to the Podcast

'beer goggles'

2008-08-14T22:23:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com

Strangers really do look sexier when you drink booze, science confirms

For the first time, scientists have proven that "beer goggles" are real — other people really do look more attractive to us if we have been drinking.

Surprisingly, the beer goggles effect was not limited to just the opposite sex among the ostensibly straight volunteers recruited for the study — they also rated people from their own sex as more attractive.

After 15 minutes, the volunteers were shown photos of 40 other college students from both sexes. Both men and women who drank booze found these faces more attractive, "a roughly 10 percent increase in ratings of attractiveness," said researcher Marcus Munafo, an experimental psychologist at the University of Bristol in England.

"Everyone knows about beer goggles," Munafo said. "But some of our results suggest that there's more going on than we might have thought."

Poll: Have ‘beer goggles’ ever led you astray?

Solar Panels by the Square Mile in California

2008-08-14T22:10:00.001-04:00

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

Matthew Wald has just written a news article showing the power of a guaranteed market to bring about large-scale construction of energy technologies that currently cannot compete with the status quo. Two photovoltaic power plants, in essence, are going to be built in California, covering a total of 12.5 square miles and amounting to 800 megawatts of generating capacity (although remember that the peak is only hit for a small portion of the day).

Two California companies said Thursday that they would each build solar power plants that were 10 times bigger than the largest now in service, creating the first true utility-scale use of a technology now mostly confined to rooftop supplements to conventional power supplies.

Photovoltaics eventually would need to be as cheap as paint or roof shingles to begin to make a serious dent in coal burning, many experts say.

solar thermal plants

The Answer To The Energy Problem

2008-08-13T17:36:00.001-04:00

The change has taken Denmark nearly two decades to implement, but the most critical step was the introduction of smart- or net-metering, which required utilities to buy back electricity from consumers at 85% of the price. Denmark's success has convinced a growing number of policymakers and energy executives to follow suit.

clipped from www.forbes.com

Before John McCain and Barack Obama say another word about America's energy future, maybe they should go to Denmark.

Denmark has done what other countries only dream of doing: achieved energy independence.

How'd they do it? Distributed energy.

Unlike traditional "centralized" systems, distributed energy relies on small power-generating technologies like solar panels or ultra-efficient natural-gas turbines built near the point of energy consumption to supplement or displace grid-distributed electricity.

Consumers can not only draw power from the grid, but can feed power into it as well. For instance, homes equipped with solar-power panels could feed unused electricity back into the grid, adding to the total available supply.

Wanted: ‘Young Eco-Geniuses’

2008-08-12T00:47:00.001-04:00

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

A few months ago, I encouraged Dot Earth contributors who wanted to eschew anonymity and the grayness of text comments to post video greetings. As a result, you’ve had a chance to “meet” Wang Suya, Jeff Huggins and others face to face. Some here think this may help sustain a civil, productive environment on the blog by reminding people that there are human beings out there amid the streams of electrons. Now you get to meet Paul Horan. Sitting amid lemon trees near Malibu, Calif., he offers up a reward to “deserving young eco-geniuses” who are willing to tell today’s ruling class how they define “what’s sustainable and what’s not.”

Green TV

2008-08-10T00:06:00.002-04:00

A broadband TV channel for environmental films bringing together films from a range of environmental organizations and independent filmmakers.

Interesting site, worth the trip.

Check out this video Proper Education.

The video has a deep green message. It focuses on climate change and the issues surrounding global warming. Set in a London estate, it shows a gang of young people breaking into local flats, in order to switch appliances off standby, change light bulbs for energy efficient alternatives and place bricks in toilet cisterns.

Pa. Turns its eyes Toward the Sun for Energy

2008-08-07T17:14:00.004-04:00

For a state with energy-production roots drilling deep into the coal mines and oil fields, the time has arrived for a heavenward look to try to harness the power of the sun.
Gov. Rendell last week signed a bill here dedicating $650 million to the development of alternative and renewable energy, with a whopping 28 percent going to solar energy.

Pa. turns its eyes toward the sun for energy
For a state with energy-production roots drilling deep into the coal mines and oil fields, the time has arrived for a heavenward look to try to harness the power of the sun.

> Gov. Rendell last week signed a bill here dedicating $650 million to the development of alternative and renewable energy, with a whopping 28 percent going to solar energy.

> Environmentalists and energy-policy experts say the fund is a significant investment in clean energy and will boost Pennsylvania's profile as a leader in emerging energy technology.

> The bill makes a historic investment in solar energy, an emerging technology that Rendell administration officials compare to the status of wind energy six years ago.

> The legislation provides $100 million for solar power and water-heating systems on homes and small businesses, paying up to 35 percent of the installation cost. It also provides $80 million for larger, commercial-scale projects.

> Kate Marks, energy program director with the National Conference of State Legislatures, called the fund a "leading investment in renewable energy" that demonstrates how states, not the federal government, are taking the lead.

> Under the law, Pennsylvania will borrow $500 million over the next two years for grants and loans to attract businesses in the alternative-energy field and help existing companies improve energy efficiency.

> A separate $150 million loan program will offer rebates to homeowners to weatherize their houses or install solar panels, and provide subsidies for low-income homeowners who need assistance with energy bills.

> The fund is the second part of the administration's Energy Independence Strategy, which began in 2004 with the creation of new energy markets through mandates that utilities use alternative energy.

> "We have got a bill that does so many things all in one time," Rendell said before signing it at a former auto-parts factory that will become a high-energy-efficiency residential and commercial development. "It's not just enough to create markets. We have to help young, fledgling businesses."

> The administration estimates that since 2003, when Rendell took office, the state has invested $1 billion in alternative and renewable energy and as many as 3,500 jobs have been created.

> Energy-policy experts could not identify a similar-size fund and said it was impossible to compare with investments in other states that may be larger but covered a number of years.

> For instance, New Jersey has handed out $227 million in rebates to businesses and homeowners for solar systems in the last seven years.

> The bill was passed as part of the state budget negotiations after a long-sought compromise with Senate Republicans, who opposed Rendell's original $850 million proposal because it depended on more borrowing and a monthly fee on utility bills.

> Business interests object to such large government subsidization of what they call "unproven" technologies and the Rendell administration's apparent favoritism toward "green" companies. David N. Taylor, executive director of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, said his group had opposed the bill as "profoundly misguided."

> "If we want to hasten the arrival of the next generation of energy breakthroughs, we need a pro-growth environment where research and development can take place," he said. "We can't mandate it into existence or subsidize it into existence."

> Roy Kienitz, Rendell's deputy chief of staff, disputed the notion that wind and solar technologies were not proven, and said the targeted investment in those areas was part of Rendell's long-term vision to shift the state's economic focus.

> "Pennsylvania was at its pinnacle 100 years ago with steel, oil and railroads, but employment in those industries has declined by 50 or 75 percent," Kienitz said. "We have to set our economic investment in finding growing industries like biotech and renewable energy."

> Maureen Mulligan, a solar-industry lobbyist, called the fund the "major jump start the industry was looking for in order to invest in Pennsylvania."

> The commercial funding, in particular, could be used to attract manufacturing that would create jobs and provide local products, which keeps shipping costs down.

> Catherine Neil, one of the owners of Heatshed, a solar-installation company in Bucks County, said homeowners were hungry for the new technology.

> A typical system providing half a household's electricity costs about $35,000.

> Rebates at the upper limit of 35 percent would be $12,250. So with $100 million, that kitty could prompt more than 8,000 systems.

> Philadelphia's Andrew Kleeman, with the solar-power company EOS Energy Solutions, agreed that the demand was there, but said he didn't think the $180 million was enough to give the industry the full-throttle boost it needed.

> "I think it's a great step," Kleeman said. "The total dollars sound like a huge amount. It's really not."

>
Where the Money Goes

> The newly created $650 million energy fund will support conservation and spur renewable energy development. Among the projects:

> $165 million for loans and grants for alternative and renewable energy projects for businesses and local governments.

> $180 million for grants and loans for solar energy-related economic development, plus loans, grants and rebates to cover

> 35 percent of the costs of residential consumers and small businesses for installing solar-energy technology.

> $40 million to support start-up services to develop and implement energy-efficiency technology.

> $25 million for wind energy and geothermal projects.

> $25 million for residential and commercial "green" building projects.

> $40 million for energy assistance for low-income residents.

> $25 million for pollution-control technology for energy generators to meet state and federal standards.

> $92.5 million to give homeowners and small businesses

> 25 percent of the cost to buy and install energy-conservation devices and weatherize buildings and $5 million for an Energy Efficiency Loan Fund.

> $50 million in tax credits of up to $1 million a year to develop alternative-energy projects.

> SOURCE: Pennsylvania Governor's Office

>
Contact staff writer Amy Worden at 717-783-2584 or aworden@phillynews.com.

An Olympic Stadium Worth Remembering

2008-08-04T21:50:00.001-04:00

More than 90,000 spectators will stream through its gates on Friday for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games; billions are expected to watch the fireworks on television. At the center of it all is this dazzling stadium, which is said to embody everything from China’s muscle-flexing nationalism to a newfound cultural sophistication.

clipped from www.nytimes.com

OLYMPICS REHEARSAL

2008-08-04T21:37:00.001-04:00

Follow the links for more.

clipped from www.abcnews.go.com

1 of 16

Olympics Rehearsal

A student from the Tagou martial arts school from Henan province practices in front of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, at the Olympic Green in Beijing, July 16, 2008. More then 2,000 students from Tagou martial arts school will perform during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and have been training on the outskirts of Beijing for a year, local media reported. Picture taken July 16, 2008.
(Donald Chan/Reuters )

'Water Cube'

2008-08-04T21:16:00.001-04:00

Looks awesome.

clipped from news.xinhuanet.com

Photo taken on Jan. 28, 2008 shows the exterior view of the National Aquatics Center also known as "Water Cube" in Beijing.

Photo
Gallery>>>

With a capacity of 17,000 seats, the Water Cube will host swimming, diving, synchronized swimming competitions during this summer's Olympics.

Looks awesome.

clipped from news.xinhuanet.com

Photo taken on Jan. 28, 2008 shows the exterior view of the National Aquatics Center also known as "Water Cube" in Beijing. The National Aquatic Center was delivered for use on Monday
after four years of construction. (Xinhua Photo/Luo Xiaoguang)

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn

clipped from www.plasticsnews.com

clipped from www.tropolism.com

Wacky in a way only state-sponsored architecture can be is the National Swimming Center in Beijing, going up right next to another of H&DM's stadiums (no, not this one). The center is enclosed by what appears to be a wall whose structure is an irregular spaceframe (made to resemble the cellular pattern of soap bubbles) and is clad in what appears to be a frosted or patterened glass. All of this from a wonderful photo gallery at Structurae. The building was conceived by Australian-based PTW Architects. Structural design by Arup, of course.

clipped from www.sportsvenue-technology.com

clipped from images.google.com