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Environmental film wins Academy Award

Posted on March 8, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

The Cove's poster image

There were two environmental films in the Best Documentary category at the 2010 Academy Awards, but it was a film calling for an end of dolphin slaughter in Japan that took home the Oscar statuette.

The Cove was directed by Louie Psihoyos and features former Flipper , Ric O’Barry, who now dedicates his life to putting an end to the captive dolphin industry.

The movie focuses on a particular fishing village in Japan, Taiji, where every year thousands of dolphins are corralled and brutally killed, turning the sea around the village into a huge pool of blood. Dolphin meat is notorious for being laden with mercury. Besides, the real profit comes from the multi-billion captive dolphin industry, to which the fishermen sell some of the dolphins they capture.

Besides the shocking theme, the film captured the world’s attention for its action thriller structure. In order to make the film, the activists had to use state-of-the-art equipment to avoid the locals’ paranoid and aggressive surveillance, as the filmmakers were not welcome to film the gruesome proceedings in Taiji. The result is a mixture of investigative journalism and stunning imagery that culminates with the revelation of what goes on at the cove.

The producers now hope that the Oscar win will increase exposure for the film in Japan, although those interested in continuing with this cruel and environmentally unsound trade have been making threats against them.

The popular exposé of the food industry Food Inc. was the other environmental movie competiting for the Best Documentary award.

Trailer for The Cove

Lähde: EnergyRefuge.com Blog

Windpower firm to setup IT Hub

Posted on March 4, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

The Vestas Services Philippines Inc. is scheduled to be inaugurated this evening and will eventually hire 200 local employees by 2011 with an initial start this year of 100 hirees. They currently have 25 employees already in their stable.

The site will support Vestas global operations providing backend support for the operation of 11,500 turbines worldwide. Their tasks include surveillance, service desk and programming. Vestas already has similar facilities in Denmark, Singapore and the US.

The company said that they were considering seven other countries but chose the Philippines because of the skilled talent poll here and the abundant wind energy sources in the country. Vestas has been responsible for supplying the 20 turbines in the wind farms in Ilocos Norte.

[source]

Lähde: Alternat1ve.com - One Alternative Energy Blog

Europe set to meet 2020 renewable energy targets, says analysis

Posted on March 2, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

Image: EWEA

A new report by the European Wind Energy Association predicts that the EU will meet its 2020 20% renewable energy target, or even exceed it in some cases. The analyses covered all 27 Member States.

Spain and Germany are the top achievers in the analysis, with estimates of 22.7% and 18.7%, respectively. Italy sits at the bottom of the ranking. The country believes it will have to import renewable energy from non-EU countries such as Albania, Croatia, Serbia and Tunisia to meet its national target.

Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden expect to exceed their targets as well whereas Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Bulgaria and Denmark may not achieve their set renewable energy goals by 2020.

“Europe has witnessed a sea-change since the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive was agreed as in 2008 many countries were stating that their target would be difficult to meet – now the majority are forecasting that they will meet or exceed their national target” said Justin Wilkes, Policy Director of EWEA.

Via Earth 911

Lähde: EnergyRefuge.com Blog

Reed Bank contractor allots $3M for next stage of exploration

Posted on February 27, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

Forum Energy, who owns the service contract (SC 72) of the disputed Oil Rich Reed Bank has allotted $3M for exploring the oil resource in the said area. Forum Energy has 70% ownership of SC 72, while Philex Mining in 2008 acquired 65% ownership of Forum Energy.

Exploration stage is projected to last seven years that will be broken down into 4 phases.

First phase will have an 18 month period with goals to drill one exploratory well or have acquired 250 sq km of 3D seismic data or 2D High resolution seismic data. 2nd Phase will have a duration of 24 months and will generally be further drilling and exploration. If ever there is any significant discovery the service contract stipulates a 25 year duration for oil production.

The Reed Bank is an area west of Palawan and within the Philippines 320 km exclusive economic zone but its ownership however is disputed by the countries of China and Vietnam. Exploration of the Reed Bank has shown that it could contain about 3.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 440 million barrels of oil

[source]

Lähde: Alternat1ve.com - One Alternative Energy Blog

Bloom Energy’s clean energy technology

Posted on February 23, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

The internet is buzzing with Bloom Energy’s “Bloom Boxes”, which are small fuel cell boxes the company says could meet the electricity needs of any household. The flurry of media coverage was sparked by an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes (see video below), which called the invention “a power plant in a box”.

K.R. Sridhar, Bloom Energy’s founder and former rocket scientist, spoke to Lesley Stahl about the process (energy is produced through a combination of air and any fuel source, including solar) and he comes across as a true genius with a vision. Skeptics question the viability of the project, but companies such as eBay and Google are testing Bloom Box and seem happy about it. Even former Secretary of State Colin Powell makes a surprising appearance and says that believes the technology could be part of the energy solution the world is looking for.

It does sound promising, although the company is still quite secretive about its technology – the interview was more like a sneak preview than a fully-fledged launch. In a nutshell, if successful, Bloom Boxes would spell independence from the grid and that would be something amazing to achieve.

Watch the video below. What do you think about Bloom Box?

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Lähde: EnergyRefuge.com Blog

New wave of criticism against biofuels hits the media

Posted on February 15, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

Image via Wikipedia

The week has not started off on a good note for biofuels. As the European biofuel industry prepares to meet in Amsterdam in mid-March, a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) warns that “business-as-usual agricultural expansion to meet biofuel production targets for 2020 will take a heavy toll on Brazil’s Amazon rainforest in coming years, undermining the potential emissions savings of transitioning from fossil fuels to biofuels”, wrote Mongabay. Efforts to promote high-yielding oil crops such as oil palm combined with cattle ranching are the main factors driving Amazon deforestation, it said.

Meanwhile, UK environmentalists have added their voices to the chorus of protest against the construction of a biofuel plant in Avonmouth, near Bristol. According to a BBC report, Friends of the Earth said “demand for the main source of oil – tropical palm trees – outstripped supply”, so the plant is not sustainable. City planners will make a decision on the scheme on February 24th. For further information on the environmental problems associated with palm oil, go here.

Elsewhere, ActionAid, a UK-based charity, today released a report warning that up to 100 million more people could go hungry if member states agree to increase the consumption of biofuels in line with EU targets. Maize, wheat, sugar cane, palm oil, soy and rapeseed are the main sources of biofuel and ActionAid says rising demand has put them into competition with those crops grown for food, driving prices up and increasing global hunger. Despite this, the EU in 2008 committed to obtaining 10% of transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020 and will do so with industrial biofuels, increasing consumption four times current levels. As much as two-thirds are likely to be imported, the majority from developing countries”, says the organization.

Lähde: EnergyRefuge.com Blog

Report says wildlife negatively affected by corn ethanol crops

Posted on February 8, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

Image via Wikipedia

A new report by National Wildlife Federation exposes a very undesirable consequence of corn biofuel production. The report says that wildlife in the Prairie Pothole Region is suffering from the ever expanding production of corn ethanol, which, thanks to government incentives, is driving farmers to convert land into corn production. As a consequence, grassland bird populations are decreasing rapidly.

The study analyzed the impact of corn ethanol production on wildlife and habit in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The report says U.S. ethanol capacity has grown almost 200 percent and with the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) 15-billion gallon requirement for 2015, production is set to increase and so will habitat and wildlife destruction.

“Oftentimes these incentives are redundant, driving market demand for corn ethanol and putting undue pressure on the land,” said Julie Sibbing, director of global warming, agriculture and wildlife at the National Wildlife Federation. “The system makes it hard for farmers to resist converting native grassland into cropland or to keep their land in the Conservation Reserve Program.”

In order to prevent further environmental degradation, the study recommends a change in government mandates and financial support for ethanol; protection of prairies and wetlands from conversion; strengthening of the Conversation Reserve Program (CRP) and additional research.

To read the full report, go here.

Lähde: EnergyRefuge.com Blog

Philippine Reproductive Health Bill stalled in Congress

Posted on February 3, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

Congress once again failed to pass a bill to help arrest the population growth that is spiralling out of control. Major reason why all population control measures get waylaid is because of the opposition of the very powerful Catholic Church to artificial means of reproduction control because of the right to life and the belief that children are a blessing from God.

Some post modern civilizations crumbled when they could not provide for their population anymore.

After 3 years of writing this blog, I’ve come to the realization that global warming is just a by product of a runaway population and that if we don’t have plans to control our population we should at least aim for space colonization.

It only takes one demagogue and pretty soon war will erupt again as countries try to amass territory to appease its masses.

[source, source]

Lähde: Alternat1ve.com - One Alternative Energy Blog

Wind Turbine Stymied By Cold Weather

Posted on February 2, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Sähkö, Uutiset.

This is sure to stir up some controversy about the reliability of renewable energy. The following video shows a news report from Minnesota about 12 wind turbines that won’t operate in cold weather due to an issue with the hydraulic fluid. The Minnesota State Municipal Power Association paid $300,000 for each of the turbines. What an amazing and tragic oversight. The news report indicates that there’s a plan to heat the fluid but that would likely require the use of electricity or fossil fuels thereby negating the benefits of the turbine.

There’s a very good lesson to be learned here. As excited as people are about bringing clean, renewable energy to their communities they should always perform due diligence when evaluating clean energy projects or vendors. In Minnesota you would need to have absolute assurance that a system exposed to the elements (which I would imagine could get extreme in Minnesota in the winter) will perform in all weather conditions.

© Clean Energy Digest - visit Clean Energy Digest for more great content.

Lähde: Clean Energy Digest

Wind power for cargo ships

Posted on February 1, 2010, under Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

Image by Tidewater Muse via Flickr

A German company called SkySails GmbH & Co. KG is helping cargo ships go green with a system called towing kite systems, a wind propulsion mechanism based on large towing kites.

The company says that depending on the prevailing wind conditions, a ship’s average annual fuel costs can be reduced by 10 to 35% by using its kite system. Under optimal wind conditions, fuel consumption can temporarily be reduced by 50%.

This is good news for the environment, as maritime carbon dioxide emissions account for 5% of the total. The company received the Technology Clean Tech award in 2008 in recognition for its work in the shipping sector.

Currently, SkySails offers towing kite propulsion systems for cargo vessels with an effective load of between 8 and 16 tons, but it says that it plans to increase its capacity to 32 tons in 2012 and that its planned product program comprises towing kite propulsion systems with an effective load of up to 130 tons.