After eight years of resisting cap-and-trade proposals as offered in the Kyoto Protocol, for instance, America is back as a leader on the issue of climate change and will press ahead with policy changes that address environmental and economic challenges that are now interlinked, according to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) Kerry, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made those comments in speaking with reporters during a conference call Tuesday. The call was organized to address an upcoming climate change conference (Dec. 1-12) in Poznan, Poland. With scientific evidence weighing in favor of the idea that global warming is man made, it is imperative for the global community to shift away from dependence on fossil fuels and to a green economy as a matter of survival, Kerry said. ‘You can’t be half-pregnant on this issue, he said. ‘You can’t accept the science and say ‘yes, global warming is man made and yes, climate change is happening faster than the scientists in fact thought it was going to,’ and then not accept the same scientific conclusions with respect to what that impact is and what we’re already witnessing. Kerry expressed concern […]
Recently, we were asked ‘What companies make Air Powered Cars?’ Given all the noise that surfaced about 10 months ago concerning the state of this amazing technology we thought an update was needed. There are at least three companies working on producing compressed air-powered vehicles. The most well-known is MDI, based in France. MDI is headed up by Guy Negre (www.mdi.lu). It is MDI’s company that has, or had, an agreement with Tata Motors (India) to bring an air car to market. MDI (with an American affiliate) exhibited a working prototype of the car at last Spring’s NY Auto Show, where it won an award for innovation. When Guy Negre originally made his deal with Tata Motors it was said that the vehicle would be ready for distribution in some global markets by 4th quarter of this year (2008). So far there’s no sign of it, and the status of his relationship with Tata is unknown. For several years, Guy Negre had an associate in Spain, Miguel Celades Rex, but a business dispute ended their relationship. Miquel now runs Air Car Factories in Barcelona (www.aircarfactories.com). At the beginning of 2008 Air Car Factories also announced that they […]
SAN FRANCISCO — The city of Los Angeles plans to develop and sign contracts for 1,280 megawatts of solar power generation by 2020, but critics question the cost of the plan. The city-owned utility, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, plans to install 130 MW of rooftop solar panels on city homes by 2016 and develop 400 MW of commercial and industrial rooftop solar generation by 2014, the city said. The 400-MW piece of the plan would cost $3 billion, but that amount could be reduced by as much as two-thirds if federal tax subsidies, accelerated depreciation and volume discounts are factored in, the city said. The city hasn’t released details for how much the larger plan would cost, or how it would be carried out, and details on the 400-MW component are slim, leading to criticism of the plan. ‘Our members want to know how much this 400 megawatts will cost and how much the rate increases will be,’ said Gary Toebben, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. ‘None of this information is available.’ As part of the plan, LADWP for the first time would allow so-called third- party […]
SAN FRANCISCO — California officials will investigate accusations that the Mormon Church neglected to report a battery of nonmonetary contributions - including phone banks, a Web site and commercials - on behalf of a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage. Roman Porter, the executive director of the Fair Political Practices Commission, which oversees California campaign finance laws, signed off on the investigation after reviewing a sworn complaint filed on Nov. 13. The complaint, filed by Fred Karger, founder of the group Californians Against Hate, asserted that the church’s reported contributions - about $5,000, according to state election filings - vastly underestimated its actual efforts in passing Proposition 8, which amended the state’s Constitution to recognize only male-female marriage. Broadly speaking, California state law requires disclosure of any money spent or services provided to influence the outcome of an election. Mr. Porter said the announcement of the investigation was not ‘a determination on the validity of the claims or the culpability of the individuals, but that the claims had been reviewed by a lawyer for the commission and its chief of enforcement and deemed worth pursuing. Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ […]
The incidence of new cancer cases has been falling in recent years in the United States, the first time such an extended decline has been documented, researchers reported Tuesday. Cancer diagnosis rates decreased by an average of 0.8 percent annually from 1999 to 2005, the last year for which data are available, according to an annual report by the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and other scientific organizations. Death rates from cancer continued to decline as well, a trend that began some 15 years ago, the report also noted. It was published online in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ‘Each year that you see these steady declines it gives you more confidence that we’re moving in the right direction, said Dr. John E. Niederhuber, director of the National Cancer Institute, who is not an author of the report. ‘This is not just a blip on the screen. Death rates from cancer fell an average of 1.8 percent each year from 2002 to 2005, according to the new report. Although last year’s report said death rates dropped an average of 2.1 percent each year from 2002-4, a 1 percent decrease in 2005, described […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
