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Al Gore to Lay Out Unprecedented Challenge on Energy and Climate
Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore will outline his bold vision for the future of America’s energy needs at D.A.R. Constitution Hall this Thursday, July 17. The speech will be hosted by the “We” Campaign, a fast-growing organization focused on solutions to the climate crisis.
The speech will offer a new way of thinking about our energy production and consumption and a new sense of what is possible when we choose to work together. It will propose a means of tapping America’s innovative skills to build a more secure energy future.
Who: Former Vice President Al Gore
What: A discussion on the future of America’s energy needs
Where: D.A.R. Constitution Hall – 1776 D St., NW, Washington, DC
When: Thursday, July 17 at 12:00 p.m. EDT:
Media should plan to arrive at least an hour before the speech begins.
Additional notes for broadcast media:
Pre-set: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EDT
Final access: 12 Noon EDT
Press entrance: D Street entrance (between 17th St. and 18th St.)
Throw: 60 feet
Satellite truck parking: Directed on site
Cable run: 350 feet
Power, mult box to be provided on riser
About the “We” Campaign:
The “We” Campaign is a commercial-scale organizing and mobilizing effort using paid advertising, grassroots partnerships and online activation to build strong support for solutions to the climate crisis. The scale of the campaign is unprecedented: it is on track to be the largest public policy advocacy campaign ever and expects to reach 10 million members within three years. “We” is the work of the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit group founded by Al Gore, who currently serves as the chairman of the bipartisan board of directors. For more information, please visit
http://www.wecansolveit.org. Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore will outline his bold vision for the future of America’s energy needs at D.... more -
Improv Everywhere Hits New York Subway
Improv Everywhere freaked people out by filling a subway car full of identical twins; creating a human mirror. Wish I was there to see it. Improv Everywhere freaked people out by filling a subway car full of identical twins; creating a human mirror. Wish I was there to see... more
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Sale of 1 house will help 30 villages; Family will donate proceeds from sale of $8...
I think I just found my new role models...
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Africa's Congo Basin forest aided by satellite tree felling survey
A project to map every place in the world's second-largest tropical forest where trees have been cut down will be announced today.
A purpose-built camera will be sent into space to record every clearing and logger's track in the Congo Basin in Africa to determine how much of the forest is left.
The camera will be fixed to a satellite and should be operational by the end of 2010 as part of an initiative to save the Central African tropical forest from being chopped down.
At twice the size of France, the Congo Basin forest is exceeded in extent only by the Amazon but it is estimated that loggers, many of them illegal, destroy an area the size of 25,000 football pitches every week.
Forests absorb huge quantities of carbon but it is released when they are cut down and their preservation is regarded as one of the biggest challenges by those trying to slow the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change.
Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, will announce extra funding to save the forest today when he explains the camera project. It will record the forest in more detail than before.
A project to map every place in the world's second-largest tropical forest where trees have been cut down will be announced today. ... more -
Prepare yourself for the Space Nazis
"Iron Sky" is an independent science-fiction film about Nazis attacking earth from their base on the moon. Don't laugh, yo. It could happen.
Cool thing about this film, besides the beautiful teaser that's been floating around the web for a month or so now, is that it's being produced with a collaborative and distributed production model, as in, with the help of anyone, anywhere in the world, who wants to be involved.
It will be interesting to see if this kind of model can sustain such an ambitious project. While you ponder your thoughts on that issue, enjoy their pretty eye candy. "Iron Sky" is an independent science-fiction film about Nazis attacking earth from their base on the moon. Don't laugh, yo. It could... more -
A Genius Outside the Academy
The Hip Hop Caucus tour featuring Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. Yearwood is a minister, community activist, military chaplain, and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop. A powerful and fiery orator. The Hip Hop Caucus tour featuring Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. Yearwood is a minister, community activist, military chaplain, and one of ... more
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Can Blind Individuals Take Advantage of This New Technology?
iPhone 3G;
Can Blind and People with Disabilities Take Advantage of This New Technology?
Seems promising, GPS navigation, Half Price. iPhone 3G; Can Blind and People with Disabilities Take Advantage of This New Technology? ... more -
Levitating train from L.A. to Las Vegas gets boost
Plans for a levitating train from Las Vegas to Disneyland can move forward under a transportation bill signed by President Bush on Friday that frees up $45 million for the futuristic project.
Derided by critics as pie in the sky, the train would use magnetic levitation technology to carry passengers from Disneyland to Las Vegas in well under two hours, traveling at speeds of up to 300 mph. It would be the first MagLev system in the U.S.
The money is the largest cash infusion in the project's nearly 20-year history. It will pay for environmental studies for the first leg of the project.
The money had been delayed by a drafting error in Congress' 2005 highway bill, which was corrected along with some other changes by the legislation signed Friday by Bush. The delay had allowed a competing and cheaper diesel-electric plan to emerge as an alternative, but with the money now freed up supporters hope to move forward with the MagLev plan.
The train is meant to ease traffic on increasingly clogged Interstate 15, the main route for the millions of Southern Californians who make the 250-plus-mile drive to Las Vegas each year. There is no train on the route — Amtrak's Desert Wind between Los Angeles and Las Vegas was canceled in 1997 because of low ridership.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., praised passage of the law, saying the MagLev project "will safely and efficiently move people between Southern California and Las Vegas." Plans for a levitating train from Las Vegas to Disneyland can move forward under a transportation bill signed by President Bush on Fri... more -
Electric SUV can go 40 miles for $1 - US auto makers uninterested
"Edward Furia says the electric car technology his Bellevue-based firm, AFS Trinity Power Corp., has developed could end the United States' dependence on oil.
AFS Trinity's prototype sport utility vehicles can go 40 miles on a single charge from a standard electric outlet, at which point a gas-powered engine takes over. The SUVs reach top speeds of 90 mph on the highway -- and accelerate without a hitch, as Furia demonstrated while speeding Monday on Westlake Avenue North.
Gov. Chris Gregoire will take one of the firm's two working prototypes on a test drive Tuesday.
"They can go 40 miles for a dollar, for a dollar," Furia shouted, referring to the cost of power.
One problem, though: No automaker has agreed yet to license AFS Trinity's technology, so it isn't commercially available.
"I've gotten as far as I wanted to," Furia said, adding that AFS Trinity has worked on the technology for the past four years. "Do I want to be a car company exec? No way."
Furia, AFS Trinity's chief executive officer, said he wants major car makers in the U.S., Asia, and Europe to license his company's technology and build cars that use it.
So far, discussions with U.S. automakers are "preliminary"
"They have nibbled; they haven't bitten," he said. But he said foreign car makers have pursued the firm's technology "aggressively."
Still, he said, there is a "lot of institutional resistance" in the U.S.
After all, to choose just one example, he said, an electric car would need little maintenance -- a big moneymaker for car manufacturers". "Edward Furia says the electric car technology his Bellevue-based firm, AFS Trinity Power Corp., has developed could end the United St... more -
Green Bay considers ordinance to clamp down on loud mufflers
Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt wants to send a message to people who ride motorcycles with loud, illegal mufflers. He hopes to give regular citizens a chance to help with enforcement. We only see motorcycles about six months out of the year, but to Mayor Jim Schmitt the noise resonates year-round.
"They're so loud and just obnoxious," he said of loud mufflers.
He's sick and tired of souped-up motorcycles with mufflers that aren't street legal disrupting city streets. "It's annoying. It's disrespectful," the mayor said. "It's disrespectful to your neighbor and something that we need to enforce more."
Updated: June 3, 2008 09:28 PM
http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=8415133
By Chris Duffy Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt wants to send a message to people who ride motorcycles with loud, illegal mufflers. He hopes to give regul... more -
Satellite images show Papua New Guinea deforestation at critical level
The forests of Papua New Guinea are being chopped down so quickly that more than half its trees could be lost by 2021, according to a new satellite study of the region.
The study, by the University of Papua New Guinea and the Australian National University, found that deforestation is much more widespread than was previously thought, even in so-called conservation areas. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has the world's third largest tropical forest, but it was being cleared or degraded at a rate of 362,000 hectares (895,000 acres) a year in 2001, the report said.
Phil Shearman, lead author of the study, said: "The unfortunate reality is that forests in Papua New Guinea are being logged repeatedly and wastefully with little regard for the environmental consequences and with at least the passive complicity of government authorities." The destruction will drive global warming, because tropical forests are an important store of carbon.
The researchers compared satellite images taken over three decades from the early 1970s. In 1972, the country had 38m hectares (94m acres), of rainforest covering 82% of the country. About 15% of that was cleared by 2002.
"For the first time, we have evidence of what's happening in the PNG forests," Shearman said. " The government could make a significant contribution to global efforts to combat climate change. It is in its own interest to do so, as this nation is particularly susceptible to negative effects due to loss of the forest cover."
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WE HAVE TO STOP. We also have to support any tree planting initiative and frankly, I think one should be part of any climate change bill passed in this country. The forests of Papua New Guinea are being chopped down so quickly that more than half its trees could be lost by 2021, according to a ... more -
FIX OR DITCH this lame global warming bill!
Senators who want real action on global warming should go on record with their votes on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. The bill as it currently stands is unacceptable unless amended to adopt the scientific standard of 80 percent reduction and strip massive handouts to polluters. Unless these faults can be fixed, senators serious about addressing climate change must reject this bill and focus on passing better legislation next year for a new president to sign.
Please SIGN this!
Senators who want real action on global warming should go on record with their votes on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. The... more -
Amazon Indians lead battle against power giant's plan to flood rainforest
The Amazonian city of Altamira played host to one of the more uneven contests in recent Brazilian history this week, as a colourful alliance of indigenous leaders gathered to take on the might of the state power corporation and stop the construction of an immense hydroelectric dam on a tributary of the Amazon. By Patrick Cunningham in Altamira, Brazil The Amazonian city of Altamira played host to one of the more uneven contests in recent Brazilian history this week, as a colourful al... more
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Free energy coming? US Patent 7291944 - Electromagnetic engine
US Patent 7291944 - Electromagnetic engine
US Patent Issued on November 6, 2007
The electromagnetic engine operates by having the solenoids receive input power from an external electrical power source and providing output power to the output shaft. The magnets include four outer magnets and four inner magnets. The inner magnets have magnetic forces that oppose the magnetic forces of the outer magnets. Electrical power provided to the solenoids causes the solenoids to oscillate the outer magnets. Springs provide stability and assist the solenoids.
Once the electromagnetic motor has reached operating speed, it generates sufficient electrical energy to continue driving the electromagnetic motor for a period of time. Input energy can be supplied to the solenoids by an auxiliary electrical generator. However, the efficiency of the electromagnetic motor enables the output shaft to perform useful work. Useful work may be in the form of a mechanical attachment to the output shaft for the purpose of driving an auxiliary mechanical device. Alternatively, an electrical generator may be attached directly to the output shaft to provide electrical output energy to other electrical devices.
Source: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7291944/fulltext.html
The device shown in the video is different from the listed patent. Though they both share the same approach to harnessing power from magnetic energy.
US Patent 7291944 - Electromagnetic engine US Patent Issued on November 6, 2007 ... more -
It’s the Stupid Politics!
The world's poor are paying the price for years of bad government policy in agriculture.
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Soaring food prices and the rural poor
The prices of basic food commodities have increased rapidly over the past three years. In only the first quarter of 2008, wheat and maize prices increased by 130 percent and 30 percent respectively over 2007 figures. Rice prices, while rising moderately in 2006 and more so in 2007, rose 10 percent in February 2008 and a further 10 percent in March 2008. The threat to food security in developing countries increases in stride. Coordinated action by the international community, and by the United Nations in particular, is essential. "Responding effectively to the impact of higher food prices must be a top priority for the global community, particularly when the impact is combined with the projected effects of climate change", says Lennart Båge, IFAD's President. The prices of basic food commodities have increased rapidly over the past three years. In only the first quarter of 2008, wheat and ma... more
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Investors demand tougher US climate legislation
An influential coalition of investors has this week called on the US Senate to deliver binding emission reduction targets or risk undermining firms' long-term competitiveness.
The group of more than 50 institutional investors, including Deutsche Asset Management, F&C Asset Management, and the world's largest hedge fund the Man Group, wrote to senate majority leader Harry Reid and senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, calling for a national climate policy to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by between 60 and 90 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.
The targets are in line with those proposed under the Lieberman-Warner climate bill, which will be debated in the Senate early next month.
The letter also urges Senate leaders to increase pressure on regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue clear guidance on what climate change risks firms should disclose to investors.
The coalition, which has been organised by ethical investment lobby group Ceres, said there was a strong business case for enacting more stringent carbon targets and legislation.
"Investors hate uncertainty, and that is the problem they face today," said Mindy S Lubber, president of Ceres and director of INCR. "Strong and decisive action from Washington will open the floodgates on large-scale clean technology investments, enabling US investors and businesses to lead instead of lag on climate change solutions."
Oregon state treasurer Randall Edwards, whose office manages $80bn (£40bn) in assets, agreed that far from damaging the economy as its critics claim, the Lieberman-Warner bill would create opportunities for investors. "It is time for Congress to step up to the plate and tackle climate change. Any further delay is inexcusable," he said "The Lieberman-Warner bill would give investors such as myself the ability to see the risks involved so we can begin rebuilding our economy by investing in green technologies."
The calls come in the same week as Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer released an overview of a package of amendments to the Lieberman-Warner bill which are expected to form part of the proposed legislation. The amendments contain a number of measures designed to minimise the financial impact of the planned cap-and-trade scheme, including a mechanism to reduce the price of carbon credits if they hit a certain level and proposals for an $800bn (£400bn) tax relief fund to help consumers cope with rising energy costs.
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Yes, 90% by 2050... That's what I'm talking about.This bill is going to be debated on the floor starting tomorrow. Please contact your senators and tell them that even though this is a start, we need to do much better to pass a more comprehensive bill that truly meets the demands and addresses the adverse effects climate change will have on our country and our world if left unchecked. And that means new forms of energy aggressively brought to market to wean us off the destructive energies that pollute our planet and put us all at risk. An influential coalition of investors has this week called on the US Senate to deliver binding emission reduction targets or risk unde... more -
Better than gasohol, new solution traps CO2 right at the power plant!
Fortune Magazine, April 28, 2008... US companies [!] are working on a new technology that is more efficient than growing just about any plant crops for biofuel. The technology will surprise you.
It can be bolted on to coal plants and not only sequester CO2 but create biofuel as a byproduct!
Scale this baby up and it'll help give us the time to develop more efficient wind and solar-electric solutions!
Reduce your taxes by turning off the flow of your money to wasteful corn-based biofuels!
Open your mind to this possibility! ................... Fortune Magazine, April 28, 2008... US companies [!] are working on a new technology that is more efficient than growing just about an... more -
People are not wildlife
How we can even consider running a road through these HUMAN’s lives is beyond my ability to comprehend, have we learned nothing? As a species we are failing ourselves. Sadly we will deserve what we get… more sadly WE will never be around to suffer the consequences. We pass that pain on to our children and grandchildren. How we can even consider running a road through these HUMAN’s lives is beyond my ability to comprehend, have we learned nothing? As a... more
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Thousands of Iraqis take to the streets to oppose occupation
It must have been frightening to stand and protest the continued occupation with armed soldiers all over the country.
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