Category: Environment

“Nuclear: Wrong Answer” Greenpeace Tells Blair

Greenpeace activists entered a conference where Tony Blair was about to deliver a speech about the positive qualities of nuclear power and told the attendees that nuclear power is very dangerous. Blair champions the construction of new nuclear power plants.

Blair’s presence at the conference was kept secret, but rumors swirled that he would be present.

From the article:

“After a 40-minute stand-off – during which the protesters dropped yellow “nuclear fall-out” confetti on the delegates and Mr Blair went off and had a cup of tea – the CBI’s director general, Sir Digby Jones, emerged, somewhat embarrassed, to say that the speech would go ahead in another room.”

The Next Kyoto Protocol

This week in Montreal the United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held. Is this a good place?The conference is a meeting of all the countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol to see what the next Protocol should look like. The results of this conference are imperative to the planet’s future, some people are interested in a looser set of requirements, and others want a different set of measurements to set targets.

Evidence that climate change is very dangerous to humanity is now being recognized and hopefully this will be acknowledged on an official and international level in Montreal this week.

Microwave Water to Save Energy

Pulsar Advanced Technologies will launch a new product that heats water on demand. It is a water heater that has super-heating capabilities because it uses microwaves to heat the water. By heating on demand it means that hot water will not have to be stored, which means that the deadly Legionella Pneumophila is a non-threat.

The heater, affectionately known as the Vulcanus MK4, will be shown in Toronto at a construction conference next week. The Vulcans MK4 can heat water from near-freezing to near-boiling in seconds.

Chinese Eco-Cities

The Guardian has reported that a few British companies have signed contracts to help build some environmentally friendly cities in China.

From the article “The eco-cities are regarded both as a prototype for urban living in over-populated and polluted environments and as a magnet for investment funds into the rapidly growing Chinese economy.”

It is arguable, and I suppose ironic, that the way that the Chinese government is structured that makes initiatives like this feasible, unlike in many Western nations. The article was also published before the recent oil spill, but the oil spill has sparked demands for more environmental action (thanks, Emily!).

For more information on the technical aspects of the first sustainable city check out the press release from Arup. This is a huge step in the right direction for China (which is notorious for poor environmental protection) and further places China in an international lead when it comes to environmentally friendly societies.

Solar in the SoCal

Wired has a really good article on a new solar power initiatives in California.
a good source of energy
From the article:

“There is a possibility with this project that solar energy could go commercial in a big way for the first time,” said Alexander. “It’s playing in the big leagues.”

Instead of using panels of photovoltaic cells — solar power’s mainstay technology for decades — Stirling Energy Systems uses 40-foot-tall curved dishes that focus the sun’s energy onto Stirling engines