Update: Europe Bans X-Ray Full-Body Scanners Over Health Concerns

The Europeans, for whom data privacy is kind of a capital-T thing and has been for a very long time, had been slow to deploy full-body scanners across the continent in part exactly because of privacy concerns. The new policy introduces a number of safeguards that will be very familiar to US travelers: no storing of the images, no looking at the images except from a different room, and no forcing passengers to walk through the machines without offering an opt-out.

And then there's the part that's glaringly different from the US. Airports that use full-body scanners will not be allowed to use x-ray devices, only millimeter-wave devices. Europe has decided that the health effects of x-ray scanners haven't been studied enough, and that they could pose "health and safety" risks to passengers."

'via Blog this'Europe Bans X-Ray Full-Body Scanners Over Health Concerns || Jaunted:

Update: China Development Bank Provide Critical Support for Hydro Project (Alternative Energy for Climate Change)

"China Development Bank focuses on such areas as infrastructure development, industrial upgrading, regional coordination, and development and improvement of public welfare. Its mission is to strengthen China's competitiveness and improve the living standards of its people. In 2010, the bank issued debt securities totaling RMB850 billion (US$133.6 billion) and provided electric sector loans totaling RMB509.6 billion ($80.1 billion).

The bank has provided financial support to many power generation and transmission/distribution projects in China, including the Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba hydro projects on the Jinshajiang River."

'via Blog this'Banks Provide Critical Support for Hydro Project Development: In July 2011, the bank signed a $2 billion credit with Ecuador's government to support irrigation and hydro projects. Of this total, $680 million will be used for four hydro plants, including 21 MW Mazar-Dudas, 276 MW Minas San Francisco, 50 MW Quijos and 15 MW Villonaco. The eight-year loan has a 6.9% interest rate and two-year grace period.

And in October 2010, the bank agreed to lend more than $11 billion to China Three Gorges Corp., developer of the 22,400 MW Three Gorges project. The credit lines will come as $7.2 billion and another $4 billion over five years and will be used to develop other hydro projects, as well as to build wind farms and undertake power projects in overseas markets. As of the time of this announcement, China Development Bank had loaned CNY47.8 billion ($7.5 billion) to China Three Gorges Corp. and its affiliates.