UPDATE: Giant Philippine storms show climate change threat: Greenpeace

Greenpeace global chief Kumi Naidoo said Sunday increasingly violent storms hitting the Philippines showed the world had to act on climate change, as Typhoon Hagupit barrelled across the country. Naidoo was in the Philippines to "bear witness" to the damage done by Hagupit, the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year, and planned to visit some of the worst-affected areas on Monday. "Nature does not negotiate. We actually have to wake up and smell the coffee. We need to understand that we are running out of time," he said, in a warning to UN negotiators meeting in Lima, Peru, to hammer out the broad outlines of a new world pact on global warming. Naidoo, the international executive director of the environmental group, said that the typhoon passing over the Philippines was an example of the massive damage poorer countries would experience if climate change worsens. He said the storms hitting the Southeast Asian archipelago were getting stronger and stronger, showing the urgency for world governments to act quickly.https://ph.news.yahoo.com/giant-philippine-storms-show-climate-change-threat-greenpeace-202749347.html

BRAZIL: Cleanest and Most Renewable Energy Matrix on the Planet

Green Industrial Revolution can replace carbon-generated and even nuclear power infrastructures with renewable energy, storage system technologies, and smart green on-site distributed grids

Prompted by the Arab Oil Embargo of the 1970s, the Green Industrial Revolution started to emerge at the end of the 20th century. Initially proclaimed as occurring in northern Europe, it actually began in Japan and South Korea before it emerged in Europe. As a small and densely populated island nation of 130 million people, Japan has a tradition for the need of energy, but with "no waste" that dates back to the Middle Ages. By the 1980s, Japan and South Korea were concerned with the need to become energy independent and secure. As a result, they developed national policies and programs to reduce their growing dependency on foreign fuels. By the beginning of the 21st century, China had leapfrogged the USA into this new era, driven by unprecedented economic growth and development, urbanization and infrastructure needs. In northern Europe, the Green Industrial Revolution received a big push from Germany's Energiewende and its feed-in-tariff (FiT) program. Germany became the number one producer and installer of solar panels for homes, offices, and large open areas from 2006-09. In 2010, Italy then took the FiT concept into its economic and culture so that it held the distinction of world leader in solar panel installation. China took the lead in 2011 and continues as the number one solar panel and photovoltaic manufacturer and installer. Japan is now leading in auto manufacturing, jumping ahead of the competition with its hybrids. The Green Industrial Revolution, with its extraordinary new technologies and promise of thousands of new green jobs, is trying to come to America. It is hampered by the lack of a national energy policy, and a political process that is beholden to the fossil fuel industry. Big Oil and now Natural Gas, which calls itself "clean energy", have been America's "elephant-in-the room" for over a hundred years, exploiting the nation's resources, pushing the country into a dependence on foreign oil producers who are politically destabilizing, and not aligned with our national interests. The natural gas industry sees the rise and commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell cars from all the auto manufacturers around the world as its future. The industry anticipates being "selected" as the primarily source for hydrogen to refuel the thousands of hydrogen-powered cars predicted to be on the roads, starting with California and other areas of the US in 2015. A recent biding process in California awarded 20 out of 25 hydrogen refueling stations to one natural gas company. And Yes. There are ethical and conflict of interest issues in this process and the one company selected. These companies have "influenced" decisions made on the refueling stations as they know that these stations will need to be paid for over decades and make the consumers of all transportation systems dependent upon them: drilling, processing, pumping (pipelines and trains) as well as reforming into hydrogen energy for vehicles. A new era of sustainability and carbonless energy generation is here now. The push , public policy, economics and technologies for renewable energy with a carbonless lifestyle will become history's largest social and economic megatrend. The potential of extraordinary benefits in the form of economic revival, innovation, emerging technologies, and significant job growth for those nations capable of fast entry is here today. Developing nations know this. Developed ones, like the US are still trapped in the Second and Third Industrial Revolutions. Indeed, the world has changed Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/woodrow-clark/green-industrial-revolution_b_6045660.html

UPDATE: Any Climate Deal From Upcoming Summit Likely To Be Too Weak To Stop Warming - Reuters

A global deal to combat climate change in 2015 looks more likely after promises for action by China, the United States and the European Union, but any agreement will probably be too weak to halt rising temperatures. Delegates from almost 200 nations will meet in Lima, Peru, from Dec. 1-12 to work on the accord due in Paris in a year's time, also spurred by new scientific warnings about risks of floods, heatwaves, ocean acidification and rising seas. After failure to agree a sweeping U.N. treaty at a summit in Copenhagen in 2009, the easier but less ambitious aim now is a deal made up of "nationally determined" plans to help reverse a 45 percent rise in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. "We are in much better shape," a year before Paris than in the run-up to Copenhagen, said Yvo de Boer, who was the U.N.'s climate chief in 2009 and now leads the Global Green Growth Institute in South Korea, which helps poor nations. The hope is that in Paris, delegates will also work out ways to ratchet up national plans in coming years to limit average temperatures rises to an agreed ceiling of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above levels before the Industrial Revolution. Temperatures have already climbed 0.85 C (1.5 F). "Not in my wildest dreams do I expect the Paris agreement to close the gap to 2 degrees," de Boer told Reuters. China, the United States and the European Union, which together account for more than half of world greenhouse gas emissions, have indicated they want some sort of global accord in Paris, sharply raising the chances of success for the summit. "The prognosis is vastly better than going into Copenhagen," said Robert Stavins, director of Harvard University's Environmental Economics Program. "The expectations (in 2008-09) were much too high."

CLEANING OF COAL INDUSTRY: CARBON CAPTURE & STORAGE: Clean up coal-fired power plants by capturing carbon dioxide & liquefying it for underground storage or commercial use

The key technology needed to drastically reduce CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants is carbon capture and storage, or CCS. All of the components of this system are in commercial operation today, At this point, they are employed mostly to enhance oil recovery. There are about 4,000 miles of pipeline in the U.S. transporting tens of millions of tons of compressed CO2 annually, mostly from natural wells, for injection into geologic formations to help extract oil. Numerous demonstration projects have shown that captured CO2 also can be safely and effectively stored in deep geologic formations, as most of it will be. Last month brought an important milestone: SaskPower’s Boundary Dam power plant in Canada officially opened as the world’s first commercial-scale coal power plant with CCS. About 90% of the plant’s CO2 is captured and piped about 40 miles for injection into oil fields. Next year, the Mississippi Power unit of Southern Co. will start operating a new clean-coal plant, and construction has just started on a clean-coal power plant in Texas. Other projects are being planned, most prominently in the U.S., U.K. and China. Clean coal will become more common because climate policy will demand cleaner power. For instance, an emissions restriction on coal-fired power plants in Canada was a major driver for the Boundary Dam project. There will be added costs to power providers. But clean coal won’t be so expensive that it can’t compete with renewable or nuclear resources. All three will find significant markets. Yes, clean coal will require massive infrastructure investments on a global scale—but so will a major expansion of renewable-energy projects. For the electricity price of the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts, we could easily build a clean-coal plant with CCS. A recently released assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed that clean-coal projects are projected to be competitive in a low-carbon world, and that excluding CCS from a mitigation-technology portfolio would more than double the cost of achieving climate-stabilization goals through 2100. Selling captured carbon for enhanced oil recovery can help reduce the cost of CCS. And new technologies under development could allow carbon to be captured with dramatically lower expenditure of energy. ............................... Why would implementing CCS be so expensive? For starters, capturing and storing the carbon from coal combustion is estimated to consume 25% to 45% of the power produced, depending on the approach taken. That translates to not only higher prices for coal-generated electricity but also the need for more plants to serve the same customers. Other technologies designed to make carbon capture more efficient aren’t commercial at this point, and their full costs are unknown. And there’s more. Capturing and burying just 38% of the carbon released from current U.S. coal combustion would entail pipelines, compressors and pumps on a scale equivalent to the size of the nation’s oil industry. And while bolting CCS technology onto existing power plants is possible, it is inefficient. A new generation of plants would do the job much better—but that means replacing roughly 600 current-generation power plants. Altogether, the Energy Department estimates that wholesale electricity prices with the initial generation of CCS technology would be 70% to 80% higher than current coal-based power. The discussion of CCS technology in a recent assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change contains too many qualifiers to be interpreted as a declaration that clean coal will be competitive with renewable fuels. Long term, the economics of coal are likely to get worse, with or withoutCCS. Coal is nonrenewable, finite in quantity and therefore subject to depletion. Rates of production from most regions of the U.S. are in decline. And as depletion forces the mining of lower-quality resources, production prices will rise because of the need for more-sophisticated extraction technologies. Declining output is inevitable sooner or later. Meanwhile, the price of electricity produced from solar and wind power is steadily dropping. The only thing that keeps coal-based electricity cheap today in relation to power from renewable sources is the industry’s ability to shift the hidden costs—environmental and health damage—onto society. If, as climate regulations inevitably kick in, the coal power industry adopts CCS as a survival strategy, any lingering economic advantage over wind and even solar will disappear. CCS also doesn’t address the full range of coal’s impact on society. It won’t banish high rates of lung disease, because it doesn’t eliminate all the pollutants from the combustion process or deal with the coal dust from mining and transport. It also doesn’t address the environmental devastation of “mountaintop removal” mining. This is not to say that “clean coal” has no future whatever. Coal plants with CCS will be built where captured carbon dioxide can be used to generate extra income—for example, by using it to stimulate old oil wells or make cement. But even a dramatic increase in such uses would put only a small fraction of carbon from coal to work. A full transition of today’s coal power industry to CCS is extremely unlikely unless the economics substantially change for some currently unforeseeable reason. And other technological advances, like more-efficient coal-fired plants, can only slow the growth of harmful emissions at best. In all likelihood, the real future lies elsewhere—with distributed renewable energy. Mr. Heinberg is a senior fellow-in-residence at the Post Carbon Institute, an advocate for renewable fuels. He can be reached at reports@wsj.com. Source: http://online.wsj.com/articles/does-clean-coal-technology-have-a-future-1416779351

POWER-GEN 2014 Women of the Year Award: Recognizing Women Leaders in the Power Industry

The Women in Power committee believed that it was important to give recognition to the pioneering women who have worked to advance the power industry. To do this, the committee asked power industry stakeholders to nominate women they admired for a Woman of the Year Award, which would be given out at POWER-GEN International. To judge the nominees, the committee came up with three focus areas. 2014 is the second year for this award. The first and most important accomplishment that the committee believed a potential Power-Gen Woman of the Year should have made is advancing the power industry. In addition, the committee judged nominees by their leadership abilities, as well as their ability to collaborate with, influence, and mentor others. Finally, the committee believed that a potential Power-Gen Woman of the Year should impact her community through industry associations and other organizations. After four months of collecting nominations, the 19-member committee voted on the nominees and came up with three finalists. One of these women will be named the Power-Gen 2014 Woman of the Year at the annual awards banquet on Monday, Dec. 8, which takes place at the Disney's Odyssey Pavilion at Epcot in Orlando, Fla. The banquet is part of the POWER-GEN International Conference and Exhibition and the co-located NUCLEAR POWER International Conference and Exhibition, Renewable Energy World Conference & Exhibition, North America and the Power-Gen Financial Forum. The 2014 Power-Gen Woman of the Year will give a keynote speech during the Women in Power Luncheon on Tuesday, December 9 at the Orange County Convention Center also as part of the co-located conferences.

GE wind-power business looks to global expansion, data services- exec

General Electric Co looking to grow its wind-power business by increasing installations of turbines globally while providing services such as data analytics to improve their performance, a top company energy executive said on Wednesday. The U.S. conglomerate plans to have a presence with its wind turbine business in 35 or more countries next year, up from eight in 2003. Anne McEntee, chief executive officer of GE's renewable energy business, pointed to the importance of diversifying into different countries to take advantage of where energy demand and policy are encouraging. "We have been putting a big focus on expanding our presence globally," McEntee said in an interview as GE on Wednesday commemorated the installation of its 25,000th wind turbine. "As you look at policy around the world, you are going to have ups and downs in various countries." GE does not disclose revenue for its wind business, which is part of its Power & Water segment, whose other products include gas turbines and generators. Last year, GE ranked as the world's fifth-biggest wind-turbine supplier, according to Navigant Research. GE is increasingly using software and data analysis throughout its industrial businesses to improve performance and efficiency of its machines so it can reap more service revenue. The company offers a product designed to help wind farm operators raise output by up to 5 percent by optimizing performance based on environmental conditions. "Our view is with technology advancements, the turbine that you buy today will run better tomorrow," McEntee said. GE said in October it expected a "very strong" fourth-quarter overall, including a big jump in wind turbine shipments. GE said at the time it expected shipments of about 3,000 wind turbines for 2014 overall. "It looks very strong," McEntee said, when asked about reaching that target. "Of course, it all depends on our customers' ability to close some of these deals financially. But we're pretty confident that we'll be able to hold the 3,000 shipments." (Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Diane Craft)

WAVE ENERGY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded NREL and SANDIA to work on a three-year collaborative project to develop a simulation tool

A number of initiatives aimed at speeding up the development of the wave energy sector have been launched in the U.S. and Europe. As part of the ongoing work to establish a viable United States wave energy industry, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SANDIA) are working on the creation of a sophisticated open-source modeling tool known as WEC-Sim — and the U.S. Department of Energy is also enlisting the coding community to help in its development. Meanwhile, the European WavePOD project is an industry-wide initiative that aims to solve the problem of converting captured wave energy into electricity by creating a "standardised self-contained offshore electricity generator for the wave industry." WEC-Sim Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded NREL and SANDIA to work on a three-year collaborative project to develop a simulation tool for the wave energy sector. A little over a year into the project, the team has already released the first version of the Wave Energy Converter Simulator (WEC-Sim), a customisable open-source numerical modeling tool designed to help the wave energy community to analyse and optimise wave-energy converters (WECs) and meet device-specific modeling needs. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/11/marine-energy-making-waves-on-both-sides-of-the-pond

RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2nd largest Generating Power in India plan to Expand its Renewable Energy via Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL)

The company is planning to acquire wind energy projects from three generators, CEO Rahul Shah said recently. The wind energy capacity in question is about 300 MW spread across southern India. The projects seem to be operational under long-term power purchase agreements at “competitive tariffs,” Shah added. Tata Power had earlier announced that all new capacity to be added over the next two years would be based on renewable energy. It plans to commission or acquire about 800 MW capacity based on wind, solar, hydro, and waste-to-power technology. This skewed business plan seems a result of the legal battle the company is fighting over tariffs for one of its coal-based power plants. Tata Power had commissioned India’s largest thermal power plant in Gujarat some time back. The tariff for the project was very low, determined through an auction conducted by the Indian government. The 4 GW Tata Mundra power plant is based on super critical coal technology with significantly lower emissions intensity compared to other coal-based power plants in the country. The power plant, however, uses coal imported from Indonesia, as Indian coal has higher ash content and lower calorific value. Following restrictions placed by the Indonesian government on the export of coal, the cost of generation exceeded the tariff quoted by Tata Power. The company has filed a petition to increase the tariff and is facing stiff resistance from the state utilities over this issue. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/23/stung-rising-coal-prices-indias-tata-power-plans-renewable-energy-acquisitions/

SOLAR ENERGY: PHILIPPINES: SM City North EDSA is Now the World's Largest Solar-Powered Mall! - Solar Philippines

Wellness in Environment: Solar Philippines, led by 21-year-old Leandro Leviste, partnered with SM Malls to build the solar panels that could generate up to 1.5-MW power. This is SM's second solar power project after it installed a 1.1-MW project at its SM City Xiamen mall in China. SM Supermalls president Annie Garcia said the 1.5-MW of electricity generated by the solar panels can power 16,000 light fixtures, 59 escalators and 20 elevators of SM North at the same time. This represents 5 percent of the mall's total electricity requirements. She said using the solar panels can generate up to P2 million in savings every month for SM North. Garcia said SM has two rooftop solar power projects by Solar Philippines in the pipeline --in SM Dasmarinas in Cavite and SM Mall of Asia in Paranaque. SM Dasmarinas will have a capacity of 0.8MW using 3,740 solar panels. It is expected to be operational by May 2015. SM Mall of Asia will also have 10,500 solar panels installed, as part of the mall's expansion. Garcia said the project, which will generate 2.7-MW, may go online by the end of 2015. Asked if more SM malls would have solar power projects, Garcia said it would depend on the studies conducted by Solar Philippines. Main Source: https://anc.yahoo.com/news/sm-north-edsa-is-now-world-s-biggest-solar-powered-mall-053230941.html

APEC 2014: Climate Change is important because APEC economies account for approximately 60 percent of world energy consumption

As the region becomes increasingly industrialised and the population shifts from rural to urban areas, these consumption levels will continue to rise. The use of fossil fuels to satisfy demand results in greenhouse gas emission and this causes climate change - also known as "global warming." Climate change can cause extreme weather conditions, damage and deplete natural resources and accelerate the spread of disease. This impacts both individuals and economies, at large, with developing economies experiencing the most adverse effects. In addition, climate change is believed to contribute to the increasing number of natural disasters, about 70 percent of which occur in the Asia-Pacific region. The APEC commitment to climate change In 2007, APEC Leaders proposedi a regional goal to reduce energy intensity by at least 25 percentii by 2030. In 2011, APEC Leaders set a higher target to reduce energy intensity by at least 45 percent by 2035. To this end, APEC Ministers determined to improve energy efficiency and support the use of cleaner and more efficient energy technologies by setting individual goals and action plans; collaborating with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to develop energy efficiency indicators; sharing information on energy efficiency policies and measures; and encouraging APEC economies to contribute to and utilise the APEC Energy Standards Information System (ESIS). Economies are held accountable through the APEC Peer Review Mechanism on Energy Efficiency. This peer review is also a vehicle for economies to share their respective policies, experiences, information and ultimately to improve energy efficiency. How APEC assists economies to meet their climate change goals Many established APEC Working groups assist economies meet climate change goals: The Energy Working Group : informs energy policymakers, draws advice from the business community and industry experts, and collaborates with other international bodies, including the IEA, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership and the Energy Charter Secretariat. The Asia-Pacific Network for Energy Technology : enables economies to collaborate in energy research in the region, particularly in areas such as clean fossil energy and renewable energy resources. The Energy Security Initiative : comprises short-term measures and long-term policy responses to address the challenges facing the region's energy supply. The Environmental Goods and Services Work Programme This year, as APEC Trade Ministers prepared for economic recovery, they recognised climate change as "one of the biggest challenges confronting the world" and determined to "ensure that economic growth is consistent with environmental sustainability." In order to support the development of the Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) Sector and to coordinate relevant APEC projects, the EGS Work Programme comprises four main components: Developing new and better environmental goods and services through innovation, research and development; Focus efforts and investment to increase the supply of cleaner and more energy efficient technologies; Support projects that facilitate and liberalise trade in environmental goods and services; and Create incentive for the market to increase research and development and investment in environmental goods and services. i. APEC Leaders' Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development ii. Using 2005 levels as a baseline for measurement For more information, contact: media@apec.org

UPDATE: Australia urged to focus on post-2020 carbon emissions

Australia should reduce net emissions by 40 per cent by 2025 and decarbonise the economy by 2050, a climate body report says. The report, which compares Australia's targets with international efforts, comes days before the world's most powerful leaders gather in Brisbane for the G20 Summit. However, despite pressure to include climate change in the talks, the issue is not on the agenda. Australia has committed to a 5 per cent reduction on 2000 level emissions by 2020 - a figure the Australian Greens and other environment groups say is pitiful. The government has also agreed, along with almost 200 other nations, to work together to avoid a potential two degree rise in global temperature. The Climate Institute report, released on Monday, found that to fairly contribute, Australia must set a 2025 target of 40 per cent reduction on 2000 emission levels and a 2035 target of 65 to 75 per cent. A long-term goal of decarbonising the economy between 2040 and 2050 must also be in place. The government is yet to set a post-2020 emissions target but the European Union has recently agreed to an initial target of at least 40 per cent reduction on 1990 emissions levels by 2030. Countries are expected to put their post-2020 emissions reductions targets on the table next year before the United Nations climate change meeting in Paris. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/australia-urged-to-focus-on-post2020-carbon-emissions-20141110-11jid7.html#ixzz3IkOnqOG9

UPDATE: Norway proves oil-rich nations can be both green and prosperous

Norway’s experience suggests this is a false choice.Through a combination of steep carbon taxes, careful management of its oil wealth and strategic investments in innovation, oil-rich Norway has found a comfortable balance between the environment and growth.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/european-business/norway-proves-oil-rich-nations-can-be-both-green-and-prosperous/article21514455/?cmpid=rss1

Ocean Electric, Inc. Presents Renewable Energy Technology and Project Plans at Oregon Wave Energy Trust Conference

Carson City, Nevada-based Ocean Electric, Inc. (OTCBB: OCEL) is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative renewable energy technology. The company was invited to introduce its technology and explore plans for a wave-driven electricity generation project in Oregon's coastal waters at the ninth annual Renewable Energy Conference. Organized by the Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET), the conference was held on September 24-25, 2014 in Portland, Oregon. The OWET conference focused on technological developments in renewable energy. Presenters, panel discussion participants and audience members included NMREC, Portland University, the US Department of Energy and several other leading public and private organizations. On being invited to present to this august group, Ocean Electric's CEO Ricard Prats said, "Presenting Ocean Electric's progress was a pleasure and a valuable experience. Learning of the developments, industrialization plans and evolution of several companies confirmed that marine renewable energy is taking important steps toward efficient and cost-effective technologies that will make a real difference in providing energy in the near future." During the presentation of the wave energy project for non-grid connected consumption, the company also announced its goal of establishing a main office in Portland, Oregon. Prat said, "We made important contacts with customers and suppliers who will be keys to establishing a near-port site on the coast and achieving our goal of supplying energy to the Pacific Northwest from Oregon's waters. Ocean Electric's technology remains at the forefront of marine renewable energy projects." To view the presentation, please click on the link below: http://oregonwave.org/oceanic/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Oregon-Incubator-Ricard-Prats.pdf About Ocean Electric, Inc. Ocean Electric designs, develops and manufactures ingenious wave and wind electric power generating plants for both off shore and deep water locations. Oriented towards an international market, Ocean Electric provides the clean energy needed to achieve sustainable development in a modern society. Our products range from energy solutions in remote, isolated spots to major production plants linked to the electric distribution grid. To lean more, visit http://www.ocel.com. CONTACT: Ocean Electric Inc., admin@ocel.com, 7754340409 SOURCE Ocean Electric, Inc.http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/LA60843.htm

UPDATE: Wind Power as Alternative Source of Energy is Growing!

In 2013, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Illinois were the top wind energy producing states according to the EIA. but it has been growing quite fast in almost every state. Wind power is actually now the cheapest option for new electricity in many if not most markets around the world, so there’s clearly an avenue open for growth there. An article on Planetsave.com points out: “the head of the IEA, Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven, notes that solar and wind power can’t be add-on solutions. Our entire electricity systems need to transform.” The chart above shows the beginning of that transformation wonderfully, but we still need much more. Another great social media share we recently received comes from Sami Koreibi, who highlighted via a tweet that the power that individual wind turbines can generate has increased 100x over in the past 30 years..........http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/09/wind-power-growth-gif-wind-generating-100x-electricity-30-years-ago-chart/

SOLAR ENERGY: White Solar PV Modules Open New Windows Of Possibilities In Building-Integrated Solar Power Market

The Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) recently announced that it has created white solar PV modules which would be apt for use in buildings and may offer applications in several other consumer-centered sectors. Conventional solar PV modules are blue or black in colour, which may adversely impact the aesthetics of a building. The dark colour of the modules comes from the cells and electrical connections within the module. The dark colour also helps in greater absorption of solar radiation. The technology developed by CSEM uses a scattering filter to produce white light while allowing the infrared radiation to pass through to the solar cells. This technology can be used to modify any crystalline solar PV module to produce white or coloured modules. Additionally, the scattering filter can be applied to already installed modules or integrated into the modules during the manufacturing phase. Integration of this technique into the assembly line would help module manufacturers widen their product portfolio. Coloured solar modules can be used in laptops, mobiles, tablet computers, cars, and several other consumer products. Rumours of an iPhone equipped with solar cells have been prevalent for years now; this technology may finally help mobile manufacturers achieve this goal without compromising on the looks of the device. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/09/white-solar-pv-modules-open-new-windows-possibilities-building-integrated-solar-power-market/

UPDATE: India Eyes $100 Billion Investment In Renewable Energy

The new Indian government is taking serious initiatives to boost the power sector, which is in dire need of financial and structural reforms. A large number of these reforms will be implemented in the renewable energy sector. India’s minister for coal, power, and renewable energy last week announced that his government would push for an unprecedented $100 billion investment in the renewable energy sector over the next few years. With this plan, he also announced seemingly impossible solar energy capacity addition targets for the next five years. Piyush Goyal announced that the government has increased the solar power capacity addition target to 100 GW by 2019 compared to the previous 22 GW installed capacity target by 2022. Prime Minister Modi has promised to enhance the solar energy target under the National Solar Mission during his election campaign but this new target is extremely ambitious, and seems virtually impossible to achieve. Goyal also announced the target to double install wind power capacity to 40 GW by 2019. The target would be part of the National Wind Energy Mission expected to be launched soon. Wind energy companies across the country are upbeat, as two important financial incentives are now available to project developers. The government is planning to open up the offshore wind energy capacity to companies and also promote states with relatively lower wind energy resources as new markets. The Indian government is hoping to get significant foreign investment into the renewable energy sector, and the power sector as a whole. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will organise India’s first global renewable energy investors summit in February next year. The government hopes to secure investment worth billions of dollars from international companies during the summit. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/09/india-eyes-100-billion-investment-renewable-energy/

RENEWABLE ENERGY IS GROWING! Solar in Southern California, Wind Energy in America & Natural Gas in the East!

The biggest news to come out of the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) report for August is that utility solar’s production of electricity is up 93.6% over last year. This is the principal reason that the renewable contribution is up 9.6%, and only half of the story. The EIA does not record production from rooftop solar (which means solar’s overall contribution is significantly higher) and production figures are down in every fossil fuel sector. This trend is also seen in the latest figures from Germany, where solar production is up 7.7%, wind 8%, and biomass 11% over last year. The latest data contradicts myths about renewable energy. Renewable energy does not replace fossil fuels, but rather ensures their use will be perpetuated. The REPORT shows German electrical production for the first nine months of 2014. Note that the only increases are in the solar, wind, and biomass sectors. Brown coal usage is down 4.9%, hard coal down 14.8%, and gas down 19.8% over last year. Germany’s renewables have produced 31% of that nation’s electricity, far more than in the US, but the trends are similar. The REPORT is drawn up from the EIA data from August 2014. As was the case in Germany, the only sectors “in the black” are wind, solar, and biomass. Coal (39%) and natural gas (31.5%) are still the principal sources of US electricity. The renewable sector only contributed about 10% and about half of that was from non-hydroelectric sectors like wind, solar, and biomass. The good news is this is changing, the renewable sector is growing! A German company called Younicos wants to see battery storage plants replace 25 of of that nation’s fossil fuel burning plants. Their 5 MW plant at Schwerin has already proven that battery packs are faster ramping up and more efficient. Though batteries do not provide a total solution — they get expensive when used for long periods of time — they are ideal where there is a need for fast ramping up or down. Phillip Hiersemenzel of Younicos said battery storage plants could carry 60% of the load in Germany. There is a lot of solar in Southern California, wind energy in the middle of America, and natural gas in the East. This is the same trend being reported by the EIA and Frauenhofer. The Latest Data Contradicts Myths About Renewable Energy by Roy L Hales Examining the latest data from EIA and Fraunehofer ISE. Originally published in the ECOreport. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/26/myths-about-renewable-energy/

RENEWABLE ENERGY: KENYA: GreenMax Capital Advisors secures financing for large geothermal project

US Overseas Private Investment Corporation grants $950,000 for 40MW geothermal energy project. GreenMax Capital Advisors, a leading global clean energy transaction advisor, has secured a $950,000 grant from the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Africa Clean Energy Facility (ACEF), one of the Power Africa programs sponsored by the US Government, for Akiira One, Ltd., a Kenyan renewable energy project development firm. The grant will support the final stages of project preparation for a 40MW geothermal energy project in Kenya. The grant will also pay for a highly qualified set of international and Kenyan consultants to perform the final technical and legal work necessary to commence drilling for the geothermal resource early next year. The planned project will be constructed on land concessioned to Akiira One, Ltd adjacent to the Olkaria geothermal fields, less than 100km outside of Nairobi. A first phase of 40MW will be followed by additional generation capacity totaling 140MW. Read More: http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/40389/greenmax-capital-advisors-secures-financing-for-large-geothermal-project-in-kenya/

GLOBAL WARMING: Peru's Glacial Melt-Off Reaches 40 Percent in Four Decades

Glaciers near the southern South American country of Peru have shrunk by 40 percent in the past four decades, which has created a number of high-altitude lakes, Reuters reported. Climate change is the cause for the melt-off, which has spawned nearly 1,000 new high-altitude lakes since 1980, the Peruvian government said Wednesday. The glaciers in Peru are small compared to those found in the north and south poles, and are at a greater risk of disappearing. In addition, 70 percent of the world's tropical glaciers are found in Peru, and they are extremely sensitive to the warming temperatures associated with climate change. Read more: http://www.latinpost.com/articles/23782/20141016/global-warming-and-climate-change-stats-update-perus-glacial-melt-off-reaches-40-percent-in-four-decades.htm#ixzz3Grfy0AIF

WELLNESS FOR PEACE: ANTARCTICA: Ocean Health Index, a collaborative effort to assess regional and global threats to ocean health, becomes an invaluable tool

Greg Stone, Chief Scientist for Oceans, Conservation International says: "The Index posits that "a healthy ocean sustainability delivers a range of benefits to people now and in the future." In the Antarctic, it evaluated how well the region is delivering the maximum sustainable amounts of desired benefits. The Antarctic region scored 72 out of 100, based on how well it provided food, natural products, tourism, livelihoods and economies, clean waters, coastal protection, biodiversity and sense of place. Dr. Catherine Longo, project scientist at the University of California at Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, led the Antarctica assessment. She saw a mix of good and bad news. On the positive side, the distance from human population centers, industries and agriculture protects Antarctica's clean waters. Protected whales and fur seals are also recovering from over-exploitation. On the other hand, 38 of the assessed species are decreasing. Those include some iconic species such as southern bluefin tuna, basking sharks, porbeagle sharks, gentoo penguins and five species of albatrosses, one of which is critically endangered and two others that are endangered. Dr. Longo was concerned that the population trends are unknown for 40% of the species that have been assessed. Two other issues were particularly worrisome for us: illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU) and climate change. Both are difficult to control, and both can wreak havoc on species populations and conservation efforts." Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-stone/despite-its-remoteness-an_b_5906602.html

WELLNESS FOR PEACE: ASIA: Singapore with Most-Efficient Health-Care System & Medical Services Supports Aging Population

The Southeast Asian nation was rated first among 51 countries, according to an annual ranking compiled by Bloomberg that tracks factors including life expectancy, the cost of health care as a percentage of gross domestic product and total medical expenditure for each person. Hong Kong dropped to second place and Italy was ranked third, while the U.S. was 44th and Russia last. Singapore has increased health-care spending in recent years as the workforce ages and the government faces political pressure to ease the burden of the country’s poor. The city-state subsidizes some medical expenses and patients are required to take on more of the costs if they choose premium services, with citizens using mandatory savings set aside for health-care needs.

WELLNESS FOR PEACE: EUROPE: Improving health system performance has been on the political agenda in all member states over the past couple of years

Well-performing health systems make Europe 'politically stable'. This is crucial, because health systems are at the heart of the EU's social model, the Commission says. At the European Health Forum Gastein on Thursday (2 October) Martin Seychell, deputy director general at the Commission's DG Sanco, stated that efficiency is important for the European health systems these days, as healthcare expenditure has been growing steadily in most countries. The drivers behind the expenditure have also increased, and therefore it's appropriate to strive for higher efficiency levels. "Efficiency is an economic concept, but in the health arena we should also talk more about performance. Performance goes beyond the pure concept of the economic efficiency. A good healthcare system must also address a number of other dimensions," he said. Seychell pointed out that a healthcare system is not an end in itself. It's a tool and an instrument to pursue a political, public policy goal. Whatever decisionmakers decide to do with the health systems, the systems must be effective in improving the health status of our population. "A good health system also includes good equity. If we don't, as policymakers, respond to patients' expectations, the response will be negative. People will not feel satisfied and it will lead to a political issue," the Commission representative stressed. Health systems play a vital role in societies, Seychell noted. They are part of social protection, as they guard citizens against unexpected shocks, which also have a beneficial effect on the economy and social security.

UPDATE: Global Warming: The deeper half of the ocean did not get measurably warmer in the last decade, but surface layers have been warming faster than we thought

Sea level change from Year 2005 to Year 2013: The overall rise, on average, was 2.78mm per year. The estimated contribution of melting land ice was 2mm per year. The contribution from warming and expanding shallow layers (above 2km) was approximately 0.9mm per year. This leaves -0.13mm per year for depths beneath 2km (corresponding to a slight cooling of the deep water. However, the error associated with that "residual" is 0.72mm per year - meaning the results are too blurred by uncertainty to indicate significant warming or cooling at depth. The deeper half of the ocean did not get measurably warmer in the last decade, but surface layers have been warming faster than we thought since the 1970s, two new studies suggest. Because the sea absorbs 90% of the heat caused by human activity, its warmth is a central concern in climate science. The new work suggests that shallow layers bear the brunt of ocean warming. Scientists compared temperature data, satellite measurements of sea level, and results from climate models. Both the papers appear in the journal Nature Climate Change. Source: Nature Climate Change

UPDATE: Australia’s First Community-Owned Retailer of Renewable Energy

Northern Rivers Energy, a company being formed by a consortium of “forward thinking citizens” in the area has won a $54,000 grant to develop a business plan and conduct a feasibility study. The plan includes creating a company with both retailing and generation, and an asset management arm that could invest in generation, help finance rooftop solar and distributed generation for poorer households and, maybe some time down the track, even help buy back the grid. Community owned retailers are common in Europe and the US, particularly in Germany where it is common for retailers and local network operators to be owned by local councils. In recent years, many of the network management contracts have returned to community ownership out of frustration with the actions – or lack of them – of major utilities. A similar theme is running through Australia, with renewable energy popular with the community, solar penetration running at the highest in the world, and growing frustration with energy retailers. Source: http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/04/australias-1st-community-owned-energy-retailer-way/

UPDATE: Chile becomes the first South American country to tax carbon

(Reuters) - President Michelle Bachelet of Chile enacted new environmental tax legislation - making the country the first in South America to tax carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Part of a broad tax reform, Chile's carbon tax will target the power sector, particularly generators operating thermal plants with installed capacity equal or larger than 50 megawatts (MW). These installations will be charged $5 per tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) released. Thermal plants fueled by biomass and smaller installations will be exempt. The new tax is meant to force power producers to gradually move to cleaner sources to help reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions and meet its voluntary target of cutting these gases 20 percent from 2007 levels by 2020. Earlier this year, Mexico imposed a tax on the sale of several fossil fuels, based on their carbon content, averaging $3 per tonne of CO2. In Mexico, companies are able to use carbon credits to reduce their tax bills, a provision not considered in Chile. Central-American country Costa Rica also has an environmental tax, but it targets gasoline sales. Around 80 percent of Chile's energy is based on fossil fuels, mostly imported oil and coal. Chile's government will start measuring carbon dioxide emissions from thermal power plants in 2017 and the new tax would be charged from 2018. Four companies are expected to pay the bulk of the new tax: Endesa, AES Gener, Colbún and E.CL. The companies have said that the tax will raise the price of electricity. They have also complained that other industrial sectors were not targeted. The government said it expects to collect about $160 million from the carbon tax, a relatively small share of the forecast $8.3 billion in additional revenue the broader tax reform will bring in. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira. Editing by Andre Grenon)

WELLNESS FOR PEACE AT HOME: Keep Family Emotionally Safe On-line: Set Internet Rules for the Entire Household to Follow Responsibly

SAMPLE INTERNET RULES TO IMPLEMENT AT HOME: 1. Secure your home Wi-Fi network. Your home Wi-fi allows your kids to access the internet from all over your house, which makes it harder for you to keep an eye on them. If it’s not secured, intruders might use your bandwidth, or worse, compromise your internet security by infecting your PC with malware or sending their malware attacks from your system. So what to do? Make sure your Wi-Fi highly secured: use a strong password for your router (see rule #7); enable wireless encryption to prevent strangers from “seeing” your network and restrict access to it. 2. Read online privacy policies carefully. Social networks or websites that require basic information from you when you create an account with them – Facebook, Google+, Pinterest etc. – have privacy policies. Every time you (or a family member) want to join a new network, read the privacy policy carefully so that you know how/if its creators intend to use your information in any way, and what measures they take to prevent internet security dangers such as phishing and identity theft. 3. Teach your kids and even grandma safe social networking. First off, if your kid is under 13, don’t let him/her subscribe to social networks, unless they’re for kids. Secondly, teach your family members not to use their full names, birthdays and addresses on their profiles. The less personal info, the better for their internet security. Do not talk about your vacation plans prior to leaving, do not share photos with identifiable details (home street, car licence plate etc.) and do not “check in” to public places. Advise your kids to do the same and talk to them about cyberbullying, predators and stalkers. 4. Ensure safe live online gaming for your kids. Live online games, such as Xbox Live, enable kids or teens to interact with their friends in a fun way, but can also expose them to internet security dangers such as: bullying, harassment, and predators. Make sure your kid doesn’t reveal his identity while playing games – have him use a nickname and an avatar; monitor his play and always check who he’s playing with; turn on the safety measures in the game consoles – use the parental controls they offer. 5. Make sure your teenage kid blogs safely. Nowadays, all kids do some form of blogging, if not on blogging platforms, on social networks. While blogging improves writing skills and communication, it may compromise your kid’s internet security and physical security if they keep their posts too personal - stalkers and predators’ favourite type of read. So, find out if your kid blogs, evaluate the blogging service (read the privacy policy and make sure it’s private and password-protected), check and review your kid’s blog and posts on social networks regularly. 6. Install Parental Control on your family computers, just in case. It’s always best to foster open communication with kids, trust them and make them trust you. But extra caution doesn’t hurt. Using a Parental Control tool, just as the one in BullGuard Internet Security, you can block access to inappropriate websites and monitor their activity. Remember: it’s not about spying on your kids, it’s about keeping them safe from online dangers! 7. Create safe passwords for your accounts. A weak password can be easily cracked by any hacker who wants to breach your online accounts and steal precious information or your identity. A basic internet security rule is to create a strong unique password for each online account and change it regularly: make it long (at least eight characters), mix letters, numbers and symbols, and opt for security questions (whenever the possibility is provided) to which only you know the answer. Teach your family members to do the same. 8. Ensure safe browsing for everyone, even for grandma! Web browsing is probably the one thing everybody’s good at in the online world. But bear in mind that cybercrooks know and use this fact to their advantage. They can push up fake web addresses in your search results to make you visit their malicious websites and trick you into giving up personal details or downloading spyware and malware. This is why you need to install an effective Safe Browsing tool, as the one included in BullGuard’s internet security suite – it flags out every malicious link in search results and even on Facebook walls; and whenever that happens, it makes a statement! Grandma would surely be pleased with all the prevention details it offers. 9. Download and install software from trusted sources only. Free games, music, movies etc. are up for download all over the internet. They are also very tempting for children. But some of them contain spyware and other types of malware that can compromise your whole family’s internet security. Make a list of trusted downloading sources and have your whole family stick to it. Also, read carefully the licence agreement before installing a new piece of software and make sure your kids ask for your permission before they download or install something. 10. Look for https:// in the URLs of the websites you make online transactions from. “S” in “https” stands for “secure” and should appear in every bank or online shop address. If grandma or any other family member is a keen online shopper, advise them to always look for this internet security sign and shop from trusted sources. If they find a new cool online shop, have them research it. Also, if you/they bank or shop from your home Wi-fi, make sure it’s secured (see rule #1). 11. Learn how to recognize and avoid phishing scams. Usernames, passwords, bank account numbers, PINs, full credit card numbers and your birthday are the “commodities” cybercrooks are after. They devise all sorts of scam messages and sent them your way via e-mail, messages, comments and posts on social networks. Be especially wary of alarmist messages and threats of (bank) account closures, requests for charity donations, lottery wins and giveaways. Also look for grammar and spelling mistakes in the messages and links you’d have to click on – if they are poorly written, they are certainly part of an internet security scam (e.g. www.goog.le.com) Teach your family members to do the same. 12. Keep all your computer programs up-to-date. Out-dated software has security holes that can easily be exploited by hackers and viruses. That’s why you have to make sure that all the programs on the devices you and your family go online from are up-to-date. A Vulnerability Scanner, like the one in BullGuard Internet Security, can spot the out-dated software versions and find the needed updates. 13. Back up every important file on your computer. You never know when your computer might break down, whether because of malware attacks or some silly accident. You have to make sure that every vital item on it stays safe and sound. Including your precious family photos of your children growing up, family anniversaries and holidays. 14. Have a complete internet security solution installed on your family computers. In addition to the features mentioned above, BullGuard Internet Security 12 comes with a proactive antivirus engine that spots even the newest forms of malware, thanks to the state-of-the-art technology it uses – Behavioural detection combined with Signature-based detection. It also provides you with 5GB of Online Backup and the possibility to protect 3 computers at the same time. 15. Keep yourself informed about internet security threats. Only knowing the “enemy” you can set up a proper “defence mechanism” suited to your family. You don’t have to become a computer savvy; you just need some basic knowledge about online dangers, so that you can talk with your family and teach them how to defend themselves. In BullGuard’s Internet Security Centre you can find lots of information about the most common and newest threats in the online world, as well as some specific tips and tricks on how to stay safe from each threat. http://www.bullguard.com/bullguard-security-center/internet-security/security-tips/family-online-safety.aspx

WELLNESS FOR PEACE IN WORKPLACES: Generative Work Space must foster Human Dignity, Comfort, Creativity & Collaboration

The idea of Generative Space was developed just over a decade ago and is emerging as a best practice design approach. Possibly its greatest area of influence is in healthcare facility design. Not only are the functional requirements of a space considered, the approach elevates the experience of the people who occupy the space. For a space to be generative, it must foster human dignity, comfort, creativity and collaboration – and actually improve over time. Places where people work, or live, or congregate for public purposes can all be designed to be generative spaces. In conjunction with the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo, being held at Navy Pier, September 29 - October 2nd, The CARITAS Project (a not for profit dedicated to transform healthcare delivery by incorporating generative space principles in facilities design) will be coordinating special tours at three downtown locations Thursday, October 2nd, from 4:00-5:30 pm. Each tour has been developed to give people a taste of generative space design principles and, ideally, become engaged in nurturing the growth of generative designs in their workplaces, healthcare institutions, homes and communities. Tour 1: Gensler’s Chicago Loop Office. Ranked the top architectural firm worldwide, this tour will showcase projects produced by the firm’s health and wellness design practice team and provide a great example of what it’s like to work in an environment designed to be a generative space. A great opportunity for people interested in architecture, design, organizational cultures, and healthcare. Tour 2: Health Walking Tour in Millennium Park. One of Chicago’s most popular destinations reflects core generative space principles. This tour will feature experiences and discussions on how the park satisfies both private and public interests. A chance to become more aware of why this is one of the great public spaces in the world. Tour 3: A Generative Space Tour of the Humanscale’s Mart Showroom. One of the world’s leading manufacturers of ergonomic designs, this tour will focus on products that were developed specifically for healthcare applications; to improve the lives of patients, practitioners and caregivers. An unusual opportunity to see how healthcare delivery can be. There will be no charge for any of these tours although the size of each tour will be limited. For additional information and to register, please go to http://www.eventbrite.com/e/generative-space-week-tours-tickets-13058066027 Registration opens 9/20/14. For information on the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo, visit http://www.hcarefacilities.com/ and for information on The CARITAS Project, visit http://www.thecaritasproject.info . About Generative Space's Pioneer Dr. Wayne Ruga is actively engaged in working with global leaders to build a better world with a new approach to design that Ruga has pioneered, called "generative space". By learning and practicing this approach, it becomes possible to make places for individuals, organizations, and communities to flourish. (source: Harvard Graduate School of Design) http://www.chicagonow.com/arch-x-perience/2014/09/experience-the-transformative-power-of-generative-space/

WELLNESS FOR PEACE IN SCHOOLS: Develop and Implement Healthy Food & Healthy Environments for Kids

See Sample Guide on How to do it: Nancy Easton, recently named a “food revolution hero” by chef activist Jamie Oliver and part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Lets Move! initiative, is founder and executive director of Wellness in the Schools, or WITS, a nonprofit organization that encourages healthy eating and fitness for children in public schools. “Since we’ve been doing this, we’ve really seen it become a revolution and a movement,” said Easton at St. Philip’s Episcopal School in Coral Gables on Friday. Her initiative essentially focuses on drastically improving the lunch period, in an effort to improve the overall health of children. Since 2005, her organization has rocketed from helping 16 children in just one school to 30,000 students in 50 schools across New York, Kentucky and Florida. After graduating from Princeton University in 1988, Easton witnessed firsthand in New York City what she considers the impact of poor diet and lack of physical activity on children’s ability to focus. Soon after, she was inspired to start her own organization. She refers to it as a Peace Corps for the wellness world. WITS implements its three-year program in 10 schools each year. The program includes a re-writing of the lunch menu, training for the school lunch workers with the new menu, and outside support getting the least-active kids active and prevention of playground bullying. “We’re essentially a public-private partnership that helps support what’s already happening in the public schools,” Easton said. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/coral-gables/article2167762.html#storylink=cpy

UPDATE: Sri Lanka called for the developed nations to financially support the developing nations to reduce the dangers posed by the climate change.

Pointing out that the health of the global environment today is in need of serious attention, Sri Lanka called for the developed nations to financially support the developing nations to reduce the dangers posed by the climate change. Addressing the world leaders at the U.N. Climate Summit In New York, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the danger posed by climate change is a current emergency and the challenge is universal and must be addressed collectively and multi-dimensionally. Responding to a request made by the U.N. Secretary-General to the leaders attending the summit to present a national statement that will outline a vision to achieve the goal to reduce emissions, President said Mahinda Chintana, the policy agenda of the Government, to address climate change has included several strategies. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosted the one-day Climate Summit yesterday, to engage world leaders from government, finance, business and civil society to catalyze climate action. Meanwhile, President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be joining former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the 2014 annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. At the meeting President Rajapaksa will extend Sri Lanka's support to the Elephant Action Network that works toward preventing elephant poaching and ivory trafficking. The 2014 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, in New York City convene more than 1,000 global leaders in business, government, and civil society organizations. http://www.hirunews.lk/92896/update-climate-change-urgent-situation-lets-face-collectively-president-video

RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2014 Finalists for Renewable Energy World Projects are NRG Energy’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station in California, Ontario Power Generation’s Atikokan Generating Station Biomass Conversion Project, the Arizona Solana project built by Abengoa, the Pantex Wind Project in Texas, nominated by the Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group Inc., and the UN City solar project by SolCell Ltd. Dansk Solenergi Int. in Denmark.

The 2014 Best Gas Project finalists are Kansai Electric Power’s Kansai Himeji No. 2 Thermal Power Station in Japan; and Siemens Energy’s Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center in Florida. The Best Coal Project finalists are the Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Sequestration Project, owned by SaskPower in Saskatchewan, Canada; and the Columbia Energy Center Air Quality control Retrofit, performed by Black & Veatch. The Best Nuclear finalists are the Kudankulam 1 Nuclear Power Plant, owned by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited in India, and the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, built by Rosatom. “The world’s appetite for energy continues to grow,” said Richard G. Baker, senior vice president of PennWell’s Power Generation Group. “Companies like those represented by this year’s project finalists are instrumental in meeting the growing demand. Power Engineering and Renewable Energy World magazines are once again pleased to be able to recognize some of the exceptional power generation projects that were completed in the past year.” The winners of the Projects of the Year Awards will be announced during a gala awards banquet on Monday, Dec. 8, at the Odyssey Pavilion at Epcot in Orlando, Fla. as part of the POWER-GEN International Conference and Exhibition and the co-located NUCLEAR POWER International Conference and Exhibition, Renewable Energy World Conference & Exhibition North America, the Financial Forum and GenForum. The finalists will be profiled in a larger story on RenewableEnergyWorld.com in the month of November. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/09/finalists-for-renewable-energy-world-projects-of-the-year-2014-revealed

UPDATE: NY: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE SEPT 21 BIGGEST CLIMATE CHANGE INT'L DAY OF ACTION ATTENDED BY UN

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An international day of action on climate change brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of New York City on Sunday, easily exceeding organizers' hopes for the largest protest on the issue in history. Organizers estimated that some 310,000 people, including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and elected officials from the United States and abroad joined the People's Climate March, ahead of Tuesday's United Nations hosted summit in the city to discuss reducing carbon emissions that threaten the environment. The New York rally, the largest single protest ever held on the topic of climate change, followed similar events in 166 countries including Britain, France, Afghanistan and Bulgaria. "The march numbers are beating our wildest expectations," said Ricken Patel, executive director of activist group Avaaz, which organized the march. "In 2,500 marches from Paris to Bogota, we've blown past expected numbers. Climate change is not a green issue anymore, it's an everybody issue." The march wound down at 6:30 p.m. ET (2230 GMT) and cleaning crews moved in as police reopened the street to traffic. A few handfuls of people remained on sidewalks, singing and chanting in the evening, but most participants were headed home. A New York Police Department spokesman said there were no arrests or incidents during the demonstration. The police department does not provide crowd size estimates. Organizers said another 270,000 people had participated in related events outside New York. During the demonstration the crowd, including U.S. senators Bernard Sanders, an independent from Vermont and Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, marched along the city's Central Park, through midtown Manhattan to Times Square and stopped for a moment of silence at 12:58 p.m. (1658 GMT). Ban, wearing a T-shirt that read "I'm for climate action" marched arm-in-arm with British primatologist Jane Goodall and French Ecology Minister Segolene Royal. "This is the planet where our subsequent generations will live," Ban told reporters. "There is no 'Plan B,' because we do not have 'Planet B.'" The march resounding with drums, horns and chants that had echoed off skyscrapers easily dwarfed the raucous 2009 demonstration on climate change in Copenhagen, which drew tens of thousands of people that resulted in the detention of 2,000 protesters. http://news.yahoo.com/york-climate-march-draws-hundreds-thousands-002224813.html

SEPT 21 UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE CELEBRATION: CLIMATE CHANGE PEACE BUILDING PROGRAM W/ AMB ZARA JANE JUAN, SAILING FOR PEACE

Join! Public Forum via web on Sept 21 GMT 10:00AM. You are needed because your opinion matters about climate change and peace building. Opinions are powerful and can help shape the world to end the culture of hate and make way for the culture of peace. As the climate is changing, peace is now a basic necessity. People have the right for peace at home, schools and workplaces. So, come! Share your thoughts. How will you work for Peace?

How to do it? Here is an Initial Step-by-Step Guide from Wellness for Peace Education on Climate Change, 2011 Philippine Contribution to UN International Day of Peace by Amb Zara Jane Juan: First, we can Educate Peace via Wellness for Peace Education - Include in your policies and programs the need for Wellness in Mind, Body, Spirit, Environment & Economics to Achieve Peace within Self and Share it to Others for Nation-Building. Second, we can Innovate Peace via Climate Change Peace Building Adaptation Businesses & Job Opportunities - Include in your Business clubs a business forum wherein the agenda is to open up new businesses that supports climate change peace building programs. This include Opening up of Investments on Renewable Energies, Discussion on Carbon Credits, Brainstorming on the Various Services to be Provided during Disaster, Climate Change Friendly Entrepreneurship, Virtual Business Offices for Global Internet Connections, etc. The business possibilities and employment opportunities are endless and we can face the changing climate with grace by preparing our family and our community peacefully to the effects that goes along with it. Third, we can Initiate Peace via Interfaith Interracial Intercultural Prayers for Peace - Set a Prayer meeting whatever is your religion or congregation on Sept 21. Pray for Peace and join the worldwide prayer for peace @ 12:00noon. For a moment of a prayer, we are all united globally as one on Sept 21 regardless of race, creed, gender, culture, or faith. We initiate Peace through Prayers and we become Peace Leaders! For any more inquiries, please e-mail ambassadorzara@gmail.com or text/call +63 926 678 7938. For instruction on how and where to join the Public Forum via web, please navigate to https://www.facebook.com/events/353928184710649/500487316721401/?notif_t=event_mall_comment Also, follow or add the Author via facebook for the updates: https://www.facebook.com/ambassadorzara For Attendees and Participants in Manila. Here is the venue in the Philippines: UNO International Main Office, 355 Ortigas Ave., Brgy. Wack-Wack, Mandaluyong City, 1555 Manila, Philippines. Time: 8AM-12:30PM. THIS SERVES AS YOUR FREE INVITE: FOR PUBLIC ATTENDEES, JUST COME! FOR RSVP PLEASE CALL / TEXT: MS. PIERRE HERNANDEZ +63 9189488463 or call/text UN INT'L DAY OF PEACE + 63 9266787938 Thank You! Peace & Love:-) God bless you! https://www.facebook.com/events/353928184710649/500487316721401/?notif_t=event_mall_comment

WELLNESS FOR PEACE @ SCHOOLS: Restricting access to high sugar beverages as School Policy makes Students healthy and discipline too!

The CDC’s website offers a comprehensive overview of school wellness polices at www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/npao/wellness.htm. While there’s still much work to be done, evaluations indicate schools have been establishing environments that better support nutrition and physical activity. Examples include: Restricting access to high-sugar beverages and other less-healthful foods from vending machines, school stores, cafeterias, fundraisers and in some cases even class parties. Offering nutrition education at each grade level. Offering physical education classes that promote a physically active lifestyle or focus on personal fitness. Integrating physical activity throughout the school day, such as offering activity breaks in the classroom.

WELLNESS FOR PEACE @HOME: PREVENT FALLING, FAILING & GETTING OLD

Select your mindset. Choose to be aware and cautious rather than fearful of falling. Be proactive and mindful by modifying certain activities and environments to prevent falls, but don’t let the anxiety of falling rule your life. Check the surface. When walking in new places, check the type of surface you will need to travel on or across. Make sure to choose sidewalks and roads with minimal cracking and buckling. Also, be wary of walking in the grass as dangerous divots and bumps easily hide. Consider using a steady partner if walking in the grass. The softer the surface, the greater the challenge to balance. Tidy up. Check your home for fall hazards. Remove unnecessary clutter from the ground, place cords away from walking paths, and pick up area rugs to ensure a safe living environment. Focus on lighting. Vision plays a key role in balance. Keep your home well lit and place night lights in hallways, bedrooms, and bathrooms. When traveling to dimly lit places or events, again consider using a steady buddy for safety. Stay active. Perhaps the most important way to prevent falls, staying active is crucial to maintaining health and well-being. A consistent exercise regimen prevents the natural decrease of strength and mobility that accompanies the aging process.

WELLNESS FOR PEACE @WORKPLACES: Wellness Programs Encourages Workers and Employees to be More Healthy

Many use financial incentives to motivate workers to monitor and improve their health, sometimes through lifestyle-modification programs aimed at lowering cholesterol or blood pressure, for instance. Some programs offer a carrot, like discounts on health insurance to employees who complete health-risk assessments. Others use a stick, penalizing poor performance, or charging people more for smoking or having a high body mass index, for example. Wellness programs are popular among employers. An analysis by the RAND Corporation found that half of all organizations with 50 or more employees have them. The new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 36 percent of firms with more than 200 workers, and 18 percent of firms over all, use financial incentives tied to health objectives like weight loss and smoking cessation. Even more large firms — 51 percent of those with 200 workers or more — offer incentives for employees to complete health risk assessments, intended to identify health issues.

UPDATE: Ozone Layer is recovering because of the phase-out of certain chemicals that harm it.

Earth's protective ozone layer is beginning to recover, largely because of the phase-out since the 1980s of certain chemicals used in refrigerants and aerosol cans, a U.N. scientific panel reported Wednesday in a rare piece of good news about the health of the planet. Scientists said the development demonstrates that when the world comes together, it can counteract a brewing ecological crisis. For the first time in 35 years, scientists were able to confirm a statistically significant and sustained increase in stratospheric ozone, which shields the planet from solar radiation that causes skin cancer, crop damage and other problems. From 2000 to 2013, ozone levels climbed 4 percent in the key mid-northern latitudes at about 30 miles up, said NASA scientist Paul A. Newman. He co-chaired the every-four-years ozone assessment by 300 scientists, released at the United Nations. "It's a victory for diplomacy and for science and for the fact that we were able to work together," said chemist Mario Molina. In 1974, Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland wrote a scientific study forecasting the ozone depletion problem. They won the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work.https://ph.news.yahoo.com/scientists-ozone-layer-recovering-181611231.html

RENEWABLE ENERGY: CHILE: 115 MW wind plant has the capacity to power 200,000 homes in the region

Michelle Bachelet, the president of Chile, together with Jean-Paul Luksic, chairman of Antofagasta Minerals SA (“AMSA”) and Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy Group Inc officially opened operations at the 115 MW El Arrayán Wind facility in a grand opening ceremony at the project site, which is located 400 km north of Santiago on the coast of Chile. The El Arrayán Wind facility, which completed construction in June, will generate clean, renewable power equal to the needs of approximately 200,000 Chilean homes each year, according to the World Bank. The facility is utilizing 50 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines, which Pattern Energy is also using at other wind projects in Canada and the United States. El Arrayán Wind connects to the Sistema Interconectado Central's 220kV transmission system. The facility is located on approximately 15,320 acres of coastal land on a long-term lease with a single landowner. Pattern Energy owns 70% of the El Arrayán Wind facility, which it also operates. AMSA owns the remaining 30% minority stake. The project sells approximately 70% of its output to Minera Los Pelambres through a long-term fixed-for-floating hedge. The facility sells its remaining output into the Chilean spot market at the prevailing market price at the time of sale. In addition to its minority interest in the facility, AMSA is the controlling party of Minera Los Pelambres. "This project is important for our present and future energy needs, President Bachelet said. "El Arrayán is the biggest wind farm in Chile, and we are pleased at what we can achieve when we use the natural resources the earth has to offer. This project is another step toward meeting our energy agenda objectives." 1

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Eat less red meat to help save the planet, say academics

People should eat no more than two portions of red meat per week to help the environment and meet increasing global food demand, scientists have found. A study by Cambridge and Aberdeen universities found that population growth and the trend for Westerners eating more meet means that soon farmers will not be able to raise enough livestock. And researchers warn that attempting to produce more meat could be devastating for the environment. Increased deforestation, fertiliser use and livestock methane emissions likely to cause greenhouse gas emissions from food production to rise by almost 80 per cent by 2050, experts from the University of Cambridge and University of Aberdeen warn. The authors warn that without radical changes to diets the food industry alone would spark dangerous climate change, even if every other industry was to cut carbon emissions to zero.

UPDATE: China's national carbon market to start in 2016 -official

China has pledged to reduce the amount of carbon it emits per unit of GDP to 40-45 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. It has already launched seven regional pilot markets in a bid to gain experience ahead of a nationwide scheme. "We will send over the national market regulations to the State Council for approval by the end of the year," Sun Cuihua, a senior climate official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told a conference in Beijing on Sunday. The national market will start in 2016, although some provinces would be allowed to start later if they lacked the technical infrastructure to participate from the outset, she said. The Chinese market, when fully functional, would dwarf the European emissions trading system, which is currently the world's biggest. It would be the main carbon trading hub in Asia and the Pacific, where Kazakhstan and New Zealand already operate similar markets. South Korea will launch a national scheme on Jan. 1, 2015, while Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are drawing up plans for markets of their own. The Chinese market will cap carbon dioxide emissions from sources such as electricity generators and manufacturers. Those that emit above their cap must buy permits in the market.

UPDATE: Earth May Be in Early Days of 6th Mass Extinction

Earth May Be in Early Days of 6th Mass Extinction - Yahoo News Philippines: "the looming sixth mass extinction is linked to human activity, Rodolfo Dirzo, a professor of biology at Stanford University in California, said in a statement. Dirzo is the lead author of the new review of past research on the topic, which suggests Earth is in the early days of this sixth mass extinction.
A past study, which involved data from the fossil record and modern-day conservation biology, suggested Earth could enter such a mass extinction within the next 300 to 2,000 years. That study was detailed in the March 2, 2011, issue of the journal Nature.
Up to one-third of all vertebrates are threatened or endangered, the researchers said. Large animals — such as elephants, rhinoceroses and polar bears — have the highest rates of decline, which is a trend shared by other mass extinctions. These large animals are at particular risk because they tend to have few offspring and low population growth rates. Hunters and poachers, however, find their fur, meat, tusks or horns attractive targets. [7 Iconic Animals Humans Are Driving to Extinction]
Losing a species of large animal can have unexpected effects on the ecosystem and nearby human developments, a process known as defaunation. In one study, researchers isolated patches of land from animals, including zebra, giraffes and elephants. Without the animals, the grass and shrubs grew tall, and the soil became looser. Rodents quickly took over and doubled in numbers, eating the seeds from the plants and living in the patchy soil that was relatively predator-free.
Rodents can carry diseases and parasites that infect people, the researchers said.
"Where human density is high, you get high rates of defaunation, high incidence of rodents and thus high levels of pathogens, which increases the risks of disease transmission," Dirzo said. "Who would have thought that just defaunation would have all these dramatic consequences? But it can be a vicious circle.""



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Peaceful Responses: UNFCCC brought nations together to peacefully negotiate a shared solution to dealing with climate risks

What If Climate Change Triggers Cooperation, Not Conflict? | Diana Liverman: "We have a climate convention (UNFCCC) that has brought nations together to peacefully negotiate a shared solution to dealing with climate risks and an unprecedented series of international scientific assessments - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - that brings together thousands of researchers to communicate climate risks to policy makers. Despite criticisms of lack of progress, the climate negotiations have resulted in transfer of funds from richer to poorer countries, collective efforts to reduce emissions, and intensive collaboration to understand the causes and consequences of climate change. And when climatic disasters strike, such as Hurricane Haiyan, we see outpourings of humanitarian response founded in the long tradition of cooperation across international boundaries in response to hazards and the military helping with peaceful emergency response and recovery.

So, conflict or cooperation? To decide, we need better-designed studies, more rigorous analysis and less melodramatic claims. We need studies that hypothesize peaceful resolution to tensions connected to resource competition and climate change, and statistical studies that use research designs that are open to the possibilities that climate extremes might have no influence on conflict and might, in fact, have positive outcomes. Rather than raise fears of conflict, scholars and strategists should seek best practices for cooperative and peaceful responses to the stresses of climate change."



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UPDATE: “Transformational” Deep Decarbonization Climate Strategies, Global Solution to Climate Change

“Transformational” Deep Decarbonization Climate Strategies (video): "Deep Decarbonization is the first global cooperative program to identify practical pathways for major industrial economies toward a low-carbon world economy by 2050. Unlike many recent assessments, it focuses potential solutions rather than agonizing statistics and definitions. In this sense, says Laurence Tubiana, the French Ambassador for climate change, co-chair of SDSN, and IDDRI founder, it is a “transformational milestone.”

From the report introduction:

The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) is a collaborative initiative to understand and show how individual countries can transition to a low-carbon economy and how the world can meet the internationally agreed target of limiting the increase in global mean surface temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius (°C)."



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UPDATE: AUSTRALIA: Cleaning up its Electricity Sector on a New Clean Coal Technology called DICE

The search for the clean coal holy grail - Background Briefing - ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): "That technology is called DICE—or Direct Injection Carbon Engine, a modified diesel engine running on a mix of coal and water—and it has just received $9 million in funding for stage one trials, including $1 million from the Victorian and Commonwealth governments.  

Ignite Energy Resources, a member of the DICE network, recently recieved a $20 million grant to produce liquid fuel for DICE engines from brown coal, among other things.

‘Minister Greg Hunt and Minister Ian Macfarlane for energy are very interested in DICE, because it offers the opportunity of reducing CO2 emissions for electricity from brown coal by 50 per cent, and it offers the opportunity to reduce CO2 emissions from black coals by around 30 per cent,’ says John White, chairman of the DICE Network and co-founder of Ignite."



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UPDATE: AUSTRALIA: Misconceptions helped kill Australian carbon tax. Read, how it happened.

Misconceptions helped kill Australian carbon tax - Yahoo News: "CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — In 2007, Australians were ready to do something to combat climate change, even if it was expensive. More than two-thirds of them said so in a poll, and both major political parties vowed to make industries pay for greenhouse-gas emissions.

The undoing of that perspective will likely be complete after a new Senate is sworn in Monday. It's expected to give Prime Minister Tony Abbott the votes he needs to repeal a 2-year-old tax charged to around 350 of Australia's biggest carbon polluters. Three top political leaders lost their jobs over the issue as support for climate-change measures plummeted.

A global recession, political miscalculations and failed negotiations only partially explain the dramatic change.

Opponents of the carbon tax implemented in 2012 had the media largely on their side. Electricity prices soared — not mainly because of the tax, but because power companies were spending billions on infrastructure. Most electricity users were compensated for the added cost of the tax, but many of them didn't know that. And rising gas prices fed the fury — even though the tax didn't apply to gasoline.

Australia's experience illustrates how easy it is to scuttle complicated environmental laws"



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UPDATE: CARRIBEAN CORAL REEFS: Parrot Fish and Sea Urchins can save Coral Reefs, Study says.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9aWMIexrcs

The Key To Saving Caribbean Coral Reefs Could Be These Fish, Researchers Say: "Drawing from more than 35,000 surveys of Caribbean reefs conducted between 1970 and 2012, a team of experts from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network detailed the drastic decline of the reef and highlighted threats to the delicate ecosystem. The largest threat, it seems, is not climate change, but the loss of a particular type of marine life.

"We saw that reefs with no grazers ended up getting smothered by algae. And after a period of time they see a significant or even complete collapse of the reef area," Carl Gustaf Lundin, director of IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Program, told BBC News.

As authors write in the report, the population of parrotfish -- and other grazers, such as sea urchins, that consume algae and contribute to the health of tropical reefs -- has decreased significantly, primarily due to over fishing and pollution. However, if these types of fish are protected so that their numbers bounce back, Caribbean reefs have a good chance of recovering."



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UPDATE: CHINA 10 Year Green Horizon Initiative: IBM signs up to help fight China's war on smog

click link to read full article: IBM signs up to help fight China's war on smog | Reuters: "Under the agreement with IBM, Beijing's city government will be one of the partners in the company's China-focused 10-year "Green Horizon" initiative, which aims to draw on IBM's forecasting expertise and the collection of real-time emissions data to predict smog build-ups.

"It is about how we can help cities improve management based on 'Big Data', and better predict (pollution) with accuracy so the government can take proactive action," said Xiaowei Shen, China director of IBM Research, speaking at IBM's lab in Beijing's northwest high-tech district of Zhongguancun."



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Join! PEACE VIGIL 2014 UN International Day of Peace, Wellness for Peace...

We need you! Because you've got the principles, styles and passion for peace.

Let's Celebrate World Peace Day on Sept 21, 2014

Join! PEACE VIGIL 2014

We Educate Wellness for Peace Education to Everyone

We Innovate Business and Ecology for Climate Change Adaptation

We Initiate 12noon Prayers for Peace where ever you are

Be the Peace Leader in Your Venue

Book your Schedule on September 21, 2014:

Free Symposium on Wellness, Climate Change & Peace

Free Wellness for Peace Workshops

Free Public Forum on Climate Change and Peace Building

Please call:

Wellness Pilipinas! +639295197788

wellnesspilipinas@yahoo.com.ph

Sailing for Peace Worldwide +639276767738

ambassadorzara@gmail.com

Thank you!

Peace & Love!

God bless you!

Ambassador Zara Jane Juan

Websites:

Personality Development for Peace Leadership: 

innovativemindandbody.blogspot.com

UN World Peace Updates

peaceadvocates.blogspot.com

Wellness Pilipinas News & Updates

wellnesspilipinas.blogspot.com

Interfaith Interracial Intercultural Prayers for Peace

sailingforpeaceworldwidepeacevigil.blogspot.com

Wellness for Peace: Climate Change

zarajanejuan.blogspot.com

Peace Vigil:

facebook.com/ambassadorzara

Invite to join the 2014 PEACE VIGIL

We need you! Because you've got the principles, styles and passion for peace.

Let's Celebrate World Peace Day on Sept 21, 2014

Join! PEACE VIGIL 2014

We Educate Wellness for Peace Education to Everyone

We Innovate Business and Ecology for Climate Change Adaptation

We Initiate 12noon Prayers for Peace where ever you are

Be the Peace Leader in Your Venue

Book your Schedule on September 21, 2014:

Free Symposium on Wellness, Climate Change & Peace

Free Wellness for Peace Workshops

Free Public Forum on Climate Change and Peace Building

Please call:

Wellness Pilipinas! +639295197788

wellnesspilipinas@yahoo.com.ph

Sailing for Peace Worldwide +639276767738

ambassadorzara@gmail.com

Thank you!

Peace & Love!

God bless you!

Ambassador Zara Jane Juan

Websites:

Personality Development for Peace Leadership: 

innovativemindandbody.blogspot.com

UN World Peace Updates

peaceadvocates.blogspot.com

Wellness Pilipinas News & Updates

wellnesspilipinas.blogspot.com

Interfaith Interracial Intercultural Prayers for Peace

sailingforpeaceworldwidepeacevigil.blogspot.com

Wellness for Peace: Climate Change

zarajanejuan.blogspot.com

Peace Vigil:

facebook.com/ambassadorzara

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Solar Empowers Sabada Grande, Nicaragua: TURNING LANDMINE SURVIVORS INTO SOLAR TECHNICIANS

Solar Empowers Sabada Grande | CleanTechnica: "The war between the government Sandinistas and the Contra rebels left hundreds of people disabled by landmines, especially in the northern part of the country. In 1999 a Nicaraguan non-governmental organization called Grupo Fenix received a grant from the Canadian Falls Brook Center to reintegrate landmine survivors back into society.

The NGO decided it would teach the landmine survivors how to make solar panels, providing them with both a livelihood and a way to get electricity in a poor, off-grid region. It focused on Sabana Grande, an agricultural community in one of the poorest regions in one of the poorest departments of Nicaragua. Grupo Fenix, founded by engineering professor Susan Kinne of the Engineering University of Nicaragua and made up of many of her engineering students, taught the villagers how to solder together discarded solar cells they received from some large PV manufacturers to make solar PV panels, up to 60 watts in size."



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UPDATE: Worst Spots for Weather Extremes Found

Worst Spots for Weather Extremes Found - Yahoo News Philippines: "Frightful floods, freezes and heat waves favor certain parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the result of strong atmospheric currents that steer extreme weather to the same places over and over again, a new study finds.
Fear a cold winter? Then avoid eastern North America. Hate floods? Stay out of western Asia. Enjoy a long shower? Then drought-prone central North America, Europe and central Asia aren't for you. Can't stand the heat? Rule out heat-wave-prone western North America and central Asia, according to findings published today (June 22) in the journal Nature Climate Change."



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Buddha Chillout Lounge - Peace Prayer: Rivers of Tibet Remix

.नमस्ते Namaste The Spirit in me respects the spirit in you ........ Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh  السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ  May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you..............Peace be with you............. Amituofo    Amitabha Buddha Let's do an act of goodness today!......... Let's Pray the Prayer for Peace wherever you are..........God bless your day whatever your mood maybe. May the angels guide you and protect you from harm. If you are travelling, may you find the road and arrive at your destinations safely If trouble comes along the way, may it turn into blessings favorable to all. May you meet new friends and may the old ones stay. May the love of our Divine Creator fill your emptiness. and may you feel it in the vastness of the universe. If u get so tired today, may you find time to look up at the sky, feel the air, recharge and rejuvenate. And in all the things you did today, may your faith increase. May you be inspired by the diversity of people's personalities, and be grateful that you were granted the chance to lead them. And at the end of the day tonight as you rest, may you be thankful for all the blessings that this day had; and pray to forgive those who offended you. Amen."

HOW WILL YOU WORK FOR PEACE? JOIN! PEACE VIGIL

LET'S CONTINUE TO EDUCATE, INNOVATE AND INITIATE PEACE!

We educate Wellness for Peace Education at home, at school and at workplace

We innovate Businesses to Sustainable Ecology for Climate Change Peace Building

We initiate Prayers for Peace who ever you are, where every you are, and whatever you do!

JOIN! PEACE VIGIL! PLEASE CALL 63-926-678-7938. E-mail: wellnesspilipinas@yahoo.com.ph

Thank you! Peace & Love! God bless you!

Ambassador Zara Jane Juan

Internet Journalist & Peace Ambassador, UN International Day of Peace, Sailing for Peace Worldwide

Author & Resource Speaker, Wellness for Peace Education on Climate Change

Proponent, Climate Change Peace Building Adaptation Worldwide Campaign

ANTARCTICA: WELLNESS FOR PEACE: Mineral site key to Antarctica's history gets protected status

Mineral site key to Antarctica's history gets protected status | Health & Environment | Worldbulletin News: "Antarctica pact partners have set up a new protected geological site on the frozen continent in a bid to preserve rare minerals that could shed light on the region's history and evolution over millions of years.
At a meeting in Brazil last month, the signatories to the Antarctic Treaty designated the Larsemann Hills region of the continent as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area.
Geological analysis shows that one billion years ago, the nearby Stornes Peninsula was a shallow inland basin, rich in boron and phosphorus, the key chemical constituents of the rare minerals.
At the time of their discovery, four of the minerals - boralsilite, stornesite, chopinite and tassieite - were new to science, while the rest were extremely rare elsewhere.
"It's fantastic to see these extremely unusual, unique minerals being protected, and being recognized for their geological significance," Chris Carson, the head of Australia's Antarctic Geoscience program, told Reuters."



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SOUTH AMERICA: WELLNESS FOR PEACE: UCSF $6M Grant to Manage Population Health of Mexico, Guatemala, Panama

UCSF granted $6M to manage population health in South America | HealthITAnalytics.com: "Central and South American populations affected by endemic diseases like Chagas’ disease and dengue fever will be the target of new research projects from the University of California San Francisco, UC Berkeley, and other partner institutions thanks to a $6 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Instituto Carlos Slim de la Salud.  The Fighting Infections through Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) collaboration will bring population health management techniques and clinical analytics to some of the most seriously poverty-stricken communities in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, and other Central and South American regions."



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ASIA: WELLNESS FOR PEACE: Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore Take Action Against Obesity

Southeast Asia Takes Action Against Obesity as Rates Rise : Health & Medicine : Nature World News: "Malaysia recently hosted the 12th International Congress on Obesity (ICO), a discussion about what Asian countries can do to halt rising obesity rates before they become a public health problem that will cost billions to reverse. Obesity, Kehong says, is a high priority NCD now, as every one of two adults in Malaysia is overweight or obese, according to a Reuters report.
Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand have all faced recent rises in the obesity rate.
Beyond hosting last Month's ICO, the Malaysian government has also aimed this year's "Nutrition Month Malaysia" at fighting obesity in particular, handing out "fight Obesity" guidebooks, launching carnivals around that theme, and even funding anti-obesity and nutrition education roach shows in primary schools.



The Thai Promotion Health Foundation (TPHF) has also recently set its sights on fighting obesity, going as far as to ban the sale of soft drinks at state schools. A tax on sweet food might even be in order, if a proposal by the TPHF finds support, according to Reuters.



Singapore too has jumped on the "fight obesity" bandwagon, launching a "healthy living master plan and food strategy" that is helping nearly 700 food outlets serve meals under 500 calories. Simultaneously, the Singapour Health Promotion Board has begun educating people on the importance of maintaining a healthy body-mass-index (BMI) - although the BMI system has recently come under fire in countries like the United States and United Kingdom, where BMIs may not necessarily reflect the true health of young people."



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NORTH AMERICA: WELLNESS FOR PEACE: Study suggests to invest in Active Labor Programs to Reduce the Risk of Suicide

click link: Recession 'Linked With' Over 10,000 Suicides Across Europe And North America - Health News - redOrbit: "The study suggests that nations that invest in active labor market programs reduce the risk of suicide. The authors estimate that for each US $100 spent per capita on programs offering such assistance for the unemployed, the risk of suicide reduced by 0.4%. The authors highlight Austria, Sweden, and Finland as examples of countries where the suicide rate did not increase markedly despite rising unemployment during the recession. Sweden, between 1991 and 1992, and Finland, between 1990 and 1993, both experienced rises in unemployment at the same time as the rate of suicide decreased. In the most recent recession, suicide rates remained stable in Sweden and Finland while the rate declined in Austria, despite rising unemployment"



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