July 31, 2015

Fits right in

This is her "mentor"- the first female Sec.of State

John Pilger on "Paying the price"





"The Undertakers"- bombing and invading and killing their way around the world- blowback isn't in their vocabulary.

July 30, 2015

Noam Chomsky: "What exactly is the threat of Iran?"

Al Jazeera America News Published on Jul 22, 2015

Trivia: Samantha Power is married to Cass Sunstein (Source)

Ashton Baldwin "Ash" Carter has been a consultant to Goldman Sachs (Source)



"Ash" Carter was a supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as an advocate of preventive wars against North Korea and Iran. Carter is considering deploying ground-launched cruise missiles in Europe that could pre-emptively destroy the Russian weapons.

"A parade of arrogance, hubris and ignorance"

July 30, 2015

Scotland: Fife hydrogen energy project moves ahead

The Courier.co.uk | Andrew Argo | 30 July 2015

Bright Green Hydrogen has appointed Logan Energy to deliver key components of the project – two refuellers and an energy storage system.

Levenmouth will be placed at the forefront of the clean energy revolution by the Hydrogen Office in Methil becoming a world-class demonstrator of hydrogen applications generated from renewable sources.


Levenmouth Community Energy Project’s Hydrogen Office.

The project whose partners also include Fife Council, Toshiba, Leven Valley Development Trust and Fife College, is Toshiba’s most complex hydrogen project outside Japan.


Toshiba Hydrogen Energy R&D Center at Fuchu Complex, Tokyo

Hydrogen will be stored at Methil and reconverted to electricity at times when onsite wind and solar generation is low. The scheme will address the intermittency of renewable generation and improve Levenmouth business park’s energy self-sufficiency...snip
Full: http://www.thecourier.co.uk/business/news/fife-hydrogen-energy-project-moves-ahead-1.892421



We help demonstrate the role that energy efficiency, renewables and hydrogen play in reducing the impact of climate change and securing the world’s future energy supply.
http://brightgreenhydrogen.org.uk/
https://twitter.com/brightgreenH2

Logan Energy
http://www.logan-energy.com/
https://twitter.com/LoganEnergy

The opening of the Toshiba Group Hydrogen Energy Research & Development Center. Published April 22, 2015


Around the World: H2 is #1



Wasserstoff ?????ό?? hidrógeno водород hidrojen מימן idrogeno hydrogène väte

July 29, 2015

San Francisco Plans World’s Largest Hydrogen Fueling Station

Environment News Service July 27, 2015


Red and White Fleet tour boat crosses
SF Bay (Photo:Red&White Fleet)

LIVERMORE, CA (ENS) – The world’s largest hydrogen fueling station is in the works for San Francisco to serve fuel cell electric cars, buses and fleet vehicles in addition to a high-speed ferry and other maritime vessels.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, MARAD, is funding a feasibility study to examine the technical, regulatory and economic aspects of the project.

“The Maritime Administration is committed to finding new and efficient technologies for use in the maritime industry that reduce pollution and protect our environment,” said Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen.

“This industry continues moving forward on renewable energy and clean-fuel options, and this project encourages a shift toward lower impact maritime fuels that may further green the waterborne link in our national transportation system,” said Jaenichen...
Read More: http://ens-newswire.com/2015/07/27/74569/

The birth of a trillion dollar industry- and you get to see it. A Kilogram of Hydrogen will have value anywhere in the universe-after all. 75% of the universe is hydrogen. And a Kg of H2 doesn't degrade over time, like batteries. The Hydrogen Revolution is on. Watch what happens...

July 28, 2015

House Members who Voted to Stop States from Mandating GMO Labels Rec'd $30M from Ag&Food Industries

allgov.com July 27, 2015

The House of Representatives last week approved a bill, the so-called Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, which will halt state efforts to label genetically modified foods as such. The vote did not break down on party lines, but the bill’s backers appeared to have one thing in common—love of the color green.

According to information at Opensecrets.org, those supporting the bill got about $30 million to do so from Big Ag. The 275 representatives of both parties who voted to keep consumers in the dark about the food they’re consuming averaged $108,900 in contributions from agricultural interests such as Monsanto and food lobbyists such as the Grocery Manufacturers Association in the 2014 election cycle.


Collin Peterson, D-MN

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota), the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, got nearly $400,000 from agricultural interests in the last cycle. Committee member Frank Lucas (R-Oklahoma) received about $350,000 from Big Ag in 2014. Bill sponsor Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) received $10,000 just from the Grocery Manufacturers, the most that group gave any candidate in the 2014 cycle...

http://www.allgov.com/news/where-is-the-money-going/house-members-who-voted-to-stop-states-from-mandating-gmo-labeling-received-30-million-dollars-from-agribusiness-and-food-industries-150727?news=857055

GMO Labeling Laws Around the World: The 64 Countries That Do It

The U.S. currently enforces no mandatory labeling laws on genetically modified foods. Yet we still position ourselves as the world’s most powerful nation. What kind of powerful nation refuses to empower its citizens with the rights to make informed decisions about the food they eat?

These 64 countries, some considerably less “powerful” than the U.S., have mandatory labeling laws on foods containing genetically modified ingredients. You can view a very informative map of the world and the countries with and without GMO labeling laws on the Center for Food Safety’s website. The U.S., along with most of Africa and the Middle East, lags behind the rest of the world, even despite rising consumer concern and pressure on the FDA.



These countries require mandatory labeling of nearly all GMO foods and a labeling threshold of 0.9–1% GMO content. (Threshold refers to content per ingredient in each food item.)

Australia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Ireland
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
UK

These countries require mandatory labeling of many GMO foods and a labeling threshold higher than 1% or undefined. This includes laws with a threshold of 1% for the entire food item.

Brazil
China
Indonesia
Japan
Kenya
Malaysia
South Africa
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Ukraine

These countries require mandatory labeling of some GMO foods, but with numerous exceptions and no labeling threshold defined; or a vague mandatory GMO food labeling law that lacks implemention and enforcement provisions.

Bolivia
Cameroon
Ecuador
El Salvador
Ethiopia
India
Jordan
Mali
Mauritius
Peru
Senegal
Taiwan
Thailand
Tunisia
Vietnam

http://www.organicauthority.com/foodie-buzz/gmo-labeling-laws-around-the-world-the-64-countries-that-do-it.html

Nice Work America- The people in Estonia know more about what they eat than you. The best government money can buy. For Corporations.

July 27, 2015

Inside the world's largest fuel cell plant

In America? Of course not. No one will even guess that. The US is busy fracking...Drill Baby Drill!

Inside the world's largest fuel cell plant in South Korea
U Jean Jung CCTV.com July 26, 2015

Fuel cells are often mentioned in the context of hydrogen-powered cars, but they can also be used to power homes. We visited the world's largest fuel cell power plant in South Korea's Hwaseong city, to find out why fuel cells could be the next best source of renewable energy.



Just an hour's drive south of Seoul lies Gyunggi Green Energy, the world's largest fuel cell power plant, producing 440 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.



Each 2.8 MW fuel cell takes up the space of one basketball court. And 21 of them produce enough electricity to power 135,000 households in Hwaseong city. Fuel cells produce electricity through the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen.

Nothing gets burned, which means only steam comes out of the chimneys, making the plant ideal for locations closer to densely populated cities. And unlike other renewable energy sources, they can run 24/7, 365 days a year, unaffected by the weather.

POSCO Energy...will become the first South Korean company to fully localize the manufacturing process of fuel-cells, a project that is worth 86.3 million US dollars...snip
Continue: http://english.cntv.cn/2015/07/26/VIDE1437892561249433.shtm

Constructing the World's Largest Fuel Cell Park

July 26, 2015

2013: BMW Manufacturing In SC Starts Expanding their Hydrogen Fuel Cell Forklift Fleet

BMW Manufacturing Expands Use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Spartanburg, SC - 03/13/2013

BMW Manufacturing announced today the successful expansion of the company’s hydrogen fuel-cell material handling equipment across its 4.0 million square foot production facility. In 2010, BMW completed the installation of a hydrogen storage and distribution area near the plant’s Energy Center to power about 100 pieces of fuel cell material handling equipment. Since that time, the company has more than doubled its hydrogen-fuel cell fleet to approximately 230 units to service the entire plant’s production and logistics functions.

"Continuing their commitment to sustainability"

“BMW continues to complement its sustainable production model by adding alternative, efficient technology, said Josef Kerscher, President of BMW Manufacturing. “Successful implementation, and ultimately expansion, of our hydrogen fuel cell material handling fleet has provided a sustainable energy source that exceeds our expectations.”


"Hydrogen is greener compared to lead acid batteries..."
- Cleveland Beaufort, BMW

The additional usage of the hydrogen fuel cell system was executed by adding two new higher-capacity compressors, new storage tubes and distribution piping, and eight new hydrogen dispensers. The expanded system will deliver at least 400kg of Hydrogen per day. BMW estimates that the expanded system will avoid 4.1 million kw/hours per year, up from 1.8 million kw hours/year for the initial hydrogen fuel cell system.

BMW also released a project update to the Landfill Gas-to-Hydrogen Pilot Project. The first phase of the study, that validated the economic and technical feasibility, began in July 2011. The project has now successfully moved to the second phase of methane-to-hydrogen conversion. The project team, led by South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA), is implementing and testing equipment that will monitor the hydrogen purity. To do this, BMW has installed a clean-up system that takes a stream of landfill gas (post-siloxane removal), removes the sulfur and trace contaminants and, ultimately, produces hydrogen via a Steam Methane Reformer (SMR)...
https://www.bmwusfactory.com/bmw_articles/bmw-manufacturing-expands-use-of-hydrogen-fuel-cells/

How It's Made: Hydrogen Fuel Cells



Related: BMW ushers in Future eDrive Experience with Hydrogen-Powered 5 Series GT

BMW seem to be emerging as a leader in tackling the challenges of meeting the ever-increasing demands for alternative auto fuel sources. The German automobile giant at the recently held Innovation Days 2015 in France unveiled its all new and enhanced BMW Hydrogen-Powered 5 Series GT which was co-developed with Toyota.

So, what makes the all-new 5 Series GT stand apart? With a staggering 245 horsepower, it can easily go up to 300 miles with its massive tank capacity, claims to offer zero emission and most importantly, it shuns the lengthy cell charge time usually associated with other electric cars.

It all began in the year 2013 when Toyota and BMW first came together for their visionary FCEV venture with a common aim of rolling down approved components by the year 2020 and sales to kick in by the next decennium...
http://www.vcpost.com/articles/78339/20150710/bmw-ushers-future-edrive-experience-hydrogen-powered-5-series-gt.htm

July 21, 2015

Buzz Gets Bigger Over Tiny California Solar Desalination Plant

CleanTechnica July 20th, 2015 by Tina Casey

What a difference a month makes. Back in June, the California Farm Bureau Federation reported that local officials were still a bit iffy over the prospects for scaling up a relatively small, demonstration-scale solar desalination plant for the water-starved San Joaquin Valley. We have no idea what changed their minds, but just last week the desalination plant’s developer, WaterFX, announced plans for bouncing the project up to a commercial-scale facility capable of producing 1.6 billion gallons of fresh water per year.

Solar Desalination: That Was Then…


Al-Khafji Solar Desalination plant on the Arabian Gulf coast that will have the
capacity to produce 30,000 cubic meters.

Commercial solar desalination could make a huge difference in California’s ability to maintain a viable agriculture sector under drought conditions. Conventional desalination involves huge amounts of energy, and solar energy provides a low-cost, sustainable way to reclaim otherwise unusable water.

In 2014, we took note when WaterFX cranked up its HydroRevolution solar desalination demonstration facility. The project, built for the Panoche Water and Drainage District, actually kills two birds with one stone. In addition to solar desalination, it involves a cost-effective system for reclaiming the huge quantities of salt generated by conventional desalination systems...snip

Onwards & Upwards For Solar Desalination

Aside from recovering drainage water from agricultural sites, California is also eyeballing the vast potential of solar-powered seawater recovery. The state’s Carlsbad solar-enabled desalination plant, now under construction, will be the largest of its kind in the western hemisphere.

For the record, Saudi Arabia is building the largest solar desalination plant in the world, including a special filtering component to address the jellyfish issue...snip
Complete article: http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/20/buzz-gets-bigger-tiny-california-solar-desalination-plant/

********************

World’s Largest Solar Powered Seawater Desalination Plant
Published on Mar 5, 2015

Al Khafji (Saudi Arabia) is the home for what's already referred to as the largest desalination plant fully powered by renewable solar energy.

July 21, 2015

Japan opens hotel run entirely by robots

NY Daily News July 20, 2015


A robot greets guests at Japan's Strange
Hotel Photo: Huisten Bosch

Japan has opened the doors to the world’s first automated, robot-staffed hotel, replacing people with pretty, lifelike lady humanoid receptionists and a bow tie-wearing, dinosaur concierge.

At the Henn-na Hotel, or "Strange Hotel," guests check in, check out, get their rooms cleaned and their luggage conveyed by a fleet of blinking, beeping and rolling robots that the hotel describes as “warm and friendly.”

Likewise, as part of their aim to feature cutting-edge technology, stays are keyless. Instead, guests enter their rooms via facial recognition technology.

Aside from its novelty factor, the use of robots and the emphasis on automated services is part of a bigger concept: To reduce labor costs, save energy, reduce waste, and develop a self-sufficient hotel powered by solar energy and machines...
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/japan-opens-hotel-run-robots-article-1.2297588

Related: YangYang: Humanoid robot that scarily resembles Sarah Palin is unveiled in China
IB Times April 30, 2015

A life-like humanoid robot that bears a scary resemblance to former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin has been unveiled at the Global Mobile Internet Conference 2015 in Beijing, China.

YangYang is a robot that resembles a middle-aged Caucasian woman and is able to talk, move its head, shake hands and even hug a human.

The android robot was designed by the Shanghai Shenqing Industry (SSI) working in collaboration with Japanese robotics expert Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University's Department of Systems Innovation who has been developing robots for over 20 years...
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/yangyang-humanoid-robot-that-scarily-resembles-sarah-palin-unveiled-china-1499178#




The Droids are coming, what are the plans for those that lose their jobs? If people think it's hard to get a job now, try competing with a robot.

July 20, 2015

Hempcrete is the newest green building material

July 19th, 2015 by Stephen Hanley



Add hemp fiber to lime and you get a lightweight building material that can be shaped like a cinder block. When fully cured, it floats in water. Buildings up to 10 stories tall have been built from hempcrete in Europe according to Philly.com.



Hempcrete is made using the woody, balsa-like interior of the Cannabis sativa plant (the fiber for textiles comes from the outer portion of the stalk) combined with lime and water. Though it lacks the structural stability its name might suggest, hempcrete does provide natural insulation that is airtight yet breathable and flexible. It is free from toxins, impervious to mold and pests, and virtually fireproof.

Best of all, hempcrete is a sustainable building material because hemp can be grown and replenished relatively quickly. Hemp based building materials could usher in a new era of “green” building products, according to the New York Times.

But first, society needs to unlearn 75 years of lies told about hemp by promoters of wood, paper and plastics products. They conspired to create and produce perhaps one of the most successful propaganda campaigns of all times — a movie entitled Reefer Madness that depicted marijuana users as dangerous criminals with violent tendencies. Based on the reaction to that film, Congress banned the cultivation of hemp in 1937...MORE
http://greenbuildingelements.com/2015/07/19/hempcrete-is-the-newest-green-building-material/

Hemp for Victory- a US Government film made in 1942