| November 17, 2006 |
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cleaner, cheaper energy today |
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Talks On Post-2012 Kyoto Format Hit Political Snag Nairobi (AFP) Nov 16, 2006 
Efforts to deepen action against climate change struggled against political obstacles on Thursday, the penultimate day of marathon UN talks to address the world's most pressing environmental threat. Negotiators battled for consensus among industrialised countries over the shape of a poker game, due to start next year, on future commitments for cutting greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol, delegates said. Agreement is needed to send a clear signal to developing countries that rich nations are willing to shoulder the burden on climate change, a problem they created by burning the fossil fuels that drove their prosperity.
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Annan Blunt On Climate Change
United Nations (UPI) Nov 16, 2006U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who will occupy his post for about six weeks more, seemed to be pulling no punches during a get-tough speech on global warming. He told the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday it must be taken as seriously as the issues that have traditionally monopolized first-order political attention such as conflict, poverty and the proliferation of deadly weapons. Annan said there should be no more excuses. Global Warming Already Devastating African Lives 
Nairobi (AFP) Nov 16, 2006An octogenarian cattlekeeper who fought British colonialists to help win Kenya's independence says he is now facing an even more formidable, and invisible, opponent: greenhouse gas. "This battle is riskier because I do not know how to fight the enemy. But I know we need proper leadership and a deep commitment to end climate change," said Juma Njunge Macharia, 81, pounding his gnarled and calloused fists on the table in defiance. Iran Ready For IAEA Check If UN Gives Up Nuke File 
Tehran (RIA Novosti) Nov 17, 2006Tehran is ready to discuss renewed inspections by the United Nations nuclear watchdog if the UN Security Council halts its consideration of the Iranian nuclear file, the country's top nuclear negotiator said Thursday. Iran insists that its controversial nuclear program is purely aimed at producing electricity, and denies international accusations that it is building an atom bomb. |
Carbon Storage Eyed In New US-Australian Climate Change projects
Nairobi (AFP) Nov 16, 2006The United States and its ally on the global warming issue, Australia, on Thursday added new projects, including carbon storage, to a bilateral initiative on climate change, according to a press statement. US Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky and Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell agreed on the additions on the sidelines of the UN climate conference in Nairobi, the US State Department said. Microorganisms - Just One Part Of The Solution To Energy Problem 
Columbia MO (SPX) Nov 17, 2006The answer to one of the world's largest problems - the need for clean, renewable sources of energy - might just come from some of the world's smallest inhabitants - bacteria - according to a new report, Microbial Energy Conversion, released by the American Academy of Microbiology. Petroleum Targets Unearthed By UH Professor 
Houston TX (SPX) Nov 16, 2006Enhancing ways to detect petroleum targets has earned one University of Houston scientist high international honors. Kristopher Innanen, an assistant professor of physics at UH, received the J. Clarence Karcher Award from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) during the SEG International Exposition and 76th Annual Meeting in New Orleans last month. Only the second from UH to receive this top honor, Innanen was given the Karcher award to recognize his significant contributions as a young geophysicist of outstanding abilities under 35. |
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Timetable For Climate Talks Implies US Could Be Out Of Kyoto Fold For Years
Nairobi (AFP) Nov 16, 2006Talks on stepping up action on global warming here Thursday imply the United States will be hampered for many years from shaping the world's key treaty for reducing carbon emissions, delegates said. Environment ministers are meeting in the Kenyan capital for talks on how to accelerate pollution-cutting action under the UN's Kyoto Protocol when the landmark accord runs out at the end of 2012. Study Shows Growing Role Of Asia As Source Of Arctic Pollution 
Helsinki (AFP) Nov 16, 2006Europe has succeeded in reducing toxic emissions that pollute the Arctic, but Asia is playing an increasing role in damaging the environmentally-sensitive region, the Arctic Council said in a study published on Thursday. Over the past 15 years, "the reduction of emissions in Europe has had a cleaning effect on the Arctic," the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) said in its report. Russia May Become Full WTO Member By Next September 
Hanoi (RIA Novosti) Nov 17, 2006A Russian diplomat said he expects the country to become a full member of the World Trade Organization by the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Australia next September. "This is a real forecast," Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov said following a ministerial meeting ahead of the APEC-2006 summit, to be held in Hanoi November 19. |
JHU-Led Team Discovers Exotic Relatives Of Protons And Neutrons
Baltimore Md (SPX) Nov 17, 2006A team of scientists, including four at The Johns Hopkins University, has discovered two new subatomic particles, rare but important relatives of the familiar, commonplace proton and neutron. Named "Sigma-sub-b" particles, the two exotic and incredibly quick to decompose particles are like rare jewels mined from mountains of data, said team leader Petar Maksimovic, assistant professor of physics and astronomy in the university's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. Thunderbird Linux Cluster Ranks Sixth In Top500 Supercomputing Race 
Albuquerque NM (SPX) Nov 16, 2006Sandia National Laboratories' 8960-processor Thunderbird Linux cluster, developed in collaboration with Dell, Inc. and Cisco, maintained its sixth position in the Top500 Supercomputers by achieving an improved overall performance of 53.0 teraflops, an 18.5 percent increase in efficiency from last year's performance. The Top500 ranking of supercomputers is based on the Linpack benchmark, a yardstick of performance to test processor speed, scalability, and accuracy. Red Storm Upgrade Lifts Sandia Supercomputer 
Albuquerque NM (SPX) Nov 16, 2006A $15 million upgrade to Sandia's Red Storm computer has increased its peak speed from 41.5 to 124.4 teraflops in a computing terrain in which a single teraflop was a big deal only 6 years ago. The machine, built by Cray Inc., is now rated second fastest in the world, with a Linpack speed of 101.4 teraflops. The widely recognized Linpack test measures a supercomputer's speed as applied to a computing problem. |
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