July 18, 2007

cleaner, cheaper energy today

DISASTER MANAGEMENT Strict Quake Standards Spare Japan Again, But Factory Lines Suspendend Kashiwazaki (AFP) Jul 18, 2007 The massive earthquake that struck central Japan this week proved again that the country's strict quake-resistance standards and preparations can limit casualties. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake destroyed more than 340 houses, triggered landslides and cut off roads. But while such a disaster could kill thousands in many parts of the world, the death toll was limited to nine so far with one person ... read more Previous Issues Jul 17 Jul 16 Jul 13 Jul 12 Jul 11 FROTH AND BUBBLE Toxic Fumes Threaten Thousands In Ukraine After Rail Crash Lviv (AFP) Jul 18, 2007 Toxic fumes threatened thousands of residents in western Ukraine on Tuesday after a freight train derailed and caught fire, causing mass evacuations and leaving at least 21 people injured. Authorities were urging residents to use gas masks and remain inside as yellow clouds of highly toxic phosphorus hung over the area. Six of the train's tank cars caught fire in Monday's accident near the ... more WOOD PILE Increase In Creeping Vines Signals Major Shift In Southern US Forests Columbus OH (SPX) Jul 18, 2007 A new study of bottomland hardwood forests in the southeastern United States suggests that the increased growth of vines may change the landscape of these forests. Researchers charting the growth of vines in two forests in South Carolina found up to a 10-fold increase in the number of vines in just two decades. Vines commonly found in both forests include grapevines, trumpet vine, poison ivy and ... more CIVIL NUCLEAR Japan Quake Triggered Dozens Of Faults At Nuclear Plant Kashiwazaki (AFP) Jul 18, 2007 Authorities in Japan were Tuesday investigating a second nuclear scare and dozens of other problems discovered at a massive power plant following a deadly earthquake. Fires, leakages of water and oil, misplaced duct pipes and broken equipment, have been recorded since the 6.8 magnitude quake hit the area of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility on Monday, its operator said. Tokyo Electric Power ... more FROTH AND BUBBLE Environment Protection Efforts In China Not Sufficient Warns OECD Paris (AFP) Jul 18, 2007 The OECD warned Tuesday that China's breakneck economic growth was wreaking severe damage on the environment and said Beijing's efforts to date to curb pollution had been insufficient. "Rapid economic development, industrialisation and urbanisation have generated severe and growing pressures on the environment resulting in significant damage to human health and depletion of natural resources," O ... more CAR TECH New Research Seeks To Enhance Alternative Fuel Integration In Public Vehicle Fleets Rochester NY (SPX) Jul 18, 2007 Rochester Institute of Technology and the County of Monroe, New York have created a research partnership to assess the performance of the County's fleet of E85 flex-fuel vehicles. E85 is comprised of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline and is considered a major alternative energy option for American automobiles. RIT's Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies will work with the County Departmen ... more   ENERGY TECH New Particle Explains Odd Behavior In Cuprate Superconductors SOLAR DAILY Germany Leading At The Intersection Of The PV And Semiconductor Industries CIVIL NUCLEAR Japan Quake Sparks New Fears Over Atomic Energy   CAR TECH New York Congestion Plan Hits Bump In The Road New York (AFP) Jul 18, 2007 New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed Tuesday to continue with plans to introduce a congestion charge for drivers entering Manhattan, despite suffering a major setback at state level. The New York state assembly failed on Monday to meet a deadline to apply for federal funding for the scheme, which Bloomberg unveiled in April this year under an ambitious raft of environmental proposals labelled ... more RAY GUNS Airborne Laser Team Tracks Airborne Target Compensates for Atmospheric Turbulence St. Louis MO (SPX) Jul 17, 2007 Boeing along with industry teammates and its government customer, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, successfully completed a key Airborne Laser (ABL) flight test Friday, demonstrating the weapon system's ability to actively track an airborne target, compensate for atmospheric turbulence and fire a surrogate for its missile-killing high-energy laser. During the test, the modified Boeing 747- ... more SUPERPOWERS Russia Has Everything To Win By Freezing Treaty Brussels (AFP) Jul 17, 2007 Russia has much to win by suspending, or even freezing, a key Soviet-era treaty limiting troops and arms in Europe and the West has little leverage to stop it, experts said Monday. The freeze, decreed by President Vladimir Putin for "exceptional circumstances" relating to Russia's security and due to take effect on December 12, is a new attempt to undermine US and NATO projects, the experts said ... more POLITICAL ECONOMY The New Capitalism Munich (UPI) July 16, 2007 A suspicion is spreading across Europe that something fundamental has changed in the nature of capitalism and that new legislation -- and probably some very new thinking -- will be required to deal with it. The first sign of this was the statement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel last month that the country needed new regulations to protect its key industries from being taken over by the inves ... more   CIVIL NUCLEAR Russia Will Build Floating Nuclear Power Plants ENERGY TECH Somali PM Says He Is Not Aware Of Oil Deal With China AEROSPACE Goodrich Contributes Technology For Environmentally-Friendly Engine Research Program   CIVIL NUCLEAR Leak At Japanese Nuclear Plant After Quake Kashiwazaki, Japan (AFP) Jul 16, 2007 A powerful earthquake in Japan triggered a small leak of radioactive material Monday from one of the world's largest nuclear plants, the operator said. The deadly 6.8 Richter-scale earthquake also ignited a fire at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility, the largest nuclear plant in a nation with strict safety regulations. "We have confirmed that water containing a slight amount of radioactive ma ... more AEROSPACE Sarkozy, Merkel To Tackle Airbus Problems Paris (AFP) July 13, 2007 The French president and German chancellor are to meet in the hometown of European plane maker Airbus, on Monday for talks on improving the management of its politically-charged parent company, EADS. According to several sources, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel are to agree to scrap the company's dual management system which sees a French and German executive share the functions of the EADS ch ... more ENERGY TECH Iran, Pakistan, India Agree Gas Price For Transnational Pipeline New Delhi, India (RIA Novosti) Jul 17, 2007 Iran, Pakistan and India have agreed on a formula for the price of natural gas to be pumped through a pipeline that will link the three countries, India's Asian Age daily said. The deal has removed the main obstacle to the signing of a three-way agreement on building the 2,300 km Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline with an estimated price tag of $7.5 billion. The first deliveries from gas-rich Ir ... more AEROSPACE Sukhoi Super Jet: The Great White Hope Of The Russian Aircraft Industry Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Jul 17, 2007 Russia's civilian aircraft industry collapsed with much of the rest of its economy after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Now, the country is hoping to gain a foothold on the global market for short-haul passenger aircraft, competing with the industry's two current titans, Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer. Of all the projects it has to choose from, the Russian government has opted ... more   ENERGY TECH The Coming Conflict In The Arctic WOOD PILE Report Finds Forest Enterprises Stifled By Red Tape, Putting Forests And Incomes At Risk SUPERPOWERS Russia Pulls Out Of Key European Arms Treaty   Previous Issues Jul 17 Jul 16 Jul 13 Jul 12 Jul 11 The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy statement