(NaturalNews) Developing a renewable energy system that creates energy independence and even a considerable new source of revenue is not some sort of sci-fi pipe dream. BioCycle reports that the German village of Wildpoldsried, population 2,600, has had such incredible success in building its renewable energy system. Wildpoldsried generates 321 percent more renewable energy than it uses, and it now sells the excess back to the national power grid for roughly $5.7 million in additional revenue every single year.
By utilizing a unique combination of solar panels, "biogas" generators, natural wastewater treatment plants, and wind turbines, Wildpoldsried has effectively eliminated its need to be attached to a centralized power grid, and created a thriving renewable energy sector in the town that is self-sustaining and abundantly beneficial for the local economy, the environment, and the public.
Possessing admirable vision for the town and strong motivation to see the project as a whole succeed, Mayor Arno Zengerie has led the way for many years in making Wildpoldsried's energy independence efforts a success. As far back as 1997, the village has been investing in building and promoting new industries, maintaining a strong local economy, generating new forms of revenue, and ultimately staying out of debt. And the best way it saw fit to accomplish much of this was through the implementation of self-sustaining, renewable energy technologies.
Not only did Wildpoldsried successfully reduce the amount of time expected to generate the necessary funds to build local treasures like a sports hall, theater stage, pub, and retirement home with the revenue generated by its thriving renewable energy sector -- the village has already successfully built nine community buildings, with more on the way -- but it also achieved all this and more without going into debt.
"We often spend a lot of time talking to our visitors about how to motivate the village council (and Mayor) to start thinking differently," said Mayor Zengerle, who now gives talks around the world about the successes of his award-winning village. "We show them a best practices model in motion and many see the benefits immediately. From the tour we give, our guests understand how well things can operate when you have the enthusiasm and conviction of the people.
Learn More at the original post:
http://www.naturalnews.com/034440_renewable_energy_Germany_power_grid.html#ixzz1gzjysxzh
Monday, December 19, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
India files biopiracy lawsuit against Monsanto, says biotech giant is stealing nature for corporate gain.
Written Wednesday, September 28, 2011 by Jonathan Benson | NaturalNews.com
(NaturalNews) Representing one of the most agriculturally bio-diverse nations in the world, India has become a primary target for biotechnology companies like Monsanto and Cargill to spread their genetically-modified (GM) crops into new markets. However, a recent France 24 report explains that the Indian government has decided to take an offensive approach against this attempted agricultural takeover by suing Monsanto for "biopiracy," accusing the company of stealing India's indigenous plants in order to re-engineer them into patented varieties.
Brinjal, also known in Western nations as eggplant, is a native Indian crop for which there are roughly 2,500 different unique varieties. Millions of Indian farmers grow brinjal, which is used in a variety of Indian food dishes, and the country grows more than a quarter of the world's overall supply of the vegetable.
And in an attempt to capitalize on this popular crop, Monsanto has repeatedly tried to commercially market its own GM variety of brinjal called Bt brinjal. But massive public outcry against planned commercial approval of Monsanto's "frankencrop" variety in 2010 led to the government banning it for an indefinite period of time.
But Monsanto is still stealing native crops, including brinjal, and quietly working on GM varieties of them in test fields, which is a clear violation of India's Biological Diversity Act (BDA). So at the prompting of various farmers and activists in India, the Indian government, representing the first time in history a nation that has taken such action, has decided to sue Monsanto.
"This can send a different message to the big companies for violating the laws of the nation," said K.S. Sugara, Member Secretary of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board, to France 24 concerning the lawsuit. "It is not acceptable ... that the farmers in our communities are robbed of the advantage they should get from the indigenous varieties."
You can watch the full France 24 video report of India's lawsuit against Monsanto here:
http://www.france24.com/en/20110921...
Farmers and active members of the public in India have been some of the world's most outspoken opponents of Monsanto's attempted GM takeover of agriculture. Besides successfully overturning the attempted approval of Bt brinjal, these freedom fighters have also successfully destroyed several attempted Monsanto GM test fields.
(NaturalNews) Representing one of the most agriculturally bio-diverse nations in the world, India has become a primary target for biotechnology companies like Monsanto and Cargill to spread their genetically-modified (GM) crops into new markets. However, a recent France 24 report explains that the Indian government has decided to take an offensive approach against this attempted agricultural takeover by suing Monsanto for "biopiracy," accusing the company of stealing India's indigenous plants in order to re-engineer them into patented varieties.
Brinjal, also known in Western nations as eggplant, is a native Indian crop for which there are roughly 2,500 different unique varieties. Millions of Indian farmers grow brinjal, which is used in a variety of Indian food dishes, and the country grows more than a quarter of the world's overall supply of the vegetable.
And in an attempt to capitalize on this popular crop, Monsanto has repeatedly tried to commercially market its own GM variety of brinjal called Bt brinjal. But massive public outcry against planned commercial approval of Monsanto's "frankencrop" variety in 2010 led to the government banning it for an indefinite period of time.
But Monsanto is still stealing native crops, including brinjal, and quietly working on GM varieties of them in test fields, which is a clear violation of India's Biological Diversity Act (BDA). So at the prompting of various farmers and activists in India, the Indian government, representing the first time in history a nation that has taken such action, has decided to sue Monsanto.
"This can send a different message to the big companies for violating the laws of the nation," said K.S. Sugara, Member Secretary of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board, to France 24 concerning the lawsuit. "It is not acceptable ... that the farmers in our communities are robbed of the advantage they should get from the indigenous varieties."
You can watch the full France 24 video report of India's lawsuit against Monsanto here:
http://www.france24.com/en/20110921...
Farmers and active members of the public in India have been some of the world's most outspoken opponents of Monsanto's attempted GM takeover of agriculture. Besides successfully overturning the attempted approval of Bt brinjal, these freedom fighters have also successfully destroyed several attempted Monsanto GM test fields.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
An unlimited supply of hydrogen energy from wastewater? New research suggests it's possible.
Written Sunday, September 25, 2011 by Jonathan Benson | NaturalNews.com
(NaturalNews) Hydrogen-based energy technology currently lacks the ability to effectively and efficiently produce hydrogen on a large scale apart from the heavy input of fossil fuels which defeats the purpose entirely. But a professor out of Penn State University (PSU) has discovered a novel new way to produce hydrogen using simple wastewater or saltwater -- and theoretically, the technology could one day produce an unlimited supply of renewable energy.
Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, research by Bruce Logan, a professor of environmental engineering at PSU, and his colleague Younggy Kim reveals that adding a precise amount of a certain "activated" bacteria to either wastewater or saltwater effectively produces hydrogen energy as its byproduct.
Upon experimenting with electrical currents, the duo discovered that the hydrogen-producing bacteria advantageously began to consume organic compounds in the water after being activated with a surge of electricity. And if connected to an energy-intensive wastewater treatment plant, which would also serve as the water source, a large-scale, hydrogen-producing bacterial facility could convert large amounts of water into hydrogen without even needing to be externally powered.
"You can hitch a wastewater treatment (sic) to a hydrogen production plant without any external energy," Logan is quoted as saying to Fast Company. "Right now the main barriers are, can we do this on a large scale, and can we do this economically?"
Logan believes that his process has incredible potential, especially if considered as an incremental advancement in the larger picture of alternative energy development. While it may not be fully refined and optimized, it stands to open the door to further advancements in viably producing energy without the use of fossil fuels, not to mention turn a theory into a reality.
"People are investing large amounts of money into technologies that have large scale impacts on energy production," added Logan. "But there are ways to make the same kind of change from the summation of smaller advances."
Like many of the other energy developments that have been announced in recent years, only time will tell if Logan's hydrogen advancement shapes up into an actual product, or if it will simply remain an unfulfilled pipe dream.
(NaturalNews) Hydrogen-based energy technology currently lacks the ability to effectively and efficiently produce hydrogen on a large scale apart from the heavy input of fossil fuels which defeats the purpose entirely. But a professor out of Penn State University (PSU) has discovered a novel new way to produce hydrogen using simple wastewater or saltwater -- and theoretically, the technology could one day produce an unlimited supply of renewable energy.
Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, research by Bruce Logan, a professor of environmental engineering at PSU, and his colleague Younggy Kim reveals that adding a precise amount of a certain "activated" bacteria to either wastewater or saltwater effectively produces hydrogen energy as its byproduct.
Upon experimenting with electrical currents, the duo discovered that the hydrogen-producing bacteria advantageously began to consume organic compounds in the water after being activated with a surge of electricity. And if connected to an energy-intensive wastewater treatment plant, which would also serve as the water source, a large-scale, hydrogen-producing bacterial facility could convert large amounts of water into hydrogen without even needing to be externally powered.
"You can hitch a wastewater treatment (sic) to a hydrogen production plant without any external energy," Logan is quoted as saying to Fast Company. "Right now the main barriers are, can we do this on a large scale, and can we do this economically?"
Logan believes that his process has incredible potential, especially if considered as an incremental advancement in the larger picture of alternative energy development. While it may not be fully refined and optimized, it stands to open the door to further advancements in viably producing energy without the use of fossil fuels, not to mention turn a theory into a reality.
"People are investing large amounts of money into technologies that have large scale impacts on energy production," added Logan. "But there are ways to make the same kind of change from the summation of smaller advances."
Like many of the other energy developments that have been announced in recent years, only time will tell if Logan's hydrogen advancement shapes up into an actual product, or if it will simply remain an unfulfilled pipe dream.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Advanced wind turbine design eliminates need for environmentally-harmful rare earth metals, generates electricity at $0.04 per kWh
Written Thursday, September 22, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson | NaturalNews.com
(NaturalNews) The bumbling, inefficient reputation of current wind energy technology just might get the game-changing overhaul it needs to become a viable form of clean energy production, thanks to a new permanent magnet generator (PMG) design created by Boulder Wind Power (BWP).
According to a recent report by Green Tech Media, the budding technology does not require the use of expensive, environmentally-damaging rare earth metals typically imported from China, and it also generates electricity at a lower cost than traditional coal-burning plants are able to do.
Most wind turbines in use today rely on complicated gearboxes that run at high temperatures, that wear out easily, and that are difficult and expensive to maintain. They also require the use of dysprosium, an expensive, rare-earth metal obtained from China, a country whose track record of environmental friendliness leaves much to be desired (http://www.naturalnews.com/028160_r...).
In other words, the lofty price of dysprosium, which can run as high as $2,000 per kilo (2.2 pounds), combined with the frequent need to maintain and replace a slew of intricate turbine parts, has made current wind energy production technologies inadequate and unable to compete in the energy market apart from government subsidization.
The PMG design, however, eliminates the gear-driven system, which BWP describes as "a bunch of very high precision, high quality steel parts in a gear box," with a direct drive system that is "basically one big moving part." And since this single part relies on neodymium, which is one-twentieth the price of dysprosium, and mined in California using an environmentally-friendly extraction process, its potential to replace current wind energy technologies is essentially a given.
But the biggest reason why the PMG wind design is sure to take off is that it actually produces energy for less than both current wind energy technologies and traditional coal technologies do. With the capacity to produce energy at a cost of roughly $0.04 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), without government subsidization, PMG's economic viability alone is enough to eventually propel it to the forefront of the clean energy market.
"We're not inventing new science," said BWP CEO Sandy Butterfield. "We don't expect the rotor to change. We don't expect the tower to change. The nacelle -- everything between the tower and the rotor -- will have significant changes. But it's all mechanical engineering."
(NaturalNews) The bumbling, inefficient reputation of current wind energy technology just might get the game-changing overhaul it needs to become a viable form of clean energy production, thanks to a new permanent magnet generator (PMG) design created by Boulder Wind Power (BWP).
According to a recent report by Green Tech Media, the budding technology does not require the use of expensive, environmentally-damaging rare earth metals typically imported from China, and it also generates electricity at a lower cost than traditional coal-burning plants are able to do.
Most wind turbines in use today rely on complicated gearboxes that run at high temperatures, that wear out easily, and that are difficult and expensive to maintain. They also require the use of dysprosium, an expensive, rare-earth metal obtained from China, a country whose track record of environmental friendliness leaves much to be desired (http://www.naturalnews.com/028160_r...).
In other words, the lofty price of dysprosium, which can run as high as $2,000 per kilo (2.2 pounds), combined with the frequent need to maintain and replace a slew of intricate turbine parts, has made current wind energy production technologies inadequate and unable to compete in the energy market apart from government subsidization.
The PMG design, however, eliminates the gear-driven system, which BWP describes as "a bunch of very high precision, high quality steel parts in a gear box," with a direct drive system that is "basically one big moving part." And since this single part relies on neodymium, which is one-twentieth the price of dysprosium, and mined in California using an environmentally-friendly extraction process, its potential to replace current wind energy technologies is essentially a given.
But the biggest reason why the PMG wind design is sure to take off is that it actually produces energy for less than both current wind energy technologies and traditional coal technologies do. With the capacity to produce energy at a cost of roughly $0.04 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), without government subsidization, PMG's economic viability alone is enough to eventually propel it to the forefront of the clean energy market.
"We're not inventing new science," said BWP CEO Sandy Butterfield. "We don't expect the rotor to change. We don't expect the tower to change. The nacelle -- everything between the tower and the rotor -- will have significant changes. But it's all mechanical engineering."
Click for full view |
Monday, September 19, 2011
No Blood, No Gore, Just Megatons of Steel
Written by Seth Schiesel | www.nytimes.com | Sept. 16th 2011
When I could have been doing something healthy recently, like going to the gym, I was probably sniping with a Panzer IV from the escarpments of a desert called El Halluf. When I should have been doing something responsible, like scrubbing the tub, I was probably barreling around a European town called Himmelsdorf in an “Easy Eight” Sherman. Even when I should have been playing some other game, I was probably playing World of Tanks, a concussively enjoyable, shrewdly designed armored-combat game.
After more than 1,500 online battles, I now find myself daydreaming about obscure military concepts with vaguely suggestive names like gun depression, defilade and enfilade. To put it in blunt, even howitzerian, terms: if you have any interest in military tactics and a speedy computer (the game runs only on fairly powerful Windows PCs), you should at least give it a try. If you’re a World War II buff, the game is a must. And if you’re tiring of elves, demons and aliens, you may find the experience of watching your enemies scatter or be blown to shards by the rumbling might of your Tiger tank just a bit more visceral.
When I could have been doing something healthy recently, like going to the gym, I was probably sniping with a Panzer IV from the escarpments of a desert called El Halluf. When I should have been doing something responsible, like scrubbing the tub, I was probably barreling around a European town called Himmelsdorf in an “Easy Eight” Sherman. Even when I should have been playing some other game, I was probably playing World of Tanks, a concussively enjoyable, shrewdly designed armored-combat game.
After more than 1,500 online battles, I now find myself daydreaming about obscure military concepts with vaguely suggestive names like gun depression, defilade and enfilade. To put it in blunt, even howitzerian, terms: if you have any interest in military tactics and a speedy computer (the game runs only on fairly powerful Windows PCs), you should at least give it a try. If you’re a World War II buff, the game is a must. And if you’re tiring of elves, demons and aliens, you may find the experience of watching your enemies scatter or be blown to shards by the rumbling might of your Tiger tank just a bit more visceral.
World of Tanks is about, well, yeah, tanks, specifically those of the World War II era. There are no people here, alive or dead. There are no limbs to be severed. No decapitations. In fact there is no blood at all, just a lot of nice, clean tank explosions and buildings being ground to rubble. More important, there are amazing victories just waiting to be pulled from the maw of defeat through your mastery of strategy and aim.
You know a game is good when you start hearing about it through the online communities of other games. I first learned about World of Tanks about a year ago, when it was in beta testing.
Suddenly my fellow pilots in Eve Online, the sprawling science-fiction universe, were debating whether the Soviet IS-4 could stand up against the German Ferdinand and whether the American Pattoncould deal with the game version of the Soviet T-54....
For the rest of the article, please click here.
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A fun game I play a bunch myself. ;-D
- OnofakindKnight
Friday, September 9, 2011
Why is this "Unsafe" Food Banned When It's 35,000 Times SAFER Than Others?
Written by Dr.Mercola | mercola.com | Aug 31 2011
Excerpt compiled by Knight's Dilemma
Research by Dr. Ted Beals, MD, featured in the summer 2011 issue of Wise Traditions, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, shows that you are about 35,000 times more likely to get sick from other foods than you are from raw milk! Statistically, you're also more likely to get injured driving to the farm to pick up your raw milk than becoming ill from drinking it.
Excerpt compiled by Knight's Dilemma
Research by Dr. Ted Beals, MD, featured in the summer 2011 issue of Wise Traditions, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, shows that you are about 35,000 times more likely to get sick from other foods than you are from raw milk! Statistically, you're also more likely to get injured driving to the farm to pick up your raw milk than becoming ill from drinking it.
Dr. Beals' research shows that between 1999 and 2010, there was an average of 42 cases of illness per year attributed to raw milk, and that includes both "confirmed" and "presumed" cases.
"At last we have access to the numbers we need to determine the risk of consuming raw milk on a per-person basis"… The key figure that permits a calculation of raw milk illnesses on a per-person basis comes from a 2007 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) FoodNet survey, which found that 3.04 percent of the population consumes raw milk, or about 9.4 million people, based on the 2010 census. This number may in fact be larger in 2011 as raw milk is growing in popularity. For example, sales of raw milk increased 25 percent in California in 2010, while sales of pasteurized milk declined 3 percent."
In his report, Dr. Beals writes:
"From the perspective of a national public health professional looking at an estimated total of 48 million foodborne illnesses each year [from all foods]… there is no rational justification to focus national attention on raw milk, which may be associated with an average of 42 illnesses maximum among the more than nine million people (about 0.0005 percent) who have chosen to drink milk in its fresh unprocessed form.… Consumption of any food has some risk of illness or adverse reaction. And the consequence of basing public policy on horrific personal experiences is that all foods will ultimately be banned, and we will not be able to participate in any activity."
If this isn't food for thought, I don't know what is. These statistics are the smoking gun proving that the war on raw milk cannot be based on food safety or protecting your health from an even remotely real threat…
Sunday, August 21, 2011
'Making science-fiction a reality': Bulletproof human skin made from spider silk and goat milk developed by researchers
From dailymail.co.uk | August 16th 2011
Researchers genetically engineered goats to produce milk which is packed with the same protein as silk spiders.
Once this is milked out it can be spun out and weaved into a material that is ten times stronger than steel.
The fabric can then be blended with human skin to make what the scientists hope will be tough enough to stop even a bullet.
Researchers genetically engineered goats to produce milk which is packed with the same protein as silk spiders.
Once this is milked out it can be spun out and weaved into a material that is ten times stronger than steel.
The fabric can then be blended with human skin to make what the scientists hope will be tough enough to stop even a bullet.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Marco Polo Meets Dinosaurs?
Written by BibleScienceGuy.wordpress.com | August 12th, 2011
Marco Polo (1254–1324) was a merchant from Venice, Italy who is famous for his 24-year, 15,000-mile camping trip.
In 1271 at age 17, Marco Polo left Italy for Asia with his father and uncle. They returned in 1295 to find Venice at war with Genoa. The Venetians had long given up the Polo merchants for dead.
Polo was captured and thrown into a Genovan prison for 4 years where he entertained his cellmates with stories of his travels. Prison was a godsend for Polo, because one of his cellmates was a writer who offered to document Polo’s journey. Polo dictated a detailed account to Rustichello da Pisa to produce
The Travels of Marco Polo.
Over the next several centuries the book stimulated great geographical discoveries, including Christopher Columbus’ attempts to sail to China by going west around the world. Polo’s book with handwritten comments was found among Columbus’ belongings.
Travels was the only “encyclopedia” of the East, and gave Europeans their first look at Asia. It served as a guide for mapmakers for 200 years, especially since Polo brought back a nautical and world map from China.
Polo’s journey preceded construction of China’s Great Wall by two centuries. Polo reported seeing fountains of oil (mineral oil springs), black stones that people burned for heat (coal), and paper money.
In 1275 Polo met Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, in Beijing and served as Kublai’s emissary to Mongolia, India, and Sumatra.
One of his adventures involved a 2-year journey by sea accompanying a wedding party. Of the 600-person party, only 18 survived, including all three Polos.
Marco Polo Sees Dragons
One of the many unusual items in Travels is Polo’s account of ferocious beasts he encountered in southwest China in what is now Yunnan province bordering Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.......
Marco Polo (1254–1324) was a merchant from Venice, Italy who is famous for his 24-year, 15,000-mile camping trip.
In 1271 at age 17, Marco Polo left Italy for Asia with his father and uncle. They returned in 1295 to find Venice at war with Genoa. The Venetians had long given up the Polo merchants for dead.
Polo was captured and thrown into a Genovan prison for 4 years where he entertained his cellmates with stories of his travels. Prison was a godsend for Polo, because one of his cellmates was a writer who offered to document Polo’s journey. Polo dictated a detailed account to Rustichello da Pisa to produce
The Travels of Marco Polo.
Over the next several centuries the book stimulated great geographical discoveries, including Christopher Columbus’ attempts to sail to China by going west around the world. Polo’s book with handwritten comments was found among Columbus’ belongings.
Travels was the only “encyclopedia” of the East, and gave Europeans their first look at Asia. It served as a guide for mapmakers for 200 years, especially since Polo brought back a nautical and world map from China.
Polo’s journey preceded construction of China’s Great Wall by two centuries. Polo reported seeing fountains of oil (mineral oil springs), black stones that people burned for heat (coal), and paper money.
In 1275 Polo met Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, in Beijing and served as Kublai’s emissary to Mongolia, India, and Sumatra.
One of his adventures involved a 2-year journey by sea accompanying a wedding party. Of the 600-person party, only 18 survived, including all three Polos.
Marco Polo Sees Dragons
One of the many unusual items in Travels is Polo’s account of ferocious beasts he encountered in southwest China in what is now Yunnan province bordering Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.......
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Earth Had Two Moons That Crashed to Form One, Study Suggests
By Charles Q. Choi | SPACE.com – August 3rd, 2011
A tiny second moon may once have orbited Earth before catastrophically slamming into the other one, a titanic clash that could explain why the two sides of the surviving lunar satellite are so different from each other, a new study suggests.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
California Leads in Perverting Education
theTrumpet.com | July 18th, 2011
On July 14, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law requiring all public schools to incorporate into their social studies program the achievements and contributions to society of homosexuals, lesbians and transvestites.
On July 14, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law requiring all public schools to incorporate into their social studies program the achievements and contributions to society of homosexuals, lesbians and transvestites.
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California’s public schools will be required to teach students about the contributions of homosexual Americans beginning on January 1, after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a landmark bill last Thursday requiring the material to be added to social studies textbooks and curricula. The new law requires social studies courses to include lessons about the “role and contributions” of “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.” The legislation also mandates that “instructional materials,” like textbooks, include sections about the history of homosexual people.
The law, called SB48, also prohibits instructional materials such as textbooks from “reflecting adversely” upon homosexuals, a stipulation sure to influence the way these books define marriage.
One especially shocking aspect of the legislation is its failure to set any grade limits on the new material. This means that homosexual history could and will be taught at the elementary level. The California Family Council sent an e-mail alert to its readers warning that “children as young as kindergarten age” could be taught the new material.
Students enrolled in these schools will not be permitted to opt out of classes teaching the homosexual-oriented material. The California Family Council said that since the material is not part of a “sexual education” class, parents will not have an opting-out option, and will not be told beforehand about classes teaching the new material.
Beyond the Golden State
Another significant aspect of SB48 is the anticipated impact on the other 49 states in the union.
In addition to being the first state to pass such legislation, California is one the Untied States’ top purchasers of textbooks. The state’s massive buying power prompts many publishers to tailor their books specifically to California’s standards. So the impact of the legislation will extend far beyond the Golden State.
Children Start School Not Knowing Their Own Name
theTrumpet.com | August 1st, 2011
"The British government’s poverty tzar Frank Field made an almost unbelievable statement on bbc Radio 4 on June 23. More children need to arrive on their first day of school with the skills they need to learn, he said. “We’re talking about children knowing their own name … knowing that crayons are for drawing and not stabbing the person next to you, a range of very simple skills like that, which is lacking in a number of individuals."
"The British government’s poverty tzar Frank Field made an almost unbelievable statement on bbc Radio 4 on June 23. More children need to arrive on their first day of school with the skills they need to learn, he said. “We’re talking about children knowing their own name … knowing that crayons are for drawing and not stabbing the person next to you, a range of very simple skills like that, which is lacking in a number of individuals."
Are children really arriving at school not knowing their own name?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Genetically Modified Grass Could Make Superweed Problem Worse
Written by Brandon Keim, July 11th, 2011 (www.wired.com)
A genetically engineered grass expected to hit U.S. markets without government review could speed the evolution of hard-to-control weeds, and perhaps require a return to toxic herbicides scrapped decades ago.
On July 1 — a Friday afternoon, a time usually reserved for potentially controversial news — the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Scotts Miracle-Gro’s herbicide-resistant Kentucky bluegrass would be exempt from tests typically required of transgenic crops.
Scotts Miracle-Gro is the largest U.S. retailer of grass seed, and the modified grass could be widely used in residential lawns. It’s resistant to glyphosate, a front-line herbicide known commercially as Roundup.
The grass will survive extra doses of Roundup, allowing more than usual to be applied. That’s the problem, said agricultural biotechnology expert Douglas Gurian-Sherman of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“The more a chemical is used consistently, the more likely that somebody’s weeds will become resistant. That’s standard, agreed-upon science,” said Gurian-Sherman. “The way that Roundup is used because of transgenic crops exacerbates that problem.”
Herbicide resistance evolves in much the same way as antibiotic resistance: When a weed- or bug-killing compound is applied, any weeds or bugs lucky enough to be genetically resistant will have the best chance to survive and reproduce.
Many crop plants are already engineered to be Roundup-resistant, and heavy use of the herbicide appears to have fueled the evolution of dozens of Roundup-resistant weed strains. They’re a major threat to agriculture in parts of the United States, virtually uncontrollable except by hand-pulling or a return to toxic, decades-old herbicides that the relatively benign Roundup had replaced.
“The industry hasn’t developed a new herbicide in a long time. When resistance develops to something like glyphosate, it’s not like we can move to some new chemical,” said Gurian-Sherman.
Compared to pigweed that can grow three inches each day in soybean fields, Roundup-resistant lawn weeds would be a nuisance rather than an economic threat. But just as superweeds have pushed farmers to bring back toxic herbicides, so might they push homeowners and landscapers.
“We’re burning out Roundup and going back into the past,” said Gurian-Sherman. “The same kind of thing could happen in residential use.”
Another potential problem is the spread of Roundup resistance into related strains of bluegrass, said plant geneticist Norman Ellstrand of the University of California, Riverside.
“I don’t know what other bluegrass species it’s cross-compatible with, but I can say with 98 percent certainty that it’s cross-compatible with some,” said Ellstrand. “If this plant grows and flowers at the same time as other bluegrass, they’ll flourish. You’ll have a new incidence of herbicide resistance getting into the wild.”
Whereas Kentucky bluegrass is popular for lawns, it’s not always welcome. Other members of its 500 species-strong genus are considered weeds.
A lesson can be taken from the unintentional escape of genes from rice bred for resistance to the Clearfield herbicide, said Ellstrand. “Now you have a very bad, weedy rice in Costa Rica that’s resistant to the herbicide,” he said. “It doesn’t happen easily with rice. If it happens with rice, it will happen with bluegrasses.”
Another species of Roundup-resistant grass developed by Scotts Miracle-Gro for golf courses was nixed by the USDA because of fear that resistance would spread to related pest species, noted Ellstrand. “The U.S. Forest Service waded in and said, ‘We don’t want it,’” he said.
Had the the Department of Agriculture decided to treat Roundup-ready bluegrass as a genetically modified plant, extra assurance of its environmental safety would have been demanded. But they decided not to because it fit through a loophole.
Genetically engineered plants are technically designated for regulation according to methods used to insert and activate new genes. Earlier methods used bacteria, which triggered pest-related clauses of the USDA’s Plant Protection Act. But the Roundup-ready bluegrass was made with a so-called gene gun. No bacteria were involved, and the law’s fine print was satisfied.
“By all definitions of genetic engineering, that’s genetic engineering. But it totally escapes the U.S. regulatory framework,” Ellstrand said.
According to Scotts Miracle-Gro spokesman Lance Latham, the USDA’s decision “allows us to move forward with field tests. It’s a first step. It’s our hope that testing will continue our advancement to develop grass seed that is even more sustainable.”
A genetically engineered grass expected to hit U.S. markets without government review could speed the evolution of hard-to-control weeds, and perhaps require a return to toxic herbicides scrapped decades ago.
On July 1 — a Friday afternoon, a time usually reserved for potentially controversial news — the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Scotts Miracle-Gro’s herbicide-resistant Kentucky bluegrass would be exempt from tests typically required of transgenic crops.
Scotts Miracle-Gro is the largest U.S. retailer of grass seed, and the modified grass could be widely used in residential lawns. It’s resistant to glyphosate, a front-line herbicide known commercially as Roundup.
The grass will survive extra doses of Roundup, allowing more than usual to be applied. That’s the problem, said agricultural biotechnology expert Douglas Gurian-Sherman of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“The more a chemical is used consistently, the more likely that somebody’s weeds will become resistant. That’s standard, agreed-upon science,” said Gurian-Sherman. “The way that Roundup is used because of transgenic crops exacerbates that problem.”
Herbicide resistance evolves in much the same way as antibiotic resistance: When a weed- or bug-killing compound is applied, any weeds or bugs lucky enough to be genetically resistant will have the best chance to survive and reproduce.
Many crop plants are already engineered to be Roundup-resistant, and heavy use of the herbicide appears to have fueled the evolution of dozens of Roundup-resistant weed strains. They’re a major threat to agriculture in parts of the United States, virtually uncontrollable except by hand-pulling or a return to toxic, decades-old herbicides that the relatively benign Roundup had replaced.
“The industry hasn’t developed a new herbicide in a long time. When resistance develops to something like glyphosate, it’s not like we can move to some new chemical,” said Gurian-Sherman.
Compared to pigweed that can grow three inches each day in soybean fields, Roundup-resistant lawn weeds would be a nuisance rather than an economic threat. But just as superweeds have pushed farmers to bring back toxic herbicides, so might they push homeowners and landscapers.
“We’re burning out Roundup and going back into the past,” said Gurian-Sherman. “The same kind of thing could happen in residential use.”
Another potential problem is the spread of Roundup resistance into related strains of bluegrass, said plant geneticist Norman Ellstrand of the University of California, Riverside.
“I don’t know what other bluegrass species it’s cross-compatible with, but I can say with 98 percent certainty that it’s cross-compatible with some,” said Ellstrand. “If this plant grows and flowers at the same time as other bluegrass, they’ll flourish. You’ll have a new incidence of herbicide resistance getting into the wild.”
Whereas Kentucky bluegrass is popular for lawns, it’s not always welcome. Other members of its 500 species-strong genus are considered weeds.
A lesson can be taken from the unintentional escape of genes from rice bred for resistance to the Clearfield herbicide, said Ellstrand. “Now you have a very bad, weedy rice in Costa Rica that’s resistant to the herbicide,” he said. “It doesn’t happen easily with rice. If it happens with rice, it will happen with bluegrasses.”
Another species of Roundup-resistant grass developed by Scotts Miracle-Gro for golf courses was nixed by the USDA because of fear that resistance would spread to related pest species, noted Ellstrand. “The U.S. Forest Service waded in and said, ‘We don’t want it,’” he said.
Had the the Department of Agriculture decided to treat Roundup-ready bluegrass as a genetically modified plant, extra assurance of its environmental safety would have been demanded. But they decided not to because it fit through a loophole.
Genetically engineered plants are technically designated for regulation according to methods used to insert and activate new genes. Earlier methods used bacteria, which triggered pest-related clauses of the USDA’s Plant Protection Act. But the Roundup-ready bluegrass was made with a so-called gene gun. No bacteria were involved, and the law’s fine print was satisfied.
“By all definitions of genetic engineering, that’s genetic engineering. But it totally escapes the U.S. regulatory framework,” Ellstrand said.
According to Scotts Miracle-Gro spokesman Lance Latham, the USDA’s decision “allows us to move forward with field tests. It’s a first step. It’s our hope that testing will continue our advancement to develop grass seed that is even more sustainable.”
View original post HERE
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Cold fusion devices produce far more energy than they use; quickly approaching commercial viability
(NaturalNews.com) "Cold fusion is real, but mass American news sources are not covering it. Experiments are currently being duplicated across the world, to add further verification to the body of scientific proof. It is now possible to create energy with commonplace resources at no cost to the environment. Power plants using cold fusion will be constructed before 2012.
Natural News has been covering the developments of cold fusion for quite some time, as controlled experiments in Russia, California, Italy, and Japan have consistently proven that cold fusion is real. (Read one of the original articles here (http://www.naturalnews.com/013281.html).)
One of these successful experiments was conducted by Professor emeritus of Osaka University, Japan - Yoshiaki Arata. Dr. Arata performed a demonstration of cold fusion at Osaka. A colleague of his wrote, afterward: "Arata's demonstration was successfully done it demonstrated live data looked just similar to the data they reported in [the] papers. This showed the method highly reproducible." Read the original article for more details at (http://www.sott.net/articles/show/1...).
In addition, Andrea Rossi's Fusion Energy Catalyzer was tested in a number of different scenarios this year, resulting in a stronger belief that cold fusion may be ready for public use by the end of 2011. On January 14, Focardi and Rossi held a press conference, discussing their 10-kW generator. Another experiment, which took place roughly a month later at the University of Bologna, reported the model generated 15 kW for 18 hours. There are currently plans to hook up roughly 200 of these smaller units, in order to construct two 1 megawatt-producing power plants before the end of the year. If these plants perform up to their potential, then we can hope for the construction of industrial-sized power plants within another year or two.
But how does it work?
Cold fusion is not really magical, even though it could very well have a miraculous effect on our future. It is a relatively simple chemical reaction that produces excess heat, meaning that if the reaction occurs in water, it will increase the temperature of the water. Powdered nickel fuels the reaction. You put in nickel (one of the most plentiful metals on the planet), and you get heated water.
After that point, almost every mechanic in the world would be able to take it from there. Steam engines heat water with coal, then using the expansive properties of the steam to power turbines. A cold fusion device would use the same basic mechanical devices, but it would heat the water through the consumption of nickel rather than combustion.
But why has news of cold fusion not yet reached mass media in the United States? Why is there no story in the New York Times that showcases all of this excitement and buzz?
The media has been burnt by the dream of cold fusion before. In 1989, Fleishman and Pons first conducted a series of experiments on cold fusion and produced some truly exciting results. In their excitement, they let their findings slip a little too early, before they had been able to thoroughly study the discovery, or realize consistently positive results. They released their miraculous findings, with claims of having discovered the dream machine of the millennium, and they caused a lot of excitement in the scientific community, at least at first.
But they had fallen prey to their own unbridled enthusiasm. Confronted with the potential of what they had discovered - a future resplendent with clean, free energy - they jumped the gun a little prematurely. Their method was reproduced across the globe, but many experiments fell flat. In fact, their method was shown to be effective only 30% of the time. And in the world of empirical fact, 30% is an error, not a discovery. It was supposed that the 30% of experiments that did corroborate Fleishman and Pons' findings were more likely the result of bribes or 'friendships,' not cold fusion.
Consequently, it was presumed that Fleishman and Pons were frauds, just a couple of jingoists desperately attempting to gain fame and attention. Cold fusion was thought to have been revealed as a hoax, and the scientists became notorious. All but excommunicated, Fleishman and Pons went underground, where they continued to hone their method and make the process easily replicable and consistent. They checked and double-checked their findings, and they spread their idea to other scientists willing to conduct more thorough investigations, such as Andrea Rossi, whose device has, so far, produced the consistency that Fleishman and Pons' lacked.
This discovery could not come at a better time for the world, when oil resources are quickly becoming scarce, and greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to spike, despite the damage they are causing.
So, given the reason for optimism in this period in which energy is particularly expensive, why is the mass media refraining from mentioning cold fusion. Why is it not on the front pages of every newspaper?
There are a number of possible explanations. First, the scientific community's pause could very well be a consequence of the unbridled enthusiasm given by the initial experiments conducted in 1989. After such a humiliation, it is easy to see why scientists would remain skeptical, at least on the surface. Meanwhile, Rossi's Energy Catalyzer is being slated for reproduction in large-scale, cold fusion reactors later this year. If you compare the pace of Rossi's tests to the scientific norm, then it is clear that scientists are, indeed, excited.
As for the press, there are more insidious explanations to be considered. For one, it is a distinct possibility that a number of enormous businesses, such as oil and coal companies are leaning on mass media sources to keep quiet. Cold fusion power plants would drop the price of energy, thereby putting energy companies out of commission. It is in their best interest to slow down the process of integrating cold fusion.
But whatever the reason for mass media silence, you can expect to start hearing about cold fusion by the end of the year. By then, it will be impossible to keep quiet a discovery of this magnitude."
Natural News has been covering the developments of cold fusion for quite some time, as controlled experiments in Russia, California, Italy, and Japan have consistently proven that cold fusion is real. (Read one of the original articles here (http://www.naturalnews.com/013281.html).)
One of these successful experiments was conducted by Professor emeritus of Osaka University, Japan - Yoshiaki Arata. Dr. Arata performed a demonstration of cold fusion at Osaka. A colleague of his wrote, afterward: "Arata's demonstration was successfully done it demonstrated live data looked just similar to the data they reported in [the] papers. This showed the method highly reproducible." Read the original article for more details at (http://www.sott.net/articles/show/1...).
In addition, Andrea Rossi's Fusion Energy Catalyzer was tested in a number of different scenarios this year, resulting in a stronger belief that cold fusion may be ready for public use by the end of 2011. On January 14, Focardi and Rossi held a press conference, discussing their 10-kW generator. Another experiment, which took place roughly a month later at the University of Bologna, reported the model generated 15 kW for 18 hours. There are currently plans to hook up roughly 200 of these smaller units, in order to construct two 1 megawatt-producing power plants before the end of the year. If these plants perform up to their potential, then we can hope for the construction of industrial-sized power plants within another year or two.
But how does it work?
Cold fusion is not really magical, even though it could very well have a miraculous effect on our future. It is a relatively simple chemical reaction that produces excess heat, meaning that if the reaction occurs in water, it will increase the temperature of the water. Powdered nickel fuels the reaction. You put in nickel (one of the most plentiful metals on the planet), and you get heated water.
After that point, almost every mechanic in the world would be able to take it from there. Steam engines heat water with coal, then using the expansive properties of the steam to power turbines. A cold fusion device would use the same basic mechanical devices, but it would heat the water through the consumption of nickel rather than combustion.
But why has news of cold fusion not yet reached mass media in the United States? Why is there no story in the New York Times that showcases all of this excitement and buzz?
The media has been burnt by the dream of cold fusion before. In 1989, Fleishman and Pons first conducted a series of experiments on cold fusion and produced some truly exciting results. In their excitement, they let their findings slip a little too early, before they had been able to thoroughly study the discovery, or realize consistently positive results. They released their miraculous findings, with claims of having discovered the dream machine of the millennium, and they caused a lot of excitement in the scientific community, at least at first.
But they had fallen prey to their own unbridled enthusiasm. Confronted with the potential of what they had discovered - a future resplendent with clean, free energy - they jumped the gun a little prematurely. Their method was reproduced across the globe, but many experiments fell flat. In fact, their method was shown to be effective only 30% of the time. And in the world of empirical fact, 30% is an error, not a discovery. It was supposed that the 30% of experiments that did corroborate Fleishman and Pons' findings were more likely the result of bribes or 'friendships,' not cold fusion.
Consequently, it was presumed that Fleishman and Pons were frauds, just a couple of jingoists desperately attempting to gain fame and attention. Cold fusion was thought to have been revealed as a hoax, and the scientists became notorious. All but excommunicated, Fleishman and Pons went underground, where they continued to hone their method and make the process easily replicable and consistent. They checked and double-checked their findings, and they spread their idea to other scientists willing to conduct more thorough investigations, such as Andrea Rossi, whose device has, so far, produced the consistency that Fleishman and Pons' lacked.
This discovery could not come at a better time for the world, when oil resources are quickly becoming scarce, and greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to spike, despite the damage they are causing.
So, given the reason for optimism in this period in which energy is particularly expensive, why is the mass media refraining from mentioning cold fusion. Why is it not on the front pages of every newspaper?
There are a number of possible explanations. First, the scientific community's pause could very well be a consequence of the unbridled enthusiasm given by the initial experiments conducted in 1989. After such a humiliation, it is easy to see why scientists would remain skeptical, at least on the surface. Meanwhile, Rossi's Energy Catalyzer is being slated for reproduction in large-scale, cold fusion reactors later this year. If you compare the pace of Rossi's tests to the scientific norm, then it is clear that scientists are, indeed, excited.
As for the press, there are more insidious explanations to be considered. For one, it is a distinct possibility that a number of enormous businesses, such as oil and coal companies are leaning on mass media sources to keep quiet. Cold fusion power plants would drop the price of energy, thereby putting energy companies out of commission. It is in their best interest to slow down the process of integrating cold fusion.
But whatever the reason for mass media silence, you can expect to start hearing about cold fusion by the end of the year. By then, it will be impossible to keep quiet a discovery of this magnitude."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, July 3, 2011
GMO Planting To Begin in More Than 50 Wildlife Refuges
Written by Jill Ettinger, June 24th, 2011 - OrganicAuthority.com
The Obama administration has approved the strategic planting of genetically engineered seeds on more than 50 National Wildlife Refuges in the Midwest as part of region-wide habitat restoration efforts.
The multi-platform plan is designed to restore and manage habitat, supplement food for wildlife and attract wildlife for visitor viewing and photography. Slated to last no more than five years, the main crops would include GMO corn and soy. After the five-year period, farming could continue as a management tool, but it would be limited to non-GMO crops, according to the official government release.
Planting row crops in refuge lands has been used as a tool for many years by The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in restoring native habitats, controlling invasive weeds and providing food for both migratory birds and resident wildlife. Nearly three dozen of the area wildlife and wetland districts already use row crop farming to manage and improve habitats. The widespread use of GMOs in the U.S. has led to the decision to pursue planting these crops in the wildlife areas.
Anti-GMO groups condemn this decision, citing the risks connected to GM seeds and the already delicate nature of America’s protected wildlife refuges and park lands being affected by climate change, loss of species and pollutants that are contaminating water and soil. In January, the Widener Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic on behalf of Delaware Audubon Society, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Center for Food Safety filed a lawsuit in a similar case. The plaintiffs alleged that the Fish & Wildlife Service had illegally entered into Cooperative Farming Agreements with private parties, allowing the planting of GE crops at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service settled the case promising to revoke any further access to GMOs in the area.
The Obama administration has approved the strategic planting of genetically engineered seeds on more than 50 National Wildlife Refuges in the Midwest as part of region-wide habitat restoration efforts.
The multi-platform plan is designed to restore and manage habitat, supplement food for wildlife and attract wildlife for visitor viewing and photography. Slated to last no more than five years, the main crops would include GMO corn and soy. After the five-year period, farming could continue as a management tool, but it would be limited to non-GMO crops, according to the official government release.
Planting row crops in refuge lands has been used as a tool for many years by The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in restoring native habitats, controlling invasive weeds and providing food for both migratory birds and resident wildlife. Nearly three dozen of the area wildlife and wetland districts already use row crop farming to manage and improve habitats. The widespread use of GMOs in the U.S. has led to the decision to pursue planting these crops in the wildlife areas.
Anti-GMO groups condemn this decision, citing the risks connected to GM seeds and the already delicate nature of America’s protected wildlife refuges and park lands being affected by climate change, loss of species and pollutants that are contaminating water and soil. In January, the Widener Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic on behalf of Delaware Audubon Society, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Center for Food Safety filed a lawsuit in a similar case. The plaintiffs alleged that the Fish & Wildlife Service had illegally entered into Cooperative Farming Agreements with private parties, allowing the planting of GE crops at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service settled the case promising to revoke any further access to GMOs in the area.
Original post: http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/gmo-planting-to-begin-in-more-than-50-wildlife-refuges/
Friday, July 1, 2011
Super-efficient, low-cost inkjet system to revolutionize solar energy technology
(NaturalNews.com) The same technology used in your home or office printer to deliver ink to paper is now being used in a revolutionary new solar technology that eliminates 90 percent of raw material waste, and drastically cuts the costs associated with producing solar cells.
Engineers from Oregon State University (OSU) are well on their way to producing the first ever super-efficient, extremely low-cost solar film made from inkjet technology, which could make solar energy production a whole lot more efficient and cheaper for consumers
Engineers from Oregon State University (OSU) are well on their way to producing the first ever super-efficient, extremely low-cost solar film made from inkjet technology, which could make solar energy production a whole lot more efficient and cheaper for consumers
Published in the journal Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, the findings explain how CIGS solar devices -- CIGS being short for the copper, indium, gallium and selenium elements that compose them -- drastically reduce waste, significantly improve efficiency, and summarily revolutionize the way solar cells are produced, as well as how they perform.
...The technology is different from typical solar cell production in that it precisely prints the relatively inexpensive chalcopyrite compound, or CIGS, directly on film as thin as one or two microns -- and it does this without losing much energy, or wasting much of the element compound. Traditional solar technology, on the other hand, involves the use of more expensive compounds that are deposited using processes such as vapor phase deposition, which is very inefficient and ends up wasting most of the element compound.
"Some of the materials we want to work with for the most advanced solar cells, such as indium, are relatively expensive," noted Chang. "If that's what you're using, you can't really afford to waste it, and the inkjet approach almost eliminates the waste."
Besides being highly efficient and easy to produce, inkjet technology opens the door for the greatly expanded use of solar systems in building materials like roofing shingles, windows, and other surfaces exposed to regular sunlight -- the possibilities are endless.....
...The technology is different from typical solar cell production in that it precisely prints the relatively inexpensive chalcopyrite compound, or CIGS, directly on film as thin as one or two microns -- and it does this without losing much energy, or wasting much of the element compound. Traditional solar technology, on the other hand, involves the use of more expensive compounds that are deposited using processes such as vapor phase deposition, which is very inefficient and ends up wasting most of the element compound.
"Some of the materials we want to work with for the most advanced solar cells, such as indium, are relatively expensive," noted Chang. "If that's what you're using, you can't really afford to waste it, and the inkjet approach almost eliminates the waste."
Besides being highly efficient and easy to produce, inkjet technology opens the door for the greatly expanded use of solar systems in building materials like roofing shingles, windows, and other surfaces exposed to regular sunlight -- the possibilities are endless.....
For the full article vist: http://www.naturalnews.com/032856_solar_cells_inkjet_printing.html#ixzz1QtR277II
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Genetically Engineered Rice Threatens Asian Countries
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has approved $20 million in new monies toward the development of "golden rice" -- an untested, highly controversial GE (genetically engineered) crop that threatens biodiversity and risks bringing economic and ecological disaster to Asia's farms.
The leader of the Golden Rice project is Gerald Barry, previously director of research at Monsanto.
Sarojeni V. Rengam, executive director of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), has called the rice a "Trojan horse." According to Rengam, the rice is "... a public relations stunt pulled by the agri-business corporations to garner acceptance of GE crops and food. The whole idea of GE seeds is to make money."
Food Freedom reports:
Adding to the risks of GE crops is Monsanto's Roundup, the world's best-selling herbicide that is made to be partnered with GE Roundup Ready crops. According to a new report, regulators have known for years that Roundup causes birth defects.
Regulators were apparently aware as long ago as 1980 that glyphosate, the active chemical ingredient of Roundup, caused birth defects in lab animals. However, the information was not made public. Instead, regulators misled the public about glyphosate's safety.
According to the Huffington Post:
------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin A enhanced rice for developing countries sounds like a novel idea! Too bad it's not as true as what meets the eye.
The leader of the Golden Rice project is Gerald Barry, previously director of research at Monsanto.
Sarojeni V. Rengam, executive director of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), has called the rice a "Trojan horse." According to Rengam, the rice is "... a public relations stunt pulled by the agri-business corporations to garner acceptance of GE crops and food. The whole idea of GE seeds is to make money."
Food Freedom reports:
"Golden rice is a Trojan horse for pushing through GE-friendly biosafety regulations under the guise of humanitarian aid. Once in place, these regulations open the door for the biotech industry to bring in commercial, patented GE crops; USAID and Monsanto accomplished exactly this in Kenya with their sweet potato project."In Thailand at least, however, a little known and unpublicized agricultural policy protects Thai rice from the risks of GMO's. The Thai Ministry of Agriculture's "Rice Strategy" is a master plan committed to strengthening the nation's rice production while promoting farmers' livelihoods and consumer confidence -- which includes keeping Thai rice GMO (genetically modified organism)-free.
Adding to the risks of GE crops is Monsanto's Roundup, the world's best-selling herbicide that is made to be partnered with GE Roundup Ready crops. According to a new report, regulators have known for years that Roundup causes birth defects.
Regulators were apparently aware as long ago as 1980 that glyphosate, the active chemical ingredient of Roundup, caused birth defects in lab animals. However, the information was not made public. Instead, regulators misled the public about glyphosate's safety.
According to the Huffington Post:
"... [A]s recently as last year, the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, the German government body dealing with the glyphosate review, told the European Commission that there was no evidence glyphosate causes birth defects ...
Although glyphosate was originally due to be reviewed in 2012, the Commission decided late last year not to bring the review forward, instead delaying it until 2015. The chemical will not be reviewed under more stringent, up-to-date standards until 2030."
------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin A enhanced rice for developing countries sounds like a novel idea! Too bad it's not as true as what meets the eye.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Absurd New Ways Splenda is Deceiving You (LINK)
Splenda is Not a Zero Calorie Product!
Splenda May Destroy Intestinal Flora!
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/20/absurd-new-ways-splenda-is-deceiving-you.aspx
Monday, June 6, 2011
The tent that turns into concrete in less than 24 hours (Link, Video)
Among new innovations which could help relief efforts is a fabric shelter that, when sprayed with water, turns to concrete within 24 hours.
Invented by two engineers while at university, Concrete Canvas allows aid teams to construct solid structures in emergency zones quickly and easily.
Will Crawford and Peter Brewin showed BBC News how the concrete tent is put together and spoke about what inspired them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13430747
Invented by two engineers while at university, Concrete Canvas allows aid teams to construct solid structures in emergency zones quickly and easily.
Will Crawford and Peter Brewin showed BBC News how the concrete tent is put together and spoke about what inspired them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13430747
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The 'Other' Sweetener That's Made from Sugar, but is Closer to DDT (link)
The 'Other' Sweetener That's Made from Sugar, but is Closer to DDT
A short interesting article on Splenda that you can read here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/26/major-media-finally-exposes-splendas-lies.aspx
A short interesting article on Splenda that you can read here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/26/major-media-finally-exposes-splendas-lies.aspx
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Transparent Photovoltaic Cells Turn Windows Into Solar Panels
(Don't forget to see my last post! I added this one accidentally and I can't get it off, lol)
Written by John Collins Rudolf, on April 20th, 2011, Here: nytimes.com.
A new class of transparent photovoltaic cells has been developed that can turn an ordinary windowpane into a solar panel without impeding the passage of visible light, scientists said Tuesday.
The cells could one day transform skyscrapers intogiant solar collectors, said Richard Lunt, one of the researchers on the project.
“We think there’s a lot of potential to be able to integrate these into tall buildings,” Dr. Lunt, a postdoctoral researcher at the M.I.T. Research Laboratory of Electronics, said in an interview.
Previous attempts at transparent solar cells have either failed to achieve high efficiency or blocked too much light to be used in windows. But the new cells, based on organic molecules similar to dyes and pigments, are tailored to absorb only the near-infrared spectrum and have the potential to transform that light into electricity at relatively high efficiency.
The current efficiency of the prototype cells is only about 2 percent, but some basic modifications, like stacking the cells, could increase efficiency to around 10 percent fairly easily, Dr. Lunt said.
The largest challenge in developing commercial applications for the new solar cells will be longevity. The cells could be packaged in the middle of double-paned windows, which would provide protection from the elements. But the longevity of the cells would still need to approach the life span of the windows themselves, which would not be replaced for decades.
“To make this thing truly useful, you do need to extend the lifetime, and make sure it reaches at least 20 years, or even longer than that,” said Vladimir Bulovic, a professor of electrical engineering at M.I.T. who collaborated on the development of the cells.
Mr. Bulovic said that previous work to extend the life span of organic light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, which share properties with the organic solar cells, indicated that the problem of longevity was not an extraordinarily difficult one.
“It appears at this point that this is an engineering problem,” he said. “I would expect that within a decade those will be solved issues.”
If the cells can be made long-lasting, they could be integrated into windows relatively cheaply, as much of the cost of conventional photovoltaics is not from the solar cell itself, but the materials it is mounted on, like aluminum and glass. Coating existing structures with solar cells would eliminate some of this material cost.
If the transparent cells ultimately prove commercially viable, the power they generate could significantly offset the energy use of large buildings, said Dr. Lunt, who will begin teaching at Michigan State University this fall.
“We’re not saying we could power the whole building, but we are talking about a significant amount of energy, enough for things like lighting and powering everyday electronics,” he said.
The Center for Excitonics, an Energy Frontier Research Center financed by the Department of Energy, provided funds for the research. A paper describing thetechnology behind the cells will appear in the next issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters.
Written by John Collins Rudolf, on April 20th, 2011, Here: nytimes.com.
A new class of transparent photovoltaic cells has been developed that can turn an ordinary windowpane into a solar panel without impeding the passage of visible light, scientists said Tuesday.
The cells could one day transform skyscrapers into
“We think there’s a lot of potential to be able to integrate these into tall buildings,” Dr. Lunt, a postdoctoral researcher at the M.I.T. Research Laboratory of Electronics, said in an interview.
The current efficiency of the prototype cells is only about 2 percent, but some basic modifications, like stacking the cells, could increase efficiency to around 10 percent fairly easily, Dr. Lunt said.
The largest challenge in developing commercial applications for the new solar cells will be longevity. The cells could be packaged in the middle of double-paned windows, which would provide protection from the elements. But the longevity of the cells would still need to approach the life span of the windows themselves, which would not be replaced for decades.
“To make this thing truly useful, you do need to extend the lifetime, and make sure it reaches at least 20 years, or even longer than that,” said Vladimir Bulovic, a professor of electrical engineering at M.I.T. who collaborated on the development of the cells.
Mr. Bulovic said that previous work to extend the life span of organic light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, which share properties with the organic solar cells, indicated that the problem of longevity was not an extraordinarily difficult one.
“It appears at this point that this is an engineering problem,” he said. “I would expect that within a decade those will be solved issues.”
If the cells can be made long-lasting, they could be integrated into windows relatively cheaply, as much of the cost of conventional photovoltaics is not from the solar cell itself, but the materials it is mounted on, like aluminum and glass. Coating existing structures with solar cells would eliminate some of this material cost.
If the transparent cells ultimately prove commercially viable, the power they generate could significantly offset the energy use of large buildings, said Dr. Lunt, who will begin teaching at Michigan State University this fall.
“We’re not saying we could power the whole building, but we are talking about a significant amount of energy, enough for things like lighting and powering everyday electronics,” he said.
The Center for Excitonics, an Energy Frontier Research Center financed by the Department of Energy, provided funds for the research. A paper describing the
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