In the News
(if you have links to relevant or interesting news articles then post them here)
This is an exert from the “Chicago Sun-Times” today 1-Aug-05… Which I thought was a positive step towards cleaner energy production… In the US!
“The bill provides $1.8 billion for research toward burning coal more cleanly, with the goal of reaching emission levels comparable with natural gas.”
The link to the article is:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-energy01.html
Coolies,
Taco.
8 Comments:
'US Energy Bill passed today'
hey all,
cruising through the news this morning and saw this article:
``The bill recognizes that America is the world's leader in technology, and that we've got to use technology to be the world's leader in energy conservation,'' Bush said.
but...
"New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the Energy Committee's top Democrat, praised the passage of the bill but said more must be done to tap the potential of renewable energy, address global warming and use less oil from overseas."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5198185,00.html
On paper the bill sounds good... But I would love to see some research into it's impact.
Hmm, some of the press reactions are not that enthusiastic:
To start with the facts of the Bill: http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/31793/story.htm
Five-year negotiations lead to modest energy bill: http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=44626
US Energy Bill ‘fails on oil issue’:
http://www.greenconsumerguide.com/domesticll.php?news=2706&CLASSIFICATION=1
A private Blog-The US Energy Bill is ABSOLUTELY CRAZY: http://www.freethought.ca/archives/000588.php
US energy bill funnels billions to oil, utility corporations: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jul2005/ener-j29.shtml
The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/politics/09bush.html?
And more from the US (which is a crucial country in global energy policies):
"US Department of Energy (DOE) says major research effort required to improve solar energy technologies"
The article: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i34/8334energy.html
The DOE report: http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/reports/files/SEU_rpt.pdf
This is an intersting Factbox on Renewable Energy:
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/32424/story.htm
This is quite an unusual alternative to oil:
SMALL ISLANDS VOICE
Do you live in a small island?
Tell us what you think.
***************************************************************************
The debate about using coconut oil as an alternative to diesel continues and
concludes with a call for the sharing of information between the Pacific
islands and islands in other regions of the world about the use of coconut
oil.
David Williams from Jamaica (Caribbean) writes: First off, I was amazed to
find out that coconut oil could be used to replace diesel fuel......but I am
confused in that with the price of coconut oil here (Jamaica) how can that be
competitive to the price of diesel fuel? Or is it only used in places where
you cannot get diesel? A friend of mine produces coconut oil and his main
complaint is that he simply cannot get enough coconuts to supply his needs.
The market here is more geared to coconut water, and finding dried coconuts is
getting to be difficult; combined with the fight against disease in the trees,
I can't see it being a workable option for Jamaica.
We live on islands where the most noticeable product is coconuts, but until
recently almost no vehicles here used coconut fuel, writes Giff Johnson,
Marshall Islands Journal, 2nd September 2005 (Pacific). But that’s changed
dramatically since late 2004. Following experiments over the last three years,
with Tobolar Copra Processing Plant’s vehicles using coconut oil as a
substitute for diesel fuel, Pacific International Inc. has moved its entire
fleet of heavy equipment vehicles and its many ocean-going vessels to the
cheaper and cleaner coconut oil fuel. And with Tobolar selling coconut oil at
about US$2 a gallon – compared to the price of diesel, which has hit US$3.50 a
gallon at local gas stations – there’s been a significant money saving.
Harvie Probert from Fiji (Pacific) writes: Currently the Fiji Electricity
Authority in Fiji are testing a larger 3.3Mw Cat engine running on coconut oil
at their Sigatoka power station and are looking at that and other biofuels
(fuels from biological materials such as crops, animal wastes) as an
alternative to diesel. With diesel at over $900/ tonne, biofuels at up to $700
are a workable replacement. On a recent survey to one of the remotest Fiji
islands, Rotuma, it was observed that the island had the potential to use the
coconuts lying around to displace almost entirely the need to import diesel,
as the production available locally was estimated at about 2,000 tonnes per
year of copra, which would produce around 1,600 tonnes of coconut oil, and if
refined into biodiesel would produce around 1,500 tonnes.
Ulrike Hertel provides a further example from Samoa (Pacific): The Samoa
Electric Power Corporation is presently having a trial to use 15% locally
produced coconut oil to mix with 85% diesel in some power generators. So far,
they have had good results, also, with the present diesel prices, the oil is
cheaper.
Albert DeTerville writes: I am an indigenous person from St. Lucia (Caribbean)
where coconut oil is extracted for cooking and for other domestic use. The
island exports coconut oil in large quantities. Given that St. Lucia is one of
the SIDS (small island developing States), and having regard to the fact that
coconut oil is already in use in the Pacific SIDS as fuel for vehicles, I
propose that there be a exchange programme among the SIDS. The SIDS 2005
Mauritius Initiative, formed as a follow-up to the United Nations SIDS
Conference in Mauritius in January 2005, has focal points in the SIDS regions,
and is interested in collaborating with interested partners in the promotion
of coconut oil as fuel for vehicles.
Title: Pacific islands showing the way with coconut oil
Author: A. DeTerville, U. Hertel, G. Johnson, H. Probert, D. Williams
Date: Tuesday, 20 September 2005
Please send your comments to mailto:smallislandsvoice@sivglobal.org
Greenpeace is currently on a Peaceful Energy tour. Have a look at the blog:
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/medpeacefulenergytour/
Taco, this should be particularly interesting for you:
"Australia Pioneers Energy From Hot Rocks"
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/33461/story.htm
And some more interesting Blogs from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth:
Have you thought about generating your own wind power?
http://www.foe.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl/YaBB.pl?board=news;action=display;num=1120665688
Omer's experience in Chernobyl:
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/missionchernobyl/
Asia Energy Revolution Tour:
http://www.asiacleanenergy.org/blogs/index.php?blog=2
Post a Comment
<< Home