Thousands of barrels of oil are leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon site each day. The oil ascends from depths of approximately 1502 m. (4928 ft.), but not all of it reaches the sea surface. The stratified seawater of the Gulf of Mexico captures or slows the ascent of the oil, and the addition of dispersants near the oil source produces tiny droplets that float for a considerable time in the water column and may never reach the surface.

Oil plume diagram.

According to Drs. Gregor Eberli, Mark Grasmueck, and Ph.D. candidate Thiago Correa of the Marine Geology & Geophysics division of the University of Miami (UM), the oil that remains in suspension in the water column and creates plumes poses a serious risk for the planktonic and benthic (sea floor) life throughout the region, including the deep-sea reefs they study.

“The deep water communities within the Gulf of Mexico and in the Straits of Florida are well hidden from us, but they include many species of cold-water corals that live in water at depths of 600 — 1500 m. (1969 -4921 ft.) in waters as cold as 3° Celsius (37.4°F),” said Eberli. “Unlike their more familiar shallow-water counterparts, these corals do not live in symbiosis with unicellular algae called zooxanthellae, but are animals that feed on organic matter floating through the water column. We know that most of the food consumed by the cold-water corals is produced in the surface waters and eventually sinks down to the corals.”

The large plumes being created by the oil spill, some of which are reported to be several miles long, sit in the water column situated between this source of food and these deep-water corals. As organic material sinks through the water column it passes through the oil plumes and is contaminated by micron-sized oil droplets.

“It is most likely that the delicate cold-water corals are not able to digest these oil-laden food particles and will perish in large numbers,” said Eberli. “We are especially concerned because the migrating oil plumes have the potential to destroy or greatly diminish these deep-sea coral communities as they are carried by the currents. These corals are important because they are the foundation of a diverse ecosystem that at last count includes over 1,300 marine species, according to Dr. Thomas Hourigan at NOAA.”

There is also a danger that these plumes are carried by the Loop Current from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. Deep-sea coral ecosystems are common at numerous sites from the eastern Gulf of Mexico through the Straits of Florida and northward to the Blake Plateau off North Carolina. This distribution matches the path of the Loop Current that forms from the water masses in the Gulf of Mexico, and enters the Straits of Florida to form the Florida Current and further north the Gulf Stream.

Particularly vulnerable to disturbance are deep-sea fish that form part of this ecosystem because of their late maturation, extreme longevity, low fecundity and slow growth. Deep-water coral reefs in Florida waters are the habitat of the economically valuable grouper, snapper and amberjack. These and other species inhabit hundreds of deep-water coral reefs off the coast of Florida at depths of about 300 -915 m. (1000 to 3000 feet), which were explored by Dr. John Reed from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute some thirty years ago. This includes the 59,500 sq. m. (~23,000 sq. mi.) of deep-water reefs off the east coast of Florida, which is now proposed as the Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern.

There is no known technique to clean the water column from these oil plumes, and as a consequence the hidden oases of corals in the deep, cold waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Blake Plateau are in severe danger of being decimated by this oil spill.

Undersea video coverage Thursday night showed engineers lowering a ‘top cap’ over a severed riser pipe at the bottom of the Gulf to contain BP oil spill. The company hopes to contain 90 percent of the geyser.

The plume of oil continuing to flow Friday morning at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico signals that BP has not yet fully succeeded in sealing the source of the BP oil spill and siphoning the captured oil to a tanker on the surface – at least not yet.

BP engineers, with government scientists looking over their shoulders, on Wednesday cut a crumpled riser pipe left over from the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 22. Subsea “disaster bots” failed to make a clean cut with a diamond-tipped saw on Thursday, jamming it instead into the pipe. After extracting the fine-cut saw, engineers opted for a pair of giant shears to lop the pipe. As bots later filmed the lowering of the “top cap” – a sort of giant garden hose seal – over the lower marine riser package at the top of the well, oil continued to spew from the scene.

More than 100 miles of marshland and beaches are already tarred, and a fishing area the size of Florida is closed in the Gulf.

IN PICTURES: Louisiana oil spill

In a press conference on Thursday, President Obama’s point man, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said the jagged shear cut could undermine the effectiveness of the “top cap,” because the seal may not be able to fit smoothly. That seemed to be the case early Friday morning, according to the BP “spillcam,” as a plume of oil and gas burst from the side of the top cap and a “dispersant ops” sub injected a kerosene dispersant into the plume via a long rod.

Allen is expected to update the situation Friday morning, perhaps giving an estimate of the current flow rate of the geyser and indicating whether BP has a plan to further restrict it as the operation moves forward.

Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, told the CBS “Early Show” that the company hopes to capture 90 percent of the escaping oil. “Of course what we have to do is work through the next 24 or 48 hours to optimize that,” Mr. Suttles said. “We want to stop this oil from spilling to the sea.”

BP has said its best chance to completely kill the well is to drill a relief well to intersect with the existing well, into which cement can be poured to cap the runaway well. Two such relief wells are already being drilled, but that work won’t be completed until August at the earliest, Christmas at the latest, scientists estimate.

The total amount of oil that has spewed from the well is now into the tens of millions of gallons, perhaps twice the amount that leaked when the Exxon Valdez hit ground in Prince William Sound in 1989. It’s by most accounts the worst environmental disaster in US history.

The leaking oil from the top cap is the latest in a string of “If it can go wrong, it will” events in the six-week effort to kill the Macondo well 5,000 feet below the Gulf. President Obama said Thursday on CNN”s “Larry King Live” that the accident happened “because someone didn’t think through the consequences of their actions.”

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Undersea video coverage Thursday night showed engineers lowering a ‘top cap’ over a severed riser pipe at the bottom of the Gulf to contain BP oil spill. The company hopes to contain 90 percent of the geyser.

The plume of oil continuing to flow Friday morning at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico signals that BP has not yet fully succeeded in sealing the source of the BP oil spill and siphoning the captured oil to a tanker on the surface – at least not yet.

BP engineers, with government scientists looking over their shoulders, on Wednesday cut a crumpled riser pipe left over from the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 22. Subsea “disaster bots” failed to make a clean cut with a diamond-tipped saw on Thursday, jamming it instead into the pipe. After extracting the fine-cut saw, engineers opted for a pair of giant shears to lop the pipe. As bots later filmed the lowering of the “top cap” – a sort of giant garden hose seal – over the lower marine riser package at the top of the well, oil continued to spew from the scene.

More than 100 miles of marshland and beaches are already tarred, and a fishing area the size of Florida is closed in the Gulf.

IN PICTURES: Louisiana oil spill

In a press conference on Thursday, President Obama’s point man, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said the jagged shear cut could undermine the effectiveness of the “top cap,” because the seal may not be able to fit smoothly. That seemed to be the case early Friday morning, according to the BP “spillcam,” as a plume of oil and gas burst from the side of the top cap and a “dispersant ops” sub injected a kerosene dispersant into the plume via a long rod.

Allen is expected to update the situation Friday morning, perhaps giving an estimate of the current flow rate of the geyser and indicating whether BP has a plan to further restrict it as the operation moves forward.

Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, told the CBS “Early Show” that the company hopes to capture 90 percent of the escaping oil. “Of course what we have to do is work through the next 24 or 48 hours to optimize that,” Mr. Suttles said. “We want to stop this oil from spilling to the sea.”

BP has said its best chance to completely kill the well is to drill a relief well to intersect with the existing well, into which cement can be poured to cap the runaway well. Two such relief wells are already being drilled, but that work won’t be completed until August at the earliest, Christmas at the latest, scientists estimate.

The total amount of oil that has spewed from the well is now into the tens of millions of gallons, perhaps twice the amount that leaked when the Exxon Valdez hit ground in Prince William Sound in 1989. It’s by most accounts the worst environmental disaster in US history.

The leaking oil from the top cap is the latest in a string of “If it can go wrong, it will” events in the six-week effort to kill the Macondo well 5,000 feet below the Gulf. President Obama said Thursday on CNN”s “Larry King Live” that the accident happened “because someone didn’t think through the consequences of their actions.”

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The flywheel is an old technology that dates back to Neolithic-era spindles and potter’s wheels.  Flywheels made a huge splash during the Industrial Revolution (anyone remember steam engines?) and now they’re ready to take center stage in the new wave of sustainable energy.

In sustainable energy, flywheels come into play as a means of storing intermittent power. Wind power and solar power are notoriously fickle in many parts of the world, and some means of smoothing out the bumps is required. Vycon is one of several companies exploring the potential of flywheels, and it has come up with some interesting twists.

What a Flywheel Does

If you’ve ever played tether-ball, the idea behind a flywheel is simple.  You provide sharp bursts of intermittent energy to send the ball around the pole.  The weight of the rope and its course around the pole combine to even out those bursts, creating a relatively constant, steady motion.  The rope also stores energy; after it is fully wrapped around the pole, the ball reverses course at a relatively steady pace, without any more help from you.  A similar principle applies to potter’s wheels, which can be kept in steady motion with intermittent kicks.

What a Flywheel Is

Companies like Vycon have ramped up this simple principle into sophisticated flywheel energy storage systems.  Vycon’s proprietary system consists of a steel hub with magnetic bearings, a dual motor/generator (the motor charges the system, the generator dispenses the energy), high tech system controls, and a converter that transforms the flywheel’s AC power into DC.

Flywheel Applications

Flywheels can be used to store energy from solar and wind installations, and Vycon has come up with a couple of other applications that it calls “energy recycling.”  The company has developed a flywheel system for harvesting the energy that normally is dissipated when large shipping cranes are lowered.  In a similar vein, Vycon has also developed a flywheel system that can harvest and store the braking energy from commuter and freight trains.  Both the crane and rail applications could become an important contribution to the management of carbon emissions from global shipping, especially in sensitive coastal areas.

Flywheels in Action

Flywheel technology could also be used to harvest energy from mining operations, or from elevators in buildings.  Compared to sustainable energy storage solutions such as molten salt, flywheels may also be more portable and site-adaptable.  They are also highly durable and they are already starting to pop up in some high stress environments.  A couple of years ago, Formula 1 cars started to phase in a flywheel/hybrid electric system called Kinetic Energy Recovery, which stores waste energy in a flywheel instead of a battery.  The newly online Ross Island Wind Farm in Antarctica is expected to make a huge dent in the base’s carbon footprint with the help of a flywheel storage system.

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'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/01/us-14m-invested-in-vycon-flywheel-technology Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/01/us-14m-invested-in-vycon-flywheel-technology Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/01/us-14m-invested-in-vycon-flywheel-technology Ending uga_preg_callback: the potential of flywheels Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flywheel_energy_storage Start uga_is_url_internal: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flywheel_energy_storage Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flywheel_energy_storage Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flywheel_energy_storage Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flywheel_energy_storage Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flywheel_energy_storage Ending uga_preg_callback: flywheel energy storage Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/25/shipping-goes-up-pollution-goes-down-us-epa-issues-final-rule-for-diesel-emissions/ Start uga_is_url_internal: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/25/shipping-goes-up-pollution-goes-down-us-epa-issues-final-rule-for-diesel-emissions/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/25/shipping-goes-up-pollution-goes-down-us-epa-issues-final-rule-for-diesel-emissions/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/25/shipping-goes-up-pollution-goes-down-us-epa-issues-final-rule-for-diesel-emissions/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2009/12/25/shipping-goes-up-pollution-goes-down-us-epa-issues-final-rule-for-diesel-emissions/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2009/12/25/shipping-goes-up-pollution-goes-down-us-epa-issues-final-rule-for-diesel-emissions/ Ending uga_preg_callback: carbon emissions from global shipping Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/molten-salt-may-be-solution-to-solar-energy-storage/ Start uga_is_url_internal: cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/molten-salt-may-be-solution-to-solar-energy-storage/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/molten-salt-may-be-solution-to-solar-energy-storage/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/molten-salt-may-be-solution-to-solar-energy-storage/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/molten-salt-may-be-solution-to-solar-energy-storage/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/molten-salt-may-be-solution-to-solar-energy-storage/ Ending uga_preg_callback: sustainable energy storage Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: gas2.org/2008/04/22/formula-1-racing-to-go-hybrid-from-2009-2013/ Start uga_is_url_internal: gas2.org/2008/04/22/formula-1-racing-to-go-hybrid-from-2009-2013/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: gas2.org/2008/04/22/formula-1-racing-to-go-hybrid-from-2009-2013/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: gas2.org/2008/04/22/formula-1-racing-to-go-hybrid-from-2009-2013/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/gas2.org/2008/04/22/formula-1-racing-to-go-hybrid-from-2009-2013/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/gas2.org/2008/04/22/formula-1-racing-to-go-hybrid-from-2009-2013/ Ending uga_preg_callback: flywheel/hybrid electric system Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: cleantechnica.com/2010/01/16/worlds-southernmost-wind-farm-now-feeding-antarctic-grid/ Start uga_is_url_internal: cleantechnica.com/2010/01/16/worlds-southernmost-wind-farm-now-feeding-antarctic-grid/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2010/01/16/worlds-southernmost-wind-farm-now-feeding-antarctic-grid/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => 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cleantechnica.com/2010/01/16/worlds-southernmost-wind-farm-now-feeding-antarctic-grid/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2010/01/16/worlds-southernmost-wind-farm-now-feeding-antarctic-grid/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2010/01/16/worlds-southernmost-wind-farm-now-feeding-antarctic-grid/ Ending uga_preg_callback: Ross Island Wind Farm Ending uga_filter:

The flywheel is an old technology that dates back to Neolithic-era spindles and potter’s wheels.  Flywheels made a huge splash during the Industrial Revolution (anyone remember steam engines?) and now they’re ready to take center stage in the new wave of sustainable energy.

In sustainable energy, flywheels come into play as a means of storing intermittent power. Wind power and solar power are notoriously fickle in many parts of the world, and some means of smoothing out the bumps is required. Vycon is one of several companies exploring the potential of flywheels, and it has come up with some interesting twists.

What a Flywheel Does

If you’ve ever played tether-ball, the idea behind a flywheel is simple.  You provide sharp bursts of intermittent energy to send the ball around the pole.  The weight of the rope and its course around the pole combine to even out those bursts, creating a relatively constant, steady motion.  The rope also stores energy; after it is fully wrapped around the pole, the ball reverses course at a relatively steady pace, without any more help from you.  A similar principle applies to potter’s wheels, which can be kept in steady motion with intermittent kicks.

What a Flywheel Is

Companies like Vycon have ramped up this simple principle into sophisticated flywheel energy storage systems.  Vycon’s proprietary system consists of a steel hub with magnetic bearings, a dual motor/generator (the motor charges the system, the generator dispenses the energy), high tech system controls, and a converter that transforms the flywheel’s AC power into DC.

Flywheel Applications

Flywheels can be used to store energy from solar and wind installations, and Vycon has come up with a couple of other applications that it calls “energy recycling.”  The company has developed a flywheel system for harvesting the energy that normally is dissipated when large shipping cranes are lowered.  In a similar vein, Vycon has also developed a flywheel system that can harvest and store the braking energy from commuter and freight trains.  Both the crane and rail applications could become an important contribution to the management of carbon emissions from global shipping, especially in sensitive coastal areas.

Flywheels in Action

Flywheel technology could also be used to harvest energy from mining operations, or from elevators in buildings.  Compared to sustainable energy storage solutions such as molten salt, flywheels may also be more portable and site-adaptable.  They are also highly durable and they are already starting to pop up in some high stress environments.  A couple of years ago, Formula 1 cars started to phase in a flywheel/hybrid electric system called Kinetic Energy Recovery, which stores waste energy in a flywheel instead of a battery.  The newly online Ross Island Wind Farm in Antarctica is expected to make a huge dent in the base’s carbon footprint with the help of a flywheel storage system.

Start uga_filter:

Environmentalists have begun a concerted campaign to ensure that new forms of “artificial life” are never released into the wider environment because of fears that the life-forms will hasten the extinction of wild species.

A Canadian environmental group has already claimed partial victory in trying to impose a global moratorium on scientists such as Craig Venter, the controversial genome entrepreneur who last week claimed that he had made a synthetic cell in at test-tube controlled by a chromosome created from scratch.

The Etc Group, based in Ottawa, said it had helped to formulate a “de facto moratorium” on synthetic biology at a side meeting of the UN Conventional on Biological Diversity, which ended at the weekend in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. A scientific body attached to the convention, called the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, drew up a proposal on synthetic biology that is likely to result in any release experiments into the wild being banned if adopted by a meeting of environment ministers in Japan this year, the Etc Group said.

“The draft adopted by the meeting amounts to a de facto moratorium on the release of synthetic life forms. But the text will remain in ‘square brackets’, meaning that it has not achieved unanimous agreement among the Biological Convention’s 193 member countries at this time,” a spokesman said.

The moratorium on any release of synthetic life-forms is likened to the earlier moratoria on “terminator technology”, a suicide gene that prevents GM seeds from being fertile after they are harvested, and ocean fertilisation, an attempt to spread iron into the sea to stimulate the absorption of carbon dioxide from the air.

The Etc Group, composed of a handful of activists, has been a thorn in the side of Dr Venter. They have opposed his attempts to patent genes and have been highly critical of his claims that synthetic life-forms could help to solve major environmental problems, such as global warming.

“Synthetic biology is a high-risk, profit-driven field, building organisms out of parts that are still poorly understood,” said Jim Thomas, a member of the Etc Group.

“We know that lab-created life-forms can escape and become biological weapons, and that their use threatens existing natural biodiversity,” Mr Thomas said.

“Most worrying of all, Craig Venter is handing this powerful technology to the likes of BP and Exxon to hasten the commercialisation of synthetic life-forms.”

Dr Venter, whose company Synthetic Genomics has received $600m (£430m) in research and development investment from Exxon Mobil, said last week that his synthetic cell, which he has nicknamed Synthia, although free-living, will survive only in a contained laboratory and there are no plans to use it that could result in it being released to the outside environment.

Mundita Lim, a delegate to the Convention on Biological Diversity from the Philippines, said: “We believe that there should be no field release of synthetic life, cell or genome into the environment until thorough scientific assessments have been conducted in a transparent, open and participatory process, involving all parties.”

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Environmentalists have begun a concerted campaign to ensure that new forms of “artificial life” are never released into the wider environment because of fears that the life-forms will hasten the extinction of wild species.

A Canadian environmental group has already claimed partial victory in trying to impose a global moratorium on scientists such as Craig Venter, the controversial genome entrepreneur who last week claimed that he had made a synthetic cell in at test-tube controlled by a chromosome created from scratch.

The Etc Group, based in Ottawa, said it had helped to formulate a “de facto moratorium” on synthetic biology at a side meeting of the UN Conventional on Biological Diversity, which ended at the weekend in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. A scientific body attached to the convention, called the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, drew up a proposal on synthetic biology that is likely to result in any release experiments into the wild being banned if adopted by a meeting of environment ministers in Japan this year, the Etc Group said.

“The draft adopted by the meeting amounts to a de facto moratorium on the release of synthetic life forms. But the text will remain in ‘square brackets’, meaning that it has not achieved unanimous agreement among the Biological Convention’s 193 member countries at this time,” a spokesman said.

The moratorium on any release of synthetic life-forms is likened to the earlier moratoria on “terminator technology”, a suicide gene that prevents GM seeds from being fertile after they are harvested, and ocean fertilisation, an attempt to spread iron into the sea to stimulate the absorption of carbon dioxide from the air.

The Etc Group, composed of a handful of activists, has been a thorn in the side of Dr Venter. They have opposed his attempts to patent genes and have been highly critical of his claims that synthetic life-forms could help to solve major environmental problems, such as global warming.

“Synthetic biology is a high-risk, profit-driven field, building organisms out of parts that are still poorly understood,” said Jim Thomas, a member of the Etc Group.

“We know that lab-created life-forms can escape and become biological weapons, and that their use threatens existing natural biodiversity,” Mr Thomas said.

“Most worrying of all, Craig Venter is handing this powerful technology to the likes of BP and Exxon to hasten the commercialisation of synthetic life-forms.”

Dr Venter, whose company Synthetic Genomics has received $600m (£430m) in research and development investment from Exxon Mobil, said last week that his synthetic cell, which he has nicknamed Synthia, although free-living, will survive only in a contained laboratory and there are no plans to use it that could result in it being released to the outside environment.

Mundita Lim, a delegate to the Convention on Biological Diversity from the Philippines, said: “We believe that there should be no field release of synthetic life, cell or genome into the environment until thorough scientific assessments have been conducted in a transparent, open and participatory process, involving all parties.”

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Detroit was once the 4th largest city in America and it held the title of Motor City because most of America’s cars came from there. Flash forward 40 years, and Detroit’s population has dwindled from a high of 2 million people to just over 800,000. The average price for a home in Detroit is $15,000, the lowest in the country. With so many empty spaces, criminals have no shortage of hideouts and drug factories. And with America’s auto industry still reeling from the recession, as well as having outsourced many jobs to other states (or countries), the future looks bleak for Detroit’s long-deferred recovery.

Unless one millionaire gets his way, and turns the city into farms. Yes, farms.

John Hantz is one of the few remaining millionaires in Detroit, where the median family income is under $30,000. And the urban sprawl that Detroit encompasses is larger than Boston, Manhatten, and San Francisco combined. There is a lot of unused land in Detroit. This John Hantz thinking about how to use all of that vacant land. He is pitching a proposal to turn Detroit into a modern farming community. I think he might be on to something.

Cities have a lot of “green cred” going for them when it comes to public transportation, walkability, and making the most out of very limited space. But despite all of this, they still need to import all of their food, usually from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. It isn’t green, but it is necessary. Detroit is the perfect candidate for attempting urban farming on a massive scale because all that vacant land means plenty of planting opportunities.

Not only would it make use of otherwise blighted land, it would also offer employment opportunities for a city that desperately needs them. The jobless rate in Detroit stands at a whopping 27%. I’ve been to Detroit, many years ago, and what I saw then was sad; I can’t imagine what it looks like today (although pushing a dump truck out of  the top floor of a factory seems pretty cool).

Hantz’s idea calls for creating farm “pods”, each with its own residential frontage, placed strategically around the city. The pods will utilize the latest in green farming technology like compost-heated greenhouses and hydroponic systems. Hantz is willing to put up the $30 million himself to get the project started, once he gets a few concessions from the Detroit city government which includes new agricultural tax regulations, and access to non-delinquent land.

Will it work? I hope so, because if this happens (and I can convince my girlfriend to put up with Michigan’s bitter winters) I am heading out to Detroit to be an urban farmer. No joke. Sounds like the kind of city this country boy could enjoy. Plus, I could finally attend the Woodward Dream Cruise.

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Detroit was once the 4th largest city in America and it held the title of Motor City because most of America’s cars came from there. Flash forward 40 years, and Detroit’s population has dwindled from a high of 2 million people to just over 800,000. The average price for a home in Detroit is $15,000, the lowest in the country. With so many empty spaces, criminals have no shortage of hideouts and drug factories. And with America’s auto industry still reeling from the recession, as well as having outsourced many jobs to other states (or countries), the future looks bleak for Detroit’s long-deferred recovery.

Unless one millionaire gets his way, and turns the city into farms. Yes, farms.

John Hantz is one of the few remaining millionaires in Detroit, where the median family income is under $30,000. And the urban sprawl that Detroit encompasses is larger than Boston, Manhatten, and San Francisco combined. There is a lot of unused land in Detroit. This John Hantz thinking about how to use all of that vacant land. He is pitching a proposal to turn Detroit into a modern farming community. I think he might be on to something.

Cities have a lot of “green cred” going for them when it comes to public transportation, walkability, and making the most out of very limited space. But despite all of this, they still need to import all of their food, usually from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. It isn’t green, but it is necessary. Detroit is the perfect candidate for attempting urban farming on a massive scale because all that vacant land means plenty of planting opportunities.

Not only would it make use of otherwise blighted land, it would also offer employment opportunities for a city that desperately needs them. The jobless rate in Detroit stands at a whopping 27%. I’ve been to Detroit, many years ago, and what I saw then was sad; I can’t imagine what it looks like today (although pushing a dump truck out of  the top floor of a factory seems pretty cool).

Hantz’s idea calls for creating farm “pods”, each with its own residential frontage, placed strategically around the city. The pods will utilize the latest in green farming technology like compost-heated greenhouses and hydroponic systems. Hantz is willing to put up the $30 million himself to get the project started, once he gets a few concessions from the Detroit city government which includes new agricultural tax regulations, and access to non-delinquent land.

Will it work? I hope so, because if this happens (and I can convince my girlfriend to put up with Michigan’s bitter winters) I am heading out to Detroit to be an urban farmer. No joke. Sounds like the kind of city this country boy could enjoy. Plus, I could finally attend the Woodward Dream Cruise.

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Since the earthquake in Chile in February 2010, the advanced geodesy research group at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) has been helping measure Earth on a global scale. First results indicate that the rotational speed of Earth has become marginally slower and days have become longer by 0.3 microseconds.Since the earthquake in Chile in February 2010, the advanced geodesy research group at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) has been helping measure Earth on a global scale. First results indicate that the rotational speed of Earth has become marginally slower and days have become longer by 0.3 microseconds.

On February 27, 2010, one of the strongest earthquakes of recent decades (magnitude 8.8) destroyed large parts of Chile’s third-largest city Concepción and its surrounding area. At a central location, experts from the TU Vienna Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics have contributed to the important geodetic measurements that were carried out both before and after the earthquake. Highly precise geodetic measurements play an important role in geodesy (the measurement of Earth), in order to observe natural disasters and examine their causes. The measurements make it possible to determine with great accuracy the deformations in Earth’s crust and the shifting of the tectonic plates. The GPS station in Concepción, which continued to operate without problems both during and after the earthquake, measured a shift of nearly 3 metres to the west. The movement vectors in this image indicate that the entire South American plate has not just “wandered over” to the west, but was instead “pulled apart.”

“Observations using the radio telescope in Concepción will provide further important information on plate movement using the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) process,” speculates Dr Johannes Böhm, Head of the VLBI group at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics. Current VLBI analyses at the institute confirm the suspected shift of approximately 3 metres to the west and 0.65 metres to the south.

Effects on Earth’s rotation: days are becoming longer

Experts suspect that the earthquake has also influenced Earth’s rotation. The shift of mass within Earth’s crust, caused by the earthquake, is affecting both the rotational speed of Earth and the direction of the axis of rotation, which contributes to polar motion. Using data about the magnitude of the earthquake and the deformations caused by it, the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics is in the meantime determining the effects of the earthquake on Earth’s rotation.

First results indicate that the rotational speed of Earth has become marginally slower and days have become longer by 0.3 microseconds. In the coming months, polar motion will deviate by approx. 2.6 milliarcseconds, which corresponds with 7 cm on Earth’s surface, due to the earthquake in Chile. Dr Harald Schuh, Head of the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at TU Vienna and President of Commission 19 “Rotation of Earth” within the International Astronomical Union (IAU), confirms that “evidence that suggests a sudden shift of Earth’s axis of rotation is not correct, according to these results.”

Observations which were carried out using global navigation satellite systems, such as the American GPS or the Russian Glonass, or using the VLBI technique are currently being analysed to confirm the earthquake’s effects on Earth’s rotation. “This is not a simple task, as there are countless other factors that influence Earth’s rotation besides the earthquake, such as strong winds or ocean tides,” stresses Dr Tobias Nilsson, who is responsible for the corresponding work on the simulation model. Using modern geodetic measuring techniques, the geodesists’ research will help improve the prediction of natural disasters and the possibilities of warning of these disasters shortly before they occur.

Start uga_in_feed Ending uga_in_feed: Start uga_track_user Start uga_get_option: ignore_users uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: ignore_users (1) Start uga_get_option: max_user_level uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: max_user_level (8) Tracking user with level 0 Ending uga_track_user: 1 Calling preg_replace_callback: ]*?)href\s*=\s*['"](.*?)['"]([^>]*)>(.*?) Ending uga_filter:

Since the earthquake in Chile in February 2010, the advanced geodesy research group at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) has been helping measure Earth on a global scale. First results indicate that the rotational speed of Earth has become marginally slower and days have become longer by 0.3 microseconds.Since the earthquake in Chile in February 2010, the advanced geodesy research group at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) has been helping measure Earth on a global scale. First results indicate that the rotational speed of Earth has become marginally slower and days have become longer by 0.3 microseconds.

On February 27, 2010, one of the strongest earthquakes of recent decades (magnitude 8.8) destroyed large parts of Chile’s third-largest city Concepción and its surrounding area. At a central location, experts from the TU Vienna Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics have contributed to the important geodetic measurements that were carried out both before and after the earthquake. Highly precise geodetic measurements play an important role in geodesy (the measurement of Earth), in order to observe natural disasters and examine their causes. The measurements make it possible to determine with great accuracy the deformations in Earth’s crust and the shifting of the tectonic plates. The GPS station in Concepción, which continued to operate without problems both during and after the earthquake, measured a shift of nearly 3 metres to the west. The movement vectors in this image indicate that the entire South American plate has not just “wandered over” to the west, but was instead “pulled apart.”

“Observations using the radio telescope in Concepción will provide further important information on plate movement using the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) process,” speculates Dr Johannes Böhm, Head of the VLBI group at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics. Current VLBI analyses at the institute confirm the suspected shift of approximately 3 metres to the west and 0.65 metres to the south.

Effects on Earth’s rotation: days are becoming longer

Experts suspect that the earthquake has also influenced Earth’s rotation. The shift of mass within Earth’s crust, caused by the earthquake, is affecting both the rotational speed of Earth and the direction of the axis of rotation, which contributes to polar motion. Using data about the magnitude of the earthquake and the deformations caused by it, the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics is in the meantime determining the effects of the earthquake on Earth’s rotation.

First results indicate that the rotational speed of Earth has become marginally slower and days have become longer by 0.3 microseconds. In the coming months, polar motion will deviate by approx. 2.6 milliarcseconds, which corresponds with 7 cm on Earth’s surface, due to the earthquake in Chile. Dr Harald Schuh, Head of the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at TU Vienna and President of Commission 19 “Rotation of Earth” within the International Astronomical Union (IAU), confirms that “evidence that suggests a sudden shift of Earth’s axis of rotation is not correct, according to these results.”

Observations which were carried out using global navigation satellite systems, such as the American GPS or the Russian Glonass, or using the VLBI technique are currently being analysed to confirm the earthquake’s effects on Earth’s rotation. “This is not a simple task, as there are countless other factors that influence Earth’s rotation besides the earthquake, such as strong winds or ocean tides,” stresses Dr Tobias Nilsson, who is responsible for the corresponding work on the simulation model. Using modern geodetic measuring techniques, the geodesists’ research will help improve the prediction of natural disasters and the possibilities of warning of these disasters shortly before they occur.

Start uga_filter:

A burst of new business at the end of 2009 put Germany close to adding a record of solar power to the grid, according to the head of Germany’s BSW solar industry association, Carsten Koernig. He estimates that in this year alone; it will be very close to 3 Gigawatts.

While he is not sure what the final end-of-year number will be, he is sure of one fact. It can’t be over 3 gigawatts, simply because there is no more capacity than that in the pipeline.

German supplies have completely sold out. Demand for parts, especially, and equipment such as inverters has outstripped supply. Germany’s very consumer-oriented feed-in tariff legislation makes it profitable for any homeowner to install panels on their roofs to supply the grid – - and so they do just that.

More than 40,000 people work in the photovoltaic industry. The 2008 record solar installed was 1.6 GW, bringing Germany’s total to 5.3 GW; one third of the world’s 15 GW of solar power. This year’s 3 gigawatts could propel it to half the world’s solar.

Part of the increase in end-of year sales was was due to pent-up demand as the financial crisis starts to ease in Germany; but part of it was last-minute homeowners and solar investors getting into the action before 2010, when the Feed-in Tariff rates will step down 10%.

Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act has required power companies to buy all the energy produced by anyone making renewable power, at a fixed above-market price for 20 years.

This payment started out in 2003 as 3 times what the electricity consumer would normally pay for electricity, then went down to 2 times the retail rate. Even after it goes down 10% next year this still amounts to well over what the electricity customer pays.

A surcharge of $1.67 on the monthly bill does not begin to cover that extra cost to the utility; but the nation shares in the Common Good of lowering carbon emissions.

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Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.german-renewable-energy.com/Renewables/Navigation/Englisch/root,did=241878.html Start uga_is_url_internal: www.german-renewable-energy.com/Renewables/Navigation/Englisch/root,did=241878.html Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.german-renewable-energy.com/Renewables/Navigation/Englisch/root,did=241878.html Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.german-renewable-energy.com/Renewables/Navigation/Englisch/root,did=241878.html Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.german-renewable-energy.com/Renewables/Navigation/Englisch/root,did=241878.html Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.german-renewable-energy.com/Renewables/Navigation/Englisch/root,did=241878.html Ending uga_preg_callback: Renewable Energy Sources Act Ending uga_filter:

A burst of new business at the end of 2009 put Germany close to adding a record of solar power to the grid, according to the head of Germany’s BSW solar industry association, Carsten Koernig. He estimates that in this year alone; it will be very close to 3 Gigawatts.

While he is not sure what the final end-of-year number will be, he is sure of one fact. It can’t be over 3 gigawatts, simply because there is no more capacity than that in the pipeline.

German supplies have completely sold out. Demand for parts, especially, and equipment such as inverters has outstripped supply. Germany’s very consumer-oriented feed-in tariff legislation makes it profitable for any homeowner to install panels on their roofs to supply the grid – - and so they do just that.

More than 40,000 people work in the photovoltaic industry. The 2008 record solar installed was 1.6 GW, bringing Germany’s total to 5.3 GW; one third of the world’s 15 GW of solar power. This year’s 3 gigawatts could propel it to half the world’s solar.

Part of the increase in end-of year sales was was due to pent-up demand as the financial crisis starts to ease in Germany; but part of it was last-minute homeowners and solar investors getting into the action before 2010, when the Feed-in Tariff rates will step down 10%.

Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act has required power companies to buy all the energy produced by anyone making renewable power, at a fixed above-market price for 20 years.

This payment started out in 2003 as 3 times what the electricity consumer would normally pay for electricity, then went down to 2 times the retail rate. Even after it goes down 10% next year this still amounts to well over what the electricity customer pays.

A surcharge of $1.67 on the monthly bill does not begin to cover that extra cost to the utility; but the nation shares in the Common Good of lowering carbon emissions.

Start uga_filter:

Although the Lexus booth at the 2009 LA Auto Show was rather devoid of inspiring next-gen green automotive technology, I did make a quick stop by to look at their traveling LF-Ch exhibit. The company has put together a display that’s supposed to help figure out what styling cues show attendees like best about the concept hybrid hatchback by giving them the ability to take pictures of the car and upload them to a database. It actually was one of the worst-executed interactive displays I’ve seen in a long time. Needless to say, I decided to pass up the interactivity.

But, hokey auto show displays aside, the LF-Ch concept—which made its official debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show—is actually kind of a cool looking car. And it marks a clearly new direction of thinking for Lexus; it’s the first compact hybrid concept from the automaker that’s geared towards the younger Scion crowd—reflecting a trend in the luxury market towards a smaller scale and outreach to young urbanites.

While the LF-Ch is technically a concept car, its design is more like that of what could be a real production model and Lexus has basically said that it plans on producing and marketing the LF-Ch sometime in the next couple of years. According to recent reports (subs. req’d), Lexus division General Manager Mark Templin has even come right out and said that he thinks the LF-Ch hybrid concept should be turned into a production vehicle and sold in the United States.

Although Templin would not give a specific timeframe until production of the LF-Ch might commence, he did say that Lexus would be the first to bring a product to the newly minted compact luxury dedicated hybrid market.

Start uga_in_feed Ending uga_in_feed: Start uga_track_user Start uga_get_option: ignore_users uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: ignore_users (1) Start uga_get_option: max_user_level uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: max_user_level (8) Tracking user with level 0 Ending uga_track_user: 1 Calling preg_replace_callback: ]*?)href\s*=\s*['"](.*?)['"]([^>]*)>(.*?) Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.autonews.com/article/20091202/OEM04/912029985/1186 Start uga_is_url_internal: www.autonews.com/article/20091202/OEM04/912029985/1186 Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.autonews.com/article/20091202/OEM04/912029985/1186 Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.autonews.com/article/20091202/OEM04/912029985/1186 Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.autonews.com/article/20091202/OEM04/912029985/1186 Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.autonews.com/article/20091202/OEM04/912029985/1186 Ending uga_preg_callback: recent reports (subs. req’d) Ending uga_filter:

Although the Lexus booth at the 2009 LA Auto Show was rather devoid of inspiring next-gen green automotive technology, I did make a quick stop by to look at their traveling LF-Ch exhibit. The company has put together a display that’s supposed to help figure out what styling cues show attendees like best about the concept hybrid hatchback by giving them the ability to take pictures of the car and upload them to a database. It actually was one of the worst-executed interactive displays I’ve seen in a long time. Needless to say, I decided to pass up the interactivity.

But, hokey auto show displays aside, the LF-Ch concept—which made its official debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show—is actually kind of a cool looking car. And it marks a clearly new direction of thinking for Lexus; it’s the first compact hybrid concept from the automaker that’s geared towards the younger Scion crowd—reflecting a trend in the luxury market towards a smaller scale and outreach to young urbanites.

While the LF-Ch is technically a concept car, its design is more like that of what could be a real production model and Lexus has basically said that it plans on producing and marketing the LF-Ch sometime in the next couple of years. According to recent reports (subs. req’d), Lexus division General Manager Mark Templin has even come right out and said that he thinks the LF-Ch hybrid concept should be turned into a production vehicle and sold in the United States.

Although Templin would not give a specific timeframe until production of the LF-Ch might commence, he did say that Lexus would be the first to bring a product to the newly minted compact luxury dedicated hybrid market.

Start uga_filter:

One of the contentious issues at Copenhagen is how much money to give to the developing world to help avert the sharp rise in carbon emissions expected in the about-to-industrialize countries. The funds are to come from the developed world, and this fund is generally framed in the US media (and not just by Glen Beck), as a giveaway. The New York Times puts it like this: Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag.

“The money would be used to help developing nations reduce emissions by switching to renewable energy sources like wind and solar and by compensating landowners for not cutting down or burning forests, a major source of carbon dioxide emissions.

Other funds might be used to adjust to effects of a changing climate, like rising sea levels, by building flood walls or relocating settlements to higher ground.”

Is this a “big cost”? Actually, no. This is an investment in solar, and wind, and even flood wall businesses. The real beneficiaries are the countries whose renewable energy businesses will grow from this investment. A more appropriate headline might be: Climate Deal Likely to Bring Big Boom to Renewable Sector.

This so-called giveaway is not from the developed to the developing world, but from the developed world’s governments to their own developing companies in the post carbon age. Their own renewable energy companies will benefit  – and add jobs.

How much might they benefit? Two think tanks, San Francisco-based ClimateWorks and The EU’s Project Catalyst; whose work has helped shape the negotiations in Copenhagen estimate that this investment globally will amount to about $100 billion by 2020. Just from this assistance fund.

About half the funds would be generated by cap and trade. The Waxman-Markey climate bill in the House, which carved out part of the funds created by cap and trade to pay for this “investment in the developing world”, could only get an upper limit of $8 billion by 2030, with the highest ratio of Democrats to Republicans (America’s Fossil Party) that congress has; so the Senate will likely not be able to do better than that.

In the absence of sensible legislation from a stalemated congress, President Obama has gone and made some unilateral deals of his own with the two largest of these renewable investment opportunities: China and India.

But, even without US participation, the European Trading System, has a growing global market in carbon emissions credits. Europe’s cap and trade market is expected to be generating $2 trillion a year by 2020.

EU-based renewable energy companies are already far ahead of their US counterparts thanks to European cap and trade that grew out of its signing of Kyoto in 1997. Without US participation; the funding for this developing world “assistance” will help further grow solar and wind and flood wall companies from Europe.

Every government in the developed world should be beating down the doors for this $100 billion opportunity to build its green job base, rather than letting tiny NGOs like SELF flounder along looking for bake-sale level charity to fund its work.

Start uga_in_feed Ending uga_in_feed: Start uga_track_user Start uga_get_option: ignore_users uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: ignore_users (1) Start uga_get_option: max_user_level uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: max_user_level (8) Tracking user with level 0 Ending uga_track_user: 1 Calling preg_replace_callback: ]*?)href\s*=\s*['"](.*?)['"]([^>]*)>(.*?) Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: cleantechnica.com/files/2009/12/self.jpg Start uga_is_url_internal: cleantechnica.com/files/2009/12/self.jpg Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/files/2009/12/self.jpg Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/files/2009/12/self.jpg Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/files/2009/12/self.jpg Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/files/2009/12/self.jpg Ending uga_preg_callback: Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/science/earth/09cost.html Start uga_is_url_internal: www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/science/earth/09cost.html Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/science/earth/09cost.html Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/science/earth/09cost.html Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/science/earth/09cost.html Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/science/earth/09cost.html Ending uga_preg_callback: The New York Times Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.climateworks.org/ Start uga_is_url_internal: www.climateworks.org/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.climateworks.org/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.climateworks.org/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.climateworks.org/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.climateworks.org/ Ending uga_preg_callback: ClimateWorks Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.project-catalyst.info/ Start uga_is_url_internal: www.project-catalyst.info/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.project-catalyst.info/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.project-catalyst.info/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.project-catalyst.info/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.project-catalyst.info/ Ending uga_preg_callback: Project Catalyst Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/06/the-fossil-party-and-the-future-party/ Start uga_is_url_internal: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/06/the-fossil-party-and-the-future-party/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/06/the-fossil-party-and-the-future-party/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/06/the-fossil-party-and-the-future-party/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2009/12/06/the-fossil-party-and-the-future-party/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2009/12/06/the-fossil-party-and-the-future-party/ Ending uga_preg_callback: Fossil Party Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: gas2.org/2009/11/29/obama-induces-chinese-to-cut-ghg-40-percent-and-share-electric-car-tech/ Start uga_is_url_internal: gas2.org/2009/11/29/obama-induces-chinese-to-cut-ghg-40-percent-and-share-electric-car-tech/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: gas2.org/2009/11/29/obama-induces-chinese-to-cut-ghg-40-percent-and-share-electric-car-tech/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: gas2.org/2009/11/29/obama-induces-chinese-to-cut-ghg-40-percent-and-share-electric-car-tech/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/gas2.org/2009/11/29/obama-induces-chinese-to-cut-ghg-40-percent-and-share-electric-car-tech/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/gas2.org/2009/11/29/obama-induces-chinese-to-cut-ghg-40-percent-and-share-electric-car-tech/ Ending uga_preg_callback: China Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/02/president-obama-launches-secret-green-partnership-with-india-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-despite-senate-boycott/ Start uga_is_url_internal: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/02/president-obama-launches-secret-green-partnership-with-india-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-despite-senate-boycott/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/02/president-obama-launches-secret-green-partnership-with-india-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-despite-senate-boycott/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: cleantechnica.com/2009/12/02/president-obama-launches-secret-green-partnership-with-india-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-despite-senate-boycott/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2009/12/02/president-obama-launches-secret-green-partnership-with-india-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-despite-senate-boycott/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/cleantechnica.com/2009/12/02/president-obama-launches-secret-green-partnership-with-india-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-despite-senate-boycott/ Ending uga_preg_callback: India. Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.self.org/ Start uga_is_url_internal: www.self.org/ Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.self.org/ Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.self.org/ Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.self.org/ Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.self.org/ Ending uga_preg_callback: NGOs like SELF Ending uga_filter:

One of the contentious issues at Copenhagen is how much money to give to the developing world to help avert the sharp rise in carbon emissions expected in the about-to-industrialize countries. The funds are to come from the developed world, and this fund is generally framed in the US media (and not just by Glen Beck), as a giveaway. The New York Times puts it like this: Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag.

“The money would be used to help developing nations reduce emissions by switching to renewable energy sources like wind and solar and by compensating landowners for not cutting down or burning forests, a major source of carbon dioxide emissions.

Other funds might be used to adjust to effects of a changing climate, like rising sea levels, by building flood walls or relocating settlements to higher ground.”

Is this a “big cost”? Actually, no. This is an investment in solar, and wind, and even flood wall businesses. The real beneficiaries are the countries whose renewable energy businesses will grow from this investment. A more appropriate headline might be: Climate Deal Likely to Bring Big Boom to Renewable Sector.

This so-called giveaway is not from the developed to the developing world, but from the developed world’s governments to their own developing companies in the post carbon age. Their own renewable energy companies will benefit  – and add jobs.

How much might they benefit? Two think tanks, San Francisco-based ClimateWorks and The EU’s Project Catalyst; whose work has helped shape the negotiations in Copenhagen estimate that this investment globally will amount to about $100 billion by 2020. Just from this assistance fund.

About half the funds would be generated by cap and trade. The Waxman-Markey climate bill in the House, which carved out part of the funds created by cap and trade to pay for this “investment in the developing world”, could only get an upper limit of $8 billion by 2030, with the highest ratio of Democrats to Republicans (America’s Fossil Party) that congress has; so the Senate will likely not be able to do better than that.

In the absence of sensible legislation from a stalemated congress, President Obama has gone and made some unilateral deals of his own with the two largest of these renewable investment opportunities: China and India.

But, even without US participation, the European Trading System, has a growing global market in carbon emissions credits. Europe’s cap and trade market is expected to be generating $2 trillion a year by 2020.

EU-based renewable energy companies are already far ahead of their US counterparts thanks to European cap and trade that grew out of its signing of Kyoto in 1997. Without US participation; the funding for this developing world “assistance” will help further grow solar and wind and flood wall companies from Europe.

Every government in the developed world should be beating down the doors for this $100 billion opportunity to build its green job base, rather than letting tiny NGOs like SELF flounder along looking for bake-sale level charity to fund its work.

Start uga_wp_footer_track: Start uga_get_tracker Start uga_in_feed Ending uga_in_feed: Start uga_track_user Start uga_get_option: ignore_users uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: ignore_users (1) Start uga_get_option: max_user_level uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: max_user_level (8) Tracking user with level 0 Ending uga_track_user: 1 Start uga_get_option: account_id uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: account_id (UA-10399907-2) Ending uga_get_tracker: Start uga_insert_html_once: footer, Footer hooked: HTML inserted: Location is FOOTER Inserting HTML End uga_insert_html Ending uga_wp_footer_track: Start uga_shutdown Start uga_in_feed Ending uga_in_feed: Start uga_track_user Start uga_get_option: ignore_users uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: ignore_users (1) Start uga_get_option: max_user_level uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: max_user_level (8) Tracking user with level 0 Ending uga_track_user: 1 Footer hook was executed Start uga_get_option: footer_hooked uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: footer_hooked (1) Start uga_get_option: debug uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: debug (1) -->