Global renewable energy deals climbed 40 percent to a record high of $53.5 billion last year from $38.2 billion in 2010, as solar, wind and energy efficiency overtook hydropower as the main deal drivers for the first time, a report said on Monday.
Historically, hydro power has dominated renewables deal flow, but deals worth $1 billion or more in wind, solar, biomass and energy efficiency have outnumbered hydro by seven to one, the PriceWaterHouse Coopers report said.
The renewables market is maturing, fuelling more consolidation, and a rethink of the role of nuclear in many countries after the Japanese nuclear crisis last year provided an extra boost to renewables generation in certain markets.
"Sustained high deal numbers and record total value reflect a maturing of the sector," said Paul Nillesen, PwC renewables partner.
"The trend is all the more noteworthy given the uncertainty in the market and in government policies on renewables. We believe that deal flow will continue to be significant in the medium term."
Global clean energy investment hit a record $260 billion in 2011, which was mainly driven by a solar boom, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report showed.
But renewable energy, excluding hydropower, will account for just 5 percent of the world's total energy production by 2030, according to BP estimates.
WHAT LIES AHEAD?
Solar and energy efficiency deals accounted for 79 percent of the $15.3 billion rise in the total value of renewables deals. One in three deals last year was solar and the overall deal value for the solar sector was up 56 percent to $15.8 billion from $10.2 billion in 2010.
Falling solar prices are making solar power more economic and closer to grid parity in some markets.
The entry of pension and insurance funds, most notably a $1.1 billion investment by Danish pension insurance groups in a 50 percent stake in Dong Energy's Anholt offshore wind project, shows the renewables market is maturing and secondary markets have been created, with assets sold for a second or third time.
But the renewables sector could face a tough 2012.
U.S. and European manufacturers will be under increasing cost pressures and some Chinese manufacturers will also face heavy debt and feel competitive strain, PwC said.
Significant overcapacity in China could result in a succession of tie-ups within and between the main manufacturing territories of the United States, Germany and China, leading to a smaller number of big global players.
As well as a smaller number of global players in the solar market, PwC expects consolidation among larger players in the wind power sector. Recent profit warnings from Danish company Vestas are the most high profile example of the challenges facing some wind power companies.
Continued uncertainty about the eurozone economy will make the deal environment much more difficult for 2012. A deeper crisis would dampen deal flow further, but Nillesen said market uncertainty might not block the biggest deals.
"The potential for further destabilization domestically, or at an inter-governmental level cannot be ruled out, but if a deal is highly strategic, and mission critical, then parties will still feel it is worth doing on the right terms," he said.
Monday, January 30, 2012
2012: Year of the Dragon
THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON, 2012
01/23/2012 - 02/09/2013 (Water)
According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013. The Dragon is the fifth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal signs. The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend. In ancient China, the celestial Dragon represents an emperor and power. Today, it is the ultimate auspicious symbol signifying success and happiness. May the celestial Dragon bring great good luck to everyone.
In Sung Dynasty (a Chinese imperial dynasty lasting from AD 960 - 1279) texts, the dragon is described as having the head of an ox, muzzle of a donkey, eyes of a shrimp, horns of a deer, body of a serpent covered with fish scales, and feet of a phoenix. The dragon usually clutches a pearl symbolic of its super-natural powers. Invariably accompanied by thunder and rain, dragons move like lightning and whirlwinds - - all powerful yet totally unpredictable.
The Sign of the Dragon
People born in the Year of the Dragon share certain characteristics: Innovative, enterprising, self-assured, brave, passionate, conceited, and quick-tempered. The Dragons are the free spirits of the Chinese Zodiac. Restrictions blow out their creative spark that is ready to flame into life. So, they must be free and uninhibited. The Dragon is a beautiful creature, colorful and flamboyant. An extroverted bundle of energy, gifted and irrepressible, everything Dragons do is on a grand scale - big ideas and extreme ambitions. However, this behavior is natural and isn't meant for show. Because they are confident, fearless in the face of challenge, they are almost inevitably successful.
People born in the Year of the Dragon usually make it to the top. But, they must be aware of that too much enthusiasm can leave them tired and unfulfilled. They find pleasure in helping others, and you can always count on their help. Even though they are willing to assist when necessary, their pride can often impede them from accepting the same kind of help from others. Their generous personalities give them the ability to attract friends, but they can be rather solitary people at heart. Their self-sufficiency can mean that they have no need for close bonds with other people.
Dragon people tend to take thrilling risks, and burn the candle at both ends so they are fortunate to be blessed with good health. However, they can suffer bad health as a result of excess stress. Symtoms of their personalities often stem from emotional outbursts and can range from tension headaches to depression to hypertension. They can remedy these problems by maintaining their cool, implementing a routine in their daily lives, and practice meditation, Tai Chi or Yoga that soothe the mind and spirit as well as tone the body.
The Dragon is not the most domesticated of the Animal signs. So, people born in the Year of the Dragon prefer enjoying outdoor activities rather than staying at home. They are extroverts who have a deep love for nature. Their homes should be as large and majestic as their personalities, providing space for the fiery temperament or emotional eruptions that accompany their character. They have true and sincere love, which comes from the depths of their hearts.
Dragon people are quite imaginative, always able to see new paths and will take a radical approach. They have innate explorative spirit and try to succeed at one stroke. They are very adaptable and are fit for various occupations, especially if those occupations allow them to take the limelight. They work hard, but would rather give orders than receive them. They should avoid jobs that encompass too much routine, and should move toward jobs in which their self-reliance can be an asset.
People born in the Year of the Dragon like to spend money and are charitable themselves as well as with others. Many Dragon people will take big chances with their finances. It is very rare that they remain poor for long. They will always be straightforward in financial dealings and can always be trusted.
Dragon Years: 02/19/1904 to 02/03/1905 (Wood), 02/03/1916 to 01/22/1917 (Fire), 01/23/1928 to 02/09/1929 (Earth), 02/08/1940 to 01/26/1941 (Metal), 01/27/1952 to 02/13/1953 (Water), 02/13/1964 to 02/01/1965 (Wood), 01/31/1976 to 02/17/1977 (Fire), 02/17/1988 to 02/05/1989 (Earth), 02/05/2000 to 01/23/2001 (Metal), 01/23/2012 to 02/09/2013 (Water).
Famous Dragon People: Calista Flockhart, Colin Farrell, Courtney Cox, Courtney Love, Dinah Shore, Isabella Rossellini, Julia Ormond, Juliette Binoche, Reese Witherspoon, Roseanne Barr, Sandra Bullock, and Wynonna Judd.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Governments Cover Up by Raising “Safe” Radiation Levels
Instead of Protecting People, Governments Cover Up by Raising “Safe” Radiation Levels
American and Canadian authorities have virtually stopped monitoring airborne radiation.Neither American nor Canadian authorities are testing fish for radioactivity.
Does that mean that we don’t have to worry about radiation from Fukushima?
It is a little hard to know, given that what is deemed a “safe level” of radiation is determined by politics … rather than science. For example, current safety standards are based on the ridiculous assumption that everyone exposed is a healthy man in his 20s – and that radioactive particles ingested into the body cause no more damage than radiation hitting the outside of the body.
And one of the main advisors to the Japanese government on Fukushima announced:
If you smile, the radiation will not affect you.(Here’s the video.)
In the real world, however, even low doses of radiation can cause cancer. Moreover, small particles of radiation – called “internal emitters” – which get inside the body are much more dangerous than general exposures to radiation. See this and this. And radiation affects small children much more than full-grown adults.
Indeed, instead of doing much to try to protect their citizens from Fukushima, Japan, the U.S. and the EU all just raised the radiation levels they deem “safe”.
Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen says that high-level friends in the State Department told him that Hillary Clinton signed a pact with her counterpart in Japan agreeing that the U.S. will continue buying seafood from Japan, despite that food not being tested for radioactive materials.
And the Department of Energy is trying to replace the scientifically accepted model of the dangers of low dose radiation based on voodoo science. Specifically, DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley Labs used a mutant line of human cells in a petri dish which was able to repair damage from low doses of radiation, and extrapolated to the unsupported conclusion that everyone is immune to low doses of radiation:
As I pointed out in April:
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists reported that one of the best-known scientists of the 20th century – Dr. John Gofman – also believed that chronic low level radiation is more dangerous than acute exposure to high doses. Gofman was a doctor of nuclear and physical chemistry and a medical doctor who worked on the Manhattan Project, co-discovered uranium-232 and -233 and other radioactive isotopes and proved their fissionability, helped discover how to extract plutonium, led the team that discovered and characterized lipoproteins in the causation of heart disease, served as a Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California Berkeley, served as Associate Director of the Livermore National Laboratory, was asked by the Atomic Energy Commission to undertake a series of long range studies on potential dangers that might arise from the “peaceful uses of the atom”, and wrote four scholarly books on radiation health effects.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Magnetic reversal “imminent,” says National Geographic
see url:
http://evolutionaryleaps.com/2012/01/magnetic-reversal-imminent-says-national-geographic/
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This video from the National Geographic, first posted on 24 Feb 09, says the next magnetic reversal is “imminent.”
To gain more understanding of our magnetic field, in 2010 the European Space Agency will launch three SWARM satellites. These satellites – successors to the Ørsted satellite – will be equipped with magnetometers to map the earth’s magnetic field. One of the satellites will orbit at about 530 km above the earth, the other two will fly side by side at about 430 km, providing a sort of ‘stereo-vision’ of the magnetic field.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-channel/specials-1/science-technology/ngc-magnetic-reversal-of-fortune.html
Thanks to Richard Lacaba for this link
http://evolutionaryleaps.com/2012/01/magnetic-reversal-imminent-says-national-geographic/
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Magnetic reversal “imminent,” says National Geographic – Video
Scientists agree that Earth has long been subjected to thousands of traumatic magnetic reversals of the poles, and that we’re due for another — but when?This video from the National Geographic, first posted on 24 Feb 09, says the next magnetic reversal is “imminent.”
To gain more understanding of our magnetic field, in 2010 the European Space Agency will launch three SWARM satellites. These satellites – successors to the Ørsted satellite – will be equipped with magnetometers to map the earth’s magnetic field. One of the satellites will orbit at about 530 km above the earth, the other two will fly side by side at about 430 km, providing a sort of ‘stereo-vision’ of the magnetic field.
The earth’s magnetic field protects us from deadly cosmic radiation. As our magnetic field strength decays – which it is now doing – and cosmic radiation will – as the above video says – “get increasingly close to Earth’s surface.”You can also view the above video, entitled “Magnetic Reversal of Fortune,” here:
As I maintain in “Magnetic Reversals and Evolutionary Leaps,” this radiation will lead to mutations and evolutionary leaps.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-channel/specials-1/science-technology/ngc-magnetic-reversal-of-fortune.html
Thanks to Richard Lacaba for this link
If you Google SWARM, you will primarily get info on earthquake swarms. However, if you Google SWARM and Nils Olsen (a geophysicist working on SWARM), you will get many references to the SWARM satellites.
Fukushima: A Nuclear War without a War: The Unspoken Crisis of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation
Fukushima: A Nuclear War without a War: The Unspoken Crisis of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation ONLINE READER By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Note to Readers: Remember to bookmark this page for future reference. Please Forward the GR I-Book far and wide. Post it on Facebook. [scroll down for I-BOOK Table of Contents] GLOBAL RESEARCH ONLINE INTERACTIVE READER SERIES Fukushima: A Nuclear War without a War The Unspoken Crisis of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation Michel Chossudovsky (Editor) I-Book No. 3, January 25 2012 Global Research's Online Interactive I-Book Reader brings together, in the form of chapters, a collection of Global Research feature articles and videos, including debate and analysis, on a broad theme or subject matter. In this Interactive Online I-Book we bring to the attention of our readers an important collection of articles, reports and video material on the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe and its impacts (scroll down for the Table of Contents). INTRODUCTION The World is at a critical crossroads. The Fukushima disaster in Japan has brought to the forefront the dangers of Worldwide nuclear radiation. The crisis in Japan has been described as "a nuclear war without a war". In the words of renowned novelist Haruki Murakami:
Nuclear radiation --which threatens life on planet earth-- is not front page news in comparison to the most insignificant issues of public concern, including the local level crime scene or the tabloid gossip reports on Hollywood celebrities. While the long-term repercussions of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are yet to be fully assessed, they are far more serious than those pertaining to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine, which resulted in almost one million deaths (New Book Concludes - Chernobyl death toll: 985,000, mostly from cancer Global Research, September 10, 2010, See also Matthew Penney and Mark Selden The Severity of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster: Comparing Chernobyl and Fukushima, Global Research, May 25, 2011) Moreover, while all eyes were riveted on the Fukushima Daiichi plant, news coverage both in Japan and internationally failed to fully acknowledge the impacts of a second catastrophe at TEPCO's (Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc) Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant. The shaky political consensus both in Japan, the U.S. and Western Europe is that the crisis at Fukushima has been contained. The realties, however, are otherwise. Fukushima 3 was leaking unconfirmed amounts of plutonium. According to Dr. Helen Caldicott, "One millionth of a gram of plutonium ingested causes cancer". An opinion poll in May 2011 confirmed that more than 80 per cent of the Japanese population do not believe the government's information regarding the nuclear crisis. (quoted in Sherwood Ross, Fukushima: Japan's Second Nuclear Disaster, Global Research, November 10, 2011) The Impacts in Japan The Japanese government has been obliged to acknowledge that "the severity rating of its nuclear crisis ... matches that of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster". In a bitter irony, however, this tacit admission by the Japanese authorities has proven to been part of the cover-up of a significantly larger catastrophe, resulting in a process of global nuclear radiation and contamination:
 Fukushima in the wake of the Tsunami, March 2011 Worldwide Contamination The dumping of highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean constitutes a potential trigger to a process of global radioactive contamination. Radioactive elements have not only been detected in the food chain in Japan, radioactive rain water has been recorded in California:
While the spread of radiation to the West Coast of North America was casually acknowledged, the early press reports (AP and Reuters) "quoting diplomatic sources" stated that only "tiny amounts of radioactive particles have arrived in California but do not pose a threat to human health."
 The spread of radiation. March 2011 Public Health Disaster. Economic Impacts What prevails is a well organized camouflage. The public health disaster in Japan, the contamination of water, agricultural land and the food chain, not to mention the broader economic and social implications, have neither been fully acknowledged nor addressed in a comprehensive and meaningful fashion by the Japanese authorities. Japan as a nation state has been destroyed. Its landmass and territorial waters are contaminated. Part of the country is uninhabitable. High levels of radiation have been recorded in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which has a population of 39 million (2010) (more than the population of Canada, circa 34 million (2010)) There are indications that the food chain is contaminated throughout Japan:
Japan's industrial and manufacturing base is prostrate. Japan is no longer a leading industrial power. The country's exports have plummeted. The Tokyo government has announced its first trade deficit since 1980. While the business media has narrowly centered on the impacts of power outages and energy shortages on the pace of productive activity, the broader issue pertaining to the outright radioactive contamination of the country's infrastructure and industrial base is a "scientific taboo" (i.e the radiation of industrial plants, machinery and equipment, buildings, roads, etc). A report released in January 2012 points to the nuclear contamination of building materials used in the construction industry, in cluding roads and residential buildings throughout Japan.(See FUKUSHIMA: Radioactive Houses and Roads in Japan. Radioactive Building Materials Sold to over 200 Construction Companies, January 2012) A "coverup report" by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (May 2011), entitled "Economic Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Current Status of Recovery" presents "Economic Recovery" as a fait accompli. It also brushes aside the issue of radiation. The impacts of nuclear radiation on the work force and the country's industrial base are not mentioned. The report states that the distance between Tokyo -Fukushima Dai-ichi is of the order of 230 km (about 144 miles) and that the levels of radiation in Tokyo are lower than in Hong Kong and New York City.(Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Current Status of Recovery, p.15). This statement is made without corroborating evidence and in overt contradiction with independent radiation readings in Tokyo (se map below). In recent developments, Sohgo Security Services Co. is launching a lucrative "radiation measurement service targeting households in Tokyo and four surrounding prefectures". "A map of citizens' measured radiation levels shows radioactivity is distributed in a complex pattern reflecting the mountainous terrain and the shifting winds across a broad area of Japan north of Tokyo which is in the center of the of bottom of the map."  "Radiation limits begin to be exceeded at just above 0.1 microsieverts/ hour blue. Red is about fifty times the civilian radiation limit at 5.0 microsieverts/hour. Because children are much more sensitive than adults, these results are a great concern for parents of young children in potentially affected areas. SOURCE: Science Magazine The fundamental question is whether the vast array of industrial goods and components "Made in Japan" -- including hi tech components, machinery, electronics, motor vehicles, etc -- and exported Worldwide are contaminated? Were this to be the case, the entire East and Southeast Asian industrial base --which depends heavily on Japanese components and industrial technology-- would be affected. The potential impacts on international trade would be farreaching. In this regard, in January, Russian officials confiscated irradiated Japanese automobiles and autoparts in the port of Vladivostok for sale in the Russian Federation. Needless to say, incidents of this nature in a global competitive environment, could lead to the demise of the Japanese automobile which is already in crisis. While most of the automotive industry is in central Japan, Nissan's engine factory in Iwaki city is 42 km from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Is the Nissan work force affected? Is the engine plant contaminated? The plant is within about 10 to 20 km of the government's "evacuation zone" from which some 200,000 people were evacuated (see map below).  Nuclear Energy and Nuclear War The crisis in Japan has also brought into the open the unspoken relationship between nuclear energy and nuclear war. Nuclear energy is not a civilian economic activity. It is an appendage of the nuclear weapons industry which is controlled by the so-called defense contractors. The powerful corporate interests behind nuclear energy and nuclear weapons overlap. In Japan at the height of the disaster, "the nuclear industry and government agencies [were] scrambling to prevent the discovery of atomic-bomb research facilities hidden inside Japan's civilian nuclear power plants".1 (See Yoichi Shimatsu, Secret Weapons Program Inside Fukushima Nuclear Plant? Global Research, April 12, 2011) It should be noted that the complacency of both the media and the governments to the hazards of nuclear radiation pertains to the nuclear energy industry as well as to to use of nuclear weapons. In both cases, the devastating health impacts of nuclear radiation are casually denied. Tactical nuclear weapons with an explosive capacity of up to six times a Hiroshima bomb are labelled by the Pentagon as "safe for the surrounding civilian population". No concern has been expressed at the political level as to the likely consequences of a US-NATO-Israel attack on Iran, using "safe for civilians" tactical nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state. Such an action would result in "the unthinkable": a nuclear holocaust over a large part of the Middle East and Central Asia. A nuclear nightmare, however, would occur even if nuclear weapons were not used. The bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities using conventional weapons would contribute to unleashing another Fukushima type disaster with extensive radioactive fallout. (For further details See Michel Chossudovsky, Towards a World War III Scenario, The Dangers of Nuclear War, Global Research, Montreal, 2011) The Online Interactive I-Book Reader on Fukushima: A Nuclear War without a War In view of the official cover-up and media disinformation campaign, the contents of the articles and video reports in this Online Interactive Reader have not trickled down to to the broader public. (See Table of contents below) This Online Interactive Reader on Fukushima contains a combination of analytical and scientific articles, video reports as well as shorter news reports and corroborating data. Part I focusses on The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: How it Happened? Part II pertains to The Devastating Health and Social Impacts in Japan. Part III centers on the "Hidden Nuclear Catastrophe", namely the cover-up by the Japanese government and the corporate media. Part IV focusses on the issue of Worlwide Nuclear Radiation and Part V reviews the Implications of the Fukushima disaster for the Global Nuclear Energy Industry. In the face of ceaseless media disinformation, this Global Research Online I-Book on the dangers of global nuclear radiation is intended to break the media vacuum and raise public awareness, while also pointing to the complicity of the governments, the media and the nuclear industry. We call upon our readers to spread the word. We invite university, college and high school teachers to make this Interactive Reader on Fukushima available to their students. Michel Chossudovsky, January 25, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: How it Happened
PART II The Devastating Health and Social Impacts in Japan
Tokyo Water Unsafe For Babies, Food Bans Imposed - by Karyn Poupee - 2011-03-23 PART III Hidden Nuclear Catastrophe: Cover-up by the Japanese Government and the Corporate Media
PART IV The Process of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation
PART V Implications for the Global Nuclear Energy Industry
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