Wind power gets big

A video, for broadband, of a 5MW wind turbine with a 115m rotor diametre. And a hellipad on top!
http://www.repower.de/fileadmin/download/produkte/5m_uk.mpg
another less impressive video
http://www.me3.org/issues/wind/windpowernow.html
some pictures of assembly of 2MW wind turbines they are still huge but rotors are individually 36M long not 58M !
http://www.middelgrunden.dk/MG_UK/project_info/turbine.htm

(for my take on the most important climate change issues have a look at climate change action
at http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com)

The world HAS gone mad

I was blown away by the following article, is simply absurd. See the article on 'climate change action' about the flaring of associated gas . If this gas was harnessed it could produce a vast amount of energy, nore than enough for the whole of Nigeria.



IAEA, Unesco, Others Back Nigeria's Nuclear Energy Drive

Vanguard (Lagos)
NEWS
July 19, 2005
Posted to the web July 19, 2005

By Luka Binniyat
Abuja

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), United Nations Educations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Embassies of Canada and the United States have proclaimed that the incorporation of power generation from nuclear and coal energy into the Nigeria's electric power generation is the most viable option to attaining a sufficient and sustainable power regime in Nigeria.

In a communiqué issued over the weekend from the just concluded Public Presentation and National Workshop on the National Energy Policy, which was attended by the afore mentioned, Dr. Nkong-Njock of the IAEA, stated that the shortage of the current energy generation for the present and future energy demand of Nigeria requires the establishment of cost effective and friendly environmental systems of energy production under which nuclear can play an important role.

Already, the IAEA has provided Nigeria with a Nuclear Reactor and a Tandem Accelerator last year, all in the quest to teach Nigeria the basic lesson of attaining nuclear energy generation.

Speaking at the occasion, Presidential Adviser on Petroleum and Energy, Dr. Edmund Daukoru said he was confident in the National Energy Policy as put together by the Energy Commission of Nigeria. He however, called for the promotion of alternative energy sources to enrich the nation"s energy profile

The communiqué, which was signed by the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Professor Abubakar Sambo also commended the Federal Government for the adoption of the National Energy Policy (NEP) and called on the Government to take necessary steps to ensure full implementation.

The Stakeholders strongly requested for the immediate commencement of work for the development of the National Energy Master Plan based on the NEP using appropriate due process mechanisms with the widest stakeholder participation in order to have an enduring energy policy focus for the country.

Power and Steel Minister, Liyel Imoke stated that the mere existence of the policy would not do magic unless its provisions are meticulously implemented.

Chairman of the forum, Professor (Senator) Iya Abubakar, who also doubles as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, drummed for the realization a concrete Energy Master plan and also expressed the stand of the National Assembly to the policy stating, that all energy sub sector policies must be subsumed in the current NEP.

In his overview of the NEP, the Director-General of ECN, Professor Abubakar Sambo called for the cooperation of the stakeholders to ensure orderly development of the policy, even as the Minister of Science and Technology, Professor Turner Isoun urged all participants to fully support the implementation of the NEP in all its ramifications.

(for my take on the most important climate change issues have a look at climate change action
at http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com)

Australia seems reluctant to act on climate change, but ironically it could be amongst the hardest hit.

Climate change wake-up call
Milanda Rout, environment reporter
27jul05

CLIMATE change is inevitable and is likely to cause an increase in heat exhaustion, stroke, heart attacks and asthma.

A Federal Government study says Australia should expect higher temperatures, more droughts and severe storms. Temperatures could rise by up to 6C by 2070, affecting native plants and animals, damaging urban areas and threatening agriculture.

"There is little doubt Australia will face some degree of climate change over the next 30 to 50 years," it said.

"Irrespective of global or local efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions."

Environment Minister Ian Campbell said the report was a wake-up call but he denied Australia needed to sign the Kyoto protocol.

The Opposition called on the Government to do something immediately to reduce greenhouse gases or risk being responsible for an environmental tsunami.

The Government's Australian Greenhouse Office found climate change was likely to increase illnesses that occur with higher temperatures.

This includes heatstroke and heart attacks, especially among the elderly, as well as malaria and ross river fever.

Higher temperatures could also mean more cases of food poisoning and an increase in the risk of skin cancer.

"Climatic conditions have wide-ranging impacts of human health, including heatstroke and the patterns of diseases and allergies," the report said.

The risk of water-borne diseases could also increase with more rainfall and huge storms.

The report calls for better building design to help prevent climate-related illnesses and providing more information to the public.

"Public health prevention measures may need to be enhanced to reduce the impact of heat-related illness and death," it said.

The report, titled Climate Change Risks and Vulnerability, also identified areas most vulnerable, including the Great Barrier Reef, the Murray/Darling basin, and the east coast, where cities and suburbs border the beaches.

Senator Campbell said the report was vital for addressing the causes of climate change.

"This report is telling us that regardless of what we do in the future, climate change is a reality . . . and we have to start adapting to it," he said.

Opposition environment spokesman Anthony Albanese called on the Government to do more, including ratifying the Kyoto protocol.

"What this report and other reports show is that the world is headed for an environmental tsunami," he said. "Sitting back and doing nothing about dangerous climate change is simply not an option."

(for my take on the most important climate change issues have a look at climate change action
at http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com)

British wildlife feels the heat.

Puffin colony's future in doubt

A disastrous breeding season has led to fears over the future of a famous puffin colony in the Outer Hebrides.

A recent survey of puffin colonies found that in St Kilda substantial numbers of chicks had starved to death.

St Kilda is a world heritage site and considered the most important seabird breeding station in northwest Europe.

However, the birds' staple diet, sand eels, appeared to be moving away to cooler waters which some experts blamed on global warming.

This meant that mother birds were having to feed chicks on pipefish, which were difficult to eat because of their size and had little nutritional value.

In the past, fledging weights of puffins have been generally about 250g, whereas the recent average weight was 157g.

It is thought that only 26% of hatched chicks are surviving this season, compared to a normal survival rate of about 70%.

A marine warden described large numbers of "dead, downy chicks scattered on the ground" during a weekend survey on the small island of Dun which is part of St Kilda.

Sarah Money, the St Kilda ranger, said: "Puffins are usually one of the more robust of the seabirds, finding alternative sources of food when other birds struggle, so this is a really worrying sign that something is going badly wrong with the health of our seas." An RSPB spokesman said he feared a repeat of the seabird devastation of the North Sea, Orkney and Shetland.

(for my take on the most important climate change issues have a look at climate change action
at http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com)