Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Credit Sarkozy for working to revive a club - that is the Mediterranean Club.

By CHRIS PATTEN, OXFORD, England, and posted as http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/eo20…

Maybe it is time to be a bit more generous to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and look at the outcome of what he does rather than the way he does it.

The original launch of the Mediterranean Union almost sank the whole enterprise. Appearing to speak without giving the issue much thought, Sarkozy initially proposed a club of European and mostly Arab states along the Mediterranean’s shore. It would have been in essence a French-run enterprise that the rest of Europe would have paid for. This did not go down well, particularly with the Germans.

Suspicion was strong that the French were trying to find a way to buy off Turkey with a relationship falling well short of European Union membership.

Sarkozy bowed to his European critics and enjoyed a diplomatic triumph. We shall soon see whether there is substance to the initiative, or whether it is just a coat of fresh paint on an old and tired idea.

The original Barcelona Process, launched in 1995, was an excellent scheme. Intended to provide an economic and political backdrop to peacemaking through confidence-building in the Middle East, it was an admirable recognition of Europe’s historical, commercial, cultural and political ties with its neighbors south of the sea, which have brought us all together over the years.

Yet, the successes of the Barcelona Process were modest: a great idea on the launchpad had difficulty getting off the ground. So Sarkozy deserves at least 2 1/2 cheers for trying to revitalize it. But if the Mediterranean Union is to achieve more than was managed in its first manifestation, a number of things will need to happen.

First, Europe is better at talking about free-trade areas than delivering free trade. For example, there are still too many barriers to agricultural trade between the north and the south. And guess which country leads the opposition to any significant opening up of European agriculture. France, take a bow.

Second, however slow we have been in opening up a real Mediterranean market, the barriers to freer trade between Arab League countries are just as great.

Third, it was excellent that, in Paris, Sarkozy began the process of bringing Syria in out of the diplomatic cold. Hopefully, his attempts to act as a peace broker between West Bank Palestinians and Israel are also blessed with success.

But the truth is that Europe, for all the gallant efforts of Javier Solana, has been absent from serious politics in the Middle East. We have not dared cross the absentee monopolists of policy in Washington.

Europe should get more seriously involved, even at the risk of occasionally irritating America, which may be less likely to happen once the Bush administration is history.

For a start, we should recognize that there will be no political settlement in Palestine without including Hamas. What would incredibly have been former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s first visit to Gaza in his first year of peacemaking had to be canceled recently because of security concerns. Enough said.

Europe must decide how serious it is about all the admirable stuff in the Barcelona Process regarding pluralism, civil society, the rule of law and democracy. Should a shared concept of human rights be one of the foundations of our Mediterranean partnership?

If so, what are we in Europe proposing to do about it? If this is just blah-blah, better not say it. We discredit ourselves and important principles when we say things we don’t mean.

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Lord Patten is a former governor of Hong Kong and European commissioner for external affairs. He is currently chancellor of Oxford University and co-chair of the International Crisis Group.  www.project-syndicate.org)

From:

 http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display…

Call for pact to combat terrorism.
Web posted at: 7/19/2008
Source ::: AFP

The Secretary General of the Muslim World League Dr Abdullah bin Abdulmuhsin Al Turki during the World Conference on Dialogue in Madrid yesterday. (AFP)

MADRID • Islamic, Christian and Jewish leaders yesterday called for an international agreement to combat terrorism, at the end of a landmark Saudi-organised conference.

The representatives of the world’s great monotheistic religions also appealed for a special session of the UN General Assembly to promote dialogue and prevent “a clash of civilizations.”

“Terrorism is a universal phenomenon that requires unified international efforts to combat it in a serious, responsible and just way,” participants at the three-day World Conference on Dialogue said in a final communique.

“This demands an international agreement on defining terrorism, addressing its root causes and achieving justice and stability in the world.”

They called for more “ways of enhancing understanding and cooperation among people despite differences in their origins, colours and languages,” and a “rejection of extremism and terrorism.”

Around 200 participants attended the gathering in Madrid, organised by the Makkah-based Muslim World League from an initiative by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and aimed at bringing the world’s great monotheistic faiths closer together.

Among the representatives were the secretary general of the World Jewish Congress, Michael Schneider, and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who is in charge of the Vatican’s relations with Muslims. Tauran said Pope Benedict XVI had expressed “a great interest” in the conference. “His Holiness is convinced that dialogue based on love and truth is the best way to contribute to harmony, happiness and peace for the people of the earth,” he told the closing session.

The cardinal said the conference had “stressed the main convictions that we have in common.”

The secretary general of the Muslim World League, Abdullah bin Abdulmuhsin Al Turki, said more such conferences are planned, including possibly one in Japan. The event took place against a backdrop of tensions between the Islamic world and the West since the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

They range from restrictions on the use of the veil by Muslim women in some European countries to cartoons regarded as blasphemous by Muslims and the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Organisers had billed the conference as a chance for the different religions to “get to know each other.”

In that limited respect, observers said it had succeeded. It also demonstrated King Abdullah’s desire to restore the tarnished image of Islam in the West since 9/11.

“I expect some important Jewish leaders will be taking back positive reports about the opportunity to engage with Muslims,” said Walter Ruby, in charge of Muslim-Jewish relations at the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

He noted some prior resistance to the event among conservative Jewish elements in the US, “who are suspicious about Muslims and feel this is a PR thing… But I think it was a bold and important step. It was King Adbullah’s ‘Perestroika’ moment,” he said.

One leading Muslim participant reported a “very good feeling” during the three days of talks. “Nowadays, you have news about war everywhere, but there is no news about peace. At this conference, we sat down and had very good relations,” the secretary general of the Kuwait-based World Organisation of Pan-Islamic Jurisprudence, Al Seyed AbolGhasem Al Dibaji, said.

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Rabbi aims to improve Muslim-Jewish ties
By BEN SALES ,  Jul 11, 2008

 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c…

Rabbi David Rosen, who has been invited to an interfaith conference in Madrid hosted by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah next week, said Thursday that he expects to make significant progress in Muslim-Jewish relations while there.

Rabbi David Rosen

Rosen is the only Israeli rabbi to be invited to the conference, which will host 200 spiritual leaders from July 16-18, including representatives from Iran, Lebanon and Syria. Several American rabbis from varying streams have also been invited.

Born in England, Rosen moved to Israel in 1967 and now serves as the president of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation, based in Jerusalem. While he acknowledges the controversy surrounding the conference, Rosen sees attendance as an opportunity to bridge cultural barriers and bring about political reconciliation.

{ what this article forgot to mention is that Rabbi Rosen has also a British Passport - so he was not invited as Israeli but as British. No Israelis were invited period! For even handedness perhapse, also no Palestinians were invited. }

“This is just a first step in breaking stereotypes and increasing communication between the Jewish and Muslim worlds, even the Israeli and Arab worlds, and decreasing the violent abuse of religion,” Rosen told The Jerusalem Post. “I believe that we have everything to gain through encouraging this process and a great deal to lose if we turn our back on it.”

Even so, Rosen feels that Saudi Arabia has an ulterior motive in sponsoring the conference and that limited benefits will come out it.

“The primary motive is that the king of Saudi Arabia understands that the image of his land has a serious problem in the Western world and would like to demonstrate how it can be positively and constructively involved in confronting challenges,” he said. “Obviously, whatever the Saudis want to achieve, they feel that they have to do it step-by-step.”

Rosen’s main qualm with the conference is that it includes neither an official Israeli representative nor a Palestinian delegate. While he is an Israeli citizen, Rosen is not listed as such by the conference.

“One thing we’ll have to make clear is that the Jewish people sees Israel as central to its national identity,” he said. “Israel has been intensely discriminated against; so have the Palestinians. You cannot claim to have a full dialogue with the Jewish people if Israel is not officially represented.”

The Spanish government, however, feels that the conference is an important first step in dialogue.

“The Spanish government is part of the interfaith and intercultural movement,” said an official for the Spanish embassy. “Spain has its origins in the middle ages from the three monotheistic religions. That was a golden age for the coexistence of the three religions.”

While Rosen believes that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is central to these negotiations and plans to address it in private discussions at the conference, he does not plan to raise the issue publicly because of cultural understandings in Arab society.

“Anybody who has any experience with public encounters in the Arab world knows there’s a public choreography where you have to show loyalty to the cause,” he said. “The last thing the Saudis want is to lose any credibility as champions of the Muslim, Arab and Palestinian cause.”

Despite these challenges, Rosen feels that dialogue with hostile nations, however intolerant, is crucial to reaching an understanding.

“There are well known Israelis that say that Israel should only have contact with entities that are democratic,” he said. “If that’s the approach, Israel will wait a very long time and through lots of bloodshed. You should engage the most problematic of dictatorial regimes and through those negotiations have a salutary effect on those countries that will hope lead to a democratic regime.”

Representatives of one totalitarian regime with whom Rosen will be in contact are members of an Iranian delegation of ayatollahs to the conference. Rosen is not worried about the meeting, as he has met Iranian officials before.

“It would not be a problem to meet the ayatollahs whom I’ve met at different places,” he said. “By definition, those ayatollahs who go to these conferences aren’t the ones who call the shots, but you have no idea what impact changing their perspectives has.”

While some have criticized Rosen for his plans to attend the conference, he feels that he is doing the right thing. “There are those who accuse me of serving as a fig-leaf for the Saudis, playing into their legitimating,” he said. “Anyone who’s not criticized is not doing anything worth doing.”

Jul 11, 2008 13:32

 http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/2008/07/021844print.html

July 18, 2008

Text of Saudi-led interfaith conference’s “Madrid Declaration.”

It’s easy to see why some participants were fuming about the document issued on their behalf. It is presented below in its entirety. Note the predictable platitudes about “justice” and “respect,” along with more ominous pledges to badger governments and international organizations about the “denigration” of religions.

The Declaration is in Parts 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of the Saudi Press Agency’s “World Conference on Dialogue concluded Madrid,” July 18:

Following that, MWL Assistant Secretary General Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Zaid read Madrid Declaration issued by the World Conference on Dialogue. Following is the text of Madrid Declaration:
“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe, and may the peace and blessings of God be upon all His prophets and messengers.

In response of the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Muslim World League organized the World Conference on Dialogue in Madrid, Spain, during the period 13 to 15 / Rajab / 1429 AH, corresponding to 16 to 18 / July / 2008.

The participants in the conference; followers of the world religions and cultures express their profound gratitude for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for his generous patronage and inauguration of the conference and for his speech to the participants, which they considered as a major document in the conference.

Furthermore, the participants extend their deep thanks and appreciation for His Majesty Juan Carlos the 1st of Spain for his comprehensive welcome speech and for H.E. Mr. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the prime minister of Spain for his participation in the opening session and for his efforts in the dialogue of civilizations. The participants also thank the Spanish Government for having the conference in Spain. This great country is home to a historical heritage that belongs to the followers of different religions and has contributed to human civilization.

The participants also recall the objectives of the UN Charter, which calls for exerting collective efforts aiming at the enhancement of international relations, the creation of an exemplary human community and the promotion of dialogue as a civilized way for cooperation.

The participants further remind all people of the Declaration of the UN General Assembly in 1994, which called for tolerance and the spread of the culture of peace, and also ask that they recall the declarations of 1995 as the Year of Tolerance and 2001 as the Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations.

The participants commend the Appeal of Makkah issued by the World Islamic Conference on Dialogue, which was called for by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and organized by the Muslim World League earlier this year (2008).

The participants build on the agreement among the followers of religions and prominent cultures regarding the value of dialogue as the best way of mutual understanding and cooperation in human relations as well as in peaceful coexistence among nations. In light of the above, the participants affirm the following principles:
1- Unity of humankind in the original creation and the equality among human beings irrespective of their colors, ethnic backgrounds and cultures.
2- Purity of the nature of humans; as they were created liking good and disliking evil, inclining to justice and avoiding injustice. Such pure nature leads humans to show mercy and to seek certainty and belief.
3- Diversity of cultures and civilizations among people is a sign of God and a cause for human advancement and prosperity.
4- The heavenly messages aims at realizing the obedience of people to their Creator and achieving happiness, justice, security and peace for humankind. These messages seek to enhance ways of understanding and cooperation among people despite differences in their origins, colors and languages. They also call for spreading virtue through wisdom and politeness, and rejecting extremism and terrorism.
5- Respecting heavenly religions, preserving their high status, condemning any insult to their symbols, and combating the exploitation of religion in the instigation of racial discrimination.
6- Observing peace, honoring agreements and respecting unique traditions of peoples and their right to security, freedom and self-determination are the basis for building good relations among all people. Achieving this is a major objective of all religions and prominent cultures.
7- The significance of religion and moral values and the need for humans to revert to their Creator in their fight against crime, corruption, drugs, and terrorism, and in preserving the institution of the family and protecting societies from deviant behaviors.
8- The family is the basic unit of society and its nucleus. Protecting it from disintegration is a cornerstone for any secure and stable society.
9- Dialogue is one of the essentials of life. It is also one of the most important means for knowing each other, cooperation, exchange of interests and realizing the truth, which contributes to the happiness of humankind.
10- The preservation of the environment and its protection from pollution and other dangers are considered a major object of all religions and cultures.
“Mindful of accomplishing the above principles through dialogue, the conference has thoroughly reviewed the process of dialogue and its obstacles, as well as the catastrophes that afflicted humanity in the 20the Century. The Conference noted that terrorism is one of the most serious obstacles confronting dialogue and coexistence.

“Terrorism is a universal phenomenon that requires unified international efforts to combat it in a serious, responsible and just way. This demands an international agreement on defining terrorism, addressing its root causes and achieving justice and stability in the world.
“Based on the above, the conference has adopted the following recommendations:
1- To reject theories that call for the clash of civilizations and cultures and to warn of the danger of campaigns seeking to deepen conflicts and destabilize peace and security.
2- To enhance common human values, to cooperate in their dissemination within societies and to solve the problems that hinder their achievement.
3- To disseminate the culture of tolerance and understanding through dialogue so as to be a framework for international relations through holding conferences and symposia, as well as developing relevant cultural, educational and media programs.
4- To agree on international guidelines for dialogue among the followers of religions and cultures through which moral values and ethical principles, which are common denominators among such followers, so as to strengthen stability and achieve prosperity for all humans.
5- To work on urging governmental and non-governmental organizations to issue a document that stipulates respect for religions and their symbols, the prohibition of their denigration and the repudiation of those who commit such acts.
To fulfill these desired objectives of dialogue by this conference, the participants have agreed on adopting the following:
1- Forming a working team to study the problems hindering dialogue and preventing it from realizing its desired results. Its task is also to prepare a study that provides visions for the solution of these problems and to coordinate among bodies promoting world dialogue.
2- Cooperation among religious, cultural, educational, and media establishments to deepen and consolidate ethical values, to encourage noble social practices and to confront sexual promiscuity, family disintegration and other vices.
3- Organizing inter-religious and inter-cultural meetings, conducting research, executing media programs and using the Internet and other media for the dissemination of a culture of peace, understanding and coexistence.
4-Promoting the issue of dialogue among the followers of religions, civilizations and cultures within youth, cultural, educational, and media activities.
5- Calling upon the UN General Assembly to support the results reached by this conference. It is strongly recommended to make use of these recommendations in enhancing dialogue among the followers of religions, civilizations and cultures through conducting a special UN session on dialogue.
The participants express their hope that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will use his good office with the concerned bodies in convening this session as soon as possible. It will be the pleasure of the members of this conference to take part in that session through a representative delegation, members of which are to be chosen by the Muslim World League.
In abiding with the agreed-upon principles and concepts, the participants do emphasize that it is essential for this world dialogue to be open and that its sessions be held periodically.
The participants have extended their profound gratitude to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the King of Saudi Arabia, for his kind initiation and invitation to this world dialogue. They have applauded the continued efforts made by the league in the fields of dialogue and cooperation among nations and peoples, hoping that the common objectives, for which humankind aspires, are accomplished”.
Issued in Madrid, 15 Rajab 1429 H., 18 July 2008.
Posted at July 18, 2008

July 18, 2008

Saudi-led “interfaith” meeting closes with U.A.E. official’s swipe at Zionism, participant complaints of control by Muslim World League. Shocking, isn’t it? “U.A.E. Official Attacks Zionism at Saudi Conference,” by Joseph Goldstein for the New York Sun, July 18:

MADRID — The Saudi king’s talk of tolerance and moderation notwithstanding, the Jewish state is proving to be a divisive issue at the religious conference that the Saudi monarch has convened here. […]
But after a day’s worth of speeches by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu leaders, in the middle of the fourth two-hour conference session, a government official from the United Arab Emirates urged Muslim leaders to avoid the company of Zionists.

“We have to distinguish between Judaism and Zionism,” the official, Izzeddin Mustafa Ibrahim, who is listed on the program as an adviser on cultural affairs to the president of the U.A.E., said. “Zionism is a political system. Judaism is a religion.”

He continued: “I can speak to pacifists but not bellicists, who are in favor of war.”

Mr. Ibrahim, a Muslim scholar of Christianity who said he has met with three popes in the interests of Christian-Muslim relations, then continued: “I have only one minute left,” referring to the amount of speaking time allotted to him, and finished off his statements with a broad appeal to begin a “Judaic and Islamic dialogue.”…
As for the Muslim World League and participants’ actual level of participation in crafting the closing document, here is more from the New York Sun in “Saudi King’s Religion Conference Ends on Sour Note,” also by Joseph Goldstein, July 18:

[…] After declaring that “Islam is a religion of moderation and tolerance” during the opening address of the conference Wednesday, Abdullah left Spain for a visit to Morocco and the conference continued without its sponsor.
The legacy of the conference will depend largely on what further steps, if any, Abdullah, who is now 84, takes to urge a reconciliation between the clerics of the Muslim world and their counterparts among Christians and Jews, participants say.

Abdullah has not announced any further plans to host or visit with non-Muslim religious leaders. Yet, the closing communiqué issued by the conference participants yesterday did leave him with another opening: to seek a hearing before the United Nations.

The communiqué, a four page final statement that condemns a list of woes ranging from terrorism to sexual promiscuity, also urges Abdullah to convene “a special UN session on dialogue” between religions.
The statement also declared:
“Terrorism is a universal phenomenon that requires unified international efforts to combat it in a serious, responsible and just way. This demands an international agreement on defining terrorism, addressing its root causes and achieving justice and stability in the world.”
And the statement urged people “to reject theories that call for the clash of civilizations.”

The statement does not mention any religions by name.

The final statement, which was read by an official with the Muslim World League, Abdul Rahman Al-Zaid, rankled several of the conference participants because it differed from an earlier agreed upon draft. Under pressure from a conference participant, William Vendley of Religions for Peace, a second version was subsequently drafted which attributed the communiqué to the “conveners” of the conference and not the participants, as the earlier version had.
One complaint, which two participants voiced on condition of anonymity, is that the communiqué called for the Muslim World League to select some of the delegates for the suggested upon United Nations conference on interfaith dialogue.

The major complaint of many participants was that the document appears to have been revised at some stage without the consent of members of a drafting committee. And the vast majority of participants never had a chance to review any version of the statement before Mr. Al-Zaid of the Muslim World League read it aloud.

“For us as participants from other religions this is not an acceptable procedure for adopting documents,” a Russian Orthodox priest participating in the conference, George Ryabykh, said.
Posted by Marisol at July 18, 2008

Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe’s electricity, says EU.

• Huge £35bn supergrid would pool green sources
• Brown and Sarkozy back north African plan

Alok Jha, science correspondent
The Guardian, Wednesday July 23, 2008

A concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Spain that uses panels to refl ect light on to a central tower to produce electricity. Similar plants are proposed for north Africa. Photograph: AP

A tiny rectangle superimposed on the vast expanse of the Sahara captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe’s carbon emissions by harnessing the fierce power of the desert sun.

Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity.

Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission’s Institute for Energy, said it would require the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts to meet all of Europe’s energy needs.

The scientists are calling for the creation of a series of huge solar farms - producing electricity either through photovoltaic cells, or by concentrating the sun’s heat to boil water and drive turbines - as part of a plan to share Europe’s renewable energy resources across the continent.

A new supergrid, transmitting electricity along high voltage direct current cables would allow countries such as the UK and Denmark ultimately to export wind energy at times of surplus supply, as well as import from other green sources such as geothermal power in Iceland.

Energy losses on DC lines are far lower than on the traditional AC ones, which make transmission of energy over long distances uneconomic.

The grid proposal, which has won political support from both Nicholas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown, answers the perennial criticism that renewable power will never be economic because the weather is not sufficiently predictable. Its supporters argue that even if the wind is not blowing hard enough in the North Sea, it will be blowing somewhere else in Europe, or the sun will be shining on a solar farm somewhere.

Scientists argue that harnessing the Sahara would be particularly effective because the sunlight in this area is more intense: solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in northern Africa could generate up to three times the electricity compared with similar panels in northern Europe.

Much of the cost would come in developing the public grid networks of connecting countries in the southern Mediterranean, which do not currently have the spare capacity to carry the electricity that the north African solar farms could generate. Even if high voltage cables between North Africa and Italy would be built or the existing cable between Morocco and Spain would be used, the infrastructure of the transfer countries such as Italy and Spain or Greece or Turkey also needs a major re-structuring, according to Jaeger-Walden.

Southern Mediterranean countries including Portugal and Spain have already invested heavily in solar energy and Algeria has begun work on a vast combined solar and natural gas plant which will begin producing energy in 2010. Algeria aims to export 6,000 megawatts of solar-generated power to Europe by 2020.

Scientists working on the project admit that it would take many years and huge investment to generate enough solar energy from north Africa to power Europe but envisage that by 2050 it could produce 100 GW, more than the combined electricity output from all sources in the UK, with an investment of around €450bn.

Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist, welcomed the proposals: “Assuming it’s cost-effective, a largescale renewable energy grid is just the kind of innovation we need if we’re going to beat climate change.”

Jaeger-Walden also believes that scaling up solar PV by having large solar farms could help bring its cost down for consumers. “The biggest PV system at the moment is installed in Leipzig and the price of the installation is €3.25 per watt,” he said. “If we could realise that in the Mediterranean, for example in southern Italy, this would correspond to electricity prices in the range of 15 cents per kWh, something below what the average consumer is paying.”

The vision for the renewable energy grid comes as the commission’s joint research centre (JRC) published its strategic energy technology plan, highlighting solar PV as one of eight technologies that need to be championed for the short- to medium-term future.

“It recognises something extraordinary - if we don’t put together resources and findings across Europe and we let go the several sectors of energy, we will never reach these targets,” said Giovanni de Santi, director of the JRC, also speaking in Barcelona.

The JRC plan includes fuel cells and hydrogen, clean coal, second generation biofuels, nuclear fusion, wind, nuclear fission and smart grids. De Santi said it was designed to help Europe to meet its commitments to reduce overall energy consumption by 20% by 2020, while reducing CO² emissions by 20% in the same time and increasing to 20% the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources.

Backstory

High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines are seen as the most efficient way to move electricity over long distances without incurring the losses experienced in alternating current (AC) power lines. HVDC cables can carry more power for the same thickness of cable compared with AC lines but are only suited to long distance transmission as they require expensive devices to convert the electricity, usually generated as AC, into DC. Modern HVDC cables can keep energy losses down to around 3% per 1,000km. HVDC can also be used to transfer electricity between different countries that might use AC at differing frequencies. HVDC cables can also be used to synchronise AC produced by renewable energy sources.

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Other topics noted as Environment in The Guardian:
Solar power · Wind power · Wave, tidal and hydropower · Renewable energy · Alternative energy · Energy

Invasion of the jellyfish: Mediterranean on alert as hundreds suffer from stings.
By Matthew Kay in Paris, Elizabeth Nash in Madrid and Peter Popham in Rome
The Independent front-page, Thursday, 24 July 2008.

{ but this week amNY had similar report regarding swimmers that participated in a competition in the waters of the Hudson River. One athlete even died. }

Just as you thought it was safe to head for the Med, jellyfish have invaded beaches from Sardinia to Spain.

As thousands of tourists head to the Mediterranean, the spectre of jellyfish ruining holidays looms large after French emergency services received more than 500 calls for help in a single day along a 10-mile stretch of coast from Nice to Cannes.

Paddlers suffered painful stings and wanted something to treat the pain while swimmers reported that they had found themselves totally surrounded by a species commonly known as the mauve stinger.

It is a pattern being repeated along the shores of Mediterranean. As well as the Côte d’Azur, the coast of Liguria on the west coast of Italy, the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, parts of the Adriatic on Italy’s east coast, and much of the southern – and even northern – coastlines of Spain have been hit.

Jellyfish have no autonomy of movement and are swept around the oceans by wind and tide. In the past they came billowing into the beaches once every 10 or 12 years. They stayed for three or four years then disappeared as mysteriously as they arrived. But not any more. This is the eighth year straight that they have stormed the smartest resorts in the Mediterranean.

Spaniards hoping to avoid the invasion by heading north have had to think again. The Portuguese Man o’ War (Physalia physalis), whose sting can be fatal, is marauding the coasts of Cantabria and Asturias, which until now have managed to escape the seasonal plague. Winds have blown the creatures ashore in recent days, prompting warning flags to be flown.

At Nice and Cannes, the jellyfish menace vanished as quickly as it arrived, but scientists are in no doubt that they will be back, perhaps before the end of the season. The species haunting this 10-mile stretch of coast is the Pelagia noctiluca, the mauve stinger. Its sting can cause severe burns, in some cases scarring their victims. Despite warnings to keep out of the water, many swimmers were caught out last week, prompting the flood of calls to the French emergency services.

Fearful of the effect on the tourist trade, Cannes and Monaco have installed booms and nets on several beaches. But hundreds slipped through and many more invaded unprotected beaches.

In Antibes a 30ft catamaran which has been described as a “jellyfish hoover” now patrols the coastline, ready to suck up any returning jellyfish.

“I can’t say that the jellyfish will definitely return,” said Jacqueline Goy, the leading jellyfish expert at the Institut d’Oceanographie in Paris. “At the moment the mistral has blown them offshore but a change in wind direction could well bring them back later this year.”

The phenomenon is by no means a new one said Mme Goy, known to colleagues as la Dame aux Méduses (”Jellyfish Lady”). The earliest report of a “jellyfish soup” in the region dates back to 1802. In recent years, however, the frequency and persistence of the swarms has increa