Why Fly When You Can Float?  Behemoths in the Air - A New Age for Dirigible.

ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik

for details please see:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/busine…

 from:    gcr-eletter at angelnexus.com about Green Chip Review

Independence Day Greetings from Portugal.

By Sam Hopkins

It’s no accident that I’m overseas on America’s Independence Day. And maybe it’s no surprise either that the first tones of Portugal I’ve taken in on this trip are ones of energy freedom.

So far my Brazilian-accented Portuguese has drawn some strange looks from police officers and shopkeepers as I ask for directions or coffee, but when I read this sign for the national power company’s new renewables division this morning, I only had to kick it around in my own noggin to understand.

International Companies are Dominating the Cleantech Space: Many of the world’s new energy technologies are being developed in countries outside the United States. Germany, for example, is mother to the modern solar industry. The Danes have all but cornered the wind industry with the now-famous Vestas Wind Systems. Green Chip International is taking full advantage of this phenomenon. Its latest German solar recommendation is up about 11% in under two weeks. Everyday, international renewables companies are delivering monster gains.

The new slogan for Energias de Portugal, which trades over the counter in the U.S. as EDPFY, not only exemplifies the transitional energy economy moving Europe from fossil fuels to clean power sources…

It also represents a fresh Age of Exploration in a country that was once one of the most powerful and adventurous empires in the world.

Along with Spain, Portugal is part of a 21st-century Iberian revival that mixes European Union green energy goals with the desire to stand out as individual national economies.
We’re seeing that phenomenon kick into high gear in Denmark, Germany, Norway, Scotland, and here in warmer climes too.

Spain’s Iberdrola Energy (MADRID:IBE) launched its own Iberdrola Renovables (Renewables) as a separate listing on the Madrid Stock Exchange in 2007. Most of Iberdrola’s renewable might comes from the stiff Spanish breeze. Tiny towns and big cities in Europe’s southwestern reaches are now getting electricity from wind turbines, and selling their surplus to the grid.

Energias de Portugal Renovables will be based in Spain, because Chairman Antonio Mexia knows the larger Iberian market can be cooperative and competitive at the same time, building a critical mass of companies and generation capacity that will benefit everyone.

The Lazy Investor’s Portfolio is whst this e-msail we got proposes

EDP has nearly 500 megawatts worth of new capacity in Spain planned for construction in the near term, helping it towards the goal of 10,500 MW worldwide just four years from now.

And you can tap that momentum with EDP Renewables’ forthcoming stock listing here in Lisbon, which we anticipate will be highly successful.

We’ll keep you up to date on EDP and the entire Iberian clean energy scene with Green Chip Review and Green Chip International.

Groundbreaking Lawsuit Accuses Big Oil of Conspiracy to Deceive Public About Climate Change.  Now you see why the Bushies love “tort reform”…

Posted by Democracy Now!, www.Democracy Now!  on July 3, 2008.
Attorney Stephen Susman helped file a groundbreaking lawsuit earlier this year on behalf of 400 Inuit villagers in the Alaskan town of Kivalina who are being forced to relocate because of flooding caused by global warming. The suit accuses 20 oil, gas and electric companies–including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Peabody–of being responsible for emitting millions of tons of greenhouse gases causing the Arctic ice to melt.

I am joined here in Aspen, Colorado by the attorney Steve Susman. He is the founding partner of the law firm Susman Godfrey.

Earlier this year he helped file a groundbreaking lawsuit on behalf of 400 Inuit villagers in the Alaskan town of Kivalina who are being forced to relocate because of flooding caused by global warming.

The suit accuses 20 oil, gas and electric companies of being responsible for emitting millions of tons of greenhouse gases causing the Arctic ice to melt. Companies named in the suit include ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Peabody. The suit also accuses eight of the corporations of being involved in a conspiracy to mislead the public about the causes of global warming.

Susman and his legal team have adopted a legal strategy similar to that used by lawyers who fought Big Tobacco in the 1990s. Susman was also involved in that litigation – he was an attorney for the tobacco giant Philip Morris.

Steve Susman also recently represented the Texas Cities for Clear Air Coalition in their successful effort to block the energy company TXU from building 10 new coal-burning power plants. The case was featured in Robert Redford’s documentary, “Fighting Goliath—Texas Coal Wars.” Attorney Steve Susman joins me here in Aspen.

Steve Susman is founding partner of the law firm Susman Godfrey. He recently filed a pioneering global warming lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and 20 other oil, coal and electric companies on behalf of residents of the Alaskan Native coastal village of Kivalina.

On photo of rape-seed plants, it says “Biofuels are responsible for 75 percent of recent food price rises, according to a secret World Bank report.”

Food and fuel crises pushing world into ‘danger zone’, says World Bank’s Robert Zoellick.

LEIGH PHILLIPS, for the EUobserver, July 4, 2008.

As the head of the World Bank warns world leaders that the planet is entering the “danger zone” with millions thrown into extreme poverty by the twin food and fuel crises, a leaked report from his organisation shows that biofuels have pushed up global food prices by 75 percent - a much bigger role in the disaster than previously thought.

In a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, ahead of next week’s G8 summit, and copied to other G8 leaders, World Bank president Robert Zoellick has called on them to act immediately to address the “man-made catastrophe” of soaring food and oil prices.“What we are witnessing is not a natural disaster - a silent tsunami or a perfect storm. It is a man-made catastrophe and as such must be fixed by people,” he said in the letter.

There has been an 82 percent rise in food commodity prices since 2006, with the crisis worsening since April, Mr Zoellick warned.

This has pushed an additional 100 million people worldwide into extreme poverty, he said, noting that some 41 countries have lost three to ten percent of their GDP from rising food, fuel and commodity prices since January 2007. Over 30 countries have been hit by food riots, as the impact of the crisis reaches the household level, said Mr Zoellick.

He described the current situation as an “unprecedented test” for the international community and called on wealthy countries to stump up €6.4 billion ($10 billion) in immediate short-term emergency aid for the countries hardest hit by the crisis.

Over the medium term, an additional €2.2 billion ($3.5 billion) is needed for agricultural supports and social programmes for the poor in a further 50 countries, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Zoellick’s organisation has produced a confidential report leaked to a UK newspaper that says that the rush for biofuels, particularly by the EU and US, is responsible for 75 percent of the rise in global food prices.

Until now, the US has claimed that biofuels policies have resulted in only three percent of the rise in food prices, while European Union officials have repeatedly claimed their policies have had a “negligable” impact, without attaching any percentage.

Other international institutions have assigned considerably more blame to such policies. The UN Food and Agriculture organisation says that biofuels explain 10 percent of recent price rises.

The International Monetary Fund puts this figure at 30, the same number reached in assessments from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

“Without the increase in biofuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined appreciably and price increases due to other factors would have been moderate,” the report says.

EU and US leaders have argued that it is not biofuels, but rather higher demand from India and China as incomes there rise, alongside increased oil costs and droughts in parts of the world such as Australia.

The World Bank report, produced by Don Mitchell, a senior economist at the institution, argues that emerging economies are not to blame. “Rapid income growth in developing countries has not led to large increases in global grain consumption and was not a major factor responsible for the large price increases,” reads the report, adding that droughts in Australia have had a marginal impact.

Higher energy and fertiliser prices were responsible for an increase of only 15 percent says Mr Mitchell, while biofuels have been responsible for 75 percent of the price rise of 140 percent between 2002 and February 2008.

This happened in three ways, the report explains: the diversion of grain from food to fuel; the encouragement of farmers to set aside land for biofuel production; and the speculation in grains.

The report also says that other estimates of the role of biofuels have come to smaller estimates because they analysed the crisis over a longer period. Mr Mitchell instead studied food price rises month by month.

Separately, international development NGO ActionAid on Tuesday (1 July) published a report that claims that the “biofuels juggernaut” is responsible for leaving some 290 million people hungry or at risk of chronic hunger.

Additionally, on Thursday at a Brussels conference hosted by the French EU presidency, John Holmes, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, called on the EU to “look again” at its target that would see biofuels to fuel 10 percent of vehicles by 2020.

www.SustainabiliTank.info has argued for a long time that agricultural-land set-asides were invented to “support” prices of the commodities. The bio-fuels can thus safely be produced from putting back into production those already existing set-asides.

If the World Bank would like to do something for the world’s poor, it would start helping those poor directly with microcredit type of lending rather then seeking out large corporate-based government credit-seekers. Go out and study Malawi - learn how help comes only for those that are ready to help themselves - not their Mugabe kind of despots. Zoelick, Don Mitchell, and George Bush are doing disservice to humanity by not laying bare a reality study and instead talk of symptoms rather then the underlying cancer. US and EU agriculture have caused the destruction of autonomous production in places like Africa - first by underselling them, then by keeping them dependent of “benevolent” hand-outs when teaching to fish is much more important then shipping away free fish. NGOs’ help has also been misconstrued so it makes the philanthropists feel good by having around dependent poor - why in the world don’t you go to Malawi and learn how to make a whole country independent? Why don’t you not simply say to Africa - if you do not get rid of your Mugabes we will not dish food to you anymore. Without your Mugabes we are ready to come help you organize your self-help - and by god - we are really intent to help you this time.

———–

In total 15 EU states (out of 27) have nuclear power plants, accounting for nearly a third of electricity generated in the EU. So, 12 States do not have nuclear plants, but being part of the European grid get their electricity from such plants anyway.
Support for nuclear power in Europe growing, says commission survey
RENATA GOLDIROVA, from Brussels, for the EUobserver, July 3, 2008

Although nuclear energy continues to be a “strongly” divisive subject in the European Union, support for the controversial source of electricity generation has grown “significantly” over the last three years, a new European Commission survey suggests. A “permanent, safe solution” to managing radioactive waste seems to be the decisive factor when it comes to a possible shift in opinion about nuclear energy.

Should such a solution be found to safely storing the waste, some 39 percent of people say they would change their mind about nuclear energy, according to the poll released by the commission on Thursday (3 July). { What about the decommissioning of these plants when time has come for their closing? Do you have any solution for this problem ? }

Dutch, Belgians, Lithuanians, Britons, the French, Slovenians and Finns are the most open to new arguments. Half the opponents in these countries would change their view regarding nuclear energy should a solution to waste be developed.

However, 48 percent of Europeans - mainly in Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, Portugal and Germany - would stick to a firm No irrespective of any solution to waste. Eight percent are convinced there is no solution to be found. The European Commission itself stopped short of saying what a permanent and safe solution should be, saying it instead is promoting expert discussion on the issue.

Brussels has recently set up a high-level group designed to establish common criteria on ways how radioactive waste should be treated. One of the possible methods discussed has been “geological storage facilities”, currently used in Finland, the commission spokesperson said.

He also referred to a piece of EU legislation on radioactive waste that “is still on the table of the council [representing EU capitals] and has not been addressed”.

According to the survey, 93 percent of Europeans say a solution for high level radioactive waste “should be developed now and not left for future generations”.

In general, some 44 percent of Europeans express support for nuclear energy, while a nearly identical number, 45 percent, oppose it. The figures represent quite a shift in views compared to 2005, when 37 percent of people were in favour and 55 percent were against nuclear power.

There is a clear link between the level of citizens’ support and whether their home country operates nuclear power plants. The Czechs, Lithuanians and Hungarians are most in favour.

Currently, 15 EU states have nuclear power plants - something that accounts for nearly a third of the electricity generated in the EU.

The current European Commission, under the leadership of Jose Manuel Barroso, has not shied away from supporting the nuclear path, a controversial option in many parts of Europe. Brussels says that nuclear energy has a role to play in meeting the EU’s growing concerns about security of supply and CO2 emission reductions.

Cleantech Forums® are the world’s premier cleantech investment platforms, providing unparalleled definition, analysis, networking, deal flow and thought-leadership for the rapidly emerging cleantech industry.

Cleantech currently hosts four forums annually - two in North America and one in Europe and one in China. The Cleantech Forums® are the leading “must attend” capital raising events for investors therefore they are an extremely successful method for cleantech companies to raise capital through our Network. You will have access to several hundred experienced, motivated and active cleantech investors at one time. Forums offer the following:

High quality program with carefully selected speakers and panelists that represent the leaders on the cutting edge in cleantech globally.
Selection and presentation of the highest quality investment candidates available.
Participation and involvement of senior level directors from the leading investment firms active in cleantech globally. These include venture capitalists, private equity, hedge funds, investment banks, pensions, endowments, family offices, angels and corporations
Strong media representation at each forum with major outlets represented such as the New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, Business Week, Bloomberg, etc.
Leading edge information and research on the investment opportunities from the experts in clean technology innovation and trends worldwide.
The Cleantech Forums® are the only capital forums that are designed exclusively to facilitate the finance of companies commercializing clean technologies by bringing together clean technology entrepreneurs and check writers thus providing them with a venue in which deals and relationships can originate and incubate. Our forums are where deals get done.

Cleantech’s commitment is to ensure that these forums remain the industry standard for all pursuing activities related to clean technology ventures. It is this commitment that makes Cleantech Forums® a “must attend” event for most active investors in the clean technology venture space.

With each consecutive Forum we build on the success of the prior event and consistently command the largest gathering of investors interested in clean technology investment opportunities. We hope to see those interested in this compelling new category at one of our upcoming events.

Cleantech Forum® XVIII
September 15-17, 2008
Washington, DC

Cleantech Forum® XIX
October 7-9, 2008
Mumbai, India

Cleantech Forum® XX
December 3-5, 2008
Shanghai, China

Cleantech Forum® XXI
February 23-25, 2009
San Francisco

Brazil reveals bioplastics plan.

BRASILIA (Kyodo) Friday, July 4, 2008. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari on Wednesday that his nation plans to develop bioplastics.

Amari, who met reporters after holding talks with Lula in the Brazilian capital, quoted him as saying that Brazil has lots of oil but wants to develop bioplastics as part of the country’s contribution to the environment.

Unlike typical plastics, which are made from petroleum, bioplastics are produced from biofuels, including ethanol derived from sugar cane.

Lula is expected to explain his country’s environment protection policies when he takes part in the Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido next week.

We Say Bravo To This Non-G8 Organically Developing Future Economic Giant. Is Not Brazil The Ideal New Addition To That Economic Club Now Called G8? 

 From:    organizers at 350.org
Subject: Tell the G8: The World is Waking Up

Pincas,
I’m writing this from Japan, and I’ve got news to share: the world is waking up to the climate crisis.

Next week, the leaders of the 8 richest countries in the world will meet here in Japan for the annual “G8 Summit.”  This year, the climate crisis is at the top of the agenda-and we have a rare opportunity to hold our world leaders accountable.

Help us send a message to the G8 that it’s time to lead on climate change.

 http://www.350.org/g8petition

The 2008 G8 negotiations can just be another round of empty climate promises-or they can be the first steps on the road to a safe global future.  When it comes to setting the world on a path to 350 and  a safe climate, we want the smartest, the fairest, and the fastest ways to get us there. We can’t allow our leaders to drag their feet — we have to tell them to start right now.

I came to Japan two weeks ago to see if 350.org could make some allies to build a global movement.  What I discovered is that this movement already exists — here in Japan there are teachers, politicians, grassroots organizations, artists, families, and activists of every kind who are doing everything they can to tackle the climate crisis.

There is a global movement building-now we need to unite to make our voices heard.

 http://www.350.org/g8petition

Unity. That’s why we’re linking up with some of our close partners — Oxfam and Avaaz — to send our message to the G8.  Together, we can send a strong call that the G8 must begin negotiating a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that will lead to 350.   Avaaz and Oxfam will help us make sure your message reaches Prime Minister Fukuda and the G8 leaders next week.

Please join us by signing the petition and sending it on to family and friends.  With your help, we can grow this movement and send a powerful call at the same time.  Forward this e-mail to 10 friends today.

After the G8, we’re looking forward to creating ever bigger and bolder actions with you all-this movement is just getting started.

Onwards,
Jamie Henn and The 350.org team: Bill, Jeremy, Jon, Judit, Kelly, May, Phil, Will

Wal-Mart to source more fruits and veggies locally.
Tuesday Jul 1, 2008. From New York, by Nicole Maestri of Reuters.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc is sourcing more produce sold in its U.S. supercenters and Neighborhood Market stores from local farmers as it tries to offset the soaring transportation costs that are driving up food prices.

The world’s largest retailer said on Tuesday it had increased the number of local U.S. farmers that it works with by 50 percent in the past two years, and it would like to continue expanding that figure at a double-digit rate.

While Wal-Mart declined to provide an exact figure, it said it now works with “hundreds” of individual farmers, and this year it expects to source about $400 million in locally grown fruits and vegetables from farmers across the United States.

“When we’re buying local, there are less trucks on the road, less miles that that produce is traveling and therefore less fuel,” said Pam Kohn, Wal-Mart’s general merchandise manager for grocery.

Wal-Mart defines “local” as buying from farmers in a state and selling the produce at stores in the same state. Over the summer months, it said locally sourced fruits and vegetables make up a fifth of the produce available in Wal-Mart stores.

Grocery is a big business for the company, accounting for 41 percent of sales in its U.S. Wal-Mart stores for its fiscal year ended January 31. As food prices rise, shoppers have been flocking to its stores in search of cheaper groceries.

But soaring fuel costs mean the cost of transporting food to its 2,555 supercenters — a full grocery store combined with a discount store — and 138 Neighborhood Market grocery stores is more expensive, making it tougher to keep prices low.

While reporting first-quarter results in May, Wal-Mart said transportation costs would remain a “potential headwind” for the rest of the year, and Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe said he was worried about the ongoing jump in fuel prices.

Wal-Mart said that in the United States, produce travels an average 1,500 miles from farms to consumers’ homes, and it should be able to save millions of “food miles” — the distance food travels from farm to plate — through local sourcing, better packing of its trucks and improved logistics.

In an example, Wal-Mart said that by sourcing peaches in 18 states instead of just two, as it did before, it saves 672,000 food miles and 112,000 gallons of diesel fuel — or more than $1.4 million dollars in transportation costs per season.

Kohn said while the organic food trend continues, customer demand for local produce “is a very big trend, a very big trend.”

If Africa Will Agree To Stop Shooting at Itself, and if the Donor Countries Can Agree To Do Something Positive in the Follo-up To A World-Agreement on a new Climate Change agreement, Africa Should be Indeed a Major Part of a Carbon Trading Mechanism.

In Anticipation of the Above, Some Tough Minded People Want To Try To Have Propsals On The Table For Real Plans Of Action. We Wish Them, And Ourselves - the Best of Luck.

Subject: Solicitation of African Carbon Offset Projects & Travel Sponsorship Opportunity
Reply-To: “Lars Rosendahl Appelquist” <lars.rosendahl@risoe.dk>

July 2, 2008

At COP‐13 in Bali, the UNFCCC Secretariat announced its intent to convene the first Africa Carbon Forum, in partnership with the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and the multilateral agencies supporting the Nairobi Framework, including UNEP, UNDP, UNIDO, UNECA, and the World Bank. The Nairobi Framework aims to assist developing countries, especially those in sub‐Saharan Africa, to enhance their participation in the CDM. This groundbreaking high‐profile event will combine a carbon investment trade fair, a policy forum for African DNAs and climate change officials, as well as targeted capacity building for the CDM.

The Forum will take place from 3 ‐ 5 September 2008 at Le Meridien Hotel, Pointe Des Almadies, in Dakar, Senegal.

Further details and a draft agenda can be downloaded from the IETA website: http://www.ieta.org/ieta/www/pages/index…

Despite the fast growth of the global carbon market and the urgent need to boost energy and infrastructure investment in Africa, local actors are only just beginning to tap into this market. The Africa Carbon Forum will strengthen links between CDM project developers and the region’s investment community, and facilitate knowledge sharing and transactions between project sponsors and global carbon offset credit buyers. Specifically, matchmaking and deal facilitation sessions will enable potential CDM project participants and developers to showcase their projects to interested parties, including investors and carbon buyers.

The organizers therefore invite all interested parties to attend and to submit their carbon offset project concepts for consideration.

As co‐organizers of the Forum, UNEP and UNDP have pledged to provide travel sponsorships for CDM project champions from across the African continent to attend the event, based on a competitive selection.

See attached document for additional details on the sponsorship procedures and requirements.

 http://www.ieta.org/ieta/www/pages/index…

————-

BACKGROUND

At COP13 in Bali, the UNFCCC Secretariat announced its intent to convene the 1st Africa Carbon Forum, in collaboration with the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and the partner agencies of the Nairobi Framework, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), The World Bank and the African Development Bank. The Nairobi Framework was initiated with the specific target of helping developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, to improve their level of participation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

OBJECTIVE

This event will bring together representatives from designated national authorities (DNA), national focal points (NFP), representatives from several UN agencies, governments and the private sector.

The Africa Carbon Forum is a platform that will strengthen links between CDM project developers and the region’s investment community, provide opportunities for DNA representatives to exchange views and share their experiences relating to the CDM, while facilitating knowledge sharing and transactions between project sponsors and global carbon offset credit buyers.

The Forum will take place from 3-5 September 2008 in Dakar, Senegal, at Le Méridien Hotel, located in the Pointe Des Almadies area.
The event will combine a carbon investment Trade Fair, a Conference and policy forum for African DNAs and climate change officials, as well as targeted capacity building on the CDM. Specifically, matchmaking and deal facilitation sessions will enable potential CDM project participants and developers to showcase their projects to interested parties, including investors and carbon buyers.

The complete schedule of this three-day event will be available shortly.

The Africa Carbon Forum provides a platform for companies to Present, Showcase, Meet and Interact. The exhibitor section will be open to the following types of entities:
• Service providers in the carbon market (Designated Operational Entities, Applicant Entities, methodology developers etc);
• Technology providers for new technologies to reduce GHGs (sector-based, technology based, other);
• Solution providers;
• Individual industrial organizations showcasing their solutions and achievements;
• Project developers;
• Funds that will purchase emissions reductions;
• CDM Host country governments and DNAs;
• Bilateral and multilateral aid agencies and foundations; and NGOs

——————-

Also from Denmark:

Based on the unequal geographical distribution of CDM activities where the Least Developed Countries (LDC) are largely under represented and the increasing microfinance activities in these countries, the Executive Board to the CDM launched the idea to explore the possibilities for combining CDM development with microfinance mechanisms. The COP endorsed the concept and the Government of Denmark decided to finance the project.

The purpose of the project is to identify possible synergies between the CDM, especially CDM Programme of Activities (PoA), and microfinance mechanisms. The objective is to enhance CDM activities in LDCs, in particularly sub-Saharan Africa, by exploring ways to improve the financial feasibility of mitigation projects that are pertinent to LDCs.

DANIDA has appointed the Danish consulting engineering company NIRAS A/S to execute the study for which we have engaged the services of the internationally recognised experts Ms. Christiana Figueres and Mr. Hans Jürgen Stehr to enhance our in house capacity.

We would like to report to the EB on the advance of PoAs worldwide. Thus, if you are developing a PoA we would like to know the country(ies), the sector, and the foreseeable CPAs. We are particularly interested in PoAs in LDCs and Africa, but would be happy to receive information on PoAs in other regions.

We will collate the information received and make it available to users of Climate L, as well as include it in the report to the EB. We recognise the sensitivity of particular information during the project development process due to competition issues and will thus make sure that no confidential information is distributed and that the information will be collected without attribution to who is developing the PoA if requested.

Ms. Hanne Holm-Jørgensen

NIRAS
Sortemosevej 2
DK-3450 Alleroed
Denmark

email:  hhj at niras.dk
phone: +45 4810 4766