Action For Tibetan Political Prisoners. Image:tchrd Situated in the north eastern outskirts of Lhasa, Drapchi is the largest prison in Tibet, although there are many more – some concealed by titles such as ‘re-education centres’ or ‘reform through labour camps’. Opened in 1965 and built with forced labour it is known in Chinese as Di Yi Jianyu-No 1. Prison. The prison is arranged into a series of nine units and has recently been expanded and restructured.
It has an estimated population of 1000 of which some 600 are thought to be political prisoners ranging in age from 18 to 85. Conditions inside are harsh with a brutalising regime of forced labour, systematic torture, poor diet, and constant brainwashing programmes. Yet despite the appalling conditions and suffering endured by Tibetans Drapchi has become an inspiring symbol of resistance and the struggle for independence due to the heroic actions of political prisoners. “The People’ s Army Police who guarded us would casually beat and kick us as if it were nothing” Image:fi2w. Maine Solar Power Blog - Solar Energy News New Hampshire. ReVision Energy Digital Marketing Manager Fred Greenhalgh with BBCDC Solar Installers in Malealea, Lesotho ReVision Energy Digital Marketing Manager Fred Greenhalgh, wife Amy, and daughter Nyana returned mid-February from a three week trip to Malealea, Lesotho, where they oversaw the installation of a small battery-based solar electric system on a community hall and donated a number of tablet computers.
The project came about as the two were looking for a way to appreciate the generosity people gave upon the birth of their daughter, but did not want to receive the traditional baby shower gifts. Instead, they urged people to donate to a solar energy project for Malealea, where the local Malealea Development Trust(MDT) had indicated that electricity would be transformational for the remote African village. Outside major urban centers there is limited electricity in Lesotho, with the grid tending to follow and then terminate at cell phone towers. Starting Small Simplicity Lived. KW05 | Tennessee Valley Authority begins operation of program for mid-sized renewable energy generation
Oil Industry Profits Soar; Sierra Club Calls for End to Subsidies. February 1, 2011 Contact: Kristina Johnson(415) 977-5619 As Oil Industry Reports Soaring Quarterly Profit Records, Sierra Club Calls for End to Subsidies WASHINGTON, D.C. – This past week, the oil industry reported soaring quarterly profits. Chevron and Exxon recorded quarterly profits of $5.3 billion and $9.25 billion, respectively. “The oil industry continues to rake in record profits at the expense of our health, our economy, and our environment,” said Sierra Club public lands director Athan Manuel. “This is the richest industry in the world, and yet they continue to sidestep the kind of simple safety measures that might have helped prevent the Gulf oil disaster.
These oil executives are counting their mountains of money while they put our kids’ health at risk every single day from pollution.” The profit announcements come as Big Oil continues to battle safety and pollution regulations and efforts to scale back oil subsidies. Solar Industry: Content / Policy Watch / Taiwan May Cut Its Solar FIT Rates Next Year. Bangladesh city to pay beggars during cricket World Cup. 31 January 2011Last updated at 03:04 By Anbarasan Ethirajan BBC News, Dhaka There are reportedly more than 700,000 beggars across Bangladesh The authorities in Bangladesh's city of Chittagong say they will pay beggars a daily wage to keep them off the streets during next month's Cricket World Cup. Some 300 disabled beggars would be paid about $2 (£1.20) a day for three months to compensate them for their loss of earning, Mayor Mansur Alam said. He added that the beggars would also be given a chance to move into rehabilitation centres. Bangladesh is co-hosting the World Cup along with India and Sri Lanka.
Rampant practice Mr Alam said he would meet beggars' representatives and other officials next week to prepare a list of disabled beggars in the southern city. "We have taken the initiative to rehabilitate the beggars and we are going to expedite it ahead of the Cricket World Cup so that they do not disturb the tourists and spectators. Snags in Solar Permitting Add Costs, Delays. Whenever the discussion of solar cost, the focus is usually on the cost of equipment, like solar panels and inverters. But, according to a recently released report from California solar installation company SunRun, there’s another factor that’s adding up to 30 percent to the solar installation cost: permits.
Solar installers across the country are becoming increasingly frustrated with different requirements, even between neighboring counties. So what’s the deal with solar permitting? In southern California alone, there are roughly 50 different permitting offices with different fees and documentation requirements needed from installers before they can install solar energy systems on homes or businesses. In order to keep up with the complex system, solar installation companies are having to hire workers just to drive from office to office to pay fees and turn in the correct paperwork. In order trim the cost, SunRun’s report offers the following solutions:
Facebook, Intel, IBM Join White House in Startup Investment Campaign. Fresh on the heels of his innovation-focused State of the Union address, today President Obama announced his Startup America Partnership, a campaign to invest in the country's startup entrepreneurs and create thousands of jobs. Facebook, Intel, TECHStars, and others are all pledging to support the initiative--IBM has already announced a $150 million pledge.
Much of the criticism of Obama, following his SOTU Speech, was about concrete plans regarding how to boost innovation and entrepreneurship. Author and economist Dambisa Moyo, for one, said the main questions are about implementation of proposed policies. Now, it seems that critics are getting their answer with the Startup America Partnership. AOL co-founder Steve Case will lead the new campaign and Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, will serve on the board of what will be a private-sector led initiative, according to Bloomberg. Japanese scientists seek to harness solar power in space. Export-Import Bank of the U.S. Launching Renewable Energy Export Initiative | Solar Thermal Magazine.
Why You Should Trust Apple More Than the U.S. Commerce Dept. With Your Universal Online ID. The U.S. Commerce Department is pushing a "National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace" plan, wherein passwords would give way to a single login on phones and computers. These logins would rely on biometric card technology, or something similar. This sounds a lot like Apple's NFC plans. Here's why Apple's idea is better. The online password, we know, is a broken system. Gawker's database hack alone demonstrates how weak a security system it is, along with countless pieces of research (although, of course, not everyone is as juicy a target as Gawker). And when you add in the hassle factor of remembering a string of passwords to tap in to every site as we increasingly live our lives online, the password system sure becomes a giant pain in the you know where.
Enter the U.S. The trick behind the NSTIC is that there will be some form of universal login system that replaces the password every time you flick on a PC or power-up your smartphone. Splash. Welcome to Solar Sonoma County. Get Your 2010 Federal Solar IRS Tax Forms Right Here! Morning Energy. 10 Reasons Why Colorado Is A Cleantech Leader. One Industry Recovering From The Housing Market Collapse - Morgan Brennan - Closing Table. Abound Solar Manufacturing Project is Expected to Support More than 2,800 Jobs | Solar Thermal Magazine. Abound Solar Snags Ample Funding for 775 MW of Factories: Cleantech News and Analysis « Solar Industry: The New York state government has created a five-year, $25 million solar thermal incentive program - the first of its kind in the state. Under the newly released Program Opportunity Notice (PON) 2149, the state will provide incentives of up to $4,000 for residential systems and as much as $25,000 for nonresidential applications to encourage replacing hot water systems with solar thermal systems.
The New York State Public Service Commission allocated the funding to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority through the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) program. The New York Solar Energy Industries Association, which has advocated for the inclusion of solar thermal in the RPS for the past two years, applauded the state's decision. "PON 2149 includes incentives needed to jump-start the solar thermal market," says Gail Markels, executive director of NYSEIA. SOURCE: New York Solar Energy Industries Association. Trade_Balance_Factsheet. 350 Earth: Art that can be seen from space for the climate change conference in Cancun. Vote Solar - SEIA Report: Sunny Outlook for US Solar Exports. When we talk about solar jobs and economic development, naysayers raise the spectre of U.S. investment in renewable energy simply being lost to support manufacturing growth overseas.
We’ve long countered that on a number of fronts. First of all, manufacturing isn’t everything. 75% of the jobs created in the solar industry are actually associated with the installation side of the business. Those jobs – constructing, financing, marketing, selling and providing legal services for solar projects – are likely to be served by a local U.S. workforce. And back to the panel manufacturing side, the only way to attract those jobs stateside is to build U.S. demand for solar products so that local investment in capital-intensive manufacturing infrastructure is worthwhile.
AND, there’s much more to solar manufacturing than just the final panels. Yes, we agree. . • The U.S. is a significant exporter of solar energy products with total net exports of $723 million in 2009. Vote Solar. Thirsty Energy, Scarce Water: Interdependent Security Challenges. "Wars of the 21st century will be fought over water, " Former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali “America’s national energy security strategy to reduce reliance on foreign fossil fuels depends upon building out unconventional and renewable domestic alternatives that are presently several orders of magnitude more water intensive than the conventional sources they are supplanting”Steven Solomon, author of WATER: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power and Civilization From the invention of the waterwheel 2,000 years ago, to the modern, coal-burning steam engine that powered the 18th century Industrial Revolution, and the giant, multipurpose hydropower-irrigation-flood control dams pioneered at Hoover that helped transform 20th century global civilization, water and energy have been coupled in a matrimony of ever-deepening interdependence.
Freshwater Freshwater, however, is in increasingly short supply around the world. Energy's water demand Water and transport fuels Water and shale-gas. Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission Jaipur In the matter of determination.