Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Prof M Tamim yesterday called upon the political parties to reach a national consensus on energy related issues for ensuring energy security for all in 2020 in the country.

Dr Tamim said, no more gas-based power plant would be set up in the country as there is a shortage of the fossil fuel.

"No more gas-based power plant to be set up in the country," he said while addressing a seminar titled 'Bangladesh's main challenges to meet future electricity demand'.

Referring to the country's chronic gas crisis that hampers the electricity generation, Dr Tamim said a team is now visiting the gas-based power plants to identify their efficiency level.

Terming the present gas crisis as a legacy of the past, Dr Tamim, a former professor of Petroleum Engineering of Buet, said only one gas field was discovered in the country in the last 10 years. "So, the present government has to think about gas import."

He said the use of electricity is increasing day by day because of its cheaper price.

"The Caretaker Government will hand over the power to the politicians immediately. For this reason, they would have understood about the energy security. If it was not possible to them, they can appoint experts for making plan in energy sector," he said.

Former Secretary Quamrul Islam Siddique presented the keynote paper while Mollah Amzad Hossain, Editor of the Energy and Power moderated the seminar.

Tamim said that it was not possible to ensure energy security without consensus of the political parties.

"It is easy to criticise the failure of the government on energy related issues but solving the problem is too much difficult," he said adding, "We have needed exploration of new gas field as well as coal mine development."

"If we can ensure coal, renewable energy as well as improving efficiency, it will be possible to ensure energy for all in 2020," he hoped.

We have tremendous shortage of skilled manpower in the sector, Dr Tamim said, adding that we have needed knowledgeable, skilled manpower to ensure energy security in the country.

He said that the Government has not taken any plan to install gas based new power plant due to shortage of gas.

We would have cancelled the existing gas running power plant due to the same reason, he added.

He informed that the government is trying to solve the energy crisis.

"The Government is trying to import gas due to shortage," he added.

"We are taking step for producing electricity in private sector. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will take initiative in this regard," he further said.

Quamrul Islam Siddique in his keynote paper said that the Government would need to install 1000 MW of electricity per year to ensure power to citizen in 2020.

"Energy conservation can reduce investment in power sector," he said.

It will need to set up large load power plant in Bheramara, Khulna and Sirajgonj in west zone and Chandpur, Meghnaghat, Haripur and Siddhirganj in estern zone for energy security, Siddique suggested.

ERD Secretary M Nasir Uddin said the Government should hold an energy week for creating awareness on energy related issues to public.

"The solar energy and wind energy are the best solution for energy security. The government should be involved in the private sector in this regard," he said.

BERC Chairman Ghulam Rahman said that the government should need to take step for inviting national private sector.

"It will not be possible to solve the energy crisis without public and private partnership," he said adding, "It will also need a strong policy in energy sector."

Director General of Power Cell Mohammed Abdul Jalil, Rural Electrification Board Director BD Rahmatullah, Director of Petrobangla Maqbul-e-Elahi, Lt Col Moin Uddin, Prof Khalil M Chowdhury, Executive Director of IFC Nazrul Islam, SA Monsur, Basirul Hoq and Dr Khorsid Islam addressed at the seminar.

Source: http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/07/20/news0088.htm

Date: 20-07-08

Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Prof M Tamim yesterday called upon the political parties to reach a national consensus on energy related issues for ensuring energy security for all in 2020 in the country.

Dr Tamim said, no more gas-based power plant would be set up in the country as there is a shortage of the fossil fuel.

"No more gas-based power plant to be set up in the country," he said while addressing a seminar titled 'Bangladesh's main challenges to meet future electricity demand'.

Referring to the country's chronic gas crisis that hampers the electricity generation, Dr Tamim said a team is now visiting the gas-based power plants to identify their efficiency level.

Terming the present gas crisis as a legacy of the past, Dr Tamim, a former professor of Petroleum Engineering of Buet, said only one gas field was discovered in the country in the last 10 years. "So, the present government has to think about gas import."

He said the use of electricity is increasing day by day because of its cheaper price.

"The Caretaker Government will hand over the power to the politicians immediately. For this reason, they would have understood about the energy security. If it was not possible to them, they can appoint experts for making plan in energy sector," he said.

Former Secretary Quamrul Islam Siddique presented the keynote paper while Mollah Amzad Hossain, Editor of the Energy and Power moderated the seminar.

Tamim said that it was not possible to ensure energy security without consensus of the political parties.

"It is easy to criticise the failure of the government on energy related issues but solving the problem is too much difficult," he said adding, "We have needed exploration of new gas field as well as coal mine development."

"If we can ensure coal, renewable energy as well as improving efficiency, it will be possible to ensure energy for all in 2020," he hoped.

We have tremendous shortage of skilled manpower in the sector, Dr Tamim said, adding that we have needed knowledgeable, skilled manpower to ensure energy security in the country.

He said that the Government has not taken any plan to install gas based new power plant due to shortage of gas.

We would have cancelled the existing gas running power plant due to the same reason, he added.

He informed that the government is trying to solve the energy crisis.

"The Government is trying to import gas due to shortage," he added.

"We are taking step for producing electricity in private sector. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will take initiative in this regard," he further said.

Quamrul Islam Siddique in his keynote paper said that the Government would need to install 1000 MW of electricity per year to ensure power to citizen in 2020.

"Energy conservation can reduce investment in power sector," he said.

It will need to set up large load power plant in Bheramara, Khulna and Sirajgonj in west zone and Chandpur, Meghnaghat, Haripur and Siddhirganj in estern zone for energy security, Siddique suggested.

ERD Secretary M Nasir Uddin said the Government should hold an energy week for creating awareness on energy related issues to public.

"The solar energy and wind energy are the best solution for energy security. The government should be involved in the private sector in this regard," he said.

BERC Chairman Ghulam Rahman said that the government should need to take step for inviting national private sector.

"It will not be possible to solve the energy crisis without public and private partnership," he said adding, "It will also need a strong policy in energy sector."

Director General of Power Cell Mohammed Abdul Jalil, Rural Electrification Board Director BD Rahmatullah, Director of Petrobangla Maqbul-e-Elahi, Lt Col Moin Uddin, Prof Khalil M Chowdhury, Executive Director of IFC Nazrul Islam, SA Monsur, Basirul Hoq and Dr Khorsid Islam addressed at the seminar.

Photograph: EPA via the Independent

It seems that Gordon Brown is coming over all credible with his green attitude.  He is "embracing the electric car revolution" and plans to encourage the car industry to mass-produce electrically powered cars, right here in the UK.  

From today's Independent . . .

He will meet manufacturers this week to try to persuade them to mass-produce electric cars, and is considering a remarkable plan to sell the cars cheap, together with their fuel, that is modelled on mobile-phone contracts.

So as with contract mobile phones, the idea is that you'd get a free car but would be signed up to a maximum mileage.  Well it seems feasible enough to me.  Maybe they will have a pay-as-you-go scheme too but you wouldn't get your free car.  And also, perhaps it needs to be extended further to include vans and motor bikes (is it possible to include certain types of light aircraft or am I going beyond the realms of realistic possiblity?). 

If this thing took off (and according to the article, Denmark and Israel are already ahead in this) we'd get drastically reduced co2 which, needless to say, will benefit the whole planet.  And we'd have cheaper car costs which will be a definite vote-winner.  And Britain once again gets to produce something which is definitely on the upside seeing as how our days of industry and manufacturing have been on the decline for decades.  

Well I'm liking the idea.  It sounds like an ideal solution but it won't be without its critics.  As the article states, the electricity needed to power the vehicles will have to come from renewable energy or the whole thing might end up being counterproductive.  Also, the oil giants might try to put their squeezers on it.  And it certainly won't solve the problem of congestion on our small and increasingly-cramped British Isle. 

But the benefits should surely outweigh those little niggles.  It's worth supporting, I think.

Each megawatt of wind power costs about $53 to generate, making it more expensive than coal, nuclear or natural gas generation, according to data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state's grid operator. Even with economies of scale, it's still going to be more expensive than other sources, based on projections by the American Wind Energy Association.

About half the states, including Texas, now require that part of their electricity come from renewable sources, and wind has vaulted in popularity, just as ethanol once held our fancy as the favored fuel of the future.

Wind power is an open trough of government subsidies, tax credits and state mandates. Taken together, it's a massive corporate welfare effort that means big money for the wind-power developers and big costs for the rest of us.

For every $100 million of investment, wind-power developers have received more than $74 million in federal tax credits and other benefits, according to a recent study by Bernard Weinstein and Terry Clover, professors of applied economics at the University of North Texas. In Texas, we ladle on additional state and local incentives, including corporate income tax breaks and local property tax abatements.

The federal subsidies include renewable energy tax credits of about 2 cents for every kilowatt-hour produced. Those credits are set to expire at year's end, but the industry is lobbying Congress to extend them. Some industry executives told The Associated Press recently they fear a slowdown in wind development if the credits expire.

The uncertainty of when wind power will come into the grid adds to the market volatility. Those variations put stress on the system and drive up wholesale power prices. Yet wind companies aren't required to pay any of those costs. Instead they're ultimately passed on to us.

Wind certainly has a place in our overall generating scheme. We need to diversify our energy sources, and we need to develop renewable ones. But it's an auxiliary source. We
also need generation that's reliable and makes economic sense.

The awareness Mr Gore raised by his work was very important – so important that he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

He has now suggested that by the end of the decade the United States should produce all its electricity at home without burning fossil fuels. This would be achieved in effect by taxing fossil fuels out of existence.

Is this something that is environmentally helpful? It would mean a massive increase in nuclear energy, while we have not yet solved the problem of how to safely process nuclear waste. Where will it all go and will not this be the new poisoned chalice for future generations?

It will mean more dams for hydro electric power. Every new dam releases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is locked up in the soil and the vegetation. The release of carbon dioxide from a dam will last as long as the dam lasts, because we have lost a place to sequestrate the carbon created.

Of course all these new nuclear power stations and dams will be made from cement; At the moment cement is responsible for 2% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. If Mr Gore’s scheme is put into being emissions from cenment manufacture will rise.

Just to put cement into context, compare 2% of the world’s carbon emissions from cement with 4% from the United Kingdom.

Mr Gore’s idea  will mean lots of new wind turbines – generally benign – and a lot more photovoltaic panels the manufacture of which will create a carbon dioxide spike, but at the end of it all, if Mr Gore’s suggestion is possible, the United States will be emitting a great deal less carbon dioxide than it does now.

I do not think Mr Gore’s suggestion can be achieved within the decade but it might happen by the end of the century.

I think that Mr Gore falls into the trap that most politicians fall into when talking about climate change and greenhouse gas. They try to inspire us all with a “vision” so often unattainable or fraught, if achieved with undesirable and unimagined consequences. It would be better if they left visions to visionaries; after all politicians are supposed to be practical creatures undertaking the art of the possible and when it comes to addressing climate change we need to undertake the art of the possible..

Politicians should concentrate on the easy wins first, the simple step by step achievement of the possible. There are many simple ways of emitting less carbon dioxide and rather than try to run and fall over, we need to learn to crawl and then learn to walk.

The small state, which borders Canada and registers brutal temperatures in the winter, has suffered from high energy costs just as much as any other. State leaders have been pressured to address the economic conundrum by accepting the help from Venezuela.

Last year, hundreds of New Hampshire residents in fact went around the system to apply on their own to get the aid despite the state's hesitance. As the owner of a local heating oil company put it, "It's actually a pretty good program."

To read more, click here.

...It had been in its warm mode from about 1977 to 1998 accounting for much of the warming we had experienced and for the global cooling scare prior to that. I am not a scientist but that seems to also coincide with solar cycles that also play a large role in global temperatures. Other evidence points out that higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere are caused by this warming and that CO2 does not cause the warming...

Many consumers come to us asking about prices and figure that is the only barrier to purchasing a wind power system, although it goes much further than just prices. When putting up a wind power system you have to consider the following points:

1. Does your project site at least have 10mph wind speeds? check your wind speed here.

2. Does your property have at least a half acre with unobstructed views?

3. Does the city zoning allow a structure 42' feet tall?

4. Does your utility company have an interconnection agreement?

5. Have you considering speaking to your neighbors to let them know you maybe purchasing a wind power system that maybe visible from their home?

Typically the city will require building permits to put up a solar or wind power system and there will be a fee for building permits you have to pay to the city. The city may also require tower engineering drawings that you may have to get from a certified engineer if you are building a custom tower to put up your wind turbine.

Should you want to know more about wind and solar opportunties in NJ and the Phila area, email george@hbsadvantage.com or call HBS Solar 856-857-1239 ]]> http://sohas.wordpress.com/?p=197 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:25:33 +0000 sohas http://sohas.wordpress.com/?p=197 On Friday, there was a presentation in Imperial College about fuel cell vehicles by Nissan. We also got a ride in the car after that. It is still very pricey but the car is so quiet, has good mileage(can last up to 250 miles per full tank(of hydrogen). However, it is still in its early stage of development and will take few years(their target is 2015) to reach out to the upper market. Mass market production will take longer to reach and the chain of hydrogen fuel stations need to be improved. But it's a good start for Nissan(joint venture between the US and Japan).

The picture above shows how the fuel moves from the hydrogen tank to the motor/battery.

SOURCE: AP/Gerald Herbert

Former Vice President Al Gore speaks at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, proposing an ambitious new goal for generating 100 percent of electricity from renewable sources in 10 years.

By Daniel J. Weiss | July 18, 2008

Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Al Gore yesterday presented his ambitious proposal to address global warming and oil use by generating ?100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.? This determined and optimistic goal comes on the heels of a new Environmental Protection Agency report that found global warming poses a direct threat to human health, the Bush administration?s announcement that it will do nothing to reduce global warming pollution, and President Bush?s decision to rescind the 18-year-old executive moratorium on oil drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. Gore?s speech was like a breath of fresh air amidst a seven-year pollution alert.

A confluence of events?record energy prices, a stagnating economy, and a war in the Middle East?makes this the opportune time for Gore?s dictum ?to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes.? Sustainable economic growth?and national security?will require the United States to transform its reliance on high-pollution, high-price, and insecure energy sources by using low-pollution, low-cost, high-growth, homegrown energy.

As Gore pointed out, ?enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the entire world?s energy needs for a full year.? The technology to harness the energy of the wind, sun, and earth becomes better and cheaper every day. And using energy more efficiently is the most cost effective option of all. All while the cost of polluting fossil fuels?coal and oil?continues to rise.

Gore outlined some specific policies to speed this transformation: promptly deploying wind, solar, and geothermal energy technologies; enhancing the electricity grid so it's accessible to renewable power; developing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; and shifting to energy-efficient technologies and techniques on a massive scale. The transition to a green economy would result in the creation of entire new industries and outsource proof jobs.

Gore reminded listeners that there are more signs that the effects of global warming are underway. He noted that, ?there seem to be more tornadoes than in living memory, longer droughts, bigger downpours, and record floods.? These disasters devastate people?s lives and have far-reaching consequences. For instance, food prices are soaring partly due to droughts in Australia and crop destruction in the Midwestern floods.

The Environmental Protection Agency added to the urgency yesterday by releasing a shocking report on how global warming will affect Americans? health. ?It is very likely that heat-related morbidity and mortality will increase over the coming decades,? the report noted. It went on to say that, ?higher temperatures in urban areas and likely associated increases in tropospheric ozone [smog] concentrations can contribute to or exacerbate cardiovascular and pulmonary illness ... Hurricanes, extreme precipitation resulting in floods, and wildfires also have the potential to affect public health through direct and indirect health risks.?

These findings are not shocking in themselves?other entities, including Gore?s co-Nobel Laureate Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made similar findings. What?s surprising is that this report was produced by the same EPA that last week refused to determine whether global warming endangered Americans.

The Supreme Court agreed that there is significant evidence of global warming. In 2007 it ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that greenhouse gas pollution is covered by the Clean Air Act, and that this gives EPA the authority to require greenhouse gas reductions. Yet the EPA must first issue an ?endangerment finding? that shows the pollution threatens human health and the environment. With mountains of evidence about the effects of global warming, this ought to be a simple mater. Yet under pressure from top White House officials, EPA Administrator Steven Johnson once again buckled. He ignored EPA scientists and professionals, and instead issued an ?advance notice of proposed rule making? that effectively postpones any global warming reductions until the next administration.

President Bush continues his obliviousness to the threats posed by global warming caused by burning fossil fuels. Just three days before and two blocks away from Gore?s Constitution Hall speech, he announced from the White House that he would rescind the 18-year-old executive moratorium on oil drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. This was a desperate move to create the illusion of action to stem record oil prices even though the U.S. Energy Information Administration determined that drilling in the OCS ?would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030.?

Bush?s move would also maintain the status quo energy policies that led him to conclude that ?America is addicted to oil.? This addiction has brought us record high oil and gasoline prices, record oil industry profits, growing global warming pollution, and a sagging economy. Opening up the OCS for drilling is like trying to cure alcoholism by switching to a different brand of whiskey.

Conservative leaders in Congress want to follow Bush?s lead to continue our addiction to fossil fuels by retaining the policies behind today?s energy and economic messes. They are demanding the elimination of the congressional moratorium on drilling in the OCS, first signed into law by President Reagan in 1981. Fortunately, progressive leaders such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) continue to resist these efforts. They instead want to lower prices by reining in speculators and selling a small amount of oil from the 98 percent full Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Both steps could provide short-term price relief.

The past week demonstrated Gore?s point that politics are ?the greatest obstacle? to the transformation of our energy, economy, and security. Conservatives embrace the status quo with a vengeance while Americans must spend much more on energy and food. Gore reminded people that, ?There are times when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge.? Hopefully public officials will listen?and act?as well.

Thanks to Alexandra Kougen

1) Green transportation (public transportation, carpooling, scooter, motorcycle, hybrid, EV, bio, walk or bike)
2) LED Lighting
3) Energy efficient appliances
4) Unplugging unused appliances
5) Using natural resources around you for energy (solar, geothermal, wind, motion, water)
6) Recycling as much as possible (sometimes you can get paid to recycle too)
7) Compost
8) Grow your own herbs and vegetables
9) Use cloth towels instead of paper towels
10) Use as little disposable goods as possible
 

Please, help me add to this list or link to other related sites and info.

The Perito Moreno Glacier, Los Glaciares National Park, south west of Santa Cruz province, Argentine Patagonia. GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundatio (Credit: Calyponte; via Wikimedia commons)

Related Link:

• "White Giant" glacier collapses (Video)

.

NOAA - The combined average global land and ocean surface temperatures for June 2008 ranked eighth warmest for June since worldwide records began in 1880, according to an analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Also, globally it was the ninth warmest January – June period on record.

Global Highlights

• The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for June 2008 was 60.8 degrees F, which is 0.9 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 59.9 degrees F.

• Separately, the global land surface temperature was 57.2 degrees F, which is 1.3 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 55.9 degrees F.

• The global ocean surface temperature was 62.2 degrees F, which is 0.7 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 61.5 degrees F.

• For the January – June period, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 57.1 degrees F, which is 0.8 degrees F about the 20th century mean of 56.3 degrees F.

Sea Surface Temperatures NCEP - UWSSEC

If you go back and read UFO case descriptions, a large number of UFO's are seen only after the picture is taken, and the object is downloaded.

I recently spoke about Sky Fishing at James Gilliland's 2008 Science, Spirit and World Conference in Trout Lake, WA http://www.eceti.org/Eceti.html.  To measure the reaction of the participants, I observed the crowd at the Sky Watch later that night and the night after outside with their cameras, I could barely see the stars because of the flash bulbs going off.  I was very encouraged by comments to me from conference participants about being inspired to take photos and even using cell phone cameras because they didn't think to bring a camera.  I have now been at the receiving end of many of these pictures both day and night time, wonderful pictures of ORBS, Ships, odd lights and energy I cannot explain.  Sky Fishing is an all encompassing term for objects that the camera picks up that our eyes cannot see.  James Gilliland will be releasing a Utube video of these pictures and I will post the link once completed.  I wish to thank Alfred Webre http://www.exopolitics.com/ also presenting at the ECETI conference, for suggesting that a good approach to communicating Sky Fishing through the internet is the creation of a blog and this is how I was inspired, thank you Alfred!

HURRICANE FAUSTO ADVISORY NUMBER 15
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL EP072008
200 PM PDT SAT JUL 19 2008

...CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE FAUSTO HEADING NORTHWESTWARD AND WELL
OFFSHORE FROM MEXICO...

AT 200 PM PDT...2100Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE FAUSTO WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 15.5 NORTH...LONGITUDE 110.2 WEST OR ABOUT 460 MILES
...735 KM...WEST-SOUTHWEST OF MANZANILLO MEXICO.

FAUSTO IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH...13 KM/HR...AND
THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF
DAYS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 85 MPH...140 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. FLUCTUATIONS IN STRENGTH ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND
SUNDAY...BUT GRADUAL WEAKENING IS FORECAST ON SUNDAY NIGHT AND
MONDAY.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 30 MILES...45 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115
MILES...185 KM.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 980 MB...28.94 INCHES.

REPEATING THE 200 PM PDT POSITION...15.5 N...110.2 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...85 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...980 MB.

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT
800 PM PDT.

$$
FORECASTER ROBERTS/KNABB

Related Links:

• Hurricane FAUSTO Advisory Archive (Text)

More images are available at Oceanview and Weather.

Cristobal - GOES - Water Vapor Image - July 20, 08:45 UTC

TROPICAL STORM CRISTOBAL INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 4A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL032008
800 PM EDT SAT JUL 19 2008

...CRISTOBAL MOVING SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD...

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SOUTH SANTEE RIVER
SOUTH CAROLINA TO THE NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER...INCLUDING
PAMLICO SOUND.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 800 PM EDT...0000Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM CRISTOBAL WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 33.2 NORTH...LONGITUDE 77.8 WEST OR ABOUT 130
MILES...210 KM...EAST OF CHARLESTON SOUTH CAROLINA AND ABOUT 185
MILES...300 KM...SOUTHWEST OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA.

CRISTOBAL IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 6 MPH...10 KM/HR. A
CONTINUED NORTHEASTWARD MOTION WITH SOME INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED
IS EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. ON THIS TRACK...THE
CENTER OF THE TROPICAL STORM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE PARALLEL AND VERY
CLOSE TO THE COASTS OF SOUTH AND NORTH CAROLINA FOR THE NEXT DAY OR
SO.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 45 MPH...75 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. SLOW STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES...140 KM
MAINLY TO THE EAST OF THE CENTER.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1005 MB...29.68 INCHES.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE NORTH
CAROLINA COAST...WITH ISOLATED HEAVIER AMOUNTS.

REPEATING THE 800 PM EDT POSITION...33.2 N...77.8 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTHEAST NEAR 6 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...45 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1005 MB.

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER AT 1100 PM EDT.

$$
FORECASTER FRANKLIN

Related Links:

• National Weather Warnings

More images are available at Oceanview and Weather.

.

Mountaintop mining is an atrocity. It is an outrage. My wife Tipper and I give out an award at the Nashville Film Festival every year for best documentary on these environmental issues. This year's winner was called "Mountaintop mining" (actually, Mr. Gore, that is "Mountain Top Removal"). I learned more about it from that movie. What they do, you all know, they just chop off... then dump the detritus, the rock and the dirt, into the creeks and it just poisons the whole ecosystem. It is part and parcel of the same dysfunctional energy system that is causing global warming. It is also facilitated by the same moral blindness to the consequences of what we're doing. And by the way it's all being done in an automated way, and that's why the coal miners lost all their jobs. When we make this transition to renewable fuels we have to keep them in mind; we ought to guarantee a good job in the fresh air and sunshine for every single coal miner who has been affected by the transition over to renewable fuels. One final point...The idea of turning coal into liquid fuels for our cars it's, it's insane. And here is why: it is true that if you looked only at the dependence of the United States on foreign oil and if you didn't care about anything else in the world, it would be theoretically possible, at huge expense, to squeeze liquid out of coal and put it into gas tanks. It would be enormously expensive. But the other problem is it would vastly increase the amount of CO2 from each gallon of fuel that is burned. We've got to walk and chew gum at the same time. We've got to end our dependence on foreign oil and save the habitability of the planet by switching not just from oil to coal-to-liquid, but from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

• First-generation technologies emerged from the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century and include hydropower, biomass combustion, and geothermal power and heat. Some of these technologies are still in widespread use.

• Second-generation technologies include solar heating and cooling, wind power, modern forms of bioenergy, and solar photovoltaics. These are now entering markets as a result of research, development and demonstration (RD&D) investments since the 1980s. The initial investment was prompted by energy security concerns linked to the oil crises of the 1970s but the continuing appeal of these renewables is due, at least in part, to environmental benefits. Many of the technologies reflect significant advancements in materials.

• Third-generation technologies are still under development and include advanced biomass gasification, biorefinery technologies, concentrating solar thermal power, hot dry rock geothermal energy, and ocean energy. Advances in nanotechnology may also play a major role.

First- and second-generation technologies have entered the markets, and third-generation technologies heavily depend on long term research and development commitments, where the public sector has a role to play.

Renewable energy
Biofuels Biomass Geothermal Hydro power Solar power Tidal power Wave power Wind power