Dutch astronomers and ecologists are working with Leiden University on a project, MONOCLE, that allows people to measure the quality of their water, simply by taking a photo with their smartphones.
Argentina, Brazil May See Change In Paraguay Dam Deal PARAGUAY: April 9, 2008 ASUNCION - South American giants Argentina and Brazil are grappling with energy shortfalls as their economies roar, and could soon face calls to pay more for key power supplies from their poor neighbour Paraguay. Both regional powerhouses jointly own hydroelectric plants with Paraguay and benefit from decades-old deals that provide them with electricity at cut-rate prices.
A dozen oil companies agreed to pay $423 million in cash plus clean-up costs to settle litigation over groundwater contamination from the gasoline additive, MTBE, lawyers representing public water utilities and public agencies in 17 states, told Reuters. The settlement, filed in the US District Court in Manhattan, involves BP America Inc, Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips, Shell Oil Co, Marathon Oil Corp, Venezuela's Citgo Petroleum Corp, Sunoco Inc and Valero Energy Corp, the newspaper said.
US Says OPEC To Earn Almost $1 Trillion From Oil US: April 14, 2008 WASHINGTON - OPEC member nations are expected to rake in almost $1 trillion this year from their oil exports due to record crude prices, according to the US government's top energy forecasting agency.
Democrats in the Senate Wednesday unveiled a new energy package that would revoke $17 billion in tax breaks extended to big oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp and slap a 25 percent windfall profits tax on firms that don't invest in new energy sources. The day that US oil prices hit an all-time peak of $123.93 a barrel, Democrats moved to act on soaring gasoline pump prices, which are a growing political liability in the November presidential election.
Obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport them and the food they eat, and the problem will worsen as the population literally swells in size, a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says. This adds to food shortages and higher energy prices, the school's researchers Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts wrote in the journal Lancet on Friday. "We are all becoming heavier and it is a global responsibility," Edwards said in a telephone interview. "Obesity is a key part of the big picture."
Don't use the word "waste" around venture capitalist Bill Green. The managing director with Silicon Valley-based VantagePoint Venture Partners, which has invested in two companies that use discarded materials to produce energy, prefers to think of the stuff we throw away as the next generation of energy feedstocks.
Battered by record high gasoline prices, Americans are finally parking their SUVs and embracing energy conservation, but any impact on world markets could be slow in coming. As the US summer driving season kicked off with the Memorial Day holiday weekend, evidence mounted that Americans are cutting back on their driving and looking for alternative means of getting around. Detrie Zacharias, 49, said high gas prices have forced him and his wife to change their driving habits.
Pakistan put its clocks forward an hour on Sunday while shops have been ordered to close early as the country struggles with an acute electricity shortage. Setting clocks forward by an hour, to six hours ahead of GMT, should enable the country to take advantage of an extra hour of daylight in the evenings and save power. Shopping centres have also been ordered to close at 9 p.m. (1500 GMT) from Sunday while government offices have been told not to turn on the air conditioning for the first three hours of the working day.
Canada plans to boost its spending on mapping Arctic energy and mineral resources, in order to encourage development and defend Canadian sovereignty in the far North. The government will spend C$100 million (US$95 million) over five years, building on a plan earlier this year to spend C$34 million over two years, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday as he prepared to kick off a three-day trip to the region.
China will build a US$300 million hydroelectric power plant in neighbouring Tajikistan to help alleviate frequent energy shortages in the Central Asian nation, Tajik Energy Minister Sherali Gul said on Wednesday. The agreement was reached during talks between Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon, he said. Hu is in Tajikistan for the Thursday summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Gul said the planned power plant, Nurobad-2, would have capacity of between 160 and 200 megawatts.
