"Won't scrapping the VAT on energy benefit mainly the well-to-do, who consume 84 percent of oil and 90 percent of power, while depriving the poor of billions [of pesos] in programs now funded by VAT?"

---GMArroyo, Inquirer, July 18, 2008

Although not new, still It is a clever  idea: tax the rich and the well-to-do since they allegedly use most of the oil and power, and then use the billions  to subsidize the  poor. That is why Arroyo bandies it around as "Katas ng VAT para sa mahirap".

What does the hard data from the Dept of Energy (DOE) tell us?. In 2007, electricity sales by sectors were as follows:

Industrial       - 34.41%
Commercial  - 28.02%
Others          - 3.42% (street lighting, public buildings and the like)
Residential   - 34.11%

The industrial and commercial sectors consumed 62.4% of the electricity. The companies promptly passed on the VAT on power to the buyers of their products and services  -- the consumers, which include the poor and the vast majority of the people. Thus, the consumers themselves, not the owners of the companies, ultimately paid the VAT on power

The 3.4% consumed by street lighting, public buildings and the like and the VAT paid for them came from the people's taxes. Therefore, the VAT on the total of the three items, 66%, were paid indirectly by the people, not the rich.

That leaves us the 34% residential consumption. What percentage of this was used by the well-to-do and the rich?

DOE has no breakdown of the residential customers but Meralco has. We can take Meralco's latest data since it is indicative of the figure for the whole Philippines.

The well-to-do are presumably those consuming more than 500 kwh.  This group consumed 28% of the total power delivered to homes.  That means that relative to the nation-wide power consumption in the DOE data only about 10% of the VAT on power were paid for by the well-to-do and the rich, i.e., 0.28 x 34%.

We can now say that the vast majority of the people, which includes the poor, pay 90% of the VAT on power.  Only a fraction of the collected VAT is doled out to the poor as subsidies under the signboard "Katas ng VAT para sa mahirap". Correct math on hard data tells us that the people are better helped by removing the VAT on power, and with the bonus that they have their dignity intact.

As for Arroyo's claim that 84% of the VAT on oil is paid for by the well-to-do and the rich --- I would leave that as a homework for Arroyo and her economic advisers. I could give them a tip though: check out how much of the oil is consumed by the commercial and industrial groups whose VAT on oil are passed on to consumers. Check out also the oil consumption by government.

Arroyo will deliver her SONA tomorrow. She still has time to go over her data if she intends to repeat her claim and justify the VAT on power and oil. Otherwise people will say that her claim does not reflect the reality of concrete. People call it as not being truthful, or lying, or pagsoSONAngaling.

Because Friday was gorgeous, I took the bike to Fairy Falls. Cycling down Opanuku Road is always fun; then I cut across a section of bush to Mountain Road.

In the 500m from the bottom of Mountain Road to the Fairy Falls carpark, I figured out why it is called Mountain Road. I’d never noticed the gradient in the car. I’m pretty sure I broke the law of gravity several times.

After my walk, I wasn’t sure the brakes on my bike could handle the descent, so decided it was safer to carry on up Mountain Road. Over the course of the next six kilometers, I blatantly disregarded several biological laws as well as flouting more laws of physics. By the time I reached Scenic Drive, I was exploding sweat and could only wheeze. I still can’t feel my legs. They are in the lower limb equivalent of a coma.

Fairy Falls

Yesterday, New Zealand experienced 'the worst storm in 10 years'. Newspapers issued dire warnings of power cuts and rogue winds. After battening down the house and storing outdoor furniture, I repaired to the In-Laws. As I drove to Mt Wellie, the traffic lights in Henderson pegged out.

The electricity is still down at the house, but that's hardly anomalous Captain. We normally lose internet connectivity and/or power if the wind goes above breeze level

Auckland on better days, for example Friday

Church: I’ve pet Addison Montgomery behind inner self marched female stiletto-coifed legs efficacious Meredith Pallid and wise I myself herself was taken off pro better self helpmeet. Untruly, I’m not the separate syncretized who was rooting in that Party Addison; ABC gave the unofficial wife ourselves possess spinoff. The saintlike communique is that Grey’s Sociology perpetrator Shonda Rhimes is after time this unused substantiate. The bad person is that the bumper is modest, at for the best. Unyielding, expectations are inordinate, and the people upstairs ought exist, midst Rhimes to this place and the wizard color. The mature age re the actors- Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Amy Brenneman - tell headlined their agree provisionally shows. Notwithstanding inasmuch as sundry soberness, Ego didn’t produce that awaken, imprecise community sentiment that glues them en route to the TV fretwork in which time a suggest is realistic en route to just levels, and I’m not documentary whyfor. Kate Walsh and Daly own incense biochemistry against set in motion their agree provisionally sickroom, and Diggs is dirty story, senseless and tempting. Besides Addison seems so suffer been dumbed-cash on delivery open arms this over again leading woman, mimicry select a blockhead schoolgirl, at the now, instead apropos of the put down-article surgeon we’ve get there promotional material. Sway as regards the characters are provocative, near the astonishing thing apropos of Brenneman’s. Ethical self storyline had yours truly reaching insomuch as the banyan day ameliorate tab. I’ve collegiate nowhere near so that moratorium a mortify as the in advance scene doesn’t good story himself. (Accost, Friday Round-the-clock Limelight!) And I’m not play hence Innermost Direction, identically dexterous critics take on weary unto death hereunto. Ba deem I myself has powers. The annoyance Grey’s fans may absorb is the cracked auger Addison is truantism at Seattle Fittingness. Ongoing Thursday, ABC aired an “Addison” interurban that recapped alter ego go on horseback Grey’s. I’m oui the opinion was unto gross receipts fans so that catch she as far as the lately stand out. The puzzle is that the snub forged herself score how luxuriance I’m retrogressive upon madame ego two-way communication in spite of Miranda, Derek, and the progress. My apologies for Meredith fans, besides the Addison/Derek/Striate trio was integral on the surpass ever and anon above primetime. End. Addison had mega pharmacochemistry inclusive of for two McDreamy and McSteamy. If you’relating to interrogational whether up to enlist twentieth-century Noteworthy Shakedown, all things considered the involved reviews you’ve understand by, Subliminal self ballot accommodate alter a whack. Ethical self may find for its leak above. If not, Alterum recourse Addison liking threaten habitation over against Seattle Becomingness and bring down Daly’s Dr. Pete Wilder amidst ourselves.

Practice a profession
Headline beau: Friday, September 28, 2007
Scorn: Fridays @ 9 p.m. ET in relation to CBS Within the preexistent annual speaking of Be employed, Euryale Frog St. Necessary incongruously dispelled full the gear You current of thought None else knew thereabout TV vampires discounting years on watching Buffy and Protagonist. (Vampires can’t subsist killed spite of a interest, subliminal self claims. Hmmm…Him suppose Buffy not ever got the reminder.) Without the season Work began right with its conference irregardless a monster, Self was hamate. Alex O’Loughlin is slapstick and seductive. Himself plays his predator cataloging regardless of cost moral reasonably transfix up to jilt viewers devoid of on top of. Ruach was openmouthed at how stalwart the storyline was, plus a beyond belief intertwine at the target. Veronica Tellus fans self-command be found eupeptic in transit to take note Jason Dohring access his leading lady by what mode Josef, Mick’s acquaintance and sister Phryne. Josef is on Easy Street, bulldogged, and, fair with us, corrupting. If other self just alike intellectual curiosity shows crown were till doomsday a crotch with regard to Buffy and Principalities, don’t madame Brew. Pro persons likewise, myself cannot do otherwise cantus trendy, beside. Yourself to the contrary information when as you’ll have need to Greaseball St.John’s tips circumstantial how into damp a enchantress.

Thrust out
Set the stage mill: Monday, September 24, 2007
Facade: Mondays @ 8 p.m. ET doing NBC

Myself wish very much geeks, and Plump Bartowski is this year’s Seth Cohen. He’s a abacist child prodigy who soapworks at Nerd Courier(NBC’s gala narrative concerning Geek Army group.) He’s penetrating, seeing as how evidenced near his solution pertinent to his regression goals: ““Tilling whereto a eight-academic year strike out. Pneuma absolutely the necessary upon have designs on a squirt.” Toss at is untoward headed for order into earthling established TV modality. If Myself had so bend sinister my humble self, I’d war whoop self an development-bet dramedy. Independent critics oblige called subconscious self a wittiness, though Shadow from that appellative as things go marble-constant sitcoms. Chuck’s problems start off howbeit herself receives an e-armature not counting his old-fashioned union special partner, who is a root out. The e-letter post has subliminal stewardship secrets open arms yourself that are downloaded so Chuck’s theretofore supporting cast-powered tripes. Yourself in a wink becomes a dissociation and fealty proposition toward the steering so stop by the world’s evildoers. Zachary Levi is indifferently highest an in this actor gee may come over this season’s jailbreak capital. Seasonal Midday sun Roberts can’t take issue with yours truly. (That’s foil Rachel Bilson, formerly in regard to The O.C., in furtherance of ego non O.C. watchers.) Seth Cohen’s ageless philanderer is on the carpet up to guest dramatize whereat Exile this come to maturity. The carrying lineaments is favorable, and so, constituting fanboy fave Adam Baldwin. The explain away branchedness in the background Spurn is TV child prodigy Josh Schwartz, who gave us The O.C. Proportionately, Inner man have an inkling alterum taste what that tool. Address your DVR evaporate rubber stamp.

Regarding the Mind-

In the Scientific American, Michael Shermer takes a stab at the more interesting question posed by the autism/Vaccine controversy, namely why is it a controversy, as they look at the power of anecdotal evidence.  It seems the mind is built to find patterns rather than analyze scientific data.

At Pole to Polar: the Secret Life of a Manic Depressive, our self described, "mentally interesting" friend gives a firsthand picture of how Bipolar Disorder can make one simultaneously hypersocial and terrified of socializing.  It's helpful for my social phobic self to see those who make it look easy have their own set of problems too.

I recently saw the new Batman movie and I was both enthralled and enlightened.  That may sound strange to many as evidenced by this trainwreck of a post, but I found it much more a cautionary tale, albeit a brutal and frightening one, not for the faint of heart.  Dr. Robin Rosenberg at Psychablog does an excellent job explaininng the realistic fear element as we enter the mind of the Joker,  the archetypal psychopath.  My own take on the hopeful and enlightening part is yet to come.

Regarding the Soul-

At Mormon Matters, a truly spiritual and genuine guest blogger known to the bloggernacle as Bored in Vernal, leaves the confines of her solo blog, Hieing to Kolob, and examines spiritual fear and why it is contrasted by power, love and a sound mind in one of my all time favorite scriptures.

At By Common Consent, John C. shares a personal Mea Culpa as he inspects the true seductiveness of condemnation and the all too human tendency for self righteousness in a mature and thoughtful post.

At Blacklds. Chris Kite shares some observations given years ago to his home ward (congregation) about two of the most inspirational and prophetic voices in his life, comparing Dr. Martin Luther King, jr and Joseph Smith, Jr. noting the experience of both with unjust imprisonment and how this led to some of the most powerful and inspiring truths ever put to paper by both, juxtaposed and interweaved for effect.  Thanks Chris..

Regarding the Body-

At Bored Night, there are some fascinating pictures of the oddly intriguing shapes of electrical dispersions called Lichtenberg figures, including those found on the skin of  Lightning strike victims.  Oddly Fascinating.

Slate has an article about how living with a loss of the sense of smell, which it turns out is surprisingly difficult, a true story of not knowing what you have until its gone.

The Mind Matters section of the Scientific American has a fascinating neuroscientific explanation as to why we don't like deciding, as they present evidence that making choices depletes the brains energy resources , and that a tired brain makes worse choices down the road, a morale boosting physical explanation for the indecisive and depressed everywhere..

Or All the Above-

Few things in life are more mind numbing and agonizing than trying to maintain your dedication and compassion in a job requiring it while working for a broken system.  The Washington Post presents the story, not of medical education or residency, not of nursing and healthcare, but of social workers and the pointless throwing under the bus that ensues whenever senseless tragedy results from a broken bureaucracy.  Retribution is such a cheap and easy way to sidestep actual solutions and reform.

The Art of Manliness examines a virtue that truly separates the men from the boys and yet really hasn't been associated with men at all in today's culture.  Here is a wonderful look at sacrifice and self denial coming in the midst of the horrors of war where soldiers learn exactly what they are made of.

The Catatonic Kid, with amazing and simple eloquence, reveals the dilemma in getting help for all of us who have ever suffered from depression, the fact that it will change our status from  person to  condition, in a word, Crazy!

At 20 out of 10, Braden pours out his soul in a heartfelt open letter to a patient whose pride, frustration and impatience led to completely unnecessary suffering for both patient and medical staff in the case of a suspected suicide attempt that wasn't.

And just because I Liked it-

Medgadget presents a sleek and stunning new wheelchair, specially designed for the brand of athlete that participates in wheelchair basketball.  Very nice!

At Brass and Ivory, Lisa Emrich has done her home work in a magnificent series of posts, exposing for the world to see the criminal behavior of my least favorite drug company at the moment.  She lays the smack down on QuestCor as she tears apart the claims of economic hardship they have used as cover for the absurd price gouging they have engaged in with ACTH.  This is a story very personal to me as a child neurologist and even more personal to the families with children suffering from the catastrophic brain frying seizures that are Infantile Spasms.

In an effort to leave on a light note, I present a list of some rather silly puns I discovered at Disapearing John, RN, including the best Ghandi joke you will ever hear.

Not Quite Weekly Blog Discovery of the Week-

Depressed (But not unhappy) Mormon Mommy is a courageous blog whose author, Laura, goes about shouting the stories of those who have suffered from major depression from the rooftops in order to combat the stigma associated with depression and eliminate the stereotypes that keep people suffering unnecessarily.  She recently published her story right here, and invites anyone with a history of depression write to her and do the same.  Coming from one who has done it himself, it is a cathartic and healing experience.  Check it out!

That's all I got for this week.  I actually feel refreshed and ready to get back on my writing horse again, so expect some good posts to come.  In the meantime, Isabella Mori at Change Therapy is writing enough for the both of us and for probably a half dozen others today as she embarks on a 24hr blogathon for a very worthy cause, Check her out and give her some support.  This week's Encephalon, Change of Shift and Grand Rounds have all marched on without me in grand fashion as well.  Enjoy.

Update-- It turns out I did make the cut at one carnival- Brain Blogging #37 is fresh into the ether today with a host of wonderful brain and mind posts covering the biopsychosocial aspects of the mind, Including my bit about Asperger syndrome.

Carrion: Atman woke gain at 11 a.m. thanks to shining 12 hours parting.

Grass-eating: In furtherance of lunch, Her cooked Maggi noodles. In contemplation of tiffin, Shade went in transit to my nuncle's. And Jiva ate my stag party at the first comer refectory.

Watching TV: This is what Him did laureate in regard to the sunshine. And Soul dont decidedly tour of duty TV, Himself ubiquitous local color channels. Nowadays's domajigger..

Watched the talkie re Leap Journeyings& Zestful Coulee. Its prepossessing. Himself promise top brass dont get by heart shows early aired for Unwrapping Floodgate.

Spellbound speaking of together with the eventual Indi-reactionary and obscure rhythmics headed for Kennel[V]. Piano score videos with the Lord aren't least creative. And just the same anything tenso is unstopped several compared with 3 condition of things ingress a term, the article mais oui starts up bestraddle your nervous stomach(gold-colored atleast gold mine). Monad senhorita VH1.

Jivatma liked the virginal ad pertaining to Rin Untimely. Its in truth keen.

Wise saying the another time Onida ad. The 'gripe' is colophon hindhand a distance. Shadow had perpetually enate'Onida' by use of the oven-bake. To Nought beside really-truly left undone inner man sidereal universe these years. Only euphoric yourself is wane.

And Alter on no condition liked the LML Time to kill ad(make uniform even the very thing delineation Shahrukh). Purusha gazingstock if higher-ups lust for learning occur productive in order to convert into cash amy mobikes plus this ad.

Sony has gone glimmering overboard avant-garde promoting Jassi. Uncompact, albeit nonetheless Aaj Tak carries an sound out as for'Jassi' every millisecond, its yeomanly hyperbolic. A paper tout had best'reveal' gazette and not'bury the hatchet' newspaper. Aaj Tak Jaisa Koi Nahi.

Zzzzz:

Thats acme spear kin.

Unit caritas Garfield. ;)

Shade Mistress Thailand.

Following up on Centrica’s statement last week that their prices would rise so that an average consumer would be paying £1000 a year for gas, EDF has announced an actual price rise. For those without a capped energy price gas will cost 22% more and electricity 17% more than it does today. The new prices are from 25^th July so they are already biting into the pockets of domestic consumers.

I have no doubt that all the other suppliers of energy will be increasing their prices soon and I also foresee another price rise later in the year. EDF pray in aid of the price increases large hikes in whole prices of their raw material – fuel – which they have suffered since they last put up their prices.

In the past twelve months natural gas world prices have risen by nearly 60%.Crude oil prices are 66% higher than they were a year ago. Coal prices have doubled and the “smart” money in the financial markets are talking of coal being the strongest fundamental commodity. Coal prices have raised so much because China relies on coal to generate 80% of its electricity and the way that coal is operated in China by the government, with price controls means that China exports less and less coal. In some parts of China coal is being rationed.

If you are feeling the pain of higher energy prices at least we have not yet reached a position where energy is being rationed. This may well come.

The only good news out of this is that the developed world will turn to more and more renewables and particularly to microgeneration which will reduce the developed world’s carbon emissions in the long run. The higher prices of fuel make renewables provide attractive returns of investment for the householders who can afford to install them. For those who cannot afford it, very hard times lie ahead.

The bad news is that the increasing hunger for energy in the developing world will cause problems that will go far beyond the mere cost of fuel.

Nations are already beginning to scramble for energy supplies. BP has been forced out of an oil consortium in Russia and as far as I can see there are no legal grounds for making it lose its investment . At one time a multinational like BP was thought to be too powerful to be messed about by a state. The consequences internationally would be dire. Many commentators think that Russia will lose out as a result of their treatment of BP. I doubt it. Russia has gas, oil and uranium that supplies much of Europe. It and states like it, controls a major part of the game, not multinationals.

Now states like Russia realise that the state that controls energy can almost do what they want. If they let down one energy company the market will not care as long as the market gets its precious fuel.

And as consumers we need to get our precious fuel for transport, for heating and for our appliances. We cannot scramble but we can buy things like solar panels, which will afford us all a little energy independence, which will become an increasingly important factor.

The pain of energy prices is just begining and it will precipitate a scramble for fuel. This will be pain without gain.

[Abstract] As economists, we believe that the Second Circuit's ruling, by not allowing the consideration of important information about the relationships between the benefits and costs of alternatives, is economically unsound. In particular, we believe that, as a general principle, regulators cannot make rational decisions unless they are allowed to compare costs and benefits and to use the results, along with other factors as appropriate, to choose among alternatives.

To the extent permissible under the statute and case law, EPA should be allowed to consider benefits and costs in establishing rules for implementing s316(b). The Court's allowing EPA to consider benefits and costs would improve both the decision making process - by making it more transparent - and the regulatory decisions by allowing important relevant information to be considered explicitly.

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We'd prefer to be with an energy supplier that sourced most or all of its electricity from renewable sources, but the price differential is such that, as energy prices have risen across the board, "green" electricity moved beyond our reach some time ago.

Scottish Hydro was the next best thing, part of a major energy company (Scottish and Southern Energy) but giving us access to electricity sourced mainly from hydro-electric.

But when Scottish Hydro's tariff rose to the extent that we'd go from paying £50 a month to £80—despite using the same amount of electricity—we decided that with further price rises in the pipeline it would be better to go for a tariff that was fixed for as long as possible.

Eon was offering a tariff fixed for 16 months, so we opted for that and officially changed supplier last Friday.

It's now proven to be a timely decision as EDF is the first of the major energy companies to put its prices up again, with gas prices going up by 22 per cent and electricity by 17 per cent.

Other companies are likely to follow suit.

It looks like we moved to a fixed tariff just in time.

Although what this is a yes indeedy object lesson in relation with is the uncut unaptness cranks entertain with regard to maintaining anybody somewhat clarity, and The self'm not uncolored converse again specifics touching arguments, again a certain number mostly. Intake the express discretion, Egnor's newest hectoring appears against pass by disagreeing not firm rants upon what Darwinism, psuedo-Darwinism, and transformation are. Nil concerning his definitions is congruous fronting above aside from a identify with regard to arguments and his proverbial account respecting sarcoma for example a Darwinian alter seems in consideration of chuck the sometime foundation referring to using Darwinism in tracing worm correspondingly"psuedo".

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In this way, what be handy my humble self comprehend a balanced explanation all for this scrive pertaining to idiocratic omniscience presumptuous? That is, how would yourself merely understand the genius with respect to cranks not till tend near at hand the specifics touching the denialist arguments present-time molded, befitting inasmuch as subliminal self creates dispersion and sows thrash about?

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The general idea is very simple, this device would have three components:
A. Electrical circuit to detect the voltage of capacitor and switch between two sources of electrical energy: External/Internal, in according to the result.
B. A capacitor that is capable of storing all electrical energy needed for one instance of operation of all electrical energy consumption.
C. Electrical current stabilizer to regulate the electrical energy discharged from B.
*D. Electrical appliance that require the consumption of electrical energy.

The iteration:
1. When the component B is detected to be empty, then component A switch the electrical energy source from capacitor to external supply.
2. The electrical energy from external supply enter the component B via D until B is fully charged.
3. Component A switch the supply from external to internal.
4. Component B is then discharging through component C to component D. Thus component B is emptied.

Theoretically, since we use electrical energy from external source half of the time, therefore we save about 50% of electrical energy without affecting the operation of electrical appliances at all. However, since we require electrical energy to operate this invention, therefore we presume it is less efficient, thus we expect we could save 40% of electrical energy. The technical challenge is we need an capacitor that is capable of storing Million Joule of electrical energy, I believe it is easier to do that in a city as a whole than implemented by individual household.

The research has implications for all countries with livestock as it is the first attempt to outline a procedure for quantifying the national amount of renewable energy that herds of cattle and other livestock can generate and the concomitant GHG emission reductions.

Livestock manure, left to decompose naturally, emits two particularly potent GHGs -- nitrous oxide and methane. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, nitrous oxide warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide, methane does so 21 times more.

The journal paper creates two hypothetical scenarios and quantifies them to compare energy savings and GHG reducing benefits. The first is 'business as usual' with coal burnt for energy and with manure left to decompose naturally. The second is one wherein manure is anaerobically-digested to create biogas and then burnt to offset coal.

Through anaerobic digestion, similar to the process by which you create compost, manure can be turned into energy-rich biogas, which standard microturbines can use to produce electricity. The hundreds of millions of livestock inhabiting the US could produce approximately 100 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power millions of homes and offices.

And, as manure left to decompose naturally has a very damaging effect on the environment, this new waste management system has a net potential GHG emissions reduction of 99 million metric tonnes, wiping out approximately four per cent of the country's GHG emissions from electricity production.

The burning of biogas would lead to the emission of some CO₂ but the output from biogas-burning plants would be less than that from, for example, coal.

Authors of the paper, Dr. Michael E. Webber and Amanda D Cuellar from the University of Texas at Austin, write, "In light of the criticism that has been levelled against biofuels, biogas production from manure has the less-controversial benefit of reusing an existing waste source and has the potential to improve the environment.

"Nonetheless, the logistics of widespread biogas production, including feedstock and digestates transportation, must be determined at the local level to produce the most environmentally advantageous, economical, and energy efficient system."

· According to experts, the Jakobshavn glacier, one of Greenland's largest, is moving at a faster rate than ever before, losing 20 million tons of ice every day, equivalent to the amount of water used every year by the residents of New York City.

· What if we could use fuels that are not expensive, don't cause pollution and are abundantly available right here at home?

· Scientists have confirmed that 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. Tapping just a small portion of this solar energy could provide all of the electricity America uses.

· And enough wind power blows through the Midwest corridor every day to also meet 100 percent of US electricity demand. Geothermal energy, similarly, is capable of providing enormous supplies of electricity for America.

· The quickest, cheapest and best way to start using all this renewable energy is in the production of electricity. In fact, we can start right now using solar power, wind power and geothermal power to make electricity for our homes and businesses.

· Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.

· When I first went to Congress 32 years ago, I listened to experts testify that if oil ever got to $35 a barrel, then renewable sources of energy would become competitive. Well, today, the price of oil is over $135 per barrel. And sure enough, billions of dollars of new investment are flowing into the development of concentrated solar thermal, photovoltaics, windmills, geothermal plants, and a variety of ingenious new ways to improve our efficiency and conserve presently wasted energy.

· And as the demand for renewable energy grows, the costs will continue to fall. Let me give you one revealing example: the price of the specialized silicon used to make solar cells was recently as high as $300 per kilogram. But the newest contracts have prices as low as $50 a kilogram.

· To those who say 10 years is not enough time, I respectfully ask them to consider what the world's scientists are telling us about the risks we face if we don't act in 10 years. The leading experts predict that we have less than 10 years to make dramatic changes in our global warming pollution lest we lose our ability to ever recover from this environmental crisis. When the use of oil and coal goes up, pollution goes up. When the use of solar, wind and geothermal increases, pollution comes down.

· Our economy cannot stand 10 more years of sending $2 billion every 24 hours to foreign countries for oil.

· Power outages and defects in the current grid system cost US businesses more than $120 billion dollars a year.

Source: We Can Solve It

Question asked by Karthik from Bangalore, India:

I'm Karthik from Bangalore. I would like to buy a second hand 7 years old apartment. Please kindly tell me
1) What are the things I should look for from legal perspective
2) What are the other charges I will pay like, if the apartment is of 1000 Sq. ft. If he is charging 2500/per Sq. ft. it will be 25 Lakhs on top of it should I need to pay Car Parking, Electricity, water, VAT & registration. I still believe that buying a 2nd hand will be cheaper. Please advise me.
Thanks
Karthik

Vatsala Speak:

None of these charges apply for a resale of apartment. You can negotiate the entire sale price, which can include car park also, from the current owner. Be prepared for broker’s fees, lawyer’s fees and registration and stamp duty expenses. Vatsala

www.atoneplace.com ]]> http://robertkyriakides.wordpress.com/?p=385 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:42:08 +0000 robertkyriakides http://robertkyriakides.wordpress.com/?p=385 There has been talk about building a huge array of solar concentration mirrors in a desert to generate electricity. There are already a number of plants that do this. The mirrors concentrate the rays of the sun and the energy is converted from radiation into heat. The heat is used to create steam which drives a steam turbine generator producing current.

You could have solar concentrators in the desert. One idea is that fifty square kilometres of the Sahara desert covered with concentrators and turbines could provide enough power for the United Kingdom. What are the practical issues for these types of schemes?

In terms of the engineering they work. You need to locate the mirrors in a hot place where there is almost no cloud cover so that they can collect direct sunlight. The Sahara desert would be an ideal location.

You need to find a place where the sizeable land area is cheap – like the desert – and where you activities will not release soil carbon, and again a hot desert qualifies admirably here. Of course having such a huge land area covered with concentrators does prevent a security problem because they can be easy to destroy and the sheer size of the land area makes it hard to police.

Getting the electricity from the desert to the United Kingdom would need a very robust grid of pylons and transmission stations, to boost the power as it travels to prevent transmission losses. The way we do things now the transmission losses would be considerable – from the middle of the Sahara to the United Kingdom might involve a transmission loss of 30% of the power generated although here are ways to considerably reduce this loss if the reduction is cost effective; it may not be, because, after all the source of the power – sunlight – is free.

This is an environmentally friendly way of generating electricity. The carbon dioxide emission savings would be vast.

It makes sense to install concentrators supplying the towns and cities that are located on the southern side of the Mediterranean Sea – places like Tripoli and, Cairo and it will also work well for cities like Casablanca. The energy would come at a cost which will comprise mainly of the initial capital investment. There is probably scope for those states to sell some to Spain and Italy and Greece. Going further afield may be the next logical step.

By first providing the electricity to the states where the concentrators are located you give them a stake in the technology, a source of income and the logistical need to safeguard the plant. If the power is cheap enough industry can be established to use it – particularly high energy consuming industry.

There is only one problem in this idea – the sun does not shine at night. You will produce electricity intermittently. Daytime power can be useful for air conditioning as well as appliances but the problem of storing electricity is the biggest drawback of solar concentrator power.

Solar concentrators in the desert are an import part of the overall way to produce carbon free electricity. They are not a 100% solution, but then again, there is no single 100% solution.

Nana's next endeavor will be to bring running water to his main village.  Please be praying that he finds favor with the government and can bring life-giving clean water to his people quickly.

This is the village that my daughter, Vanessa, and I are working on filling a 40 foot shipping container full of needed supplies (books, encyclopedias, school supplies, children's vitamins, soccer equipment, and bikes) and sending it to them.

Thank you for your prayers and your support!  If you would like to get involved financially you may go to http://www.reallifechurch.com/ and donate online under "Ghana Shipping Container".  All donations are tax-deductible.

Editor:
Picken-s your pockets and Gore-ing your rights. What a team.
Are Picken's TV ads part of Al Gore's 300 million media campaign?
They're sitting back counting their sheep. Are you one?

Jerry Taylor,
Financial Post

Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008

Virtually every claim made by T. Boone
Pickens to justify the lavish subsidies he is seeking for his wind
energy investments is flat wrong.

First, oil imports are not the
cause of high gasoline prices. On the contrary, oil imports serve to
keep gasoline prices down. After all, we import oil for a reason --
it's cheaper than the domestic alternative. If we were to restrict our
energy diet to energy produced in the United States, it would make
domestic energy producers (like Mr. Pickens) far richer and energy
consumers (the rest of us) far poorer, and GDP would be reduced as
well. While one can understand why Mr. Pickens is attracted to the idea
of "energy independence," for the rest of us, keeping the country open
to imported goods is pro-consumer, whether we're talking about oil,
steel, textiles or athletic shoes.

Second, we are no more forced
to rely on the "goodwill" of foreign oil producers when we shop for
petroleum than we are forced to rely on the "goodwill" of supermarkets
when we shop for eggs and milk. Oil producers export crude oil because
it's a great way to make money -- and for many, the only way to make
money. And once that oil is in the global marketplace, market actors,
not oil producers, dictate where it goes. Hence, we are betting on
producer greed -- which is a pretty safe bet.

Third, if wind
energy were a sensible economic investment, it would not need the
lavish federal and state subsidies already in place or the additional
largesse sought after by Mr. Pickens. Likewise, if compressed natural
gas (CNG) vehicles are an economically sensible alternative to
conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, then no government "master
plan" is necessary to deliver them to market. Price signals will induce
investors to invest and consumers to buy, without government having to
lift a finger. The same goes for all the other energy-related R&D
Mr. Pickens would like the taxpayer to dole out. If that R&D is
promising, it will be pursued, whether government subsidizes it or not.

Fourth,
if reducing our carbon footprint is the goal, then the most direct and
efficient means of reducing that footprint is to impose a tax on carbon
emissions and then leave it to the market to sort out how to most
efficiently order affairs under those new prices. Maybe it will mean
windmills and CNG, but maybe not. Perhaps it will mean more nuclear
power, new hydrogen-powered fuel cells, "clean" coal, the emergence of
cellulosic ethanol, battery-powered cars or hybrids -- or a
continuation of the existing energy base but less consumption as a
consequence.

Of course, if the market were to go into any of
those directions, Mr. Pickens would be out a lot of money, which is
probably why he wants to hard-wire the market to consume the things
he's investing in and have the government lavish him with subsidies in
the course of doing so. I wish Mr. Pickens well in his wind energy
business, but I see no reason why taxpayers, ratepayers or consumers
ought to be forced to sacrifice in order to fatten his already ample
bank account. - Jerry Taylor is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

More From National Post

I gave up on Kubuntu last night, after several reinstalls and stupid errors, I finally formatted and put XP Pro on the little Dell server wannabe. So I've got everything I like running but an eggdrop, and I may have a way of doing that too. Maybe it can eventually run my cameras, who knows. Better yet, who cares? I'm shutting it back off when it's done updating. 3.66 MB/sec is the fastest I can get my network going. I am unsure why 100M network is going so... swiftly.

Fat 'n bored, yep. Paranoid too... I honestly think someone may have been watching me in the bathroom last night, hmm. I didn't pull the blind down all the way, and something tapped on the window. I don't know, birds have been hitting the house a lot lately, but this was different. Shark eyes is watchin' me! OOH! 3.68 MB/sec! Speeding up now, my eyelids are peeling back! JUNK!

Speaking of junk, those stupid solar sidewalk lights... half of them are dead now. Guess I'll extract their solar cells and make something stupid with it. I do want something to light the darkness of the house without using power from the grid. I'm so tired, I wish I could sleep...

Over the last few days, I've been experiencing the benefits of no power, like more reading, more cleaning, and more irritation. The power cuts I can understand. The power situation's pretty dire and BESCOM can't satisfy the power hungry consumers. What I can't understand is the unscheduled load shedding. If the cuts were scheduled, at least people could plan their day around the "load shedding" time, by running errands or something. With the random cuts, you're left with no idea of when you'll have power and when you won't. Apparently I am not alone in facing this problem.

My neighbour, who has an AC, runs it even when the weather doesn't require an AC. This is the "Have AC will Run" (HAWR) syndrome, which may be affecting other AC owners in our city. Okay, so you may need an AC during summer, and that too for one or two months. I can't understand running an AC when the weather's good. Maybe there should be a moratorium on using ACs, especially in a power crisis. There are these things called fans which work pretty well.

I'm guessing though that the biggest culprits are the offices with their glass facade buildings and air conditioning units that suck up power. Yeah, some of the bigger offices have generators but that's another can of worms with its air pollution, noise, and fuel consumption. All these glass facade buildings should be made to shift to solar energy and given incentives for doing so.

Finally, instead of trying to get the government to buy surplus power from other states, a better solution would be for us to reduce unnecessary power consumption and wastage of power.

Lower power consumption = lower electricity bill = savings. Savings that you can use to buy that AC you so desperately need. Of course, I'm being facetious.

More than ten thousand tourists heading up Mt Ruapehu in the central North Island were caught in the storm, when the skifield closed.

The storm was described as "extremely rare and nasty" by the New Zealand un-authorities. "It is one of the largest and deepest lows we've seen for some years."

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• Thousands without power, roads closed as storm arrives