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By PETER KENNEDY
00:00 EST Monday, February 16, 2004
VANCOUVER -- Canadian stockbrokers who engage in a controversial but lucrative practice known as "naked short selling" are about to face new restrictions that appear to be aimed at closing a loophole in U.S. securities industry regulations.
When the restrictions take effect on Feb. 20, brokers in Canada will be prevented from arranging to short U.S. securities on behalf of clients or from inventory, unless they are able to make an affirmative determination that the stock can be borrowed and delivered to the customer on the settlement date.
It means Canadian brokers can still short U.S. stocks, a practice that involves the sale of borrowed shares by people who plan to replace the stock by buying it back at a lower price, allowing them to pocket the difference.
The affirmative determination requirements for short sale orders are part of amendments to the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Rule 3370.
One Canadian brokerage official said he believes Canada is merely an incidental target of rules, which he said are aimed primarily at U.S. market makers who trade on Nasdaq's lightly regulated Over the Counter Bulletin Board.
"I don't believe it is to plug a Canadian hole, solely," said Warren Funt, vice-president of member regulation at the Investment Dealers Association of Canada. "But it will have that effect."
Until this week, Rule 3370 did not apply to brokers who are not members of the NASD. As a result, brokers at Canadian firms, such as Pacific International Securities Inc., Global Securities Inc., Union Securities Ltd. and Raymond James Ltd., were able to generate revenue by shorting U.S. securities on behalf of clients or from inventory, on a non-borrowed basis.
But starting Friday, traders in the United States will be required to ask Canadian dealers if they have borrowed the stock in instances where they are attempting to short a U.S. stock on behalf of a client. "If the answer is no, the U.S. dealer will not accept the trade," said Doug Garrod, president of Global Securities.
Industry officials say the impact on revenue as a result of the affirmative determination rule will not be known until the IDA releases its trading review for the first quarter of 2004.
A compliance executive at one brokerage firm said naked short selling has been a low-profile, high-money earner for brokers, particularly in Vancouver's Howe Street district, and some have already quit in advance of the rule taking effect. (The term "naked" shorting applies to an unlimited form of short selling that can cause wild gyrations in the price of stocks that are usually traded over the counter in the United States.)
"It has been a huge revenue-making area for the brokers that are doing it because you can charge higher commissions when you are trading in the U.S.," the executive said. "The fact that U.S. regulators have taken this action shows that this is a huge problem," the executive added.
For instance, Global Securities and Union Securities are named in a lawsuit launched in British Columbia Supreme Court in 2002 by U.S. biotech firm GeneMax Corp., which became a magnet for short sellers late that year.
In court documents, GeneMax accuses the brokerage firms of abetting an illegal manipulation scheme, which allegedly included naked short selling.
The brokers have asserted in a statement of defence that any long and short sales of GeneMax shares were conducted in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Two years ago, popular American short seller Amr (Anthony) Elgindy was charged with insider trading and racketeering in what U.S. authorities alleged was a scam involving two FBI agents.
© The Globe and Mail
Otterman...http://www.powerpwtc.com/ WORKS for me!
http://www.powertechnologyonline.com DOES NOT WORK! This was the web address for PWTC that I entered about two weeks ago and I believe has been their website address from the beginning. Someone correct me if I am wrong!
Otterman..This is the site that does not work!
http://www.powertechnologyonline.com
The registration for POWERTECHNOLOGYONLINE.COM has expired.
If you are the owner of this domain, you can renew it by clicking the button below.
If this domain was recently renewed, it will be reactivated in a few hours.
OT...OK..Just one more, LOL!
Gadget Jacket Charged by the Sun
By Kari L. Dean
The fashion spotlight, or rather sunlight, shone on a new solar-powered jacket introduced last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Seemingly aimed at the technophile environmentalist on the go, the jacket has integrated solar panels that charge cell phones, PDAs, Game Boys, MP3 players and most any other mobile device its wearer slides into its multitude of interior pockets.
And despite its gadget-oriented accommodations, the jacket's style resembles those worn at the slopes or on the hiking trails. Fashionista outdoorsy types are assured of cloaking their geek status as they lug Palms, iPods and cell phones into the wilderness without losing power.
"As we move to an always-on environment, how can people depend on their device if in three to four hours they are going to lose their charge?" said Scott Jordan, CEO of ScotteVest, which designed the jacket and its wiring technology.
The jacket has two small snap-on photovoltaic panels that fit onto its shoulders. These charcoal-gray solar panels convert the sun's rays into energy, which then feed a hidden battery pack about the size of a deck of cards. The batteries are wired to all the pockets, which can have almost any mobile devices plugged into them.
The PAN, or Personal Area Network, used by ScotteVest's Technology Enabled Clothing division provides jacket-pocket holes and fabric conduits that connect all the gadgets to each other without exposing any wires. So what appears to be an unassuming anorak jacket is really a web of wires and technology in disguise.
Inspector Gadget, James Bond and GI Joe fans: Please convene in the outerwear department.
The jacket's solar panels use CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) technology, a thin, flexible, lightweight, energy-efficient and highly sun-sensitive type of solar cell. Marine vehicles that can't use glass and military tents both use CIGS for power, said Sass Peress, CEO of ICP Solar Technologies, which licensed the solar system from GSE Technologies and is partnering with ScotteVest to create the solar jackets.
"And it will charge as fast as your AC (wall outlet) charges," said Peress.
The prototype shown at the Consumer Electronics Show charged only one device at a time, but the manufactured version will be designed to charge as many devices as needed, say its makers. Of course, the more devices simultaneously drawing from the 5 to 10 watts of power the battery pack generates, the slower they will all recharge.
Intelligent battery-pack software, however, will identify and charge only those items that need it, according to Peress.
ScotteVest's TEC division introduced a jacket with the Personal Area Network, but without any power mechanism, in 2003. That jacket, dubbed Version Three.0, is sold through Neiman Marcus catalogs, the International Spy Museum and ScotteVest's website. Jordan also said the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security are TEC customers.
When the solar jacket launches this spring, Jordan said it will retail for about $300, a $100 increase over the nonsolar Version Three.0.
Since power cannot be transferred wirelessly, ICP and TEC designers were faced with different power-connector protocols for mobile devices. Consequently, the jacket will be sold with a small assortment of adapters to accommodate all major lines of phones, PDAs, cameras and other mobile devices.
ICP and TEC are presently testing different fashion styles with consumers before making their final selection.
"We are also working with (major outerwear manufacturers) to license the technology into a lot more products," said Jordan. He said he expects 30 percent of outerwear to incorporate the solar and PAN technology combo within the next five years. That's a long shot, but as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, there will be travelers with a jones for staying connected.
OT..GARDNER WATTS LTD
Thermal Energy Cell (TEC)
Modified electrolysis uses tungsten cathode, platinum anode, applied with high voltage, high frequency pulsed DC current results in a plasma being formed between the electrodes, releasing monatomic hydrogen and further catalytic reactions that produce excess heat. Energy gains range from between 20 - 100 times more output than input.
GARDNER WATTS LTD
Thermal Energy Cell (TEC)
http://www.gardnerwatts.org.uk/tec.htm
A NEW ENERGY SCENARIO
Gardner Watts have patented their TEC process which produces a large surplus of heat energy from a modified electrolysis cell.
We use a tungsten cathode, platinum anode and the electrolyte is distilled water with a catalyst added at low molar concentrations. A high voltage DC or pulsed current input at high frequency is applied. These conditions result in a plasma being formed between electrodes, the release of monatomic hydrogen and further catalytic reactions, which produce excess heat in the form of water heating and steam.
Hundreds of bench scale experiments have been performed, for periods of half an hour up to 17 weeks, all resulting in substantial energy 'gains' (heat out divided by electrical energy in) of up to 100 plus. More typically at levels of 10 to 30 and independent experiments performed by a University achieved gains of up to 25.
An Independent Expert in this range of power duties has designed and confirmed the accuracy of the input measurements. Well established calorimetry techniques have been used for output measurements.
Gardner Watts have a clearly defined theory for these reactions and this was derived prior to the laboratory programme. However Synchrotron measurements are necessary to validate the theory and to date this has been difficult to arrange.
We plan next to expand the data base and start a programme to upscale the process, look at safety, control and reliability aspects. A major R&D Organisation has been identified to collaborate with us in such a programme -- they have much wider resources and facilities than Gardner Watts.
Our initial target is to market this technology as a black box domestic/commercial water heating system . We are working on further developments which will possibly lead to electricity production.
OT...Gas on Ice
New hope for extracting natural gas from solid formations adds a hopeful ingredient to the energy future.
By David Wolman
January 30, 2004
Once dubbed an energy pipe dream, the prospect of extracting significant quantities of natural gas from frosty hydrate deposits just got a major boost. Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that they can produce natural gas from an existing gas hydrate deposit in nature. An international consortium of researchers and gas industry experts met in December in Tokyo to discuss results from an experimental drilling project conducted at the hydrate-rich well site known as Mallik, in the Mackenzie Delta of northern Canada.
Hydrate forms when gas, usually methane, mixes with water under just the right temperature and pressure conditions. A lattice-work of frozen water molecules encases each molecule of the gas, creating a flammable, ice-like substance. When it was first discovered in the 1950s, hydrate was considered a nuisance, often clogging pipelines at drill sites. Hydrates were a “gold-plated pain in the rear,” says gas industry veteran Robert Maddox, an emeritus professor of chemical engineering at Oklahoma State University.
In the past few decades, however, interest in hydrate has soared. The biggest reason for hydrate's appeal is the sheer volume of deposits buried beneath marine sediment and permafrost regions of the globe. Keith Kvenvolden, senior scientist (emeritus) at the U.S Geological Survey, estimates that the world's total supply of hydrate is more than double the amount of all other known fossil fuel deposits combined. If we could produce gas from only 1 percent of all the hydrates in the world, says USGS researcher Tim Collett, we would have enough natural gas to last more than 170,000 years at the present U.S. consumption rate of 23 trillion cubic feet annually.
As a source for natural gas, hydrate today is about where coal bed methane was 15 years ago, says Michael Max, a hydrate expert formerly with the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. “Coal bed methane was a classic, unconventional gas play,” with more than a few doubters, Max says. “Now it supplies around eight percent of the U.S natural gas supply. We think hydrate has a similar trajectory.”
Yet hydrate’s evolution has, until the December announcement, hinged on the giant "if" of technical feasibility. Engineers and geoscientists worked for years studying how changes in temperature and pressure affect hydrates in deposit. Reduce pressure or increase temperature just enough, and hydrate will melt. When that happens, the gas and water molecules go their separate ways and the gas, everyone assumed, could then be captured much like gas from conventional deposits. Computer models had predicted the resulting release of gas, but the idea had never been tested, making the successful melting and recapture of natural gas at Mallik a milestone for energy science.
The Mallik project followed years of research into the behavior of melting hydrate, as well as geophysical assessments of the Mallik deposits themselves. For the most recent findings, scientists used fiber optics instruments to characterize conditions within the different wells, together with seismic studies to estimate the extent to which released methane might seep into the surrounding geologic formations. After that, it was time to melt the hydrate—first through depressurization and then through heating, both of which proved to be effective methods for releasing methane that could then be captured. So much was known about the wells that the team was able to adjust the rate of hydrate dissociation, and thus the rate of gas release.
What's more, Mallik also demonstrated that large amounts of natural gas are likely to be attainable in areas with high concentrations of hydrate. Because this was a first-time endeavor, scientists weren’t after maximum well output, but rather a carefully controlled reaction that could then be analyzed with greater precision. Yet models built using the Mallik data suggest that production could indeed yield rates of “several million cubic feet of gas per day,” says Collett—an output as good or better than that of conventional gas well. That could make hydrates a significant addition to global natural gas supply—especially in resource-poor parts of the world.)
Though countries from Canada to India have been investing heavily in hydrate research, the biggest effort has been in Japan. With the world's second-largest economy, Japan imports roughly 98 percent of its oil and gas, and the Japanese are itching to find a domestic energy resource. Off the eastern coast of the main island of Honshu is a massive hydrate deposit similar in composition and concentration to the Mallik site, which helps explain why Japan bankrolled the bulk of the Mallik project. Some Japanese industry leaders have gone as far as to claim that hydrate development will make Japan energy self-sufficient by 2015.
That may be overly optimistic. For one thing, Japan may not have enough hydrate within its borders to power the country. It is also too soon to say whether other deposits would be as cooperative and productive as Mallik was in this first set of tests. In addition, the economics of hydrate production are not yet competitive with oil and gas from conventional sources. Nevertheless, the unpredictability of global energy markets (the price of natural gas, for example, was surging just before the New Year), the almost pathological commitment of the Japanese when it comes to energy security, and the money being thrown at hydrate research collectively indicate that gas from hydrate may very well play a major role in our energy picture over the long term.
A hydrate-rich energy future is not, of course, inevitable. For one thing, recent discovery and development of enormous new natural gas reservoirs means that conventional supplies of gas will be on hand for a long time to come. Economic viability remains the key wild card: no company will invest in the science and infrastructure needed to extract gas from hydrate if they can make more money finding and tapping conventional wells. And lastly, though burning natural gas is far cleaner than burning oil or coal, it does emit greenhouse gases. “If we get serious about climate change, we’ll have to look beyond carbon-based fuels, whether to solar, nuclear or something totally new. In that sense, we could be leaving all that hydrate untouched where it is," says David Victor, Director of Stanford's Program on Energy and Sustainable Development.
Still, knowing that it is technically feasible to unlock gas from hydrate means development of this resource is possible. And than means more choices about fueling the future.
Ot.. Similar to what key Capital was/is doing! I believe it is now called Accelerate.
http://www.pulsepower.com/features.htm
OT.bullowl 11 ..Thanks for the heads up on ACHI..took a small position at .165!!
Preamp..No insult taken,eom!
Preamp..I have never cried in my beer for making a profit! What makes you feel so strongly to voice the opinion that there may be more to show then the obvious? There has been nothing from this company for months, other stocks are up in the tech sector, it is hard to sit on the sidelines while your money is tied up in a non event!
Just sold more at ask .06, some one really wants my shares! Maybe I'll hold off selling any more and see what's up.( I bought these shares at .026 so the gain looks good short term)
I sold 20k today and 30k earlier this week, they were bought up immediately. Something strange is going on, why would someone buy this company at these prices with nothing in the works not even a functioning website, a disfunctional Ceo, litigation in the works and hundreds of shattered dreams. Maybe Peep is right, its all a CONSPIRACY!
Posted by: pegasus293
In reply to: peep22 who wrote msg# 4515
Date:11/5/2003 12:46:57 AM
Post #of 4957
I am reading these posts for some time now to get an idea about this company before I invest. I see you people post too many "wishes" and to many "if"s. I wonder if PWTC is in the "hope to get rich" land or a place in banana republic. I'll just wait a bit to see what is all these arguments about. The price of 2 cents a share is really cheap but then what? Which way PWTC is heading?
NOW, IF YOU HAD REALLY BOUGHT IN AT THESE PRICES, YOU WOULD BE UP 100%, NOT BAD FOR A THREE MONTH INVESTMENT. SO WHY NOT JUST CASH IN AND DISAPPEAR, BELIEVE ME, YOU WILL NOT BE MISSED!
OT...PRVH up 20% German market..Pre US market!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cq?d=v1&s=prvh.be+prvh.mu+prvh.f+prvh.ob
New Rule Effective on 20 Feb 04...
By Carol S. Remond
A Dow Jones Newswires Column
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Taking most market participants by surprise, the
National Association of Securities Dealers has drastically tightened one of
its rules governing short selling.
Known as affirmative determination, the NASD rule stipulates that brokers
and dealers engaged in a short sale transaction must make sure that shares
can be delivered by settlement time, three days later.
"We closed a loophole," said Steve Luparello, executive vice president of
Market Regulation at NASD.
Until now, non-NASD members, like specialists, option markets and foreign
brokers, weren't covered under the affirmative determination rule. That
means that non-NASD members didn't have to represent to the NASD broker
through which they conducted a short sale order that they would be able to
deliver the stock by settlement date.
A short seller typically borrows stock from a broker to sell it into the
market, betting that the share price will fall so that he can buy the stock
back at a lower price and pocket the difference.
The amended NASD affirmative determination rule, which was recently approved
by the Securities and Exchange Commission, will particularly affect short
sales conducted through foreign brokers, most specifically Canadian brokers
which have often been used by investors to sell short the stock of small
U.S. companies trading on the Over-the-counter Bulletin Board or OTCBB.
Because it's often impossible to borrow the shares of companies trading on
the OTCBB, investors and hedge funds looking to take negative bets on these
often-overvalued development-stage companies have traditionally been trading
through Canada where it's not required to borrow stock before selling it
short. The practice is known as naked shorting.
That trading avenue has now been effectively closed.
The new NASD rule doesn't cover Canadian brokers, since most are not members
of the association, instead it makes it the responsibility of U.S. brokers
trading with non-members to make sure that their counterparts will be able
to settle a transaction before completing a short sale.
"It's part of (a broker's) supervisory responsibilities," NASD's Luparello
said, adding that a non-member's previous failures to deliver should be a
good indication of whether or not it will in fact be able to complete the
transaction by the settlement date.
Market makers engaged in bone fide market making activities will continue to
be exempt from affirmative determination.
Luparello said that, unlike a parallel SEC initiative to tighten short
selling rules on the small-cap markets, the new NASD rules did not originate
from worries over mounting failures to deliver stock into the national
clearing system. But Luparello said the amended NASD rule fits nicely with
the new short selling regulations now under consideration by the SEC.
"I think it addresses a gap and (shows) that we, like the SEC, are looking
at a variety of things in this area," Luparello said.
The NASD proposal was first submitted to the SEC in November 2001, well
before alleged abuses of naked shorting became the focal point of a campaign
lead by some OTCBB companies in the U.S that say they have been victimized
by the practice.
While some investors argue that short sellers provide a needed service to
the markets, others have called for the complete abolition of short selling
because of the undue pressure its puts on the shares of companies.
While market participants in the U.S. and abroad are well aware of the new
short selling regulations being put forward by the SEC, known as Regulation
SHO, most said they knew nothing of the NASD's plan before it became final.
"It's taken us by surprise," said Richard Thomas, head of compliance at
Canadian brokerage firm Pacific International.
Although separate from it, the amended NASD rule fits tightly within the
SEC's SHO which is now under review by the SEC staff after a period during
which market participants were invited to comment on it.
As it stands, the new SEC short selling rules will make it easier to short
large-cap stocks since they would do away with the "uptick" rule, which bans
short selling on a stock when the price is falling.
But it when it comes to the small-cap markets, where it's often impossible
to borrow stock, the impact of SHO will be the opposite, making it harder to
short sale stock.
The new SEC rule sets a predetermined level of so-called clearing fails -
cases in which a broker or investor cannot deliver stock within two days
after settlement - which will trigger a 90-day blackout whereby the customer
will not be allowed to short sell that security. That 90-day exemption would
affect trading of U.S. securities in and outside the U.S.
The new NASD affirmative determination rule will take effect on Feb. 20.
OT.PRVH..Do your DD! Nuff said!
Only 500k volume and last .05, I can not remember when it was last at that price, seems like an eternity. Let's hope there is something of substance behind all the buying!
OT glhotdogs..Very insidious stuff, especially when you tie in the "Bakers Dozen" and the Saudis and Wahhabism and, and...... The tentacles are far reaching.
Again, WAY OUT OT..Peep..A little something for you.
Video games for conspiracy freaks[b/]
'Deus Ex' sequel, 'XIII' promise plenty of paranoia
ION Storm
REVIEW
By Tom Loftus
Columnist
MSNBC
Conspiracy-based video games, be they about shadowy multinationals, crooked weapons scientists or probe-wielding aliens (or all three combined), are plentiful, but successful versions less so. The art lies with weaving plot and game play in such a way that players are motivated to finish — not just for the sake of blasting away the bad guy (highly rewarding though that may be), but to discover "what really happened."
advertisement
With varying results, two games released late last year push enough conspiratorial plot lines to satisfy even the hardiest black chopper fanatic: "Deus Ex: Invisible War" chronicles the battle for world control in a post-apocalyptic future; "XIII" finds inspiration in a story line of missing identity and assassinations.
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Seattle after the apocalypse ain't all lattes and scenery. A shadowy international corporation maintains an iron grip on trade and security, turning the metro area into a maximum security office park. Conspiracy bubbles. Competing coffee houses plot terrorism. Millennial cults recruit disaffected denizens. Who to trust?
That "nothing is what it seems" forms the subtext for this genre-bending first-person-shooter/role-playing game that is a sequel to 2000's award-winning "Deus Ex." Conspiracy and political polemics are weaved into a gripping open-ended experience where your actions influence the game's conclusion to an extent rarely experienced in gaming.
The player assumes the role of Alex D., an apprentice training to protect businesses in the unstable year of 2072. After Chicago is leveled by terrorists in the chilling opening sequence, Alex D. must choose a side in an "Invisible War" pitting various ideologues against each other for world dominance.
As a futuristic corporate warrior of sorts, Alex D. combines weapons familiarity with an advanced physiology capable of handling nanotechnology -- "biomods" -- that enable such skills as stealth or the ability to hack into the circuitry of hostile robots.
But listening is Alex D.’s greatest power, indeed the driving force of game play. "Invisible War" is populated by hundreds of characters and the world that is painted through their dialogue makes "Invisible War" a compelling experience.
"Invisible War" touches upon a world rife with conspiracy, a world of multinational organizations of ill-defined powers and shadowy terrorist figures with whispered links to state rulers; a world of subtle shadings of gray. Sound familiar, news junkies?
Game info
'Deus Ex: Invisible War'
Platforms: PC, Xbox
Retail price: $49.99
Multiplayer: No
Rated: M (Mature)
'XIII'
Platforms: GameCube, PC, PS2, Xbox
Retail price: $49.99
Multiplayer: Yes
Rated: M (Mature)???????????????
Everyone is right, yet everyone is guilty.[b/] Throughout the course of the game, Alex will be offered missions like breaking into the apartments of the power elite, assassinating weapons scientists, or rifling through secret files. The missions Alex D. accepts shape how he (or she -- players can choose either gender and yes, the choice can affect certain situations) will interact with characters later in the game and what side Alex D. will take in the battle afflicting the planet.
It's not that simple. The main players in "Invisible War" emit mixed messages. In one scene Alex D. may be running away from The Order, hooded New Agers with guns. In the next, The Order may try to recruit Alex for a mission. The WTO, another organization vying for Alex D’s loyalty, maintain safe shopping mall-like urban enclaves, but its boast of making the planes run on time sounds eerily familiar.
As a first-person-shooter, the option to blast one's way through missions is always there. But combat in "Invisible War" is unchallenging for anyone with deep first-person-shooter experience. Indeed, it seems as if the game designers deliberately want players to attempt other means. Sneaking around potential enemies -- and eavesdropping on their plot-driving conversations -- can have big payoffs.
Unfortunately, the voice acting -- and there is a lot of it -- sounds stilted. One would think that the destruction of Chicago would warrant a little panic, but characters mutter like they're discussing car loans.
And yet players would be hard-pressed to let the voice acting stand in the way of a ripping conspiratorial yarn. For this reviewer, the hooks sunk in somewhere between discovering an excerpt of a treatise from 19th century political philosopher John Stuart Mill in the apartment of a terrorist-slash-coffee vendor and a conversation with an automatic weapons-bearing WTO security guard espousing free markets.
'Invisible War' boasts a number of endings. Alex could wind up as a member of a secret corporate ruling class or a "back-to-nature" terrorist. How he (or she) gets there depends on the choices you make. In a world of conspiracy, learning whom to trust isn’t easy.[b/]
XIII
This first-person-shooter grabbed attention at last year's E3 for its graphic novel-inspired animation, but its release just prior to the holiday flood of titles went virtually unnoticed.
You begin the game on a generic East Coast beach with no name, no weapons and no memory. The only identifiable mark: The numeral XIII tattooed on your chest. Several minutes into the game, some toughs do recognize you, but you're too busy dodging their bullets to ask for help.
Way OT..Some of you may be interested in this.
WWII Aerial Photo Archive to Go Online
LONDON - A huge British archive of World War II aerial reconnaissance photos, including pictures of the D-Day landings in Normandy, is to go on the Internet on Monday.
Slideshow: World War 2 Aerial Reconnaissance Photos Go Online
Under the digitalization project announced Saturday, some 5 million Royal Air Force photos of Western Europe will be available to the public on the Web site www.evidenceincamera.co.uk., archivists said. The site did not appear to be accessible on Saturday.
"These images allow us to see the real war at first hand — as if we are RAF pilots," said Allan Williams, head of the Aerial Reconnaissance Archives project at Keele University in north-central England.
The photos, a key source of intelligence for Allied commanders during the war, include American troops landing in Normandy on D-Day, the effects of the bombing of Cologne, Germany, and the German battleship Bismarck being hunted by the Royal Navy.
The pictures were transferred to Keele University in 1962 from the Allied Central Interpretation Unit, where wartime analysts studied the material collected by reconnaissance crews. The collection is the property of the national Public Records Office on permanent loan to the university.
Before the digitalization, using the photo archive had meant a manual search through thousands of boxes.
The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives, known as TARA, expects later to release of 2.5 million Luftwaffe German air force reconnaissance photographs of Eastern Europe seized by the Allies at the end of the war.
OT...RailPower says Canac buying 2 Green Goat locomotives for use in Texas
Fri Jan 16, 8:33 AM ET
VANCOUVER (CP) - RailPower Technologies Corp. says Canac Inc. of Montreal will use funding from the Texas emissions reduction program to buy two Green Goat hybrid locomotives from RailPower.
The emissions-reducing locomotives will be used for Canac's industrial operations in Harris County in the Houston area, replacing regular diesel engines, Vancouver-based RailPower (TSXV:P) said Friday.
The Texas funding, part of a $130-million-US annual program, covers most of the cost of locomotive conversions.
"Texas is very actively addressing mobile sources of noxious emissions with its TERP program," RailPower CEO Jim Maier said in a release. "We are very pleased to have two Canac locomotives qualify and anticipate additional applications from other users in coming months."
Canac CEO Frank Trotter said the conversion deal represents "a good value proposition" and the firm plans to switch more of its locomotives to hybrids.
RailPower's hybrid locomotives cut the output of nitrous oxide and particulates by 80 to 90 per cent while slashing diesel fuel use by 50 to 80 per cent.
Petross
If you all could be so kind and enlighten the the board with YOUR OPINION, and answer these questions:
Questions:
1) Who OWNS PWTC?
2) If AS wins the trial, does he own PWTC and there everyday business?
3) Do you really think AS (if he wins the battery/patent/ownership) will make a go of PWTC, or go to a larger, more developed company......
4) Do you really think all will be proven and determined in one day in court?
5)Do you honestly believe there a hope for this comany? With LB and or AS at the helm? if so, why?
Try.... www.powertechnologyonline.com
I had sent an email to Mr. Balak this morning only to have it returned because his mail box was full. Guess I am not the only one sending him mail or he is not responding to them and they are just piling up in his mailbox. I will send again later.
Ot..If only we had the batteries!
GVEA's giant battery online for new year
By KYLE HOPKINS, Staff Writer
The day before Fairbanks chidren popped double-A Duracells into their freshly unwrapped remote-control cars and giant foam Hulk hands, Golden Valley Electric Association got a chance to use its own new Christmas battery.
Not that anyone noticed.
The goal of GVEA's Battery Energy Storage System, after all, is to keep the electric cooperative's members blissfully unaware of blackouts that would otherwise temporarily cut power in parts of the region.
Over the past two months, the $35 million BESS has quietly proven itself, GVEA officials say, and is now fully operational.
The battery system, located near Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.'s office in Fairbanks, is designed to keep power flowing to Interior homes and businesses when generators outside the region fail. It was used to thwart outages twice in November, then tested this month at its capacity.
OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS SECTION
1/16/2004
- Letter presses pressure points
- Rail talk picks up steam
The BESS is guaranteed to produce 27 megawatts over 15 minutes. During the testing, it produced 27 megawatts for 24 minutes and 46 megawatts for five minutes.
"No other battery energy storage system in the world had done that before," said Tim DeVries, GVEA manager of engineering services.
Most recently, at about 4:45 a.m. on Christmas Eve, the flow of power from Anchorage to Fairbanks faltered for eight minutes.
BESS provided 5 megawatts of power. That's only a fraction of the 141 megawatts of power Fairbanks used at the time, but it kept 2,000 to 3,000 GVEA members from losing electricity, DeVries said.
While the early December test runs were simply to make sure the BESS was ready, the two November outages and the one on Christmas Eve would have temporarily left a total of 12,000 Golden Valley members without electricity if not for the battery, according to GVEA.
The BESS is billed as the world's largest battery storage system. Golden Valley had hired ABB Switzerland, a power and automation technology company, to produce it based partly on ideas developed by ABB and the U.S. Office of Naval Research.
The large battery room, power converter room and other portions of the facility are mostly unmanned. The project is designed to run automatically, charging the batteries when needed and siphoning their power when it's time to prevent an outage.
This month, a power industry trade magazine, Platts Energy Business & Technology, awarded ABB its "Energy Engineering Project of the Year" award for the system.
"In an area where home water pipes would freeze in about two hours if the power supply failed, a reliable source of electric energy is essential. The BESS stabilizes the local grid and reduces the number of outages for Golden Valley's customers by 65 percent," said Jack Dwyer, ABB Power Technologies' senior vice president, according to a recent news release.
That's 65 percent of "power supply outages," meaning outages caused when transmission lines from Anchorage go down or generators outside the Interior fail, but not outages due to heavy snowfall, high winds or power lines knocking together around the city.
ABB officials say the battery system is bigger than a soccer field and has been submitted for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The BESS became commercially available to offer power to Fairbanks in September. It was tested by an outage in October, which showed GVEA they needed to request changes to the BESS's operating system, DeVries said.
Those changes have since been made. Golden Valley's contract with ABB requires the company to guarantee the battery system will be available 95 percent of the time for 18 consecutive months.
The system is made up of four "strings," each with 3,440 of the 160-pound batteries, which look like a cross between a car battery and a Tupperware suitcase.
There's room for GVEA to add two more strings of batteries in the future, if the mothballed Healy Clean Coal Project--an experimental power plant--goes back into use.
OT...MicroStrain Inc., a Williston, Vt.- based producer of wireless sensing instruments, including microprocessor-based, multichannel, programmable transmitters, has a vision. The researchers there are looking at new ways of extracting energy from the environment and converting it into power for sensing devices.
In fact, to dramatically increase the life span of wireless sensors, engineers at MicroStrain are exploring unique methods to harvest energy from the environment to power directly wireless sensors without using the conventional batteries or traditional wired source. In turn, this will create self-powered wireless sensing networks that can eliminate the tedious task of replacing conventional batteries, while giving them infinite life span.
Although sunlight, heat, wind, water and other natural sources have been tapped for generations, the engineers at MicroStrain are investigating mechanical strain as a new source of energy. Perhaps no other material is better suited for this application than the piezoelectric material whose properties are well known.
Toward that goal, the U.S. Navy has awarded MicroStrain a $700,000 research and development grant. Under this two-year program, a new class of wireless sensors will rely on harvesting strain and vibration energies from their working environment to sense information and to wirelessly transmit that information to a central host.
This breakthrough will not only reduce the cost of sensor applications by reducing costly wiring and replacement of batteries, but it will also expand the types of applications where sensors can be deployed, according to the developer.
Phase I of this program will realize improvements in efficiency of the piezoelectric energy harvesting circuit, and development of mathematical models to facilitate piezoelectric energy harvesting from a straining structure and vibratory environment. Phase II will focus onintegration with Navy infrastructure for shipboard network communications.
Meanwhile, efforts on a commercial version are also underway. The developer hopes to ready a feasible commercial part within 18 months.
In this scheme, strain energy is stored by rectifying piezoelectric fiber output into a capacitor bank. When the capacitor voltage reaches a preset threshold, power is transferred to an integrated wireless sensor.
OT..Are Fuel Cells Really That Efficient?
By Ulf Bossel
Ulf Bossel's latest technical assault on the assumptions underlying the science of the 'Hydrogren Economy'
Ulf Bossel is at it again as he takes a critical look at the real 'well-to-wheel' efficiency of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
We are told that one of the major advantages of fuel cell-powered vehicles is their greater efficiency. Whereas a conventional gasoline internal combustion engine has a maximum Carnot efficiency of less than 25%, a fuel cell engine has a potential efficiency better than 30% and possibly higher. But could these calculations be based on an incorrect analysis, sort of comparing the proverbial apples to oranges?
Dr. Ulf Bossel believes so and in his recently-published four-page technical paper entitled, "Efficiency of Hydrogen Fuel Cell, Diesel-SOFC-Hybrid and Battery Electric Vehicles, he sets out to prove his case by first taking a closer look at the amount of energy it takes to make hydrogen. He argues that in order to compare the relative efficiency of hydrogen compared to other energy carrier options, including a synthetic diesel fuel (biodiesel), scientists need to base their calculations on the Higher Heating Value or HHV of all energy carriers. The use of the hydrogen's Lower Heating Value, he writes, violates the laws of physics.
"The widespread use of the Lower Heating Value LHV may be a convenient convention, but it is not supported by physics," Bossel contents."In fact, the use of the Lower Heating Value for hydrogen produced by electrolysis (and other means) violates the energy conservation principle."
By the Swiss-based scientist's calculation, a PEM fuel cell typically used in prototype fuel cell cars is, at best, 22% efficient if the hydrogen is compressed and only 17%, if its liquified. By contrast, a hypothetical diesel hybrid similar to the new Mercedes-Benz F-500 concept vehicle pictured above has a well-to-wheel efficiency of 25%. And when he looks at the efficiency of battery electric cars, he comes up with a power plant-to-wheel efficiency of 66% when regenerative braking is included.
From his perspective, battery electric cars make the most sense for local commuting, while biodiesel-fueled hybrid-electric drives make the most sense for the family vehicle if maximum energy efficiency and cutting greenhouse gas emissions are the two top priorities.
He concludes, "Statements claiming hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to be the one-and-only or the best solutions for the future transportation applications certainly need further validation."
Congrats, Trainz, enjoy your time with your new grandchild!
NOW, IF WE HAD DONE THIS WITH OUR BATTERY!
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http://www.europositron.net/
We introduce an invention which propably will be new "Nokia" for Finland. One scientist even dared to say that this invention is worth of Nobel prize. Rainer Partanen's invention represents new application of nanoscale electrochemistry opening a new window to this almost unknown branch of science. !!! Our collaboration- and investpartner in England has accepted our offer and subscribed shares worth of 2M USD. !!!
What? Why? When?
Europositron
Revolutionising battery industry and supplying adequate source of power for electric vehicles.
Read more in "Background" Battery industry
The new, patented technology based on nanoscale electrochemistry will allow production of rechargeable aluminium batteries providing up to 20 times more power than current batteries. The materials are environmentally safe and fully recycleable.
Read more in "Techniques" Boost to electric vehicles
Electric car of General Motors, EV 1 uses 736kg batteries giving max. range 145 km without recharge. A battery of 60 kg made with Europositron technology allows EV 1 max. range 870 km without recharge.
Prototypes
Europositron will build two ready for production prototypes of aluminium batteries: A 12 V start battery for cars, power capacity 1,3 kWh, and battery for electric vehicles, power capacity 80 kWh.
Read more in "The manufacture of the prototypes" Timeline
Prototypes --> Final proof of concept --> Future battery. Read more in "Schedule of proceedings" The Offer
To finance the production of the prototypes and to expand the patent Europositron offers to suitable partner 10 % of the company for USD 2 Millions through special issue of the shares.
Read more in Special issue of the shares"
Logman..We all hope you are right, even though I am sitting with 200k shares, I refuse to spend my time playing...HE SAYS..SHE SAYS!
Tax Incentives: SUV Loophole Widens, Clean Vehicle Credits Face Uncertain Future
SUV tax loophole widens
A 1997 provision in the U.S. tax code (Section 179) provided small businesses with a tax write-off of up to $25,000 for a vehicle weighing more than 6,000 pounds. The original intent behind this provision was to encourage investments in pickup trucks, minivans, and other needed service vehicles. A far smaller incentive was provided for cars—less than $7,000 over two years.
The explosion of SUV, pickup, and minivan sales in America’s passenger vehicle fleet has turned this small business benefit into a massive loophole in the tax law. Currently, 38 different passenger SUVs including the Lincoln Navigator, which nets a combined 15 miles per gallon according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Cadillac Escalade (16 mpg), the BMW X5 (18 mpg), the Mercedes-Benz ML55 (16 mpg), and the notorious Hummer H2 (11 mpg) all weigh more than 6,000 pounds. This loophole allows some of the most fuel-inefficient passenger vehicles on the road today to qualify for a significant tax break.
In 2003, lawmakers expanded the tax deduction to a whopping $100,000 as part of the $350 million tax cut package. Yet Congress did not change the weight-based classification of the vehicles, creating a huge benefit for the largest, least efficient vehicles. With the current top business tax rate at 35 percent, this incentive program effectively cuts $18,900 off the price of a $54,000 Escalade.
Accountants, SUV dealers rush to capitalize
Around the country, auto dealers such as "the Car Guy" Jerry Reynolds in Texas and hundreds of accountants and online tax management sites are encouraging small business owners such as doctors, lawyers, and realtors to rush out and take advantage of this tax windfall. One advertisement from Dugan & Lopatka, an accounting firm in Wheaton, IL, reads, "Write-Off 100% of Your New SUV? Yes, If It’s Under 100,000!"
According to a November 7, 2003, article in the Washington Post, Dugan & Lopatka were so inundated with phone calls regarding their advertisement they nearly had to shut down their switchboard. Industry analysts expect a noticeable spike in purchases in November and December due to the typical year-end rush to claim the deduction for 2003 tax returns.
Senators push for closure of loophole
The Senate Finance Committee staff actually proposed fixing the loophole in a little-noticed provision in a corporate tax bill. This provision raised the weight limit to 14,000 pounds, enough to disqualify even the Hummer. However, this important language adjustment looks unlikely to become law, as the House Ways and Means Committee has yet to even consider a companion bill.
Bills introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA) would take a different approach to closing the SUV tax loophole. In The SUV Business Tax Loophole Closure Act, they propose that SUVs weighing 6,000 pounds or more simply be reclassified as cars under the tax code. This would balance the incentives so that small businesses aren’t encouraged to purchase a large truck simply to take advantage of a huge tax deduction. Unfortunately, Senator Boxer’s opportunity to offer her language as an amendment to the so-called "stimulus package" was lost in the late-night rush to pass that sweeping tax cut bill.
Hybrid vehicle credits are phasing out, CLEAR Act attempts to improve them
In May 2002, the IRS declared gasoline/electric hybrids eligible for tax deductions as "clean fuel" vehicles under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (PL 103-486). The current deduction ceiling is $2,000, but the tax deduction is set to end in 2006, with $500 less available each year as the deduction is phased out.
UCS has been working with a bipartisan group of senators and representatives to develop a comprehensive package of tax credits for the purchase of a full range of alternative-fuel and advanced-technology vehicles. This package was introduced by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) as the CLEAR Act in March 2003. Improving on current tax law, these incentives are designed to be performance-based, ensuring that credits go to vehicles that get significant fuel economy and low tailpipe emissions. The CLEAR Act passed the Senate Finance Committee with strong environmental provisions intact, but unfortunately, the House dramatically weakened the bill by removing the hybrid tax credit and replacing it with a credit for diesel vehicles. The final version of the federal energy legislation is likely to contain some form of these tax incentives. UCS will continue to push for performance-based tax credits that will help make the cleanest vehicles more affordable.
Bigger Breaks
Prius vs. Hummer Toyota Prius Hummer H1
Base Price $20,500 $102,581
Deductions
Capital equipment 0 100,000
Post-Setember 11 bonus 4,600 744.30
Base first-year depreciation 3,060 367.34
Clean fuel vehicle deduction 2,000 0
Total first year deductions $9,660 $101,111.64
Bad tax breaks are a fiscal waste and send the wrong environmental message
The Senate Finance Committee estimated that raising the weight threshold for the small business tax deduction from 6,000 pounds to 14,000 pounds would save the U.S. taxpayer $1.3 billion over 10 years. Given the pressing environmental and oil security issues America currently faces, wasting that money on incentives for vehicles that contribute to both problems simply does not make sense. Correcting that loophole and investing instead in bringing more advanced, economical, and environmentally friendly vehicles to market would be a far wiser.
Energy and Security
As the nation assesses its vulnerability to a range of outside threats, Congress and the administration are considering steps to develop a more secure energy future.
Problem: Dependence on Oil
US dependence on oil, particularly foreign oil, carries significant economic and political risks. We import 10 million barrels of oil and petroleum products each day-more than half our daily needs. To do so, we send roughly $200,000 each minute overseas to buy oil, contributing significantly to the US trade deficit. Furthermore, the nations dominating the world oil market are located in historically unstable regions of the world, creating complex and delicate relationships for US foreign policy.
False Security: Domestic Drilling
One proposed solution is to increase domestic oil supply. But domestic drilling and refining will have a negligible effect on the world oil market. Even if we opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling today, the first drop of oil would not reach US markets for 7 to 12 years. At its peak, Arctic Refuge production would yield only enough oil to meet the needs of US transportation for 9 days.
A Better Solution: Fuel Economy
Two-thirds of the oil used in the United States goes for transportation. Passenger vehicles alone account for 40 percent of oil use, partly because the fuel economy of new cars and trucks is at a two-decade low.
Fortunately, off-the-shelf technologies can affordably and safely boost fuel economy by nearly 75 percent. By 2012, the average new vehicle could be getting 40 miles per gallon. In just 10 years, fuel economy could save more oil than all of the oil we'd ever be able to pump from the Arctic Refuge.
Moreover, because fuel-efficient cars cost less at the pump, the average driver will save more than $2,000 over the lifetime of the car. Burning less fuel also means relief from refinery pollution and reduced global warming emissions.
Industry and homes are also significant oil consumers. By 2020, energy efficiency improvements in industries and homes could save 25 percent more oil than is econo-mically recoverable from the Arctic Refuge over 60 years.
Problem: A Vulnerable Power Infrastructure Much of the US energy system presents significant safety and security risks. Facilities recently put on heightened security alert include nuclear power plants, hydropower dams, pipelines, refineries, tankers, and the electricity transmission grid. The risks are obvious: A major accident at a nuclear plant could kill tens of thousands and contaminate an area the size of Pennsylvania. Reactor containments were not built to withstand the impact of a commercial jet. Rupturing the hold of a tanker containing liquefied natural gas could send flames over several miles.
False Security: More of the Same Clearly we cannot change our energy system overnight, so in the near term we must find ways of improving security at such facilities. But we can avoid adding to the problem. The administration's National Energy Policy and a recent House energy bill would add 1,300 to 1,900 new power plants (at the 300 megawatt size), including new nuclear plants. In addition, they call for 301,000 miles of new gas transmission and distribution pipelines and 7,000 miles of new electricity transmission lines.
Better Solutions: Efficiency and Renewable Generation The quickest, least expensive solution is to ramp up energy efficiency. Higher appliance standards, stricter building codes, and tax incentives could rapidly shrink the amount of electricity we need.
Renewable energy would go even further toward improving the reliability and resilience of the electricity system. Wind farms and solar arrays carry none of the vulnerability of nuclear or fossil fuel plants. They are small and geographically dispersed, making them difficult to target. Moreover, they have no fuel supply that can be disrupted or volatile fuel stocks that can burn.
Expanding energy efficiency and increasing renewable energy to 20 percent of the total energy supply would reduce natural gas use by 31 percent compared to business as usual projections. We would eliminate the need for 975 new power plants of 300 megawatts each, as well as avoiding many miles of new gas pipelines and power lines. We could retire 14 existing nuclear power plants of 1,000 megawatts each and reduce coal generation by 60 percent, closing 180 coal plants of 500 megawatts each.
Consumers and the environment would also gain. Net consumer savings would total nearly $105 billion per year by 2020, $350 per year for the typical family. Carbon dioxide emissions from power plants would decrease by two-thirds compared to business as usual. Emissions of sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain, and of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to smog, would both drop by 55 percent.
True Energy Security A strong policy to improve US energy security must pursue reducing demand: for oil, for gas, for electricity. The technologies to do so are at hand. The steps are clear:
* Raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that govern automobile fuel efficiency
* Strengthen energy efficiency standards for appliances, buildings, and industry; and increase funding for state and utility efficiency programs
* Adopt a renewable portfolio standard requiring 20 percent renewables nationwide by 2020
Our nation can achieve greatly improved energy security if we add the political will.
U.S. Seen Adding Up To Eight LNG Ports
Source: Reuters
[Jan 08, 2004]
Each terminal would cost $1 Billion US, each tanker $170 million
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Up to eight liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals aimed at meeting rising U.S. energy needs are likely to be built in North America this decade, requiring billions of dollars in investments in all parts of the LNG sector, energy analysts said on Wednesday.
"There will be a need to build between six and eight terminals based on current supply and demand forecasts," said Fisoye Delano, a senior researcher at the University of Houston's Institute for Energy, Law, and Enterprise.
Delano made his comments -- roughly in line with estimates by the U.S. Department of Energy -- on the sidelines of an energy conference sponsored by Louisiana-based energy investment firm Pritchard Capital Partners LLC.
Delano also agreed with other industry estimates that LNG investments of $100 billion will be needed this decade to build terminals aimed at a U.S. market short on supplies and anxious to import more gas from Russia, the Middle East, West Africa and South America.
About 30 LNG terminals have been proposed in North America to close a widening gap between increased demand to fuel U.S. power plants lagging gas production from aging gas fields. There are currently just four U.S. LNG terminals in operation.
The growing mismatch between supply and demand has led to sharply higher U.S. gas prices that has made LNG economically viable -- after being nearly abandoned two decades ago because of high costs and low gas prices.
LNG now makes up about 2 percent of U.S. gas use, but some analysts believe it could rise to 20 percent by 2020.
BIG INVESTMENT
LNG, flammable super-cooled natural gas put into liquid form, is packed into giant tankers that deliver it to terminals where LNG is regasified and put into pipelines for delivery to power plants and industrial sites.
LNG has become a centerpiece of several recent energy conferences as policy makers and companies seek to boost public interest and investment.
The two-day conference started Wednesday in San Francisco attracted many investors and companies to examine the four big parts of an LNG chain that can cost up to $5 billion.
The chain includes developing gas reserves, building both the liquefaction facility in the export country and the regasification terminal in the consuming country and building the tankers needed to deliver LNG.
An LNG terminal alone can cost up to $1 billion, while tankers can fetch around $170 million.
None of the proposed North American terminals the past two years would provide gas to U.S. markets until 2005-07.
RISKS
But a growing pool of investors, better-armed today with capital following the economic downturn the past few years, are sizing up the risks of LNG projects, like whether U.S. gas prices will remain high enough long-term to keep LNG viable.
Current U.S. gas prices trade near $7 per million British thermal units. But it remains to be seen whether U.S. gas prices a decade from now will be trading at the $3.00 to $3.50 per mmBtu level required for a profit on LNG projects.
"No one can underestimate demand destruction," Charif Souki, chairman of Houston-based Cheniere_(AMEX:LNG - News), told investors, referring to a slump in demand whenever prices run too high.
Cheniere has proposed a handful of LNG projects in Texas and Louisiana.
High U.S. gas prices helped destroy gas demand from big gas users, helping drive U.S. gas prices lower and make LNG uncompetitive in the early 1980s. It took the U.S. gas industry nearly 20 years to recapture that demand, he said.
Some environmentalists and public advocates are also concerned about LNG safety, believing LNG terminals and tankers could be easy targets for an attack.
Such worries derailed a planned LNG facility near San Francisco a year ago, although LNG proponents point to a safety record that includes 33,000 LNG tanker trips over a 40-year period without a big accident.
Le Monde / China and the Dollar
Le Monde / Editorial
Wednesday 07 January 2004
The continuous decline of the dollar (20% with respect to the Euro in 2003) does not come from a transatlantic commercial battle. It’s not only a matter- perhaps tomorrow a disagreement- between the United States and the European Union. It is certainly part of the arsenal the Bush government is deploying to revive the American economy: doping exports so as to redress an ever more deficient commercial balance. However, the dollar’s decline demonstrates a still deeper phenomenon: the ever tighter interdependence, both economic and financial, between the United States and China. Were it to be confirmed, it would be a major strategic upheaval.
The United States is poised to become the biggest debtor country in the world. Practicing a rather off-hand budgetary policy- tax reduction, increase in government spending-, President George W. Bush has deepened American deficits (as no European Social-Democrat would any more dare to do). At the other end of the chain, someone pays- by purchasing Treasury Bills and Bonds, although today they aren’t particularly remunerative, because confidence in the American economy is such that the “bonds” still appear to be a good investment. Yesterday, the creditors were first the Japanese, then, marginally, the Saudis and the Europeans. Today, they’re the Chinese. In other words, the country, China, which the Bush administration described as a “strategic adversary” less than three years ago, is about to become America’s principal financier…
It’s a question of “fair’s fair”. The Chinese will record a surplus of some 100 billion dollars in their commercial balance with the United States. “The biggest factory in the world” supplies the American consumer, who, happily for the world economy, now less than ever, worries about going into debt. Wanting to preserve its market, it’s logical that China should discharge part of United States’ debts; it would have more to lose- gigantic social problems- than those other countries should America close its borders.
China takes the position held by Japan- also carrying a large trade surplus with the United States- during the 1980s. However, as the Director of the Foundation for Strategic Research, François Heisbourg, notes in the New York Times, American-Japanese relations are not Sino-American relations. There is a difference of scale: Japan is the United States’ strategic ally in Asia; China is-or was- considered by Washington as a “strategic adversary”, determined to reduce American influence in the region. It’s difficult to imagine Tokyo exercising political blackmail against Washington. But Beijing? The Bush administration has already adopted a tone that better suits China vis-à-vis Taiwan. And what if the real upheaval of the moment were not the value of the dollar, but the new value of the Sino-American relationship?
UK's GoingGreen Offers G-Wiz EV for Sale or Lease
Source: Auto Industry
[Jan 08, 2004]
Claims Indian-built vehicle has UK's lowest running cost
Claiming energy consumption 75% less than the average internal combustion engine, the G-Wiz is "the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient car available to lease or purchase anywhere in Britain", according to its Leeds-based importer/retailer GoingGreen.
GoingGreen says it 'carbon balances' even the manufacture, shipping and first two years' driving of each G-Wiz leased/sold via its contributions to Climate Care.
Initially offered from last year only via a leasing programme, the G-Wiz is now available to buy for £9,999 or at £7,999 for a 3-year lease. Its 1p per mile electricity usage is said to produce a running cost of £80 per year for 8,000 miles. The electric city car enjoys exemption from road tax, the lowest insurance group (1), the lowest rate of company car tax (9%) and 100% write-down allowances for businesses - which factors together are claimed to make the G-Wiz the cheapest car to run in Britain - though no depreciation costs are projected in these figures.
The G-Wiz is exempt from the congestion charge, can be parked for free on meters and in display bays and, for an annual administrative charge, for free in 26 London car parks, some of which provide free re-charge facilities. Such benefits are claimed to save London drivers over £500 per month compared to conventional car ownership.
The G-Wiz has a range of up to 40 miles and a 40 mph top speed. Although small, it can accommodate more than one driver and one passenger.
Charge time from a standard 13 amp socket is 2.5 hours for 80% of the range and 6 hours for the full 40 miles.
The G-Wiz, built in India to a design developed in California, is constructed around a tubular steel space frame with dent-proof ABS body panels.
Standard features include a 3 year/24,000 mile warranty, two tone leather seats with matching leather interior panels, a Blaupunkt CD/radio, metallic paint, an immobiliser and central locking and a remote pre-heating facility, which enables drivers to warm the car's interior before getting inside.
Indonesian Electric Car Is Going Places
Source: ChannelNewsAsia.Com
[Jan 08, 2004]
Battery-powered Marlip has top speed of 40mph and can cary eight passengers
JAKARTA : Locally-made electric cars could soon ply the streets of Indonesia.
The Marlip is a made-in-Indonesia electric car; almost 90 percent of its spare-parts are locally produced.
It was invented by local engineers from the Indonesian Science Agency who used a wide range of products from fibre glass to even coconut and rice by-products.
It costs about US$5,000 to build the car, which is pollution-free as it does not emit any harmful gas.
It also moves about quite silently, thanks to a battery which can last for at least eight hours nonstop.
So far, the only down side to the car is that it takes 10 hours to charge the battery.
The Marlip, which can run as fast as 40 km per hour, can take up to eight passengers.
Production of the car began in 1998 and four years later, the car is introduced to the public.
For now, the car can only be used in hospitals, golf courses, airports and hotel resorts.
But its inventors say with more research, the Marlip can certainly go places. - CNA
US Oil Imports Hit Record 63% in 2003
Source: Reuters
[Jan 07, 2004]
Crude imports also set a new high in 2003 in number of barrels at 9.6 million barrels per day
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States imported a record 63 percent of its oil from foreign sources in 2003, government figures showed Wednesday, and oil analysts said that dependence is likely to rise in the new year.
Crude imports accounted for 62.9 percent of oil run through U.S. refineries, up from the previous record of 61.7 percent in 2001 and from last year's 61.2 percent, the Department of Energy said.
Twenty years ago, foreign crude accounted for only 28 percent of oil used by the United States, the world's biggest consumer -- then and now.
"Our domestic production has been going down in recent years or has stayed relatively flat, but we're running more and more through the refineries every year," said Doug MacIntyre, analyst with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA is the statistical arm of the energy department.
"So, where is that crude going to come from? We have to get that from imports," MacIntire said.
Crude imports also set a new high in 2003 in number of barrels at 9.6 million barrels per day (bpd). The amount of crude refined in the United States was also a record at 15.3 million barrels daily, the EIA said.
"Crude imports are going to continue to rise," said George Beranek, oil analyst with the Petroleum Finance Co. based in Washington. "It's just the inevitable result of increasing U.S. oil demand with flat to decreasing domestic supplies."
Sen. Charles Schumer, Democrat from New York, said, "If we don't take measures to stem our reliance on foreign oil, we're going to pay an awful price down the road."
If there were aggressive efforts to increase domestic crude production, if demand stays high, there is little chance of lessening dependence on foreign crude, Beranek said.
He said drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is not a viable near-term solution to this dependence.
"ANWR is going nowhere anyway," Beranek said, referring to the U.S. Senate quagmire on allowing drilling in ANWR. "Even if it were opened for drilling tomorrow, it wouldn't be producing oil for five years."
The United States just after World War II controlled about 60 percent of the world's proved oil reserves. In terms of production, the United States is still the third-largest in the world behind only Saudi Arabia and Russia, according to the BP annual review of petroleum statistics.
But U.S. demand for oil is about a fourth of the world's total daily production of about 78 million bpd.
The volume of crude imports rose 500,000 bpd in 2003, the EIA said, even as the price of benchmark crude in the United States averaged $31, up 19 percent from a year ago. This is the highest average annual U.S. price for crude since 1982, according to data complied by BP in its annual statistical review.
Instability in Iraq, Venezuela and Nigeria helped boost prices, energy experts said.
"Ultimately, more imports will be needed in 2004 to bring inventories back to levels high enough to relieve some of the price pressures experienced in 2003," the U.S. Department of Energy said in a report.
The biggest importer of crude to the United States, according to the most recent Energy Department data, was Saudi Arabia at an average of 1.76 million bpd.
The next three leading importers were from the Western Hemisphere -- Mexico at 1.57 million bpd, Canada at 1.53 million bpd, and Venezuela at 1.16 million bpd.
The same four nations led in importing crude to the United States in 2002, in order, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Canada and Venezuela.
Mercedes-Benz F-Cell Makes Fuel Cell Power a Reality
Source: TMCNet.com
[Jan 08, 2004]
DamilerChrysler F-Cell fuel cell on display at L.A. Auto Show
Mercedes-Benz is displaying the latest DaimlerChrysler fuel cell vehicle at the L.A. Auto Show, January 4-11 in the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class model currently sold abroad, the "F-Cell" fuel cell vehicle is fueled by compressed hydrogen. UPS, along with other corporate and municipal customers, will lease a significant number of "F-Cell" test cars in the U.S. over the coming year.
During 2004, the F-Cell fleet in the U.S. will expand gradually in three areas -- Detroit, MI; Sacramento, CA and Los Angeles. DaimlerChrysler has emissions testing facilities near L.A. and Detroit, and the California Fuel Cell Partnership is based in Sacramento. The Partnership brings together the auto industry, government and oil companies in an effort to develop fuel-cell technology and address the infrastructure issue.
What's A Fuel Cell?
Fuel-cell cars are electric vehicles that make their own electric power on board instead of relying on batteries. Fuel cells are considered the cleanest and most promising propulsion system for the future. In 1994, Mercedes-Benz became the first car company to debut a fuel cell vehicle, and last year its NECAR 5 became the first fuel-cell car to successfully complete a coast-to-coast trip from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.
In a fuel cell, hydrogen gas flows along one side of a special membrane, and air flows along the other side. The PEM (for proton exchange membrane) allows hydrogen and oxygen to combine without combustion, creating electric current instead of producing high heat. Fuel cells are significantly more efficient than combustion engines, and most important, the only exhaust produced is water.
The Mercedes-Benz F-Cell fleet represents a next step in the production of zero-emission vehicles. The hydrogen-powered F-Cell cars are being built in conventional manufacturing facilities and will be tested by corporate and municipal customers for feedback in "everyday-use" situations.
While the development of automotive fuel cells has made enormous progress in the past few years, some major challenges still remain. The cost of fuel- cell vehicles must be reduced to compete with conventional engine technology, while the production of hydrogen fuel and development of a refueling infrastructure needs to be established and standardized.
"Fuel cell technology gives us the opportunity to bring mobility together with environmental compatibility and make a major contribution to society," says Professor Juergen Hubbert, DaimlerChrysler AG board member in charge of the Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart passenger car division. "To enable the fuel cell to go on the market in the foreseeable future, most importantly the fuel and infrastructure issues must be clarified in a worldwide initiative, jointly with the political community, the mineral oil industry and the energy sector. Development engineers, too, still face numerous challenges, referring mainly to the further reduction of weight and cost as well as the improvement of reliability and durability. In this field, manufacturers should cooperate more intensively so as to promote the breakthrough of this key technology."
Sandwich Floor Hides A Fuel Cell Stack
In the F-Cell, the entire fuel-cell system is housed between the bi-level "sandwich" floors of the A-Class, a compact Mercedes-Benz model not yet sold in the U.S. As a result, all the cargo- and people-carrying features of the surprisingly spacious five-passenger car are preserved. The fuel cell -- actually a stack of PEM membranes -- is supplied by tanks of hydrogen that are compressed to around 5000 pounds per square inch. Its electric motor produces 65 kilowatts, which translates to about 155 ft.-lb. of torque and 87 horsepower.
Since the debut of the first NECAR vehicle in 1994, DaimlerChrysler AG has developed more than 20 concept vehicles utilizing fuel cell technology. Each time, the size and weight of the system was reduced, while its power, efficiency and performance were improved. About 30 fuel-cell Citaro buses are already serving ten European cities, and 60 Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell vehicles will be on the road by the end of 2004.