Toronto media covering demonstrations outside Maple Leaf Gardens last Saturday focussed on a large one staged by teachers, but several who attended an earlier one against wind turbines describe it as a huge success.
For one, Lorrie Gillis of Grey Highlands, who chairs the area Ontario Wind Resistance group, said there has been a lot of positive feedback since the event. She says the two protests complemented each other and many from each group participated in both gatherings outside the scene of the Ontario Liberal leadership convention.
Sherri Lange of North America Platform Against Windpower (NAPAW) said “a couple” of Toronto schools have asked to have representatives of the anti-turbine groups to speak to their students.
It isn’t known how much, if any, effect the estimated 20,000-30,000 in the combined rallies will have had on newly elected Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne. Her victory statement was to the effect that her government would act in a spirit of co-operation rather than confrontation with the opposition parties, and also that the Liberals would build on outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty’s programs.
That might be a tough row to hoe. Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak has vowed to scrap the Green Energy Act, and to place less reliance on wind. NDP leader Andrea Horwath is likely to be in agreement with the teachers’ arguments against Bill 115.
Some are predicting an early election despite Ms. Wynne’s aversion to one, and despite her popularity among elected members of all political stripes. There’s even speculation that Ms. Horwath’s NDP would win an early election.
NAPAW organized the anti-turbine rally. In their quest for protesters, they took a cue from a childhood rhyme and called it a massive “Pants on Fire protest.” Their poster and web posting called for the resignation of Dr. Arlene King as the provincial medical officer of health, and a public inquiry into her findings on wind turbines’ health effects.
Also just ahead of the rallies, NextEra Energy, had removed or relocated a bald eagle’s nest at Fisherville in Haldimand County on Dec. 31. NAPAW said the move was done with the required but fast-tracked permission of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) over the advice of “the chief monitor of the bald eagle nesting program in southern Ontario, who told the MNR that the nest should be left alone and the turbines relocated elsewhere, and leaving no opportunity for objection from anyone else.”
As a symbol of concerns for the various endangered species that might be affected by turbines, the Watermann family of Norfolk County had brought along their adopted bald eagle, which they named Huxa when they acquired him from a Manitoba sanctuary several years ago.
Huxa became an immediate hit at the rally as a sort of silent protester. He had been invited as a special participant of sorts by NAPAW and Ontario Windpower Resistance, who supplied the Citizen with a photo.
Meantime, on the other side of the bald eagle story, Jutta Splettstoesser of Friends of Wind Ontario says the nest removed by NextEra was a “fall nest” that had never been used.
“In the news it was left out that the fall nest was incomplete and never used yet. It will be replaced by five platforms that are successfully used, according to studies. Also eagle monitoring programs are being put in place by the developer,” she said in an email.
2013年1月31日 星期四
2013年1月30日 星期三
Surprising tools of gunmaking
Amateur gunsmiths have made lower receivers for years, in metal, although the process requires a certain level of machining expertise. Inexpensive 3-D printers have grown in popularity — their rise has been compared with that of personal computers in the 1980s — in part because they are easy to use. It is not even necessary to know how to create the design files that instruct the device to print bit after bit of plastic to build the object, as there are files for tens of thousands of objects available on the Internet, created by other users and freely shared.
Still, some tinkering is usually required. Guslick, who works in information technology and describes himself as a hobbyist gunsmith, printed his receiver on a machine he bought online through Craigslist. He used a file and abrasive paper to make the piece fit properly, but overall the project was not much of a technical challenge.
Only Wilson, a law student who prints his receivers on friends' machines, had overtly political motives, wanting to demonstrate what he called the absurdity of gun-control laws. He took his efforts even further, printing high-capacity magazines like those that would be banned under recommendations proposed by President Barack Obama and successfully testing them earlier this month on a firing range south of Austin. He has posted the drawing files at his website, defcad.org, so that others can print the magazine.
Wilson also has a project to develop a fully printable one-shot weapon, although he has not made much progress. He is seeking a firearms manufacturer's license, which he would need to even make prototypes of a complete weapon.
He gets advice and technical help from a loose network of about 15 collaborators around the world and has posted other printer files at his site, including Guslick's file for a lower receiver.
Baetzel posted his files on his own blog, Ambulatory Armament Depot, after a printer file-sharing site, Thingiverse, forced him to remove them in December. A spokeswoman for MakerBot, a 3-D printer manufacturer that sponsors Thingiverse, pointed out that the site's terms of service prohibit content that "contributes to the creation of weapons."
Guslick, who is machining a couple of metal lower receivers, said 3-D printers were far from the best tool for gun-making, an opinion shared by Neil Gershenfeld, a professor at MIT and director of the school's Center for Bits and Atoms.
"A well-equipped machine shop for a long time has been able to make gun parts," Gershenfeld said. "Three-D printers make not very good ones."
The types of computer-controlled tools found in a machine shop — primarily laser cutters and milling machines — are expensive. But smaller and cheaper versions are now available to dedicated hobbyists, although they do not yet have quite the mass appeal of 3-D printers.
Yet the printers have other drawbacks besides the use of plastic. They are slow, often taking hours to build an object, and the results, while impressive to the eye, can be too crude for extremely closefitting parts.
And as Guslick pointed out, anyone who is desperate for a weapon "has the ability to assemble a zip gun from parts bought in a hardware store for $15."
The National Rifle Association did not respond to messages requesting the group's position on 3-D manufacturing. But for gun-control advocates, the real worry regarding 3-D printers and other machines is what the future might bring in the way of technological advances.
"Down the road it's going to be a big concern," said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. "We don't know how that's going to come about and don't know what technology."
Baetzel, for one, said he did not worry about what other people might do with the technology. "I follow the laws," he said. "I personally think everyone else should follow them." He said he did not post his designs hoping that someone would use them illegally.
Still, some tinkering is usually required. Guslick, who works in information technology and describes himself as a hobbyist gunsmith, printed his receiver on a machine he bought online through Craigslist. He used a file and abrasive paper to make the piece fit properly, but overall the project was not much of a technical challenge.
Only Wilson, a law student who prints his receivers on friends' machines, had overtly political motives, wanting to demonstrate what he called the absurdity of gun-control laws. He took his efforts even further, printing high-capacity magazines like those that would be banned under recommendations proposed by President Barack Obama and successfully testing them earlier this month on a firing range south of Austin. He has posted the drawing files at his website, defcad.org, so that others can print the magazine.
Wilson also has a project to develop a fully printable one-shot weapon, although he has not made much progress. He is seeking a firearms manufacturer's license, which he would need to even make prototypes of a complete weapon.
He gets advice and technical help from a loose network of about 15 collaborators around the world and has posted other printer files at his site, including Guslick's file for a lower receiver.
Baetzel posted his files on his own blog, Ambulatory Armament Depot, after a printer file-sharing site, Thingiverse, forced him to remove them in December. A spokeswoman for MakerBot, a 3-D printer manufacturer that sponsors Thingiverse, pointed out that the site's terms of service prohibit content that "contributes to the creation of weapons."
Guslick, who is machining a couple of metal lower receivers, said 3-D printers were far from the best tool for gun-making, an opinion shared by Neil Gershenfeld, a professor at MIT and director of the school's Center for Bits and Atoms.
"A well-equipped machine shop for a long time has been able to make gun parts," Gershenfeld said. "Three-D printers make not very good ones."
The types of computer-controlled tools found in a machine shop — primarily laser cutters and milling machines — are expensive. But smaller and cheaper versions are now available to dedicated hobbyists, although they do not yet have quite the mass appeal of 3-D printers.
Yet the printers have other drawbacks besides the use of plastic. They are slow, often taking hours to build an object, and the results, while impressive to the eye, can be too crude for extremely closefitting parts.
And as Guslick pointed out, anyone who is desperate for a weapon "has the ability to assemble a zip gun from parts bought in a hardware store for $15."
The National Rifle Association did not respond to messages requesting the group's position on 3-D manufacturing. But for gun-control advocates, the real worry regarding 3-D printers and other machines is what the future might bring in the way of technological advances.
"Down the road it's going to be a big concern," said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. "We don't know how that's going to come about and don't know what technology."
Baetzel, for one, said he did not worry about what other people might do with the technology. "I follow the laws," he said. "I personally think everyone else should follow them." He said he did not post his designs hoping that someone would use them illegally.
2013年1月29日 星期二
Can wind farm developers halt the 'march of the buffer zones'?
Renewable energy developers are hoping the government will prevent a growing number of county councils from imposing wind farm buffer zones, which could severely restrict developments across the country.
Buffer zones are designed to prevent turbines from being installed too close to people's homes, but developers fear that stringent restrictions could effectively block the development of wind farms in potentially suitable locations.
At least eight local authorities in England either already have formal buffer zones in place or are seeking to mark out areas of up to two kilometres around residential properties where turbines cannot be built.
Lincolnshire County Council is among those seeking a buffer zone of 700 metres, and South Cambridgeshire has consulted on a 2km restriction, while Hampshire last week confirmed a blanket ban on new wind farms built on council land.
Stratford on Avon District Council, Northumberland County Council, Cherwell District Council, Wiltshire Council, Milton Keynes and Rutland also have buffer zones planned or imposed already.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Conservative Party yesterday launched a report calling for councils to be given the power to end the "march of the wind farms".
The wide-ranging paper, says councils should have to power to impose a one year moratorium on new wind turbine developments in Scotland, and encourages them to enforce existing planning guidance restricting wind farms that are closer than 2km to residential areas.
The document also calls for a 50 per cent cut in the subsidy for onshore wind farms and greater "local democracy" in planning decisions, at the same time as calling for more investment in shale gas exploration and nuclear power plants.
However, renewable energy developers have warned that buffer zones are too blunt a tool for ensuring governments strike the right balance between encouraging renewable energy generation and giving communities a voice.
Jenny Hogan, director of policy for Scottish Renewables, pointed out that the Scottish Government's existing 2km guideline was designed to ensure that each wind farm application was judged on its own merits.
"The 2km proposal is a guideline and not a rule," she said. "This is an important distinction because it's imperative that communities, developers and decision makers are given the opportunity to make the case for or against any application. This avoids recommendations being made on the basis of imposed rules which may not be relevant to local circumstances."
Jennifer Webber, of RenewableUK, also warned that proposals for buffer zones across the UK were creating uncertainty among both developers and their suppliers over the future of wind energy in certain regions.
RWE has already threatened Milton Keynes with legal action over the council's decision to increase an existing 350m buffer zone to 600m-1km zone depending on the size of the turbine.
The utility, which has two wind farms that could fall in the new buffer zone, maintains the proposed rules clash with national guidance that sets out the need for renewable energy, as well as Milton Keynes Council's own existing policies on wind energy.
Developers are now hoping that the Planning Inspectorate will refuse to give the go-ahead to new buffer zones, when local authorities submit their Local Plans for approval in March.
Buffer zones are designed to prevent turbines from being installed too close to people's homes, but developers fear that stringent restrictions could effectively block the development of wind farms in potentially suitable locations.
At least eight local authorities in England either already have formal buffer zones in place or are seeking to mark out areas of up to two kilometres around residential properties where turbines cannot be built.
Lincolnshire County Council is among those seeking a buffer zone of 700 metres, and South Cambridgeshire has consulted on a 2km restriction, while Hampshire last week confirmed a blanket ban on new wind farms built on council land.
Stratford on Avon District Council, Northumberland County Council, Cherwell District Council, Wiltshire Council, Milton Keynes and Rutland also have buffer zones planned or imposed already.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Conservative Party yesterday launched a report calling for councils to be given the power to end the "march of the wind farms".
The wide-ranging paper, says councils should have to power to impose a one year moratorium on new wind turbine developments in Scotland, and encourages them to enforce existing planning guidance restricting wind farms that are closer than 2km to residential areas.
The document also calls for a 50 per cent cut in the subsidy for onshore wind farms and greater "local democracy" in planning decisions, at the same time as calling for more investment in shale gas exploration and nuclear power plants.
However, renewable energy developers have warned that buffer zones are too blunt a tool for ensuring governments strike the right balance between encouraging renewable energy generation and giving communities a voice.
Jenny Hogan, director of policy for Scottish Renewables, pointed out that the Scottish Government's existing 2km guideline was designed to ensure that each wind farm application was judged on its own merits.
"The 2km proposal is a guideline and not a rule," she said. "This is an important distinction because it's imperative that communities, developers and decision makers are given the opportunity to make the case for or against any application. This avoids recommendations being made on the basis of imposed rules which may not be relevant to local circumstances."
Jennifer Webber, of RenewableUK, also warned that proposals for buffer zones across the UK were creating uncertainty among both developers and their suppliers over the future of wind energy in certain regions.
RWE has already threatened Milton Keynes with legal action over the council's decision to increase an existing 350m buffer zone to 600m-1km zone depending on the size of the turbine.
The utility, which has two wind farms that could fall in the new buffer zone, maintains the proposed rules clash with national guidance that sets out the need for renewable energy, as well as Milton Keynes Council's own existing policies on wind energy.
Developers are now hoping that the Planning Inspectorate will refuse to give the go-ahead to new buffer zones, when local authorities submit their Local Plans for approval in March.
2013年1月27日 星期日
Wind farm plants
Texas lawmakers touring the state stopped in Harlingen Saturday to get a first-hand tour of a company that is recycling old tires into useful products.
Earlier in the day, the tour made its first-ever stop in Willacy County, where it visited a wind farm facility and was joined by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
In Harlingen, members of the 19th Texas Legislative Tour, including lawmakers and staff members, visited Tire Recycling & Processing, which began operations last summer.
State Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, asked Marta Martinez, vice president of the company, “When we change our tires, where do the old tires go?”
Martinez said that, too often, tires have gone into landfills or are buried underground. But now, with the help of German technology, the company is recycling the tires into useful products, she said.
The company, at 1309 Industrial Way, produces crumb rubber, which is used for asphalt, synthetic grass and other products. Steel salvaged from tires is sent to Mexico for smelting and recycled into new products, she said.
Martinez explained how scrubbers are used to control air pollution from the plant. Gases captured from the process are either used for energy in the plant or are sold, she said.
The company produces biofuel, material for road paving, fiber for auto seats, material for printer ink and foam rubber, she said. Her company wants to build more plants like the one in Harlingen, Martinez said.
The tour continues today with visits to the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen and Marine Military Academy. State Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, said he will visit the RAHC while on the tour.
His office is focusing on the high number of Medicaid patients in the Valley, funding for health care, the Medicare program changes causing local pharmacies to close and transpiration issues, Martinez said.
In Willacy County, state legislators toured a Duke Energy wind farm turbine facility. U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, and other lawmakers accompanied Cornyn to a program at the Willacy County Historical Museum in Raymondville.
Speaking at that event, Cornyn said maximizing oil shale and wind energy will help Texas to continue leading the nation in creating jobs.
Although oil shale drilling is centered northwest of the Rio Grande Valley, there is a lot of potential benefit to the whole state to be derived from horizontal drilling to tap into that resource, Cornyn said. Oil shale is adding $358 million annually to state coffers and 27,000 jobs, he said.
The profit potential in wind energy is evidenced by the many wind turbines he saw while riding through Willacy County, the senator said.
“The challenge, of course, is the infrastructure pressure,” Cornyn said. “Money is always the issue and we have to decide how to prioritize,” he said.
Schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and better roads and bridges are needed to meet the demands of the future, Cornyn said. Education must be supported through institutions such as Texas State Technical College, South Texas College, University of Texas at Brownsville and Southmost College and UT-Pan American, he said.
The lack of an interstate highway has held back development and job growth in the Valley, but the effort to build Interstate 69 will meet that challenge, Cornyn said.
Problems of Willacy County, the Valley and Texas won’t be solved with quick fixes, Cornyn said.“I think we’ve got a lot of challenges ahead of us,” he said.
During a break, Vela said construction of wind turbines will continue. He knows of several pending permits in the Kleberg County area, he said. Tension with Mexico over water rights is critical, Vela said. “We’re taking a very close look at the 1944 water treaty,” he said.
Border security and the drug war in Mexico are also a great concern, Vela said. A program to assist training Mexican troops in use of high-tech surveillance gear is being approved, he said.
Earlier in the day, the tour made its first-ever stop in Willacy County, where it visited a wind farm facility and was joined by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
In Harlingen, members of the 19th Texas Legislative Tour, including lawmakers and staff members, visited Tire Recycling & Processing, which began operations last summer.
State Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, asked Marta Martinez, vice president of the company, “When we change our tires, where do the old tires go?”
Martinez said that, too often, tires have gone into landfills or are buried underground. But now, with the help of German technology, the company is recycling the tires into useful products, she said.
The company, at 1309 Industrial Way, produces crumb rubber, which is used for asphalt, synthetic grass and other products. Steel salvaged from tires is sent to Mexico for smelting and recycled into new products, she said.
Martinez explained how scrubbers are used to control air pollution from the plant. Gases captured from the process are either used for energy in the plant or are sold, she said.
The company produces biofuel, material for road paving, fiber for auto seats, material for printer ink and foam rubber, she said. Her company wants to build more plants like the one in Harlingen, Martinez said.
The tour continues today with visits to the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen and Marine Military Academy. State Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, said he will visit the RAHC while on the tour.
His office is focusing on the high number of Medicaid patients in the Valley, funding for health care, the Medicare program changes causing local pharmacies to close and transpiration issues, Martinez said.
In Willacy County, state legislators toured a Duke Energy wind farm turbine facility. U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, and other lawmakers accompanied Cornyn to a program at the Willacy County Historical Museum in Raymondville.
Speaking at that event, Cornyn said maximizing oil shale and wind energy will help Texas to continue leading the nation in creating jobs.
Although oil shale drilling is centered northwest of the Rio Grande Valley, there is a lot of potential benefit to the whole state to be derived from horizontal drilling to tap into that resource, Cornyn said. Oil shale is adding $358 million annually to state coffers and 27,000 jobs, he said.
The profit potential in wind energy is evidenced by the many wind turbines he saw while riding through Willacy County, the senator said.
“The challenge, of course, is the infrastructure pressure,” Cornyn said. “Money is always the issue and we have to decide how to prioritize,” he said.
Schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and better roads and bridges are needed to meet the demands of the future, Cornyn said. Education must be supported through institutions such as Texas State Technical College, South Texas College, University of Texas at Brownsville and Southmost College and UT-Pan American, he said.
The lack of an interstate highway has held back development and job growth in the Valley, but the effort to build Interstate 69 will meet that challenge, Cornyn said.
Problems of Willacy County, the Valley and Texas won’t be solved with quick fixes, Cornyn said.“I think we’ve got a lot of challenges ahead of us,” he said.
During a break, Vela said construction of wind turbines will continue. He knows of several pending permits in the Kleberg County area, he said. Tension with Mexico over water rights is critical, Vela said. “We’re taking a very close look at the 1944 water treaty,” he said.
Border security and the drug war in Mexico are also a great concern, Vela said. A program to assist training Mexican troops in use of high-tech surveillance gear is being approved, he said.
2013年1月24日 星期四
Wind turbines 'could interfere with weather forecasts'
It has objected that interference from the dozens of giant blades would lead to "false warnings of severe and hazardous weather being issued", while heavy rainfall and flood alerts could be missed, according to a newspaper.
The agency has written to planning authorities to register opposition to plans to erect more than 20 turbines at a mountainous site in Wales near one of its weather stations.
It said that the 400ft constructions could reflect the electromagnetic waves emitted by radar, creating "clutter" which can interfere with the accuracy of readings of atmospheric conditions.
The Met Office has lodged objections to proposals for the wind farm at Llanllwni, Carmarthenshire, which is currently under appeal, according to the Daily Mail.
It is also expected to fight plans for a 28-turbine site at Brechfa, which will go before planners in March. The sites are both a few miles from a weather radar at Crug-Y-Gorllwyn in Carmarthenshire, which gives coverage for south and west Wales.
The Met Office argued that analysis of the June flooding close to Aberystwyth showed the adverse effect that another wind farm, 14 miles away from the same radar, had on the accuracy of rain forecasts.
A spokesman said: "Weather radar is the only means currently available for monitoring in real time the location and intensity of a range of weather hazards, including rain, hail and snow. "Clutter from wind turbines can lead to false warnings of severe and hazardous weather being issued.
"Another risk is the potential for missed warnings where either rainfall returns are obscured either by clutter or because more aggressive quality control, developed to try to mitigate wind farm clutter, can have the side effect of deleting real rainfall signals." It is the latest skirmish in the battle over wind farms, an issue which has split the Coalition.
Greg Barker, the climate change minister, has said they can be "wonderful" and "majestic" but his energy minister John Hayes has promised to "protect England's green and pleasant land" from them. A study in November found that wind farm noise causes "clear and significant" damage to people's sleep and mental health.
"Ireland has the potential to generate far more wind energy than we could consume domestically," Mr Rabbitte said. "The opportunity to export this green power presents an opportunity for employment growth and export earnings which we must seize if we can."
Millions of British homes will be powered by clean electricity exported from Ireland following an agreement that could secure the State billions in UK investments.
The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) estimated that up to 30,000 jobs could be created across the country by 2020. According to the Department of Energy, the construction phase of a 3,000 megawatt project alone could create up to 6,000 jobs.
The 80 megawatt Mount Lucas windfarm, one of the biggest in Ireland and the UK, will be just one of a string of clean energy hubs that could export its wind energy across the Irish Sea. IWEA chief executive Kenneth Matthews said Ireland stands to become a major renewable energy exporter.
"The electricity sector is on the cusp of transformational change with renewables and wind energy at the heart of it," Mr Matthews said. "Efficient use of existing and new interconnectors to increase our ability to integrate wind energy and to export surplus wind-generated electricity will be central to this transition."
The agency has written to planning authorities to register opposition to plans to erect more than 20 turbines at a mountainous site in Wales near one of its weather stations.
It said that the 400ft constructions could reflect the electromagnetic waves emitted by radar, creating "clutter" which can interfere with the accuracy of readings of atmospheric conditions.
The Met Office has lodged objections to proposals for the wind farm at Llanllwni, Carmarthenshire, which is currently under appeal, according to the Daily Mail.
It is also expected to fight plans for a 28-turbine site at Brechfa, which will go before planners in March. The sites are both a few miles from a weather radar at Crug-Y-Gorllwyn in Carmarthenshire, which gives coverage for south and west Wales.
The Met Office argued that analysis of the June flooding close to Aberystwyth showed the adverse effect that another wind farm, 14 miles away from the same radar, had on the accuracy of rain forecasts.
A spokesman said: "Weather radar is the only means currently available for monitoring in real time the location and intensity of a range of weather hazards, including rain, hail and snow. "Clutter from wind turbines can lead to false warnings of severe and hazardous weather being issued.
"Another risk is the potential for missed warnings where either rainfall returns are obscured either by clutter or because more aggressive quality control, developed to try to mitigate wind farm clutter, can have the side effect of deleting real rainfall signals." It is the latest skirmish in the battle over wind farms, an issue which has split the Coalition.
Greg Barker, the climate change minister, has said they can be "wonderful" and "majestic" but his energy minister John Hayes has promised to "protect England's green and pleasant land" from them. A study in November found that wind farm noise causes "clear and significant" damage to people's sleep and mental health.
"Ireland has the potential to generate far more wind energy than we could consume domestically," Mr Rabbitte said. "The opportunity to export this green power presents an opportunity for employment growth and export earnings which we must seize if we can."
Millions of British homes will be powered by clean electricity exported from Ireland following an agreement that could secure the State billions in UK investments.
The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) estimated that up to 30,000 jobs could be created across the country by 2020. According to the Department of Energy, the construction phase of a 3,000 megawatt project alone could create up to 6,000 jobs.
The 80 megawatt Mount Lucas windfarm, one of the biggest in Ireland and the UK, will be just one of a string of clean energy hubs that could export its wind energy across the Irish Sea. IWEA chief executive Kenneth Matthews said Ireland stands to become a major renewable energy exporter.
"The electricity sector is on the cusp of transformational change with renewables and wind energy at the heart of it," Mr Matthews said. "Efficient use of existing and new interconnectors to increase our ability to integrate wind energy and to export surplus wind-generated electricity will be central to this transition."
2013年1月23日 星期三
Whitehall's border bullies are driving overseas students away
When the Afghanistan veteran Mark Sedwill takes over as permanent secretary at the Home Office next month, his experience opposing the Taliban may help him deal with a scandal that must surely be at the top of his in-tray. The Home Office crackdown on immigration, laudable in itself, is being run in a way reminiscent of the Stasi when it comes to foreign students.
Tales are growing of the UK Border Agency’s bullying and its use of bureaucracy as a weapon against foreign students and our universities. Overseas students coming to this country are worth an estimated 8 billion a year to our economy, but academics say the agency’s hostile attitude is drying up the numbers – the total from India alone was down by nearly a quarter last year. Restrictions and regulations worthy of Kafka are damaging Britain’s reputation abroad and crippling private sector colleges.
The Foreign Office and the Business Department are privately dismayed at the Home Office’s insistence on cutting immigrant numbers, regardless of the cost to Britain in economic or reputational terms. So welcome to Whitehall, Mr Sedwill – Whitehall at its worst.
It is the crudeness of the agency’s tactics that is shocking. PhD students coming back here to do a viva – a short oral examination vital for their doctorates – are being told they have the wrong kind of visa and must go home to reapply. Universities that protest have been threatened unofficially with having their licences to admit foreign students withdrawn.
Prof James Dunkerley, director of graduate studies at Queen Mary, University of London – one of the elite Russell Group – says: “We are all being treated as if we were running some kind of scam with no room for officials to use any discretion. There is no point the Prime Minister going to places abroad to boost exports when this is happening at home to education, which is a major export business.”
Other students are made to wait months for a visa, given “credibility” interviews where they can be turned down for the most minor things, or without any explanation. They are then charged an extra 500 if they reapply. There are also major restrictions on overseas students taking jobs here to help meet their costs and to gain valuable experience.
As Sir Christopher Meyer, our former ambassador to the US, said to me: “This is so typical of a government machine where everyone is desperate to avoid any blame, so they kick out at everyone and innocent people suffer.”
Sir Christopher, who teaches a politics course at the University of North Carolina, warns: “The danger is that students from countries like India and China will go elsewhere – notably to Canada, Australia and the US, which all have excellent universities and where there are also existing Chinese and Indian communities. David Cameron is always telling us we are in a global race for business, but it is as if other countries are forging ahead while Britain is in a sack race.”
It is true that the system for admitting foreign students has been abused, with bogus colleges setting themselves up in one room over a chip shop. Most of those have now been closed. Worse, London Metropolitan University clearly flouted the rules on overseas students and had to be stripped of its licence. What is more, the Government’s pledge to cut immigration has widespread public support.
It is also true that the official figures suggest the number of foreign students overall is stagnant rather than falling. But more detailed analysis shows a decline in the numbers coming from key countries – such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
Tales are growing of the UK Border Agency’s bullying and its use of bureaucracy as a weapon against foreign students and our universities. Overseas students coming to this country are worth an estimated 8 billion a year to our economy, but academics say the agency’s hostile attitude is drying up the numbers – the total from India alone was down by nearly a quarter last year. Restrictions and regulations worthy of Kafka are damaging Britain’s reputation abroad and crippling private sector colleges.
The Foreign Office and the Business Department are privately dismayed at the Home Office’s insistence on cutting immigrant numbers, regardless of the cost to Britain in economic or reputational terms. So welcome to Whitehall, Mr Sedwill – Whitehall at its worst.
It is the crudeness of the agency’s tactics that is shocking. PhD students coming back here to do a viva – a short oral examination vital for their doctorates – are being told they have the wrong kind of visa and must go home to reapply. Universities that protest have been threatened unofficially with having their licences to admit foreign students withdrawn.
Prof James Dunkerley, director of graduate studies at Queen Mary, University of London – one of the elite Russell Group – says: “We are all being treated as if we were running some kind of scam with no room for officials to use any discretion. There is no point the Prime Minister going to places abroad to boost exports when this is happening at home to education, which is a major export business.”
Other students are made to wait months for a visa, given “credibility” interviews where they can be turned down for the most minor things, or without any explanation. They are then charged an extra 500 if they reapply. There are also major restrictions on overseas students taking jobs here to help meet their costs and to gain valuable experience.
As Sir Christopher Meyer, our former ambassador to the US, said to me: “This is so typical of a government machine where everyone is desperate to avoid any blame, so they kick out at everyone and innocent people suffer.”
Sir Christopher, who teaches a politics course at the University of North Carolina, warns: “The danger is that students from countries like India and China will go elsewhere – notably to Canada, Australia and the US, which all have excellent universities and where there are also existing Chinese and Indian communities. David Cameron is always telling us we are in a global race for business, but it is as if other countries are forging ahead while Britain is in a sack race.”
It is true that the system for admitting foreign students has been abused, with bogus colleges setting themselves up in one room over a chip shop. Most of those have now been closed. Worse, London Metropolitan University clearly flouted the rules on overseas students and had to be stripped of its licence. What is more, the Government’s pledge to cut immigration has widespread public support.
It is also true that the official figures suggest the number of foreign students overall is stagnant rather than falling. But more detailed analysis shows a decline in the numbers coming from key countries – such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
2013年1月22日 星期二
The World's Biggest Wind Farm
Sometimes an event is just so thick with symbolism that just reciting the facts seems cliche. Case in point: After experiencing the biggest nuclear disaster of the new century, Japan is building the world's largest wind farm—right off the coast where the husk of the Fukushima plant still simmers.
Right now, Japan is scrambling to find enough alternative energy sources to pick up the slack from the fleet of nuclear power plants it shut down in the wake of the meltdown. It's going on a renewable energy binge, it's importing coal, and it's implementing impressive energy efficiency measures to lower demand. But it's not enough, yet.
So the government announced a major step forward—ambitious plans to invest heavily in offshore wind power. The new plant to be built off the shore of Fukushima will consist of 143 giant floating turbines, and boasts a capacity of 1 gigawatt of electricity—that's nearly twice the power of the planet's second-biggest turbine, which can currently be found in England.
To put that in perspective, 1 gigwatt is enough to power between 750,000 and 1,000,000 homes. 1 gigawatt is the total capacity of all the solar panels installed in California as of 2011. 1 gigawatt is some serious capacity.
Furthermore, Japan's big bad wind farm will be built using innovative new technology that allows them to float rather than being attached directly to the ocean floor.
Instead of anchoring each turbine directly to the ocean floor, the plan is to mount them on floating steel frames that will be anchored to the continental shelf below. To keep them upright, ballast will be used underneath. The plans also call for using 2 megawatt turbines, each standing 200 meters high.
And it turns out that the choice of location wasn't merely symbolic, either: “The site was chosen due to the existing infrastructure that had been used to transport power from the Daiichi plant before its destruction,” Bob Yirka writes.
Even so, the symbolism pervades. Out with the nukes, in with the clean power. Of course, the most urgent modification to the world's predominant power system is ditching coal, then gas, but drastic transitions like this—and Germany's post-nuclear evolution—demonstrate how rapidly things can change.
"A few hundred yards south-east of the quarry site lies the small cave of Hansdown Swallet. The stream sinking here was dye-traced in 1973. It travelled to St. Andrew's by the Bishop's Palace in just 20 hours.”
Mendip planners have yet to decide how to deal with the applications. In South Somerset district West Crewkerne Against Wind Turbines is fighting an application for a turbine that would be 67 metres tall to its blade tip on the West Crewkerne-Wayford-Winsham ridge. The group says it would be visible for 15 miles and spoil precious landscape.
Somerset's only large wind turbine, at Shooters Bottom, Chewton Mendip, was built in 2008 after a four-year battle. Mendip District Council turned down the Ecotricity but permission was granted on appeal.
Right now, Japan is scrambling to find enough alternative energy sources to pick up the slack from the fleet of nuclear power plants it shut down in the wake of the meltdown. It's going on a renewable energy binge, it's importing coal, and it's implementing impressive energy efficiency measures to lower demand. But it's not enough, yet.
So the government announced a major step forward—ambitious plans to invest heavily in offshore wind power. The new plant to be built off the shore of Fukushima will consist of 143 giant floating turbines, and boasts a capacity of 1 gigawatt of electricity—that's nearly twice the power of the planet's second-biggest turbine, which can currently be found in England.
To put that in perspective, 1 gigwatt is enough to power between 750,000 and 1,000,000 homes. 1 gigawatt is the total capacity of all the solar panels installed in California as of 2011. 1 gigawatt is some serious capacity.
Furthermore, Japan's big bad wind farm will be built using innovative new technology that allows them to float rather than being attached directly to the ocean floor.
Instead of anchoring each turbine directly to the ocean floor, the plan is to mount them on floating steel frames that will be anchored to the continental shelf below. To keep them upright, ballast will be used underneath. The plans also call for using 2 megawatt turbines, each standing 200 meters high.
And it turns out that the choice of location wasn't merely symbolic, either: “The site was chosen due to the existing infrastructure that had been used to transport power from the Daiichi plant before its destruction,” Bob Yirka writes.
Even so, the symbolism pervades. Out with the nukes, in with the clean power. Of course, the most urgent modification to the world's predominant power system is ditching coal, then gas, but drastic transitions like this—and Germany's post-nuclear evolution—demonstrate how rapidly things can change.
"A few hundred yards south-east of the quarry site lies the small cave of Hansdown Swallet. The stream sinking here was dye-traced in 1973. It travelled to St. Andrew's by the Bishop's Palace in just 20 hours.”
Mendip planners have yet to decide how to deal with the applications. In South Somerset district West Crewkerne Against Wind Turbines is fighting an application for a turbine that would be 67 metres tall to its blade tip on the West Crewkerne-Wayford-Winsham ridge. The group says it would be visible for 15 miles and spoil precious landscape.
Somerset's only large wind turbine, at Shooters Bottom, Chewton Mendip, was built in 2008 after a four-year battle. Mendip District Council turned down the Ecotricity but permission was granted on appeal.
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