Red Sludge Disaster...6 months later

October 4th, 2010, Devecser, Kolontar, Somlovasarhely. This date and these places mark a great disaster for all Hungarians: the flood of toxic red sludge from the Hungarian Aluminium Production and Commerce Company's plant. Upon reaching these three places, it devastated everything that stood in its way, including people (10 people died, among them one baby). When the dam burst, 600-700 thousand m3 of this red sludge was set free to burn the earth, houses and animals, like acid.
Since then, most people who were evacuated, resettled in their homes and started to rebuild their lives (they all had to wear masks in order to prevent the inhaling of toxic dust). 41 houses have been demolished, and a new set of houses have been built. The Hungarian HACCP is monitoring the amount of toxins in the water each day. However, the dam keeping the toxic sludge in was not fortified (even after such a disaster) , leaving a chance of leakage that might even lead to another burst.
Although many say that this was an industrial tragedy, and that nobody could have seen this could happen and nobody is responsible. I strongly disagree, because if the dam's condition was monitored, the tragedy could have been predicted and the lives of so many people would not have been ruined. There is a responsible and he/she must be found and brought to justice.
VT

Europe's Nuclear Waste

Nuclear energy is becoming ever more contentious. especially with the current crises unfolding at Fukushima, Japan. there are several issues and criticisms levelled against nuclear energy, of those issues, the need to have safe storage for nuclear waste material is paramount, as these wastes remain radioactive for thousands of years after disposal.
of the 27 member states of the EU, 14 states have operational nuclear reactors with France at the lead with 58 reactors. in the EU there is a total of 143 nuclear reactors and storage of waste material becomes an issue. the problem is long-term storage of these materials, these storage facilities are very expensive and are unfeasible for small countries that have a small number of reactors which produce a small amount of waste. as a result, the EU commission has been discussing the very likely possibility of setting up an EU storage facility, built and funded by the member states and used by them. now the obstacle is "not in my back yard", what country would be willing to take on such a hazard. until the facility is set up, most countries such as Switzerland will place the responsibility of storage on the local producers of nuclear energy in their respective countries.

K.K
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,478309,00.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11684571

Green IT

Computers appear so innocent and clean, sitting there on the table, doing nothing but buzzing quietly, without any weird emissions. However, computers, like almost everything else electronic, needs power, and currently most of our power comes from natural gas, crude oil and coal, also known as fossil fuels. For years, no one ever considered Computers and IT as a carbon source, but it is a fast growing industry, representing about 2% of global emissions now, a number that could possibly double within the next decade.

Be it more energy-efficient server bases and laptops, or software that automatically powers down our desktops when they’re not being used, computer parts made from other recyclable pieces, or even computer factories choosing a more environmental friendly way of producing these products. There are many different ways to restrain the IT sector’s energy use, without losing performance.
Nowadays computers have the option to turn off the hard-drive or screen, after a certain set idling time, but there are also some energy-saving software in the market now, like Granola or Gabi Software, for example, which runs in the background of your operating system, making sure you’re not wasting volts unnecessarily.
Kind of like the energy-saving lamps, these software’s do not only decrease the energy usage, but also improves the performance of your daily tasks on your computer.

A.K

http://www.greenit.net/
http://www.gabi-software.com/index.php?id=2019&L=9&gclid=CN2r-7ivkqgCFck03wodKDuTCQ

No cars in the city...

It appears that the EU is studying the possibility of banning cars from the city centers across Europe over the next few decades.

As I do not drive, for me this is actually quite interesting and positive news, as I believe cities will be much more attractive without all the massive traffic that usually floats around. I do believe however that this will be a major setback at all levels if it is not done properly and taking into account a number of factors that will allow for life to flow as normal without cars.

If they prepare the cities to have proper and frequent public transportation networks at a price that is accessible to all, if they manage to come up with plans on how to supply cities with the minimum possible impact, if they ensure that there are enough parking solutions and at affordable costs to the car owners to leave their cars in the outskirts during the day, then we can make a smooth transaction to car-free city centers, otherwise chaos and misery will surely come our way!

JSC

Ozone layer news...

Ozone layer news.

JSC

Makes you wonder...

...if the means justify the ends!

As carbon taxes become increasingly more common and begin being introduced around the world it becomes also clearer that most likely they will solve nothing, increase profits for a few while most of us will be left with the bill of radical climate agendas being pushed by goverments and fuelled by special interests. Is it worthwhile?

JSC

Nigerian Nuclear Ambitions and World Nuclear Debates

Nigeria aims to use nuclear energy for the generation of electricity due to its 20,000 mw projected demand for the future. The country had made plans to start building its first nuclear energy plant in 2011, and begin power generation in 2017. However the Japan Fukushima nuclear accident and subsequent radiation fears may bring the nuclear plans of Nigeria and other developing countries to a halt, especially as it had seem to be the popular alternative for clean energy generation.
At the IAEA 54th General Conference in Vienna Austria,Nigeria had made a strong showing as its delegate and president of the Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Professor Shamsideen Elegba presented a paper " Radiotherapy Practice in Africa:Safety and Efficacy", delegates discussed the issues of safe use of radiation in medicine, and importantly safety regulations and infrastructure in the build up of nuclear potentials. And earlier in 2009 Nigerian Minister for Environment Jhon Odei had lauded the need for Nigerian build up of nuclear generation in a conference held in Nigeria, and which was attended by Experts from South Africa, Germany, Russia, Spain and Italy. While in 2008 Nigeria had a Nuclear deal with Iran aimed at sharing Nuclear Technology and to help Nigeria increase its generation of electricity.
The current nuclear crisis may come to affect the efforts of a country like Nigeria and the global efforts to fight climate change, especially as a country like Germany had in the past made plans to phase out its nuclear reactors by 2020, choosing a path of sustainable energy in using renewable energy in what it terms Energiewede.
S.I
http://www.nnra.gov.ng/nnra/part2/index2.php
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/230127/nuclear-crisis-to-affect-climate-battle
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4357238.stm
http://nubiancheetah.blogspot.com/2007/07/nigeria-countrys-nuclear-power-plant.html