Watch Hurricane Irene in Google Earth http://ping.fm/RRaa2

Nichison makes the smallest Electric car chargers

One key element for the success of electric vehicles going forward is charging technology, but we’re getting there. Kyoto-based Nichicon has now developed what they say are the world’s smallest and chargers for these vehicles, the NQC-A202 and the NQC-A302.
Both chargers are sized at just 150x35x60cm, about 50% smaller than existing devices. The NQC-A202 with 20kW output capacity weighs 150kg, while the NQC-A302 (30kW) weighs 20kg more. Nichicon says the new models are 66% lighter than existing ones, “dramatically decreasing installation effort” for their customers.
The devices take between 35 and 60 minutes to charge, are compatible to the CHAdeMO standard for electric vehicles (Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV, the Leaf, etc.) and will cost between $24,600 and $27,200 when they become available in October.One key element for the success of electric vehicles going forward is charging technology, but we’re getting there. Kyoto-based Nichicon has now developed what they say are the world’s smallest and chargers for these vehicles, the NQC-A202 and the NQC-A302.
Both chargers are sized at just 150x35x60cm, about 50% smaller than existing devices. The NQC-A202 with 20kW output capacity weighs 150kg, while the NQC-A302 (30kW) weighs 20kg more. Nichicon says the new models are 66% lighter than existing ones, “dramatically decreasing installation effort” for their customers.


man, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new! A E.

‘Future of Nuclear Power After Fukushima’

The man, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new! A E.Terming as ‘totally unacceptable’ the opposition by environmental activists to the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Maharashtra, top nuclear scientist M.R. Srinivasan Wednesday strongly advocated the need for nuclear power to fuel India’s developmental programmes.

At the same time, he observed that the government and political parties have failed to evolve a proper mechanism to resolve issues of compensation for land acquisition and other issues which subsequently delay implementation of such mega-projects.

Delivering the first Homi Sethna Memorial Lecture on ‘Future of Nuclear Power After Fukushima’ here, Srinivasan said he had personally selected the site for the Jaitapur project, in coastal Ratnagiri, way back in 1984, keeping in view factors like no agriculture barring fodder grass and no human settlements.

‘There would no effluents which could affect the mango orchards or fishing activity. We have actual experience at Tarapur and Kalpakkam and at neither of these places there has been an adverse impact on marine life,’ Srinivasan said.

Srinivasan pointed out that for too long the country has overlooked environmental concerns while implementing developmental projects.

‘In the last ten years or so, there is a justified concern that future activities must not damage our environment. Past activities should be revisited and augmentation of effluent disposal to meet current criteria must be done promptly,’ he said.

However, in recent times, there is a sense of ‘triumphalism’ amongst activists whenever a project is stopped or abandoned, Srinivasan lamented.

He raised questions on how poverty and deprivation can be eliminated if the country does not create wealth through economic development. Cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizers, and other basic raw materials and vital infrastructure like railways cannot be produced or run without electric power, he said.

He warned that in the decades to come, petroleum would either be too expensive or simply not available. Then, the transport systems would have to be run on electricity or on hydrogen produced by using fossil fuel or electricity.

Though options like solar and wind energy are available, they would prove to be inadequate or uneconomic as compared to nuclear power.

‘Sometimes, our environmental activists consider all of us involved in industrial activities as ‘anti-national’ people and confer on themselves all patriotism. As a person who has spent some five and a half decades in developing nuclear power, under difficult conditions, I consider this value judgement of our environmental activists completely unacceptable,’ Srinivasan asserted.

He said that four decades ago, India celebrated when a new dam, steel plant, power plant, fertilizer plant or a canal system was built.

‘Now, we seem to celebrate everytime a steel plant, aluminium plant or power plant is stopped,’ he said.

In contrast, he referred to China, whose mega-infrastructure projects are viewed with admiration by the world.

Watch Hurricane Irene in Google Earth

The maHurricane Irene, which has already done some serious damage to Puerto Rico, was recently captured in stunning high resolution by NASA's Terra satellite as it heads toward the east coast of the United States.
You can view the image on NASA's Earth Observatory website, or view it in Google Earth using this KML file.Be aware the KML is loading the full 5 MB file from NASA's server, as it's amazingly sharp, so it'll take a few moments to load.
To track the Hurricane and view it's forecasted track, turn on your Places layer and an icon will appear over the Hurricane. Clicking that icon will give you access to details about the Hurricane, along with historical data and various projected paths. More details about this feature can be found in this post from a few months ago.If you're aware of other great tools to help track Irene and other 2011 hurricanes, leave a comment below and let us know.n, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new! A E.

Get the Weather in G-Maps

see local weather in your Google Map

The Google Maps Weather Layer

The weather feature has been added through the "layers" feature, which already housed extras like transit stops, bicycle routes, local terrain, user-posted images, Wikipedia entries, and more. All layers are displayed on top of the standard map, and multiple layers can be selected at once.

Here's a quick video showcasing the new weather layer:

New Plastic Bags Law 2011: 40microns minimum

The Central Government had notified the “Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999 (as amended in 2003)” under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to regulate the manufacture, sale and use and recycling of plastic bags. These rules, inter alia, provided that plastic carry bags should have a minimum thickness of 20 microns; carry bags or containers made of recycled plastic shall not be used for packaging of food stuffs and recycling of plastic waste in accordance with BIS specifications. Powers have been delegated to the State Pollution Control Boards / Pollution Control Committees for taking action for violation of Rules promulgated under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has now notified the new Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 (amended on 02.07.2011) in supersession of the earlier Rules. The new Rules have specified, inter-alia that plastic carry bags should have a minimum thickness of 40 microns and that sachets using plastic material can not be used for storing, packing or selling gutkha, tobacco and pan masala. Some States have prescribed more stringent norms for thickness of plastic bags or have banned the use of plastic bags in tourist/public places.

Under the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 (amended on 02.07.2011), municipal authority is responsible for enforcement of the provisions relating to the use, collection, segregation, transportation and disposal of plastic waste.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan in a written reply to a question by Dr. Gyan Prakash Pilania in Rajya Sabha today. The man, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new! A E.

Indian Government differs to Agitation: A Fine Print http://ping.fm/LnvkD

Indian Government differs to Agitation: A Fine Print

                                   

1) There is a divergence on the jurisdiction of the Lok Pal. Both bills include ministers, MPs for any action outside Parliament, and Group A officers (and equivalent) of the government. The government Bill includes the Prime Minister after he demits office whereas the JLP includes a sitting Prime Minister. The JLP includes any act of an MP in respect of a speech or vote in Parliament (which is now protected by Article 105 of the Constitution). The JLP includes judges; the government Bill excludes them. The JLP includes all government officials, while the government Bill does not include junior (below Group A) officials. The government Bill also includes officers of NGOs who receive government funds or any funds from the public; JLP does not cover NGOs.

2)  The two Bills differ on the composition. The government Bill has a chairperson and up to 8 members; at least half the members must have a judicial background. The JLP has a chairperson and 10 members, of which 4 have a judicial background.

3) The process of selecting the Lok Pal members is different. The JLP has a two stage process. A search committee will shortlist potential candidates. The search committee will have 10 members; five of these would have retired as Chief Justice of India, Chief Election Commissioner or Comptroller and Auditor General; they will select the other five from civil society. The Lok Pal chairperson and members will be selected from this shortlist by a selection committee. The selection committee consists of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, two Supreme Court judges, two high court chief justices, the Chief Election Commissioner, the Comptroller and Auditor General and all previous Lok Pal chairpersons.

     The government Bill has a simpler process. The selection will be made by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the leaders of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament, a Supreme Court judge, a high court chief justice, an eminent jurist and an eminent person in public life. The selection committee may, at its discretion, appoint a search committee to shortlist candidates.

4) There are some differences in the qualifications of a member of the Lok Pal. The JLP requires a judicial member to have held judicial office for 10 years or been a high court or Supreme Court advocate for 15 years. The government Bill requires the judicial member to be a Supreme Court judge or a high court chief justice. For other members, the government Bill requires at least 25 years experience in anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance or finance. The JLP has a lower age limit of 45 years, and disqualifies anyone who has been in government service in the previous two years. 

5)  The process for removal of Lok Pal members is different. The government Bill permits the president to make a reference to the Supreme Court for an inquiry, followed by removal if the member is found to be biased or corrupt. The reference may be made by the president (a) on his own, (a) on a petition signed by 100 MPs or (c) on a petition by a citizen if the President is then satisfied that it should be referred. The President may also remove any member for insolvency, infirmity of mind or body, or engaging in paid employment.

The JLP has a different process. The process starts with a complaint by any person to the Supreme Court. If the court finds misbehaviour, infirmity of mind or body, insolvency or paid employment, it may recommend his removal to the President. 

6)   The offences covered by the bills vary. The government Bill deals only with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The JLP, in addition, includes offences by public servants under the Indian Penal Code, victimization of whistleblowers and repeated violation of citizen's charter.

7) The government Bill provides for an investigation wing under the Lok Pal. The JLP states that the CBI will be under the Lok Pal while investigating corruption cases.

8) The government Bill provides for a prosecution wing of the Lok Pal. In the JLP, the CBI's prosecution wing will conduct this function.

9) The process for prosecution is different. In the government Bill, the Lok Pal may initiate prosecution in a special court. A copy of the report is to be sent to the competent authority. No prior sanction is required. In the JLP, prosecution of the Prime Minister, ministers, MPs and judges of Supreme Court and high courts may be initiated only with the permission of a 7-judge bench of the Lok Pal.

10) The JLP deals with grievance redressal of citizens, in addition to the process for prosecuting corruption cases. It requires every public authority to publish citizen's charters listing its commitments to citizens. The government Bill does not deal with grievance redressal.

Given the widespread media coverage and public discussions, it is important that citizens understand the differences and nuances. This may be a good opportunity to enact a law which includes the better provisions of each of these two bills. 

Inspired from :  MR Madhavan, PRS Legislative Research, Lok Pal Bill

Fukushima's Struggle to Normalcy

The mSome stabilisation targets have been met at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but levels of contaminated water in the basements remain Tepco's biggest challenge.

Pumping water into the three ruined reactors will be essential to their cooling for some time to come, and temperatures at units 2 and 3 are slowly approaching the landmark 100ºC, while unit 1 has been below this for almost a month. However, the water becomes highly radioactive after passing over the melted cores and it goes on to accumulate in the basements of the buildings.

To achieve sub-100ºC temperatures Tepco needs to increase the rate of injection, but this is impossible with the current volumes of accumulated water. Progress has to be made in the performance of the treatment facilities that clean radionuclides from the water ready for re-injection.

Performance targets for 80% availability have been approached for spells of a few days, although at times performance has been below 60%. During times of good operation water levels in the basements have come down by about 1.5 centimetres per day, only to go back up again slightly faster when equipment breaks down.

Overall, water depths have crept down from a high of about 3.80 metres to about 3.55 metres over about 90 days. Nevertheless, Tepco has said this marginal change has been enough to put the water surface 'sufficiently' below the top of the basement pit, at which point overspillage would be a major concern.

Tomorrow the company will begin the use of the SARRY caesium-absorption facility which will improve the process and on 20 August a second new evaporative concentration line will start.

Tepco has hit one target with the installation of external cooling for all four affected used fuel ponds. Ponds at units 1, 2 and 3 have stable temperatures between 34-37ºC, with water injection systems in place should cooling fail for a long period.

At unit 4 the external cooling system was brought online at the end of July and its temperature has stabilised at around 43ºC. A separate effort is underway to desalinate the water of pond 4, much of which was sourced from the sea.

Monitoring of newly released radiation in the air has been stepped up by about a factor of ten after levels fell below detection limits. The dose rate at the site boundary from newly released radiation now is just 0.4 millisieverts per year - within normal operating limits.

With the site now substantially stabilised and radiation release all but stopped to both air and sea, the issue of disposition of caesium-137 in the wider area is becoming the main focus of attention. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is now beginning analysis to support the return of residents to the zone 20-30 kilometres from the plant. It will need to assess the extent of contamination in each individual area as well as potential remediation measures.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News

  an, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new! A E.

New Google Movies OneBox

New Google Movies OneBox

The man, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new!A E.

EuroMillions Lottery International : You are a winner!

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Contact Number: +447-010-513-630
Fax: +447-005-930-743
Reply E-mail:verification@euromillion-uk.co.uk

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The history of Euro Millions began in 1994. Originally, the idea had been to launch this new Euro Lottery at around the same time as a single
European currency, but as often happens, bureaucracy, politics and other miscellaneous factors meant that the plan was delayed a number of times
before coming to fruition some ten years later.

The first Euro Millions lottery draw took place on Friday 13th February, 2004. It was originally presented by three major lottery organisers:
Camelot in the United Kingdom who run the UK National Lottery, Francaise des Jeux in France and the Loterias y Apuestas des Estad in Spain.
The first jackpot was worth 15 million Euros.The largest single winner of a Euromillions jackpot was a 25 year old woman from Mallorca in
Spain who won Ђ126,231,764 in May 2009 (Ј112,400,000 or $167,600,000) on the 8th of May 2009. However, on the 8th of October a single ticket
won Ђ129,818,431 (approx. $182,315,000, Ј113,000,000 at the time, but the winner(s) opted for no publicity so it is not known if the winner
was an individual, thus beating the 25 year old Spanish woman's record, or a syndicate.

Euro Millions is a European lottery that takes place once a week, on Friday evening. Whereas national lotteries are generally limited to the residents
of one particular country, the Euro Millions lottery pools the stakes of the participating European,North and South American,Asian,African and Non European
countries worldwide. This obviously makes the prizes a great deal larger than in national lotteries even in normal circumstances. But because the main
prize pool is "rolled over" to the next draw if there is no jackpot winner, prizes can - after a few weeks without a winner - be as high as 50 million Euros.

There are nine countries currently not participating in Euro Millions. This makes EuroMillions one of the biggest lotteries on the planet -
and certainly one of the most exciting!

EuroMillions is not only one of the biggest lotteries in the world, it also has features which make it even better – at least in certain respects –
than other big lottery games such as Mega Millions and Powerball in the USA. Recognising these winning features is important because it give players
a greater sense of appreciation for the game and therefore makes participating in EuroMillions even more satisfying. Here then, are just some of the
reasons why EuroMillions is a real winner, quite apart from the fact that it just happens to be the biggest lottery game in the whole wide world.

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Programme wish to gladly inform you that your Email has won the prize money of Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great British Pounds Sterling (Ј750,000.00GBP)
in our 2011 Online EuroMillions Lottery International game draw.

This program is aimed at encouraging the union and also help families with the current Global crisis all over (Europe, American, Asia and Africa),
hence no ticket sold. Your Email address was polled alongside millions of other Emails and your Email address was luckily polled .

You are a bonafide Winner.

To claim your winning prize you are to send the following information about yourself to the claims processing manager for verification .

Please be informed by this winning notification, to file your claims, you are to make contact with your designated agent
who shall by duty guide you through the process to facilitate the release of your prize. To file for your claim Please
Contact your Verification Officer via Reply Email: verification_dept@play-euromillions.co.cc

Claims Processing/Verification Officer: Mr. Carl Ashworth
E-mail: verification@euromillion-uk.co.uk
Contact Number: +447-010-513-630
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the National Lottery Commission or SLE. • Privacy •
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Google Earth: Learn to find ur Place

Solar Storms to disrupt GPS, Solar Companies--NOAA

 Three large explosions from the Sun over the past few days have prompted U.S. government scientists to caution users of satellite, telecommunications and electric equipment to prepare for possible disruptions over the next few days.

"The magnetic storm that is soon to develop probably will be in the moderate to strong level," said Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist at the Space WeatherPrediction Center, a division of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

He said solar storms this week could affect communications and global positioning system (GPS) satellites and might even produce an aurora visible as far south as Minnesota and Wisconsin.

An aurora, called aurora borealis or the northern lights in northern latitudes, is a natural light display in the sky in the Arctic and Antarctic regions caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere.

Major disruptions from solar activity are rare but have had serious impacts in the past.

In 1989, a solar storm took down the power grid in Quebec, Canada, leaving about six million people without power for several hours.

The largest solar storm ever recorded was in 1859 when communications infrastructure was limited to telegraphs.

The 1859 solar storm hit telegraph offices around the world and caused a giant aurora visible as far south as the Caribbean Islands.

Some telegraph operators reported electric shocks. Papers caught fire. And many telegraph systems continued to send and receive signals even after operators disconnected batteries, NOAA said on its website.

A storm of similar magnitude today could cause up to $2 trillion in damage globally, according to a 2008 report by the National Research Council.

"I don't think this week's solar storms will be anywhere near that. This will be a two or three out of five on the NOAA Space Weather Scale," said Kunches.

SOLAR SCALE

The NOAA Space Weather Scale measures the intensity of a solar storm from one being the lowest intensity to five being the highest, similar to scales that measure the severity of hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.

The first of the three solar explosions from the sun this week already passed the Earth on Thursday with little impact, Kunches said, noting, the second was passing the Earth now and "seems to be stronger."

And the third, he said, "We'll have to see what happens over the next few days. It could exacerbate the disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field caused by the second (storm) or do nothing at all."

Power grid managers receive alerts from the Space Weather Prediction Center to tell them to prepare for solar events, which peak about every 12 years, Tom Bogdan, director of the center said.he man, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new! A E.

Fukushima Radiating at Highest

ThThings are - literally - heating up again at Fukushima:

• Tepco Says Highest Radiation Yet Is Detected at Fukushima Dai-Ichi

• 10+ sieverts per hour means there is direct exposure to fuel rods or spent fuel ponds: Australia’s former top radiation official

• Tepco: Ultra-high radiation levels may be from melted fuel that leaked out of containment vessel

• Paper: TEPCO needs to check if high radiation doses are “spreading elsewhere” — Two more spots appear to be above 10 sieverts per hour, but no plans to actually take measurements

• New indoor radiation dose record at Fukushima ... May be higher as it exceeded capacity of measuring device

• New York Times: Fatal Radiation Level Found at Fukushima — “Exceeded” 10 sieverts per hour, measuring device was maxed out

• Experts: Melt-through scenario means even higher radiation readings to come — Likely many more reports of deadly radiation in future

• Tokyo U. nuke expert: Radioactive substances may have “poured” into pipe during explosion — Levels could also be extremely high outside Reactors No. 3 and 4

• Asahi: Latest detection of such high radiation levels is evidence that radioactive material spewed from Fukushima at much higher levels than previously believed

In related news from Japan:

• Gov’t says 1,500 tons of highly radioactive sludge may end up as “soil for gardening”

• Japan gov’t: Agency funding project to monitor online info about Fukushima crisis — Around the clock monitoring of “blogs on nuclear power” and “Twitter accounts”

• “Collusive relationship” between Japan gov’t and nuclear power industry — U.S. regulators illustrate why it’s so dangerous

But Reuters notes that the world's most hazardous nuclear plant in terms of worker radiation exposure is in the U.S., not Japan. This Reutersgraphic ranks the world's 5 most hazardous plants (Fukushima is only the 5th most hazarde man, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new! A E.

hotmail to help families on a pc

The man, who has not made a mistake, probably never did anything new! A E.