Wind farm campaigners present petition

Rhona Weir, the widow of climber, writer and broadcaster Tom Weir, presented the document on behalf of Stop Highland Windfarms.

The petition has the backing of the Scottish Conservatives. Meanwhile conservationists have been telling a Holyrood committee more must be done to protect wild land across Scotland.

The Stop Highland Windfarms petition states: "We the people from all over the world who love Scotland, petition First Minister Alex Salmond and Energy Minister Fergus Ewing to stop the reckless siting of wind turbines in Scotland."

The group said it had previously tried to present it to Mr Salmond at the SNP conference in Inverness last month but was unable to to so.

Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser, convener of the Scottish Parliament's energy committee, said: "This petition outlines well the fears communities have all over Scotland.

"People do not want to see their treasured countryside plastered with wind turbines, which aren't even an efficient producer of energy."

He added: "While around a fifth of Scotland already enjoys strong protection from development, including National Parks and National Scenic Areas, there is a legitimate debate about where the most appropriate sites for renewable energy in the country are. "

"We believe that wind energy - suitably located, and subject to a planning process which gives the right level of protection to Scotland's important landscapes - can make a huge contribution to meeting Scotland's future energy needs."

In a separate event, Holyrood's public petitions committee has been hearing from the John Muir Trust and Scottish Natural Heritage about how best to protect Scotland's wild land.

The John Muir Trust has collected thousands of signatures from people who back its concerns about the rate of development across otherwise unspoilt areas.

The trust has been working on maps to build a picture of the best wild land which it believes should be given statutory protection, separate to existing designations such as National Scenic Areas.

In a submission to the committee, the trust stated: "Wild land in Scotland provides important ecosystem services, sustaining numerous forms of life including key biodiversity species and providing for essential climate change mitigation and adaptation, for instance, retention of carbon in peat, providing high-quality water supplies and contributing to natural flood defences.

"Wild land does not receive clear and explicit recognition or protection within the Scottish planning system, or when decisions are made on sustainable land use.

"As a consequence, as more accessible and less sensitive sites are developed, some of the best wild land faces the threat of being lost forever." MSPs also discussed the impact of wind farms on the countryside.

Another petition calls for a change in planning regulations to enable an increase in the current "neighbour notification" distance of 20 metres.

Reliable electric supply

Many arguments for replacing our carbon-based fuels with wind and solar energy conveniently ignore the realities of energy storage technology, money, the weather and ― most important ― the need for a reliable electricity supply.

Do we need to move away from carbon-based fuels? Absolutely. The evidence that the Earth’s climate is changing is incontrovertible: Glaciers are receding, as is the Arctic Ocean’s ice cap, and average global temperatures are rising. Levels of carbon dioxide, which traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, have increased from 280 parts per million in pre-industrial times to 390 ppm today, and the increase is accelerating, so it’s likely that human activities are at least partially responsible.

Unless you’ve visited a large power plant (which I’ve done many times during my career) and watched the endless stream of coal feeding the furnace and the resulting fireball that turns water into steam for weeks on end, you have no appreciation for the amount of “stuff” we’re burning that creates tons of carbon dioxide. There are better ways to boil water.

That said, what’s too often missing from the green-energy debate is our expectation of a reliable source of electric energy. Theoretically, there’s plenty of sunshine and wind to provide all our energy needs, but they are not always available where and when we need them. The sun doesn’t shine at night, and the wind doesn’t always blow, and electricity storage isn’t even remotely available on the scale needed for grid reliability.

Yet our homes, businesses and factories demand electricity ― lots of it ― every second, and as an engineer by education and a power system professional for almost 40 years, I would never suggest we count on Mother Nature’s intermittent wind and sunshine alone to provide a reliable source of electricity. In fact, when electric utilities plan which generators to run the next day, they are careful to not overly rely on wind or solar generation in case Mother Nature suddenly changes her plans ― as if she has any.

Ms. Whitney invites us to read the October 2009 article in Scientific American, “A Plan to Power 100 Percent of the Planet with Renewables,” by Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi, professors at Stanford University and the University of California. So I did. The article posits that “wind, water, and solar technologies can provide 100 percent of the world’s energy, eliminating all fossil fuels” by 2030, a claim I’d expect from two very smart professors who have nifty ideas but neither the experience nor the responsibility for keeping the nation’s lights on.

Build solar and wind generation where it makes sense. New Jersey ranks second in solar energy generation. But homes covered with solar panels remain connected to the grid for electricity at night, during cloudy days and to fill the gaps between the home’s “real-time” electricity demand and the energy produced by the sun.

Wind turbines may be acceptable in rural areas and coastlines and, technically, they’re pretty neat (I’ve been inside one). But their 100-foot blades atop 300-foot towers are not silent and project long, moving shadows when the sun is low on the horizon.

Confidence gap persists in job market

With phrases like "skills gap" and "brain drain" often invoked to explain Michigan's lackluster economy and stagnant incomes, Gov. Rick Snyder led a two-day summit at Cobo Center in Detroit this week to wrestle with the talent dilemma.

After sitting through a few sessions of Day One, the problem seemed apparent to me. Call it a confidence gap, a lack of trust, a loss of faith ― or maybe just, as Cool Hand Luke once said, "a failure to communicate."

We often hear employers complain about inept job candidates or rail about clueless pointy-heads in the education establishment who know nothing about business. A subpar talent pool, they argue, is why Michigan can have a 9 percent jobless rate and more than 60,000 unfilled jobs at the same time.

But it was Scott Temple who turned the light bulb on for me Monday about how all key players in the talent game ― job-seekers, educators and employers ― have had their faith and trust in one another shaken to the core.

Temple, a 1997 graduate of Detroit Mumford High School and with a history degree from Wayne State University, has peddled pizza behind home plate at Tigers games, led museum and church tours, handled auto insurance and workers' compensation claims, and worked at now-defunct Borders Group for three years before jumping ship just ahead of his whole department being eliminated.

Snyder called up Temple and nine other articulate job-seekers in their 20s or early 30s ― all of whom professed a desire to stay in Michigan ― to the podium at Cobo on Monday morning.

The point: Michigan has lots of eager young talent. After their brief remarks, all 10 got hearty applause from the 700 people attending.

Afterward, though, a conversation with Temple left me wondering whether employers fully grasp what the economic upheaval of the early 21st century has done to the psyche of today's work force.

He was talking about his 44-year-old sister, switching careers from teaching to nursing. "She's seen the landscape change," he said, "and she's reinventing herself.

"That's just the way of the world now, because you'll be sitting at your desk, and then you'll hear the word 'cuts.' "And then, you hear the words 'You're safe.'" "And then, you think, 'How long?'"

"And then, you start (to) get that uncomfortable feeling when you see an empty office next to you or down the hall."

What I took away from my chat with Temple ― aside from a conviction that I'd hire him in a heartbeat if I had a job to offer ― was that the traditional unspoken contract between employer and worker has been shattered, and that everybody in his generation knows it.

If you come to work every day and perform well, we will take care of you.

That unspoken promise ― the one Temple's mother trusted through her 41-year career as a schoolteacher and principal in Detroit Public Schools ― is history. It's kaput, just like Borders and scores of other companies that have been vaporized in the age of digital technology and globalization.

Yes, I suppose there's a skills gap that today's teenagers can help close if more choose engineering and technology majors.

And, yes, a denser, cooler, more walkable Detroit might help ease the brain drain from Michigan to cities like Chicago or Boston.

And, yes, our educators can probably do more to understand the needs of businesses that are creating jobs today.

Equally important, though, is the need for business leaders and hiring managers to fully grasp that the old employment contract is kaput ― and that they'd better craft an attractive replacement rationale if they hope to recruit and retain the talent they need.

Bahrain launches major energy saving project

A nationwide scheme is underway to fit energy-efficient light bulbs at every home in Bahrain, said a report.

The BD3 million ($7.8 million) project is being carried out by the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) and Finance Ministry and is expected to be completed within months, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

It will involve replacing about two million bulbs with more energy-efficient, longer-lasting and non-heating LED alternatives at no cost to homeowners, said Minister of State for Electricity and Water Affairs Dr Abdulhussain Mirza.

"This will mean the lighting efficiency will increase by 80 per cent and since these bulbs do not generate heat, there will be a reduction in air-conditioning costs as well," he told the GDN.

"The entire project will cost around BD3 million and we hope to have it completed by the end of the year," explained Dr Mirza.

"We are working out a comprehensive mechanism to implement this project through which we hope people will be educated on saving electricity. Through this project, Bahrain will have more than 245 GWh (Giga watt hours) of extra electricity annually," the minister said.

"The project also will contribute to the reduction of the high demand for electricity during peak periods and reduce polluting emissions by up to 180,000 tonnes per year as well as result in 2,300 cubic feet of additional natural gas being available per year," he added.

Dr Mirza said plans were also in the pipeline to issue new utility bills, which include the amount customers have to pay as well as what they would have paid if power and water were not subsided.

"For example, we hope when people know what they would have had to pay rather than what they are actually paying, they will start conserving power and water," he added.

"We hope these steps will increase public awareness of the need to conserve electricity," said Dr Mirza.

The minister also pointed out that there has been a noticeable drop in power cuts during the last year.

He explained that each power interruption during peak season, between May and September, now lasts for an average of 18 minutes as compared with 170 minutes in 2010 and 49 minutes in 2011.

"There were a total of 25,255 interruptions in 2012, compared with 26,735 in 2011 and 32,464 in 2010," he revealed.

"These achievements have been possible with careful planning and optimisation of EWA resources over the last year. Hopefully, we will make sure there are virtually no power interruptions in the years to come," he added.

We back the idea if the Cubans, who donated the first set of bulbs, do in fact have more to give, and if we can be assured that there will be proper oversight. For the last effort was not only an embarrassment to Mr Paulwell's People's National Party administration, but Jamaica, generally.

The minister's then deputy, and others, were accused of siphoning off millions of light bulbs for personal benefit and of setting up dummy companies to manage the distribution. These allegations are still before the court.

Selador LED fixtures installed at Netherlands' Ziggo Dome

The Netherlands’ brand new multi-use indoor arena Ziggo Dome has been fitted out with over 400 ETC Selador LED fixtures in a bid to make its house lighting among the best – and greenest – anywhere.

Traditionally, says ETC, arena house lighting has been harsh, using unpleasant sodium or fluorescent fixtures, which do little to reflect the stunning lighting often found on stage. But with 80 ETC Selador Desire Lustr+ LED fixtures above the main arena, and 370 ETC Selador Classic Vivid-R LED fixtures in the surrounding corridors and foyer areas, the Ziggo Dome is claimed to be very different.

Named after Dutch communications company Ziggo, the 17,000 seat venue in Amsterdam hosts a range of different types of events, from Peter Pan, Rihanna and Mumford & Sons, to the music from the BBC’s nature documentary Frozen Planet, the MTV European Music Awards and Top Gear Live.

“We were keen to include a lighting scheme which extended from simply on stage to the whole arena, making the house lights part of the show lights,” said Ziggo Dome’s facilities manager Ruud Bongers. “At the touch of a button, we can make the house lighting change colour, brighten or dim; and it can all be done from one of nine touch panels located around the building.”

One of the major issues when planning house lighting as this was ensuring that not only does the venue look good, but that it remains practical: guests need to be able to see their way to the seats and read their tickets, while maintaining a comfortable level of light. “We did a lot of testing,” said Bongers, “to make sure that everything looked right – and that the LEDs maintained a pleasant skin tone. Selador has some beautiful colour choices.”

The system is controlled by ETC Unison Mosaic, with the Tessera touch panels located around the building so that authorised staff can adjust the lighting in their area; Mosaic is able to supply an sACN signal to the ETC Gateways – which would then send DMX to the fixtures – without extra processing. “In the corridor which circles the building, where bars are located,” says Bongers, “we can have mood lighting which reflects the show. But we can also adjust it to reflect or affect the mood of the crowd: if people are getting a little rowdy, we can adjust the lighting to something a bit calmer.”

A main control panel in the lighting booth allows the operator to override the house lighting across the building. “When a band comes on, you’d want the lighting to fade out,” said production manager Rick Liesveld. “osaic can do more than just a simple 20 second fade: it can start from one end of the hall, and slowly move towards the other end. We call it ‘the blanket’. It’s amazing to hear the noise of the audience die out not as one as you’d expect, but slowly, gradually, from one end, as people realise the show’s about to start.”

“Similarly, at the end of the show, rather than have all the lighting come on at once, we can have the lighting come up in the VIP areas first, followed by the rest of the audience. The lighting is far more interesting and dynamic.”