Germany needs green energy master plan -study

Germany needs a master plan that brings together central and local government policy and provides certainty for investors and project firms if it is to find the $420 billion needed to fund a radical shift towards green power, a study said on Monday.

HypoVereinsbank (HVB), a unit of Italy's UniCredit , put the cost of what Germans call the "energy U-turn" - its move to switch off nuclear plants, increase wind and solar power generation and improve power grids - at 335 billion euros ($420 billion).

Europe's biggest economy needs substantial investment to build up renewable capacity and connect it with the nine countries on its borders, it said.

Investments in plant and infrastructure would amount to 85 billion, while 250 billion would be needed for support payments to renewable energies, the study estimated.

"In core areas of the energy U-turn, project financing is currently only possible to a limited extent, because revenue and expenditure cannot be sufficiently gauged," HVB board member Lutz Diederichs said in a statement.

"This makes the calculation of cash for the projects difficult," he added.

By 2020, 35 percent of all Germany's electricity is meant to come from renewable resources, compared with 20 percent now.

Germany also has decided to phase out of nuclear power completely by 2022, faster than originally planned, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The reactors had provided 23 percent of its power supply in 2010.

The HVB study, done jointly with the HWWI economic research institute in Hamburg, said a master plan was needed to bring together central government and state strategies, to ensure the integration of new power sources and to clarify the jobs to be undertaken by private versus public partners.

One obstacle to obtaining financing for renewable projects is that income from wind and solar can be unpredictable because it relies on weather.

For offshore wind farms in particular, questions also remain over liabilities for technical problems and maintenance as well as the lack of cable connections to onshore grids.

HVB recommended that some mechanism be found to stabilise cash flows from projects that account for at least half of the overall investment volume.

HVB said new international banking rules, dubbed Basel III, would make lending to renewable energy and grid projects, which tend to be for the long term and involve high risk, even more difficult and expensive.

Basel III requires banks to improve their risk-management systems and hold more capital as a safety buffer in case of economic or financial downturn, raising the bar for outlays on uncertain risks.

HVB recommended that banks, as well as making loans, should act as intermediaries to help raise funding from investors for projects.

"A successful implementation also hinges on acceptance by the population. So far, there are big discrepancies between the public perception and the realities of the energy shift," Michael Braeuninger, lead author at the HWWI, said.

Dynamic, resolute, self-assured – South Africa Johannesburg

The front and tail-end section of the new-generation C-Class are styled more strikingly, the front being brought closer to the brand's new design idiom. The front bumper has a more expressive and dynamic contour, and supports the shape of the radiator grille.

The central air intake opens out upwards in a V-shape, forming a visual base unit for the radiator grille. Pronounced side sections extend from the sporty V-shape at the centre. Continuing beneath the headlamps, these sections blend into the feature lines along the vehicle flanks, forming a link with the sides. The side air inlets in the bumper are positioned low down, giving the car a more road-hugging appearance.

The C-Class has been given a new bonnet made of aluminium, and its contour in the area around the headlamps and the radiator grille emphasises the V-shape of the front end.

The shape of the clear-lens headlamps creates a dynamic and resolute impression, and together with the bonnet, radiator grille and bumper, gives the C-Class a new face. This impression is reinforced by both the exterior form of the headlamps and the interior of the housings. The halogen headlamps are arranged in the classic way, with low beam on the outside, main beam on the inside and the indicators neatly arranged in the outer corner formed with the front wing.

A visual base in the lower section of the headlamp is formed by a horizontal broadband LED indicator unit. The horizontal LED daytime running lamps in the bumper, makes the C-Class clearly recognisable from a distance.

In the case of the rear bumper, the light-catching contours and dividing lines emphasise the width of the sedan. A continuous light-catching contour at the upper end of the rear bumper extends into the flanks to connect the tail end with the sides to emphasise the sporty character of the rear aspect.

In this new-generation model, the tail lights are even more neatly integrated into the tail end by a continuous covering lens. The particular impression of depth is achieved by a centrally located LED indicator, which appears to float in front of the red upper and lower light bands.

The sporty and high-quality dashboard, with stylish new trim concept has been enhanced. The touch surfaces of the controls are more finely detailed and galvanised. With its stepped extension, the instrument cluster's panel now also accommodates the central display. The instrument cluster and a discreet light-catching contour continue to the front-passenger side. The central, trapezoidal air vents and the round vents on the outside are highlighted in detail by galvanised trim.

The large section of trim is an important part of the newly designed dashboard. This extends from the centre air vents across the front-passenger side to the outer air vent and creates a much wider look for the interior. The upper part of the dashboard with its new surface grain continues into the beltlines of the door panels.

Kim Summers: 'This is a noble calling'

The message also stuck with her brother, who followed in their father's footsteps and is a fire battalion chief in Santa Fe Springs.

Summers has worked for the city of Hesperia since 1999, starting as a part-timer in Economic Development before serving eight years as the city's spokeswoman. Among her often-unheralded accomplishments, she designed the current city logo.

"Then I started to get interested in policy development," she said. "I want to be where the decisions are made."

Today, she serves as the right hand of City Manager Mike Podegracz, overseeing the city manager's office, the clerk's office and the IT division, along with handling special projects.

"Kim commits herself to the city," said Kelly Malloy, spokeswoman for the city. "She's behind the scenes and people never know all she's done."

Summers encourages employees to think about new ways to handle problems, and not just rely on older solutions just because that's the way it's always been done.

"Kim is always excited about learning and goes the extra mile to be innovative and apply new concepts to work at the city," said assistant city clerk Melinda Sayre-Castro.

"Not everyone's lucky enough to have that kind of work environment," Malloy said.

But Summers hasn't fully left behind her spokeswoman roots: Hesperia's citizens academy, where more than a dozen residents each year get a crash course in all aspects of local government, taught by the officials who oversee the day-to-day workings of the city, was her idea.

"The original intent was to create this group of citizenry who are more informed about how the city functions," she said.

Armed with that knowledge, officials hoped they were creating an informed group who might one day serve on city committees ― which some years have gone begging for applicants ― or run for local office.

"It's been a really positive program for the participants," she said. "Once you drag them through 2 1/2 hours on the budget, the light bulb comes on."

And even when some of her decisions are more controversial ― she spearheaded the process that led to new, higher trash fees in the city, to help finance a larger trash facility for franchisee Advance Disposal and help the city meet new state-mandated recycling levels ― Summers did so with the knowledge that her decisions would be felt for decades to come.

"I felt the weight that, 20 years from now, people who aren't born yet will be paying these fees and living with this franchise," she said.

And she still has no interest in leaving public service any time soon.

"We could all make more money on the private side, but there's that sense of fulfillment" they get working for the residents, Summers said. "There's a pride in what we're doing here."

Students don't often consider fire safety

When University of Connecticut senior Ryan Tabtabai went in search of an off-campus apartment two years ago, fire safety never crossed his mind.

The 21-year-old Shelton native who is planning a career in medicine was most concerned about being on a bus line. He and another roommate do not have cars.

They found a place through friends that had a newly-renovated second-floor walk-up in an eight unit apartment complex.

"I remember them telling us they had just installed a new system that linked all the fire alarms together in the building. I wasn't there, personally, when the fire marshal was there but I felt pretty good about it," said Tabtabai.

Last weekend's tragic fire that killed three people in an off-campus house near Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. have college officials and parents of college students thinking about fire safety issues in off campus housing, but not Tabtabai.

"I never really think about it," said Tabtabai.

"If a fire alarm goes off, it's usually someone cooking or something like that. I personally never get that worried about it," he said.

Plus, Tabtabai said if he ever needed to, he would simply jump out his window. "It's not very high up," he said.

The cause of the Marist fire is still under investigation. The late night fire is believed to have started in the rear of the first floor of the wood frame house. Early reports indicate the house did have smoke detectors because witnesses told the Poughkeepsie Journal they heard them going off. Some speculate the century-old house's construction, with open spaces between interior walls, may have led to the speed of the fire.

Often, fire safety and other housing infrastructure issues are not on the minds of students searching for a good flat for the semester.

Kim Holiver, a Fairfield University senior, said she didn't give fire safety any thought when she moved into a house on Fairfield Beach Road with four friends in the fall. Holiver missed the mandatory meeting Fairfield hosts each fall for students who live off campus where fire safety is discussed, but her roommates attended.

"We have smoke detectors in the house, in the bedrooms. We know how to change the batteries," said Holiver,a psychology major from Mansfield, Mass.

Holiver said she enjoys lighting candles but is careful about it.

"I always double-check to make sure the candles are out at night," she said. She also keeps her first-floor bedroom door closed at night.

How Mexico Is Screwing In 44M Light Bulbs

In this version, it takes a supportive president, millions of Mexican citizens, some Australians and quite a lot of organization to screw in 44 million energy-efficient light bulbs. At least that's what Mexico is demonstrating in their national program to phase out inefficient light bulbs. The results should be well worth the effort – Mexico stands to save $3.4 billion dollars in the next 10 years from the energy savings, according to program backers. Not to mention it will keep 28 million tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

For guidance on this ambitious swap, the Mexican government is working with the Australian company Cool NRG International, which has coordinated similar programs in Australia and Britain. To implement the "Luz Sustentable" federal program, centers will be set up throughout Mexico where families can trade their incandescent light bulbs for up to four free compact fluorescent light bulbs.

These CFL bulbs use approximately one quarter the energy of the incandescent bulbs they'll replace and last up to 10 years. The program is expected to benefit 40 percent of Mexico's families, saving households $2.5 million in energy bills and eliminating the need to build two power plants which would have cost over $916 million.

Beyond cost savings, the more efficient bulbs will save 7.44 million barrels of oil annually – preventing 28 million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. These carbon credits already stand to be sold to the Netherlands in compliance with the Kyoto Protocol.

Along with the big switch, Mexico is phasing out the sale of incandescent bulbs, banning 100-watt bulbs this year and continuing on down to 40 watt bulbs in 2013. Mexico joins the growing number of nations already phasing out incandescent bulbs, including Brazil and Venezuela in 2005 and the European Union, Switzerland and Australia in 2009.

Alternatively, the United States has not directly banned incandescent bulbs. Instead, under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, bulbs are required to use 30% less energy while generating the same amount of light. This will essentially phase out the old models starting with the 100 watt bulb in January 2012. According to the National Resources Defense Council, once the U.S. transitions to more efficient bulbs consumers stand to save $12.5 billion annually. So the next question is what will it take to screw efficient bulbs into the 4 billion sockets the U.S. is estimated to have?

The Rev. Cynthia L. Black, rector of the Church of the Redeemer, has announced the church will be participating in a two-year environmental certification program offered by GreenFaith, a national interfaith environmental organization.

To become certified as a "Green Sanctuary," over the next two years the church will address environmental issues within the church and in the community.

Among the things the church has planned are eco-themed worship services, religious education about the environment and implementing environmental measures at the church. They will also help plan sustainability initiatives in the community.

"What I love about this program is its comprehensiveness. It's not just about recycling or using compact-fluorescent light bulbs, this is about taking our commitment to "do justice" seriously, as Redeemer has done so well throughout its history," said Black.