news20100111jt

[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]

[NATIONAL NEWS]
Monday, Jan. 11, 2010
JAL faces showdown with retirees
ETIC threatens to dissolve pension fund
Kyodo News

Japan Airlines Corp. is having a hard time getting its retirees to approve drastic cuts in pension benefits as it heads toward court-backed rehabilitation, sources close to the matter said Sunday.

The ailing carrier needs two-thirds approval and the working deadline is Tuesday.

Separately, the state-backed body in charge of turning around struggling JAL is also expected to urge the company to decline investment offers from America's two biggest carriers amid concern a capital tieup could complicate its rehabilitation plan.

Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest carrier and one with a strong presence on U.S.-Japan routes, is believed to be the front-runner for joining JAL, which belongs to the oneworld alliance led by American Airlines Inc.

If JAL were to receive an investment from either carrier, it would narrow the options for the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. when it decides to sell JAL's shares following rehabilitation, the sources said.

JAL needs to receive approval from two-thirds of the around 9,000 retirees to cut pension benefits, which have ballooned liabilities at Japan's flagship airline.

But the prospects for winning approval dimmed after anxiety spread that the retirees could face even bigger cuts if they consent to the deal. The government is expected to file for bankruptcy protection under under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law.

The government and JAL's key creditor banks view pension reform as a prerequisite for a bailout to prevent the large amounts of public funds expected to be injected into the airline for its turnaround from being used to finance pension payments.

ETIC plans to dissolve JAL's corporate pension fund if the airline fails to get consent for cutting pension benefits.

Company officials are making last-minute calls to persuade the retirees before the deadline, but they will continue efforts to secure approval until Jan. 22, the date by which the retirees can still change their minds.

But the sources warned that it would be difficult to significantly boost approval for the pension cuts during the extended period.

The retirees have been asked to agree to a cut of more than 30 percent, while current employees have been asked to accept a reduction of around 53 percent. JAL has already obtained approval from the employees but needs the two-thirds agreement from both groups to implement its proposals.

While ETIC plans to dissolve the pension fund if the proposals are voted down, the body has informed JAL that it would respect the current level of proposed pension cuts if approval can be attained, the sources said.

But skepticism is growing among retirees that the government and the body are inclined to pursue court-backed bankruptcy proceedings even if JAL succeeds in getting two-thirds approval.


[NATIONAL NEWS]
Monday, Jan. 11, 2010
City's birth challenge linked to sex change

KOBE (Kyodo) A Hyogo Prefecture man who has legally changed his sexual status said Sunday that the city where he lives told him to register his son, who was born through artificial insemination, as an illegitimate child.

Children born through artificial insemination by donors are ordinarily accepted as legitimate, experts say, because municipal offices do not necessarily know the details of a particular birth.

But in the man's case, the municipal office knew he had changed his sex in his family registration record, apparently leading it to reject the legitimacy of his son, they said.

"This man is lawfully married. It is discriminatory not to recognize him as the father," said Toshiyuki Oshima, a Kyushu International University professor and head of the Japanese Society of Gender Identity Disorder.

The man, whose name is being withheld, is a 27-year-old resident of Shiso, Hyogo Prefecture. He received approval for the sex change under a special law concerning people with sexual identity disorder and changed his family registration record to reflect it in March 2008. He married the following month.

On Nov. 4, 2009, his 28-year-old wife gave birth to the boy through artificial insemination using semen from the man's brother.

The man went to register the boy the following day but was unable to do so and later told by the municipal office to register him as adopted.

After getting legal advice, the man sent his son's birth report to the city office and is waiting for it to respond.

If his request is refused again, he will take the case to court, he said.

"I am recognized by the country as a man but not as a father. I wonder why the special law (for people with sexual identity disorder) exists."


[BUSINESS NEWS]
Monday, Jan. 11, 2010
Panasonic envisions high 3-D TV sales in U.S.
Bloomberg
Panasonic Corp. expects to sell as many as 1 million 3-D TVs in the next year in the United States, Europe and Japan.
BLOOMBERG

The company will begin shipping in March, Yoshi Yamada, Panasonic's North American chairman and chief executive officer, said Friday in an interview. Prices haven't been set. The U.S. will be the biggest market.

Adoption of three-dimensional TV, which requires viewers to wear special glasses, will be faster than the acceptance of high-definition TV because more films, programs and games will be available, Yamada said. Panasonic is actively seeking material from Hollywood and was a promotional partner in James Cameron's 3-D film "Avatar."

"We learned a lot of lessons," Yamada said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. have also said that they plan to introduce 3-D sets.

Panasonic, which introduced four 3-D Viera plasma TVs ranging in size from 50 to 65 inches, announced a partnership with DirecTV Group Inc., the largest U.S. satellite TV service, to promote three 3-D channels that will begin operating in June.

Panasonic, which doesn't have an ownership stake in the channels, plans to promote the programming in retail and other advertising, Yamada said. Marketing will also target DirecTV's 18 million subscribers, which he said includes 10 million customers with set-top boxes than can receive 3-D shows.

Panasonic and other TV makers charged too much for early high-definition TVs, Yamada said. The company is working to avoid that pitfall this time, he said, without being more specific.

The TVs will come with one set of 3-D glasses, which Panasonic will also sell separately for those who want more, he said.

To stoke demand for the sets, Panasonic also announced at the show it will begin selling a 3-D high-definition camcorder and a Blu-ray player.

"What we have learned in selling high-definition sets is that the picture is what sells it," Yamada said. "When people see it in 3-D, they say 'wow.' "



[NATIONAL NEWS]
Monday, Jan. 11, 2010
Kan to test waters for consumption tax hike after fiscal review
Kyodo News

Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan, appointed last week to also serve as finance minister, indicated Sunday that he may put a consumption tax hike on the table in fiscal 2011.

"I would like to spend this year thoroughly reviewing fiscal conditions," Kan said while making the rounds on Sunday TV talk shows. "Based on the results of the review, I would like to discuss necessary steps, whether that means (raising) the consumption tax or (introducing) a green tax."

Kan said that while Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is holding to a policy of not raising the 5 percent consumption tax for the next four years, this doesn't prevent debate on the issue.

The government will need to discuss tax hikes when it becomes clear "there is no way of finding new fiscal resources," he said.

During his fiscal review, Kan intends to look into reserves held in various budget accounts dedicated to special purposes, he said.

"We weren't able to do enough in looking into special account reserves for the fiscal 2010 budget," Kan said, suggesting there is more to come when the government draws up the budget for fiscal 2011 or subsequent budgets.

The government was able to scoop up more than ¥10 trillion in extra funds from special accounts for the fiscal 2010 general account budget, but Kan admitted it will be "very difficult" to find such nontax revenues in the future.

news20100111lat

[Today's Newspaper] from [Los Angeles Times]

[Business > Environment]
By Margot Roosevelt
January 11, 2010
REGULATIONS
Environmental groups try to block parts of California's green building code
The Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council are among six groups waging a last-minute campaign to derail some of the rules, saying they aren't tough enough.

Environmental groups are mounting a last-ditch effort to derail key elements of the state's first-in-the-nation green building code -- a major initiative of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration.

The proposed code, likely to be adopted Tuesday, would slash water use, mandate the recycling of construction waste, cut back on polluting materials and step up enforcement of energy efficiency in new homes, schools, hospitals and commercial buildings statewide.

"It is going to change the whole fabric of how buildings are built by integrating green practices into our everyday building code," said David Walls, executive director of the California Building Standards Commission. "The rest of the nation will be looking at what we have done."

But critics say the rules fall short of rigorous standards adopted by Los Angeles, San Francisco and more than 50 California jurisdictions in league with the U.S. Green Building Council, a national nonprofit group of architects, engineers and construction companies.

The council's voluntary Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards have become an industry norm in recent years, with architects and construction firms competing on four levels -- LEED basic, silver, gold or platinum -- to market their buildings as green.

In 2004, Schwarzenegger ordered that all new state buildings meet at least a LEED silver level.

But parts of the state's new code, which would take effect in January 2011, would amount to "a setback for California's leadership on green building," according to a Dec. 22 letter from six groups. They included the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Global Green, along with two nonprofit certification groups, the Green Building Council and Berkeley-based Build It Green.

The groups largely applaud the code's mandatory rules as a baseline minimum standard.

But they take issue with its two-tier labeling system for stricter voluntary measures, CalGreen, saying it would be open to conflicting interpretations and be unenforceable by local building inspectors.

"The tiers cause confusion in the marketplace and the potential for builders to label their buildings green without substantiating their claims," said Elizabeth Echols, director of the Green Building Council's Northern California chapter. Many local officials who would be responsible for verifying builder claims do not have the technical expertise that LEED and other third-party verifiers provide, she added.

More than 200 architects, engineers and builders have e-mailed Schwarznegger in the last three days to oppose the CalGreen label.

"The last thing we need is a new government rating system," said Phil Williams, vice president of Webcor, the state's biggest contractor.

But Dan Pellissier, a deputy cabinet official who met with critics last week, alleged that the Green Building Council is leading opposition to CalGreen because it does not want competition to its own private-sector LEED brand.

Meanwhile, many builders want an alternative to LEED. "The cost for owners to go through this rating system is astronomical -- in a very challenging commercial real estate market," contended Sandra Boyle, an executive vice president of Glenborough, a San Mateo developer.

Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, said the building commission had tightened its proposal based on the board's requests, but she acknowledged it might not be as rigorous as third-party systems.

Still, she added, "it is a heck of a lot better than anything we have now."

The new code would require developers to slash water use in their buildings by 20%, using more efficient toilets, shower heads and faucets.

The code would divert half of all construction waste away from landfills by requiring recycling. And it would allow buildings to be occupied only after strict energy standards were verified.

news20100111gdn1

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[Environment > Nuclear power]
Irrational fears give nuclear power a bad name, says Oxford scientist
Wade Allison says misplaced health stigma has prevented the full benefits of nuclear energy being explored
Alok Jha and Sarah Boseley
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 10 January 2010 20.32 GMT Article history

The health dangers from nuclear radiation been oversold, stopping governments from fully exploiting nuclear power as a weapon against climate change, argues a professor of physics at Oxford University.

Wade Allison does not question the dangers of high levels of radiation but says that, contrary to scientific wisdom, low levels of radiation can be easily tolerated by the human body.

Most scientists who have responded disagreed with Allison's conclusions, but his comments have highlighted the lack of understanding of how the body deals with low doses of radiation, a crucial issue given it is increasingly used in modern medical procedures such as scanning and cancer treatment.

Nuclear crises, from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the meltdown of a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, have created widespread fear and distrust of nuclear power, and global pressure to keep radiation at the lowest possible level, according to Allison, a particle physicist who makes his arguments in a self-published book, Radiation and Reason. He says long-term data on the health of survivors of the atomic bombs have demonstrated how good the human body is at protecting itself from radiological and chemical attack.

"The ability to repair damage and replace cells, we discovered in the last 50 years, show how radiation doesn't cause damage except under extreme circumstances," he says. "The radiation that a patient gets in one day from a course of radiotherapy treatment, it would take a million hours of exposure for someone standing in the radioactive waste hall of Sellafield. And, if you have radiotherapy, it goes on for several weeks."

Ionising radiation, the type from nuclear reactions, can break strands of DNA in cells and these can make a cell cancerous unless the body's machinery can fix the damage. Scientists have used data from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, plus that from experiments on animals and cell cultures, to create a measure of how much damage is caused by high levels of radiation. This has then been extrapolated back, in a straight line, to estimate the potential damage from low levels of radiation to create what is called the linear non-threshold (LNT) model.

"The problem with a lot of these discussions is that you eventually get to the point where you don't have any more data," said Professor Gillies McKenna of Oxford University, Cancer Research UK's expert on radiation oncology. "Even the data from Hiroshima and Nagasaki – there weren't enormous numbers of cancers created in those cases, so we have to extrapolate what we think would happen at low dose."

Since the end of the second world war, scientists have worked on the basis that there is no dose of radiation so low that it is not dangerous. Allison, however, believes there is a threshold below which any radiation exposure is fully repaired by the body – but this is a view mainstream scientists disagree with.

"I wouldn't say Allison's ideas are fanciful but when you weigh up all the evidence, the scientific authorities come to the conclusion that the LNT dose-response relationship for low doses is the best we can do," says Richard Wakeford, an epidemiologist specialising in the health effects of radiation at the University of Manchester.

Allison's hypothesis assumes that all of the DNA damage caused below a threshold of radiation dose can be fixed by the cells' internal machinery. "I can't see and nor do the majority of experts in the field how these processes can be 100% effective," said Wakeford.

"Radiation is particularly effective at causing double-strand DNA breaks, which make it difficult for the repair mechanisms in the cells to repair them properly."

Where McKenna and other scientists do agree with Allison is that fear of radiation is a problem. McKenna's expertise is in the use of radiation to kill cancer cells. "People become so fearful of radiation that they avoid diagnostic tests that might save their lives or avoid radiotherapy when they have cancer that is much more likely to kill them than exposure to radiation. He [Allison] is right that it has become a little bit hysterical. People are now avoiding CT scans or avoiding building nuclear power stations when in most aspects, radiation is a very useful thing."

Half of cancer patients will be given radiotherapy and more than half of those will be cured by it, McKenna said. "In most instances, where you use radiation – certainly in medicine and in most other forms of industry – the benefits greatly outweigh the risks."

Treatment involves a dose of radiation directed at the cancer cells which is 10 to 20 times the dose that would be fatal directed to the whole body.

Some areas of the country, such as Devon and Cornwall, have naturally high levels of radiation in the rock, and yet they do not have high incidence of cancer. "It would suggest to me that we can tolerate relatively higher doses of radiation, unless you add things on top like smoking," said McKenna, adding that there were good scientists on both sides of the debate, "but you reach a point where you can't generate the data you need and I do think we need to be careful not to exaggerate the risks and increase the fears."

Nothing has generated quite as much cancer concern in the UK as Sellafield power station in Cumbria. Concern about radiation leaks at the plant, known as Windscale when it was commissioned in 1956, grew over the years until in 1983, Yorkshire Television produced a documentary called The Nuclear Laundry, suggesting low-level radiation emissions posed a risk. In the 1990s clusters of childhood leukaemia cases were identified near the site.

Investigating those concerns has been the preoccupation of Comare, the government's expert committee on the medical aspects of radiation, since it was set up in 1985. After years of painstaking work and many reports, it has yet to establish a link between radiation and childhood leukaemia. The evidence for some sort of infection, possibly caused by the movement from one area to another of people working at the plant, is far stronger.

Comare's chairman, Alex Elliott, a professor of clinical physics at Glasgow University, says there is a wide spectrum of views on the dangers of low-level radiation. "There are those who believe people like me are part of an international conspiracy to hide the dangers of radiation from the public," he said. At the other end are the believers in "radiation hormesis", who say we live in a beneficent soup of low-dose radiation, which is essential for life and may even prevent cancer deaths.

Elliott steers a middle path. "The Comare view, along with the consensus worldwide, is that the current risk estimates are broadly correct," he said. "They keep being revised but if they are wrong, it is by no more than a factor of two or three in each direction." And, he said, "we believe the linear hypothesis should continue to be used."

It is almost impossible, he said, to carry out experiments that would prove that low-level radiation is dangerous or is not, because the risks are so small.

But radiation generates fear, he said. "Because we can't see, hear, smell or touch it, we are much less tolerant of radiation than anything else. We are definitely hysterical about radiation. We go to enormous lengths on the precautionary principle.

"I don't know how many people are killed on the roads each year, but we live with that. We're not thinking of banning trucks. We're incredibly bad at risk-benefit analysis."

But Wakeford said that calculating the risks of low-level radiation is becoming increasingly important. "One of the big issues today is just how you manage these new, relatively high-dose diagnostic procedures like CT scans. This is probably the big issue as far as low doses are concerned. In the US, remarkably, the average citizen receives more dose from medical diagnostic procedures than he receives from background radiation, which is a dramatic increase from the last time this was assessed about 20 or so years ago. When you come to make an assessment about balance of risk about whether to give a child a CT scan or not, these are real considerations, not hypothetical at all."

Comare, in a rare respite from studying leukaemia clusters at nuclear installations, recently produced a hard-hitting report on sunbeds, calling for a ban on their use by under-18s. "At the minute, it would appear that more people are damaged by sunbeds than by nuclear power in the UK," Elliott said.

Reasons to be fearful? Expert views
Mike Clark, scientific spokesman for the Health Protection Agency

"There is an international scientific consensus about the health effects of ionising radiation which is based on decades of research worldwide. This is the so-called linear hypothesis, by which you extrapolate health effects observed at high doses to calculate risks at low doses. There are scientists who disagree with this and clearly Professor Allison is one of them. However there are also some scientists who claim the linear hypothesis can underestimate risks.

"The Health Protection Agency accepts the scientific consensus and bases its advice on recommendations from the International Commission on Radiological Protection."

CONTINUED ON newsgdn2

news20100111gdn2

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[Environment > Nuclear power]
Irrational fears give nuclear power a bad name, says Oxford scientist
Wade Allison says misplaced health stigma has prevented the full benefits of nuclear energy being explored
Alok Jha and Sarah Boseley
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 10 January 2010 20.32 GMT Article history

CONTINUED FROM newsgdn1


Professor Steve Jones of Westlakes Research Institute, who published research on the health of the former British Nuclear Fuels workforce and the link between high radiation doses and heart disease

"One of the problems, is that the effect of radiation at low doses is very difficult to determine from observational science because the effects are small. The cancer risk to any group of people over a lifetime is 25% and if you look at whether radiation will increase over that you will struggle to get a clear result. Another reason to be cautious is because some studies suggest that the risk of radiation may be an increase in circulatory diseases as well. A good judgement based on all the scientific information available is it would be unwise to move away from what we have."

Richard Wakeford, visiting professor of epidemiology at the University of Manchester

"I do not find [Allison's] these arguments particularly convincing. I have to say, when I've reviewed the evidence, it is very difficult to detect the adverse effects of radiation at low levels because the predicted excess risk of cancer is small and is easily hidden in the noise of other factors like smoking and diet and drinking. All the people who hang on to these arguments are missing the point. If you take the evidence as a whole from radiation epidemiology, there's probably a risk from cancer arising from small doses of radiation [and] they're around about what you get from a linear no-threshold dose response."

Susan Short, clinical senior lecturer in oncology at University College London

"I do have sympathy with the view that the effects of radiation have been overestimated but it reflects ignorance in the community about radiation; it's still portrayed as a dangerous unknown though we understand a lot about it really. People have such poor understanding of risk – these people who go and demonstrate against local nuclear power plants are the same as those who will happily smoke 20 cigarettes a day or lead high-risk lifestyles and don't see the irony."


[Environment > Carbon emissions]
UK emissions cuts 'meaningless' without global deal, warn MPsThe UK must nevertheless cut emissions to prove it is serious about an agreement, says the environmental audit committee
Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 January 2010 10.56 GMT Article history

Action in the UK to cut greenhouse gas emissions could be rendered "meaningless" if a global deal on tackling climate change is not secured, a committee of MPs warned today.

But the Environmental audit committee urged the government to cut emissions more quickly at home – to prove to other countries Britain was serious about backing up its attempts to get an international agreement with action.

A report by the committee examined the progress the UK was making in meeting its "carbon budgets", targets for cutting emissions over five-year periods set down in the Climate Change Act.

It warned the government was only on track to meet the first budget (2008-12) because of the recession, and urged ministers to deliver the promised reductions and bring forward new measures to increase the rate of progress.

The EAC also said the target for cutting emissions by 2020 should be increased to 42% on 1990 levels – a pledge by the UK which has been dependent on the EU strengthening its overall aims as part of an ambitious international deal – regardless of what Europe did.

Setting the stronger long-term target, an increase on the current aim of 34% by 2020, would provide more stability to drive investment than if it was not clear what the goal would be, a report by the committee said.

But ministers should only move to the 42% aim once the country is on track to meet its current targets.

At the moment, emissions are falling at around 1% a year, but the rate needs to more than double to 2-3% annually.

A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers said that the slow rate of UK emisssions cuts means that "we now need to decarbonise at a rate of 3.5% a year to get back on track by 2020 – four times more than we have managed at the global level since 2000".

The committee said the UK seemed "reluctant" to move unilaterally on tackling climate change, but said the country would not secure the competitive advantage it is looking for in a low carbon economy – including green jobs – without being an early mover.

And being active in shaping international standards governing a low-carbon economy could remove the risks of moving to cut emissions at home.

The committee said it was crucial the UK led the way on international negotiations in the wake of the Copenhagen climate summit – widely regarded as a failure – in an effort to reverse global increases in greenhouse gases by 2020 to avoid dangerous climate change.

The government needed to be prepared to make much bigger cuts if the science demanded it and be clearer about the costs of action, spelling out to the public that those costs are not additional but an alternative to the price of not doing anything, the report said.

The committee also warned against relying too much on carbon markets to drive down emissions as the price of carbon was too low and too volatile.

Tim Yeo, the committee's chairman said: "The UK's efforts to tackle climate change could be rendered meaningless if global leaders fail to reach a deal to reverse the growth in emissions by 2020.

"We must send a clear signal to developing countries that we are serious about making an international deal work – by meeting our own targets more quickly.

"The slower our progress, the less credibility we will have internationally."

news20100111gdn3

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[News > UK news > Weather]
Food costs to soar as big freeze deepens
> Farmers struggle to harvest supplies
> Brown chairs urgent talks on crisis
Jamie Doward, home affairs editor
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 9 January 2010 22.08 GMT Article history

Britons have been warned to brace themselves for an increase in food prices as plunging temperatures leave farmers unable to harvest vegetables and hauliers struggle to distribute fresh produce.

Gordon Brown, who will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee early this week to discuss the freeze, was today forced to reassure the country that it would not run out of gas or grit for its roads during the coldest weather in 30 years.

Police confirmed today that the weather-related death toll had risen to 26. A 90-year-old woman froze to death in her garden near Barnsley after falling in the snow. Widow Mary Priestland was discovered when her neighbour called round to make her tea. A 42-year-old Newcastle woman died after being found lying in the snow this morning. She had told her family she was going for a walk at 7pm on Friday.

Concerns have now switched to food supply. Sub-zero temperatures have made it impossible to extract some vegetables from the ground. Producers of brussels sprouts and cabbages are all reporting problems with harvesting. Cauliflowers are said to have turned to "mush" in the sustained frost, with the result that only imported ones are available – at more than £2 each.

"Food is selling fast and there is a problem with replenishing it," said Stephen Alambritis of the Federation of Small Businesses. "One business I spoke to said it was like Christmas Eve, with people rushing to buy up food. This will inevitably have an impact on food prices."

Food prices had already started to edge up after a sustained period of low inflation. Food inflation increased by 3.7% in December, up from 2.8% in November, said the British Retail Consortium.

In Ireland, 6,000 acres of potatoes remains unharvested and there are claims that up to three-quarters of the crop may be ruined. Potato growers in Northern Ireland say they are facing some of the biggest losses in recent history because of frost damage.

Meanwhile, greengrocers in some of the worst-hit areas are reporting shortages, with the price of carrots and parsnips reportedly rising by 30% in some small shops. A spokesman for the National Farmers' Union said: "There are isolated examples of farms struggling to get milk supplies out, but so far the majority of farmers, although finding it difficult, are getting on with the job." Milk suppliers in Somerset said they feared they may have to dump 100,000 litres of organic milk because tankers could not get through.

In a move that underscores the severity of the situation, on Monday the government will permit an emergency relaxation of European laws regulating the driving hours for hauliers involved in the distribution of animal feed. Under the temporary rules, the hauliers will be allowed to drive for 10 hours rather than the EU maximum of nine. There will also be a reduction in their mandatory daily rest requirements, from 11 to nine hours.

Today, the prime minister insisted gas supplies were not running out, despite record levels of demand. In a podcast from Downing Street, Brown said: "I can assure you: supplies are not running out. We've got plenty of gas in our own backyard – the North Sea – and we also have access to the large reserves in Norway and Netherlands."

Last week, nearly 100 large businesses were forced to stop using gas in an attempt to conserve supplies.

Brown also tried to allay concerns over salt stocks. "Working with the suppliers and the highway authorities, we are making sure stocks of salt to grit roads and pavements get to where they're most needed," he said.

On Friday, a government emergency planning committee met to discuss the UK's state of preparation if the cold weather continues. The committee heard the country has a stockpile of 320,000 tonnes of gritting salt, but transport sources suggest the UK is getting through 60,000 tonnes a day, more than four times the amount produced.

Further supplies are due to arrive from Spain and the US later this month. However, some have questioned how the UK will cope if these supplies prove insufficient and the cold snap returns. "The government has failed to build up a strategic Highways Agency reserve and ministers have sat on their hands," said the Conservatives' local government spokeswoman, Caroline Spelman.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said he had raised concerns about salt supplies before Christmas. "We were not assured that everyone was as prepared as they should have been… and that's why I wrote to the Local Government Association in November, prior to the cold snap," King told the BBC. "There is more we could have done."

news20100111bbc

[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]

[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 01:30 GMT, Monday, 11 January 2010
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website
The UN launches the International Year of Biodiversity on Monday, warning that the ongoing loss of species affects human well-being around the world.

Eight years ago, governments pledged to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but the pledge will not be met.

The expansion of human cities, farming and infrastructure is the main reason.

Dignitaries including German premier Angela Merkel will speak at the launch in Berlin, with a video message from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Mr Ban is due to say that human expansion is wiping out species at about 1,000 times the "natural" or "background" rate, and that "business as usual is not an option".

{{The big opportunity during the International Year of Biodiversity is for governments to do for biodiversity what they failed to do for climate change in Copenhagen}
Simon Stuart
Conservation International/IUCN}

The Secretary-General is expected to argue that the failure to protect biodiversity "should be a wake-up call", leading to effective ways of protecting forests, watersheds, coral reefs and other ecosystems.

The UN says that as natural systems such as forests and wetlands disappear, humanity loses the services they currently provide for free, such as the purification of air and water, protection from extreme weather events and the provision of materials for shelter and fire.

The rate of species loss leads some biologists to say that we are in the middle of the Earth's sixth great extinction, the previous five stemming from natural events such as asteroid impacts.

Cash log

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was agreed at the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, alongside the climate change convention.

But it acquired its key global pledge during the Johannesburg summit of 2002, when governments agreed to achieve a "significant reduction" in the rate of biological diversity loss by 2010.

Conservation organisations acknowledge that despite some regional successes, the target is not going to be met; some analyses suggest that nature loss is accelerating rather than decelerating.

"We are facing an extinction crisis," said Jane Smart, director of the biodiversity conservation group with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"The loss of this beautiful and complex natural diversity that underpins all life on the planet is a serious threat to humankind now and in the future."

A large on-going UN-sponsored study into the economics of biodiversity suggests that deforestation alone costs the global economy $2-5 trillion each year.

In his speech at Monday's event, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) executive director Achim Steiner is due to highlight problems caused by invasive species, and the potential for ecosystems such as forests and wetlands to absorb and store carbon from the air.

The UN hopes some kind of legally-binding treaty to curb biodiversity loss can be agreed at the CBD summit, held in Japan in October.

One element is due to be a long-awaited protocol under which the genetic resources of financially-poor but biodiversity-rich nations can be exploited in a way that brings benefits to all.

However, given the lack of appetite for legally-binding environmental agreements that key countries displayed at last month's climate summit in Copenhagen, it is unclear just what kind of deal might materialise on biodiversity.

Political football

The UN has been pursuing new ways of raising public awareness on the issue, including a collaboration with the Cameroon football team taking part in the African Nations Cup finals.

Many environment organisations will be running special programmes and mounting events during the year.

"The big opportunity during the International Year of Biodiversity is for governments to do for biodiversity what they failed to do for climate change in Copenhagen," said Simon Stuart, a senior science advisor to Conservation International and chair of IUCN's Species Survival Commission.

"They have the chance to make a major difference; and key to this will be halting species extinctions, the most irreversible aspect of biodiversity loss."

WWF is highlighting 10 species it considers especially threatened, ranging from commercially significant ones such as bluefin tuna to the Pacific walrus and the monarch butterfly.

In the UK, the national IYB partnership - hosted from the Natural History Museum (NHM) - is asking every citizen to "do one thing for biodiversity" in 2010.

news20100111cnn

[Top stories] from [CNN.com]

[Business]
By Patti Waldemeir, FT.com
January 11, 2010 -- Updated 0110 GMT (0910 HKT)
China's exports rise as economy picks up
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
> China's exports rises in December 2009 for first time in 14 months, government says
> Export figures still off "pre-crisis" economic levels, economic analyst warns
> China on track to overtake Germany as world's top exporter, figures says

Shanghai, China (FT) -- China's exports rose in December for the first time in 14 months, providing fresh evidence of recovery in the global economy but also placing renewed pressure on Beijing to appreciate its currency.

Following strong export figures last month from South Korea and Taiwan, China said on Sunday that its exports climbed 17.7 percent, well ahead of the modest increase that economists had predicted. These numbers put China on track to overtake Germany as the world's largest exporter.

Chinese imports surged by 55.9 percent in December, the latest indication of buoyant domestic demand in China, although the figures are also likely to increase concerns about potential inflationary pressures.

Exports to China's two biggest markets both rebounded last month, with sales to the US increasing 15.9 percent and to the European Union 10.2 percent.

However, the year-on-year comparisons were inflated by the low base of the previous year's figures, which were depressed by the economic crisis. Economists also warned that some of the improvement was the result of restocking by companies that ran down inventories during the crisis.

"While December's export figures are encouraging ... a recovery to pre-crisis levels appears some time away," said Jing Ulrich, head of China equities and commodities for JPMorgan.

Andy Rothman, CLSA's chief China economist, said that a resumption of export growth was necessary before Beijing restarted its policy of gradual appreciation of the Chinese currency, suspended over a year ago in the heat of the crisis.

Mr Rothman said that Beijing was unlikely to act on one month's figures alone. But he forecast that if the export recovery continues, China's leaders would have the political cover they needed to resume renminbi appreciation by mid-year, with a possible appreciation of 3 percent for 2010.

"Beijing has been waiting for three things to happen before resuming gradual appreciation: strong economic recovery in China (which we now have); stability in the US and European economies (which we have); and several months of Chinese export growth in positive territory, which is important to sell appreciation to the domestic audience," he said.

In spite of these growing signs of strength in the Chinese economy, Beijing also signaled at the weekend that there would be no near-term tightening in fiscal or monetary policies.

Hu Jintao, president, told a seminar attended by senior officials that China should continue "pro-active" fiscal policies and "moderately loose" monetary policies.

He said that priority should be given "to the implementation of policies that support domestic consumption expansion, economic growth, economic structure adjustments and projects concerning people's livelihood".

Beijing used stimulative fiscal policy last year dramatically to boost sales of cars in China. The halving of purchase taxes on small cars last year led to a 45 per cent rise in Chinese passenger cars.

Total vehicle sales are estimated at 13.6m, making China the world's largest vehicle market in the world.

However, Miao Wei, vice minister of industry and information technology, warned that vehicle sales growth may slow to 15 per cent this year, partly because the tax break on small cars has been reduced.


[World]
By Peter Wilkinson, CNN
January 11, 2010 -- Updated 1318 GMT (2118 HKT)
N. Ireland leader urged to quit over wife's affair
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
> Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson under pressure to resign over wife's affair with teenager
> Iris Robinson has admitted having affair with 19-year-old and securing £50,000 to help him set up cafe
> Scandal has been exposed amid tense backdrop in Northern Ireland
> Robinson, who leads pro-British DUP, vows to clear his name and denies any knowledge of wife's financial dealings

(CNN) -- Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson faced mounting pressure to resign on Monday over his wife's affair with a teenager amid fears the power-sharing government could collapse.

Iris Robinson, also a top politician in the semi-autonomous British-run province, last week admitted having an affair with a 19-year-old and securing £50,000 ($80,000) from two businessmen to help him set up a cafe.

Robinson, who leads the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party has vowed to clear his name and denies any knowledge of his wife's irregular financial dealings: if he did know about them he should have reported them to the parliamentary authorities.

Robinson has said his 60-year-old wife, who has admitted attempting suicide and suffering severe depression, is receiving acute psychiatric treatment in Belfast.

Senior unionist politicians have expressed doubts about his prospects, with elections also due for parliament in London later this year. If he falls, the post of first minister and deputy first minister, held by Martin McGuinness of the republican Sinn Fein party, would have to be filled.

McGuinness can end his partnership with Robinson or refuse to be renominated if the East Belfast MP is toppled.

The scandal has been exposed amid a tense backdrop in Northern Ireland. Republicans want more policing powers devolved from London to Belfast as their price for staying in government but the two main parties have failed to agree a deal on this.

"The brutal fact is that we were heading for a dangerous political crisis in Northern Ireland even before the Robinson revelations," Irish political expert Paul Bew wrote in the Times Monday.

"It is now very difficult indeed to see how it might be avoided," added Bew, a member of Britain's House of Lords. "We could now face a very hard landing indeed."

Robinson's predecessor as First Minister said Sunday his position was becoming untenable. David Trimble, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for his efforts to bring stability to Northern Ireland, predicted that Robinson would quit in the "next few days."

Fears are also high of an upsurge in violence in Northern Ireland, where three decades of unrest known as The Troubles left at least 3,500 people dead but was largely ended by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Last year, two British soldiers and a policeman were killed in attacks claimed by dissident republicans. And last Friday a Roman Catholic police officer was wounded when a bomb exploded under his car.

Iris Robinson is a controversial figure in her own right. In 2008 she caused a storm by suggesting that homosexuals should seek psychiatric counselling.

news20100111reut1

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
WASHINGTON
Fri Jan 8, 2010 11:59am EST
Obama to announce clean tech jobs effort - W.House
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will announce funding to promote clean technology manufacturing jobs in remarks expected later on Friday, the White House said.

The money will go to projects including solar, wind and energy management, a White House spokesman said.

Obama is scheduled to make a statement about the economy at 2:40 p.m. (1940 GMT).

A Labor Department report showing unexpected U.S. job losses in December has boosted pressure on the administration to step up job-creation efforts.

(Reporting by Emily Kaiser; Editing by James Dalgleish)


[Green Business]
Alister Bull
WASHINGTON
Fri Jan 8, 2010 2:41pm EST
Obama awards $2.3 bln clean energy tax credits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will unveil a $2.3 billion tax credit on Friday to boost jobs by promoting clean energy, as fresh data showed that the country's unemployment remains stuck in the double digits.

The White House said the credit, from funds already earmarked under a $787 billion stimulus package Obama signed last February, would create 17,000 new U.S. jobs and would be matched by an additional $5 billion in private capital.

High unemployment is one Obama's most pressing domestic challenges and a monthly payroll report released on Friday served as a reminder that labor market conditions remain grim. U.S. unemployment was unchanged at 10 percent in December, while businesses unexpectedly shed 85,000 jobs.

Obama is due to make the announcement at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) at the White House.

"The Recovery Act awards I am announcing today will help close the clean energy gap that has grown between America and other nations while creating good jobs, reducing our carbon emissions and increasing our energy security," Obama will say in his remarks, according to a White House statement.

Climate change, alongside healthcare and financial regulation reform, is a core goal of Obama's White House.

But all require support from Congress, where his Democratic Party may suffer a setback in November mid-term elections unless he can start to push the jobless figures down.

The clean energy tax credits have been granted to 183 projects around the country involved in technologies that include solar, wind, efficiency and energy management projects.

"Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future," Obama will say.

The White House credits Recovery Act stimulus money with helping prevent the deepest U.S. recession in 70 years from getting much worse, and has renewed its push to boost job creation, which many analysts say warrants more public spending.

Obama held a jobs summit and met with bankers last month to boost lending to small businesses in the hope that this would encourage them to hire more workers.

In addition, the House of Representatives has approved an additional $155 billion jobs package to boost hiring, although the Senate has yet to take up its version of this legislation and will first tackle Obama's signature healthcare reforms.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Doina Chiacu)


[Green Business]
WASHINGTON
Fri Jan 8, 2010 3:59pm EST
Factbox: New U.S. clean energy manufacturing tax credits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama Friday awarded $2.3 billion in tax credits, which will be matched by as much as $5.4 billion in private sector funding, to help create clean energy manufacturing jobs.

The funding will provide a 30 percent tax credit for investments in 183 manufacturing facilities that make clean energy products in 43 states.

Qualifying manufacturing facilities include the production of a wide range of clean energy products:

* Solar, wind, geothermal, or other renewable energy equipment.

* Electric grids and storage for renewables.

* Fuel cells and microturbines.

* Energy storage systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.

* Carbon dioxide capture and sequestration equipment.

* Equipment for refining or blending renewable fuels.

* Equipment for energy conservation, including lighting and smart grid technologies.

* Plug-in electric vehicles or their components, such as electric motors, generators, and power control units.

* Other advanced energy property designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may also be eligible as determined by the Treasury Department.

The criteria used to select winning projects was based on:

* Greatest domestic job creation (direct and indirect).

* Greatest net impact in avoiding or reducing air pollutants or emissions of greenhouse gases; lowest cost of energy.

* Greatest potential for technological innovation and commercial deployment.

* Shortest project time from certification to completion.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett, editing by Eric Walsh)


[Green Business]
LOS ANGELES
Fri Jan 8, 2010 6:56pm EST
Factbox: Clean energy companies gain new tax credits
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday awarded $2.3 billion in tax credits to renewable energy companies to help create clean energy jobs.

The credits will be matched by as much as $5.4 billion in private sector funding and provide for investments in more than 180 manufacturing facilities.

Qualifying companies and their requested tax credits include the following:

Solar power industry

Hemlock Semiconductor Corp: $141.9 million

Wacker Polysilicon North America LLC: $128.5 million

Miasole: $101 million

SolarWorld Industries America Inc: $82.2 million

CaliSolar Inc: $51.6 million

DuPont: $50.7 million

Nanosolar: $43.5 million

First Solar: $16 million

SunPower Corp: $10.8 million

Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd: $2 million

BP Solar: $11.7 million

AE Polysilicon: $44.9 million

Wind industry

Vestas: $51.8 million

Siemens: $35.8 million

Nordex USA Inc: $22 million

Other sectors:

Cree Inc, lighting: $39 million

United Technologies Corp, industrial: $110 million

Alstom Inc, nuclear: $65.7 million

Texas Instruments Inc, buildings: $51.5 million

Volkswagen Group of America, auto: $150 million

(Reporting by Laura Isensee)


[Green Business]
Alister Bull
WASHINGTON
Sun Jan 10, 2010 11:03am EST
Obama awards $2.3 billion clean energy tax credits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled a $2.3 billion tax credit on Friday to boost jobs by promoting clean energy, as new data showed the country's unemployment rate remained stuck in the double digits.

Obama said the credit, from funds earmarked under a $787 billion stimulus package he signed last February, would create 17,000 U.S. jobs and be matched by an additional $5 billion in private capital.

"Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future, jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced," Obama said.

"This initiative is good for middle-class families. It is good for our security. It is good for our planet," he said.

High unemployment is one of Obama's most pressing domestic challenges and a monthly payroll report released on Friday served as a reminder labor market conditions remain grim. U.S. unemployment was unchanged at 10 percent in December, while businesses unexpectedly shed 85,000 jobs.

"The jobs numbers that were released by the Labor Department this morning are a reminder that the road to recovery is never straight," Obama said.

Climate change, alongside healthcare and financial regulation reform, is a core goal of Obama's White House.

All require support from Congress, where his Democratic Party may suffer a setback in November congressional elections unless he can start to push the jobless figures down.

The tax credits have been granted to 183 projects across the country involved in technologies that include solar, wind and other initiatives to improve energy efficiency.

On top of the employment resulting directly from the tax credit, Obama said it would lead to "tens of thousands" of additional new jobs.

The White House says the stimulus money has helped prevent the deepest U.S. recession in 70 years from getting much worse, and has renewed its push to boost job creation, which many analysts say warrants more public spending.

Obama held a jobs summit and met with bankers last month to boost lending to small businesses in the hope that would encourage them to hire more workers.

In addition, the House of Representatives has approved an additional $155 billion jobs package to boost hiring, although the Senate has yet to take up its version of the legislation and will first tackle Obama's signature healthcare reforms.

"We have to continue to explore every avenue to accelerate the return to hiring," he said.

Companies that will benefit from the clean energy tax credit include Itron Inc, based in Liberty Lake, Washington, PPG Industries, Inc, based in Pittsburgh, and TPI Composites, Inc, based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Peter Cooney)

news20100111reut2

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Nina Chestney
LONDON
Sun Jan 10, 2010 7:13pm EST
UK should mull tougher CO2 goal: gov't committee
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should be ready to set tougher goals for greenhouse gas emission cuts to combat climate change, regardless of world leaders' failure to reach a legally binding climate pact, a UK Parliament committee said on Monday. "The government must be ready, if needed, to establish credible emissions reduction pathways that go well beyond what is currently regarded as politically possible," an Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) report to the British government said.

The committee recommended that Britain moves to a 42 percent emissions cut by 2020 from 1990 levels, regardless of the failure of U.N. talks in Copenhagen last month to reach a legally binding global climate pact.

In 2008, Britain's chief climate adviser urged a cut of at least 34 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, rising to 42 percent if a global emission reduction deal was reached.

"Emissions may be flatter this year and next year because of the recession but we have to do more even to meet the 34 percent target," Tim Yeo, the EAC's chairman, told Reuters.

A tougher target would strengthen Britain's contribution to limiting rising global temperatures. Scientists believe temperature rises should be limited to below 2 degrees Celsius to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

"We're almost past the point at which we can do that. If we can make a really high probability of not going above 2 degrees, that is a realistic and achievable target," Yeo said.

The world is already set to exceed the 2 degree limit.

CARBON BUDGETS

Britain has set itself three legally binding "carbon budgets" until 2022 as part of a national goal toward cutting emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

UK emissions fell by 2 percent in 2008 due to reduced industrial output due to recession.

But the government should not "bank" any over-achievement from its first carbon budget (2008-2012) into its second budget period (2013-2017), the Committee said.

It should also steer clear of relying on the price of carbon in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) to drive low-carbon investment as it is too low and volatile.

Regulatory measures for industry or even direct market intervention to establish a carbon price floor should help boost prices to make such investments economically viable, the Committee said.

"A carbon tax is clearly another option but nobody can predict the elasticity of the response," Yeo said.

The UK should only accept carbon offset credits from countries with similar national emissions limits and consider discounting their value, the Committee recommended.

"To encourage public and private sectors to reduce their own carbon footprint we should penalize people who rely on offsets by not allowing them 100 percent of the value," Yeo said.

Firms and individuals can buy offsets generated by clean energy projects in poorer nations to reduce their emissions.

The government is aiming to meet its carbon budgets without using overseas carbon offsets but has not ruled out using them if a global climate deal enforced tougher emissions cut targets.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Keiron Henderson)


[Green Business]
MUMBAI
Sun Jan 10, 2010 11:56pm EST
India's Suzlon gets order for wind energy project
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's Suzlon Energy said on Monday it had received an order to set up, operate and maintain a 21 megawatt wind energy project from Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals.

The project will comprise of 14 units of Suzlon's S82 - 1.5 MW wind turbines, the wind turbine maker said in a statement. (Reporting by Ami Shah; Editing by Surojit Gupta)


[Green Business]
SINGAPORE
Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:26am EST
Singapore pares emission cut plans after Copenhagen
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore said on Monday it will go ahead with existing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but further pledged reductions will depend on a successful agreement in global climate talks.

Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim told parliament Singapore would start implementing energy efficiency measures announced last year that would cut emissions by 7-11 percent on business as usual levels by 2020.

This would be below a 16 percent cut that Singapore pledged just ahead of U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen last month, which aimed to agree on a global pact but instead ended with a non-binding accord far short of its original goals.

"When a global agreement on climate change is reached we will implement the additional measures to achieve the full 16 percent reduction below business as usual in 2020," he said.

Environmentalists said they hoped countries would not lower voluntary targets to cut back emissions given the absence of a global accord, which negotiators are still aiming to reach in another round of talks scheduled for November 2010 in Mexico.

"We find it disappointing that countries are going to step back and lower their ambition," WWF project coordinator Diane McFadzien told Reuters.

"I haven't seen evidence of it becoming a trend yet, but I hope it will not become a trend."

Wealthy city-state Singapore, with one of the world's best living standards in terms of GDP per capita, has come under fire from environmentalists who point to its energy-intensive economy and high per-capita emissions.

Singapore aims to spur economic growth by increasing its population and attracting further manufacturing investment, which will make cutting absolute emissions difficult, a problem faced by many developing nations unwilling to sign up to legally binding cuts.

As part of the Copenhagen accord, developing nations need to put their voluntary national pledges on a global list by the end of January.

(Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)


[Green Business]
Chris Vellacott
LONDON
Sun Jan 10, 2010 10:02pm EST
Future Capital seeks funds for $376 million biofuels plant
LONDON (Reuters) - A partnership set up by investment boutique Future Capital Partners aims to raise 236 million pounds ($376 million) in project finance for a biofuel plant it will construct in Grimsby, northern England.

Future Capital's chief executive Tim Levy told Reuters the bulk of the project finance will be raised through a combination of debt and equity though wealthy private investors will be tapped for 40 million pounds.

Future Capital said in a statement it expects to provide investors, who must commit at least 50,000 pounds, annual returns in excess of 30 percent over a five to seven year period.

The venture has also secured purchasing contracts worth at least 1.5 billion pounds, with an unnamed global banking group agreeing to purchase all the ethanol produced over 10 years for 1 billion based on current fuel prices.

A global animal feeds business has also made a commitment to purchase the feed produced as a by product of biofuel production process worth around 500 million pounds.

Levy said the partnership has purchased the site and secured planning permission for the venture.

Biofuels company Vireol and engineering group Simon Carves are the other partners in the venture.

When construction is complete, the plant will be leased to Vireol while Future Capital plans to exit within six years through a trade sale or flotation, Levy said.

European and UK legislative commitments to increase the use of renewable energy have led to an increase in investment schemes used as project finance for new plants.

(Editing by Rupert Winchester)


[Green Business]
SEOUL
Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:40am EST
LG Chem to supply hybrid car batteries to Ford: report
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Chem Co Ltd will sell rechargeable batteries for hybrid cars to Ford Motor Co from 2012, with the annual sales estimated to reach 500 billion won ($447 million), local media said on Monday.

Exact battery sales by South Korea's No.1 chemicals company will depend on how many cars the U.S. No.2 automaker sells, the Maeil business newspaper reported, quoting a company official.

"The size and condition of the deal with Ford is similar to the one with GM," the official said at the paper.

LG Chem's U.S. unit has reached a deal to supply next-generation lithium-ion batteries for General Motors' Volt plug-in.

A senior spokesman LG Chem said nothing had been decided yet.

LG Chem last year said it would invest 1 trillion won in an electric car battery plant over the next four years, aiming to derive total revenue of 2 trillion won from the battery business by 2015.

LG Chem last year also said it would set up a battery joint venture with South Korea's Hyundai Mobis Co, the car-parts making unit of Hyundai Motor Group. Hyundai Motor Co launched its first hybrid car in South Korea last July.

($1=1118.8 Won)

(Reporting by Cho Mee-young; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

news20100111reut3

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
HONG KONG
Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:39am EST
U.S. solar thermal firm in deal for China power project
HONG KONG (Reuters) - U.S. solar thermal power company eSolar, whose investors include Google Inc, said it has reached a deal with a Chinese power equipment maker to build a 2,000 megawatt (MW) solar thermal power project in China over the next 10 years.

The deal comes as the Chinese government aims to boost renewable energy generating capacity in the country, with plans to generate at least 10,000 MW of solar energy and 20,000 MW of wind power by 2020.

In a statement, eSolar said equipment maker China Shandong Penglai Electric Power Equipment Manufacturing Co was developing solar thermal plants using eSolar's technology.

It did not disclose financial details of the deal, but analysts said the 2,000 MW project was the largest of its kind in China and could easily be worth more than $5 billion.

Solar thermal power uses the sun to heat water, producing steam to power a turbine and create electricity. The technology is seen by some as a viable replacement for fossil-fuel generators because such plants can rival the capacities of many conventional power plants.

eSolar said China Shandong Penglai was building the project along with a biomass electricity generation facility within an industrial park in Yulin, Shaanxi province.

China Shandong Penglai would operate the first 92 MW this year, the statement said.

The Pasadena, California-based company has deals with U.S. utilities, including NRG Energy Inc to create more than 400 megawatts at solar thermal power plants in the U.S. Southwest. It recently opened its first commercial power plant in Lancaster, California.

eSolar's investors include technology incubator Idealab and Oak Investment Partners.

(Editing by Chris Lewis)


[Green Business]
Caren Bohan
WASHINGTON
Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:00am EST
U.S. announces $187 million for fuel efficiency
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration plans on Monday to announce the selection of nine projects totaling $187 million aimed at improving the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks.

The funding includes more than $100 million from the $787 billion economic stimulus plan President Barack Obama pushed through Congress last February. An additional 50 percent will come from the private sector, according to the announcement to be made by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu in Columbus, Indiana.

The Obama administration is under pressure to show it is working to create jobs with the U.S. unemployment rate stuck at 10 percent.

The administration estimated the projects would create 500 jobs in areas like research and engineering near term, with the potential for creating 6,000 positions in manufacturing and assembly by 2015.

Three projects will focus on efforts to improve the fuel efficiency of long-haul freight trucks by 50 percent.

The freight-truck awards include:

* $38.8 million for Cummins Inc in Columbus, Indiana. This project is aimed at developing a clean, efficient diesel engine, an advanced waste heat recovery system, an aerodynamic Peterbilt tractor-trailer combination and a fuel cell auxiliary power unit to reduce engine idling.

* $39.6 million for Daimler Trucks North America LLC. This project in Portland, Oregon will seek to develop technologies including engine downsizing, electrification of auxiliary systems such as oil and water pumps, waste heat recovery, improved aerodynamics and hybridization.

* $37.3 million for Navistar Inc. This Fort Wayne, Indiana project will seek to develop technologies to improve truck and trailer aerodynamics, combustion efficiency, waste heat recovery, hybridization, idle reduction and reduced rolling resistance tires.

Another six projects will be aimed at developing fuel efficiency for passenger vehicle engines and powertrain systems. The goal is to develop engine technologies that will improve the fuel economy of passenger vehicles by 25-40 percent by 2015 using an engine-only approach.

Those include:

* $14.5 million for Chrysler Group LLC. The Auburn Hills, Michigan project will aim to develop a flexible combustion system for their minivan platform based on a downsized, turbocharged engine that uses direct gasoline injection, recirculation of exhaust gases and flexible intake air control to reduce emissions.

* $15 million for Cummins Inc to develop a fuel-efficient, low emissions diesel engine that achieves a 40 percent fuel economy improvement over conventional gasoline technology and significantly exceeds 2010 Environmental Protection Agency emissions requirements.

* $7.5 million for Delphi Automotive Systems LLC to develop a novel low-temperature combustion system, coupled with technologies such as continuously variable valve control and engine downspeeding, to improve fuel economy by at least 25 percent.

* $15 million for Ford Motor Co in Dearborn, Michigan to achieve a 25 percent fuel economy improvement with a gasoline engine in a 2010 mid- to large-size sedan using technologies including engine downsizing, turbo-charging, direct injection, and a novel exhaust after-treatment system.

* $7.7 million for General Motors Corp in Pontiac, Michigan to develop an engine that uses lean combustion and active heat management, as well as a novel emissions control system, to improve the fuel economy of a 2010 Malibu demonstration vehicle by 25 percent.

* $12 million for Robert Bosch in Farmington Hills, Michigan to demonstrate a high compression, turbo-charged engine based on homogenous charge compression ignition technology -- a combustion technology that allows for lower emissions and higher efficiency -- to achieve up to 30 percent fuel economy improvement in a gasoline-fueled light-duty vehicle.

(Editing by Chris Wilson)


[Green Business]
Charles Abbott
SEATTLE
Sun Jan 10, 2010 4:42pm EST
Largest U.S. farm group rallies against climate bill
SEATTLE (Reuters) - The largest U.S. farm group will oppose aggressively "misguided" climate legislation pending in Congress and fight animal rights activists, said American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman on Sunday.

In a speech opening the four-day AFBF convention, Stallman said American farmers and ranchers "must aggressively respond to extremists" and "misguided, activist-driven regulation ... The days of their elitist power grabs are over."

Stallman's remarks held a sharper edge than usual for the 6 million-member AFBF, the largest U.S. farm group and often described as the most influential. Its convention opens a string of wintertime meetings where farm groups take positions on public issues.

Climate legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives aims for a 17 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared to 2005 levels. Senators are expected to draft a similar bill this year. Both envision a cap-and-trade system to curb emissions from factories and power plants and to allow the purchase of offsets.

Vast amounts of farmland could become carbon-capturing woodlands under cap-and-trade, "eliminating about 130,000 farms and ranches," said Stallman. One federal analysis says 8 percent of crop and pasture land could be turned into trees by 2050 because trees would be more profitable than crops.

Four dozen climate scientists wrote Stallman last week to argue AFBF divorce itself from "climate change deniers." AFBF opposed the House bill.

Animal rights activists would "destroy our ability to produce the meat that Americans want to eat," Stallman said, by barring modern production methods.

The Ohio Farm Bureau led a successful referendum last fall to create a 13-member state board, with strong farm representation, to set livestock handling rules. The vote pre-empted an expected drive this year to ban practices that activists regard as cruel.

Seven states have moved to ban sow gestation crates, including Michigan in 2009. Action against the cages began in Florida with a referendum in 2002. Five states have acted against veal crates and two bar "battery" cages for hens.

"Ohio's Ballot Issue 2 was a big win and one we must duplicate far and wide," said Stallman.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing Bernard Orr)