"Majan Electricity is a pioneer in the distribution of energy saving bulbs. We gave away 40,000 bulbs last year as part of our commitment to supporting energy conservation. This generated total savings of around RO 120,000 to our customers, and around RO 160,000 to the government (taking subsidy amounts into account). Savings in CO2 emissions amounted to nearly 200 tonnes annually," Al Mazrouy told the Observer.
The bulb distribution campaign will be an annual exercise, the general manager explained. "We recognise the ecological value behind this initiative. And if we set out to eventually replace all the 60-watt and 100-watt bulbs, it would be a good thing too. Even existing fluorescent tubes which operate on electricity-consuming chokes can be potentially replaced with energy efficient LEDs (light emitting diodes). The possibilities are exciting."
The energy saving light bulbs campaign is part of a wider strategy by the company to promote green energy initiatives within its sprawling licence area, covering the governorates of North Batinah, Dhahirah and Buraimi.
"Majan Electricity is very keen to adopt green energy solutions in the country. Some of these solutions will be showcased in our main office building currently under construction near the Globe Roundabout at Sohar. We will install 50 kilowatts (KW) of solar power on top of the building, with the option for another 50KW atop the car park. Our goal is to lead by example where green energy solutions are concerned," the general manager said.
Much of the savings in energy consumption will come from novel air-conditioning system that will be incorporated into this 'green' building, said Al Mazrouy.
"The air-conditioning will be stopped from 11 am to 3 pm, which corresponds to the daily peak load period. Water chilled to near freezing before 11 am will circulate through the building, keeping it cool till the compressors come back online again at around 4 pm at the end of the peak load period. We anticipate energy savings of 150 KW as a result."
The 'green' building will be brought into operation by the first quarter of 2013, Al Mazrouy said, adding that three other satellite buildings of Majan Electricity will also feature similar 'green energy' solutions.
"We continue to educate our customers on energy conservation issues. For example, we advise them on the benefits of using split air-conditioning units. Those with temperature controls on their units are encouraged to set their cooling levels at 23-degrees for split units, and 7 degrees for window units. We also have face-to-face discussions with our customers on such issues, and communicate with them via e-mail as well," the general manager added.
Electricity demand in Majan Electricity's jurisdiction has been growing by an average of eight per cent annually. Demand growth -- averaging 12 per cent per year -- is strongest in North Batinah Governorate, which is home to Sohar Industrial Port, Freezone Sohar and Sohar Industrial Estate.
The city of Ballwin is backing down, repealing an ordinance that led to a charge against a man accused of giving another motorist the finger in traffic.
City Adminstrator Robert Kuntz says the officer who issued a ticket of "extending a body part" out the window was using a law that originally sought to prevent people from sticking their feet out the window.
"Ultimately, I guess freedom of speech and expression and how an operator handles himself is that person's business, as long as he's safe, and not governments," Kuntz said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, which had threatened Ballwin with legal action, applauded the decision.
"The ordinance allowed police officers the discretion to haul into court citizens who expressed a viewpoint with which the officers disagreed," said Brenda Jones, Executive Director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. "Repealing the law fits within our nation's finest traditions of allowing free expressions without fear of arrest."
Kuntz says the case was handled "in house" without outside legal counsel and no additional cost to city taxpayers.
Ballwin had earlier dropped the court case against the motorist, Steven Pogue, 64, of Florissant, Mo.
Pogue had been driving in stop-and-go traffic on busy Manchester Road last April, when another car blocked his way at a green light and he allegedly gave the motorist the finger.
The long-awaited opening of El Cerrito's new Recycling Center, which had been expected this month, has been delayed until mid-March, according to city officials.
The city had hoped to open the new facility this month, but the center has not received its water hook-up from East Bay MUD, the utility in charge of water lines, said city Environmental Analyst Garth Schultz, who manages the Recycling Center.
"We need water connections," Schultz said.
The city also hopes to hold a formal celebration of the new center – whose full name is the El Cerrito Recycling and Environmental Resource Center – around the end of April, he said.
The new facility is built on same site as the city's now-gone old Recycling Center, which began 1971. It's located at the foot of an abandoned hillside rock quarry at 7501 Schmidt Lane.
The old facility was showing its age, and its design – having grown piecemeal over the decades – included somewhat haphazard traffic access that posed potential safety hazards. It shut down May 1 last year, with scaled-down interim recycling services being conducted on the periphery of the construction site since then.
The new facility will keep the center's trucks and forklifts separate from the vehicles of center users, incorporate numerous energy-saving features and accept a larger range of materials, especially for reuse. It will also provide information about recycling and environmental resources.
In the category of recycled materials, the old center had a popular Book Exchange whose use has sparked controversy over some book resellers accused of aggressively elbowing others out of the way and making off with boxes of the choice selections. The Book Exchange will continue at the new center under a set of civility rules that are being revised by the city.
Several other items will be added to the reuse shelves. A recent addition to the list is household linens, including sheets and towels, Schultz said. Carpeting and mulch are also likely.
Items named to the potential list in the past have included office and school supplies, CFLs (fluorescent bulbs), used cooking oil and paint.
Among the recent additions to the structure are the solar panels on the semi-circular roof above the bays that will contain the recycling bins. The center is seeking LEED Platinum certification, the highest green rating for buildings.
Most people can't imagine life without computers, televisions, smartphones, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and other modern-day conveniences. But some claim that the electromagnetic fields emitted by these devices, known as "dirty electricity," can raise blood sugar levels or even cause a distinct type of diabetes.
This assertation dates back to a 2008 paper published in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine by Magda Havas, PhD, associate professor of environmental and resource studies at Trent University in Ontario, Canada.
Havas presents case studies of four people with diabetes with varying levels of exposure to electromagnetic radiation and says that in all four, blood sugar levels "responded directly to the amount of dirty electricity in their environment." She goes on to say that in a so-called electromagnetically clean environment — a safe distance from wireless devices, power lines, and cell phone antennas — "type 1 diabetics require less insulin and type 2 diabetics have lower levels of plasma glucose."
Finally, Havas suggests that diabetics who are sensitive to these environmental triggers may actually fall into a third class, type 3 diabetes, which is "environmentally exacerbated or induced by exposure to electromagnetic frequencies."
Havas also has a particular warning about treadmill workouts. One of the subjects with type 2 diabetes, who controlled her blood sugar with exercise and diet alone, showed higher blood sugar levels after walking on a treadmill. Havas attributes this to the dirty electricity from the device's motor: "Doctors recommend exercise for patients with diabetes. However, if that exercise is done in an electromagnetically dirty environment, and if the patient is sensitive to this form of energy, it may increase stress on the body and elevate levels of plasma glucose."
Within the scientific community, there's considerable doubt as to the validity of Havas' claims. The blog Science-Based Medicine points out that besides this very small study involving only four patients, there's little else to back up her conclusion, and that the exposure to radiation was often estimated, not measured. They also cite a review from the World Health Organization that reviewed 25,000 studies on the health effects of low-level electromagnetic fields and found no evidence to confirm that there are any.
But a new research center for diabetes and obesity in Chennai, India, is following up on Havas' work. Speaking to The Indian Express, Professor S.M Rajendran of Barath University's Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital said that the center will study the effects of dirty electricity on blood sugar and genetic makeup, and that plans were underway for a collaboration between the Indian Council for Medical Research and United Kingdom's Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow.
When television sets were introduced, I recall climbing on the rooftop to adjust the TV antenna to get the best reception for the 3-4 odd channels that were relayed then in black and white. Colour TVs added spice to life a couple of decades later. Much has changed since.
Nowadays, we not only have discarded the bulky cathode ray tube TVs for slimmer ones with liquid crystal display (LCD) and light emitting diode (LED) screens that save energy, but also have TV sets that allow us to get a three-dimensional or 3D view of movies and 'smart' TVs that allow us to surf the Internet and interact with it.
If this were not enough, the buzz now is that Apple Inc. is working on a digital television based on its iOS operating system. Rumoured to be launching in 2012, this Apple TV will allow us to talk to it with the help of the company's Siri voice control technology. Users could literally instruct the TV to find shows, search live TV schedules and the like -- all without the remote.
Apple is said to have already built prototypes of the anticipated device. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told his biographer that he had "cracked" the secret to building an integrated, easy-to-use TV set which "will have the simplest user interface you could imagine".
Customised programming is said to be one of Apple's most desired features for its rumoured TV set, according to analyst Shaw Wu with Sterne Agee. Wu told the website AppleInsider that hardware and technology are not the issues holding back Apple from releasing a TV set. Unique content deals would allow Apple to differentiate its product from other TV sets and so, even if Apple introduces a high-definition TV set in 2012, it may not reach Indian shores since the company will first have to strike local content deals.
Much like the hype over the Google phone before it debuted, Apple TV may take longer to launch, or may metamorphose into a different device given the speed at which the technology treadmill moves. For now, though, sales of the company's $99 Apple TV digital media receivers (DMRs) have crossed the 2 million unit mark. Apple TV started shipping in January 2007. The second-generation Apple TV was unveiled during an Apple press conference this September.
A DMR is a device that can connect to a home network using either a wireless (Wi-Fi) or wired (ethernet provided by a telecom or cable operator) connection. Advanced DMRs typically handle music, pictures, video, internet browsing or controlling Live TV from a PC with a TV tuner. You can also use some DMRs to watch, pause, and record live television, play and store CDs, DVDs and the like.
While some DMRs have integrated displays and speakers, others must be connected to an external output device such as a TV or stereo system. Standalone DMRs include the Apple TV, the NetGear EVA700 and EVA8000. However, DMR functionality is also integrated gaming consoles like Sony's PlayStation 3?, Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 (which alone has sold nearly 58 million units till date).
Apple TV, on its part, is a compact all-black box with a glossy finish around the sides and a matte finish on the top that allows consumers to use an HDTV set to view photos, play music and watch video.