Charge a car in time it takes for a coffee

Electric cars are a big step closer to mainstream acceptance thanks to two breakthroughs.

Long battery recharging has been the biggest hurdle for the car industry to overcome. But a technology being developed by Nissan and Japan's Kansai University could solve the problem.

It has reportedly created a charger that can replenish a car's batteries in 10 minutes, without any adverse affect on the batteries. Currently it can take up to eight hours to recharge an electric car.

Nissan, while not denying the technology's existence, has said it is still at least a decade away from being ready for production.

"Nissan is always working on various research and development activities," it said. "However, the technology reported is still in the very early stage of basic studies, thus there is nothing we can communicate at this moment."

At present so-called fast chargers require 30 minutes to restore batteries to just 80 per cent capacity and cost more than $30,000.

The industry has been struggling to come up with a solution to long charging times as electric cars fight to become a viable alternative to petrol cars.

Attempts to create battery swapping stations, where the huge battery packs are replaced by robots, has so far met limited interest by car manufacturers or consumers.

"We still see the primary source [of recharging] will be at home or at the office," said Nissan Australia spokesman Jeff Fisher.

Another hurdle cleared by the industry is an agreed standard of recharging plugs.

The move is seen as crucial to the implementation of public charging infrastructure. Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche have all agreed to work together on the universal system for plug outlets, voltage and cables.

Source:
Sydney Morning Herald,"Charge a car in time it takes for a coffee", by Stephen Ottley, accessed October 29, 2011

From the Inbox - 2011 A year of Extremes

Dear Friend,

Want to know what the climate crisis looks like? Well, 2011's record number of natural disasters and extreme weather events offer a disturbing glimpse of our future.

Across America, you lived through a variety of extremes – from heat, to blizzards, to floods, to drought. More than 2,200 of you shared your stories of extreme weather in your communities.

Your stories inspired our dramatic new 2011 Extreme Weather video:

Please watch our video and sign our "Yes, I'm Worried" petition. Tell us in your own words why you're worried about the climate crisis and why you think we need to act.

We'll share your concerns with your members of Congress in an effort to restart the conversation around the need for real climate action.

A Real Crisis We Can Solve

While Washington has not passed a strong climate and energy bill, progress is being made in other ways.

Last week, California overcame fierce opposition from the polluting industry and adopted the first-in-the-nation comprehensive statewide cap and trade system to slash statewide carbon emissions.

For EDF's California team and thousands of EDF activists, this is a long, hard-fought victory.

For the rest of us, this ambitious program will create a powerful economic engine to unleash clean energy investments and will demonstrate to the whole country that slashing climate emissions can be done in economically affordable and efficient ways.

Time is of the essence and we need your help to deliver this message to Washington.

Please watch our 2011: Extreme Weather video and sign our "Yes, I'm Worried" petition today.

Thanks for your activism and support,

Sam Parry
Director, Online Membership and Activism

From the Inbox - VICTORY: Court Reinstates Roadless Rule

	Dear Friend, I am pleased and proud to bring you news of a landmark court victory won by Earthjustice, with your support, after 13 years of legal struggle. Nearly 50 million acres of America's richest natural resource—our National Forests—are now protected by a decree of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court has firmly, and unanimously, taken the side of you and me and the vast majority of citizens who love our forests just the way they are: thick with trees and wildlife, their waters running free and pure. This ruling, which reinstates the Roadless Rule, is so powerfully constructed that we believe it can withstand further challenge. We won despite an array of industry foes and an army of lobbyists who sought to unleash road pavers and clear-cutters and mining engineers in some of our most pristine natural sanctuaries. You stood tall against this threat and wouldn't yield. And because you wouldn't quit, we stood taller. Even during the darkest years of the Bush administration, emboldened by your faith in us, we took everything they dished out—in court and in public—and gave it right back. It has been a tough, tough fight ... and more. Earthjustice Attorney Doug Honnold described it thusly: "This is really an amazing story, with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears." And Doug should know. He is one of the key Earthjustice attorneys—along with Jim Angell, Kristen Boyles, Todd True, Tom Waldo and Tim Preso—who spent years shedding those blood, sweat and tears. What a victory they, and you, have wrought. Its reverberations are echoing across our great land, and we hope are echoing especially loud on Capitol Hill and in the White House. We trust that the Obama administration now will support and enforce the 2001 Roadless Rule as the law of the land. As for Congress, especially one as anti-environment as this one, it's hard to be trusting. And that's why, even as we celebrate this wonderful victory, we already are girding to defend it, just as we are defending the environment in so many other ways. In the meantime, please accept our deepest gratitude for all you did to make this moment in history a happy one. Thank you, Trip Van Noppen President, Earthjustice P.S. Do you have comments or reactions? We'd like to hear from you at our blog: "Major Victory—Court Reinstates Roadless Rule"
Photo Captions (from top): · Clear flowing headwaters in TeePee-Spring Creek roadless area in Montana's Cabinet Mountains. (© Terry Glase) · A large bull moose in the Great Burn roadless area in Idaho's Clearwater National Forest. (© John McCarthy / TWS) · Recreation, such as whitewatering, is abundant in a roadless area along the Cooper River in Washington State. (© Thomas O'Keefe)

Crop scientists now fret about heat not just water

Crop scientists in the United States, the world's largest food exporter, are pondering an odd question: could the danger of global warming really be the heat?

For years, as scientists have assembled data on climate change and pointed with concern at melting glaciers and other visible changes in the life-giving water cycle, the impact on seasonal rains and irrigation has worried crop watchers most.

What would breadbaskets like the U.S. Midwest, the Central Asian steppes, the north China Plain or Argentine and Brazilian crop lands be like without normal rains or water tables?

Those were seen as longer-term issues of climate change. But scientists now wonder if a more immediate issue is an unusual rise in day-time and, especially, night-time summer temperatures being seen in crop belts around the world.

Interviews with crop researchers at American universities paint the same picture: high temperatures have already shrunken output of many crops and vegetables.

"We don't grow tomatoes in the deep South in the summer. Pollination fails," said Ken Boote, a crop scientist with the University of Florida.

The same goes for snap beans which can no longer be grown in Florida during the summer, he added.

"As temperatures rise we are going to have trouble maintaining the yields of crops that we already have," said Gerald Nelson, an economist with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) who is leading a global project initially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to identify new crop varieties adapted to climate change.

"When I go around the world, people are much less skeptical, much more concerned about climate change," said David Lobell, a Stanford University agricultural scientist.

Lobell was one of three authors of a much-discussed 2011 climate study of world corn, wheat, soybean and rice yields over the last three decades (1980-2008). It concluded that heat, not rainfall, was affecting yields the most.

"The magnitude of recent temperature trends is larger than those for precipitation in most situations," the study said.

"We took a pretty conservative approach and still found sizable impacts. They certainly are happening already and not just something that will or might happen in the future," Lobell told Reuters in an interview.

CONCERNS GROWING

Scientists at an annual meeting of U.S. agronomists last week in San Antonio said the focus was climate change.

"Its impact on agriculture systems, impacts on crops, mitigation strategies with soil management -- a whole range of questions was being asked about climate change," said Jerry Hatfield, Laboratory Director at the National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

"The biggest thing is high night-time temperatures have a negative impact on yield," Hatfield added, noting that the heat affects evaporation and the life process of the crops. (Left: Corn crop too hot and not enough water says farmers.)

"One of the consequences of rising temperatures ... is to compress the life cycle of that plant. The other key consequence is that when the atmosphere gets warmer the atmospheric demand for water increases," Hatfield said.

"These are simple things that can occur and have tremendous consequences on our ability to produce a stable supply of food or feed or fiber," he said.

Boote at the University of Florida found that rice and sorghum plants (right) failed to produce grain, something he calls "pollen viability," when the average 24-hour temperature is 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius). That equates to highs of 104 F during the day and 86 F at night, he said.

The global seed industry has set a high bar to boost crop yields by 2050 to feed a hungry world. Scientists said that the impact of heat on plant growth needs more focus and study.

"If you look at a lot of crop insurance claims, farmers say it is the lack of water that caused the plant to die," said Wolfram Schlenker, assistant professor at Columbia University.

"But I think it's basically different sides of the same coin because the water requirement of the plant increases tremendously if it's hot," he said.

"The private sector understands the threats coming from climate change and have significant research programs in regards to drought tolerance. They focus less on higher temperatures, but that's a tougher challenge," Nelson said.

"We are responding with a number of initiatives...the primary one is focusing on drought tolerance," said John Soper, vice president in charge of global seed development for DuPont's Pioneer Hi-Bred, a top U.S. seed producer.

Pioneer launched a conventionally bred drought-tolerant corn hybrid seed (below right: 2nd generation crop fin the western U.S. Corn Belt this spring, selected for its yield advantage over other varieties.

"We have some early results in from Texas that show that is exactly how they are behaving. They currently have a 6 percent advantage over normal products in those drought zones," Soper said.

Roy Steiner, deputy director for agricultural development for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said the foundation is focused on current agricultural effects of climate change.

"It's amazing that there are still people who think that it's not changing. Everywhere we go we're seeing greater variability, the rains are changing and the timing of the rains is creating a lot more vulnerability," Steiner said.

"Agriculture is one of those things that needs long-term planning, and we are very short-cycled thinking," he said. "There are going to be some real shocks to the system. Climate is the biggest challenge. Demand is not going away."


Source:
Reuters,"Crop scientists now fret about heat not just water", by Christine Stebbins, accessed October 26, 2011

Elusive snow leopards discovered in remote corner of Afghanistan

A "surprisingly healthy" population of rare snow leopards (at left, click image to enlarge) has been discovered in the remote northeastern stretches of Afghanistan, one of the few areas largely unaffected by the near decade-long war in the country.

Researchers photographed the elusive big cat using camera traps at 16 different locations across Afghanistan's mountainous Wakhan Corridor (right), according to a recent report from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The images are the first camera trap records of snow leopards in Afghanistan, the organization noted.

"This is a wonderful discovery -- it shows that there is real hope for snow leopards in Afghanistan," said Peter Zahler, the group's deputy director. "Now our goal is to ensure that these magnificent animals have a secure future as a key part of Afghanistan's natural heritage."

The organization said the discovery "gives hope to the world's most elusive big cat, which calls home to some of the world's tallest mountains."

But the endangered animal also faces threats from poachers, shepherds and those who capture the cats for illegal trade.

Their populations have declined by as much as 20% over the past 16 years, the group reported.

Researchers estimate between 4,500 and 7,500 snow leopards are left in the wild, scattered across Central Asia.


Source:
CNN Environment,"Elusive snow leopards discovered in remote corner of Afghanistan", by David Ariosto, CNN, accessed October 25, 2011

Is a rerun of last winter likely?

For Minnesotans who might be welcoming global warming, Bob Henson has a message: Don't sell your snow blower. A warming climate might actually mean more snow across the northern Great Plains, said Henson, author of "The Rough Guide to Climate Change," who will be the keynote speaker Monday at the sixth annual Northern Plains Winter Storms Conference at St. Cloud.

Friday brought the first official autumn frost to the Twin Cities -- a 32-degree reading at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at 6:15 a.m. -- two weeks later than the long-term median date. At the same time, however, the national Climate Prediction Center added a strong likelihood of above-normal snow to its winter outlook for the Upper Midwest, accompanying strong chances of below-normal temperatures.

"One of the big messages is that snowfall is increasing across parts of the far northern plains," said Henson, a media relations associate for the University Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. "It appears to be decreasing toward the central plains. The natural north-south divide in snowfall is becoming even more pronounced."

For the near future, that appears to be a case of the region's climate legacy -- cold -- mixing with the ongoing warming trend. A warmer climate means more water vapor in the air, and in the Twin Cities, the steepest increases in normal temperatures, as measured over 30 years, have been in some of the coldest months: January, November and December. But those months are still colder than most of the others.

"Because it's so cold in the middle of winter, there's a lot of room for warming up and still having a lot of snow," Henson said.

The storms conference, sponsored by St. Cloud State University, attracts meteorologists and other weather aficionados. In addition to reviews of some of the more memorable episodes from last winter -- the fourth-snowiest on record in the Twin Cities -- several workshops will focus on how people perceive and respond to winter weather warnings and on ideas for new "misery" indexes to describe conditions. The two-day event at the Holiday Inn in St. Cloud costs $75, but $25 for students.

Through Thursday, October was running a remarkable 9.2 degrees above normal, and the national Climate Prediction Center was indicating more of the same for November, at least for the southern half of the state. But for "meteorological winter" -- December through February -- the agency has identified a strong trend toward below-normal temperatures across the northern tier of states, along with above-normal precipitation. The above-normal precipitation likelihood is strongest in the northwest.

Until this week's monthly update, the winter outlook had been noncommittal on precipitation. But models as well as climate trends combined to indicate a good chance of above-normal precipitation (left)-- snow, that is -- for the period, said CPC senior meteorologist Ed O'Lenic.

However, most weather-watchers have been reluctant to predict a winter as persistently snowy as last year's, when the Twin Cities had snow on the ground for 117 consecutive days and Minneapolis residents endured one-side-of-the-street parking restrictions for 95 days.

The Twin Cities area has seen back-to-back top-10 snowiest winters only once, and not in nearly 60 years. But the top three were all followed by winters with well-above-normal snow -- 72 inches or more.

The Twin Cities' annual normal snowfall is now 54 inches, up 0.3 inches from the previous 30-year normal. The region saw 86.6 inches last winter.




Source:
Star Tribune,"Is a rerun of last winter - gulp - likely? ", by Bill McAuffle, accessed October 24, 2011

Thailand shores up capital as waters creep higher

Thailand's capital was braced for more flooding on Sunday as water levels rose in some of Bangkok's northern suburbs and troops raced to fortify defense walls to protect two key industrial zones.

Authorities have taken measures to divert flood waters flowing from the north away from the city and into the Gulf of Thailand, but the capital was on tenterhooks because of the possibility of heavy rainfall into canals and rivers already full to the brim.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said authorities were doing everything possible to drive the water out, but were facing a race against time. Yingluck has already ordered the opening of the city's floodgates in the hope that it would allow the waters to drain away through urban canals and into the sea. Officials feared that otherwise the defenses would be overwhelmed.

"Water is coming from different places and headed in the same direction. We're trying to build walls but there will be some impact on Bangkok," Yingluck told reporters, adding that high tide in the Gulf by the end of the week could complicate the situation.

Thailand has had its worst flooding for half a century after months of unusually heavy rainfall with 356 people killed since late July and more than 113,000 forced to move to more than 1,700 shelters. About 2.5 million people have been affected, with water covering an area the size of Kuwait. The flood water has been bearing down on Bangkok since early last week.

Twenty-eight of 77 provinces and 2.46 million people are affected, with water covering an area the size of Kuwait. Yingluck said on Saturday it could take as long as six weeks for the water to subside.

The full force of the flooding has hit central provinces and those on the edge of Bangkok, where water levels have reached as high as three meters, with vehicles completely submerged and some residents believed to be stranded in their homes.

The northern Bangkok districts of Don Muang and Lak Si were inundated on Sunday after spilled out of the Prapa canal. Boats and cars were seen side by side on a main road, with people seen wading through water or boarding trucks for evacuation as water levels were up to two meters in some parts.

Thai television showed footage of a two-meter long crocodile caught by authorities in a residential area.

Fears rose as water levels in the vast Chao Phraya River flowing through Bangkok were at a seven-year high and a flood wall collapsed next to a school on the banks. Some 1,200 people in riverside shanty towns were advised to leave their homes.

Sean Boonpracong, the international spokesman for the flood response team, said food supply centers in or just outside Bangkok, meant to aid other parts of the country, had been hit by rising waters.

With residents anxious about supplies, many supermarkets in the capital have sold out of tinned food, instant noodles, bottled water and other essentials. Others began rationing goods.

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said the Don Muang airport, which has been turned into an evacuation center, would be used to provide food and water supplies from Monday to address shortages in the city.

Bangkok was sunny on Sunday, although the Meteorological Department has forecast scattered rain.

The government's flood agency said late on Saturday some toxic chemical had been found in flood waters in Pathum Thani province and the Pollution Control Department was assessing the impact.

HEAVY TOLL

The crisis is likely to take a heavy toll on the export-driven economy, Southeast Asia's second-biggest, with supply chains severely disrupted by blocked roads and the closure of seven swamped seven industrial estates in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Ayutthaya provinces bordering Bangkok. (At right click on image for larger version of map).

According to the MCOT news site, the Thai chamber of commerce estimates that the floods have already cost the economy 400bn baht (£8bn). That would rise by another 120bn baht a month if business areas were flooded.

The governor of the central bank has said growth in south-east Asia's second largest economy could fall to 3% or less this year, rather than the 4.1% previously forecast. The finance minister has said it could even drop below 2%.

Seven industrial estates in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Ayutthaya provinces have already halted production, with Toyota, Honda, Canon and Nikon among the companies affected. At least 600,000 people are unemployed due to the flooding. The labor ministry said that each would receive 2,000 baht.

Troops were raising levels of flood walls to protect Lat Krabang and Bangchan industrial zones to the north and east of the city but army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Saturday he could not guarantee they would not be breached.

Lat Krabang hosts 254 factories -- 49 of them Japanese -- while Bangchan has 90. Both are responsible for autos, transport, food and beverage and electrical appliances industries. Honda, Isuzu Motors and Unilever are among the firms operating at the two estates.

Source:
Reuters,"Thailand shores up capital as waters creep higher", accessed October 24, 2011
The Guardian, "Bangkok braces for more flooding", accessed October 24, 2011

Rescuers rush to save survivors after deadly Turkish quake

An earthquake of 7.2 magnitude rocked eastern Turkey Sunday, the strongest to hit the country in years. Thesun rose on the devastated scene in eastern Turkey near the border of Iran early Monday as rescue workers scoured rubble from a massive earthquake hoping to find survivors.

"500 to 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the quake," Professor Mustafa Erdik, director of the Kandilli seismological institute in Istanbul, told a news conference. Earlier reports did not speak of casualties but many were feared trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings and officials warned they were struggling to assess the extent of the damage.

Search crews used flashlights, shovels, heavy machinery and clawed with their bare hands to lift debris.

The epicenter of the quake, which struck around 1041 GMT, was at Tabanli in Van province, the Kandilli institute said. The epicenter of the aftershock, which occurred at 1056 GMT, was located 17 kilometers (10 miles) northeast of Van, the institute added.

The depth of the initial quake was 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), according to the US seismologists.

The Turkish institute said that there were two aftershocks which in particular impacted on Ilikaynak and Gedikbulak villages. Roughly 20 aftershocks rattled eastern Turkey in one of the nation's poorest areas. The largest had a magnitude of 6.0.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 55 buildings collapsed in Ercis on the north shore of Lake Van. The Turkish Red Crescent said about 25 apartment buildings and a student dormitory collapsed in the town.

A health services building also collapsed, along with part of a hospital, CNN sister network CNN Turk reported. The injured were being treated in the hospital's garden.

"People are really scared," CNN Turk reporter Nevsin Mengu said from Van. "The survivors are now trying to survive the cold weather."

Rescuers and survivors contended with near-freezing temperatures early Monday. Some people collected wood from collapsed buildings to burn for warmth, Mengu said.

She said many residents are not returning to their houses, opting instead to sleep on rooftops or in the streets. It was not clear whether their homes were uninhabitable, or whether they were just too frightened. Electricity and natural gas were off in most of the city.

Trucks carrying medical aid and food were seen driving into Van. But rescue teams had not yet reached some of the smaller villages in the area, Mengu said.

One man, stuck in the fetal position under a large piece of debris, was visible only through a small hole in the rubble. The man appeared weak and exhausted after rescuers pulled him out, his clothes torn.

At one point, rescue workers halted operations to try to hear if anyone was knocking for help.

The Red Crescent called for rescue workers, machinery and drinking water. A crisis center was set up by the country's Health Ministry in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

Rescue teams of about 500 people were on the ground, according to the crisis center, and additional aid teams were dispatched from 29 surrounding cities. Medical helicopters were transporting the injured to hospitals in other provinces, the center said.

Two tent hospitals were being set up in Ercis, and two cargo planes were dispatched from the capital carrying medical teams and aid.

Prime Minister Erdogan and Health Minister Recep Akdag arrived in the area Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health's crisis center.

Israel offered Turkey "any help it may require" after the earthquake, Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office said. Israel and Turkey, once close allies, saw a deterioration in relations in a dispute over an Israeli naval commando raid on the Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara, in which nine Turkish activists were killed.

A spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the country, while grateful for offers of aid, is prepared to handle the disaster on its own.

Turkey is "no stranger to having these seismic events," but Sunday's quake is considered major, CNN Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf said. Turkey is earthquake-prone due to being crossed by several fault lines.(At left, young woman after being rescued grieves for dead)

In 1999, two strong quakes in the heavily-populated and industrialized regions of northwest Turkey left some 20,000 dead. And a powerful earthquake in the town of Caldiran in Van province killed 3,840 people in 1976. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Izmit, Turkey, killed more than 17,000 people in 1999, according to the USGS. A magnitude 7.2 tremor in Duzce the same year killed 894 people, the USGS reported.

Sunday's major quake struck at 1:41 p.m. local time, about 12 miles from Van, the USGS said.


Source:
CNN,"Rescuers rush to save survivors after deadly Turkish quake ", accessed October 24, 2011
Discovery News, "Hundreds Feared Dead in Turkey Quake", accessed October 24, 2011