80 million European runners reveal their reasons to run
ASICS looks into the runner’s mind
The world of running is experiencing a ’second running wave’, with approximately 36% of 15 to 65 year-old Europeans taking to the streets, parks, forests, and gyms. But how did this new boom come about in Europe? Why is it that we run?
To honour its 60th anniversary this year, ASICS took its expertise in running to another level by conducting an unprecedented research into the mind of the runner. Executed by the research institute Synovate, ASICS’ ‘Reasons to Run’ research asked more than 3,500 runners in seven European countries* to reveal the ‘why?’ behind their actions, making it the biggest study of its kind ever.
From body to mind
A significant fact that comes up in each country is that the attitude towards running is one of ‘first the body, then the mind’. The physical benefits of running far outweigh the mental benefits when it comes to getting started, with health issues such as fitness (for 54% of runners) and weight-loss (for 40%) being the two main reasons why Europeans start running. As time goes by however, the balance shifts from the body to the mind as runners discover the mental rewards running gives them, with 34% declaring they do it for fun and 35% as a means of stress-relief.
On average, Europeans wish to lose 6.1kgs by running, but the Dutch go above and beyond this target with a goal of 9.5kgs. On the topic of running partners, the British hold the highest number of runners who run with their babies in strollers while the Italians hold the highest percentage of running-club memberships (13%) as they enjoy the company of a running partner the most. When asked what goes through their minds whilst running, the Spanish declared they scrutinise other runners they see, while the French focus on their breath, pace and rhythm, the British worry about their finances and the current credit crunch, and Belgians think about nothing at all.
We run as we are
Delving deep into the runner’s mind, ASICS’ ‘Reasons to Run’ research delivers some intriguing results. The findings range from a general consensus over certain aspects (such as why people start to run) to factors that differ hugely between nations (such as motivation to continue, injury prevention, and preferred locations). These differences are down to the fact that the runner’s mindset profile greatly resembles their country’s disposition. The hard-working Germans, for example, are diligent runners who don’t like to give up, while the joie-de-vivre French run mainly for fun. The down-to-earth qualities of the Dutch mean they are not bothered by anything while running in contrast to the passionate Spanish who find they are easily irritated.
The marvels of running
Not since the first running boom of the early seventies, when people realised that running was a reliable means of getting healthy, has the world of running seen such an immense escalation in runners. Progressively more runners appearing in parks, streets and gyms, a surge in numbers on marathon registration lists (with a total of 494 marathons taking place in Europe alone), and a huge increase in women taking up the sport (33% of European women started in the last 12 months) are just some of the signs highlighting what is now known as the ’second running wave’. This latest boom is emphasised by the fact that a third of today’s runners started in the last year and the numbers just keep growing, with the current total of European runners exceeding 80 million.
* NB: The countries that participated are Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, and the results are a representation of the 80 million runners in these European countries.
For more details, facts and figures about the Reason to Run survey, please see www.everythingaboutrunning.asics.eu.
Goodyear celebrates 111 years of innovation
In celebration of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s 111th anniversary, the company is recognizing its most significant moments in history with a compilation of “Goodyear’s top 111 innovations, inspirations and historic firsts.”
The list reflects Goodyear’s pioneering spirit of innovation throughout the years, which has been felt across the earth, the skies and even the moon.
“Innovation is what has made Goodyear what it is today,” said Jean-Claude Kihn, Goodyear’s senior vice president and chief technical officer. “Not only is innovation an important part of our past, but it’s even more so our goal for the future.”
More than a century of innovation has secured Goodyear’s place in history. Some of the company’s most memorable contributions include:
1901: Goodyear adopts the wingfoot trademark, saying it will help Goodyear circle the Earth.
1908: Goodyear develops the All-Weather tread design. The diamond-shaped studded pattern would be used for more than 40 years with only minor modifications and become a well-known symbol of Goodyear tire quality.
1918: The Wingfoot Express makes the first cross-country trucking journey from Boston to San Francisco, demonstrating the toughness and reliability of Goodyear tires. It was also the first truck to feature a sleeper cab.
1920: Goodyear Hall (a center containing an auditorium, classrooms, recreational facilities and the state’s largest gymnasium at the time) is constructed in Akron, Ohio. A dream of future CEO P.W. Litchfield, the center made Goodyear a pioneer of employee wellness and education.
1925: Goodyear’s first commercial blimp, the Pilgrim, debuts. The airship is 50,000 cubic feet and is the first non-rigid craft to use helium.
1947: Goodyear establishes one of the earliest industrial programs to encourage protection of the environment, the Goodyear Conservation Awards recognizing resource management. In 1973, Keep America Beautiful Inc. would select Goodyear’s environmental improvement program as the nation’s best.
1963: The Orange Bowl becomes the first live sporting event to be nationally broadcast to television from a Goodyear blimp.
1970: Goodyear tires land on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission.
1977: Goodyear introduces the Tiempo, the first tire designed for year-round use in all climates. The Tiempo would become the most successful tire in company history, selling 3.5 million in the first year.
1991: Goodyear launches the Aquatred, which would become the most award-winning tire in industry history. With its unique, deep-groove aquachannel, the tire set new standards for wet traction and changed the way drivers think about new tires.
2009: Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires help save consumers gas money by reducing rolling resistance compared to the Goodyear Assurance.
For the entire list of Goodyear’s 111 innovations, including historic photos and videos, visit http://tr.im/GoodyearInnovation.
Another major setback for Nuclear Renaissance
Industry Goes 0-6 in 2009 Efforts to Overturn State Bans on New Nuclear Reactors
More Lobbying Expected in 2010 in Even Tougher Environment After Yucca Mountain and Soaring Cost Estimates; Outside of Bans, Industry Falters on CWIP in Missouri and Key Fights in Other States.
The so-called “nuclear renaissance” is finding few friends among state lawmakers in the United States. The nuclear power industry has been shut out across the board in 2009 in its efforts in all six states — ranging across the nation from Kentucky to Minnesota to Hawaii — where it sought to overturn what are either explicit or effectively bans on construction of new reactors, according to the nonprofit Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS). Efforts to overturn bans also have failed to advance in Illinois and West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Beyond failing to reverse a single state-level ban on new reactors, the industry also suffered a wide range of major defeats, including an effort to repeal a ban on “Construction Work in Progress” (CWIP) payments that would have been imposed on Missouri ratepayers to finance a new nuclear power plant, which was then promptly mothballed. Industry efforts to get nuclear declared “renewable” by the states of Indiana and Arizona also failed to achieve results. Also going nowhere is a California bill to lift the state’s pioneering law banning new reactors until a high-level waste dump is in place. That follows a 2008 California statewide referendum drive with the same focus that failed for lack of sufficient signatures to get it on the ballot.
Michael Mariotte, executive director, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, said: “While the nuclear power industry and a few members of Congress claim the U.S. is on the verge of a nuclear power resurgence, the industry looks more like a critical patient struggling to get by on life support out in the real world beyond the Beltway. No one seriously expects the industry to go away. But the truth is that things will be even tougher for their state lobbyists in 2010 now that the freeze on Yucca Mountain has taken long-term waste disposal off the table and also in the wake of new evidence of runaway construction costs that make nuclear power even more of a boondoggle.”
Dave Kraft, director, Nuclear Energy Information Service, Chicago, IL., said: “Authorizing construction of new nuclear reactors without first constructing a radioactive waste disposal facility is like authorizing construction of a new Sears Tower without bathrooms. Neither makes sense; both threaten public health and safety.”
Jennifer Nordstrom, Carbon-Free Nuclear-Free coordinator, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Madison, WI., said: “Telling states to build new nuclear plants to combat global warming is like telling a patient to smoke to lose weight: There are too many other serious downsides that cannot be ignored. Fortunately, it is both technically and economically feasible to go both carbon-free and nuclear-free by 2050. Here in Wisconsin, we have a carbon-free, nuclear-free coalition in support of Wisconsin’s current law on nuclear power, and a 100 percent renewable Wisconsin.”
Commenting on the defeat of an industry-sought CWIP repeal in the Missouri Legislature this year, Mark Haim, chair, Missourians for Safe Energy, Columbia, MO., said: “New nuclear plants are far too risky and expensive to attract investor funding. Utilities will only build them if they can transfer the risk to the taxpayers or their ratepayers. Here in Missouri AmerenUE attempted to repeal a voter-enacted state law that bans Construction Work in Progress charges. Their goal was to get the ratepayers to assume the risks. When our legislators heard from consumer, senior, low-income and industrial groups all opposing CWIP, the CWIP repeal went nowhere. Once Ameren realized they couldn’t get CWIP, they announced that they were abandoning efforts to build a new nuclear reactor. The pattern is clear, investors find nuclear too risky and utilities will only go down the nuclear path if their customers or the taxpayers underwrite the project.”
NIRS provided this overview of the six states where industry efforts to overturn what are explicit or effective bans on new reactors failed:
MINNESOTA. The 1994 law in Minnesota provides that the state will not approve “the construction of a new nuclear-powered electric generating plant…” The Minnesota House voted 70-62 on April 30, 2009 to keep the state’s nuclear moratorium in place. Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, has stated publicly that the issues that led to the 1994 law are still not resolved. “We hear about advancement in technology, but we haven’t solved the issue of waste — a million-year radioactive toxic legacy that we’ll pass on to untold generations,” said Hornstein.
Since then, Minnesota has seen the launch of a group calling itself “Sensible Energy Solutions for Minnesota” including a retired power company CEO and the self-proclaimed head of a wildlife group who also headed up an organization called “Sportsmen for Bush.” According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the new organization was founded by “three veteran Republican operatives”: Matt Burns, spokesman for the 2008 Republican National Convention; Ben Golnik, who last year was Midwestern manager of Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign; and Tom Steward, a campaign spokesman for McCain and communications director for former Sen. Norm Coleman. By contrast, the Minnesota House’s upholding of the moratorium was supported by the Clean Water Action Alliance of Minnesota, Environment Minnesota, Izaak Walton League of America-Minnesota Division, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Sierra Club North Star Chapter.
WEST VIRGINIA. In 1996, section 16-27A-2 of the West Virginia State Code was enacted, stipulating that any nuclear facility must be approved by the Public Service Commission, comply with environmental requirements, be economically feasible for in-state rate payers, and, most importantly also that “a functional and effective national facility which safely, successfully and permanently disposes of any and all radioactive wastes associated with operating any such nuclear power plant, nuclear factory or nuclear electric power generating plant has been developed and that such facility has been proven safe, functional and effective by a minimum of twenty-four months’ operation or experience.” This spring, a bill to repeal West Virginia’s effective ban on nuclear power plants died in the 2009 Legislature.
WISCONSIN. Wisconsin law sets two conditions that must be met before new nuclear power plants can be built in the state. One is that there must be “a federally licensed facility” for high-level nuclear waste. In addition, the proposed nuclear plant “must be economically advantageous to ratepayers.” As the Center for Media and Democracy noted on March 26, 2009: “Given the near-death of the planned waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain, and the estimated $6 to $12 billion cost of building one nuclear reactor — not to mention the lack of interest from private investors and the tanking economy — Wisconsin’s law effectively bans new nuclear plants in the state. The major industry group Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) registered four lobbyists in Wisconsin. NEI is lobbying state legislators on issues related to ‘nuclear generation… engineering education and other issues related to state policies on energy, job creation, and environmental law,’ according to disclosure forms. It’s the first time that NEI has had lobbyists in Wisconsin since at least 1996, though the group has organized public and media events here, especially in recent years.”
As the Milwaukee Journal reported on April 21, 2009: “Supporters of nuclear power made a big push earlier this spring to overturn the state’s ban on construction of nuclear reactors. The supporters included (Patrick Moore) a co-founder of Greenpeace who now is working for an energy coalition funded by the Nuclear Energy Institute… [A] coalition of environmental groups and others concerned about nuclear power responded, saying the high cost of nuclear power and the challenge of radioactive waste — the spent fuel left over from production of electricity from reactors — make nuclear the wrong choice for the state. ‘Given nuclear power’s high costs and its legacy of nuclear waste, expanding the use of nuclear power is not a responsible choice for meeting future electricity needs in Wisconsin,’ Physicians for Social Responsibility and other groups said in a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle and members of the Legislature.
HAWAII. Hawaii’s ban on nuclear reactors dates back to the state’s 1978 Constitutional Convention, which added Article XI, Section 8 to the State Constitution: “No nuclear fission power plant shall be constructed or radioactive material disposed of in the State without the prior approval by a two-thirds vote in each house of the legislature.” Industry-supported bills to lift this constitutional requirement failed in the 2009 Legislature.
ILLINOIS. Illinois’ law requires either a federally-approved waste disposal strategy or the state legislature’s approval for a new reactor project. According to the Nuclear Energy Information Service, the repeal attempts of the Illinois nuclear construction moratorium did not move in the 2009 legislative session in the Capitol. Bills introduced in the Illinois House and Senate died in both chambers. These restrictions may be linked to the fact that Illinois is described as “the Most Nuclear State in the USA”. Illinois has 11 operating power reactors, three power reactors prematurely closed, and hearings underway for a new plant. Illinois also has a waste closed and leaking dump for “low level” radioactive waste, a storage facility for spent fuel, and Manhattan Project waste buried in a forest preserve.
KENTUCKY. Kentucky’s law not only requires a high-level nuclear waste facility “in actual operation” by the time the new nuclear reactor would require it, but also insists on detailing “the cost of [waste] disposal… with reasonable certainty.” A combination of industry-backed bills designed to remove these restrictions died in the 2009 Legislature.
According to NIRS, the nuclear industry’s 2009 defeats in 10 or more state capitols — including all six efforts to overturn bans on new reactors — were offset by only one win. Georgia state lawmakers approved CWIP, empowering a subsidiary of the Atlanta-based Southern Co. to collect $2 billion from its customers before a single watt of power is produced from two planned nuclear reactors. Outside of the South, CWIP bail-outs for the industry have made little headway to date.
Source: Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Washington, DC
New internet threats target millions engaged in banking online
An estimated 98 million Americans bank online, thanks to Web-based bill-paying, money transfers and other activities made possible by financial institutions and service providers. The convenience of completing these tasks at home helps simplify hectic schedules and provides customers with 24-hour account access.
Although financial institutions have security measures in place to protect their customers, cybercriminals have devised ways to circumvent some of these security devices. One tactic is to attack a bank customer’s computer with a technique called keystroke logging (or just keylogging), which puts both your identity and your finances at risk.
Internet security firm Webroot reports that cybercriminals are churning out new variants of malware programs designed to log keystrokes at an increasing rate. One such program is called Zbot, which can activate while the owner of an infected PC is browsing a financial institution’s Web site. In recent months, Webroot’s Threat Research Lab has detected a steady increase in the incidents of Zbot. The program – and others like it – can not only record what a person types, such as the bank account username and password, but can also steal the responses to “security questions” the bank might ask. Some versions of Zbot can take pictures of the screen whenever the bank customer clicks his mouse, which defeats even “soft” on-screen keyboards that some banks use specifically to thwart keyloggers.
“Online banking sites are tempting and potentially very lucrative channels for cybercriminals to target a great mass of people,” said Mike Kronenberg, chief technology officer for Webroot’s consumer security division. “We’re seeing malware authors rapidly update their banking Trojan programs in an effort to avoid detection by Internet security solutions. This means consumers need to stay on top of protecting themselves online.”
Kronenberg recommends three key steps for protecting your personal finances and your identity online:
Be Protected: Make sure you have a reputable antispyware and antivirus program installed on your computer. Be careful when doing searches for “free” antivirus software because the results are often decoys that have malicious programming built in to them.
Stay Protected: Suppress the urge to hit the ignore button when you get those pesky reminders asking if you would like to check for updates. By having the most up-to-date software for both your operating system (like Windows or Linux) and your antispyware and antivirus program, you get the highest level of security.
Diversity is key: Would you ever use the same key for your car, office and your home? Although it may seem simplest to just use the same password for all your online accounts, it is perhaps the riskiest thing you can do to open yourself up to identity theft. If just one of your accounts is hacked it opens the door for the thief to gain access to all of them.
Source: Webroot Software
Nissan becomes first automaker to commercially deploy methanol fuel cells for material handling equipment
Methanol fuel cells reduce plant’s CO2 emissions
Nissan North America has become the first vehicle manufacturer to commercially deploy methanol fuel cells to power its material handling equipment (tugs) at its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant. The methanol fuel cells from Oorja Protonics, OorjaPac(TM), provide a more energy efficient and cost effective battery-charging process for the 60 tugs that are used to transport thousands of vehicle parts throughout the 5.4 million-square-foot facility.
“Nissan is constantly looking at the impact our business activities have on the environment, and at the same time, how we can become more efficient,” said Mark Sorgi, manager, Material Handling. “The fuel cells, that are fueled by methanol, are helping us in both areas by reducing our CO2 emissions and better utilizing our resources.”
By using OorjaPac, Nissan is able to get rid of more than 70 electric battery chargers that were consuming almost 540,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This will reduce Nissan’s electric bill and eliminate more than 300 tons of CO2 emissions that were being released into the atmosphere.
Methanol is an alternative liquid transportation fuel that is derived from various sources including wood, grass, landfills, natural gas and coal. Nissan is retrofitting the 60 tugs with methanol fuel cells that are easily, quickly and safely filled with methanol by the technicians who drive them. The fuel cell provides a constant charge that puts less strain on the tugs electrical system, increasing the life of the battery and other electrical parts.
“The methanol fuel cells have made us more productive by saving us almost 35 hours a day that were spent by employees changing out batteries,” said Sorgi. “There’s no changing out of low or dead batteries, which involves a battery technician and 15 to 20 minutes. Now the tug driver can refill the fuel cell in less than one minute and they’re on their way.”
Since no batteries are exchanged and the drivers refuel the tugs themselves, some battery technicians have been moved to other value-added positions in the plant, better utilizing Nissan personnel. Also, the time saved by not having to change batteries has created a more efficient material-handling operation, allowing Nissan to reassign four material handlers.
The methanol fuel cells proved to be a worthwhile investment for Nissan after an 18-month trial period in the Smyrna plant. Nissan is procuring the methanol fuel cells from Oorja Protonics, a manufacturer of ultra-powerful methanol fuel cells from Fremont, Calif. Fuel cells generate electricity by converting the chemical energy stored in a fuel into electrical and thermal energy. The byproducts of the electrochemical reaction are pure water and heat.
“We are excited to take our relationship with Nissan to the next level, and proud to play such a pivotal role in Nissan’s environmental initiatives,” said Sanjiv Malhotra, Founder and CEO of Oorja Protonics. “Our OorjaPac system gives Nissan the opportunity to increase productivity and realize a strong return on investment.”
Nissan’s Smyrna plant has seen its energy efficiency improve by as much as 32 percent since it began aggressively pursing environmental initiatives in 2005. These energy-saving practices are currently saving the company more than $3.5 million per year. As an ENERGY STAR partner, Nissan is committed to improving the energy efficiency of its business and protecting the environment for future generations.
Source: Nissan North America
LATINA Style Magazine announces the 2009 LATINA Style 50 Report
50 Best Companies for Latinas to Work for in the U.S.
LATINA Style Magazine proudly announces the LATINA Style 50 Report for 2009. Now in its 12th year, this annual evaluation sets the standard for identifying corporations that are providing the best career opportunities for Latinas in the U.S. The LATINA Style 50 Report is the most respected evaluation of corporate America’s career advancement opportunities for Latinas. This year, more than 800 of the most prominent corporations in the United States were included in the extensive search.
Companies responding to LATINA Style’s questionnaire are evaluated based on issues that LATINA Style readers identified as most important to them in the workplace. Among the principal areas of evaluation are: number of Latina executives, mentoring programs, Latina board members, educational opportunities, alternative work policies, dependent/child care support, employee benefits, women’s issues, job retraining, affinity groups and Hispanic relations. Evaluations for the 2009 annual report were based on 2008 data.
“Latinas’ climb to the upper echelons of the corporate ladder has been severely impaired by the harsh economic conditions in today’s market. Their lack of seniority has put them at a disproportionate disadvantage in the implementation of retention efforts,” says Robert E. Bard, president and CEO of LATINA Style, Inc. “We commend the companies that in spite of the economic and market pressures have made significant efforts to maintain or even increase Latina representation in their upper ranks. We have gone to great lengths to provide a reliable resource for Latinas to evaluate companies and after a year of research, we firmly believe that the 2009 LATINA Style 50 truly represents some of the best opportunities corporate America has to offer.”
Kaiser Permanente, based in Oakland, CA, is the company of the year. Kaiser Permanente is one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente’s mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of their members and the communities they serve. Kaiser Permanente currently serves 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia.
“We are honored to be named as the best company by LATINA Style in the publication’s 50 Best Companies for Latinas to Work for in the United States,” said George Halvorson, chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente. “Diversity is a critical piece of our values as a mission-driven organization. It would be impossible for us to improve the health of the communities we serve if we didn’t recognize and support the diversity in those communities. For us, diversity is not an add-on agenda, but a core business principle, and the diversity of our members and staff is a reflection of our success.”
An annual awards ceremony honoring the LATINA Style 50 Companies will take place on February 4, 2010 during LATINA Style’s Diversity Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. For more information regarding the LATINA Style 50, please visit the magazine web site at www.latinastyle.com.
2009 LATINA Style Top 50 Companies
Kaiser Permanente
AT&T Inc.
Marriott International, Inc.
Verizon Communications, Inc.
Southern California Edison
Prudential Financial
Macy’s, Inc.
Johnson & Johnson
WellPoint, Inc.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
IBM Corporation
McDonald’s Corporation
General Mills, Inc.
PepsiCo, Inc.
Bank of America Corporation
Principal Financial Group
Wells Fargo & Company
Citi
BNSF Railway Company
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
MGM MIRAGE
Northern Trust
Comerica Bank
The Coca-Cola Company
Kraft Foods, Inc.
State Farm Insurance Companies
Sodexo, Inc.
UnitedHealthcare, Inc.
New York Life Insurance Company
Aflac Incorporated
American Express Company
Xerox Corporation
Kellogg Company
Army & Air Force Exchange Service
Credit Suisse
USAA
Fannie Mae
Morgan Stanley
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Colgate-Palmolive Company
American Airlines
Comcast Corporation
Allstate Insurance Company
Freddie Mac
Qwest Communications
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation
MetLife, Inc.
Aetna Inc.
Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Honorable Mention
Burger King Corporation
Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
General Motors Company
Ryder System, Inc.
Union Pacific Railroad Company
Source: LATINA Style Magazine
Nigeria builds first Ozone village in Africa
The Nigerian Government is building an Ozone village to serve as a technology development.
The announcement was made by the Nigerian Federal Minster of Environment, John Ode at the opening of the 4 days ODS Officers Network (ODSONET) Joint meeting, which is being held in Abuja, Nigeria.
The village is located in Ogun State. As part of this project, some locally fabricated prototype Ozone friendly machines have been developed. The machines include a box of foaming machines, CFC recovery and recycling machine and hydrocarbon refrigerant production machine.
The box is said to be globally competitive and the initiative will be presented to the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol to consider the Hydro carbon production machine as a pilot demonstration project to be considered under the HCFC programme.
The Montreal Protocol requires countries to also start freeze the consumption of hydro fluorocarbons (HCFCs) by 1st January, 2013 and some countries have already started restricting the importation of HCFCs to enable them meet the 2013 target.
The Head of Paris-based UNEP OzonAction Branch, Rajendra Shende said: “HCFCs have a high potential of global warming. Unlike for the CFCs where the phase out plans were only meant to address the ozone depleting potential, we now want to also consider the value added to the mitigation of the climate change. In phase out the HCFC we will also be counting how much global warming potential we will help reduce”.
Judging from past experience in CFC phase out, it is likely that there will be an influx in import of equipment using HCFCs towards African countries as other parts of the world will be grappling to get rid of there unwanted uses.
“This will surely increase to demand in HCFC making it difficult to many countries to meet their obligation. Most countries present here are enforcing their ODS Regulations which controls importation of ODS including HCFC. But I can assure you that regulations alone will not help if they are not backed up with a good and well funded and assisted phase-out Programme” Mr. Shende added.
The ongoing meeting is meant to provide a platform for Ozone Officers to compare note on the measures taken in the past years and draw the lessons learnt and in a few specific case still needing readjustment.
It is expected that this Joint meeting, which also brings together journalists from different parts of Africa, would allow countries in the region to exchange views on the process for the development of their respective HCFC Management Plans.
Iran Policy Committee: Tehran orders Baghdad to attack Iranian dissidents – Washington ponders
The United States Government is considering options regarding the main Iranian opposition group based in Iraq, in light of its members’ status as “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention and in the wake of ongoing attacks on the group by Iraqi Security Forces that killed 11 and wounded hundreds more.
The raid on the Iranian dissidents has already generated criticism of the U.S. Government for its conduct in light of the attack. Various players are proposing different options. Some, including Tehran, propose dispersal of the Iranian dissidents within Iraq or their repatriation to Iran, while others suggest a temporary resumption of U.S. military protection for them.
Meanwhile, intelligence reports from the Iranian opposition indicate that because of the very weak response of the United States regarding the 28 and 29 July attacks by Iraq Security Forces against Camp Ashraf, both Baghdad and Tehran may conclude that they have a free hand to act against the Iranian dissidents. Reports indicate that the number of Iraqi Forces and their equipment have not decreased both inside and outside of Ashraf since the 28 July attack, as more equipment is being added. Some estimates of Iraqi Security Forces present at Camp Ashraf range from 1,500 to 2,000. Absent guidance to intervene from Washington, U.S. commanders based at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Grizzly at Ashraf may again stand idle if Iraqi Security Forces make another deadly attack against the unarmed women and men residing at Camp Ashraf.
According to IPC President and former member of the National Security Council Staff at the White House, Professor Raymond Tanter, “The United States, as an Occupying Power, was responsible for the security of ‘protected persons’ in Iraq, including the Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf. The United States can only transfer responsibility for such protection to another state party to the Geneva Convention that guarantees their ‘protected persons’ status. Although Iraq gave the United States such assurances, Baghdad obviously has no intention of abiding by its promises. According to Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, if the state that assumes authority does not honor its obligations, the transferring Power — in this case the United States — is obliged to ‘take effective measures to correct the situation, or shall request the return of the protected persons. . .Such request must be complied with.’”
General Thomas McInerney (Lt Gen, US Air Force Ret, chair of the IPC Advisory Council), stated that “It would be outrageous for the U.S. military to shirk its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention by allowing the Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf to be dispersed throughout Iraq or repatriated to Iran. Adherence to international law by American forces is essential to ensuring that our own troops are treated consistently with their international legal rights. Dispersal would leave Iranian dissidents vulnerable to attacks by the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which has operatives in Iraq ready to kidnap Iranian dissidents and bring them to Iran for torture and execution. Repatriation would be a ‘legal’ way to accomplish the same objective of Tehran — eliminating the main Iranian opposition.”
Regarding the Iraqi Security Forces attack on Camp Ashraf, MG Paul Vallely (US Army Ret, IPC Advisory Council) said, “Bringing the United States in line with its international legal obligations requires ensuring that Iranian dissidents, who have ‘protected persons’ status, are not attacked again. Repatriation, dispersal, and continued attacks can only be avoided if the United States temporarily resumes its protective role at Camp Ashraf until there is a negotiated solution acceptable to the major players. If Washington continues to ponder while Tehran-inspired assaults against Ashraf continue, there will be a humanitarian disaster for which the U.S. Government may be held responsible.”
R. Bruce McColm, President of the Institute for Democratic Strategies, IPC Board of Directors said, “The events following Iran’s June 2009 Presidential election make clear that forcible elimination of political opponents takes priority over human rights reputation. If that were not enough, the violent attack by Iraqi Security Forces on the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) at Camp Ashraf, at the behest of Tehran, should dispel any expectation of humane treatment of repatriated MEK members. At the very least, it should make clear that MEK members have a legitimate fear of persecution if sent to Iran.”
According to Professor Raymond Tanter, “During October 2008, an Iran Policy Committee delegation traveled to Iraq to conduct research, which I authored in a book, President Obama and Iraq, 2009. This field research provided interview evidence that confirmed inferences made on the basis of primary source documents, reported in an earlier IPC book I coauthored with IPC colleagues, Baghdad Ablaze. Virtually every Iraqi interviewed by the IPC pointed to the same antidote to Iranian regime infiltration of Iraq: Iranian dissident members of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) based at Camp Ashraf, Iraq.”
Prof. Tanter stated, “Iraqis and U.S. military personnel also credited the MEK with a key role in helping the formation of Sunni Awakening Councils. The MEK worked to reconcile Sunnis with U.S. forces and convinced many Sunnis to participate in Iraq’s political process. The political impact of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq in Iraq extended beyond relations between Sunnis and the U.S. military to reconciliation among Kurds, Sunni Arabs, and Shiite Arabs. Without such MEK intervention, there is likely to be not only an explosion of Sunni assaults against U.S. Forces but also Shiite attacks against our forces using Iranian weapons, as is taking place in southern Iraq by Shiites.”
Source: Iran Policy Committee
Offshore wind farms could power 37 million homes by 2020
Global offshore wind farm capacity will grow at a compound annual rate of 32 per cent in the coming decade, according to a new report by energy consulting firm ODS-Petrodata.
The International Offshore Wind Market to 2020 report predicts that by the end of 2020 global offshore wind farm capacity will have soared to 55 gigawatts, or enough to power almost 37 million European homes. Current installed capacity is under two gigawatts.
Based on an analysis of more than 700 projects and prospects in the company’s database, ODS-Petrodata forecasts USD 61.4 billion of capital expenditure in the sector between now and 2014. For 2016 to 2020, total capital expenditure could be double that.
“Although the credit crisis and other constraints have tempered the market, there is clearly a huge business opportunity here,” says David Gault, Renewables Manager at ODS-Petrodata. “These are big industrial projects, and it will take lots of equipment, manpower and innovation to get them built. Now is a great time for companies in other sectors, such as offshore oil and gas, to assess whether they can grab a piece of the action.”
Bottlenecks in the supply chain are already being relieved by new entrants. Several emerging European manufacturers of offshore-rated turbines will challenge the dominance of Siemens and Vestas in the next few years, and will later be joined by a batch of Asian manufacturers, including South Korean conglomerates such as Hyundai and at least 10 Chinese firms.
ODS-Petrodata’s research on turbine installation vessels indicates that the current shortage of these units could ease quite quickly, if all the vessels currently under construction are delivered on schedule and those in the design phase are built as planned. This will ultimately depend on access to finance, although some potential owners are major civil construction firms with substantial internal resources.
The UK currently leads the way for both installed capacity and projects under construction, but it may experience a lull in activity in 2013 and 2014. Germany will more than take up the slack, and will go on to become the industry’s power house from 2014 onwards. China and the USA will also be very significant players in the longer term.
There is a strong trend towards projects being built in deeper water further from shore, and this should create opportunities for innovative installation techniques, new vessel designs, foundations that can be used in deep water, cables that carry power over long distances, and new ways of tackling operations and maintenance challenges.
Source: ODS-Petrodata
Most Americans continue to support moving ahead with Health Care Reform now despite town hall fights and ad campaigns
CONCERNS HAVE GROWN ABOUT PERCEIVED NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF REFORM, ESPECIALLY AMONG REPUBLICANS AND INDEPENDENTS
SENIORS REPORT THEY ARE CONFUSED ABOUT REFORM
A slim majority of Americans continues to favor moving forward on health care reform now despite an intensifying ad war and a political climate of contentious town hall meetings that coincide with rising concerns about the reform effort, according to the August Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.
Fifty-three percent of the public believes that tackling health reform is more important than ever, compared to 42 percent who say we cannot afford to take on health care reform right now. The gap between those points of view has narrowed in recent months as criticisms and doubts about reform plans seem to be registering. Sixty three percent of the public say they are “hopeful” about reform, 41 percent are “afraid” and 46 percent are simply “confused”.
The August poll was conducted during a period in which politically active members of the public vented their fears and hopes about reform plans in fiery and widely-publicized town hall meetings with elected officials, and at a time when an increasing number of Americans (45% compared to 31% in July) reported seeing advertisements having to do with proposed changes in the health care system.
“The August health reform wars about hot button issues have definitely made the public more anxious but they have not caused public support to unravel,” said Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman. “When the Congress returns the debate will refocus on core issues such as how to pay for health reform and meet the public’s expectations for help with their health insurance problems.”
Better Off/Worse Off for Me and the Country
The intensifying debate appears to have impacted some key tracking poll indicators over the last month. One key indicator in the debate is the percentage of Americans who think that they or their families would be better off if the president and Congress enacted major health reform legislation. The largest group (36%) continues to say their family will be better off if health reform passes — a proportion that has held relatively steady all year. However, the share who believes their family will be worse off has jumped 10 percentage points since July and now stands at 31 percent.
Similarly, while a larger proportion of Americans continues to believe the country as a whole would be better off if Congress passed health care reform than think it would be harmed (45% vs. 34%), the gap between those viewpoints has shrunk over the course of the summer. The share of Americans who see negative consequences for the country has climbed and the share anticipating benefits has fallen. Just one month ago, for instance, 51 percent thought the country would be better off if the president and Congress pass health reform, while 23 percent thought it would be worse off.
The uptick in fears of negative outcomes is driven in large part by a big jump in concerns among Republicans. This month, 61 percent of Republicans say they would be personally worse off if health reform passes, up 22 percentage points from July. Similarly, 68 percent of Republicans said the country would be worse off if reform passes, up 25 percentage points from July.
In addition, for the first time this year, more independents say they personally will be worse off rather than better off if health reform passes (36% vs. 30%). And independents now are roughly divided on whether or not health care reform will benefit the country, in contrast to previous months where optimists outnumbered pessimists in this group. Democrats have remained fairly steady in their perception of how health reform might affect them personally; a majority (53%) say they and their family would be better off if health reform passed.
Support for Individual Reform Proposals Remains High, and Expanding and Subsidizing Coverage and Insurance Reform Top the List of Most Important Goals
Despite the increasingly passionate debate this summer, public backing for key individual elements of health reform remains steady. Substantial majorities continue to say they support individual reform components designed to expand coverage, including a public plan option (59%), an expansion of state programs such as Medicaid (80%), an individual mandate (68%) and an employer mandate (68%).
Asked which elements of health reform are the “most important” to them, members of the public cited expanding and subsidizing health coverage to Americans who have been unable to afford it as their top choice (32%), followed by insurance reform (24%), and strengthening prevention programs (19%). Reining in the amount of money the country spends on health care came in fourth (9%).
Attention to the Debate
There is heightened attention to health reform, with 33 percent of Americans saying they are following the debate “very closely”, up from 27 percent in July. Those who think they personally will be worse off if health reform is enacted are more likely to say they are following the debate “very closely” than those who think they personally will be better off (55% to 30%).
Moreover, with the ad wars becoming more intense, there has been a big spike in the share of Americans who say they have seen a health care reform-related ad over the course of the past week. Nearly half (45%) say they have seen, heard or read some sort of message on health reform, pro or con, over the past seven days, up from 31 percent last month and 21 percent in June. So far the pro-reform ads have a slight edge. Of those who saw an ad, 40 percent say the ad they saw was pro-reform, compared to 32 percent who said the ad they saw was anti-reform. Twenty-one percent said they had seen both kinds of ads.
Feelings About Reform Range Widely, and Seniors Are Most Likely to Feel Confused
As the summer’s debate has heated up, much of the media discussion has focused on the anger displayed at some town hall meetings across the country. But the August survey finds that anger is hardly the only emotion about health reform. Asked which terms described their feelings about health reform plans being discussed in Washington, most said “hopeful” (63%), followed by “frustrated” (57%), “optimistic” (50%), “confused” (46%), “pessimistic” (42%) and “afraid” (41%).
Americans’ feelings track strongly with whether they favor passing some sort of health care reform this year or whether they think the country cannot afford to take on the issue during a recession. Among those who want reform now, the dominant emotions are hope (82%) and optimism (70%), while among those opposed the chief sentiments are frustration (69%) and fear (62%).
One key demographic group stands out as being most likely to report that they feel “confused” by the debate in Washington: senior citizens. Overall, 62 percent of those over age 65 say they are confused about health care plans being considered by Congress, compared to 43 percent of those under age 65. It is this confusion that may be driving some of the anxiety evident among seniors when it comes to health care reform plans.
Much of the recent debate has focused on the concerns of seniors and a discussion of how Medicare would be affected by any reform proposal. Seniors are more likely to see Medicare as worse off than better off under health reform (37% vs. 20%), with 26 percent believing reform will not impact the program and another 17 percent unsure about what reform will mean.
The poll does not find that seniors are appreciably more likely than younger Americans to see themselves harmed by reform. Instead, they are less likely to see themselves helped. Overall, 23 percent of seniors say they will personally be better off if health reform passes, compared to 39 percent of those under age 65. About one in three seniors say they personally will be worse off if reform is enacted, roughly equivalent to the views of younger Americans.
“Seniors tell us they are confused about health reform,” said Kaiser Vice President and Director of Public Opinion and Survey Research Mollyann Brodie. “They are hearing both positive and negative things about how it will affect them and they are not sure what to believe. Whether they will support any final proposal remains unclear — and may depend heavily on what the specifics are and whether any sweeteners for seniors are included in the bill.”
The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted August 4 through August 11, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone (402, including 123 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For results based on subgroups, the margin of sampling error is higher.
The full question wording, results, charts and a brief on the poll can be viewed online at http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/posr082209pkg.cfm.