Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Eye-popping bug photos

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
"The Quantum Factor" – Apr 10, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Galaxies, Universe, Intelligent design, Benevolent design, Aliens, Nikola Tesla (Quantum energy), Inter-Planetary Travel, DNA, Genes, Stem Cells, Cells, Rejuvenation, Shift of Human Consciousness, Spontaneous Remission, Religion, Dictators, Africa, China, Nuclear Power, Sustainable Development, Animals, Global Unity.. etc.) - (Text Version)


“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

(Live Kryon Channelings was given 7 times within the United Nations building.)

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)


The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much….”



"Fast-Tracking" - Feb 8, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Reference to Fukushima / H-bomb nuclear pollution and a warning about nuclear > 20 Min)

Obama unveils landmark regulations to combat climate change

Obama unveils landmark regulations to combat climate change
In a bid to combat climate change, US President Barack Obama announced the Clean Power Plan on Monday, marking the first time power plants have been targeted by mandatory regulations on carbon dioxide emissions in the US.
Google: Earthday 2013

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Shell calls on government to triple wind farms by 2030

DutchNews, April 25, 2016

An offshore wind farm. Photo:
Depositphotos.com
 
The government should triple the number of offshore wind farms being planned by 2030 in order to maximise profits from green energy, according to Shell. 

The oil and gas giant included the call in its Shell Election Manifesto, which was sent to MPs earlier this month as the company looks to set the agenda for next year’s general election, AD reports

Shell says the next cabinet should provide for the construction of offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 5 to 10 gigawatts between 2023 and 2030, which would require between 1,000 and 2,000 extra windmills using current technology. 

Shell said the IJmuiden Ver region, off the North Sea coast near Amsterdam, had the potential to be turned into a wind farm generating 5 to 6 gigawatts. In the longer term the company said wind energy could be as big a domestic energy source as natural gas.

‘High levels of wind, the available space, the proximity of the market and low seabed depths make the Dutch section of the North Sea a unique unexploited area for generating energy,’ the manifesto stated. 

The manifesto marks a policy change by Shell, which until recently focused almost exclusively on fossil fuels. But the problems in the Groningen gas field, where the government has restricted production because of the growing frequency of earthquakes, have prompted the company to consider other long-term options.

Related Articles:




"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) SoulsMidpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally)Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

ING, Rabobank urged to come clean over investments in Russian coal

DutchNews, April 25, 2016

Photo: Depositphotos.com
Dutch banks ING and Rabobank have invested millions of euros in a Russian coal company, despite portraying their activities as ‘sustainable’, according to a new report by fair banking lobby group Eerlijke Bankwijzer. 

The organisation, which is backed by Oxfam Novib and the FNV trade union among others, says the two banks gave a €218.6m loan to Russian coal giant SUEK in mid February – with both putting €109.3m into the deal. 

Last year, ING said it planned to stop investing in coal. ‘This new investment counteracts that decision,’ the watchdog said. ‘The ink is barely dry on the Paris climate agreement and ING is putting €100m into one of the biggest coal firms in the world.’ 

The investment is also damaging to Rabobank’s claims to profile itself as a leader in sustainable energy generation, the lobby group said. 

The organisation called on both banks to stop investing money in coal. Neither bank has yet commented on the claims.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

China, US join record UN signing of Paris climate deal

Yahoo – AFP, Carole Landry, April 22, 2016

Last month was the hottest March in modern history and 2016 is shaping up as a
record-breaking year for rising global temperatures. (AFP Photo/Philippe Huguen)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - A record 175 countries, including the world's top polluters China and the United States, signed the Paris climate deal Friday, boosting hopes of quick action on combating global warming.

French President Francois Hollande was the first leader to put his signature to the accord during a ceremony at the United Nations, followed by leaders from island-states hardest hit by climate change.

US Secretary of State John Kerry came to the podium cradling his two-year-old granddaughter Isabelle and triggered warm applause from delegates as he signed the historic deal.

It was the largest ever one-day signing of an international agreement.

Held on Earth Day, the ceremony comes four months after the hard-won deal was clinched in Paris and marks a first step toward binding countries to the promises they made to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"This is a moment in history," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly.

The Paris agreement: key points (AFP Photo/Jonathan Storey)

"Today you are signing a new covenant with the future."

Holdout countries still have a year to sign the deal, but the focus has now turned to swift ratification and entry into force before the target date of 2020.

The Paris agreement will come into force when 55 countries responsible for 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gases have ratified it.

Together the signatories at the UN ceremony account for 93 percent of global greenhouse gases, according to calculations by the World Resource Institute.

France's parliament will give final approval before this summer, Hollande said, urging the 28-nation European Union to "lead by example" and ratify the deal before the end of the year.

Momentum is building to ensure the agreement enters into force quickly.

US Secretary of State John Kerry signs the book holding his granddaughter, Isabelle
 Dobbs-Higginson, during the signature ceremony for the Paris Agreement at the
 United Nations General Assembly Hall on April 22, 2016 in New York (AFP Photo/
Timothy A. Clary)

China and the United States said they will ratify this year and are pushing for others to follow suit so that the agreement becomes operational possibly as early as late 2016 or in 2017.

Caught in election-year turmoil, the United States plans to ratify the Paris accord with an executive agreement, bypassing the Senate and setting up a complex process for any future president wishing to pull out.

World now watching

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would ask parliament next month to endorse the accord with a vote this year and pledged to help developing countries confront the challenge.

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, delivers his opening remarks
 at the Paris Agreement signing ceremony on climate change at the United 
Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 22, 2016. Reuters/
Mike Segar

"They shouldn't be punished for a problem they didn't create nor should they be denied the opportunities of clean growth," said Trudeau, drawing loud applause.

Actor and environmental campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio urged leaders on, telling them: "The world is now watching".

"You will either be lauded by future generations or vilified by them," he said.

A total of 15 countries or parties, most of them island-states, formally presented the completed ratification to the United Nations.

"Some may say it's only a small step. We need to make it a huge one," said the prime minister of the Polynesian island of Tuvalu, Enele Sosene Sopoaga.

Agreed by 195 nations, the Paris deal sets the goal of limiting global warming to "well below" 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (two Celsius) above pre-industrial levels, by moving to clean energy.

Ban Ki-moon (2nd from R), Secretary-General of the United Nations, delivers his 
opening remarks at the Paris Agreement signing ceremony on climate change as
French President Francois Hollande (2nd from L) looks on at the United Nations 
Headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 22, 2016. Reuters/Mike Segar

Ban stressed that the window for keeping the global temperature rise in check was rapidly closing.

Last month was the hottest March in modern history and 2016 is shaping up as a record-breaking year for rising global temperatures.

This year's El Nino -- dubbed "Darth Nino" -- is wreaking havoc, with droughts, floods, severe storms and other extreme weather patterns.

The signing ceremony was seen as a triumph for Ban, who pushed for the deal throughout his tenure and has listed the agreement in Paris as one of his proudest moments as UN chief.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (C) with UN Secretary-General Ban
 Ki-moon (2L) and President Francois Hollande (R) on December 12, 2015
(AFP Photo/Francois Guillot)

Related Articles:



"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) SoulsMidpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet.

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”


"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)
“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”

Monday, April 18, 2016

'Reverse photosynthesis' could change fuel production

Researchers in Denmark have discovered that a certain enzyme causes sunlight to break down the chemical bonds in plants. The finding could improve industrial processes such as the production of biofuels.

Deutsche Welle, 17 April 2016


Photosynthesis is a process in which plants convert sunlight into chemical energy that can be later released as fuel. But now, a group of scientists from the University of Copenhagen have found that adding an enzyme called monooxygenase to the process causes sunlight to break down plant material instead of helping create it. They refer to this phenomenon as "reverse photosynthesis."

The discovery could be applied to processes that require the breakdown of chemical bonds, such as the production of bioethanol, which is made from biomass via a fermentation process.

In a press release, Professor Claus Felby from the Plant Science Centre at the University of Copenhagen, the head of the study, called the discovery a "game changer" that could transform the production of fuels and chemicals, increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution.

Great usage potential

The first step to producing bioethanol is breaking down cellulose, an organic material that forms the walls in plant cells. This is exactly what happens when monooxygenase is added to the photosynthesis process.

Ethanol is widely used as engine fuel
"Basically, we have found a new way of using solar energy - going directly from sunlight to chemistry," Felby told DW. "This opens up a lot of possibilities."

The scientists' lab tests indicated that applying this process resulted in much faster production of ethanol and at lower temperatures. The duration of some of the chemical reactions was reduced from hours to minutes when sunlight was involved.

Ethanol has a multitude of uses in the modern world, mostly as engine fuel, but also as an ingredient in medical and personal care products.

The team also found that the same process can be applied to oxidizing methane. This produces methanol, a key ingredient in the manufacture of different chemicals.

"Methanol currently requires very large and expensive steel units to produce," explained Felby. "If our method was applied to this process, you would only need small, simple production units, something similar to a greenhouse."

Need to test large-scale application

While the process has proven effective in a lab environment, the scientists need to do further research to determine how it would work in real life.

"We are now working on exploring this," David Cannella, a co-author of the study, told DW. "You need to make sure that sunlight penetrates the organic material that you are converting, and we still need to work out how to do this."

Cannella feels optimistic about the commercial applicability of the process, as does Felby.

"We have to determine the exact amount of light needed for the process and how and when to apply it," said Felby. "But that's just a question of engineering."

He added that going directly from sunlight to chemical energy results in very little energy loss: "It's a near-perfect process."

Related Article:


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Travel firms to brief holidaymakers on their trip’s environmental footprint

DutchNews, April 12, 2016

A Fokker 70 takes off from Schiphol
airport. Photo jvanderwolf via
Depositphotos
Dutch travel firms are to start informing holidaymakers how much environmental damage their trip is doing by listing ‘holiday footprints’ in brochures and on websites, travel sector organisation ANVR says in Tuesday’s Volkskrant

‘We aim to eventually allow consumers to calculate their own holiday footprint via an app or website,’ ANVR spokesman Gerben Hardeman told the paper. ‘We are still a long way off that. But we are now working with a group of travel firms to determine how we can best inform consumers about what we know already.’ 

By helping consumers to realise the impact of their holiday on the environment, holidaymakers can ‘make a responsible choice’, he said. 

Currently, airline passengers can pay extra to offset the cost to the climate of their journey. The amounts vary from €10 to €100, depending on the way the potential damage is calculated by different airlines. 

The system used by the ANVR has been developed by researchers at several hbo colleges and 10 travel firms. It is based on confidential information from airline manufacturers, airlines themselves and the hotel website Booking.com.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Oil spill tests on ice prove Arctic quests risky

Yahoo – AFP, Anne Kauranen, April 3, 2016

Unprecedented oil spill clean-up tests in icy Finnish conditions reveal just how
hazardous and challenging an accident in the Arctic's pristine sea ice could be
(AFP Photo/Sam Kingsley)

Tornio (Finland) (AFP) - The skimmer is lowered from the rear of the icebreaker, its weight pushing massive pieces of ice under the water and forcing the spilt oil up to the surface, where the sticky black goo can be sucked up.

Luckily, this is just a test: as the world's superpowers eye the lucrative Arctic region with growing interest, unprecedented oil spill clean-up tests in icy Finnish conditions reveal just how hazardous and challenging an accident in the Arctic's pristine sea ice could be.

Emergency crews could face total darkness, extreme storms and shifting pack ice, racing against time as the oil puts endangered polar bears, seals and other wildlife at risk.

Fearing an oil spill in its own Baltic Sea, 
Finnish authorities are racing to develop
 an efficient response to a spill in icy 
conditions (AFP Photo/Sam Kingsley)
With countries and companies increasingly venturing into the polar region -- the melting ice caused by global warming has opened up new shipping routes and potential oil, gas and mineral deposits -- the risk of an environmental catastrophe has skyrocketed, worrying ecologists and authorities.

"If oil is spilt into the Arctic Ocean, recovering it will be a difficult, if not impossible, task," the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan think tank, said in a recent report.

"The challenges go beyond extreme cold, freezing spray, snow, extended periods of low light, strong winds, dense fog, sea ice, strong currents, and dangerous sea conditions to include the limited infrastructure that could support an emergency response," it said.

Fearing an oil spill in its own heavily-trafficked, ice-covered Baltic Sea, Finnish authorities are racing against the clock to develop an efficient response to an oil spill in icy conditions.

On any other day, Antti Rajaniemi, the 37-year-old captain of Finnish icebreaker "Ahto", would be clearing the way in the country's northern ports, where even the largest vessels can get trapped within hours.

But now he's on a special mission.

A thick layer of solid ice groans and crunches before giving in and breaking into pieces, as the bow of the small but forceful icebreaker forges a path.

Finland's state-owned icebreaking operator Arctia has set itself the goal of being 
able to recover oil in the harshest of conditions: when a lid of thick ice covers 
the sea (AFP Photo/Sam Kingsley)

Finland's state-owned icebreaking operator Arctia has set itself the goal of being able to recover oil in the harshest of conditions: when a lid of thick ice covers the sea.

"We have to separate the oil from the ice out on the sea since all this ice can't be taken ashore," Rune Hogstrom of Finnish oil spill response company Lamor explained to AFP, invited aboard the icebreaker in the northern Baltic Sea on a recent numbingly cold day.

"An oil spill here is a real challenge, when you think we've got half a metre (1.6 feet) of ice, and if you break the ice up then the oil just gets mixed in even more," he said.

The shallow waters here provide unique conditions for the tests, with brackish water and thick ice, Arctia said.

While Finland is not an oil producing country, it fears a leaking oil tanker could cause irreparable damage to the Baltic Sea's fragile ecosystem.

There are around 350,000 ship crossings a year in the Baltic, even though 45 percent of its surface is covered by ice an average winter.

Engineers brave the mercury at minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) 
to descend onto the ice, drilling holes to inject harmless red test liquid to mimic oil 
(AFP Photo/Sam Kingsley)

Hindered by ice

A typical oil spill in water is usually skimmed, dispersed with chemicals, contained with booms or even burnt off.

Similar methods could be used in frozen waters, but recovering the oil is severely complicated by the black goo floating under the ice -- hidden from sight -- which risks mixing with the crushed ice around an icebreaker trying to locate it.

"When you recover oil mixed with ice, only one percent of it is oil and 99 percent is ice. You need to be able to sort out the ice," Rune Hogstrom explains.

As he speaks, engineers brave the mercury at minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) to descend onto the ice, drilling holes to inject harmless red test liquid to mimic oil.

Hogstrom said the skimmer deployed from the rear of the vessel was capable of separating oil from ice, but more tests were needed to figure out how to use the icebreaker's propeller flows to suction the oil toward the skimmer.

Arctic 'in crisis' as sea ice reaches new record low mark for winter

Finland has been developing this technology for 20 years, and a 2015 study by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers found the method being tested now to be one of the most suitable methods for mechanical recovery.

Other technologies being developed elsewhere involve different types of skimmers to collect the oil.

In the US and Canada, research has focused on burning off the oil in open water, but that can be difficult in densely packed ice.

Environmental organisations like Greenpeace have expressed concerns about the elevated risks of Arctic ventures.

"The ice has melted so fast that oil drilling and industrial fishing are now spreading to regions where they weren't possible before and where there aren't any rules yet," head of Greenpeace Finland Sini Harkki said.

Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell abandoned its test drills in Alaska last September and Russia's Rosneft has put its own project in the Kara Sea on hold due to the plunging oil price, but Russian Gazprom Neft and Lukoil continue to drill in Russia's Arctic regions.

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(Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Weather

Let's talk about the weather. We retreat to exactly what we told you before in this very chair. The water cycle is a cooling cycle, not a heating cycle. You're going to have more severe winters and storms. It's going to get colder. But it gets warmer before it gets colder. That is the cycle, and it has always been the cycle. You can see it in the rings of the trees and the cores of the ice. Don't let your scientists pull the political wool over your eyes for their own purposes. Start seeing these things for what they are. It's a recurring cycle based on four Earth alignment attributes, including the wobble (the precession). You're in this cycle. Prepare.

The beginnings of it will be with you from now at least until the end of the 2012 36-year window, and you can watch it work. The first thing that happens is that the ice melts at the poles, but not completely. It's the way it has happened before. As the redistribution of weight from the poles to the oceans of the earth takes place, the weight is redistributed to the crust, and that creates earthquakes. And the earthquakes that will be the most powerful are the ones that are closest to the poles. We told you that some time ago. So it's not a mystery that suddenly you have some of the most powerful earthquakes that you've ever had. Not only that, but a cooling ocean creates larger storms.

What do the conspiracists do with all this? "See? We're doomed. Here it comes," they say. "Here it comes! The end is here!" Twenty-two years ago, we gave you the information that is happening today. We told you about the weather. We told you to get ready for it, but we still haven't told you why the water cycle is needed. We've hinted at it since it is very controversial, and we'll lose many readers right here and now. Here's the prediction: The scientists are going to laugh and biologists are going to scratch their heads and roll their eyes.

The Refreshing of the Cycle of Life

When you change the temperature of the waters of the planet, it changes the life cycle of the ocean and it eventually renews itself. The life cycle of the planet has a limit to its viability over time. There has to be a refreshing of the very cycle of life, and this is what the water cycle does. Are there any places you've seen too many fish lately? Yes. Millions of salmon in the north. Odd that it was in Alaska, isn't it? Alaska is very close to the poles where the water temperature is being felt first. Oh, again the experts will tell you that this is not the reason. It's about hatcheries and rivers. But nobody predicted this, did they? Science is fast to give you reasons, but slow to give you logic in advance. They always seem to be surprised.

We are saying things we haven't said before. Again, watch for this, an actual change in the life cycle of the planet's oceans because of the water temperature shift. Biologists are going to have to start redesigning the paradigm of how everything works, including reefs, ocean bottoms, and how plankton survive and reproduce. Listen, this is not the first time that the life cycle has been refreshed! But again, this may take generations of humanity to complete. In the process, you may again lose species. This is normal. Gaia is slow, and Humans are impatient. Your textbooks may someday tell of how naive humanity was back in 2011 when they tried to blame weather changes on everything but a natural cycle. Now you know why there is a water cycle.

So what does that tell you about Gaia? Gaia is beginning the cycle of refreshing life on over-fished oceans. It tells you that in the cracks, there is love and caring about the Humans who live on the earth. There's a reason you're here. There's a plan here, and a benevolent Universe and quantum energy with intelligent design. All is there for you, precious, sacred Human Being. …”


Pink salmon, shown in a file photograph, 
have a lifespan of two years


"Effect of the New Energy on DNA" + "One Foot in Each Energy" (3) - Aug 1-2, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

"... The Role of the Sun

As you move into this new energy, or what some have even called "radiation", you should know how it works, for it's very related to your Sun. Physically, it affects the magnetic field of the Sun (the heliosphere), which then in turn is blasted to your own magnetic field via the solar wind. That's the physics of it, but dear one, let me give you the esoterics of it. This has been the plan all along, that if you made it as a Human race past the 2012 marker, you would pass into this area of space and the magnetics would shift, allowing Human consciousness to change. Dear ones, this was always here waiting for you to pass the marker! This is why I came 26 years ago and told you the magnetics would shift. This is an evolutionary energy that is going to affect your Sun - the heliosphere of your Sun - which then will pass to the magnetic field of the earth, a field that has now been repostured for this new consciousness.

Oh, there are those intellectuals who would say, "Well, what if we had destroyed ourselves as the prophecies said we would? What if there were no Humans to receive this?" It's simple. No Humans would have been here, but the planet would have still moved into this new area of space and the same energies would have been there, but you would not have been. Simple. But indeed, here you are!

So now you can see that the prophecy from the indigenous is also being fulfilled, for they told you about the changes coming after the precession of the equinoxes (December 2012). How could they have had this prophecy about your movement into a new place around your galaxy? Think about it! These things are not new, and even the ancients told you it was coming! They may not have known the specifics of science, but their prophecy is the same one I have: New consciousness is coming.

Dear ones, I want you to continue to put together these pieces physically in what you can see. As we told you, these changes affect your Sun. The heliosphere of your Sun changes you magnetic grid. Now, for this all to work, the Sun had to be quiet for this. I want you to ask an astronomer about the Sun and the cycles of the Sun. Ask about what period of radiance the Sun is in at the moment. The astronomer will tell you that it appears to be one of the quietest cycles that the Sun has ever seen. Solar flares and sunspots are disturbances in the multidimensional field that surrounds the Sun, so these had to be gone while the new energies were starting to be implemented. For this all to work, the Sun had to be as quiet as possible, and it is. The Sun's quiet time is also affecting your weather, and we told you that, too. Due to its quietness, you're in a cycle of weather that we also predicted [a cold time coming] that also has a lot to do with the energy that's coming. That's physical. Ask an astronomer, “Are they worried about all this?” Some of them are and others are not. But it is affecting you and the planet right now. Now you know why the magnetic grid was changed when it was changed and why. That's physical. .."



New Mini Ice Age

"The weather you have today, and all the alarming attributes of it, is a scenario of what was scheduled to happen on Earth anyway. I review again that the weather changes you are seeing prophesied by myself, 21 years ago, are not a surprise. The changes are not caused by the pollutants you put in the air. You call it global warming and that's a nice phrase, and perhaps that will get you to put less pollutants in the air – a very good thing. But what you are seeing in the weather shift today was not caused by Humans putting things into the air. It would have happened anyway in about 300 years."

"We've called this process the water cycle, since it's all about water, not about air. The water is the predominant attribute of Gaia and of the weather cycle you're seeing. More predominant is the temperature of it. The cycle is ice to water and water to ice, and has been repeated on this planet over and over and over. It is not new. It is not exceptional. It is not frightening. But it's a cycle that modern humanity has not seen before, and it's a long cycle that is beyond the life span of a Human Being. Therefore, it tends to be overlooked or not seen at all !"

"In the days of the Lemurians, the water level of the Pacific Ocean was almost 400 feet lower, and that's only 50,000 years ago. [Kryon invites science to check this out – the water level at that time.] That was a water cycle working, and the reason it was lower was due to so much of the water being stored as ice. Today you're going through another water cycle that will eventually lead to cooling. The last one was in the 1400s."

"Science sees that at about 1650. As mentioned, they are so slow there is no remembrance that a Human has of them except in past writings and in the rings of the trees. The time span of the changes is so great that environmental record keeping does not exist in the form that it does today. But you can still look at the rings of the trees and at the striations of the rocks and can generally figure out that a few hundred years ago, you had a mini-ice age. Now you're going to have another one."