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

Friday, October 19, 2018

IJmuiden may be home to new hydrogen plant

DutchNews, October 18, 2018

Storm clouds over Tata Steel in IJmuiden? Photo: Depositphotos.com

 Amsterdam’s port authority, Tata Steel and former AkzoNobel chemical division Nouryon are planning to build a hydrogen plant on the site of the Tata industrial complex in IJmuiden, Dutch media report. 

The final decision will be taken in 2021 and building will take another two to three years. 

The plant will produce 15,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year which Tata will use to produce steel in a cleaner and more sustainable way. 

The move would reduce CO2 emissions by Tata by 350,000 tonnes which equals the CO2 emissions of 40,000 households. At the moment, Tata produces 6 mega tonnes of CO2, which makes it one of the most polluting industrial complexes in the Netherlands, only topped by the coal-fired plant in the Eemshaven. 

Sustainable energy

The use of hydrogen is seen as another important part of efforts to develop sustainable energy sources, alongside solar and wind power, broadcaster NOS said. It will be used as a cleaner alternative for industry and may also be considered as a substitute for the present Dutch dependence on gas to heat homes. 

According to NOS, Nouryon has experience with the use of hydrogen in homes but on a much smaller scale than would be necessary. The government wants the use of gas to be phased out by 2030. 

The announcement comes ‘at an auspicious moment’, NH Nieuws writes. Locals living in the vicinity of the Tata complex mounted a vigorous protest against the steel producer on Wednesday because, they claim, it is responsible for the thick layer of graphite covering their homes.

Sunday, October 7, 2018

'Hambi stays!': Thousands join German forest demo in anti-coal battle

Yahoo – AFP, Michelle FITZPATRICK, October 6, 2018

A banner reads "Hambi for Bambi" as thousands of demonstrators gather to celebrate
 the suspension of the planned razing of the forest in what they dubbed the region's
"biggest-ever anti-coal rally" (AFP Photo/SASCHA SCHUERMANN)

Buir (Germany) (AFP) - Thousands of anti-coal demonstrators descended on Germany's Hambach forest Saturday, celebrating an unexpected court victory that suspended an energy company's planned razing of the woodland to expand a giant open-cast mine.

The ancient forest near Cologne has been occupied by activists for the past six years and become a symbol of resistance against coal energy in Germany, a country that despite its green reputation remains heavily reliant on this dirtiest of fossil fuels.

Basking in early autumn sunshine, young people, families and pensioners flocked to a field next to Hambach forest, a day after a court in Muenster said it needed more time to consider an environmental complaint against RWE's upcoming clearing operations.

Organisers said 50,000 people had turned out for what they called the region's "biggest-ever anti-coal rally". Police however did not confirm the figure.

Chanting "Hambi bleibt!" (Hambi stays) and cheering loudly, the crowd listened to live music and speeches in a festival-like atmosphere.

Many held up banners and balloons demanding an immediate exit from coal energy.

"The mood is great," said Greenpeace spokeswoman Gesche Juergens, welcoming "the strong signal" sent by the court.

"But it's only a first step. The battle goes on to start phasing out coal."

The forest's days had appeared numbered after its owner RWE announced plans to clear half of the remaining 200 hectares (500 acres) from October 15 to expand its massive nearby open-pit coal mine.

Stop coal - RWE hands off Hambi" reads a poster close to the forest, whose days 
had appeared numbered before a court ruling which prompted a Greenpeace 
spokeswoman to hail what she termed a first step in the battle to phase out
coal (AFP Photo/SASCHA SCHUERMANN)

Police last month began dismantling activists' treehouses in a forced eviction that took nearly three weeks and fanned public sympathy for the activists' cause.

Tragedy struck when a freelance journalist covering the evictions died on September 19 after falling through a walkway suspended between two trees.

Demonstrators at the rally held a moment's silence in honour of the victim, Steffen Meyns.

Saved by a bat

RWE on Friday said it believed a final judgement in the court case could take until late 2020, sending its share price plunging -- the mention of which was greeted with loud applause at the demo.

The energy firm has long argued that the expansion of Hambach mine in Germany's industrial heartland of North Rhine-Westphalia state is necessary to fuel coal-fired power plants in the region -- which are among the most polluting in the European Union.

But judges said RWE had not sufficiently proved that renewed logging was urgently needed to ensure energy supply.

The plaintiffs in the case, environmental group BUND, meanwhile are arguing that the forest is home to rare species like Bechstein's bat and therefore qualifies as a protected area under EU legislation.

The fight has taken on fresh urgency as it comes just as a government-appointed coal committee is discussing an end-date for coal in a bid to combat climate change.

Germany gets around 40 percent of its energy from coal, contributing significantly to the country's carbon dioxide emissions and undermining Chancellor Angela Merkel's role as a leading advocate of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Activists have occupied the ancient forest for six years, their protest a symbol of 
opposition to dirty coal, and they had cause to celebrate -- the graffiti reads Hambi 
stays -- after a court suspended razing of the woodland (AFP Photo/Patrik STOLLARZ)

'They can't keep us down'

Buoyed by the court's temporary reprieve, demonstrators said they were hopeful Hambach forest could be saved.

"I have faith. So much can happen in two years' time, they'll have no choice but to keep the forest," said 43-year-old teacher Julia.

"I hope so," her son Arne, 10, chimed in.

But forest occupiers were more muted in their celebrations, saying it had been a bitter experience to watch police tear down more than 80 treehouses they had built with their bare hands.

"It's a double feeling," said Musel, a dreadlocked man in his early 50s who was twice dragged out of the trees by police and even wrapped himself in barbed wire.

"The court's decision is a step in the right direction... but the people who have lived here for years are traumatised."

But he added that the activists were unbowed, and that the rebuilding had already begun.

"The first hammocks are already back up," he smiled.

"They can't keep us down."

At the edge of the forest, demonstrators paused to take in the sweeping view of RWE's open-pit mine.

Two coal plants in the distance were belching clouds of smoke into the sky, while dozens of wind turbines dotted the horizon.

"One is the future, the other is the past," mused 40-year-old local resident Benjamin.


Saturday, October 6, 2018

Chernobyl begins new life as solar power park

Yahoo – AFP, October 5, 2018

New solar panels at the site of the closed Chernobyl power plant, scene of the
world's worst nuclear disaster (AFP Photo/Genya SAVILOV)

Chernobyl (Ukraine) (AFP) - Ukraine launched Friday a park of photovoltaic panels at the former Chernobyl power plant as the country seeks to use solar power to give the scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster a new lease on life.

The 1 million-euro ($1.2-million), one-megawatt plant is located just a hundred metres (yards) from a giant metal dome sealing the remains of the the nuclear power plant which suffered a catastrophic meltdown in 1986.

"Today we are connecting the station to the power system of Ukraine," Yevgen Varyagin, the head of Solar Chernobyl, a Ukrainian-German company behind the project, said at the launch ceremony.

The facility, which is installed across an area of 1.6 hectares (4 acres), can power a medium-sized village, or about 2,000 households.

Plans are to eventually produce 100 megawatts at the site, which due to contamination from radiation cannot be used for farming.

Ukrainian authorities have offered investors nearly 2,500 hectares to construct solar panels, and beside the cheap price of the land the site is also attractive as it offers connections to the power grid.

Solar will give a new lease on life to the contaminated site, as well as diversify 
Ukraine's power sources (AFP Photo/Genya SAVILOV)

Foreign investors are attracted by the price at which Ukraine will buy the solar power, which exceeds the European average by 50 percent, according to experts.

Ukraine, which has stopped buying natural gas from Russia in the last few years, aims to diversify its electricity generation.

Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl plant exploded April 26, 1986 and the fallout contaminated up to three quarters of Europe, according to some estimates, especially hitting Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Following the disaster, Soviet authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and the vast territory -- over 2,000 square kilometres wide -- has remained abandoned.

The other reactors were only gradually shut down, with the last closing in 2000, ending industrial activity in the area.

Humans cannot return to live in the zone for another 24,000 years, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Canada relaunches pipeline talks with indigenous tribes

Yahoo – AFP, October 3, 2018

Harriet Prince (R) of the Canada's Anishinaabe tribe demonstrates in March 2018 with
 environmental activists opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline project in Burnaby,
British Columbia, Canada (AFP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's resources minister said Wednesday Ottawa was relaunching consultations with indigenous groups on the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Pacific after a court ruled the tribes get a say in the multi-billion dollar project.

"We believe that we can and must move forward with engaging in a meaningful and focused consultation with indigenous groups on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project," Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi told a press conference.

And so the government, he said, will "reinitiate (those) consultations with indigenous groups impacted by the project."

The minister added that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government -- which has made reconciliation with Canada's indigenous peoples a priority -- would seek to "dialogue and listen carefully to the concerns of indigenous peoples and offer accommodation if accommodation is possible."

Sohi also said the government will not appeal the court ruling affirming the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples to be consulted on commercial projects on their traditional lands.

Trudeau, speaking to reporters outside parliament, said an appeal was off the table because it "would take another few years before we could begin construction."

"We feel the blueprint the court laid out for (Trans Mountain) will allow us to get things done quicker and get our resources to new markets other than the United States in a more rapid fashion," he said.

The 1,150-kilometer (715-mile) pipeline was to move 890,000 barrels of oil a day from landlocked Alberta province to the Pacific coast for export, replacing a smaller crumbling conduit built in 1953.

The Trudeau administration approved the project in 2016 after an environmental review, saying it was in the "national interest" as it would help ease Canada's reliance on the US market and get a better price for its crude oil.

But the planned pipeline has faced stiff opposition from environmentalists and indigenous tribes worried that increased shipping from a marine terminal at the end of the route in Vancouver would impede the recovery of killer whale populations in the area.

Ottawa stepped in to buy the project for Can$4.5 billion (US$3.5 billion), effectively nationalising it in a bid to bring a swift end to legal challenges and illegal protests at construction sites.

But the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the government must take a second look at the project, taking greater care to consult with indigenous tribes and consider marine traffic impacts.

Last month, Sohi sent the file back to the National Energy Board for reassessment, taking into account the impact of increased tanker traffic on endangered killer whales along the coast.

Once that review and indigenous consultations are concluded Trudeau's cabinet would have to decide again whether to greenlight the project.