Hoping for a fresh sea breeze aboard a cruise ship? Better hold your nose!

French TV journalists have secretly measured the air quality on a cruise ship. The results are devastating: The air is significantly worse polluted than it would be in thick urban traffic.

Deutsche Welle, 26 January 2017

Cruises are increasingly popular among today's tourists. They offer relaxation with 24-hour service for stressed out office workers.

Forget about searching for the perfect, pristine beach - which most people will never find, anyhow. Instead, just go to the pool on the upper deck, enjoy some tasty drinks and take in breathtaking views of the ocean from high above. For people who need less contemplation, cruises offer theater and show performances, generous meals, bars and shopping opportunities.

That doesn't mean you're in for a boring vacation: Adventure comes as part of the risk free deal. Even frail seniors can now feel like mystic characters such as Long John Silver from Treasure Island or real explorers like Roald Amundsen - be it by cruising the romantic Carribean, visiting savage South Sea islands or admiring polar bears on impenetrable arctic shores. Finally you can do something for your health by going to the ship's gym and getting a good work out.

Tourists want to enjoy themselves - and the fresh sea breeze.

But you better think twice about taking a deep breath. The German Environmental Association "Naturschutzbund Deutschland"(NABU) now warns that it is more likely you inhale polluted air than a fresh breeze. NABU says that it cannot recommend any of the large European cruise ships.

"Pamphlets lead you to believe that there are blue skies and white ships - a dream-like setting," Daniel Rieger, who is in charge of transportation policies at NABU, said. "The truth is that clouds of black soot are emitted from the funnels."

Measuring results are worse than expected

Recent measurements of actual air quality onboard a cruise ship seem to support NABU's view. French TV journalists from broadcaster France 3 conducted covert measurements while on a cruise. They boarded a ship in Marseille for a cruise of the Mediterranean.

Results show that "the shipping companies are exposing their travelers to high concentrations of harmful substances," NABU managing director Leif Miller concluded.

Even environmentalists were surprised by the high concentrations that the journalists detected. Right after leaving Marseille, air pollution was roughly 200 times that of a heavily trafficked urban street.

Besides fine dust and soot, the combustion of marine diesel fuel and heavy oil also set free other harmful substances such as nitrogen oxides and heavy metals.

Former captain and ship broker Helge Grammerstorf, who is the German national director of the Cruise Lines International Association CLIA, defends his industry. He told the daily "Hamburger Abendblatt:" "We don't know these measurements. The claim is completely unsubstantiated."

Grammerstorf argues that the measurements were taken only selectively and that one would need to run a more systematic test to collect data over a longer time period.

Hardly noticeable for passengers

"The passengers can only smell or see the particles before they get mixed up with the ambient air," NABU spokesman Rieger said after the France 3 test results were published.

He argued that it wouldn't take the shipping companies much to change the pollution and to increase comfort. "Even switching from marine diesel fuel or heavy oil to regular road diesel fuel would make a big difference," he said.

In addition, it wouldn't be too hard to install effective exhaust cleaning systems, according to NABU. Such systems have long existed with established standards for trucks and trains.

"The question is whether the industry deliberately looks the other way," Dietmar Oellinger - NABU's transport expert - said.

He suggested that the tests taken by the French journalists were merely an example and could possibly be representative for the entire cruise ship industry.

"The reality is black soot from the chimneys," NABU environmentalists say.

"We should ask how much more proof the industry needs before they finally take action," Oellinger said.

Some cruise lines have pledged to install particle filters, but so far, there are none in use.

Covert measuring only in the harbor

Previously, NABU has only had the opportunity to measure harmful ultra fine dust particles in the air around cruise ships in harbors. They have done so in Hamburg, Venice and the north-eastern German city of Rostock-Warnemünde. The ship owners did not allow the environment agency to take measurements on board, Daniel Rieger said.

The results were devastating nonetheless: In all cases the ships were burning off heavy oil. Four of five ships were not equipped with any exhaust gas cleaning or they were only fulfilling the lowest legal standard for northern Europe - a system that only reduces sulfur oxide emissions.

Technical solutions to reduce particle and nitrogen oxide emissions have long been on the market, though. Therefore, NABU argues, not implementing them is largely due to greed. It would cost money to install the system and furthermore require the companies to use more expensive types of fuel.

Almost as dangerous as asbestos

The German Lung Foundation already recommended several years ago that people with chronic respiratory diseases only stay on certain parts of the deck when on a cruise ship and thus avoide breathing in the ship's exhaust.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded that diesel exhaust is just as carcinogenic as asbestos. The ultrafine particles, which are smaller than 0.1 micrometer can get into the smallest pulmonary alveoli and from there into the blood stream and other organs.

NABU manager Leif Miller argues it's cynical that the cruise ship companies "pay huge sums to improve entertainment and gastronomical services on board, but save as much as they can when it comes to environmental protection."

Meanwhile, in Germany the cruise ship industry is getting ready for the next season: In Warnemünde, Hamburg and Kiel alone, more than two million passengers are expected to board the giants of the seas in 2017.

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Obama touts environmental record on family outing to national parks

Yahoo – AFP, Jerome Cartillier, June 18, 2016

US President Barack Obama speaks while celebrating the 100th anniversary of the
 National Parks system at Yosemite National Park, California on June 18, 2016
(AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Yosemite National Park (United States) (AFP) - President Barack Obama and the first family celebrated America's cherished natural heritage Saturday during a weekend tour marking the 100th anniversary of the nation's vaunted national park system.

Obama, also using the occasion to tout his environmental record, is the first sitting president since John F. Kennedy in 1962 to visit California's Yosemite National Park.

Obama has made protecting nature areas one of the hallmarks of his presidency.

Since 2009, he has set aside as protected areas more than 265 million acres (100 million hectares) of public lands and waters across the country, more than any of his predecessors did. A large part of that involves a marine sanctuary around islands and atolls in the Pacific.

In doing so, he relied on the Antiquities Act, a law signed in 1906 by then president Theodore Roosevelt, a fervent advocate of preserving the country's natural resources.

For Obama, who has made the fight against climate change a priority of his two terms in office and complains of systematic obstructionism by the Republican-controlled Congress, the law has been key to circumventing his opponents on environmental issues.

It allows the president to move swiftly to preserve threatened areas, which can be transformed into national parks if Congress gives the go ahead.

US First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama pose with children

 after speaking in Yosemite National Park, on June 18, 2016 (AFP Photo/

Brendan Smialowski)

The Grand Canyon, Death Valley and vast swathes of Alaska have benefited from the law.

Before Obama, 16 presidents have used the measures. Only three, all of them Republicans, did not do so: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

Before leaving office in January, Obama could sign off on other protection projects awaiting his signature, such as an expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea marine reserve in Hawaii, declared a decade ago by George W. Bush and home to many endangered species.

Over the years, such presidential designations have often triggered conflicts because they end up prohibiting exploration and development of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal on the protected lands or in protected waters.

Some lawmakers question the legal foundation of the Antiquities Act and what they see as a carte blanche for the president.

These lawmakers complain of poor management of federal lands and stymied economic development. They have tried in vain several times to have the law erased.

But the national park system remains hugely popular in the United States. The 400-odd parks received a record 305 million visitors last year. The system turns 100 on August 25.

"We have more work to do to preserve our lands and culture and our history. We're not done yet," Obama said in a speech against the spectacular backdrop of Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in the park.

US President Barack Obama speaks at Yosemite National Park, California on

June 18, 2016 (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

"For this centennial, we're asking all Americans to find your park so everyone, including those from underserved communities, can experience these wonders."

'Spectacular !'

On Friday ,the president and his family visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, which features more than 100 caves, three of them open to the public.

The Obamas visited the Big Room, a large cave chamber located 754 feet (230 meters) underground and filled with stalactites and stalagmites. It is also a sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of bats.

"Spectacular," Obama said.

"How cool is this?", he added as he turned to journalists, although the comment seemed aimed more at his teenage daughters, Malia and Sasha.

Several hours later, after flying over waterfalls and granite peaks, the first family traveled to Yosemite, known for its giant redwood trees.

At one point, he and first lady Michelle stopped to chat with some kids at a park facility under bright, sunny skies and Mrs Obama asked them what they would do to scare away bears.

As the kids started yelling, the president said: "Oh, I would get out of here!"

President Barack Obama, and family, daughters Sasha and Malia Obama, and

 first lady Michelle Obama, depart Roswell, N.M., Friday, June 17, 2016, after

 touring Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The President is touring several of the

 nation's national parks to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the creation of 

America's national park system. (AP Photo/Juan Labreche)

The Obamas then sat on the ground for a photo with the group, with the president making sure all kids were smiling.

"Everybody say cheese," he said. "Everybody say 'national parks.' Everybody say 'happy birthday,'" he added, mentioning a birthday girl in the group.

"Who is going to help me up now?" he added.

The family outing is reminiscent of one the Obamas made in 2009 to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

With seven months left in Obama's second and final term, environmental groups are urging the president not to rest on his laurels when it comes to protecting nature.

"What he has done so far has been significant," said Sharon Buccino of the National Resources Defense Council.

"But the real measure of his conservation legacy is going to be judged based on what he does with his remaining time."

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The existing boundaries of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument

 are outlined in light blue. The other Monuments, outlined in purple and green, are

not being changed. Photograph: Noaa

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.

Japan's 'tourist rice' actually grown in China: report

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-03-03

Stacks of the organic rice in a supermarket in Okinawa. (File photo/ CFP)

Internet users in China are claiming that top quality rice sold to tourists in Japan is actually grown in China, reports the Liaoshen Evening News published in northeastern China's Liaoning province.

The rice is part of a must-buy list for Chinese tourists along with the country's high-grade rice cookers and heated toilet seats. The rice is even crossing the border through e-commerce stores like Taobao as concerns for food safety escalate with encroaching pollution problems.

Some netizens in Liaoning province, a number of whom are farmers, have claimed that the 'Japanese rice' is being grown in the local city of Panjin.

The produce in question is called hitomebore, a premium short grain variety of rice that originated in Japan. According to an official from the local rural economic committee surnamed Han, there are farmers growing hitomebore rice in Panjin to meet orders from Japan.

One of them, a local farmer surnamed Zhang, told the press that the rice fields are strictly managed according to the demands of their Japanese clients.

The fields that grow hitomebore yield half the volume of their neighbors because of the organic process that is strictly implemented, Han said.

China's locally grown hitomebore rice costs 12 to 30 yuan (US$1.90-$4.80) a kilogram. When the grain gets to Japan, it sells for around 300 yuan (US$48) a kg.

According to Zhang, the locally grown rice tastes similar to varieties grown in Japan. The only difference is where it is processed and packaged.

Kinmen to expand green energy efforts

Want China Times, CNA 2015-01-31

A street view in Kinmen. (File photo/Li Chin-sheng)

Officials from Taiwan's outlying island of Kinmen county explored plans Thursday with one of the nation's top research institutions to develop microgrid and power storage systems to deliver green energy and minimize carbon emissions across the outlying island county.

Jen Kuo-kang, an official at the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, met with Kinmen deputy magistrate Lin De-gong and the county's Environmental Protection Bureau chief, Fu Yu-dong.

Lin announced plans to establish Lieyu township as a carbon-free island modelled after Gulangyu island, a renowned tourist destination off the coast of Xiamen in the southern Chinese province of Fujian.

Lin said that carbon emission reduction measures will be implemented in Lieyu township, better known as Little Kinmen, with the goal of expanding the guidelines throughout the archipelago.

The meeting also discussed Kinmen's environmental preservation efforts, including low carbon emission initiatives for local factories, maritime transportation, architecture, the development of renewable energy sources and an ecological park.

According to Jen, the state-run Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) has previously expressed support for Kinmen to develop alternative energy production other than costly fossil fuel energy production, and that the company supports the bid toward a carbon-free archipelago.

Jen said that in 2010 the local government's plans to develop an energy storage and microgrid power distribution system were approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and that since then, tremendous progress has been made to achieve energy self-sufficiency across the islands.

In 2011 a mobile microgrid and storage system was implemented at the Kinmen Peace Memorial Park, followed by the installation of a similar system at a local school campus in 2012.

Jen stated that microgrids help minimize the area's reliance on the centralized power grid provided by Taipower, and reduce carbon emissions.

The county government also said that officials hope to explore the possibility of purchasing energy from China during an upcoming cross-strait summit meeting set to take place in Kinmen next month.

Mainland Affairs Council minister Wang Yu-chi is poised to meet China's Taiwan Affairs Office director Zhang Zhijun at a conference in Kinmen Feb. 7.

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Curbing air pollution, one bamboo bike at a time

Manila is known more for its gridlocked traffic jams and air pollution than for green spaces or pedestrianized walkways. Bamboo bikes could change that by curbing emissions and helping pave the way to go green.

Deutsche Welle, 18 June 2014

.

Visitors on bikes cycle past Manila's historical area of Intramuros - from the secret gardens scattered between Fort Santiago to lookout points to hear tales of pirates and revolutions. For the next two and a half hours, people ride on bikes made from bamboo.

Bryan McClelland, a 29-year-old Filipino-American, is the man behind the concept of Bambikes, the company that creates bikes made from bamboo in the Philippines. He founded Bambikes in 2010, but has just recently launched his bamboo bike tours in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

"There's a growing global trend of biking. A lot of different cities now have bike tours because it's a great way to interact with the environment and city," McClelland explained. "Intramuros seemed like the natural place in Manila to start the tours. It is the oldest part of the city has some cultural heritage and is a preserved environment".

Bambikes cater to a growing number
 of people wanting to use sustainable
transport

His bikes are made out of cut and dried bamboo lumber wrapped in Manila hemp fibers. According to McClelland, bamboo is one of the strongest materials in the world and has the same tensile strength as metal. Each bike is made by laborers in the provincial town of Victoria, 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Metro Manila, the Philippines' National Capital Region.

"The bamboo bike tours help people see a different side of the city by making exploration in Intramuros accessible and fun," said Julia Nebrija, a Manila resident who recently went on a Bambike tour. "I think its greatest contribution is showing people how bikeable Intramuros is. Once you've done it, you'll be inspired to get a bike and see what other areas of Manila can be explored by bike."

Working towards a cleaner city

In addition to providing tourists and locals with an alternative way to see Manila's sights, these tours are also meant as the beginning of a wider project to promote a more pedestrianized city. McClelland is in talks with the Intramuros administration about developing a strategy to promote more pedestrian-based tourism and create a more walkable and bikeable city.

"Right now there are no dedicated bike lanes. Sidewalks exist in a lot of places but they can be intermittent and there are a lot of cars, so you're always worried about traffic," McClelland said.

Manila's 'jeepeys' are among the main polluting offenders

"A lot of Filipinos don't know how to ride bicycles - perhaps in part because they grew up in the city and it's really not a safe place to learn, so they're discouraged," he added. He says he plans to teach adults how to bike "in a closed environment so they'll feel comfortable."

Curbing air pollution

Metro Manila ranks high among the major cities of Asia that are suffering from air pollution. Manila's level of suspended particulate matter (SPM) is more than double the acceptable standard set by the World Health Organization. According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 70 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila is from motor vehicles, highlighting the need for a cleaner mode of transport.

"A city like Manila would benefit a lot from investing more in sustainable transport especially in two areas - public transport and the creation of livable spaces for pedestrians and cyclists," said Ko Sakamoto, Transport Economist with the Sustainable Infrastructure Division at the Asian Development Bank.

Bambike tours take visitors through
 Manila's historical quarters

He says a main challenge is the explosion in motorized transport. "As with any government in Asia and the Pacific, they are really racing against time. In a typical Asian country you have a doubling of the vehicle fleet every four to seven years," he said.

"Imagine how many cars are coming onto the road every day. It's really how we make our cities friendlier towards public transport, pedestrians and cyclists at a faster rate than which the cars are coming on the road," he added.

Introducing cleaner modes of transport

In response, the government has launched a series of projects aimed at developing more eco-friendly forms of transport. One part of the strategy is the introduction of more hybrid buses, which combines a diesel engine and an electric motor. These buses would emit 30 percent less CO2 and use 30 percent less fuel. There are currently 249 hybrid buses in service, with 300 expected to be on the roads by the end of the year.

The iconic jeepneys (a hybrid of a bus and a jeep) are the most popular form of public transport in Manila - but they are also one of the biggest polluters. There has been a move to replace these vehicles with electrical ones. In January, 30 fully electric powered city shuttles were introduced to the city.

McClelland says the number of people interested in sustainable forms of transport is growing. "Every year there's a Tour of the Fireflies, a cycling tour organized by the Firefly Brigade - a citizen's action group which promotes clean air and people friendly environments. It's been growing year by year. This year the numbers got up to 20,000. There are also bike groups popping up all over the city."

"If you had a safe bike lane that was respected by cars, you'd see a big growth in bike commuters," he added.

Soco, WWF strike deal to halt oil drive in Africa's oldest park

Yahoo – AFP, 11 June 2014

A pair of baby gorillas are seen at Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga

National Park, on September 22, 2012 (AFP Photo/Luanne Cadd)

Geneva (AFP) - Environmental campaigners WWF and oil exploration firm Soco International announced on Wednesday that the British firm had agreed to halt its hunt for oil in part of Africa's oldest national park.

In a joint statement, they said the WWF had in turn pledged not to pursue a complaint against Soco which it had filed with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The two sides have locked horns over plans to tap oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga park, home to 3,000 species including the endangered gorillas immortalised by the film "Gorillas in the Mist".

A peacekeeper of the Monusco, the UN

 mission in DR Congo, patrolls near an 

entrance to Virunga National Park, on

 March 11, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alain 

Wandimoyi)

"Both parties look forward to working responsibly with the Democratic Republic of Congo and its people to ensure that future development benefits both people and the environment," Wednesday's statement said.

The 7,800-square-kilometre (3,000-square-mile) Virunga park was created in 1925 when the country was a Belgian colony.

Despite its own environmental rules and international accords, the government of the conflict-wracked but resource-rich republic in 2007 awarded oil concessions in much of the park.

The UN cultural body UNESCO has said oil exploration and exploitation would breach Virunga's World Heritage site status, and in May last year French giant Total -- Soco's fellow concession holder -- said it would not drill there.

Soco has already begun seismic testing in the area, though in a separate statement it underlined that no drilling commitments had ever been made.

"In relation to Virunga National Park we will complete our existing operational programme of work in Virunga which we anticipate will conclude within approximately 30 days of the date of this statement," Soco said in the joint statement.

"The company commits not to undertake or commission any exploratory or other drilling within Virunga National Park unless UNESCO and the DRC government agree that such activities are not incompatible with its World Heritage status," it added.

In addition, it said that it had committed not to conduct operations in any other World Heritage site.

Belgian conservationist Emmanuel de 

Merode, Director of DR Congo's Virunga

 National Park, speaks at an event to launch

 the United for Wildlife campaign

 #WhoseSideAreYouOn, in London, on 

June 9, 2014 (AFP Photo/Leon Neal)

In a separate company statement, Soco chairman Rui de Sousa underlined that the accord with the WWF also focused on the need for the Congolese government and UNESCO to "reach an agreement on the best way to combine development and the environment."

The WWF also issued a statement, in which its director general Marco Lambertini lauded the deal as "a victory for our planet and for good practices in business".

The park includes part of Lake Edward, a huge expanse of water whose fisheries generate an estimated $30 million (22 million euros) annually for local communities, according to the WWF.

The WWF has also said that the park has huge potential for the sustainable development of hydropower and ecotourism.

"If free from the threat of oil, Virunga can be a continuing source of hope for the people of DRC. As in other African countries, with proper investment, this park can become a leading economic driver for its communities," said Raymond Lumbuenamo, head of the WWF's operations in the country.

24 students washed away in north India river surge

Yahoo – AFP, 9 June 2014

Map of India locating the area where 24 students went missing after

being washed downstream by a sudden river surge on Sunday (AFP Photo)

Shimla (India) (AFP) - Twenty-four students were missing late Sunday after being washed downstream by a sudden surge of river water in a remote Himalayan valley in northern India, a state minister said.

The students had stopped to take photographs on the edge of the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh when water released from a dam washed them downstream, transport minister G.S Bali said.

Rescue workers using torches in the dark were attempting to find the students in the picturesque Kullu Valley, some 200 kilometres (130 miles) north of the state capital Shimla, the minister said.

"Rescue teams are looking downstream for the missing in the dark," he said.

"They are 24 engineering students of the VNR college in Hyderabad," he said.

"The students had got off the bus to take photographs at the edge of the river at around 7:30pm when the sudden rise of water washed them away," he said.

The national government confirmed at least some of the students had drowned, with a rescue team sent to help search for survivors.

"I am deeply pained over the tragic incident of engineering students getting drowned in a flash flood in Himachal Pradesh," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on his official Twitter account.

"I have instructed the authorities to despatch a rescue team for immediate action and save precious lives trapped in the floods," he said in a tweet.

A local official blamed the surge of water on a hydroelectric power plant further upstream.

"The water was released by the Larji power project dam," said senior state official Rakesh Kanwar said.

Angry locals and tourists blocked the main highway near the river in protest over the incident, saying authorities had failed to issue a warning about the release of water from the dam, according to local media.

Volunteers and police personnel attempt to find drowning victims in the Beas

river near Kullu, India's Himachal Pradesh state, on May 8, 2013 (AFP Photo)

The students, from the VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology in the southern city of Hyderabad, had been travelling to the resort town of Manali further north.

The stunning Kullu Valley is home to raging rivers, dense forests and steep gorges.

Himachal Pradesh and other Himalayan states including neighbouring Uttarakhand are home to a string of hydroelectric projects as India rushes to expand power generation to meet rising demand.

Governments are attempting to harness the power of rivers despite the risk of environmental damage to diversify away from costly and polluting coal and gas plants to meet the country's electricity shortage.

A government report in April concluded that hydropower projects in northern India were partly to blame for devastating floods last year that killed thousands.

Sun Moon Lake to introduce electric buses in October

Want China Times, CNA 2014-05-04

Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan's Nantou county. (File
 photo/Shen Hui-sheng)

Top tourist attraction Sun Moon Lake aims to become Taiwan's first scenic area to use only green tourist buses with the introduction of three electric-powered buses in October, transportation officials said on Saturday.

The buses will replace the three diesel buses running in the area to promote low-carbon travel, officials said.

The area has also introduced 35 electric cars for rent at low prices since April last year, providing rides to nearly 10,000 people as of September, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Since over 90% of those users previously relied on their own vehicles to get around the lake area, the plan has cut carbon dioxide emissions by around 11,300 kilograms, the ministry said.

Further promotion of low-carbon transportation could reduce the use of private vehicles from 41.7% to 34%, the ministry predicted.

Bhutan, world's last TV holdout, now at tech vanguard: PM

Google – AFP, Patrice Novotny (AFP), 22 February  2014

Nissan Motor CEO, Carlos Ghosn (R), and Bhutanese Prime Minister, Tshering

Tobgay, unveil the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle in Thimphu, on February 21, 2014

(AFP, Dibyangshu Sarkar)

Thimphu — It was the world's last hold-out against television and is regarded by travellers as a Himalayan Shangri-La.

But Bhutan's decision to make itself the poster boy for electric transport is further proof of its willingness to embrace technology as part of its unique Gross National Happiness development model, says its prime minister.

In an interview with AFP after signing a deal with Nissan on Friday to import a fleet of battery-powered compact cars to the remote Himalayan nation, Tshering Tobgay said Bhutan was happy to be at the technological vanguard.

This file photo shows a trafffic warden

 directing traffic in the Bhutanese capital

 city of Thimphu, on October 4, 2010

(AFP/File, Ed Jones)

"Technology is not destructive. It's good and can contribute to prosperity for Bhutan," the prime minister said.

It was not always thus. The tiny kingdom was famously the last country to ever get television, finally embracing it in 1999, at a time when less than a quarter of households had electricity.

But it is rapidly shedding its reputation as a technophobe -- it now exports electricity thanks to an ambitious hydropower programme, while smart phones are a common sight, at least on the streets of the sleepy capital Thimpu.

"Internet, cellular phones, smartphones, they are ubiquitous, you can't do anything without them, now they are essential tools," said Tobgay.

"Cellular phones became a reality 10 years ago. We adopted it very well, almost everybody has a cellular phone, that's the reality.

"Similarly today we launched the Nissan Leaf... Our goal is to make the best of all options," he added.

Under the deal with Nissan, dozens of battery-powered Leafs should soon be motoring along the streets of Thimpu, helping it avoid the kind of pollution pervasive elsewhere in South Asia.

Tobgay said Bhutan would never allow its environment to become a victim of economic growth -- an important principle of Gross National Happiness (GNH).

"Growth is important but it should be balanced with other aspects of life including culture, spirituality, heritage and sustainable development," said the prime minister.

"During the development of the last 30-40 years, we placed a lot of emphasis to promote the environment, clean industries.

"We are looking to become 100 percent organic, (although) it will take some time. And we are looking to develop a zero emission goal. This formulates a narrative of Bhutan, about what Bhutan is about and where Bhutan wants to go."

Tobgay, who came to power last July after winning Bhutan's second elections, has previously voiced a degree of scepticism about GNH -- a philosophy originally espoused by a former king -- as a distraction from tackling the country's problems.

Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay (2nd L), watched by Nissan Motor

 CEO Carlos Ghosn (L), plugs in a receptacle to charge the Nissan Leaf electric

vehicle, in Thimphu, on February 21, 2014 (AFP, Dibyangshu Sarkar)

But in his interview, the prime minister said addressing issues such as corruption, unemployment and the environment would allow Bhutan to practice what it preaches.

- Guiding philosophy -

"GNH should guide us, this philosophy should not be compromised," he said.

"But my stance has been that rather than talking about the GNH and debate the philosophy, we have to operationalise it."

With a population of just 750,000, Bhutan is in many ways a study in contrasts with its giant neighbours India and China, with their billion-plus populations and mega-cities.

Despite its stunning scenery, few tourists can afford to pay the $250 daily rate to visit the "Land of the Thunder Dragon".

But its abundant waterfalls and crystal-clear rivers have allowed Bhutan to become a significant player in the hydropower sector.

Bhutan now operates four hydroelectric plants which between them have almost 1,500 megawatt capacity -- at peak output roughly equivalent to a large nuclear power station -- and the surplus is sold onto India.

Tobgay said Bhutan would struggle to meet its capacity target of 10,000 megawatts by 2020 through the building of 10 new plants.

But he said there should be no doubting Bhutan's commitment to a zero emission target which would involve other renewable energies.

"We are looking also at solar panels, windmills, bio gas," he said.

"The important point is to make progress towards achieving our goal which is to harvest renewable energy and to use that renewable energy to power our own country and to power the energy needs of our neighbours with clean energy."

Related Articles:

Bhutan to become green car showcase in deal with Nissan

"The Time Capsule of Gaia" – Feb 9, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“…  Tesla the Man

There was a point in time when humanity almost stumbled, by the way. You were having a hard time with electricity. So a man came along who was way ahead of his time and was available and his name was Nikola Tesla. He gave you a principle that today you call alternating current. Dear ones, I challenge you to understand this principle. Most of you can't, because it is not in 3D. The attributes are still considered "genius-level thinking" to this day. The whole idea of the kind of electricity you use today comes from this man's quantum mind.

That was all he was allowed to do. Tesla himself was a kind of time capsule, delivered at the right time. He had more, but alternating current was all that was allowed to be given to the planet at that time. Oh, he tried to give you more. He knew there were other things, but nothing was able to be developed. If I told you what else he had discovered, you might not be aware of it at all, since it was never allowed to get out of the box. Earth was not ready for it.

Tesla discovered massless objects. He could alter the mass of atomic structure using designer magnetics, but he never could control it. He had objects fly off his workbench and hit the ceiling, but he couldn't duplicate or control it. It just wasn't time yet. Do you know what else he was known for? It was seemingly the failure of the transmission of electricity. However, he didn't fail at all.

There are pictures of his tower, but every time a Human Being sees a tower, there is a biased assumption that something is going to be broadcast through the air. But in the case of Tesla, he had figured out how to broadcast electricity through the ground. You need towers for that because they have to pick up the magnetics within the ground in a certain way to broadcast them and then collect them again from the nodes of the planet's magnetic grid system. We talked about this before. He was utilizing the grid of the planet that is in the earth itself! He was on the edge of showing that you could use the whole grid of the planet magnetically to broadcast electricity and pick it up where you need it, safely, with no wires. But the earth was not ready for it.

Tesla died a broken man, filled with ideas that would have brought peace to planet Earth, but he was simply not allowed to give any of them to you.

Now I'll tell you why he was stopped, dear ones, and it's the first time we have ever told you – because these inventions were too easy to weaponize. Humanity just isn't ready for it. You're not ready for massless objects, either, for the principles are too easy to weaponize.

"So," you might say, "when will we be ready for it?" I think you already know the answer, don't you? At the time when Human consciousness reaches a point where that which is most important is unification and not separation, it will happen. A point where conquering and power are not desirable ideas or assets. A point where humanity will measure the strength of its population by how healthy they are and not by economic growth. A point where coming together with your neighbor is the main objective to social consciousness, and not conquering them or eliminating them. That's coming, dear ones. It's a ways away, but it's coming. Look around the planet at the moment. The old energy leaders are obvious, are they not? It's like they are relics in a world of thinking that is passing them by.  ….”