Spanish Island to be Powered by 100% Renewable Energy

Inhabitat, Kristine Lofgren, 05/07/14

A tiny Spanish island with just 10,000 residents is about to do something amazing. El Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Islands, plans to completely sever ties with the traditional power grid and move entirely to renewable energy. The island plans to become completely self sufficient next month when its 11.5 megawatt wind farm kicks into gear. El Hierro already has a water turbine that generates electricity, and the added wind power will enable the island to go totally off-grid.

Image via Jose Mesa

We wrote about El Hierro a few years ago when the island announced its plans to move over to renewable energy. In the meantime, the island has been busy at work implementing its ideas and is finally ready to make the shift. Between the water turbines and the new wind farm, the island will have enough power for all of its residential needs – including the water desalinization plants on the island – by the end of next month, with enough extra to ensure electricity even if the wind dies down.

Related: El Hierro: The World’s First Renewable Energy Island… or is It?

The island actually generates enough power for its residential needs with just the water turbines, but the wind power allows El Hierro to have a little extra power, which will be used to pump fresh water from near the harbor on the island to a reservoir in a volcanic crater 2,300-feet above the sea. When there is not enough wind for electricity needs, that water will be released to feed down into the water turbines to generate more energy, so the island will always have enough power to keep things running.

Via ENN

Eigg's renewable energy sources include solar,

 wind, and hydroelectric [Peter Geoghegan/Al Jazeera]

Related Article:

The 'greenest' island in the world?

US and China announce 'historic' climate accord

Yahoo – AFP, Jerome Cartillier, 12 Nov 2014

US President Barack Obama (L) and China's President Xi Jinping arrive for a

 press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 12, 2014

(AFP Photo/Mandel Ngan)

Beijing (AFP) - The United States and China on Wednesday announced an action plan on greenhouse emissions as part of a "historic" pact that was acclaimed by climate scientists but denounced by US Republicans as a job-killer.

At a Beijing summit, the leaders of the world's two biggest polluters put their stamp on attempts to breathe new life into action against global warming ahead of international talks in Paris next year.

A woman and child wear masks on a

 polluted day in Beijing on October 20,

2014 (AFP Photo/Greg Baker)

US President Barack Obama said the joint announcement on the two countries' emissions targets was a "historic agreement" and a "major milestone in the US-China relationship".

Chinese President Xi Jinping said: "We agreed to make sure that international climate change negotiations will reach an agreement in Paris."

Attempts to deal with climate change, which scientists warn is approaching a potentially catastrophic point of no return, have long been stymied by the unwillingness of the United States and China to work together on the problem.

But China set a target for its greenhouse gas output to peak "around 2030", which Obama commended as an effort to "slow, peak and reverse the course" of its emissions.

And Obama, who faces scepticism as well as outright denial about climate change in the US Congress, set a goal for the United States to cut its own emissions of greenhouse gases by 26-28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025.

"We have a special responsibility to lead the worldwide effort against climate change," Obama said at a joint news conference with Xi.

"We hope to encourage all economies to be more ambitious," he added.

China and the US, which together produce around 45 percent of the world's carbon dioxide, will be key to ensuring a global deal on reducing emissions after 2020 is reached next year.

'A new day'

The two countries have long been at loggerheads over global targets, with each saying the other should bear more responsibility for cutting emissions of gases blamed for heating up the atmosphere.

But after the 2009 Copenhagen Summit nearly ended in fiasco, salvaged only by a last-minute deal brokered by Obama and China's then premier, Washington and Beijing have started to move closer towards agreement.

The World Resources Institute, a US-based environmental group, hailed the Obama-Xi pact as a breakthrough.

Cows graze in the shadow of the coal-fired Chalk Point Generating Station,

on May 29, 2014 in Benedict, Maryland, United States (AFP Photo/Mark Wilson)

"It’s a new day to have the leaders of the US and China stand shoulder-to-shoulder and make significant commitments to curb their country's emissions," the institute's president Andrew Steer said in a statement.

"They have both clearly acknowledged the mounting threat of climate change and the urgency of action," he said.

But while it was the first time China agreed to a target date for emissions to peak -- officials have previously only spoken of doing so "as soon as possible" -- the commitment was qualified, leaving considerable room for manoeuvre.

China has trumpeted its efforts to reduce dependence on coal and oil in the past, and is the world's largest hydropower producer, with a growing nuclear sector.

But economic growth remains a vitally important priority and has seen demand for energy soar.

Much of Obama's action on climate change meanwhile has been done with executive orders rather than cooperation from an often confrontational legislature.

The deadline for Obama's new pledge is in more than a decade's time but he only has two years left in his presidency. He faces a Congress now set to be controlled by opposition Republicans in both houses after this month's mid-term elections, which will make passing environmental legislation even more difficult.

In an early portent of the battles to come, the US Senate's new Republican leader was quick to slam Obama's proposed greenhouse gas reductions.

“This unrealistic plan, that the president would dump on his successor, would ensure higher utility rates and far fewer jobs," Senator Mitch McConnell said.

The European Union pledged last month to reduce emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.

But efforts to make meaningful progress on climate change will by stymied unless the US sets "a concrete and ambitious" goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, Connie Hedegaard, EU climate commissioner, said in October.

The EU accounts for 11 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 16 percent for the United States and 29 percent for China.

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Kell: 'Climate change is bad for business'

US-China relations should set the tone for Asia-Pacific: Xinhua

Kell: 'Climate change is bad for business'

1000 companies as well as powerhouses such as BlackRock, BT Pension or Rockefeller- and Rothschildfunds are pushing for a global carbon deal. UN Global Compact founder Georg Kell tells why.

Deutsche Welle: Mr. Kell, The United Nations has won some unexpected allies in the fight against global warming.

Georg Kell: For the first time, the private sector has argued in favor of pricing externalities. This is a breakthrough because usually business blocks climate action on a national level. Investors are actually making the case for putting a significant price on carbon. Polluters are making the case to be charged. That has never happened before. This is a very promising major development which will encourage policy makers.

The COP climate conferences showed very limited results in the past two decades because big companies lobbied against new climate laws and most heads of state didn’t show up. Can you comment?

Georg Kell together with Statoil CEO Helge
 Lund, José Manuel Entrecanales Domecq,
Chairman and CEO of Spanish wind energy
 company Acciona and Frank Pegan, CEO
 of the Australian Pension Fund Catholic
Super (FLTR)

Now 73 countries, including Russia and China, have signed a declaration which fights global warming. 120 Heads of State, even US President Barack Obama and the French President Hollande, attended the recent UN Climate Summit in September. Ban Ki-moon also mobilized the streets: More than 400,000 people participated in the Climate March in New York. Most importantly, however, 1000 companies made the case for pricing carbon. Unthinkable only two years ago.

What caused this change?

Extreme weather and sea water level rises are not just a horror scenario any more. Storms, floods, droughts and water scarcity can disrupt almost any planned economic activity. There is big nervousness going on for good reason. The exposure to such risks has increased enormously. Climate change is bad for business.

Hurricane Sandy recently flooded huge parts of New York. Do real estate owners such as the Rockefeller Family support the UN because they are now getting "wet feet”?

Yes, it’s a mixture of many things. Obviously the fear of property losses is a major factor. Much of the world's wealth, about 60 percent, is invested in property and infrastructure. For the first time the investor community is actually realizing that their future asset performance is seriously under threat.

Financial powerhouses such as BlackRock, BT Pension Scheme and the Rothschild & Cie Gestion Group, have just signed a call on governments to implement a major global carbon pricing. Some of the asset owners who represent about 24 trillion dollars did more than this.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, built with profits from their great-grandfather's Standard Oil Company, is now selling investments in the fossil fuel industry and is putting pressure on companies that are adding to climate change. Rockefeller Brothers will abandon companies reliant on coal and tar sands because carbon is now recognized as the evil in the game. Scientific evidence strongly shows that carbon is the cause of global warming. You cannot deny this any more.

George Kell says greenhouse gas emission will have a high priece in the future.

The IPCC has just released a report that we need to cut carbon emissions by 40 - 70 percent before 2050 if we aim to limit global warming below two degrees. What’s your take on this?

This is why pricing carbon high enough is essential. It provides incentives to move towards an energy efficient low carbon consumption and production. Many companies still have a double-faced identity: One the one hand showing a bit of green credentials, on the other hand lobbying against carbon action. They focus on short term profits. Therefore, we need to give strong signals and strong incentives. A quick transition is possible. Philips Lighting already switched 40 percent of its turnover to energy efficient LED. Unilever and Nestlé have invested large sums in to a sustainable supply chain.

Can subsidies be shifted to renewable energy?

Yes, 500 billion dollars are spend are annually to subsidize fossil fuels. We have to get rid of perverse subsidies, stop using dirty diesel and coal, and invest in green technologies.

For decades the oil industry was one the biggest opponents of renewable energies. Now UN Global Compact members such as Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Statoil have signed a call for a global carbon pricing. How come?

Getting oil on board is a very important step. For almost 10 years, the UN Global Compact and others have been working on winning the business community, to get them to realize that sustainably and a natural system that can support all of us is good for business. Many companies have discovered that energy efficiency and a low carbon footprint gives them a competitive advantage. Greenhouse gas emission will be priced highly in the future.

How high?

The Norwegian government charges its oil and gas industry with a CO2 tax of up to 75 dollar per ton. This has made Norway a leader in carbon-efficient oil and gas production. Helge Lund, the CEO of Statoil, said an international price on carbon should be at least 100 dollar per ton. This is a start.

This will increase energy cost significantly. What about the losers, such as the coal industry?

There are always winners and losers. The world has to adapt to changes. A low carbon world opens up a whole universe of new business opportunities: new products, new services, and new solutions. It will push green growth and create many new jobs. A major shift to renewable energy has made Denmark an export leader of green technology .The Danish think tank Sustainia just nominated Newlight Tech for an award. The US based company developed a process to take CO2 out of the air and transform it into carbon negative plastics.

Greenhouse emissions don't care about national boarders. What about major polluters such as China?

Working on climate issues is a huge opportunity to also revive collaboration among states. China is putting in place a national pricing system for carbon next year. This will be the biggest carbon market. China is now also the biggest investor in renewable energies.

82 percent of the world's energy is still produced by fossil fuels. Do you think the UN will have a chance to close a global deal on carbon pricing at the COP21 climate summit in Paris next year?

It's in the cards. Not pricing pollution and carbon emissions is the biggest market distortion in human history. The voices of those who make the case for pricing carbon are getting louder and stronger. Our job is now to win more companies to lobby for carbon pricing and to encourage policy makers to be courageous. The world is longing for solutions.

Georg Kell is the founder and executive director of UN Global Compact. Global Compact members are signing a declaration in which they express their commitment for an ethical way of conducting business. With more than 8000 members the UN Global Compact is the biggest corporate sustainability organization.

Peter O’Neill, head of the Rockefeller family and great-great-grandson of John D
Rockefeller, along with Neva Rockefeller Goodwin (second from the right_, 
great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, and Stephen B Heintz, president of
the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

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Heirs to Rockefeller oil fortune divest from fossil fuels over climate change

Warren Buffett Ready to Increase Renewable Energy Investment to $30 Billion

One of the wealthiest men in the U.S., Warren Buffett said Monday
that he would double his renewable energy investments. Video
screenshot: Georgetown University/YouTube

"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.

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. ….”

Migratory birds, fish and mammals get new UN protection

Yahoo – AFP, 10 Nov 2014

Polar bear cubs with their mother Huggies in the Ouwehands Dierenpark zoo
in Rhenen on February 29, 2012 (AFP Photo/Erik van 't Woud)

Quito (AFP) - Polar bears, whales, sharks and gazelles were among 31 new species granted new protection status by the UN conservation body, following six days of "intense" talks by leading conservationists.

The UN Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) said on Sunday that six days of "intense negotiations" led to new protection for scores of bird, fish and mammal migratory species.

A record 21 species of shark, ray and sawfish were added to the list.

The polar bear, which is found in the Arctic, and the widely-distributed Cuvier's beaked whale made the list too.

Also newly protected are the red-fronted gazelle, common in Africa, and the great bustard, found in Europe and Asia.

Protecting these animals is key for overall environmental conservation.

"Migratory animals have become the global flagships for many of the pressing issues of our time," said CMS executive secretary Bradnee Chambers.

"From plastic pollution in our oceans, to the effects of climate change, to poaching and over-exploitation, the threats migratory animals face will eventually affect us all."

More than 900 experts from 120 countries met for the six-day meeting, approving all but one proposed species to be included on the protected wildlife list.

The African lion did not make the final cut because there was not enough information from the countries where it lives.

The conference was the best-attended in the body's 35-year history, and CMS hailed the "unprecedented" level of attention to the topic.

The director of the UN Environment Program, which administers CMS, said global interest in animal protection was crucial.

"The responsibility for protecting wildlife is a shared one, and that the threats to wildlife can be tackled most effectively through global cooperation," said UN Undersecretary-General Achim Steiner, who heads the UNEP.

The next CMS meeting will be held in the Philippines in 2017.

Australia Lags on Renewables as China Races Ahead

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Nov 10, 2014

Members of a Chilean team prepare their vehicle in front of La Moneda presidential
 palace during the presentation of the Atacama Solar Challenge car race in Santiago on
 Nov. 5, 2014. A report says that renewable energy in Australia in 2014 has dropped by
70 percent compared with the previous year. (AFP Photo/Martin Bernetti)

Sydney. Australia is falling behind China and the United States in tackling climate change, with new investment in renewable energy falling by 70 percent, a study released on Monday said.

The independent Climate Council report found that while Australia had high per capita carbon emissions, it had moved from being a leader to a laggard in terms of one of the most common means of combating climate change — renewable energy.

“The future of Australia’s renewable energy industry remains highly uncertain due to a lack of clear federal government renewable energy policy,” said the report, titled Lagging Behind: Australia and the Global Response to Climate Change.

“Consequently investment in renewable energy in 2014 has dropped by 70 percent compared with the previous year.”

Since coming to power last year, conservative Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has scrapped a tax on carbon emissions and defended the use of coal as crucial to Australia’s prosperity.

Meanwhile the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, China and the United States, are leading the way in terms of developing and investing in renewable energy, while other nations were increasingly embracing carbon pricing schemes, the report said.

“We’ve had a loss of 70 percent of new investment in renewable energy in this country, and when you compare that with the US and China, which are powering ahead — China particularly at record levels — it’s a pretty sorry state of affairs,” the council’s Tim Flannery said.

Flannery added that uncertainty about the Australian government’s position on renewables was resulting in investment heading overseas.

“The big international companies are just looking across-the-board and saying ‘there’s a favorable environment here in Texas or there in Europe or China, we’ll put our money there’,” he told the ABC.

Australia’s climate action is in the spotlight ahead of this weekend’s Group of 20 leaders summit in Brisbane, with Canberra resisting pressure to put the item on the agenda.

Australia plans to cut emissions to 5 percent below 2000 levels by 2020, and is establishing a A$2.55 billion ($2.25 billion) Emissions Reduction Fund to give polluters financial incentives to reduce emissions to help meet the target.

But in a second report released on Monday, the independent Climate Institute said changing circumstances and growing scientific evidence meant that Australia needed to ramp up its ambitions and aim to reduce new emissions by 40 percent of 2000 levels by 2025.

“Australian politics is fixated on 2020 but the world is now increasingly looking beyond 2020,” said deputy chief executive Erwin Jackson.

Agence France-Presse

Hong Kong farmers protest over tycoon land grab

Yahoo – AFP, Anuj Chopra, 9 Nov 2014

A farmer walks through his field in Hong Kong on October 31, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Nicolas Asfouri)

Hong Kong farming villages bordering mainland China are locked in a bitter struggle against property developers accused of "land hoarding", as resentment of the city's vast wealth gap fuels democracy protests.

Now in their second month, the protests were sparked by Beijing's insistence on vetting candidates in Hong Kong's next leadership elections in 2017 -- but the perceived cosy relationship between the government and the city's powerful business elite is also a key source of anger.

Apartments are situated next to a 

farming field in Hong Kong on October 31, 

2014 (AFP Photo/Nicolas Asfouri)

While developers snap up valuable real estate across the city, soaring house prices and rental costs leave the majority of the population struggling to afford private housing.

Farmers in the outlying New Territories near the mainland border are now joining the push back against the government and developers as their land comes under threat.

A multi-billion dollar government project will see scarce agricultural land developed, and thousands uprooted to make way for townships that officials say will help to meet demand for housing.

But with only a tiny sliver of the proposed 614 hectares area reserved for public housing -- and a bigger slice for commercial complexes as well as private flats beyond the reach of most Hong Kongers -- villagers argue that the project is designed mainly to enrich real estate giants.

"Ordinary people like me can only dream of affording the apartments that will be built here," said Yung King-yu, a 19-year-old resident of Ma Shi Po, one of the affected villages.

"So how will this project meet Hong Kong's housing needs?" asks Yung, who regularly camps at one of the democracy protest sites.

Given the area's proximity to the border, the project has also spawned concerns that it will cater more to wealthy Chinese mainlanders, who are often blamed for driving up Hong Kong property prices.

'Land hegemony'

Hemmed in by skyscrapers towering above tree-lined boulevards, Ma Shi Po is a patchwork of vegetable farms, fish ponds and sprawling pastel-coloured houses –- a novelty in Hong Kong, where millions live in cramped apartments.

But there are also abandoned plots which developers have bought up over the years from local landlords, displacing scores of non-indigenous farmers who moved there generations ago but have no land rights, villagers say.

A woman walks past a gardening field in

 Hong Kong on October 31, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Nicolas Asfouri)

"Hundreds of farmers have had to leave the village because of this land hoarding," said 29-year-old Becky Au Hei-man, who manages a community farm in the village.

"This is a kind of land hegemony," she said, strolling past a fenced plot now owned by Henderson Land Development and overrun by wild undergrowth.

Henderson, led by Hong Kong's third-richest man Lee Shau-kee, is a major land holder in Ma Shi Po, says Liber Research Community, a Hong Kong think-tank focused on urban planning.

Becky says her landlord has sold her patch of land to Henderson, but she refuses to leave.

The property giant declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Besides Henderson, other land-owning developers in areas surrounding Ma Shi Po include billionaire Cheng Yu-tung's New World Development and Cheung Kong, led by Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing, Liber researcher Chan Kim Ching told AFP.

"Our research shows developers have been quietly stocking up land at low prices since the early 1990s -- years before the government declared the project in 1998," said Chan.

Protesters angered by the government's "pro-developer policies" attempted to storm the city's parliament in June after it hastily approved HK$340 million in funding for the New Territories development project.

Hong Kong's development chief Paul Chan also came under fire after he admitted last year that his family owned vast tracts of land in the development zone.

He shrugged off calls for his resignation and denied any conflict of interest, saying the property had been transferred to his wife's relatives.

'I wake up crying'

The rift between the farmers and developers is indicative of the growing disconnect between the city's privileged establishment and ordinary residents.

Hong Kong's official Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, is among the highest in the world for developed economies and poorer citizens feel increasingly overlooked by the government.

A farmer works on his field in Hong Kong

on October 31, 2014 (AFP Photo/Nicolas

Asfouri)

The city's embattled leader Leung Chun-ying -- who was handpicked by a pro-Beijing committee -- provoked bewilderment recently when he spoke against fully free elections, saying they would result in the poor dominating politics.

At the other end of the scale, Hong Kong's 10 wealthiest tycoons control a combined fortune of around $130 billion and all have interests in real estate, according to Forbes magazine.

But the "have-nots" are desperately trying to make their voices heard. Hong Kong's town planning board has received close to 50,000 public objections to the New Territories housing project, a historic high.

At one town planning meeting farmers delivered impassioned speeches, imploring officials to save their bitter melon and water spinach farms -- a rich habitat for rare migratory birds and flowering plants.

"I wake up in the middle of the night crying," said one emotional farmer.

"I can't abandon my trees, my farm animals, my way of life to live in a skyscraper. This plan is not for me. It's for the rich."

Related Article:

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US comic Seinfeld says on autism spectrum

Yahoo – AFP, 7 Nov 2014

US comedian Jerry Seinfeld pictured on October 5, 2009, in Cannes, 

France (AFP Photo/Valery Hache)

Los Angeles (AFP) - Veteran US comedian Jerry Seinfeld says he thinks he is on the autism spectrum, describing it as an "alternate mindset."

"I think, on a very drawn-out scale, I think I'm on the spectrum," Seinfeld told NBC's "Nightly News" late Thursday.

The multi-millionaire actor -- famous for his semi-autobiographical 1990s sitcom "Seinfeld" -- said he was "never paying attention to the right things."

"Basic social engagement is really a struggle. I'm very literal. When people talk to me and they use expressions, sometimes I don't know what they're saying," Seinfeld explained.

"But I don't see it as dysfunctional. I just think of it as an alternate mindset."

The cause of autism, a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social withdrawal, is thought to be roughly split between genetic and environmental factors, according to experts.

Related Article:

Human Evolution –  27 Sep 2008 (a message from Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

“.. What do you think the Human brain can really do? What do you think it's built to do? Let me give you an example of what your society has come to accept as an "unbalanced person." Some of you think it's a "sick person." Let me talk about the autistic one. Let us talk about autism in what you call the most severe case.

Blessed is the autistic one who has come to this earth to show you what future Human evolvement looks like! They spend a lifetime trying to figure out linearity and it frustrates them. Blessed is the savant who the earth looks at and calls unbalanced. For the Humans who do this cannot see what they don't understand. The autistic one is able to get up off the paper and be in color! Many of the autistic ones can do what your calculators can do on your desks, did you know that? And they don't need a calculator! Give them a problem - two digits multiplied by three digits. Now watch how fast they give you the answer. Because they're not linear! Ask them what weekday the 13th of August will be in 2012, and they'll tell you, and they don't need a calendar. You might say, "What kind of a mind can do that?" I'll tell you - a nonlinear one without the walls in the brain that you have.

Have you ever thought about that? The autistic have a nonlinear mind. The barriers are dropped. Can you imagine the frustration of this Human? Here he is in a world of black and white while he is in color. Not only that, you want him to go in a straight line when he is used to all directions at once. This also explains why the only energies that will work to calm him are interdimensional ones - music, art, and love. Does this start to make sense to you? (see below)

What is taking place, dear ones, for all to know and see and understand, is that very, very slowly you have the linearity of the Human brain starting to be reduced. Unlike the autistic, it will be in ways that will still be balanced and make sense. In other words, you will be able to move in and out of quantum thought any time you wish in order to live in a linear, 3D existence, but have quantum consciousness. It will be a return to a form of consciousness that Lemurians had, but with the wisdom of the ages that you have collected. This will not be fast, but the forerunners of that are already here.

I'm going to give you some attributes of Human evolution in a moment, but let's return to the autistic ones. Many reading this are very concerned about autism. You wish to know why there are so many autistics being born. You say it's beyond coincidence that there are suddenly so many! There's more autistic children being born today than there ever have been on this planet. Humans are scurrying around wanting to know what's wrong. Is it the chemistry of the food? Perhaps it must be vaccinations! Some are saying, without any proof, "Yes, that's it - vaccinations must be it." You are grasping at almost anything to solve the puzzle of why so many autistics are arriving.

Yet very few Humans, if any, have looked at the puzzle and said, "Perhaps we're evolving, and this is the first wave of what we're going to see?" Not mentally unbalanced, but nonlinear thinking! This is, indeed, the case. You are seeing a form of evolution and you are calling it odd and unusual. It's simply those who are coming in early with activated quantum DNA. This early forerunner has DNA activated in an uncontrolled way, and so learning is needed to know how to make sense of it all. This is what they are doing, and each generation of savant will have a better time of it, figuring out what is linear and what is not.

Watch the autistic child go through what they must do (autism in its most severe form). They are so nonlinear that there is incredible frustration in trying to linearize even the Human voice as you speak to them. They will do the same actions over and over and over, trying to linearize the nonlinear. The linear walls are gone in their brain, and they have to learn to build the ones that they need. Humans then see them as a problem, and it's not a problem. It's a form of gifted children who are helping this planet to grow. Blessed are those who come into Earth as the new wave of consciousness to show you where it's going. They are setting the stage for a new kind of Human. For this quantumness will develop in a balanced way where many will have the autistic talents where they want them, and the linear when they want that. That's what the Human mind is capable of - being quantum when they wish to be. That's a return to the way it was given to you.

Let me tell you something that's nonlinear in your life. We have said this so seldom. You're given two quantum things as a Human Being, two things that pass between the other side of the veil and this side of the veil that are absolutely quantum, not linear. They have structure, but they are not linear. Perhaps you haven't even thought about them? I'll tell you what they are - art and music. There is no limit to the number of notes that you can hear at the same time, which your brain can listen to and put together. There's no limit to the number of symphony orchestra players that can come together in harmony on one stage. The more you add, the better it gets! Try that with lecturers [smile]. Did you ever think about that? There's no limit to the number of colors that you can comprehend and resolve in certain patterns. They are beautiful and have communications within them all. Music touches your heart. Now you know why. It's interdimensional. It's quantum. It was designed to do that. Now, apply that same scenario to communication and you'll see where you're going. This is Human evolvement. It's beginning on this planet. It will go slow, but that's what's going on. ...‘’

"Soul Communication" - Feb 22-23, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version Part 1, Text version Part 2)

"... There's an attribute of a nonlinear mind that you call autism that you should study. There are many autistic Human Beings who can tell you the day of the week for any year within any month. If you were to ask that person, "What is the day of the week for the 15th of the month in May of 2035?", many would know the day instantly. Most Humans would gasp at what appears to be their computational efforts. But the truth is that computation has nothing to do with it. You see, it's not a formula, and it's not math. The answer already exists, so it is known. You can go to almost any personal computer that is calendar friendly and find that information, because it already exists. It's a concept that has already been developed, produced, and stored.

The nonlinear mind works this way. Many with the autistic mind are able to interpret this information almost instantly, because they see the concept. They're not calculating anything. Now you know the difference between linear and nonlinear. The autistic mind is the forerunner of things to come and an anomaly of future Human development. These are the savants of the day, and many of their difficulties stem from their inability to work in a linear world. ..."

World's first solar cycle lane opening in the Netherlands

Solar panels embedded in the cycle path near Amsterdam could generate enough electricity to power three houses, with potential to extend scheme to roads

theguardian.com, Philip Oltermann in Berlin, Wednesday 5 November 2014

SolaRoad in Krommenie, the Netherlands, will be the world’s first cycle path
with embedded solar panels. Photograph: SolaRoad

The bike path that connects the Amsterdam suburbs of Krommenie and Wormerveer is popular with both school children and commuters: around 2,000 cyclists ride its two lanes on an average day.

But next week Krommenie’s cycle path promises to become even more useful: on 12 November a 70-metre stretch will become the world’s first public road with embedded solar panels.

Costing around €3m (£2.4m) and funded mostly by the local authority, the road is made up of rows of crystalline silicon solar cells, encased within concrete and covered with a translucent layer of tempered glass.

A non-adhesive finish and a slight tilt are meant to help the rain wash off dirt and thus keep the surface clean, guaranteeing maximum exposure to sunlight.

Since the path cannot be adjusted to the position of the sun, the panels produce roughly 30% less energy than those fixed on to roofs. Nonetheless, when the path is extended to 100 metres in 2016, its creators hope that it will produce enough energy to power three households.

The Netherlands’ TNO research institute, which developed the concept behind the solar bicycle path, think the potential of their idea doesn’t stop there. Sten de Wit of the institute told the Guardian that up to 20% of the Netherlands’ 140,000km of road could potentially be adapted, helping to power anything from traffic lights to electric cars. Tests have seen the solar panel units successfully carry the weight of heavy vehicles such as tractors.

While Krommenie will become the first community in the world with a publicly accessible stretch of solar road, the idea of using existing road infrastructure to harvest solar energy is gaining momentum across the globe.

Two US engineers, Idaho couple Julie and Scott Brusaw, have been developing solar panelling units for road use since 2006. In 2009, their company Solar Roadways received a contract from America’s Federal Highway Administration to build a prototype.

In March this year, the Brusaws replaced their own parking lot with solar-panelled units, and thanks to a popular viral video, they have raised $2.2m (£1.4m) to put their design into production.

If all the roads in the US were converted to solar roadways, the Solar Roadways website claims, the country would generate three times as much energy as it currently uses and cut greenhouse gases by 75%.