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July 25, 2008 The Next Generation of Alternative Energy

Venture capitalists flirt with solar thermal, algae, and wave power

Now that alternative energy is the new darling of Silicon Valley, investors are pumping cash into a raft of obscure technologies, from wave power to algae fuel. Despite the sluggish economy, alternative-energy start-ups received a record $2 billion in venture capital funding in the second quarter of 2008, a 58 percent increase from a year earlier, according to Cleantech Group, a market research firm. Today, clean technology—which includes alternative energy producers—accounts for 20 percent of all venture capital funding, up from just 1 percent in 2001, says John Balbach, a Cleantech managing partner. "Silicon Valley is going through yet another transformation," he says. Here are three technologies attracting interest:

July 23, 2008 Gates and Bloomberg team up to tackle tobacco epidemic

Philanthropists pledge half a billion dollars to fight tobacco use in developing countries.

New York city mayor Michael Bloomberg and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced today that they will commit half a billion dollars to fight tobacco use in developing countries.

The ‘tobacco epidemic’ now kills 5.4 million people a year. While many developed countries are fighting to shed the habit, tobacco-related diseases have struck developing countries particularly hard. By 2030, over 80% of the projected 8 million tobacco-related deaths are expected to be in low- and middle-income countries. “The epidemic will strike hardest in countries whose rapidly growing economies offer their citizens the hope of a better life,” wrote Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), in “The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008”.

To fight the spread of tobacco use, the WHO and Bloomberg’s Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use have compiled six strategies into a program called MPOWER. The suggested policies range from education to bans on advertising, increased tobacco taxes, and protection for non-smokers. But the countries that need these policies the most have been unable or unwilling to commit the resources to back them.

July 23, 2008 Dominion to announce cleanup plans for Salem power plan

SALEM — Tomorrow's meeting between power plant owner Dominion and state regulators has been shrouded in drama and mystery. Local environmentalists have called for the plant to close and have used cable television, newspaper advertisements and the Internet to launch an all-out assault to "stop the plant" and "save the planet."

Despite the buildup, it appears the meeting with the state Department of Environmental Protection will be anticlimactic. Dominion will not announce plans to close or even to phase out the coal-and-oil-burning plant, according to local officials who have spoken with plant executives.

Instead, the company is expected to announce that it will continue to use low-emission coal and oil to stay in compliance with pollution regulations and will make a modest investment of $10 million to $15 million to install additional controls.

The power company will emphasize, those officials say, that it operates within legal limits today and has a plan to comply with the new and tougher regulations that take effect in 2011 and 2012.

"They have absolutely no intention of closing the plant," said state Rep. John Keenan, who took part in plant negotiations with the state when he was city solicitor a few years ago. "Their interest is in running the plant and continuing to meet regulations today and into the future."

Even one of the state's leading environmental organizations, the Conservation Law Foundation, which will take part in tomorrow's meeting in Wilmington, is not expecting any dramatic news.

"All indications are they feel they can make the (regulations) easily," said Shanna Vale, a staff attorney.

July 21, 2008 Power plant foes step up opposition

SALEM — Environmental activists have launched a public-relations blitz against the Salem Harbor power plant as an important deadline for reducing emissions approaches this week.

Several environmental groups will appear on a live program on Salem Access Television tonight focusing on the corporate practices of Dominion, the Virginia-based plant owner.

At the same time, two new Web sites have sprung up calling for the plant to close and its Fort Avenue site to be redeveloped. One has even sponsored a newspaper ad campaign.

All this comes just days before a significant deadline with implications for the plant's future.

On Thursday, Dominion is expected to lay out its plans to reduce emissions in order to meet tougher pollution regulations. Activists are pointing to it as a pivotal moment and hold out hope the plant will announce either its closure or a switch from coal to a cleaner source of energy.

Suddenly, opponents of the power plant see an opportunity

July 18, 2008 Power plant issues come to a crossroads

SALEM -

Next week stands to be a momentous one for anyone in the Salem area concerned with the power plant, as plans are made for a panel discussion of the plant’s practices and a meeting with state officials about the future of emissions.

Emissions and energy policy

The state Department of Environmental Protection will be sitting down on July 24 with Dominion, the owner of the Salem Harbor Power Station, as well as city officials and select members of local organizations like HealthLink and S.A.F.E. (Salem Alliance for the Environment).

The topic of discussion will be how the Salem plant will move into the future in light of new regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions, blamed for global warming.

The new policy, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), would limit emissions. And a new energy bill circulating through the state Legislature would require companies like Dominion to purchase allowances — every ton they emit would cost them.

State Rep. John Keenan, D-Salem, said it’s likely the energy bill will be approved by the end of the legislative session.

“I expect it will be in place by the end of the month,” said Keenan. “It’s great news.”

The new energy bill would use the money from companies that emit fossil fuels to fund a trust that would be spent on alternative- and clean-energy projects.

July 17, 2008 Gore sets energy goal for next president to hee

WASHINGTON --Just as John F. Kennedy set his sights on the moon, Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.

The Nobel Prize-winning former vice president said fellow Democrat Barack Obama and Republican rival John McCain are "way ahead" of most politicians in the fight against global climate change.

Rising fuel costs, climate change and the national security threats posed by U.S. dependence on foreign oil are conspiring to create "a new political environment" that Gore said will sustain bold and expensive steps to wean the nation off fossil fuels.

"I have never seen an opportunity for the country like the one that's emerging now," Gore told The Associated Press in an interview previewing a speech on global warming he planned to give Thursday in Washington.

Gore said he fully understands the magnitude of the challenge.

The Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan group he leads, estimates the cost of transforming the U.S. to clean electricity sources at $1.5 trillion to $3 trillion over 30 years in public and private money. But he says it would cost about as much to build greenhouse gas-polluting coal plants to satisfy current demand.

"This is an investment that will pay itself back many times over," Gore said. "It's an expensive investment but not compared to the rising cost of continuing to invest in fossil fuels."