IKEA Stores In China Embrace Solar Power

Nearly?half of IKEA stores in China have gone solar?in the last year, with yearly electric energy production now topping 1.6 Million kilowatt hours.

The launch ceremony for the?IKEA-Hanergy Grid-Connected Solar Power Generation Project?was held today in the?Beijing IKEA Store, during which?IKEA?and?Hanergy, both members of The Climate Group,?announced the preliminary results of the project. The thin-film panels installed on the rooftops of five IKEA stores in China, once put into operation, will provide?10-15% of all electricity needed to run those stores.

Collaboration

In June 2012,?IKEA announced its strategic partnership with Hanergy?to install solar photovoltaic panels on IKEA owned buildings in China as part of its goal to promote the undertaking of energy efficiency and emission reduction. Through one year?s efforts, thin-film photovoltaic solar panels have now been installed and tested via trial runs at IKEA stores in five cities across China, including?Beijing, Shenzhen, Dalian, Nanjing?and?Shenyang.

image via The Climate Group

The installation will soon be carried out in IKEA stores in other cities, including IKEA?s distribution center. The solar power generation project will also be popularized to IKEA suppliers in China.

Green Goals

Rooftop installations on the?IKEA Beijing Store have an installed capacity of?416.24 kilowatts, generating approximately 452,000 kilowatt hours every year, which translates into an annual reduction of?CO2 emission by approximately 426 tons. The store has become the first business facility in Beijing to have been granted grid access for its rooftop grid-connected solar power generation installations by the?Beijing Electric Power Company.

?IKEA IGR(IKEA goes renewable) project has a long-term commitment to use?100% renewable energy to power our buildings?and this is an important and significant step towards reaching that goal,? said?Angela Zhu , Retail Manager of IKEA China. ?Over the past year,?we have worked with Hanergy?to actively advance the grid-connected solar power generation project and our cooperation made a significant step towards reaching our goal of ?making IKEA more environment-friendly. This makes us even more confident for our subsequent cooperation and the attainment of the goal.?

Solar Technology

Hanergy?is the world?s largest thin-film photovoltaic solar panel manufacturer. Through technology-based M&As and independent innovation, its thin-film solar technology has reached an internationally advanced level.

?With the partnership with IKEA entering its second year, we hope that, in the context of the national policy encouraging grid-connected distributed generation, Hanergy will help more enterprises and customers gain the advantage of thin-film solar energy in building integrated photovoltaics and promote the?wide application of renewable energy,? said?Liu Min, Executive President of Hanergy Holding Group.

China Growth

?China is now in a special stage of its development where it faces both urgent challenges and opportunities for rebalancing its economic and social model. In this drive, it is?imperative to promote clean energy, energy efficiency and emission reduction, with an urgent need for?leading enterprises to play an exemplary and guiding role. We appreciate the efficient and fruitful cooperation between IKEA and Hanergy, and we are looking forward to the involvement of more enterprises and social actors in the great endeavour to make reality the dream of a beautiful?China characterized by clean, low-carbon and green development,? said?Changhua Wu, the Greater China Director of The Climate Group.

Becoming energy and resource independent is an important focus area of?IKEA?s sustainability strategy, People and Planet Positive. The strategic cooperation with Hanergy marks an important step taken by IKEA to promote energy efficiency, emission reduction and green development in China. The powerful partnership between IKEA, the leader in home furnishing industry and Hanergy, a leader in the new energy industry, sets an example of how?large enterprises perform their social responsibility?in clean energy promotion and green development.

Editor?s Note: EarthTechling is proud to repost this article courtesy of The Climate Group.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Earthtechling/~3/WSSU_QhoiR0/

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Solar powered plane on final leg of flight to NYC

FILE - This May 22, 2013 file photo shows the Solar Impulse, piloted by Andr? Borschberg, taking flight, at dawn, from Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. The spindly no-fuel plane called Solar Impulse is scheduled to leave Washington Saturday early in the morning and arrive after midnight at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. It may silently buzz the Statue of Liberty on the way. The plane started its cross-country journey May 3 from San Francisco. (AP Photo/Matt York)

FILE - This May 22, 2013 file photo shows the Solar Impulse, piloted by Andr? Borschberg, taking flight, at dawn, from Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. The spindly no-fuel plane called Solar Impulse is scheduled to leave Washington Saturday early in the morning and arrive after midnight at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. It may silently buzz the Statue of Liberty on the way. The plane started its cross-country journey May 3 from San Francisco. (AP Photo/Matt York)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A solar-powered aircraft has lifted off from a suburban Washington airport, embarking on the final leg of a history-making cross-country flight.

The Solar Impulse flew out of Dulles International Airport a little before 5 a.m. Saturday en route to New York City. The flight plan for the revolutionary plane takes it past the Statue of Liberty before landing at New York's JFK Airport early Sunday.

The aircraft, powered by some 11,000 solar cells, soars to 30,000 feet while poking along at a top speed of 45 mph. The Solar Impulse left San Francisco in early May and has made stopovers in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Dulles.

The cross-country flight is a tune-up for a planned 2015 flight around the globe with an up-graded version of the plane.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-07-06-Solar%20Plane/id-cf018db0fa094129900655cd011d6852

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Climbing the Branches of My Family Tree: THURSDAY'S ...

On this, the 237th birthday of the United States of America, it seems the perfect time to celebrate not only our country's birth but also the gifts that were passed down to us from our ancestors who made it possible for us to celebrate?as Americans.
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For each of us there were great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers who left their homeland, their neighbors, the culture and very often their own families to take a chance in this new country of which they knew very little. They gathered up all they could carry with them, said good-bye to their friends and families, and left the only home they had ever known and most likely one they would never return to. They travelled by cart or by foot to a sea port where they would board a small packet ship. Once aboard they would?climb down into the hull of the vessel with one hundred, two hundred,?or more strangers to travel for several weeks across the Atlantic Ocean. With all of the multitude of people stuffed into the ship's steerage?area?[see post?"Packet Ship Gladiator", January 1, 2012, ?for more information?about steerage] they all shared one common dream - a better life in America.

Many left behind poverty, with little chance to ever change their circumstances. Most left countries with governments that held a tight rein on their individual rights and freedoms. Towns where they weren't allowed to speak, or protest, or gather freely. Where they couldn't vote to choose their own leaders. Where their children faced forced conscription into the military. Where the right to practice the religion of their own choosing didn't exist.

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They each knew that a better life existed - for themselves and for their children. And for their children's children. They wanted more for their life and for their family. They wanted to be free to choose their own path in life, and be treated as human beings with God-given?rights. They wanted to work hard and be rewarded with just compensation. They wanted to have a say in their government and in?the laws they lived under. They wanted to freely practice their faith. They wanted the freedom to have a dissenting opinion about their leaders, share it openly, without the fear of reprisals. They wanted this for themselves. But most of all they wanted this for their children. They left everything behind for a promise of a better life. They sailed on a ship across a wide ocean, not knowing if they or their family members would survive, or if the ship itself would make it safely. They landed in a port where they couldn't speak the language, maybe had no one waiting for them, had little direction on where to go or what to do next. But they paved the way for each one of their children, each one of their grandchildren - each one of us - to enjoy those unalienable rights we each possess, endowed for us by our Creator.
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Among these - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

America wasn't perfect then and it isn't perfect now. But it's the best there is. And we have our ancestors to thank for giving us the opportunity for a better future. So it's nice today?to remember those that made it possible:

Patrick McCloskey (1810-1855) who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1838, at the age of 28, from his home in Ireland. His wife Mary Ann (1805-1871) also immigrated from Ireland, date unknown. They are?my 4x great-grandparents.

Thomas McCaffrey (1799-1890), arrived in New York Harbor in June 1825 from his home in County Tyrone, Ireland. His wife Susan (1793-1869) also immigrated from County Tyrone, date unknown.?They, too,?are?my 4x-great-grandparents.

Johann Eckard Horst (1802-1852), my 4x-great-grandfather, arrived in August 1846 in New York City Harbor at the age of 43 with his second wife and five children. This included my 3x-great-grandfather Martin Horst (1830-1878), who was just 16 years old when he arrived. Later my 5x-great-grandfather Johan Conrad Horst (1780-UNK), Martin's grandfather, also arrived here, in May 1860. He was 80 years old when he arrived.?They?were from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany.
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Apollonia Weinschenk (1829-1908), my 3x-great-grandmother and wife of Martin Horst, arrived in the port of New Orleans around 1843, at the age of 14, from her home in Forst, Bavaria, Germany.

?My great-great-grandfather Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911) arrived in this country in December 1849?from Ireland, along with five of his 7 brothers. He was 26 years old. His wife Bridget Kennedy (1838-1893) immigrated from her home in? County Tipperary, Ireland, sometime in the early 1850's.

Phillip Huber (1847-1901), also my great-great-grandfather, arrived in New York in June 1867, at the age of 19, from Florsheim, Hessen, Germany.

My 3x-great-grandparents, John Michael Baptiste Brunett (1818-1863), and Barbara Frisse (1822-1893) traveled?onboard the same ship,?from their homes in Seingbouse, Moselle, France, arriving in the port of New Orleans in July 1846. Traveling with Barbara were her parents (my 4x-great-grandparents) Joseph Frise (1796-1864) and Marguerite Lang (1802-1868), as well as several siblings. Marguerite was 44 years old; Joseph was 50.

[NOTE: My Fortier and DeGruey ancestors arrived from France to Canada and then settled in Louisiana before the United States was formed. I have no information yet as to when my Flemming or Jackson family ancestors arrived in America.]

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None of these ancestors arrived as we might imagine - coming into New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty, stepping off their steamship onto Ellis Island to be officially inspected in long lines. [The Statue of Liberty wasn't dedicated until 1886.] None of these ancestors settled on the east coast - most made their new homes in southern cities. And somehow, through happenstance or through fate, their offspring met other offspring of these immigrants and eventually, over time and over years, my mother and her siblings were created from a combination of all of these immigrants. And that made it possible for me to sit down, in my home in Birmingham, Alabama, and celebrate Independence Day and my great-grandparents' dreams for a better life.

Source: http://climbingthebranches.blogspot.com/2013/07/thursdays-treasures-life-liberty-and.html

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Internet big boys concerned over rules for news sites

Global firms request two changes to licensing regulation

FIVE major Internet and technology companies have expressed concern over new government licensing rules for online news sites, calling them "unwarranted and excessive".

They also warned that the new licensing framework could affect Singapore's business-friendly image and hamper innovation.

The companies - Facebook, Google, eBay, Yahoo and cloud computing corporation Salesforce - also urged the Government to ease up on the rules, which look set to spark a lively debate in Parliament next Monday.

The five are members of the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), an industry association they had formed to represent their interests in Internet policy issues in the region.

Earlier this year, the five were among hundreds of companies, groups and individuals that objected to government legislation in the United States.

They said its Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act, which aimed to address copyright infringement, would clamp down on free speech, innovation and the development of the Internet.

In Singapore, the new licensing regime affects only one of them: Yahoo. Its website Yahoo Singapore is among 10 sites that must have an individual licence.

Under the new framework, which kicked in on June 1, an individual licence is a must for websites with more than 50,000 Singapore visitors a month and which carry more than one news story about Singapore a week.

The licence entails putting up a $50,000 performance bond. Also, if or when told by the Government to take down prohibited content, the websites must comply in 24 hours.

Said the AIC: "This new regulation - and the regulatory trend that this may be indicative of - could unintentionally hamper Singapore's ability to continue to drive innovation, develop key industries in the technology space and attract investment in this key sector.

"We also believe the scope of the regulation and manner in which it was introduced have negatively impacted Singapore's global image as an open and business-friendly country."

The AIC made two requests.

One is for the regulation to include a statement that the websites will not be liable for content posted by users. To proactively police content is an "untenable position", the AIC said, noting that online platforms have "incentives" to address misuse of their services.

The second is for websites to be given a "reasonable timeframe" to comply, instead of up to 24 hours. The AIC said 24 hours was particularly difficult for international companies, which have to negotiate across time zones.

It also took issue with the $50,000 bond, saying it would be a "financial risk" to start-ups.

"It sends a very strong wrong message to the Internet community in and beyond Singapore that these changes could presage a more restrictive attitude to the Internet.

"It could also set a precedent for more restrictive regimes around the region," the AIC said in its three-page June 14 letter that was addressed to Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim.

The Ministry of Communications and Information said yesterday that it told the AIC that Singapore adopts a "light touch approach" in Internet regulations and the licensing framework has not changed this approach.

It reiterated that the new regulations are for greater parity for news providers on traditional and online media platforms. The content standards that sites have to adhere to have also "not resulted in the stifling of online discourse, nor have they prevented netizens from commenting on government policies".

On the 24-hour window requirement, the ministry said it is "important" in managing false news that may cause mass panic as information can spread quickly on the Internet.

As for the bond, it is to ensure websites remove prohibited content "quickly" and when directed to do so by the Government.

The ministry added that the Media Development Authority (MDA) met the AIC early last month to provide clarifications and invited it to take part in an upcoming public consultation on amendments to the Broadcasting Act next year.

The three firms providing the 10 licensed sites - Yahoo, Singapore Press Holdings and MediaCorp - have given their feedback on the new licensing framework, which the MDA is reviewing, said the ministry. "The engagement process with the licensees is ongoing," said a ministry spokesman yesterday.

twong@sph.com.sg

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Background Story

NEGATIVE IMPACT

...the scope of the regulation and manner in which it was introduced have negatively impacted Singapore's global image as an open and business- friendly country.

- The Asia Internet Coalition

Source: Straits Times ? Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.

Source: http://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/slw/headlinesnews/27239-internet-big-boys-concerned-over-rules-for-news-sites.html

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South American leaders back Morales in plane row

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (AP) ? President Evo Morales warned on Thursday that he could close the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia, as South America's leftist leaders rallied to support him after his presidential plane was rerouted amid suspicions that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board.

Morales again blamed Washington for pressuring European countries to refuse to allow his plane to fly through their airspace on Tuesday, forcing it to land in Vienna, Austria, in what he called a violation of international law. He had been returning from a summit in Russia during which he had suggested he would be willing to consider a request from Snowden for asylum.

Morales made his announcement as the leaders of Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Suriname joined him in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba on Thursday for a special meeting to address the diplomatic row.

In a joint statement read after the summit, the presidents demanded an explanation and an apology from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. They also said they would back Bolivia's official complaint with the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

Latin American leaders were outraged by the incident, calling it a violation of national sovereignty and a slap in the face for a region that has suffered through humiliations by Europe and several U.S.-backed military coups.

"United we will defeat American imperialism. We met with the leaders of my party and they asked us for several measures and if necessary, we will close the embassy of the United States," Morales said in the city where he started his political career as a leader of coca leaf farmers. "We do not need the embassy of the United States."

Morales' government has had a conflictive relationship with Washington.

It expelled the U.S. ambassador and agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2008 for allegedly inciting the opposition. The Andean nation restored full diplomatic ties with the U.S. in 2011. But relations soured again amid mutual distrust on drug war politics and hit an especially low point after Secretary of State John Kerry referred to Latin America as Washington's "backyard" in April 2013.

Morales expelled the U.S. Agency for International Development in May for allegedly seeking to undermine his government.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Thursday that he and other leaders were offering full support to Morales following the rerouting of the plane, calling it an aggression against the Americas.

"We're not going to accept that in the 21st century there's first, second and third rate countries," Correa said.

"The leaders and authorities in Europe have to take a lesson in history and understand that we're not 500 years behind. This Latin America of the 21st century is independent, dignified and sovereign."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro protested alleged attempts by Spanish officials to search the Bolivian presidential plane.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez said Latin Americans treasured freedom after fighting for their independence from Europe in the 19th century and then surviving Washington's 20th-century history of backing repressive regimes in the Americas.

She then demanded an apology for the plane ordeal.

"I'm asking those who violated the law in calm but serious manner, to take responsibility for the errors made, it's the least they can do," Fernandez said. "To apologize for once in their life, to say they're sorry for what they've done."

Morales has said that while the plane was parked in Vienna, the Spanish ambassador to Austria arrived with two embassy personnel and they asked to search the plane. He said he denied them permission.

"Who takes the decision to attack the president of a South American nation?" Maduro asked. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano "Rajoy has been abusive by trying to search Morales' plane in Spain. He has no right to breach international law."

Morales, long a fierce critic of U.S. policy toward Latin America, received a hero's welcome in an airport in the Bolivian capital of La Paz late Wednesday night. His return followed the dramatic, unplanned 14-hour layover in Vienna.

Bolivia's government said France, Spain and Portugal refused to let the president's plane through their airspace because of suspicions that Snowden was with Morales.

Ahead of the meeting, Morales had said that his ordeal was part of a plot by the U.S. to intimidate him and other Latin American leaders.

He urged European nations to "free themselves" from the United States. "The United States is using its agent (Snowden) and the president (of Bolivia) to intimidate the whole region," he said.

France sent an apology to the Bolivian government. But Morales said "apologies are not enough because the stance is that international treaties must be respected."

Spain's Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said his country did not bar Morales from landing in its territory.

Amid the tensions, the U.S. embassy in La Paz cancelled Independence Day celebrations scheduled for Thursday. In the eastern city of Santa Cruz, Bolivian government sympathizers painted protest slogans on the doors of the American consulate.

Morales said he never saw Snowden when he was in Russia, and that Bolivia had not received a formal request for asylum for him.

Bolivia has said that it will summon the French and Italian ambassadors and the Portuguese consul to demand explanations.

Despite the complaints, there were no signs that Latin America leaders were moving to bring Snowden to the region that had been seen as the most likely to grant him asylum.

All of the region's leaders are not expected at the summit.

Brazil was represented at the meeting by Marco Aurelio Garcia, President Dilma Rousseff's top international adviser. He traveled to Cochabamba with government officials, although Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota missed the summit because he is currently attending meetings in Europe.

The presidents of Colombia, Chile and Peru, who have strong ties to the U.S., were not attending.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said earlier on Thursday that he supports Morales, but asked other leaders to remain cool and avoid an escalating dispute between Latin America and the European Union.

"We're in solidarity with Evo Morales because what they did to him is unheard-of, but let's not let this turn into a diplomatic crisis for Latin America and the EU," Santos wrote Thursday on Twitter.

It's still unclear whether European countries did block the plane and, if so, why. French, Spanish and Portuguese officials have all said the plane was allowed to cross their territory.

The emergency stop in Austria may have been caused by a row over where the plane could refuel and whether European authorities could inspect it for signs of Snowden.

The U.S. has declined to comment on whether it was involved in any decision to close European airspace, saying only that "US officials have been in touch with a broad range of countries over the course of the last 10 days," about the Snowden case.

"The message has been communicated both publicly and privately," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday. "He should be returned to the United States."

Snowden remains out of public view, believed to be stuck in a Moscow airport transit area, seeking asylum from one of more than a dozen countries.

__

Associated Press writers Carlos Valdez and Paola Flores in La Paz, Bolivia, Vivian Sequera in Bogota, Colombia, Marco Sibaja in Brasilia, Brazil, Bradley Brooks in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Luis Andres Henao in Santiago, Chile contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-american-leaders-back-morales-plane-row-000008692.html

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Magnificent Lego Acropolis Is Made of 120,000 Bricks

Over 300 hours of hard work went into creating this Lego Acropolis. Starting tomorrow, builder Ryan McNaught?AKA TheBrickMan?will be displaying his creation at Sidney's Nicholson Museum. The classical build comes complete with a minifig Oedipus stabbing his eyes out, with blood spilling over the stage.

This build is a bit tongue-in-cheek, as it features a minifig Elton John performing for modern-day tourists, a Lego Gandalf and Sigmund Freud (no doubt realizing how much Oedipus Rex reflects his inner fears and desires). With this exhibit, the Nicholson Museum is certainly pushing the envelope as far as making the Classics accessible (and appealing) to younger generations:

The Nicholson Museum, in Sydney University's quadrangle, is Australia's largest museum of antiquities and fast developing a reputation as one of the most innovative museums of its type for its integration of the ancient and contemporary world. Last year, more than 90,000 visitors viewed the Lego Colosseum, an increase of 25,000 people on the previous 12 months. Next year, the museum is planning a Lego Pompeii.

According to Senior curator of the Nicholson Museum, Michael Turner:

If we can create an extraordinary experience, an enormous LEGO model in a museum of antiquities, then it's likely that they'll never, ever forget it.

Ryan McNaught is the only Lego-certified professional in Australia (you'll remember him as the builder of this insane Lego Helicopter, that was recently destroyed by some teenage morons). As a Classicist, I love this build (anachronisms aside), there are so many fun little details from the Temple of Athena Nike to the stealing of the Elgin marbles. And as a Lego fangirl, I especially love seeing McNaught get the continued recognition he deserves. LEGO ergo sum. [Sydney Morning Herald]

You're reading Leg Godt, the blog with the latest Lego news and the most awesome Lego models in the web. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: http://lego.gizmodo.com/magnificent-lego-acropolis-is-made-of-120-000-bricks-678479887

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5 Great Tips For Photographing Fireworks - Business Insider

Even if you have a camera with a bunch of automatic settings, shooting fireworks can be tricky.

Before you head out tonight to capture the fun, here's some tips put together by National Geographic.

1. Turn off your flash and set your camera to manual mode and try this setting:?ISO 100, f/11, at 1/2 second. Adjust?shutter speed as needed. More details here.

2. Photographing fireworks means slow shutter speeds. That means it is best to use a tripod.

3.? If you want to zoom in and show detail, you'll want a zoom lens that goes to at least 200mm. It's best to play with zoom/focus settings earlier in the day, while its still light out.

4. If your camera supports bulb mode or timed exposures that can be a great way to shoot fireworks. More details here.

5. When shooting people, like a friend holding a sparkler, focus on the face not the sparkler to try and trick the light meter.

Here's a bunch more tips on photographing fireworks from the Digital Photography's School's Darren Rowse.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/5-great-tips-for-photographing-fireworks-2013-7

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