400-year warm spell in South America fueled the Incas' rise, British archaeologists reported Monday, helping them build the largest
several-degree increase in temperature allowed the Incas to move higher into the Andes mountains, opening up new farmland and providing a water source through the gradual melting of glaciers at the top of those mountains, paleoecologist Alex Chepstow-Lusty of the French Institute of Andean Studies in Lima reported online Monday in the journal Climate of the Past."They were highly organized and they had a sophisticated [governance], but it wouldn't have counted a jot without being underpinned by the warming of the climate," he said in a telephone interview.Other experts were cautious about his interpretation. "The premise that the Incan expansion was driven by climate change is quite revolutionary," said archaeologist Mark Bush of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.
Confirming it will require a great deal more work for paleoecologists and archaeologists alike.The new research is important because "data on Andean climate during this time period are scant," said archaeologist Warren Church of Columbus State University in Georgia, who works in Peru. "However, it is important to remember that climates do not make empires. People do."Chepstow-Lusty, geographer Mick Frogley of the University of Sussex and their colleagues have been studying a 26-foot-long core of mud drilled from the sacred Lake Marcacocha in the Patacancha Valley of Peru, near Cuzco. Seeds, pollen, charcoal bits and other debris from successive layers in the core paint a picture of climate and agriculture in the region for 4,000 years.Analysis of the core showed that a major drought began in the region around the year 880 and lasted for at least 100 years.That drought, Chepstow-Lusty speculated, may have been the cause of the demise of the Wari empire, which lasted from 550 to 1000. The region was also colder than normal for the 3,000 years before 1000.Beginning about 1150, the climate began warming and eventually got "several degrees centigrade" warmer, Chepstow-Lusty said. That had the net effect of extending arable regions to an altitude about 300 yards higher in the mountains, he suggested, vastly extending the area that could be cultivated. It also might have caused the Peruvian glaciers to melt slowly, providing water that the Incas captured with large irrigation systems and agricultural terraces.The major evidence for the warming, Chepstow-Lusty said, was the appearance of alder-like trees that hadn't been seen in the region before, as well as increased insect activity. The trees, which normally grow in warmer climates, grow well in poor soil and fertilize it by converting nitrogen from the atmosphere into a usable form.The increased cultivation would have led to large surpluses of maize and potatoes, the researchers speculated, freeing the Incas to undertake other activities, including building monuments and roads and creating a large standing army that allowed them to conquer nearby peoples.By the time the Spanish arrived in 1533, the Incas controlled an area that stretched from what is now the Colombian border with Ecuador to the middle of Chile, with more than 8 million inhabitants. When the Spanish arrived, they noted that the Incas had enough food in warehouses to last for 10 years.The Incan empire ended after the arrival of the Spanish, who inadvertently brought diseases that devastated the population, allowing the invaders to conquer the survivors and push them to the highest altitudes, where they are still marginalized economically.The story has a powerful moral for today, Chepstow-Lusty said. Peru is one of the countries most threatened by global warming, and the glaciers that provide much of the water for the capital, Lima, are rapidly melting and are expected to be gone in 20 years. The terraces that previously trapped water for agriculture have fallen into disuse, and the predominant tree in the region is the eucalyptus, which saps what water remains in the soil and deposits resins that poison other plant life.Chepstow-Lusty called for removal of the eucalyptus tree and a massive reforestation effort with alder or similar trees to replenish the soil, as well as repair of the derelict irrigation systems so they can once more support agriculture.But Church, who also works in Peru, cautioned that without more research, such an approach could be "premature and risky."
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
New Blue Light Nanocrystals Could Help Mitigate Global Warming
Berkeley Lab researchers have produced non-toxic magnesium oxide nanocrystals that efficiently emit blue light and could also play a role in long-term storage of carbon dioxide, a potential means of tempering the effects of global warming.
In its bulk form, magnesium oxide is a cheap, white mineral used in applications ranging from insulating cables and crucibles to preventing sweaty-palmed rock climbers from losing their grip. Using an organometallic chemical synthesis route, scientists at the Molecular Foundry have created nanocrystals of magnesium oxide whose size can be adjusted within just a few nanometers. And unlike their bulk counterpart, the nanocrystals glow blue when exposed to ultraviolet light.
Current routes for generating these alkaline earth metal oxide nanocrystals require processing at high temperatures, which causes uncontrolled growth or fusing of particles to one another-not a desirable outcome when the properties you seek are size-dependent. On the other hand, vapor phase techniques, which provide size precision, are time and cost intensive, and leave the nanocrystals attached to a substrate.
"We've discovered a fundamentally new, unconventional mechanism for nicely controlling the size of these nanocrystals, and realized we had an intriguing and surprising candidate for optical applications," said Delia Milliron, Facility Director of the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility at Berkeley Lab's nanoscience research center, the Molecular Foundry. "This efficient, bright blue luminescence could be an inexpensive, attractive alternative in applications such as bio-imaging or solid-state lighting."
Unlike conventional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, solid-state lighting makes use of light-emitting semiconductor materials-in general, red, green and blue emitting materials are combined to create white light. However, efficient blue light emitters are difficult to produce, suggesting these magnesium oxide nanocrystals could be a bright candidate for lighting that consumes less energy and has a longer lifespan.
These minute materials do more than glow, however. Along with their promising optical behavior, these magnesium oxide nanocrystals will be a subject of study in an entirely different field of research: Berkeley Labs' Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2, designed to "establish the scientific foundations for the geological storage of carbon dioxide."
Experts say carbon dioxide capture and storage will be vital to achieving significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, but the success of this technology hinges on sealing geochemical reservoirs deep below the earth's surface without allowing gases or fluids to escape. If properly stored, the captured carbon dioxide pumped underground forms carbonate minerals with the surrounding rock by reacting with nanoparticles of magnesium oxide and other mineral oxides.
"These nanocrystals will serve as a test system for modeling the kinetics of dissolution and mineralization in a simulated fluid-rock reservoir, allowing us to probe a key pathway in carbon dioxide sequestration," said Jeff Urban, a staff scientist in the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility at the Molecular Foundry who is also a member of the EFRC research team. "The geological minerals that fix magnesium into a stable carbonate are compositionally complex, but our nanocrystals will provide a simple model to mimic this intricate process."
Hoi Ri Moon, a post-doctoral researcher at the Foundry working with Milliron and Urban, noted her team's direct synthesis method could also be helpful for already-established purposes. "As a user facility that provides support to nanoscience researchers around the world, we would like to pursue studies with other scientists who could use our nanocrystals as ‘feedstock' for catalysis, another application for which magnesium oxide thin films are commonly used," said Moon.
"
In its bulk form, magnesium oxide is a cheap, white mineral used in applications ranging from insulating cables and crucibles to preventing sweaty-palmed rock climbers from losing their grip. Using an organometallic chemical synthesis route, scientists at the Molecular Foundry have created nanocrystals of magnesium oxide whose size can be adjusted within just a few nanometers. And unlike their bulk counterpart, the nanocrystals glow blue when exposed to ultraviolet light.
Current routes for generating these alkaline earth metal oxide nanocrystals require processing at high temperatures, which causes uncontrolled growth or fusing of particles to one another-not a desirable outcome when the properties you seek are size-dependent. On the other hand, vapor phase techniques, which provide size precision, are time and cost intensive, and leave the nanocrystals attached to a substrate.
"We've discovered a fundamentally new, unconventional mechanism for nicely controlling the size of these nanocrystals, and realized we had an intriguing and surprising candidate for optical applications," said Delia Milliron, Facility Director of the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility at Berkeley Lab's nanoscience research center, the Molecular Foundry. "This efficient, bright blue luminescence could be an inexpensive, attractive alternative in applications such as bio-imaging or solid-state lighting."
Unlike conventional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, solid-state lighting makes use of light-emitting semiconductor materials-in general, red, green and blue emitting materials are combined to create white light. However, efficient blue light emitters are difficult to produce, suggesting these magnesium oxide nanocrystals could be a bright candidate for lighting that consumes less energy and has a longer lifespan.
These minute materials do more than glow, however. Along with their promising optical behavior, these magnesium oxide nanocrystals will be a subject of study in an entirely different field of research: Berkeley Labs' Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2, designed to "establish the scientific foundations for the geological storage of carbon dioxide."
Experts say carbon dioxide capture and storage will be vital to achieving significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, but the success of this technology hinges on sealing geochemical reservoirs deep below the earth's surface without allowing gases or fluids to escape. If properly stored, the captured carbon dioxide pumped underground forms carbonate minerals with the surrounding rock by reacting with nanoparticles of magnesium oxide and other mineral oxides.
"These nanocrystals will serve as a test system for modeling the kinetics of dissolution and mineralization in a simulated fluid-rock reservoir, allowing us to probe a key pathway in carbon dioxide sequestration," said Jeff Urban, a staff scientist in the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility at the Molecular Foundry who is also a member of the EFRC research team. "The geological minerals that fix magnesium into a stable carbonate are compositionally complex, but our nanocrystals will provide a simple model to mimic this intricate process."
Hoi Ri Moon, a post-doctoral researcher at the Foundry working with Milliron and Urban, noted her team's direct synthesis method could also be helpful for already-established purposes. "As a user facility that provides support to nanoscience researchers around the world, we would like to pursue studies with other scientists who could use our nanocrystals as ‘feedstock' for catalysis, another application for which magnesium oxide thin films are commonly used," said Moon.
"
Electric vehicle pioneer hits more bumps
There was a time not long ago when claiming paternity of electric car maker Tesla Motors was more of an admission than a boast.
Plagued by production delays, management missteps and the worsening economy, the company laid off 10 percent of its workers last year. But the company says it is now on the brink of profitability and the Tesla Roadster is fast becoming a hot Hollywood status symbol, counting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and actors George Clooney and Dustin Hoffman as customers.
Perhaps most important, the company has replenished its treasury with an investment from Germany's Daimler AG and a low-interest loan of $465 million from the U.S. government.
nd yet, these are still not happy times in the company's executive offices in San Carlos, in the heart of Silicon Valley south of San Francisco.
Martin Eberhard and Elon Musk, the successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs behind the company's birth, are locked in a legal dispute over who deserves the title "founder" and who was responsible for the mistakes that nearly killed the company.
Eberhard, who left the company in 2007, claims in a lawsuit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court that Musk libeled and slandered him in interviews with the media and in postings on the company's blogs. Eberhard also is suing to recover a $100,000 severance package the company took away from him for allegedly violating a non-disparagement agreement.
inally, Eberhard complains in his lawsuit that Tesla broke its promise to deliver the second-ever produced Roadster to him.
Judge to hear argumentsLawyers for Musk and Tesla will ask a judge to toss out the lawsuit Wednesday.
The dispute between former chief executive Eberhard and current chief executive Musk has turned so bitter that Eberhard is demanding that a judge prohibit Musk from using the label "founder" in press releases, blog postings and other public utterances.
"Success has many fathers and failure has none," said Jim Hossack, a consultant with California-based market researcher AutoPacific. "The company is in much better shape than just a few months ago when I would have said that its prognosis was doubtful at best."
First Amendment scholars, meanwhile, say Eberhard's attempt to gag Musk appears to be a "prior restraint" request that is only granted by judges in extremely rare instances such as when publication threatens national security. Eberhard's claim tests free speech protections so much that it could backfire with an adverse ruling awarding monetary damages to Musk, the experts say.
"It's a ridiculous claim," said Mark Goldowitz, a Berkeley First Amendment lawyer who said it is rare that a judge orders a party to refrain from publishing opinions such as defining a "founder" of a company. "This is a personal public relations dispute and not something a court usually wants to resolve."
Disputes between outsized egos over credit for successful startups have occurred before in Silicon Valley, but few make such far-reaching and varied legal claims that are contained in Eberhard's lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks not only to gag Musk but also compel him and the company to publish statements in specific major media outlets such as The New York Times that Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning are the only true founders of the company, which they incorporated in 2003.
Musk, who made millions with the sale of his company PayPal to eBay Inc. for $1.5 billion in 2002, joined Tesla the following year as chairman when he invested $6.35 million of the $6.5 million the company raised in its first round of funding. Musk said in court documents that he has invested $75 million in Tesla so far.
Founder of rebuilt company?Musk argues that Eberhard's tenure as chief executive from 2004 to 2007 was so disastrous that it has taken him two years of 100-hour workweeks to remake the company. He said in an interview Tuesday that investments alone did not make him a "founder," but that his full-time commitment during the last two years to turn around a company gives him claim to the label.
"We had to basically rebuild the company," Musk said. "He did a lot of things that were to the detriment of Tesla."
Eberhard's lawyer, Yosef Peretz, would not comment or make Eberhard available.
But in his lawsuit, Eberhard blames Musk for many of the cost overruns that plagued the company during his tenure as chief executive. Eberhard claims that Musk became distracted by minor details such as what kind of door latches to install rather than involve himself in core production issues.
Eberhard and Musk have been trading vitriolic barbs in the media and on blogs since Musk allegedly forced Eberhard from the company in 2007. Musk today, as he did then, maintains that Eberhard nearly ran the company out of business by selling for $92,000 a car that cost more than $140,000 to build.
Their dispute has generated widespread online debate and divided loyalties among alternative-fuel enthusiasts and car buffs who follow Tesla as closely as technology buffs track Apple Inc.
There's no question that Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who made millions in 2000 when they sold their e-book company NuvoMedia to Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., launched Tesla Motors in July 2003. Eberhard named the company after Nikola Tesla, a prominent electrical engineer and contemporary of Thomas Edison.
"I find it weird that he thinks he's a founder," said Tarpenning, who added that Musk's involvement with the company was nonetheless vital to its creation. Tarpenning, who left Tesla last year but still retains an ownership interest, said he remains on "pretty good terms" with both men but could not care less about the "founder" label.
"They are sort of dwelling on the past," Tarpenning said. "I wish they would just shake hands."
Plagued by production delays, management missteps and the worsening economy, the company laid off 10 percent of its workers last year. But the company says it is now on the brink of profitability and the Tesla Roadster is fast becoming a hot Hollywood status symbol, counting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and actors George Clooney and Dustin Hoffman as customers.
Perhaps most important, the company has replenished its treasury with an investment from Germany's Daimler AG and a low-interest loan of $465 million from the U.S. government.
nd yet, these are still not happy times in the company's executive offices in San Carlos, in the heart of Silicon Valley south of San Francisco.
Martin Eberhard and Elon Musk, the successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs behind the company's birth, are locked in a legal dispute over who deserves the title "founder" and who was responsible for the mistakes that nearly killed the company.
Eberhard, who left the company in 2007, claims in a lawsuit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court that Musk libeled and slandered him in interviews with the media and in postings on the company's blogs. Eberhard also is suing to recover a $100,000 severance package the company took away from him for allegedly violating a non-disparagement agreement.
inally, Eberhard complains in his lawsuit that Tesla broke its promise to deliver the second-ever produced Roadster to him.
Judge to hear argumentsLawyers for Musk and Tesla will ask a judge to toss out the lawsuit Wednesday.
The dispute between former chief executive Eberhard and current chief executive Musk has turned so bitter that Eberhard is demanding that a judge prohibit Musk from using the label "founder" in press releases, blog postings and other public utterances.
"Success has many fathers and failure has none," said Jim Hossack, a consultant with California-based market researcher AutoPacific. "The company is in much better shape than just a few months ago when I would have said that its prognosis was doubtful at best."
First Amendment scholars, meanwhile, say Eberhard's attempt to gag Musk appears to be a "prior restraint" request that is only granted by judges in extremely rare instances such as when publication threatens national security. Eberhard's claim tests free speech protections so much that it could backfire with an adverse ruling awarding monetary damages to Musk, the experts say.
"It's a ridiculous claim," said Mark Goldowitz, a Berkeley First Amendment lawyer who said it is rare that a judge orders a party to refrain from publishing opinions such as defining a "founder" of a company. "This is a personal public relations dispute and not something a court usually wants to resolve."
Disputes between outsized egos over credit for successful startups have occurred before in Silicon Valley, but few make such far-reaching and varied legal claims that are contained in Eberhard's lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks not only to gag Musk but also compel him and the company to publish statements in specific major media outlets such as The New York Times that Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning are the only true founders of the company, which they incorporated in 2003.
Musk, who made millions with the sale of his company PayPal to eBay Inc. for $1.5 billion in 2002, joined Tesla the following year as chairman when he invested $6.35 million of the $6.5 million the company raised in its first round of funding. Musk said in court documents that he has invested $75 million in Tesla so far.
Founder of rebuilt company?Musk argues that Eberhard's tenure as chief executive from 2004 to 2007 was so disastrous that it has taken him two years of 100-hour workweeks to remake the company. He said in an interview Tuesday that investments alone did not make him a "founder," but that his full-time commitment during the last two years to turn around a company gives him claim to the label.
"We had to basically rebuild the company," Musk said. "He did a lot of things that were to the detriment of Tesla."
Eberhard's lawyer, Yosef Peretz, would not comment or make Eberhard available.
But in his lawsuit, Eberhard blames Musk for many of the cost overruns that plagued the company during his tenure as chief executive. Eberhard claims that Musk became distracted by minor details such as what kind of door latches to install rather than involve himself in core production issues.
Eberhard and Musk have been trading vitriolic barbs in the media and on blogs since Musk allegedly forced Eberhard from the company in 2007. Musk today, as he did then, maintains that Eberhard nearly ran the company out of business by selling for $92,000 a car that cost more than $140,000 to build.
Their dispute has generated widespread online debate and divided loyalties among alternative-fuel enthusiasts and car buffs who follow Tesla as closely as technology buffs track Apple Inc.
There's no question that Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who made millions in 2000 when they sold their e-book company NuvoMedia to Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., launched Tesla Motors in July 2003. Eberhard named the company after Nikola Tesla, a prominent electrical engineer and contemporary of Thomas Edison.
"I find it weird that he thinks he's a founder," said Tarpenning, who added that Musk's involvement with the company was nonetheless vital to its creation. Tarpenning, who left Tesla last year but still retains an ownership interest, said he remains on "pretty good terms" with both men but could not care less about the "founder" label.
"They are sort of dwelling on the past," Tarpenning said. "I wish they would just shake hands."
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Study: Tanning beds can be as deadly as arsenic
International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming them as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas.
For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as "probable carcinogens."
A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic. Previously, only one type of ultraviolet radiation was thought to be lethal.
The new classification means tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others.
The research was published online in the medical journal Lancet Oncology on Wednesday, by experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization.
"People need to be reminded of the risks of sunbeds," said Vincent Cogliano, one of the cancer researchers. "We hope the prevailing culture will change so teens don't think they need to use sunbeds to get a tan."
Most lights used in tanning beds give off mainly ultraviolet radiation, which cause skin and eye cancer, according to the International Agency for Cancer Research.
The classification of tanning beds as carcinogenic was disputed by Kathy Banks, chief executive of The Sunbed Association, a European trade association of tanning bed makers and operators
.
"The fact that is continuously ignored is that there is no proven link between the responsible use of sunbeds and skin cancer," Banks said in a statement. She said most users of tanning beds use them less than 20 times a year.
But as use of tanning beds has increased among people under 30, doctors have seen a parallel rise in the numbers of young people with skin cancer. In Britain, melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, is now the leading cancer diagnosed in women in their 20s. Normally, skin cancer rates are highest in people over 75.
Previous studies found younger people who regularly use tanning beds are eight times more likely to get melanoma than people who have never used them. In the past, WHO warned people younger than 18 to stay away from tanning beds.
Cogliano cautioned that ultravoilet radiation is not healthy, whether it comes from a tanning bed or from the sun. The American Cancer Society advises people to try bronzing or self-tanning creams instead of tanning beds.
For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as "probable carcinogens."
A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic. Previously, only one type of ultraviolet radiation was thought to be lethal.
The new classification means tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others.
The research was published online in the medical journal Lancet Oncology on Wednesday, by experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization.
"People need to be reminded of the risks of sunbeds," said Vincent Cogliano, one of the cancer researchers. "We hope the prevailing culture will change so teens don't think they need to use sunbeds to get a tan."
Most lights used in tanning beds give off mainly ultraviolet radiation, which cause skin and eye cancer, according to the International Agency for Cancer Research.
The classification of tanning beds as carcinogenic was disputed by Kathy Banks, chief executive of The Sunbed Association, a European trade association of tanning bed makers and operators
.
"The fact that is continuously ignored is that there is no proven link between the responsible use of sunbeds and skin cancer," Banks said in a statement. She said most users of tanning beds use them less than 20 times a year.
But as use of tanning beds has increased among people under 30, doctors have seen a parallel rise in the numbers of young people with skin cancer. In Britain, melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, is now the leading cancer diagnosed in women in their 20s. Normally, skin cancer rates are highest in people over 75.
Previous studies found younger people who regularly use tanning beds are eight times more likely to get melanoma than people who have never used them. In the past, WHO warned people younger than 18 to stay away from tanning beds.
Cogliano cautioned that ultravoilet radiation is not healthy, whether it comes from a tanning bed or from the sun. The American Cancer Society advises people to try bronzing or self-tanning creams instead of tanning beds.
Lieberman seeks GOP votes for climate bill
Sen. Joe Lieberman riled Democrats last year by criticizing then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. Now the Connecticut independent is helping the president push for a bill to combat global warming.
Lieberman's fingerprints have been on every major climate change bill ever considered by the U.S. Senate, and despite his differences with his former party, he is a regular at the weekly meetings of a dozen Democratic senators working to get a bill in shape by the end of September.
It's the first time in his 20-year Senate career that he is not a member of the key panel drafting the legislation. He lost his seat on the environment committee when he supported GOP presidential candidate John McCain, a move many view as a punishment for campaigning against the Democrats.
"My goal is exactly the same as it's been, but my role is different," said Lieberman in an interview with The Associated Press in his Washington office. "My goal is to help pass a law that will enable the United States to reduce the threat of global warming, and incidentally, make America energy independent, because the two now go together."
Perhaps no one knows more than Lieberman how tough it will be. None of the five global warming bills he has introduced or signed onto since 1998 has been successful.
The template for the Senate this year passed the House in late June by the slimmest of margins. Although Lieberman acknowledges that it would reduce global warming, wean the country off foreign oil and boost the economy with clean-energy jobs, he doesn't support it. Neither do many Republicans, or all Democrats.
Dangling nuclear energySo, as Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts lead the effort, Lieberman is busy on the sidelines drumming up support for measures — such as boosting the commitment to nuclear energy — that he says are necessary to improve the bill's chances.
I assume as I start my work on this that 60 Democrats will not vote for this bill, and therefore we got to get a core group of Republicans," said Lieberman, who has counted McCain and then-Sen. Barack Obama as co-sponsors on previous bills. "And I think we can."
Last year, despite both presidential candidates supporting action on global warming and Democrats in charge of Congress, Lieberman watched his fifth try at getting a climate change bill fail. The bill fell a dozen votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a Republican filibuster.
That legislation, like its predecessors in 2003, 2005 and 2007, would have limited heat-trapping gases the same way as the House bill currently under consideration. Its centerpiece was a "cap-and-trade" system where companies would have pollution allowances that they could sell if they went below emissions limits, or buy if they could not meet the requirements.
Cap-and-trade proponentLieberman still thinks that cap-and-trade is the best way to control global warming emissions. He also says it would raise the money needed to make "revolutionary investments" in cleaner forms of energy, and to "ameliorate some of the pain associated with an enormous societal change" in how Americans power their homes, vehicles and businesses.
"That's the thing I like most and why I feel comfortable operating in the context of the House bill," he said.
This year, however, Lieberman says the odds for passage "are better than even" — thanks to a president who is behind the bill, the House passing global warming legislation for the first time and a looming December deadline for international talks on a new treaty to reduce heat-trapping gases.
The science, he said, also has gotten more compelling since he wrote his first global warming bill more than a decade ago. "Every year the problem gets worse, the threat of real damage gets worse, even catastrophic damage," said Lieberman, sounding like his 2000 presidential running mate, Vice President Al Gore, who went on to win a Nobel Prize for his work on global warming.
Lieberman's fingerprints have been on every major climate change bill ever considered by the U.S. Senate, and despite his differences with his former party, he is a regular at the weekly meetings of a dozen Democratic senators working to get a bill in shape by the end of September.
It's the first time in his 20-year Senate career that he is not a member of the key panel drafting the legislation. He lost his seat on the environment committee when he supported GOP presidential candidate John McCain, a move many view as a punishment for campaigning against the Democrats.
"My goal is exactly the same as it's been, but my role is different," said Lieberman in an interview with The Associated Press in his Washington office. "My goal is to help pass a law that will enable the United States to reduce the threat of global warming, and incidentally, make America energy independent, because the two now go together."
Perhaps no one knows more than Lieberman how tough it will be. None of the five global warming bills he has introduced or signed onto since 1998 has been successful.
The template for the Senate this year passed the House in late June by the slimmest of margins. Although Lieberman acknowledges that it would reduce global warming, wean the country off foreign oil and boost the economy with clean-energy jobs, he doesn't support it. Neither do many Republicans, or all Democrats.
Dangling nuclear energySo, as Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts lead the effort, Lieberman is busy on the sidelines drumming up support for measures — such as boosting the commitment to nuclear energy — that he says are necessary to improve the bill's chances.
I assume as I start my work on this that 60 Democrats will not vote for this bill, and therefore we got to get a core group of Republicans," said Lieberman, who has counted McCain and then-Sen. Barack Obama as co-sponsors on previous bills. "And I think we can."
Last year, despite both presidential candidates supporting action on global warming and Democrats in charge of Congress, Lieberman watched his fifth try at getting a climate change bill fail. The bill fell a dozen votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a Republican filibuster.
That legislation, like its predecessors in 2003, 2005 and 2007, would have limited heat-trapping gases the same way as the House bill currently under consideration. Its centerpiece was a "cap-and-trade" system where companies would have pollution allowances that they could sell if they went below emissions limits, or buy if they could not meet the requirements.
Cap-and-trade proponentLieberman still thinks that cap-and-trade is the best way to control global warming emissions. He also says it would raise the money needed to make "revolutionary investments" in cleaner forms of energy, and to "ameliorate some of the pain associated with an enormous societal change" in how Americans power their homes, vehicles and businesses.
"That's the thing I like most and why I feel comfortable operating in the context of the House bill," he said.
This year, however, Lieberman says the odds for passage "are better than even" — thanks to a president who is behind the bill, the House passing global warming legislation for the first time and a looming December deadline for international talks on a new treaty to reduce heat-trapping gases.
The science, he said, also has gotten more compelling since he wrote his first global warming bill more than a decade ago. "Every year the problem gets worse, the threat of real damage gets worse, even catastrophic damage," said Lieberman, sounding like his 2000 presidential running mate, Vice President Al Gore, who went on to win a Nobel Prize for his work on global warming.
China drives electric bike, scooter boom
It's a simple pleasure, but Xu Beilu savors it daily: gliding past snarled traffic on her motorized bicycle, relaxed and sweat-free alongside the pedal-pushing masses. China, the world's bicycle kingdom — one for every three inhabitants — is going electric.
Workers weary of crammed public transport or pedaling long distances to jobs are upgrading to battery-powered bikes and scooters. Even some who can afford cars are ditching them for electric two-wheelers to avoid traffic jams and expensive gasoline.
The bicycle was a vivid symbol of China in more doctrinaire communist times, when virtually no one owned a car. Even now, nearly two decades after the country began its great leap into capitalism, it still has 430 million bicycles by government count, outnumbering electric bikes and scooters 7-1.
ut production of electric two-wheelers has soared from fewer than 200,000 eight years ago to 22 million last year, mostly for the domestic market. The industry estimates about 65 million are on Chinese roads.
Car sales are also booming but there are still only 24 million for civilian use, because few of the 1.3 billion population can afford them. And unlike in many other developing countries, Chinese cities still have plenty of bicycle lanes, even if some have made way for cars and buses.
"E-bike" riders are on the move in the morning or late at night, in good weather or bad. When it's wet, they are a rainbow army in plastic capes. On fine days, women don gloves, long-sleeved white aprons and face-covering sun guards.
One of them is Xu, on her Yamaha e-bike, making the half-hour commute from her apartment to her job as a marketing manager. She had thought of buying a car but dropped the idea. "It's obvious that driving would be more comfortable, but it's expensive," she says.
"I like riding my e-bike during rush hour, and sometimes enjoy a laugh at the people stuck in taxis. It's so convenient and helpful in Shanghai, since the traffic is worse than ever."
nroads elsewhereThe trend is catching on in the U.S. and elsewhere.
In Japan, plug-in bicycles are favored by cost-conscious companies and older commuters. "Many company workers are beginning to use them to visit clients instead of driving, to save fuel costs," says Miyuki Kimizuka of the Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute, a private industry group.
Australians use electric bicycles in rural towns without bus and train service. Tony Morgan, managing director of The Electric Bicycle Co. Pty. Ltd., the continent's largest manufacturer and retailer of e-bikes, says he has sold about 20,000 in the past decade, priced at about $800-$1,600.
In the Netherlands, an especially bicycle-friendly country, the industry says sales passed 138,800 last year.
In India, Vietnam and other developing countries, competition from motorcycles, as well as a lack of bike lanes and other infrastructure, are obstacles.
Indian sales have risen about 15 percent a year to 130,000 units, thanks in part to a $150 government rebate that brings the cost down to about the cost of a conventional bicycle. But they are far outnumbered by the millions of new motorcycles taking to India's roadways.
In China, electric bikes sell for $250 to $450. They require no helmet, plates or driver's license, and they aren't affected by restrictions many cities impose on fuel-burning two-wheelers.
It costs a mere 1 yuan (15 U.S. cents) — about the same as the cheapest bus fare — to charge a bike for a day's use, says Guo Jianrong, head of the Shanghai Bicycle Association, an industry group.
They look like regular bicycles, only a bit heavier with the battery strapped on. Some can be pedaled; others run solely on battery. In China, their maximum weight is about 90 pounds, and maximum legal speed is about 12 mph.
"For us, these are tools for transportation," Guo said. "We're not like Americans and Europeans, who tend to bicycle for fun or exercise."
The e-bike doesn't emit greenhouse gases, though it uses electricity from power plants that do. The larger concern is the health hazards from production, recycling and disposal of lead-acid batteries.
Problems with lead batteriesAlthough China is beginning to turn out more electric bikes equipped with nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion batteries, 98 percent run on lead-acid types, says Guo.
A bike can use up to five of the batteries in its lifetime, according to Christopher Cherry, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville who researches the industry. A Chinese-made battery containing 22 pounds of lead can generate nearly about 15 pounds of lead pollution, he says.
"Electric bikes result in far more emissions of lead than automobiles. They always use more batteries per mile than almost any other vehicle," Cherry said in a phone interview.
In China, owners are paid about $30 to recycle old batteries but the work is often done in small, under-regulated workshops.
With price competition brutal among China's 2,300 electric bike and scooter makers, manufacturers have shied away from embracing costlier, cleaner technology. But bigger foreign sales and demand for better batteries may speed improvements.
"We are trying to upgrade to lithium battery technology to be able to sell internationally," said Hu Gang, a spokesman for Xinri E-Vehicle Group Co., the country's biggest e- bike manufacturer, with sales of more than 2 million units last year.
The goal is to boost production to more than 5 million units by 2013, he said.
"It's not that we're that ambitious," Hu said. "It's just that the industry is growing so quickly."
Workers weary of crammed public transport or pedaling long distances to jobs are upgrading to battery-powered bikes and scooters. Even some who can afford cars are ditching them for electric two-wheelers to avoid traffic jams and expensive gasoline.
The bicycle was a vivid symbol of China in more doctrinaire communist times, when virtually no one owned a car. Even now, nearly two decades after the country began its great leap into capitalism, it still has 430 million bicycles by government count, outnumbering electric bikes and scooters 7-1.
ut production of electric two-wheelers has soared from fewer than 200,000 eight years ago to 22 million last year, mostly for the domestic market. The industry estimates about 65 million are on Chinese roads.
Car sales are also booming but there are still only 24 million for civilian use, because few of the 1.3 billion population can afford them. And unlike in many other developing countries, Chinese cities still have plenty of bicycle lanes, even if some have made way for cars and buses.
"E-bike" riders are on the move in the morning or late at night, in good weather or bad. When it's wet, they are a rainbow army in plastic capes. On fine days, women don gloves, long-sleeved white aprons and face-covering sun guards.
One of them is Xu, on her Yamaha e-bike, making the half-hour commute from her apartment to her job as a marketing manager. She had thought of buying a car but dropped the idea. "It's obvious that driving would be more comfortable, but it's expensive," she says.
"I like riding my e-bike during rush hour, and sometimes enjoy a laugh at the people stuck in taxis. It's so convenient and helpful in Shanghai, since the traffic is worse than ever."
nroads elsewhereThe trend is catching on in the U.S. and elsewhere.
In Japan, plug-in bicycles are favored by cost-conscious companies and older commuters. "Many company workers are beginning to use them to visit clients instead of driving, to save fuel costs," says Miyuki Kimizuka of the Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute, a private industry group.
Australians use electric bicycles in rural towns without bus and train service. Tony Morgan, managing director of The Electric Bicycle Co. Pty. Ltd., the continent's largest manufacturer and retailer of e-bikes, says he has sold about 20,000 in the past decade, priced at about $800-$1,600.
In the Netherlands, an especially bicycle-friendly country, the industry says sales passed 138,800 last year.
In India, Vietnam and other developing countries, competition from motorcycles, as well as a lack of bike lanes and other infrastructure, are obstacles.
Indian sales have risen about 15 percent a year to 130,000 units, thanks in part to a $150 government rebate that brings the cost down to about the cost of a conventional bicycle. But they are far outnumbered by the millions of new motorcycles taking to India's roadways.
In China, electric bikes sell for $250 to $450. They require no helmet, plates or driver's license, and they aren't affected by restrictions many cities impose on fuel-burning two-wheelers.
It costs a mere 1 yuan (15 U.S. cents) — about the same as the cheapest bus fare — to charge a bike for a day's use, says Guo Jianrong, head of the Shanghai Bicycle Association, an industry group.
They look like regular bicycles, only a bit heavier with the battery strapped on. Some can be pedaled; others run solely on battery. In China, their maximum weight is about 90 pounds, and maximum legal speed is about 12 mph.
"For us, these are tools for transportation," Guo said. "We're not like Americans and Europeans, who tend to bicycle for fun or exercise."
The e-bike doesn't emit greenhouse gases, though it uses electricity from power plants that do. The larger concern is the health hazards from production, recycling and disposal of lead-acid batteries.
Problems with lead batteriesAlthough China is beginning to turn out more electric bikes equipped with nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion batteries, 98 percent run on lead-acid types, says Guo.
A bike can use up to five of the batteries in its lifetime, according to Christopher Cherry, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville who researches the industry. A Chinese-made battery containing 22 pounds of lead can generate nearly about 15 pounds of lead pollution, he says.
"Electric bikes result in far more emissions of lead than automobiles. They always use more batteries per mile than almost any other vehicle," Cherry said in a phone interview.
In China, owners are paid about $30 to recycle old batteries but the work is often done in small, under-regulated workshops.
With price competition brutal among China's 2,300 electric bike and scooter makers, manufacturers have shied away from embracing costlier, cleaner technology. But bigger foreign sales and demand for better batteries may speed improvements.
"We are trying to upgrade to lithium battery technology to be able to sell internationally," said Hu Gang, a spokesman for Xinri E-Vehicle Group Co., the country's biggest e- bike manufacturer, with sales of more than 2 million units last year.
The goal is to boost production to more than 5 million units by 2013, he said.
"It's not that we're that ambitious," Hu said. "It's just that the industry is growing so quickly."
Nissan shows off its electric car — sort of
company vows to be 'leader in zero-emission vehicles'
Nissan Motor Co. showed off its super-quiet, zero-emission electric car Monday — a key green offering for Japan's No. 3 automaker, which has fallen behind in hybrid technology.
Nissan showed the prototype in a Tiida compact that is already on sale. It is withholding the unveiling of the electric car's exterior design until the Tokyo-based manufacturer opens its new Yokohama headquarters Aug. 2.
"Nissan will be a leader in zero-emission vehicles," Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga said ahead of a test-drive event at the automaker's facility in this Tokyo suburb. "EV is the answer."
Sales of Nissan's electric vehicle are scheduled to begin in Japan and the U.S. next year. Nissan says it plans to mass produce zero-emission cars globally from 2012. Until then, Nissan will produce all initially targeted 100,000 units at its Oppama plant, including export models.
Nissan has received a $1.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy loan to modify its Smyrna, Tennessee, plant to produce electric vehicles and batteries to power them, with production starting in 2012.
The car shown Monday uses a lithium-ion battery pack that is placed under the vehicle floor to allow for more cabin and luggage space. The braking system recharges the battery while the car is driving, extending the driving range to 160 kilometers (99 miles) under a full charge, Nissan said. With the lighter weight and more energy efficient batteries, the new electric car can double the mileage of the current Hypermini model introduced in 1998.
Nissan shares the battery design with its alliance partner Renault as part of a cost-cutting effort.
Proponents of hybrids, like market-leader Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, say the limited driving range of electric vehicles makes them suited for daily commutes or shopping at best, and so hybrids are the best solution.
Hybrids have gas engines as well as a motor on board, and they charge themselves as they scoot along so they don't have to be plugged in for charging, as do electric cars.
But Nissan Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita said the company plans to cut gas emissions by 90 percent by 2050, "a challenge that goes far beyond what hybrids can achieve but not electric vehicles."
Nissan's electric vehicle shows the driving radius within range of the car's charge on a dashboard navigation map, so drivers won't get stranded on the highway. It can also calculate if the vehicle is within range of a destination. A handheld remote control allows a user to preset room temperature, set a timer for nighttime battery recharging, and to receive a message when the vehicle is fully recharged.
The new EV prototype hardly makes a sound when operated, and officials are studying ways to add noise to catch the attention of pedestrians for safety, officials said.
Nissan has promised to tackle the other widely viewed obstacle to the proliferation of electric vehicles — pricing.
Although Nissan has yet to announce the price, company spokeswoman Pauline Kee said the electric vehicle would be "competitive" with regular gasoline vehicles.
In June, Nissan's smaller Japanese rival, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., launched its electric vehicle, the 4.59 million yen ($48,300) i-MiEV. The company has acknowledged that maybe be too expensive for most consumers.
Other carmakers, including U.S.-based Tesla Motors, are also racing to make electric cars.
Toyota has said it plans to sell electric vehicles in the U.S. by 2012 while Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp. has teamed up with a Dutch-based company to develop and make electric cars
Nissan Motor Co. showed off its super-quiet, zero-emission electric car Monday — a key green offering for Japan's No. 3 automaker, which has fallen behind in hybrid technology.
Nissan showed the prototype in a Tiida compact that is already on sale. It is withholding the unveiling of the electric car's exterior design until the Tokyo-based manufacturer opens its new Yokohama headquarters Aug. 2.
"Nissan will be a leader in zero-emission vehicles," Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga said ahead of a test-drive event at the automaker's facility in this Tokyo suburb. "EV is the answer."
Sales of Nissan's electric vehicle are scheduled to begin in Japan and the U.S. next year. Nissan says it plans to mass produce zero-emission cars globally from 2012. Until then, Nissan will produce all initially targeted 100,000 units at its Oppama plant, including export models.
Nissan has received a $1.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy loan to modify its Smyrna, Tennessee, plant to produce electric vehicles and batteries to power them, with production starting in 2012.
The car shown Monday uses a lithium-ion battery pack that is placed under the vehicle floor to allow for more cabin and luggage space. The braking system recharges the battery while the car is driving, extending the driving range to 160 kilometers (99 miles) under a full charge, Nissan said. With the lighter weight and more energy efficient batteries, the new electric car can double the mileage of the current Hypermini model introduced in 1998.
Nissan shares the battery design with its alliance partner Renault as part of a cost-cutting effort.
Proponents of hybrids, like market-leader Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, say the limited driving range of electric vehicles makes them suited for daily commutes or shopping at best, and so hybrids are the best solution.
Hybrids have gas engines as well as a motor on board, and they charge themselves as they scoot along so they don't have to be plugged in for charging, as do electric cars.
But Nissan Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita said the company plans to cut gas emissions by 90 percent by 2050, "a challenge that goes far beyond what hybrids can achieve but not electric vehicles."
Nissan's electric vehicle shows the driving radius within range of the car's charge on a dashboard navigation map, so drivers won't get stranded on the highway. It can also calculate if the vehicle is within range of a destination. A handheld remote control allows a user to preset room temperature, set a timer for nighttime battery recharging, and to receive a message when the vehicle is fully recharged.
The new EV prototype hardly makes a sound when operated, and officials are studying ways to add noise to catch the attention of pedestrians for safety, officials said.
Nissan has promised to tackle the other widely viewed obstacle to the proliferation of electric vehicles — pricing.
Although Nissan has yet to announce the price, company spokeswoman Pauline Kee said the electric vehicle would be "competitive" with regular gasoline vehicles.
In June, Nissan's smaller Japanese rival, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., launched its electric vehicle, the 4.59 million yen ($48,300) i-MiEV. The company has acknowledged that maybe be too expensive for most consumers.
Other carmakers, including U.S.-based Tesla Motors, are also racing to make electric cars.
Toyota has said it plans to sell electric vehicles in the U.S. by 2012 while Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp. has teamed up with a Dutch-based company to develop and make electric cars
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