Monday, March 26, 2012
Friday, October 22, 2010
Cropcircles in Germany 2010
The pilot Stefan Rampfel www.goeflug.de and Roy Däuble/FGK discovered in the early afternoon of 14 August during a flight near Berwartshausen/Höckelheim, junction Northeim-West, another crop circle in a field ::map. If the weather stays dry the crops will be harvested very soon.
According to Stefan Rampfel this crop circle could be at least 10 days old because a colleague told him about it but there have been no pictures so far.
The crop circle represents a clock-face. The clock hand shows 5 past 12 o'clock. The crop circle consists of 2 circles which form a frame for the clock-face, the clock-face with 8 semi cycles, 4 paths and a thin circle and in the centre is a circle with a small and a big clock hand. Outside of the formation above the 12 on the clock-face there is a roman number "XII" = 12. On the other side of the roman number, outside of the formation, are 2 small circles next to each other. The crop lies down in the clockwise direction. The crop circle located in Groß Schneen also consisted of 2 small circles outside the formation.
Comment - This formation of the clock-face with the clock hands 5 past 12 refers to the year 2012. Or does it refer to the adverts for the film "5 past 12 - the climate is hitting back"?
Is is a coincidence that this crop circle refers to the 12th crop circle in Germany this year? We don't hope that in the future not all crop circles will be numbered :)) Your FGK-Team.
Friday, June 18, 2010
It,s time to go for the Green Energy Solutions Now!!!
The oil spill that resulted from the explosion and sinking of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico last week is becoming more worrying as it continues to spread and efforts at stemming the flow of the leaking oil are being met with difficulties.
Oil spill: Gulf of Mexico disaster 'growing by the moment'
Oil spill: Gulf of Mexico burn is last-ditch effort to stop landfall
Spread of Gulf oil spill puts fragile Louisiana Coast on alert
Oil rig explosion unmasks 'dangerous myth' of safety, lawmakers say
Here is what you need to know about the situation so far and how it might develop in the future.
How big is the oil slick and how fast is it growing?
The oil slick has grown in size since the initial accident as the oil spreads across the surface of the ocean. The lighter the oil is, the faster it can spread — so gasoline would spread faster than thicker, black oils, such as the crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon. But even heavy oil can spread quickly in a major spill, spreading out as thin as a layer of paint on a wall in just a few hours, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Officials combating the spill estimate that the oil slick has a circumference of about 600 miles (about 970 kilometers), though the shape of the spill is irregular. The slick is big enough to be seen from space.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The Milky Way as we are a part of
Must we grow to understand, why we are here, and do our best by cooperate in love between all nations while we are living here, on the still so beautiful earth. See through it all, meditate, be greatful, listen to you inner voice, between all the worlds noises fom televisions, bad news, traffic, spam and you name it... And one and one must carry a little part and take responsibility for her/him self. And it will have the greatest effect on others. Smile and laugh. Dance and love! Everybody have the right to!!!
Lise Gregersen
We have to look at our self as a part of the whole universe
Changes in the milky way, our galaxy, and in the universe generally will have effect on Mother Eart,h.. Nor everything is done by humans, we are in a cycle of changing all the time and have always been....
http://www.solarrings.com/solarfacts2.php
Lise Gregersen
http://www.solarrings.com/solarfacts2.php
Lise Gregersen
Other Planets Influence Earth's Climate. Well known in Astrologi, and now the Scientist says this.
In an article published in Dec. 18 issue of Nature magazine, U of T physicist Jerry Mitrovica and Allessandro Forte of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris use numerical simulations to show the connection between Earth's changing shape and the gravitational effects of other bodies in the Solar System, particularly Jupiter and Saturn.
"We're showing for the first time that changes in the Earth's shape, when coupled with the gravitational effects from other planets, can produce large changes in the Earth's climate," Mitrovica says.
The evolution of the Earth's precession and obliquity are known to have a long-term impact on climate. Precession refers to the slow movement of the rotation axis in a 26,000-year cycle and obliquity, which varies with a 40,000-year cycle, refers to the tilt of the Earth's axis. As the precession and obliquity change, climate is directly affected because the pattern of the sunshine that falls on the Earth has been altered.
Mitrovica has used numerical simulations to show that these aspects of the Earth's orbit have been affected by the gravitational attraction of Saturn and Jupiter. His figures show that at some time during the last 20 million years, the Earth passed through a gravitational resonance associated with the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, which in turn influenced the way the Earth's axial tilt changed during the same period. This gravitational pull would have had a much greater impact on the Earth millions of years ago when the Earth was shaped differently.
"To understand climate on Earth it's clear that we need to consider the Earth as this dynamic deforming system," Mitrovica says. "But we also need to understand, more than we thought we did, the Earth's place in the solar system."
This work, part of the emerging discipline of Earth systems science, has broad implications for long-term reconstruction of past and future climate, which in turn may have implications on planetary and human evolution. Mitrovica's research is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (Earth Systems Evolution).
Have a look at this ink:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081130164511.htm
"We're showing for the first time that changes in the Earth's shape, when coupled with the gravitational effects from other planets, can produce large changes in the Earth's climate," Mitrovica says.
The evolution of the Earth's precession and obliquity are known to have a long-term impact on climate. Precession refers to the slow movement of the rotation axis in a 26,000-year cycle and obliquity, which varies with a 40,000-year cycle, refers to the tilt of the Earth's axis. As the precession and obliquity change, climate is directly affected because the pattern of the sunshine that falls on the Earth has been altered.
Mitrovica has used numerical simulations to show that these aspects of the Earth's orbit have been affected by the gravitational attraction of Saturn and Jupiter. His figures show that at some time during the last 20 million years, the Earth passed through a gravitational resonance associated with the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, which in turn influenced the way the Earth's axial tilt changed during the same period. This gravitational pull would have had a much greater impact on the Earth millions of years ago when the Earth was shaped differently.
"To understand climate on Earth it's clear that we need to consider the Earth as this dynamic deforming system," Mitrovica says. "But we also need to understand, more than we thought we did, the Earth's place in the solar system."
This work, part of the emerging discipline of Earth systems science, has broad implications for long-term reconstruction of past and future climate, which in turn may have implications on planetary and human evolution. Mitrovica's research is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (Earth Systems Evolution).
Have a look at this ink:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081130164511.htm
Friday, January 2, 2009
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Stop deforestation! What about our kids?
Deforestation has rapidly destroyed much of the planet's forests for years. One major challenge for governments and environmentalists alike would be how to stop deforestation so current environmental conditions would not come to worse.
In the past centuries, people have been naturally cutting down trees and burning down forests. Take note that hundreds of years ago, most of the earth's land surface had been covered by forests.
So to be able to construct residential areas and establish villages, people had to destroy some forests. As population grew through the years, there are much development that needs to be achieved.
Poverty and over population had rapidly caused alarms to governments around the world. People in the past decades had been troubled at how they could generate earnings to feed themselves and their children.
Agriculture once was the principal source of families' incomes. But people grew impatient. Until the middle of the 20th century, people had readily embraced industrialization, which was touted as the easy way out to poverty, employment and slow production.
Surely, development was spurred, jobs were created, new industries emerged. But something had to give in. In exchange to the fast budding of factories and different industries, forests were depleted.
Since the Industrialization revolution, the total forest covers of the earth has drastically lessened. Biodiversities were affected, and overall climate changes and environmental denudation were spurred.
It is now time to slow down or eliminate deforestation. Stopping deforestation would be easy if people would just cooperate with one another in that single initiative.
Stopping deforestation
Indeed, environmentalists and forestry advocates have been reminding people and governments to immediately act on the problem regarding continued deforestation practices all around the world.
Deforestation could be slowly stopped if people would be more environmentally conscious. That means, to accelerate efforts in stopping deforestation, initiatives have to be started by you.
As a suggestion, the significant contribution you could do is to help curtail the demand for products that are reliant on deforestation. It does not necessarily mean that you would boycott products.
It means that you could start by advocating and participating in recycling programs. Paper is made from barks of trees that are in turn, mostly coming from forests. Did you know that you could recycle paper?
There are industries that are focused at recycling paper. Old and used paper would just be processed and turned into new paper products. If the practice becomes wide-scaled, the number of trees that has to be cut down would be reduced.
Stopping deforestation practices
Governments around the world should also start implementing legislations that would effectively prevent the continued practice of deforestation. Sanctions should be given to violating parties. That way, there would be less people and companies that would engage in slash and burn practices.
Rain and dry forests should be protected by governments. They can be declared national properties, so no businesses can ever touch them. They can also be turned into national parks; thus, the overall state of these forests could be effectively preserved.
Reforestation
Reforestation is the opposite of deforestation. If deforestation can be considered wounding of nature, reforestation is the sought-after healing process. In reforestation, forests are replanted with trees. In years, the forests would be much alive again.
Since the practice of deforestation in some cases could not be avoided, it can be regulated so as not to create negative impact to the environment and to biodiversity.
Deforestation could be slowed down. To do this, trees could be cut at slower rates. For each cut tree, a new one should be replanted. By that, logging activities would not be entirely scrapped, and at the same time, forests are renewed.
People should also stop denuding mountains and forests so they could establish new villages or use the land for other purposes. There are special cropping techniques that would enable planting of crops within forests. The concept of intercropping is not very familiar, but would be of great help to anti-deforestation initiatives if taken seriously.
If people do not act immediately to curb deforestation for good, experts estimate that in 30 years time from now, the earth's surface would be left naked, without forests.
Catastrophic changes would be felt through harsh weather conditions, flash floods and landslides. The earth's geographic surface could also be altered due to adverse weathering caused by climate changes and the absence of natural soil protection.
Help stop deforestation now before it becomes too late!!
In the past centuries, people have been naturally cutting down trees and burning down forests. Take note that hundreds of years ago, most of the earth's land surface had been covered by forests.
So to be able to construct residential areas and establish villages, people had to destroy some forests. As population grew through the years, there are much development that needs to be achieved.
Poverty and over population had rapidly caused alarms to governments around the world. People in the past decades had been troubled at how they could generate earnings to feed themselves and their children.
Agriculture once was the principal source of families' incomes. But people grew impatient. Until the middle of the 20th century, people had readily embraced industrialization, which was touted as the easy way out to poverty, employment and slow production.
Surely, development was spurred, jobs were created, new industries emerged. But something had to give in. In exchange to the fast budding of factories and different industries, forests were depleted.
Since the Industrialization revolution, the total forest covers of the earth has drastically lessened. Biodiversities were affected, and overall climate changes and environmental denudation were spurred.
It is now time to slow down or eliminate deforestation. Stopping deforestation would be easy if people would just cooperate with one another in that single initiative.
Stopping deforestation
Indeed, environmentalists and forestry advocates have been reminding people and governments to immediately act on the problem regarding continued deforestation practices all around the world.
Deforestation could be slowly stopped if people would be more environmentally conscious. That means, to accelerate efforts in stopping deforestation, initiatives have to be started by you.
As a suggestion, the significant contribution you could do is to help curtail the demand for products that are reliant on deforestation. It does not necessarily mean that you would boycott products.
It means that you could start by advocating and participating in recycling programs. Paper is made from barks of trees that are in turn, mostly coming from forests. Did you know that you could recycle paper?
There are industries that are focused at recycling paper. Old and used paper would just be processed and turned into new paper products. If the practice becomes wide-scaled, the number of trees that has to be cut down would be reduced.
Stopping deforestation practices
Governments around the world should also start implementing legislations that would effectively prevent the continued practice of deforestation. Sanctions should be given to violating parties. That way, there would be less people and companies that would engage in slash and burn practices.
Rain and dry forests should be protected by governments. They can be declared national properties, so no businesses can ever touch them. They can also be turned into national parks; thus, the overall state of these forests could be effectively preserved.
Reforestation
Reforestation is the opposite of deforestation. If deforestation can be considered wounding of nature, reforestation is the sought-after healing process. In reforestation, forests are replanted with trees. In years, the forests would be much alive again.
Since the practice of deforestation in some cases could not be avoided, it can be regulated so as not to create negative impact to the environment and to biodiversity.
Deforestation could be slowed down. To do this, trees could be cut at slower rates. For each cut tree, a new one should be replanted. By that, logging activities would not be entirely scrapped, and at the same time, forests are renewed.
People should also stop denuding mountains and forests so they could establish new villages or use the land for other purposes. There are special cropping techniques that would enable planting of crops within forests. The concept of intercropping is not very familiar, but would be of great help to anti-deforestation initiatives if taken seriously.
If people do not act immediately to curb deforestation for good, experts estimate that in 30 years time from now, the earth's surface would be left naked, without forests.
Catastrophic changes would be felt through harsh weather conditions, flash floods and landslides. The earth's geographic surface could also be altered due to adverse weathering caused by climate changes and the absence of natural soil protection.
Help stop deforestation now before it becomes too late!!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
'Earth Mother getting angry'
White Mountains
'Earth Mother getting angry'
American Indians fight climate change
From New Hampshire to California, American Indian leaders are speaking out more forcefully about the danger of climate change.
Members of six tribes recently gathered near the Baker River in the White Mountains for a sacred ceremony honoring "Earth Mother." Talking Hawk, a Mohawk Indian who asked to be identified by his Indian name, pointed to the river's tea-colored water as proof that the overwhelming amount of pollution humans have produced has caused changes around the globe.
"It's August color. It's not normal," he said.
"Earth Mother is fighting back - not only from the four winds, but also from underneath," he said. "Scientists call it global warming. We call it Earth Mother getting angry."
At a United Nations meeting last month, several American Indian leaders spoke at a session called "Indigenous Perspectives on Climate Change." Also in May, tribal representatives from Alaska and northern Canada - where pack ice has vanished earlier and earlier each spring - traveled to Washington to press their case.
In California, Minnesota, New Mexico, and elsewhere, tribes have used some of their casino profits to start alternative or renewable energy projects, including biomass-fueled power plants. In New Hampshire, where American Indians have become integrated in the broader society, some have questioned the effect of local development.
Jan Osgood, an Abenaki Indian who lives in Lincoln, said she worries about several proposals that would clear acres of national forest on Loon Mountain for luxury homes.
"It breaks my heart," said Osgood, who attended the sacred ceremony.
She approached Ted Sutton, Lincoln's town manager, and gave him a collection of writings by North American Indians detailing the history of the U.S. government's unfulfilled promises to their trips.
After reading the book, Sutton said he agrees with the American Indian philosophy of life: Use nature respectfully, never taking more than is needed.
"American Natives have been telling us all along that this was going to happen to the earth," Sutton said. "They were telling us hundreds of years ago that what we were doing (to the environment) would come back and haunt us. They have been proven right. But hopefully we've started to listen to them and move back to some better management of our lives."
Those who study American Indian culture believe their presence in the debate could be influential. They point to "The Crying Indian," one of the country's most influential public-service TV ads.
In the spot, actor Iron Eyes Cody, in a buckskin suit, paddles a canoe up a trash-strewn urban creek and then stands by a busy highway cluttered with litter. The ad, which aired in the 1970s, ends with a close-up of Cody, shedding a single tear after a passing motorist throws trash at his feet.
"Within the last six months, there's just been a loss of faith in the insistence (by some politicians) that global warming isn't happening and that we have nothing to do with it," said Shepard Krech III, an anthropology and environmental studies professor at Brown University.
Krech is the author of The Ecological Indian, which examines the relationship between American Indians and nature.
Though many people will look for "a consensus in the scientific community" to convince them of climate change, Krech said, others will seek "perspectives from Indian society. . . . Native Americans have a rich tradition that springs from this belief they have always been close to the land and always treated the land well."
The New Hampshire ceremony was attended by members of the Passamaquoddy, Mohawk, Blackfoot, Micmac, Lakota Sioux and Abenaki tribes.
Thunderbull, a Lakota Sioux, offered a prayer for people who had suffered from recent flooding in the Midwest. Talking Hawk prayed for those who would suffer from natural disasters ahead.
"Think of the people who will die in the cleansing of Earth Mother, all around the world," he said. "Think of their spirits."
'Earth Mother getting angry'
American Indians fight climate change
From New Hampshire to California, American Indian leaders are speaking out more forcefully about the danger of climate change.
Members of six tribes recently gathered near the Baker River in the White Mountains for a sacred ceremony honoring "Earth Mother." Talking Hawk, a Mohawk Indian who asked to be identified by his Indian name, pointed to the river's tea-colored water as proof that the overwhelming amount of pollution humans have produced has caused changes around the globe.
"It's August color. It's not normal," he said.
"Earth Mother is fighting back - not only from the four winds, but also from underneath," he said. "Scientists call it global warming. We call it Earth Mother getting angry."
At a United Nations meeting last month, several American Indian leaders spoke at a session called "Indigenous Perspectives on Climate Change." Also in May, tribal representatives from Alaska and northern Canada - where pack ice has vanished earlier and earlier each spring - traveled to Washington to press their case.
In California, Minnesota, New Mexico, and elsewhere, tribes have used some of their casino profits to start alternative or renewable energy projects, including biomass-fueled power plants. In New Hampshire, where American Indians have become integrated in the broader society, some have questioned the effect of local development.
Jan Osgood, an Abenaki Indian who lives in Lincoln, said she worries about several proposals that would clear acres of national forest on Loon Mountain for luxury homes.
"It breaks my heart," said Osgood, who attended the sacred ceremony.
She approached Ted Sutton, Lincoln's town manager, and gave him a collection of writings by North American Indians detailing the history of the U.S. government's unfulfilled promises to their trips.
After reading the book, Sutton said he agrees with the American Indian philosophy of life: Use nature respectfully, never taking more than is needed.
"American Natives have been telling us all along that this was going to happen to the earth," Sutton said. "They were telling us hundreds of years ago that what we were doing (to the environment) would come back and haunt us. They have been proven right. But hopefully we've started to listen to them and move back to some better management of our lives."
Those who study American Indian culture believe their presence in the debate could be influential. They point to "The Crying Indian," one of the country's most influential public-service TV ads.
In the spot, actor Iron Eyes Cody, in a buckskin suit, paddles a canoe up a trash-strewn urban creek and then stands by a busy highway cluttered with litter. The ad, which aired in the 1970s, ends with a close-up of Cody, shedding a single tear after a passing motorist throws trash at his feet.
"Within the last six months, there's just been a loss of faith in the insistence (by some politicians) that global warming isn't happening and that we have nothing to do with it," said Shepard Krech III, an anthropology and environmental studies professor at Brown University.
Krech is the author of The Ecological Indian, which examines the relationship between American Indians and nature.
Though many people will look for "a consensus in the scientific community" to convince them of climate change, Krech said, others will seek "perspectives from Indian society. . . . Native Americans have a rich tradition that springs from this belief they have always been close to the land and always treated the land well."
The New Hampshire ceremony was attended by members of the Passamaquoddy, Mohawk, Blackfoot, Micmac, Lakota Sioux and Abenaki tribes.
Thunderbull, a Lakota Sioux, offered a prayer for people who had suffered from recent flooding in the Midwest. Talking Hawk prayed for those who would suffer from natural disasters ahead.
"Think of the people who will die in the cleansing of Earth Mother, all around the world," he said. "Think of their spirits."
Saturday, January 12, 2008
In fact, there is no need to stop at OTEC as the sole technology
Could sea power solve the energy crisis?
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 08/01/2008
As Gordon Brown steers Britain towards a nuclear future, Dominic Michaelis, Alex Michaelis and Trevor Cooper-Chadwick suggest we turn to the oceans instead
The French inventor Georges Claude is largely forgotten today; if he is remembered at all, it is as the creator of the neon lamp. Yet one of his projects from the 1920s could resolve the global energy crisis - by harnessing the power of the oceans.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/01/08/scienergy108.xml
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 08/01/2008
As Gordon Brown steers Britain towards a nuclear future, Dominic Michaelis, Alex Michaelis and Trevor Cooper-Chadwick suggest we turn to the oceans instead
The French inventor Georges Claude is largely forgotten today; if he is remembered at all, it is as the creator of the neon lamp. Yet one of his projects from the 1920s could resolve the global energy crisis - by harnessing the power of the oceans.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/01/08/scienergy108.xml
Friday, January 11, 2008
Psyklus said...
A clear view to anything but fosile generated power is our way to go. Newclear power with enriched uranium contain a posibilty for leaks of radiactivity. There are however, this stuff called "thorium" that can be used instead of uranium. This contain a very different way to generatte power and there are no chance of pollution what so ever. For example, Norway, has enough thorium to supply the nation for 10.000 years (estimated by scientists working with this issue. There are no risk of leaks, meltdown or other fears that we think of with uranium powerplants. So why is this apparently not on any agenda? The scientists in Zern that is developing a layout for future use of this technology fails to get the long-time-thinking activists and goverments to concider this possibility to get rid of coal and uranium powerplants. There is simply not enough engagement for saving our childrens future. I am very positive to thorium as fuel for powering up the needs of the future.
January 10, 2008 2:22 PM
A clear view to anything but fosile generated power is our way to go. Newclear power with enriched uranium contain a posibilty for leaks of radiactivity. There are however, this stuff called "thorium" that can be used instead of uranium. This contain a very different way to generatte power and there are no chance of pollution what so ever. For example, Norway, has enough thorium to supply the nation for 10.000 years (estimated by scientists working with this issue. There are no risk of leaks, meltdown or other fears that we think of with uranium powerplants. So why is this apparently not on any agenda? The scientists in Zern that is developing a layout for future use of this technology fails to get the long-time-thinking activists and goverments to concider this possibility to get rid of coal and uranium powerplants. There is simply not enough engagement for saving our childrens future. I am very positive to thorium as fuel for powering up the needs of the future.
January 10, 2008 2:22 PM
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
PV Solar Cells
In Rizhao City, China, 99 percent of households in the central districts use solar water heaters, and most traffic signals, street and park lights are powered by PV solar cells.
Credit: rz.gov.cn
Credit: rz.gov.cn
Trigging A Positiv Circle!
22. mai 2007
China's Solar-Powered City
by Xuemei Bai
Buildings in Rizhao, a coastal city of nearly three million on the Shandong Peninsula in northern China, have a common yet unique appearance: most rooftops and walls are covered with small panels. They are solar heat collectors.
A combination of regulations and public education spurred the broad adoption of solar heaters. The city mandates all new buildings to incorporate solar panels, and it oversees the construction process to ensure proper installation. To raise awareness, the city held open seminars and ran public advertising on television.
In RIZHAO CITY, which means City of Sunshine in Chinese, 99 PERCENT of HOUSHOLDS in the central districts use SOLAR AND WATER HEATERS, and most traffic signals, street and park lights are powered by photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. In the suburbs and villages, more than 30 percent of households use solar water heaters, and over 6,000 households have solar cooking facilities. More than 60,000 greenhouses are heated by solar panels, reducing overhead costs for farmers in nearby areas.In total, the city has over a half-million square meters of solar water heating panels, the equivalent of about 0.5 megawatts of electric water heaters.The fact that Rizhao is a small, ordinary Chinese city with per capita incomes even lower than in most other cities in the region makes the story even more remarkable. The achievement was the result of an unusual convergence of three key factors: a government policy that encourages solar energy use and financially supports research and development, local solar panel industries that seized the opportunity and improved their products, and the strong political will of the city's leadership to adopt it.As is the case in industrial countries that promote solar power, the Shandong provincial government provided subsidies. Instead of funding the end users, however, the government funded the research and development activities of the solar water heater industry.Mayor Li Zhaoqian explained: "It is not realistic to subsidize end users as we don't have sufficient financial capacity." Instead, the provincial government invested in the industry to achieve technological breakthroughs, which increased efficiency and lowered the unit cost.The cost of a solar water heater was brought down to the same level as an electric one: about $190, which is about 4-5 percent of the annual income of an average household in town and about 8-10 percent of a rural household's income. Also, the panels could be simply attached to the exterior of a building. Using a solar water heater for 15 years costs about 15,000 Yuan less than running a conventional electric heater, which equates to saving $120 per year.A combination of regulations and public education spurred the broad adoption of solar heaters. The city mandates all new buildings to incorporate solar panels, and it oversees the construction process to ensure proper installation. To raise awareness, the city held open seminars and ran public advertising on television. Government buildings and the homes of city leaders were the first to have the panels installed. Some government bodies and businesses provided free installation for employees, although the users pay for repairs and replacement. After 15 years of effort, it seems the merit of using a solar heater has become common sense in Rizhao, and "you don't need to persuade people anymore to make the choice," according to Wang Shuguang, a government official.Widespread use of solar energy reduced the use of coal and help improve the environmental quality of Rizhao, which has consistently been listed in the top 10 cities for air quality in China. In 2006, the State Environmental Protection Agency designated Rizhao as the Environmental Protection Model City.Rizhao's leaders believe that an enhanced environment will in turn help the city's social, economic, and cultural development in the long run, and they see solar energy as a starting point to trigger this positive cycle. Some recent statistics show Rizhao is on track. The city is attracting a rapidly increasing amount of foreign direct investment, and according to city officials, environment is one of the key factors bringing these investors to Rizhao.The travel industry in the city is also booming. In the last two years, the number of visitors increased by 48 and 30 percent respectively. Since 2002, the city has successfully hosted a series of domestic and international water sports events, including the International Sailing Federation's Grade W 470 World Sailing Championship.The favorable environmental profile of Rizhao is changing its cultural profile as well, by attracting high-profile universities and professors to the city. Peking University, the most prestigious one in China, is building a residential complex in Rizhao, for example. More than 300 professors have bought their second or retirement homes in the city, working and living in this new complex at least part of the year. Qufu Normal University and Shandong Institute of Athletics have also chosen Rizhao for new campuses.Xuemei Bai is a Scientist in the Urban Systems Program for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization in Australia. This article was adapted from an article that first appeared in the recently released report State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future, and was reprinted with permission from the Worldwatch Institute.
China's Solar-Powered City
by Xuemei Bai
Buildings in Rizhao, a coastal city of nearly three million on the Shandong Peninsula in northern China, have a common yet unique appearance: most rooftops and walls are covered with small panels. They are solar heat collectors.
A combination of regulations and public education spurred the broad adoption of solar heaters. The city mandates all new buildings to incorporate solar panels, and it oversees the construction process to ensure proper installation. To raise awareness, the city held open seminars and ran public advertising on television.
In RIZHAO CITY, which means City of Sunshine in Chinese, 99 PERCENT of HOUSHOLDS in the central districts use SOLAR AND WATER HEATERS, and most traffic signals, street and park lights are powered by photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. In the suburbs and villages, more than 30 percent of households use solar water heaters, and over 6,000 households have solar cooking facilities. More than 60,000 greenhouses are heated by solar panels, reducing overhead costs for farmers in nearby areas.In total, the city has over a half-million square meters of solar water heating panels, the equivalent of about 0.5 megawatts of electric water heaters.The fact that Rizhao is a small, ordinary Chinese city with per capita incomes even lower than in most other cities in the region makes the story even more remarkable. The achievement was the result of an unusual convergence of three key factors: a government policy that encourages solar energy use and financially supports research and development, local solar panel industries that seized the opportunity and improved their products, and the strong political will of the city's leadership to adopt it.As is the case in industrial countries that promote solar power, the Shandong provincial government provided subsidies. Instead of funding the end users, however, the government funded the research and development activities of the solar water heater industry.Mayor Li Zhaoqian explained: "It is not realistic to subsidize end users as we don't have sufficient financial capacity." Instead, the provincial government invested in the industry to achieve technological breakthroughs, which increased efficiency and lowered the unit cost.The cost of a solar water heater was brought down to the same level as an electric one: about $190, which is about 4-5 percent of the annual income of an average household in town and about 8-10 percent of a rural household's income. Also, the panels could be simply attached to the exterior of a building. Using a solar water heater for 15 years costs about 15,000 Yuan less than running a conventional electric heater, which equates to saving $120 per year.A combination of regulations and public education spurred the broad adoption of solar heaters. The city mandates all new buildings to incorporate solar panels, and it oversees the construction process to ensure proper installation. To raise awareness, the city held open seminars and ran public advertising on television. Government buildings and the homes of city leaders were the first to have the panels installed. Some government bodies and businesses provided free installation for employees, although the users pay for repairs and replacement. After 15 years of effort, it seems the merit of using a solar heater has become common sense in Rizhao, and "you don't need to persuade people anymore to make the choice," according to Wang Shuguang, a government official.Widespread use of solar energy reduced the use of coal and help improve the environmental quality of Rizhao, which has consistently been listed in the top 10 cities for air quality in China. In 2006, the State Environmental Protection Agency designated Rizhao as the Environmental Protection Model City.Rizhao's leaders believe that an enhanced environment will in turn help the city's social, economic, and cultural development in the long run, and they see solar energy as a starting point to trigger this positive cycle. Some recent statistics show Rizhao is on track. The city is attracting a rapidly increasing amount of foreign direct investment, and according to city officials, environment is one of the key factors bringing these investors to Rizhao.The travel industry in the city is also booming. In the last two years, the number of visitors increased by 48 and 30 percent respectively. Since 2002, the city has successfully hosted a series of domestic and international water sports events, including the International Sailing Federation's Grade W 470 World Sailing Championship.The favorable environmental profile of Rizhao is changing its cultural profile as well, by attracting high-profile universities and professors to the city. Peking University, the most prestigious one in China, is building a residential complex in Rizhao, for example. More than 300 professors have bought their second or retirement homes in the city, working and living in this new complex at least part of the year. Qufu Normal University and Shandong Institute of Athletics have also chosen Rizhao for new campuses.Xuemei Bai is a Scientist in the Urban Systems Program for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization in Australia. This article was adapted from an article that first appeared in the recently released report State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future, and was reprinted with permission from the Worldwatch Institute.
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