A highly sophisticated hacking operation that led to the leaking of hundreds of emails from the Climatic Research Unit in East Anglia was probably carried out by a foreign intelligence agency, according to the Government's former chief scientist. Sir David King, who was Tony Blair's chief scientific adviser for seven years until 2007, said that the hacking and selective leaking of the unit's emails, going back 13 years, bore all the hallmarks of a co-ordinated intelligence operation - especially given their release just before the Copenhagen climate conference in December. The emails were stolen from a backup computer server used by the University of East Anglia. They contained private discussions between climate scientists that have embarrassed those involved, particularly Professor Phil Jones, who has stepped down from his post as head of the unit pending an independent inquiry into whether there is any evidence of scientific misconduct. He is not implicated in the hacking.
A highly sophisticated hacking operation that led to the leaking of hundreds of emails from the Climatic Research Unit in East Anglia was probably carried out by a foreign intelligence agency, according to the Government's former chief scientist. Sir David King, who was Tony Blair's chief scientific adviser for seven years until 2007, said that the hacking and selective leaking of the unit's emails, going back 13 years, bore all the hallmarks of a co-ordinated intelligence operation - especially given their release just before the Copenhagen climate conference in December.
The emails were stolen from a backup computer server used by the University of East Anglia. They contained private discussions between climate scientists that have embarrassed those involved, particularly Professor Phil Jones, who has stepped down from his post as head of the unit pending an independent inquiry into whether there is any evidence of scientific misconduct. He is not implicated in the hacking.
The government's former chief scientist has backed away from his sensational claim that a foreign intelligence agency or wealthy US lobbyists were behind the hacking and release of controversial emails between climate scientists.Sir David King admitted he possessed no inside information about the leaks of embarrassing emails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, and had merely been speculating on material already in the public domain. His remarks to a journalist had been a "side-issue", he said.
The government's former chief scientist has backed away from his sensational claim that a foreign intelligence agency or wealthy US lobbyists were behind the hacking and release of controversial emails between climate scientists.
Sir David King admitted he possessed no inside information about the leaks of embarrassing emails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, and had merely been speculating on material already in the public domain. His remarks to a journalist had been a "side-issue", he said.
Rajendra Pachauri, who has faced criticism as chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change following allegations of inaccurate statements in panel reports, suffered a fresh blow last night when he failed to get the backing of the British government.A senior government official reiterated Pachauri's position but stopped short of expressing confidence in him. "The position is that he is the chair and he has indicated that mistakes were made," the climate change official said. "There is no vacancy at this stage, so there is no issue at this stage."
Rajendra Pachauri, who has faced criticism as chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change following allegations of inaccurate statements in panel reports, suffered a fresh blow last night when he failed to get the backing of the British government.
A senior government official reiterated Pachauri's position but stopped short of expressing confidence in him. "The position is that he is the chair and he has indicated that mistakes were made," the climate change official said. "There is no vacancy at this stage, so there is no issue at this stage."
It sounds too good to be true: a non-toxic spray invisible to the human eye that protects almost any surface against dirt and bacteria, whether it is hospital equipment and medical bandages or ancient stone monuments and expensive fabrics. But true it is. The spray is a form of "liquid glass" and is harmless to living things and the wider environment. It is being touted as one of the most important, environmentally-friendly products to emerge from the field of nanotechnology, which deals in objects at the molecular end of the size scale.Tests have revealed an astonishing variety of potential uses for the liquid glass, from protecting vineyards against fungal attacks to coating medical implants with non-stick, antibacterial surfaces. Scientists have even used it to spray fabric with an invisible, dirt-resistant film - emulating the fictional invention of unstainable clothing in the 1951 Ealing comedy The Man in the White Suit.
It sounds too good to be true: a non-toxic spray invisible to the human eye that protects almost any surface against dirt and bacteria, whether it is hospital equipment and medical bandages or ancient stone monuments and expensive fabrics.
But true it is. The spray is a form of "liquid glass" and is harmless to living things and the wider environment. It is being touted as one of the most important, environmentally-friendly products to emerge from the field of nanotechnology, which deals in objects at the molecular end of the size scale.
Tests have revealed an astonishing variety of potential uses for the liquid glass, from protecting vineyards against fungal attacks to coating medical implants with non-stick, antibacterial surfaces. Scientists have even used it to spray fabric with an invisible, dirt-resistant film - emulating the fictional invention of unstainable clothing in the 1951 Ealing comedy The Man in the White Suit.
And jetpacks. keep to the Fen Causeway
A family-owned German company called Nanopool holds patent rights on the technology behind the liquid glass, which emerged from research at the Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken. Nanopool is already talking to British firms and the NHS about using the product for a diverse range of applications, from coating designer handbags to spraying the nose cones of high-speed trains.
And aren't designer handbags sterile enough already?
A new ranking of the world's nations by environmental performance puts some of the globe's largest economies far down the list, with the United States sinking to 61st and China to 121st. In the previous version of the Environmental Performance Index, compiled every two years by Yale and Columbia University researchers, the United States ranked 39th, and China 105th. The top performer this year is Iceland, which gets virtually all of its power from renewable sources -- hydropower and geothermal energy. It was joined in the top tier by a cluster of European countries known for their green efforts, including Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Finland. "Countries that take seriously the environment as a policy challenge do improve, and those that don't deteriorate," said Daniel C. Esty, director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, who oversees the index project. "Both the U.S. and China are suffering because they're industrial and haven't been paying much attention to environmental policy."
A new ranking of the world's nations by environmental performance puts some of the globe's largest economies far down the list, with the United States sinking to 61st and China to 121st.
In the previous version of the Environmental Performance Index, compiled every two years by Yale and Columbia University researchers, the United States ranked 39th, and China 105th.
The top performer this year is Iceland, which gets virtually all of its power from renewable sources -- hydropower and geothermal energy. It was joined in the top tier by a cluster of European countries known for their green efforts, including Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
"Countries that take seriously the environment as a policy challenge do improve, and those that don't deteriorate," said Daniel C. Esty, director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, who oversees the index project. "Both the U.S. and China are suffering because they're industrial and haven't been paying much attention to environmental policy."
The European Commission is working on a framework for developing Europe's electricity grids to integrate the massive increase in renewable energy expected in the next decade, a senior official said last week (28 January). Speaking at a roundtable debate in Brussels, Hans van Steen, head of unit at the Commission's energy and transport department, responded to calls for the power industry and policymakers to be brought together to agree on a grid development plan. "The Commission will be producing an infrastructure package, hopefully by the end of this year, where we will be looking at grid requirements," said van Steen, speaking at a conference in Brussels. He said the "package" would be looking at replacing the current Trans-European Energy Networks with new instruments. Moreover, it would address the issue of linking up new capacity for offshore wind in the North Sea.
Speaking at a roundtable debate in Brussels, Hans van Steen, head of unit at the Commission's energy and transport department, responded to calls for the power industry and policymakers to be brought together to agree on a grid development plan.
"The Commission will be producing an infrastructure package, hopefully by the end of this year, where we will be looking at grid requirements," said van Steen, speaking at a conference in Brussels.
He said the "package" would be looking at replacing the current Trans-European Energy Networks with new instruments. Moreover, it would address the issue of linking up new capacity for offshore wind in the North Sea.
After hashing out the formatting between nanne, afew and myself, and implementing some last-minute edits to the text, we sent off European Tribune's reply to the public consultation on the European Commission's Green Paper on Energy Networks (pdf!). You can find the submitted pdf uploaded here on ET, but the text is also reproduced below the fold. As in the first Debate thread and nanne's Draft diary, we answered the questions suggested on the Public Consultation page, but fronted it with a more general chapter, confronting the competition fetish in EU energy policy.
You can find the submitted pdf uploaded here on ET, but the text is also reproduced below the fold.
As in the first Debate thread and nanne's Draft diary, we answered the questions suggested on the Public Consultation page, but fronted it with a more general chapter, confronting the competition fetish in EU energy policy.
It is a criticism frequently leveled at those promoting wind or solar power as an alternative to fossil fuels: what happens when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine? Well, now there is a smart answer, at least in Europe -- we'll simply and instantly switch to another source of clean, green power. Plans for a massive electricity grid dedicated to uniting the varied sources of renewable energy available in northern Europe have taken a step forward in January as nine countries formally agreed to work together on the project.
Well, now there is a smart answer, at least in Europe -- we'll simply and instantly switch to another source of clean, green power.
Plans for a massive electricity grid dedicated to uniting the varied sources of renewable energy available in northern Europe have taken a step forward in January as nine countries formally agreed to work together on the project.
The European Commission today adopted a decision concerning a second request from Italy for additional time to comply with EU legislation on air quality. The decision relates to a request for temporary exemptions in 12 additional zones or agglomerations from the EU's air quality standards for dangerous airborne particles known as PM 10 in the regions of Campania, Puglia and Sicilia. The Commission decision approved a time extension for PM 10 in one air quality zone in the region of Campania but objected to all other requests. Some 20 decisions have already been adopted in 2009 one of them on an earlier request from Italy for different zones or agglomerations. The vast majority of air quality zones in the EU did not satisfy the conditions for a time extension, or were already found to be in compliance with the limit values.
Overseeing the safe and environmentally sound management of waste is one of the most serious environmental challenges facing the EU today. An estimated 2.6 billion tonnes of waste is generated in the EU each year - about 90 million tonnes of this is classified as hazardous. The study published today recommends setting up a dedicated agency at EU level to tackle the underlying problems of poor implementation and enforcement of European waste legislation. The scale of the problem has grown in recent years following increases in waste generated and shipped in the enlarged EU. In 2008, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the Commission to report on the feasibility of establishing a "Community environmental inspection force". The agency would carry out a number of tasks such as reviews of enforcement systems in Member States, coordinated controls and inspection activities. This would be combined with the creation of a specific European body responsible for direct inspections and controls of facilities and sites in serious cases of non-compliance. A European network of Member States would support the agency in a number of activities.
The study published today recommends setting up a dedicated agency at EU level to tackle the underlying problems of poor implementation and enforcement of European waste legislation. The scale of the problem has grown in recent years following increases in waste generated and shipped in the enlarged EU. In 2008, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the Commission to report on the feasibility of establishing a "Community environmental inspection force".
The agency would carry out a number of tasks such as reviews of enforcement systems in Member States, coordinated controls and inspection activities. This would be combined with the creation of a specific European body responsible for direct inspections and controls of facilities and sites in serious cases of non-compliance. A European network of Member States would support the agency in a number of activities.
Nel mondo vanno persi ogni anno (dati 2008) quasi 33 milioni di bagagli, cioè quasi 90 000 bagagli al giorno. Ciò significa, per la sola Europa, praticamente 10 000 bagagli smarriti quotidianamente. A livello europeo, possiamo stimare circa 6 milioni di bagagli persi ogni anno. Secondo l'AEA (Association of European Airlines), il tasso di smarrimento (inverno 2008/2009) è stato pari a 13 per 1000 passeggeri, a fronte dei 15,5 dell'inverno precedente. L'EPF (European Passengers' Federation) ha parlato di un bagaglio perduto ogni 64 passeggeri circa. Insomma nonostante la tendenza positiva, grazie soprattutto agli sforzi dell'industria negli ultimi anni per migliorare i servizi, occorre fare di più per contrastare questa tendenza. Ho già dato pubblicamente atto all'industria di essersi attivata in questi ultimi tempi. Mi riferisco alla IATA, la quale con il suo BIP ("Baggage Improvement Programme") si è lanciata la sfida ambiziosa di ridurre del 50% il numero dei bagagli smarriti entro il 2012, o ancor l'idea della pulce elettronica sui bagagli, sperimentata ormai da varie compagnie aeree.
Insomma nonostante la tendenza positiva, grazie soprattutto agli sforzi dell'industria negli ultimi anni per migliorare i servizi, occorre fare di più per contrastare questa tendenza.
Ho già dato pubblicamente atto all'industria di essersi attivata in questi ultimi tempi. Mi riferisco alla IATA, la quale con il suo BIP ("Baggage Improvement Programme") si è lanciata la sfida ambiziosa di ridurre del 50% il numero dei bagagli smarriti entro il 2012, o ancor l'idea della pulce elettronica sui bagagli, sperimentata ormai da varie compagnie aeree.
