Friday, March 23, 2012
US Accuses Iran of Backing Syria: So What?
Vanadium Batteries Could Benefit Solar, Wind
China Rattled by Wild Coup Rumors
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Iran's clerical fascist regime should never have been allowed to come to power more than three decades ago, and certainly should not be allowed to acquire atomic arms. But that doesn't mean that it does not have the right to supply (sell?) its ally, Syria, surveillance equipment and guns and ammunition. Given the West's support for an armed revolt in Syria--following the unnecessary NATO intervention in Libya on the side of Islamist-led rebels and the Obama administration's emboldening of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed rebellion in Egypt--there is something ridiculous about this story.
Rare Earth-Renewable Energy Breakthrough
Could Cut Coal Use for Generating Electricity
It's all about base load requirement--the minimum level of demand on an electrical supply system over 24 hours. Base load power plants are the foundation of a sound electrical system.
A rare earth metal called vanadium could provide an energy storage solution for some of the challenges renewable energy sources face. The intermittent nature of wind and solar power can make these distributed sources difficult for utilities to manage within the electrical grid. Vanadium flow batteries can accommodate renewable energy by storing massive amounts of electricity and releasing it into the grid as needed when demand increases.
Rumors and whispers of rifles and coup plots, power struggles between "Maoists" and "economic reformers" … read all about it here. A specter is haunting China….
In fact, there is a struggle--between two immensely privileged factions of the Chinese Communist Party. One faction, known as neo-Maoists, or the New Left, basically champions the cause of the left-behind poor as political cover for profiting from and preserving the power of state-owned companies. The other faction, representing the richest party members, dreams of getting even richer through privatization schemes.
Both factions fear a popular uprising, another Cultural Revolution run amok, which would again result in a military crackdown.
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