Space Yacht Out of this World & Planet Star on the Ocean Waves

A Japanese rocket, which blasted off late last month carrying a Venus probe, was equipped with a kite-shaped “space yacht” designed to float through the cosmos using only the power of the sun. Meanwhile, the world’s largest solar powered ship, the PlanetStar, which made its first public appearance at the Hamburg port festival in Germany last month, is designed to sail around the world using sunlight alone.

By Louis Makiello in Eoch Times (23 May 2010):

The world’s largest solar powered ship made its first public appearance at the Hamburg port festival in Germany May 7–9.

The catamaran, christened PlanetSolar, is almost 102 feet (31 meters) in length and designed to sail around the world using sunlight alone. It was a star attraction at the festival.

PlanetSolar was built in Kiel, Germany, and weighs about 94 tons (85 tonnes). Its top speed is 14 knots (about 16 miles per hour), and it has a respectable cruising speed of 7.5 knots.

The ship is covered with about 5,700 square feet (536 square meters) of photovoltaic solar panels. Using energy stored in batteries, the ship can sail at cruising speed for three days without sun.

PlanetSolar will depart from the South of France in April 2011 and will stop at New York, San Francisco, Darwin in Australia, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi before returning to France 160 days later.

A crew of three or four will man PlanetSolar on its ocean crossings, but the boat will have up to 40 people onboard during the promotional trips planned for each stopover. The crew includes Frenchman Gérard d’Aboville, who is famous for rowing alone across the Atlantic and the Pacific.

The 31,000-mile (50,000 km) route will take PlanetSolar across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific and Indian oceans, over the Red Sea, and through the Suez Canal. Organizers are considering changing the last stage of the voyage as they fear Somali pirates might hijack the ship. Instead of going through the Red Sea, the ship could go around Africa, past the Cape of Good Hope. This would take it far from the equator and its vital sunlight.

The project is the idea of Swiss paramedic, pilot, and engineer Raphaël Domjan, who will be captain. He has obtained the backing of various companies, institutions, and personalities. They include a Swiss watch company, a solar power company, the Swiss government, the great-grandson of writer Jules Vernes, sailing record-holder Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, and famous diver Albert Falco.

“During our round-the-world tour, we will have to manage whatever energy nature gives us,“ said Raphaël Domjan in a press release. “We will have to constantly optimize our route and speed in line with the available sunshine and the medium-range weather forecast. No one has ever undertaken such a task.“

Unless it capsizes, sinks, runs aground, turns back, or breaks down, PlanetSolar will set several world records. This will be the first ever round-the-world voyage, the first Indian Ocean crossing, and the first Red Sea crossing by a solar powered boat.

Despite certain limitations (night lasts six month in the Arctic Ocean), solar powered ships can cruise indefinitely. Until now, only sailing boats and nuclear powered vessels have enjoyed such limitless freedom.

Source: www.theepochtimes.com

By Miwa Suzuki for AFP (20 May 2010):

A Japanese rocket blasted off late last month carrying a Venus probe and a kite-shaped “space yacht” designed to float through the cosmos using only the power of the sun.

The launch vehicle, the H-IIA rocket, took off from the Tanegashima space centre in southern Japan on schedule at 6:58 am (Thursday 2158 GMT), three days after its original launch was postponed by bad weather.

Live footage on the website of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) showed the rocket disappear into the sky.

“The rocket is flying normally,” JAXA said 20 minutes after blast-off.

It carried with it the experimental “Ikaros” — an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun — designed to be propelled by the pressure of sunlight particles.

Similar to an ocean yacht pushed by wind, the device has a square, ultra-thin and flexible sail, measuring 14 by 14 metres (46 by 46 feet), that will be driven through space as it is pelted by solar particles.

The sail, only a fraction of the thickness of a human hair, is also partly coated with thin-film solar cells to generate electricity.

The name of the spacecraft alludes to Icarus, the figure from Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun. The space yacht, however, is headed in the direction of Venus.

Ikaros, which cost 1.5 billion yen (16 million dollars) to develop, will be the first use of the propellant-free technology in deep space, although it has been tested in orbit around the Earth before.

“This idea of a solar sail was born some 100 years ago, as we often find it in science fiction novels, but it has not been realised to date,” JAXA says on its website.

“If we can verify this navigation technology through the Ikaros, it will mark the first spectacular achievement of its kind in the world.”

The rocket’s payload also includes the Planet-C Venus Climate Orbiter, a box-shaped golden satellite, fitted with two paddle-shaped solar panels, that is set to arrive at Venus in about six months.

Venus is similar in size and age to Earth but has a far more hostile climate, with temperatures around 460 degrees Celsius (860 degrees Fahrenheit) and large amounts of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas on Earth.

Scientists believe a probe of the climate of Venus will help them deepen their understanding of the formation of the Earth’s environment and its future.

The probe — nicknamed Akatsuki, which means “Dawn” in Japanese — will work closely with the European Space Agency’s Venus Express.

Fitted with five cameras, its mission is to peer through the planet’s thick layer of sulphuric acid clouds to monitor the meteorology of Venus, search for possible lightning, and scan its crust for active volcanoes.

It will observe the planet in an elliptical orbit, from a distance of between 300 and 80,000 kilometres (200 to 50,000 miles).

The H-IIA rocket, developed by JAXA and made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is Japan’s primary space launch vehicle. It will also carry four other small satellites, developed by Japanese universities and other institutions.

Source: www.news.yahoo.com

Cooking Up A Storm The Eco-friendly Way

One potential area is for the carbon credit market to fill the gap via carbon offsetting, connecting the developed world’s emissions with solutions for those most at risk from the impact of global warming. Non-profit organisations like Solar Cookers International (SCI) and Worldstove are offering these communities real alternatives to their reliance on firewood and charcoal, a major cause of deforestation and topsoil erosion in Africa, Asia, Latin America and other third world areas.

Eco-cooking encouraging sustainable communities

Cassie Ryan in Epoch Times 26 May 2010

Since the early 1990s, expanding refugee populations in war-torn Africa have exacerbated problems with access to cooking fuel and clean water. Nonprofit organisations like Solar Cookers International (SCI) and Worldstove are offering these communities real alternatives to their reliance on firewood and charcoal, a major cause of deforestation and topsoil erosion in Africa, Asia, Latin America and other third world areas.

These carbon-negative initiatives are successfully linking with local governments and the private sector to stimulate sustainable initiatives.

One potential area is for the carbon credit market to fill the gap via carbon offsetting, connecting the developed world’s emissions with solutions for those most at risk from the impact of global warming.

Solar Cookers

In West Africa, many households spend over 25 per cent of income on cooking fuel, while others travel for hours to chop down firewood.

Some governments subsidise bottled cooking gas, but solar cookers are becoming part of the real solution.

Presently, SCI’s largest project involves three Darfur refugee camps in Chad where women have manufactured over 30,000 cardboard and foil “Cookits”, reducing firewood trips outside the camp by 86 per cent.

Solar stoves reduce household fuel consumption, while also improving child and maternal health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), half the world’s population uses solid fuel – usually wood, charcoal or dung – for household energy, causing indoor pollution and 1.5 million deaths annually, with pneumonia the leading killer of children under five.

Senegalese women, trialling solar stoves in 2008, reported immediate benefits, such as clean air, sterilised water and utensils, and better-tasting food. Improved finances from reduced kerosene consumption and more time for profitable activities like sewing clothing to sell, rather than collecting firewood, were also noted. Other benefits include – safety, particularly for children; greater nutrition due to lower cooking temperatures and no burning; cooking nutrient-rich legumes despite the longer times required; and quicker cleaning with less washing water collected. Gender inequality is also avoided in countries like Tibet, where young girls collect firewood while the boys attend school.

Biochar

Produced from a growing range of biomass fuels – from nut shells to animal waste, bamboo and used vegetable oil – biochar generates energy for cooking and heating while its co-product is applied to soils, with many carbon sequestration benefits, such as increased bio-available water and organic matter, enhanced nutrient cycling and reduced leaching.

Scaling up

In 2008, the Senegalese Ministry of Biofuels and Renewable Energy entered an agreement with Solar Household Energy to produce and sell stoves locally and mobile solar bakeries are now establishing to support communities. Currently, African solar cookers cost up to $US200 ($A240) and are too expensive for war-affected communities without subsidies.

RESPECT International is researching affordable designs and producing an instruction manual on how to build and use these designs based on surveys collected in Liberia about available materials and the type of food and cooking habits.

According to IRIN, a project of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, carbon trading could achieve third world sustainability by enabling first world investors to help those most affected by global warming not to pollute.

Private-public investment partnerships are vital in places like Africa, with its growing number of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects able to massively cut global carbon emissions while multiplying energy production levels. UNEP’s Bakary Kante says:

 “Africa has an enormous potential to be eligible for more investment.”

The bottom line is that these simple initiatives are curbing carbon dioxide emissions while also enabling poor people to cope with climate change-related issues and still achieve sustainable, profitable growth – a worthy cause indeed for more investors to consider.

Source: www.theepochtimes.com

BBC World News and Newsweek in association with Shell have launched the sixth annual World Challenge competition to identify and honor projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grassroots level.

The 2010 Challenge invites nominations for innovative projects or ideas that demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit working for the benefit of the community while adopting a responsible approach. Nominated projects should demonstrate the innovative use of technology or an invention; should increase investment in the local community; and should take a responsible approach toward the environment. Nominations may be submitted in the categories of community welfare and enterprise, health and education, sustainable farming, energy, water and environment.

The first place winner of the challenge will receive a grant of $20,000, and the second and third place finalists will each receive a grant of $10,000.

Deadline: July 7, 2010

Source:  www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/

Lucky Last – The Challenge is to Adapt to a Changing Climate

Is it true that even if all human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases were to stop tomorrow, it would take about 1000 years for temperatures to return to their pre-Industrial Revolution level? Let’s assume that’s the case, get ready for the worst and prepare for a much hotter place. Adapting to climate change is vital. See the latest Ecos Magazine (published by CSIRO) and the article by Graham Readfearn. Read More By Graham Readfearn in Ecos Magazine:

The terms ‘adaptation’ and ‘mitigation’ are fundamental to the public debate on climate change. Most efforts to address climate change so far have been almost entirely focused on mitigation – taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance the world’s carbon ‘sinks’. But the reality is that no matter how successful these mitigation efforts are, all of the Earth’s species and ecosystems are faced with the challenge of adapting to climate change. This is because the flow-on effects of higher levels of greenhouse gases take time to work their way though the Earth’s complex atmospheric, land and water systems. One journal paper has estimated that if all human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases were to stop tomorrow, it would take about 1000 years for temperatures to return to their pre-Industrial Revolution The implication is that while we need to continue making efforts to tackle the causes of climate change, we also need to understand how humans and other species might adapt (or not) to inevitable climate change impacts. ‘It’s an important problem that’s not been addressed in the past,’ says Professor Jean Palutikof, Director of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF).

‘The whole of last year was dominated by thinking about mitigation – and not to any great purpose.’ In February, the Federal Government released a position paper that outlined the adaptation challenge for Australia. ‘The impacts of climate change will affect almost every facet of Australia’s economy, society and environment,’ the paper said. ‘Adapting to climate change will involve all levels of government, business and the community.’ The document highlights some of the impacts to which Australia and Australians will need to adapt, regardless of the success or failure of global attempts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases – hotter and drier conditions, more heatwaves, more frequent bushfires and rising sea levels.

NCCARF has identified eight priority areas for adaptation research (see box), such as impacts on infrastructure and human settlements, biodiversity, and human health. The aim is to develop climate change adaptation plans for each of these areas – for example, what does a rise in sea level mean for development and infrastructure in coastal areas? What changes could be made to planning rules to manage the increased risk of flooding? What can industries such as agriculture do to adapt to rising temperatures? How will people’s health be affected by increased temperatures? What can hospitals, emergency services and communities do to make services more effective?

Professor Lesley Hughes, of Macquarie University’s Department of Biological Sciences, says that it is ‘one thing to know that climate change is happening’ but another to ask what to actually do about it. Professor Hughes, who has been researching the impacts of climate change on ecosystems for more than 20 years, is concerned about limited adaptation options in the natural world in the event of severe climate change. ‘Ultimately it’s [about] extinction of lots of species and destruction of ecosystem processes. There will simply be a lot of changes in the way that ecosystems function. ‘With terrestrial biodiversity, the adaptation options are limited compared to human systems. In agriculture we could change where we put dams or cattle. Yes, it’s expensive, but they are do-able. But with terrestrial biodiversity, your options are far more limited.’

Using wallabies as an example, Professor Hughes explains that animal species in a changing climate could adapt via two mechanisms. The first, assisted migration, involves the physical relocation of a population to an area with a less hostile climate. The second involves the creation of natural migration corridors through protecting critical habitat linkages. But there is also a third option, according to Professor Hughes. ‘One of the most important things we can do for natural systems is to simply make them more resilient to change by promoting their current health.’ Professor Hughes warns that we also need to understand the knock-on effect elsewhere of our adaptation actions. ‘For example if the northern part of Australia is getting wetter, then we could clear whole areas for agriculture. Now that’s good for agriculture, but bad for biodiversity. ‘This is part of the complexity of adapting to climate change. One action might be good for one thing but it’s not always going to be good for another.’ In June, NCCARF, together with CSIRO, will host the world’s first international conference on climate adaptation, entitled ‘Preparing for the unavoidable impacts of climate change’. The conference has already created waves in the international research community, with more than 800 abstracts of scientific papers being submitted from researchers in 55 countries, many from developing nations.

‘Adaptation will be much more of a problem for people living in developing countries than in other developed countries,’ says Professor Palutikof. ‘Those countries are at the pointy end of the impacts of climate change, although Australia could be an exception to that rule.’ • Source: www.nccarf.edu.au/adaptation-research-networks and www.csiro.au

Congratulations to Queensland’s Minister of Climate Change & Sustainability Kate Jones – the State’s youngest ever Cabinet Minister – for producing a new little champion for the environment, baby Thomas, who arrived the day she was supposed to be in Parliament one day last month.

Look out for me – and a host of brilliant speakers and activities – at LEAF (Logan Eco Action Festival) – this Saturday 5 June (World Environment Day) at Griffith University’s Logan Campus, Brisbane.

Then there’s the Business Eco Forum at Samsara, Milton on Wednesday 9 June and the Energy and Sustainability Workshop on Saturday 12 June at the Griffith University EcoCentre, Nathan Campus.

If it’s the book you’re after, catch me at Angus & Robertson, Post Office Square Brisbane on Friday 11 June.