The new map design follows a series of historical and ongoing arguments about ownership, and the race for resources, in the frozen lands and seas of the Arctic.

The potential for conflicts is increasing as the search for new oil, gas and minerals intensifies.

The move to comprehensively map the region illustrates the urgent need for clear policy-making on Arctic issues – an area rich in natural resources. The Durham map shows (click here to view the map):

1. where boundaries have been agreed
2. where known claims are
3. the potential areas that states might claim

Director of Research at the International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU), Martin Pratt says: “The map is the most precise depiction yet of the limits and the future dividing lines that could be drawn across the Arctic region.

“The results have huge implications for policy-making as the rush to carve up the polar region continues.

“It’s a cartographic means of showing, and an attempt to collate information and predict the way in which the Arctic region may eventually be divided up. The freezing land and seas of the Arctic are likely to be getting hotter in terms of geopolitics; the Durham map aims to assist national and international policy-makers across the world.”

It’s a year since Russia planted a flag on the seabed, underneath the North Pole, highlighting its claim to a huge chunk of the Arctic.

The Russian demands relate to a complex area of law covered by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS). Under that law, any coastal state can claim territory 200 nautical miles (nm) from their shoreline (Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ) and exploit the natural resources within that zone. Some coastal states have rights that extend beyond EEZ due to their continental shelf. Areas of the seabed beyond the continental shelf are referred to as ‘The Area’ and any world state – landlocked or not – has equal rights in this area.

The continental shelf is the part of a country’s landmass that extends into the sea before dropping into the deep ocean. Under UNCLOS, if a state can prove its rights, it can exploit the resources of the sea and the seabed within its territory.

Russia claims that its continental shelf extends along a mountain chain running underneath the Arctic, known as the Lomonosov Ridge. Theoretically, if this was the case, Russia might be able to claim a vast area of territory.

The IBRU map shows what is currently possible and what might be permissible in terms of territorial claims under international law. It also highlights the areas of land and sea where clashes of interest are likely.

A new survey by the US Geological Survey estimates that a fifth of the world’s undiscovered, technically-recoverable resources lie within the Arctic Circle. The Lomonosov Ridge is just one area of contention between countries. Other disputes involve Canada, USA, (Greenland) Denmark, Iceland and Norway.

The problem with claims is that they must be verified by geological, geomorphological and bathymetric analysis (sub-sea surveys), and it’s not an easy or quick process to verify claims.

The new map will help politicians to understand areas of maritime jurisdiction and the methodology employed could be vital in helping to settle future sea territorial disputes.

Conservationists want laws to protect the North Pole region and climate change is likely to bring further pressure as ice melts and the seas open up to exploration.

Source: Durham University.

The journal paper, ‘Cow Power: The Energy and Emissions Benefits of Converting Manure to Biogas’, has implications for all countries with livestock as it is the first attempt to outline a procedure for quantifying the national amount of renewable energy that herds of cattle and other livestock can generate and the concomitant GHG emission reductions.

Livestock manure, left to decompose naturally, emits two particularly potent GHGs – nitrous oxide and methane. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, nitrous oxide warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide, methane does so 21 times more.

The journal paper creates two hypothetical scenarios and quantifies them to compare energy savings and GHG reducing benefits. The first is ‘business as usual’ with coal burnt for energy and with manure left to decompose naturally. The second is one wherein manure is anaerobically-digested to create biogas and then burnt to offset coal.

Through anaerobic digestion, similar to the process by which you create compost, manure can be turned into energy-rich biogas, which standard microturbines can use to produce electricity. The hundreds of millions of livestock inhabiting the US could produce approximately 100 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power millions of homes and offices.

And, as manure left to decompose naturally has a very damaging effect on the environment, this new waste management system has a net potential GHG emissions reduction of 99 million metric tonnes, wiping out approximately four per cent of the country’s GHG emissions from electricity production.

The burning of biogas would lead to the emission of some CO2 but the output from biogas-burning plants would be less than that from, for example, coal.

Authors of the paper, Dr. Michael E. Webber and Amanda D Cuellar from the University of Texas at Austin, write, “In light of the criticism that has been levelled against biofuels, biogas production from manure has the less-controversial benefit of reusing an existing waste source and has the potential to improve the environment.

“Nonetheless, the logistics of widespread biogas production, including feedstock and digestates transportation, must be determined at the local level to produce the most environmentally advantageous, economical, and energy efficient system.”

Source: Institute of Physics.

The automaker said today its first FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle will roll off the assembly line next month, and go only to pre-selected customers for now. Honda also revealed the first auto dealership network in the United States to sell and service the next-generation cars. All three are located in California, Power Honda Costa Mesa, Honda of Santa Monica, and Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance.

The announcements were made during a ceremony for the start of FCX Clarity production at the world’s first dedicated fuel cell vehicle manufacturing facility in Japan.

Honda previously announced plans to deliver about 200 FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles in the U.S. and Japan to customers in the first three years of production, with leases beginning in July. The lease program marks the world’s first large-scale retail initiative for fuel cell vehicle technology.

The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, hydrogen powered fuel cell-powered vehicle. Propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, the vehicle’s only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile.

In the new study, Michael J. Heben, Paul W. King, and colleagues explain that bacterial enzymes called hydrogenases show promise as powerful catalysts for using hydrogen in fuel cells, which can produce electricity with virtually no pollution for motor vehicles, portable electronics, and other devices. However, scientists report difficulty incorporating these enzymes into electrical devices because the enzymes do not form good electrical connections with fuel cell components. Currently, precious metals, such as platinum, are typically needed to perform this catalysis.

The researchers combined hydrogenase enzymes with carbon nanotubes, submicroscopic strands of pure carbon that are excellent electrical conductors. In laboratory studies, the researchers demonstrated that a good electrical connection was established using photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements. These new “biohybrid” conjugates could reduce the cost of fuel cells by reducing or eliminating the need for platinum and other costly metal components, they say.

source:American Chemical Society.

Early research results show that tropical maize, when grown in the Midwest, requires few crop inputs such as nitrogen fertilizer, chiefly because it does not produce any ears. It also is easier for farmers to integrate into their current operations than some other dedicated energy crops because it can be easily rotated with corn or soybeans, and can be planted, cultivated and harvested with the same equipment U.S. farmers already have. Finally, tropical maize stalks are believed to require less processing than corn grain, corn stover, switchgrass, Miscanthus giganteus and the scores of other plants now being studied for biofuel production.

What it does produce, straight from the field with no processing, is 25 percent or more sugar — mostly sucrose, fructose and glucose.

“Corn is a short-day plant, so when we grow tropical maize here in the Midwest the long summer days delay flowering, which causes the plant to grow very tall and produce few or no ears,” says Below. Without ears, these plants concentrate sugars in their stalks, he adds. Those sugars could have a dramatic affect on Midwestern production of ethanol and other biofuels.

According to Below, “Midwestern-grown tropical maize easily grows 14 or 15 feet tall compared to the 7-1/2 feet height that is average for conventional hybrid corn. It is all in these tall stalks,” Below explains. “In our early trials, we are finding that these plants build up to a level of 25 percent or higher of sugar in their stalks.

This differs from conventional corn and other crops being grown for biofuels in that the starch found in corn grain and the cellulose in switchgrass, corn stover and other biofuel crops must be treated with enzymes to convert them into sugars that can be then fermented into alcohols such as ethanol.

Storing simple sugars also is more cost-effective for the plant, because it takes a lot of energy to make the complex starches, proteins, and oils present in corn grain. This energy savings per plant could result in more total energy per acre with topical maize, since it produces no grain.

“In terms of biofuel production, tropical maize could be considered the ‘Sugarcane of the Midwest’,”Below said. “The tropical maize we’re growing here at the University of Illinois is very lush, very tall, and very full of sugar.”

He added that his early trials also show that tropical maize requires much less nitrogen fertilizer than conventional corn, and that the stalks actually accumulate more sugar when less nitrogen is available. Nitrogen fertilizer is one of major costs of growing corn.

He explained that sugarcane used in Brazil to make ethanol is desirable for the same reason: it produces lots of sugar without a high requirement for nitrogen fertilizer, and this sugar can be fermented to alcohol without the middle steps required by high-starch and cellulosic crops. But sugarcane canít be grown in the Midwest.

The tall stalks of tropical maize are so full of sugar that producers growing it for biofuel production will be able to supply a raw material at least one step closer to being turned into fuel than are ears of corn.

“And growing tropical maize doesn’t break the farmers’ rotation. You can grow tropical maize for one year and then go back to conventional corn or soybeans in subsequent years,” Below said. “Miscanthus, on the other hand, is thought to need a three-year growth cycle between initial planting and harvest and then your land is in Miscanthus. To return to planting corn or soybean necessitates removing the Miscanthus rhizomes.

Below is studying topical maize along with doctoral candidate Mike Vincent and postdoctoral research associate Matias Ruffo, and in conjunction with U of I Associate Professor Stephen Moose. This latest discovery of high sugar yields from tropical maize became apparent through cooperative work between Below and Moose to characterize genetic variation in response to nitrogen fertilizers.

Currently supported by the National Science Foundation, these studies are a key element to developing maize hybrids with improved nitrogen use efficiency. Both Below and Moose are members of Illinois Maize Breeding and Genetics Laboratory (http://imbgl.cropsci.uiuc.edu/tradition.html), which has a long history of conducting research that identifies new uses for the maize crop.

Moose now directs one of the longest-running plant genetics experiments in the world, in which more than a century of selective breeding has been applied to alter carbon and nitrogen accumulation in the maize plant. Continued collaboration between Below and Moose will investigate whether materials from these long term selection experiments will further enhance sugar yields from tropical maize.

source:University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“World record efficiencies are popping up almost every month, leading the OSC community into an endless and dangerous tendency to outbid the last report,” stated Dennler et al. in the article. “The current outbidding phenomenon does a severe disservice to the whole community, damaging its reputation. Solar cells and especially OSCs face enough difficulties in convincing people of their benefit over other energy sources.”

OSCs are potentially cheap and easy to fabricate. This makes them very attractive in comparison to the familiar silicon solar cells, which struggle to compete in cost with other energy sources. The promise of OSCs means the field is burgeoning. However, OSCs still show relatively low efficiencies that will need to improve significantly before they become a success.

Dennler and colleagues urge the field to press for independent verification of solar cell efficiencies. They call on researchers to question their results and constantly push the accuracy of their findings and ask journal editors to review claims of significant advances thoroughly.

“In essence, this should be a good thing. Increasing the number of people focused on this tremendous renewable will hopefully help solve the planet’s energy needs,” adds Dennler. “Unfortunately, OSCs currently suffer from their own success.”

The increasing number of researchers and choice of where to publish results means that everyone is finding it increasingly difficult to gain an impact within the community. The result is a pursuit of eye-catching claims of solar cell efficiencies.

source: Elsevier.

 However, a new report from the National Research Council finds that neither the federal government nor industry leaders have enough accurate information to know how secure the supplies of these minerals are.

 This lack of information also extends to the area of national defense; a second Research Council report finds that the National Defense Stockpile (NDS), a cache of material in place to deal with national emergencies, is wholly ineffective for responding to modern needs or national security threats.

“Industries dependent on minerals can be significantly influenced by supply disruptions, which might be avoided with better information,” said Roderick G. Eggert, chair of the committee that wrote MINERALS, CRITICAL MINERALS, AND THE U.S. ECONOMY, and professor and director of the division of economics and business at the Colorado School of Mines. “Consumers and producers would both greatly benefit from a systematic framework for evaluating minerals that are critical to the economy.”

“In order to operate well, a stockpiling system needs to have detailed information about the specific material needs of the military and about any possible restrictions on the supply of those materials,” said Robert H. Latiff, chair of the committee that wrote MANAGING MATERIALS FOR A 21ST CENTURY MILITARY, and a chief engineer and technology officer at Science Applications International Corp. “The NDS neither collects nor has access to these types of data, which essentially removes the stockpile as an effective component of our nation’s defense. We need a more comprehensive approach to managing the U.S. defense material needs.”

To determine supply needs, the NDS currently relies on economic models that have changed minimally since they were first instituted decades ago. However, global material supply chains have changed drastically since then, as have the threats faced by the U.S. The stockpile committee called the economic models “gross estimates that do not capture specific information relevant to the 21st century military needs” and found little connection between NDS’ stockpiling policy and the nation’s security objectives.

The stockpile report recommends that instead of improving NDS’ systems, a new systematic approach should be adopted to manage the nation’s defense material needs. Stockpiling could still be used within the new system, but other techniques such as planning ahead and building robust supply chains for essential materials, would better mitigate the impact of supply shortfalls or sudden surges in demand, vastly improving military’s ability to respond to changing technologies and threats. The report offers a number of additional guiding principles for how the new system could operate, including the option of partnering with private industry.

Any mineral could at some point become critical to the economy or national security, depending on its uses and availability. Using a new tool that it developed specifically for its report, the critical minerals committee determined that platinum group metals, rare earth elements, indium, manganese, and niobium — minerals used to make LCD TVs, catalytic converters, pacemakers, and other products Americans rely on daily — are currently highly critical, meaning they are difficult or impossible to substitute, essential in their use, and have potentially at-risk supplies. Although committee members only had time to examine a limited number of minerals, their tool could be adopted by federal agencies to similarly classify minerals.

Decision makers in both public and private sectors need continuous, unbiased, and thorough information on the uses and possible supply restrictions of nonfuel minerals, but currently the federal government and the industries that use these minerals do not collect these data with enough detail or frequency, the report on critical minerals notes. Market fluctuations, limited sources, and even political shifts in foreign countries could drastically, and quickly, alter the price or availability of many essential minerals.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Minerals Information Team is the most comprehensive source for this sort of information, but the quantity and quality of its data are not sufficient because the agency lacks the resources, authority, and autonomy of a principal statistical agency. The critical minerals report recommends that the federal government give the necessary authority and funding to USGS, or whichever agency will ultimately be responsible, to collect minerals information.

The critical minerals study was sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Mining Association. The NDS study was sponsored by the Defense National Stockpile Center of the Defense Logistics Agency at the U.S. Department of Defense. The committee rosters follow. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter.

source: The National Academies.

The fuel cell power plant provides clean, efficient power for the campus data center and other operations, drastically reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the company says.

According to the EPA, data centers across the U.S. consumed about 61 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2006, roughly 1.5 percent of the total U.S. electricity consumption, and based on current trends, consumption is expected to double by 2011. The fossil fuel-burning power plants used to generate this electricity release more than 40 percent of the total U.S. CO2 emissions, a prime contributor to global warming.

“Our real-world use of the hydrogen fuel cell is a clear demonstration of the ability of corporations to make a significant and financially responsible investment in reducing harmful impacts on the environment, with the ultimate goal of reversing global warming,” said Tetsuo Urano, head of American operations, Fujitsu America.

“With a payback of about three and a half years and a lifespan of about 15 years, hydrogen power is an excellent investment for the company. All of us at Fujitsu have a deep commitment to environmental responsibility, and we are proud of the leadership we’ve shown over the years, from reducing our carbon footprint, to eliminating lead and other harmful wastes from our supply chain and products, to broad recycling and reuse programs. We will continue to invest in innovation and programs that are both good for the environment and good for our business.” Urano explains.

The hydrogen fuel cell installed on the Fujitsu Sunnyvale campus is the UTC Power PureCell Model 200 system, featuring ultra-low emissions.

The hydrogen fuel cell system meets the most stringent air emissions standards as set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB 07), Fujitsu says.

Although it utilizes natural gas, it produces 35 percent less CO2 per megawatt-hour than the average fossil fuel-based power plant, and approximately 4,000 lbs per year less NOx, the equivalent of taking more than 100 average passenger cars off the road.

The system has a low sound profile at 60 decibels at 30 feet, and emits no ozone-depleting fluorocarbons, according to Fujitsu.

The company will also be contributing to water conservation. When compared to conventional power plants, a UTC Power PureCell(TM) Model 200 system will save at least 800,000 gallons of water per year. Over the 15-year life of the fuel cell system, Fujitsu will leave 12 million gallons of water untouched.

“Fujitsu is a model for how large organizations can work through the process of understanding their energy requirements, researching the best solution to meet their fiscal requirements and their environmental impact goals, and then making a solid, long-term investment in a clean, efficient, cost-effective energy system,” said Jan van Dokkum, UTC Power President.

“Our environmentally advanced UTC Power PureCell(TM) products offer proven reliability, energy productivity and a reduced carbon footprint to benefit our customers and their communities.” Dokkum concluded.