1.) Fabricating Solar cells and 2.) mounting them on big solar panels have been costly compared to other energy sources. Fabrication of the cells was difficult, and attaching them to panels cost many manufacturing man-hours. Our Gov't invested millions (as did Private Industry here and in Europe) to develop nano-technology, which is the science of miniature machines, etc. Nano, dust particle size solar cells have been invented. They can be put into a liquid ink-type solution, and the solar cells then squirted (with an ink jet type printer) precisely onto a economical metal panel.
Electrical Efficiency has been steadily increasing, more electricity per square inch of surface solar cells, and nano-automated-manufacturing is very rapid, and much cheaper. By 2017, prices are predicted to be drastically cheaper, and there will be billions of nano-solar panels available. So who needs NUKE plants which will take 20 years to build? Rob, racggg@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/caringisthekey
PRICES FALL BY 40% IN ONE YEAR. AND BY 2017 WILL DRASTICALLY CHEAP
http://climateprogress.org/2009/02/24/solar-panel-prices-to-fall-by-up-to-40-per-cent-by-year-end/
Solar panel prices will continue to fall every year with newer, more dense, more efficient, cheaper nano-technology solar cells.
According to the article, SOLAR Prices will fall drastically by 2017, and then with solar panels so abundantly available, who needs expensive Nuke power plants which use tons of our water.
Nano-SolarCells are the size of dust particles which are be put into ink solution and sprayed on thin substances.
Good News! Nanosolar Reaches Solar Cell Efficiency of 16.4% and Starts Mass Production
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 09.14.09Science & Technology (solar)
Photos: Nanosolar
Cheap, Efficient Solar Cells You Can PrintFor a while, everybody was talking about Nanosolar. They were the Tesla Motors of solar panels, in a way. But for the past year, they've kept quiet and this led some people to doubt that the company really would be able to deliver on what it had promised. Was it all hype?
Well, Nanosolar has now broken radio silence and the news are good. They've simultaneously released information about three things, along with a very cool video (check it out below) that shows what the inside of their factories look like, including the brand new one in Germany.
Photo: Nanosolar
Nanosolar 640MW Robotic Factory in GermanyThe first piece of news from Nanosolar concerns a solar panel factory in Germany with a capacity of 640MW/year. The fully-automated facility is located in Luckenwalde near Berlin, and its inauguration was attended by Germany's Minister of the Environment and the Governor of the State of Brandenburg, among others.
The 640 megawatts per year number if reached when the factory is operated 24/7 at the rate of 1 solar panel every 10 seconds (!).
Nanosolar has also announced that serial production in its San Jose, California, cell production factory commenced earlier this year and that production would be ramping up to meet the $4.1 billion in contracts that they already have.
Here's a promo video by Nanosolar that shows - among others things - the "continuous flow printing process", the robotic factory in Germany, and even a jar of the famous nanoparticle solar ink:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/nanosolar-solar-power-efficiency-germany-factory-mass-production.php
Invest in Solar Technology not Nuke Plants,
(Rob) racggg@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/caringisthekey
Lt. Dan Choi, gay Arabic-speaking linguist dismissed from Army National Guard under "don't ask, don't tell"
A few years ago, the United States was hailing the European "coalition of the willing" allies as brave warriors, especially Britain, Spain and Poland, the non-US leaders of the coalition in terms of troop commitments. All three of those nations allow gays to serve openly. So which is it. Are they brave, right-thinking nations, or sowers of pusillanimity and self-defeat? The same case could be made viz Israel which allows open gay service.
Obama's move towards repealing the US military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy has been a triumph of political choreography.
( GUARIDIAN.UK.COM'S Michael Tomasky Wednesday 3 February 2010)
You don't need me to tell you the number of things the Democrats have messed up in the past year. But lately comes a heartening sign that sometimes, they know how to play this game. The recent rollout of the planned repeal of the US military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy has been impressively choreographed. Not a false step anywhere.
And yet, when Obama mentioned the repeal, Pentagon boss man Robert Gates applauded. In fact he stood and applauded. Then, the day after Obama's speech, the Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed that the department was working on repeal plans that it would unveil next week. And next week, which is now this week, exactly that happened. Gates and Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and America's top military man, testified before the Senate yesterday backing repeal. Their positions were already known, but for them to use words as forceful as they did in a Senate forum was something.
A commission will spend a year studying the likely effects of repeal. But note that the commission isn't studying whether to do it – merely the effects of doing it. And in that year, not only will soldiers and officers have time to adjust, but so will members of Congress. It's not clear yet whether a repeal would require 60 votes in the Senate. It could conceivably be passed under rules that require only a simply majority of votes, or 51. If it needs just 51, it's likely there already.
But if 60 are needed, it's still problematic. Centrist Democrats are still afraid, and most Republicans are still against. Some are said to be privately supportive of the change, aware that support for the current policy looks increasingly reactionary, especially when the country's top military man is against you. But trying to change those Republican habits is not easy
This will all take time. But the policy will change. And when it does, the Obama administration and the Pentagon will deserve a lot of plaudits for the smooth choreography of the past two weeks. Now let's see them apply that to other areas, please.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/feb/03/dont-ask-dont-tell
Rob (bob-pol) Equal Rights For All
racggg@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/caringisthekey
PRESIDENT REGAINS HIS STRIDE ? HOPEFULLY
Barack Obama Demolishes GOP Talking Points at Baltimore.
Republicans dismayed by Obama’s strong performance, say it was a ‘mistake’ to let cameras roll.
House Republicans were fired up and ready to go for their conversation with President Obama at their annual retreat today. According to the New York Times, members of the conservative Republican House Conference said they were “itching to quiz the president and present their policy ideas rather than listen to another lofty presidential address.” Although such sessions generally occur behind closed doors, Republicans agreed to open it up after the White House said it was willing to do so. However, after Obama’s strong performance, some Republicans are now regretting that decision. As Luke Russert reported on MSNBC:
RUSSERT: Tom Cole — former head of the NRCC, congressman from Oklahoma — said, “He scored many points. He did really well.” Barack Obama, for an hour and a half, was able to refute every single Republican talking point used against him on the major issues of the day. In essence, it was almost like a debate where he was front and center for the majority of it. … One Republican said to me, off the record, behind closed doors: “It was a mistake that we allowed the cameras to roll like that. We should not have done that.”
Watch Tim Russert's REPORT, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW9V2chiRCk
“Accepting the invitation to speak at the House GOP retreat may turn out to be the smartest decision the White House has made in months,” writes the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder. “Debating a law professor is kind of foolish — the Republican House Caucus has managed to turn Obama’s weakness — his penchant for nuance — into a strength. Plenty of Republicans asked good and probing questions, but Mike Pence, among others, found their arguments simply demolished by the president.”
Article, http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/29/russert-gop-obama/
Rob (bob-pol) Go Barack!
The president provided clear integrated practical vision for America in the State of the Union speech.
Moving Forward...
The challenge for All Americans: Keep the message from being sliced-and-diced by individuals/groups from across the political spectrum. People must remember that fragmentation of our priorities is not productive. We must look at how all policies are integrated and affect one another. We must address issues with less 'tunnel vision'; moving away from focusing on 'narrow interest'. We must move away from merely tactical, short-term 'instant gratification' actions to strategic, long-term sustainable results. We must move away from intolerance and an all-or-nothing approach to solving nation's issues and problems. Failure to do so only results in division, poisoned discourse, and stagnation. We cannot afford failure, esp. not at this moment in history.
"Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long." ---Barack Obama
'Interdisciplinary Collaboration' may be central philosophy of reform initiatives and national policies ( e.g. Healthcare, Education, Energy, Economy, Finance, Foreign Policy). The president's State of the Union speech seems to provide such a framework for how the nation must move forward not only towards a 'more perfect union' but also as respected leader in international community.
We are in dire straits out here in the trenches, it is just that simple. We need to stimulate our domestic economy now. It is real nice that the military and industrial complexes composed of the Fortune 100 and 500 are making money overseas through our 'engagement' in the affairs of others, but we need to focus on domestic economic stimulation and growth as in clean and green energy development, biofuel development and recapturing expended energy and reusing it is a meaningful way instead of destroying our troposphere. There is always room for innovation and technological advances in this process or that system.
Bottom line, we need to focus on our situation here at home so our people are afforded freedom, liberty and justice.
Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations can advertise for political candidates, now rather than Stephen Colbert advertising Doritos, they can advertise for him! Idiocracy here we come!
Colbert in 2016? (We need to give the incumbent a chance...!)
Change I Still Believe In !
I know that many of you feel that real change has been slow in coming ... Barack warned us that none of this would be easy ... that special interest lobbies would use every resource at their command to derail reforms. Electing Barack Obama to the presidency was just the beginning .... We need to support other progressive candidates that want real change.Lets not forget ... the same people who are now staunch deficit Hawks, Republican and Conservative Democrats alike ... many of them didn't bat an eyelash at the Federal giveaways of the Bush administration, No Bid Contracts ... the expansion of the federal government to employ their contributors. Funding the Iraqi and Afghan wars off the books driving the Federal deficit to levels never seen before. What where these deficit hawks thinking when the far Right overturned the Glass-Steagle act (Thanks Phil Graham !) which led to the Financial meltdown we are still trying to recover from today. They aided and abetted tax evasion for some of the wealthiest Americans and corporations by creating loopholes allowing revenue to be sheltered offshore. If that wasn't enough they put in place incentives to outsource American Jobs ...... for the sake of the Free Market.What ever happened to the notion of Fair Trade ? We could sure use those jobs now that unemployment hovers at 10%. Lets not be taken in by those on the Right who now oppose Health Care reform and Financial Reform that have never owned up to their responsibility in getting us into this economic mess in the first place. Many of them will not even declare themselves as Republicans in their campaign literature.We need to refocus our energies on growing a progressive majority. We need to face the cold hard facts .... We do not have a progressive majority in the U.S. Senate to pass the reforms we want .... I for one would prefer a single payer setup for healthcare regulated by a federal Health Care commission .... But I knew going in that it would have to be phased in over a long period of time for it too happen. I agree with Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Tom Harkin ... we should get what we can from this Health Care Reform bill and consider it a work in progress.Just as this has and will be a long process of getting our country on better economic footing ... remember it took Eight years of Republican rule to get us to the brink of economic collapse. We need to be patient and steadfast in fighting for the reforms we want.The most pressing need is to focus on getting people back to work again and that means getting the Big banks to lend again. One of the successes of the Obama administration .... was how they handled the Banking and Housing crisis avoiding what could have been one of the worst global financial meltdowns since the 1929 crash. Now that many of the financial institutions are on better footing they are repaying the money back with dividends a lot sooner than expected .... What they are not doing is Lending enough to grow this current economy into a mighty oak which could help in reversing the current unemployment figures.<excerpt> The big banks on Wall Street, propped up by taxpayer money and government guarantees, have had a record year, making record profits while returning to the highly leveraged activities that brought our economy to the brink of disaster. In a slap in the face to taxpayers, they have also cut back on the money they are lending, even though the need to get credit flowing again was one of the main points used in selling the public the bank bailout. But since April, the Big Four banks -- JP Morgan/Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo -- all of which took billions in taxpayer money, have cut lending to businesses by $100 billion. <excerpt>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/move-your-money-a-new-yea_b_406022.htmlMany of you may ask .... What can I do about Big banks not lending ?If the Big banks will not lend we should move our money to smaller Community Banks and Credit Unions who will !It's our time to stand up again and be counted ..... We need to stand by President Obama and get a progressive democratic majority in the US House and Senate.
If you are resident of Massachusetts .... On January 19, 2010, make it a point to get out and Vote for Democrat Martha Coakley so that we don't lose Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.Thanks for all You do !Vince CiprianoUnited We Can ! http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/vince"This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in." -Theodore Roosevelt
A windfall for the health-casino operators maybe, but a boon for the American people? I am not convinced.
Moving the Progressive Agenda in the Democratic Party
By Mary Bell Lockhart
If we're disappointed in the direction of recent events, progressives should take heart and double down on efforts to bring about change by working within the Democratic Party.
Huffington Post reports today that a group of Senators are considering lowering the Medicare age limit as part of health care reform. Only this past weekend, a dear friend of mine who is in great need of a knee replacement told me his insurance company is refusing to authorize the surgery. He is 60 years old and has spent his entire life providing social services, primarily as director of a senior services program. Yet now that he is in need our for-profit, for-greed, private insurance system is failing him. Lowering the Medicare age limit to 60, or even 55, would go a long way towards health care reform. These changes should be part of the broader effort to provide a strong public insurance option.
Contact your Senators to encourage them to support this initiative.
President Obama, have you abandoned us?
I knew that politicians tended to listen only to moneyed interests, but I thought you were different.
I knew that politicians only get feedback from an in-crowd of cronies, but I thought you were different.
I knew that politicians tended to act from expediency rather than principle, but I thought you were different.
I knew that inertia was the biggest force in government, but I thought you were different.
President Obama, you have let down the American people.
You have let down the generation to come, including YOUR OWN CHILDREN.
You have let down my enthusiasm, my hopes and dreams for a better America.
You have let down yourself.
With so much enthusiasm at your disposal, how could you walk away from us?
How can you expect people to ever vote for you again? There aren't enough people on Wall Street to get you elected.
I worried about assassination, but you have assassinated yourself without a gun.
This is tragic for the United States - but it is pathetic for you.
What is there to hope for?
Now it appears that the commercial hucksters and hustlers are swarming our OFA site trying to sell TVs and laptops. I just received this offensive solicitation in my e-mail box:
[PublicPolicyProfessionalsforObama] Dear!
Our webmasters must be vigilant and take steps to prohibit these kinds of posts that have nothing to do with the historic work before us now.
Shortly after the House of Representatives concluded tonight's vote on health insurance reform, President Obama released the following statement:
Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit.Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America. Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.
The ghosts are in the machine: Has anyone here noticed that the Heritage Foundation (a virulent right-wing organization) is scheduling events to mobilize opposition and win converts from the Obama camp using the OFA website?
Check out their recent postings for events they are scheduling in October in the Twin Cities. Seems we need a strategy to counter. Anyone involved in deriving or applying one?
Invitation to join citizen journalists team at Huffington Post to investigate insurance claim denials follows. Also, do you have any leads to share? Join Our Investigation: How Often Do Health Insurers Deny Claims? Posted by Adam Clark Estes Amid all the loud arguments about the proper role for government and private companies in American health care, one point often seems lost: Exactly how well – or badly – are private insurers handling claims in the existing system? Daniellle Ivory is uncovering some answers. But we also need you to help us investigate... http://huffpostfund.org/participate/join-our-investigation-how-often-do-health-insurers-deny-claims
When you go to a lawyer and have a situation where all you need to do is some administrative routine to address your issue, the lawyer, not being able to litigate and therefore collect huge fees for his billable hours, will tell you that there is nothing that can be done to redress the wrong you have suffered.
A military commander is employed to develop winning strategies for winning conflicts/engagements/delivering the results his country is seeking: it is in their interest to continue engagement for this is the 'thrill' of the job. This is why people have an interest in joining the military, to protect and serve and fight and win. We must always be the one to win. Well sometimes we have to lose some to win something more. In the case of Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran coming on the set, we may have to 'lose' by military standards in order to win diplomatically/strategically.
Cutting off the funding source for these deviants and terrorists is the first and most effective step we, as a global community, can take to disarm/dismantle their operations. Let us seek a more peaceful resolution to these issues for the tact we are taking is not sustainable.
