SalvaEco

The solar electric power system will supply power to the winery’s offices and processing facilities, as well as its large, barrel refrigeration rooms. The winery expects the project to pay for itself in energy cost savings in seven to eight years. The winery will begin its first solar powered wine production when the bottling line starts up this month.

Premier Power designed the 129 kW solar electric system, which features 784 of GE Energy’s GEPV 165 solar power modules. Each solar power module generates a peak power of 165 watts. Premier Power, GE’s Northern California distributor, integrated its system into Shafer Vineyards’ landscaping and existing structures.

The system consists of three sub systems: two 50 kW east/west rooftop systems, and a 29 kW combined south rooftop and a ground-mounted system. The system should produce approximately 12,900 kWh per month or approximately 155,000 kWh per year. The entire system could power roughly 20 to 30 average U.S. homes.

"Premier Power selected GE Energy’s solar electric systems for the project because of the in-depth support in design and layout GE provides," said Dean Marks, pre?ident of Premier Power. Their support involved collaboration on electrical design elements including equipment selection and site layout."

The winery is on track to receive a rebate of up to USD $490,000 from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) through the local utility’s Self-Generation Incentive Program, which covers up to half the cost of clean, on-site electric generating systems.

"For more than 20 years, Shafer Vineyards has worked diligently to develop a sustainable business. Our conversion to a total use of solar power is part of that plan," said Doug Shafer, president of Shafer Vineyards.

The Shafer Vineyards project is the most recent addition to Premier Power’s list of PV enabled wineries which includes Sierra Vista Winery, Domaine de la Terre Rouge and Madrona Vineyards.

Forumul s-a deschis cu inaugurarea Expozitiei ?Totul a inceput in 1907…?, care prin fotografii desene, esee si ornamente a adus o reprezentare generala a activitatilor scoutilor. Presedintele O.N.S.M., Vladimir Vlas, Comisarul international al O.N.S.M., Iurie Emilian, Comisarul Filialei O.N.S.M. Cahul, Nadejda Dobanda, in cadrul ?O.N.S.M.-oportunitate pentru generatia secolului XXI?, au vorbit despre prioritatile oferite de O.N.S.M. pentru tanara generatie : formarea tinerilor in spiritul valorilor nationale, formarea culturii civice la tineri, educarea lor in baza valorilor moral-spirituale, accesul la informatii si servicii, participare la luarea deciziilor.
Pe 25 februarie forumul a continuat cu crearea mecanismului de lucru ?O.N.S.M. – Societatea Civila? la care s-au incheiat acorduri de parteneriat intre O.N.S.M. si alte O.N.G.-uri din republica(?Glasul Tinerilor?, ?SalvaEco?, ?Sanatauca?, ?Tarzanii?, Centrul pentru Copii ?Bineva?, Liga Nationala de Dezbateri, Asociatia EGEA-Moldova, Centrul Tinerilor Turisti din Moldova, Consiliul National al Tinerilor din Moldova etc.)
Forumul s-a incheiat cu o vizita la Muzeul National de Istorie si cu o seara la teatru (?O noapte furtunoasa de I.L.Caragiale?, Teatrul Satiricus )

Prima Conferinta Internationala Scout a fost inaugurata in 1919 la Gilwer Park, Londra, Marea Britanie, iar prima Jamboree Mondiala ( intrunirea grupurilor scout) in 1920 la Olimpia, Londra. in prezent Miscarea Mondiala a Scoutilor cuprinde 157 tari, circa 28 mln. scouti de pe toate continentele lumii. in Moldova exista O.N.S.M.

Interviu cu presedintele O.N.S.M., Vladimir Vlas.

 Cand a fost fondata O.N.S.M. si care a fost obiectul primordial pentru a infiinta aceasta organizatie ?

O.N.S.M. a fost fondata in 1993, iar in 1997 a fost primita ca membru cu drepturi depline in Organizatia Mondiala a Miscarii Scout(O.M.M.S.).Scopul de baza al organizatiei a fost instruirea tinerilor lideri care ar lucra in continuare ci copiii. Scoutismul le da copiilor ceea ce nu le poate oferi scoala, familia, adica un mod de viata bogat in diverse activitati utile, distractii in sanul naturii, buna dispozitie si o multime de prieteni noi.

 Cate filiale are O.N.S.M. in prezent?

O.N.S.M. are in prezent 3200 de membri si 7 filiale, care activeaza permanent: in Chisinau, Balti, Orhei, Ungheni, Soroca, Cahul, Tighina. in cadrul fiecarei filiale, activeaza grupulete de scouti, care indeplinesc diferite sarcini.

 Care este compozitia unui grup scout si care sunt cerintele pentru scout?

O grupa scout este formata din : puii de cerbi(7-10 ani), aventurierii(10-14 ani), exploratorii(14-18 ani) si roverii(18-21 ani).De asemenea pot fi inclusi liderii activi, care au nu mai putin de 18 ani si participa la educarea tinerilor, la conducerea grupurilor sau a filialelor scout. Un scout adevarat trebuie sa fie devotat, sa fie mereu gata sa-si salveze aproapele, sa fie optimist, binevoitor, responsabil, si nu in ultimul rand activ.

 Cu ce tara O.N.S.M. mentine legaturi?
O.N.S.M. se afla in relatii stranse cu scoutii din Marea Britanie. Cu suportul lor, noi am ajuns la a 20-a Jamboree din Thailanda , iar in vara anului 2005, 44 scouti din Moldova au participat la Eurojamboreea din Marea Britanie. Tot cu ajutorul scoutilor englezi este editat buletinul trimestrial ?Cercetasul?.

 Va multumesc si va doresc succese in continuare.

Interviu realizat de Valentina Cernea.

"We have never looked at manure as an opportunity," Gordon Wells of Tradex AgriSystems said at the 2005 Banff Pork Seminar. "One of the key messages that must be received is that manure has renewed value in today’s marketplace."

Increasing urban pressure on water and land, and dramatically higher energy costs have created a real challenge for livestock producers, but those same conditions have created a renewed interest in this new technology, said Wells.

Bio-Terre Systems of Manitoba is using a low-temperature anaerobic digestion technology to offer waste management solutions to?its customers. Their system is appropriate for both small and large livestock operations because it doesn’t require as much in capital costs, and is easier to operate than conventional digesters used at some of the larger livestock businesses. (Information on Bio- Terre is courtesy of the Stategis business directory.)

Home Farms Technologies of Manitoba offers gasification technology of "barn slurry", which separates the liquids from the solids in manure and then oxidizes the resulting biomass to create biogas that fires a steam generator.

Clear-Green Environmental of Saskatchewan offers its customers a variety of ways to get from biomass to biogas. What the company concentrates on is the best technology fit for its customer to produce a useable fuel from the manure, and then Clear-Green will find the appropriate company to install the technology.

While each business has developed different technologies and business models for waste to energy projects, all three have a common goal to process potential waste into commercially usable by-products, Wells said.

"What is clear is that these three have persevered through incredible odds, lack of political support and economic challenges to lay the groundwork for real progress," he said. "The cost of energy, the increasing public pressure for real solutions to environmental issues, and significantly larger-scale livestock operations and processing facilities put integrated solutions in a new light."

There are certainly issues to be dealt with and business models developed before those units become commonplace, according to Wells. For example, setting up an integrated processing unit, with long-term payback requirements obviously requires that the manure source stays in business.

"Innovation will drive these opportunities and successful innovation requires a well-developed capital market that allows people to invest in these opportunities," said Wells. "Integrated manure management systems are just now beginning to attract capital, but at least we are moving in the right direction.

De 1 Martie, Sulfina Barbu nu va primi Martisor din partea ecologistilor

Mediul inconjurator nu este multumit de felul in care este protejat de Ministerul Mediului

Bucuresti, 28 februarie 2006 ? Anul acesta, cu ocazia zilei Martisorului, Dna Ministru Sulfina Barbu nu va primi acest simbol al primaverii din partea a 3 organizatii non-guvernamentale: Greenpeace, Alburnus Maior si Asociatia ARIN. Motivul: cele trei ONG-uri considera ca ministerul pe care il conduce Dna Barbu ar fi putut sa protejeze mai bine mediul inconjurator din Romania. 1 Martie, considerata prima zi de primavara, semnifica renasterea naturii, revenirea la viata dupa lunga iarna friguroasa. Plecarea iernii, topirea zapezii ar trebui sa ne dezvaluie frumusetea naturii, insa de multe ori realitatea care ne inconjoara nu seamana cu realitatea pe care o dorim. Mediul inconjurator din Romania este pus la grea incercare in fiecare an, iar sperantele de a avea natura pe care ne-o dorim par sa scada an dupa an. Fie ca este vorba de poluarea aerului, apelor sau solului, de plantarea unor organisme modificate genetic, de realizarea unei operatiuni miniere uriase in Muntii Apuseni pe care Ministerul o aproba tacit, de defrisari masive si impactul acestora, mediul inconjurator are de suferit. Asa ca, anul acesta, prin intermediul celor 3 ONG-uri, mediul incearca din nou sa atraga atentia asupra problemelor cu care se confrunta.

?Ne-a placut sa credem ca Doamna Ministru Barbu este de aceeasi parte a baricadei cu noi, ecologistii, ajutandu-ne sa traim intr-un mediu mai curat, lipsit de organisme modificate genetic. Insa disponibilitatea Ministerului din ultima vreme de a incalca legislatia doar pentru a favoriza cultivarea plantelor de soia modificata genetic si in anul 2006, ne arata ca Dna Barbu conduce mai degraba Ministerul Anti-Mediului, si de aceea anul acesta nu va primi martisor din partea noastra. In urma cu cateva zile am depus la Ministerul Mediului comentariile stiintifice impotriva plantelor de soia modificata genetic si asteptam de la Domnia sa decizia de interzicere a acestor plante incepand cu acest an. O asemenea decizie ar fi demna de salutat si ar aduce primavara si la Ministerul Mediului?, a declarat Gabriel Paun, coordonatorul campaniei Greenpeace impotriva organismelor modificate genetic.

Eugen David, presedintele Alburnus Maior, principalul oponent al proiectului minier din Rosia Montana declara: ?Ne temem deja de mult timp de faptul ca guvernul a luat deja decizia de aprobare a proiectului minier din Rosia Montana. Temerea se datoreaza tacerii complice a guvernului in privinta acestui proiect, precum si refuzului sau de a aplica legislatia armonizata de mediu si de a respecta sentintele judecatoresti in timpul procedurii de evaluare a impactului asupra mediului. Toate acestea denota, de asemenea, o insemnata incapacitate institutionala si imaturitate din partea Ministerului Mediului de a evalua corect proiectul de la Rosia Montana. Nu vom oferi un Martisor Doamnei Sulfina Barbu, pentru ca a primit deja unul din partea companiei Gabriel Resources?.

Codruta Nedelcu, Asociatia ARIN, declara: ?De ani si ani, ONG-urile bat timid la usa Ministerului cu propuneri, sugestii, observatii, incercari de parteneriat care sunt luate in seama doar cand e vorba despre aparitia comisiilor de evaluare de la UE. Trece evaluarea – trece si transparenta! Schimbarea ministrilor nu a insemnat neaparat si schimbari fundamentale ale obiceiurilor. ARIN nu ofera Martisor Ministerului Mediului si Gospodaririi Apelor ca ?premiu? pentru tacerea serafica cu care acesta a raspuns intrebarilor, uneori incomode, puse de ONG-uri..?.

[url=%%dir[1]%%Graficul_de_control_ecologic_la_agentii_economici_in_teritoriul_municipiului_Chisinau_pentru_a.2006.doc]Graficul_de_control_ecologic_la_agentii_economici_in_teritoriul_municipiului_Chisinau_pentru_a.2006.doc[/url]

But biotechnology supporters complained the bill would essentially uphold a "medieval" moratorium based on backward ideas about genetically altered crops.

The so-called "co-existence" law sets out rules to ensure conventional and organic crops are not contaminated by GM seeds, part of a web of European Union legislation aimed at allowing a controlled opening of the market to GM organisms.

But it will be up to each of Italy’s 20 regions to set the detailed rules and most of them have said they want to remain GM-free, effectively maintaining an unofficial EU- wide ban on GM foods which was formally lifted earlier this year.

Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno, who sought jail time for farmers who broke the rules, said he was "very pleased" by the legislation’s final passage in the Senate on Tuesday. It won approval in the lower house last week.

"We sought to… guarantee freedom of choice for Italian producers, while heading off the risk of diffuse and uncontrolled contamination by GM (organisms)," he was quoted as saying by ANSA news service. Roberto Gradnik, president of pro-bioindustry group Assobiotec, complained to local media the approval of the legislation was a step backwards.

"With this medieval-flavoured decision, our country denies to agriculture companies the freedom to choose to cultivate plants that are genetically modified," he said.

Any attempt to impose a blanket ban on GM farming would probably have prompted legal action from the European Commission, which has to ensure that use of such plants is allowed as long as they have passed safety tests.

Many European consumers and environmentalists fear the crops — whose genetic makeup has been altered, often for resistance to pesticides — might pose a hidden risk to health or wildlife.

Consumers have been eating GM food for years in the United States where it is not required to be separated from conventional strains or labelled.

Concursul ?Energia Naturii? initiat de SalvaEco s-a finisat cu succes. Participantii, cu varsta intre 10-15 ani, au dat dovada de cunostinte in domeniul ecologiei si au demonstrat ca le pasa de soarta naturii. ?Omul nu trebuie sa supuna forta si energia naturii, ci trebuie sa invete sa o utilizeze corect. Este de datoria noastra sa pastram planeta Pamant. Trebuie sa facem acest lucru de dragul urmasilor nostri.?(din eseul Victoriei Cojocaru). Unii dintre ei au dat dovada de ingeniozitate, anexand la esee, poezii si desene. in afara de scrisorile trimise din tara, pe adresa SalvaEco au venit ravase si din Romania.
Cele mai reusite lucrari au fost expediate de:
1.Midrigan Ana, com. Chiscareni, raionul Sangerei;
2.Cojocaru Victoria, s.Pepeni, raionul Sangerei;
3.Novac Victoria, mun.Chisinau;
4.Bojescu Ioana, jud. Neamt, Romania;
5.Bruma Ludmila, s.Trifauti, raionul Soroca;
6.Vacula Alina, s.Trifauti, raionul Soroca.
Castigatorii sunt invitati sambata 4 martie la adresa str. Cosmonautilor 6, biroul 403 la orele 10.00, unde vor participa la un seminar ?Poluatori si poluanti?. Ei vor lua premii de la finantatorii concursului: Ministerul Ecologiei si Resurselor Naturale, Agentia Ecologica Centru.
P.S. Premiantii care nu vor putea veni la data stabilita, sunt asteptati sambata, 11 martie intre orele 10.00-15.00 la aceeasi adresa.
Cele mai bune eseuri vor fi publicate pe [url=http://www.SalvaEco.org]www.SalvaEco.org[/url]

Tatiana Cimpoies

"Interdependence is no longer disputed," said Blair, speaking to a forum of business and political leaders. "If America wants the rest of the world to be part of the agenda it has set, it must be part of their agenda too."

President George W. Bush’s inauguration speech last week showed the United States realised it could not defeat terror threats just by military means or on its own, said Blair, one of the US leader’s staunchest allies.

Defending the speech, which was accused of not reflecting the reality of US policies, Blair said its support for extending democracy and liberty "emphatically puts defeating the causes of terrorism alongside defeating the terrorists."

Blair said after international divisions over the war in Iraq, there was "a wish to re-unify." He has predicted Bush’s second term would see more account taken of the views of Europe, which the president visits next month on a fence- mending trip.

There was common purpose in fighting global terrorism, extending democracy and seeking peace in the Middle East, said Blair, stressing that those issues and his agenda for this year’s Group of Eight presidency could not be decoupled.

Blair wants to focus British leadership of the G8 group of leading industrialised nations on relieving poverty and disease in Africa and on combating climate change.

But the Bush administration has little enthusiasm for mandatory action to tackle the warming of the planet.

It has refused to sign up to the Kyoto protocol on cutting emissions thought to cause global warming, arguing it would cost US jobs and unfairly burden developed states while imposing no obligation on poorer polluting states such as China and India.

LOW COST CLIMATE SOLUTION

A broad belief in Europe that scientists have proved global warming is a reality is not so widely shared in the United States. The evidence of climate change had been clearly and persuasively advocated by a very large number of entirely independent and compelling voices, said Blair. "The majority is not always right. But they deserve to be listened to."

If governments proposed solutions involving drastic but justified cuts in growth or living standards they would not be agreed, Blair conceded.

But global warming could be tackled without enormous economic cost through more intelligent use of science, a greater contribution by rapidly developing economies and market mechanisms like emissions trading, he argued.

"We need to send a clear signal that whilst we continue to analyse science … we are united in moving in the direction of greenhouse gas reductions," said Blair.

An international panel of experts this week described global warming as an "ecological time bomb" and warned that without fast action carbon concentrations would push global temperatures up from pre-industrial times by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

That level would trigger "substantial agricultural losses, greatly increased numbers of people at risk of water shortages, and widespread adverse health impacts," the panel warned.

Blair used his speech to repeat his call for more aid for Africa, faster?debt relief, imaginative financing of help for the continent and a dismantling of unfair trade barriers.

He speaks on a panel on Africa on Thursday with rock star Bono, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Microsoft chief Bill Gates and former US president Bill Clinton.