Congress supports coal-to-liquid fuels

An important coal-related amendment was included in legislation during the final days of the 109th Congress' first session, which ends imminently. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia offered an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill which requires that a study be done on the benefits of converting coal to liquid fuels by the Department of Defense.

The Byrd amendment is a clear demonstration that the United States Government is continuing to seek alternative sources of fuel, and that the Low-Rank Coal-Water Fuel coal conversion process of Silverado Green Fuel Inc. will be a vital part of the solution to the current energy needs.

Following passage of the first Energy bill this past July, the House continued its strong support for the development of Low-Rank Coal-Water Fuel with the passage of "Energy II" which included the definition of a refinery as "...a facility designed and operated to receive, load, unload, store, transport, process and refine coal by any chemical or physical process, including liquefaction, in order to produce ...liquid fuel as its primary output..."

- So, when is Peak Coal arriving?

Digging for Black Gold

peakoil.com -> usnews.com :

While Americans have been transfixed by the spectacular rise in oil and natural gas prices and the fat profits of the oil giants, coal has quietly risen to prices not seen for nearly three decades. For miners who weathered massive layoffs and coal companies that long sat on losses as large as their vast stockpiles of mined coal, this could mean a sustained industry boom. For everybody else, particularly electricity-hungry consumers, the rise in coal prices could mean even higher energy prices on the horizon.

The price of coal for "spot," or immediate use, has doubled since 2002. Long-term contract prices are also on the rise. That means big profits for companies such as Peabody Energy Corp., which reported a 141% increase in third-quarter earnings. But their costs are also on the rise as they have had to dig farther into veins and grapple with transportation shortfalls. "The easiest, most technologically available, and best-quality coal is gone," says Brenda Pierce, U.S. Geological Survey energy program coordinator.

(2005-12-22 23:15:43 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

GM shares lose 4% after Kerkorian sale

news.yahoo.com :

Shares of General Motors Corp. extended their decline on Wednesday, losing another 4 percent, after news that billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's investment company sold 12 million shares. GM's stock, already down 50 percent this year, fell to its lowest in more than 20 years after Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. reduced its stake in GM to 7.8 percent from 9.9 percent.

The world's largest automaker has lost nearly $4 billion this year amid high health-care and materials costs, shrinking U.S. market share and sinking sales of large SUVs - its long-time profit generators. GM plans to launch a broader restructuring effort that will include the slashing of 30,000 jobs and closing of 12 facilities in North America.

The automaker has said it plans to sell its finance arm - General Motors Acceptance Corp. - to restore an investment-grade rating to the unit. Adding to the pressure is a possible strike at bankrupt Delphi Corp., GM's main auto parts supplier. Delphi has said it will ask the court to negate its labor contracts if it cannot reach a deal with its union.

Google Base :
american auto-makers

(2005-12-22 22:55:17 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Euro 5 standard proposed

greencarcongress.com :

The Euro 5 proposal is similar to the draft posted earlier this year. Under the proposal, particulate emissions from diesel cars would be slashed by 80% and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 20%. The tougher standards proposed would lead to the introduction of particulate filters for diesel cars. For gasoline cars, the Commission proposes to cut NOx emissions and hydrocarbons by 25%.

The Euro 5 proposal would also remove an exemption that enabled heavy passenger vehicles (such as SUVs) with a maximum mass of over 2,500kg to be approved using the less rigorous emission standards of light commercial vehicles, rather than passenger vehicles.

(2005-12-22 22:02:31 SGT) [Env] Permalink

Seagate buys Maxtor for $1.9 billion

slashdot.org -> reuters.com :

Seagate Technology on Wednesday said it would buy rival computer disk-drive maker Maxtor Corp. for $1.9 billion in stock.

Under terms of the deal, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2006, Maxtor shareholders will receive 0.37 shares of Seagate common stock for each Maxtor share they own. Seagate shareholders will own about 84 percent and Maxtor shareholders will own about 16 percent of the new combined company.

Seagate said its executive management team will continue to serve in their current roles and the combined company will retain the Seagate name.

(2005-12-22 13:08:42 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Inventor of WWW starts blog

usatoday.com -> dig.csail.mit.edu :

World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee has started a blog just in time for the 15th anniversary of his invention. In his first entry, Berners-Lee remarked on how the Web took off as a publishing medium rather than one in which visitors not only read but also contributed information.

"WWW was soon full of lots of interesting stuff, but not a space for communal design, for discource through communal authorship," he wrote. That has changed lately with the growing popularity of blogs, which are online diaries that often let visitors submit comments, and wikis, which are sites in which visitors can add, change and even delete what they see.

Their popularity "makes me feel I wasn't crazy to think people needed a creative space," wrote Berners-Lee, who added that he decided to start a blog to get a chance to play with blogging tools.

Berners-Lee first proposed the Web in 1989 while developing ways to control computers remotely at CERN, the Geneva-based European Organization for Nuclear Research. He never got the project formally approved, but quietly tinkered with it anyway, making the first browser available at CERN by Christmas Day 1990.

(2005-12-22 13:03:38 SGT) [Tech] Permalink

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