MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia's customs agency said Friday that it seized radioactive metal from the luggage of an Iranian passenger bound for Tehran.
Spokeswoman Kseniya Grebenkina told The Associated Press that the luggage had been seized some time ago, but could not specify when. The Iranian hasn't been detained, she said.
The Federal Customs Service said in a statement that its agents found 18 pieces of metal at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport after a radiation alert went on. It says the gauges showed that radiation levels were 20 times higher than normal.
It was not immediately clear if the substance could have any use in Iran's controversial nuclear program.
The pieces contained Sodium-22, she said, a radioactive isotope of sodium that could be produced in a particle accelerator. Sodium-22 is a positron-emitting isotope that has medical uses, including in nuclear medicine imaging.
Grebenkina said prosecutors have launched a probe into the incident.
Sergei Novikov, spokesman for the Rosatom nuclear agency, told the AP that the pieces are highly unlikely to have come from Rosatom and said the isotope is produced by particle accelerators, not by nuclear reactors.
In Russia, universities, research institutes and big medical centers have the technology to produce it, he said.
"There is an extremely slim chance that it could have come from Rosatom," he said.
Novikov said that Rosatom has never sold Sodium-22 to Iran, but it has supplied it with other types of medical isotopes.
Grebenkina of the Customs Service insisted that the material seized is not highly radioactive.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed harsher sanctions against Iran aimed at derailing its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons. Iran denies Western allegations that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons.
Earlier this year, Atomstroiexport, a Rosatom subsidiary, launched Iran's first nuclear reactor in Bushehr.
Russian officials have insisted that the deal with Iran is in line with international agreements and will oblige Tehran to ship all the spent fuel from the plant back to Russia for reprocessing to avoid a possibility of it being used in a covert weapons program.
Industrial 'inertia to change' is delaying development of zero carbon homes, report findsPublic release date: 14-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Clare Ryan clare.ryan@ucl.ac.uk 44-203-108-3846 University College London
Tackling rising CO2 emissions from the residential sector could make a vital contribution towards mitigating climate change, according to a new report from the UCL Bartlett School of Planning.
Setting out the best strategies for achieving this goal by studying examples of good practice globally, the Zero Carbon Homes Project was inspired by a progressive new policy introduced in 2007 by the UK government to ensure that all new homes built post 2016 would be zero carbon. It was this move that marked the most radical approach to residential carbon reduction to date
Dr Jo Williams, principal investigator of the Zero Carbon Homes Project from the UCL Bartlett School of Planning said: "Since 2007 very little has happened in the UK, at least in part due to the economic crisis and subsequent housing slump. However there are other factors at play here not least a lack of political support and significant institutional inertia to change." The findings of the project are published today in the book Zero Carbon Homes - A Road Map.
Housing currently generates 7% of global CO2 emissions, according to 2009 International Energy Agency Statistics. In Europe this figure rises to 10%, with CO2 emissions in the US even higher at 20%. However, currently the largest regional increase in CO2 emissions for residential buildings is in developing Asia (accounting for 42%) and the Middle East/North Africa (accounting for 42%), providing a real challenge to the mitigation of climate change.
Dr Williams said: "Zero carbon homes are technically feasible to build, and with the right legislative and fiscal framework they are also affordable as demonstrated in Europe and the USA. With rapid reduction in the price of low carbon technologies and rising energy costs, zero carbon homes will make increasing economic sense, even in the short-term."
Yet while the technology exists, the research highlights that currently the biggest barrier to the development of zero carbon homes internationally are the construction and energy industries, particularly the energy industry. The project identified lots of examples of good practice globally, but few where low carbon prototypes had become widespread across cities or regions.
For wider deployment of low carbon development to occur it would require that the international regulatory framework forced the energy industry to diversify their current portfolios, to become suppliers of low carbon energy and of services to reduce energy consumption.
"In the absence of an international framework the onus rests on nation states or individual cities to have the political courage to support the delivery of this agenda", said Dr Williams.
So far purely market-based approaches to the deployment of zero carbon homes haven't worked, even when there are high concentrations of green consumers. As in the past, where wider deployment of prototypes had occurred within nation states and cities it had been driven by legislation, in conjunction with some form of subsidy in the early phases of deployment.
With the limited market demand for zero carbon homes, house purchase decisions aren't based on the energy efficiency of a house, let alone its CO? emissions. The research demonstrated that cost, location and design are the most important factors influencing purchase decisions, even amongst green consumers. However, if in those three respects housing is comparable, the potential for energy savings does become a consideration for consumers.
"It is important to have a range of options when providing zero carbon homes, to offer a diversity of designs, price and location. However, our studies found that the simpler you make it for the consumer to have installed and operate low carbon technologies, the greater market interest," said Dr Williams
"Consumers want to be able to move from house to house without having to be taught how to use the technology provided in their new home. Most also don't want to have to make the decision as to whether they want PV or a ground-source heat-pumps installed. Universal user-technology interfaces, companies offering management and maintenance services and house-builders who make the technological decisions on the part of the house-purchaser will all help to increase market demand."
She added: "The bigger picture is that zero carbon homes are a win-win option. Of course they reduce CO? emissions thus slowing the process of global warming, but they also significantly reduce energy costs for the householder. They increase the potential for cities and nations states to be more energetically self-sufficient, an important consideration when we are entering a period of fuel scarcity."
There are also potential economic and social benefits which accrue from the development of zero carbon homes. The research suggests that zero carbon developments can offer a potential investment opportunity. For example a 10% return on investment was reported for a community energy project in Germany, more lucrative than putting it in a savings account or investing in an ISA.
The new infrastructure required for zero carbon homes has also led to the creation of associated new industries and jobs with the obvious social and economic benefits. In some models where residents are more involved in the management and maintenance of the new infrastructure it has also helped to build stronger social networks within local communities.
###
Notes for Editors
1. For more information or to interview Dr Joanna Williams, please contact Clare Ryan in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 3108 3846, mobile: +44 07747 565 056, out of hours +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: clare.ryan@ucl.ac.uk.
2. The Zero Carbon Homes Project ran from 2007-2011. The findings of the project will be published in the book Zero Carbon Homes A Road Map to be published by Earthscan Routeledge on 15 December 2011.
3. Dr Joanna Williams is a Senior Lecturer in sustainable development at UCL, where she is the Director of the Sustainable Urbanism masters programme. She is also the Principal Investigator for the Zero Carbon Homes project and is an expert contributor to various international advisory bodies in the field of sustainable development.
4. Zero Carbon Homes A Road Map will be launched early in 2012.
About UCL (University College London)
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. UCL is among the world's top universities, as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables. Alumni include Marie Stopes, Jonathan Dimbleby, Lord Woolf, Alexander Graham Bell, and members of the band Coldplay. UCL currently has over 13,000 undergraduate and 9,000 postgraduate students. Its annual income is over 700 million. www.ucl.ac.uk
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Industrial 'inertia to change' is delaying development of zero carbon homes, report findsPublic release date: 14-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Clare Ryan clare.ryan@ucl.ac.uk 44-203-108-3846 University College London
Tackling rising CO2 emissions from the residential sector could make a vital contribution towards mitigating climate change, according to a new report from the UCL Bartlett School of Planning.
Setting out the best strategies for achieving this goal by studying examples of good practice globally, the Zero Carbon Homes Project was inspired by a progressive new policy introduced in 2007 by the UK government to ensure that all new homes built post 2016 would be zero carbon. It was this move that marked the most radical approach to residential carbon reduction to date
Dr Jo Williams, principal investigator of the Zero Carbon Homes Project from the UCL Bartlett School of Planning said: "Since 2007 very little has happened in the UK, at least in part due to the economic crisis and subsequent housing slump. However there are other factors at play here not least a lack of political support and significant institutional inertia to change." The findings of the project are published today in the book Zero Carbon Homes - A Road Map.
Housing currently generates 7% of global CO2 emissions, according to 2009 International Energy Agency Statistics. In Europe this figure rises to 10%, with CO2 emissions in the US even higher at 20%. However, currently the largest regional increase in CO2 emissions for residential buildings is in developing Asia (accounting for 42%) and the Middle East/North Africa (accounting for 42%), providing a real challenge to the mitigation of climate change.
Dr Williams said: "Zero carbon homes are technically feasible to build, and with the right legislative and fiscal framework they are also affordable as demonstrated in Europe and the USA. With rapid reduction in the price of low carbon technologies and rising energy costs, zero carbon homes will make increasing economic sense, even in the short-term."
Yet while the technology exists, the research highlights that currently the biggest barrier to the development of zero carbon homes internationally are the construction and energy industries, particularly the energy industry. The project identified lots of examples of good practice globally, but few where low carbon prototypes had become widespread across cities or regions.
For wider deployment of low carbon development to occur it would require that the international regulatory framework forced the energy industry to diversify their current portfolios, to become suppliers of low carbon energy and of services to reduce energy consumption.
"In the absence of an international framework the onus rests on nation states or individual cities to have the political courage to support the delivery of this agenda", said Dr Williams.
So far purely market-based approaches to the deployment of zero carbon homes haven't worked, even when there are high concentrations of green consumers. As in the past, where wider deployment of prototypes had occurred within nation states and cities it had been driven by legislation, in conjunction with some form of subsidy in the early phases of deployment.
With the limited market demand for zero carbon homes, house purchase decisions aren't based on the energy efficiency of a house, let alone its CO? emissions. The research demonstrated that cost, location and design are the most important factors influencing purchase decisions, even amongst green consumers. However, if in those three respects housing is comparable, the potential for energy savings does become a consideration for consumers.
"It is important to have a range of options when providing zero carbon homes, to offer a diversity of designs, price and location. However, our studies found that the simpler you make it for the consumer to have installed and operate low carbon technologies, the greater market interest," said Dr Williams
"Consumers want to be able to move from house to house without having to be taught how to use the technology provided in their new home. Most also don't want to have to make the decision as to whether they want PV or a ground-source heat-pumps installed. Universal user-technology interfaces, companies offering management and maintenance services and house-builders who make the technological decisions on the part of the house-purchaser will all help to increase market demand."
She added: "The bigger picture is that zero carbon homes are a win-win option. Of course they reduce CO? emissions thus slowing the process of global warming, but they also significantly reduce energy costs for the householder. They increase the potential for cities and nations states to be more energetically self-sufficient, an important consideration when we are entering a period of fuel scarcity."
There are also potential economic and social benefits which accrue from the development of zero carbon homes. The research suggests that zero carbon developments can offer a potential investment opportunity. For example a 10% return on investment was reported for a community energy project in Germany, more lucrative than putting it in a savings account or investing in an ISA.
The new infrastructure required for zero carbon homes has also led to the creation of associated new industries and jobs with the obvious social and economic benefits. In some models where residents are more involved in the management and maintenance of the new infrastructure it has also helped to build stronger social networks within local communities.
###
Notes for Editors
1. For more information or to interview Dr Joanna Williams, please contact Clare Ryan in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 3108 3846, mobile: +44 07747 565 056, out of hours +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: clare.ryan@ucl.ac.uk.
2. The Zero Carbon Homes Project ran from 2007-2011. The findings of the project will be published in the book Zero Carbon Homes A Road Map to be published by Earthscan Routeledge on 15 December 2011.
3. Dr Joanna Williams is a Senior Lecturer in sustainable development at UCL, where she is the Director of the Sustainable Urbanism masters programme. She is also the Principal Investigator for the Zero Carbon Homes project and is an expert contributor to various international advisory bodies in the field of sustainable development.
4. Zero Carbon Homes A Road Map will be launched early in 2012.
About UCL (University College London)
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. UCL is among the world's top universities, as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables. Alumni include Marie Stopes, Jonathan Dimbleby, Lord Woolf, Alexander Graham Bell, and members of the band Coldplay. UCL currently has over 13,000 undergraduate and 9,000 postgraduate students. Its annual income is over 700 million. www.ucl.ac.uk
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Republican Party chairman says Herman Cain provided an important voice in the presidential race, but candidates "come and go" during every primary and the field inevitably narrows.
Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) says Cain's polling numbers were falling and he was having trouble raising money, so the GOP chairman thinks it's "only natural" that the candidate pulled out about a month before the first vote.
But Priebus says the decision was up to Cain, who was battling allegations of sexual harassment and a claim that he had an extramarital affair. The Georgia businessman has denied the accusations.
Priebus says Cain might have a big role to play yet. But Priebus tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that depends on a politician having money and being to get out into the public.
For a long period of time, Bluetooth speakers, regardless of size or price, offered poor audio performance on par with low bitrate MP3s from the early days of file sharing. Logitech's Mini Boombox shows us how far not only Bluetooth, but portable audio, has come. At $99.99 (direct), this speaker is among the most compact, portable designs we've seen. The size alone sets you up for disappointment before hearing it, but the dual drivers of the Mini Boombox pack quite a punch. Obviously, a speaker this size is susceptible to distortion at high volumes, but the system still performs quite well, and pumps out more volume than you'd expect upon first glance. At half the price of the Aliph Jawbone Jambox ($199.99, 3.5 stars), it easily outperforms on the value front alone, earning it our Editors' Choice award for budget portable speakers.
Design Measuring 2.3 by 2.8 by 4.6-inches, the black plastic Logitech Mini Bombox is unassuming to say the least. Its size makes it ideal for throwing in a carry-on bag, and at 8 ounces, it's not going to weigh things down much. It's surprising that the small front panel hides two speaker drivers for stereo audio behind its grille. The drivers are so close together, you're more or less hearing things in mono, but with the presence of two drivers you at least maintain the integrity of the stereo mix. The top panel has red, underlit capacitive touch controls for Track Forward and Backward, Play/Pause, Volume Up and Down, and Bluetooth and Phone Answering. There is also a tiny microphone pinhole on the left side of the panel. Durable black rubber material covers the side panels and the back panel houses the micro USB connection (for charging), a 3.5mm aux input, and the power switch. An included USB cable connects either to a computer or the included charger, but it is quite short, making charging from a low-to-the-floor wall outlet a bit of a pain. Another minor annoyance is, when charging, the red controls on the top panel light up regardless of whether the speaker is on or off. The only accurate indicator is the blue underlit Logitech logo on the front panel.
Performance It's almost shocking to hold the Mini Boombox as it plays rock music at moderate to high volumes. It sounds great for such a small device, and you can feel the drivers vibrating. Though there is no deep bass to be had from such a tiny system, the speakers do a great job of providing a strong sense of low-end. The general frequency response sounds full, without the harshness or treble-heavy sound you might expect from something this size. Of course, at top volume, on both your sound source and the Mini Boombox, distortion starts to rear its ugly head. The difference between the Mini Boombox and, say, the Aliph Jawbone Jambox, is that the former costs $100 less, but they both suffer the same distortion issues at top volume. At reasonable volumes, both offer enjoyable audio.
Classical music, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," loses a bit of its low-end resonance on percussion hits and larger stringed instruments, but the sound is still engaging and never gets tinny or harsh. Rock music and hip hop, at reasonable levels, sound more robust than a speaker this size should be capable of. Only five years ago, audio performance this strong from such a tiny, portable unit was unheard of. Add in the fact that the audio quality is this strong when it's coming from a Bluetooth stream, and the Mini Boombox is quite impressive.
If you receive a call while listening to music, the audio indicator for an incoming call will sound through the Boombox's speakers. Pressing the Bluetooth/Phone button on the top panel answers and ends calls, and the mic, almost unnoticeable on the top panel, does a reasonable job with audio quality. Call clarity with mobile devices, especially iPhones, is rarely excellent to begin with, but the Mini Boombox does a good enough job that you'll be able to have a clear conversation, wireless and headset-free.
Logitech claims the Mini Boombox gets up to ten hours of audio playback on a single charge. This is a decent number, but it depends entirely on how loud the volume during use is. At moderate levels you will obviously get more battery life out of the speaker than if you're blasting it at maximum volume nonstop.
If you're looking for something in the wireless Bluetooth realm that's more powerful than the Mini Boombox or the Jambox, and are willing to move up in price?and size?the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker ($299.95, 4 stars) is our Editors' Choice for high-end portable speakers. You'll hear significantly more bass from it than you will with the Mini Boombox, but paying three times the price might seem too much. For $50 more than the Mini Boombox, the Logitech Wireless Boombox ($149.99, 3.5 stars) is a much larger portable system that also uses Bluetooth, but offers a little less overall value for the price. For its size, it's really a marvel that the Mini Boombox sounds as good as it does. At $100 you get wireless audio, a speaker for mobile phone calls, and a portable sound system for travel, and it does all of these things quite well.
More Speaker reviews: ??? Samsung HW-D450 ??? Logitech Mini Boombox ??? Audioengine 5+ ??? Hercules XPS 101 ??? Crosley Radio CR3001A Ranchero ?? more
MANCHESTER, N.H. ? The once-bursting 2012 Republican presidential field is narrowing to a two-man race, and GOP voters have one month before casting the first votes to winnow it to one. Barring a dramatic new turn, their chief options will be the steady but often bland demeanor of Mitt Romney and the idea-a-minute bombast of Newt Gingrich.
Herman Cain's suspension of his campaign Saturday, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry's continued struggles to regain traction, have focused the party's attention on Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Gingrich, the former House speaker. They offer striking contrasts in personality, government experience and campaign organization.
Romney has maintained a political infrastructure since his 2008 presidential bid, especially in New Hampshire. Gingrich, whose campaign nearly collapsed several months ago, is relying much more heavily on his televised debate performances and the good will he built up with conservatives as a congressional leader in the 1980s and 1990s.
Gingrich's efforts appear to be paying off in Iowa, which holds first in the nation caucuses January 3.
A Des Moines Register poll released late Saturday found Gingrich leading the GOP field with 25 percent support among likely caucus goers. Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 18 percent support and Romney, who began campaigning in Iowa in earnest only recently, had 16 percent.
Gingrich's and Romney's political philosophies and differences are a bit harder to tease out. Both men have changed their positions on issues such as climate change. And Gingrich, in particular, is known to veer into unusual territories, such as child labor practices.
Gingrich, Romney and the other Republican contenders except former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman sat for interviews at a Fox News campaign forum Saturday hosted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who sought the GOP nomination in 2008. Questioned by three Republican state attorneys general, the candidates described ways they would scale back federal programs.
Cain's announcement in Atlanta offered a possible opening for Romney or Gingrich to make a dramatic move in hopes of seizing momentum for the sprint to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus. Neither man did. They appear willing to play things carefully and low-key for now.
At a town hall meeting in New York sponsored by tea party supporters, Gingrich declined to characterize the race as a direct contest between himself and Romney. Any of the remaining GOP contenders could stage a comeback before the Iowa caucuses, he said. "I'm not going to say that any of my friends can't suddenly surprise us," Gingrich said.
But once high-flying contenders such as Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota have not managed to bounce back so far, despite weeks of trying.
Gingrich was careful when asked why voters should choose him over Romney.
"I'll let you decide. I think we are very, very different in a wide variety of ways," Gingrich said.
Romney seemed as eager as Gingrich to avoid casting the contest as anywhere close to decided. He repeatedly turned aside reporters' invitations to light into Gingrich, offering only gentle critiques. As usual, he aimed much sharper remarks at President Barack Obama.
"I don't think people have really settled down, in a final way, to decide who they're going to support in the nomination process," Romney told reporters in Manchester, where he held a rally and knocked on a few doors. "I hope they give us a good, careful look."
That was about as much emotion and daring as he showed all day. With the second-tier candidates ramping up their criticisms of Gingrich, Romney stuck to his steady-as-she-goes campaign style of criticizing Obama's economic record, and saying little else.
Cain's once-prospering campaign was undone by allegations of sexual wrongdoing. Gingrich has been the most obvious beneficiary of Cain's precipitous slide. But Perry, Bachmann and possibly others are likely to make a play for Cain's anti-establishment tea party backing. Time is running short for them to establish themselves as the top alternative to Romney, who has long been viewed with suspicion by many conservatives.
Cain said he would offer an endorsement. His former rivals were quick to issue statements on Saturday praising his conservative ideals and grassroots appeal.
Romney seemed loath on Saturday to criticize Gingrich or to stir the political waters. Reporters asked why his background makes him more qualified than Gingrich. "Speaker Gingrich has been a legislator and has worked in government affairs, and he can describe his own background," Romney replied.
Why are his positions better than Gingrich's on issues such as immigration, Romney was asked. "We have very similar views on a whole host of issues," he said. "There are some places, I'm sure, where there are differences." The biggest difference, he said, is "our life experience."
Asked if he fears that Gingrich will draw more tea party support, Romney said tea party activists "want someone who comes from outside Washington," someone who has spent his life "in the private sector, who has learned the experiences of the American economy."
"Speaker Gingrich is a fine person," Romney said, "but he spent his life in Washington, the last 40 years. That doesn't exactly line up with the tea party."
He also said he differed with Gingrich on child labor laws. Gingrich recently suggested that children as young as nine should work as assistant school janitors, to earn money and learn work ethics.
Romney noted that Gingrich would end taxes on dividends and capital gains for everyone, whereas Romney would keep them in place for the wealthiest Americans.
Romney's generally mild reproofs contrast with the hits Gingrich is taking from rivals such as Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Paul's campaign is airing a video accusing Gingrich of "serial hypocrisy." It shows Gingrich in a TV commercial with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., talking about the dangers of climate change.
Gingrich has called the Pelosi spot a stupid mistake on his part.
Romney's campaign had hundreds of volunteers knocking on doors and making phone calls Saturday, pushing a slogan that presidential hopefuls must "earn it."
Romney has a vacation home in New Hampshire, where he is well known. His campaign structure there isn't perfect, however.
Aides sent reporters to 827 Chestnut Street in Manchester, where Romney would start some door-knocking of his own. But there was no one home at 827, or the next house he tried, or the three after that. In nearly an hour of door-knocking, Romney met only a handful of voters, and all of them already seemed in his corner.
Asked at the day's end why he was being so gentle with Gingrich, Romney replied: "I think the right course for me is to continue talking about my vision for the country, my experience, and how I'd lead the nation. And Speaker Gingrich will get the chance to do the same thing."
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Former Vice President Dan Quayle is endorsing Mitt Romney for president.
Republican officials on Monday told The Associated Press that Quayle plans to announce his support for the former Massachusetts governor Tuesday afternoon.
Romney has an event scheduled Tuesday in Paradise Valley, Ariz., where Quayle has a home.
Quayle served as vice president under President George H.W. Bush. He was a House member from Indiana for two terms and a U.S. senator.
A GOP official familiar with Quayle's thinking says the former vice president is backing Romney because he views Romney as the most credible candidate in the race. The official requested anonymity to discuss Quayle's endorsement ahead of the official announcement.
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