January 6, 2018

China built 2000 meter long solar highway with transparent concrete over solar panels

Qilu Transportation Development Group, a state-owned transport firm operating in Shandong, is completing a 2000 meter solar highway in China.

The road’s composition is made of three distinct layers, with transparent concrete on top protecting the solar panels beneath. The bottom layer is a strip of insulation that will protect the panels from the earth’s elements. Chinese solar inverter firm Growatt has supplied its string inverters for the project.

The Jinan South Ring Expressway creeps into the city and will not only plug into the grid but will also serve as a research prototype, with engineers from Tongji University – who developed the core technology for the project – stressing that in the future this solar-powered stretch of road could actually charge electric vehicles as they drive along it.

Tongji University professor of transportation engineering Zhang Hongchao said that he hopes the solar highway can kickstart the development of a national network of smart roads that would become “mobile solar charging treasures” able to not only power vehicles but also provide pre-emptive technical support, manage driverless fleets and harvest big data to smooth traffic flows.

This project follows on from a 660-square meter solar-powered pavement developed in Jinan earlier this year to test the university’s solar-powered concrete slabs, which boast anti-skid performance and the ability to use some of the electricity gleaned to heat up and thus melt snow and ice before it forms.

The panels cover 5,875 square meters (63,238 square feet).

According to the report from Quartz, the road cost around 3,000 yuan ($458) per sq m, higher than regular streets.

No more at link: https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/01/china-built-2000-meter-long-solar-highway-with-transparent-concrete-over-solar-panels.html

January 6, 2018

Keystone XL pipeline opponents appeal Nebraska route approval

LINCOLN, Neb. (Reuters) - Opponents of TransCanada Corp’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline appealed a decision by Nebraska regulators to approve a path for the project through the state, a lawyer for the opponents said on Friday.

The legal challenge throws up another obstacle to the long-delayed project, which environmentalists have made a symbol of their fight against climate change but which President Donald Trump supports as a job creator.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission in November approved a route for Keystone XL, lifting what appeared to be the last big regulatory hurdle for the 1,179-mile (1,897-km) pipeline linking the oil fields of Canada’s Alberta province to U.S. refineries, initially proposed nearly a decade ago.

But the approval was not for TransCanada’s preferred path, and was instead for an alternative route that shifted it eastward to an existing pipeline right-of-way.

Lawyers for opponents of the pipeline - which include landowners along the route - have argued that the commission was not permitted to approve anything but the original route TransCanada had requested in its application.


More: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pipeline-keystone/keystone-xl-pipeline-opponents-appeal-nebraska-route-approval-idUSKBN1EU275



FILE PHOTO: A depot used to store pipes for Transcanada Corp's planned Keystone XL oil pipeline is seen in Gascoyne, North Dakota, U.S. on January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester/File Photo

January 5, 2018

Stephen Colbert - Monologue and Opening - 1/4/18

Make America Warm Again



The massive amount of snowflakes might explain Winter Storm Grayson's millennial name.



Stephen Bites Into The Juicy New Trump Book



Despite a cease and desist order from Trump's attorneys, Michael Wolff's bombshell book is being released.



Jeff Sessions Says Legal Weed... Illegal?



Stephen lights up Jeff Sessions for rolling back states' rights on marijuana legalization.



A 'Bomb Cyclone' Is Nothing Compared To What's Next



This meteorologist proves that 'bomb cyclone' is hardly the most threatening-sounding weather condition.

January 5, 2018

East Coast Republicans Slam Trump Administrations Offshore Drilling Plan

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Rick Scott were among the first to criticize the proposal.

The Trump administration’s plan to open nearly all U.S. waters to oil drilling is already taking heat from an unlikely source: Republicans.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) swiftly released statements on Thursday opposing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s proposal to allow oil and gas companies to drill on the Atlantic coast for the first time since the 1980s.

“I urge Secretary Zinke to recognize the Florida Congressional delegation’s bipartisan efforts to maintain and extend the moratorium in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and remove this area for future planning purposes,” Rubio said.

In a tweet, Scott, a close Trump ally, said he “already asked to immediately meet with Secretary Zinke to discuss the concerns I have with this plan and the crucial need to remove Florida from consideration.”


More (Includes video): https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/republicans-offshore-oil_us_5a4e8fb1e4b003133ec6852e



Fire boats douse the blazing remnants of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

January 5, 2018

New offshore oil drilling proposed off California coast by Trump administration

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed the largest expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. history, releasing a plan to allow new drilling off the coasts of Northern, Central and Southern California, along with most of the East Coast.

“Today we’re embarking on a new path for energy dominance in America,” U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said during a conference call with reporters.

The plan would allow oil and gas companies to lease 47 areas off America’s coastlines from 2019 to 2024, totaling up to 90 percent of the offshore areas where oil drilling is potentially allowed. Of those, seven of those areas would be in the Pacific Ocean — two off Northern California, two off Central California, two off Southern California and one off Washington state and Oregon.

The draft proposal Thursday did not include specific maps showing exactly which areas would be offered for drilling. But it marks the first time since 1984 — when President Ronald Reagan’s Interior secretary, James Watt, sought to drill off Big Sur and the coasts of San Mateo and Sonoma counties — that any new offshore drilling leases would be offered for sale in California.


Much more: https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/04/new-offshore-oil-drilling-proposed-off-california-coast-by-trump-administration/



The Trump administration on Thursday proposed allowing new offshore oil drilling in most of America’s coastal areas, including northern, southern and central California areas like Big Sur.

January 5, 2018

The Daily Show - Bizarre, Unverified and Fraudulent: Michael Wolff Steps Inside the Trump Presidency

In Michael Wolff's book "Fire and Fury," the reporter claims that Donald Trump never wanted to be president and that most of his administration thinks he's incompetent.



Between the Scenes - Trump’s Latest Coffee Boy: Steve Bannon



Trump suddenly forgets who Steve Bannon is after his former chief strategist blasts him in Michael Wolff’s tell-all book.

Trevor isn't at all surprised by the Trump administration's reaction to Michael Wolff's revealing book "Fire and Fury."

January 4, 2018

Stephen Colbert - Monologue and Opening - 1/3/18

Stephen Unbuttons Trump's Button Brag



With the threat of thermonuclear war growing each day, Stephen speaks directly to the president who can save us.



Our President Never Planned On Being Our President



President Trump's recent temper tantrums may have been triggered by the an upcoming book full of unflattering information and Trump's real motives behind his presidential bid.



Stephen Took Out A Billboard For Trump's 'Dishonest Media Awards'



Stephen took out space in Times Square to campaign for one of Trump's 'Most Dishonest & Corrupt Media Awards.'



Don't Let 'Button Dysfunction' Destroy Your World



Consult a doctor if your nuclear holocaust lasts more than four hours.

January 4, 2018

Trump to Seek Biggest Offshore Drilling Increase in Decades

The Trump administration is poised to open the door to selling new offshore drilling rights from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arctic Sea, igniting a fight with coastal residents worried about oil spills befouling beaches and jeopardizing tourism dollars.

The proposal -- set to be the most expansive such offering in decades -- is a response to President Donald Trump’s April order encouraging the Interior Department to auction drilling rights in Atlantic waters that former President Barack Obama ultimately ruled out after a backlash from communities up and down the U.S. East Coast.

The plan, set to be unveiled in the coming days, will propose auctioning oil and gas drilling rights in the Arctic Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and possibly Pacific waters around the U.S., said people familiar with the program who asked not to be identified before a formal announcement.

Trump’s proposal will meet the same opposition that encouraged Obama to scrap proposed Atlantic drilling, vowed Sierra Weaver, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, a conservation group.

"We know there’s a bull’s-eye on the southeast," Weaver said. "The coast woke up last time around, and they definitely know what’s at stake, they know they need to raise their voices, and they now know what their coast is worth."


More: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-03/trump-said-to-seek-biggest-offshore-drilling-increase-in-decades

January 4, 2018

The Daily Show: Trump Goes Nuclear on Twitter

In a New Year's tweetstorm, President Trump compares the size of his nuclear button to Kim Jong-un's, rails against Palestine, and announces awards for the "dishonest media."

January 3, 2018

Stephen Colbert: Guest Anderson Cooper Walked Out Of The New 'Star Wars' Movie

'Anderson Cooper 360' host Anderson Cooper discusses U.S. politics, international politics, and why he walked out of 'Star Wars' after just 45 minutes.