Japan to limit financing of overseas coal power plants

Yahoo – AFP, Natsuko FUKUE, July 9, 2020

Protesters wearing masks of world leaders including Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe demonstrated against climate change and coal during the G20 summit in
Osaka in June 2019 (AFP Photo/Pak YIU)

Japan said Thursday it would tighten rules for investment in foreign coal-fired power stations on environmental grounds, but stopped short of ending government funding for projects.

The move comes with the world's third-largest economy under fire for financing projects to build coal plants at home and abroad -- notably in Southeast Asia.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama told reporters the government "has decided to tighten" the rules for supporting investment.

Countries seeking investment would be required to change their "behaviour" towards decarbonisation, Kajiyama said, but added that the new policy was not about cutting back funding.

"There are developing nations in the world that can only choose coal as an energy source," he said.

Further details were not immediately available.

The government currently provides funding to Japanese companies if their projects meet certain criteria -- such as when a foreign country has no options but to choose coal due to economic reasons.

Major decision

The Global Energy Monitor watchdog said last year that Japan accounted for over US$4.8 billion in financing for coal power plants abroad -- particularly in Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Kimiko Hirata, international director of the environmental NGO Kiko Network, said the new investment decision was a "major decision."

"The coal-fired power stations were the pillar of infrastructure exports for Japan," she told AFP.

But Greenpeace criticised the decision as falling short, saying it showed "no clear policy".

Last week, the government promised to study ways of phasing out older, more polluting coal-fired power stations by 2030, following reports it plans to mothball around 100 ageing plants.

Japan has some 140 coal-fired power stations, providing nearly one-third of the nation's total electricity generation, and second only to LNG-fired plants.

But there are more than a dozen projects underway to build more plants -- despite efforts to phase them out in many other parts of the world.

The appetite for coal-fired plants increased significantly after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident following the 2011 tsunami.

Japan wants nearly a quarter of its energy needs to be met by renewable sources -- including wind and solar -- by 2030, a figure critics describe as unambitious based on current levels of around 17 percent.

‘Waffle’ emergency shelter design wins prize for Delft students

DutchNews, June 20, 2020 - By Senay Boztas 

Image: Delft University of Technology

Students at Delft University of Technology have won first prize in an architecture competition for an emergency shelter that can be folded away and transported on just one truck. 

Aleksandra Wróbel, Agnieszka Witaszek and Kamil Owczarek designed the foldable emergency shelter to be made from prefabricated cut plywood, with an adaptable structure that can easily be put up and pulled down again, according to a university press release. The wall construction – which also acts as shelving – is described as ‘waffle-like’. 

Their design has won the Kaira Looro Architecture Competition. It also includes a storage room, tank for collecting and filtering rainwater and composting toilet that uses wood shavings. 

The three students received a prize of €5,000 and internship at Kengo Kuma & Associates in Japan. ‘Winning this competition might even become a base for us to start our own practice,’ said Wróbel. ‘This competition has focused our minds to a human-centred approach.’

Meet Thailand's secret weapon in climate change battle

Yahoo – AFP, Dene-Hern CHEN, March 8, 2020

Architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom made her name showing how the effects of 

climate change can be mitigated by ensuring the issue is at the heart of city 

planning (AFP Photo/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

Bangkok's future hangs in the balance.

Rising sea levels, unchecked development, groundwater extraction, and rapid urban population growth has left millions vulnerable to natural disasters -- scientists warn the city itself may not survive the century.

New analysis by the Nestpick 2050 Climate Change City Index says the Thai capital could be hardest hit by global warming.

And while it is not alone facing such a threat -- Venice, New Orleans, and Jakarta are predicted to be underwater by 2100 -- it does have a secret weapon in its battle to negate the impact of a hotter planet: renowned architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom who preaches mindful development over mindless construction.

"We are talking life and death in this situation," says the 39-year-old who is hoping to bring Bangkok back from the brink, as scientists warn extreme weather -- flooding and droughts -- could ravage the city, leaving as much as 40 percent submerged in the next decade.

Kotchakorn says: "I don't want to face it with fear. At this moment we have a chance to make change... We have to do it right now to show the coming generations that this is possible. It is not about sitting and waiting and doing the same thing."

No one can accuse the Harvard graduate of resting on her laurels: She made her name showing how the effects of climate change can be mitigated by ensuring the issue is at the heart of city planning.

Kotchakorn rails against Bangkok's unchecked development (AFP Photo/Lillian

SUWANRUMPHA)

She and her firm Landprocess created the internationally acclaimed Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, an 11-acre (4 hectares) space in central Bangkok, which tilts downward at a three-degree angle, allowing rainwater to flow through the flanking grass and wetlands.

Water that's not absorbed by the plants runs down to a pond at the base of the park, where it can be stored and filtered for use during dry spells or released gradually. In cases of severe flooding, the park can hold up to a million gallons of water.

Global rising star

Kotchakorn rails against Bangkok's unchecked development -- more than 10 million live in the metropolis packed with skyscrapers, factories, malls and hotels -- warning that an "addiction to growth" at all costs is jeopardising its ability to thrive.

"We think about how we're going to have more growth in our annual development... What if we shift the orientation from growth to really consider our actions on the environment, listen to the land more," she says.

"It doesn't mean I am against development but I want it to be very meaningful, very mindful, and at the right pace -- so we don't actually kill our future."

Today her ideas have been embraced at home, and abroad -- she gave an acclaimed TED talk in 2018, and last year TIME Magazine included her in its "100 Next" list of global rising stars.

Convincing clients, authorities, and other businesses to see the big environmental 

picture has not been easy in a mega-city obsessed with economic targets and 

expansion (AFP Photo/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

But convincing clients, authorities, and other businesses to see the big environmental picture has not been easy in a mega-city obsessed with economic targets and expansion.

Driving change as a woman in a patriarchal society has been an additional challenge, but Kotchakorn insists there is "power" in being different, particularly in an industry dominated by older men offering only "conventional ways of thinking".

Many of her ideas were initially dismissed, but she held firm, explaining: "I feel that was based on their fear. But it's not my fear."

"Women offer different kinds of judgement, different kinds of attitude towards problems... We have to bring that diversity to the table and create better decisions," she adds.

Things must change

A turning point came in 2011, when Thailand endured its worst floods in half a century, which left more than 800 dead nationwide with hundreds of thousands displaced. Bangkok, built on once-marshy land and surrounded by natural waterways, was hard hit.

Then came the World Bank warning that 40 percent of it would be inundated by 2030.

It was clear then things needed to change, says Voraakhom, who grew up in the capital and says air quality has deteriorated rapidly, as has food quality and security because of the heavy use of pesticides.

Hailing her late mother as her inspiration, and her 11-year-old daughter as her 

motivation, Kotchakorn hopes her work will solve problems for generations to 

come (AFP Photo/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

In 2018, she created Asia's largest rooftop farm, which mimics the region's famed rice terraces where run-off travels down layers of crops, conserving both water and soil. Winding around the 22,400 square-metre (241,000 square-foot) rooftop is a jogging path and a lawn.

Later this year she will unveil plans to transform a vast, unused bridge crossing the Chao Phraya river into a park with bicycle lanes, bringing more green space to a place with precious little of it.

"If you just do a normal building, it's just going to be the same. It's just another building. But if you create (something new), you actually could touch and change their way of living, their way of eating, their way of understanding of sustainability."

Kotchakorn has even greater ambitions for the city she grew up in -- she wants to "reclaim" the more than 1,000 canals that snake through Bangkok that are currently used for sewage.

"Canals have so much life, so much potential to be public green space and a skeleton of the whole city," she explains.

Hailing her late mother as her inspiration, and her 11-year-old daughter as her motivation, she hopes her work will solve problems for generations to come.

She says: "Being a mother is really helping to push me to create hope and solutions for the next generation. You see that the things you build will last after your life."

For a rainy day: Amsterdam plans to make new buildings catch rainwater

DutchNews, March 6, 2020 - By Senay Boztas 

A green roof bus stop. Photo: Mobilane

New build projects in Amsterdam would be forced to capture the first 60mm of rainfall thanks to proposals currently under public consultation. 

The city, which today launches a ‘roadmap’ charting its way to becoming climate neutral, is also concerned about how the built environment absorbs ever-increasing rainfall. 

A proposal, submitted in February, suggests that new builds will be obliged to ‘capture and process rainwater on their own ground, because the climate is changing and in the future ever heavier showers may fall.’ 

The obligation to capture and reuse rainwater – in features such as green roofs, water butts, and ‘grey water’ based sanitary facilities – is intended to help protect streets, cellars, houses and buildings from water damage. 

New builds would be obliged to soak up the first 60mm of rainfall and only then ‘gradually’ release it into city drainage system over 60 hours. 

Daniel Goedbloed, head of the water-management programme Amsterdam Rainproof, said that if the new rules are adopted, they would make a huge difference to the Dutch capital’s capacity to absorb water. 

‘The idea is that all new builds, including those which don’t need to apply for planning permission, can deal with up to 60ml of water on their own plot of land,’ he told DutchNews.nl. ‘You could install a “blue roof” that acts like a temporary lake and then slowly drains water, or a “blue-green” roof with sedum plants and the ability to hold some water. 

Rainwater harvesting systems can also be good, although they need to have water ready for the next use rather than draining it all away.’ 

Costs 

The rule for these systems is that they must catch 90ml of water and drain away 30% of this in 60 hours, he said. Smart rainwater harvesting systems and so-called ‘polder’ roofing would be exempt, and developments which don’t need planning permission would have slightly lower requirements. 

The costs would have to be borne by developers, although it is expected that on its own land, Amsterdam city council would offer a reduced ground rate for developers with rainwater harvesting measures in their plans. 

The public consultation period runs until the end of April and the rain harvesting measure is expected to go to a council vote before the summer. Meanwhile, local rules in areas such as Oud-West already mean that owners can only tile 50% of their gardens in order to let rainwater soak into the ground. 

The attention to rain is part of a drive to future-proof Amsterdam against climate change. The city’s plans to go climate neutral by 2030 – by better insulating homes and removing domestic gas – will reportedly cost ‘billions’ in investment. 

Head of sustainability Marieke van Doorninck on Friday compared the future-proofing plans in Amsterdam to the level of change during the Industrial Revolution, and a report by CE Delft confirmed that the city may be able to reduce its emissions by 48% in 2030, compared with 1990. 

Nika Haspels, a spokeswoman for Amsterdam city council, said that the rainwater proposals fall under this environmental drive. ‘This is part of the climate adaptation strategy,’ she said. ‘We have to do something: if you don’t ensure the rain is captured, then soon you are going to have a problem.’

Tokyo 2020 unveils Olympic 'plaza' made from donated wood

Yahoo – AFP, January 29, 2020

The Village Plaza will be a key part of the Athletes' Village and is constructed
largely from wood donated by municipalities across Japan (AFP Photo/Behrouz MEHRI)

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic organisers on Wednesday unveiled the "Village Plaza", a key part of the Athletes' Village that is being built from wood donated by municipalities across Japan.

The facility will be a gathering place for athletes and their teams, as well as the site of welcome ceremonies and press briefings during the Games.

The unusual structure is made mostly from wood, with the floors, walls and parts of the roof using timber including larch, Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress.

The vast complex nods to both modern and traditional elements.

The Village Plaza nods to traditional Japanese wood buildings, but incorporates 

novel structures, including an arch frame structure (AFP Photo/Behrouz MEHRI)

"It's based on Japanese traditional wood buildings, but not on any specific building in particular," said Nariki Makihara, Tokyo 2020 senior manager for venues sustainability.

Novel features include columns made by laying wooden planks at inclines against each other, and roof beams made by weaving planks into a latticework.

The wood has been donated by 63 municipalities across the country, and the facility will be dismantled after the Games, with the timber returned for re-use, a model organisers tout as part of their commitment to a sustainable Olympics.

Qatar signs $470 mn solar deal

Yahoo – AFP, January 19, 2020

Skyline of the Qatari capital Doha (AFP Photo/GIUSEPPE CACACE)

Doha (AFP) - Gas-rich Qatar signed a $470-million deal on Sunday to build its first solar energy plant, capable of meeting up to one-tenth of peak national power demand.

The Al-Kharsaah plant, near the capital, is a 10-square-kilometre (4-sq-mile) joint venture with French and Japanese partners due for completion in 2022 ahead of the football World Cup.

"Eight times the solar power pledged in the World Cup bid will be produced," Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told a media briefing in Doha.

Qatar's ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, vowed at the United Nations last year that the tournament would be carbon neutral, but gave little detail on how this would be achieved.

"Production capacity will be around 800 megawatts and 10 percent of peak demand," said Kaabi following a signing ceremony between Qatari state firms, France's Total and Japan's Marubeni.

"Eight-hundred megawatts will be the largest (solar power plant) built by Total," said the French energy giant's chief executive, Patrick Pouyanne.

By contrast, Abu Dhabi's Sweihan plant, one of the world's largest solar projects, produces 1,177 megawatts.

The capital cost of the venture is 1.7 billion riyals ($470 million), Kaabi said, with state firms taking a 60-percent stake and foreign investors 40 percent.

Marubeni will take 51 percent of the minority holding, while Total will have 49 percent.

"It's a pilot project, you have to assess how successful it is," added Kaabi.

Gulf states, heavily depend on oil and gas, have invested tens of billions of dollars in clean energy projects, mainly in solar and nuclear.

But critics say many such projects are slow to get off the drawing board.

The United Arab Emirates said last week its first nuclear power plant would start operating within months after repeated delays to meet safety and regulatory conditions.

The UAE will have the first operational nuclear reactor in the Arab world.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude oil exporter, has said it plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors, but the projects have yet to materialise.

Critics say the addiction to oil is hard to kick, particularly when supplies remain abundant and the high costs of investment in infrastructure needed to switch to renewables.

India blows up luxury high-rises over environmental violations

Yahoo – AFP, Abhaya SRIVASTAVA, January 11, 2020

India has seen a construction boom in recent years but developers have often
ridden roughshod over safety and other regulations (AFP Photo/Arun SANKAR)

Two luxury waterfront high-rises in southern India were reduced to rubble in controlled explosions Saturday in a rare example of authorities getting tough on builders who break environmental rules.

The 19-floor H2O Holy Faith complex of 90 flats -- overlooking Kerala state's famous lush backwaters -- was the first to go down, collapsing in just a matter of few seconds.

A thick grey cloud of dust and debris cascaded down after officials detonated explosives drilled into the walls of the building, which had been occupied for several years until the Supreme Court ruled last May that it was constructed in violation of coastal regulations.

Minutes later, the twin towers of Alfa Serene tumbled down with an ear-splitting noise. The remaining two complexes will be razed on Sunday.

A crowd of onlookers who flocked to nearby terraces and roads watched the demolition, after officials in helicopters conducted aerial surveys.

India has seen a construction boom in recent years but developers have often ridden roughshod over safety and other regulations, with the connivance of local officials.

The inhabitants of the apartment blocks in the well-off Maradu district of Kochi city had bought their 343 flats in good faith and now face a lengthy legal fight to recoup their money. Some had invested their life savings.

Sirens went off warning people gathered for the demolition to remain at a safe distance

while ambulances and fire engines stood on standby (AFP Photo/Arun SANKAR)

Sirens went off on Saturday warning people gathered for the demolition to remain at a safe distance while ambulances and fire engines stood on standby.

Ahead of the work, nearby residents told AFP they were worried about the impact of the demolition on their homes.

"When they were demolishing the swimming pool, some of the houses in our neighbourhood developed cracks, we are really worried," said Divya, who has moved into temporary accommodation.

Over 2,000 residents living in the neighbourhood were evacuated as a part of safety measures.

Scenic and fragile

The demolition capped a saga that began in 2006 when a local governing body granted permission to private builders to erect the high-rises.

But last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the builders were in breach of rules about construction in an ecologically sensitive coastal zone, calling it a "colossal loss" to the environment.

"It's a high-tide area and hundreds of illegal structures have come up in the coastal zone," the court ruled as it ordered the buildings razed.

The inhabitants of the razed apartment blocks in the well-off Maradu district of Kochi 

city had bought their 343 flats in good faith and now face a lengthy legal fight to 

recoup their money (AFP Photo/Arun SANKAR)

On Friday the court also ordered the demolition of a resort in neighbouring Alappuzha district after its owners lost the appeal of a 2013 ruling that said the structure violated environmental regulations and must be demolished.

Kerala is famed for its brackish lagoons and lakes that run parallel to the Arabian Sea -- creating an environmentally fragile region.

In 2018, the state was battered by its worst floods in almost a century that killed more than 400 people.

Experts blamed the disaster on the government's eagerness to build houses, hotels and resorts with little regard for coastal planning regulations.

The residents of the Maradu apartments initially refused to vacate but moved out after local authorities cut water and power supplies.

They have been given interim partial compensation by the state government while the builders are in the process of providing a refund.

Shamshudeen Karunagapally, who bought a flat for $145,000, said his wife and children did not watch the buildings go down as it was "too painful for them to see their dreams shatter before their eyes".

"We are suffering without any fault," he told AFP.

At least two injured in Jakarta building collapse

Yahoo – AFP, 6 January 2020

A mixed-use building in Jakarta partly collapsed, injuring at least two

A five-storey building in Jakarta partly collapsed Monday morning, injuring at least two people who were taken to hospital, authorities said.

TV images showed about half the building on Jakarta's western side had caved in with concrete and other debris lying on the road. Rescue officials were seen carrying people out on stretchers.

The structure is a mixed residential-commercial space with a convenience store on the ground floor and small rental units on the upper floors.

"The upper floors of the building were empty, while the second floor was a warehouse and a place for employees to rest," West Jakarta police chief Audie Latuheru told reporters.

"The employees ran away when they heard creaking sounds. The two injured people were outside of the building when the accident happened," he added.

Indonesia's national search and rescue agency said three people were injured.

Initial media reports said eight people were wounded, but police later said that figure included those evacuated from the building.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident or if it was connected to the flooding sparked by torrential rain in the capital region last week that left more than 60 people dead.

The search and rescue agency said it appeared that the downpours may have played a role.

"We found evidence of flooding on the rooftop and the third and fourth floors had no water drainage system," said Budi Purnama, national operations director for Indonesia's search and rescue agency.

Map of Indonesia locating Jakarta where a five-storey building partly collapsed 

on Monday

"Water had seeped through the walls... the structure couldn't hold it any longer."

Police and eyewitness said the accident started shortly after 9:00 am local time (0200 GMT).

"The building just suddenly collapsed," eyewitness Ridwan Ria told AFP.

"There was a thundering noise and it happened very quickly. In seconds the building had collapsed.

"There was no sound or weird noise beforehand," the 60-year-old shop owner added.

Another witness said there was water dripping from the ceiling of the building's shop on Sunday.

"I noticed since yesterday that something was wrong," the witness, identified as Juni, told local TV.

"I went to the store yesterday and saw the place was damp with water dripping from the ceiling."

Police told AFP that another witness, identified as a convenience store employee, said the building had started leaning to one side two years ago.

Lax construction standards have raised widespread concerns about building safety in Indonesia.

In 2018, a group of teenagers practising for a dance and music show were among seven killed when the building they were in collapsed in Cirebon, east of Jakarta.

The same year, at least 75 people were injured when a mezzanine floor at Indonesia's stock exchange building in Jakarta collapsed into the lobby.

Sydney power under threat as fires destroy substations

Yahoo – AFP, January 4, 2020

New South Wales is under a third state of emergency over the severe fire
conditions (AFP Photo/PETER PARKS)

Sydney (AFP) - Electricity supplies in Australia's most populous state, including its largest city Sydney, were under threat on Saturday after bushfires took out two substations with authorities warning of rolling blackouts if conditions worsen.

The blazes have raged across New South Wales, and they brought down transmission lines in the state's south connecting with neighbouring Victoria, state energy minister Matt Kean tweeted.

Kean urged people to reduce unnecessary electricity use and "turn off pool pumps, lights in unoccupied rooms and avoid using washing machines and dishwashers".

TransGrid chief executive Paul Italiano said the system was coping but "under stress".

He warned the loss of another major power station could mean "load shedding" power cuts to prevent the electricity grid from collapsing.

"It is no longer operating as a single national electricity market and that has compromised the availability of energy to New South Wales," Italiano told national broadcaster ABC.

New South Wales, which is under a third state of emergency over the severe fire conditions, has a population of just under eight million, of whom around 65 percent live in the greater Sydney region.

The fires have claimed the lives of 17 people in the state and burnt some 3.6 million hectares (36,000 square kilometres) -- an area larger than Belgium.

While bushfires are common in Australia's arid summers, climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures and led to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons.

Related Articles

20TH KRYON SUMMER LIGHT CONFERENCE, US (7), June 2-4, 2017 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Text version "The State of the Earth")

"....  A mini ice age is coming. "Kryon, isn't that doom for the planet?"  Many have seen the artist's rendering of major earth cities under ice and all of the other things that go very well with science fiction movies. That's simply a painting of someone's doom scenario, not reality based in the history of the cycle. If you want to know what a mini ice age is like, just flash back in history and study what took place in about 1650. That was a mini ice age. Due to the change in the Gulf Stream (the ocean), the river Thames froze in London. Dear ones, it was cold, but it did not doom the planet. That's a mini ice age.

That's what you're facing, and I'll say it again. If you live in a cold climate, heed this advice: It's going to get colder. Get off the grid! Within the next 15 years, find a way of producing electricity independently or in smaller groups. This can be done neighborhood-wide or separately in homes. You're going to need this, dear ones, because the grid as it exists right now all over the world is not prepared for this coming cold, and the grid will fail. That's not doom and gloom, that's just practical, commonly known information. Your electricity infrastructure is delicate, too delicate. Prepare for a cold spell that may last for a couple of decades. That's all it is. Technology is racing forward to allow this. Don't let your politics get in the way of your survival. ..."

"...  This is controversial. The planet can't just "change the water". It does it instead with a "reboot of life in the ocean" using the water cycle. Watch for evidence of this as it occurs, and then remember this channel. This weather cycle is to refresh the life in the ocean so that everyone on the planet will have needed food from the ocean. Gaia does this by itself, has done it before, and it does it for a reason - so it will not stagnate.

Dear ones, indeed, you have put compromising things into the air and the water, but it has not caused this cycle. We have said for a very long time, stop killing the environment! The reason? It's going to kill you, not Gaia. Gaia is spectacularly resilient and will survive anything you do. However, it is you who may not survive if you continue polluting. All this is starting to change with your awareness, and you're starting to see this and move with it. But Humans are not causing the current weather shift. This will be known eventually.

What is happening has happened before, and it's almost like a reboot for the oceans and it carries a lot of dichotomous events. You're going to see reports of a dying ocean, but at the same time you're going to see unusual reports of too many fish and other sea life in places that were supposed to have a decline. You're going to see the life cycle of the ocean itself start to change and reboot.

The chief player in this renewal is a place you would not expect: Antarctica. I want you to watch for magic in Antarctica. It has always been the core of the refreshing of microbes and other kinds of life in your oceans and it's especially active during these mini ice ages. The process will cause currents under the sea to be filled with new life, delivering it to both hemispheres almost like an under-sea conveyor belt. ..."

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

THE RELATIONSHIP TO GAIA - April 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

New Mini Ice Age

"The weather you have today, and all the alarming attributes of it, is a scenario of what was scheduled to happen on Earth anyway. I review again that the weather changes you are seeing prophesied by myself, 21 years ago, are not a surprise. The changes are not caused by the pollutants you put in the air. You call it global warming and that's a nice phrase, and perhaps that will get you to put less pollutants in the air – a very good thing. But what you are seeing in the weather shift today was not caused by Humans putting things into the air. It would have happened anyway in about 300 years."

"We've called this process the water cycle, since it's all about water, not about air. The water is the predominant attribute of Gaia and of the weather cycle you're seeing. More predominant is the temperature of it. The cycle is ice to water and water to ice, and has been repeated on this planet over and over and over. It is not new. It is not exceptional. It is not frightening. But it's a cycle that modern humanity has not seen before, and it's a long cycle that is beyond the life span of a Human Being. Therefore, it tends to be overlooked or not seen at all !"

"In the days of the Lemurians, the water level of the Pacific Ocean was almost 400 feet lower, and that's only 50,000 years ago. [Kryon invites science to check this out – the water level at that time.] That was a water cycle working, and the reason it was lower was due to so much of the water being stored as ice. Today you're going through another water cycle that will eventually lead to cooling. The last one was in the 1400s."

"Science sees that at about 1650. As mentioned, they are so slow there is no remembrance that a Human has of them except in past writings and in the rings of the trees. The time span of the changes is so great that environmental record keeping does not exist in the form that it does today. But you can still look at the rings of the trees and at the striations of the rocks and can generally figure out that a few hundred years ago, you had a mini-ice age. Now you're going to have another one."