An employee walking along a thermal pipe at the Kamojang geothermal
power plant near Garut, West Java, on March 18. State utility provider
 Perusahaan Listrik Negara is targeting an additional 135 megawatts of
electricity from three new geothermal plants. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)
 

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,.. etc.)
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“.. Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time. …”

Monday, March 9, 2020

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."

Saturday, March 7, 2020

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.’