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Al Qaeda targets U.S. oil interests in N. Africa

Al Qaeda’s growing North Africa network plans to attack U.S. interests seeking control of the region’s energy riches, its Algerian-based leader said in remarks published on Tuesday. The network of militants from Mauritania to Libya sees U.S. interests as legitimate targets because Washington backed the region’s “criminal” governments and stole Algerian oil, the New York Times quoted the leader as saying. Asked whether his group planned attacks on U.S. soil, the leader replied, referring to the U.S. administration: “Everyone must know that we will not hesitate in targeting it whenever we can and wherever it is on this planet.” He added that French, Spanish, and “Jewish” interests were also targets. The newspaper said the leader, believed to based in mountains east of Algiers, had given recorded audio replies to a list of questions submitted by the Times. His voice had been verified as genuine by a private voice expert who works for federal agencies, the newspaper said. His group has links with likeminded militants in the region and is the most effective armed rebel organization in the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) member country. He said his group had witnessed an awakening of jihad around the Maghreb, adding without elaborating that this included militants in sub-Saharan oil power Nigeria. Attacks on U.S. interests have been rare in Algeria.

Details Here: uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL0161813020080701?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

first published week of:   07/07/2008

Alabama Group ready to fight Bellefonte plant site

A group opposing a proposed nuclear plant at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Bellefonte site has launched a campaign informing the public of the potential dangers of nuclear power. NuStart, a consortium of nuclear utilities that includes TVA, is seeking to build a twin Westinghouse-designed reactor-plant at Bellefonte. The plant would be located next to one TVA did not finish after investing about $4.2 billion. In a news release Tuesday, Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team (BEST) said the potential for radioactive leaks and wastes and issues of security, high construction costs, and a reduced water supply are its main concerns. “Nuclear reactors are very expensive to build and operate safely,” said a BEST founder. “The real threat of terrorism means that every nuclear reactor has the equivalent of a terrorist bull’s eye painted on it.” A TVA spokesman said the utility’s nuclear plants “are very controlled and regulated.” The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold public meetings on the proposed plant on April 3

Details Here: www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1205918159262841.xml &coll=1

first published week of:   03/24/2008

APS announces improved energy conservation over past 2 years

Arizona Public Service customers have saved enough electricity through conservation programs in the past two years to power about 190,000 homes, according to the programs’managers.

Still, the savings amounts to less than 1 percent of the total energy demand of APS customers, said Tom Hines and Wayne Dobberpuhl, managers of the utility’s demand-reduction programs.

Details Here: www.energycentral.com/centers/news/daily/article.cfm?aid=9480569

first published week of:   01/07/2008

Canada warns U.S. over oil sands

Canada has warned the U.S. government that a narrow interpretation of the Energy Independence and Security Act 2007 would prohibit its neighbor buying fuel from Alberta’s vast oil sands, with “unintended consequences for both countries.” Section 526 of the law limits U.S. government procurement of alternative fuels to those from which the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions are equal to or less than those from conventional fuel from conventional petroleum sources. Canada’s oil sands are considered unconventional fuels, and producing them emits more greenhouse gas than conventional production. The Bush administration has, nonetheless, encouraged developing oil sands. A Canadian diplomat said, “Classifying fuel from the oil sands as non-conventional fuel…would unnecessarily complicate the integrated Canada-U.S. energy relationship.” An energy expert said cutting out the oil sands as a source of fuel would limit global supplies further, forcing up the price of oil: “$106 a barrel is going to look cheap.”

Details Here: www.windaction.org/news/14588

first published week of:   03/10/2008

Clemson researcher's work could add another layer to reactor safety

A Clemson University researcher is examining the potential of carbon fiber-based advanced materials, like those used in jetliner brakes, to withstand the heat and radiation in next-generation nuclear reactors. The carbon fiber composites can withstand higher temperatures than the steel alloys currently used internally in reactors, said the Clemson University chemical engineering professor, deputy director of the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films. That could add another layer of safety to nuclear facilities in the event of a coolant malfunction, he said. But before the material can be used in reactors, scientists need to understand how these carbon fiber-based materials react to radiation. That question is at the crux of the professor’s current research, funded by a new $450,000 Department of Energy grant, to research carbon fibers embedded into a carbon matrix that do not melt in extreme temperatures for potential use in the next generation power generators.

Details Here: greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080101/NEWS01/801010369

first published week of:   01/07/2008

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Volume 31

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