Would EPA air-pollution rules lead to massive blackouts? Feds weigh in. (The Christian Science Monitor)

The results of a Department of Energy study suggest that two new federal pollution rules would not result in widespread blackouts or compromise the American electricity grid, federal officials announced Thursday.

The energy industry has claimed that the rules would result in a dangerous number of power plants being closed or having to come offline for pollution-control updates. The result, according to an industry report, would be a huge cut in power generation that threatened the reliability of the grid.  

Modeling done in what the DOE calls a "stress test," however, found that overall resources would be adequate, with the exception of a small amount of additional natural-gas power generation needed in Texas. While "resource adequacy would not be compromised," the retirements of power plants and other factors "could lead to grid-reliability challenges" in some localized instances, the report stated.

IN PICTURES: Some of the world's most polluted cities

The back and forth is the latest round in the battle between the Obama administration and pro-business Republicans in Congress over whether new environmental regulations are "job killers." Industry officials have warned that a wave of power-plant closures could not only weaken the power grid but also cost thousands of jobs.

One of the flash points the DOE sought to address Thursday is the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule ? the Environmental Protection Agency's revision of a Bush-era rule that was overturned by the courts. It reduces permissible smokestack emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in Eastern states and goes into effect Jan. 1. It allows a three-year transition.

The other rule at issue is the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule, which requires power-plant operators to filter out mercury and other poisons. It is set to be unveiled later this month.

?Our review, combined with several other studies, demonstrate that new EPA rules ? which will provide extensive public health protections from an array of harmful pollutants ? should not create resource-adequacy issues," said David Sandalow, the assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at DOE, in a statement.

To head off criticism, the DOE crafted its stress test to be more stringent than the EPA standards. By that measure, plant closures and retrofits would proceed safely and along EPA expectations, so long as regulators and utility-industry owners took "prompt action," the DOE found.

Critics say the new DOE study is not broad enough.

"DOE?s new review limited itself only to resource adequacy, which DOE admits is just one component of reliability assessment," said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, an industry group, in a statement. Issues regarding retirements and transmission were ignored, he said.

In 2010, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, an industry group that oversees grid reliability, forecast that proposed federal pollution rules would cut nearly in half the amount of projected reserve energy available to the US power grid in 2018.

But the DOE says its study was comprehensive and supersedes the NERC study, especially since some of the proposed pollution rules that NERC included in its study have since been delayed by the EPA.

"EPA has done this for the last 40 years," said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. "We make sure the lights stay on."

IN PICTURES: Some of the world's most polluted cities

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111201/ts_csm/431324

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Video: CNBC Business News Headlines

CNBC's Seema Mody reports the nation is facing a railway strike, with CNBC's Eamon Javers. Also, JetBlue bid $72 million on two choice airport slots; a grand jury is investigating former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; and the Massachusetts AG is suin...

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45517373/

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Donald Trump to moderate GOP debate in Iowa (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? Donald Trump wants back in the 2012 election circus.

Not as a candidate, but as a debate moderator.

The real estate mogul, reality TV star and hair piece is partnering with conservative magazine Newsmax to moderate a GOP debate in Des Moines, Iowa December 27, as reported by the New York Times.

A call to Newsmax was not returned, but the company's CEO Christopher Ruddy told the Times that his readers love the brash, birth-certificate-obsessed tycoon.

If you'll remember -- and how could you forget? -- Trump spent the first half of 2011 weighing his own candidacy for the nomination. The centerpiece of his campaign seemed to be a tireless search for the "truth" behind Barack Obama's origins, producing the uncontroversial birth certificate controversy.

Trump later said he would not run, but his spokesperson told ABC News Trump would consider running as an independent if none of the GOP candidates impress him enough. That same spokesperson said Trump's endorsement would decide the election.

Well, the Donald will get his chance to inspect the candidates up close and personal in Iowa, the site of the election's first caucus. The debate will air just a week before the caucus, making this the last debate for that event.

There are three debates before this one -- two on Fox News and one on ABC.

Whether people will watch is another story since the debate will air on Ion TV, a smaller cable network. Yet given the ratings the debates have gotten on every platform from CBS to CNBC, one can only imagine that people will find a way to watch.

As the Times report notes, while Trump's campaign may have seemed like a joke -- and his spokesperson's comments self-serving -- this partnership with Newsmax is further evidence that Trump has both popularity and influence with conservatives.

He has met with a series of GOP candidates, like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann, and also has a well-documented sit-down with one-time aspirant Sarah Palin.

Trump also gave a rousing speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference where he lamented that American had become the "laughingstock of the world."

So just one question for the man behind "The Apprentice": Can you fire GOP presidential nominees?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111202/tv_nm/us_donaldtrump

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Committee continuing investigation of Jackson Jr.

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it will continue its investigation into allegations Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. or someone acting on his behalf offered to raise campaign cash for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for a Senate appointment in 2008.

The committee also released an initial report from the Office of Congressional Ethics that said there was "probable cause" to believe that Jackson either directed a third party or had knowledge of a third party's effort to convince the since-convicted Blagojevich to appoint Jackson Jr. in exchange for campaign cash.

The report, originally compiled in August 2009, also said there is "substantial reason to believe" Jackson Jr. violated federal law by using his congressional staff to mount a "public campaign" to secure a Senate appointment.

The report had not been released previously and the ethics committee had delayed its investigation because the Justice Department was conducting a criminal investigation that led to Blagojevich's conviction on a series of corruption charges including efforts to sell a Senate appointment. The Justice Department recently withdrew its request for the committee to defer its investigation, indicating it is no longer actively investigating Jackson.

The ethics committee had previously said it would determine by Friday what course its investigation would take involving Jackson, a Democrat and son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.

The younger Jackson responded to the committee's decision to extend the investigation with a statement pledging to cooperate and reiterating that his efforts to be appointed to the Senate were above-board.

"I have said from the beginning that I publicly and transparently sought to have the Governor of Illinois appoint me to fulfill the final two years of then-Senator Barack Obama's term in the U.S. Senate," he said. "I did nothing illegal, unethical or inappropriate in that pursuit and I believe that is what the Ethics Committee will conclude at the end of this process."

Jackson also released a letter from his attorneys, who wrote that there is no basis for the committee's investigation and urged the panel to "close its investigation of this matter."

"Although Congressman Jackson was interested in the appointment ... he was largely focused on his own re-election and Obama's campaign," Reid H. Weingarten and Brian M. Heberlig said in the letter.

Friday's announcement means the committee will continue looking into allegations involving Blagojevich and whether Jackson inappropriately used government resources to angle for an appointment. It voted unanimously to continue its inquiry and set no timetable for a conclusion.

The committee said in a statement that continuing the investigation "does not itself indicate that any violation occurred."

The detailed 2009 report from the Office of Congressional Ethics, released with the statement, indicates investigators have suspicions Jackson had knowledge of efforts to persuade Blagojevich to appoint him to the Senate. The report names a likely third party, Raghuveer Nayak.

"There is probable cause to believe that Representative Jackson either 1) directed a third party, most likely Mr. Raghuveer Nayak to offer to raise money ... or 2) had knowledge that Nayak would likely make such an offer once Rep. Jackson authorized him to advocate on his behalf with Gov. Blagojevich."

The report said investigating these claims was stymied by the fact that Blagojevich, Nayak and another fundraiser, Rajinder Bedi, have declined to cooperate with the investigation.

The report also concludes, after interviews with Jackson Jr. and his staff, that there is substantial reason to believe that his staff based in both Chicago and Washington was used inappropriately in attempts to secure a Senate appointment.

The Office of Congressional Ethics cannot discipline members of the House and does not determine whether they are guilty. That is left to the ethics committee. The Office of Congressional Ethics does preliminary investigative work for the ethics committee. Its board members are not members of Congress.

Publication of the report and the committee's decision to continue its investigation could have political consequences for Jackson beyond whatever action the committee might take.

He will stand for reelection in 2012 in a rejiggered congressional district that has attracted a viable primary opponent, former Rep. Debbie Halvorson. A Democrat, Halvorson represented the new terrain in Jackson's district both in Congress and in the Illinois Legislature. She pounced on Friday's announcement and has indicated she will make Jackson's ethical issues a focus of her race.

"There we go," Halvorson said. "Another day where he's got to deal with ethics, distractions and his lawyers instead of constituents and this has been going on for over three years"

The 46-year-old Jackson was first elected to office in 1995. He has twice considered runs for mayor of Chicago and was widely seen as interested in an appointment to the Senate seat vacated by Obama when he was elected president in 2008.

_______

Associated Press Writer Deanna Bellandi in Chicago contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-02-Jesse%20Jackson%20Jr-Ethics%203rd%20Ld-Writethru/id-31a9202a6c9b41cf92c3bbcd154293d8

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Physics in the Mix: Bartending Gets Scientific

Rotary evaporator. Credit: Geni/Wikimedia Commons

Molecular gastronomy?the use of scientific techniques to create exotic cuisine?is becoming a household term. But what about molecular mixology?

An article in the December Physics World (not yet available online) explores how bartenders are using scientific equipment and techniques to create new cocktails, and how many long-established tricks in the mixologists? book are firmly rooted in physics and chemistry.

One key to tasty tipples is that the physical properties of ethanol?the chemical form of alcohol in booze?permit the delivery of ?flavours that are impossible to achieve using water alone,? according to the article?s authors, Naveen Sinha and David Weitz of Harvard University. Aromatic compounds such as those that provide ?the caramel notes of rum or the oaky smell of bourbon? tend not to be soluble in water, but they play much nicer with alcohol, Sinha and Weitz explain:

Water molecules are polar and so prefer to be near other polar molecules to minimize their interaction energy. This encourages non-polar molecules, such as the aromatics, to leave the liquid phase and vaporize into the surrounding air, where they contribute to the aroma of the drink. The presence of ethanol mediates this polar/non-polar interaction and allows high concentrations of aromatics to remain in an aqueous solution.

A familiar application of ethanol?s aromatic amenability is the making of an infusion?soaking herbs or pepper, for instance, in vodka for days to leach the flavors out into the liquor. But clever culinarians have concocted a way to accelerate this method, creating infusions on demand. In a process devised by Dave Arnold of the French Culinary Institute, a relatively inexpensive nitrous oxide?pressurized cream whipper turns vodka and coffee grounds into coffee-infused vodka in about a minute. Sinha and Weitz explain how the technique works:

What happens is that nitrous oxide, which is also in the canister and under high pressure, dissolves in the vodka. The high pressure of the liquid displaces any air bubbles in the coffee grounds. When the pressure is released, the nitrous oxide rapidly bubbles out of the solution, just as when a can of carbonated drink is opened. Releasing these bubbles draws flavour molecules from the coffee grounds into the vodka?

A higher-tech, and far more expensive, approach is to draw out aromatics by distillation using a lab device called a rotary evaporator. By lowering the pressure in a vessel of liquid, the rotary evaporator, which costs thousands of dollars, draws out aromatic compounds at lower temperatures than would be needed for ordinary evaporation. The evaporated aromatics can then be captured and added back to liquor as flavoring. London bartender Tony Conigliaro uses a rotary evaporator to make spirits such as blackcurrant vodka and gin spiked with silver-needle tea, according to a 2009 article in the New York Times.

Credit: ? llally/iStockphoto

And Sinha and Weitz note that rotary evaporators can separate desirable from undesirable flavors?drawing off the rich aromatics of a chili pepper, for instance, while leaving behind capsaicin, which lends peppers their heat, ?yielding a liqueur that retains all the flavour of the chillies but without any nasty burn.?

It seems doubtful that rotary evaporators will ever become standard equipment in bars and restaurants. But it?s nonetheless encouraging to know that experimenters such as Arnold and Conigliaro are out there, pushing the boundaries, using the tricks and tools of science to make a more flavorful world?one exotic cocktail at a time.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=f4a517c6fa7d449ecced99f17f73e859

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Iranian diplomats set to leave UK (AP)

LONDON ? The deadline is approaching for Iranian diplomats to leave Britain following their expulsion by the U.K. government after protesters attacked the British embassy in Tehran.

Early Friday, the Iranian flag was still flying at Tehran's embassy in London, with diplomats given until 2 p.m. GMT (9 a.m. EST) to leave the U.K.

Phones at Iran's London embassy and consulate rang unanswered.

Tehran's relations with Britain have become increasingly strained in recent months, largely due to tensions over Tehran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment ? a process that can lead to developing nuclear weapons.

On Tuesday, Iranian protesters stormed and ransacked the U.K. embassy compounds in Tehran.

The incident ? broadcast around the world ? showed demonstrators tearing down Union Jack flags and brandishing a looted picture of Queen Elizabeth II. It has deepened Iran's isolation and significantly escalated tensions with the West.

In retaliation, Britain ordered Iranian diplomats off its soil, pulled its diplomats out of Iran and backed new sanctions on the Islamic republic. At least four other European countries, including Germany and France, also moved to reduce diplomatic contacts with Iran.

The storming of the embassy came two days after Iran's parliament voted to reduce ties with Britain following London's support for the recently upgraded U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

Although host nations are supposed to ensure security for embassies, the mob rampaged for hours at the British compound. Attackers torched a vehicle, tossed looted documents through windows, tearing down Union Jack flags and replacing them with Iran's flag and a banner in the name of a 7th-century Shiite saint, Imam Hussein.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the attacks were "clearly premeditated" by high-ranking officials, but claimed there were "divisions within the Iranian regime" about the move.

Iran's government has criticized the attacks. But hard-liners have spoken out in support of the protesters. Mohammad Mohammadian praised the attackers, saying they had targeted the "epicenter of sedition."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_re_eu/iran_britain

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3d games ps3 . 3DS Gaming Console | steepdreamer.com

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Source: http://steepdreamer.com/2011/12/3d-games-ps3-3ds-gaming-console/

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