Thomas W. Nececkas

October 15, 2010

Marina Silva's Continuing Importance in Brazil's Election

19% of votes were not enough to advance Marina Silva, of the Green Party, past Brazil's presidential primary. However, the showing has received attention from presidential candidates Dilma Rousseff and Jose Serra, who now seek Silva's endorsement. Meanwhile, Silva disapproves of both candidates' stance on development in the Amazon, and has indicated she does not wish to give her endorsement to anyone.

Source:

Jan Rocha, Green Party Votes Up For Grabs In Brazil's Election, BBC, October 15, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11539579

Investing in Wind Power on the Atlantic

Google, Good Energies, Marubeni, and Trans-Elect plan to invest in a $5 billion project to install underwater transmission lines up to 20 miles off the Atlantic coastline, spanning from Virginia to New Jersey. If the project obtains regulatory approval, construction is expected to take 10 years, and initially result in enough transmission capability for future offshore wind projects to power about 500,000 homes.

Source:

Chris Kahn, Google to Invest in Offshore Wind Power Project, Associated Press, October 12, 2010, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOOGLE_OFFSHORE_WIND?SITE=PASUN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Proposed Cleanup of Carcinogens in Massachusetts River

In its recent proposal to the EPA, General Electric expressed willingness to use some dredging in its cleanup of the Housatonic River. The riverbed is contaminated with carcinogenic PCBs, resulting from GE's use of PCBs at its transformer manufacturing plant between 1932 and 1977. Now, GE favors leaving the PCBs in place but will do some dredging; some environmentalists call for more extensive dredging; and the EPA will hold a public comment period before issuing its own proposal next year.

Source:

Stephen Singer, GE: Will Do Some Dredging to Clean Up Mass. River, The State, October 13, 2010, http://www.thestate.com/2010/10/13/1511323/ge-will-do-some-dredging-to-clean.html?story_link=email_msg

Legal Fallout from Toxic Spill in Hungary

Weeks after a toxic sludge spill from the MAL aluminum plant flooded Kolontar, Hungary on Oct. 4, the townspeople were allowed to return home. Following a short stay in jail, MAL's chief executive was also allowed to return home, pending trial. Zoltan Bakonyi disclaims legal responsibility for harm to the public or the environment, claiming the corporation complied with environmental regulations.

Source:

CNN Wire Staff, Evacuated Residents Allowed To Return To Hungarian Village, CNN, October 15, 2010, http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/15/hungary.toxic/

South Africa Hopes to Catch Some Rays

South Africa has contracted with Fluor to study the feasibility of an immense solar park in the Northern Cape, with a potential $20 billion price tag. Fluor will present its conceptual design at the South African Solar Park Investors Conference later this month, then begin work on a more detailed design.

Source:

Nino Marchetti, South Africa Wants Massive Solar Park, Earth Techling, October 14, 2010, http://www.earthtechling.com/2010/10/south-africa-wants-massive-solar-park/