04/28 News

Obama Talks Wind Power,Green Jobs
Last Edited: Wednesday, 22 Apr 2009, 4:22

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Marking Earth Day with a pitch for his energy plan, President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for a "new era of energy exploration in America" and argued that his proposal would help the economy and the environment at once.

"The choice we face is not between saving our environment and saving our economy -- it's a choice between prosperity and decline," Obama said in his first post-election trip to Iowa, the state that launched him toward the White House. "The nation that leads the world in creating new sources of clean energy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy."
But Obama's promise of preserving natural resources and jump-starting the economy ran smack into the reality of this economically struggling town about 30 miles east of Des Moines. The wind energy plant where he spoke, and received a tour beforehand, is a shadow of what it replaced -- a Maytag Corp. appliances plant that built washers, dryers and refrigerators.
It employed some 4,000 in a town of 16,000 residents in jobs that paid about $30,000 to $40,000 a year.
Trinity Structural Towers has roughly 90 people working at the old Maytag site, a number that is expected to grow to about 140. Mark Stiles, a senior vice president at Trinity, which builds the towers that support wind turbines, said workers at his factory make about $17 an hour, plus benefits.

"This is a piece of the recovery, but we think it's a nice piece," Stiles said.
Newton Mayor Chaz Allen said many are still trying to recover after the loss of Maytag in 2007.
"You know, 115 years with one company was a great thing, but it's a different world now," Allen said. "Our economy has to be diverse and we can't put all of our eggs in one basket."
Obama was at the plant to highlight his energy proposal that has slowed on Capitol Hill. Skeptical Republicans and some Democrats from coal-producing states complain that it will increase costs for consumers, send jobs overseas and hurt businesses.
Obama said the nation needs more domestic production of oil and natural gas in the short term. But "the bulk of our efforts," he said, must focus on transitioning the U.S. to more renewable energy.

He pushed personal responsibility, calling on every American to replace one incandescent light bulb with one compact fluorescent. The president also said the leaders of the world's major economies will meet next week to discuss the energy crisis.
For his remarks, Obama chose Iowa, second only to Texas in installed wind capacity.
He announced his administration is creating the nation's first program to authorize offshore projects to generate electricity from wind turbines and ocean currents. The Interior Department on Wednesday issued the long-awaited regulations governing how leases will be issued for the development of such energy sources and how revenue will be shared with coastal states.
Obama said that wind could generate as much as 20 percent of the U.S. electricity demand by 2030 if its full potential is pursued on land and offshore. It would also create as many as 250,000 jobs, he said.

"As with so many clean energy investments, it's win-win: good for environment and great for our economy," the president said.
But wind-produced electricity totals just under 2 percent of all electricity generated, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group.
Obama's energy plan would reduce greenhouse gases by 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, and by 83 percent by mid-century. It calls for a series of measures aimed at reducing the use of fossil energy, such as requiring utilities to produce a quarter of their electricity from renewable sources.

The House began four days of hearings on its version of climate legislation on Tuesday.
GOP lawmakers have criticized the "cap-and-trade" portion of the measure, calling it a massive energy tax because it will put a price on carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. But Obama defended it, saying, "My hope is that this will be the vehicle through which we put this policy in effect."

Obama's energy plan would drive more investments to companies such as Trinity.
The administration's economic stimulus plan also included some $5 billion for low-income weatherization programs and $2 billion for electric car research. Another $500 million was set aside to train workers for "green jobs," such as those at Trinity.
Obama's post-inauguration travel itinerary reads like a list of battleground and Republican-leaning states that helped lift him to the presidency and will be critical in any re-election bid. He's visited Colorado, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Florida and now Iowa.
Obama staged a surprise upset over one-time rival Hillary Rodham Clinton to win Iowa's caucuses in January 2008, giving him much-needed momentum that sparked a marathon nomination struggle. His Iowa field operation for 2012 is up and running, with town-hall meetings scheduled this week.

In Landover, Md., on Monday, Vice President Joe Biden marked Earth
Day by announcing that $300 million in federal stimulus money will go to cities and towns to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles.
____
Associated Press Writer Brian Westley in Landover, Md., contributed to this report.

Comment:

As President Obama nears his 100th day, he finally takes up his renewable energy proposal

on Earth Day. According Kyoto Protocol, the U.S. has to fulfill its promise to reduce the carbon intensity 20% by 2020. Up to now, wind-produced electricity in the U.S. is only under 2 percent of all electricity generated. Though it's not the most efficient country that developing wind power; contrary to Taiwan, it's better than us.

Quote of the week:

"The choice we face is not between saving our environment and saving our economy -- it's a choice between prosperity and decline." Obama said.

04/21 News

Diplomats Storm Out Of UN Racism Conference
8:59pm UK, Monday April 20, 2009

Diplomats have walked out of a UN conference on racism after the president of Iran launched a blistering attack on the Israeli government.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Israel of being the "most cruel and racist regime", causing angry Western diplomats to get up and leave the room.
In a rambling speech, Mr Ahmadinejad pointed a finger at the US, Europe and Israel and accused them of destabilising the entire world.
Some European diplomats immediately walked out of the room when the Iranian president said Israel was created on the "pretext of Jewish suffering" in World War II.
A wigged protester shouting "Racist, racist" threw a soft red object at Mr Ahmadinejad, hitting the podium and interrupting his speech.

The conference has been shunned by America and many of its allies including Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Italy.
Their boycott stemmed from the fear it could be a platform for what US President Barack Obama called "hypocritical and counterproductive" antagonism towards Israel.
President Ahmadinejad is the only major head of state who accepted an invitation to the gathering, which UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also due to address.
France, like Britain and the Czech Republic, is sending ambassadors but not senior members of government.

It is hard to find an explanation as to why exactly the Swiss, hosting the 'Durban II' anti-racism convention in Geneva, opted to make its guest of honour Iran's strong man Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The UN wants the summit to focus on easing ethnic and racial tensions that threaten migrant workers and minorities.
Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said the failure of the 27-member European Union to agree a common position on the meeting was a huge disappointment.
"Going there and acting as a silent witness does not pay in the end: you only risk becoming complicit to it," he said in an interview with Italian daily Il Giornale.
The US and Israel walked out of the last major UN race conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001 after Arab states sought to label Zionism as racist.

Quote of the week

''We have to remember that every country in Latin America, 15 countries, have normal relations with Cuba. We’re the country which is isolated.”--Barbara Lee

04/14 Quote of the day

'' Nothing is easy in Middle East.''

-David Rank(AIT Political Section Chief )

04/07 News

China Calls For New Global Currency -China calls for new global currency controlled by International Monetary Fund

By JOE McDONALDBEIJING, China,

24 Mar, 2009

China is calling for a new global currency controlled by the International Monetary Fund, stepping up pressure ahead of a London summit of global leaders for changes to a financial system dominated by the U.S. dollar and Western governments.

The comments, in an essay by the Chinese central bank governor released late Monday, reflects Beijing's growing assertiveness in economic affairs. China is expected to press for developing countries to have a bigger say in finance when leaders of the Group of 20 major economies meet April 2 in London to discuss the global crisis.
Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan's essay did not mention the dollar by name but said the crisis showed the dangers of relying on one nation's currency for international payments. In an unusual step, the essay was published in both Chinese and English, making clear it was meant for an international audience.

"The crisis called again for creative reform of the existing international monetary system towards an international reserve currency," Zhou wrote.

A reserve currency is the unit in which a government holds its reserves. But Zhou said the proposed new currency also should be used for trade, investment, pricing commodities and corporate bookkeeping.

Beijing has long been uneasy about relying on the dollar for the bulk of its trade and to store foreign reserves. Premier Wen Jiabao publicly appealed to Washington this month to avoid any steps in response to the crisis that might erode the value of the dollar and Beijing's estimated $1 trillion holdings in Treasuries and other U.S. government debt.
The currency should be based on shares in the IMF held by its 185 member nations, known as special drawing rights, or SDRs, the essay said. The Washington-based IMF advises governments on economic policy and lends money to help with balance-of-payments problems.
Independent economists have suggested creating a new reserve currency to reduce reliance on the dollar but acknowledge that would face obstacles. It would need acceptance from governments that have relied on the dollar for decades and hold huge stockpiles of U.S. currency.

China has pressed for changes to give developing countries more influence in the IMF, the World Bank and other finance bodies. G20 finance officials issued a statement at their last meeting calling for such changes but gave no details of how that might happen.
Russia also has called for such reforms and says it will press its case at the London summit.

Zhou said the new currency would let governments manage their economies more efficiently because its value would not be influenced by any one nation's need to regulate its own finance and trade.

"A super-sovereign reserve currency managed by a global institution could be used to both create and control global liquidity," Zhou wrote. "This will significantly reduce the risks of a future crisis and enhance crisis management capability."

Zhou also called for changing how SDRs are valued. Currently, they are based on the value of four currencies - the dollar, euro, yen and British pound.
"The basket of currencies forming the basis for SDR valuation should be expanded to include currencies of all major economies," Zhou wrote. "The allocation of the SDR can be shifted from a purely calculation-based system to one backed by real assets, such as a reserve pool, to further boost market confidence in its value."

My comment:

China is Challenging the Status of U.S. Dollar
The news shows that more and more countries treat dollar with distrust. Not only China but Russia, India… maintain the same idea. Within these two years, insurance,
real estate, and automobile industry in the U.S. collapse quickly, affecting the dollar’s depreciation as well. It seems that there are two power in G20 countries toward the new currency issue: U.S. and western countries versus China and Russia (or capitalism countries vs. communism countries ; developed countries countries vs. developing countries).

Let’s see the pros and cons of creating a new reserve currency system.
Strength:
1. reducing reliance on the dollar(especially those countries trading with the U.S. frequently)
2. stability
3. controlled by the neutral organization
Shortcoming:
1. obstacles like the identification problem or the huge administrative expense
2. risks of failed new currency
3. the influence of big power will go down

In a series of creating a new currency system news, what’s worthy of paying attention to is UN and IMF approval of this proposal. And now, as a giant economy body, China, has a lot of reasonable reasons to say so. The Beijing administration , some developing countries and even all BRICKs members need finance to support economy in their own countries. For example, China holds the value of $1 trillion dollars in Treasuries and U.S. government debt; nevertheless, the lasting economic depression erodes the assets that China own, and brought China instability. In conclusion, it’s not a matter of ’if ’ this will happen, just a question of ‘when.’

Quote of the week

"I believe the best outcome for us would be a 21st century economy in which more money is made in the production of goods and services and less money is made in finance." -Bill Clinton