Wood Bioenergy Bioreactors Biotechnology

Smaller cars and bicyles

2008-07-05T20:19:00.005+03:00

The future means smaller cars and bicycles. We've to change our lifestyle.

Microbial Control for Pulp & Paper Manufacturing | LuminUltra

2008-07-04T06:09:00.001+03:00

Macarena sent this link to me. Is this the same thing Juha blogged about?

Microbial Control for Pulp & Paper Manufacturing | LuminUltra: "Pulp & Paper Manufacturing
A Total Microbiological Monitoring Solution!

In the pulp and paper industry, microbial growth can greatly degrade the quality of paper produced. LuminUltra’s biological monitoring technology can help you maintain product of the highest calibre through accurate and reliable water testing.

Our 2nd generation ATP tests are the most accurate, reliable, and versatile tests on the market today and allow you to measure microbial growth at any point in the process, from raw water to process water to wastewater:

▶ Quench-Gone Aqueous (QGA) provides the first line of defence in a multi-barrier operational monitoring program for raw water treatment and distribution, including:

Evaluate raw water quality and optimize water treatment operations.
Monitor and control microbiological re-growth in treated water distribution.
Reduce health risks in cooling systems.

▶ QuenchGone21 Industrial (QG21I ) results can become a valuable component of process maintenance programs such as:

Assessing biocide efficacy in paper process waters (e.g. whitewater).
Protection of product quality by preventing slime formation, which can cause paper breaks, holes, discoloration, and plugging.
Prevent pulp degradation or discoloration.

Peak Oil and $ 600 per barrel prediction

2008-06-30T21:24:00.004+03:00

This man is discussing peak-oil with the help of a bell curve.

We're going to hear new theories about pric of oil in the near future.

Cheap oil from the Middle East.

Russia
America
North Sea
Canada
Iraq
Iran

Says tallcoolone1 (2 weeks ago)

In theory "peak oil" may be inevitable, but in fact we are not there.

Saudi Arabia is set to increase production by 500,000 barrels a day.

They couldnt do that if they were at a peak. But Saudi appears to be skeptical about the price increases, which they believe are not justified.

Fittingly, they would like to lower the prices to make sure we dont start switching in large measure to other energy sources.

Cleantech Blog looking for bloggers

2008-06-29T20:31:00.001+03:00

Cleantech is an emerging trend. I've been looking at the weak signals.

Cleantech Blog: "Bloggers wanted. I have been blessed with leading a great group of bloggers on Cleantech Blog for nearly three years now, including people like

Richard Stuebi (renewable energy and policy),
Heather Rae (green marketing and home),
John Addison (transportation), with recent additions
Mark Henwood (stocks) and
Cristina Foung (green consumer products),
and support over the years from like industry gurus like Joel Makower and Felix Kramer.

But the sector is outgrowing even us. So we want more! And of course I am reaching out to our readership to find them. We are looking to add one or two more bloggers. No previous blog experience needed (though happy to do a 'blog merger' if you wanted to).

We would love someone in

solar,
carbon trading,
climate change,
and biofuels.

"Excellent writing skills needed, of course. Good opinions. Expert on or working in the field you are writing about. Keep in mind, Cleantech Blog does not do all the news all the time. We rely on our friends at CNET, Cleantech Media, Greentech Media, GreenBiz.com, and Earth2Tech to take care of that. Each blogger does a weekly column on opinions, analysis and discussion of the issues and news that matters," informs the blog.

Pulp, Paper, Board and Packaging Microbiologist: Automatized control systems for paper industry microbiology are coming.

2008-06-27T20:06:00.001+03:00

Pulp, Paper, Board and Packaging Microbiologist: Automatized control systems for paper industry microbiology are coming.: "After successful trials that created improved product quality, operating cost savings and environmental and safety performance benefits for papermakers, Nalco Company (NYSE:NLC) has launched OxiPRO(tm) Deposit Control technology to the global pulp and paper industry.

This novel, patent-pending control technology combines measurement, data analysis and precise dosing with proprietary chemistry to prevent unnecessary downtime and product defects. Real-time measurement of changing surface deposition, microbial activity and process conditions triggers proprietary data analysis software and on-site application experts to ensure that feed points, dosing strategies and the proper proprietary chemistries continuously optimize papermaking performance.

'This new technology offers invaluable benefits to our customers - targeted to their unique application requirements - by controlling costly variability in microbial growth and surface deposits. Real-time control allows Nalco to help customers reduce operating costs and use chemistry only as needed, which reduces safety hazards and the potential for upsets to the health of the wastewater treatment plant,' said Michael Meier, Nalco's Global Program Manager for Deposit Control Expertise Center."

Helge: I can see why Juha is interested about this...

Cellulose based ethanol in Umeå

2008-06-11T12:10:00.002+03:00

Abstract. When Umeå Energi was planning the investment in Dåva 2, they also discussed the effects of integrating Dåva 1 with an ethanol plant. This thesis is supposed to identify these effects and find the parameters that are important for the economics of such integration.

Helge: I was talking wit Bionergitidningen in Sweden today.

Two types of cellulose based ethanol plants were evaluated. One plant is based on dilute acid hydrolysis and the other plant on enzymatic hydrolysis. The dilute acid ethanol plant produces 40 700 m3 ethanol annually. The enzymatic ethanol plant has a greater capacity and produces 70 000 m3/year. The result from the simulations indicates that both ethanol plants are profitable.

Helge: We will write about this in Biotouch as well.

The ethanol process results in a few co-products, lignin, combustible solid from the evaporation and barque. These products can be used as fuel in Dåva 2. Waste heat from the ethanol plant is in the range of 25-29 MW. To get a better profit from the ethanol production, this waste heat should be used for district heating.

Helge: Ok.

The evaporation step and the distillation have the greatest steam demands. It is possible to replace the evaporation step in the enzymatic plant by anaerobic fermentation. The anaerobic fermentation will produce 800 kg methane gas/hour. The steam demand will decrease and this will result in a greater effect in both the steam turbine and the condenser.

Helge: Steam.

The high pressure steam to the dilute acid plant should be replaced with steam from an additional boiler. In such case the capacity of the ethanol plant can be increased from 40 700 to 66 000 m3 ethanol/year. The power output from the steam turbine will also increase. Steam from the additional boiler can cost up to 570 SEK/MWh and it will yet be profitable. The most important parameters for the economics of the ethanol plant is in order of precedence, price of ethanol, price of woodchips and the cost of the investment. The uncertainty of the ethanol price is high. The reason is due to a proposal to replace the reduction of taxes with a bio fuel certificate in year 2009.

Helge: Steam turbine.

The income from the dilute acid ethanol plant is 19 MSEK/year, compared to a case without an ethanol plant. For the enzymatic ethanol plant the income is 114 MSEK/year. The greater income from the enzymatic ethanol plant is due to the fact that it has a greater production capacity. The capacity is bigger thanks to a more efficient ethanol process.

Helge: Prices.

World Water Week in Stockholm, August 17 - 23, 2008

2008-06-08T15:18:00.003+03:00

The World Water Week will be organized in Stockholm, August 17 - 23, 2008. The world community of water and development will meet once again in Stockholm. Topics related to the list below will be on the agenda:

agriculture
biodiversity
sanitation
climate change
drinking water
economics
ecosystems
finance
governance
pollution
poverty reduction
stakeholder involvement
technology and water resources management

For a staggering 2,6 billion people, lack of access to adequate sanitation is a major and daily threat to their health and well-being. This bears tremendous social and environmental costs, of which premature deaths, degradation of living quarters and the environment, and reduced access to education are but a few.

Naomi Klein: The Rise of the Disaster Capitalism

2008-06-06T09:07:00.001+03:00

Naomi Klein: "'Klein may well have revealed the master narrative of our time.'
-San Francisco Chronicle.

Her new book is "The Rise of the Disaster Capitalism". I need to read more from her home page. She visited Finland yesterday to promote her new book. Naomi Klein is known for her previous book "No Logo".

Around the world in Britain, the United States, Asia and the Middle East, there are people with power who are cashing in on chaos; exploiting bloodshed and catastrophe to brutally remake our world in their image. They are the shock doctors. Thrilling and revelatory, The Shock Doctrine cracks open the secret history of our era. Exposing these global profiteers, Naomi Klein discovered information and connections that shocked even her about how comprehensively the shock doctors' beliefs now dominate our world - and how this domination has been achieved. Raking in billions out of the tsunami, plundering Russia, exploiting Iraq - this is the chilling tale of how a few are making a killing while more are getting killed."

Social Media and Biotouch

2008-05-25T21:03:00.004+03:00

This is a great time for entrepreneurs and innovators. Internet and Social Media is making marketing, PR and global sales much easier and much cheaper. Maybe I should say, more cost-effective. Now anyone can broadcast their messages, sales pitches and opinions about your startup to the world.

Biotouch is a new channel that will start today. The "biotechtouch" blog is moderated by Macarena Pallares. You'll learn more about Biotouch during the coming weeks.

The web has gained mass adoption
The change started in the 90's and has improved with Web 2.0
The time of the "media gatekeepers" is gone; there are more options for the SME's
Internet and Social Media has democratized both the web and content
Web advirtising is overtaking television in many countries
The media landscape has been blown open; open co-creation and collaboration are a reality
We need to establish a conversation with employees, customers, interest groups and partners
We can use low-cost online channels to publish and share information to communicate more directly and genuinely with people around the world

We will start a new biotech service

2008-05-25T12:52:00.004+03:00

Welcome on-board Macarena. Here are some general guidelines for the new blog. We might expand it to Wiki and some other social networking applications.

We're about to start a new BIOTOUCH communication channel to present new possibilities in the field of biotechnology and microbiological applications.

Paper and board
Biorefineries
Water
Food
Health Care

BIOTOUCH is intended for executives, decision makers and the general public. The style of the communication channel will be:

Personal diary based on discussions with specialists
Personalized style to evolve during the next week
Global point of view
Generic presentation
Conversational

The idea is to take out the complexity from biotech and microbiology.

A year ago about biofuel

2008-05-16T21:25:00.002+03:00

Helge 1.6.2007

We've been thinking about a new communication channel. I got the idea from "All things digital."

Global Open Innovation and Co-creation (We've more experience NOW)
Presenting Finnish companies, innovations, social innovations (Why so nationalistic?)
Products and Services (Blogging, Social Media, Social Networks, UCC, etc.)
Discussing global opportunities, threats and possibilities
Technology Review
Loic Le Mur

Indonesia is targeting a 10 percent domestic usage of biofuels by 2010 while the Malaysian government has approved 52 biodiesel licenses, with a cumulative capacity of five million tons.

On the other hand, Natural Fuel, a biodiesel manufacturer headquartered in Australia, invested $130 million to build the world’s largest biodiesel facility in Singapore.

In the Philippines, the Biofuels Act was signed into law on January 12, 2007 and this is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.

Mobile devices are a critical part of almost every enterprise. When used properly, they make employees more productive and more accessible.

We try figure out how mobile devices are evolving beyond calendar and communications applications and to learn how to choose, manage, and secure the mobile devices in your enterprise.

What are the different requirements in different markets?

Palm oil firms pledge to stop clearing rainforests in Indonesia

2008-05-16T12:29:00.001+03:00

I got this link information through Twitter.

Palm oil firms pledge to stop clearing rainforests in Indonesia: "Palm oil companies operating in Indonesia pledged to stop clearing forests for new plantations, reports The Jakarta Post. The move is a response to growing criticism that oil palm expansion is destroying biologically-rich rainforests and contributing to global warming.

Speaking in Jakarta at a seminar on climate change, agriculture and trade, Didiek Hadjar Goenadi, executive director of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), said that palm oil companies would only develop 'idle land', including former forest concession areas.

'We realize the environmental impacts by opening all our forests so we will stop touching the forest and just concentrate on abundant lands which have not been cultivated yet,' Didiek was quoted as saying."

Pope & Talbot To Shut Three Remaining Pulp Mills - Report / Pulp and Paper Network

2008-05-16T05:59:00.001+03:00

I read in Pulp and Paper Network that the Pulp and Paper mills are not out of the trouble zone.

Pope & Talbot To Shut Three Remaining Pulp Mills - Report / Pulp and Paper Network: "VANCOUVER - Insolvent forestry company Pope & Talbot Inc. (PTBT) is preparing to shut its three remaining pulp mills - employing nearly 1,000 workers in British Columbia and Oregon - after creditors declined to extend financing to the bankrupt wood products company, The Canadian Press reported Tuesday.

Mark Rossolo, a spokesman for the Portland, Ore. company, said Tuesday the company began the wind down of the two Canadian mills Monday afternoon after a Canadian bankruptcy court extended the company's bankruptcy protection for only 48 hours to Wednesday. The court provided the short term extension when creditors refused to provide financing to keep the mills alive, while the company seeks a new buyer.

The two British Columbia mills in Nanaimo and Mackenzie employ around 780 people while the Oregon mill at Halsey, south of Portland, had a workforce of 180 in February. The future of all three mills is uncertain after the collapse of a deal last week that would have seen the pulp businesses sold to an Indonesian company. The U.S. company's lumber operations were sold in separate transactions nearly a week ago."

"Pope & Talbot, a 160-year-old Portland-based wood products company, filed for bankruptcy in November after fighting a losing battle with the slumping U.S. housing market, a strengthening Canadian dollar which hurt its exports from B.C. into the United States, and high debt," the report continues.

What are we going to experience in Europe? What will happen to Nordic pulp and paper mills and sawmills?

"The same difficult market conditions have led to the closure of sawmills across Canada by companies squeezed by rising inventory in the wake of slumping demand from the battered American new homebuilding market," Pulp and Paper Networks writes.

The pulp sector has also been hurt by technological changes and a move to Internet publication that have reduced demand for newsprint and other papers.

The Future of Paper

2008-05-07T08:34:00.006+03:00

I wrote this original blog posting March 23, 2006. What has changed in two years time?

I've been looking for blogs telling about the paper industry. There are less than expected. Paper manufacturer's and employees aren't passionate bloggers. That's one of the statements I'm ready to make. For the blogosphere paper making looks like a very traditional industry. The social media hype and Web 2.0 doesn't belong to paper making communities. The future seems to bring with it:

Paper import from China? (Today: less export from EU to China)
More foreign competition in Europe (Maybe?)
Large and modern mills are more competitive (Sure)
Internet, email, blogs and social media are eating up the markets for paper (True)
The industry has to look for new success routes and formulas
The future might be in smart and electronic paper
Research and development has to increase
Bioreactors and biofuel production (Today: maybe cellulosic but not from food)

What happens in North America?

Read more from an article published about a year ago and more comments in this blog. "Once again you are putting the blame in the wrong place. If you read the article it's right there - you just need to open your eyes. Outdated technology, outdated machinery that the company used longer than it should have. Maybe because Wisconsin is such a tax hell hole the company didn't want to invest anymore than necessary to make a buck!" writes one commentator from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin

What Park Falls faces is not new among cities with strong links to an industry that has made Wisconsin the No. 1 paper producer in the United States for decades. The part-time mayor has plenty of company at the unemployment line.

"New competition from foreign paper makers, a recession at the turn of the century and new technology - such as e-mail and online advertising that have tamped down demand for traditional papers - have hurt an overbuilt industry all over the United States, said John Mechem," a spokesman for the American Forest and Paper Association in Washington, D.C.

"Nationally, 95 paper mills have closed and 123,000 jobs have been eliminated since 2000," he said.

95 paper mills have closed
123 000 jobs have been eliminated since 2000
Wisconsin has lost 17 000 jobs

17 000 JOBS LOST IN WISCONSIN

Since the late 1990s, Wisconsin has lost more than 17,000 jobs, or 30 percent of the work force, at paper mills, pulp mills and converting operations and five mills have either closed or are in the process of closing, according to the Neenah-based Wisconsin Paper Council, an industry group representing 25 paper companies with factories in the state.

Old mills have no future

Tom Ratzlaff is mayor of a small town reeling from the closure of its more than 100-year-old paper mill. And he's among the 300 workers who lost a good-paying job, his livelihood for nearly three decades. Ratzlaff said he was aware of that trend but saw it as a positive for him and his mill. "You were always hoping that was enhancing your ability to stay open," he said. "Many of those that have shut down were competitors for this mill."

The downward trend started 1999

Patrick Schillinger, president of the Wisconsin Paper Council, said more job cutting is likely, and the jobs - some of the highest-paying manufacturing careers in Wisconsin - are gone forever. "You will probably see more consolidation or mergers within the industry," he said.

Recent developments highlight a trend that Schillinger said started at least seven years ago:

SMART Papers LLC of Hamilton, Ohio, closed the Park Falls mill barely a year after buying it from Toronto-based Fraser Papers.
Glatfelter Co. has announced plans to close a Neenah plant that makes specialty papers by June 30, costing 200 workers their jobs.
Riverside Paper Corp. has said it will close its mill in Appleton, founded in 1893, eliminating about 100 jobs making specialty papers.

According to Schillinger, paper- and cardboard-making jobs in Wisconsin peaked at 54,300 in July 1999 before plunging to 36,800 in January. The job losses, in part, occurred as a once mostly regional industry faced new competition and lower prices from paper makers in China and South America, industry experts say.

Cheaper paper from China

Printers can buy paper cheaper from China than walking down to a local mill, Schillinger said. For some products, prices have rolled back to 1996 levels just to compete, he said. Tom Howatt, president and CEO of Wausau Paper Corp., which operates mills in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New Hampshire and Maine, said prices for some writing papers are down 10 percent from just five years ago.

We are facing the same reality in Europe
The need to close mills started a little later
UPM Kymmene Voikkaa 2006

In addition, according to Schillinger, during the "roaring" economy of the 1990s, U.S. manufacturers expanded to produce more paper. Then a global recession hit, easing demand, followed by the growth of new technology unfriendly to paper makers, he said.

We are working more online

The business use of e-mail, companies doing more work online and the growth of online and Internet advertising reduced the need for paper, a drop that could not be offset by a growth in paper used in homes because of computers and printers, Schillinger said. "It was sort of the perfect storm," he said. "All of those factors have meant a leaner paper industry."

Should we complain Internet?

For Park Falls - a city of 2,800 carved out of a forest in northern Wisconsin and nicknamed the ruffed grouse capital of the world - the mill's sale to SMART Paper a year ago rekindled hopes about the factory's future.

The sprawling mill sits just a block off the city's main street, dominating the downtown landscape along the Flambeau River. A yard is piled with 120,000 cords of logs - a mountain of wood waiting to be made into paper. SMART Paper filed for bankruptcy in shutting down the mill, citing unprecedented high fuel costs and "rapid deterioration" of market conditions.

Rapid deterioration of the market conditions

"Most people have the feeling that they just came in and bled the place dry and that was it," said Ratzlaff, whose wife, brother-in-law and sister-in-law also lost jobs in the shutdown. "A couple of weeks ago, somebody wrote on a piece of paper, 'Place for sale' and put it up front."

Good salaries gone forever

On average, the mill's workers earned $17 an hour, and jobs just don't exist to readily absorb them, Ratzlaff said. The ripple effect of the closure hits at least 300 loggers, he said.

Gerry Ring, professor of paper science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the only college in the state offering such a degree, said the mill's closing has more to do with outdated, less efficient paper making machines than anything else.

Outdated machines to be blamed?

"What should have happened a long time ago - at a lot more of the mills, if they wanted to keep the market - was reinvest in modern machinery," he said. "We could make good paper on old machines far longer than we should. Eventually, the costs get to you when the latest and the greatest comes on line, and then all of a sudden, 'Oh my God. They can make in a half a second what it takes us an hour to make."

RISING ENERGY PRICES
AND TRANSPORT COSTS

Professor Gerry Ring believes that the continuing rise in energy prices will ultimately lead to a resurgence of regional paper markets for the industry as transportation costs rise. "You are not going to make paper in China and sell it in Wisconsin ultimately. They can do it for the short run, but oil prices will change that whole picture," he said.

Is paper making returning back home?

Jim Stueber, owner of True Value Hardware in Park Falls, called the paper mill the life of the community, and said so far his business hasn't been hurt. In fact, it's picked up a little and that worries him. "They are fixing their homes up," the businessman said. "I have a feeling they are fixing them up to move."

Creative Web 2.0 Learning

2008-04-29T15:40:00.001+03:00

| View | Upload your own

Algae: the new biofuel?

2008-04-26T12:33:00.002+03:00

Algae: the new biofuel?: "Today I went to the seminar on the second generation biodiesel at Het Pand, Ghent. It was organised by the Ghent Bio-energy Vally, a consortium which wants to stimulate growth in bio-energy in the Ghent region.

The host was Prof. dr. ir. W. Soetaert, who emphasised that the first generation biofuels clears the way for the second generation. What this really meant became clear during the lectures. First generation biofuels compete with edible crops, and are often not sustainable, nor economically viable.

Second generation biofuels include non edible crops such as Jatropha curcas or algae oil and therefore don’t compete with food production. The third generation of biofuels based on hydrogen should start at 2030."

Helge: Cellulosic biodiesel is on moving towards pilot plant scale operations in Finland. There was a lot of publicity about the intentions of both UPM Kymmene and Stora Enso. "Now there is quiet before the storm". Not much is spoken about the progress in public.

Tri-o-gen the energy care company

2008-04-21T16:16:00.001+03:00

I got this information today. We've to talk about this alternative with Olli.

Tri-o-gen: "Green electricity from waste heat. Burning fuel is expensive. On top of that, a lot of heat is lost through flues and chimneys. It contains CO2, which could turn our planet into a giant greenhouse.

Our Tri-O-Gen ORC tackles that problem by converting polluting waste heat into valuable electricity: easy to transport, easy to use, easy to sell. No pain, pure gain: clean electricity, caring for our environment. Real Green Power we’ve been waiting for! Tri-O-Gen Green Power"

Energy Camp » Welcome To Energy Camp

2008-04-18T12:53:00.002+03:00

Energy Camp » Welcome To Energy Camp: "Whether you’re an end user of technology, an IT professional, a vendor of hardware, software or infrastructure solutions, or an industry observer with an interest in technology’s energy consumption, Energy Camp is for you. Energy Camp is a collaborative forum where industry stakeholders will gather together to discuss the growing impact of today’s energy costs on IT’s bottom line, and the overarching importance of energy conservation and utilizing greener IT solutions and methods."

Helge: Got the lead from my previous blog post.

Energy Camp Wiki

If you're looking for the Energy Camp Wiki, then you've found the right place. There are a bunch of pages you can navigate to that are listed on the left. But if you're new to this wiki (or wikis in general), here are a few things you might consider doing.

Getting started

A wiki is a read/write Web technology that facilitates collaboration on knowledge, information and ideas. The key is that multiple people can hone a wiki page to perfection so that it either:

best represents the community's knowledge of a specific topic,
frames an idea in the eyes of an entire community rather than just one person, or
facilitates some form of collaboration that we haven't thought of yet (actually, there are many more uses).

This wiki was set up for the community of information technologists who have an interest in energy savings and a sustainable planet and generally involves the attendees of Energy Camp (although everyone is welcome to join the fun, virtually).

To begin collaborating, you first need to login. See our special page on creating a new account and logging in for information on gaining read/write access to this wiki.

Energy Camp discussion grid

Energy Camp is an unconference-style event dedicated to bringing together the community of information technologists who have an interest in energy savings and a sustainable planet for a face-to-face collaborative meet-up where new relationships are formed, old relationships are nurtured, ideas are shared, mutiple balls are moved forward and progress is made. See the About Energy Camp page for more information.

To join the discussion at Energy Camp, add your own proposal to the Energy Camp discussion grid: Energy Camp discussion ideas

James Governor’s Monkchips » An industry analyst blog looking at software ecosystems and convergence

2008-04-18T12:46:00.001+03:00

James Governor’s Monkchips » An industry analyst blog looking at software ecosystems and convergence: "In case you hadn’t noticed, my pet project GreenMonk is now bleeding over into RedMonk proper. Having initially thought I would focus more on social change underpinned by the familiar RedMonk playbook - namely open source and social media and grassroots adoption triangulated with a good dollop of “enterprisey” - I have been pulled back into IT. Well they do say stick to what you know."

Helge: Hmmm.

James Governor: "Last week I presented at IBM’s Impact 2008 event on Green SOA (must remember to post those slides!), before running an unconference for some of IBM’s biggest customers - how many times do you go to any technical conference these days, let alone an unconference, where you are fairly certain nobody in the group except the IBM employees or the organizers has a blog, let alone a twitter account. It was extremely interesting to take the temperature of the IBM installed base around SOA. We’re all doing it but nobody except Gartner seems to be able to say what it is."

Helge: unconferense is the way to go...

"I am pretty excited that next month we’re mashing up the sustainability agenda with the unconference format, as practiced by my new partner in crime David Berlind. He gives the skinny here," writes James Governor.

"Energy Camp is free to attend and anyone who comes will get a free pass into Interop as well. If you’re interesting in going, we’ve got a registration page set up on the official camp Web site," he continues.

"Please forgive the somewhat inflammatory headline, but its not me deciding the price of oil. Most IT organisations currently don’t even pay their electricity bill, as the facilities manager covers it. That. is. going. to. change. Are you ready for that? If not why not come to energy camp? If you have it nailed, come anyway, and teach people how to deal with power when its so damned expensive."

Helge: I'd like to know more about the EnergyCamp.

California's Green Guru Speaks Out | Videos on ZDNet

2008-04-17T18:34:00.001+03:00

California's Green Guru Speaks Out | Videos on ZDNet: "California's Green Guru Speaks Out. Clean-tech adviser doesn't see a bubble yet. The clean-tech industry of today is in its early stages, about where Microsoft was in 1980, says Terry Tamminen, an adviser at Pegasus Capital Advisors and the former director of California's Environmental Protection Agency. Now a main force behind the state's rise to the top as a climate change policy maker, Tamminen sits down with CNET News.com's Carl-Gustav Linden in Santa Monica, Calif."

Helge: I think we are in the beginning. The price of oil is getting higher and it means that we've to get cleaner and greener.

Testing SixApart BlogIT

2008-04-17T07:37:00.001+03:00

Good Morning blogosphere and microbloggers. I'm testing the "Brought to you by Six Apart. Sign up for a free blog on Vox" BlogIT application on Facebook.

I can send out blogpost to several channels at the same time. This helps me to update my blogs without the need to sign in individually to each of them.

I got the information through Robert Scobleizer and linked to:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/sixapart_ties_it_all_together.php

Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb: SixApart's BlogIt Could Be the Start of Something Big — SixApart launched BlogIt by TypePad last night, a Facebook app that lets you post to SixApart blogs and other blogging software like WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr, to your Facebook Newsfeed and to Twitter all from one place.

SixApart launched BlogIt by TypePad last night, a Facebook app that lets you post to SixApart blogs and other blogging software like WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr, to your Facebook Newsfeed and to Twitter all from one place. It's the kind of app that makes Facebook all the closer to being a one stop social media experience.

Helge: My first impression is very positive. I've use for this application

The service could be more fully developed but it's certainly in the lead compared to other services aiming to do the same thing. A close look at the details leads us to believe that this could be a much bigger move than it might seem to be. Here's a few reasons why we believe it's so interesting.

Tying the Social Graph Together

SixApart is a leading company in the field of social graph experimentation and the most outspoken participating company willing to be critical of some of Google's efforts like OpenSocial. BlogIt is interesting beyond its basic functionality because it can tie together confirmed accounts on Facebook, outside blogs and Twitter - then place that information in the hands of a company dedicating significant time and resources to leveraging such information in the interests of users. BlogIt may be just a beachhead landed in the hostile territory not of Facebook, but of online identity chaos in general.

Helge: This is certainly adding my use of Facebook. Things can change over night. I was getting tired about all the new FB apps. but this one is a "killer".

PRESECO - Company

2008-04-16T15:31:00.001+03:00

PRESECO - Company: "PRESECO OY – Licenced by nature. Preseco Oy is a strongly growing environmental technology company that solves challenges related to water, biowaste and biofuels. We commit ourselves to understanding our customers and helping them in an innovative way. We are always available, seeking to build a long-lasting partnership with the customer.

Helge: Got this information today related to a project.

Since 2002, our focus has been on the development and marketing of comprehensive and creative environmental solutions, as well as effective equipment and modular technology. Thanks to this open-minded product development and investment in state-of-the-art technology, we can now provide proven but novel solutions worldwide. Our head office is located in Espoo, Finland and our representatives operate in 30 countries all over the world.

Helge: Waste water treatment...

Preseco delivers plants and equipment for water and wastewater treatment as well as drum composting plants, biogas plants and biodiesel processors. Our solutions and services help our customers enhance their competitive advantage – turning waste streams into added value."

The ABC’s of Failure – Getting Rid of the Noise in Your System

2008-04-16T15:23:00.001+03:00

The ABC’s of Failure – Getting Rid of the Noise in Your System: "For the past 40 years, I have observed many companies; including DuPont (where I spent 27 years) pursuing planned maintenance with the standard tools of planned maintenance: inspections, planning, scheduling, materials procurement, CMMS systems, etc. with the same results. They succeed for a while and get their percent planned and scheduled maintenance up to the 80+ only to see that drop back later to 60 I am amazed how many of the companies we work with have had this experience," writes Winston P. Ledet

"This pattern of behavior has led us to conclude that the reason for this experience is that only 60% of the normal work of maintenance is inherently plannable. The rest of the work is created by random acts of what we are now calling carelessness. The sites where we see people break this pattern and achieve 92% to 96% planned maintenance for the long term without regressing, are the ones who eliminate the inherently unplannable work. Of course, this cannot be done by maintenance alone. Everyone who does work at a site contributes to the defects that create the unplannable work, and therefore everyone must participate in eliminating the defects that create the 40% of the work that is unplannable."

Helge: RCM and CMMS. More about that later. I needed this link.

UPM Raflatac

2008-04-14T16:36:00.002+03:00

"UPM Raflatac, Tampere, is one of the world's leading forest products groups. The Group's sales stand at EUR 10 billion and it has about 28,000 employees. UPM's main products include printing papers, label materials and wood products. The company has production plants in 14 countries, as well as sales and distribution network in more than 70 countries. http://www.upm-kymmene.com"

I know this innovative unit since 1986.

"UPM Raflatac, the Label Division of UPM, is a globally leading supplier of pressure sensitive labelstock and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and inlays. With a global service network of 12 factories on five continents and a broad network of terminals and sales offices worldwide, UPM Raflatac has around 2,700 employees and annual sales of approximately EUR 1 billion. http://www.upmraflatac.com"

More Nuclear Power Plants to Finland

2008-04-14T16:10:00.006+03:00

Environmental Inspector, Respolar Oy, Eurajoki, is looking for more people and professionals for the operations at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant.

AREVA NP and Siemens AG are building a new nuclear power plant for TVO (Teollisuuden Voima Oy) in Olkiluoto, already two nuclear units are in operation. AREVA NP, an AREVA and Siemens company, is supplying the nuclear island, comprising the reactor and associated systems, while Siemens is responsible for the conventional island (turbine and generator).

We've two nuclear power plants in Loviisa and there Fennovoima is planning a new one in Ruotsinpyhtää. The location is only one of the three alternatives. Here are the potential Fennovoima locations on the planning board:

Ruotsinpyhtää (Souteastern Finland)
Kristiinankaupunki (Westcoast Finland)
Simo (Northern Finland)

Respolar Oy has already provided more than 100 professionals with Olkiluoto and is one of their leading recruiters for this project.

The Fennovoima project is visioning a nuclear power plant of 1 500 – 2 500 MW
The new plant should be operational 2016–2018
It takes a long time to plan and to get the political acceptance

What kind of jobs and responsibilities are available at Nuclear Power Plant site? There is a lot of inspection and documentation. Every single move has to bee tracked.

Respolar Oy is looking for an:

ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTOR

Qualifications:

A comprehensive knowledge of Contract requirements, International and Finish Codes & Norms ask by the OL3 Project contract is requested.

For his/her function a correct knowledge of office applications (Acrobat, Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook) is requested.

A good level of English is indispensable in writing (documentation in English) and orally (different nationalities on the Site).

Function:

Walk down Environmental inspections at site been the main occupation of the Environmental Inspector the time spend to do it should be 80% of the occupation.

The other 20% of inspector occupation been the Environmental paperwork recording and analysis as describe here after.

Daily tasks:

Environmental inspections

- Performing Environmental Inspections on Site areas & Site sub-contractor’s areas using Environmental inspection guides.

- Reviewing and approving the Sub-contractor Environmental Risk assessments on request of the team leader.

- Ascertaining the existence of the correct the material safety data sheets.
Communication on environmental issues

- Providing data for the preparation of the letters about Environmental Issues to Site subcontractors.

- Analysing answers about Environmental Issues received from Site sub-contractors.
Environmental requirements analysis

- Recording and handling situations adverse to Environmental Procedures.

Weekly (fortnightly) tasks:

Environmental inspections

- Providing data for Weekly Environmental Inspection Reports.

- Participating to periodical internal inspectors' meetings.
Communication on environmental issues

- On delegation participating to in Weekly Meeting with the subcontractors.

Monthly tasks:

Environmental training

- Performing Environmental Inductions to all Site Management Staff.

- Performing additional Environmental Trainings if needed to Site Management Staff.
Communication on environmental issues.

- Preparing all the necessary information in his/her area of environmental inspection in order to prepare the monthly report, including some indicators.
Environmental requirements analysis

- Issuing Environmental incidents trend analysis, corrective and preventive actions and proposing improvement actions when necessary.

Quarterly tasks:

Interface with PLANTS Environmental Management System and associated reporting

- Collecting inputs data for environmental STAR indicators.

Looks like very systematic...