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Last login: 11 hours agoLollipopsicle: lollipopsicle is a 22 year old woman from San Diego, California, USA.; Likes 1,224 pages, 13 videos, 130 photos • 64 fans • Received 8 reviews; Member since Feb 02, 2006

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my place on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: May 7, 1:03pm 0 review photography •http://www.flickr.com/photos/impressi...

3quarksdaily: Apr 21, 11:06am 1 review photography •http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarks...; Sebastiao Salgado Valdes Peninsula, Patagonia, Argentina, 2004

Buckys dream on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: Apr 5, 11:59am 1 review photography •http://www.flickr.com/photos/37043062...; Buckminster Fuller's Biosphere in Montreal

Clorindo Kafka on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: Apr 2, 12:24am 1 review photography •http://www.flickr.com/photos/celester...

http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/research/middle-east-energy-alternatives/MENA-r…: Jan 29, 12:31pm 1 review environment, alternative-energy, energy-industry, renewable-energy, nuclear-power •http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/rese...; This interesting report analyzes the cost effectiveness of a comprehensive solar energy program in the Middle East. Is it possible for alternative energy programs to be applicable in such unsteady political environments? Or is Iran's choice of nuclear power liable to create a domino effect throughout the region?

From the abstract:
"Solar energy has the potential to equip the Middle East with centuries of sustainable, clean electricity. A solar power plant the size of Lake Nasser has the capacity of supplying the electricity needs of the entire region.

Traditional sources of power do not meet the demands of an environmentally sensitive future. As the costs of fossil fuels continue to rise, the price of electricity and government subsidies will continue to cut into socio-economic growth, widening the gap between those who can afford electricity and those who cannot. Carbon emissions increase as demand grows, and the costs of carbon sequestration are not monetarily efficient to be the only mitigation technique when there are better options available.

Renewable energy will stabilize electricity costs, as it is not dependent upon depleting resources. Photovoltaic systems will also increase access to electricity in rural areas without the need of complex policy decision-making, thus balancing the socioeconomic infrastructure of the region. Solar power will be especially useful for heating and cooling systems and water desalinization. Renewable energy is not difficult to implement - Iran, Egypt, the UAE, and Algeria are all currently planning concentrated solar power plants - and once it is more established, it will also be useful for cooperation and peace negotiations to share this energy.

Recently, nuclear power has been sought as an alternative to fossil fuels in the Middle East. This interest has perhaps been spurred by the pressure of keeping up with Iran's nuclear program. However, the waste produced by nuclear power is immense, and the costs of developing a comprehensive nuclear program, including all the up and downstream requirements, such as the development of a waste disposal program, are great. Nuclear power production also relies on a depleting, nonrenewable source - uranium, which will suffer from cost increases if nuclear power becomes more widely used. An attack on a nuclear power plant, whether intentional or accidental, would be disastrous, spreading radiation for miles; thus, the presence of nuclear power facilities in politically instable areas is not safe.

Thus, when considering these energy options on a larger scale, renewable energy is the most efficient choice in the long-run. The vast solar potential of the Middle East is waiting to be tapped."

I am reposting this review because the link changed.

Rion.nu | a paris profile: winter in the sun on the streets: Jan 25, 9:01pm 0 review photography •http://rion.nu/v5/archive/001402.php

And now we know where the $3/gallon goes... - Sensibly Eclectic: Jan 17, 12:21pm 30 reviews middle-east •http://www.sensiblyeclectic.com/news/...; I'm not defending Dubai's extravagance, but I do believe some good things are coming out of it. Due to the country's high energy usage (an understatement, sure), the United Arab Emirates is becoming one of the forefront developers of renewable energy in the Middle East. By 2050, an expected 50 percent of the Emirates' required energy is forecasted to come from renewable sources. For example, in Dubai, massive wind turbines will soon be utilized to generate electricity for tall skyscrapers, and houses completely powered by solar energy will soon be available for purchase. And at UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi, the development of a $350 million solar power plant is already underway, as well as the first attempt to create a walled zero-carbon, zero-waste research city, expected to open in late 2009.

Green is the New Black | Samir Bharadwaj dot Com: Jan 14, 2:48pm 1 review environment, green-movement •http://samirbharadwaj.com/blog/green-...; "Green is the New Black"- the problem of fads and the environmental movement. And now that it serves as a sort of secondary marketing slogan for several for-profit business ventures, what does the term "going green" even mean?

Asha for Education: An Action Group for Basic Education in India: Dec 6, 2007 6:25pm 4 reviews activism, education, charities •http://www.ashanet.org/; Asha For Education works to promote education among the rural poor in India. It is one of the most effective charities involved in education; they facilitate a massive 97.9% of donations to program work alone. This charity is also secular, so none of this funding goes into missionary activities, such as western religious education.

Their mission:
Founded in 1991, Asha for Education is a secular organization dedicated to change in India by focusing on basic education in the belief that education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change. Today, there are over 66 Asha chapters worldwide: 45 in the US, 14 in India, and seven in Europe, Singapore and Australia. The organization has more than 1,000 active volunteers and several thousand supporters around the world. To date, Asha has supported more than 385 different projects spanning 24 states in India. In terms of project funding, almost $4 million has been disbursed to these projects since Asha's inception. By pioneering bold new initiatives in the field of education, Asha is making a difference in the lives of underprivileged children of India.

The objectives of this group are:

1. To provide education to underprivileged children in India.
2. To encourage the formation of various local groups across the world to reach out to larger sections of the population.
3. To support and cooperate with persons and groups already engaged in similar activities.
4. To raise the required human and other resources to achieve the group objectives.
5. To provide opportunities to individuals living outside India who wish to participate in Asha activities in India.
6. To address, whenever possible, other issues affecting human life such as health care, environment, socio-economic aspects and women's issues.

Also, see their exact statistics on Charity Navigator