“MOSCOW: Russia’s military said Wednesday that an old Soviet-built nuclear-powered satellite has spewed fragments in orbit, but insisted they do not threaten the international space station or people on Earth.”

via Russia says old nuclear satellite poses no threat – International Herald Tribune.

Another example of the underplayed and  extremely dangerous overlap between military applications and environmental risk.

Sloppy reporting follows:

“In 1978, the Soviet Cosmos-954 nuclear-powered satellite scattered radioactive debris over a lightly populated area of Northern Canada on its fiery re-entry, but caused no injuries.”

Cancer is common everywhere, so of course it is possible that this radioactive debris has caused injuries, either in Nothern Canada or beyond.

“MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 14 (UPI) — Oversupply and low demand have made solar panels cheaper for U.S. homeowners.

Prices for rooftop solar systems, including installation, have fallen by 8 percent to 10 percent since October and are expected to drop an additional 15 percent to 20 percent in 2009.”

via Oversupply pushes solar panel prices down – UPI.com.

Strange math in this article. 15 – 20% panel price drop and the whole system goes down over 50%. Must be incorrect or missing logic somewhere, maybe the expected government subsidies are huge:

“In California a typical 4 kilowatt, $32,000 solar energy system cost a homeowner about $23,000 last year after state and federal incentives. This year, if the price predictions come true, the price for the same system would be between $10,000 and $12,000.“

List of well presented scientific sources:

The Science is Clear.

Short and simple solar power slide show explores myths vs. realities of solar.

“Solar energy is the most promising source of clean, renewable energy. It is also one of the most misunderstood”

via Solar Energy Reality Check.

Both Mr. Obama and leaders in Beijing have said a top priority is using energy more efficiently and advancing non-polluting technologies. China also released several recent reports laying out financial and technical means for allowing industrialized countries to help cut the climate impact from its energy use.

via Can U.S., China Team Up on Climate, Energy? – Dot Earth Blog – NYTimes.com.

Shenhua Group, the country’s biggest coal producer, said on Jan 5 that its first direct coal-to-liquids (CTL) project, the first of its kind in China, had already started operation.

via China launches first coal-to-liquids project.