Straight Talk with Chukwudi Obi

Barring any last minute changes, Imo State University Alumni Association, Abia Chapter will mark her maiden anniversary in grand style. The first anniversary celebrations which will also provide a platform for the association’s end of the year is tagged ‘Stars’ Hangout’ is expected to bring together graduates of Imo State University from all walks of life. In a statement issued to newsmen in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, the Chairman, IMSU Alumni Association, Abia Chapter, Mr. Crespo Epuzoaju noted that the occasion will afford members of the association an opportunity to socialize, network and build bridges for stronger business and personal relationships. According to him, the event will give the executive officers of the association the opportunity to render account of their stewardship in the past one year and also provide a platform for fresh graduates to network and socialize. The event which is billed to hold on Sunday November 15 at De Queens Kitchen Opposite NNP

As Nigerians joined their counterparts across the world to mark World Anti- Corruption Day, Nigerians have been called upon to support governments at all levels in the fight against corruption. This is as government has been charged to ensure they tighten laws and instruments that will ensure corruption is curbed. Chairman, Imo State University Alumni Association, Abia Chapter, Mr. Crespo Epuzoaju who made this called in Umuahia, the Abia State Capital highlighted the need for every right thinking Nigerian to join the fight against corruption. Mr. Epuzoaju who used the occasion of the anti-corruption day to intimate journalists on what the association has been doing in this regard noted that the association will hold her end of the year party which will also form a platform to mark the association’s one-year anniversary. According to him, the event which is tagged “stars Hangout” will take place at Queen’s Kitchen (former Romania Bar) opp  NNPC Filling Station Mission Hi

Barring any last minute changes, at least 500 members of the Imo state University  Alumni Association will attend the 3rd Annual Global Convention  of the Association in Owerri. This is as  both the Local Organizing Committee and National Organizing Committee have concluded arrangements to ensure a successful hosting of the annual event. In a statement jointly signed by the national President of IMSUAA, Prince Ezeala Akanno and national Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ugochukwu  Okorozoh in Owerri, the Imo state capital, the four day event began today with a fast and praying session. According to the statement, IMSU graduates and members of the alumni from all the Chapters around the World are expected to start arriving tomorrow  Thursday August 8, 2019. The four-day event will feature a cocktail at Maranatha Hotel Owerri  on the arrival date by 8pm while Business exhibition tagged 'House of Friendship' will take place on Friday August 9 from 10 am at the Conference Hall

Following last Wednesday’s meeting between the Executive Governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and the leadership of the Imo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, which resulted in the calling off of the Association’s two-month old strike, the Government has taken steps to address some of the issues raised by the Doctors during the meeting. The Deputy Governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Gerald Irona, Thursday, inspected all the roads leading to Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, to ascertain the actual state of the roads, reported to be in very deplorable state. Addressing hundreds of jubilant residents of the area who came to receive him during the inspection, the Deputy Governor lamented the awful state of the roads and assured stakeholders of the commitment of the State Government to urgently tackle the problem. “During the election, we promised to bring the dividends of democracy to the door steps of the people. I can see that all the roads leading

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has placed a definitive bet on wind, water, and sunshine. Last week, he signed a bill, the Public Energy Policy Law of Puerto Rico, to power the island solely by renewable energy by 2050. Along the way, the island must draw 40 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2025 and give up coal by 2028.  Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello on Thursday signed into law a bill that sets a 100% renewable energy target by 2050 and w Puerto Rico Governor, Ricardo Rossello  This puts Puerto Rico in league with more than 90 cities, counties, and states like Hawaii and New Mexico that have set 100 percent clean energy targets. It also gives the territory a head start in bigger, more aggressive climate proposals like the Green New Deal. “I’m pretty sure that this will be, by leaps and bounds, the quickest transition to renewables that’s ever happened anywhere on the planet,” said P.J. Wilson, president of the Solar and Energy Storage Association of Pu

K-School Board members for District 202 heard a presentation Monday night for the installation of solar panels to reduce electricity costs. Superintendent, Steve Wilder informed the board that he had been approached by Eagle Point Solar several months ago about an energy project. According to the superintendent, the district would be able to offset their power consumption pretty significantly with the proposed installation of solar panels. “Bus garage, softball field, sports complex, every single building that the district owns and operates was included in this study,” Wilder told board members. “So really, if you take the high school out… we could potentially generate anywhere from 92 to 100 percent of all the electricity that we would need for our school district.” He added that power consumption at the high school would only be offset by 57 percent. In total, if the board approves the purchasing and installing the solar panels, the indication is the district could see abou

A solar energy generation system planned for Farmington Central won approval for Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) Wednesday, April 10. The IPA held the lottery to determine which projects would receive the REC incentives based upon a predefined application process and tied to the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2017 which opened up block grants to be utilized for clean energy. The credits are tied to a planned solar installation on Farmington District property on approximately 15-acres of unused ground on the east portion of the campus and will be governed by a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Farmington Central CUSD#265, Clean Energy Design Group, Inc., (CEDG) from Springfield, and its financing partner, DynaSolar, a national energy partner located in California. Combined with the existing 756-Kilowatt installation installed by CEDG in 2014 on District property, once this project is complete and operational the district will have at least 80

DuPage County Forest Preserve commissioners recently agreed to expand a proposed clubhouse at The Preserve at Oak Meadows. The expansion will include include the installation of a solar power system for a cart storage building at the district-owned golf course in Addison, Illinois. "It's not a home run," forest preserve President Daniel Hebreard said. "I would like a better vision. But we did a great thing in adding a responsible environmental project to the construction project." The Preserve at Oak Meadows  (formerly Oak Meadows Golf Course)had a clubhouse for decades until the structure was destroyed in a 2009 fire. Now officials are going to seek price quotes for a new structure. Construction of the clubhouse is estimated to cost roughly $12 million. That number could change once the results of the bids are known in July. If commissioners agree to move forward, the project would break ground in late September or early October. The board discuss

T he state’s largest electricity utility, Green Mountain Power, has announced plans to procure 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Three other utilities in the state — Burlington Electric Department, Swanton Electric Department and Washington Electric Co-op — already have 100% renewable portfolios. Mary Powell, the chief executive of GMP, made the announcement Saturday in South Burlington. She said the utility, which serves 75% of the state, plans to have a “carbon free” electricity supply by 2025 Capping global warming at a 1.5 degrees celsius increase would require global carbon dioxide emissions to decline 45 percent from 2010 levels in the next 12 years, wrote the report authors. Green Mountain Power’s  current power supply  is just over 60 percent renewable and 90 percent carbon free, which Josh Castonguay, the company’s chief innovation officer, referred to as “a good starting point.” Nuclear, which the utility estimates will account for 27.9 percen

GUEST COLUMN  EFFECTS OF BUILDING STRONGER INSTITUTIONS THAN STRONGER MEN IN NIGERIA: Our forum should be commended for their commitment to our collective concerns and interest towards the well being of our colleagues. And it is pertinent that if some of us are not meeting up with these ideals, I hereby advice that you had better resolved to do that, because “A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smiles”. The theme of my presentation, which is – “Effects of Building Stronger Institutions than Stronger Men in Nigeria”, will attempt to highlight on issues that will be based on the empirical and ephemeral; the empirical will stand with the issues of nations being better as a strong entity, while the ephemeral relates to the demerit of personalities being stronger than nations. This in the first place, conveys the fact that since nations lasts for a longer period of time, grows and remains (as we always say “soldiers come –

First in U.S. to combine wind, solar, storage Portland General Electric is making plans to build the nation's first large-scale renewable energy project that combines wind turbines, solar panels and battery storage. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility will be built just north of Lexington, in Eastern Oregon. It would generate enough energy to power 105,000 homes. Oregon's renewable portfolio standard will require 50 percent of customer's electricity to be from renewable resources by 2040. The project will help fill the gap left when PGE's coal fired power plant in Boardman closes at the end of 2020. With agency reports info@sucoconsulting.com, chukwudiobi74@gmail.com 08030902410, www.facebook.com/chukwudi obi.33, @sonsnid741, 5564abf3 Join Club080 and get enormous discount and offers on breast enhancers, mobile phones, air-times, free ATM etc www.club080.com/makemoni Make money tweeting.

The minister for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard is signalling a policy shift, for the whole West Coast, toward the model developed by the B.C. government that resolved a decades-long conflict over fish farming in the Broughton Archipelago. His department’s scientists cannot agree whether open-net farms of Atlantic salmon pose health risks to wild Pacific salmon. With some wild stocks in decline – particularly that of the chinook salmon – Mr. Wilkinson said he will err on the side of caution. That will put the federal government in compliance with a Federal Court decision that quashed a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) policy allowing fish farms to transfer salmon to open-net fish farms without testing for piscine orthoreovirus, an infectious virus found in both farmed and wild salmon in B.C. In her Feb. 4 decision, Justice Cecily Strickland said the transfer of fish known to have diseases that can severely affect fisheries is inconsistent with federal regu

Barring any last minute changes, solar power supporters will come together Sunday in Wilkinsburg for a free public conference on the state of solar energy in the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Solar Congress conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Community Forge, a community center located at the former Johnston Elementary School, 1256 Franklin Ave. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The Solar Congress will include a series of presentations about solar technology and related policy, as well as ways supporters can get involved with expanding solar power in Pennsylvania. Owners of area homes powered by solar energy will take part in a panel discussion. Topics will include “Solar 101,” “Solar plus battery storage in the residential setting” and “Driving Electric,” presented by Michael Kirven of the Three Rivers Electric Vehicle Association. An electric vehicle showcase is planned for the center’s parking lot. The program will conclude with an open forum to discuss p

China is reportedly working on an experimental space power plant that would collect solar energy and beam it down to earth. Chinese state media recently reported the country’s plans for a solar power station orbiting the Earth that could harness solar power without any interference. The report comes from China’s Science and Technology Daily (via The Sydney Morning Herald). Construction of such a power station is already happening in the city of Chongqing, according to the report. Chinese President, Xi JinPing The report goes on to make a number of claims regarding the possible “inexhaustible source of clean energy for humans.” Among them: the station could reliably supply energy 99 percent of the time at six times the intensity of Earth-based solar farms. The Sydney Morning Herald also writes, “electric cars could be charged at any time and any place,” though what that means is unclear. China’s space solar plant would convert solar energy into electric energy, then beam i

The average American,  is responsible for 14.95 metric tons, compared to 6.57 metric tons per person in China and only 1.57 metric tons in India. There’s also a huge difference in CO₂ emissions per person among the US states. Wyoming has the highest CO₂ emissions per capita at 110 metric tons, while New York has the lowest with under 9 metric tons, according to US Energy Information Administration figures from 2015. While the US is way ahead of China under the CO₂ per capita measurement, China is the world’s biggest emitter overall. It overtook the US in terms of total emissions back in 2006 and now emits more than the US and EU combined. Rapid economic growth and a large population have been driving up China’s emissions. This chart from the World Resources Institute shows the scale of its contribution to global warming. Canada has neither the large population nor the high total greenhouse emissions of China and the US, but when its CO₂ emissions are measured per person it

Applying AI to the development of new materials can reduce embedded emissions, toxicity and costs while saving researchers precious time in the lab. Experiments done by trial-and-error are often repeated thousands of times before a breakthrough occurs. Instead, AI could automate complex scientific tasks and enable researchers to focus on tasks that require more creativity and ingenuity. Using AI in this way can give manufacturers an edge. Manufacturers tend to invest in optimizing downstream production functions, which has led to several AI applications in sensor technologies and process optimization. Using AI for upstream design purposes, however, is an untapped business opportunity that could reduce the time it takes to discover new materials, freeing up capital for deployment and commercialization strategies. Current clean energy manufacturing processes are highly specialized, require upfront capital, and are energy-intensive. This is why the market is heavily concentrated in

At a site in the Western Desert, some 650 km south of Cairo, one of the world’s largest and most ambitious solar energy projects is underway. The Benban Solar Park will produce enough electricity to power one million homes. But more than that, it is part of a whole new strategy for infrastructure projects that will see the Egyptian government start to work closely with private enterprise. It is expected to go live in 2019, at which point it will house 32 power stations across a 37km2 site, and will be capable of generating 1,650 megawatts of electricity. This will go a long way toward Egypt hitting its goal of having 20% of its energy needs met by renewables. But the effect it will have on the economic fabric and policy-making strategies of the country are equally significant. Egypt is heavily reliant on fossil fuels and almost all the country’s power facilities have been built and owned by the government. The government also runs a series of costly fuel subsidy schemes, whic