There is also concern over the viability of plans to generate 20% of the primary energy from renewables by 2020, the future of carbon emissions trading and the security of gas supplies.

Christian Kjaer, the EWEA chief executive, said, “The figures show that the Wind Energy
is the undisputed number one choice in Europe’s effort to move towards clean, indigenous renewable power.” On each average working day in Europe last year, 20 wind turbines
were installed.

The new Wind Power capacity costing $11bn, should in a normal year, produce 142 TWH (terawatt hours) of electricity or about 4.2% of EU demand and abate 100m tonnes of CO2
a year, equal to taking more than 50m cars off Europe’s roads.

Germany and Spain both installed 1.6 GW while the UK added 836MW (megawatts) to
reach 3.24GW. Global capacity grew by 27GW to reach almost 121GW by the end of 2008, prompting Steve Sawyer, the head of GWEC, to assert that wind energy was the only technology capable of delivering the necessary CO2 cuts in the critical period up to 2020.

US capacity now totals up to 25GW, after leaping by a half in 2008, with Germany close behind at 24GW. China over took India by adding 6.3GW, which now has 12.2GW of capacity and the country has identified wind energy as a key growth component in its economic stimulus package.
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How Do Humans Contribute to the Greenhouse Effect?

While the greenhouse effect is an essential environmental prerequisite for life on Earth,
there really can be too much of a good thing.

The problems begin when human activities distort and accelerate the natural process by creating more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than are necessary to warm the planet to an ideal temperature.

• Burning natural gas, coal and oil —including gasoline for automobile engines—raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

• Some farming practices and land-use changes increase the levels of methane and
nitrous oxide

• Many factories produce long-lasting industrial gases that do not occur naturally, yet contribute significantly to the enhanced greenhouse effect and “global warming” that is currently under way

• Deforestation also contributes to global warming. Trees use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen in its place, which helps to create the optimal balance of gases in the atmosphere.
As more forests are logged for timber or cut down to make way for farming, however, there are fewer trees to perform this critical function

• Population growth is another factor in global warming, because as more people use fossil fuels for transportation and manufacturing the level of greenhouse gases continues to increase. As more farming occurs to feed millions of new people, more greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere

Ultimately, more greenhouse gases means more infrared radiation trapped and held,
which gradually increases the temperature of the Earth’s surface and the air in the lower atmosphere.
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The Greenhouse Effect

Life on earth depends on energy from the sun. About 30 percent of the sunlight that beams toward Earth is deflected by the outer atmosphere and scattered back into space. The rest reaches the planet’s surface and is reflected upward again as a type of slow-moving energy called infrared radiation.

As it rises, infrared radiation is absorbed by “greenhouse gases” such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone and methane, which slows its escape from the atmosphere.

Although greenhouse gases make up only about 1 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere,
they regulate our climate by trapping heat and holding it in a kind of warm-air blanket that surrounds the planet.

This phenomenon is what scientists call the "greenhouse effect." Without it, scientists estimate that the average temperature on Earth would be colder by approximately 30 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit), far too cold to sustain our current ecosystem.
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Aishwarya's father denies tax default

Aishwarya Rai has denied defaulting on payment of taxes in the windmill project, which she had invested in a couple of years ago. Reacting to a news report published in the TOI on Saturday, the actor's father Krishnaraj Rai said," The windmill power plants owned by her are managed and operated by Suzlon Energy who has assured us that there are no dues pending. We have not received any notice from the government either.''

Rai seemed angry with state legislature speaker Babasaheb Kupekar for directing the state to take action without verifying the facts from his daughter's office. He said, "The speaker, who is the people's representative, does not even verify the facts. Are we soft targets? I wonder how the speaker will react if he is accused of not paying his taxes''

On Friday last week, Kupekar directed the government to act quickly in recovering tax dues and cess from windmill owners. The matter was raised by opposition member, Shambhuraj Desai, who said that in his constituency of Patan in Satara district, over 700 windmills have been set up on the Sahyadri plateau. But the government is yet to recover nearly Rs 16 crore in dues from windmill owners, since the year 2000.

BJP group leader Eknath Khadse reportedly said that he possessed a list of defaulters that included cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actress Aishwarya Rai. Kupekar added that Aishwarya Rai was among the celebrities who owned windmills, and even questioned the state for not taking any action against defaulters. The speaker added that the money recovered could be used to improve water supply and road infrastructure.
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A new windmill for Jonathan Creek

BBC1 broadcast a new Jonathan Creek mystery on New Years Day 2009, in which he was accompanied by a new sidekick. In addition, his windmill home, (long filmed at Shipley windmill, Sussex), was mentioned in the dialog a couple of times. However, the windmill
that they showed (in a long shot only) was the windmill at Ibstone.

Ibstone windmill (familiar as the mill in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) is located on the hillside above the village of Turville - and I guess that since Turville is a regular BBC filming location (The Vicar of Dibley is filmed there for example) it made economic and logistical sense to make the switch.
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