With its more than 20 million residents, no area of the country has greater demands for power with puny water resources than Southern California. With its ample sunshine and available land, Southern California is at the center of the push for solar energy. Solar energy is green energy and both President Barack Obama and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are proponents of solar power.
Currently there are eleven large solar thermal farms going through the permitting process with the California energy Commission. There is a rush for approval of these planned industrial sized projects as Federal stimulus funds, which could lead up to 30% projects' costs, expires at the end of 2010. The funds would only be contributed if construction begins by year end. If all these projects break ground, the amount of federal gift towards their costs could be near ten billion dollars.
Balancing energy needs, economic benefits, and environmental concerns is a difficult task. This deadline has created principal coordination between dissimilar interest groups with billions of dollars are at stake. Environmentalists want to ensure that these areas are protected and all projects comply with environmental laws. However, some believe that some habitat destruction is worth the colossal economic and energy gains from these projects.
Ten of the eleven proposed solar farm sites are desert areas, with one site in the southern San Joaquin Valley. One of the eleven proposed sites is called the "Ivanpah" farm. It is settled just 4.5 miles southwest of Primm, Nevada on the Ivanpah dry lakebed. The project would bring principal economic impact to the Primm area, as the project would wish hundreds of construction workers. Long term, the farm would need over 50 employees for its operation.
If built, the Ivanpah solar farm would generate galvanic power for more than a half million California homes. It would also give a big boost to California utility companies, as by 2020, under federal mandate, they are required to furnish 33% of their energy from renewable resources. California has stringent environmental standards that must be met for the projects to go forward. Also, any of the projects are on federal land, which wish approval from the U.S. Bureau of Land administration and local counties are also complex in the permitting process.
The California energy Commission typically approves about 7 major energy projects a year in the state, typically natural gas or other energy sources. These planned industrial size energy farms, under such a tight deadline for federal stimulus funds, are creating demands on the group not seen before. While the government of California faces a budge accident and many other state workers face furloughs, the energy commission has had to take on more staff in light of the demands of these projects. The commission is stretched to the limit.
In an exertion to meet environmental laws, the Ivanpah solar farm project, has been shrunken 12% in size to 3,500 acres, to lessen damage to desert tortoise and rare plant habitat. Due to the tight timeline, project developers are hoping that the deadline for the stimulus funds will be extended. Legislation has been proposed by California Senator Dianne Feinstein. However, there is no warrant of an prolongation so the push is on to get approval on these solar farm projects by years end.
New Solar Farm Near Primm, Nevada4.18 Honor Society- Intro and Over You [Acoustic] Tube. Duration : 3.42 Mins.Carnelian is a very interesting orange-brown gemstone that is quite popular in the originate and making ready of fashion jewelry. It is typically ready with a cabochon cut (a plane rounded cut) in order to bring out the natural elegance and color patterns of the stone. In some cases, beads are subjected to a facet-cut in order to promote sparkle in the gemstone. Cabochons in oval and pear shapes are quite common. The gemstones are cut, ground, polished and drilled if necessary, and used to make a wide range of jewelry together with earrings, necklaces, and pendants. The stone is sometimes heat-treated in order to heighten its color. In some cases, the beads are also dyed in order to modify the stone color.
This stone has been mentioned in Arabic, Hebrew, and Roman folklore. These civilizations believed that it protected the wearer in the after-life, and from evil spirits. Ancient Egyptians in singular believed that items made of this stone should be buried along with the corpse in order to protect the corpse in the afterlife. Carved carnelian necklaces were found with any mummies in Egypt. This stone has also been popular with European and Asian civilizations. As with most gemstones, there is some belief that it provides relief against some curative conditions together with bleeding and back pain.
Carnelian is a chalcedony and is a form of quartz. The orange-brown color is due to iron impurities within the quartz matrix. It is penetrative or semi-opaque, and lacks a confident crystalline texture. It has a definite gravity of about 2.7 and a hardness of about 7. As a form of quartz, this gemstone is found roughly world-wide. Some of the largest finds have been reported in Brazil, Uruguay, India and Japan. Smaller finds have been reported on Texas, Colorado, and Florida.
