DOE Loans Tesla Motors $465 Million

Posted on | January 24, 2010 | No Comments

The U.S. Department Of Energy announced on January 21 that it has closed its $465 million loan with Tesla Motors, Inc. for the construction of two manufacturing facilities, one in southern California for the Model S electric sedan and one in Palo Alto, California, for electric powertrains. The Palo Alto facility will assemble electric vehicle battery packs, electric motors, and related electric vehicle control equipment, both for Tesla’s own electric vehicles and for sale to other automobile manufacturers. Tesla’s planned all-electric Model S has a base price of $49,900 and is being designed to offer a variety of range options depending on the battery pack used, from 160 to 300 miles on a single charge. Volume production of the Model S will begin in 2012 with a target production capacity of 20,000 vehicles per year by the end of 2013. According to Tesla, the Model S project and powertrain manufacturing facility are expected to create more than 1,600 jobs.

The Tesla announcement marks the second loan agreement signed by DOE with an advanced technology vehicle manufacturer, following a $5.9 billion agreement with Ford Motor Company in September 2009. DOE has also signed conditional commitments with Nissan North America, Inc. and Fisker Automotive. Tenneco Inc. became the first advanced technology component manufacturer to obtain a conditional commitment from DOE in October of last year. Nissan plans to build electric cars and battery packs at the company’s Smyrna, Tennessee, manufacturing complex, while Fisker recently announced plans to build plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by reopening a shuttered GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware.

Congress appropriated $7.5 billion to DOE to support up to $25 billion in loans to companies using U.S. factories to make cars and components that increase fuel economy at least 25% above 2005 fuel economy levels. DOE plans to make additional loans over the next several months to large and small auto manufacturers and parts suppliers up and down the production chain. The intense technical and financial review process is focused not on choosing a single technology over others, but is aimed at promoting multiple approaches for achieving a fuel efficient economy. See the DOE release and the Model S page on the Tesla Motors Web site.

About The Tesla Model S
With a range up to 300 miles and 45-minute QuickCharge, the Model S can carry five adults and two children in quiet comfort – and you can charge it from any outlet, without ever stopping for gas. World’s first mass-produced electric vehicle offers performance, efficiency and unrivaled utility for a base price of $49,900*, making it the only car you’ll ever need.

* – 300 mile range
* – 45 minute QuickCharge
* – 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds
* – Seats 7 people
* – More cargo space than sedans
* – 2X as efficient as hybrids
* – 17 inch infotainment touchscreen

Radon: 2nd Leading Cause of Lung Cancer

Posted on | January 21, 2010 | No Comments

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Although testing for radon is easy and inexpensive, 80 percent of the homes in the U.S. have not been tested. Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that EPA has reported as causing 20,000 lung cancer deaths nationwide every year.

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking. January is the best time to test for radon now that doors and windows are all tightly closed. Now is the time to test and if needed, reduce your exposure to radon. That’s why EPA designated January ‘radon action month.’

High radon levels have been found throughout EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, which includes Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon is to test your home for radon or have it tested by a certified professional radon tester. For do-it-yourselfers, radon kits can be purchased for $25 at building supply, hardware and general merchandise stores. A basic test takes 10 minutes to set up and when complete is mailed to a lab for analysis.

If test results are above the EPA recommended action level you need to have the radon level reduced by a certified radon ‘mitigator.’ Reducing radon is not technically difficult and costs approximately $800 – $2,500.

To locate professional radon testers and certified radon ‘mitigators’ near you by look on the web at either the “National Environmental Health Association” or “National Radon Safety Board” sites. Be sure to ask to see their credentials.

Radon is a radioactive gas produced from the uranium which is in the geological formation under the soil. The amount or radon gas varies depending on the amount of uranium in the formation. The type of soil under the house, the design of the house and the life style or the family living in the house all affect the amount of radon gas that enters a home.

For more info on radon:

· EPA’s National Radon Hotline, 1-800-438-2474
· For lists of certified testers and mitigators use the web to search for the “National
· EPA’s radon website http://www.epa.gov/radon/radontest.html.Environmental Health Association” and/or “National Radon Safety Board”.
· EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, 1-800-438-2474
· The National Environmental Publications Center, 1-800-490-9198 or http://www.epa.gov/cinc. They have “Citizens Guide to Radon” and “Home Buyers and Sellers Guide”

Editor’s Note: See EPA’s website for free, publically-available graphics about radon and public Service announcements for print, television, and radio at http://www.epa.gov/radon.

Most Violent Earthquake In A Century

Posted on | January 20, 2010 | Comments Off

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by the most violent earthquake in a century. Michael Blanpied, associate coordinator for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, answers questions about the earthquake, its severe shaking, and the possibility of additional hazards, such as landslides and a tsunami.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 06:03:44 AM at epicenter there was an aftershock of Magnitude 6.1.

Earthquake Activity

Posted on | January 13, 2010 | Comments Off

USGS
Magnitude 7.0 – HAITI REGION
2010 January 12 21:53:09 UTC
15 km (10 miles) SW of PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti

USGS
Magnitude 6.5 – OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
2010 January 10 00:27:39 UTC
37 km (23 miles) WNW (283°) from Ferndale, CA

USGS
Magnitude 4.1 – SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA
2010 January 07 18:09:35 UTC
10 km (6 miles) ENE (59°) from Milpitas, CA

USGS
Magnitude 5.8 – BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
2009 December 30 18:48:57 UTC
21 km (13 miles) NNW (339°) from Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico

Quake-stunned Haitians pile bodies by fallen homes
By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer
“PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haitians piled bodies along the devastated streets of their capital Wednesday after the strongest earthquake to hit the poor Caribbean nation in more than 200 years crushed thousands of structures, from schools and shacks to the National Palace and the U.N. peacekeeping headquarters. Untold numbers were still trapped.

It seemed clear that the death toll from Tuesday afternoon’s magnitude-7.0 quake would run into the thousands. France’s foreign minister said the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission was apparently among the dead.”

“The hospitals cannot handle all these victims,” Dr. Louis-Gerard Gilles, a former senator, said as he helped survivors. “Haiti needs to pray. We all need to pray together.”

“It would appear that everyone who was in the building, including my friend Hedi Annabi, the United Nations’ Secretary General’s special envoy, and everyone with him and around him, are dead,” French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Wednesday, speaking on RTL radio.

“Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken,” said Henry Bahn, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official visiting Port-au-Prince. “The sky is just gray with dust.”

The New York Times
California: Earthquake Damage Climbs
“The damage estimate from the earthquake on Saturday in Eureka has climbed to $21.9 million, officials said. The figure reflects damage to 240 buildings….”

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