James Simpson, DC Independent Examiner

Last February I wrote about how one brave county was taking the leadin fighting Agenda 21– the United Nations “Agenda for the 21st Century.” The government of Carroll County, Maryland, was the first governmental organization to revoke membership in ICLEI, the U.N. sponsored organization created to insinuate Agenda 21 “Sustainable Development” concepts (also known as “Smart Growth,” “Walkable Communities” and a host of other positive-sounding misnomers) into local government planning and zoning ordinances.

Researchers have reduced the preparation time of quantum dot solar cells to less than an hour by changing the form to a one-coat quantum dot solar paint.

How?  

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are coated with cadmium sulfide (CdS) or cadmium selenide (CdSe.) The composite nanoparticles, when mixed with a solvent, form a paste that can be applied as one-step paint to a transparent conducting material, which creates electricity when exposed to light.

In a damning report, The Washington Post details its investigation of President Barack Obama’s much-hyped green jobs program. Its findings? Politics, not policy, underpinned the White House’s calculations. From The Post report:

Government Over Reach?

O'Malley Signs PlanMaryland Executive Order

Carroll County Commissioner Richard Rothschild told the Forum this afternoon that governor Martin O’Malley’s signing the PlanMaryland executive order on Monday by no means concludes the fight for Maryland property-rights and against smart-growth abuses.

The 17th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 17) held in Durban, South Africa ended at 5 a.m. on December 11th, running two days pass the scheduled conclusion, making it the longest climate conference in UN history (16 days). COP 17 President Nkoana-Mashabane could have ended the conference at any time with just the sound of her gavel, but she, along with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, chose to keep delegates working overtime through Friday and Saturday nights until the desired outcome was achieved. Delegates held hostage, suffering from sleep deprivation and scheduling deadlines (i.e. flights home) will eventually agree to anything.

The last decade has seen a sustained campaign by the hydraulic fracturing ('fracking") industry against its critics, as the fracking industry in the U.S. alone was worth an estimated $76 billion in 2010 and is projected to grow to $231 billion in 2036 if only those pesky environmentalists can be sidelined. According to Washington's energy Information Administration, production of shale gas in the United States in 2010 totalled 4.87 trillion cubic feet (tcf) compared with 0.39 tcf only a decade earlier.