Exelon Nuclear Power Plant

Exelon Corp. has offered 6.2 billion dollars in stock to purchase the New Jersey based NRG Energy. This buy would mean a great territorial expansion for Exelon Corp., based in Chicago; also, their merge would create a company whose value would sum up to over 60 billion dollars.

NRG officials have not yet reacted to this unsolicited buy proposal, but it seems that they are not very thrilled about it.

Exelon Corp. operates under the environmentally friendly principle and all 17 nuclear reactors that they handle produce very low quantities of greenhouse house emissions.

They have stated that this merge with NRG would keep them amongst the less polluting energy companies in the United States.

Also, they have tried to describe this merger as a win-win situation for the involved companies; Exelon gets territorial expansion, NRG gets leverage on the 8 billion dollar debt and better credit rating, and together they get to produce about 47,000 MW, which would be enough to provide electricity for about 45 million homes in the US.

At present, shareholders from both companies are analyzing the merger and the results will be communicated to the press as soon as a final agreement has been reached.

Steatoda paykulliana

Scientists have recently discovered the presence of several exotic species of spiders living in the UK. Their theory is that the warmer climate is now allowing exotic spiders to survive in the UK after arriving here in food and plants cargos.
Amongst the new species, scientists have identifies a false widow spider, an imitation of the black widow.

Organizations such as Buglife and The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have started worrying about it and will take a closer look at the rules concerning introducing merchandise from exotic countries into the UK.

The British Arachnological Society has identified three species of spiders that are apparently full time residents of the UK. The first one is the  Steatoda paykulliana, a black widow look-alike that is normally to be found in North Africa, and West Asia. It has recently been introduced in the country and colonies have already been spotted in Plymouth.

The second species, on the other hand, has been in the UK for a longer time, but the cold weather has stopped it from spreading. Now that the climate is getting warmer every year, the  Steatoda nobilis is populating the entire South Coast area.

Finally, the third species is the  Segestria florentina, a large biting venomous spider, who has been moving towards the North of the country year by year.

In the view of latest discoveries, environmental organizations are keeping a closer eye on the evolution of these species in the UK and are coming up with plans to stop the migration of exotic insects towards new habitats.

BOGO - Sunlight Flashlight

SunNight Solar does it again! This time the “Buy One Give One” campaign has as selling product a sunlight powered flashlight for Third World countries. For only 50 dollars you can buy one for yourself and one will be sent to the poor people in developing countries for free.

This flashlight has been created with the help of the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program and tested in difficult environments by researchers from the US Department of Energy, so as to offer the American buyer the best reliable and non-polluting light source that can be used at night.

It is just a simple house accessory for any American, but it is practically like electricity in developing countries where you won’t always find it in everybody’s home.
The SunNight Solar basically provides free light and the place you want to send the spare one is of your choice; it can be any non-profit organization or even the military troops based in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The founder of this campaign is Mark Bent, an ex-soldier who spent many of his military years in Africa, in harsh conditions that often supposed having to get around at night with no light source available, and who realized the importance of light in people’s lives.

Tropical Storm Center

In the Eastern side of the Caribbean Sea, the Omar Tropical Storm is coming close to having the strength of a hurricane.

It formed Tuesday and it was expected to bring heavy rain over the Netherlands Antilles. The National Hurricane Center described the storm’s evolution and direction, from S-W of San Juan, Puerto Rico towards Curacao.

What most makes it look like a hurricane is the wind speed of almost 70mph, whereas the one of a Class 1 hurricane is of 74mph, and if things go on like this, Omar will become one on Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Centre has issued warnings for Puerto Rico, The Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy.

Marijuana Plants

Over the last 10 years the Police and environmental organizations have discovered over 159 illegal marijuana plantations only in the Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park.

Marijuana cultures have transformed the California national parks and forests in some of the most polluted ones in the United States, mostly because of the chemicals used to help the plants grow.

In 2007 and 2008, only in California the U.S. Forest Service have found approximately 700 marijuana “farms”, and many others in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

In the 1,800 square mile Sequoia National Forest, environmental workers have found all types of spray cans used to protect the marijuana plants from weeds and bugs, growth hormones packages, and elaborate PVC pipes system through which the smugglers transport water from the mountain streams.

Also, the “farmers” use rat poison to keep the animals away and do not hesitate to kill any wild animal that comes near their precious crops.

The government and local authorities are working together and investing high amounts of money in the discovery and uprooting of marijuana plants; in 2007, nearly 5 million plants have been uprooted in California.

Researchers have discovered that with time smugglers have managed to develop hybrid plants which have a larger adaptability to various types of climates. That is why, only last year they uprooted about 500,000 plants in Kentucky and almost 300,000 in Washington.

Toxic Cloud Formation

Saturday, 11th of October. A nice autumn evening in Petrolia, Pennsylvania.
All of a sudden there is chaos and the residents are being evacuated as fast as possible due to a chemical leak. Hundreds of people had to leave their houses and could only return on Sunday.

The chemical leak formed a toxic cloud and more than 2,000 people were forced to flee. Representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have declared that all is back to normal and what happened at the Indspec Chemical Corp. plant is no longer affecting any of the area’s residents.

At the site of the accident three people have been taken at the hospital, but the reasons have not yet been disclosed to the press. Dave Dorko, the manager of the plant, said all the members of his staff were fine and suffered no injuries what so ever.

Apparently, the chemical which caused the cloud is oleum, which is basically fuming sulfuric acid that the plant uses to produce a clue destined for tire manufacturers.

Burning Forest

After the fire in Napa Valley, on Friday, that caused the loss of 300 acres of forest, a home and a barn, the firefighters received another emergency call; this time, in another area of California, North of Los Angeles.

The wildfire that started on Sunday destroyed over 750 acres of forest and more importantly threatened to burn out several houses, as well as the establishment of an animal sanctuary.

About 400 firefighters were called off to fight the fire that started 20 miles North of the downtown area of Los Angeles, at Angeles National Forest; they also received help from the aerial strike teams.

A house, some motor homes and other buildings have been turned into ashes by the raging fire, and about 1,200 have been forced to leave the area as the fire was getting closer to the city.

Stanton Florea, the U.S. Forest Service, declared that the fire was located South of the Wildlife Waystation, an animal sanctuary with over 400 animals. Also, they still do not have an exact cause of the fire, but thorough investigations are being carried out.