Yalda has believed to be the Sun's rebirth!

Yalda means birth. It is used interchangeably with “Shab e Cheleh” a Zoroastrian celebration of the Winter Solstice around Dec. 21st. Most Midwinter celebrations fall around the time of the Winter Solstice and share stories that revolve around the victory of light over darkness and the rebirth of the Sun. And Yalda is no exception.

Yalda means birth. It is used interchangeably with Shab e Cheleh' a Zoroastrian celebration of the Winter Solstice around Dec. 21st. Most Midwinter celebrations fall around the time of the Winter Solstice and share stories that revolve around the victory of light over darkness and the rebirth of the Sun. And Yalda is no exception.
Yalda is a festival that is thought to have been adopted by the Persians from the Babylonians. The last day of the Persian month of Azar is the longest night of the year, when the forces of Ahriman or darkness are thought to be at their peak. The next day which is the first day of the month called Day is known as khoram rooz or khore rooz which means the day of the sun. This day belongs to the creator Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom. With the return of the sun, the days get longer and the nights get shorter, which means that the sun has once again won a victory over the darkness.


Fires would burn all night in order to guarantee that Ahriman was defeated. Feasting, acts of charity, and deity worship were all a part of Yalda. Prayers to Mithra, the Sun God were sent heavenward to ensure that the Sun would rise with the "light of the early morning." It was thought that at this special time, Ahurz Mazda would grant wishes, especially to couples who wished to blessed with children.

During the festival masters and servants would reverse roles. A mock king was crowned and festivities abounded. The belief in the Persian culture at that time was that the first creation was order that came out of chaos. Therefore, roles were reversed and disorder and chaos reigned until the end of the festival. In fact, the Roman festival of Saturnalia was borrowed from the festival of Yalda at a later date.

Yalda is more of a social occasion than a festival. Friends and families visit one another for poetry readings from the poems of Hafez, a 14th century poet who still has a large following in Iranian households. It is tradition to make a wish, open a page of his poems randomly and look for the answer to the wish in that particular poem. Dried nuts, seeds and fresh winter fruits are popular fare at this time.
Family members would gather around a specially designed short wooden table covered with large quilts and blankets under which a small charcoal fire is burning. This table was called the corsi. Everyone would curl up underneath and even ate and slept there. In modern times, electrical heaters have replaced the corsi, but the tradition is still kept alive.
It seems ironic to me that at this time of year, when both of our countries are celebrating the return of the light, and coming together as family and friends, that we can be at war with one another. When I think of a family in Iran curled up together under the corsi, listening to grandparents tell tales of long ago, I can superimpose a family in America, sitting in front of a lighted Christmas tree, listening to grandparents tell tales of long ago. It is not those families that are in dispute with one another. We are not at war. We are human being sharing a night of love and wisdom with our families. Isn't it a shame that a conflict caused by politics, and a very tiny portion of a population can wreak such chaos?

Love, Light, Happy Yalda and Merry Christmas.

## Christmas,Yalda, and MithraÏsm

Stand in opposition to biofuels

Report on agro-economic risks of using crops as fuel
http://www.saynotobiofuels.org/

God is light

Heat and light from the sun are obvious, Light from the sun arrives at the top of the earth's atmosphere at a power level of about one kilowatt per square meter. It is this heat and light from a modest star (surface temperature only 5500 degrees C), that all life processes on earth are ultimately driven. Without the sun's constant energy input, our planet would quickly radiate away its latent heat and freeze us and everything else very solid in short order.










"This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

"1 John 1:5"

The application of Nanoscience & technology in field of renewable photovoltaic energy

The improvement and development of new routine in manufacturing and characterization of materials especially in molecular and atomic scales heighten mankind hope to dig out extraordinary approaches to solve complicated problems in Science and technology. This approach named as Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Over the last decade, enormous research had been done by many researchers around the world using these techniques.

The novel techniques in Science and technology are such as miracle for research in Nanoscience and technology, it has been said that these techniques not only facilitate the improvement of Nanotechnology but also gave it a magical renewal which everybody knew it in the world.
As you knew natural energy resources such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas take millions of years to form naturally and cannot be replaced as fast as they are consumed. Mankind life standards have been boosted by using cheap energy resources in the last century without caring about environments and renewal of these resources. The next generation will ask us “Why did you run out of all of treasures we had on the earth?”

Although it is not so easy for us to visualize how our life will change when we have no Energy resource to use, But just consider recent increase of oil price which escalated to a worrying level and affected all aspects of people life around the world by increasing of living costs and foodstuff.
There are fears that in long-range forecast because of increasing the consumption and decreasing the available non-renewable resources the energy price rise gradually and became a luxurious material that just prosperous people can afford it. In a simple expression we can expect that the further living standards will decline if we couldn’t utilize new resources and materials.

Renewable energy sources are generally sustainable in the sense that they cannot "run out" as well as in the sense that their environmental and social impacts are generally more benign than those of fossil. Conversion of even a small fraction of the solar radiation incident on the Earth’s surface into electrical power has the potential to satisfy the world’s energy demands without generating environmental damaging side products.
Energy harvesting from sunlight and conversion to electricity or novel Idea of direct producing simple chemicals such as Hydrogen, alongside making high density light weight rechargeable batteries, safe and light weight H2 and natural gas containers, high density fuel cells and smart sensors for conserving precious energy and many other aspects will help us to sustain and improve our quality of life.
Nanotechnology plays an important role in photovoltaic devices and is the first nominee for improving of effectiveness and durability of conventional photovoltaic cells. Performance limiting factors in these devices such as surfaces and interfaces and band gap will be solving by implanting Nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology shows a clear optimistic vision of the future only if instantly start to invest wisely on it, and manipulate it in critical subjects as energy and its related fields. Nanotechnology is the only bright spot of future in our research. Recently considerable amount of researches were done in US, Japan and Europe in different fields such as Chemistry, Physics and Engineering but it is just in the starting point and need for escalating more.

The new era of manipulating Nanotechnology has started and there is no escape of it, let’s join and accelerate this progress if you take care about your next generation in the future.

50 years of Science in CERN

What is CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) ?

Unravel the remaining mysteries of the universe

The Large Hadron Collider atom smasher, or the LHC, a 17-mile circular tunnel situated 100 metres underground near Geneva, is the biggest experiment ever.
Located at CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research, it is the most powerful in a series of particle accelerators that, over the last 70 years, have allowed us to penetrate deeper into the heart of matter.
It recreate conditions not seen since the big bang of creation to probe the secrets of the cosmos.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/10/scicern310.xml

## LHC First Beam Day from the CERN Control Centre (CCC)

## LHC - Large Hadron Collider

http://petermccready.com/portfolio/07041601.html

## An inside tour of the world's biggest supercollider

## CERN in 3 minutes

## باریکه به سی. ام. اس رسید، شامپاین هاتون رو باز کنید

##خواستن برای دانستن

Natural gas instead of Gasoline, Which country move fast?

Fuel rationing has forced Iran's car makers to scale down the manufacture of gasoline powered cars and increase production of dual-fuel cars that also run on natural gas as part of Iranian government's attempt to reduce billions of dollars it spends each year to import gasoline.

In the ad. Boone talks about how the Iranians are moving quickly to vehicles powered by Natural gas so they can free up their $120 a barrel oil to sell to us. Boone says:
“Get this one. Iran is changing its cars to run on natural gas and we’re not doing a thing here…”
Please let have a look on this video:

## What Iran is Doing

## How Natural-gas Vehicles Work

The sun will be our savior

## http://www.sharp.co.jp/solar-campaign/index_e.html

## Sharp to Open Thin-Film Solar Cell Plant in Sakai, Japan

##

Newsweek : Most of the grads of Iranian universities were working with major international companies

One of the best universities of the world is in Iran, the Newsweek weekly said in its latest edition, referring to Iran’s Sharif University of Science and Technology. “Forget Harvard _ one of the world’s best undergraduate colleges is in Iran,” said the news weekly in an article appeared in its August 9 edition. It said that Sharif University has now one of the best undergraduate electrical-engineering programs in the world. “In 2003, administrators at Stanford University’s Electrical Engineering Department were startled when a group of foreign students aced the notoriously difficult Ph.D. entrance exam, getting some of the highest scores ever. “That the whiz kids weren’t American wasn’t odd; students from Asia and elsewhere excel in US programs. The surprising thing, say Stanford administrators, is that the majority came from one country and one school: the Sharif University of Science and Technology in Iran.” Newsweek quoted Bruce A. Wooley, a former chair of the Electrical Engineering Department, as saying, “Stanford has become a favorite destination of Sharif grads.” Noting that Iranian students are developing “an international reputation as science superstars,” the weekly added. “Iranian students from Sharif and other top schools, such as the University of Tehran and the Isfahan University of Technology, have also become major players in the international Science Olympics, taking home trophies in physics, mathematics, chemistry and robotics.” According to the news magazine most of the grads of Iranian universities were working with major international companies. “The Silicon Valley companies from Google to Yahoo now employ hundreds of Iranian grads, as do research institutes throughout the West. Olympiad winners are especially attractive; according to the Iranian press, up to 90 percent of them now leave the country for graduate school or work abroad.”

## Newsweek Special Report: Sharif now has one of the best undergraduate electrical-engineering programs in the world.

## ! هاروارد را فراموش کنید

## درخشش جهاني دانشگاه شريف

## Iran home to one of world's best universities: Newsweek

## Sharif University of Technology

## Sharif University of Technology in Wikipedia encyclopedia

## دانشگاه صنعتی شریف

Bandgap Engineering

TiO2 is of great interest in the field of heterogeneous photocatalysis. TiO2 has the advantage of being cheap, nontoxic, and stable, all of which make it attractive for remediation of environmental organic pollutants. However, its wide bandgap (3.2 eV) means that is can only utilize just ~5% of the solar spectrum, all in the UV region. If this threshold energy could be reduced, visible light could then be used, opening up a much larger portion of the solar spectrum for potential photocatalytic work.
A large number of approaches have been taken to reduce the bandgap energy of TiO2, such as doping with transition metal cations, creating oxygen vacancies, or, most recently, doping with anions such as C, S, and N. The first report of N-TiO2 was by Asahi et al. in 2001, in which they bleached methylene blue (MB).
It was originally believed that mixing of nitrogen 2p states with lattice oxygen 2p states led to an overall reduction in the bandgap energy. However, more recent studies have shown both theoretically and experimentally that either substitutionally or interstitially bound nitrogen species result in localized N 2p states above the valence band.

## Hydrogen-producing bacteria provide clean energy
## OSU scientists advance hydrogen fuel-cell prospects
## Thunder Bay's Silence is Speaking Loud and Clear!
## We need answers to the energy crisis
## Can gas-saving device squeeze more miles from tank

## دانشمندان با الهام از گياهان آب را تجزيه کردند

Nanotechnology and Photovoltaic

Limited fossil energy resources and anthropogenic climate change underline the necessity for research and use of renewable energies.Current photovoltaic technology is not yet fulfilling this promise, largely due to the high cost of the electricity produced. Although the challenges of storage and distribution should not be underestimated, a major bottleneck lies in the photovoltaic devices themselves.

Conversion into electrical power of even a small fraction of the solar radiation incident on the Earth’s surface has the potential to satisfy the world’s energy demands without generating CO2 emissions.
Improving efficiency is part of the solution, but diminishing returns in that area mean that reducing the manufacturing cost is absolutely vital, whilst still retaining good efficiencies and device lifetimes.
Solution-processible materials, e.g. organic molecules, conjugated polymers and semiconductor nanoparticles, offer new routes to the low-cost production of solar cells. The challenge here is that absorbing light in an organic material produces a coulombically bound exciton that requires dissociation at a donor–acceptor heterojunction. A thickness of at least 100 nm is required to absorb the incident light, but excitons only diffuse a few nanometres before decaying. The problem is therefore intrinsically at the nano-scale: we need composite devices with a large area of internal donor–acceptor interface, but where each carrier has a pathway to the respective electrode. Dye-sensitized and bulk heterojunction cells have nanostructures which approach this challenge in different ways, and leading research in this area is described in many of the articles in this special issue.
Nanotechnology can play an important role in devices based on more conventional inorganic materials. In these materials, the electronic properties can be controlled, tuned and in some cases completely changed by nanoscale confinement. Also, the techniques of nanoscience are the natural ones for investigating the localized states, particularly at surfaces and interfaces, which are often the limiting factor in device performance.

http://www.grcblog.com/

## انقلابي تاريخي در توليد انرژي‌هاي پاك‌

Forget Harvard—one of the world's best undergraduate colleges is in Iran

## The Star Students Of The IRAN

Academia Europea "European Academy of Science and Art"

Academia Europea "European Academy of Science and Art"

Academia Europea

European Academy of Science and Art

Professor "Michel Che"

This Week Professor "Michel Che" with his wife will be our university's guest. As Professor Anpo has a vast scientific communication around the world he has many contribution with Distinguished Scientist especially in the field of Catalysis , Photocatalysis and Nanotechnology.

Professor Che is an active scientist in the field of Catalysis and published about 400 Scientific papers. Find more information about him in Wikipedia online encyclopedia.

## Prof. Michel Che in Wikipedia

What do you think about it?

I found a detailed news about a New car Here in Osaka Near me that can work just with pure water (yes just Water) and nothing else. If any person can explain the scientific details I will be grateful. Because it is very complicated and I believe it is impossible.
This car runs on hydrogen made on board the car. No high pressure storage tank needed. This is the way to go.
watch the Video here:
## On demand hydrogen power car

## Gore challenges US to ditch oil
Also in Persian:
پایان وابستگی آمریکا به نفت ظرف 10 سال ##

THIN FILM GROWTH PROCESS

Any Thin-film deposition process involves three main steps:
1. Production of the appropriate atomic, molecular, or ionic species.
2. Transport of these species to the substrate through a medium.
3. Condensation on the substrate, either directly or via a chemical and/or electrochemical reaction, to form a solid deposit.

Formation of a thin film takes place via nucleation and growth processes. The general picture of the step-by-step growth process emerging from the various experimental and theoretical studies can be presented as follows:

1. The unit species, on impacting the substrate, lose their velocity component normal to the substrate (provided the incident energy is not too high) and are physically adsorbed on the substrate surface.
2. The adsorbed species are not in thermal equilibrium with the substrate initially and move over the substrate surface. In this process they interact among themselves, forming bigger clusters.
3. The clusters or the nuclei, as they are called, are thermodynamically unstable and may tend to desorb in time, depending on the deposition parameters. If the deposition parameters are such that a cluster collides with other adsorbed species before getting desorbed, it starts growing in size. After reaching a certain critical size, the cluster becomes thermodynamically stable and the nucleation barrier is said to have been overcome. This step involving the formation of stable, chemisorbed, critical-sized nuclei is called the nucleation stage.
4. The critical nuclei grow in number as well as in size until a saturation nucleation density is reached. The nucleation density and the average nucleus size depend on a number of parameters such as the energy of the impinging species, the rate of impingement, the activation energies of adsorption, desorption, thermal diffusion, and the temperature, topography, and chemical nature of the substrate. A nucleus can grow both parallel to the substrate by surface diffusion of the adsorbed species, and perpendicular to it by direct impingement of the incident species.
In general, however, the rate of lateral growth at this stage is much higher than the perpendicular growth. The grown nuclei are called islands.
5. The next stage in the process of film formation is the coalescence stage, in which the small islands start coalescing with each other in an attempt to reduce the substrate surface area. This tendency to form bigger islands is termed agglomeration and is enhanced by increasing the surface mobility of the adsorbed species, by, for example, increasing the substrate temperature. In some cases, formation of new nuclei may occur on areas freshly exposed as a consequence of coalescence.
6. Larger islands grow together, leaving channels and holes of uncovered substrate. The structure of the films at this stage changes from discontinuous island type to porous network type. Filling of the channels and holes forms a completely continuous film.

The growth process thus may be summarized as consisting of a statistical process of nucleation, surface-diffusion controlled growth of the three-dimensional nuclei, and formation of a network structure and its subsequent filling to give a continuous film. Depending on the thermodynamic parameters of the deposit and the substrate surface, the initial nucleation and growth stages may be described as
(a) Island type, called Volmer-Weber type,
(b) Layer type, called Frank-van der Merwe type, and
(c) Mixed type, called Stranski-Krastanov type.

## Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics

## The 2008 NHA Renewable Hydrogen Forum

Sputtering

The Sputtering process is a key technology for material engineering in the twenty-first century.
Sputtering had been observed for the first time about 150 years ago in a discharge tube by Bunsen and Grove. Since then the basic level of understanding of the sputtering phenomena has been refined. The applications of sputtering, however, are still being developed on a daily basis. Sputtering deposition and sputtering etching have become common manufacturing processes for a wide variety of industries. First and foremost is the electronics industry, which uses sputtering technology to produce integrated circuits and magneto-optical recording media. This book describes many of the sputtering applications that are relevant to electronics.
Sputtering processes are also present in many other disparate areas. For example, sputter deposition is used to coat the mirrorlike reflective windows in many buildings. The hard coating of a machine tool is a well-known application of sputtering.
Sputtering is essential for the creation of new materials such as diamond thin films, high-Tc superconductors, and ferroelectric and magnetic materials like those used in random access memories.
Nanometer materials are also provided by sputtering. It is important that the sputtering process is considered an environmentally benign production technology.
In the last ten years, radical progress has been seen in sputtering technology. For production, an example is the high-rate sputtering technology using pulsed DC/MF dual-magnetron sputtering for coating large areas like window glass. Another production technology is the sputter-etching of deep trench structures using plasma-assisted long-throw magnetron sputtering systems. At the basic research level, epitaxial processing of complex oxides such as layered perovskite for high-Tc superconductors and ferroelectric superlattices of perovskites at the nanometer level were extensively studied, and commercial sputtering systems were developed.

## Changing the face of a water splitting catalyst
## Ballard To Supply Fuel Cells

##جهش سرمایه‌گذاری در حوزه انرژی‌های تجدیدپذیر

## The first Nanotechnology & Agriculture National Conference

## Nanotechnology & Agriculture Conference in Tehran

## The Synthesis and Microstructural Properties of Iron Oxide Nanocomposite

## Synthesis of Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles in Two W/O Microemulsions

## Production of Metallic Nanoparticle by Microwave Plasma Process

## A novel method for preparing nano particles of Water-soluble inorganic salts

## Control of Growth and Phase Conditions for Preparation of TiO2 Nanoparticles by Freeze-Drying Method

Water Splitting Group In the Land of Rising Sun

As you may consider, Artificial Photosynthesis is a mankind major challenge in the near future, with this phenomena we will be able to produce new renewable energy and may produce chemicals and materials.
The research of the “Water Splitting Group” focuses on investigation and study about production of highly active thin Films and increasing of Photochemical and photoelectrochemical activities of semiconductors and using these films for special application as Photocatalytic splitting of water to Hydrogen and Oxygen.

Efficient use of the freely available resource of solar energy by conversion of solar energy to electricity and chemical compounds is very important. Conversion of radiant energy into chemical energy by semiconductor Photocatalysis is one of major works we do in this group.
Recently, many studies have been devoted to water splitting reaction to produce H2 and O2 by using various types of powdered photocatalysts aiming at the utilization of abundant solar energy sources and the production of clean H2. However, such powdered photocatalytic systems always yield a mixture of H2 and O2. The second-generation titanium oxide thin film photocatalysts which absorb UV-visible light and work as efficient photocatalysts under irradiation of light in the UV and visible light carried out in our group in the beginning years of the Millennium.
In recent years many research had been done by the members of the group and many Scientific Papers published in this field. The most papers in this field belongs to one of the hard working person I had ever met, “Dr. Masaaki Kitano” whom I had the chance to work with him here, is a highly active scientist with a great scientific ability and working attitude who initiated many works here.
In the photo you can see him beside me; I missed him as I missed the other previous member “Mr. Kazushi Iyatani” who recently joined to one of famous Japanese companies.
This photo took last year and in one of the following posts I will introduce our current members.

Mr. Shohei Fukumoto
Mr. Kazushi Iyatani
Dr. Masaaki Kitano
and me

## Land of Rising Sun can shed new light on climate fight
## In Japan, energy down the ....

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020305.html

VIDEO ## Hydrogen solution to energy costs
## Driving with Hydrogen: Does it Measure Up?

## Japan's consumers risk country's green message at G8 summit
## You can fill 'er up with hydrogen
## Hydrogen storage breakthrough
## Oil-Dependent Japan Tries Turning Rice Into Fuel

## Other photocatalyst for H2 production

## Hydrogen solution

Sun our Life-Giving Star

A planetary system consists of various non stellar objects orbiting a star, such as our Sun. Over the past several years more and more planetary systems have been discovered, with varying masses, orbits and other system characteristics.

The solar system is special . The solar system had to be born under just the right conditions to become this quiet place we see. The vast majority of other planetary systems didn’t have these special properties at birth and became something very different .

Compared with the billions of other stars in the universe, the sun is unremarkable. But for Earth and the other planets that revolve around it, the sun is a powerful center of attention. It holds the solar system together; pours life-giving light, heat, and energy on Earth; and generates space weather.

Earth, our home planet, is the only planet in our solar system known to harbor life. All of the things we need to survive are provided under a thin layer of atmosphere that separates us from the uninhabitable void of space. Earth is made up of complex, interactive systems that are often unpredictable. Air, water, land, and life—including humans—combine forces to create a constantly changing world that we are striving to understand.
Viewing Earth from the unique perspective of space provides the opportunity to see Earth as a whole.
## Analysis of solar chemical processes for hydrogen production from water splitting thermochemical cycles

## A Monolithic Photovoltaic-Photoelectrochemical Device for Hydrogen Production via Water Splitting

## UNLV Uses Sunlight to Make Hydrogen from Water

Hydrogen Production on the earth instead of its consumption on the Sun

Hydrogen should be produce on earth meanwhile it consumed on the Sun; it is very highlighting Idea that I had been engaged with it during last years. About 75 percent of Sun's mass consists of Hydrogen. As we know the Source of energy on the Sun is Nuclear Fusion.
The energy produced by nuclear reactions in the interior of the Sun must equal the amount of energy radiated from the surface, since otherwise the Sun could not have been structurally stable over long periods of time. Evidence for the stability of the Sun comes from several sources. Stability over a period of nearly 3*10E9 years is implied by the relative stability of the temperature at the Earth’s surface (oxidized sediments and fossil remains indicate that water in its fluid phase has been present throughout such periods).
Stability over an even longer time is implicit in our understanding of the evolution of the Sun and other similar stars.
The conversion of energy contained in the atomic constituents of main sequence stars such as the Sun from heat of nuclear reactions which transforms hydrogen into helium) to radiation escaping from the surface is largely understood.

At present the Sun radiates energy at the rate of 3.9*10E26 W. At the top of the Earth’s atmosphere an average power of 1353 WmE-2 is passing through a plane perpendicular to the direction of the Sun. The average distance of the Earth from the Sun is 1.5*10E11 m.

## Fusion in the Sun!

## The future of energy (The Economist)

How can you discover a particle so small that nobody has ever seen one?!

The Electron, one of the most fundamental particles in nature has discovered in 1897, by J.J. Thomson. Up to now for more than a century since then, the electron has played a key role in physics as well as science and technology. What is the electron?
From the remarkable progress in experimental and theoretical physics in the twentieth century, it has become well known that matter consists of atoms, an atom consists of a nucleus and electrons, a nucleus consists of nucleons (protons or neutrons) and a nucleon consists of quarks. There exist at least twenty four fundamental fermions, the six flavours of leptons including the electron and the eighteen (six flavours and three colors) of quarks. In addition, there exist at least twelve gauge bosons including the photon, the three weak bosons, and the color-octet of gluons. The quarks have the strong interaction with the gluons while both the quarks and leptons have the electroweak interactions with the photon or the weak bosons. In addition, all these fundamental particles have the gravitational interaction with themselves.

In the modeling of electron, the charge of the electron is concentrated at a single point but is never at rest. The charge moves in circles at the speed of light around the centre of mass. The centre of mass does not coincide with the position of the charge for any classical elementary spinning particle. It is this separation and the motion of the charge that gives rise to the dipole structure of the electron.
The spin of the electron contains two contributions. One comes from the motion of the charge, which produces a magnetic moment. It is quantized with integer values. The other is related to the angular velocity and is quantized with half integer values. It is exactly half the first one and points in the opposite direction.
The electron interacts with other particles through its electric charge. The charge itself appears to be point-like, but the spin and magnetic moment of the electron suggest a much larger size.

## Big Oil's Hydrogen Future

Earth's Energy Budget

"Energy is the ability to do work". It is a standard definition of energy. We need to use the energy reach the earth and change it as we need to further uses.
As we believe that the Energy mostly comes from outside of the eart we should consider to "Earth's energy budget".
As a rough estimation about the Earth mean energy balance following figure can be used, it is not very exact and some of data may be uncertain by as much as 20%. But it is still useful for us to have an approximation about the Energy can reach the earth surface.
Recently many studies carried out by environmental related scientists and the investigated about the factors affect the Climate changes, for me as a person who wants to make an approximation about the energy reach the surface some parts of these researches may be useful more.
As I discussed in last post the short wave and long wave Solar radiation flux of energy is constrained by top layers of atmosphere. Partitioning of the radiative energy throughout the atmosphere is achieved through the use of detailed radiation models for both the long wave and shortwave spectral regions.

As you can see in the above Figure, total rate of energy leaves Earth is equal to the 342 W/m2 which is equal of incident sunlight! Thus Earth is in approximate energy balance in this figure. (Although we knew that earth absorb some energy, it means that these approximations are not complete)

Numbers are in watts per square meter of Earth's surface. In other way we can describe it as :

Solar radiation is scattered and reflected by the atmosphere, clouds, and earth's surface, creating an average albedo of 31%.

Atmospheric gases and clouds absorb another 20 units, leaving 49 units of shortwave absorbed by the earth's surface.

## Earth's energy balance (The Encyclopedia of Earth)
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Earth

##Solar Radiation and the Earth's Energy Balance

## Inside the Solar-Hydrogen House (Scientific American)

## Facing the Hard Truths about Energy

How many percent of the Sun's energy can reach the Earth?

The Sun is the source of most of the energy on Earth and the power source for life and plants, the cause of most of phenomena and happenings like flow of atmosphere and of water, the source of the warmth which makes life possible. In the other word is the source of all of Energies we need in future as renewable energy. Sun as a black body illuminates a wide range Electromagnetic radiation we know it as Solar Radiation.
Electromagnetic radiation is the flow of energy at the universal speed of light through free space or through a material medium in the form of the electric and magnetic fields that make up electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, Visible light, and gamma rays. In such a wave, time-varying electric and magnetic fields are mutually linked with each other at right angles. Electromagnetic radiation, including X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared radiation, and radio emissions, as well as visible light, emanating from the Sun.
Of the 3.8 * 10E33 ergs emitted by the Sun every second, about 1 part in 120 million is received by its attendant planets and their satellites. The small part of this energy intercept by our Planet Earth.
We can capture and convert solar radiation into useful forms of energy, such as electricity, heat and recently as we consider Chemical compounds, using a variety of technologies. The technical feasibility and economical operation of these technologies at a specific location depends on the available solar radiation or solar resource.
Always I ask myself that How much of the sunlight total energy can receive by Earth, it means what percentage of the sun's total sunlight or energy does the earth receive during a day?
We knew that our Sun rays spread out in every direction, and we are 93 million miles away from it. Out of all of the sunlight that the sun produces the answer is absolutely interesting, it is shocking to you, is about one part in 2.2 billion of the radiation emitted by the sun.
The percentage of sunlight that passes through the atmosphere varies with wavelength. In visible wavelengths, most light gets through the atmosphere.
Receiving visible light Irradiation by the Earth surface is Base of life. None would exist without it in the earth.
Our humankind life as all of other creatures in the earth is visible light based. I want to discuss more about it here and later in next posts we study more about it.
Incident solar radiation is a vital parameter for estimation of solar energy harvesting and it is defined as:
The amount of solar radiation striking a surface per unit of time and area.

We just can entrap a part of this striking light with or material. The trapping of light inside a semiconductor material by refracting and reflecting the light at critical angles; trapped light will makes further electrical changes in the material, greatly increasing the probability of absorption and hence of producing charge carriers.

## The Encyclopedia of Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living

## Deep Hydrogen

## The hydrogen future

## Hydrogen conference opens in South Pacific

私の大学院での研究

私は、大学院の応用化学科の物理化学実験室で研究しています。可視光を取り入れる特別な TiO2の薄いフィルムと様々なバイオマスの用法、化石燃料への代替としての水素、それらは環境に優しいエネルギー源として非常に魅力的です。燃焼のための水素活用とその仕事を生み出すことは、将来、水素をクリーンエネルギーとして一役を担うことでしょう。水素は、電気の世代に燃料電池として使用されるかもしれません。両方のシステムは副産物として水だけを作り出します。最小量の汚染と酸化窒素は出るでしょう。
半導体の光電子能力を使用した水の光電気化学分解の過程は、１９７２年に藤島氏と本多氏によって報告されました。純粋なTiO2は、容易に水を水素と酸素に分割することができませんでした。二酸化チタンは、ＵＶ光を４１４nmまで吸収するとされています。それは、すべての太陽スペクトルの内のわずかです。私は、この仕事で「薄いフィルム」を生産するのに無線周波数（ＲＦ）マグネトロンスパッタリングを使用します。それは将来、多くの薄いフィルムの生産とドーピングに必要になるでしょう。人工の光合成は、将来、人間の主な挑戦になるでしょう。新しいエネルギーと新素材の生産のために、電気への太陽エネルギーの変換は非常に重要です。
私は次のような研究をしています。
① 薄いTiO2フィルムの準備。準備されたサンプルの電気化学の活動のための調査。
② プラチナのナノ粒子の析出。
③ TiO2フィルムと可視光で分解するアルコール溶液（水素生産）、パラメータ、材料、および過程の変更。
④ 表面特殊化、フィルムの厚みの効果、
スパッタリングパラメタ最適化、共同スパッタリング要素の紹介。
⑤ 薄いフィルム表面の改良、金属のナノ粒子の析出等。そのためには将来、より多くの研究をする必要があります。私は多くの水素を作り出すために、活性触媒を見つけたいと思っています。

アフシン エブラヒミ

Research on high performance Photocatalysts to produce Clean EnergyGraduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University


研究制造洁净能源的高性能光学催化剂大阪府立大学研究生院工学研究科
청정에너지를 만들어내는 고기능 광촉매 연구오사카부립대학 대학원 공학연구과

I couldn’t buy the first Hydrogen fueled car

I had a dream to have one of the first Hydrogen fueled cars, is it strange or not? It is my thought always. But not me but also none of specialist in this field are not among the first costumers of new hydrogen Fuel Cell-powered that presented by Honda today!
All of the Costumers are from the world of arts or art related but not from Science or technological related persons.

During a ceremony for the start of "FCX Clarity" production at the world's first dedicated fuel cell vehicle manufacturing facility in Japan, American Honda Motor Co., announced five of the first customers for its advanced new FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle and also provided details of the world's first fuel cell vehicle dealership network in the United States.
The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, Hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicle. Propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the “Fuel Cell”, the vehicle's only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile. I like this photo very much it has a very deep meaning for us as I think. Here in this photo we can see marvelous irradiation of our lovely Sun behind the new presented car. Hope to harvest and use more Sun's light for future cars.
Although it is very special Car but something and especially one question is remained, I couldnt find anything about it in the recent news. My question is:
How The Hydrogen will be produced for this car and the future vehicles in this case?
It will be great if we can use the renewable energy sources, but using hydrocarbon for production of “Hydrogen” is somehow not a big success for us, but I believe it is a great success for mankind, we should tell congratulation to Honda Motor Co., for their Pioneer work.
From now it is up to the scientists and engineers to find the economical and environmental friendly ways to produce a lot of Hydrogen for future coming Vehicles.
I remember that I hope in future we can see more scientist or the science related based persons in the front line of using novel technological based vehicles.

## Honda FCX Clarity - Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle - Official Web Site

## Honda Announces First FCX Clarity Customers and World's First Fuel Cell Vehicle Dealership Network as Clarity Production Begins in Japan

##How Fuel Cells Work

## http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1213900614/bctid1466838148

## Hydrogen Heaven

ژاپن نخستین اتومبیل هیدروژنی را تولید کرد ##

Persian Sun

"In Persia first arises that light which shines itself and illuminates what is around...The principle of development begins with the history of Persia; this constitutes therefore the beginning of history,''

German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel once wrote about the role of Persia in history, considering ancient Persians" the first historic people.''
Sun is the Earth's principal created source of energy, without which life on earth would be impossible.
The Persian sun-god Mithra or Mehr was widely accepted in the Roman world prior to the period of Christian evangelism. Sunday was dedicated to Mithra (lord), receiving the title of the "Lord's Day".

In Persia sun veneration gave rise to the later Mithraic cult. Among many peoples the sun was regarded as the ancestor of the Kings. The Chaldeans put the sun in the center of "the seven circles of the universe." Later civilizations honored the sun by giving its name to the first day of the week.
The sun was supposed to be the mystic father of the virgin-born sons of destiny who ever and anon were thought to be bestowed as saviors upon favored races. These supernatural infants were always put adrift upon some sacred river to be rescued in an extraordinary manner, after which they would grow up to become miraculous personalities and the deliverers of their peoples.

## TEMPLE OF MITHRAS

## European Hydrogen Association

## Semiconductor splits water with sunlight

Swastika has been used as a Sun Symbol in Persian culture

When I came to Japan, the most interesting thing that I found was very small temples in the streets or alleys that the sign of "Swastika" was on it.
This sign always remind us the Nazi's sign whom ruled Germany before Second World War, because of their vast cruel killing a lot of civil people meanwhile the war and killed many Jewish in the Holocaust.
Firstly I thought maybe it relates to a German soldier who passed away here! But not it is impossible in this case nobody can accept to celebrate this sign for a long time here. After a few days I found more and knew that it belongs to Buddhists temples.
I all of temple they use this sign and this sign also in the maps shows the location of temples.
Then I thought may German borrow it from the Buddhists.Last year when I visited Osaka Museum of history, there was a special exhibition under the name of "Glory of Persia".
More than 200 unique historical relics pre Islamic belonging to the 5th millennium BC to the end of Sassanid dynastic era in 651 AD (Before Arab conquering of Iran) were selected from four Iranian museums to be displayed in exhibition of Glory of Persia in Japan. in 6 selected great cities as Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya and Sapporo and Fukuoka.To me as an Iranian, visit to the Glory of was a great opportunity to learn about the background of my parent’s country and birthplace, which, until early 20th century, was called Persia. It was very important occasion because also inside Iran we couldn’t see all of these items in a same place.
In that named exhibition I saw a special necklace, with this sign on it! Oh, very strange.
It means Persians use it from about 3000 years ago, as at that time no Buddhist lived at that places and no other reason.
Up to know that it is one of famous sign of Sun for the people in the world. It Is believed that Swastika has been used as Sun symbol with Persian.



#Korea to Exhibit `Glory of Persia'

# Swastika In Ancient Persia (Iran)

موزه شکوه تمدن پارس#

# About Solar Energy

# Mithra

Yalda شب يلدا ## (in Persian)

Renewable Energy Sources

There are five principal renewable sources of energy: the sun, the wind, flowing water, biomass and heat from within the earth.
Heat, electricity and vehicle fuel are the main forms of energy that we use every day. All renewable energy sources can be used to produce electricity. Solar energy and Biomass can supply all three forms of useful energy. Geothermal energy can supply both electricity and heat. Harvesting solar energy for production of vehicle fuel is one of the most important and challenging course that we already engaged with in Osaka Prefecture University.

Sun
Solar energy is energy that comes directly from the sun. The sun is a constant natural source of heat and light, and its radiation can be converted to electricity or use as a source for producing chemicals via Photocatalytic phenomena. This source is the most important source of energy and mother of all other kinds of sources other than energy from a nuclear source.

Biomass
"Biomass" describes, in one word, all plants, trees and organic matter on the earth. Biomass is a renewable source of energy because the natural process of photosynthesis constantly produces new organic matter in the growth of trees and plants. Photosynthesis stores the sun´s energy in organic matter. Biomass is used to make heat, electricity and liquid fuels.

Wind
Natural conditions of climate and geography produce the winds that blow across the landscape. Historically, windmills were used to supply mechanical energy, for example to pump water or grind grain. Modern day wind turbines produce electricity.

Water
Like the winds, flowing water is a product of the earth’s climate and geography. Snowmelt and runoff from precipitation at higher elevations flow toward sea level in streams and rivers. In an earlier era, water wheels used the power of flowing water to turn grinding stones and to run mechanical equipment. Modern hydro-turbines use water power to generate hydroelectricity.

Earth
Heat from deep within the earth is called "geothermal energy." In some locations, geothermal energy is close enough to the surface that, by drilling a well to reach the heat source, the energy can be extracted and used for heating buildings and other purposes. Where the temperatures are hot enough, geothermal energy can be used to generate electricity.

# The Hydrogen Future

#The Hydrogen highway is a dead-end street

#Driving With Hydrogen

Energy Conversion in Semiconductors

Different mechanisms and materials can be employed for the conversion of solar energy into electricity, but all practical devices are based on semiconductors.
Semiconductors are solids and, like metals, their electrical conductivity is based upon movable electrons. The primary consideration here is the level of conductivity. Materials are known as:

– Conductors at a conductivity of σ > 104 (Ωcm)−1;
– Semiconductors at a conductivity of 104 > σ > 10−8 (Ωcm)−1;
–Insulators (Non-conductors) at a conductivity of σ < 10−8 (Ωcm)−1

This simple categorization is, however, hardly an adequate criterion for a definition, and it is predominantly other characteristics, in particular the thermal behavior of conductivity, that form the basis for classification. This is where metals and semiconductors behave in an opposing manner. Whereas the conductivity of metals decreases with increasing temperature, in semiconductors it increases greatly. So what is a crystalline solid? At this point, we wish to differentiate between two separate categories. On the one hand, there are the so-called amorphous substances. In these, the structure of individual atoms and molecules displays almost no periodicity or regularity.
Crystalline solids, on the other hand, are distinguished by a perfect (or near perfect) periodicity of atomic structure. These materials naturally make it much easier to understand the physical characteristics of solids. Therefore, the explanation of semiconductor characteristics and the physical principles of photovoltaics is normally based upon crystalline semiconductors, and in particular crystalline silicon.



# # From Kites to Hydrogen-Fueled Flight

VIDEO: Hydrogen Generator Boosts Gas Mileage

私は高度な研究をしている有名な教授の元で研究を始めるため仕事を辞め、来日した。

私は、子供の頃から日本のアニメーションや映画を見て日本の文化に親しみ、日本人の習慣、行動、態度なども見てきました。イランでは、日本人は勤勉で有能、そして日本製品は世界でも最高のものとされています。日本人は、お互いに相手の個性、権利を尊重して生活しています。
私は、研究を展開するために来日しました。そして、日本の文化に親しみ、日本人が持っている誠実さや友情の気持ちを、私の家族の中にも育てたいと思っています。
以前、私は、大学と研究所によく協力し、多くの研究者と学生に、実用的な題材で教育セミナーを行ってきました。それは、私の広範囲なナノテクノロジーの知識に基づいています。また、ナノサイズの酸化チタンの生産に携わった経験もあります。
私が日本に来るきっかけとなったのは、2004年10月11日～13日までイランのテヘランで、石油工業におけるナノテクノロジーの国際会議と勉強会に出席した時でした。そこでは、現大阪府立大学・大学院工学研究科長の 安保　正一 教授による勉強会が行われました。彼は「酸化チタンの準備と評価がより良い環境への適用だけでなく光触媒にもとづいている」というテーマで発表されましたが他のスピーカーと比較しても、彼の発表は格別なものでした。私も含めリスナーは、この教授とそのグループの重要な概念と輝かしい科学的背景に基づいた研究に感銘を受けました。
　彼と共に働くのが私の夢だったので、彼の状況を尋ねました。彼は、日本に来るよう私を説得してくれたので私は、住んでいた自分のアパートを売り払い、日本で研究するための資金を準備しました。
　私は、今、彼の指揮のもと、熱心なワーキンググループの中で研究していることに、満足しています。彼は科学工業における21世紀の目標は「環境に調和した、環境に優しい科学技術」であると考えています。私は、私の研究分野の新しい情報とアイデアの発見を目指しています。より良い研究者になるために、仕事の質を上げるように努力しています。そのためには、強いチームと共に働く必要があります。
有効性は、私が将来を決める最も重要な要素です。将来は、研究グループかアカデミックな立場で働きたいと思います。
と同時に私は、家族のことも考えなければなりません。平和で満足な生活を送ることが、私たち家族の願いです。

アフシン エブラヒミ

応用化学科のホームページへ


工学部トップへ


物理化学　研究グループ

## IRIB International Conference Center, Tehran (IICC)

## The second Conference & Workshop on Nanotechnology in Petroleum Industry

Renewable Energy Growing

Global renewable energy markets have grown tremendously in the past decade. Few people realize that some forms of renewable energy have become big business. Annual investment in renewable energy was an estimated $17 billion worldwide in 2002, up from $6 billion in 1995. Cumulative investment of at least $80 billion was made in renewable energy during the period 1995-2002, far surpassing investment in the decade prior to 1995. This growth has been driven first and foremost by supportive national and local policies, many of which have effectively overcome the barriers that continue to put renewable energy at a competitive disadvantage to fossil fuels.

-Technology improvements and cost reductions,
- Better market information,
- Growing awareness of global climate change,
- Local environmental concerns,
and
- Rural development needs in the countries
have also been important drivers of this growth.

The fastest growing renewable energy markets are for wind power and solar photovoltaics in a handful of developed countries, notably Japan, Germany, and Spain, with a recent resurgence in the United States. These markets have seen annual growth rates of 15-40% in recent years. Solar hot water markets in a few countries have been growing equally rapidly, with more modest investments in geothermal, small hydro, and biomass. Overall, technology shares for the $17 billion total invested in 2002 are estimated at wind 42%, solar photovoltaics 22%, solar hot water 17%, geothermal heat production 8%, small hydro power generation 6%, biomass power generation 2%, and geothermal power generation 2%.


# Hydrogen Fuel Cells to Run Future of the World

Four Dollar A Gallon Gas Fueling Hope For Hydrogen

Work on energy diversification

#Hydrogen cars tanked up for six days

Renewables now provide over 5 per cent of global energy generation and 18 per cent of new investment in power generation, Read more in Daily News:

#Kick the habit: Towards a low carbon economy

Conservation of material and energy

The latest round of increases in energy prices has added to the upside risks to inflation.
The conservation of material and energy is one of the famous rules in science although it doesn’t relate to this rule but always I have a model in my mind. If Energy prices increases the food and other prices will increase.
Oil is the lifeblood of the functioning of global economies since it is an important energy source for most industrialized or industrializing countries. As long as demand remains strong while supply scarcity exists, prices are likely to continue up-trending. The bottom line is: oil prices are up because we are running into actual limits on commodity production.
A few weeks ago the crisis commodity switched from oil to rice. Now it’s back to oil again and logically so, one would argue. After all, crude futures surged almost 8.5% on Friday, touching for the first time ever $139 per barrel.
Oil prices have risen by as much as 97% in 12 months and 165% in 3 years - suggesting that something more than just supply and demand are driving oil prices to their current historic record levels.
Increasing of Food prices made a big doubt about one kind of renewable energy that we knew as biofuels or biodiesel.
Many governments acclaimed that they should think about restriction of using food to producing energy.
If we want to live on the earth as mankind need to be alive and the much important thing for us is food. In this case we completely understood that these kinds of renewable energies are not appropriate for future although we can use for a while in special cases.
Which source for energy is better than nature? And what is the source of all energies in the world?
Yes, we should use different source of available energies which initiated from Sun .

We must harvest more Light from Sun.

Dependency of Energy and food

Global economic growth particularly in China and India has pushed demand for energy dramatically upward. There is an overwhelming lack of investment and production levels have hardly increased over several years in the world.
Since 2005, world oil production has stalled at about 85 million barrels per day.
Here In Japan although I dont have a private car but I see the prices of Gasoline everyday.

In Osaka, regular gasoline jumped about 20 yen per liter at most stations in beginning of June, costing about 170 yen and the high octan Gasonine is about 180. In the beginning of May it increased by about 30 yen per liter. I think it is very strange for the people who use car in their daily life.
If this increasing limited just to these Energy related Items may be able to tolerate but it has a lot of turbulences in other fields. Rocketing energy cost may lead to agricultural problems and it make danger for all of th people in the world.

Energy saving and efficiency is one of the quickest, greenest, and most cost-effective way to address energy security, climate change, and ensuring economic growth but I think it is not enough. we should think about new energies seriously and invest a lot of money for serious research in these fields.

Let read next post, I will discuss more about it.

Oil Price Shock, Energy Prices and Inflation

Experts indicate that world oil prices have reached new highs - the low prices of the past are notexpected to return because worldwide demands continue to surge.

Emerging energy technologies can increase the use of renewable resources through conversion to hydrogen-rich liquid or gaseous fuels as energy carriers, stimulating more economic growth, while making the state more self-reliant. With advanced hydrogen technologies,renewable resources can be stored, distributed, and used in a variety of clean, efficient power and transportation applications.

Solar Energy is the most basic and direct form of renewable energy. Depending on the type of platform used, sunlight is converted directly into electricity or heat. Solar energy is considered a renewable energy because it will exist for as long as the sun, which should be over 4 billion years. Once the sun burns out, we will have much larger problems than energy!

Energy ministers call for measures to stabilize oil market

http://www.oil-price.net/

Towards a Low Carbon Economy

Kick the Habit!
Towards a Low Carbon Economy.

Our living earth has a lot of challenges, increasing of population and consuming a lot of energy increased Environmental problems drastically. Yesterday June 5 was the World Environment Day. Each year, the United Nations agency responsible for coordinating World Environment Day activities UNEP, selects a city as the main venue for the international celebrations. World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of UNEP.

An article on the United Nation's website quoted Secretary-General “Ban Ki-moon” as saying:
"Our world is in a grip of a dangerous carbon habit. Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions." This statement was in observance of World Environment Day. Read in detail here or download the PDF file.

U N I T E D N A T I O N S
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
MESSAGE FOR WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2008

KICK THE CARBON HABIT (click for PDF File)

Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions. Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit.
Coal and oil paved the way for the developed world’s industrial progress. Fast-developing countries are now taking the same path in search of equal living standards. Meanwhile, in the least developed countries, even less sustainable energy sources, such as charcoal, remain the only available option for the poor.
Our dependence on carbon-based energy has caused a significant build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put the final nail in the coffin of global warming sceptics. We know that climate change is happening, and we know that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that we emit are the cause.
We don’t just burn carbon in the form of fossil fuels. Throughout the tropics, valuable forests are being felled for timber and making paper, for pasture and arable land and, increasingly, for plantations to supply a growing demand for biofuels. This further manifestation of our carbon habit not only releases vast amounts of CO2; it also destroys a valuable resource for absorbing atmospheric carbon, further contributing to climate change.
The environmental, economic and political implications of global warming are profound. Ecosystems -- from mountain to ocean, from the Poles to the tropics -- are undergoing rapid change. Low-lying cities face inundation, fertile lands are turning to desert, and weather patterns are becoming ever more unpredictable.
The cost will be borne by all. The poor will be hardest hit by weather-related disasters and by soaring price inflation for staple foods, but even the richest nations face the prospect of economic recession and a world in conflict over diminishing resources. Mitigating climate change, eradicating poverty and promoting economic and political stability all demand the same solution: we must kick the carbon habit. This is the theme for World Environment Day 2008. “Kick the Habit: Towards a Low Carbon Economy”, recognizes the damaging extent of our addiction, and it shows the way forward.
Often we need a crisis to wake us to reality. With the climate crisis upon us, businesses and governments are realizing that, far from costing the Earth, addressing global warming can actually save money and invigorate economies. While the estimated costs of climate change are incalculable, the price tag for fighting it may be less than any of us may have thought. Some estimates put the cost at less than one per cent of global gross domestic product -- a cheap price indeed for waging a global war.
Even better news is that technologies already exist or are under development to make our consumption of carbon-based fuels cleaner and more efficient and to harness the renewable power of sun, wind and waves. The private sector, in particular, is competing to capitalize on what they recognize as a massive business opportunity.
Around the world, nations, cities, organizations and businesses are looking afresh at green options. At the United Nations, I have instructed that the plan for renovating our New York headquarters should follow strict environmental guidelines. I have also asked the chief executives of all UN programmes, funds and specialized agencies to move swiftly towards carbon neutrality.
Earlier this year, the UN Environment Programme launched a climate neutral network -- CN Net -- to energize this growing trend. Its inaugural members, which include countries, cities and companies, are pioneers in a movement that I believe will increasingly define environmental, economic and political discourse and decision making over the coming decades.
The message of World Environment Day 2008 is that we are all part of the solution. Whether you are an individual, an organization, a business or a government, there are many steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. It is message we all must take to heart.

Preserving all life on earth

World Environment Day calls for end to CO2 addiction