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The event raised a total of more than one million dollars to support the Center’s work around the world.
View the photo gallery of the evening.
After months of speculation and debate about unfair Chinese subsidies to domestic solar manufacturers, the U.S. solar industry finally has an answer to one piece of the ongoing trade case: Solar panels imported from China will be hit with a small tariff.
The Department of Commerce issued a preliminary decision today based upon the agency’s impartial review of Chinese subsidies to domestic solar companies.
The tariffs range from 2.9 percent to 4.73 percent — dramatically lower than the 20 percent expected by many industry analysts. But this decision from Commerce is just the first of two key tariff rulings. While today’s ruling addressed the issue of subsidies, a separate decision on whether Chinese companies are dumping panels into the U.S. market below cost is expected in May.
The complaint against China was filed in October by SolarWorld and a small group of unnamed solar manufacturers that called itself the Coalition of American Solar Manufacturers, or CASM. It sparked a contentious debate in the solar industry between upstream panel manufacturers getting squeezed by rapidly falling prices and downstream developers benefiting from cheap equipment.
Today’s preliminary determination by the Department of Commerce imposing low tariffs on imported solar cells and modules is a relatively positive outcome for the U.S. solar industry and its 100,000 employees. However, tariffs large or small will hurt American jobs and prolong our world’s reliance on fossil fuels. Fortunately, this decision will not significantly raise solar prices in the United States as SolarWorld has sought.
This decision clearly demonstrates that the Commerce Department did not find the Chinese government engaged in massive subsidization, as SolarWorld and CASM claim.
There is more work to be done to protect the future of solar industry and power in America. There will be another decision in May when the Commerce Department announces anti-dumping duties. A recent study by the Brattle Group confirmed that placing artificially high tariffs on solar panels would severely undermine the US solar industry, resulting in the loss of up to 60,000 US jobs by 2014.
CASM countered those job loss claims with its own report earlier this month showing that America’s 2010 solar trade surplus with China turned into a gaping $1.6 billion deficit last year.
Today’s Commerce Department decision to levy import tariffs on Chinese solar panels is a positive step forward in a much larger effort to level the clean energy playing field between the United States and China. I applaud SolarWorld for pursuing this case and utilizing the trade institutions designed to address these types of complaints. Too many U.S. companies avoid filing trade petitions because they fear Chinese government retaliation. When U.S. companies allow those fears to prevail, the end result is tacit accommodation to illegal trade behavior, and that can erode U.S. competitiveness and drive entire U.S. industries out of business.
This countervailing duty (subsidy) tariff is lower than many industry analysts expected. It is important to note, however, that in trade cases where subsidy and dumping petitions are filed in tandem, the dumping tariff is generally the higher import duty. The Commerce Department is expected to issue the SolarWorld dumping determination in May. At this point it is far from clear what the end result of this case will be and how it will impact manufacturers in the United States and China.
One thing that we can say based on this relatively low subsidies tariff is that the Commerce Department did not apply punitive duties in this ruling. Instead, the Commerce Department based this decision on its own review of the evidence and only levied tariffs based on what it could prove. Chinese companies and officials are watching this case very closely, and hopefully this action will serve as an example in China for how these cases can and should be handled impartially and according to law.
The United States and China are the world’s biggest energy consumers. Keeping our borders open to allow and encourage clean energy trade can stimulate competition, speed innovation, and bring down costs to speed our transition toward a clean energy economy. To be equally beneficial for both countries, however, it is critical that U.S. and Chinese companies compete on a level playing field. At present, it is clear that the field is often far from level. Allowing and encouraging U.S. companies to file trade petitions such as this one is critical for correcting that imbalance.
With so much at stake for both sides of the rapidly growing solar sector, the war of words between manufacturers and developers will likely continue well into the spring.
Why BIM Consulting Model is Advantageous to Construction Firms?
BIM signifies different aspects for different building construction firms. AEC companies and EPC firms think that the emphasis has to be completely on the information “I” of BIM. The information is either graphical or non-graphical and is contained in the building model, which is accessible through the liked data. The capability of a construction firm to integrate building designs with engineering processes with help of information from documents; is what sets BIM modeling from drawing equipment, and the firm from competitors.
3D modeling and simulations are increasingly becoming sophisticated, and hence are getting integrated on more and more building construction projects. Best Revit BIM modeling service providers opine that their potential is realized when they successfully bring architecture, engineering, and construction on the same platform to further unite designers and the designing elements together. It may sound like a gigantic task, but for those who know about it, are sure that BIM is the future of building.
To simplify it, we can say that BIM is computer modeling which brings together all relevant building information to streamline current and future processes. BIM makes building construction easier, and construction firms, big and small, now know why BIM consulting model is advantageous to them.
BIM is mainly a virtual prototype of a site, building, infrastructure or an entire city. It helps with the aspects of assessing the design performance, and stimulating it before constructing – helping all involved in the construction project to understand the design completely and well in advance.
BIM maturity models are simple and easy to assess the maturity of the implementation of BIM within the projects. With help of BIM maturity, construction companies are capable of assessing and adopting BIM best practices and it’s diffusion across various groups and regions. It can be said to be a discipline to measure the amount of project completed and how successful it has been. These maturity models make BIM consulting services available for wide industry usage for demystifying BIM, reducing BIM wash and helping raise the capability throughout the industry.
Before inception of BIM, building construction projects with multiple complexities were dependent on computer generated drafts, drawings and images –which put together, will form the overall layout. This means that architecture, engineering, and construction disciplines were preparing their own images and communicating with one another for seamless workflow – wishful thinking. But this was not at all “seamless transfer of information”. But today, if you face challenges getting in touch with design engineers – BIM is the solution. BIM 3D modeling ensures that all involved in the construction project are looking at the same 3D render. Construction professionals and construction engineers and contractors – all access and look at the same information. BIM averts disconnect between construction firms and clients, ultimately resulting in saved dollars and time.
Small construction firms usually struggle to match high overheads. They do make money, but most of it goes into managing the expenses. BIM consulting helps them in increasing the ROI. A firm’s BIM maturity is responsible for the firm’s high return on investments. Firms with less mature BIM are more likely to have poorer ROI. This ropes in the ways in which BIM consulting changes your workflow – effectively and efficiently. Increased ROI is a result of reduced errors, efficient use of resources, dissemination of information, and involving construction experts willing to work with emerging technology. Attracting the best minds attracts the best customers, who pay the highest fees.
3D BIM modeling enables construction firms, contractors, architects and design engineers with a virtual inspection of the building before it gets constructed or project completion. BIM models containing layers of different building systems, both structurally and its internal systems; enable the construction company run virtual tests to make sure all the systems are working appropriately – even before breaking the ground. Choosing the best BIM consulting firm helps you be prepared to embrace BIM to the fullest.
Consulting firms are your strategic BIM partners. BIM consultants provide an innovative approach to businesses to enhance and improvise the communication within architecture and engineering. They help you make that smooth transition from conventional building construction processes, to integrated BIM workflows and thus maximize your ROIs. Apart from BIM consulting and implementation, they also assist construction firms with project startup, training, and workflow management support leading to superior business outcomes.
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A mum of three who suffered a stroke at 35 is to run the London Marathon this year.
Lisa Wright is in training for the city challenge in support of the Stroke Association and she is aiming to raise at least £2,000.
The Clapham mum suffered a stroke in 2009, when she was 35, and her youngest child was just two years old.
She added: “I was lucky enough to make a good recovery and apart from a few missing memories and problems with increased fatigue, I’ve been extremely lucky.
The Stroke Association work to research stroke prevention and cure and also to provide support to those who have suffered stroke and their families.
A 732-acre conservation easement on the Bar B Ranch near Carey closed this week as a result of a $140,000 grant from the Blaine County Land, Water and Wildlife Fund.
The conservation easement process began last year, when ranch owners Jim and Susan Barton collaborated with The Nature Conservancy to apply for the easement from the county. The Nature Conservancy contributed $50,000 of the cost of the easement and will monitor and enforce it. The Farm and Ranch Protection Program of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service provided $190,000 of the cost, bringing the total price to $380,000.
County funds came from the Land, Water and Wildlife Levy, a two-year, $3.4 million assessment that is part of county property taxes and is meant to preserve open land and farm space from development.
The Bartons retained the right to build a new single-family residence on the ranch within the existing farmstead area. However, the rest of the ranch will be preserved for agricultural use and conservation in perpetuity.
Mark Davidson, spokesman for The Nature Conservancy, said during a county meeting in August that the ranch, which is mostly sagebrush steppe, is an important habitat for sage grouse and pronghorn antelope. Raptors, songbirds, elk and deer also have habitat on the ranch.
Clare Swanger, project coordinator for the levy, said in a press release that the ranch is in a “transition zone” between the Pioneer Mountains and Craters of the Moon National Monument. The land in this area is a complex pattern of private, state and federal property.
“Every key parcel of land conserved, of which the Bar B is one, contributes to the permeability of the landscape through which wildlife can travel,” she said.
“It took patience and determination from everyone involved,” he said.
The Bar B Ranch is the second project to receive county funds. The first was a 1,100-acre conservation easement on the Flat Top Ranch near Carey, owned by John and Diane Peavey. Blaine County contributed $200,000 toward the purchase of that conservation easement in December.
A man who slayed a Staten Island mother and her 21-year-old son then led cops on an interstate chase before he was arrested in a Pennsylvania shootout will live out the rest of his days behind bars, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Richmond County prosecutors sentenced Anthony Morales, 51, for the murders of Anthony Rivera, 21, and his mother, Idelle Rivera, 47, whom he ambushed while the younger Rivera and a friend worked on a car outside the Mariners Harbor Houses on Roxbury St. in March of 2016.
Morales pled guilty to the murder of Rivera and her son and the attempted murder of Jose Ramirez, 24, who he shot nine times during the March 24 shooting, prosecutors said.
"Gun violence has no place on our streets and today's sentence of 40 years to life will ensure that this defendant is put behind bars for decades to come and no longer permitted to carry out such appalling acts of violence in our community," said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon.
Morales and the two young men had an argument over money prior to the shooting, police sources said.
Authorities tracked Morales' phone and caught him sleeping in his car alongside a road in the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania three days after the killings, sources said.
When NYPD detectives and federal marshals ordered Morales to put his hands up, he refused, former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said.
Instead, Morales made a sign of the cross, reached into his waistband and pulled a gun, sources said. Officers opened fire, hitting Morales 10 times.
Morales spent several weeks recovering from his wounds at Reading Hospital before he was extradited to New York to be brought to justice.
GRANGER - An autopsy is scheduled today for a 58-year-old man who may have been slain in his Clover Trail home Tuesday night. Dean Hughes was found unresponsive Wednesday morning by a friend and pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities. Authorities said they discovered that Hughes' injuries indicated he may have been assaulted before his death. Shortly after Hughes was found, officers arrested a man in connection with the crime at a 21st Street South Bend home, according to authorities. Ronnie Underwood Jr., 20, was taken into custody and remained at the St. Joseph County jail this morning, according to jail records. He has not been charged in the death.
Viacom today confirmed it’s acquiring digital media company AwesomenessTV, whose network reaches 158 million subscribers and approximately 300 million monthly views. The news follows a report from earlier this week that said the two were in talks about an acquisition, which priced the deal at “well below $300 million,” according to Variety.
Prior to this, AwesomenessTV was majority owned by Comcast/NBCUniversal which has a 51 percent stake in the company; Hearst and (TechCrunch parent company by way of Oath), Verizon, are minority shareholders with 24.5 percent stakes. When Verizon acquired its stake two years ago, it spent around $159 million, which valued the business then at the $650 million price point, or double its valuation at the time Hearst invested in 2014.
Viacom’s interest in the property has to do with its ability to reach young viewers – specifically “Gen Z” viewers who are growing up watching YouTube, not traditional TV. AwesomenessTV has reach into this market by way of its 158 million total subscribers and over 6 million YouTube subscribers.
Viacom sees its youth focus as a natural fit that falls in between its younger Nickelodeon and older MTV audiences.
AwesomenessTV’s studio has put out Emmy-winning content, and has developed a library of over 200 hours of long-form TV series and feature films, which it brings to Viacom. It also has connections with those in the digital-native talent and influencer space of value. And it has established relationships with advertisers catering to this youth market, including Hollister, Gatorade, Invisalign, and Kraft, which Viacom took into consideration when making this deal.
Following the deal’s close, AwesomenessTV will be integrated into Viacom’s Digital Studios division led by president Kelly Day, while its existing CEO Jordan Levin will depart. Levin will remain during a transition period only, we understand. But a CEO is no longer needed as AwesomenessTV will not operate as a standalone entity.
AwesomenessTV was co-founded by Brian Robbins, who currently serves as President of Paramount Players at Viacom, and Joe Davola. Robbins connection likely helped to spark the talks, sources had earlier told Variety.
Viacom seemed an ideal suitor for the business, given its interest in digital video/influencer space, which it has acted on before with its February acquisition of the video creator conference VidCon, and its acquisition of the influencer marketing firm Whosay.
The news of the deal also follows the high-profile closure of one of AwesomenessTV partners’ efforts in the streaming space: Verizon’s go90. Verizon had been working with AwesomenessTV to develop short-form original programming for its misguided streaming service go90, which failed to take off and is shutting down for good this month.
Will the United Kingdom be divided?
As a deal for a historic referendum on Scottish independence is signed, we ask if Scotland can really go it alone.
David Cameron, the British prime minister, and Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, have approved plans for a historic referendum on Scottish independence, which some describe as the biggest political decision in 300 years.
"Independence and devolution are very different things .... Devolution in Scotland is changing, more powers are coming including the biggest suite of fiscal powers ... so there's a lot changing ... and this decision is about whether you want to be part of that devolved process or whether you want to be an independent nation state."
The simple Yes or No vote is expected to be held in the autumn of 2014.
Salmond says splitting from Great Britain will allow the creation of a fairer and more prosperous Scotland. Meanwhile, Cameron says preventing division of the UK is his number one priority.
"The question for the Scottish people is do you trust in yourselves sufficiently to run your own economy, run your own affairs ... so it's a very very profound thing," said Al Jazeera's correspondent Laurence Lee.
England and Scotland have had a tumultuous and testing relationship over the centuries, even coming to blows on the battlefield.
In the end, it was economic hardship to a large extent that resulted in the Act of Union between Scotland and England in 1707 - leading to the birth of the United Kingdom.
"For those who propose or oppose independence and have some other options ... shortly they'll have to put those options on the table so that people of Scotland have clarity what they are voting for and indeed what they could be voting against .... The uncertainty lies with the anti-independence parties not with the SNP and our coalition that supports independence for our country. That's democratic, we are delivering on a mandate we secured in a democratic election in May 2011. "
But sentiment for Scottish sovereignty never really went away, and the home rule movement began in earnest in the mid-19th century.
The Scottish National Party was established in 1934, and with it began the push for a Scottish parliament.
Although the first referendum on devolution failed in 1979 a second vote in 1997 succeeded. And two years later Scotland had its own parliament but one with limited powers and dominated by non-nationalist parties.
It was only in May last year that the Scottish National Party won elections and a majority in parliament, so campaigning for a referendum on full independence came a step closer.
So, will the UK be divided? And will Scotland fare better as a devolved country?
Inside Story, with presenter Mike Hanna, discusses with guests: Derek Mackay, the minister for local government and planning in the Scottish government; Lesley Riddoch, a writer and broadcaster; and Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative Party leader.
"Scots have shown in a series of recent opinion polls that the majority of them wanted to be able to express a preference for something in between independence and the status quo. They wanted to be able to [have a] say, they wanted more powers to be transferred to Scotland to be a meatier sort of deveolved government. And that option has been ruled out by going for this supposedly clarity creating single question. Now you know it will ask a question, but is it the question that people want answered? Fifty-six per cent of Scots have said they wanted to have three options to choose between but people have decided, politicians have decided it suits them better to have only two options that we must all choose between and that to me is not quite democratic."
Square Enix revealed more scenes, enemies, and companions that will be seen in the Episode Duscae playable demo for Final Fantasy XV in a teaser trailer included with the final trailer for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. During an official Active Time Report live-stream event on February 4, director Hajime Tabata also revealed the demo’s release date, confirming it will release on March 17, 2015, exclusively with Day One Edition copies of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
In a previous Active Time Report, Tabata did not confirm when Episdoe Duscae would be released, but assured players the only way to gain access to the limited-time demo would be by purchasing the regular or collector’s edition of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
From what we can see in the Japanese demo teaser trailer, Episode Duscae is shaping up to be quite the “special gift” for Final Fantasy fans who’ve waited almost a decade to play this game. The score accompaniment featured in the trailer sounds like a fanfare march, rallying the viewer to prepare for all the action and adventure to come. The demo allows players to roam freely in the area of Duscae as the game’s main character, Noctis. There, he can explore caves, top off his tank with (a now female) Cid, indulge in fireside chats, fistbump in the forest with his friends, and do battle against mammoth-sized beasts.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, and as is evident in the above teaser trailer, the gameplay will be a departure from the series’ traditional turn-based combat systems. XV will be the second numbered Final Fantasy game with a real time, action-oriented combat system in the same vein as Type-0 and the Kingdom Hearts series.
In December 2014, a work-in-progress demonstration of the open world gameplay and real time combat was also prominently showcased in the Jump Festa trailer. It should be noted that unlike the teaser trailer above, the Jump Festa trailer covers the entire game and not just the demo.
An official release date for the full game has yet to be announced, but Final Fantasy XV is scheduled to launch on both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
French Law Giving Workers 'The Right To Disconnect' Goes Into Effect : The Two-Way As of Jan. 1, French companies with more than 50 workers will be obligated to allow their employees to ignore work emails outside of work hours.
If you've been glued to your smart phone checking work email throughout the holiday season, you might want to consider relocating. French workers will have the "right to disconnect" outside of work hours, thanks to a new law going into effect Jan. 1.
Companies with more than 50 employees will be obligated to set up hours — normally during the evening and weekend — when staff are not to send or respond to emails.
Introduced with a set of labor laws back in May, this was reportedly the only one that did not generate widespread protests — though it did receive a lot of attention from the press.
The French government said at the time that an intervention was necessary, for the health and well-being of their workers.
"All the studies show there is far more work-related stress today than there used to be, and that the stress is constant," member of parliament Benoit Hamon told the BBC. "Employees physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic leash - like a dog. The texts, the messages, the emails - they colonize the life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down."
There is some research that backs up the French government's claims. A study out of the University of British Columbia found that participants who were assigned to check their email only three times a day were found to be less stressed than those who could check their emails continuously. Another study out of Colorado State University found that even the anticipatory stress of expecting after-hours emails might have a negative effect on our well-being.
There is certainly more research to be done, and perhaps once the French law is in place, we will have the makings of a real world "experiment."
When I was a young pup, I spent my first income tax refund on a pair of Cambridge SoundWorks bookshelf speakers. Those were my only speakers for more than ten years; they moved with me to six different cities.
Later, I remember walking through the audio area of CES and stopping dead at the Tivoli Audio booth, impressed by how cool and retro the company's little clock radios looked, and how surprisingly good they sounded.
And now here we are, ready to talk about the Como Audio Solo, another clock radio with good sound that not only picks up AM/FM signals, but wirelessly plays your digital music too.
All of these audio gadgets have something in common. The founder of each of these companies, and the head designer of their products, is the same guy: Audio Hall of Famer Tom DeVesto. Como Audio is DeVesto's latest sojourn into the consumer audio world. The pedigree of this little clock radio is, it's safe to say, as good as it gets.
The Solo ($300 for the walnut finish, $350 for hickory, white, or black) smells like a piece of furniture. The pleasant aroma hits you in the face when you open the box. And we're not talking Ikea-style cedar, we're talking leather couches. The radio itself looks like it was made in the 1970s—FM antenna and all—although this retro vibe is quickly betrayed by the TFT color display prominently set into its front panel. Even with the screen, which becomes a clock when you're not using it, the Solo doesn't look like a tech-forward gadget. Put it on your nightstand and it just looks like a really fancy clock radio.
And that's not a bad thing. As DeVesto's previous company Tivoli has previously proven, there's a place in the world for a killer clock radio. And in that regard, the Solo delivers. It's absolutely loaded with connectivity. There's no CD player, so apologies to your mom and that Barry Manilow CD that's been in her digital clock radio for ten years. However, the Solo plays both terrestrial and internet radio, streams audio from your phone over Bluetooth, and connects to Wi-Fi so you can use Spotify Connect. You can plug it into your television via an optical cable, you can play music off a USB drive, and you can plug in your headphones if you want to give everyone around you a break. There are even two additional Aux In ports for whatever else you want (Amazon Dot, anyone?). It can be controlled with an included remote or with a mobile app if you don't want to mess with the front-panel buttons. Multiple Solos (or other Como Audio products) can be networked together to give you multi-room audio throughout your home.
The audio quality of the Solo doesn't quite live up to its pedigree. It has two drivers; one tweeter and one woofer. As its name implies, the Solo produces audio in mono. But the lack of stereo isn't what keeps the Solo's audio quality from going over the top. It sounds good at lower volumes, but as you get louder—and we're talking only about a third of the way up the knob—the sound can get a little harsh. If you're using the Solo as a clock radio or an alarm, this is fine. Nobody wants to wake up to the volume cranked to 11, anyway. But if this is a core piece of your audio system, or a multi-room system, you might find it lacking at higher levels.
Because the Solo has so much connectivity and is so feature-heavy, setting it up is a chore. Setup is managed by pushing and turning a set of three knobs below the TFT display. It's not intuitive. Some of the instructions on the screen refer to a "Select" button that doesn't exist—or that I couldn't find, at least, as there's no button with that label. Getting the Solo on my Wi-Fi network was also a challenge.
If you're hoping for a little system that throws out killer audio and fills up your room, this isn't it. If you want a high-end clock radio, or a stand-alone system for your desk at work, the Solo will give you more than what you need.
The body count continues to rise over a week after the devastating earthquake in Nepal. On Monday officials found an entire village wiped out. Rescuers and volunteers only reached the small village of Langtang Sunday and what they discovered was horrific.