US Air Force aims for zero carbon

Already planning a switch to blends with alternative fuels, the Air Force announced the ambition to reach zero carbon emissions, as well as jumpstarting the commercial viability of greener fuels thanks to purchasing power.

"We can get ourselves very close to a zero carbon footprint," said Anderson ahead of talks on the issue with counterparts in Britain and France next month.
"Not today. Not tomorrow. But maybe a decade or so down the road," he told a briefing at the State Department's Foreign Press Center..

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Though it's the bottom line that's driving this, with high fuel costs, environmental concern seems to have been added on. Zero carbon would likely rule out coal liquefaction without appropriately balancing carbon sequesterization.

For Pentagon planners, it appears more and more that Peak Oil is a reality.

A new study ordered by the Pentagon warns that the rising cost and dwindling supply of oil -- the lifeblood of fighter jets, warships, and tanks -- will make the US military's ability to respond to hot spots around the world "unsustainable in the long term."

Iran has little choice but to remain committed to nuclear power

Recently, Egypt became the thirteenth Middle Eastern state to seek nuclear power. Iran is now surrounded by Arab, Sunni-led states with nominally peaceful nuclear ambitions. It's hard to see how Iran could possible call a halt to its nuclear program without fearing eventual regional eclipse by a future Sunni-led nuclear-armed state. Pakistan (though not officially Sunni-led) is preoccupied with India and Afghanistan, and is thus cannot afford to be particularly intent on containing Iranian hegemony, but the same cannot be said of countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Tunisia and the UAE.

On the diplomatic front, Arab concerns about Iranian nuclear capability were no doubt raised further by inflammatory commentary out of Iran earlier this year:

A close advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei recently wrote that the country of Bahrain was a province of Iran. Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the hard-line, state-approved Iranian newspaper, "Kayhan," made the claim in an editorial. "Kayhan" is widely regarded as a mouthpiece for Mr. Khamenei.

Without trust in the region, Iran is squarely caught up in a regional nuclear race which it cannot easily back out of.

Possible pipe bomb origins

In Arizona, a nuclear plant was locked down after a pipe bomb was found in an employee's vehicle. The employee does not seem to be directly involved. As well, it's not a particularly difficult task to attach a pipe bomb to a truck.

"So, the mystery is how did that pipebomb get into his truck? Arpaio said. "What's the motive to someone to put this in his truck? I don't know. Was it a disgruntled employee? I don't know. Were they trying to target him?"

Given the timing of the pipe bomb, I can't rule out a failed Halloween prank as a reason for the pipe bomb.

Two elementary schools and a high school in the area were locked down briefly when a plant employee notified the district, Superintendent Robin Berry said.

Alternately, this could be a feasibility test, a mild attack to determine if defenses are soft or not. If so, clearly it was a failure.