Working towards Alternative Energy

http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/working-towards-alternative-energy/

Advocates of alternative energy have sustained that on a global rate, increasing energy consumption is connected to the renewed hostile extraction of natural resources from Africa to reach the target increasing demand in North America, Europe and the BRICS countries namely: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

They compete that despite of the growing demand for energy, more than 1.6 billion people has no electricity and about 2.4 rely only on fuel wood.  According to the Executive Director, ERA/FoEN, Dr. Godwin Ojo, the event was conceived to deepen understanding of energy issues.  It is the effort to find substitute to this irregularity that the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) working in concert with over 50 civil societies, community groups and energy experts organized the Africa Alternative Energy Transition forum recently.

Ojo said the event that attracted participants from across Africa was organised to coincide with the Global Month of Action on Energy by a coalition of Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Actionaid, International Rivers, 350.org, and some other international Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to reclaim power by resisting dirty and harmful energy and affirming the need for transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy.

He said in Nigeria, about 70 percent of the population depend solely on fuel wood for energy, a development, which has put the country in the ranking of the countries with the highest deforestation rate.  He stated that the country is said to be losing 3.5 percent of her forest annually.

“The rising energy demand is also leading to violent resource conflicts at the site of extraction. The energy expansions to dirty energy frontiers and technologies such as coal, shale gas fracking, or energy from biofuels have deleterious consequences on farmers and fragile ecosystems.

“It is also important to note that the newly released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment report emphasises that climate change and the many environmental catastrophe will likely increase due to anthropogenic causes releasing GHGs into the atmosphere that is leading to global warming and extreme weather conditions.

The meaning of this would be that the ecological problems will probably be happening at greater frequency and intensity and with unknown overwhelming impact except there will be actions to lessen the impact.  The energy sector takes the lead in ruining the earth and accounting for 35 percent of human GHG emissions, Ojo stated.

He said while the groups would resist all false solutions to the global energy deficit, they support a move towards renewable energy sources, adding: “There cannot be any option to a quicker energy transition from fossil fuels to a low carbon economy that is 100 percent renewable sources by 2020. The trade in carbon is a false solution because it provides warped incentives for industry to continue to pollute rather than cut emissions at source.”

He stated the groups’ position: “We want to use this medium to demand that governments in Africa wean themselves of the imposed historical “Energy Colonialism Syndrome” where gigantic infrastructure, huge capital and personnel are emblems of development. For the African continent the energy challenge remains a lack of vision to achieve the right energy mix from renewable sources. For example, the Nigerian energy policy is on a wrong footing by cataloguing textbook sources of energy such as nuclear, oil and gas, heavy oil such as tar sands, while failing to prioritise renewable energy sources and setting targets for the future energy transition.

“We reiterate our argument that the World Bank and other financial institutions still play the double game of claiming to promote so-called energy solutions while investing heavily in dirty energy projects that strip the poor from access to energy and with adverse effects on energy access in Africa.”

A $12 billion loan for the Trans-Sahara gas pipeline project was condemned, the federal government’s attempt to secure from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group by Ojo.  He said the project which prioritises gas exploitation and supply mainly for export rather than meet local demand, is expected to secure loans for the construction of a gas pipeline infrastructure that would deliver natural gas sourced from Nigeria through the Sahara desert to Algeria and then Europe.

“The World Bank-funded West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) project is a perfect example of such projects that are touted as solutions to the energy deficit on the continent that have ended up robbing the people of their natural resources, lands, livelihoods and peace. Benefits that the project promoters promised like employment and social amenities have been shown to be fallacy as little or no benefits have accrued from the project,” he added.

Member at the workshop observed that present energy policies in Africa mirrored in astronomically high tariff carry on to dishearten adoption of the several available alternative energy sources open to communities, particularly rural women who can barely afford the costs.

Energy policy and poverty in Africa be addressed by the prioritisation of national and community energy needs over global economic model that promotes export of natural resources and to the detriment of local markets; African governments promote decentralised alternative energy with a focus on renewable were just fraction of the demands of the group are that.  African governments must augment support for energy models that are cooperative and friendly to the community and environment.

Conversion from Coal-Fired Boilers to Natural-Gas Boilers in Heats Up

 http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/conversion-from-coal-fired-boilers-to-natural-gas-boilers-in-heats-up/

Last year, the haze in the atmosphere encouraged many people to implement the “coal-to-electricity” conversion plan. According to a China Securities newspaper report, the present demolition of coal-fired boilers has reached a substantial level in its implementation.

Beginning in the second quarter when the government enacted its coal-fired boiler demolition act to prevent excessive pollution, the coal-fired boiler “annihilation” program has extended into many areas. In the context of energy-saving environmental protection, “coal to electricity” will become the big trend for the next few years. As the alternative to coal-fired boiler, gas boilers are expected to usher in a tremendous growth.

On May 13, Zhengzhou City Hall stopped the operation of a coal-fired boiler in the Yutong Bus Company by removing the 10-ton steam-boiler system. It also decided that by the end of next year, the city’s 263 coal-fired boilers will be completely demolished and converted.

In Beijing, the “coal to gas” project has entered the construction phase. Beijing Gas Group General Manager Li Yalan recently disclosed to the media that by the end of 2013, Beijing City within four districts will be coal-free and by 2015 six districts will be added.

Facilitating the conversion from coal gas to natural gas boiler, the plan is to divide Beijing this year into 3 groups of 93 coal-fired boiler areas. In the view of many, coal is seen as the culprit in bringing about hazy weather which is expected to rise even more sharply. As an example, Zhengzhou city’s monitoring data show pollutants mainly came from coal dust (41%), PM (28%) and motor vehicles (24%). Zhengzhou city’s energy structure is still dominated by coal. Coal use in 2012 reached 35,000,000 tons, which is 73% of the total fuel use.

The City Hall issued ”The blue sky” White Paper incorporating the proposed objectives of the project wherein coal-fired boilers will switch to cleaner fuels such as natural gas as an emergency measure. Exhausts from gas boilers contain much less pollutants than coal-fired boilers. According to Li Yalan, converting to natural gas in operating boilers will reduce NO2 emissions by 60% and sulfur dioxide emissions drastically by 99.5%.

In addition to cutting down pollutants, heating efficiency will be substantially improved. Currently, the heating efficiency of coal-fired boilers is 60% to 85% while that of gas-fired boilers is over 90%. Beijing’s overall conversion into the usage of gas boilers will increase heating efficiency by 30%. Beijing city hall officials will also look into the improvement of heating subsidies. This will encourage residents to choose clean energy.

China Securities News reports said that from the first two quarters of 2013, aside from Beijing, Zhengzhou, Shaanxi and Xi’an, Lanzhou City, Taiwan has also replaced its coal-fired boilers. Lanzhou city construction, environmental protection, municipal and other departments are jointly carrying out trials for its urban coal-fired boiler renovation project by dismantling 83 Taiwan steam boilers, accounting for a total dismantling by 40%.

Xinjiang Urumqi will also shift from coal to gas as part of its people’s livelihood project, part of its reconstruction project dubbed “priority among priorities in beautiful Xinjiang”. In Tibet, dozens of heating stations are also actively carrying out reconstruction of gas boilers as the deadline for complete conversion nears.

Natural gas boilers are expected to experience an upsurge in sales. Research data on the growing energy and natural gas industry, according to analyst Huang Qing of the China Securities News, will accelerate the phasing-out of coal-fired boilers into gas boilers.

Governments around the world are seen to complete in the move to reduce carbon emissions from the current levels. Together with the rest of the “oil to gas” and “coal to gas” conversion, the directive is expected to usher in a great increase in compliance.

Yutong Bus Company told the China Securities newspaper reporter that in response to city hall’s “blue sky” project, the company will accelerate its conversion from coal-fired boiler heating. Four sets of 10-ton coal-fired boilers will be demolished and replaced with 3 sets of 20-ton natural-gas boilers. They expect to be finished before the end of 2013. The other 2 sets of 25-ton coal-fired boilers will be completed in 2014. Yutong Company equipment safety director Li Zhihui told the media that the company expects to spend more than $20,000,000 for the conversion into natural gas boilers in two years’ time.

The replacement of coal-fired boilers brought good news for the new-energy boiler manufacturing industry. The China Securities News reporter said that Beijing Taikang boiler company expects to experience a rise in sales of boiler products of all types this year. However, previous product sales declined significantly for coal-fired boilers. Production of natural gas boilers showed significant growth trends.

Hangzhou Boiler Co.’s representative told the China Securities Journal that natural gas boiler production company can supply the entire boiler output by 50% as natural gas boiler sales in the country accounts for a large chunk of the market. With the West-East gas pipeline project already ongoing, the city’s natural gas power station can expect to have enough supply of good quality natural gas for boilers. The company’s natural gas needs is also expected to increase tremendously.

The optimism in the use natural gas boiler will help increase sales and further strengthen the conversion program. Hangzhou Boiler Company explained in the report that with the concerted efforts to prevent the rapid increase of atmospheric pollution, natural gas power generation opportunities will help increase the orders for the company’s waste-heat boilers, particularly gas-turbine-powered waste-heat boilers.

The giant power-station boiler parts manufacturing enterprises, Run-Chuan, revealed to the China Securities newspaper reporter that although the demand for natural gas boiler parts are relatively low at present, the company’s diversified distribution system will make natural gas boiler components an important business component of the company.  

3 Steps to Build a Culture of Sustainability and Achieve Global Environmental Goals

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Although it is common for companies to push sustainability results by establishing definite, time-bound goals, attaining them is a distinct process for every enterprise. Innovation, investment and operational savvy all play a part in achieving success; but the most significant factor is formulating a vigorous culture of sustainability that incorporates this approach into every facet of the business.

Recently, our company announced that over the past three years we have made noteworthy improvements in our environmental performance. This included reduction of our energy usage by 12%, our greenhouse gas emissions by 15.7%, and attaining a leading-edge level of 3.5 hectoliters of water used for every hectoliter of beer made, posting an 18.6% reduction. These efficiency improvements were all achieved mainly without any major investment in new, sophisticated technology.

Like any global company reach, our worldwide operations face various local conditions. Challenges ranging from the capabilities and age of equipment to the diversity in quality and availability of raw materials mean that choosing a “one-size-fits-all” approach is often impossible. The main approach that can steer a company toward environmental maturity is to develop a culture of environmental conservation and awareness into all aspects of every employee’s tasks on a daily basis.

This idea has been around for a while; however, it is also something that is not often observed in reality. For us, ascertaining that we provide incentives and challenges to our 118,000 fellow workers to make gradual changes in the work environment – big or small, within our more than 140 breweries and soft drink facilities – was the best method to attain our three-year goals. Along the way, we discovered some essential factors in establishing such a culture of sustainability:

1.Elevate sustainability initiatives to the same level as other business-critical functions

Having employees scattered worldwide, it can be hard activating everyone to focus on sustainability objectives. From the boardroom to the brewery floor, we expect people to focus on environmental performance as much as they do on other vital business functions. Hence, companies can encourage all colleagues to stay on the same page – focused on attaining sustainability goals.

Establishing an operational management approach that puts environmental objectives alongside those for efficiency, quality and safety can help to develop coordination on a company-wide scale. We call our management system Voyager Plant Optimizations (VPO), and is custom-designed for our unique operations. A company’s system should include policies, procedures and guidelines to aid teams in performing more efficiently, while giving room for creative collaboration and innovation. VPO has allowed our entire organization to gain well-oiled coordination and is the primary source of our successes in our environmental performance.

The management system also encourages best-practice sharing within the entire company by delineating distinct responsibility for assuring that reductions are reached and allowing for targets to be embraced by all.

2. Encourage global best practice sharing, tailored to local conditions

Companies operating globally often allow every region the freedom to identify best practices that apply under local conditions. However, businesses must grab the opportunity to utilize these acquired lessons in other regions and scale them across the company, as much as possible.

Based on our experience, best-practice sharing can aid regional teams enhance their environmental performance. For instance, our team in China attained the company’s highest region-wide reduction in energy, water and carbon emissions between 2009 and 2012 – 30%, 38%, and 29% reductions, respectively. To help the team in China accelerate their improvement, our global team took the initial progress forward by encouraging best-practice sharing from other regions. Among the new initiatives included were how to optimize efficiency in boiler combustion and how to improve time-of-use management through a meticulous analysis of electricity rate-schedules.

A few months after, our China colleagues reversed the tables and started sharing their own best practices in our global workshops with other Zones. The China team’s approach of continuously benchmarking utilities usage between brewery departments by digging into the energy and water data, for instance, has now been applied to other regions globally. Hence, the lesson gained here is to develop a culture of sustained improvement where colleagues can openly share challenges and solutions and apply them to meet local conditions in real-time.

3. Empower employees to continually drive improvement

We have also found that it works well to encourage all colleagues to behave as if they owned the business. When each colleague treats the company’s goals as their own responsibility and is empowered to act on them, great things happen. Colleagues in our Cartersville, GA brewery exhibited this ownership concept when they decided to adopt a weekly “Water Walks” around the facility to pinpoint areas where water was being wasted. In 2012 alone, these walks succeeded in a total reduction of 49 million liters of water usage.
By sharing the responsibility for achieving targets for sustainability with every colleague and empowering each one to discover ways to improve, companies can achieve a degree of performance and commitment that would not be otherwise possible.

Based on our track record, developing a culture of sustainability that is adapted and valued across the entire company is vital for businesses striving to minimize their environmental impact and to meet sustainability goals. The results can prove that this is so.

Reef Destruction is Ecological

To die for scenic reefs in Red or the South China Sea is dying; pretty fishes and panoramic colors of soft and hard corals are now down to a complex ecology similar to tropical forest ecosystems. Compare to the microorganisms that makes the whole thing more tremendous in doing all the destruction, the predators and consumers, the producer algae and the tiny invertebrates mean nothing.

Catalina Reyes of CoECRS. (Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies) and the University of Queensland has published her work alongside 4 colleagues, on the bacteria, fungi and algae that live in this most complex marine ecosystem. The change in this ecosystem recently is because of our overproduction. Oceans now are Cola like, the CO2 we made over the last century or two has made the sea water to feel like one. As to Catalina’s research, the acid has effects and that are clearly identifies in the micro-world of corals. She links it all up and explained, “So fish, turtles, sharks, lobsters and other reef organisms may lose their homes, threatening coral reef biodiversity and the livelihoods of tens of millions of people.” All reefs, molluscs and others are basically made up of Calcium carbonate, accepted as true to hard corals as well. Due to different reasons erosion of the reef is just a normal phenomenon but at present the erosion has become excessive that it destroys the reefs worldwide at a really disturbing rate. The well equilibrium of attrition, storm damage, predation and growth has been distorted. Today, deterioration seems to be the pattern in lieu of slow growth. And because of the acid now less and less carbonate is available. You have probably had experimented such in your school laboratory. Micro-boring organisms also eliminate the coral skeleton as usual consequently oceans ends up with no reef! Catalina found a 35% rate of erosion in the second example when computer simulation by the researchers compared current increases in carbon dioxide levels and their effects on reefs with those lesser increases which we hope to achieve by cutting emissions The dreadful effect of “doing nothing about emissions” was a doubling 100% of the erosion. Because of acidic conditions, Micro-boring organisms became much more active and seemed to have a higher temperatures and pH (acidity) that causing the destructions of more corals. A great number and the most common of all was a tiny alga that has the ability in photosynthesizing even in the low light conditions as it penetrated deep into the corals’ hearts.

Warmer Climate causes Greener Arctic

Of the 10 million square miles (26 million square kilometers) of northern vegetated lands, 34 to 41 percent showed increases in plant growth (green and blue), 3 to 5 percent decreases in plant growth (orange and red), and 51 to 62 percent no changes (yellow) over the past 30 years, new research shows.

Researchers say, elevated temperatures and a longer growing season mean some of Earth’s chilliest regions are looking increasingly green.

As reported and base from the new study, at present the plant life at northern latitudes often looks like the vegetation researchers would have observed up to 430 miles (700 kilometers) farther south in 1982.

“It’s like Winnipeg, Manitoba, moving to Minneapolis-Saint Paul in only 30 years,” study researcher Compton Tucker of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said in a statement.

A team of university and NASA scientists including Tucker looked at 30 years’ worth of satellite and land surface data on vegetation growth from 45 degrees north latitude to the Arctic Ocean. The researchers suggest that, in this region, large patches of lush vegetation now stretch over an area about the size of the continental United States and resemble what was found 4 to 6 latitude degrees to the south in 1982.

“Higher northern latitudes are getting warmer, Arctic sea ice and the duration of snow cover are diminishing, the growing season is getting longer and plants are growing more,” climate scientist Ranga Myneni of Boston University said in a statement, adding that the changes are leading to great disruptions for the region’s ecosystems.

In the precedent several decades the Arctic has been warming more rapidly than the rest of any part of earth. An amplified greenhouse effect is largely to blame for the changes in plant life, says Myneni. In this succession, high concentrations of heat-trapping gasses drive up temperatures in the ocean and atmosphere. This warming trims down Arctic sea ice and snow cover, reason for the oceans and land surfaces in the region to be exposed this is also because the ice and snow are more reflective than darker surfaces. These surfaces soak up more heat from the sun’s rays, so further heating of the air and further reduction of sea ice and snow emerge as a consequence. Myneni warns that the cycle could get worse.

“The greenhouse effect could be further amplified in the future as soils in the north thaw, releasing potentially significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane,” Myneni said.

Because of the rising temperatures Arctic and boreal regions could see the equivalent of a 20-degree latitude shift by the end of this century, the team found this out using climate models. The amplified greenhouse effect could have other consequences, like more forest fires, pest infestations and droughts, which cut vegetation growth, researchers say.

And the availability of water and sunlight determines where plants will thrive. “Satellite data identify areas in the boreal zone that are warmer and dryer and other areas that are warmer and wetter,” Ramakrishna Nemani of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., explained in a statement. “Only the warmer and wetter areas support more growth.”

The researchers furthermore saw additional plant growth in the boreal zone from 1982 to 1992 than from 1992 to 2011. And they thought this could be because of the lack of water in the region during the last two decades of the study.

Authorities battle floods in Indonesia

Friday has been busy for Indonesian authorities as they were working to repair a dike that collapsed amid floods that swamped the capital as the water progressively receded from the main streets of the packed city. Although Jakarta has long been prone to floods because it is a low-laying city on the sea, their situation worsen as their scale over the last ten years as infrastructure development has not kept pace with city’s growth. Worst situation is being experienced by other Asian cities like Bangkok and more especially Manila as they had been vulnerable to widespread floods in recent years. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, from the city's disaster mitigation agency, said electricity supplies had been cut to several areas to prevent electrocutions. Most deaths are because they were electrocuted or drowned. And as of yesterday, January 20, 2013, the death toll had risen to 14 after authorities pulled the three more bodies reported missing in the flooded basement of a building in central Jakarta. "Our focus now is to save more lives," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho added. Soon enough, life slowly got back to normal yet tens of thousands remained affected by the waters elsewhere in the city of 14 million people. The police and army deployed rubber boats to help evacuate or bring supplies to people, said Jakarta Police Spokesman Col. Rikwanto. Thursday after hours of rains that caused rivers and canals to burst their banks and flooded Jakarta, hundreds of soldiers used backhoes to attempt to repair a collapsed canal dike. Since 2007, this is now considered the most widespread when almost 80 died and more than half of the city as affected. And unlike 2007, Jakarta's downturn area was swamped this time around. At their peak, almost 250,000 people were affected by the floods, which covered about 30 percent of the city. Successive governments have done little to lessen the threat of flooding, the latest made worse by heavy downpours Wednesday and Thursday that added pressure to rivers already swollen by a long monsoon season. Some of the factors behind the floods are deforestation in the hills to the south of the city, chaotic planning and the rubbish that clogs the hundreds of waterways that crisscross the city. Corrupt city officials turn an eye to building violations and lack the skills and ability to build flood defenses. Indrado, a resident in Central Jakarta said, "We cannot only blame the government,” "We the people also have to support it by not littering rivers." “The floods should cause a rethink”, he further added.

download here: http://crowncapitalmngt.com/blogpdf/Authorities_battle_floods_in_Indonesia.pdf

What fossil fuel really do to america?

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Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—are America’s primary source of energy. America’s annual consumption of fossil fuels grown rapidly. 89 % of these consumption are consumed by boilers, transportation, residential usage, fuels for direct heating of process. The balance is used for feed-stocks, raw materials, and other miscellaneous uses. And most of the dirty fuels such as coal and residual oil go into boilers.

Fuel burned are by far the largest single source of air pollution. This pollution is from sulfur oxide. It is also a significant source of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. Boiler combustion is sufficiently important to warrant the effort to analyze the complete nature of the problems.

Fuel consumption in boilers is divided into three sectors: utility boilers producing steam for generation of electricity which is actually consuming probably 59%, industrial boilers producing steam or hot water for process heat,generation of electricity or space heat consuming about 24%, and boilers for space heating for commercial and institutional facilities consuming the 17%. 

The fuels consumed by boilers in large quantities are natural gas, distillate oil, and coal. Additional energy is derived from the burning of waste such as bark, bagasse, liquid hydrocarbon waste materials, etc. These said fuels contribute only a small percent to energy requirements. But they may however present environmental problems. Although problems have not been address due to the fact that these problems are not full understood. New Sources performance Standards for burning boilers waste are to be developed in the near future.

For fossil fuels, various combination of consuming sectors and type of fuel, have independent significant and insignificant environmental consequences. Boilers have three different types, the atertube, firetube and cast iron therefore to determine the overall pollution due to boilers are hard to determine and complicated. In addition each type varies in type and application and other factors influencing the character and quantity of environmental discharges.

Due to the complexity of analyzing the impacts of boiler operation in the United States, U.S Environmental Protection Agency has given rise to a series of studies. These studies pave the way for a better understanding of the impacts of boilers in our environment and the development of ways to control specific pollutants.

Many of the environmental problems our country faces today result from our fossil fuel dependence. These impacts include global warming, air quality deterioration, oil spills, and acid rain.

Air pollution is one major effect of fuels. Several important pollutants are produced by fossil fuel combustion: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and hydrocarbons. In addition, total suspended particulates contribute to air pollution, and nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons can combine in the atmosphere to form tropospheric ozone, the major constituent of smog. This is just one of the effects; there is water and land pollution, and thermal pollution.

Global warming is another thing. Among the gases emitted when fossil fuels are burned, one of the most significant is carbon dioxide, a gas that traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere. Over the last 150 years, burning fossil fuels has resulted in more than a 25 percent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Fossil fuels are also implicated in increased levels of atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide, although they are not the major source of these gases.

Six Indonesia Companies Involved in Alleged $187 million Tax Fraud

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Jakarta Globe reported. An Indonesian lawmaker announced on Friday that a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) allegedly implicated six companies in tax fraud totaling Rp 1.7 trillion ($187 million).

Companies were identified as follows, Permata Hijau Sawit, Asian Agri Group, Wilmar Nabati Indonesia, Alfa Kurnia, INJ International and EMA Majokerto Hospital by a Markus Melkias Mekeng.

Markus Melkias Mekeng, House of Representatives Commission XI which overseas financial affairs member said that the companies were identified following a Supreme Audit Agency (BKP) report.

Mekeng, longtime critic of the tax authority, said the commission would urge the House to form a special committee to investigate the case and demand law enforcement officials thoroughly investigate the case, which likely involves officials from the Directorate General of Taxation. He encourages the house to investigate further to prosecute the officials from the Directorate General of Taxation who were allegedly involved in the fraud scheme.

“We all know that over the last three years the tax office has been unable to fulfill its collection target, and one of the main causes is that their officials may be misusing their authority for personal interests,” said the lawmaker, Markus.

It was not Markus’ first time fight against these tax violators, he started standing his grounds against them long ago before these new issues became known, in May 2010, he called the dismissal of two senior tax officials, including director general Mochamad Tjiptardjo, for what he called their “poor performance” in handling cases involving companies Permata Hijau Sawit, Wilmar and Asian Agri.

The BPK opened an investigation and began an audit of tax office methods in June following the request from Mekeng and Commission XI, specifically asking to look at the cases involving these companies, among others.

Potential applications of renewable energy sources

http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/potential-applications-of-renewable-energy-sources/

In a world where almost everything is run by machines it not surprising that we are also running out of energy sources what worsens the case is that the energy sources that we use are destroying the world we are living in.  Another dilemma people are now facing is these energy sources are bound to vanish years from now.

The potential of renewable sources is massive as they are expected to meet world’s energy demand.   Renewable energy sources are biomass, hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind and marine energies they can provide sustainable energy services, based on the use of routinely available, indigenous resources.  The renewable resources such as biomass, wind, solar, hydropower, and geothermal can provide sustainable energy services, based on the use of routinely available, indigenous resources are attractive renewable fuel in utility boilers.

While price of gas continue to fluctuate a transition to renewable-based energy systems is looking increasingly likely as their costs decline.  Solar and wind powers continue their rapid sales growth in the past 30 years.   Due to this their capital costs and costs of electricity generated, and have continued to improve their performance characteristics while fossil fuel and renewable energy prices, and social and environmental costs are heading in opposite directions.  The economic and policy methods needed to support the widespread dissemination and sustainable markets for renewable energy systems are evolving fast.

Renewable energy sources (RES) supply 14% of the total world energy demand. The future growth in the energy sector will be primarily in the new regime of renewable energy, and to some extent natural gas-based systems and the conventional oil and coal sources will then die out.  These developments will innovate the market opportunity to emerge and promote renewable energy technologies but of course with the assistance of governmental and popular sentiment.

If develop further the RES can enhance diversity in energy supply markets that will lead to contribute in securing long term sustainable energy supplies.  It can also help reducing local and global atmospheric emissions that will revive our dying planet.  Lastly it will provide commercially attractive options to meet specific energy service needs, particularly in developing countries and rural areas helping to create new employment opportunities there.  This is all because the renewables are the primary, domestic and clean or inexhaustible energy resources.  And because they can be regrown there is no fear of losing them years from now.

An example of renewable is the biofuels, one advantage of biofuel aside from it can  be regrown is that it can offer environmental benefits such as lower carbon emissions and lower sulfur compared to first generation biofuel.  It is then believed that biofuels could help meet the world’s future energy needs.

 Other benefits are:

Power generation. Renewable energy provides 19% of electricity generation worldwide. Renewable power generators are spread across many countries, and wind power alone already provides a significant share of electricity in some areas

Heating. Solar hot water makes an important contribution to renewable heat in many countries.  Direct geothermal for heating is also growing rapidly.

Transport fuels. Renewable biofuels have contributed to a significant decline in oil consumption in many parts of the world.  The 93 billion liters of biofuels produced worldwide in 2009 displaced the equivalent of an estimated 68 billion liters of gasoline, equal to about 5% of world gasoline production.

BIOMASS AS a fuel for BOILERs

http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/biomass-as-a-fuel-for-boilers/

Biomass for energy often mean plant base material although can equally apply to both animal and vegetable draw from material. Biomass is actually a biological material derive form living or recently living organisms. Biomass chemical composition is carbon based and is composed of a mixture of organic molecules containing hydrogen, usually including atoms of oxygen, often nitrogen and also small quantities of other atoms, including alkali, alkaline earth and heavy metals, metals are often found in functional molecules such as the porphyrins which include chlorophyll which contains magnesium.

There are five basic categories of material of biomass such as:

•Virgin wood- from forestry, arboriculture activities or from wood processing.

•Energy crops- high yield crops grown specifically for energy applications

•Agricultural residues- residues from agriculture harvesting or processing

• Food waste- from food and drink manufacture, preparation and processing, and post-consumer waste

•Industrial waste and co-products- from manufacturing and industrial processes.

The question is how are we going to use this biomass as a fuel for boilers? But what is a boiler in the first place? A boiler is defined as “a closed vessel in which water or other liquid is heated, steam or vapor is generated, steam is superheated, or any combination thereof, under pressure or vacuum, for use external to itself, by the direct application of energy from the combustion of fuels, from electricity or nuclear energy.”

Let us then go back to the previous question, how are we going to use this biomass as fuel for boilers. Nowadays, the prime sources of energy in the world are oil, coal and natural gas. But these natural sources of energy has their end too, unfortunately it is already anticipated that within the next 40-50 years these sources of energy will deplete. Worst is, it is also expected that from these sources lies consequences due to their emissions such as global warming, acid rain, urban smog. Due to this fact the world is trying to utilize new sources of energy, there are some renewable energy sources that can replace harmful energy sources. The solar, wind, biomass etc are energy sources which are less harmful to the environment but can only be use in a suitable way. Biomass is one of the earliest ever discovered sources of energy but only comes with specific properties. It was then discovered that utilizing biomass in boilers offers many economical, social and environmental benefits such as financial net saving, conservation of fossil fuel resources, job opportunities creation and CO2 and NOx emissions reduction.

However, care must also be taken for consideration. Although biomass can be good in some point there are also disadvantages such as: environmental impacts of biomass such as land and water resources, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and deforestation. Problems associated when burning biomass in boilers are fouling, marketing, low heating value, storage and collections and handling. The future of biomass in boilers depends upon the development of the markets for fossil fuels and on policy decisions regarding the biomass market.

Crown Capital Eco Management Indonesia News: Fraudsters attack even natural disasters victims

http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/fraudsters-attack-even-natural-disasters-victims/



-Natural Disasters Victims: Scammers Wait until we are in our Lowest

Opportunists prey on natural disasters’ victims and even those who want to help. They would not miss any single chance that they could profit something from any kind of people by taking advantage of their weaknesses. Victims are at their most desperate state and scammers see this as an opportunity to deceive them.

“After practically every disaster, in the United States or abroad, charity scams pop up,” says John Breyault, vice president of the National Consumers League. “We saw charity scams pop up after Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti and the Indonesian tsunami, to name just a few.”

These frauds come in various shapes and sizes as well as the scammers. They would take advantage the helplessness of the victims, they will show up and their front door, offer help and after they collected the payment in advance they would not show-up afterwards or worse make a bigger damage on the victim’s properties.



Beware of email scams, through email fraud they can easily target victims during in time of need. Although natural disaster’s victims are not their target rather potential donors after the disaster are being preyed.

Following a number of cases against email frauds after a disaster, the U.S. Department of Justice established the National Center for Disaster Fraud. Email and social medias are often also being used, urging you to click on a photo and then would ask for many things after that will lead you to send out money. The department insisted not to click on links instead independently seek information about charities you are interested in helping. Better yet, go directly to well known charities or charities that you already know.

Request of money donations are automatically considered as illegitimate, no record will be provided if the said organization did received the money and on your part you will not have a record for tax purposes. It is not advisable to make donations.

It will be hard to be rational during a time of calamity but take time to think about things because more often than not being impulsive will worsen things. Number one rule that you must remember is never send out or give money until the work is done or the product is at hand. Government is sure to help you, better wait for their action before making decisions on your own.

If you would like to help out, go to reputable charities and send out help yourselves. Help also comes in different shapes and sizes, as much as possible avoid sending out money to help.

You must keep in mind that although there are good people out there, scammers are also not far. It is a matter of being rational and intelligent more especially in worse times. Double check everything first, it is better sure than sorry.

Beeswax discovered as ancient tooth filling

An ancient tooth patched with beeswax filling and was recovered from Slovenia a hundred years ago could very well be the oldest evidence of ancient dentistry.

According to a report by researchers published in the PLoS ONE journal last week, the beeswax filling is 6,500 years old and was applied on a tooth recovered from Italy. It was estimated that the person who owned it could be in his 20s. Furthermore, the extreme wear on the tooth is evident of other activities like making tools, weaving and softening leather where it was used, aside from eating.

Radiocarbon dating performed on the beeswax and a large ion accelerator, revealing it to be thousands of years old. The particular jaw has been in an international center for a hundred years and yet no one noticed something interesting in it until recently.

The beeswax is apparently applied to the left tooth of a jaw around the time of death but scientists cannot determine if it was before or after. But if the person was still alive when the beeswax was applied to his tooth, then this discovery could be the oldest evidence of therapeutic dentistry in the European region.

Experts assume that the beeswax application might be for relieving sensitivity and pain in teeth so they are now looking into dental tests to verify if this treatment will be effective.


“At the moment we do not have any idea if this is an isolated case or if similar interventions were quite spread in Neolithic Europe. In collaboration with our interdisciplinary team, we are planning to analyze other Neolithic teeth in order to understand how widespread these types of interventions were,” said archeologist Federico Bernardini.


On the other hand, it is also possible that the beeswax was placed on the tooth after death as part of burial customs at that time, and that the crack they found was due to its exposure for many years. This particular hypothesis is believed to be unlikely because of how the beeswax was placed in the crack.

Discovering proof of ancient dentistry is very rare, with oldest examples dating back from 5000 to 9000 year-old teeth found in the Middle East.

A solution for Asian carp infestation

Brought from the East to aid in managing aquatic plants in aquaculture industries, Asian carp has been unwittingly introduced to freshwater sources of the US. Today, they are seen as a big problem in the fishing industry for their big appetite and fast breeding, overshadowing other fish for space and food in lakes.

Asian carp presence has been recorded in around 18 states and are already established in the areas of Missouri and Illinois. The fish threatening to mess with the USD 7 billion sport and commercial fishing industry of the Great Lakes can grow up to 100 pounds and measure over 4 feet.

Some are saying that the easy solution for this is closing the canal systems and any other point of entry of asian carps. However, such a step will certainly cost billions, not only in construction but also in lost profit from boat traffic that uses the canal system.


Last resort options to prevent upsetting the marine biodiversity in the Great Lakes are harmful to other industries and would also worsen the road traffic, ergo an increase in carbon emissions.


The Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework of the government is set to allocate USD 51.5 billion to protect the Great Lakes from the asian carp infestation. This program apparently involves methods to kill or drive them away, from poison pellets to soundwave-shooting underwater guns.

A more permanent and beneficial solution seems to be to catch the asian carps and turn them into foodstuffs like what Schafer Fisheries in Illinois is doing. Schafer has been selling 10 million lbs of asian carp across the world, satisfying a demand for them in other parts of the world while helping their locality get rid of a major headache. Asian carps can be processed into food products like sausage, jerk, hotdogs and can also be included in fertilizers. Even if this one industry will not be enough to totally stop the proliferation of Asian carp, it can at least be a major step in finding a solution.

Asian carp is a collective term for several species of carp: grass carp, black carp, silver carp and bighead carp.

Mars Curiosity rover scheduled for a stopover

Mars Curiosity rover is scheduled for a stopover to scrutinize the pyramid-shaped rock on the planet’s surface.The rock, measuring around 16 inches at the base and 10 inches high is chosen for analysis due to its unusual shape, was named “Jake” in memory of Jet Propulsion Lab engineer-mathematician Jacob Matijevic who died several days after the spacecraft’s landing on Mars.

The science team from JPL will have Curiosity stop for a couple of days for its first “contact science” by analysing and photographing the rock using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and Alpha Particle Xray Spectrometer (APXS).



Curiosity is on a 2-year mission to probe living conditions in Mars and gain insights into its geologic history. Its goal is to reach the base of Mount Sharp in the midst of Gale Crater, around 7 miles away from its current position, by early 2013.

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Mini satellite from Japan will send Morse

 Source: http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/mini-satellite-from-japan-will-send-morse/

Five small low-cost satellites are deployed today from the ISS to conduct scientific missions and test a possible type of optical communication scheme.

CubeSats, palm-sized satellites measuring 4 inches, are solar-powered cubes that will orbit the Earth for the next 100 days.

One of the satellites launched was a Japanese one tasked with sending a Morse code message that would be seen across the world.

To be the first orbiter to transmit a message across the sky using LED is what the designers of the satellite is hoping to achieve. The small cube, measuring only 10cm, is set to send a message in Morse code using bursts of intense light.

The message was only meant to be seen in Japan but according to Professor Takushi Tanaka of Fukuoka Institute of Technology, they were flooded with requests from researchers in Slovakia, Germany, Britain, Hungary, Italy and US that the satellite also communicate when it flies over their countries.

“Requests came from far more people than I expected – a man in Silicon Valley wanted to see it while another man wanted us to flash it over Central Park in New York,” said Professor Tanaka.



Tanaka said they would try their best to fulfill the requests but also cautioned observers against possible deception from random light flashes and added that seeing the Morse code message would depend on the weather.


The satellite is named Niwaka, a pun in southwestern dialect of Japan. It will flash the message “Hi this is Niwaka Japan” to observers around the world equipped with binoculars. They will, weather-permitting, be able to catch colored flashes of light from the sky — red for those in the southern hemisphere and green for those in the northern. That is because the front part of the satellite has a differently colored LED from its back part.

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have launched the satellite from its Kibou (Hope) laboratory and is set to orbit Earth 16 times per day. Three of the five satellites launched is from Japan, each of them provided by Wakayama University, Tohoku University and Fukuoka Institute of Technology.

Aside from transmitting the Morse message, the satellite is also set to take pictures of Earth using its camera and high-speed data transmission capability.

The satellites were released at 400 km above the Earth last week and is now in regular orbit. Certain locations and times will be announced on the ISS website.

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Protein to combat reef-destroying starfish

http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/protein-to-combat-reef-destroying-starfish/ 

A group of scientists in Australia has announced this week an potentially effective way to eliminate the destructive starfish, crown of thorns, that are feasting on coral reefs in the Pacific ocean.

The crown of thorns is already prominent in the Pacific and Indian Ocean where they feed mainly on coral polyps. Outbreaks of the large and poisonous starfish are blamed for the massive destruction of corals.

The Great Barrier Reef is located in the northeastern coast of Australia and composed of thousands of reef formations. The report by Australian Institute of Marine Science showed that almost half of the coral reef is gone compared to its size 30 years ago.

Clearly, the first phase would be to remove the voracious eaters, starfish, and convince farming operations to reduce their chemical-laden runoffs that victimize coral, and in some cases even support the starfish growth.

James Cook University in Queensland announced their discovery of a bacteria culture that could help in preserving the Great Barrier Reef by killing the culprit, starfish. The protein mixture where the bacteria is cultured was discovered to be capable of destroying starfish within 24 hours.




According to researchers of the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at the university, the next phase will deal with determining how safe the protein is when it comes to other marine life.


“In developing a biological control you have to be very careful to target only the species you are aiming at, and be certain that it can cause no harm to other species or to the wider environment. This compound looks very promising from that standpoint — though there is a lot of tank testing still to do before we would ever consider trialing it in the sea,” said Professor Morgan Pratchett of the ARC center.

However, this discovery alone is not enough to curb the massive outbreaks of starfish being seen today.

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Giant mammoth carcass in Siberian frost

http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/giant-mammoth-carcass-in-siberian-frost/

Yevgeny Salinder, an 11-year old Russian boy, is the one who discovered the massive remains of the mammoth in August.

The mammoth, estimated to be at its 16 year when it died measured 2 meters and weighed 1,000 pounds, was excavated from the Siberian permafrost last month.

”It is the mammoth of the century,” said Professor Alexei Tikhonov of the Zoological Museum in St Petersburg.

According to a Russian scientist, the well-preserved mammoth could be attacked by another mammoth or an Ice Age man. It was best preserved remains of a mature mammoth but its DNA was already damaged and would be difficult to use for cloning.

The International Mammoth Committee working to recover and protect ancient remains: “We had to use both traditional instruments such as axes, picks, shovels as well as such devices as this ‘steamer’ which allowed us to thaw a thin layer of permafrost. Then we cleaned it off, and then we melted more of it. It took us a week to complete this task.”

A group of researchers from different countries have visited the site in September and they were surprised to see that the remains were not only made up of bones but in fact, complete with hair, one tusk and soft tissues.

“We can see that this animal was very well adapted to the northern environment, accumulating massive amounts of fat. This animal likely died during the summer period as we can’t see much of its undercoat, but it had already accumulated a sufficient amount of fat,” said Aleksey Tikhonov from the Russian Academy of Sciences .

Principal analysis on the creature’s remains has disproved that the big humps on mammoths depicted in cave paintings in European countries were not actually extension of their bone structure but great reserves of fat that helped them manipulate their body temperature during long winter seasons.

The mammoth, named as Zhenya after the 11-year old boy, is set to be the main exhibit in the Taimyr Regional Museum and will be transferred to the Russian Academy of Sciences.



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What is Environmental Fraud?

http://www.spamlaws.com/environmental-fraud.html  

We all know that regardless of where you live, the weather is often unpredictable. A comfy 60 degree winter day in the Midwest; chilly and breezy on a late spring day in the pacific coast. To some of us, the prevalence of unusual weather is simply the work of Mother Nature. Others are more convinced that our reckless treatment of the earth has made global warming that much more of a reality.
The natural level of discomfort that results from the thought of global warming is reinforced by numerous reports claiming inevitable environmental doom. A recent article in the Nature Magazine went as far as predicting that over the next fifty years, well over one million species will cease to exist due to global warming.

Impact of the Information Technology

Coupled with the fear prompted by environmental experts and know-it-alls is a plethora of scams. Some attempt to persuade our beliefs, while others operate with the intentions of fraud. Far from being verified is one claim that global warming is a man-made predicament. Instead of drawing these conclusions from observable facts, these assumptions are based on methods of computer modeling that generate artificial, manipulable graphic-based visions of the earth. A computer can only process the information fed to it, which in this case is usually fraudulent data intended to stir up controversy.

Other types of environmental fraud target those who carry enough concern about the planet to make a difference. These scams typically find their way to you via email, online survey or fraudulent website. Often, criminals will make an attempt to persuade you into contributing to the prevention of global warming, preservation of the rain forest or other environmental issues. These frauds are experienced and rather savvy, able to produce content that makes them appear legitimate. Some of them will even steal logos and other identifying materials to masquerade themselves as reputable environmental organizations. To further complicate matters, you typically will have no way of knowing where your contribution actually went. In a worst case scenario, a scam artist uses your personal information to commit identity theft and runs up hundreds to thousands in debt.

In the End

It just may be safe to assume that environmental problems such as global warming has everything to do with politics and little to do with science. Scientists who endorse these theories command and often receive robust government grants to conduct their research. Without the prevalence of imminent threats, scientists wouldn't get funded, essentially making these environmental issues a big business. Right behind these scientist is a group of criminals determined to play on your fear and genuine concern to turn a profit.

In the end, it is at your discretion whether or not you choose to believe or financially support these highly publicized environmental issues. At the same time, you must keep in mind that many of these theories are not supported by verifiable documentation while remaining aware of the numerous scams lurking in the background.

You can do your part at preserving the environment by viewing the tips on the following website: www.environmental-expert.com

Flooded summer season, Atlantic Ocean blames

 For more info: http://blog.crowncapitalmngt.com/flooded-summer-season-atlantic-ocean-blames/

Northern Europe picks on the Atlantic Ocean because of its wet summer according to a new study. The rising and falling of ocean temperature or the so called cyclical deception is seen as a major extortion on the weather. The said pattern reported will last long as the Atlantic warming persists. The research was carried out at the University of Reading and is published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The cycle of scheme investigated was known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. This change sees the waters warm or cool over a period of several decades. The researchers compared three periods in this cycle: a warm state from 1931-60, a cool period from 1961-90 and the most recent warm period starting in 1990 and continuing now. The paper notes that conditions in the last warm period in the Atlantic are broadly similar to those pragmatic now.


So the study compared weather conditions in Europe during the two warm Atlantic phases with those oppressed in the cool phase. One conclusion is that a warmer-than-usual Atlantic “favors a mild spring (especially April), summer and autumn, in England and across Europe.”


Another finding – of greatest relevance to the search for a cause of rainy summers – is that the warmth of the ocean also tends to make northern and central Europe abuse than usual. By contrast southern Europe, from Portugal to Turkey, makes victim of far less rain than normal.

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Food fraud tackled by forensic scientists

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/19829220

Wine, spirits, meat and even baby food can all be faked, with fraudsters hiding their true origins. Now forensic scientists are clamping down on food fraud, which costs millions in lost revenue and can put the health and safety of the public at risk.

Imagine tucking into a fine fillet of "British" beef, only to learn it actually came from Australia. Or drinking "French" wine that actually came from California.

What if the "Italian" olive oil you pour over the accompanying salad originated in Morocco?

That might not be so bad, you may think.

But what if a bottle of vodka you'd purchased in good faith is tainted with methanol, making it lethal to drink?

Or the baby food you feed your youngest is not what the label on the jar said it is?

As global trade has increased, so has the potential for food fraud, where fraudsters lie or hide the true provenance of produce.

Alongside food safety and health fears, its raises concerns over quality control, reputational damage and lost revenue, and puts the spotlight on illegal activity.

Now some firms are taking to using scientists, a type of food "crime scene investigators", to tackle the issue.

Faking it

In a world where food is exported and imported every day, how do you prove that the origin of a product is legitimate?

A company in New Zealand has developed a scientific origin system which maps and catalogues "food fingerprints".

"What we do needs to be able to stand up in court," says Dr Helen Darling, from Oritain.

Most food supply chains use predominantly paper-based systems to trace the origin of food, such as following barcodes.

But while these show the route a product has travelled and how, and "whatever kind of details you want to capture in that system", says Dr Darling, Oritain's proof of origin "cannot be faked".

Oritain's scientific liaison officer Rebecca McLeod says it ties food and drinks back to their geographic origin, by measuring the geochemical fingerprint of say, an apple, as well as the fingerprint of the soil it grew in, and that of the surrounding atmosphere.

"We look at the concentrations of a whole suite of different metal elements - present in the soil, and get introduced by things like fertilisers, and taken up by plants, and we can trace them to animals that eat plants as well.

Antonio Pasquale is passionate about making sure 100% of his wine is from his winery

"The likelihood of two regions having exactly same soil type and fertilisers is very very slim," she says.

The firm also can analyse some manufactured products, in "batch profiling".

"Something like infant formula or wine produced in a factory incorporates lots of different ingredients. We can characterise each batch of that product, based on the geochemical signature," explains Ms McLeod.

Once the food or drink profile has been developed, it is recorded and safely stored.

"Once we've got that in place, it's a quick process to analyse a suspect sample that is sent to us. The idea is we do all of the groundwork before there's a problem," she explains.

Each product is given a unique number which can be displayed on packaging or stickers.

Dr Helen Darling says it enables quick comparisons to root out any goods that aren't "true to label".

"Whilst our logo itself can be counterfeited, any product with our label on it or our brand on it, we would have authentic data and an authentic archive sample of that product. If we don't, we know immediately that it's a counterfeit product - that in itself is a deterrent to people."

In the Czech republic last month, distilled alcohol was tainted with methanol, causing the deaths of 19 people. The government imposed prohibition as authorities tried to trace the origin of the poisonous alcohol (believed to be vodka), with great difficulty.

Would an origin system have made it easier?

The EU does have an agricultural product quality policy, which allows foods and drinks to be assigned a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) or Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) category.

But this only applies to certified products and would not have helped in the case of counterfeit alcohol.

However, Rebecca McLeod says Oritain's scientists could look at the isotopic content of the water in alcohol products, analyse it and come up with a fingerprint for spirits such as whisky and vodka.

This technique would only work pre-emptively.

She says while it hasn't analysed any top shelf spirits yet, it has catalogued wine for clients.

One of those is Antonio Pasquale, a winemaker based in north Otago, New Zealand.

He has become increasingly frustrated that wine produced in the country is allowed to be mixed with other vineyards' - laws there state if a label says the wine is from a particular grape variety, vintage or area, then at least 85% in the bottle must be from that variety, vintage or area.

Oritain scientists have been working with bee keepers to map honey origins

"The structure of the free market pushes all food companies to standardise the product year in and year out. The lack of differences is destroying the individuality," he explains.

"I had enough of this. They (Oritain) came and sampled two blocks of 40 acres... mapped the chemical structure of my paddocks, and from then on they had freedom to come to my winery and collect samples.

"So I have solid proof that all my wine, as I say it is, comes from my paddock."

In southeast Asia provenance is becoming more important, as "there are million and millions of bottles of falsified wine sold in China," says Mr Pasquale.

"Wine was sold there produced in California but with French wine labels," he says.

China is no stranger to food scandals. But consumers are demanding higher standards of certification and proof of origin after infant formula was sold tainted with melamine in the country.

It has a bad record, in many food areas, including asparagus.

For example, in China, the US and Peru asparagus breeders can be tempted to sell poor quality seed, which can reduce yields by 20-30-%.

Dr Peter Falloon, the managing director of asparagus breeders Aspara Pacific, says his company overcomes this by having the characteristic biochemical profile of his company's seed measured.

High and low grade asparagus seeds can be spotted in the field

That way "growers in developing countries can simply send a suspect sample of 20 seeds to be analysed to see if they match the breeders' stock, and find out for sure if they are buying the real deal."

It is a low-cost option and technological advancement for rural farmers in developing country, meeting one of the key objectives this year of the United Nations' World Food Day on 16 October, which is to promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world.

Honey is another easily faked food.

"Some honeys being sold around the world have had sugars added, there have been honeys supplied with traces of antibiotics in them and some honeys have not been 'true to label' (the pollen source has been different to what has been recorded on the label)," explains Peter Cox, the general manager for New Zealand Honey Specialties.

The company is also asking scientists to profile their produce, which includes single flower honeys such as thyme honey, and honey produced in the beech forests of the south Island, or the lakes in Central Otago.

"Getting from beehive to the palette, we have a real story around authenticity. Certainly it's a rigorous scientific process," he says.