GATES, PANEL URGING US TO PLEASE INCREASE ENERGY R&D. LAST PLEA 5 YEARS AGO. US energy R&D now $5B /yr. Leaders want it at $15B. (Bill Gates for President is my other blog. Whom for vice president? George Clooney?) .... Russian billionaire took $15M stake in new US fracking tech .... MSFT experimenting with taking data centers off grid. (Bill Gates for President of the USA! Please. Grassroot folks, families and neighbors. Bill Gates by acclimation. Please. Fink for VP?) .... EPA stiffening rules on vehicle fuel ratings .... Europe betting on combined heat/power plants. Quick ramp up/down for wind/solar .... Hay fever seasons getting longer, worse with global warming climate change .... Cheap/faulty panels undermined solar subsidies in Australia: industry experts .... MSFT experimenting with taking power-sucking data centers off grid .... Influx of "marginally improved" oil rail cars threatens rule: Fed watchdog. (Ruff. WV debacle was with new oil tankers.) .... Cheap, faulty solar panels undermined solar subsidy program in Australia: experts .... Looming defaults for 19 oil/gas comps .... Japan considering 16% cut of solar FIT .... OIl industry blasting latest US rules for Arctic drilling. Also opposition from enviros. (Could Obama know middle ground?!) .... Cleangreen to build 12Mw biomass power plant in Philippines. Late '17 completion. 12Mw 2nd phase. Giant napier grass feedstock .... Greencoat raised dividend 1.6% .... Vestas got Dong contract for 330Mw/phase wind UK .... Lloyds buying Infinis UK landfill gas .... Brazil 19Gw power auction July .... Euro Energy Union won't go same way as Eurozone: expert .... World Bank $130M for Nepal solar .... Germany pilot solar tender for 150Mw .... EC investigating GE/Alstom deal .... New Maryland plan to curtail farm runoff into Chesapeake .... Great Lakes 84% froze over .... Pressure buildup probable cause of Cal refinery explosion. Maybe strikers would have seen that. Maybe strikers did it. I remember Teamsters' strikes in '60's and Dad warning us at dinner that we may be bombed. Pay the guys. FOr GODS sakes PAY the guys! Who knows what to do for real?) .... Megadam construction finance stopped in Cambodia .... Tanzania farm growth could increase risk of plague.