The three projects as proposed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the environmental analysis of the projects are discussed. Sections on the natural and social environments of the proposed projects and their surrounding areas consist of descriptions of the setting, discussions of the adverse and beneficial consequences of the project, and potential mitigation measures to reduce the effects of adverse impacts. The Environmental Impact Report includes discussions of unavoidable adverse effects, irreversible changes, long-term and cumulative impacts, growth-inducing effects, and feasible alternatives to the project. (MHR)

Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the United States developed a wealthy society on the basis of cheap and abundant fossil fuel energy. As fossil fuels have become ecologically and economically expensive in the twenty-first century, America has shown mixed progress in transitioning to a more sustainable energy system. From 2000 to 2006, energy and carbon intensity of GDP continued favorable long-term trends of decline. Energy end-use efficiency also continued to improve; for example, per-capita electricity use was 12.76 MWh per person per year in 2000 and again in 2006, despite 16 percent GDP growth over that period. Environmental costs of U.S. energy production and consumption have also been reduced, as illustrated in air quality improvements. However, increased fossil fuel consumption, stagnant efficiency standards, and expanding corn-based ethanol production have moved the energy system in the opposite direction, toward a less sustainable energy system. This chapter reviews energy system developments between 2000 and 2006 and presents policy recommendations to move the United States toward a more sustainable energy system.

Preliminary findings and conclusions are presented on the following: conformity to the forecast of statewide and service area electric power demands; conformity of the proposed site and related facilities with applicable local, regional, state, and federal standards, ordinances, and laws, including any long-range land use plans or guidelines adopted by the state or by any local or regional planning agency; the safety and reliability of the facility; and the relative merit of any alternative site and related facility proposed in the notice or in sufficient detail at the hearings. A Proposed Decision, approving the Notice, with conditions for consideration by the full commission is included. A description of the proposed project; a summary of the proceedings to date, comments from the general public, and government agency comments on the Preliminary Report are given. The comments of the applicant and the Commission staff regarding the Preliminary Report and the Committee's view of those issues that require further consideration are included. (MHR)

The existing documentation on the Geysers Unit 16 and Geysers to Lakeville transmission line projects is reviewed and data deficiencies and areas requiring clarification for filing a Notice of Intention on these projects are identified. (MHR)

Wind Power Today is an annual publication that provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Program accomplishments for the previous year. The purpose of Wind Power Today is to show how DOE's Wind Energy Program supports wind turbine research and deployment in hopes of furthering the advancement of wind technologies that produce clean, low-cost, reliable energy. Content objectives include: educate readers about the advantages and potential for widespread deployment of wind energy; explain the program's objectives and goals; describe the program's accomplishments in research and application; examine the barriers to widespread deployment; describe the benefits of continued research and development; facilitate technology transfer; and attract cooperative wind energy projects with industry. This 2001 edition of Wind Power Today also includes discussions about wind industry growth in 2001, how DOE is taking advantage of low wind speed regions through advancing technology, and distributed applications for small wind turbines.

Ion exchange phenomena involve the population of readily exchangeable ions, the subset of adsorbed solutes that balance the intrinsic surface charge and can be readily replaced by major background electrolyte ions (Sposito, 2008). These phenomena have occupied a central place in soil chemistry research since Way (1850) first showed that potassium uptake by soils resulted in the release of an equal quantity of moles of charge of calcium and magnesium. Ion exchange phenomena are now routinely modeled in studies of soil formation (White et al., 2005), soil reclamation (Kopittke et al., 2006), soil fertilitization (Agbenin and Yakubu, 2006), colloidal dispersion/flocculation (Charlet and Tournassat, 2005), the mechanics of argillaceous media (Gajo and Loret, 2007), aquitard pore water chemistry (Tournassat et al., 2008), and groundwater (Timms and Hendry, 2007; McNab et al., 2009) and contaminant hydrology (Chatterjee et al., 2008; van Oploo et al., 2008; Serrano et al., 2009).

Many modern scientific applications rely on highly parallel calculations, which scale to 10's of thousands processors. However, most applications do not concentrate on parallelizing input/output operations. In particular, sequential I/O has been identified as a bottleneck for the highly scalable MFDn (Many Fermion Dynamics for nuclear structure) code performing ab initio nuclear structure calculations. In this paper, we develop interfaces and parallel I/O procedures to use a well-known parallel I/O library in MFDn. As a result, we gain efficient input/output of large datasets along with their portability and ease of use in the downstream processing.

Multi-core processing environments have become the norm in the generic computing environment and are being considered for adding an extra dimension to the execution of any application. The T2 Niagara processor is a very unique environment where it consists of eight cores having a capability of running eight threads simultaneously in each of the cores. Applications like General Atomic and Molecular Electronic Structure (GAMESS), used for ab-initio molecular quantum chemistry calculations, can be good indicators of the performance of such machines and would be a guideline for both hardware designers and application programmers. In this paper we try to benchmark the GAMESS performance on a T2 Niagara processor for a couple of molecules. We also show the suitability of using a middleware based adaptation algorithm on GAMESS on such a multi-core environment.

The ore pitchblende was discovered in the 1750's near Joachimstal in what is now the Czech Republic. Used as a colorant in glazes, uranium was identified in 1789 as the active ingredient by chemist Martin Klaproth. In 1896, French physicist Henri Becquerel studied uranium minerals as part of his investigations into the phenomenon of fluorescence. He discovered a strange energy emanating from the material which he dubbed 'rayons uranique.' Unable to explain the origins of this energy, he set the problem aside. About two years later, a young Polish graduate student was looking for a project for her dissertation. Marie Sklodowska Curie, working with her husband Pierre, picked up on Becquerel's work and, in the course of seeking out more information on uranium, discovered two new elements (polonium and radium) which exhibited the same phenomenon, but were even more powerful. The Curies recognized the energy, which they now called 'radioactivity,' as something very new, requiring a new interpretation, new science. This discovery led to what some view as the 'golden age of nuclear science' (1895-1945) when countries throughout Europe devoted large resources to understand the properties and potential of this material. By World War II, the potential to harness this …

Heavy ion collisions are an ideal tool to explore the QCD phase diagram. The goal is to study the equation of state (EOS) and to search for possible in-medium modifications of hadrons. By varying the collision energy a variety of regimes with their specific physics interest can be studied. At energies of a few GeV per nucleon, the regime where experiments were performed first at the Berkeley Bevalac and later at the Schwer-Ionen-Synchrotron (SIS) at GSI in Darmstadt, we study the equation of state of dense nuclear matter and try to identify in-medium modifications of hadrons. Towards higher energies, the regime of the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), the Super-Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN, and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at BNL, we expect to produce a new state of matter, the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). The physics goal is to identify the QGP and to study its properties. By varying the energy, different forms of matter are produced. At low energies we study dense nuclear matter, similar to the type of matter neutron stars are made of. As the energy is increased the main constituents of the matter will change. Baryon excitations will become …

Characterizing an adaptive optics (AO) system refers to understanding its performance and limitations. The goal of an AO system is to correct wavefront aberrations. The uncorrected aberrations, called the residual errors and referred to in what follows simply as the errors, degrade the image quality in the science camera. Understanding the source of these errors is a great aid in designing an AO system and optimizing its performance. This chapter explains how to estimate the wavefront error terms and the relationship between the wavefront error and the degradation of the image. The analysis deals with the particular case of a HartmannShack wavefront sensor (WFS) and a continuous deformable mirror (DM), although the principles involved can be applied to any AO system.

We present the development and application of compatible finite element discretizations of electromagnetics problems derived from the time dependent, full wave Maxwell equations. We review the H(curl)-conforming finite element method, using the concepts and notations of differential forms as a theoretical framework. We chose this approach because it can handle complex geometries, it is free of spurious modes, it is numerically stable without the need for filtering or artificial diffusion, it correctly models the discontinuity of fields across material boundaries, and it can be very high order. Higher-order H(curl) and H(div) conforming basis functions are not unique and we have designed an extensible C++ framework that supports a variety of specific instantiations of these such as standard interpolatory bases, spectral bases, hierarchical bases, and semi-orthogonal bases. Virtually any electromagnetics problem that can be cast in the language of differential forms can be solved using our framework. For time dependent problems a method-of-lines scheme is used where the Galerkin method reduces the PDE to a semi-discrete system of ODE's, which are then integrated in time using finite difference methods. For time integration of wave equations we employ the unconditionally stable implicit Newmark-Beta method, as well as the high order energy conserving …

The MJO has long been an aspect of the global climate that has provided a tough test for the climate modelling community. Since the 1980s there have been numerous studies of the simulation of the MJO in atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs), ranging from Hayashi and Golder (1986, 1988) and Lau and Lau (1986), through to more recent studies such as Wang and Schlesinger (1999) and Wu et al. (2002). Of course, attempts to reproduce the MJO in climate models have proceeded in parallel with developments in our understanding of what the MJO is and what drives it. In fact, many advances in understanding the MJO have come through modeling studies. In particular, failure of climate models to simulate various aspects of the MJO has prompted investigations into the mechanisms that are important to its initiation and maintenance, leading to improvements both in our understanding of, and ability to simulate, the MJO. The initial focus of this chapter will be on modeling the MJO during northern winter, when it is characterized as a predominantly eastward propagating mode and is most readily seen in observations. Aspects of the simulation of the MJO will be discussed in the context of its sensitivity …

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Alkaline fuel cell (AFC) operation is currently limited to specialty applications such as low temperatures and pure H{sub 2}/O{sub 2} due to the corrosive nature of the electrolyte and formation of carbonates. AFCs are the cheapest and potentially most efficient (approaching 70%) fuel cells. The fact that non-Pt catalysts can be used, makes them an ideal low cost alternative for power production. The anode and cathode are separated by and solid electrolyte or alkaline porous media saturated with KOH. However, CO{sub 2} from the atmosphere or fuel feed severely poisons the electrolyte by forming insoluble carbonates. The corrosivity of KOH (electrolyte) limits operating temperatures to no more than 80�C. This chapter examines the development of ionic liquids electrolytes that are less corrosive, have higher operating temperatures, do not chemically bond to CO{sub 2}, and enable alternative fuels. Work is detailed on the IL selection and characterization as well as casting methods within the polybenzimidazole based solid membrane. This approach is novel as it targets the root of the problem (the electrolyte) unlike other current work in alkaline fuel cells which focus on making the fuel cell components more durable.

Application of high pressure significantly alters the interatomic distance and thus the nature of intermolecular interaction, chemical bonding, molecular configuration, crystal structure, and stability of solid [1]. With modern advances in high-pressure technologies [2], it is feasible to achieve a large (often up to a several-fold) compression of lattice, at which condition material can be easily forced into a new physical and chemical configuration [3]. The high-pressure thus offers enhanced opportunities to discover new phases, both stable and metastable ones, and to tune exotic properties in a wide-range of atomistic length scale, substantially greater than (often being several orders of) those achieved by other thermal (varying temperatures) and chemical (varying composition or making alloys) means. Simple molecular solids like H{sub 2}, C, CO{sub 2}, N{sub 2}, O{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O, CO, NH{sub 3}, and CH{sub 4} are bounded by strong covalent intramolecular bonds, yet relatively weak intermolecular bonds of van der Waals and/or hydrogen bonds. The weak intermolecular bonds make these solids highly compressible (i.e., low bulk moduli typically less than 10 GPa), while the strong covalent bonds make them chemically inert at least initially at low pressures. Carbon-carbon single bonds, carbon-oxygen double bonds and nitrogen-nitrogen triple bonds, for example, …

Microbial communities are each a composite of populations whose presence and relative abundance in water or other environmental samples are a direct manifestation of environmental conditions, including the introduction of microbe-rich fecal material and factors promoting persistence of the microbes therein. As shown by culture-independent methods, different animal-host fecal microbial communities appear distinctive, suggesting that their community profiles can be used to differentiate fecal samples and to potentially reveal the presence of host fecal material in environmental waters. Cross-comparisons of microbial communities from different hosts also reveal relative abundances of genetic groups that can be used to distinguish sources. In increasing order of their information richness, several community analysis methods hold promise for MST applications: phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), cloning/sequencing, and PhyloChip. Specific case studies involving TRFLP and PhyloChip approaches demonstrate the ability of community-based analyses of contaminated waters to confirm a diagnosis of water quality based on host-specific marker(s). The success of community-based MST for comprehensively confirming fecal sources relies extensively upon using appropriate multivariate statistical approaches. While community-based MST is still under evaluation and development as a primary diagnostic tool, results presented herein demonstrate its promise. …

Numerical simulations of laser-plasma wakefield (particle) accelerators model the acceleration of electrons trapped in plasma oscillations (wakes) left behind when an intense laser pulse propagates through the plasma. The goal of these simulations is to better understand the process involved in plasma wake generation and how electrons are trapped and accelerated by the wake. Understanding of such accelerators, and their development, offer high accelerating gradients, potentially reducing size and cost of new accelerators. One operating regime of interest is where a trapped subset of electrons loads the wake and forms an isolated group of accelerated particles with low spread in momentum and position, desirable characteristics for many applications. The electrons trapped in the wake may be accelerated to high energies, the plasma gradient in the wake reaching up to a gigaelectronvolt per centimeter. High-energy electron accelerators power intense X-ray radiation to terahertz sources, and are used in many applications including medical radiotherapy and imaging. To extract information from the simulation about the quality of the beam, a typical approach is to examine plots of the entire dataset, visually determining the adequate parameters necessary to select a subset of particles, which is then further analyzed. This procedure requires laborious examination of …

This project's goal is to develop remote sensing methods for early detection and spatial mapping, over whole regions simultaneously, of any surface areas under which there are significant CO2 leaks from deep underground storage formations. If large amounts of CO2 gas percolated up from a storage formation below to within plant root depth of the surface, the CO2 soil concentrations near the surface would become elevated and would affect individual plants and their local plant ecologies. Excessive soil CO2 concentrations are observed to significantly affect local plant and animal ecologies in our geothermal exploration, remote sensing research program at Mammoth Mountain CA USA. We also know from our geothermal exploration remote sensing programs, that we can map subtle hidden faults by spatial signatures of altered minerals and of plant species and health distributions. Mapping hidden faults is important because in our experience these highly localized (one to several centimeters) spatial pathways are good candidates for potentially significant CO2 leaks from deep underground formations. The detection and discrimination method we are developing uses primarily airborne hyperspectral, high spatial (3 meter) with 128 band wavelength resolution, visible and near infrared reflected light imagery. We also are using the newly available ''Quickbird'' satellite …

The Chicago area coalition marks its five-year anniversary in 1999 as a member of the Clean Cities Program. Their progress in the last five years has been remarkable as they advance the alternative fuel and vehicle markets, increase coalition membership, help support new alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) legislation, and educate fleet managers. The coalition boasts more than 90 stakeholders, including industry, government, environmental and academic organizations, and membership continues to grow. Thanks to dedicated coalition members' efforts, a variety of AFVs can be seen on Chicago's streets, including transit and school buses, taxicabs, sedans, vans, and trucks.

Since its designation as a national Clean City in 1994, Salt Lake Clean Cities has put more than 2,600 alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) on community streets. The 82 business, nonprofit, and government agencies that comprise the coalition are all dedicated to cleaning the air by reducing vehicle exhaust. Salt Lake Clean Cities has the third largest compressed natural gas and propane-refueling infrastructure in the country, with 98 locations available. They sponsor an annual ''Spring Soiree'' to increase public awareness about the program and educate the public about the benefits of alternative fuel and AFVs.

This coalition was the culmination a two-year joint effort by Long Island Lighting Company and the Long Island Regional Planning Board. The group's first alternative fuel project was a single fill compressed natural gas station and a converted Chevrolet Caprice. Since then, the coalition has made steady progress in the alternative fuel and alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) market. They have over 400 AFVs and 21 fueling stations in their operating area. Thanks to strong partnerships with local public and private organizations, they've also passed some of the most progressive state tax incentive legislation for AFVs in the country.

Stakeholders in the San Diego coalition have already helped remove about 125 tons of nitrogen oxides and 867 tons of carbon dioxide every year since their inception in 1996. They are proud of their numerous accomplishments, including the San Diego Gas and Electric's installation of a solar chargeport, which can charge up to six electric vehicles simultaneously and at no cost. San Diego Regional Clean Cities Coalition will also soon be home to the first alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) showroom in the world, as the Regional Transportation Center plans to open during the summer of 2000. The million-dollar facility will display the latest AFV models, rent and demonstrate vehicles, and offer a fueling and service center with public access. An educational center is also part of the plan.

Southern California's Coachella Valley became a Clean Cities region in 1996. Since then, they've made great strides. SunLine Transit, the regional public transit provider, was the first transit provider to replace its entire fleet with compressed natural gas buses. They've also built the foundation for a nationally recognized model in the clean air movement, by partnering with Southern California Gas Company to install a refueling station and developing a curriculum for AFV maintenance with the College of the Desert. Today the valley is home to more than 275 AFVs and 15 refueling stations.