Tag Archives: consumer
Official figures show rent increases in Scotland are largely below inflation
Between 2010 and 2014 most average rents in Scotland increased below the rate of inflation, with some rents falling, the latest data from the Scottish Government shows. In particular, a total of 16 out of the 18 rental market areas across Scotland have seen below inflation changes in average rents for two bedroom properties, the most common size of property in the private rented sector. Some areas of the country have seen higher increases over these years, including Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire where average rents for all property sizes have increased well above inflation. In Lothian increases for one, two and three bedroom properties have been above inflation. A breakdown of the figures show that the city of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire has seen the highest increase in private rents for two bedroom properties from 2010 to 2014, with average monthly rents rising by 39.8% over four years. Average rents in the Lothian area have risen by a cumulative 17.2% over the last four years, whilst rents in Greater Glasgow have increased by 11.1% and rents in Fife have risen by 9.8% over this time period. For the remaining areas of Scotland, cumulative increases over the last four years have ranged from 5.7% in the Highlands and Islands to 0.6% in the Scottish Borders. In addition, three areas of the country have seen cumulative decreases in average rents from 2010 to 2014 with the Ayrshires seeing an 0.8% fall, Argyll and Bute a 1.5% fall, and West Dunbartonshire a 2.7% fall. These regional trends combine to show an 11.2% cumulative increase in average rents from 2010 to 2014 for 2 bedroom properties at the Scotland level. For the latest year the annual increase has been 3.6%. The data also shows that over the four year period, average rents for two bedroom properties in the Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the Lothian areas have risen faster than the consumer price index, whilst changes in average rents for two bedroom properties in other areas of the country have been below the rise in the consumer price index. For the year to the end of September 2014, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire had the highest average monthly rents for two bedroom properties across Scotland at £898 per month. Other areas with higher rents included Lothian at £779, Greater Glasgow at £626, and East Dunbartonshire at £604. Areas with the lowest average rents for two bedroom properties included North Lanarkshire at £464, the Ayrshires at £461, the Scottish Borders at £444, and Dumfries and Galloway at £442. The data is from the first Private Sector Rent Statistics report is a result of a Scottish Government commitment to publishing more comprehensive statistics on rent levels across the country. ‘These statistics highlight wide variations in the rate of rent increases, with hotspots in the Lothian area and in Aberdeen, but modest rises, or even falls elsewhere. This is clearly good news for those tenants whose rents have risen at or below the rate of inflation, but a real problem for those affected by… Continue reading
Chopper drones with cams may pose threat to privacy
Chopper drones with cams may pose threat to privacy Staff Reporter / 29 January 2014 The Ministry of Interior is concerned about its use and the Consumer Protection Department will investigate sales of these machines at some shops in the country. It may be a sport for some, a professional tool for photography experts, but the miniature RC (radio-controlled) quadcopter can be a threat to privacy if fitted with a camera. The Ministry of Interior is concerned about its use and the Consumer Protection Department will investigate sales of these machines at some shops in the country. The Arabic daily Al Roeya reported that the ministry convened a meeting with the bodies concerned in order to set down regulations for selling and trading in such drones fitted with cameras that could be controlled by remote control through a cordless joystick or a smart phone. The Ministry of Economy confirmed that its inspection and control squads embarked on their visits to shops and markets that deal in such kind of quadcopters to stop their sale. Al Roeya quoted Lt-General Saif Abdullah Al Shafaar, Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior, as saying that these pilotless rotorcrafts, which are sometimes fitted with a high definition camera, are sold without any constraints in the US and Europe, and are promoted online as well. Al Shafaar affirmed that the Federal Aviation Authority is the body concerned in this regard. He called upon all concerned parties and security authorities to hold a meeting to lay down regulations on this issue. Al Shafaar went on to say that police could intervene and take action if it received complaints from citizens and residents. Meanwhile, Director of the Consumer Protection Department, Ministry of Economy Dr Hashim Al Nuaimi warned the community members against the hazards of using copters that carry an HD camera which could be guided and controlled from remote distance. He pointed out that the Consumer Protection Department has planned to dispatch its inspection teams to shops and markets famous for selling these RC drones in order to stave off selling them to the public due to the negative effects these drones have because of the HD camera they are fitted with. Radio-controlled four rotor copters using high definition (HD) camera can click pictures during the time it’s in the air The RC quadcopter can fly for a period of 25 minutes and a distance of one kilometre at an altitude of 300 metres. The most shocking thing is that this kind of RC chopper was found being sold at a shopping mall in Dubai. They can be used by amateurs in a rational way by taking photos from high altitudes, and can be flown at desert, open areas, and sea. However, some others might use such adult toys in an immoral manner, which has become a hobby for those intruders to infringe people decency and privacy. There are two kinds of RC quadrotor helicopters. The first one is unprofessional and is sold for Dh4,800 and can fly for 15 minutes covering a distance of 700 metres. The second one is a professional one which costs as much as Dh8,000. The latter can fly a distance of a kilometre for a period of 25 minutes. The RC quadcopter has Global Positioning System (GPS), which makes it easy to call the chopper home automatically when the battery runs out. A user can programme and preset the flight course back and forth in certain directions, and sets the HD camera either in photo or video modes. It can transmit photos and videos to a user’s smart phone. An RC chopper owner Mohamed said he uses his copter everywhere to record horse races, car race and for other sports. — news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Next-Generation Biofuels Are Inching Towards Reality, Gallon by Gallon
Advanced biofuels have been on the cusp of commercialization for years, but high prices and technological challenges have held them back. Is that starting to change? By Bryan Walsh @bryanrwalshOct. 11, 2013 Photo courtesy Novozymes Novozymes’ new plant in Italy is the world’s first advanced biofuels facility Whatever happened to next-generation biofuels? Made from sources like corn stalks or what straw that don’t compete with food, unlike current biofuels, next-generation biofuels were going to be greener and more efficient than corn-based ethanol, which is still the dominant source of biofuel in the U.S. When Congress passed the 2007 energy bill, it expected the country to be producing over 1 billion gallons of next-generation biofuels by 2013. But the advanced biofuel industry has developed far more slowly than lawmakers predicted, leading the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cut the 2013 mandae for cellulosic biofuels to just 4 million gallons—and even that target could be difficult to meet, given that only 142,000 gallons are available now. It’s not that companies don’t know how to make cellulosic ethanol or biofuel from algae. It’s that they’ve struggled to do so cheaply and at a scale large enough to compete with oil. “The technology just hasn’t matured yet,” says Peder Holk Nielsen, the CEO of the Danish biotech company Novozymes, which has been involved in next-generation biofuel research and development for years. “It’s simply been too expensive.” But if the race to create workable next-generation biofuels has slowed, it’s far from over—and there may still be a few surprises. First Novozymes, which has been developing enzymes for industrial use since the 1920s. Earlier this week Novozymes, in partnership with the Italian biofuels company Beta Renewables, announced the opening of the world’s largest advanced biofuels facility. Built in northern Italy, the plant is the first in the world to be designed and built to produce bioethanol from agricultural residues and energy crops at a commercial scale. The facility will produce over 20 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year. “This plant was built with the purpose of demonstrating that the technology is possible,” says Nielsen. “Once we’ve built it, we can optimize it.” Cellulosic ethanol has been difficult to produce for the same reason that it’s impossible for the human stomach to digest cellulose, the material that makes up the tough cell walls of green plants. It takes specialized enzymes to break down cellulose into simple plant sugars, which can then be converted into fuel. (Humans lack those stomach enzymes, unlike cows, which is what allows them to digest grass.) Novozymes’ role is providing the industrial enzymes needed to break down the tough wheat straw, rice straw and arundo donax—a high-yielding energy crop grown on marginal land—that the Italian plant will be using. Those enzymes aren’t cheap—Nielsen notes that while the enzymes used to make corn ethanol cost 3 to 7 cents per gallons, those used for cellulosic ethanol run 30 to 40 cents a gallon. Bringing down the cost of those enzymes will be key to making cellulosic ethanol more than just a lab experiment. “We’re convinced that over time, it will be cheaper than gasoline,” says Nielsen. Novozymes isn’t the only company opening up a cellulosic ethanol facility. In 2014 plants from the ethanol company POET, Dupont and the Spanish firm Abengoa will begin producing next-generation ethanol, and the startup KiOR is already running a commercial plant in Mississippi that turns woody biomass into drop-in fuel. Still, next-generation biofuels companies will face daunting technological and market challenges, as a recent Economist article pointed out: Some observers doubt whether even the most sophisticated biofuels can compete with fossil fuels in the near future. Daniel Klein-Marcuschamer, a researcher at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, conducted a comprehensive analysis of renewable aviation fuels. He concluded that producing first-generation bio-jet fuel from sugarcane would require oil prices of at least $168 a barrel to be competitive, and that some second-generation algae technologies would require crude oil to soar above $1,000 a barrel (the current price is around $110) to break even. Mr Klein-Marcuschamer has made his model open-source in an effort to help the industry find ways to make biofuels more competitive. Even if second-generation processes can be economically scaled up, however, that might in turn highlight a further problem. To make a significant dent in the 2,500m litres of conventional oil that American refineries churn through each day, biofuel factories would have to be able to get hold of a staggering quantity of feedstock. That’s one reason why some next-generation biofuel startups have looked to find new markets for their technology. California-based Solazyme uses custom-built algae to develop better biofuels, and it has sold thousands of gallons of its product to the Navy for use in its ships. But while the company has a 30 million gallon facility in Brazil that should be producing algal biofuel by the end of the year, Solazyme has also branched into making oils for higher profit products like cosmetics, food and petrochemicals. “We view ourselves as a company that makes and tailors oils,” says Jonathan Wolfson, Solazyme’s CEO. “We don’t define ourselves as only a biofuels company.” To that end, late last month Solazyme announced a deal to supply roughly 3 million gallons of algae-produced oil to the consumer products giant Unilever over the next 12 to 18 months, beginning at the start of next year. Unilever has said it will only use sustainable agricultural raw materials by 2020, and Solazyme’s algal oils fit perfectly into that strategy. “We follow the technology in Silicon Valley,” says Wolfson. “We didn’t know what the technology was capable of, and now we can tailor oils we never would have envisioned.” Next-generation biofuels still face an uphill battle—and one where uncertain government policy remains a decisive force. Biofuels that are cheap—and don’t compete with food—could still play a major role in helping the world reduce the carbon footprint of transportation. But as smart companies like Solazyme and Novozymes show, biofuels could just be the beginning for this technology. Read more: http://science.time…./#ixzz2ht6emRoS Continue reading
