March 16, 2015

Laura Ling Launches New Web Series

Laura Ling is producing and hosting a new series called ‘Going Off-Grid.’

It highlights people who have decided to disconnect from the everyday world.

In 2010, Ling co-wrote a memoir, Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home, with her sister Lisa, based on her experiences in North Korea.

Fun facts about Laura Ling (Source: Wikipedia)

Ling’s career as a journalist began when she became a correspondent for KCET’s SoCal Connected and producer at Channel One News. She co-created Breaking it Down, a documentary series on MTV that aired between 1999 and 2001. Afterward, Ling joined Current TV, where she reported on issues about Cuba, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey, the West Bank, and the Amazon River, as well as about shantytowns in Sao Paulo, Brazil, gangs and homeless teens in Los Angeles, and underground churches in China. Prior to her detention, she had been reporting about the Mexican Drug War.

Ling hosted a one-hour news show on E!. The show premiered on Dec. 8, 2010.

Ling has received a national Edward R. Murrow Award, and was named one of Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year in 2009. In 2014, she won an Emmy Award.

In the last week of March 2009, North Korea announced that two American journalists were detained and would be indicted and tried for illegally entering the country. On May 3, 2009, it was officially announced that Ling and fellow journalist Euna Lee were the journalists that had been detained, after they attempted to film refugees along the border with China. In June 2009, they were sentenced to 12 years in a labor prison for illegal entry into North Korea, and unspecified hostile acts. Many in the media called it a show trial. The United States government made diplomatic efforts to oppose this sentence before their release in August 2009.

Lisa Ling stated that when they left the United States, her sister and Lee never intended to cross into North Korea. She has also revealed that her sister requires medical treatment for an ulcer from which she is currently suffering.

Ling was pardoned along with Euna Lee, and they have both returned to the United States following an unannounced visit to North Korea by former US President Bill Clinton on August 4, 2009. Some human rights activists in South Korea have accused Lee and Ling of needlessly placing North Korean refugees in danger by not being more careful with their tapes and notebooks in the event they were apprehended.
You can check out ‘Going Off-Grid’ with Laura Ling on seekernetwork.com.

Follow Laura Ling on Twitter: @lauraling

Check out Laura Ling on Instagram: @iamlauraling

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Community

Snowboarder plus tiny home equals cool!

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Each time I see a new tiny home, I think it’s the coolest one I’ve seen yet, and this is no exception, pro-snowboarder, Mike Basich, shows us his version of his tiny home, one he built himself in the middle of his 40 acre, snow covered mountain playground near Truckee CA.

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I love his touches, the rock work, the beautiful woodwork, the oven, his running water from one of the two creeks that run through the property. It’s very primitive, no real plumbing (aka bathroom), I did see a few solar panels mounted outside so he does have electricity.

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Basich is a very talented and creative person who clearly loves nature, he feels that he is closer to nature living this way.

Watch and enjoy!

 

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Energy

Microgrid trade fair, Barcelona

microgrid_map(PRWEB) – Microgrid technology developers and business leaders from around the world will gather in Barcelona, Spain, May 19-21, 2015, for the Microgrid World Congress (https://www.microgridworldcongress.com). Through a series of in-depth presentations and discussion sessions, expert speakers representing a range of microgrid deployment scenarios will closely examine the business models, latest technology advances, and success strategies for operating microgrids in remote, off-grid, island, and grid-tied environments.
Worldwide investment in microgrid enabling technologies is expected to total more than $155 billion from 2014 through 2023.
Additionally, the industry estimates that worldwide installations of microgrid capacity will grow from 866 Megawatts in 2014 to more than 4,100 Megawatts by 2020.
“This is a rapidly expanding market opportunity, especially since the commercial business model for microgrids in grid-connected environments is taking shape,” says Daniel Coran, editor of the Smart Grid Observer. “Speakers and attendees will be discussing the latest thinking about utility distribution microgrids, as well as maximizing the efficiency, performance, and ROI of renewables-centric, off-grid systems.”
Presenting organizations include ČEZ Distribuce, ERDF, Freqcon, SunEdison, Lux Research, Trama TecnoAmbiental, Gommyr Power Networks, HSB Engineering Insurance, CENER-CIEMAT, Gildemeister Energy Solutions, Aalborg University, ABB, the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), SMA Ibérica Tecnología Solar, QiDO Energy Development GmbH, Smart Hydro Power, RVE.SOL, Aquion Energy, CPG Advisors, Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI), Hatch Electro-Technologies, Boeing Research & Technology Europe, Tecnalia Research & Innovation, and others.
Co-organized by Trama TecnoAmbiental and SGO, the three-day Congress will address topics such as:
Sustainability and innovation trends for microgrids
Refining the microgrid business model for grid-tied and off-grid environments
System design, modeling, forecasting, and implementation
Energy storage innovation and advances for microgrid applications
Investor perspectives on renewable energy microgrids
Developing world case studies
Microgrid performance factors from an insurer’s perspective
Optimal power planning, control and management in microgrid systems
Integration and operation of flow batteries in micro- and macrogrids
Flywheel-based microgrids
Stabilizing small isolated grids: creating a compelling business case
Application of energy storage and wind to power remote mine microgrids
PV integration in large genset grids
Hydrokinetic turbines for microgrids in remote areas
And more
“This will be a unique opportunity for industry professionals to share deployment experiences and best practices,” Coran adds. “Our goal is to provide an industry-open Forum in which project managers and planners can benefit from each other’s expertise and advance the potential of microgrids worldwide.”
Organizational supporters of the event include the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), EUROBAT, EUREC, Grid4EU, Svensk Solenergi, Swissolar, CanaleEnergia, APESF, Lux Research, Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA), GTM Research, Microgrid Knowledge, Electric Energy T&D Magazine, Navigant Research, Utility Horizons International, FierceEnergy, the World Alliance for Distributed Energy (WADE), SmartGridNews.com, and others.

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