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As this regards the Dutch local elections and I don't have much time, I will probably not translate this article.

Nuna 5

After a second place in the World Solar Challenge, Nuna5 may go to the Dream Cup () in Japan, possible to show the WSC's winner (Tokai university) to show who really should have won in Australia

I really don't know anything about the Dream Cup, and it doesn't help that their website is in Japanese only. According to Nuon Solar Team's website (/) about 90 teams are competing, and that makes it a lot bigger than the WSC. A difference is that the WSC is held on public roads and that the Dream Cup is held on the circuit of Suzuka ().

I'll keep an eye on it and report what I know!

Exactly one month from now local elections will be held in the Netherlands. Although many aspects of sustainability can only be legislated at a national (or rather, global) level, many things can be done at a local level. I was very curious what all the parties in my home city had to say about things like sustainability and Peak Oil, so that's why I created the overview below.

Before we start, I would like to make one thing absolutely clear: this is in no way a voting advice. Firstly: I wouldn't dare tell anyone what to vote, everyone should make that choice for him- or herself. Secondly, I think the choice for which party to vote should be based on much more than just a single topic. The only thing I strongly recommend is to go and vote on March, 3rd. Read all the party programs below (each party in the list below has a link to the election program and its website) and if something is not clear, just ask at the party in question.

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Listed below are all local political parties that will participate in the local elections in March 2010, in random order. I copy/pasted all text that had to do with sustainability and traffic. I did my best but do not guarantee correctness and/or completeness.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Solar Team Twente () has updated its website with a list of vacancies () for the 2011 team. Although it isn't mentioned specifically I assume one has to be a student at one of the Saxion () universities to be eligible for a position. I would love to work for the team, for instance as a reporter, but I'm afraid I don't possess the necessary organisational skills, and besides, I don't study at the Saxion.

I do plan to cover the World Solar Challenge () in 2011 in as much detail as possible on this website.

Snow on the solar panels

When I looked up yesterday morning when I left home for work, I saw that our roof was still covered with snow while our neighbours' roofs were clear.

I think that's because the hatch I mounted in the stairwell to the attic, which prevents warm air from rising and being lost through the roof.

The disadvantage is that snow takes longer to melt and thus covers the solar panels for a longer period, but because the panels produce very little energy in this season that's really no problem. The amount of energy saved in natural gas will almost certainly be more than the amount of energy the solar panels would have generated without the snow.