Jobs Posting: 27th August
A number of postdoctoral post fundings are presently available at JRC Petten. From the JRC website:
Located in Petten (The Netherlands) and Ispra (Italy), the Institute for Energy (IE) is one of the seven institutes that constitute the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
The mission of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national.
More information here: http://ie.jrc.ec.europa.eu/jobs/grantholders.php
Article: UK Power Cuts in Five Years
The Economist highlights the fragility of the UK electricity supply, and the prediction that demand will outstrip supply by 2015 – this means power cuts. In particular, it is likely that 2/3 of the UK’s electricity will be supplied by gas, most of which will have to imported under increasingly volatile price conditions. Given that about half the UK’s houses are heated by gas, a severe cold snap in a few years’ time could precipitate a huge increase in prices, and a winter storm in 2015 could precipitate a political storm. Energy shortages may well decide the first general election after 2010.
Article here.