Copper end use trends

Legislation that would make it harder for criminals to sell the copper wire would be beneficial to us all," said Bill Martin III, President and CEO of Woodruff Electric.

We will lower our production costs and accept more orders so that the impact of the firming yen on profits will not be that serious

Shanghai's real estate agents are keeping prices high despite talk of a property slowdown that's stifling homebuyer enthusiasm.

The search is on for domestic reserves of key resources, such as iron ore and crude oil, to reduce dependence on imports, according to a government plan

I love stories about the unintended consequences of rising commodity prices. (Here's one, and here's another.) Now Susan Saulny writes in the Times about another strange trend driven by high commodity prices: the rampant theft of cars' catalytic converters, which contain trace amounts of platinum, palladium, and rhodium.

Next month an Australian-led coalition is expected to unveil a project to build experimental water-­purification reactors in drought-plagued ­northeastern Australia.

Interesting story in the Boston Globe about Westwood, Mass.-based Acumentrics, a maker of solid-oxide fuel cells. The article states the the company is working with Italian heating products firm Merloni TermoSanitari to develop a commercial household version of its fuel cell, which would hit the European market by 2010 and cost around $5,200.

Historically, wind technology has been seen on land and near offshore locations. Restrictions, such as prohibitively expensive offshore foundations to support wind turbines larger than 20 meters, may be viewed as stunting potential market growth. Now, new technology based on floating turbines may enable deeper offshore placement. The view mentioned with this news is that pushing turbines further out to sea will equalise the issue of aesthetics. However, the real issue here is can this technology deliver a useful and economic addition to the grid.

A further advance in energy technology is revealed - the great white hope it seems is salt. Only up to powering light bulbs so far, salt power for all is a distant prospect. The important point here is that, new concepts such as this, which are technological undercurrents, may one day rise to offer helpful energy solutions.