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Swiss geothermal drilling head acquitted after quakes
Geneva (AFP) Dec 21, 2009 A Swiss court on Monday cleared a geologist who was blamed for triggering earthquakes during underground soundings for a geothermal heating and power plant in the northern city of Basel. Swiss authorities had pressed charges including damage to property against the head of the firm Geothermal Explorer, Markus Haering, following a series of tremors measuring up to 3.4 on the Richter scale in 2006 and 2007. However, a regional criminal court acquitted the 57-year-old on Monday following a week-long trial, saying the defendant had not hidden the risks and had taken heed of scientific advice, the Swiss news agency ATS reported. Switzerland's seismological institute had blamed the tremors on soundings for the country's first geothermal power plant, the "Deep Heat Mining" project, which involved injecting pressurised water more than 5,000 metres (three miles) underground. The quakes shook parts of northern Switzerland and nearby eastern France, prompting a storm of protests from local officials on both sides of the border who called for the project to be stopped. Local authorities later dropped the pioneering plan to heat some 2,700 homes and provide electricity for 10,000 more in Basel. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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French 'green' gifting to save money and the planetParis (AFP) Dec 20, 2009 A used book or nearly-new kitchen gadget may not be at the top of every Christmas wish list, but hard economic times coupled with a new green awareness are changing attitudes about gift-giving in France. French holiday shoppers are opting in larger numbers for "green" gifting this Christmas, studies show. About 30 percent of French consumers will give second-hand items as gifts to ... read more |
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