Yemen minister says weapons came from Iran

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's interior minister said Saturday that his country was disappointed to find that a large and diverse cache of weapons seized on a ship last month had been exported fromIran, a finding Washington said underscores Tehran's ongoing evasion of U.N. resolutions.

Speaking in a press conference in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, Interior Minister Abdel-Qader Kahtan said a Yemeni investigation found that the weapons were destined for armed insurgents. He did not elaborate, saying only that an investigation is ongoing.

He said he had hoped Iran would not "export weapons to Yemen". It was the first acknowledgement by a Yemeni official on the record to hold Iran responsible for the shipment.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the initial findings of the Yemeni investigation show that "Iran continues to defy the international community through its proliferation activities and support for destabilizing action in the region."

The State Department said Yemeni government officials noted that their investigation thus far shows that the weapons were loaded onto the vessel in Iran.

Kahtan's statement came days after Yemen asked the U.N. Security Council to investigate the cargo of Iranian-made missiles, rockets and other weapons. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadihas warned Iran to "stop meddling" in the affairs of his country, which has for years been fighting Shiite Muslim insurgents near the country's border with Saudi Arabia.

Yemen's Defense Ministry first announced in a statement Wednesday that the country's authorities seized the Iranian ship last month, carrying material for bombs and suicide belts, explosives, Katyusha rockets, surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and large amounts of ammunition. Iran is governed by Shiite clerics.

The U.N.'s envoy to Yemen has not confirmed allegations that the shipment was loaded in Iran, saying that is up to a U.N. investigation to determine.

Sun Unleashes Solar Eruption at Earth During Long Flare

Three views over time of the coronal mass ejection (CME) released by the sun on Feb. 9, 2013 as seen by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

A long-lasting solar flare erupted from the sun early Saturday (Feb. 9), triggering an intense sun eruption aimed squarely at Earth. The solar storm, however, should not endanger satellites or astronauts in space, but could amplify auroras on Earth, NASA says. The solar eruption —called a coronal mass ejection —occurred at 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT) on Saturday during a minor, but long-duration, flare. It hurled a wave of charged particles at Earth at speeds of about 1.8 million miles per hour (nearly 2.9 million km/h).

The sun eruption was captured in photos by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and the European Space Agency.

Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are eruptions of charged solar material that fling solar particles out into space. When aimed at Earth, they can reach the planet between one and three days later, and cause geomagnetic storms when they interact with the planet's magnetic field. They can also amplify the northern and southern lights displays over the Earth's poles.

"In the past, CMEs at this strength have had little effect," NASA officials said in a statement. "Theymay cause auroras near the poles but are unlikely to disrupt electrical systems on Earth or interfere with GPS or satellite-based communications systems."

Saturday's solar flare and sun eruption apparently also caught the attention astronauts living on the International Space Station, even though the solar weather event will have little impact on their daily routine.

"We live right next to a star," wrote Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who currently lives on the International Space Station, in a Twitter post. "Today it ejected a huge blob at 500 mi/sec. But not to worry - should be good aurorae."

The sun is currently in an active period of its 11-year solar weather cycle, and is expected to reach its peak this year. The sun's current weather cycle is known as Solar Cycle 24.

The SOHO spacecraft and several other sun-watching observatories, such as NASA's twin Stereo spacecraft and the Solar Dynamics Observatory, constantly monitor the star for changes in solar weather.

Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo northern lights photo or any other night sky object, that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, send photos, comments and your name and location to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Seagal, sheriff train Arizonans to guard schools

By BRIAN SKOLOFF | Associated Press – 19 hrs ago

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced the controversial plan in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting that left 27 people dead, including the gunman and 20 first-graders.

The exercise took place Saturday at a closed school site in suburban Fountain Hills, outside Phoenix, where sheriff's SWAT members acted as shooters and teenagers played the part of students during mock scenarios involving up to three gunmen.

Seagal, best known for his roles in movies such as "Above the Law" and "Under Siege," planned to lead training on hand-to-hand defense tactics, among other techniques, drawing from his expertise in martial arts, according to a sheriff's office news release.

Arpaio's office didn't respond to requests for comment Friday and Saturday, and Seagal representatives also did not return telephone messages from The Associated Press.

When faced with criticism in January about the school posse plan, Arpaio snapped back, "Why would people complain about my posse being in front of schools to act as prevention?"

He boldly announced the plan on the grounds of an elementary school, saying at the time he wanted the patrols publicized.

"I want everyone to know about it for the deterrence effect," Arpaio said, adding that no taxpayer money would be spent on the patrols and volunteers will be supervised over the radio or telephone by actual deputies.

Arizona Democratic House Minority Leader Chad Campbell called the plan to use Seagal as an instructor "ludicrous."

"Steve Seagal is an actor. That's it. Why don't we also have Clint Eastwood and Chuck Norris and Bruce Willis come out and train them too while we're at it," Campbell said.

Campbell has been a vocal critic of Arpaio's school posse protection plan, complaining that using untrained, armed civilians to protect students is a bad idea and likely will only make the facilities more dangerous.

"He's making a mockery out of it. You're having a movie actor train people how to protect schools?" Campbell said.

Randy Parraz, president of Citizens for a Better Arizona, also a longtime Arpaio critic, said it's unfortunate the sheriff, known nationally for his tough stance on illegal immigration, is using the "wake of a tragedy like Newtown" to grab headlines.

"We'd like to think he would take something like this much more seriously," said Parraz, who added that his group planned to be at Saturday's event with petitions to recall Arpaio.

The patrols were launched at 59 schools in January throughout unincorporated areas and communities that pay Arpaio's agency for police services. The sheriff announced this week he needs more members to continue the patrols, calling for 1,000 additional citizens to step up and volunteer.

Current posse members already are used to bolster the sheriff's office force by providing police protection at malls during the holidays, directing traffic and transporting people to jail.

Arpaio even sent one group of posse members to Hawaii to conduct an examination into the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Joselyn Wells, a mother of three children at a school in suburban Phoenix, where Arpaio's posse has begun patrolling, said she was excited to hear about the initiative.

"A lot of people sit around and watch these things happen, watch key signs and no one wants to do anything about it," she said when Arpaio announced the plan. "Nobody wants conflict, nobody wants to be out in the limelight. And he doesn't care. He wants to do the right thing."

Andrew Sanchez, however, a town council member in Guadalupe, said he wants nothing to do with posse members patrolling schools in his community, which spends about $1.2 million annually for Maricopa County sheriff's patrols.

"We are paying him to have certified deputies here, not to bring a circus and not to use our town as a political platform," Sanchez has said.

The volunteers, dressed in uniforms and driving patrol vehicles, some authorized to carry guns after training, won't go onto school grounds unless they spot danger, but will instead patrol around the facilities, Arpaio said.

Seagal is already a volunteer posse member in Maricopa County and has been deputized with sheriff's offices in New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana, where a film crew followed the actor on ride-alongs with Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies for the reality TV show "Steven Seagal: Lawman."

Arpaio says other notable people also have joined his more than 3,000-strong volunteer armed posse, including "The Incredible Hulk" star Lou Ferrigno and actor Peter Lupus of TV's "Mission: Impossible."

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Solar industry grapples with hazardous wastes

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Homeowners on the hunt for sparkling solar panels are lured by ads filled with images of pristine landscapes and bright sunshine, and words about the technology's benefits for the environment — and the wallet.

What customers may not know is that there's a dirtier side.

While solar is a far less polluting energy source than coal or natural gas, many panel makers are nevertheless grappling with a hazardous waste problem. Fueled partly by billions in government incentives, the industry is creating millions of solar panels each year and, in the process, millions of pounds of polluted sludge and contaminated water.

To dispose of the material, the companies must transport it by truck or rail far from their own plants to waste facilities hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of miles away.

The fossil fuels used to transport that waste, experts say, is not typically considered in calculating solar's carbon footprint, giving scientists and consumers who use the measurement to gauge a product's impact on global warming the impression that solar is cleaner than it is.

After installing a solar panel, "it would take one to three months of generating electricity to pay off the energy invested in driving those hazardous waste emissions out of state," said Dustin Mulvaney, a San Jose State University environmental studies professor who conducts carbon footprint analyses of solar, biofuel and natural gas production.

The waste from manufacturing has raised concerns within the industry, which fears that the problem, if left unchecked, could undermine solar's green image at a time when companies are facing stiff competition from each other and from low-cost panel manufacturers from China and elsewhere.

"We want to take the lessons learned from electronics and semiconductor industries (about pollution) and get ahead of some of these problems," said John Smirnow, vice president for trade and competitiveness at the nearly 500-member Solar Energy Industries Association.

The increase in solar hazardous waste is directly related to the industry's fast growth over the past five years — even with solar business moving to China rapidly, the U.S. was a net exporter of solar products by $2 billion in 2010, the last year of data available. The nation was even a net exporter to China.

New companies often send hazardous waste out of their plants because they have not yet invested in on-site treatment equipment, which allows them to recycle some waste.

Nowhere is the waste issue more evident than in California, where landmark regulations approved in the 1970s require industrial plants like solar panel makers to report the amount of hazardous materials they produce, and where they send it. California leads the consumer solar market in the U.S. — which doubled overall both in 2010 and 2011.

The Associated Press compiled a list of 41 solar makers in the state, which included the top companies based on market data, and startups. In response to an AP records request, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control provided data that showed 17 of them reported waste, while the remaining did not.

The same level of federal data does not exist.

The state records show the 17 companies, which had 44 manufacturing facilities in California, produced 46.5 million pounds of sludge and contaminated water from 2007 through the first half of 2011. Roughly 97 percent of it was taken to hazardous waste facilities throughout the state, but more than 1.4 million pounds were transported to nine other states: Arkansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Nevada, Washington, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.

Several solar energy experts said they have not calculated the industry's total waste and were surprised at what the records showed.

Solyndra, the now-defunct solar company that received $535 million in guaranteed federal loans, reported producing about 12.5 million pounds of hazardous waste, much of it carcinogenic cadmium-contaminated water, which was sent to waste facilities from 2007 through mid-2011.

Before the company went bankrupt, leading to increased scrutiny of the solar industry and political fallout for President Barack Obama's administration, Solyndra said it created 100 megawatts-worth of solar panels, enough to power 100,000 homes.

The records also show several other Silicon Valley solar facilities created millions of pounds of toxic waste without selling a single solar panel, while they were developing their technology or fine-tuning their production.

While much of the waste produced is considered toxic, there was no evidence it has harmed human health.

The vast majority of solar companies that generated hazardous waste in California have not been cited for waste-related pollution violations, although three had minor violations on file.

In many cases, a toxic sludge is created when metals and other toxins are removed from water used in the manufacturing process. If a company doesn't have its own treatment equipment, then it will send contaminated water to be stored at an approved dump.

According to scientists who conduct so-called "life cycle analysis" for solar, the transport of waste is not currently being factored into the carbon footprint score, which measures the amount of greenhouse gases produced when making a product.

Life cycle analysts add up all the global warming pollution that goes into making a certain product — from the mining needed for components to the exhaust from diesel trucks used to transport waste and materials. Not factoring the hazardous waste transport into solar's carbon footprint is an obvious oversight, analysts said.

"The greenhouse gas emissions associated with transporting this waste is not insignificant," Mulvaney said.

Mulvaney noted that shipping, for example, 6.2 million pounds of waste by heavy-duty tractor-trailer from Fremont, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay area, to a site 1,800 miles away could add 5 percent to a particular product's carbon footprint.

Such scores are important because they provide transparency to government and consumers into just how environmentally sustainable specific products are and lay out a choice between one company's technology and another's.

The roughly 20-year life of a solar panel still makes it some of the cleanest energy technology currently available. Producing solar is still significantly cleaner than fossil fuels. Energy derived from natural gas and coal-fired power plants, for example, creates more than 10 times more hazardous waste than the same energy created by a solar panel, according to Mulvaney.

The U.S. solar industry said it is reporting its waste, and sending it to approved storage facilities — thus keeping it out of the nation's air and water. A coal-fired power plant, in contrast, sends mercury, cadmium and other toxins directly into the air, which pollutes water and land around the facility.

"Having this stuff go to ... hazardous waste sites, that's what you want to have happen," said Adam Browning, executive director of the Vote Solar Initiative, a solar advocacy group.

Environmental advocates say the solar industry needs greater transparency, which is getting more complicated as manufacturing moves from the U.S. and Europe to less regulated places such as China and Malaysia.

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, a watchdog group created in 1982 in response to severe environmental problems associated with the valley's electronics industry, is now trying to keep the solar industry from making similar mistakes through a voluntary waste reporting "scorecard." So far, only 14 of 114 companies contacted have replied. Those 14 were larger firms that comprised 51-percent of the solar market share.

"We find the overall industry response rate to our request for environmental information to be pretty dismal for an industry that is considered 'green,'" the group's executive director, Sheila Davis, said in an email.

While there are no specific industry standards, Smirnow, head of the solar industry association, is spearheading a voluntary program of environmental responsibility. So far, only seven of the group's nearly 81 manufacturers have signed the pledge.

"We want (our program) to be more demanding, but this is a young industry and right now manufacturing companies are focused on survival," he said.

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