Friday 14 November 2014

Aplikasi Kim Kardashian: Hollywood kutip AS$43 juta dalam tempoh 3 bulan

Heboh di media sosial ketika ini adalah tentang kemunculan eksklusif selebriti realiti tv, Kim Kardashian di laman web PaperMag dot com.

Kami tidak mahu bercerita panjang lebar tentang foto-foto Kim itu tetapi lebih tertarik dengan aplikasi permainan video Kim Kardashian: Hollywood yang telah berjaya mengutip sejumlah USD43 juta hanya dalam tempoh 3 bulan ia dilancarkan pada Jun.


Kutipan itu menjadi rekod tertinggi bagi syarikat pembangunnya, Glu Mobile. Malah jika semua kutipan bagi aplikasi-aplikasi milik Glu Mobile digabungkan, ia belum dapat menyaingi kutipan yang telah dibuat melalui Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. Glu Mobile mensasarkan untuk mengutip sebanyak USD200 juta sehingga hujung tahun ini.




Kim Kardashian: Hollywood adalah satu permainan fantasi bagi pemain yang ingin menerokai kehidupan seorang selebriti. Untuk mencapai tahap selebriti setaraf Kim Kardashian dengan lebih cepat, pemain perlu membuat pembelian ‘in- app purchase’ seperti rumah banglo virtual di Malibu dengan harga USD10.

Dalam satu temubual bersama Matt Lauer dalam rancangan Today Show pada bulan Ogos, Kim menekankan tentang fungsi kawalan ‘parental controls’ untuk mengawal pengguna di bawah umur daripada melakukan pembelian ‘in- app purchase’ tanpa kebenaran ibu bapa mereka. Kim yakin aplikasi permainan videonya adalah sangat menarik dan mampu mengundang ketagihan seperti Candy Crush. Oleh itu, adalah menjadi tanggungjawab ibu bapa bagi mengawal anak-anak mereka dan memastikan tidak ada kad kredit disambungkan pada aplikasi berkenaan.

- Sumber: Astro Awani 

Jualan Proton Iriz cecah 22,000 unit

Norzahid (dua, kiri) menyerahkan sebuah Proton Iriz kepada salah seorang pelanggan yang telah membuat tempahan kereta tersebut.

PROTON Edar Sdn Bhd (Proton Edar) menyasarkan jualan sebanyak 27,000 unit Proton Iriz bagi tempoh empat bulan hingga penghujung tahun ini sejak kereta berkenaan dilancarkan September lalu.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Norzahid Mohd Zahudi berkata, sehingga Jumaat lalu jualan kereta berkenaan sudah mencecah kira-kira 22,000 unit manakala model 1.6 CVT dan 1.3 CVT merupakan antara paling mendapat sambutan.

“Kita tidak jangka permintaan amat menggalakkan kerana Iriz baru dilancarkan. Ini menunjukkan persepsi pelanggan mula berubah dan percaya terhadap kejituan produk Proton serta berbaloi dengan nilai wang dibelanjakan,” katanya di Majlis Memperingati Pembukaan Outlet Proton Edar Kulis Auto Sdn Bhd di Pasir Gudang, semalam.

Selain itu katanya, Proton Edar menjangkakan pertambahan jualan sehingga 30 peratus bagi pasaran Johor berbanding 14 peratus tahun lalu dengan menyasarkan segmen pelanggan mengikut jenis produk dikeluarkan.

“Walaupun Proton tidak mempunyai kenderaan pacuan empat roda seperti ditawarkan jenama luar negara tetapi kita ada pelbagai produk dan akan luaskan pasaran mengikut segmen pelanggan” katanya.

Dalam pada itu, Norzahid berkata, Proton Edar turut merancang mentransformasikan outlet dan cawangan mereka di seluruh negara sebagai langkah mengoptimumkan perkhidmatan yang disediakan.

“Langkah ini bertujuan meningkatkan lagi keyakinan dan kesetiaan pelanggan terhadap Proton dengan menawarkan perkhidmatan terbaik kepada mereka termasuk menaiktarafkan bengkel servis di seluruh outlet,” katanya.

- Sumber: Sinar Harian 

Operasi cari nelayan hilang dihentikan

KUALA BESUT - Operasi besar-besaran mencari dan menyelamat seorang nelayan yang dilaporkan hilang ketika memancing di perairan, di sini, Khamis lalu, ditamatkan jam 1.30 petang semalam.

Ketua Polis Daerah Besut, Superintendan Khaled Che Lah berkata, operasi dihentikan selepas pasukan mencari dan menyelamat gagal menemui sebarang kesan berkaitan mangsa, Ali Majid, 59.

Menurutnya, serentak dengan itu Pusat Operasi Mencari dan Menyelamat (SAR) di Pulau Perhentian Kecil ditutup termasuk Pusat Operasi Kecil SAR di Terminal Pelancong Kuala Besut.

“Cuaca hujan pagi semalam turut menyukarkan usaha mencari mangsa ditambah keadaan laut agak bergelora dan pandangan terhad.

“Namun selepas ini pencarian akan dijalankan melalui rondaan biasa dengan pusat operasi melalui Pusat Kawalan Daerah (DCC) Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Besut,” katanya.

Khaled yang juga ketua operasi mencari mangsa turut mengucapkan terima kasih kepada semua pihak yang terlibat dalam operasi tersebut termasuk Adun Kuala Besut, Tengku
Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman.

Pasukan SAR sebelum ini membabitkan pelbagai agensi antaranya Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (APMM), polis, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia, JPAM Besut, Rela, Pejabat Khidmat Masyarakat Dun Kuala Besut, Persatuan Nelayan Kawasan Besut dan orang awam.

Sementara itu, Tengku Zaihan mengucapkan terima kasih kepada semua pihak yang bertungkus lumus mencari mangsa.

Menurutnya, komitmen semua pihak amat dihargai manakala keluarga mangsa diharapkan kuat semangat dan tabah menghadapi dugaan.

“Kami semua bersedih kerana usaha mencari mangsa tidak berjaya tetapi semua pihak telah melakukan yang terbaik termasuk polis menyediakan kemudahan helikopter untuk tugas mencari,” katanya yang ditemui di Terminal Pelancong, di sini, semalam.

Beliau meluangkan masa melihat operasi terakhir pagi semalam sebelum ia ditutup.

- Sumber: Sinar Harian

Erra Fazira akui kini sedang bercinta

Erra Fazira akui sedang mengenali hati budi seorang jejaka, namun menafikan dakwaan kekasihnya itu daripada golongan VIP.

Pelakon Erra Fazira akui dia kini sedang mengenali hati budi seorang jejaka, namun pelakon jelita tersebut menafikan dakwaan kekasihnya itu adalah daripada golongan VIP seperti yang pernah digembar-gemburkan.

“Ya, saya akui saya kini sedang berkawan dengan seseorang, siapa dia itu saya belum bersedia untuk dedahkan tetapi yang pastinya bukan golongan VIP dan seorang bujang.

“Sepanjang sejarah saya berkawan, saya tidak pernah menyasarkan golongan VIP, ahli politik atau sesiapa sahaja yang ada status untuk menjadi pasangan saya. Saya lebih tertarik kepada hati budi seseorang itu.

“Saya jenis orang yang tak suka keluar rumah dan tak campur dengan orang. Jika pergi ke majlis yang ada golongan tersebut pun, ia hanya atas dasar kerja saja. Kawan rapat tahu saya macam mana.

“Jadi, bila masa pula saya nak bertemu serta rapat dengan golongan VIP. Itu semua tak benar dan saya tak ada kena-mengena dengan mana-mana golongan VIP,” katanya.

Jelas pengacara program bual bicara, Primadona itu mendedahkan statusnya kini kerana berharap segala spekulasi mengenai dengan siapa dia berkawan dapat dihentikan.

“Saya terpaksa mendedahkan cerita sebenar yang saya kini sedang berkawan dengan seseorang adalah sebab saya nak hentikan semua gosip yang tidak benar ini. Gosip tersebut memberi impak kepada saya. Apabila ada elemen yang tidak sihat, jadi ia menganggu saya lebih-lebih lagi saya adalah ibu tunggal.

“Disebabkan saya diam, orang buat cerita tak betul seolah-olah saya kemaruk nak bercinta pula. Sebab itu saya mengaku saya sedang mengenali seseorang sekarang,”ujarnya lagi. 

- Sumber: Astro Gempak

Habuan seks: Pegawai kanan kerajaan direman

ALOR SETAR - Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) hari ini memperoleh perintah Mahkamah Majistret Alor Setar hari ini untuk menahan reman seorang pegawai kanan sebuah agensi kerajaan bagi membantu siasatan berhubung dakwaan meminta habuan berupa layanan seks.

Lelaki berusia lingkungan 50-an itu ditahan oleh pegawai SPRM di sebuah hotel di Jalan Putra di sini, pada kira-kira 2 petang semalam.

Perintah itu dikeluarkan Majistret Umzarul An-Nur Umar bagi membolehkan siasatan dijalankan mengikut Seksyen 17 Akta SPRM 2009.

Dia dipercayai meminta layanan seks daripada ibu-ibu tunggal sebagai habuan untuk membantu meluluskan permohonan rumah di bawah Projek Perumahan Rakyat Termiskin (PPRT) di Kedah.

Tangkapan berkenaan dibuat selepas SPRM menjalankan intipan sejak beberapa bulan lalu dan difahamkan antara yang menjadi mangsa ialah ibu tunggal berusia 20-an. 

- Sumber: Bernama

Kelibat David Beckham bikin gempar di pusat beli belah terkemuka Kuala Lumpur


Kelibat David Beckham bikin gempar di pusat beli belah terkemuka Kuala Lumpur. Foto Instagram nelsononggg

Pemain bola sepak terkenal dunia, David Beckham berada di pusat membeli belah terkenal Pavilion Kuala Lumpur hari ini.

Astro AWANI difahamkan suami kepada Victoria Beckham itu berada di sini untuk menghadiri pelancaran Haig Club Whisky di gedung jam mewah terkenal dunia, Breitling bersama pereka kasut terkenal dunia kelahiran Malaysia, Datuk Jimmy Choo.

Terdahulu, jenama tersebut memuat naik sebuah video pendek yang memaparkan Beckham bersama Jimmy menyiapkan bungkusan jenama terkenal dunia itu untuk dihantar ke Malaysia.

Pengunjung di sekitar pusat membeli-belah Pavilion ternyata teruja dan menggunakan akaun media sosial masing-masing meluahkan perasaan gembira mereka.


Adakah ini benar? Adakah David Beckham akan berada di Pavilion jap lagi? Kalau lambat sangat sorry la David. Gtg. pic.twitter.com/LvE55zix8O— Adam Swift. (@Adamxfyjop1) November 13, 2014

- David Beckham @ Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur http://t.co/M0TAClTvUm— Nelson Ong (@nelsonongg) November 13, 2014

Sekali beckham datang pavilion lahh pic.twitter.com/C8tjftQeBc— Jang Marcelino (@AmirunMuizzudin) November 13, 2014

David Beckham will be at The Breitling, Pavilion KL for a private event, and the event starts at 7 p.m. Shop lot no. 2.03.00, Level 2.— The Comedian (@SyazanaMI) November 13, 2014


- Sumber: Astro Awani 

Bekas pengurus saman Zizan Razak setengah juta Ringgit

Isu pelanggaran kontrak antara pelakon popular Zizan Razak dengan bekas pengurus peribadinya, Marina Juki kini melibatkan saman. - Foto fail

KUALA LUMPUR: Isu pelanggaran kontrak yang heboh diperkatakan berlaku antara pelakon popular Zizan Razak dengan bekas pengurus peribadinya, Marina Juki kini semakin berlarutan.

Marina yang juga rakan kongsi Zizan telah memfailkan saman terhadap selebriti tersebut dengan nilai setengah juta ringgit di Mahkamah Sesyen Kuala Lumpur setelah pelakon itu didakwa melanggar persetujuan yang ditandatangani bersama syarikat Wire Fame Entertainment Sdn Bhd (Wire Fame).

Saman terhadap pelakon dengan nama sebenar Mohd Razizan Ab Razak itu difailkan Marina pada 6 November lalu.

Tindakan saman itu dianggap kemuncak kemelut antara mereka berikutan pelanggaran kontrak Zizan selama 4 tahun yang sepatutnya berakhir pada 2 Mei 2015.

Zizan diberitakan telah mengikat kontrak bersama syarikat pengurusan lain pada Mei tahun ini sedangkan kontraknya bersama Wire Fame masih berbaki.

Marina selaku plantif menuntut ganti rugi khas lebih RM500,000, ganti rugi am sebanyak 15 peratus daripada semua pendapatan yang diperoleh defendan (Zizan) daripada syarikat pengurusan baharu.

Pada 23 Julai lalu, satu pertemuan antara pihak Wire Fame, Marina dan Zizan telah dijalankan bagi mencari penyelesaian terhadap hal pelanggaran kontrak tersebut.

Pihak Wire Fame dan Marina telah menuntut, antara lain, ganti rugi bagi pelanggaran tersebut dan lain-lain kos yang dianggap munasabah oleh pihak mahkamah.

Marina turut memohon injunksi bagi menghalang defendan daripada meneruskan kontrak dengan syarikat pengurusan lain. 

- Sumber: Astro Awani

The legacy of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost



Rolls-Royce kicked off their Inside Rolls-Royce exhibition in London but let’s take a look at the most iconic Rolls in their line-up. By Jerrica Leong

Unless you are heading to London you will be missing out on the Inside Rolls Royce exhibition like most of us. But this Content Producer was lucky, during my visit to Munich I happened upon the exhibition. For a price of course, not free like Inside Rolls-Royce exhibition.

While the world’s eyes are turned toward London for the exhibition, which is starting today, CAR decided that this is the perfect time to turn those missing out toward the pass by looking at one of the models that served the company well.

(image source: galleryhip.com)

When it comes to Rolls-Royce models of the 1900s, the first that comes to mind is the Silver Ghost series. But did you know that the Silver Ghost was actually the name of a specific car rather than the whole range of them? The entire series had been known as 40/50hp series but it was the press and public that attached the name Silver Ghost to this series.

The Silver Ghost was the luxury car of choice for a good 15 years. Even as the Silver Ghost entered the Roaring Twenties it was the choice for most of the really wealthy. Emphasis on “really wealthy”. The series served both side of the Atlantic so well that it established an enviable reputation for quality build, reliability and comfortable ride.

Rolls-Royce also had the record to prove to the world of their reliable reputation. In 1907, they entered the original Silver Ghost, an aluminium painted 40/50 with silver-plated fittings and open-top body into the Scottish reliability trials. The car set record after endurance record on the gruelling 24,000km test over British roads. How many cars can do that in 1907? Not many.

(image source: otoaddict.com)

Believe it or not, the 7428cc Straight Six can manage a top speed of 137kph. This is a car created before the Roaring Twenties and managing that speed? Impressive is the word don’t you agree? 

It was in 1925 that the company finally gave in to the public and renamed the series Silver Ghost. The design set the iconic look for Rolls-Royce that dated gracefully through the years. The Silver Ghost had stood out from the rest in the era of unreliability.

The Silver Ghost is one of Rolls-Royce’s most successful cars. A total of 7874 Silver Ghosts were sold in that era, and the model set a benchmark for the rest of the luxury cars to chase.

- Source: Astro Publication

'Who reported my Facebook page?' - Amran Fans admin

"Who reported my Facebook page?' - Amran Fans admin - Photo Source Facebook
KUALA LUMPUR: “How dare you report the Amran page, you really want Amran to turn evil again?”

This was the spoof comment posted by popular social media figure Amran Hans on his new Facebook account after the old one was taken down following reports of abuse from users.

Amran Fans, famous for his humour and satirical posts had 300,000 likes on his old page before it was taken down.

Many bloggers claimed that Amran’s page was used to ‘troll’ actress and presenter Hanis Zalikha, where he publicly declares his affection to Hanis, who also goes by the nickname Keknis.

In his new postings, Amran expressed his disappointment over the incident and invites his followers to like the new page, which had garnered over 70,000 likes since it was set up on Nov 10.

Amran Fans new Facebook page

Meanwhile, Amran’s Instagram account Amran_Fans77 is still active with 54,000 followers.

Amran Fans Instagram account - Photo from FB account
Amran was famous for coining the slang ‘Ale Uto’ which some parties claimed to be vulgar. The term became viral on social media.

He, however, claimed the term meant ‘I love you’ instead.

Astro AWANI had previously reportedpeople that use such terms are those who lack care and love. 

- Source: Astro Awani 

Autonomous Maintenance: How far can you go?

This is a good read for those involved in the Maintenance industry. Give it a go.

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Companies are still pursuing the dream of autonomous maintenance as taught by Tokutaro Suzuki in his book "TPM for Process Industry". The theory is that basic tasks such as cleaning, inspecting, tightening, and lubricating can and should be done by the equipment operators because they are the equipment owners and closest to the equipment on a daily basis. 

In the Reliability Excellence® model we teach many aspects of this concept and our clients have implemented and benefited from this "operator care" concept. This has also helped clients deal with the shortage of maintenance trades by shifting those tasks that don't require years of training and special tools to the appropriate persons and allowing the maintenance professionals to focus on the work that best utilizes their skills. But can the concept be taken too far? The logic goes that if operators can do basic maintenance tasks why can't they do more? 

Here's a cautionary tale of what happened to one manufacturing organization when they built a new facility. They hired a mix of people with mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and operations backgrounds and trained them all on maintenance practices. In the beginning they also had a central maintenance group that was responsible for rebuilds and specialized maintenance. This worked relatively well for a period of time. The operations shifts were purposely staffed with a mix of people with various backgrounds. People tended to specialize in their original trade but there was good collaboration and people were able to work in other trades.

But then the product demand decreased. As companies are prone to do, they asked "How can we trim our work force to accommodate the new business environment?" So what was their answer? They said, "Hey, we have multi-craft trained operators that can do all maintenance, why do we need that central maintenance group?" The conclusion was that they didn't, and they let them go. Problem solved, and they celebrated solving the problem. And so they limped along for the next two years. Maintenance wasn't being done quite as well or as fast but they had lots of time and capacity to meet the demand. 

Can you guess what happened next? That's right – over time the market demand for the product increased. At the same time the market price decreased. Now the plant was getting busier making more products that they were making less money on. Of course, management's directive was to meet the demand and cut the manufacturing cost. And for a while they did. They still had a little extra time to make the volume and they deferred and canceled some maintenance tasks. It was all fine until one day when it wasn't!

Now the plant needed to run at capacity to meet the demand. The years of neglect and poor maintenance were taking their toll on the equipment's ability to operate as it had when new. The maintenance skills that were taught, but seldom used, were now forgotten. And the increasing pressure to perform was driving everyone to their comfort zone. Those with operations backgrounds just wanted to operate. Instrument techs no longer wanted to help replace mechanical seals or gearboxes. But since there was no core maintenance function they had to look for external contract support.

So how did they unwind this situation? The first step was to perform a skills analysis to determine what capabilities still existed. Those people were then reassembled into Mechanical and Instrumentation teams. The planning process was restarted to make sure the most important maintenance work was being addressed. This was supported by the Reliability Engineering function as the engineers began to perform root cause analysis on critical failures and design out chronic failures. The elimination of some of the reactive work, and an increase in wrench time gained from proper planning and scheduling, allowed more PM and PdM work to be done. A decision was made to continue to contract some types of maintenance such as welding, facilities electrical work, buildings and grounds maintenance but the focus was returned to the care and maintenance of the critical process equipment. However, great care was taken to maintain the original intended operator care practices. 

Autonomous maintenance (operator Care or TPM) does have a valid role in the modern maintenance strategy. Its goal is to have clean equipment that is maintained in like-new condition by the operators of the equipment. This improves housekeeping, improves the safety and environmental performance, and allows early detection of failure. It also frees up valuable maintenance craft time to focus on precision maintenance and failure elimination. 

So look at your maintenance practices. Do you have the right people doing the right tasks? Are you building the operators' knowledge and ownership of the equipment? Are you reviewing operations logs and feedback from periodic TPM reviews to detect degradation? Do you ensure performance management goals for operators are well balanced between operations and maintenance objectives and correlate that with asset availability for each area of the facility? And are you leveraging the skills and experience of your maintenance trades? 

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By Rick Wheeler, Life Cycle Engineering
As appeared in the November 2013 Edition of RxToday

Rick Wheeler is a Principal Consultant with Life Cycle Engineering (LCE). He has a broad range of experience in the pharmaceutical, chemical and nuclear industries. Rick trains clients on best practices and coaches corporate and site leadership teams on organizational change management. He has led many process improvement initiatives resulting in substantial cost savings. You can reach Rick atrwheeler@LCE.com. 

© 2013 Life Cycle Engineering, Inc.

Isu mak nyah: PGSM tubuh kumpulan peguam Islam

PGSM menubuhkan kumpulan 'Lawyers For Islam' untuk bantu pihak berkaitan memfailkan rayuan di Mahkamah Persekutuan.

SHAH ALAM: Persatuan Peguam Syarie Malaysia (PGSM) semalam menubuhkan kumpulan 'Lawyers For Islam' untuk membantu pihak berkaitan memfailkan rayuan di Mahkamah Persekutuan berhubung kes golongan lelaki berpakaian wanita di tempat awam.

Setiausahanya Moeis Basri berkata kumpulan itu menghormati keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan yang membenarkan golongan lelaki berpakaian wanita di tempat awam, namun berpendapat kes itu perlu didengar semula oleh Mahkamah Persekutuan kerana perbuatan tersebut melanggar syariat Islam.

"Walaupun menghormati keputusan mahkamah, PGSM berpendapat perlunya keputusan itu dirayu dan dibicarakan di Mahkamah Persekutuan untuk isu tersebut diberi pertimbangan semula dari segi aspek undang-undang yang sah dan terpakai di Malaysia.

"Melalui kumpulan ini, kita akan bertemu dan membantu kerajaan, Majlis Agama Islam Negeri dan institusi berkaitan Islam yang terlibat untuk membentangkan aspek perundangan yang berkaitan dalam prosiding mahkamah tersebut," katanya pada sidang media di sini.

Beliau berkata kumpulan 'Lawyers For Islam' yang dianggotai peguam dari mahkamah sivil dan syariah itu juga akan bertindak sebagai 'Rapid Response Team' bagi memberi maklum balas terhadap isu-isu semasa berkaitan agama Islam.

Jumaat lepas, Mahkamah Rayuan mengisytiharkan sebagai tidak sah ketetapan Undang-Undang Syariah Negeri Sembilan bahawa golongan lelaki Islam berpakaian seperti wanita adalah perbuatan jenayah dan tidak sah di sisi Perlembagaan.

Panel tiga hakim mahkamah itu yang dipengerusikan Hakim Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus membuat ketetapan tersebut selepas membenarkan rayuan tiga lelaki yang bekerja sebagai mak andam untuk mengetepikan keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi Seremban yang menolak semakan kehakiman mereka bagi mencabar undang-undang syariah itu.

Berikutan itu, Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan berkata kerajaan negeri akan memfailkan rayuan di Mahkamah Persekutuan secepat mungkin berhubung keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan tersebut.

- Sumber: Bernama

Video of US father singing to dying baby goes viral


The boy was born at 24 weeks on November 8, but his mother Ashley died the same day. - Screengrab from YouTube video

LOS ANGELES: A heartbreaking video of a man singing a Beatles song to his dying newborn baby, after the mother passed away during labor, has gone viral online.

Chris Picco took a guitar into the neo-natal ward to sing "Blackbird" to his son Lennon, born prematurely by emergency Caesarian section last weekend.

The boy was born at 24 weeks on November 8, but his mother Ashley died the same day.

The infant survived three days in the neo-natal ward at Loma Linda University Hospital outside Los Angeles and died on November 11.

A video of the baby's father playing the song by his incubator had been watched over half a million times Thursday with tens of thousands more views every few minutes.



The heartbreaking video of baby Lennon singing 'Blackbird' to comfort dying baby son after wife died in childbirth goes viral - Source YouTube


"Our dear Ashley’s life was tragically, devastatingly cut short this past weekend. Her dear baby flickered briefly for a few days after," said a statement on a memorial website.

A family spokesman, Brett Walls, told AFP: "For the next few days, Chris is spending time with his family, his friends, and his community while he continues to grieve.

"He recognizes the chord this is striking with people and would be interested in seeing how we could partner to bring healing to others who are suffering," he said in an email.

- Source: AFP 

Denmark to go 100% renewable in 2050

Denmark, a tiny country on the northern fringe of Europe, is pursuing the world’s most ambitious policy against climate change. It aims to end the burning of fossil fuels in any form by 2050 — not just in electricity production, as some other countries hope to do, but in transportation as well.

Now a question is coming into focus: Can Denmark keep the lights on as it chases that lofty goal?

Lest anyone consider such a sweeping transition to be impossible in principle, the Danes beg to differ. They essentially invented the modern wind-power industry, and have pursued it more avidly than any country. They are above 40 percent renewable power on their electric grid, aiming toward 50 percent by 2020. The political consensus here to keep pushing is all but unanimous.

Their policy is similar to that of neighboring Germany, which has spent tens of billions pursuing wind and solar power, and is likely to hit 30 percent renewable power on the electric grid this year. But Denmark, at the bleeding edge of global climate policy, is in certain ways the more interesting case.

The 5.6 million Danes have pushed harder than the Germans, they have gotten further — and they are reaching the point where the problems with the energy transition can no longer be papered over.

The trouble, if it can be called that, is that renewable power sources like wind and solar cost nothing to run, once installed. That is potentially a huge benefit in the long run.

But as more of these types of power sources push their way onto the electric grid, they cause power prices to crash at what used to be the most profitable times of day.

That can render conventional power plants, operating on gas or coal or uranium, uneconomical to run. Yet those plants are needed to supply backup power for times when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining.

With their prime assets throwing off less cash, electricity suppliers in Germany and Denmark are on edge. They have applied to shut down a slew of newly unprofitable power plants, but nervous governments are resisting, afraid of being caught short on some cold winter’s night with little wind.

The governments have offered short-term subsidies, knowing that if they force companies to operate these plants at a loss, it will be a matter of time before the companies start going bankrupt.

Throughout Europe, governments have come to the realization that electricity markets are going to have to be redesigned for the new age, but they are not pursuing this task with urgency. A bad redesign could itself throw customers into the dark, after all, as happened in California a decade ago.

Denmark is geographically lucky. It has strong electrical linkages to neighboring Sweden, with plentiful nuclear power capacity, and Norway, with power available on demand from dams. But Swedish politicians have vowed to shut down the country’s nuclear plants and go renewable, and Norway’s cheap hydroelectric power is in rising demand, with a supply line under consideration to energy-hungry Britain. So the Danish electricity industry sees trouble coming.

“We are really worried about this situation,” Anders Stouge, the deputy director general of the Danish Energy Association, said in an interview. “If we don’t do something, we will in the future face higher and higher risks of blackouts.”

The government is somewhat dismissive of that notion but well aware that it needs to find a way out of this box. Environmental groups, for their part, have tended to sneer at the problems the utilities are having, contending that it is their own fault for not getting on the renewables bandwagon years ago.

But the political risks of the situation also ought to be obvious to the greens. The minute any European country — or an ambitious American state, like California — has a blackout attributable to the push for renewables, public support for the transition could weaken drastically.

So the trick now is to get the market redesign right. A modest version of reform would essentially attach a market value, and thus a price, to standby capacity. But Rasmus Helveg Petersen, the Danish climate minister, told me he was tempted by a more ambitious approach. That would involve real-time pricing of electricity for anyone using it — if the wind is blowing vigorously or the sun is shining brightly, prices would fall off a cliff, but in times of shortage they would rise just as sharply.

As Denmark, like other countries, installs more smart meters and smart appliances able to track those prices with no human intervention, one can imagine a system in which demand would adjust smoothly to the available supply. Most people would not care if their water heater were conspiring with other water heaters to decide when to switch on and off, as long as hot water reliably came out of the tap.

Yet, even if Denmark can figure out a proper design for the electric market, it has another big task to meet its 2050 goal: squeezing the fossil fuels out of transportation. Prematurely, perhaps, the country embraced a proposed system of electric cars in which depleted batteries would be switched for fresh ones in minutes, but only a few hundred cars were sold before that overly ambitious plan flopped.

Mr. Petersen told me he still felt electrification of cars was the way to go, but the cars themselves were not really ready.

“We need longer range and lower prices before this becomes a good option,” he said. “Technology needs to save us here.”

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A version of this article appears in print on November 11, 2014, on page D1 of the New York edition.