Wednesday 28 April 2010

Wind of Change - Peter Frampton (1976)



The U.S.'s first offshore wind farm, 130 turbines to be situated on Nantucket Sound off Massachussetts, was approved today by Interior Secrataty Ken Salazar. The project has had a number of critics whose voices have grown louder with today's announcement.

To gain perspective on wind and other forms of renewable energy sources, you can take our recently published self-paced web-based coruse on Overview of the Renwables Industry.

To read more on today's news event on cnn.com, click here.

Image: CNN.com

Thursday 22 April 2010

Show Me What You Got - Jay-Z (2006)

This spring's edition of the Training Industry Quarterly has an article on "Marketing the Benefits of Training" which encourages training organizations to tout their successes by:
  • Effectively Branding their learning organization
  • Ensuring that training results are measured
  • Building a Communication Plan that focuses on both traditional and web/social media technologies to gain the desired exposure whether internal or external.

The article argues that doing so "results in enhanced credibility and image within the company and that external marketing efforts can lead to improved company image, shareholder impression, recruitment efforts, media exposure, public relations effort, etc."

I share this because The Oxford Princeton Programme offers a number of tools and materials which enhance branding and measurability of results. We are also glad to offer, at no additonal cost, ideas on how to build your communication plan.

Clients who do take advantage, appreciate these as value-added to their efforts in times like these when the training dollar is meant to stretch much further than before.

Care to have a conversation on this? We have case studies to share and are just an e-mail or phone call away.

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Eruption - Van Halen (1978)

As of right now, the NATS (National Air Traffic Services) advises that the "situation regarding the volcanic eruption in Iceland remains dynamic and the latest information from the Met Office shows that the situation will continue to be variable."

Not what the airlines, stranded passengers and businesses as a whole want to hear, that's for sure.

This event has required companies like ours to turn to contingency plans to ensure the most minimal of disruptions. For clients that already have scheduled on-sites/in-house training, be rest assured that we are doing everything to ensure they are installed lace on time. The same goes for our public courses unless otherwise noted.

You can always check our website (www.oxfordprinceton.com) for the latest developments. Do not hesitate to e-mail us with your queries at info@oxfordprinceton.com.

If you are ever in need of immediate training you can always look into our library of self-paced web-based courses on www.princetonlive.com.

Hoping the delays abate and air transport returns to normal soon.

Monday 12 April 2010

Grow - Bourbon Tabernacle Choir (1992)

According to today's Commodities Now's e-newsletter, global ethanol production is to reach a record 85.9 bn litres this year and a growth of 16.2% vs. last year. This was confirmed by the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance and which in its recently released report forecasts continued growth. This will displace 370 million equivalent barrels of oil worldwide.

The US remains the leader in ethanol production with more than 45 billion litres projected for 2010. Brazil, the world’s No. 2 producer, just removed a tariff on ethanol imports n an effort to get others to eliminate their own duties and enable it to export more. Several developing countries such as Malawi and Nigeria are also turning to ethanol to improve their economic prospects.


We are bringing our highly-acclaimed workshop on The Emerging Ethanol Energy Markets - A Comprehensive Overview coming to The Magnolia Hotel in Houston on Thursday, May 13th 2010. Join us and get a head start on this sector's growth.

To read the complete article, click here.

Friday 9 April 2010

New Direction – Sugar Ray (1999)

I picked up the article below, highlighting Ontario’s commitment to renewable energy, on RenewableEnergyWorld.com. It really exemplifies how nations and companies around the world are moving from renewable energy being a long-term ideal to an immediate solution. If renewable energy is of interest I encourage you to see the new web-based training course below covering the industry.
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Ontario's government announced that contract offers have been awarded for more than 180 renewable energy projects. Approved under the province's Feed-in Tariff (FIT), the projects are part of the largest green energy investment of its kind in Canadian history.

The 184 projects announced will generate enough energy to power 600,000 homes, the Ontario Power Authority reported. The projects represent almost 2,500 megawatts of renewable energy.

Seventy-six of the approved projects are ground-mounted solar photovoltaic, 47 are on-shore wind and 46 are hydropower projects, the OPA reported. There are also seven biogas, two biomass, four landfill gas, one roof top solar and one off-shore wind projects.

The renewable energy projects are in addition to the 510 renewable energy contract offers totaling 112 megawatts (MW) approved recently. The FIT Program was enabled by the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009. The Ontario Power Authority is responsible for implementing the program.

“These projects are the latest accomplishments of the Green Energy Act, which is making Ontario a place of destination for green energy development, manufacturing and expertise," said Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Brad Duguid.

The total 694 Feed-in Tariff (FIT) contract offers announced to date will create 20,000 direct and indirect green jobs and attract about $9 billion in private sector investment, as well as investment in new Ontario-based manufacturing, the OPA reported.

“In six short months the Feed-in Tariff program has delivered strong results and has more than exceeded our expectations,” said Ontario Power Authority CEO Colin Andersen.
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Overview of the Renewables Industry
Two hour self-paced web-based training course.

This course provides an introduction to renewable energy resources that are emerging as major parts of the solution to global warming as well as a way to gain energy independence from the inherent power struggles over the fossil fuels of oil, coal, and natural gas. We will cover each renewable energy resource in a separate lesson. At the end, we will review the major reasons renewables are not readily adopted in the marketplace, and some of the ways government and utility operators are using to increase the pace of adoption.

For a complete course outline or to register please visit https://www.princetonlive.com/default.aspx?acronym=ori

Thursday 1 April 2010

Think Again – Blackhawk (1998)

Reported by CNN, the USS Nicholas came under attack from pirates around midnight on Thursday April 1st in the Indian Ocean. The fire fight took place in international waters west of the Seychelles and ended with the sinking of the pirate boat. Also, the U.S. Navy has confirmed they captured five pirate suspects as well as their mother ship.

This story comes on the heels of a similar incident off the coast of Somalia where one pirate was killed and another six were arrested after a confrontation with a merchant ship. Therefore in the last few weeks dangerous piracy attempts were faced and circumvented by both a private merchant and the U.S. Navy. These two instances demonstrate the low tolerance and swift actions ships have been forced to take when dealing with potential pirate vessels.

Are these just small victories in a seemingly out of control war or are they signs real change is taking place?

Join a hostage survivor, kidnap negotiators, a captain who repelled a hijack attempt and leading experts on the forefront of today’s energy terrorism threats.

Energy Terrorism Conference: Countering Threats to Physical Assets and Human Capital
29-30 June 2010 – CBI Center in London, UK
http://energyterrorism.com/