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“We have a choice. We can remain the world’s leading importer of oil, or we can become the world’s leading exporter of clean energy,” Obama said, according to a statement from the Department of Energy (DOE).

Obama made the announcement in front of solar panels on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada, at Nellis Air Force Base, home to the country’s largest solar photovoltaic system. The 72,000-panel, 14-megawatt array provides a quarter of the electricity used at the base, where some 12,000 people work and live.

The funding, from the $787bn American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, drew applause from the US Geothermal Energy Association and Solar Energy Industries Association.

“There are more geothermal power projects under development today than have been built in the history of the United States,” Karl Gawell, GEA executive director, says in a statement. ”This stimulus funding will help make sure those projects are successfully completed and will help develop the technology needed to bring tens of thousands of additional megawatts on line.”

Geothermal will receive $350m, “dwarfing previous government commitments,” according to DOE.

Of that, $140m will support demonstration projects focused in new geographic areas and geothermal production “from oil and natural gas fields, geopressured fields, and low to moderate temperature geothermal resources.” Another $80mn is marked for research and development of enhanced geothermal systems, which aim to enable power production in areas with no geothermal water resources. New techniques for exploring, siting and drilling for geothermal energy will get $100m. Finally, $30m will go to a nationwide assessment of geothermal resources.

An investigation by The Times into Sri Lanka’s civilian casualties, however — which was conducted in a week-long visit to Sri Lanka — has found evidence of a civilian death toll of 20,000, almost three times that cited previously. The majority perished under government guns.

Confidential UN documents, the testimony of witnesses who lived through the bombardment and expert analysis of photographs that were taken on a helicopter flight over the no-fire zone attest to the deaths of thousands of Tamils, killed while acting as unwilling human shields by the Tamil Tigers, who claimed to be their liberators.

The trial, scheduled to begin next week, will examine allegations that Shell sought the aid of the former Nigerian regime in silencing Mr Saro-Wiwa, a vociferous critic, in addition to paying soldiers who carried out human rights abuses in the Niger Delta where it operated.

The 12% rise in red ink in 2008 stems from an explosion of federal borrowing during the recession, plus an aging population driving up the costs of Medicare and Social Security.

That’s the biggest leap in the long-term burden on taxpayers since a Medicare prescription drug benefit was added in 2003.

The latest increase raises federal obligations to a record $546,668 per household in 2008, according to the USA TODAY analysis. That’s quadruple what the average U.S. household owes for all mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other debt combined.

“We have a huge implicit mortgage on every household in America — except, unlike a real mortgage, it’s not backed up by a house,” says David Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, the government’s top auditor.

USA TODAY used federal data to compute all government liabilities, from Treasury bonds to Medicare to military pensions.

Bottom line: The government took on $6.8 trillion in new obligations in 2008, pushing the total owed to a record $63.8 trillion.

The numbers measure what’s needed today — set aside in a lump sum, earning interest — to pay benefits that won’t be covered by future taxes.

Congress can reduce or increase the burden by changing laws that determine taxes and benefits for programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., says exploding debt has focused attention on the government’s financial challenges. “More and more, people are worried about our fiscal future,” he says.

Key federal obligations:

* Social Security. It will grow by 1 million to 2 million beneficiaries a year from 2008 through 2032, up from 500,000 a year in the 1990s, its actuaries say. Average benefit: $12,089 in 2008.

* Medicare. More than 1 million a year will enroll starting in 2011 when the first Baby Boomer turns 65. Average 2008 benefit: $11,018.

Corn and soybeans modified to resist insects and the herbicide glyphosate haven’t been proven to boost yields, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based group says in a 44-page report.

The modified plants have increased the number of glyphosate-resistant weeds that compete for soil nutrients and moisture, reducing production, the group says.

“The two major types of traits now present in transgenic crops – insect resistance and herbicide tolerance – are often classic contributors to operational yield,” said Doug Gurian- Sherman, a senior scientist in the group and the author of the report.

“Neither trait would be expected to enhance potential or intrinsic yield, and indeed, there is virtually no evidence that they have done so.”

Operational yield is obtained under normal field conditions and includes factors such as pests and other stressors, the report says. Intrinsic yield is the highest that can be achieved with crops grown under ideal conditions.

The Dazer Laser comes in two handheld models, the Defender and the Guardian, which can be mounted on a rifle or a shotgun, the company said. The Defender emits an eye-safe green beam with a diameter of 0.2 m to 2.5 m (about 1 to 8 ft) into what the company calls the Dazer Zone, the range of which can adjust from as close as 1 m to the target to up to 2400 m away, or nearly a mile-and-a-half.

The beam, when shined in the face of a perceived aggressor, temporarily blinds them, impairs his or her balance, and gives them motion sickness that lasts for several hours, making it difficult for them to move, according to company publications. It can control people even with their eyes closed.

The Guardian operates with a smaller diameter beam and a shorter range of up to 100 m, or about 328 ft. Potential pplications for the lasers include homeland security, prison security, and crowd control in riots, the company said. Both models can also operate in non-daze mode as searchlights.

Laser Energetics said its Dazer Laser Light Fighting Technologies, which it called “a new tool to fight our enemies and threats,” was well received during the parade, which included all branches of the military, police and firemen. A speech by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg closed the event.

“This was the most appropriate place to begin our role out of the ‘ultimate nonlethal weapon’,” said Laser Energetics founder and CEO Robert D. Battis. “This weapon is humanitarian and will save the lives of both the enforcer and the threat at longer ranges. No longer will the enforcer have to risk their lives to bring the threat in closer to them in order to engage them, which puts the enforcers life at risk.”

The Dazer Laser can be fired continuously, giving the user the ability to aim the beam at the threat and fire until they hit it, unlike other nonlethal weapons that have to be reloaded and only work at close range, Battis said. The weapons can be used during the day or at night, in light rain snow or fog.

The company said it has completed engineering on both units and is now fabricating parts. It anticipates having working units of the prototypes by the end of the summer, with designing and engineering of the production line to manufacture the units taking place now.

“We anticipate proposals of over $200 million before the end of the summer 2009,” wrote Battis Wednesday on the company’s Web site. “Our first round of presentations over the last month have gone better than we could have imagined.”

Oil has gained 28 percent in May as equities rose and the U.S. dollar weakened, spurring demand for commodities. Japan said today that its industrial output climbed the most in at least six years in April, improving the outlook for a rebound in fuel demand.

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Crude oil for July delivery rose as much as 36 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $65.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $65.40 at 2:46 p.m. in Singapore. Yesterday, the contract gained $1.63, or 2.6 percent, to settle at $65.08 a barrel, the highest since Nov. 5.

Now, the 54-year-old businessman and father of five has a backup generator, a water filter, a grain mill and a 4-foot-tall pile of emergency food tucked in his home in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.

Wiseman isn’t alone. Emergency supply retailers and military surplus stores nationwide have seen business boom in the past few months as more Americans spooked by the economy rush to stock up on gear that was once the domain of hard-core survivalists.

These people snapping up everything from water purification tablets to thermal blankets shatter the survivalist stereotype: They are mostly urban professionals with mortgages, SUVs, solid jobs and a twinge of embarrassment about their newfound hobby.

From teachers to real estate agents, these budding emergency gurus say the dismal economy has made them prepare for financial collapse as if it were an oncoming Category 5 hurricane. They worry about rampant inflation, runs on banks, bare grocery shelves and power failures that could make taps run dry.

For Wiseman, a fire protection contractor, that’s meant spending about $20,000 since September on survival gear.

The surge in interest in emergency stockpiling has been a bonanza for camping supply companies and military surplus vendors, some of whom report sales spikes of up to 50 percent. These companies usually cater to people preparing for earthquakes or hurricanes, but informal customer surveys now indicate the bump is from first-time shoppers who cite financial, not natural, disaster.

Top sellers include 55-gallon containers, freeze-dried foods, water filters, purification tablets, glow sticks, lamp oil, thermal blankets, dust masks and first-aid kits.

Online interest in survivalism has increased too. The niche Web site SurvivalBlog.com has seen its page views triple in the past 14 months to nearly 137,000 unique visitors a week. Jim Rawles, a self-described survivalist who runs the site, calls the newcomers “11th-hour believers.” He charges $100 an hour for phone consulting on emergency preparedness and says that business also has tripled.

Joe Branin, owner of the online emergency supply store Living Fresh, said he’s seen a 700 percent increase in orders for water purification tablets in the past month and a similar increase in orders for sterile water pouches.

He is shipping meals ready to eat and food bars by the case nationwide.

“You’re hearing from the people you will always hear from, who will build their own bunkers and stuff,” he said. “But then you’re hearing from people who usually wouldn’t think about this, but now it’s in their heads: ‘What if something comes to the worst?’ ”

One Austin shop that specializes in the kinds of goods people stockpile says there has not been an increase in the survivalist business in this area.

“It’s no different than it’s ever been with me,” said Ed Hall, who owns Quonset Hut, a military surplus store north of the University of Texas.

“I do see people come in and ask for gun parts — there’s a spike in that, for sure,” said Hall, who sells magazines but not ammunition.

“As far as straight-up survivalists, I don’t think it’s changed any. People are always talking about wanting to have an emergency stand-by pack in case of storms, like the hurricanes down south, or essentials on hand if electricity goes out for days. But I don’t see too many people worried about the country collapsing. There was more concern around Y2K.”

Art Markman, a cognitive psychologist, said he’s not surprised by the reaction of some to the nation’s financial woes, even though it may seem irrational. In an increasingly global and automated society, most people are dependent on strangers and systems they don’t understand — and the human brain isn’t programmed to work that way.