The following are editorial opinions from newspapers from around the world which may be of interest to Royal Gazette readers.

Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky., on Kentucky and energy technology:

The head of the Center For Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky recently told lawmakers that coal is still king in Kentucky. According to Director Rodney Andrews, it's unclear what could replace coal in the country's energy portfolio and cautioned against declaring the next, best energy technology. ...

That may be the case, especially in Kentucky where more than 90 percent of electricity is produced from coal. But that shouldn't restrict the search for new energy sources, particularly those not dependent upon a finite natural resource.

That search could continue in Daviess County, where Spanish energy company Iberdrola Renewables is preparing to test the viability of a commercial wind farm that could become the first in Kentucky. ...

Kentucky's history is steeped in coal, and coal will continue to be a major player in how this state fuels its economy and powers its homes. But looking ahead, Kentuckians will need to make educated decisions about how to tap other energy resources, including wind power. Thanks to Iberdrola, that education will begin soon.

The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, on Gold:

In 1909, author, poet and critic James Agee was born in Knoxville, Tenn.of gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is inescapable in a land that venerates the metal and for a nation that had to pawn its bouillon two decades ago. The cheer spreads when the deal forms part of India's commitment to shore up the IMF's finances so that it can offer soft loans to poor countries trying to extricate themselves from the financial crisis. And it also makes for prudent banking. Bouillon had slid to under 4 percent of India's foreign reserves as a tide of dollars sought out the most promising emerging markets. The central bank's first significant attempt at rebuilding its gold reserves since the 1990s will raise the share of a tested hedge against inflation and currency movements to 6 percent of its foreign reserves.

Our gold reserves are still way below levels central bankers in the West are comfortable with. The US Federal Reserve holds nearly 80 percent of its foreign reserves in bouillon. The European Central Bank holds around a fifth. The French, Germans, Italians and the Dutch, however, retain well in excess of half their reserves as gold. China, which was widely expected to be the first to buy some of the 400 tons of gold the IMF is selling this year, has increased its holding by 76 percent in the last six years. Efforts to keep the world economy afloat will, the IMF estimates, see public debt swelling by a third in the 20 biggest economies. This will exert unprecedented pressures on prices and exchange rates. It is a good time to get into gold.

... Gold in the vault puts money a little further out of circulation because it is slightly more cumbersome to liquidate than, say, the euro. Buying gold, thus, makes more sense than hunting around for an alternative to the badly bruised dollar.