The dry regions of the subtropics are on the move. Using satellite data gathered over the last 25 years, researchers at the University of Washington have been able to determine that the jet streams - a pattern of westerly winds that help drive weather in both hemispheres - have shifted about 70 miles toward their respective poles over the study period. The dry subtropical climate regions, which of course contain some of the world's major deserts, could encroach into temperate regions. Areas such as the Mediterranean, southern Europe and the northern part of the Middle East could end up having a tendency toward more drought.
U.S. satellite data since 1979 has revealed that the troposphere--the weather-bearing layer of our atmosphere that extends more than seven miles up--warmed the most, by roughly 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit, in the middle latitudes. This band of warming crosses the southern U.S. as well as southern China and North Africa in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Australia, South Africa and lower South America in the Southern Hemisphere. This warmer air expands the reach of the tropics and pushes the jet streams toward the poles. "We estimate that the jet streams in both hemispheres have shifted poleward by roughly 1 degree latitude in both summer and winter seasons," the researchers, led by Qiang Fu of the University of Washington, write in today's Science. Each degree of latitude represents roughly 70 miles.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Putting The Lost Decade Behind Them?
Well, I certainly hope the IMF won't live to eat their words here:
"Japan has escaped from “the lost decade of deflation” and should now take more aggressive action to repair its fiscal situation, the worst among advanced economies, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.
In its most positive assessment of the economy in years, the IMF foresaw brisk demand-led growth of 2.75 and 2.0 per cent for this year and next respectively. The normalisation of monetary policy in March, with the abandonment of unorthodox quantitative easing, signalled that the post-bubble deflationary era was over, it said"
Personally I am simply not convinced, and thing we need to give this a little time yet awhile. Of course they are right that Japan needs to address its fiscal problems. Here's the link to the IMF Mission Concluding Statement.
"Japan has escaped from “the lost decade of deflation” and should now take more aggressive action to repair its fiscal situation, the worst among advanced economies, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.
In its most positive assessment of the economy in years, the IMF foresaw brisk demand-led growth of 2.75 and 2.0 per cent for this year and next respectively. The normalisation of monetary policy in March, with the abandonment of unorthodox quantitative easing, signalled that the post-bubble deflationary era was over, it said"
Personally I am simply not convinced, and thing we need to give this a little time yet awhile. Of course they are right that Japan needs to address its fiscal problems. Here's the link to the IMF Mission Concluding Statement.
Here We Go
This is hardly surprising, now is it? Perhaps the key phrase is this: “I said this in China and I say it here?.?.?.?more people are competing for the best ideas than in the past, and the high standard of living we have achieved can no longer be taken for granted.” Evidently.
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday demanded more labour market flexibility and fewer rights for workers on company boards in comments that opened new battle lines with Germany’s trade union movement.
Speaking at a DGB trade union federation congress in Berlin, Ms Merkel rejected labour movement demands for a minimum wage of €7.50 ($9.64, £5.12) an hour, and said the system of co-determination, which gives German workers a role in corporate decision-making, should be adapted to “the new business realities across Europe”.
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday demanded more labour market flexibility and fewer rights for workers on company boards in comments that opened new battle lines with Germany’s trade union movement.
Speaking at a DGB trade union federation congress in Berlin, Ms Merkel rejected labour movement demands for a minimum wage of €7.50 ($9.64, £5.12) an hour, and said the system of co-determination, which gives German workers a role in corporate decision-making, should be adapted to “the new business realities across Europe”.
Oh, Wonderful
This is just fantastic:
A U.S. scientist has created a small 'seeing machine' that allows blind or visually impaired people to view faces, visit the Internet and more.
The machine, designed by a visually impaired Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher, has received positive feedback from a recent pilot clinical trial.
The research was led by Elizabeth Goldring, a senior fellow at MIT`s Center for Advanced Visual Studies. She developed the $4,000 machine during the last 10 years, in collaboration with more than 30 MIT students, scientists and some of her personal eye doctors.
Goldring developed her machine along the lines of a diagnostic device known as a scanning laser opthalmoscope, or SLO. That machine projects an image directly onto the retina of an eye to determine if there is any healthy retina left.
'We essentially made the new machine from scratch,' Goldring said. The new seeing machine replaces the laser of the SLO with light-emitting diodes, another source of high-intensity light that is much cheaper.
The research was detailed earlier this year in Optometry, the Journal of the American Optometric Association.
A U.S. scientist has created a small 'seeing machine' that allows blind or visually impaired people to view faces, visit the Internet and more.
The machine, designed by a visually impaired Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher, has received positive feedback from a recent pilot clinical trial.
The research was led by Elizabeth Goldring, a senior fellow at MIT`s Center for Advanced Visual Studies. She developed the $4,000 machine during the last 10 years, in collaboration with more than 30 MIT students, scientists and some of her personal eye doctors.
Goldring developed her machine along the lines of a diagnostic device known as a scanning laser opthalmoscope, or SLO. That machine projects an image directly onto the retina of an eye to determine if there is any healthy retina left.
'We essentially made the new machine from scratch,' Goldring said. The new seeing machine replaces the laser of the SLO with light-emitting diodes, another source of high-intensity light that is much cheaper.
The research was detailed earlier this year in Optometry, the Journal of the American Optometric Association.
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