LONDON — India and China are in talks to monitor the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas, a border region crucial to both countries’ water supplies, India Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh has said. ‘We are talking to the Chinese about monitoring the Himalayan glaciers,’ Ramesh told the Financial Times. However, he said India would not allow Chinese scientists ‘to climb all over India’s glaciers’ but wanted a collaborative research programme. He said as part of a scientific investigation into the health of what are called the ‘Water Towers of Asia’, academic research bodies on both sides of the mountain range would share information. He said New Delhi is open to dialogue on water resources with Beijing, adding the two countries shared the concerns. Ramesh is visiting China this month to strike a deal with Beijing ahead of the Copenhagen talks on climate change in December.
Three-quarters of Americans think climate change is an important issue, a recent Pew Research Center survey found. But they don’t see it as an immediate threat and so aren’t keen to act to change the status quo. The issue ranked last on a list of 20 compelling issues, behind things like terrorism and the economy. Now a task force set up by the American Psychological Association concludes that getting people to ‘go green’ requires policymakers, scientists and marketers to look at psychological barriers to change and what leads people to action. Why are psychologists delving into this issue? The main influences of climate change are behavioral – population growth and energy consumption, the group said in a statement. ‘What is unique about current global climate change is the role of human behavior,’ said task force chair Janet Swim of Pennsylvania State University. ‘We must look at the reasons people are not acting in order to understand how to get people to act.’ The task force said several factors are to blame for the lack of public urgency: * Uncertainty – Research has shown that uncertainty over climate change reduces […]
General Motors announced on Tuesday morning that its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car had delivered a fuel-economy rating of 230 miles a gallon - which sounds outrageous. With that kind of gas mileage, you could practically drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on a single gallon of gas, or for around three bucks. But, of course, you wouldn’t be able to do that. G.M. said the 230 number is only for city driving, and it’s not based on the same measurement standard used to calculate the fuel economy of gas-engine or hybrid cars. According to The Times’s Bill Vlasic: The rating is based on methodology drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency, and most other automakers have not revealed the mileage for the electric cars. Nissan, however, announced last week that its all-electric vehicle, the Leaf, which comes out in late 2010, would get 367 m.p.g., using the same E.P.A. standards. Figures for highway driving and combined city and highway use have not been completed for the Volt, but G.M.’s chief executive, Fritz Henderson, told reporters and analysts at a briefing that the car is expected to get more than 100 miles a gallon in combined […]
WASHINGTON — Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends. The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration. Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most growth he’s seen in more than a decade. ‘All it’s lacking is a spark,’ McEntire said in the report. It’s reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s-right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called ‘sovereign citizens’ are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups. Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on YouTube, billed as a ‘wake-up call’ for America. It’s been viewed more than 60,000 times. […]
Could cannon balls from the early 19th century sink warships? At first glance, the hull of the warship that sank off the coast of Acre seemed strong; but a unique experiment indicated that the thick timbers could not withstand the cannon balls. A joint experiment carried out by researchers from the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa and staff of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. has solved the riddle that has been puzzling researchers ever since they first observed the thick wooden sides of the sunken ship opposite the shore of Acre: could cannon fire have penetrated the hull? The ship was discovered in 1966, but only since University of Haifa researchers began examining it about three years ago have its mysteries been exposed. The initial matters of interest related to the ship’s origins, date and the reason why it sank. A map drawn up by a British officer in 1799, during Napoleon’s siege of Acre, led the researchers to assume that this was a blockship sunk by the British Another puzzle that has occupied the researchers, however, relates to the thickness of the ship’s hull. According to Dr. Yaacov Kahanov, […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
