GLOBAL CONDITIONS: GRAIN STORAGE AND CLIMATE
June 13, 2011 on 10:28 pm | In Earth, Ecology, Economics, Financial, Globalization, History, Research, Technology | Comments Off
NEW TOOLS NEEDED TO COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE MIGRATIONS, UN AGENCY SAYS
New York, Jun 6 2011
UNNews UNNews@un.org
Mon, 6 Jun 2011
NEW TOOLS NEEDED TO COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE MIGRATIONS,UN AGENCY SAYS
Climate change will result in increased migrations and displacements of people, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said today, and the world needs to develop new methods to deal with it.
Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “http://www.unhcr.org/4decc5276.html told a conference on climate change and displacement in Norway that it has become increasingly clear that natural disasters and climate change cannot be regarded or addressed in isolation from the other global mega-trends that are conditioning the future of our planet and its people.
Population growth, urbanization, water, food, and energy insecurity will increasingly interact with each other and create the potential for competition and conflict over scarce natural resources, he said. As a result we are also likely to see growing numbers of people being displaced from one community, country and continent to another.
Mr. Guterres called on the countries which bear primary responsibility for climate change to establish a massive programme of support to the most seriously affected countries, thereby reinforcing the resilience of their citizens and their ability to adapt to the process of climate change.
I strongly believe that a viable approach would be to at least develop a global guiding framework for situations of cross-border displacement resulting from climate change and natural disasters, he said. UNHCR stands ready to support states in the development of such a framework, which could take the form of temporary or interim protection arrangements.
We could assist in the identification of scenarios in which such arrangements would be activated. And we could help to develop procedures and standards of treatment for affected populations, he said.
He also urged countries to switch from the usual emergency-mode response to natural disasters.
The billions of dollars spent on relief in recent decades have evidently not led to the sustainable strengthening of national and local capacities, he said.
Mr. Guterres spoke in Oslo at the Nansen Conference on Climate Change and Displacement in the 21st Century, organized by Norway’s environment and foreign affairs ministries to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Fridtjof Nansen, the first High Commissioner for Refugees under the League of Nations.
Jun 6 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
NEW TOOLS NEEDED TO COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE MIGRATIONS, UN AGENCY SAYS
http://www.unhcr.org/4decc5276.html
New York, Jun 6 2011
UNNews UNNews@un.org
Mon, 6 Jun 2011
SPENDING MORE ON FORESTS COULD REAP ENORMOUS BENEFITS — UN REPORT
New York, Jun 5 2011
SPENDING MORE ON FORESTS COULD REAP ENORMOUS BENEFITS — UN REPORT
Sun, 5 Jun 2011
Investing a relatively small amount each year in the forestry sector could halve deforestation, create millions of new jobs and help tackle the devastating effects of climate change, according to a United Nations report released today to mark World Environment Day.
The report, “Forests in a Green Economy: A Synthesis,” finds that an additional $40 billion spent each year in the forestry sector — or just 0.034 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) — could result in substantial environmental improvements.
The rate of deforestation could be halved by 2030, the number of trees planted could rise by 140 per cent by 2050 and as many as 30 million new jobs could be created by that same year.
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which issued the report, said forestry is one of the key sectors capable of helping the world transition to a ‘green economy’ model that is resource-efficient and low in its use of carbon.
“There are already many encouraging signals; the annual net forest loss since 1990 has fallen from around eight million to around five million hectares and in some regions such as Asia, the Caribbean and Europe forest area has actually increased over those 20 years,” he said.
The area covered by freshly planted forests has also grown from 3.6 million hectares in 1990 to just below five million hectares last year.
Jan McAlpine, the Director of the Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests, said the capacity of poorer countries to switch to green economies and protect their stocks of forests needs to be strengthened.
“Encouraging a transition to green economies will require a broad range of financial, regulatory, institutional and technological measures,” she said.
Forests and the benefits they provide represent the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, which is marked every year on 5 June. This year is also
the UN-declared International Year of the Forests.
Celebrations are being held across the globe, including in India, which is this year’s designated host.
On Friday Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described forests as central to economic development, poverty reduction and food security.
“By reducing deforestation and forest degradation we can make significant progress in addressing the combined threats of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation,” he said in a message to a forestry conservation meeting held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
Jun 5 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
SPENDING MORE ON FORESTS COULD REAP ENORMOUS BENEFITS — UN REPORT
New York, Jun 5 2011
SPENDING MORE ON FORESTS COULD REAP ENORMOUS BENEFITS — UN REPORT
Sun, 5 Jun 2011
UN CALLS FOR GRAIN STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES TO REDUCE AFRICA’S POST-HARVEST LOSSES
New York, May 31 2011
UN CALLS FOR GRAIN STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES TO REDUCE AFRICA’S POST-HARVEST LOSSES
Large amounts of food in sub-Saharan Africa goes to waste as a result of inappropriate storage, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report unveiled today, which calls for investing in post-harvest technologies to reduce to the losses and boost the continent’s food security.
The joint FAO-World Bank report, entitled Missing Food: The Case of Postharvest Grain Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa, estimates the value of grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa at around $4 billion a year.
This lost food could meet the minimum annual food requirements of at least 48 million people, “http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/79444/icode/ said Maria Helena Semedo, the FAO Assistant Director-General. If we agree that sustainable agricultural systems need to be developed to feed 9 billion people by 2050, addressing waste across the entire food chain must be a critical pillar of future national food strategies, she said.
According to estimates provided by the African Postharvest Losses Information System, physical grain losses prior to processing can range from 10 to 20 per cent of African annual production, which is worth $27 billion.
Losses occur when grain decays or is infested by pests, fungi or microbes, and physical losses, but the waste can also be economic, resulting from low prices and lack of access to markets for poor quality or contaminated grain.
According to the report, food losses contribute to high food prices by removing part of the food supply from the market. They also have a negative environmental impact as land, water and resources such as fertilizer and energy are used to produce, process, handle and transport food that no one consumes.
Reducing food losses is increasingly recognized as part of an integrated approach to realizing agriculture’s full potential, along with making effective use of today’s crops, improving productivity on existing farmland, and sustainably bringing additional acreage into production, said Jamal Saghir, the Director of the Sustainable Development Department of the World Bank’s Africa Region.
A variety of practices and technologies are available for reducing post-harvest losses, including crop protectants and storage containers such as hermetically sealed bags and metallic silos, the report notes.
Those technologies have proved successful in Asia, but more research is needed to identify methods adapted to local environments in Africa. To succeed, interventions must be sensitive to local conditions and practices.
The report recommends that governments create enabling conditions for farmers by reducing market transaction costs through investing in infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water, and strengthening agricultural research and extension services.
May 31 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
UN CALLS FOR GRAIN STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES TO REDUCE AFRICA’S POST-HARVEST LOSSES
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/79444/icode/
New York, May 31 2011
NEW TOOLS NEEDED TO COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE MIGRATIONS, UN AGENCY SAYS
New York, Jun 6 2011
UNNews UNNews@un.org
Mon, 6 Jun 2011
NEW TOOLS NEEDED TO COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE MIGRATIONS,UN AGENCY SAYS
Climate change will result in increased migrations and displacements of people, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said today, and the world needs to develop new methods to deal with it.
Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “http://www.unhcr.org/4decc5276.html told a conference on climate change and displacement in Norway that it has become increasingly clear that natural disasters and climate change cannot be regarded or addressed in isolation from the other global mega-trends that are conditioning the future of our planet and its people.
Population growth, urbanization, water, food, and energy insecurity will increasingly interact with each other and create the potential for competition and conflict over scarce natural resources, he said. As a result we are also likely to see growing numbers of people being displaced from one community, country and continent to another.
Mr. Guterres called on the countries which bear primary responsibility for climate change to establish a massive programme of support to the most seriously affected countries, thereby reinforcing the resilience of their citizens and their ability to adapt to the process of climate change.
I strongly believe that a viable approach would be to at least develop a global guiding framework for situations of cross-border displacement resulting from climate change and natural disasters, he said. UNHCR stands ready to support states in the development of such a framework, which could take the form of temporary or interim protection arrangements.
We could assist in the identification of scenarios in which such arrangements would be activated. And we could help to develop procedures and standards of treatment for affected populations, he said.
He also urged countries to switch from the usual emergency-mode response to natural disasters.
The billions of dollars spent on relief in recent decades have evidently not led to the sustainable strengthening of national and local capacities, he said.
Mr. Guterres spoke in Oslo at the Nansen Conference on Climate Change and Displacement in the 21st Century, organized by Norway’s environment and foreign affairs ministries to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Fridtjof Nansen, the first High Commissioner for Refugees under the League of Nations.
Jun 6 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
NEW TOOLS NEEDED TO COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE MIGRATIONS, UN AGENCY SAYS
http://www.unhcr.org/4decc5276.html
New York, Jun 6 2011
UNNews UNNews@un.org
Mon, 6 Jun 2011
SPENDING MORE ON FORESTS COULD REAP ENORMOUS BENEFITS — UN REPORT
New York, Jun 5 2011
SPENDING MORE ON FORESTS COULD REAP ENORMOUS BENEFITS — UN REPORT
Sun, 5 Jun 2011
Investing a relatively small amount each year in the forestry sector could halve deforestation, create millions of new jobs and help tackle the devastating effects of climate change, according to a United Nations report released today to mark World Environment Day.
The report, “Forests in a Green Economy: A Synthesis,” finds that an additional $40 billion spent each year in the forestry sector — or just 0.034 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) — could result in substantial environmental improvements.
The rate of deforestation could be halved by 2030, the number of trees planted could rise by 140 per cent by 2050 and as many as 30 million new jobs could be created by that same year.
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which issued the report, said forestry is one of the key sectors capable of helping the world transition to a ‘green economy’ model that is resource-efficient and low in its use of carbon.
“There are already many encouraging signals; the annual net forest loss since 1990 has fallen from around eight million to around five million hectares and in some regions such as Asia, the Caribbean and Europe forest area has actually increased over those 20 years,” he said.
The area covered by freshly planted forests has also grown from 3.6 million hectares in 1990 to just below five million hectares last year.
Jan McAlpine, the Director of the Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests, said the capacity of poorer countries to switch to green economies and protect their stocks of forests needs to be strengthened.
“Encouraging a transition to green economies will require a broad range of financial, regulatory, institutional and technological measures,” she said.
Forests and the benefits they provide represent the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, which is marked every year on 5 June. This year is also
the UN-declared International Year of the Forests.
Celebrations are being held across the globe, including in India, which is this year’s designated host.
On Friday Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described forests as central to economic development, poverty reduction and food security.
“By reducing deforestation and forest degradation we can make significant progress in addressing the combined threats of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation,” he said in a message to a forestry conservation meeting held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
Jun 5 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
SPENDING MORE ON FORESTS COULD REAP ENORMOUS BENEFITS — UN REPORT
New York, Jun 5 2011
SPENDING MORE ON FORESTS COULD REAP ENORMOUS BENEFITS — UN REPORT
Sun, 5 Jun 2011
UN CALLS FOR GRAIN STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES TO REDUCE AFRICA’S POST-HARVEST LOSSES
New York, May 31 2011
UN CALLS FOR GRAIN STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES TO REDUCE AFRICA’S POST-HARVEST LOSSES
Large amounts of food in sub-Saharan Africa goes to waste as a result of inappropriate storage, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report unveiled today, which calls for investing in post-harvest technologies to reduce to the losses and boost the continent’s food security.
The joint FAO-World Bank report, entitled Missing Food: The Case of Postharvest Grain Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa, estimates the value of grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa at around $4 billion a year.
This lost food could meet the minimum annual food requirements of at least 48 million people, “http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/79444/icode/ said Maria Helena Semedo, the FAO Assistant Director-General. If we agree that sustainable agricultural systems need to be developed to feed 9 billion people by 2050, addressing waste across the entire food chain must be a critical pillar of future national food strategies, she said.
According to estimates provided by the African Postharvest Losses Information System, physical grain losses prior to processing can range from 10 to 20 per cent of African annual production, which is worth $27 billion.
Losses occur when grain decays or is infested by pests, fungi or microbes, and physical losses, but the waste can also be economic, resulting from low prices and lack of access to markets for poor quality or contaminated grain.
According to the report, food losses contribute to high food prices by removing part of the food supply from the market. They also have a negative environmental impact as land, water and resources such as fertilizer and energy are used to produce, process, handle and transport food that no one consumes.
Reducing food losses is increasingly recognized as part of an integrated approach to realizing agriculture’s full potential, along with making effective use of today’s crops, improving productivity on existing farmland, and sustainably bringing additional acreage into production, said Jamal Saghir, the Director of the Sustainable Development Department of the World Bank’s Africa Region.
A variety of practices and technologies are available for reducing post-harvest losses, including crop protectants and storage containers such as hermetically sealed bags and metallic silos, the report notes.
Those technologies have proved successful in Asia, but more research is needed to identify methods adapted to local environments in Africa. To succeed, interventions must be sensitive to local conditions and practices.
The report recommends that governments create enabling conditions for farmers by reducing market transaction costs through investing in infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water, and strengthening agricultural research and extension services.
May 31 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
UN CALLS FOR GRAIN STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES TO REDUCE AFRICA’S POST-HARVEST LOSSES
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/79444/icode/
New York, May 31 2011
LITHIUM ECONOMY AND ELECTRIC CARS: “BOTTLED LIGHTNING” BOOK BY SETH FLETCHER
June 9, 2011 on 2:47 pm | In Books, Economics, Financial, History, Oil and Gas, Technology, United States | Comments Off
Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy
Seth Fletcher (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Electric cars are real—see the Tesla Roadster, Chevy Volt, and hybrids like the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius—but the drive to create safe, lightweight, and long-lasting batteries to power them has been anything but smooth. Faced with political, technological, and management obstacles, battery technology still lags. In the mid-1800s Fletcher says, clean, cheap lead-acid batteries were developed that by the early 20th century were preferred for use in automobiles over “unreliable, complicated, loud, and dirty” gasoline-powered cars—until it came time to refuel.
Thomas Edison tried to invent a safe, longer-duration battery, even experimenting with small amounts of lithium, but then Charles Kettering patented an automatic starter for gas engines, and the battle was lost.
Smog and 1970s gas shortages revived interest in electric cars—and lithium batteries. But obstacles remain: Bolivia, Chile, and China have less than optimal political leadership and minimal infrastructure to safely mine and process the poisonous ore. More importantly, many technical challenges must be overcome before electric cars and buses become everyday modes of transportation. But Fletcher remains optimistic. He balances science and history with a closeup look at business practices and priorities, providing lucid and thorough coverage of a timely topic.
Review
“Fletcher makes a good case that the electric-car trend may soon be able to shed its dubious reputation as a public-private hybrid and roll under its own power.” —Ronald Bailey, The Wall Street Journal
“A well-written, smart and—when Fletcher gets rolling in the last quarter of the book—rollicking story.”—Steve LeVine, Foreign Policy
“[Fletcher] follows lithium from the South American salt flats where most lithium minerals are mined to the labs of General Motors, tracing its journey from obscure metal to one of the most sought-after resources on earth—and perhaps the centerpiece of the automotive future.” —Discover
“Fletcher captivatingly explains just how significant lithium may become in satisfying the industrial world’s insatiable energy needs and, ultimately, reducing its dependence on oil . . . An informative and timely read.” —Carl Hays, Booklist
“[Fletcher] provides an entertaining, surprisingly eventful history of human efforts to harness energy in the form of battery power . . . A fine, readable work of popular science.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Balances science and history with a closeup look at business practices and priorities, providing lucid and thorough coverage of a timely topic.” —Publishers Weekly
“Bottled Lightning jumpstarts the electric-car story with one of the key players of the story—batteries—and does it brilliantly. The more you know, the more you’re ready.” —Chris Paine, director, Revenge of the Electric Car and Who Killed the Electric Car?
“To move from our present energy predicament the most vexing challenge is transportation—in short, to find a convenient, safe, portable energy source that packs as much energy per kilogram as does gasoline. Electric batteries have tantalized car builders since the 19th century, but still they seem to be just down the road a bit. In Bottled Lightning, Seth Fletcher enlists chemists, geologists, business investors, and automotive engineers to tell an engrossing and important story of how we got to where we are. This book can help us get to where we need to go.” —Rush Holt, U.S. House of Representatives
“An engaging read detailing the intrigue surrounding the birth and development of modern lithium-ion batteries. Fletcher intersperses the story of the science, business and politics of batteries with colorful quotes from some of the eminent personalities in the field.” —Gerbrand Ceder, professor of materials science and engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Product Details:
- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Hill and Wang
- May 10, 2011
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0809030535
- ISBN-13: 978-0809030538
TECHNOLOGY CLUSTERS: THE BICYCLE TYPEWRITER AND TELEPHONE IN THE MOVIE “HEAVEN CAN WAIT”
April 3, 2011 on 8:14 pm | In Art, Film, History, Technology, USA | Comments Off
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch (1943)
Mademoiselle:
In your papa’s time, papa kiss mama and then marry.
But this is 1887! Time of bicycle, the typewriter has arrive, soon everybody speak over telephone, and people have new idea of value of kiss.
What was bad yesterday is lot of fun today. There is a wonderful saying in France: “Les baisers sont comme des bonbons qu’on mange parce qu’ils sont bons.” This mean: “Kiss is like candy. You eat candy only for the beautiful taste, and this is enough reason to eat candy.”
Henry Van Cleve:
You mean I can kiss a girl once…
Mademoiselle:
Ten times! Twenty times! And no obligation.
Cast & Crew:
Ernst Lubitsch Director
Gene Tierney Martha Strabel Van Cleve
Don Ameche Henry Van Cleve
Charles Coburn Grandfather
Marjorie Main Mrs. Strabel
Laird Cregar His Excellency
Spring Byington Bertha Van Cleve
Allyn Joslyn Albert Van Cleve
Eugene Pallette E. F. Strabel
Signe Hasso Mademoiselle
Louis Calhern Randolph Van Cleve
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
GREENHOUSE GASES
January 25, 2011 on 3:43 am | In Development, Earth, Ecology, Economics, Globalization, History, Research, Technology | Comments Off
DRAMATIC GREENHOUSE GAS CUTS ARE BOTH ACHIEVABLE AND
AFFORDABLE – UN
New York, Jan 24 2011
UNNews UNNews@un.org
DRAMATIC GREENHOUSE GAS CUTS ARE BOTH ACHIEVABLE AND AFFORDABLE
– UN
Mon, 24 Jan 2011
Dramatic cuts in industrial emissions of the global warming greenhouse gases that threaten to drastically change Earth’s climate are achievable in both developed and developing countries at acceptable cost with the right policies, the United Nations “http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=851&cHash=54ac5a838bef4957273c67b9d9c4e941 reported today.
In a series of studies, the UN Industrial Development Organization (“http://www.unido.org/ UNIDO), an agency mandated to promote sustainable industrial development in developing countries, highlighted the need to combine energy efficiency, renewable energy and the capture and storage of greenhouse carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions to stay below the danger threshold of an average temperature rise of two degrees above pre-industrial levels by 2050.
Cost-effective renewable energy could supply 21 per cent of all industrial energy by 2050, providing ten per cent of all reductions needed to counter a potential future of devastating droughts, floods, desertification, rising oceans, ever more powerful storms, shrinking glaciers and other possible effects of climate change.
At nearly two gigatonnes of CO2, this represents 25 per cent of the total expected emission reductions of the industry sector – equivalent to the total current CO2 emissions of France, Germany, Italy and Spain, or around one third of current emissions in the United States.
Industrial energy efficiency potential worldwide amounts to 26 per cent, with that in developing countries nearly twice as high as in developed nations, according to the reports.
“Once these potentials are exhausted carbon capture and storage must come into play,” UNIDO said. “This technology is rapidly evolving not only for power plants but also for a wide range of industrial applications.”
With regard to affordability, the UN agency stressed that many of the required measures could reduce costs and enhance competitiveness and productivity. Renewable sources include solar energy and bio-fuels such as those produced from plants like ethanol, as opposed to finite fossil fuels like oil and coal.
“The competitiveness of biofuels with fossil fuels is strongly dependent on national energy policy frameworks and energy prices,” one of the reports, “http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media/Services/Energy_and_Climate_Change/Energy_Efficiency/Renewables_%20Industrial_%20Applications.pdf
Renewable Energy in Industrial Applications – an assessment of the 2050 potential, stressed. “Renewables are not cost competitive where fossil fuels are subsidized. They are, however, already cost competitive in many cases and many countries with unsubsidized fossil fuels.
“This is even more so where CO2 emissions carry a financial penalty that reflects their long-term economic and environmental impact,” the report added, cautioning that the potential of increased renewable energy can only be realized “if specific policies are developed to create a business environment conducive to private sector investment.”
The UN has been closely involved in the efforts to counter climate change, most recently hosting talks in Cancún, Mexico, which resulted in pledged funds to help developing countries mitigate its effects and took steps to curb the deforestation that accounts for nearly one-fifth of global carbon emissions.
The other UNIDO reports involved in the study are: “http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media/Services/Energy_and_Climate_Change/Energy_Efficiency/Benchmarking_%20Energy_%20Policy_Tool.pdf
Global Industrial Energy Efficiency Benchmarking – An Energy Policy Tool, and
Carbon Capture and Storage in Industrial Applications: Technology Synthesis Report. Jan 24 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
DRAMATIC GREENHOUSE GAS CUTS ARE BOTH ACHIEVABLE AND AFFORDABLE – UN
New York, Jan 24 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
UNNews UNNews@un.org
DRAMATIC GREENHOUSE GAS CUTS ARE BOTH ACHIEVABLE AND AFFORDABLE
– UN
Mon, 24 Jan 2011
RECORD-SETTING 2010 HIGHLIGHTS GLOBAL WARMING TREND, SAYS UN
WEATHER AGENCY
UNNews UNNews@un.org
New York, Jan 20 2011
RECORD-SETTING 2010 HIGHLIGHTS GLOBAL WARMING TREND, SAYS UN
WEATHER AGENCY
Thu, 20 Jan 2011
The year 2010 ranked as the warmest on record – together with 2005 and 1998 – “http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_906_en.html according to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which added that last year also witnessed a large number of extreme weather events, including the heat wave in Russia and the devastating floods in Pakistan.
In 2010, the global average temperature was 0.53 degrees Celsius (0.95 degrees Fahrenheit) above the mean for the period from 1961 to 1990, the reference period for the Geneva-based WMO.
In addition, Arctic sea-ice cover in December 2010 was the lowest on record, with an average monthly extent of 12 million square kilometres, 1.35 million square kilometres below the 1979-2000 average for December.
“The 2010 data confirm the Earth’s significant long-term warming trend,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998.”
WMO stated that 2010 was an “exceptionally warm” year over much of Africa and southern and western Asia, and in Greenland and Arctic Canada, with many parts of these regions having their hottest years on record. The month of December was exceptionally warm in eastern Canada and Greenland.
Meanwhile, it was “abnormally cold” through large parts of northern and western Europe, with monthly average temperatures as much as 10 degrees Celsius below normal at some locations in Norway and Sweden. Many places in Scandinavia had their coldest December on record.
December in Central England was the coldest since 1890, and it was colder than average in large parts of Russia and in the eastern United States.
Last year was also marked by a large number of extreme weather events, WMO noted, including the heat wave in Russia and the monsoonal floods that affected 20 million people in Pakistan.
The agency also highlighted a number of major weather events in late 2010 and early 2011, including the January floods that have affected more than 800,000 people in Sri Lanka, the flash floods that have resulted in over 700 deaths near the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, and the severe flooding in eastern Australia which is expected to be the most costly natural disaster in that country’s history.
The information presented by WMO is compiled with input from the agency’s 189 member States, and is based on climate data from networks of land-based weather and climate stations, ships and buoys, as well as satellites. Jan 20 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
RECORD-SETTING 2010 HIGHLIGHTS GLOBAL WARMING TREND, SAYS UN
WEATHER AGENCY
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
UNNews UNNews@un.org
New York, Jan 20 2011
RECORD-SETTING 2010 HIGHLIGHTS GLOBAL WARMING TREND, SAYS UN
WEATHER AGENCY
Thu, 20 Jan 2011
DRAMATIC GREENHOUSE GAS CUTS ARE BOTH ACHIEVABLE AND AFFORDABLE – UN
New York, Jan 24 2011
UNNews UNNews@un.org
DRAMATIC GREENHOUSE GAS CUTS ARE BOTH ACHIEVABLE AND AFFORDABLE – UN
Mon, 24 Jan 2011
AFRICA: GLOBAL FLOW OF TECHNOLOGY
January 24, 2011 on 11:37 pm | In Africa, Development, Economics, Globalization, History, Research, Technology | Comments Off
AFRICA’S RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL ACQUISITION INDICATES EMERGING
INDUSTRIAL BASE – UN
UNNews UNNews@un.org
Fri, 21 Jan 2011
New York, Jan 21 2011
AFRICA’S RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL ACQUISITION INDICATES EMERGING
INDUSTRIAL BASE – UN
Africa’s rapid acquisition of industrial technologies is an indication that the continent is joining other developing regions in building a sound manufacturing base likely to support the production of value-added goods and services, including high-tech products, according to a study released today by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
The findings reveal an impressive turnaround from the slow growth in Africa’s share of the number of patents, peer-reviewed scientific publications and technology exports and imports which grew very slowly in the 1980s to 1990s, said Abdoulie Janneh, the Commission’s Executive Secretary, referring to the study entitled A technological resurgence: Africa in the global flow of technology.
The research provides evidence of a rapid growth rate in Africa’s industrial technology acquisition, Mr. Janneh added.
He pointed out that inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI), one of the main channels of technology transfer, into Africa soared by over 800 per cent between 2000 and 2008.
Some of the investment has gone into the production of drugs, steel, automobiles and electronics, among others areas that require the use of technology owned by others, said Mr. Janneh.
The research is the first ever comprehensive study that tracks flows of investment and knowledge mainly by developing regions and developed country groupings and specifically looks at technology transfer trends in areas such as royalties and licensing fees, capital goods, business, professional and technical services, research and development, as well as intellectual property rights.
It stresses the need to prioritize technology development and transfer through four core areas, including the promotion of university-industry-government partnership, where existing research centres can be used to acquire, adapt and diffuse emerging technology and serve as technology incubators.
The study also recommends the strategic use of government contracts to encourage technology upgrading of domestic firms and joint ventures with foreign suppliers; promotion of industrial alliances to enable African firms to access emerging and existing knowledge and skills at home and abroad; and entry into international research and development agreements between African countries and leading technology-exporting countries.
None of the measures entail a significant investment in or creation of new institutions and bodies, but rather they constitute innovative ways of using existing mechanisms to promote technology transfer, according to the study.
In addition, the measures would support the current drive to promote investment in research and development and higher education.
The study indicates that in the not-too-distant future, the rise in industrial technology acquisition may diversify African exports from coffee, cocoa, copper, tea, diamonds and petroleum, according to UNECA.
Jan 21 2011
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
AFRICA’S RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL ACQUISITION INDICATES EMERGING
INDUSTRIAL BASE – UN
UNNews UNNews@un.org
UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
Fri, 21 Jan 2011
CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE: DECEMBER 4 2010
December 4, 2010 on 12:29 am | In Earth, Ecology, Globalization, Japan, Research, Technology | Comments Off
Climate Technology Initiative (CTI)
CTI Side Event:
Mobilizing private sector financing for
technology transfer- 4 December 20:15-21:45
International Center for Environmental Technology
Transfer (ICETT)
Climate Change Info
Fri 12/03/10
Taiki Kuroda
CTI Programme Secretariat
International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer (ICETT)
3684-11 Sakura-cho, Yokkaichi, Mie 512-1211, Japan
Tel: +81-59-329-3500 Fax: +81-59-329-8115
Cell: +81-80-3289-4568
E-mail: kuroda@icett.or.jp
CTI website: http://www.climatetech.net/
CTI PFAN website: http://www.cti-pfan.net/
You are cordially invited to attend the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) side event organized by the International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer (ICETT).
Mobilizing private sector financing for technology transfer
Saturday 4th December 2010 20:15-21:45
Room: Águila, Cancun Messe, Hall C
In order to supplement the scarce public resources available to finance developing country technology needs, CTI PFAN is successfully mobilizing private sector financing sources. The side event will showcase examples of activities in a broad range of developing countries focusing on Africa.
For further information, please refer to the attached programme.
Refreshments will be served after the side event.
Taiki Kuroda
CTI Programme Secretariat
International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer (ICETT)
3684-11 Sakura-cho, Yokkaichi, Mie 512-1211, Japan
Tel: +81-59-329-3500 Fax: +81-59-329-8115
Cell: +81-80-3289-4568
E-mail: kuroda@icett.or.jp
CTI website: http://www.climatetech.net/
CTI PFAN website: http://www.cti-pfan.net/
- http://sids-l.iisd.org/ – IISD is pleased to announce the launch of SIDS Policy & Practice – A Knowledgebase on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
- IISD Reporting Services environment and sustainable development policy professionals at http://www.iisd.ca/email/subscribe.htm
Climate Technology Initiative (CTI)
CTI Side Event: Mobilizing private sector financing for technology transfer- 4
December 20:15-21:45
International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer (ICETT)
Climate Change Info
Fri 12/03/10
ASIA NEWS: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL
September 16, 2010 on 9:37 am | In Asia, Economics, Financial, Research, Technology, World-System | Comments Off
The Trade Asia News editor@thetradenews.com
Chi-X Asia-Pac CEO leaves; Liquidity pool links; Japanese remote access
“Weekly News Alert”
The TRADE Ltd. 2010
Thu 16 Sep 2010
Growing fragmentation of liquidity and an increasing sophistication of trading strategies deployed in Asia are giving rise to a new generation of automated trading platforms, according to Alex Lamb, executive board member at trading technology provider RTS Realtime Systems Group.
Global:
EC proposes increased transparency for derivatives, short selling
Pipeline reports record US trade size, gears up for full European launch
FINRA dishes out penalty for algorithmic abuse
Thomson Reuters launches tool for “new era” of financial information
Fidessa fragmentation analysis tools go global
SEC expands circuit breaker scheme
Asia:
Newedge predicts influx of foreign trading members in Japan
Instinet and Tora link liquidity pools in Japan
JonesTrading lays out Asian expansion plans
Singapore Exchange to start trading ADRs
The Trade Asia News editor@thetradenews.com
Chi-X Asia-Pac CEO leaves; Liquidity pool links; Japanese remote access
“Weekly News Alert”
The TRADE Ltd. 2010
Thu 16 Sep 2010
“HISTORY OF OIL WELL DRILLING”: JOHN EDWARD BRANTLY BOOK
August 15, 2010 on 3:03 am | In Books, History, Oil & Gas, Research, Technology, USA | Comments Off
History of Oil Well Drilling
John Edward Brantly (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
An artfully illustrated account of the oil industry’s most important events, “History of Oil Well Drilling” records the beginning and development of the oil well industry from early water and brine well drilling to the vast oil industry of today. More than 1700 illustrations and 1500 pages trace the evolution of equipment and methods used in drilling for oil. Every major tool and method is described in detail. From the simple spring pole to the cable tool, rotary and portable rigs, Dr Brantly traces the origin, the development and the accessory tools of these major implements and compares them with modern equipment innovations. There is a comprehensive report on marine drilling and the vast offshore oil fields. Directional drilling, blowout prevention, formation testing and well instruments are other pertinent covered in this masterfully pictorial history.
Product Details:
· Hardcover: 1525 pages
· Publisher: Gulf Publishing Company
· January 1971
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 087201634X
· ISBN-13: 978-0872016347
History of Oil Well Drilling
John Edward Brantly (Author)
MEDIEVAL TECHNICAL CHANGE IN EUROPE
August 9, 2010 on 11:51 am | In Books, Development, France, History, Research, Science, Technology | Comments Off
Medieval European Technical Change
Not so long ago, power was as famous a Burgundian export as its wine, borne from a nobility that rivalled the King of France, and a cluster of monasteries that threatened the supremacy of the Pope.
The Abbaye de Fontenay was one of these monasteries, a mammoth stone complex sitting just outside the town of Montbard and founded by the Cistercian order almost a thousand years ago. Perfectly preserved through an unlikely combination of patronage, abandonment and good luck, its clipped gardens and cloisters milling with quiet tourists give the place a sense of tranquillity now.
But at the height of its power a millennium ago, it was more like a devout factory, controlling dozens of farms, forests and trout pounds, making tiles and mining the rough hills nearby for iron. Perhaps the earliest proper metal-working factory in Europe is in the abbey, and astonishingly, the hydraulic hammer was invented in a stone room next to the river (a replica still clacks away, driven by a water wheel).
The Cistercians weren’t just dedicating themselves to piety through manual labour, they were also making themselves rich and powerful, doing the slow work of dragging Europe out of the Dark Ages.
The Cistercians believed in the sanctity of work and they developed and here practiced a useful trade in metal working. The forge building is almost as long as the church. It stands to the South of the monastic complex next to a channeled water-run, from a diverted stream, that circles the compound and at other points provides water for the several fountains (from which the abbey name may derive). The forge building is also vaulted but is not as polished an affair. There are no mouldings on the thick ribs which connect to a central line of five thick cylindrical piers. The flooring consists of large rectanguar stone slabs. Near one end is a high wooden platform accessed by ladder. This was the upper level of the water-powered drop-hammer which produced thin sheets of steel and other metals. Also on exhibit are a few ancient tools: a giant bellows, a large whetstone and various supports and smaller tools. The forge was functional until the monks were dispersed by the Revolution.
Medieval Technology and Social Change
Lynn White Jr. (Author)
Editorial Reviews
In Medieval Technology and Social Change, Lynn White considers the effects of technological innovation on the societies of medieval Europe: the slow collapse of feudalism with the development of machines and tools that introduced factories in place of cottage industries, and the development of the manorial system with the introduction of new kinds of plows and new methods of crop rotation. One invention of particular import, writes White, was the stirrup, which in turn introduced heavy, long-range cavalry to the medieval battlefield. The development thus escalated small-scale conflict to “shock combat.” Cannons and flamethrowers followed, as did more peaceful inventions, such as watermills and reapers.
Review
“Excellent.”–Louis P. Towles, Central Wesleyan College
“The most stimulating book of the century on the history of technology…a positive delight.”–Isis
“At once an advance in the study of medieval technology and also the best introduction to the subject for the serious general reader.”–The Economist
“Still essential reading for students of Medieval studies. A must for those interested in Medieval technology and its impact on the development of western society.”–Cecile-Marie Sastre, Flagler College
Product Details:
· Paperback: 224 pages
· Publisher: Oxford University Press
· December 31 1966
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 0195002660
· ISBN-13: 978-0195002669
Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages
Editorial Reviews
The Middle Ages, writes French scholar Jean Gimpel, saw an extraordinary flourishing of technological development throughout Europe. With the era came waterwheels and clock towers, nearly uniform machine parts and improvements in public hygiene, vaulting cathedrals and towering city walls, and a notion of spiritual and earthly progress that promised better things to come. In analyzing the growth of precision in measurement and of the experimental sciences, and in considering the careers of medieval geniuses such as the architect-inventor Villard de Honnecourt, Gimpel clearly conveys the intellectual excitement of the time. Sadly, it was undone by religious intolerance, brutal warfare, and the arrival of the plague as quickly as it rose.
Product Details:
· Paperback: 288 pages
· Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
· November 17 1977
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 0140045147
· ISBN-13: 978-0140045147
Medieval European Technical Change
“STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF MACHINE TOOLS”: ROBERT WOODBURY BOOK
August 9, 2010 on 1:59 am | In Books, History, Research, Science, Technology, USA | Comments Off
Studies in the History of Machine Tools
Robert S. Woodbury (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Review
“The screw cutting lathe, the planer and the shaper were the classic machine tools of the industrial revolution. The milling, grinding and gear cutting machines as well as the turret lathe belong to the next generation of machine tools which were developed largely in the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century in response to the demands of industries working on the interchangeable principle. [Woodbury's work is] concerned with this second flowering of a small but crucial industry which economic historians have too long neglected…. Mr. Woodbury shows very well how these machine tools responded to the demands of particular industries.”
—Business History
Product Description
This work was originally published as four separate books; their titles, and reviewers’ comments, are given below:
History of the Gear-Cutting Machine: A Historical Study in Geometry and Machines
“The book represents an overwhelmingly well-done job of reducing a great mass of material—scholarly references, patents, catalogs, engineering and trade journals, and machines themselves—into a logical story of development. Written with zest and relish, this vivid account presents a wealth of unusual information. The illustrations are particularly good, for many of them come from previously untapped sources.”
—Technology and Culture
History of the Grinding Machine: A Historical Study in Tools and Precision Production
“From the polished artifacts of prehistoric times Mr. Woodbury traces the development of methods, abrasives, and the machine tools which interdependently contributed to the advanced grinding techniques used today. Many fine illustrations.”
—The Tool Engineer
History of the Milling Machine: A Study in Technical Development
“Mr. Woodbury traces the evolution of milling machines from Eli Whitney’s machine (circa 1820), the first miller ever built, to numerical controlled milling machines…. presented cleanly with ample detail. Fine illustration and complete bibliography are provided.”
—The Tool Engineer
History of the Lathe to 1850: A Study in the Growth of a Technical Element of an Industrial Economy
“Woodbury, who teaches the history of technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is at work on a history of machine design which promises to alter our perspectives not only in his special field but in general cultural history…. His present history of the lathe (to about 1850) absorbs the entire previous literature and goes far beyond it.”
—Lynn White, Jr.
Product Details:
· Paperback: 592 pages
· Publisher: The MIT Press
· March 15, 1973
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 0262730332
· ISBN-13: 978-0262730334
Publisher: MIT Press Edition
Description: Illustrated
ISBN-10: 0262730332 ISBN-13: 9780262730334
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Robert Woodbury”s “Studies in the History of Machine Tools”…. this contains 4 monographs on gear-cutters, grinding machines, milling machines and lathe to 1850……
This work was originally published as four separate books; their titles, and reviewers’ comments, are given below: “History of the Gear-Cutting Machine: A Historical Study in Geometry and Machines “
The book represents an overwhelmingly well-done job of reducing a great mass of material-scholarly references, patents, catalogs, engineering and trade journals, and machines themselves-into a logical story of development. Written with zest and relish, this vivid account presents a wealth of unusual information. The illustrations are particularly good, for many of them come from previously untapped sources.” -Technology and Culture History of the Grinding Machine: A Historical Study in Tools and Precision Production “
From the polished artifacts of prehistoric times Mr. Woodbury traces the development of methods, abrasives, and the machine tools which interdependently contributed to the advanced grinding techniques used today. Many fine illustrations.” -The Tool Engineer History of the Milling Machine: A Study in Technical Development “Mr. Woodbury traces the evolution of milling machines from Eli Whitney’s machine (circa 1820), the first miller ever built, to numerical controlled milling machines…. presented cleanly with ample detail. Fine illustration and complete bibliography are provided.” -The Tool Engineer History of the Lathe to 1850: A Study in the Growth of a Technical Element of an Industrial Economy “
Woodbury, who teaches the history of technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is at work on a history of machine design which promises to alter our perspectives not only in his special field but in general cultural history…. His present history of the lathe (to about 1850) absorbs the entire previous literature and goes far beyond it.” -Lynn White, Jr.
M.I.T. Press, 1972 – Technology & Engineering – 592 pages
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