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News Research

World to cool slightly in 2008

LONDON (AFP) — World temperatures will cool slightly in 2008, but it will remain among the top 10 hottest years on record, British weather experts predicted.

The impact of a strong La Nina climate pattern over the Pacific will help keep temperatures down, according to the annual forecast by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia.

Overall the global temperature is expected to be 0.37 degrees Celsius above the long-term average of 14.0 degree, making it the coolest year since 2000 when the value was 0.24 degrees Celsius above the average.

“Phenomena such as El Nino and La Nina have a significant influence on global surface temperature and the current strong La Nina will act to limit temperatures in 2008,” said Professor Chris Folland of the Met Office.

“However mean temperature is still expected to be significantly warmer than in 2000 ... Sharply renewed warming is likely once La Nina declines,” he added.

The forecasts take into account El Nino and La Nina, ballooning greenhouse gas levels as well as solar effect and natural variations in the world’s oceans.

The cooling comes against the background of an underlying warming trend, said Professor Phil Jones, Director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.

“The fact that 2008 is forecast to be cooler than any of the last seven years — and that 2007 did not break the record warmth set on 1998 — does not mean that global warming has gone away,” he said.

“What matters is the underlying rate of warming — the period 2001-2007 with an average of 0.44 degrees Celsius above the 1961-90 average was 0.21 degrees Celsius warmer than corresponding values for the period 1991-2000.”

La Nina, effectively a drop in sea surface temperatures off the western coast of South America, can cause havoc with weather patterns in many parts of the globe.

El Nino, a warming of Pacific sea surface temperatures, was blamed for a lengthy drought in Australia, flooding in the Horn of Africa and Bolivia, and more severe winter monsoons in South Asia in 2006-2007.

International News

EU to limit car emissions from 2012

From 2012, cars produced in the EU must meet strict carbon emissions targets, with steeply rising fines on manufacturers that fail to comply, if fiercely contested and delayed legislation now passed by the European Commission is adopted.

It sets a four-year phase-in period from 2012 for fines on manufacturers whose fleets exceed an average of 120 grams per kilometre of carbon dioxide.

“The proposal is backed by credible penalties,” EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told a news conference. “This will send a strong signal to the world about the determination of the European Union to take bold measures on climate change.”

Fines on companies for non-compliance will start at 20 euros ($28.80) per new car for each excess gram per km in 2012 on average over the whole fleet, and rise to 95 euros g/km in 2015.

Of the overall mandatory target, an average of 130 g/km must be achieved from improved engine technology and the rest through biofuels and more efficient gears, tyres and air-conditioning.

The commission’s decision is not the last word. The two other political institutions — the council of member states and the European Parliament — must also approve the legislation.

An EU official told reporters the so-called “slope of the curve” in sharing emissions cuts meant makers of heavier vehicles would have to do more than manufacturers of lighter cars.

Germany had demanded a slope of 80% to protect its car industry that predominantly produces heavier luxury vehicles, while France had sought a 25% slope to put the main burden on bigger, more polluting cars. The commission eventually agreed on a 60% slope.

Car makers will be able to team up and pool their Co2 emissions to meet the EU targets. That means makers of heavier cars will be able to buy emissions credits from producers whose fleet is below the limit.

German environment minister Sigmar Gabriel, often a backer of EU green initiatives, called the legislation a “competition war” against the German car industry to benefit French and Italian rivals.

Industry News

Tall people earn considerably more money throughout their lives than their shorter co-workers

Tall people earn considerably more money throughout their lives than their shorter co-workers, with each inch adding about $789 a year in pay, according to a new study.

"Height matter for career success," said professor Timothy Judge of University of Florida. "These findings are troubling in that, with a few exceptions such as professional basketball, no one could argue that height is an essential ability required for job performance nor a bona fide occupational qualification." Judge and Daniel Cable, a business professor at the University of North Carolina, analyzed results of four large-scale studies in the United States and Britain that followed thousands of participants from childhood to adulthood, examining details of their work and personal lives. The study was controlled for gender, weight and age, and found that each inch in height added about $789 a year in pay. "If you take about literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of earnings advantage that a tall person enjoys." Judge said.

Greater height boosted subjective ratings of work performance, including supervisors' evaluations of how effective someone is on the job, and also raised objective measures of performance, such as sales volume.

The relationship between height and earnings was particularly strong in sales and management but was also present in less social occupations such as engineering, accounting and computer programming, the study found.

Domestic News

The Olympic Flame has arrived in Beijing

Chinese President Hu Jintao lit a cauldron at Beijing's Tiananmen Square with the Olympic torch Monday morning, marking the official start of the round-the-world relay.

Chinese President Hu Jintao lit a cauldron at Beijing's Tiananmen Square with the Olympic torch Monday morning, marking the official start of the round-the-world relay.

Vice President Xi Jinping, member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), addressed the ceremony.

Zhou Yongkang, member of the nine-man Political Bureau Standing Committee, and other CPC and state leaders attended the ceremony.

Also present was International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission chairman Hein Verbruggen, who addressed the ceremony on behalf of IOC president Jacques Rogge.

The flame is scheduled to depart from Beijing on Tuesday for the Kazakh city of Almaty, the first stop in its global tour of 135 cities.

The relay will cover 137,000 kilometers in 130 days before the flame finally arrives at the National Stadium in Beijing on Aug 8,2008 for the opening ceremony.