New climate models show that parts of South Asia will become uninhabitable by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not dramatically reduced. Under a high emissions scenario, where little action is taken to stop climate change, “the heat wave intensity will reach magnitudes that have not been observed before,” Elfatih Eltahir told VOA. Eltahir is a hydro-climatologist at MIT who co-wrote the report published Wednesday in the open-access journal Science Advances. Ironically, the water that attracted humans to these regions will be what makes the environment intolerable. These won’t be the hottest places in the world, but the heat, humidity, high population density and poverty combined will make them some of the places with the highest risk for deadly heatwaves. The researchers wanted their analysis to take both heat and humidity into consideration, so that it would be more relevant to human health. They modeled the so-called “wet bulb temperature,” which takes the actual temperature and subtracts the cooling one could hope to achieve though evaporation. If the wet bulb temperature rises about 35°C (95°F), just below normal human body temperature, a person has no hope of dissipating heat. Under these conditions, even the healthiest individual in the shade, with water, will die after a few hours. According to the heat index, a heat-humidity metric often used in weather reports, which adds humidity on top of temperature, a wet bulb temperature of 35°C would “feel like” 72°C (161°F). The models showed that under the high emissions scenario, these temperatures would …
Avon CEO McCoy to Leave Company
Avon’s CEO will leave the company in March as the struggling beauty products maker continues a turnaround campaign. Sheri McCoy has led the company for five years and sits on the board, but there has been some external pressure from activist investors for a change in leadership. Avon said Thursday that it has hired an executive search firm to help find McCoy’s successor. “The platform is in place for a new CEO to continue accelerating the pace of change and take Avon to sustainable profitable growth,” McCoy said in a company release. Barrington Capital Group had been pushing for significant action at Avon since 2015, when it sent a letter saying that, “significant, immediate changes in leadership and strategic direction are needed.” In March 2016 Avon announced that it was cutting 2,500 jobs and moving its headquarters from New York to the U.K. Avon Products Inc. launched a three-year transformation plan last year and so far it has sold its North American business to private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management and realized $180 million in cost savings. But those efforts have been arduous. The company on Thursday said it had swung to a loss of $45.5 million in the second quarter. It had an adjusted loss of 3 cents per share on revenue of $1.4 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research predicted earnings of 6 cents per share on revenue of $1.44 billion. Shares fell slightly in premarket trading. …
Technology Sniffs Out Underground Gas Leaks
Natural gas is a clean-burning fuel that reaches homes through underground pipes. Unfortunately, older pipes often leak, wasting fuel and releasing unburned methane, a potent greenhouse gas. To find and measure leaks, Colorado scientists teamed up with the Environmental Defense Fund and Google Street View Cars to make “methane maps.” From Fort Collins, Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports. …
НБУ залишив облікову ставку на рівні 12,5% річних
Національний банк України вирішив залишити облікову ставку на рівні 12,5% річних. Як повідомляє прес-служба Нацбанку, проведення стриманої монетарної політики зумовлено необхідністю нівелювати ризики для досягнення цілей з інфляції. У НБУ зауважують, що у червні показник інфляції у річному вимірі досяг піку цього року, після чого очікується його поступове зниження. НБУ з 26 травня знизив облікову ставку до 12,5% річних. У березні 2015 року НБУ облікова ставка була на рівні 30%, згодом Нацбанк почав поступово знижувати облікову ставку. Облікова ставка є одним із інструментів, за допомогою якого Нацбанк встановлює для комерційних банків орієнтир щодо вартості залучених і розміщених коштів. Фактично вона визначає ціну грошей. …
Miners Union, Federal Officers at Odds Over Increase in US Coal Deaths
Deaths in U.S. coal mines this year have surged ahead of last year’s, and federal safety officials say workers who are new to a mine have been especially vulnerable to fatal accidents. But the nation’s coal miner’s union says the mine safety agency isn’t taking the right approach to fixing the problem. Ten coal miners have died on the job so far this year, compared to a record low of eight deaths last year. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is responding to the uptick in deaths with a summer initiative, sending officials to observe and train miners new to a particular mine on safer working habits. The push comes during a transition for the agency, amid signals from President Donald Trump that he intends to ease the industry’s regulatory burden. Federal inspectors powerless The miner’s union, the United Mine Workers of America, says the agency initiative falls short. It notes federal inspectors who conduct such training visits are barred from punishing the mine if they spot any safety violations. “To take away the inspector’s right to issue a violation takes away the one and only enforcement power the inspector and the agency has,” UAW president Cecil Roberts wrote in a recent letter to the federal agency. Patricia Silvey, a deputy assistant secretary at the Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA, said eight of the coal miners who died this year had less than a year’s experience at the mine where they worked. “We found from the stats …
«Нафтогаз» не відкличе позови проти «Газпрому» – Вітренко
У Національній акціонерній компанії «Нафтогаз України» не вірять запевненням російського монополіста «Газпрому» щодо продовження транзиту газу в разі відкликання зі Стокгольмсього арбітражу позовів української компанії. Про це заявив головний комерційний директор НАК «Нафтогаз України» Юрій Вітренко. «Цим заявам віри немає. Минулий раз нас теж запевняли, що запуск «Північного потоку -1» не призведе до зменшення транзиту через Україну. Обдурили. Ба більше, ще недавно російська сторона публічно заявляла, що за жодних обставин транзиту через Україну після закінчення поточного контракту не буде», – вказує Вітренко в Facebook. Він стверджує, що Росія змінила публічну позицію щодо транзиту лише після того, як «ми («Нафтогаз» – ред.) у Стокгольмському арбітражі зажадали задоволення нашого контрактного права про перегляд транзитного тарифу відповідно до європейських умов тарифоутворення». «А ці умови дозволяють нам вимагати набагато вищої плати за транзит для покриття зростання наших витрат через необхідність прискорено амортизувати нашу газотранспортну систему», – вказує головний комерційний директор НАК «Нафтогаз України». 2 серпня заступник директора департаменту інформації та друку МЗС Росії Анастасія Федорова заявила, що Москва не відмовляється від транзиту свого газу в Європу через територію України, однак хоче, щоб Київ виконав кілька умов. «Збереження транзиту газу через Україну було б можливим тільки в разі надання Києвом конкурентоспроможних тарифів на транзит і нівелювання відомих транзитних ризиків, включаючи зняття всіх претензій і скасування позовів щодо «Газпрому», – вказала представниця російської дипломатії. «Нафтогаз України» і російський «Газпром» ведуть переговори з метою визначити конкретні суми, які сторони мають виплатити одна одній за рішенням арбітражу. За повідомленням «Нафтогазу», Стокгольмський арбітраж задовольнив вимогу української компанії щодо перегляду …
3-D View of Cells Could Mean New Ways to Fight Disease
What turns a cell into a brain cell, or a muscle cell, or a cancer cell for that matter? It is all about the DNA, and what genetic markers get turned on and off. Scientists at the Salk Institute have created a 3-D map of a cell that is giving them a unique view of how DNA works inside individual cells. Kevin Enochs reports. …
Top Democrats Back Trump on China Trade Probe
Three top Democratic senators, in a rare show of bipartisanship, on Wednesday urged U.S. President Donald Trump to stand up to China as he prepares to launch an inquiry into Beijing’s intellectual property and trade practices in coming days. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pressed the Republican president to skip the investigation and go straight to trade action against China. “We should certainly go after them,” said Schumer in a statement. Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sherrod Brown of Ohio also urged Trump to rein in China. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent months as Trump has pressed China to cut steel production to ease global oversupply and rein in North Korea’s missile program. Sources familiar with the current discussions said Trump was expected to issue a presidential memorandum in coming days, citing Chinese theft of intellectual property as a problem. The European Union, Japan, Germany and Canada have all expressed concern over China’s behavior on intellectual property theft. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would then initiate an investigation under the Trade Act of 1974’s Section 301, which allows the president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions to protect U.S. industries, the sources said. It is unclear whether such a probe would result in trade sanctions against China, which Beijing would almost certainly challenge before the World Trade Organization. The Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement to Reuters that China “opposes unilateral actions and trade protectionism in any form.” Leverage for talks …
Scientists: Much of South Asia Could Be Too Hot to Live in by 2100
Climate change could make much of South Asia, home to a fifth of the world’s population, too hot for human survival by the end of this century, scientists warned Wednesday. If climate change continues at its current pace, deadly heat waves beginning in the next few decades will strike parts of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to a study based on computer simulations by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Key agricultural areas in the Indus and Ganges river basins will be hit particularly hard, reducing crop yields and increasing hunger in some of the world’s most densely populated regions, researchers said. “Climate change is not an abstract concept. It is impacting huge numbers of vulnerable people,” MIT professor Elfatih Eltahir told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Business as usual runs the risk of having extremely lethal heat waves.” The areas likely to be worst affected in northern India, southern Pakistan and Bangladesh are home to 1.5 billion people, said Eltahir, the study’s co-author. Currently, about 2 percent of India’s population is sometimes exposed to extreme combinations of heat and humidity; by 2100 that will increase to about 70 percent if nothing is done to mitigate climate change, the study said. Heat waves across South Asia in the summer of 2015 killed an estimated 3,500 people, and similar events will become more frequent and intense, researchers said. Persian Gulf Projections show the Persian Gulf region will be the world’s hottest region by 2100 as a result of climate change. But …
Dow Jones Closes Above 22,000 — a 6th-straight Record High
The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a sixth-straight record Wednesday, closing above 22,000 for the first time, but experts point out that whatever goes up must always come down. The Dow closed up a fraction at 22,016. Healthy earnings reports from computer technology giant Apple, the world’s largest publicly traded company, and airplane manufacturer Boeing were major contributors to the Dow hitting another major milestone. The Dow Jones is an index of 30 major companies from a variety retail, manufacturing and service industries. It has been used as a gauge of the health of the U.S. stock market for more than 100 years. The Dow is up 11 percent so far this year and all of Wall Street has been in what is known as a “bull market” for several years. It has been buoyed, in part, by better-than-expected corporate earnings and expectations brought on by the pro-business Trump White House. But some analysts say they cannot see a lot of room for the Dow to go much higher. They say that while they expect more positive earnings reports, Congress’ inaction on President Trump’s proposed tax cuts could take some wind out of investor optimism. Plus, they point out that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is an index of just 30 companies, which they say is sometimes a narrow gauge of overall investor confidence. Some other world markets have outperformed the New York Stock Exchange so far this year, such as the Dow Jones China 88 Index, the eurozone’s Euro …
US Scientists Able to Alter Genes of Human Embryos
U.S. scientists have succeeded in altering the genes of a human embryo to correct a disease-causing mutation, making it possible to prevent the defect from being passed on to future generations. The milestone, published this week in the journal Nature, was confirmed last week by Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), which collaborated with the Salk Institute and Korea’s Institute for Basic Science to use a technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 to correct a genetic mutation for a heart condition. Until now, published studies using the technique had been done in China with mixed results. CRISPR-Cas9 works as a type of molecular scissors that can selectively trim away unwanted parts of the genome, and replace it with new stretches of DNA. “We have demonstrated the possibility to correct mutations in a human embryo in a safe way and with a certain degree of efficiency,” said Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory and a co-author of the study. To increase the success rate, his team introduced the genome editing components along with sperm from a male with the targeted gene defect during the in vitro fertilization process. They found that the embryo used the available healthy copy of the gene to repair the mutated part. The Salk/OHSU team also found that its gene correction did not cause any detectable mutations in other parts of the genome – a major concern for gene editing. Still, the technology was not 100 percent successful – it increased the number of …
UN Agencies Urge More Support, Funds for Breastfeeding
The World Health Organization and the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recommend that mothers breastfeed within the first hour after giving birth and continue until their children reach age 2, with supplemental food as they grow older. Yet no country in the world meets these standards or provides enough support for breastfeeding mothers, according to a report the agencies released Tuesday. “Breast milk works like a baby’s first vaccine, protecting infants from potentially deadly diseases and giving them all the nourishment they need to survive and thrive,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said in a press release. Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, posed this question on UNICEF’s website: “What if governments had a proven, cost-effective way to save babies’ lives, reduce rates of malnutrition, support children’s health, increase educational attainment and grow productivity?” Lake provided the answer: “They do: It’s called breastfeeding. And it is one of the best investments nations can make in the lives and futures of their youngest members — and in the long-term strength of their societies.” According to the Global Breastfeeding Initiative, a partnership of 20 international agencies whose goal is to increase investment in breastfeeding worldwide under the leadership of UNICEF and WHO, breastfeeding can bolster brain development, which in turn can lead to a smarter, more productive work force. Furthermore, breastfeeding saves mothers’ and babies’ lives. In the first six months of life, it helps prevent diarrhea and pneumonia, two major causes of infant death. Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of ovarian and …
Researchers: 2017 Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico Biggest Ever
The Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone” — the area where there’s too little oxygen to support marine life — is the biggest ever measured this year. The low-oxygen dead zone along the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast measured 22,720 square kilometers (8,776 square miles), about the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Scientist Nancy Rabalais found a solid band of water along the Gulf bottom with oxygen levels of less than 2 parts per million stretching from just west of the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana well into the Texas coast area near Houston. Rabalais said the area was likely even larger, but the mapping cruise had to stop before reaching the western edge. She and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the latest measurement Wednesday. “The number of dead zones throughout the world has been increasing in the last several decades and currently totals 500,” the news release said. “The dead zone off the Louisiana coast is the second-largest human-caused coastal hypoxic area in the global ocean and stretches from the mouth of the Mississippi River into Texas waters and less often, but increasingly more frequent, east of the Mississippi River.” Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution enters the Mississippi throughout its watershed, which includes runoff from Midwest crop farms and meat producers that stimulate massive algal growth that eventually decomposes, which uses up the oxygen needed to support life in the Gulf. …
No More Freebies? India Plans Crackdown on Marketing by Drugmakers
India, one of the world’s largest markets for pharmaceuticals, is drawing up its first set of marketing rules for drugmakers, restricting gifts and trips offered to doctors and pharmacists to 1,000 rupees ($15), according to a draft proposal seen by Reuters. Such rules are common overseas, but are not set in stone in India, where campaigners have long demanded a crackdown on unethical selling practices that include gifts ranging from electrical appliances to foreign trips to woo physicians and pharmacists into prescribing and stocking specific medicines. The country has voluntary marketing guidelines for drugmakers, but critics say they are ineffective. “In India, corruption and bribery of doctors is widespread,” said Samiran Nundy, a leading gastrointestinal surgeon. “I’ve seen a range of ways in which this works, from presents to doctors to paying for them to attend conferences.” “It’s great that marketing rules are coming into place,” he added. “I hope that these will be enforced.” Besides limiting marketing spending, the draft proposal — drawn up by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) and under review of India’s law ministry — also forbids drugmakers from making false claims on the curative abilities and efficacy of drugs. An official at the DoP declined to comment on the draft’s specifics, but confirmed to Reuters that the order was under review, though the implementation date for the rules is not set. The draft says a failure to abide by the rules would result in a marketing ban on a drugmaker for up to a year …
US Congress’ Next Big Battle: Tax Reform
As the U.S. stock market hit a new all-time high Wednesday, key U.S. lawmakers staked out core positions for a looming battle that could impact economic performance for decades: reforming America’s complicated and much-maligned tax system. “Comprehensive tax reform represents the single most important action we can take now to grow the economy and to help middle-class families finally get ahead,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, adding that Washington has a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to act. “For families, we want to make their taxes simpler, fairer and lower. For small businesses, we want to provide the conditions they need to form, invest and grow,” McConnell said. An object of near-universal ridicule, the federal tax code is thousands of pages long and forces many Americans to hire accountants or attorneys to comply with its vast array of provisions. President Donald Trump made tax reform a major campaign promise last year, including lowering America’s corporate tax rate, the highest among the world’s major economies. Failure to deliver on what has been a core Republican pledge to voters for multiple election cycles would be a bitter pill for a party still licking its wounds over its inability — so far — to abolish former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. While Senate Democrats unified in opposition to repealing Obamacare, many say they are eager to work with Republicans on tax reform so long as certain conditions are met. “First, don’t cut taxes for the top 1 percent [richest Americans],” …
Amazon, in Sign of Growth, Holds Job Fair for US Warehouses
Amazon is holding a giant job fair Wednesday and plans to make thousands of job offers on the spot at nearly a dozen U.S. warehouses. Though it’s common for Amazon to ramp up its shipping center staff in August to prepare for holiday shopping, the magnitude of the hiring spree underscores Amazon’s growth when traditional retailers are closing stores — and blaming Amazon for a shift to buying goods online. Nearly 40,000 of the 50,000 packing, sorting and shipping jobs at Amazon will be full time. Most of them will count toward Amazon’s previously announced goal of adding 100,000 full-time workers by the middle of next year. The bad news is that more people are likely to lose jobs in stores than get jobs in warehouses, said Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. On the flip side, Amazon’s warehouse jobs provide “decent and competitive” wages and could help build skills. “Interpersonal team work, problem solving, critical thinking, all that stuff goes on in these warehouses,” Carnevale said. “They’re serious entry-level jobs for a lot of young people, even those who are still making their way through school.” At one warehouse — Amazon calls them “fulfillment centers” — in Fall River, Massachusetts, the company hopes to hire more than 200 people Wednesday, adding to a workforce of about 1,500. Employees there focus on sorting, labeling and shipping what the company calls “non-sortable” items — big products such as shovels, surfboards, grills, car seats — and …
Шахтарі Кривого Рогу знову вийшли на акцію протесту з вимогою зарплати в тисячу євро
У середу шахтарі шахти «Артем-1» підприємства «АрселорМіттал Кривий Ріг» у Кривому Розі вийшли знову на акцію протесту з вимогою підвищення заробітної плати працівників до 1 тисячі євро у гривневому еквіваленті. За словами учасників, минула акція відбулась тиждень тому, від того часу домовленості з адміністрацією підприємства про виконання вимог гірників не було досягнуто. Окрім збільшення зарплат, працівники шахти вимагають збільшення страхових внесків медичного страхування. За інформацією протестувальників, на 2 серпня вони планували початок безстрокового страйку, однак Саксаганський районний суд Кривого Рогу після звернення адміністрації підприємства його проведення заборонив. Гірники вважають, що таким чином їх позбавили «конституційного захисту своїх прав та свобод». Активісти профспілкових організацій склали листа-звернення до президента України з низкою вимог. Зокрема, вони вимагають звернути увагу на ситуацію на підприємстві, вжити заходів «для контролю дотримання законодавства України на підприємстві», запровадити «кримінальну відповідальність за неякісні перевірки порушень трудового законодавства держслужбовцями Держпраці» тощо. Раніше, 26 липня, в ПАТ «АрселорМіттал Кривий Ріг» Радіо Свобода повідомили, що шахта «Артем – 1» – це структурний підрозділ ПАТ «АрселорМіттал Кривий Ріг» з низьким рівнем рентабельності, тому «вимоги працівників щодо підвищення зарплати до 1 тисячу євро в місяць є необґрунтованими і не аргументовані економічним розрахунком». Як зазначили на підприємстві, компанія зберігає робочі місця понад тисячі працівників шахти, «забезпечуючи їм соціальну підтримку в цей непростий період». Як поінформували в адміністрації, зараз середня зарплата прохідників шахти складає 19 тисяч гривень, «що перевищує рівень середньої зарплати в інших шахтах Кривого Рогу». 2 серпня на підприємстві від коментарів відмовились. 11 травня що шахтарі шахт «Фрунзе» та «Ювілейна» ПАТ «Євраз Суха балка» …
Набув чинності закон, що передбачає штрафи за невстановлення лічильників – Гройсман
Українські споживачі платитимуть тільки за спожиту енергію, оскільки набув чинності закон «Про комерційний облік теплової енергії та водопостачання», повідомив у Twitter прем’єр-міністр Володимир Гройсман. За його словами, відтепер оператори зовнішніх інженерних мереж мають встановити лічильники. «Якщо оператор не зробить, на нього, а не на споживача, накладатимуть штраф», – зазначив Гройсман, пояснивши, що лічильники тепла та води для нежитлових будівель повинні встановити протягом року, а для житлових – протягом 2 років. 22 червня Верховна Рада ухвалила закон про комерційний облік комунальних послуг, який передбачає обов’язкове оснащення лічильниками всіх будівель, приєднаних до зовнішніх теплових мереж, а також мереж гарячого та холодного водопостачання. Експерти відреагували на нього неоднозначно, зокрема, зауваживши, що показники загальнобудинкового лічильника можуть перевищувати суму показників лічильників усіх квартир в будинку з кількох причин: через зловживання з боку когось із сусідів, а також через різницю в точності приладів або внаслідок аварії у внутрішніх мережах. А в Адміністрації президента очікують, що закон «Про комерційний облік теплової енергії та водопостачання» дозволить знизити на три чверті обсяг необлікованих витрат води у внутрішньо-будинкових системах та скоротити споживання теплової енергії протягом 1-3 років у середньому на 15-20%, що, у свою чергу, сприятиме зменшенню споживання газу та скороченню викидів парникових газів. …
Україна готує позов проти Росії щодо збитків від будівництва Керченського мосту – Мінінфраструктури
Україна готує позов щодо запровадження Росією обмежень для судноплавства у Керченській протоці через будівництво мосту, заявив на зустрічі з профспілками портів 1 серпня заступник міністра інфраструктури Юрій Лавренюк. Про це повідомляється на сайті міністерства. «Цю проблему ми наразі вирішуємо разом із Міністерством закордонних справ, Радою національної безпеки і оборони. Це глобальне, політичне та складне питання, але ми його обов’язково вирішимо. Міністерство юстиції в рамках наявних судових позовів проти Росії відокремлює проблему перекриття Керченського каналу і введення обмежень по судовому ходу. Зараз готується позов і рахуються збитки недоотриманих коштів Маріупольським та Бердянським торговельними портами», – заявив Лавренюк. Раніше у червні він повідомляв, що Міністерство транспорту Росії підготувало проект наказу про закриття Керченської протоки в акваторії його судноходної частини Керч-Єнікальського каналу на 23 доби в серпні-вересні 2017 року. Прокуратура Автономної Республіки Крим напередодні повідомила, що веде досудове розслідування у зв’язку з порушенням правил екологічної безпеки при будівництві мосту через Керченську протоку. Про необхідність побудувати перехід через Керченську протоку президент Росії Володимир Путін заявив відразу після анексії Криму – у березні 2014 року. Побудувати міст обіцяли до 2018 року, здати в експлуатацію влітку 2019-го. Українська сторона вийшла з договору з Росією про будівництво мосту 2014 року – після анексії Криму Росією. …
Hollywood Helping Doctors Practice Brain Surgeries
Life-size 3D models, used by Hollywood for creating amazing visual effects, can also serve as props for surgeons practicing complicated operations. Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, Maryland, say even seasoned brain surgeons can benefit from the realistic training. …
Egypt Reserves Reach Record High of Over $36 Billion
Egypt’s foreign reserves reached over $36 billion in July, a record high, which the prime minister described as “good news” as it shows that the economy is recovering, the central bank said Tuesday. The bank announced the increase in a brief statement saying that the figure is 4.7 billion dollars higher compared to the previous month. In December 2010, foreign reserves reached $36 billion. Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail hailed the increase of the foreign reserves saying, “this is an assuring message about the Egyptian economy and that we are capable of covering the needs of the Egyptian people.” “This means that the Egyptian economy has recovered,” he said. $12 billion loan from IMF The rise comes after the government secured a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. In order to qualify for that loan, the government imposed a set of tough economic measures, including subsidy cuts and the flotation of its local currency. The economic measures were hailed by the IMF but have left many Egyptians struggling with both reduced buying power and spiraling inflation while the government struggles to generate jobs in country with an official population of 92 million. This summer, Egypt raised electricity prices by more than 40 percent and increased gasoline prices by up to 55 percent while doubling the price of the household staple butane canisters, used for cooking. Measures benefit middle, lower classes Ahead of the latest hikes, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi approved a package of measures benefiting …
As Warming Brings More Malaria, Kenya Moves Treatment Closer to Home
When it rains in Emusala village, a person sick with a fever can find it hard to get to the nearest health center, which requires a trip along the slippery footpaths that lead to the nearest main road some 10km (6 miles) away, in the heart of Western Kenya’s Kakamega County. But if the fever spells the onset of malaria, rapid diagnosis and treatment are essential. That’s where Nicholas Akhonya comes in. With the aid of a simple medical kit and his mobile phone, Akhonya, a trained community health volunteer, is able to diagnose villagers with malaria in their own homes, offer treatment, and refer acute cases and pregnant women to health facilities for specialized care. Malaria cases are on the increase in Kenya, and experts attribute the upsurge to changes in the climate. According to Dr. James Emisiko, coordinator for the Division of Vector Borne and Neglected Tropical Diseases in Kakamega County, mosquitoes breed particularly well in stagnant water in warm temperatures. The females feed on human blood in order to produce eggs, and if a mosquito carrying the malaria-causing plasmodium parasite bites a person, it is likely to infect them. Kenya’s recent drought — the harshest in East Africa since 2011— followed by sporadic rainfall in the middle of this year has created a perfect breeding environment for mosquitoes, Emisiko told Thomson Reuters Foundation. The result is an upsurge of malaria cases, especially in the Western Kenya region and around Lake Victoria. “The only way to control deaths …
European Oil Majors Seek to Harness US Offshore Wind
Some European oil majors have made inroads into the emerging U.S. offshore wind energy market, aiming to leverage their experience of deepwater development and the crowded offshore wind arena at home. Late entrants to the offshore wind game in Europe, which began with a project off Denmark 25 years ago and is now approaching maturity, they are looking across the Atlantic at what they view as a huge and potentially lucrative new market. Norway’s Statoil has won a license to develop a wind farm of the New York coast, is marketing its new floating turbine to California and Hawaii and is retraining some oil and gas staff to work in its wind division. Royal Dutch Shell bid for a lease offshore North Carolina earlier this year while Denmark’s DONG Energy, a wind energy pioneer which agreed to sell its oil and gas business in May, is in a Massachusetts-based offshore wind consortium, holds a lease off the New Jersey coast and has opened an office in Boston. Offshore wind generation began in the United States late last year, ironically after the election of President Donald Trump. He is skeptical about climate change, complains about subsidies for renewable energy and battled against an offshore wind farm near his Scottish golf resort. However, a string of federal seabed leases were awarded before Trump took office and more are planned. The investment needed to get projects going is one of the biggest obstacles. “Undeniably, offshore wind is a big boys’ game because it …
Scientists Turn to Big Data in Hunt for Minerals, Oil and Gas
Scientists searching for everything from oil and gas to copper and gold are adopting techniques used by companies such as Netflix or Amazon to sift through vast amounts of data, a study showed Tuesday. The method has already helped to discover 10 carbon-bearing minerals and could be widely applied to exploration, they wrote in the journal American Mineralogist. “Big data points to new minerals, new deposits,” they wrote of the findings. The technique goes beyond traditional geology by amassing data about how and where minerals have formed, for instance by the cooling of lava after volcanic eruptions. The data can then be used to help find other deposits. “Minerals occur on Earth in clusters,” said Robert Hazen, executive director of the Deep Carbon Observatory at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington and an author of the study. “When you see minerals together, it’s very like the way that humans interact in social networks such as Facebook,” he said. Hazen said the technique was also like Amazon, which recommends books based on a client’s previous orders, or by media-streaming company Netflix, which proposes movies based on a customer’s past viewing habits. “They are using vast amounts of data and make correlations that you could never make,” he told Reuters. Lead author Shaunna Morrison, also at the Deep Carbon Observatory and the Carnegie Institution, said luck often played a big role for geologists searching for new deposits. “We are looking at it in a much more systematic way,” she said of …