Scientists: Global warming real despite harsh winter

Global warming may be the last thing on the minds of Delawareans still recovering from the second major snowstorm in a month, with a third in the offing. But recent record snowfall doesn’t clash with the larger trend of the Earth getting warmer, climate scientists said Monday.

“It’s very easy for us to look out a window and say global warming is nothappening,” said Cornell University weather scientist Stephen J. Colluci. “Tell that to people who are living in areas where sea level rise will make them homeless.”

Colluci said climate-change skeptics were likely to seize on snow in the East as proof of their skeptical stand.

Atmospheric scientist Roy Spencer at the University of Alabama at Huntsville is among those who doubt a long-term warming trend is occurring. The weather — including the 2 inches of snow that fell recently on the southern campus — is simply hard to predict lately, he said.

“There’s chaotic variation in the climate system that will make one winter different from the next,” Spencer said. “My opinion is that most variability in weather, no matter where it is on earth, is natural and not related to any kind of long-term climate change due to mankind.”

At Mary’s Place in Wilmington, restaurant-owner Mary Austin said little attention was being paid to the experts. She and many of her customers decided long before December’s big snow that the weather has been changing.

The breakfast-lunch business along North Lincoln Street near Shallcross Avenue was closed by snow Saturday and reopened Monday only with snow-shoveling help from neighbors.

“I don’t think the science behind it is relevant to a lot of people here. The general consensus is that climate change is happening: You don’t have to convince them,” Austin said. “It’s just the drasticness (sic) — the extreme heat in the summer or the snow. The weather here has changed.”

Both sides in the science debate attribute the recent storms to unusually warm Pacific sea surface temperatures — a phenomenon called El Niño. The warm water affected the atmosphere, setting up storms in the eastern United States that have repeatedly collided with unusual air currents draining cold air south from the Arctic.


Source:
Delaware Online, “Scientists: Global warming real despite harsh winter“, accessed February 9, 2010

Dressing Rich and Powerful

Dressing rich and powerful

10 February 2010
Zenoyise Madikwa
The Sowetan

Designers played with the ankara fabric to make a statement in their designs during the Face of Africa competition on Saturday.

I ATTENDED the Face of Africa contest in Lagos, Nigeria, on Saturday thinking that I was going to be the best-dressed in my little ensemble by a hot local designer.

When I saw Nigerian ladies walking down the red carpet in their Ankara-inspired clothes, I wanted to run back to my hotel room to cover myself.

In Nigeria any celebration is a chance to look good and clothes are a symbol of status and wealth.

From head to toe Nigerian women make sure that they impress. The make-up is impeccable on their beautiful dark skins.

There is not a single hair out of place and the nails are well done. The only turn-off about Naija women is their attitude.

In their minds every woman is after their hot men. Maybe their fears are not far-fetched after all. Nigerian men seem to be a hit with South African women.

There have been many reports about South African women , especially models, frequenting their country with their rich men.

Back to fashion, according to top Nigerian designer Lisa Folawiyo of Jewel by Lisa, in Nigeria being fashionable is a priority for more than 70 percent of the Nigerian population.

“Every female is not only trying to be fashionable but also to be a fashionista. Nigerian women love to dazzle. This is something that has been transferred from one generation to another.”

Folawiyo adds that in recent years the Nigerian fashion scene has witnessed an astronomical upgrade that western fashion is fast losing its taste among many Nigerian women and many are choosing the ankara, which is one of the hottest trends in Nigeria today.

This was evident in many Nigerian designs showcased at the M-Net Face of Africa ramp recently.

Most Nigerian designers, including those that are based overseas, were inspired by the ankara, one way or the other.

Formerly referred to as Dutch; this fabric acquired the name “Ankara” when the Turks made a cheaper version. Without a glamorous look, the fabric was regarded as indigenous.

Fashion-savvy Nigerians have taken the fabric, improved it, and have represented it to the world.

Folawiyo says the ankara is so versatile, easy to wear, and works wonderfully well with any essential accessory.

It can be worn in combinations done tastefully and with a critical eye to its colourful nature.

These days Ankara can be combined with satin, chiffon, linen, and even sometimes lace fabric.

It has infiltrated the South African fashion scene as well. These day in South Africa the ankara has also become a symbol of class.

Wealthy women usually show up in events such as the opening of Parliament and weddings dressed up in an ankara.

Tomorrow any parliamentarians are likely to rock up in dresses made of this West African fabric.

How to care for your ankara?

It can either be hand or machine washed. Do not wash your the ankara in hot water, it will only fade away.

As heat could cause your Ankara to easily fade and discolour, it is best to iron it inside out .

The ankara is very durable and will stand the test of time. It will always look good but being wax, it will eventually begin to slightly fade.

There is no need to soak your ankara in water for more than you need to, this might weaken its fibres.

After washing allow to dry properly before storing.

Also avoid washing your Ankara with detergents or acidic soaps; rather use quality bar soap.

Avoid washing your ankara too often so as to prolong the lifespan.

– Additional info http://www.fashionafrica.com

Storm Over Bailout of Greece, European Union’s Most Ailing Economy

From The Times

February 10, 2010

Storm over bailout of Greece, EU’s most ailing economy

Athens will be paralysed today by a 24-hour strike against a government trying to stave off bankruptcy ? as fellow members of the eurozone squabble over how best to solve Greece?s debt crisis

David Charter in Brussels

Angela Merkel tried to calm fevered speculation in financial markets yesterday that Germany was preparing to lead a bail-out of Greece amid a split in the EU on how to handle its most ailing member.

The German Chancellor denied reports that her Finance Minister was conducting secret talks with Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank, and with other capitals on an EU rescue fund for Athens.

Mrs Merkel has staunchly resisted suggestions that the EU must swallow its pride and turn to the Washington-based IMF for a solution to the growing economic turmoil in Greece, with fears that its troubles in international finance markets will trigger a domino effect, toppling other weak members of the eurozone such as Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

But last night there were signs of a developing European split over calling in the International Monetary Fund, a move also strongly opposed by Brussels, with suggestions from Sweden’s Finance Minister and other officials that this might be better than the EU programme outlined last week.

Mrs Merkel has repeatedly rejected the idea that the 16-nation eurozone would need to look to the IMF, which is already overseeing recovery efforts in Latvia and Hungary — both EU members outside the single currency. Her insistence that the eurozone can keep its own house in order led to market speculation yesterday that an EU bail-out was imminent.

There were also reports yesterday that Wolfgang Schäuble, the German Finance Minister, was working bilaterally and at the European level on putting together a package to help Athens.

A strong rally on Wall Street went into reverse when a spokesman for Mrs Merkel said flatly that this was “wrong”.

The crisis in Greece that is putting the euro under its biggest strain in the ten-year history of the single currency has forced its way on to the agenda of an economic summit for the 27 EU leaders in Brussels tomorrow. It is the first extraordinary meeting called by the new EU President, Herman Van Rompuy, and was supposed to be a relaxed day of long-term thinking about job creation over ten years. Instead, the prospect of a Greek default triggering a wider crisis in other weak economies such as Portugal and Spain will hang over the leaders.

The split emerged when Anders Borg, the Swedish Finance Minister, said that “the IMF has the technical knowledge” to resolve the Greek economic crisis, breaking the careful EU public consensus that the eurozone can cope. Mr Borg insisted that discussion of an IMF role in resolving Greece’s crisis should not be ruled out.

An EU official added: “There have obviously been discussions going on at an EU level about what the options are. There is a feeling that the IMF could offer a better course of action. The IMF has precedents or doing this, it has a system with measures in place.”

Climate scientists hit out at ’sloppy’ melting glaciers error

Climate scientists who worked on the UN panel on global warming say they are dismayed by ’sloppy’ work by their colleagues that introduced an error about melting glaciers. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images

Climate scientists who worked on the UN panel on global warming have hit out at “sloppy” colleagues from other disciplines who introduced a mistake about melting glaciers into the landmark 2007 report.

The experts, who worked on the section of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that considered the physical science of global warming, say the error by “social and biological scientists” has unfairly maligned their work. Some said that Rajendra Pachauri, the panel’s chair, should resign, though others supported him.

The IPCC report combined the output from three independent working groups, which separately considered the science, impacts and human response to climate change, and published their findings several months apart.

The report from working group two, on impacts, included a false claim that Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035, which was sourced to a report from campaign group WWF. The IPCC was forced to issue a statement of regret, though Pachauri and senior figures on the panel have refused to apologize for the mistake.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, several lead authors of the working group one (WG1) report, which produced the high-profile scientific conclusions that global warming was unequivocal and very likely down to human activity, said they were dismayed by the actions of their colleagues.

“Naturally the public and policy makers link all three reports together,” one said. “And the blunder over the glaciers detracts from the very carefully peer-reviewed science used exclusively in the WG1 report.”

Another author said: “There is no doubt that the inclusion of the glacier statement was sloppy. I find it embarrassing that working group two (WG2) would have the Himalaya statement referred to in the way it was.”

 Another said: “I am annoyed about this and I do think that WG1, the physical basis for climate change, should be distinguished from WG2 and WG3. The latter deal with impacts, mitigation and socioeconomics and it seems to me they might be better placed in another arm of the United Nations, or another organization altogether.”

The scientists were particularly unhappy that the flawed glacier prediction contradicted statements already published in their own report. “WG1 made a proper assessment of the state of glaciers and this should have been the source cited by the impacts people in WG2,” one said. “In the final stages of finishing our own report, we as WG1 authors simply had no time to also start double-checking WG2 draft chapters.”

Another said the mistake was made “not by climate scientists, but rather the social and biological scientists in WG2 … Clearly that WWF report was an inappropriate source, [as] any glaciologist would have stumbled over that number.”

The discovery of the glaciers mistake has focused attention on the IPCC’s use of so-called grey literature: reports that do not appear in conventional scientific journals, and are instead drawn from sources such as campaign groups, companies and student theses. The IPCC’s rules allow such grey literature, but many people have been surprised at the scale of its inclusion.

The report from WG2 cited the erroneous WWF report again, though not the glacier claim, in a separate section on human health, and also referenced reports from Greenpeace, the World Resources Institute, wildlife trade group Traffic as well as insurance companies Swiss Re and Axa. Working group three draws extensively on grey literature, including a newspaper article from the Asia Times.

Most WG1 scientists contacted defended the use of grey literature. “In many cases these reports have to use grey literature and anecdotal evidence because there is nothing else available, for example reports of sea level rise on small island states.”

Another author said: “Part of the problem is that WG2 largely involves the social science community. They are more used to referring to a diversity of sources, in fact, expert opinion is also an important analysis tool in the social sciences.”

Several authors defended Pachauri and the IPCC process. “The IPCC is not a hierarchical, top-down organization. The chapter authors have great freedom in writing their assessment without interference from the top, and so it should be.”

The IPCC correction combined with the release of private emails from global warming scientists at the University of East Anglia has raised suggestions of a crisis in climate science.

“This is a transient and manufactured crisis and will likely go away with time,” one IPCC author said. “What the science community needs is a few huge donors to throw millions of dollars behind PR campaigns to counter the propaganda out there. We are being attacked through baseless smear campaigns and we are not PR experts.”

They added: “The sad reality is this whole manufactured climate controversy is like arguing over the dinner menu on the Titanic as it sinks. The fact is, the climate is warming. Do we want to deal with this problem or not? Do we owe anything to future generations who are not here today to be part of the decision-making process. Science and the IPCC cannot answer these questions.”

Source:
The Guardian, “Climate scientists hit out at ’sloppy’ melting glaciers error“, accessed February 9, 2010

South African Authorities Crack Down on Balfour Protesters

Cops crack down on Balfour protesters

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Feb 10 2010 08:16

It was “very, very quiet” in the Siyathemba township in Balfour on Wednesday morning after violent protests earlier in the week, Mpumalanga police said.

Sergeant Sam Tshabalala said the township calmed down at about 10pm on Tuesday.

“It is calm in the township and we have members on the ground monitoring the situation,” said Tshabalala.

The police arrested 12 South Africans, both male and female, for public violence on Tuesday night.

“Some of them will also be linked to charges of malicious damage to state property after they damaged a police vehicle,” said Tshabalala.

A foreign national was arrested for assault.

“It is alleged that he and a group of other foreign nationals attacked members of the public, but we still have to investigate whether this could be related to the violence.”

Tshabalala said there were no reports of injuries during the night.

Twenty-two people were expected to appear in the Balfour Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday to face charges of public violence related to the protests.

A municipal office was set alight in the township during the violence, which started on Sunday and continued into Monday.

Police had opened a case of arson, but no one had yet been charged, Tshabalala said.

About 15 foreigners who fled the violence went to the police station on Monday morning to ask to be accompanied back into the township to check on their shops and collect their belongings.

President Jacob Zuma visited Balfour last year following a series of protests at Siyathemba by residents demanding the removal of all Mbombela municipal councillors. - Sapa

Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-02-10-cops-crack-down-on-balfour-protesters