Monday, January 16, 2012
today in class we worck in the solutions bookswe work on page 4 in pairs then the techear tell us that we have to do all things that we dont finish in class we have to do it in home as a homwork.i work with the new student name jorge mancos as a pair , then the techaer let us a homwork that was do te excercise 5 of the page 4 of the solutions book but in the note book.
Floods, heat, migration: How extreme weather will transform cities
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- When Tropical Storm Washi ripped through the southern Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro last weekend, it dumped in one day more than the city's entire average rainfall for the month of December.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, a total of 181 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in the area last Friday, compared to the expected 99.9 millimeters for the whole month.
The devastating flash floods, which have so far claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, arrived just weeks after a report from the UK's Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Change indicated that global warming has significantly increased the number of people at risk from flooding globally.
The report, "Climate: Observations, projections and impacts," examined how climate change will modify the weather in 24 countries around the world.
While findings vary from region to region, it forecasts an overall increase in this century of coastal and river floods, extreme weather events and a global temperature rise of between 3-5C, if emissions are left unchecked.
According to climate change experts, cities from New York in the U.S. to Dhaka in Bangladesh are likely to be heavily affected.
Migration
Simon Reddy, executive director of the C40 Cities network, which promotes sustainable development among local city authorities around the world, says this could be a catalyst for migration into urban areas.
"If the forecast temperature rise is accurate, then entire countries could be irrevocably damaged in certain parts of the world -- and their inhabitants will have to find somewhere else to live," he said.
To illustrate his point, Reddy says that a third of flood-prone Bangladesh, in South Asia, could be made uninhabitable by a two-foot (60 cm) rise in regional sea-levels.
The Met Office report echoes this point, predicting that climate change will subject an additional five million people in Bangladesh to floods, if they continue to live in the same place.
"Where are they going to go?" said Reddy. "In most cases they'll move to where the opportunities and the jobs are -- the nearest habitable city."
With 70% of the world's population expected to live in cities by 2050, according to figures from the U.N., the impact of climate change on the urban environment appears more pressing than ever before.
Floods
Historically, cities built up around water highways and coastal regions have flourished due to their association with maritime trade and transport, said Jan Corfee-Morlot, senior climate change analyst for the OECD.
"This means that a disproportionately high number of the world's cities are located in areas that are now increasingly at risk of floods," she added.
According to Morlot, recent risk studies from the OECD as well as the newly published data from the Met Office report predict that extreme "once-in-a-lifetime" weather events such as flash floods and coastal hurricanes are going to become significantly more commonplace.
But, she says, it's not just cities in the developing world that are ill-equipped to manage the problem.
"In America alone -- New York, Miami, New Orleans -- these cities face terrible exposure to floods, and unlike cities such as Rotterdam (in the Netherlands) -- they do not have the defenses to prevent them."
In the future, Morlot believes that major cities will have to adapt to the reality of regular flooding by building new infrastructure, such as vast flood barriers and "evacuation avenues" -- wide roads with dedicated lanes for emergency vehicles.
Extreme heat
Global temperatures are projected to rise by between three to five degrees over the next century, according to the Met Office.
Dr David Dodman, senior researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development, says that temperatures in the city will far exceed that, due to a phenomenon known as the "urban heat island effect."
"The built environment tends to absorb heat during the day and release it slowly at night, so there's little opportunity for the city to cool down" he said. "This means that temperature rises from climate change will be significantly exaggerated in urban areas."
Aside from increased instances of heat-related deaths, particularly among the elderly population, Dodman says that the "wicked irony" of the urban heat island effect is that it stimulates a demand for air conditioning.
"In places like Delhi, we're seeing a growing middle class use their wealth to pay for electricity-hungry air-conditioning units, which contribute to global warming, and this of course creates a negative feedback loop."
Water shortages
According to Dodman, the predicted rise in global sea levels pose a threat to city aquifers -- underground wells that provide a source of fresh water for many urban settlements around the world.
"In coastal cities, the rise causes 'saline intrusion' -- where salty water gets into the fresh water aquifers, making it undrinkable" he says.
In addition, Dr Doug Crawford-Brown, executive director at Cambridge University's Centre for Climate Mitigation Research, anticipates that stock piles of bottled water will be have to be rationed when fresh water distribution systems buckle under the impact of city floods.
"Even in a developed city like London, which is very well protected by the Thames barrier, high intensity rainfall could create problems with the old sewage system -- causing the potential spread of microbial disease," he said.
Adaptation
Simon Reddy believes that urbanities of the future will be defined "not just by how they restrict their own contributions to climate change, but by the infrastructure and policies they employ to defend against the consequences of it."
To this end, Reddy says that many of the cities in the C40 network have already started to implement adaptive measures.
"In Seoul, for instance, they have removed a highway and restored an ancient river running through the city. This creates a wind corridor to it keep cool, and will also help drain water away in times of high rainfall," he said.
Meanwhile, New York and Tokyo have led the way with green rooftops and urban gardens.
"Urban green spaces are going to be more critical than (they have) ever been," he said. "Not only do they absorb heat and rainfall -- helping to keep cities cool and dry, but they provide opportunities for small scale food cultivation -- so city dwellers can become a little less dependent on imports."
For Matthew Kahn, economics professor at the UCLA's Environment Institute, the accelerated urbanization caused by climate change, will mean that for most cities, the only way is up.
The professor, whose book "Climatopolis" details how future cities could turn climate change to their advantage, says that he expects future modern cities to accommodate the flood of migrants by building energy efficient high-rise residential tower blocks, over small areas of land -- "much like we see in Singapore today," he said.
Commentary:
The weather is getting worse. According to this article, global warming is causing extreme weather changes which affects people all over the world. these weather changes not only affect humans, but also animals and their ecosystems. The climate changes will produce damage in a bigger scale and will increase natural disasters like floods, extreme heat, water shortage, and the need for adaptation.
- Tropical storm in Philippines comes just after report on climate change predicts floods
- Climate change refugees are catalyst to urbanization, stretching city capacity
- Climate scientists predict how effects of climate change will impact city
- Floods, droughts, and "urban heat islands" among common characteristics.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, a total of 181 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in the area last Friday, compared to the expected 99.9 millimeters for the whole month.
The devastating flash floods, which have so far claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, arrived just weeks after a report from the UK's Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Change indicated that global warming has significantly increased the number of people at risk from flooding globally.
The report, "Climate: Observations, projections and impacts," examined how climate change will modify the weather in 24 countries around the world.
While findings vary from region to region, it forecasts an overall increase in this century of coastal and river floods, extreme weather events and a global temperature rise of between 3-5C, if emissions are left unchecked.
According to climate change experts, cities from New York in the U.S. to Dhaka in Bangladesh are likely to be heavily affected.
Migration
Temperature rises from climate change will be significantly exaggerated in urban areas
Dr David Dodman, International Institute for Environment and Development
Dr David Dodman, International Institute for Environment and Development
"If the forecast temperature rise is accurate, then entire countries could be irrevocably damaged in certain parts of the world -- and their inhabitants will have to find somewhere else to live," he said.
To illustrate his point, Reddy says that a third of flood-prone Bangladesh, in South Asia, could be made uninhabitable by a two-foot (60 cm) rise in regional sea-levels.
The Met Office report echoes this point, predicting that climate change will subject an additional five million people in Bangladesh to floods, if they continue to live in the same place.
"Where are they going to go?" said Reddy. "In most cases they'll move to where the opportunities and the jobs are -- the nearest habitable city."
With 70% of the world's population expected to live in cities by 2050, according to figures from the U.N., the impact of climate change on the urban environment appears more pressing than ever before.
Floods
Historically, cities built up around water highways and coastal regions have flourished due to their association with maritime trade and transport, said Jan Corfee-Morlot, senior climate change analyst for the OECD.
"This means that a disproportionately high number of the world's cities are located in areas that are now increasingly at risk of floods," she added.
According to Morlot, recent risk studies from the OECD as well as the newly published data from the Met Office report predict that extreme "once-in-a-lifetime" weather events such as flash floods and coastal hurricanes are going to become significantly more commonplace.
In America alone, New York, Miami, New Orleans -- these cities face terrible exposure to floods
Jan Corfee-Morlot, senior climate change analyst for the OECD
Jan Corfee-Morlot, senior climate change analyst for the OECD
"In America alone -- New York, Miami, New Orleans -- these cities face terrible exposure to floods, and unlike cities such as Rotterdam (in the Netherlands) -- they do not have the defenses to prevent them."
In the future, Morlot believes that major cities will have to adapt to the reality of regular flooding by building new infrastructure, such as vast flood barriers and "evacuation avenues" -- wide roads with dedicated lanes for emergency vehicles.
Extreme heat
Global temperatures are projected to rise by between three to five degrees over the next century, according to the Met Office.
Dr David Dodman, senior researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development, says that temperatures in the city will far exceed that, due to a phenomenon known as the "urban heat island effect."
"The built environment tends to absorb heat during the day and release it slowly at night, so there's little opportunity for the city to cool down" he said. "This means that temperature rises from climate change will be significantly exaggerated in urban areas."
Aside from increased instances of heat-related deaths, particularly among the elderly population, Dodman says that the "wicked irony" of the urban heat island effect is that it stimulates a demand for air conditioning.
"In places like Delhi, we're seeing a growing middle class use their wealth to pay for electricity-hungry air-conditioning units, which contribute to global warming, and this of course creates a negative feedback loop."
Water shortages
Entire countries could be irrevocably damaged in certain parts of the world, and their inhabitants will have to find somewhere else to live
Simon Reddy, executive director of the C40 Cities network
Simon Reddy, executive director of the C40 Cities network
"In coastal cities, the rise causes 'saline intrusion' -- where salty water gets into the fresh water aquifers, making it undrinkable" he says.
In addition, Dr Doug Crawford-Brown, executive director at Cambridge University's Centre for Climate Mitigation Research, anticipates that stock piles of bottled water will be have to be rationed when fresh water distribution systems buckle under the impact of city floods.
"Even in a developed city like London, which is very well protected by the Thames barrier, high intensity rainfall could create problems with the old sewage system -- causing the potential spread of microbial disease," he said.
Adaptation
Simon Reddy believes that urbanities of the future will be defined "not just by how they restrict their own contributions to climate change, but by the infrastructure and policies they employ to defend against the consequences of it."
To this end, Reddy says that many of the cities in the C40 network have already started to implement adaptive measures.
"In Seoul, for instance, they have removed a highway and restored an ancient river running through the city. This creates a wind corridor to it keep cool, and will also help drain water away in times of high rainfall," he said.
Meanwhile, New York and Tokyo have led the way with green rooftops and urban gardens.
"Urban green spaces are going to be more critical than (they have) ever been," he said. "Not only do they absorb heat and rainfall -- helping to keep cities cool and dry, but they provide opportunities for small scale food cultivation -- so city dwellers can become a little less dependent on imports."
For Matthew Kahn, economics professor at the UCLA's Environment Institute, the accelerated urbanization caused by climate change, will mean that for most cities, the only way is up.
The professor, whose book "Climatopolis" details how future cities could turn climate change to their advantage, says that he expects future modern cities to accommodate the flood of migrants by building energy efficient high-rise residential tower blocks, over small areas of land -- "much like we see in Singapore today," he said.
Commentary:
The weather is getting worse. According to this article, global warming is causing extreme weather changes which affects people all over the world. these weather changes not only affect humans, but also animals and their ecosystems. The climate changes will produce damage in a bigger scale and will increase natural disasters like floods, extreme heat, water shortage, and the need for adaptation.
Time-lapse video: China builds 30-story hotel in 360 hours
The "sustainable and energy-saving" hotel opens on Wednesday. Dare you check in?
This video demonstrates the Chinese company Broad Sustainable Building did not exaggerate about its construction speed. Time-lapse segment starts from 1:19. (Courtesy Broad Group)
Chinese construction workers have once again awed the world, this time by erecting a 30-story hotel in 360 hours in Hunan Province.
The building is the latest achievement of Broad Sustainable Building (BSB), a Chinese construction company renowned for its eye-opening efficiency.
A five-star hotel to be
Ground was broken on the hotel on December 2, 2011, in the Lin Gang Industrial Zone in Xiangyin County near the provincial capital Changsha. The building was completed in 15 days.
Named T30, the 17,000-square-meter hotel is due to open on January 18, and is expected to be a five-star establishment.
The hotel will feature 316 standard rooms, 32 suites, eight ambassador suites and two presidential suites.
Other facilities include a restaurant, bar, gym and swimming pool on the top floor, underground parking space for 73 vehicles and even a helicopter pad.
The entire hotel costs a total of US$17 million to build.
The building's owner, BSB, is a subsidiary of Chinese technology enterprise Broad Group, whose portfolio includes assembling its own pavilion (the six-story Broad Pavilion) for the 2010 Shanghai Expo within 24 hours, and erecting a 15-story building in six days in June 2010.
The key to achieving such stunning speed is an innovative construction technique developed by Broad. Ninety-three percent of the tower was pieced together with pre-made components, explained Broad Group's senior vice president Juliet Jiang (江燕).
Jiang said that the company might be able to construct similar buildings in 200 hours once workers become more skilful.
Jiang also said that the reason for the emphasis on speedy construction was "to avoid rain."
Reaction to doubts
Jiang said BSB is unconcerned about doubts regarding the quality of buildings erected within such short time frames.
"It's because people don't understand [the technologies used for the building]," she said. "Let time prove everything."
According to a press release by China Academy of Building Research (CABR), T30 was constructed with a new structural system designed and developed by BSB. A simulation model of the building withstood a series of earthquake resistance tests -- from 7.0 to 9.0 in magnitude -- conducted by CABR last May.
The Changsha-based company says it developed the new construction technology in 2009 -- it's referred to as "sustainable buildings" -- after the 8.0 magnitude quake in Wenchuan that killed nearly 70,000 in 2008.
Super-fresh air
Broad says that, apart from earthquake resistance, T30's sustainability is derived from nine other aspects, from energy conservation to complete air filtration.
All rooms are said to be equipped with quadruple-paned windows, external solar shading, LED lighting and water-saving toilets.
Zhang Yue (张跃), Broad’s chief executive officer, told The Economic Times that "speed with which his buildings go up reduces waste of materials and energy."
"China is 20-40 times more polluted than Europe and that's hurting our health and will offset the economic benefits of our growth," said Zhang.
The Chinese billionaire was the recipient of the "Champions of the Earth" award by UN Environment Programme in 2011. He pointed out that "sustainable buildings" will be his biggest business in 2013.
It is amaizing to build a hotel in only 15 days, and also is amazing that would be earthquake resistance. But I think that because of the quickness this building will not going to be so nice and luxurious. I think that in the future almost all the buildings will be build so fast and will be very luxurios and modern.
Federer shrugs off Nadal criticism to win Melbourne opener
I think that when Nadal say the comment about Federer it was because Federer does not present a good statistic to win the Australian Open, but also Nadal doesnt have a great chance to win Australian Open because off Novak Djokovic the actual number 1 in the ATP ranking. I dont know what is gonna happen but Novak Djokovic is the number 1 contendient to win the Australian Open.
A new breed of 4G phones emerges
Las Vegas (CNN) -- The International Consumer Electronics Show, the giant gadget convention that wrapped up on Friday, has brought some frustrating news for AT&T or Sprint customers who bought a cutting-edge 4G smartphone last year.
That phone will soon be outdated.
AT&T Mobility and Sprint Nextel unveiled some of the first smartphones that will tap into their new, even faster fourth-generation networks.
But wait, Sprint has been talking about its 4G network since launching one in 2008 followed by its premier phone, HTC's Evo 4G, in 2010. And AT&T began adding "4G" to the names of many of its smartphones early last year.
Now, two of the largest U.S. cellular carriers are ramping up yet another 4G system. They will have LTE, or Long-term Evolution, to compete with the one Verizon Wireless launched more than a year ago.
T-Mobile USA says it has 4G, which is similar to AT&T's old 4G, but the carrier has not talked about plans for 4G LTE deployment. (Get all that?)
Since AT&T and Sprint have already exhausted their usage of 4G in marketing, it's unclear how they will explain to customers the major investments they've made to have the latest network technology.
"I don't think the majority of our customers understand the monikers," AT&T executive Glenn Lurie said in an interview here at CES.
Sprint product chief Fared Adib declined to comment on the company's marketing plans. Lurie, who serves as AT&T's liaison to Apple, declined to comment on why Apple refused to adopt the 4G moniker in the iPhone 4S, which uses last year's HSPA+ technology that AT&T also describes as 4G.
"Forget the G's for a second," Lurie said. "What it's called doesn't matter."
Verizon has emphasized the speed enhancements offered by its version of 4G, and makes an effort to refer to the network as 4G LTE, rather than just 4G, to differentiate from competitors, David Small, the technical chief for Verizon Wireless, has told CNN. Verizon is on track to have its 4G network match the coverage of its 3G network by next year, a spokeswoman said Friday.
At CES last year, Verizon hosted two large news conferences and operated a huge booth to promote the launch of its 4G network. This year, Verizon has kept a low profile.
AT&T announced eight new LTE products at CES, including smartphones and tablets. The world's first LTE Windows phone, the Lumia 900, will arrive in March, Nokia wrote in a message to partners on Friday.
"We use this as a way to kick off the year," Lurie said. "CES is becoming more wireless-centric than ever before."
AT&T's loss in its bid to acquire T-Mobile has not affected operations, according to Lurie. The first 4G LTE phones for AT&T hit stores in November, before the breakup with T-Mobile was announced.
At many of the large CES exhibits, 4G was pervasive. For example, a station at the entrance to LG's booth displaying a row of phones was called True LTE Expert.
Sprint announced three new devices at CES: a portable wireless hotspot, an LG phone made from recycled materials, and the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung and Google.
Sprint's new 4G LTE network is expected to match its older, slower 4G network by the end of this year, Steve Elfman, the carrier's network operations president, said in an interview. The company will stop selling devices that support its old 4G around that same time, and it will turn off access to that network in 2015.
"The ecosystem is going to be larger in LTE," Elfman said.
Not only will it be larger, but this 4G is likely to remain king for some time.
My Coment
the company has bean published a new type of cellular ; they think that will remain kind for some time.
but i think that it is a simple cellular and it will not be remember
this company has make a lot of cellular and this celullars didn t
has make a lot of noise, therefor it will be a next cellular that dont will bring a lot of thigs.
With the wingspan of a jumbo jet and a scooter-sized engine, the Solar Impulse is a one of a kind.
Thanks to nearly 12,000 solar cells and four electrically-powered propellers, it's the first aircraft in the world that can fly without any fuel -- day or night.
The 63-meter wide, 1,600 kilogram plane is already a record breaker, staying in the air for 26 unbroken hours in 2010.
But it's about more than just flying, says pilot Andre Borschberg.
"We want to show what can be done with these technologies," Borschberg said."We can keep our quality of life but reduce our energy consumptions, reduce our dependency on oil and nuclear energy."
The idea for Solar Impulse came from Bertrand Piccard, the first man to travel non-stop around the world in a balloon.
"We almost failed (because of) lack of fuel," Piccard said of his epic journey back in 1999."At that moment, I made a promise that the next time I would fly around the world it would be with no fuel at all. And that's how the vision of solar impulse was born," he said.
But it wasn't until he met Borschberg seven years ago that he began to fulfill that promise.
With a budget of $134 million at their disposal, the Solar Impulse team have the sponsors and the support to realize their goal of flying around the world without fuel in 2014 -- a first in aviation history.
My comment:
I think that is a great advance a plane without fuel, help the nature an the ozone layer and will be tuhe next generation of airplanes. One costs 134 million os $! is so expensive.
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