number of children in camps for people displaced by Sri Lanka's Tamil conflict have been abducted, international human rights groups say.
The groups say they have verified reports of disappearances in the Vavuniya area and are calling for the United Nations to investigate.
Suspected former Tamil Tiger child soldiers are said to have been removed by paramilitaries for questioning.
A Sri Lankan military spokesman denied the groups' allegations.
A spokeswoman for the groups, Charu Lata Hogg, said the motives for the abductions were unclear but some children were being questioned about alleged links to the Tamil Tiger rebels, or LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).
Tens of thousands of children were among those displaced in the recent fighting, many finding themselves in government-run refugee camps.
On Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared the country "liberated" from Tamil Tiger rebels after a 26-year war.
He spoke after the army reported the death of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and the capture of the last pocket of territory held by the Tigers.
'Kidnapped for ransom'
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers is an umbrella group of global organisations which includes Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
It said it had received verified reports of abductions from camps in and around Vavuniya in the north.
It alleges that groups like the EPDP, PLOTE and the TMVP-Karuna faction - all Tamil paramilitary groups affiliated to the government - have unfettered access to the camps despite the presence of the Sri Lankan military.
"The motive is slightly unclear," said Ms Hogg.
"Some are being taken away for ransom, they've been kidnapped for ransom, and there've been certain negotiated releases where mothers had some jewellery and they could negotiate a release right within the camp.
"In other cases the children have been taken away for questioning for their alleged links to the LTTE, so they are suspected of being former child soldiers with the LTTE."
She says there are fears for the safety of former LTTE child soldiers, who should be protected under international agreements.
Sri Lanka's military denied the allegations, describing them as yet another attempt to discredit the government.
Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said it was impossible for "anyone, even a child or an LTTE person, to be taken out from the camps without any proper or legal authority".
The coalition says the protection of children in the north and east of Sri Lanka is a matter of urgent concern, citing the refusal of access to international agencies responsible for monitoring the camps.
Without independent scrutiny, it says, children are at risk of human rights abuses, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Cabinet ministers press Gordon Brown for radical shakeup of politics
Gordon Brown is being pressed within his cabinet to extend plans to reform parliament, with proposals including setting up a constitutional convention that would be responsible for reconnecting politics with the people.
An intense cabinet-level debate is under way on the format of this initiative, its timescale and the range of issues that would be discussed. The enthusiasts for wider reform include Harriet Harman, leader of the Commons, James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, and David Miliband, the foreign secretary.
The discussions were launched inside the cabinet by the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, when he raised the idea of a British constitutional convention on the model of the Scottish constitutional convention.
What the modernisers inside the cabinet want on the agenda is:
• A referendum on electoral reform for the House of Commons.
• An elected upper house.
• Spending caps on donations to political parties.
• A widening of the base from which candidates are drawn.
However, some senior cabinet figures argue a more radical agenda should be deferred for Labour's general election manifesto, and are sceptical that broader constitutional reform, including changes to the electoral system, will address public anger over expenses. There are also fears a big initiative would divert from the priorities of the recession and public services.
The sceptics would prefer the review to be confined to modernising parliament, with measures including strengthening the power of backbenchers.
The cabinet debate comes as a "furious" David Cameron last night forced the retirement of a former Conservative minister who unsuccessfully claimed £1,645 for a floating 5ft high "duck island" at his country house. Sir Peter Viggers, MP for Gosport, was told he would be stripped of the Tory whip unless he agreed to retire.
Purnell defended his claims last night after the Daily Telegraph reported that he avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale of a London flat even though he told the Commons authorities that his main home was in his Stalybridge and Hyde constituency. Purnell said he had not avoided paying the tax when he sold the London flat in October 2004, originally bought before he became an MP, because the London sale fell through when he bought his constituency property in June 2002. The eventual sale took place within the timeframe that meant no tax was payable.
Beyond Westminster, there is a growing sense that the crisis over MPs' expenses can be used as an opportunity to completely reshape the democratic process. Today, the Guardian publishes a four-page supplement on proposals for reforming politics. The ideas, ranging from the size and shape of parliament to the nature of political lobbying, are being debated in an online project on the Comment is Free website. Identifying more than two dozen areas for reform, the series aims to break down barriers between opinion-formers and the public.
Brown has hinted about the potential to use the expenses crisis to reconfigure the political landscape twice in the past 24 hours – at a press conference on Tuesday and at yesterday's prime minister's questions. He is likely to publish a reform paper after the expected drubbing in the European elections on 4 June.
At the minimum, it is thought that the review will examine the relationship between the executive and parliament, including how MPs can more easily influence the subjects for debate and vote on the floor of the chamber. It will also look at whether select committees can be appointed independently of party whips and examine ways for reconnecting people with parliament. The digital inclusion minister, Tom Watson, told a Lords select committee yesterday that MPs and peers should set up a self-publishing platform.
Lord Mandelson himself probably does not believe in trying to seize the initiative by proposing a "big bang" constitutional reform though a constitutional convention. But advocates of more radical reform pressed Brown during yesterday's PMQs.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "We now have a once-in-a-generation chance to change politics for good."
Brown said today: "We must consider not only how parliament can be more accountable to the people, but how the executive … can be more accountable."
An intense cabinet-level debate is under way on the format of this initiative, its timescale and the range of issues that would be discussed. The enthusiasts for wider reform include Harriet Harman, leader of the Commons, James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, and David Miliband, the foreign secretary.
The discussions were launched inside the cabinet by the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, when he raised the idea of a British constitutional convention on the model of the Scottish constitutional convention.
What the modernisers inside the cabinet want on the agenda is:
• A referendum on electoral reform for the House of Commons.
• An elected upper house.
• Spending caps on donations to political parties.
• A widening of the base from which candidates are drawn.
However, some senior cabinet figures argue a more radical agenda should be deferred for Labour's general election manifesto, and are sceptical that broader constitutional reform, including changes to the electoral system, will address public anger over expenses. There are also fears a big initiative would divert from the priorities of the recession and public services.
The sceptics would prefer the review to be confined to modernising parliament, with measures including strengthening the power of backbenchers.
The cabinet debate comes as a "furious" David Cameron last night forced the retirement of a former Conservative minister who unsuccessfully claimed £1,645 for a floating 5ft high "duck island" at his country house. Sir Peter Viggers, MP for Gosport, was told he would be stripped of the Tory whip unless he agreed to retire.
Purnell defended his claims last night after the Daily Telegraph reported that he avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale of a London flat even though he told the Commons authorities that his main home was in his Stalybridge and Hyde constituency. Purnell said he had not avoided paying the tax when he sold the London flat in October 2004, originally bought before he became an MP, because the London sale fell through when he bought his constituency property in June 2002. The eventual sale took place within the timeframe that meant no tax was payable.
Beyond Westminster, there is a growing sense that the crisis over MPs' expenses can be used as an opportunity to completely reshape the democratic process. Today, the Guardian publishes a four-page supplement on proposals for reforming politics. The ideas, ranging from the size and shape of parliament to the nature of political lobbying, are being debated in an online project on the Comment is Free website. Identifying more than two dozen areas for reform, the series aims to break down barriers between opinion-formers and the public.
Brown has hinted about the potential to use the expenses crisis to reconfigure the political landscape twice in the past 24 hours – at a press conference on Tuesday and at yesterday's prime minister's questions. He is likely to publish a reform paper after the expected drubbing in the European elections on 4 June.
At the minimum, it is thought that the review will examine the relationship between the executive and parliament, including how MPs can more easily influence the subjects for debate and vote on the floor of the chamber. It will also look at whether select committees can be appointed independently of party whips and examine ways for reconnecting people with parliament. The digital inclusion minister, Tom Watson, told a Lords select committee yesterday that MPs and peers should set up a self-publishing platform.
Lord Mandelson himself probably does not believe in trying to seize the initiative by proposing a "big bang" constitutional reform though a constitutional convention. But advocates of more radical reform pressed Brown during yesterday's PMQs.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "We now have a once-in-a-generation chance to change politics for good."
Brown said today: "We must consider not only how parliament can be more accountable to the people, but how the executive … can be more accountable."
New light on Down's cancer link
Scientists may have solved the mystery of why people with Down's syndrome seem to have a lower risk of some cancers.
The extra copy of chromosome 21 which causes Down's appears to contain a gene that protects from solid cancerous tumours, tests on mice suggest.
The gene seems to interfere with signals a tumour relies on to grow. The finding raises hope of new ways to prevent and treat cancer.
The study by the Children's Hospital of Boston appears in the journal Nature.
Humans usually have two copies of the 23 chromosomes that together contain all our genetic information, one from each parent.
Down's syndrome is a genetic disorder which results from the presence of an extra, third copy of chromosome 21.
It has been known for some time that individuals with Down's syndrome get certain types of cancer less often than those without the condition.
However, the reason why has been unclear.
The latest study showed that having an extra copy of one of the genes located on chromosome 21 - a gene called Dscr1 - is sufficient to slow cancer growth in mice.
The gene seems to work in combination with another gene also found on chromosome 21 to interfere with the signals a tumour relies upon to stimulate growth of its own blood vessels.
Without those vessels feeding the tumour with its own supply of blood it cannot thrive.
Inspiration
Writing in the journal, the researchers, led by Dr Sandra Ryeom, said: "It is, perhaps, inspiring that the Down's syndrome population provides us with new insight into mechanisms that regulate cancer growth and, by so doing, identifies potential targets for tumour prevention and therapy."
Dr Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke, a Cancer Research UK scientist at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "This finding raises several important questions about the roles of other chromosome 21 genes that might help regulate tumour growth.
"The next stage is to think about how we might be able to exploit this research to improve cancer treatments in the future."
Stuart Mills, of the Down's Syndrome Association, said: "We have known for some time that people with Down's syndrome have lower incidences of cancer, apart from leukaemia, than the rest of the population.
"This is one of the first studies to examine the reasons why, and we welcome its findings. We will be following further research with great interest."
The extra copy of chromosome 21 which causes Down's appears to contain a gene that protects from solid cancerous tumours, tests on mice suggest.
The gene seems to interfere with signals a tumour relies on to grow. The finding raises hope of new ways to prevent and treat cancer.
The study by the Children's Hospital of Boston appears in the journal Nature.
Humans usually have two copies of the 23 chromosomes that together contain all our genetic information, one from each parent.
Down's syndrome is a genetic disorder which results from the presence of an extra, third copy of chromosome 21.
It has been known for some time that individuals with Down's syndrome get certain types of cancer less often than those without the condition.
However, the reason why has been unclear.
The latest study showed that having an extra copy of one of the genes located on chromosome 21 - a gene called Dscr1 - is sufficient to slow cancer growth in mice.
The gene seems to work in combination with another gene also found on chromosome 21 to interfere with the signals a tumour relies upon to stimulate growth of its own blood vessels.
Without those vessels feeding the tumour with its own supply of blood it cannot thrive.
Inspiration
Writing in the journal, the researchers, led by Dr Sandra Ryeom, said: "It is, perhaps, inspiring that the Down's syndrome population provides us with new insight into mechanisms that regulate cancer growth and, by so doing, identifies potential targets for tumour prevention and therapy."
Dr Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke, a Cancer Research UK scientist at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "This finding raises several important questions about the roles of other chromosome 21 genes that might help regulate tumour growth.
"The next stage is to think about how we might be able to exploit this research to improve cancer treatments in the future."
Stuart Mills, of the Down's Syndrome Association, said: "We have known for some time that people with Down's syndrome have lower incidences of cancer, apart from leukaemia, than the rest of the population.
"This is one of the first studies to examine the reasons why, and we welcome its findings. We will be following further research with great interest."
Irish abused 'cheated of justice'
Victims of child abuse at Catholic institutions in the Irish Republic have expressed anger that a damning report will not bring about prosecutions.
The report, nine years in the making and covering a period of six decades, found thousands of boys and girls were terrorised by priests and nuns.
Government inspectors failed to stop beatings, rapes and humiliation.
John Walsh, of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, said he felt "cheated and deceived" by the lack of prosecutions.
The findings will not be used for criminal prosecutions - in part because the Christian Brothers successfully sued the commission in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, unnamed in the report.
No real names, whether of victims or perpetrators, appear in the final document.
Mr Walsh said: "I would have never opened my wounds if I'd known this was going to be the end result.
"It has devastated me and will devastate most victims because there are no criminal proceedings and no accountability whatsoever."
Police were called to the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse's news conference in Dublin amid angry scenes as victims were prevented from attending.
The victims were among 35,000 children who were placed in a network of reformatories, industrial schools and workhouses until the early 1990s.
More than 1,000 people had told the commission they suffered physical and sexual abuse.
'Self-serving secrecy'
The five-volume study concluded that church officials encouraged ritual beatings and consistently shielded their orders' paedophiles from arrest amid a "culture of self-serving secrecy".
The commission found that sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys' institutions, and church leaders knew what was going on.
It also found physical and emotional abuse and neglect were rife in some institutions.
Schools were run "in a severe, regimented manner that imposed unreasonable and oppressive discipline on children and even on staff".
It found the Department of Education had generally dismissed or ignored complaints of child sexual abuse and dealt inadequately with them.
As far back as the 1940s, school inspectors reported broken bones and malnourished children but no action was taken.
The report proposed 21 ways the Irish government could recognise past wrongs, including building a permanent memorial, providing counselling and education to victims, and improving current child protection services.
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, said he was "profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed that children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions".
This report makes it clear that great wrong and hurt were caused to some of the most vulnerable children in our society," he said.
"It documents a shameful catalogue of cruelty: neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, perpetrated against children."
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, said those who perpetrated violence and abuse should be held to account, "no matter how long ago it happened".
"Every time there is a single incident of abuse in the Catholic Church, it is a scandal. I would be very worried if it wasn't a scandal... I hope these things don't happen again, but I hope they're never a matter of indifference
The report, nine years in the making and covering a period of six decades, found thousands of boys and girls were terrorised by priests and nuns.
Government inspectors failed to stop beatings, rapes and humiliation.
John Walsh, of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, said he felt "cheated and deceived" by the lack of prosecutions.
The findings will not be used for criminal prosecutions - in part because the Christian Brothers successfully sued the commission in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, unnamed in the report.
No real names, whether of victims or perpetrators, appear in the final document.
Mr Walsh said: "I would have never opened my wounds if I'd known this was going to be the end result.
"It has devastated me and will devastate most victims because there are no criminal proceedings and no accountability whatsoever."
Police were called to the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse's news conference in Dublin amid angry scenes as victims were prevented from attending.
The victims were among 35,000 children who were placed in a network of reformatories, industrial schools and workhouses until the early 1990s.
More than 1,000 people had told the commission they suffered physical and sexual abuse.
'Self-serving secrecy'
The five-volume study concluded that church officials encouraged ritual beatings and consistently shielded their orders' paedophiles from arrest amid a "culture of self-serving secrecy".
The commission found that sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys' institutions, and church leaders knew what was going on.
It also found physical and emotional abuse and neglect were rife in some institutions.
Schools were run "in a severe, regimented manner that imposed unreasonable and oppressive discipline on children and even on staff".
It found the Department of Education had generally dismissed or ignored complaints of child sexual abuse and dealt inadequately with them.
As far back as the 1940s, school inspectors reported broken bones and malnourished children but no action was taken.
The report proposed 21 ways the Irish government could recognise past wrongs, including building a permanent memorial, providing counselling and education to victims, and improving current child protection services.
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, said he was "profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed that children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions".
This report makes it clear that great wrong and hurt were caused to some of the most vulnerable children in our society," he said.
"It documents a shameful catalogue of cruelty: neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, perpetrated against children."
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, said those who perpetrated violence and abuse should be held to account, "no matter how long ago it happened".
"Every time there is a single incident of abuse in the Catholic Church, it is a scandal. I would be very worried if it wasn't a scandal... I hope these things don't happen again, but I hope they're never a matter of indifference
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Cut onion may ease pain of bee sting
excruciating pain. My hand started inflating. A cut onion on the sting worked in 20 minutes to stop the swelling and ease the pain.
We first heard about using a cut onion on a sting about 20 years ago. We checked with world-renowned onion chemist Dr. Eric Block of the State University of New York at Albany. He agreed that a fresh-cut onion might ease the pain of an insect sting because an ingredient in onions breaks down the chemicals responsible for inflammation and discomfort. Other readers have used fresh onion juice to soothe the pain from a minor kitchen burn.
::
My mom has been addicted to laxatives for 30 years. Last year she had to be operated on because her anus had constricted. Four months later, she had to go back for the same problem. She was told to take Metamucil three times daily. Now she complains she has no bowel movements.
Chronic laxative use can impair the normal function of the digestive tract. It will take time and plenty of fluid and fiber for your mother's bowel to recover.
There are some simple approaches in addition to fluid and Metamucil that may be helpful. Boiling 2 tablespoons of flaxseed in 3 quarts of water and consuming 2 ounces of the liquid daily is one, as is chewing sugarless gum. A magnesium supplement of 300 to 500 milligrams per day can help, so long as her kidneys are healthy.
We have also heard from many people that Power Pudding (applesauce, wheat bran and prune juice) can be useful.
latimes.com
We first heard about using a cut onion on a sting about 20 years ago. We checked with world-renowned onion chemist Dr. Eric Block of the State University of New York at Albany. He agreed that a fresh-cut onion might ease the pain of an insect sting because an ingredient in onions breaks down the chemicals responsible for inflammation and discomfort. Other readers have used fresh onion juice to soothe the pain from a minor kitchen burn.
::
My mom has been addicted to laxatives for 30 years. Last year she had to be operated on because her anus had constricted. Four months later, she had to go back for the same problem. She was told to take Metamucil three times daily. Now she complains she has no bowel movements.
Chronic laxative use can impair the normal function of the digestive tract. It will take time and plenty of fluid and fiber for your mother's bowel to recover.
There are some simple approaches in addition to fluid and Metamucil that may be helpful. Boiling 2 tablespoons of flaxseed in 3 quarts of water and consuming 2 ounces of the liquid daily is one, as is chewing sugarless gum. A magnesium supplement of 300 to 500 milligrams per day can help, so long as her kidneys are healthy.
We have also heard from many people that Power Pudding (applesauce, wheat bran and prune juice) can be useful.
latimes.com
China's edge in the energy-efficiency industry
After President Nixon went to China, the United States urged that nation's leaders to forget Marx and Mao and embrace the blessings of capitalism. Unfortunately, it's been wryly said, they took our advice.
Americans have by now become inured to China peeling off layers of the U.S. manufacturing base. The Asian giant, though, has never been at the starting gate of a new industry that promised exceptional growth. That's a natural place for America, we like to think. Indeed, the U.S. booted up the Internet business, fostering phenoms such as Cisco Systems and EBay. Those innovators brought the world online, enriching our national economy.
But with "clean tech" and renewable energy heralded as the next world-changing opportunity -- and our ticket out of the Great Recession -- the United States is at risk of ceding this strategic terrain.
U.S. setbacks dealt by the weakened economy have helped China's prospects in green commerce. It's become the capital of solar and wind power manufacturing, and it aims to be the main source of affordable electric cars. In the U.S., the lending freeze has combined with cheap oil to stunt the fortunes of clean energy. Wind, solar and biofuel projects have been canceled and seed capital is scarce, leaving fertile ideas on the drawing board.
While U.S. gross domestic product shrank 6.1% in the first quarter of this year, China's expanded by the same proportion. Its banks are not only standing but healthy, even amid a global downturn that has curbed demand for Chinese exports. At the same time, Beijing has raised efficiency and sustainability goals, largely in a quest for energy security.
There's an irony here, as those who have wheezed in Beijing's foul air know. China has overtaken the U.S. as the top greenhouse gas emitter, the fallout of breakneck development and its role as workshop for the West's cut-rate goods. Deforestation, overgrazing and poor water management are expanding its deserts; many of its rivers are flush with toxins. To environmentalists, China's crimes against nature threaten the planet.
Yet even as it has alarmed green activists, China has also stirred their hopes. Although the U.S. unseated Germany last year as the world leader in generating wind energy, this year, China is expected to be first in building the industry's machinery, largely for foreign firms. It's also installing wind turbines at a fast pace to generate clean electric power. The top two firms in the field, General Electric and Denmark's Vestas, have factories there.
Similarly, many solar companies have factories in China. Yet virtually all their wares are exported. In the 2008 sales derby, China-based Suntech beat all independent makers, trouncing U.S. champs SunPower and First Solar.
The auto industry is key to President Obama's plans to overhaul the way Americans consume energy -- he wants to leave imported oil in the dust. His agenda, however, has been detoured by Detroit's car crash. China now reigns in auto sales, and the oil-importing nation has its foot on the electric accelerator.
Warren Buffett, the renowned American investor, owns no part of GM or Ford. Last fall, however, his holding company took a $230-million stake in BYD of Shenzhen. BYD, like China itself, has disrupted the order of things, generating buzz for its advanced auto batteries and plug-in cars. Buffett and his colleagues told Fortune magazine that they believe BYD could become the world's largest carmaker on the strength of its electric vehicles.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is all but stalled in this race. The White House has judged General Motors' electric-vehicle hopeful, the Volt, too costly to succeed. If the Volt does make it onto the road, it will be powered by a battery from South Korea's LG Chem.
China isn't hesitating to open the public purse to fund progress. As heated as the debate was over the size of Obama's stimulus plan and its green elements, China's package, at $586 billion, is bigger -- relative to its economy -- and greener. And entrepreneurs, whom we rely on to invent the next generation of everything, are being kept afloat there. In the first quarter, clean-tech venture investments plunged a jaw-dropping 84% in the U.S. while continuing to rise in China.
But before the U.S. resigns itself to being an also-ran in clean energy, remember that China has far to go before being anointed the victor. It remains overwhelmingly dependent on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. Although many of its new power plants boast what is sometimes called "cleaner coal" technology, most of the nation's power plants are less efficient and spew more carbon than their Western counterparts.
China produces armies of engineers but has no innovation centers comparable to MIT, Silicon Valley or the Ecomagination group at General Electric. The American culture of quality has no echo in China, which is only now hurrying to assemble the infrastructure of a modern economy.
Of course, the U.S. had a century or so head start. Yet the lack of an industrial past may be as much an edge as an obstacle for China. It may be that the only thing harder than building clean industries from scratch is rehabbing old ones for a low-carbon future.
"The nation that leads the world in creating new energy sources," Obama has said, "will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy." Not only China but India, Japan, much of the European Union and even Saudi Arabia would agree.
In the competition ahead, the U.S. will have to work to be a player.
Americans have by now become inured to China peeling off layers of the U.S. manufacturing base. The Asian giant, though, has never been at the starting gate of a new industry that promised exceptional growth. That's a natural place for America, we like to think. Indeed, the U.S. booted up the Internet business, fostering phenoms such as Cisco Systems and EBay. Those innovators brought the world online, enriching our national economy.
But with "clean tech" and renewable energy heralded as the next world-changing opportunity -- and our ticket out of the Great Recession -- the United States is at risk of ceding this strategic terrain.
U.S. setbacks dealt by the weakened economy have helped China's prospects in green commerce. It's become the capital of solar and wind power manufacturing, and it aims to be the main source of affordable electric cars. In the U.S., the lending freeze has combined with cheap oil to stunt the fortunes of clean energy. Wind, solar and biofuel projects have been canceled and seed capital is scarce, leaving fertile ideas on the drawing board.
While U.S. gross domestic product shrank 6.1% in the first quarter of this year, China's expanded by the same proportion. Its banks are not only standing but healthy, even amid a global downturn that has curbed demand for Chinese exports. At the same time, Beijing has raised efficiency and sustainability goals, largely in a quest for energy security.
There's an irony here, as those who have wheezed in Beijing's foul air know. China has overtaken the U.S. as the top greenhouse gas emitter, the fallout of breakneck development and its role as workshop for the West's cut-rate goods. Deforestation, overgrazing and poor water management are expanding its deserts; many of its rivers are flush with toxins. To environmentalists, China's crimes against nature threaten the planet.
Yet even as it has alarmed green activists, China has also stirred their hopes. Although the U.S. unseated Germany last year as the world leader in generating wind energy, this year, China is expected to be first in building the industry's machinery, largely for foreign firms. It's also installing wind turbines at a fast pace to generate clean electric power. The top two firms in the field, General Electric and Denmark's Vestas, have factories there.
Similarly, many solar companies have factories in China. Yet virtually all their wares are exported. In the 2008 sales derby, China-based Suntech beat all independent makers, trouncing U.S. champs SunPower and First Solar.
The auto industry is key to President Obama's plans to overhaul the way Americans consume energy -- he wants to leave imported oil in the dust. His agenda, however, has been detoured by Detroit's car crash. China now reigns in auto sales, and the oil-importing nation has its foot on the electric accelerator.
Warren Buffett, the renowned American investor, owns no part of GM or Ford. Last fall, however, his holding company took a $230-million stake in BYD of Shenzhen. BYD, like China itself, has disrupted the order of things, generating buzz for its advanced auto batteries and plug-in cars. Buffett and his colleagues told Fortune magazine that they believe BYD could become the world's largest carmaker on the strength of its electric vehicles.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is all but stalled in this race. The White House has judged General Motors' electric-vehicle hopeful, the Volt, too costly to succeed. If the Volt does make it onto the road, it will be powered by a battery from South Korea's LG Chem.
China isn't hesitating to open the public purse to fund progress. As heated as the debate was over the size of Obama's stimulus plan and its green elements, China's package, at $586 billion, is bigger -- relative to its economy -- and greener. And entrepreneurs, whom we rely on to invent the next generation of everything, are being kept afloat there. In the first quarter, clean-tech venture investments plunged a jaw-dropping 84% in the U.S. while continuing to rise in China.
But before the U.S. resigns itself to being an also-ran in clean energy, remember that China has far to go before being anointed the victor. It remains overwhelmingly dependent on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. Although many of its new power plants boast what is sometimes called "cleaner coal" technology, most of the nation's power plants are less efficient and spew more carbon than their Western counterparts.
China produces armies of engineers but has no innovation centers comparable to MIT, Silicon Valley or the Ecomagination group at General Electric. The American culture of quality has no echo in China, which is only now hurrying to assemble the infrastructure of a modern economy.
Of course, the U.S. had a century or so head start. Yet the lack of an industrial past may be as much an edge as an obstacle for China. It may be that the only thing harder than building clean industries from scratch is rehabbing old ones for a low-carbon future.
"The nation that leads the world in creating new energy sources," Obama has said, "will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy." Not only China but India, Japan, much of the European Union and even Saudi Arabia would agree.
In the competition ahead, the U.S. will have to work to be a player.
Eclipse Chasing, in Pursuit of Total Awe
ON July 22, the 21st century’s longest total solar eclipse will darken the sky along a narrow corridor of the Asian landmass and the Pacific Ocean. An otherworldly black disk will replace the sun for about six and a half minutes, and from India through China to the sea off the southern coast of Japan, spellbound adventurers will be out in force to see it. I wouldn’t miss being one of them.
I saw my first total solar eclipse in Hungary in 1999, at just past noon on a clear summer day. My friend Tamás and I were visiting his parents in Zánka, a village on the shore of Lake Balaton, and as the time drew near we stood chattering in the backyard, expectant but, as seems clear now, unprepared.
As the moon obscured more and more of the sun, the sky darkened to a shimmering violet. Cicadas, confused by the noontime dusk, began calling out their evening song. The temperature dropped. A breeze kicked up. When the eclipse was total, I removed my special eclipse glasses — essential for viewing the eclipse phases safely — casually looked up at the sun, and staggered back a little, my brain reeling.
The transformation of reality in a total solar eclipse is indescribable. I was mesmerized, disoriented, shocked, as if I had slipped through a wormhole to an alternate universe. I was the unwitting star of a “Twilight Zone” episode.
Mere minutes later, the sun peeked back out from behind the moon and all was familiar again. As suddenly as it had begun, my first total solar eclipse was over. But, like thousands of others around the world, I was hooked.
A growing number of eclipse-chasers, or umbraphiles, as they are also called, travel to the corners of the earth specifically to see total solar eclipses, and tour operators have sprung up to get them there. Beyond providing the thrill of standing on the moon’s shadow, or umbra, an eclipse is often the centerpiece of a travel adventure in exotic climes.
Umbraphiles have chased eclipses to Kazakh lakes, Zambian safari country and Algerian deserts. They have chartered ships to take them to the North Atlantic, the Caribbean and the middle of the Pacific. They’ve taken flights over the North Pole, faces pressed against tiny, frost-trimmed windows to view an eclipse from 35,000 feet.
The myths about eclipses are colorful: the sun and moon fighting or making love, hungry wolves or snakes devouring the light. But the ancient Chinese tale, that an eclipse is caused by a dragon swallowing the sun, seems especially apt. Eclipse fanatics are willing to spend any amount of time and money chasing that dragon.
The best eclipse tours are generally run by operators who understand local conditions, which may be chaotic for travelers, and have secured reliable transportation and the best accommodations and viewing spots. Since clouds can obscure the view of an eclipse, tour operators schedule observations in spots that are most likely to provide clear weather. Most tours feature lectures on both the science of eclipses and the art of observing them, including the all-important mantra for first-timers: Don’t bother with cameras and other distractions; just sit back and enjoy.
The experience evokes language laden with the mystical and the narcotic. “An eclipse is a glimpse of the world from a little outside our usual perspective,” said Liz O’Mara, an interactive marketing manager from New York and a veteran of three eclipses. “From that vantage point I can most easily see our position in the universe.”
Glenn Schneider, an astronomer at the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona who has seen more total solar eclipses (27) than the Yankees have won World Series (26), puts it in more scientific terms: “Totality is stronger than opioids or pheromones.”
The perfect alignment of the earth and the moon that obscures the sun in total eclipse occurs only every 16 months or so, lasts no more than seven and a half minutes (typically only three or four), and is visible from less than 1 percent of the earth’s surface. The last one visible from within New York City was in 1925 and lasted no more than a minute; the next happens in 2079. If you’re very young and healthy, you can wait for an eclipse to come to you. Otherwise, you must chase one down.
And chase we did. In March 2006, Tamás and I met in Ghana for our second eclipse. We flew in to Accra, the capital, and hopped on a bus to Cape Coast, about 90 miles southwest. Rather than join the apparently raucous party of eclipse-chasers on the beach outside town, we shared the moment with a local group — the four-person staff of the Mighty Victory Hotel. As the moon crept along the sun’s surface, I suddenly grew anxious. Would it be as awe-inspiring as I had remembered?
I needn’t have worried. As the last diamond of the sun slipped behind the moon, I was once again transported to the Twilight Zone, this time for three minutes and 20 seconds.
This year’s eclipse will be my first in the company of fellow chasers — 86 umbraphiles led by Rick Brown, a commodities trader from Long Island. We’ll gather in a private viewing spot outside Wuhan, China, just after sunrise. Together we’ll perform rituals to ward off the clouds, don our eclipse glasses and wait. At the moment of total eclipse, even the seasoned veterans are likely to cry out with religious fervor.
It all seems a bit much — until you’ve seen one.
Bill Kramer, a computer consultant from Ohio who runs an eclipse-chasing Web site, describes himself as a cynic about most of things purported to be marvelous, but not this experience. “An eclipse,” he said, “is the one thing that actually lives up to the hype.”
IF YOU GO
A comprehensive Web site for eclipse chasers is www.eclipse-chasers.com. For dates and Google maps of past and future eclipses, consult eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html. Eclipse glasses are essential for when the eclipse is not at totality; one source is www.rainbowsymphonystore.com.
After July 22, the next three total eclipses will be on July 11, 2010, over the South Pacific; on Nov. 13, 2012, over northern Australia; and on Nov. 3, 2013, over mid-Africa
I saw my first total solar eclipse in Hungary in 1999, at just past noon on a clear summer day. My friend Tamás and I were visiting his parents in Zánka, a village on the shore of Lake Balaton, and as the time drew near we stood chattering in the backyard, expectant but, as seems clear now, unprepared.
As the moon obscured more and more of the sun, the sky darkened to a shimmering violet. Cicadas, confused by the noontime dusk, began calling out their evening song. The temperature dropped. A breeze kicked up. When the eclipse was total, I removed my special eclipse glasses — essential for viewing the eclipse phases safely — casually looked up at the sun, and staggered back a little, my brain reeling.
The transformation of reality in a total solar eclipse is indescribable. I was mesmerized, disoriented, shocked, as if I had slipped through a wormhole to an alternate universe. I was the unwitting star of a “Twilight Zone” episode.
Mere minutes later, the sun peeked back out from behind the moon and all was familiar again. As suddenly as it had begun, my first total solar eclipse was over. But, like thousands of others around the world, I was hooked.
A growing number of eclipse-chasers, or umbraphiles, as they are also called, travel to the corners of the earth specifically to see total solar eclipses, and tour operators have sprung up to get them there. Beyond providing the thrill of standing on the moon’s shadow, or umbra, an eclipse is often the centerpiece of a travel adventure in exotic climes.
Umbraphiles have chased eclipses to Kazakh lakes, Zambian safari country and Algerian deserts. They have chartered ships to take them to the North Atlantic, the Caribbean and the middle of the Pacific. They’ve taken flights over the North Pole, faces pressed against tiny, frost-trimmed windows to view an eclipse from 35,000 feet.
The myths about eclipses are colorful: the sun and moon fighting or making love, hungry wolves or snakes devouring the light. But the ancient Chinese tale, that an eclipse is caused by a dragon swallowing the sun, seems especially apt. Eclipse fanatics are willing to spend any amount of time and money chasing that dragon.
The best eclipse tours are generally run by operators who understand local conditions, which may be chaotic for travelers, and have secured reliable transportation and the best accommodations and viewing spots. Since clouds can obscure the view of an eclipse, tour operators schedule observations in spots that are most likely to provide clear weather. Most tours feature lectures on both the science of eclipses and the art of observing them, including the all-important mantra for first-timers: Don’t bother with cameras and other distractions; just sit back and enjoy.
The experience evokes language laden with the mystical and the narcotic. “An eclipse is a glimpse of the world from a little outside our usual perspective,” said Liz O’Mara, an interactive marketing manager from New York and a veteran of three eclipses. “From that vantage point I can most easily see our position in the universe.”
Glenn Schneider, an astronomer at the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona who has seen more total solar eclipses (27) than the Yankees have won World Series (26), puts it in more scientific terms: “Totality is stronger than opioids or pheromones.”
The perfect alignment of the earth and the moon that obscures the sun in total eclipse occurs only every 16 months or so, lasts no more than seven and a half minutes (typically only three or four), and is visible from less than 1 percent of the earth’s surface. The last one visible from within New York City was in 1925 and lasted no more than a minute; the next happens in 2079. If you’re very young and healthy, you can wait for an eclipse to come to you. Otherwise, you must chase one down.
And chase we did. In March 2006, Tamás and I met in Ghana for our second eclipse. We flew in to Accra, the capital, and hopped on a bus to Cape Coast, about 90 miles southwest. Rather than join the apparently raucous party of eclipse-chasers on the beach outside town, we shared the moment with a local group — the four-person staff of the Mighty Victory Hotel. As the moon crept along the sun’s surface, I suddenly grew anxious. Would it be as awe-inspiring as I had remembered?
I needn’t have worried. As the last diamond of the sun slipped behind the moon, I was once again transported to the Twilight Zone, this time for three minutes and 20 seconds.
This year’s eclipse will be my first in the company of fellow chasers — 86 umbraphiles led by Rick Brown, a commodities trader from Long Island. We’ll gather in a private viewing spot outside Wuhan, China, just after sunrise. Together we’ll perform rituals to ward off the clouds, don our eclipse glasses and wait. At the moment of total eclipse, even the seasoned veterans are likely to cry out with religious fervor.
It all seems a bit much — until you’ve seen one.
Bill Kramer, a computer consultant from Ohio who runs an eclipse-chasing Web site, describes himself as a cynic about most of things purported to be marvelous, but not this experience. “An eclipse,” he said, “is the one thing that actually lives up to the hype.”
IF YOU GO
A comprehensive Web site for eclipse chasers is www.eclipse-chasers.com. For dates and Google maps of past and future eclipses, consult eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html. Eclipse glasses are essential for when the eclipse is not at totality; one source is www.rainbowsymphonystore.com.
After July 22, the next three total eclipses will be on July 11, 2010, over the South Pacific; on Nov. 13, 2012, over northern Australia; and on Nov. 3, 2013, over mid-Africa
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