Update Information You Should Know II

London bids to be world's greenest city by 2012

SEOUL, AFP — Mayor Boris Johnson outlined plans on Monday to make London "the cleanest, greenest city on earth" by the 2012 Olympics and called for commitments from other world cities at a climate change conference.
Leaders of the world's 40 largest cities, plus 17 affiliate municipalities, are meeting in Seoul this week for a summit on combating global warming.

"What we should do in Seoul is agree that we will stop the endless addiction of mankind to the internal combustion engine," said Johnson.

He told a press conference the world's cities consume 75 percent of its energy and produce 80 percent of the emissions which cause climate change.

"The problem of our planet is an urban problem," Johnson said, calling for "serious results."

He said the British capital wants to use the Olympics "to drive the greening and the improvement of our city" and noted that London is committed to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025.

Johnson said the key measure was addressing the problems relating to domestic and commercial buildings, which account for 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in London.

Johnson proclaimed himself a "passionate cyclist" and said he would push ahead with cycle super-highways around London.

He also called for "real progress" by cities worldwide towards the electrification of municipal fleets and other vehicles.

London's air quality problem, he said, was caused by vehicle emissions from 8,300 antiquated diesel buses which could be replaced by low-carbon vehicles.

There were also 32,000 taxis running on diesel fuel which could be replaced by electric vehicles.

Johnson said there would be a substantial program in the next few years to produce a "cleaner, greener" bus for his city. "The age of the diesel-emitting bus has got to be over in London."

倫敦在二０一二年前將改造成為全球最綠化城市

首爾，法新社 — 週一倫敦市長強生在氣變遷會議上尋求世界各國城市的承諾，並概述倫敦在二０一二年前成為「全球最綠最乾淨的城市」之計劃大綱。
全球前四十大城市首長、十七個自治市分會，為抗全球暖化議題這週參加了位於首爾的高峰會。

強生表示：「我們在首爾要做的是同意停止人類對內燃機的無節制濫用。」

他在記者會中表示，世界上的城市消耗百分之七十五的能源，並製造百分之八十造成氣候變化的排放物。

強生表示：「地球主要的問題為都市造成」，指出這些問題帶來了”嚴重後果”。

他表示英國的首都要藉著奧林匹克以促進綠化及改善，並表示倫敦將在二０二五年以前致力於將探排放量減少到百分之六十。

強生表示措施主要針對本土和商用大樓—這些建築製造了倫敦百分之七十的炭排放量。

強生也表示自己為 “自行車支持者”，並指出他將在倫敦周圍推動自行車的超級公路。

他同時要求世界上各城市推動市內的車輛的電氣化，並要有所進展。

他又表示，造成的倫敦空氣品質問題的八千三百輛老舊柴油巴士，可由低碳排放量的車輛所取代。

另外有三萬兩千台使用柴油的計程車也會被電動車所取代。

強生表示，在接下來幾年將有大規模的方案讓巴士 “更乾淨，更綠化”。使用柴油做為巴士燃料的時代在倫敦將走入歷史。



El Nino study challenges global warming intensity link

SINGAPORE, Reuters — Research showing an El Nino event in 1918 was far stronger than previously thought is challenging the notion climate change is making El Nino episodes more intense, a U.S. scientist said on Tuesday.
El Nino causes global climate chaos such as droughts and floods. The events of 1982/83 and 1997/98 were the strongest of the 20th Century, causing loss of life and economic havoc through lost crops and damage to infrastructure.

But Ben Giese of Texas A&M University said complex computer modelling showed the 1918 El Nino event was almost as strong and occurred before there was much global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels or widespread deforestation.

The outcome of the research was valuable for several reasons, Giese told Reuters from Perth in Western Australia.

"It questions the notion that El Ninos have been getting stronger because of global warming," Giese said.

The 1918 event also co-incided with one of India's worst droughts of the 20th century.

"We know that El Ninos and drought in India are often related to each other," he said.

El Nino is an abnormal warming of the surface waters in the eastern Pacific off South America that causes the normally rainy weather in the western Pacific to shift further to the east.

This causes drought in parts of Australia, Southeast Asia and India as well as flooding in Chile and Peru, colder and wetter winters in the southern United States and fewer Atlantic hurricanes.

The droughts in Australia of 1982-83 and 1997-98 rank among the worst in the nation's modern history. Drought also occurred in eastern Australia from 1918-20.

研究挑戰聖嬰現象與全球暖化加劇間的關連

新加坡，路透社 — 顯示在一九一八的聖嬰現象其實比先前所想還要強烈的研究，挑戰了氣候變化使聖嬰現象更劇烈的論點。
聖嬰現象造成像乾旱和水災的全球氣候混亂。在一九八二到八三和一九九七到九八年所發生的聖嬰現象為廿世紀中最嚴重，造成傷亡及因為穀物損失和公共建設損毀所帶來的經濟浩劫。

但是德州農工大學的吉斯表示，複雜的電腦模擬顯示，因燃燒化石燃料或大型森林砍伐所造成的全球暖化現象之前發生的一九一八年的聖嬰現象，與這些現象一樣嚴重。

研究結果因幾項理由而有價值，吉斯在澳洲西部的柏斯告訴路透社。

吉斯說；「這項研究質疑了聖嬰現象因全球暖化而變得更嚴重的論點。」

一九一八年的聖嬰現象也與印度廿世紀最嚴重的旱災同時發生。

他說；「我們知道聖嬰現象和印度的旱災經常是互相關聯的。」

聖嬰現象為在靠南美洲的東太平洋表現不正常的暖化，造成平常在西太平洋的雨帶東移。

這會造成澳洲、東南亞和印度某些地方的旱災和在智利與秘魯造成水災，在美國南部造成更濕冷的冬天和較少的大西洋颶風。

一九八二到八三和一九九七到九八年在澳洲所發生的旱災為澳洲現代史上排名最嚴重的旱災。澳洲東邊在一九一八到二零間也有發生旱災。



Twitter opens up a new world

BERLIN, dpa — Reading any recent account about election unrest in Iran or celebrity gossip, it's easy to see that Twitter is the new big thing. Understanding exactly what Twitter is and how it works is a little more complicated.
More and more, media reports are referring to information released over Twitter, a name that intentionally draws parallels to the tweeting of birds to one another.

Users are encouraged to tell the world exactly what they're doing right that moment. These messages ─ which can be no longer than 140 characters ─ are called Tweets and share many similarities to the text messages people regularly send from their mobile phones.

Users can then, in turn, opt to follow the Tweets of certain individuals, opening them up to a regular flow of data about the Tweeter's life and activities.

Users can be active or passive. Passive members ─ followers ─ simply read the tweets of others. Active users write tweets and have their own followers. Either way, membership is free on the English-language Web site.

The service appeals to no particular target group. Users can follow the tweets of newspapers, companies, celebrities or their own friends. Twittering can be more than just simple chattering. Many news agencies around the world relied on this feed for their news about the protests.

But, for many others, it is a simple social tool.

Businesses and politicians are also warming up to Twitter. They want to reach as many people as possible, especially the ones they might not normally reach.

After all, insights into the everyday life of a politician might be interesting. But campaign slogans are unlikely to build up much of a following on Twitter.

推特開創微網誌新紀元

柏林，德通社 — 不管是閱讀伊朗大選動盪或名人八卦，推特是時下最新潮的玩意兒的理由顯而易見。可是要了解它是什麼以及如何運作的難度可就更高。
愈來愈多媒體引用推特上的資訊，推特這個名字特意取自於小鳥們唧唧喳喳鳴叫的聲音。

這個平台鼓勵推友向全世界公開他們正在從事的活動，這些稱作Tweets的訊息不能超過一百四十個字，與人們平常用手機發送的簡訊有許多相似之處。

推友也可以依次選擇追蹤特定人士的Tweets訊息，讓他們可以定期知道使用者的日常活動。

推友可分為主動跟被動成員，被動追隨者只閱讀其他人的Tweets訊息，主動的推友不但會寫Tweets訊息，還會有自己的追隨者。不論是哪一方，在英文版推特網站上，申請會員完全免費。

這項服務沒有鎖定某特定族群，推友們可以追蹤報紙、企業、名人或是好友的Tweets留言。使用推特不只是單純聊天而已，許多世界各地的新聞社都依靠它獲得抗議活動的最新消息。

但是對其他人來說，推特只是項單純的社交工具。

商人與政治人物也開始接受推特，以盡量接近更多群眾；特別是平常無法接觸的人。

畢竟觀察政治人物的日常動態應該是件有趣的事，但是競選標語也許無法在推特上累積許多追隨者。



More Pakistan youth turn to music under the shadow of terrorism

LAHORE, Reuters — Zeb Bangash and Haniya Aslam are pursuing a line of work that not too long ago would have been deemed inappropriate for young Pakistani women of their standing: They're making music.
Educated in the United States and from well-to-do families, cousins Zeb and Haniya, as their duo is known, are part of a rising tide of youth turning to the arts, not only as a way of making a living, but of finding creative release from the frustrations of living under the threat of terrorist attacks.

Especially in the cultural hub of Lahore, on the Indian border, a growing number of bands are sprouting up as part of a renaissance of the arts.

Many are spurred on by defiance of the very Taliban militants who have attacked music, theater and film through bombings and assassinations, most notably in the scenic Swat valley northwest of Islamabad, which they took over before being routed by government forces over the last few months.

To the duo, who originally hail from the northwest of the country where the Taliban are rife, music is much more than a passing interest, despite any risks involved.

They have both left their jobs to pursue their musical careers full-time, and have released their first album, named "Chup," meaning "quiet," an eclectic mix of folk and classical Eastern melodies.

Given such constraints, not all young musicians are counting on making a living out of it.

British-born Qundeel Sadiq, a 31-year-old who returned to Pakistan in 1992 and now runs her own television production company, views her band, Roadhouse Blues, as a part-time pursuit.

"The country's gone through so much grief in the last couple of years that they really need an emotional outlet, or some art form or the other, just to get it out of their system," she said.

巴基斯坦青年藉音樂宣洩恐怖攻擊壓力

拉哈爾，路透社— 瑞柏與哈尼雅正追求不久前才被認為不適合巴基斯坦年輕女性地位的行業─玩音樂。
這對雙人搭檔─堂姊妹瑞柏和哈尼雅，她們生於富裕家庭並在美國完成學業，是尋求藝術慰藉，數量漸增的年輕族群之一，不只是糊口飯吃，更是想在恐怖攻擊威脅的陰影下，找出創意的發洩管道。

這種現象在印度邊界的孕育文化的溫床城市「拉哈爾」特別明顯，在這裡樂團數量正如雨後春筍般成長，為藝術文藝復興的一部分。

許多人受到叛軍塔利班武裝份子的刺激─他們透過炸彈攻擊和刺殺行動，打擊了樂界、電影院和電影業，尤其是伊斯蘭馬巴德西北方的風景區─史瓦特山谷。塔利班組織在過去的幾個月被政府徹底打敗前曾接管此區。

這對雙人搭檔原本來自塔利班組織橫行的巴基斯坦西北部，對她們來說，儘管有風險，音樂遠遠超過一時的興趣。

她們已雙雙辭掉工作，全心全意追求音樂事業，並發行首張混合民謠和東方古典旋律的專輯「Chup」(安靜之意)。

在這樣的限制下，不是每個年輕樂手都能繼續靠音樂維生。

生於英國，現年卅一歲的莎蒂克，於一九九二年返回巴基斯坦，她目前經營自己的電視製作公司，其樂團「Roadhouse Blues」是業餘的嗜好。

莎蒂克表示：「巴基斯坦在過去的幾年裡已經歷太多傷痛，人們需要一個感情的出口，或是一些藝術及其他事情，他們只想宣洩緊張的情緒。」



New polymer coating repels graffiti forever

HAMBURG, dpa ─ The days when spray-paint graffiti artists could deface a historic facade will soon be over, thanks to a revolutionary new polymer coating developed by a team of German scientists.
And unlike conventional polymer coatings, this new coating permits the masonry to "breathe," lessening the risk of mould development or salt efflorescence.

It takes seconds to spray on graffiti, but hours or weeks to remove ─ especially from porous natural stone or brickwork as found in the majority of historic monuments. The paint penetrates deep into the pores from which it is impossible to remove, even with a pressure hose or multi-component solvents.

Often the only answer, other than living with the graffiti, is to etch away a part of the wall.

"The coating needs to be sufficiently resistant to withstand both weathering and mechanical cleaning. Moreover, since we're dealing with historic landmarks, it must be possible to completely remove the coating from the walls if required, to restore them to their original condition with little effort and without damaging the structure," says Professor Andre Laschewsky, who heads the team of German researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam, Germany.

As part of an EU-sponsored project, Laschewsky's team and partners have developed a polymer coating that meets these requirements.

"Our innovative polymer film seals the pores in the substrate, so that graffiti paint doesn't penetrate. But its micro-porous structure also creates a hydrophobic barrier that allows water vapour to escape from the building while at the same time preventing the infiltration of rainwater," says Laschewsky.

The coating can be removed from the surface using a diluted brine solution which modifies its chemical composition and allows it to be washed off.

向有礙古蹟美觀的塗鴉說掰掰

漢堡，德通社 — 噴漆塗鴉藝術家威脅到歷史古蹟外觀的日子即將成為歷史，一切得歸功於由德國學者研發出的創新聚合塗料。
不同於以往的傳統聚合塗料，這種新的塗料讓石頭得以「呼吸」，減低發霉及鹽霜的危險。

用噴漆塗鴉只須數秒，但是要花好幾個小時甚至數週除去，尤其是大部份的歷史遺址採用的可滲水自然石材或是磚材。塗鴉會滲透深入建材孔隙，就連用高壓水管或多元溶劑都無法去除。

通常剩下唯一的解決之道，不是讓塗鴉繼續跟古蹟共存，就是挖下一部分的牆壁。

德國的勞史瓦士奇教授說到：「塗料必須能同時承受風化作用及以機械清潔的過程。況且我們在處理的是歷史遺產，在必要時塗料須能完全自牆上移除，以不費周章且不傷害構造的方式，回復古蹟的原始狀態。」勞史瓦士奇教授在德國波茨坦市的Fraunhofer 研究院應用聚合體研究所，負責帶領此項研究團隊。

這項研究為歐盟贊助的計畫之一，勞史瓦士奇教授的團隊及合作夥伴已研發出符合以上條件的塗料。

勞史瓦士奇教授指出：「這項創新的塗料薄膜自基層封住建材孔隙，所以塗鴉漆料不會透入，但塗料的微孔結構也創造出疏水介面，使得水得以從建材蒸發出建築，同時預防雨水侵蝕。」

稀釋的鹽水可改變塗在建材上塗料的化學構造，使它可被沖洗掉。



Crime is more of a lifestyle choice : expert

SYDNEY, dpa — With Australia's jobless rate expected to double to 10 percent next year, will the crime rate double as well?
No, said Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research criminologist Don Weatherburn: It's more complex than that.

"If people can't get a job immediately, they don't start getting straight into crime," he said. "But by the time they've gone for a year or two without a job, they do start drifting into crime."

Two years ago, when unemployment was at a low not seen since the Beatles topped the charts and Russia was part of the Soviet Union, around 500,000 were out of work. There were jobs going begging, but Australians didn't want to take them. Migrant workers had to be brought in to fill vacancies in abattoirs and fast-food restaurants in hospitals and hotels.

It's pretty much the same with crime. Just as the crime rate reaches a level at which no amount of prosperity seems to budge it, harder times don't get immediately reflected in higher crime.

Not that crime is a constant and criminality doesn't change with altered conditions.

"Property crime, which has gone down, could well increase as people look for easy opportunities to get money," said Bond University criminologist Paul Wilson, adding, "I think the black economy will blossom as people avoid paying GST (goods and service tax)."

He also expects an increase in recidivism, as those released from jail fall back into crime faster than they did when the economy was booming.

There are also hard-core criminals just as there are the long-term unemployed: No matter how easy it would be to go straight, the pull of the underworld is super-strong.

專家表示:犯罪與否取決於個人
雪梨，德通社 — 當明年澳洲的失業率預測將成長兩倍至百分之十的時候，犯罪率也會跟著倍數增加嗎？
犯罪統計調查局的犯罪學者維爾本表示；「不會，情況會複雜許多。」

他指出：「就算人們沒有即時找到工作，他們也不會馬上就跑去犯罪。但隨著一年或兩年沒有工作，他們會漸漸陷入犯罪的泥沼。」

兩年前失業率一度降至低點，是自披頭四佔據排行榜而俄國還是蘇維埃聯邦的一部份之後所不曾見過的，當時有五十萬人失業。澳洲人挑剔工作。擁擠的屠宰場、速食店、醫院，和旅館只好僱用移民。

景氣跟犯罪率大同小異，但當犯罪率上升到某程度時，經濟榮景情況不見得會有所變動，而景氣不好也不會立即反應在高犯罪率上。

龐德大學的犯罪學者保羅表示：「已經下降的財產犯罪，會隨著人們尋求投機的賺錢方法而再度增加。因為人們不想付消費稅，黑市經營的情況將會復甦。」

他也預測，累犯的機率會增加，因為那些從牢裡放出來的人很快又會再陷入犯罪，比之前經濟繁榮時還快。

只要失業率持續，社會還是會有嚴重的的犯罪問題—不管走正當的途徑是多麼容易，犯罪的力量也會拉著你往下。


Japan struggles to boost homegrown food

NARA, Japan, AP — The Japanese government released a report late last year showing what Japanese would have to eat without imports. The typical lunch: One potato, two sweet potatoes and a quarter of an apple.
The Japanese on average get only 40 percent of their calories from domestic food, down from 73 percent in 1965. The United States, an agricultural exporter, has a 128 percent rate, and even a smaller nation like Britain can provide 70 percent of its citizens' calories.

Amid rising world food prices and a series of imported food contamination scandals, the government has set a target of boosting the self-sufficiency rate up to 45 percent by 2015.

However, the dependence on foreign farms won't be easy to unwind in a country that has long equated modern prosperity and well-being with Western food culture. Japanese tastes have tilted toward foods their crowded, mountainous country is ill-suited to produce: wheat grown in mega-farms that slice across the horizon, or beef-cows raised on huge rolling fields of pasture.

A decade ago, Masayuki Miura and his wife Yoko started going from farm to farm collecting samples and seeds of heirloom vegetables, such as mild purple chili peppers, red okra, and a plethora of tubers like the carrot-shaped "yamato" potato.

The Miuras' experiment dovetails with many other local produce and organic farming projects that have cropped up around Japan in recent years.

"I think we're entering a phase when the Japanese are trying to preserve their own types of food," Miura said. "You can't separate the issues of food self-sufficiency and food culture."

日本努力提升國產食物聲望

奈良，日本，美聯社 — 日本政府去年底發表的一份報告指出，如果日本國民必須不靠進口食物存活，他們必須以一個馬鈴薯，兩條甘薯和四分之一個蘋果料理午餐。
日本國內農產一九六五年時平均還能為每位國民提供百分之七十三的所需卡路里，現在則已跌至百分之四十。農業出口大國美國可以提供百分之一百廿八，即使是較小的國家如英國，也都能提供百分之七十所需。

眼見世界糧食價格不斷上升，而近來又多次傳出進口食品遭到污染的消息，日本政府矢志要在二0一五年前，將國內食物自給自足率提升到百分之四十五。

然而，長期將西方食物文化與現代化繁榮盛景畫上等號的日本，要想脫離對於外國作物的依賴，並不容易。多年來，日本人的飲食逐漸朝西式飲食偏斜；而不管是種植在巨大農場上一望無際的小麥，還是在連綿田野上生長的肉牛，這個擁擠、多山的國家都難以自行生產。

十年前，三浦昌行與其妻洋子開始造訪一座又一座傳統農莊，收集各種原生本地蔬菜的樣本與種子。這些蔬菜包括日本紫椒、紅秋葵，以及含「大和薯」在內的多種塊莖作物。

三浦夫婦的實驗成就，正好與近年來在日本各地興起的本地自產有機作物計畫相契。

「我想日本人已經進入了一個希望能將本國食物文化保存下來的階段，」三浦昌行說：「一個國家的食物自給自足問題與其食物文化，原是一體兩面。」


Mediterranean diet aids the heart but strains the wallet

NEW YORK, Reuters ─ Eating a Mediterranean diet rich in fish, olive oil, legumes, fruit and vegetables may strengthen the heart, but the cost strains the wallet and may deter healthy eating, according to Spanish researchers.
A study by the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra looked at the costs of Mediterranean and Western diets in more than 11,000 Spanish university graduates with a similar level of income.

All of them were taking part in a long-term study launched in 1999 to assess ties between diet, food costs and obesity.

The analysis, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, revealed that the more closely these people adhered to a healthy Mediterranean diet, the more money they spent each day on food.

In contrast, the more closely they followed a "Western" diet ─ high in saturated fats, sugar, and red meat ─ the less money they shelled out each day on food.

Researcher Maira Bes-Rastrollo said this study showed that a healthy Mediterranean dietary pattern is more expensive to follow than a Western dietary pattern.

"Economic barrier" should be considered when counseling populations about following a healthy diet "because cost may be a prohibitive factor," she added.

After adjusting for factors likely to influence the results, people who spent the most on food were 20 percent more likely to gain weight, regardless of which dietary pattern they favored.

Those with higher food bills tended to be older, were more likely to have quit smoking, tended to drink more calorie-laden fruit juice, soft drinks and alcohol, and generally weighed more to begin with ─ suggesting that they were more prone to weight gain due to lifestyle or genetic factors, the researchers said.

地中海美食有益心臟但所費不貲

紐約，路透社 — 西班牙研究學者指出，富含魚類、橄欖油、豆類、水果及蔬菜的地中海式飲食可強健心臟。但花費讓荷包失血，也可能因此讓人對此健康飲食型態卻步。
納瓦拉大學預防醫學暨公共衛生學系的一項研究，調查一萬一千名西班牙收入水平類似的大學畢業生，在地中海及西式飲食下的花費。

所有受訪者從一九九九年，研究開始時，就參與了這項長期的調查。這項研究評估飲食、食物上的花費、肥胖間的關聯性。

這項刊登在「流行病學暨公共衛生」期刊的分析顯示出，愈遵從健康的地中海飲食的人，每天在食物上的花費愈高。

相對來說，愈遵守以高飽和脂肪、糖份及紅肉的「西式」飲食，每天在食物上的花費愈少。

研究學者貝絲蘿絲卓羅指出，這項調查顯示出健康的地中海飲食模式比西式飲食模式花費更高。

她補充說：「想遵守健康飲食的諮詢民眾也應考慮經濟阻力，因花費也可能成為阻礙的因素。」

在調整可能影響結果的因素後，不論是偏好哪一種飲食模式，花最多錢在食物上的受訪者，增重的機率多了百分之廿。

研究學者指出，在食物上花費較多的人往往年紀較長、可能已戒煙、愛喝高熱量的果汁、汽水和酒類，一開始體重就比較重。意味著生活習慣或基因因素傾向為增重的原因。