News

Super Typhoon Megi

Super typhoon Megi struck Taiwan as a typhoon at about 06:00 GMT on 23 October. Data supplied by the US Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Center suggest that the point of landfall was near 24.2 N, 117.7 E. Megi brought 1-minute maximum sustained winds to the region of around 129 km/h (80 mph). Wind gusts in the area may have been considerably higher.

According to the Saffir-Simpson damage scale the potential property damage and flooding from a storm of Megi’s strength (category 1) at landfall includes:

  • Storm surge generally 1.2-1.5 metres (4-5 feet) above normal.
  • No real damage to building structures.
  • Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees.
  • Some damage to poorly constructed signs.
  • Some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage.

There is also the potential for flooding further inland due to heavy rain.

The information above is provided for guidance only and should not be used to make life or death decisions or decisions relating to property. Anyone in the region who is concerned for their personal safety or property should contact their official national weather agency or warning centre for advice.

This alert is provided by Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) which is sponsored by Benfield, Royal & SunAlliance, Crawford & Company and University College London (UCL). TSR acknowledges the support of the UK Met Office.


the ‘good skeptic’ on climate change & society

April 14/15 2010

“You can call me a ‘good skeptic.’ I don’t buy everything the [climate] modelers say. I don’t buy everything the climate people say. I’ve worked with them for 40 years. I know where some of the Achilles heels are; some of the arguments,” states Dr. Mickey Glantz, the Director of the Consortium for Capacity Building, University of Colorado.

“However, I do see sea level rising. I do see the ten warmest years on record in recent times. Warm ecosystems moving up-slope, that worries me,” as do other confirmed climate change observations, which he recounts in this candid assessment of the realities of climate change and what , if anything, mankind can do about. But while Glantz recognizes the problems of forecasting the long-range impacts of climate change, for him an equally challenging issue is getting us to agree there is a problem. He asks friends and colleagues, What would it take to get you to change your views on climate change? No one can offer an answer.

He recommends moving aside the climate scientists and IPCC and convening a engineering panel to start addressing the practical aspects of how to tackle the problem, noting that ‘there is no Planet B.’

Other video presentations from the 2010 Toyota Sustainable Mobility Seminar are available on EV World.Com.


mongolia: lonely planet travel video


Lonely Planet author Michael Kohn recommends Mongolia as the kind of country where you can just turn up and be guaranteed adventure. Not a surprise when nomad culture is alive and their hero is Ghengis Khan. Produced by Lonely Planet TV


Plans for STU prototypes are being developed for use in Asia, Africa and South America. Check back soon for development details.

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