January 2005 Edition
POLLUTION
There are a billion or so cellphones in use around the world. On average, users trade up to a new handset every 18 months. The discarded devices are packed with dangerous chemicals and metals. For instance, the cadmium in a single battery from an old-fashioned phone could seriously contaminate 600,000 litres of water. Cadmium is being phased out of new batteries but many other poisonous metals remain.
REALITY
BBC viewers in Britain will shortly be asked to identify the country's worst building in a new four-part reality series that will culminate in a live broadcast of the eyesore's destruction. Called Demolition, the programme is being supported by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
BEAUTY
Lead, mud, paraffin and nightingale droppings--through the centuries women (and some men) have plastered extreme ingredients on their skin in the pursuit of youth. The latest anti-aging product from Australia is a "breakthrough product found at the bottom of an Antarctic iceberg" which doesn't sound too extreme when compared with rival products based on plankton, rice wine and animal cartilage. A 50-millilitre jar of Antarctilyne containing the "wonder" ingredient Antarcticine, retails for C$72.00.
MONITORING
The Forrester Consulting Group reports that more than 43 per cent of large U.S. corporations employ staff to monitor employees' outbound e-mail. The monitoring was spurred mainly by fears workers might be leaking sensitive corporate information.
SIZE
Fears that big-box stores would devastate independent retailers and suck the life out of Canada's downtown main streets seems overblown. A new poll indicates half of Canadian small businesses don't compete with big boxes, and half of the rest say Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other behemoth retailers have not hurt them. The Decima Research survey found 16 per cent of respondents saying big-box retailers have hurt their businesses. In this group, about half said they had been forced to cut prices to compete.
2005
Canadian and U.S. economic growth will converge at around three per cent in 2005 to lead G7 nations according to Scotiabank. In Canada, exports hold the key to achieving three per cent growth because domestic demand is unlikely to accelerate. Mexican output is forecast to grow in 2005 by four per cent, the same as in 2004.
FRAGRANCE
New research suggests that having every room in the house smelling of synthetic flowers or pine forests is making small children ill and their mothers depressed. Researchers are urging house-proud families to limit the use of aerosols until more is known. Pregnant women, babies and the elderly could be particularly vulnerable. The study involved analyzing details of the way of life and health of 14,000 families.
VOLCANOES
There are 108 active volcanoes in Japan that have erupted at least once in the past 10,000 years. The country's weather office keeps a 24-hour watch on 20 volcanoes including 13 that are ranked as the most active. Mount Fuji is also being monitored, though this best-known volcano last erupted in 1707.
ROBOTS
The use of robots around the home to mow lawns, vacuum floors and manage other chores is set to surge sevenfold by 2007 as more consumers snap up smart machines, according to the United Nations. The boom coincides with record orders for industrial robots. At the end of 2003, 607,000 automated domestic helpers were in use. By the end of 2007, some 4.1 million domestic robots will likely be in use. Lawnmowers will still make up the majority. Japan still remains the most robotized economy.
CLICK
A new keychain gadget allows people to turn off most TV sets anywhere, from airports to restaurants. It works like a universal remote control but one that only turns TV sets on or off. With a zap of a button, the gizmo goes through a string of about 200 infrared codes that control the power of about 1,000 television models.
PEPPER
When Captain Carnes sailed into Salem, Mass. in 1797 with the first shipment of directly-imported pepper from Sumatra the stock sold out immediately at a profit of 700 per cent. Salem was able to become the world's premier pepper shipper, controlling the Sumatra market and re-exporting 7.5 million pounds a year in the 1800s when duties from the Port of Salem contributed an astonishing five per cent of the total budget of the U.S. government. Today, world trade in black pepper exceeds 200 million pounds and accounts for one quarter of the total spice trade.
PRINTERS
Mysteries used to be solved by identifying the typewriter upon which the ransom note was prepared. Now, U.S. scientists have discovered that every desktop printer has a signature style that it leaves invisibly on every document it produces. They have now found a way to identify individual laser printers. This will help to track down printers used to make bogus bank notes, fake passports and other important documents.
FRAUD
A small Quebec town saw half its budget blown in one fraudulent swoop recently when someone managed to cash a cheque for a quarter-million dollars with the mayor's forged signature. The cheque was drawn on an account the town uses to pay for large projects such as road construction work so the bank was used to seeing big cheques going through.
TASTE
Researchers in Peru have bred a new culinary export they hope will gain favour with diners around the world: the super guinea pig. Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million guinea pigs each year., but those weigh on average 10 ounces to 1 1\2 pounds. Now, researchers at La Molina National University have developed guinea pigs that weigh nearly 2 1\2 pounds. The meat is low in fat and cholesterol and tastes like rabbit.
TAXES
The tax burden in Canada remains the highest among the nations that make up the North American Free Trade Agreement. In 2003, Canada's tax burden was 33.9 per cent. In the U.S., the burden was 25.4 per cent. Mexico's tax burden rose in 2003 but remained the lowest at 19.5 per cent. The tax burden is calculated by expressing tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product, the broadest measure of a nation's economic activity. Outside Europe, only Australia, Canada and New Zealand have tax ratios above 30 per cent of GDP.
LOW
The Dead Sea, the world's lowest point, is listed as minus 1,365 feet (minus 416 metres) in the latest National Geographic Atlas of the World. This updated figure is down nearly 26 feet because of water consumption in the region.
CORRUPTION
A global watchdog group reports that most oil-producing nations are rife with corruption and that oil companies should provide more information about their operations to help clean up the market. Angola, Azerbaijan, Chad, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen all scored very low in clean government practices. Transparency International suggest that in these countries, public contracting in the oil sector is plagued by revenues vanishing into the pockets of Western oil executives, middlemen and local officials.
WTO
European Union and Vietnamese trade officials have concluded talks that could pave the way for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Vietnam, which has become a major player in textile trade, will have to gain the support of countries, including the U.S., who have an interest in Vietnamese trade.
CONSUMPTION
The World Wildlife Fund claims that people are plundering the world's resources at a pace that outstrips the planet's capacity to sustain life. Humans currently consume 20 per cent more natural resources than Earth can produce.
PRINTING
Industry analysts estimate that companies spend between one and three per cent of their revenue on copiers, printers, faxes and scanners. Print equipment and associated supplies are among the most costly assets for many companies and millions of dollars are lost due to poorly managed print environments. Today, many multi-function units are available that can reduce equipment investment, as well as consumables and operating costs, improving asset management significantly by allowing businesses to support one device instead of as many as four.
SPACE
An ecological footprint is the total area in acres of a country that is required to absorb waste from energy consumption, including carbon dioxide. It also comprises the total area per person of cities, roads and other infrastructures and the space required to produce food and fibre used for clothing. Nations with the top ecological footprints are: United Arab Emirates, 24.46 acres; United States, tied with Kuwait, 23.47 acres and Australia, 19.03 acres. Canada is eighth with 15.81 acres.
SCREENING
The British government estimates that a new hi-tech biometric passport screening system which relies on facial recognition will fail in 10 per cent of cases. The new passports are due to be introduced this year, five years ahead of the international deadline, to allow Britain to remain in the U.S. visa waiver programme.
RAIL
Saudi Arabia's recent decision to proceed with plans to link its east and west coast with a railway is likely to have far-reaching economic benefits for the global shipping industry. The development is long overdue. Even though Saudi Arabia occupies an area the size of Western Europe, it has just one railway line running from the Gulf coast port of Dammam to Riyadh, the capital. The new links are seen as handling mainly container traffic from Europe and North America destined for Saudi Arabia's central and eastern regions and other Gulf states.
SECURITY
Vatican City is home to 1.6 million books, centuries-old manuscripts and the oldest known complete Bible. Now, libraries at the Vatican are using cutting-edge technology to keep track of the priceless ancient collection. About 30,000 books have been tagged with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. RFID chips, also known as tags, store information and send it via radio waves to a reader. RFID tags cost between five and 10 U.S. cents each.
CRAMPED
Dutch police stopped the driver of a small hatchback for transporting a Shetland pony crammed in the back. A woman on the back seat held the animal by a rope. He was fined for the improper transport of an animal.
TRAINING
The Vietnamese government is considering abandoning firing squads as a method of execution because up to a third of policemen miss their target because of nerves.
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