April 2008 Edition
ROSES
After a tentative start in the 1980s, the cut flower industry has become Kenya's third-largest foreign currency earner. From the colossal greenhouses that line the shores of Lake Naivasha, some 25 per cent of Europe's cut flowers now come from Kenya bringing in US$120-million each year. The top two earners, tourism and tea, have been wrecked since the disputed election last December.
SPACE
Amsterdam is going underground as overcrowding and soaring land prices force planners to look beneath the city's famous canals for future urban development. Residents of the historic houses that line Amsterdam's central canals have to wait seven years for parking permits and a garage space can cost as much as $150,000. Dutch engineers have unveiled plans for a US$15-billion underground city providing one million square feet of underground retail, leisure and parking facilities. Construction work is expected to last up to 20 years.
REPAIRS
Two groups, one in the US and one in the UK, are trying to create composite materials such as reinforced plastics that will mend themselves if they get cracked, in much the same way as animal's broken bones will heal. The difference is that these materials heal in minutes rather than months. Such materials will be welcome in high-stress applications that are difficult to inspect regularly (the blades of wind turbines for example) or are critical to safety (such as the doors and window-frames of aircraft).
COINS
The U.S. Mint plans to use less copper and nickel, but more zinc as it increases penny production and cuts back on nickels, dimes and quarters. The Mint's zinc needs will increase by approximately one million kilograms while its copper use will decline by three million kilograms and its nickel use will fall by 300,000 kilograms. The agency says its metal needs reflect a shift in its product mix of coins based on demand, not higher metal prices.
COPYRIGHT
The European Union is seeking to extend copyright protections for performing artists to 95 years, instead of the current 50 years, as is the case with composers. In comparison, novelists and playwrights enjoy protection for their life and 70 years afterwards. Copyright protection for performers in the U.S. is 95 years from release. In Australia it is 70 years.
CROPS
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over the past century, about 75 per cent of the world's crop varieties have been lost. UN researchers say we now rely on just three crops: wheat, rice and maize. Efforts are presently being made in some less-developed countries to re-introduce crops that could be profitable such as millet, which has a high nutritional value, and cassava, which is also known as tapioca.
TEA
The American specialty tea market has almost quadrupled in 15 years and is now worth around US$6.8-billion a year. America's health drive over the past two decades has triggered a boom in the specialty teas, credited with lower caffeine levels and antioxidants. Two centuries after the Boston Tea party, English tea is no longer seen as a symbol of oppression, but as an aid to health.
WIND
Overturning all previous records, the U.S. wind energy industry installed 5,244 megawatts of power in 2007 which will power the equivalent of 1.5-million U.S. households annually. This expands the nation's total wind power generating capacity by 45 per cent in a single calendar year and injects an investment of over US$9-billion into the economy. This is the third consecutive year of record-setting growth establishing wind power as one of the largest sources of new electricity supply for the country. The U.S. wind power fleet now numbers 16,818 megawatts across 34 states.
PHONES
This year, the number of cellphone users will overtake the number of non-users for the first time. Ownership rates in developing countries are rising fastest, with Brazil, Russia, India and China alone accounting for one billion subscribers last year. In 2000, only 12 per cent of the global population had a cellphone.
SAND
Scientists are trying to find out how dust is affecting marine biology and, in turn, the ocean's ability to soak up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Each year, about 1,700-million tonnes of dust are produced by deserts around the world and about one-third of this falls into the oceans. The North Atlantic receives the most dust thanks to its proximity to the Sahara Desert. This sprinkling of sand can be critical for marine life in the area.
ITCHING
Designers have developed pyjamas that regulate body temperature, stop itching and ensure a good night's sleep, it is claimed. The nightwear, which is produced from a fabric called Dermasilk, can also help reduce the itching endured by sufferers of skin disorders such as eczema and dermatitis. The pyjamas have been developed for Travelodge, the hotel chain, which carried out a survey to discover what kept people awake. The sleepwear will be tested by customers at five hotels in the U.K.
FLIGHTS
A quarter of domestic flights in the U.S. failed to arrive on time in 2007, the industry's second poorest performance on record. More than 26 per cent of commercial flights in the U.S. arrived late or were cancelled last year as rising passenger demand and a industry preference for smaller planes intensified congestion in the skies and on runways. The only time passengers had more difficulty getting to their destinations on time was in 2000 when more than 27 per cent of flights were tardy or cancelled. Back then there were 31 per cent fewer flights than in 2007.
COAL
Flooding in Australia, snow in China and power outages in South Africa have put a massive crimp in the world's coal supply. The deepest problems are in the Australian State of Queensland which is said to supply 70 per cent of the global coking coal market. Coking coal, also called metallurgical coal, is used in the production of steel. It now seems inevitable that coal prices will reach record levels in 2008.
ONIONS
A tear-free onion that should be tastier and healthier has been created by using genetic tinkering to turn off the enzyme that makes us cry. It is anticipated that the health and flavour profiles of the onions will actually be enhanced. The onions can be chopped without painful, stingy, weeping eyes. It is predicted that tearless onions will eventually become mainstay in household kitchens around the world.
GOLD
Sky-high gold prices did little to curb demand for jewellery in India, China and some other Asian countries in 2007. Gold surged more than 30 per cent last year, peaking at a 28-year high of about US$845 an ounce. Jewellery consumption rose to 558 tons in India, the world's largest gold buyer in 2007 from 526 tons in 2006. The big marriage season starts in April when speculation is that gold may reach $1,000 an ounce. Gold jewellery is the most common gift during religious events in India and forms an essential part of a dowry.
CARGO
A cargo train arrived in Hamburg recently on a trial run from Beijing after making the trans-Siberian journey in 15 days, half the time it would take to transport goods by sea, and underscoring growing trade between Asia and Europe. The train crossed through Mongolia, Belarus and Poland. Train transportation is quicker than moving cargo by sea and significantly cheaper than airlifting goods from China.
BEACHES
Grain by grain, Miami Beach is losing the fine, bone-white sand that draws five million tourists a year and pumps US$8-billion into the economy. In places, the Atlantic Ocean is now only six metres from the shore, the result of incessant winds and water erosion, not global warming and rising seas. The city is asking for federal help to lift a 21-year-old ban on importing sand.
WATER
China is planning to divert billions of gallons of water hundreds of miles from drought-stricken regions to feed Olympic development in the capital Beijing. Workers are struggling to finish a huge canal to meet a surge in demand for water, fuelled by construction projects and the hundreds and thousands of athletes and visitors at the games in August.
TIMESHARES
The slump in the American real estate market has made things harder for those trying to sell timeshares, though resale problems are worldwide. With a generation of adults approaching retirement and hoping to relax more, sales of new timeshares in the U.S., the biggest market, have nearly doubled over the last five years. Sales in the U.S. reached nearly $10-billion in 2006, about five times the rate of a decade earlier. In Europe, more than 1.4 million people own timeshares, with annual sales of more than $1.5-billion.
TRENDS
As part of a turnaround plan, the coffee giant Starbucks has announced that it will discontinue warm breakfast sandwiches at its stores and focus instead on healthy breakfast options and high quality baked goods. The company is to open 1,175 new restaurants in the U.S. during this budget year, down from its previous goal of 1,600. It will close 100 underperforming locations in the U.S. The company will open 75 more stores abroad than originally predicted, for a total of 975. U.S. sales have been battered by a weak economy and increased competition.
BOOKS
More books are sold on the Internet than any other product, and the number is increasing. A recent survey of 26,312 people in 48 countries, 41 per cent of Internet users has bought books online. Two years ago, 34 per cent of Internet users had done so. Much of the increase is in emerging markets such as South Korea and India.
FARMING
The world is set to see the first vertical farm which is going to be developed in Las Vegas. The 30-storey project is designed to be a functional and profitable working farm that will grow enough food to feed 72,000 people for a year. The structure will house 100 crops ranging from strawberries to lettuce. Even growing miniature banana trees may be possible in each floor's specially controlled environment. Although the initial cost of the project is high, the vertical farm should be as profitable as a casino.
BISON
Pushed close to extinction as the Prairies were ploughed, bison are increasingly find a home on Canadian farms. Between 2001 and 2006, the number of bison on farms increased by more than a third to over 195,000 head. Bison producers are concentrated in B.C. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Alberta had 49 per cent of the herd and 46 per cent of the farms. In 2006 exports of bison meat totalled 2,075,000 kilograms and live bison exports peaked at 13,255 animals.
LOOT
An international criminal gang have set their sights on stealing a new type of loot that is making them millions, top-of-the-range tractors. Hundreds of cumbersome agricultural machines are being stolen from farms across rural Britain and smuggled abroad in an operation worth US$6-million a year.
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