Interações

Hubble Comes of Age With Dramatic New Image:

"In celebration of the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope’s deployment into space, astronomers pointed Hubble at Arp 273. Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA"

Boa pergunta, mas é mesmo assim, e o caminho (a continuar) passa por aí.

Europe's debt crisis: Europe's problems in a nutshell | The Economist: 

"The True Finns party won 19 per cent of the vote, increasing its number of seats in the 200-strong parliament to 39 from just five at the previous election amid public anger over the succession of taxpayer-funded bail-outs for crisis-hit eurozone countries.

The result raised fears that Helsinki could block the  Portuguese deal because Finland, unlike other eurozone countries, requires parliamentary approval to take part in bail-outs, which can go forward only with unanimous EU support.

How long could America maintain its dominance—or, indeed, its union—if the fact of a secessionist party winning 19% in a Maryland election could prevent the union from undertaking a step critically important to the stability of the American economy?"

Apatia e participação

Dave Meslin: The antidote to apathy | Video on TED.com: 

"About this talk

Local politics -- schools, zoning, council elections -- hit us where we live. So why don't more of us actually get involved? Is it apathy? Dave Meslin says no. He identifies 7 barriers that keep us from taking part in our communities, even when we truly care."

Vejam: tem a ver com o que se passa. Não é tudo, mas é uma parte.

Algo sobre as origens

Language May Have Helped Early Humans Spread Out of Africa - ScienceNOW

Tracing the spread of languages has been difficult. Most linguists use changes in words or grammatical structures to try to track language evolution. The English word "brother," for example, translates as bhrater in Sanskrit, brathir in Old Irish, frater in Latin, and phrater in Greek. These differences can be used to reconstruct the ancient words that gave rise to these modern ones. But unlike genes, these cultural units cannot be traced back far enough to distinguish patterns of language change much earlier than about 6500 years ago.

So Quentin Atkinson, a psychologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand who has long worked on language evolution, decided to look at language units whose pedigrees might be traceable further back: phonemes, the smallest units of sound that allow us to distinguish one word from another. For example, the English words "rip" and "lip" differ by a single phoneme, one corresponding to the letter "r" and the other to the letter "l."

Atkinson looked at the phonemes from 504 languages across the world, using as his database the authoritative online World Atlas of Language Structures, which includes phonemes based on differences in the sounds of vowels, consonants, and spoken tones. He then constructed a series of models, demonstrating first that smaller populations have lower phoneme diversity. And, as also predicted if language arose in Africa, phoneme diversity was greatest in Africa and smallest in South America and Oceania (the islands of the Pacific Ocean), the points farthest from Africa, Atkinson reports online today in Science. The pattern matches that for human genetic diversity: As a general rule, the farther one gets from Africa—widely accepted as the ancestral home of our species—the smaller the differences between individuals within a particular population.

Leituras do tempo que passa ...

A situação é deprimente, e não é só a nível nacional. É-o também a nível europeu, e eventualmente, poderá sê-lo a nível mundial. Não apetece fazer grandes comentários, por isso vou dando conta de algumas coisas que vou lendo.

The European Union in deep trouble | Gideon Rachman's blog | International affairs blog from the FT – FT.com: "What do the following stories have in common?

1. France has started to block trains from Italy to intercept illegal migrants from North Africa.

2. A Eurosceptic party has made big gains in the Finnish general election.

3. Political squabbling in Portugal is raising doubt about the country’s ability to negotiate a bail-out.

4. There are growing demands in Greece for the country to default on its debts.

Answer: These are all symptoms of the same problem. The political understandings that underpin the EU are beginning to unravel."

The Portuguese Economy remete-nos para BBC - Peston's Picks: Could Germany afford Irish, Greek and Portuguese default?onde se diz a dada altura: "This suggests that it is in the German national interest to help Portugal, Ireland and Greece avoid default. If you are a Greek, Portuguese or Irish citizen this might bring on something of a wry smile - because you would probably be aware that the more punitive of the bailout terms imposed by the eurozone on these countries (or about to be imposed in Portugal's case) is the expression of a German desire to spank reckless borrowers. But as I have mentioned here before, reckless lending can be the moral (or immoral) equivalent of reckless borrowing. And German banks were not models of Lutheran prudence in that regard. If punitive bailout terms make it more likely that Ireland, Greece or Portugal will eventually default, you might wonder whether there has been an element of masochism in the German government's negotiating position.

The Portuguese Economy: EC, ECB and IMF: Are they going to look at the "10 capital sins" of public Finances?: "The problems Portugal are facing today, apart from low economic growth which is a different story, lie on these 10 'capital sins':

1- The structure of federalism: central, regional and local governments

2- The measurement of public debt: European criteria and Eurostat rules.

3- The evolving structure of Central Government Administrations: the autonomous funds and services.

4- The spin-off of general government institutions: the new public sector “enterprises”

5- The Public-Private partnerships: decision-making and accountability

[continuar a ler ....]

Desejo de punição | João Cardoso Rosas | Diário Económic

A maioria das análises sobre a nossa situação financeira e o pedido de ajuda externa tem-se inscrito no plano objectivo dos factos e da sua explicação.

Demonstra-se que o pedido de ajuda era agora inevitável, embora uns coloquem a sua causalidade na governação de Sócrates, outros na crise política. Quando se passa ao plano da negociação, exige-se conhecer a situação real das finanças públicas, pensando na possibilidade de uma negociação empiricamente alicerçada, uns insistindo na aplicação do ex-PEC IV, outros numa alternativa a esse programa.

Mas, infelizmente, o tempo da objectividade já foi ultrapassado e o ambiente político em que nos encontramos agora, face aos parceiros Europeus, é completamente diferente. A condicionalidade da ajuda externa só parcialmente depende ainda de dados técnicos ou análises objectivas e nada tem a ver com causalidades empíricas. Ela passou a ter uma dimensão mais importante e puramente passional: o desejo de punição. [continuar a ler ....]

Outros sarilhos a médio prazo ....

A  resposta à pergunta transcrita abaixo é pedagógica:

The Oil Drum | Will the decline in world oil supply be fast or slow? An Oil Drum reader wrote, asking the following question:

Dear Oil Drum Editors,
I have been reading quite a bit about peak oil recently. I get the impression (not based on data) that at some point there will be a quite steep decline in oil production/supply, and therefore we will see dramatic changes in how the world runs. However, when I look at oil depletion rates and oil production declines based on the Hubbert Curve, it seems to suggest a rather smooth decline. How is that some people expect a serious energy crunch in about two or three years, then? Many thanks! --Curious Reader

             [continuar a ler ....]

Posicionamentos

Tax Facts| Paul Krugman| - NYTimes.com

Gostei disto ....

Diário do Campus de Angra do Heroísmo da Universidade dos Açores: Leite açoriano tem muito mais para dar:

O que importa hoje discutir no setor? Realçaria a questão da sustentabilidade, menor dependência de fatores externos à exploração - cujos preços sobem ao ritmo do preço do petróleo e do aumento dos consumos mundiais - como por exemplo os adubos e os cereais.

Que técnicas produtivas utilizar para diminuir a dependência destes fatores (?): por exemplo, maior investimento em tecnologias associadas à produção de forrageiras, valorizando-se sempre mais a captação dessa fonte inesgotável de energia que é o Sol.

As importações, para os Açores, de bens de primeira necessidade, desde couve a alfaces, passando por repolhos, tomates, etc., atingem valores exorbitantes. A nossa lavoura, ao não produzir esses bens - ao menos para auto-consumo - não estará a perder uma importante fonte de rendimento complementar face ao leite? Certamente.Os atuais desafios da agricultura - nossos, nacionais e mesmo globais - passam por encarar o desafio de uma maior sustentabilidade alimentar, investindo na agricultura. [....] há cinco boas razões para investir na agricultura: as reservas mundiais de cereais estão a atingir o nível mais baixo em 40 anos; o consumo de bens agrícolas, particularmente os cereais, está em franca ascensão; a quantidade de terra arável por pessoa, a nível global, tem diminuído drasticamente; o uso de cereais para a produção de biocombustíveis aumentou a pressão sobre os preços; a menor disponibilidade de água irá reduzir a produtividade agrícola. É fácil então predizer que os preços dos alimentos irão subir, ainda mais, e que, os nossos agricultores, terão boas oportunidades de sucesso, apostando nos produtos que melhor sejam valorizados pelo mercado. 

"– Enviado através da Barra de ferramentas do Google"

Leituras sobre o momento (económico) que passa

Prosperity through lower wages? - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post: "But to give the GOP’s report a bit more credit, its argument is that in the mid-1990s, a number of small, European nations (and Canada) sharply cut government spending and saw rapid economic growth afterwards. The problem, as the International Monetary Fund details in this review (pdf) of the austerity measures attempted by developed nations, is that these countries understood that cutting government spending would kill demand, and so they compensated with policies that would keep demand strong. Those policies were 1) really aggressive efforts on the part of the central bank, 2) devaluing their currencies, and 3) living in the mid-1990s, when the global economy had one of its best-ever decades. Republicans oppose policies that would lead to #1 and #2, and 2011 is a very different moment, in terms of global demand, than 1994.That said, the IMF report does say two things that back up conservative preferences: 1) cutting deficits by cutting spending does appear to be better for the economy than cutting deficits by raising taxes, so it’s not crazy to want to see spending cuts predominate over tax increases, and 2) over the long-term, cutting deficits does help the economy. Unfortunately, over the short-term they do real harm [....]

Convém não esquecer ....

Abaixo o sumário do que o FMI diz sobre as tendências da evolução do mercado do petróleo ( ver em trends in the market for oil) e potenciais consequências sobre o crescimento mundial:

Energy prices: Oil and trouble | The Economist: The persistent increase in oil prices over the past decade suggests that global oil markets have entered a period of increased scarcity. Given the expected rapid growth in oil demand in emerging market economies and a downshift in the trend growth of oil supply, a return to abundance is unlikely in the near term. This chapter suggests that gradual and moderate increases in oil scarcity may not present a major constraint on global growth in the medium to long term, although the wealth transfer from oil importers to exporters would increase capital flows and widen current account imbalances. Adverse effects could be much larger, depending on the extent and evolution of oil scarcity and the ability of the world economy to cope with increased scarcity. Sudden surges in oil prices could trigger large global output losses, redistribution, and sectoral shifts. There are two broad areas for policy action. First, given the potential for unexpected increases in the scarcity of oil and other resources, policymakers should review whether the current policy frameworks facilitate adjustment to unexpected changes in oil scarcity. Second, consideration should be given to policies aimed at lowering the risk of oil scarcity.

Obviamente, isto deve ser uma preocupação maior da governação dos Açores.

Um artigo excepcionalmente simpático

É um artigo excepcionalmente simpático com Portugal, e é um em que Sócrates se reverá sem problemas, e que poderia ter sido escrito por um seu assessor:  Portugal’s Unnecessary Bailout - NYTimes.com. Dando de barato, ou com algumas qualificações, pontos tais como a opacidade do funcionamento dos mercados da dívida soberana, do papel das agências de "rating" na conformação da sua evolução, e os perigos que daí resultam, certo é que passa, totalmente, ao lado de aspectos graves que criaram o quadro de problemas económicos em que estamos metidos: a perda de competitividade face aos países do Norte da Europa, o endividamento crescente e o crescimento anémico ao longo da última década, com isso tudo a ser imputável, na maior parte, ao que se fez, e ao que não se fez no país. Obviamente, é a situação assim criada que viabiliza a eficácia dos maus - quem anda na selva, tem de ter cuidado com os animais ferozes, e não se pode pôr a jeito. 

PS: E como uma imagem vale por não sei quantas palavras, aí vai uns gráficos:

FT.com / Comment & analysis / FT Columnists - The ‘grand bargain’ is just a start:

Anomalias

Bolivia: Where adaptation equals abandonment « Climate Progress

I had previously written that Bolivia’s 18,000 year-old Chacaltaya glacier is gone. 

Mais do mesmo: comentários desagradáveis, gráficos e tudo o resto

As referências vão das mais antigas para as mais recentes. É mais do mesmo, mas de interessante têm alguns comentários "não politicamente correctos" sobre as elites portugueses; alguns gráficos conhecidos que importa não esquecer; outros, novos, curiosos, que eu gostaria de ver reproduzidos para Portugal e alguma história económica. Merecem ser acedidos e lidos na totalidade.

The Portuguese Economy: Blessing in disguise? The key question now for me is whether the painful debt-reducing cuts that will follow will also be complemented by a number of reforms that allow the country to grow its way out of debt, in a sustainable manner. This will require strong moves towards more flexible markets and more efficient institutions that the ruling, protected intelligentsia have always decried.

The Portuguese Economy: Sovereign spreads - then versus now:

"There is a also striking similarity between the levels of historical Portuguese spreads up to and after the January 1892 default (green dashed line) and the Greek bailout (blue dashed)"

Mad, mad american right ....

Wonkery: Trumponomics | The Economist

Donald Trump wants to run for president. What are his economic views?Mr. Trump said he is “only interested in Libya if we take the oil,” and that if he were President, “I would not leave Iraq and let Iran take over the oil.” He remains sharply critical of the Chinese, asserting that as President, “I would tell China that you’re either going to shape up, or I’m going to tax you at 25% for all the products you send into this country.”

[....] a new CNN poll shows him leading the Republican pack, in a tie with Mike Huckabee, among Republican voters.

Anomalias, Cisnes Negros e Anomalias a cores

Wunder Blog : Weather Underground: "According to the National Climatic Data Center, March 2011 was the driest March and 17th warmest March in Texas since 1895. Temperatures averaged 2 - 6°F above average over most of the state, but over the western portion of the state, where the worst wildfires are burning, temperatures averaged between 6 - 10°F above average."

Is global warming a black swan? « Climate Progress [....] One of the defining characteristics of humans is our ability to ignore or downplay facts that would shatter or overturn our world view. At the same time, we tend to favor or selectively recall information that confirms our preconceptions, which is called “confirmation bias.” I bring that up because, these days, pretty much everything that seems anomalous is called a “Black Swan,” a term popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in writings such as, “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.” [....]

Extreme warming forces climate scientists to add hot pink to temperature map « Climate Progress

Surface temperature anomalies relative to 1951-1980 mean.

Last month I reported on a new paper by NASA’s James Hansen and Makiko Sato (see Hansen: “One sure bet is that this decade will be the warmest” on record). Kate at ClimateSight sighted a new color in the chart, “pink, which is even warmer than dark red.” [....] Surface temperature anomalies for the period 17 December 2010 to 15 January 2011 show impressive warmth across the Canadian Arctic…. The largest anomalies here exceed 21°C (37.8°F) above average, which are very large values to be sustained for an entire month.

Os grandes bancos são demasiados grandes para falir, e eles sambem !

Merece ser visto, mesmo que nalgumas partes seja um bocado técnico. Mas pelo que é dito, pelo tom com que é dito, e por quem é dito, merece ser, realmente, visto - e, a dado passo, recomenda também que se veja o documentário "Inside Job".

Financial markets: Too big to fail | The Economist:

"Simon Johnson former IMF chief economist and now professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management, has been one of the more vocal critics of the coziness of the ties between the financial sector and the government, particularly in the United States. He spoke on Saturday evening at INET's conference in Bretton Woods on a panel on 'Too Big to Fail' (or, more formally, the regulatory challenge posed by large, complex financial institutions)."

A dança dos arcos magnéticos solares

Video: Dancing Spiral Magnetic Loops on the Sun

In memoriam de Yuri Gagarin

Jethro Tull in Space

Macroeconomia

Um conversa extremamente interessante sobre o  momento actual da disciplina da macroeconomia:  Martin Wolf do FT entrevista Larry Summers, o conselheiro económico de Obama, até há pouco tempo. Vejam o vídeo em Economist's View: Video: Martin Wolf and Larry Summer.

 

América

Vídeos e leituras (principalmente) sobre os EUA, sem comentários, mas com "bolds":

Economist's View: Joseph Stiglitz: "Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%": (vídeo)

Economist's View: The Corporate Tax Race to the Bottom: Stop this race to the bottom on corporate tax, by Jeffrey Sachs, Commentary, Financial Times: ...With capital globally mobile, moreover, governments are now in a race to the bottom with regard to corporate taxation and loopholes for personal taxation of high incomes. Each government aims to attract mobile capital by cutting taxes relative to others. ...

The end result is that both the US and UK are battling deficits of about 10 per cent of gross domestic product. ...We surely need to reduce the deficits but in a fair, efficient, and sustainable manner, by levying higher taxation on the rich, who are enjoying a boom in living standards and a share of the national income unprecedented in modern history.

Off the Charts Blog | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities | Blog Archive | Ryan Plan’s “Path to Prosperity” Is Just for the Wealthy

That path narrowed considerably starting in the mid-1970s, however, when the relationship between economic growth and the living standards of average Americans broke down.  For the last three decades, nearly all the gains of economic growth have gone to the tiny sliver of people at the top of the income scale.

The challenge for policymakers is how to restore opportunity for middle- and lower-income Americans by once again widening the path of prosperity.  Unfortunately, Chairman Ryan’s plan would narrow it further. For the wealthy, Ryan’s proposals are pure gold ....

Crise

Em Moscavide, Loures, pelo menos num café há um letreiro onde se diz: "Lista de redução de preços para 2011", com três produtos, entre os quais o café com o preço de € 0,5. Mas tenho notícia de outros casos nessa zona.

Mais leituras sobre a conjuntura portuguesa, mas não só....

Esqueci-me destas. Convém lê-las na totalidade:

Can Portugal survive until new elections? | Brussels blog | News on the European Union from the Financial Times – FT.com: "The liquidity issues of the sovereign are a symptom, not the cause, of the country’s difficulties, which has been struggling with slow growth and a current account of 10% of GDP since the start of monetary union. In our view, Portugal is a country which needs to be taken “off market” for a few years to implement far-reaching structural reforms without immediate pressure on capital costs. However, given the political configuration in Lisbon and in Europe it may take some time for concrete support to materialize.

The Portuguese Economy: Minimising future problems: "Some evidence that I obtained earlier indicates that state-owned firms in Portugal tend to increase their hirings considerably (by as much as 50%) in the months just before general elections. Now that an election will probably take place very soon - and when some of those firms have so many financial problems -, it would be really important to try to minimise that very peculiar pattern of hirings this time.

Pesca nos Açores e noutros sítios

Eu gostaria de saber a extensão das áreas protegidas no que respeita às pescas nos Açores, o grau de policiamento que têm, e a adesão dos agentes económicos à sua necessidade. O outro dia apercebi-me na RTP Açores de que existe em curso uma experiência - era assim descrita pelos entrevistados - de uma área desse num banco cujo nome não apanhei. Bem, não me apercebo da necessidade de uma experiência quando a eficácia dessas medidas na recuperação do potencial biológico e logo numa exploração económica sustentável foi demonstrada a nível mundial, amiudadas vezes. Se se trata de conseguir um efeito pedagógico de demonstração, bem, talvez houvesse outros meios de o conseguir, e noutro sítio. Esperemos que ao menos seja explicada e policiada, porque senão acontece o que aconteceu em todas as outras experiências "falhadas".O que é necessário fazer é muito mais do que isto, faz-se tarde, e vamos ter falta do que ainda não se fez. Obviamente, será difícil porque exige o trabalho político de convencer as populações da justeza de um rumo, que em muitos casos vem a contrario da sua experiência de sempre - acrescendo ainda a dificuldade maior de convencer a classe política de que isso é factível e imperioso. Ainda há um ano, ou dois, em conversa com uma senhora de idade, das Flores, contava-me ela, com indignação, que a Polícia Marítima tinha confiscado as lapas apanhadas por um qualquer senhor, num dado sítio, na sua ilha. Ninguém explica nada a ninguém e a orla costeira é um deserto: não preciso de ser biólogo marítimo para sabê-lo - é só ver a escrutinação implacável dos populares a todas as pedras do calhau.

Agora, ainda na área das pescas, mas em relação a outro aspeto: a acusação imbecil de que a União Europeia acabou com as pescas portuguesas devido à imposição de abate de navios. Essa, ainda o outro dia, era bolsada pelo Mário Crespo. A Política Comum de Pescas (PCP) tem muitas culpas, principalmente, em relação a terceiros (ver notas sob a etiqueta de mar em relação à pesca europeia em África) mas essa não é uma delas. Aliás, uma correta gestão das pescas obrigando a uma diminuição do esforço de pesca passaria sempre pela diminuição do número de barcos. Onde a PCP falhou foi não ter imposto aos Estados Membros (EM) a adoção de sistemas de gestão das pescas diferentes e mais rigorosos (e para não ir muito longe, veja-se o que fez e faz a Islândia). Como é claro a razão disso é imputável, em primeiro lugar aos EM que mais peso e interesse têm no sector (Espanha e ...), relativamente, à maioria dos outros. Mas se a PCP não o impôs, não o proibiu, pelo que os principais responsáveis do definhamento da pesca portuguesa, são todos agentes nacionais com intervenção no sector.

No entretanto, notícias (boas e más) de outro lado, sobre o sector das pescas:

Leituras sobre a conjuntura portuguesa

É um conjunto de coisas que fui lendo ultimamente, sem comentários, porque isto tudo é demasiado deprimente, e não só. Vou acrescentar noutra nota o material mais genérico do ponto de vista europeu. Transcrevo só parte pelo que devem aceder aos originais. A arrumação é mais ou menos das mais recentes para as mais antigas, mas todas mantém-se atualizadas:

The Portuguese Economy: CGD: Privatization or Resolution?: "What we face now in the European Union is not a normal negotiation. It is a negotiation between creditor and debtor countries with an economic value without precedent in the history of the Eurozone and probably in the history of the European Union. At the end of 2009, the non-consolidated net external debt of the Eurozone “pheripheral” countries was €1.3 trillion (gross: €4.2 trillion including Ireland’s IFSC). To this you have to add the external debt of a number of countries in the Eastern Europe block. So, game theory suggests that the incentives for opportunistic behavior between EU partners are huge, because the stakes are simply so large. I argued this point in a recent Vox column.

This is why it is now of outmost importance that Portugal refuse to accept the current “aid” of the EFSF/FMI or the ESM after 2013.[....]

The Portuguese Economy: Privatizing Caixa: "This debate puzzles me. When I think of the big policy challenges in the Portuguese financial markets in the next 6-12 months, it is not privatizing the State bank that comes to my mind. Rather, it is whether or not to (partially) nationalize the private banks.[....]

Astronomy Picture of the Day, 2011 April 3 - Galáxia NGC 6872

Astronomy Picture of the Day:

[clicar para aceder a uma versão maior]

Giant Galaxy NGC 6872
Image Credit: Sydney Girls High School Astronomy Club,
Travis Rector (Univ. Alaska), Ángel López-Sánchez (Australian Astronomical Obs./ Macquarie Univ.), Australian Gemini Office 

Explanation: Over 400,000 light years across NGC 6872 is an enormous spiral galaxy, at least 4 times the size of our own, very large, Milky Way. About 200 million light-years distant, toward the southern constellation Pavo, the Peacock, the remarkable galaxy's stretched out shape is due to its ongoing gravitational interaction, likely leading to an eventual merger, with the nearby smaller galaxy IC 4970. IC 4970 is seen just below and right of the giant galaxy's core in this cosmic color portrait from the 8 meter Gemini South telescope in Chile. The idea to image this titanic galaxy collision comes from a winning contest essay submitted last year to the Gemini Observatory by the Sydney Girls High School Astronomy Club. In addition to inspirational aspects and aesthetics, club members argued that a color image would be more than just a pretty picture. In their winning essay they noted that "If enough colour data is obtained in the image it may reveal easily accessible information about the different populations of stars, star formation, relative rate of star formation due to the interaction, and the extent of dust and gas present in these galaxies". (Editor's note: For Australian schools, 2011 contest information is here.) 

"– Enviado através da Barra de ferramentas do Google"

A procissão já saiu do adro, como disse há algum tempo atrás ....

The Truth About Climate Change, Still Inconvenient | Paul Krugman - NYTimes.com: "So the joke begins like this: An economist, a lawyer and a professor of marketing walk into a room. What’s the punch line? They were three of the five “expert witnesses” Republicans called for last week’s Congressional hearing on climate science.

But the joke actually ended up being on the Republicans, when one of the two actual scientists they invited to testify went off script.

Prof. Richard Muller of Berkeley, a physicist who has gotten into the climate skeptic game, has been leading the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project, an effort partially financed by none other than the Koch foundation. And climate deniers — who claim that researchers at NASA and other groups analyzing climate trends have massaged and distorted the data — had been hoping that the Berkeley project would conclude that global warming is a myth.

Instead, however, Professor Muller reported that his group’s preliminary results find a global warming trend “very similar to that reported by the prior groups.”

– Enviado através da Barra de ferramentas do Google"

Anomalias

Glaciers melting faster than originally thought: study: "(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists from Aberystwyth University, the University of Exeter and Stockholm University, led by Welsh scientist and Professor Neil Glasser, have released at study published in Nature Geoscience showing that the glaciers of Patagonia in South America are melting at a much faster rate than originally thought.

Utilizing a new technique for ice loss calculation, these scientists used the spread of glacier debris and the lines where vegetation starts on the mountainsides to create a series of calculations determining the amount of ice that has melted since the Little Ice Age ended there 350 years ago.

Calculations show that the some 270 glaciers that cover the area have lost 606 cubic kilometers of ice. This is the first time that a loss of volume has been calculated to include this far back in time. Recent studies of glacial loss have only gone as far back as to when satellite imaging of the glaciers could be used to calculate loss.

While this study does show that the rate this glacial melting and its contribution to the sea level rise is increasing, this was not their most alarming discovery. Research shows that the rate of melting from the beginning of the 20th century was slower than previously thought; their research, however, also shows that since 1980, the rate of glacial loss has increased by over 100 times that of the previous 320 year long-term average.

– Enviado através da Barra de ferramentas do Google"

Definição

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
 

Alvin Toffler

Pistas

Tools for Thinking - NYTimes.com: What scientific concept would improve everybody’s cognitive toolkit?

Merece bem ser lido.

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Dívida pública/ pib de países que passaram por processos de democratização

Fiscal Policy in an Emerging, Market Economy, Andrés Velasco

[clicar para aceder a uma versão maior]