worlds largest cargo ship

The ship is named Emma Maersk. The command bridge is higher than a 10 story building and 11 rigs that can operate simultaneously.

Additional info:Country of origin - Denmark

Length - 1,302 ft

Width - 207 ft

Net cargo - 123,200 tons

Engine - 14 in-line cylinders diesel engine (110,000 BHP)

Cruise Speed - 31 mi/h

Cargo capacity - 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 ft3 container)

Crew - 13 people

First Trip - Sept. 08, 2006

Construction cost - US $145,000,000

Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water resistance and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year.

African deluge brings misery to 1.5m people

According to the UN yesterday, 18 of the poorest and normally driest countries in Africa, from Senegal, Mauritania, Mali and Burkina Faso in the west, to Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia in the east, have been seriously hit by months of torrential rains which, meterologists forecast, will continue in places for many more weeks.

"We believe at least 650,000 homes have been destroyed, 1.5 million people affected and nearly 200 people so far drowned," said Elisabeth Brys, at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) in Geneva. "This is harvest time for many countries and there are already food shortages."

The rains, linked to ocean temperature changes of El Niño, have caught governments off guard. Many of the worst affected regions are remote from capitals and assessments are still being made.

Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana have declared an official disaster and appealed for emergency international aid. More nations are expected to follow

Link to African deluge brings misery to 1.5m people | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

El Niño Southern Oscillation

What is El Niño?

The term El Niño refers to the large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate phenomenon linked to a periodic warming in sea-surface temperatures across the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (between approximately the date line and 120^oW). El Niño represents the warm phase of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, and is sometimes referred to as a Pacific warm episode. El Niño originally referred to an annual warming of sea-surface temperatures along the west coast of tropical South America.
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, which is part of the National Weather Service, declares the onset of an El Niño episode when the 3-month average sea-surface temperature departure exceeds 0.5^oC in the east-central equatorial Pacific [between 5^oN-5^oS and 170^oW-120^oW].
Show me strong El Niño sea-surface temperature and tropical rainfall patterns.
Show me the past El Niño and La Niña events by season.

What is La Niña?

La Niña refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific that occurs every 3 to 5 years or so. La Niña represents the cool phase of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, and is sometimes referred to as a Pacific cold episode. La Niña originally referred to an annual cooling of ocean waters off the west coast of Peru and Ecuador.

Link to CPC - Climate Weather Linkage: El Niño Southern Oscillation

educational links

Has China's one-child policy worked?

In the first of a series of pieces on China's one-child policy, the BBC's Michael Bristow looks at whether the country's controversial regulations are working.

China's family planning policy has prevented 400 million births, officials say.

Link to BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Has China's one-child policy worked?