LONDON (Reuters) - British spot gas prices remained firm between Wednesday and Thursday morning because cold weather and low stocks caused a tight system.
Prices are expected to fall however, as warmer weather begins to move in and Norwegian supplies improve.
Both gas prices for next day and for within day delivery were trading at 82 pence per therm at 10.00 a.m. on Thursday, slightly higher than the previous morning (see chart 1).
The high prices are a result of unusually cold weather and low stock levels.
At 316.9 million cubic metres (mcm), Thursday's gas demand was expected to be more than 20 percent above the seasonal norm, according to National Grid, although flows of 327.9 mcm, which include storage withdrawals, were expected to meet demand.
Because of the cold weather, which has gripped Britain since the beginning of March, the UK's gas storage sites have been depleted by 93.71 percent, to just 299 mcm, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.
This leaves the market with less than a day's worth of gas consumption of reserves in case of a major supply outage. (see chart 2)
WARMER WEATHER COMING
Despite the tight system, analysts said prices were likely to fall towards the end of the week as milder weather would move into Britain and Norwegian gas supplies would improve.
"The day-ahead contract is bearish due to lower forecast consumption and an increase in supply today," analysts at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon said.
"The higher Norwegian exports to the UK are due to slightly lower Norwegian exports to the continent, but also slightly higher Norwegian production," they wrote in a note.
Britain's Met Office said temperatures could reach 10 degrees Celsius by the weekend, and that there were signs of more typical conditions for the time of year by mid-April.
"It seems as if winter will end just in time to prevent Britain's gas storage sites to be completely emptied, which would cause a massive price spike," one gas trader said.
"Given how close we have come to this happening this year, it is clear that this could happen in future winters unless more storage capacity is built," he added.
(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; editing by James Jukwey)
By Lauran Neergaard And Larry Neumeister; Associated Press ? Published April 05, 2013 Modified April 05, 2013
By Lauran Neergaard And Larry Neumeister; Associated Press The Olympian
WASHINGTON (AP) ? In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and must end within 30 days.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York means consumers of any age could buy emergency contraception without a prescription ? instead of women first having to prove they're 17 or older, as they do today. And it could allow Plan B One-Step to move out from behind pharmacy counters to the store counters.
The Justice Department didn't immediately say whether it would appeal the ruling.
"We are reviewing the decision and evaluating the government's options," said F. Franklin Amanat, a lawyer for the government.
It's the latest twist in a decade-long push for easier access to emergency contraception, which can prevent pregnancy if taken soon enough after unprotected sex.
The Food and Drug Administration actually was preparing to lift all age limits on Plan B One-Step in late 2011 when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in an unprecedented move, overruled her own scientists. Sebelius said some girls as young as 11 are physically capable of bearing children but shouldn't be able to buy the pregnancy-preventing pill on their own. President Barack Obama said he supported the decision, also citing concern for young girls.
That move shocked women's groups ? and in his ruling, Korman blasted Sebelius for what he called an "obviously political" decision.
"This case is not about the potential misuse of Plan B by 11-year-olds," Korman wrote, saying the number of young girls using such drugs "is likely to be minuscule."
Yet the sales restrictions are making it hard for women of all ages to buy the pills, especially young and low-income ones, he said.
Moreover, Korman noted that numerous over-the-counter drugs are dangerous for children, but are still sold nevertheless without age requirements, while "these emergency contraceptives would be among the safest drugs sold over-the-counter."
"It has been clear for a long time that the medical and scientific community think this should be fully over the counter and is safe for women of all ages to use," said Dr. Susan Wood, who resigned as FDA's women's health chief in 2005 to protest Bush administration foot-dragging over Plan B.
"Having worked on this for many years, the judge really wanted to make it clear that FDA had come to a scientific determination and was once again overruled, and that is not acceptable," she added.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed suit against the age restriction, and other groups have argued that contraceptives are being held to a different and non-scientific standard than other drugs and that politics has played a role in decision-making.
"I think this is a landmark decision in terms of providing women and girls in the United States access to a safe and effective form of birth control," said attorney Andrea Costello with the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.
Social conservatives criticized the ruling.
"This ruling places the health of young girls at risk," said Anna Higgins of the Family Research Council. "There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to young girls, under coercion or without their consent. The involvement of parents and medical professionals act as a safeguard for these young girls. However, today's ruling removes these commonsense protections."
The judge said the FDA decided after 11 months, 47,000 public comments and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars spent, that it did not need rulemaking on the subject.
"The plaintiffs should not be forced to endure, nor should the agency's misconduct be rewarded by, an exercise that permits the FDA to engage in further delay and obstruction," he wrote.
Four years ago, Korman was highly critical of the Bush administration's initial handling of the issue when he ordered the FDA to let 17-year-olds obtain the medication, instead of setting the age at 18. At the time, he accused the government of letting "political considerations, delays and implausible justifications for decision-making" cloud the approval process.
The morning-after pill contains a higher dose of the female progestin hormone that is in regular birth control pills. Taking it within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. But it works best within the first 24 hours.
If a woman already is pregnant, the pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that scientists ? and Korman, in his ruling ? said has been discredited.
A Dutch company wants to send four people, selected via reality-show-style elimination, on a permanent trip to the Red Planet in 2022.
By David Mielach,?Business News Daily / April 1, 2013
A scientist participates in a month-long Mars field simulation in the northern Sahara near Erfoud in Morocco, February 2013. Directed by a Mission Support Center in Austria, the small field crew conducted experiments to prepare for future human Mars missions.
Katja Zanella-Kux/OeWF/Reuters
Enlarge
Humans may not have landed on Mars just yet, but that isn?t stopping a Dutch company from devising a plan to send four people to the Red Planet within the next 10 years. The initiative, dubbed Mars One, aims to send a small group of people to Mars in 2022 and eventually establish a permanent colony on the planet.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
"Everything we need to go to Mars exists,? said Mars One?co-founder Bas Lansdorp. ?We have the rockets to send people to Mars, the equipment to land on Mars, the robotics to prepare the settlement for humans ? so, for a one-way mission, all the technology exists.?
But that?s the caveat: The four astronauts chosen for the trip will be stuck on Mars?? forever.? And despite Mars One?s thorough planning, there are a number of challenges that may prevent the mission from ever taking place. The biggest road block could be the mission?s $6 billion price tag. However, Lansdorp is confident that Mars One will be able to fund the project by selling the broadcast rights for the mission and subsequent experiences living on the planet.
Those broadcast rights will also play a part in helping to select the people who will be sent to Mars. Lansdorp said the company will hold a national selection process akin to a reality show. Lansdorp is expecting at least 1 million applications from people around the world, ABC News reports.?
In addition to the cost, several other potential problems could inhibit the mission to Mars. ? ?
"To send people there with life support, with food, with air, with all the other things that they'll need ? books, entertainment, means of communication and means of providing for their own resources for a long stay on Mars ? that's even more challenging,? said Adam Baker, senior lecturer in space engineering at Kingston University in London. ?The sheer size of the rockets you'd need to do this would be absolutely colossal.?
However, Mars One is up to the challenge. The company hopes to launch a rocket in 2022 and land on Mars in 2023. ABC News reports that the initial group would work on constructing a colony on Mars, while additional team members?would continue to land on the planet every two years.?
Email?David Mielach?or follow him @D_M89. Follow us?@bndarticles,?Facebook?or?Google+.
Copyright 2013 BusinessNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
There are Thunderbolt docks, real and ethereal, and then there's this beast from Sonnet: the Echo 15. As implied by the name, it's lavished with 15 ports front and back, including four USB 3.0, two eSATA, two audio in and out, an extra Thunderbolt, GigE and FireWire800 ports. If you're thinking that'll finally let you hook up a Blu-ray or hard disk to your laptop, back up a second -- Sonnet's dock has those items built in as well, giving you SATA III-level disk throughput and freeing up your ports for more interesting peripherals. You'll be able to grab one this summer with a built-in DVD for $399, or configure it to the max with a Blu-ray drive and 2TB HDD for $549 -- assuming it avoids any untoward delays.
Chinese foreign fisheries catch 12 times more than reported: UBC researchPublic release date: 3-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lisa Boonzaier l.boonzaier@fisheries.ubc.ca 604-367-4988 University of British Columbia
Chinese fishing boats catch about US$11.5 billion worth of fish from beyond their country's own waters each year and most of it goes unreported, according to a new study led by fisheries scientists at the University of British Columbia.
The paper, recently published in the journal Fish and Fisheries, estimates that China's foreign catch is 12 times larger than the catch it reports to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization, an international agency that keeps track of global fisheries catches.
Using a new method that analyzes the type of fishing vessels used by Chinese operators around the world and their catch capacity, the UBC-led research team estimates Chinese foreign fishing at 4.6 million tonnes per year, taken from the waters of at least 90 countries including 3.1 million tonnes from African waters, mainly West Africa.
NB: A map illustrating where and how much Chinese vessels currently fish beyond their own waters, and a summary of the study are available at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/my2f7sq7c1qeu9o/hENm7semHN
"China hasn't been forthcoming about its fisheries catches," says Dirk Zeller, Senior Research Fellow with UBC's Sea Around Us Project and the study's co-author. "While not reporting catches doesn't necessarily mean the fishing is illegal there could be agreements between these countries and China that allow fishing we simply don't know for sure as this information just isn't available."
"We need to know how many fish have been taken from the ocean in order to figure out what we can catch in the future," says Daniel Pauly, principal investigator of UBC's Sea Around Us Project and the study's lead author.
"Countries need to realize the importance of accurately recording and reporting their catches and step up to the plate, or there will be no fish left for our children."
BACKGROUND | UNREPORTED CHINESE CATCHES
About the study
To calculate a more realistic value of the Chinese foreign catches, the team of 20 researchers used a new method consisting of analysing scholarly articles, news reports and expert knowledge to estimate the number and types of Chinese vessels fishing in other countries' waters. This information is then combined with published data on the amount of catch per vessel type to estimate total catch.
While the new method contains uncertainties, it provides crucial information when official reports alone are insufficient or untrustworthy. It may soon be used to calculate the catches of other countries that fish around the world, such as Spain. Foreign catch information offers a valuable resource for fisheries managers, particularly in developing nations, where most of the foreign fishing occurs.
###
CONTACT
Dirk Zeller
UBC Fisheries Centre
Cell: 778.835.3475
E-mail: d.zeller@fisheries.ubc.ca
Lisa Boonzaier
UBC Fisheries Centre (communications)
Cell: 604.367.4988
E-mail: l.boonzaier@fisheries.ubc.ca
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Chinese foreign fisheries catch 12 times more than reported: UBC researchPublic release date: 3-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lisa Boonzaier l.boonzaier@fisheries.ubc.ca 604-367-4988 University of British Columbia
Chinese fishing boats catch about US$11.5 billion worth of fish from beyond their country's own waters each year and most of it goes unreported, according to a new study led by fisheries scientists at the University of British Columbia.
The paper, recently published in the journal Fish and Fisheries, estimates that China's foreign catch is 12 times larger than the catch it reports to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization, an international agency that keeps track of global fisheries catches.
Using a new method that analyzes the type of fishing vessels used by Chinese operators around the world and their catch capacity, the UBC-led research team estimates Chinese foreign fishing at 4.6 million tonnes per year, taken from the waters of at least 90 countries including 3.1 million tonnes from African waters, mainly West Africa.
NB: A map illustrating where and how much Chinese vessels currently fish beyond their own waters, and a summary of the study are available at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/my2f7sq7c1qeu9o/hENm7semHN
"China hasn't been forthcoming about its fisheries catches," says Dirk Zeller, Senior Research Fellow with UBC's Sea Around Us Project and the study's co-author. "While not reporting catches doesn't necessarily mean the fishing is illegal there could be agreements between these countries and China that allow fishing we simply don't know for sure as this information just isn't available."
"We need to know how many fish have been taken from the ocean in order to figure out what we can catch in the future," says Daniel Pauly, principal investigator of UBC's Sea Around Us Project and the study's lead author.
"Countries need to realize the importance of accurately recording and reporting their catches and step up to the plate, or there will be no fish left for our children."
BACKGROUND | UNREPORTED CHINESE CATCHES
About the study
To calculate a more realistic value of the Chinese foreign catches, the team of 20 researchers used a new method consisting of analysing scholarly articles, news reports and expert knowledge to estimate the number and types of Chinese vessels fishing in other countries' waters. This information is then combined with published data on the amount of catch per vessel type to estimate total catch.
While the new method contains uncertainties, it provides crucial information when official reports alone are insufficient or untrustworthy. It may soon be used to calculate the catches of other countries that fish around the world, such as Spain. Foreign catch information offers a valuable resource for fisheries managers, particularly in developing nations, where most of the foreign fishing occurs.
###
CONTACT
Dirk Zeller
UBC Fisheries Centre
Cell: 778.835.3475
E-mail: d.zeller@fisheries.ubc.ca
Lisa Boonzaier
UBC Fisheries Centre (communications)
Cell: 604.367.4988
E-mail: l.boonzaier@fisheries.ubc.ca
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Apr. 3, 2013 ? Jumping silicon atoms are the stars of an atomic scale ballet featured in a new Nature Communications study from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The ORNL research team documented the atoms' unique behavior by first trapping groups of silicon atoms, known as clusters, in a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon called graphene. The silicon clusters, composed of six atoms, were pinned in place by pores in the graphene sheet, allowing the team to directly image the material with a scanning transmission electron microscope.
The "dancing" movement of the silicon atoms was caused by the energy transferred to the material from the electron beam of the team's microscope.
"It's not the first time people have seen clusters of silicon," said coauthor Juan Carlos Idrobo. "The problem is when you put an electron beam on them, you insert energy into the cluster and make the atoms move around. The difference with these results is that the change that we observed was reversible. We were able to see how the silicon cluster changes its structure back and forth by having one of its atoms 'dancing' between two different positions."
Other techniques to study clusters are indirect, says Jaekwang Lee, first author on the ORNL study. "With the conventional instrumentation used to study clusters, it is not yet possible to directly identify the three-dimensional atomic structure of the cluster," Lee said.
The ability to analyze the structure of small clusters is important for scientists because this insight can be used to precisely understand how different atomic configurations control a material's properties. Molecules could then be tailored for specific uses.
"Capturing atomic clusters inside patterned graphene nanopores could potentially lead to practical applications in areas such as electronic and optoelectronic devices, as well as catalysis," Lee said. "It would be a new approach to tuning electronic and optical properties in materials."
The ORNL team confirmed its experimental findings with theoretical calculations, which helped explain how much energy was required for the silicon atom to switch back and forth between different positions.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Jaekwang Lee, Wu Zhou, Stephen J. Pennycook, Juan-Carlos Idrobo, Sokrates T. Pantelides. Direct visualization of reversible dynamics in a Si6 cluster embedded in a graphene pore. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1650 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2671
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Public release date: 3-Apr-2013
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