Turkey’s “new Bosporus”: risks and benefits / Ο νέος Βόσπορος ως κλειδί για την κυριαρχία των ΗΠΑ στη Μ.Θάλασσα

The Istanbul/Constantinople canal project

Turkey’s government has given the go-ahead to the Canal Istanbul project linking the Black and Marmara Seas and allowing ships to bypass the crowded Bosphorus Strait. Its construction may seem economically controversial, but may appear geopolitically beneficial, experts say.

The idea was first voiced by Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his election campaign back in 2011. The project aims to relieve the congested Bosphorus Strait as well as to improve the Strait’s ecology and navigation safety by shifting tanker traffic to the new canal.

The project looks perfect at first site, but experts believe it’s an absolute utopia. The minimum costs are estimated at 20 bln dollars while the Canal is expected to go into operation by 2023. Therefore, the payback period of the project is now almost impossible to estimate.

The project is expected to be mainly funded by the government while private investors are to contribute one third of the needed sum.

Viktor Nadein-Raevsky, analyst from the Russian-based Institute of World Economy and International Relations, shared his view on the idea.

"The new canal will increase the shipping capacity but it will be a toll route while now international obligations don’t allow Turkey levy passage fees through its natural straits (though it manages to find certain loopholes). The Istanbul Canal will certainly be a major step forward for Turkey but I have doubts about the return of the project."

Transit tolls to pass through the new canal will be higher, thus pushing other Black Sea countries to switch to alternative and cheaper shipping routes.

However, political benefits of the new project seem to be more evident.

• The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits gives freedom of passage through the Turkish Straits only to merchant vessels while military vessels and subs are subject to some restrictions. The maximum aggregate tonnage which non-riparian States may have in the Black Sea is 45,000 tons.

The new canal will see no such restrictions which shifts regional military and political focus in the region to Turkey and its NATO allies, says Viktor Nadein-Raevsky.

Let’s be frank – the new canal is needed by the US to boost its influence in the region and Russia will not be pleased with the

fact. As for Turkey, it is also unlikely to benefit the new balance of power - while its regional status will rise tactically, strategically the country will be involved in a rather controversial affair with unpredictable results.

This could put Turkey’s reputation of an independent geopolitical entity under threat– so the question is whether Ankara is ready to trade its reputation for geopolitical benefits or not.

Sergey Duz
Читать полностью: http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_04_26/Turkey-s-new-Bosporus-risks-and-benefits/

26/4/13

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• Ο νέος Βόσπορος ως κλειδί για την κυριαρχία των ΗΠΑ στη Μ.Θάλασσα

 
Η Τουρκία θα κατασκευάσει ένα νέο Βόσπορο. Οι ειδικοί αμφιβάλλουν για τη γρήγορη απόσβεση του έργου, αλλά υπογραμμίζουν δεόντως το γεωπολιτικό πλεονέκτημα, που θα αποκτήσει η Άγκυρα και οι σύμμαχοί της στο ΝΑΤΟ, εάν παρ’ όλ’ αυτά το έργο υλοποιηθεί.

 

Το νέο σχέδιο ονομάζεται Διώρυγα της Κωνσταντινούπολης. Πριν από δύο χρόνια, κατά τη διάρκεια της προεκλογικής εκστρατείας, το ανακοίνωσε ο πρωθυπουργός της Τουρκίας Ρετζέπ Ταγίπ Ερντογάν. Και να που προ ημερών το σχέδιο εγκρίθηκε από την κυβέρνηση της χώρας.

Ως ένα από τα επιχειρήματα οι Τούρκοι προβάλουν το γεγονός ότι τα Στενά του Βοσπόρου έχουν γίνει ρηχότερα, ότι έχουν μολυνθεί σημαντικά από πετρελαϊκά απόβλητα, γι’ αυτό είναι ουσιαστικά αδύνατο να αυξηθεί η κυκλοφορία των δεξαμενοπλοίων. Επιπλέον η Άγκυρα θέλει να μειώσει την περιβαλλοντική επιβάρυνση στη λεκάνη των Στενών, να κατοχυρώσει την ασφάλεια της ναυσιπλοΐας και να συγκεντρώσει κεφάλαια για την εξάλειψη τυχόν ατυχημάτων με πετρελαιοφόρα πλοία.

Από την πρώτη ματιά το έργο του δεύτερου Βοσπόρου φαίνεται υπέροχο. Ωστόσο, οι

ειδικοί το χαρακτηρίζουν παρ’ όλ’ αυτά μια από τις μεγαλύτερες οικονομικές αυταπάτες της εποχής μας. Το ελάχιστο κόστος για την κατασκευή είναι 20 δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια, ενώ η κατά προσέγγιση ημερομηνία παράδοσής του προς εκμετάλλευση είναι το 2023. Προκαταρκτικά έχει σχεδιαστεί ότι περίπου το ένα τρίτο των κεφαλαίων του πρέπει να προέλθει από τον κρατικό προϋπολογισμό, ενώ το υπόλοιπο από ιδιώτες επενδυτές μέσω συμπράξεων δημόσιου-ιδιωτικού τομέα. Η περίοδος απόσβεσης του έργου είναι τρομακτικό ακόμη και να τη φανταστεί κανείς.

Σε γενικές γραμμές, η οικονομική αιτιολόγηση της κατασκευής ενός εναλλακτικού Βοσπόρου μπορεί να αμφισβητηθεί. Κάτι που δεν μπορεί να γίνει για την πολιτική θεμελίωσή του.

Σύμφωνα με τη Συνθήκη του Μοντρέ στις χώρες εκτός Μαύρης Θάλασσας επιτρέπεται η διέλευση μέσω Βοσπόρου στον Εύξεινο Πόντο μόνο ελαφρά πολεμικά πλοία επιφανείας και βοηθητικά σκάφη, όχι όμως αεροπλανοφόρα και υποβρύχια. Η συνολική χωρητικότητα της μοίρας των πολεμικών πλοίων χωρών εκτός Μαύρης Θάλασσας, που βρίσκεται στα νερά της δεν θα πρέπει να υπερβαίνει τις 45.000 τόνους. Ωστόσο οι περιορισμοί αυτοί δεν θα ισχύουν για τον ανθρωπογενές αδελφάκι του Βοσπόρου, πράγμα, που μετακινεί την περιφερειακή στρατιωτική-πολιτική ισορροπία υπέρ της Τουρκίας και των συμμάχων της. Μιλά ο αναλυτής του ρωσικού Ινστιτούτου Παγκόσμιας Οικονομίας και Διεθνών Σχέσεων Βίκτορ Ναντένι-Ραγέφσκι:

Μια ανθρωπογενής διώρυγα είναι απίθανο ότι θα υπόκειται στους όρους της Συνθήκες του Μοντρέ. Ουσιαστικά η διέλευση των στρατιωτικών φορτίων και η διέλευση των πολεμικών πλοίων θα είναι δυνατή. Θα πρέπει πολλά πιθανώς να διευκρινιστούν ως προς το διεθνές νομικό πλαίσιο. Ακόμη και σε καιρό πολέμου οι Τούρκοι (δεδομένου ότι θα είναι δική τους διώρυγα και όχι διεθνή στενά) θα έχουν το δικαίωμα να επιτρέπουν τη διέλευση κάποιων πλοίων. Αυτό θα ενισχύσει τις θέσεις της Τουρκίας.

Εάν πούμε τα πράγματα με το όνομά τους, τότε ο δεύτερος Βόσπορος χρειάζεται στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες για να ενισχύσουν την επιρροή τους στην περιοχή. Είναι σαφές ότι στη Ρωσία αυτό δεν μπορεί να αρέσει. Αλλά και η Τουρκία είναι απίθανο ότι θα ωφεληθεί από μια τέτοια διαμόρφωση των δυνάμεων. Φυσικά από τακτική άποψη το περιφερειακό της καθεστώς θα αυξηθεί. Αλλά από στρατηγική άποψη θα βρεθεί να έχει εμπλακεί σε έναν πολύ αμφίβολο τυχοδιωκτισμό με ασαφή κατάληξη. Και η φήμη της ως ανεξάρτητου γεωπολιτικού παίκτη θα τεθεί υπό συζήτηση.

.greek.ruvr.ru

27/4/13

 

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Who does Antarctica belong to?/Who has the right to Antarctic?

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For half a century the question of who owns Antarctica has been frozen but it is showing signs of warming up.

This week the Chilean president made his third visit to the continent, where he placed a flag where Chile's latest research station will be opened.
Bill Hayton reports.
BBC
17/1/13
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Related posts:

• Who has the right to Antarctic?

• China begins journey to South Pole

• Bohrung nach verborgenem See abgebrochen

• Argentina protests renaming part of Antarctica in honour of Queen

• Oι Βρετανοί διέκοψαν τη γεώτρηση στη λίμνη Ellsworth της Ανταρκτικής εξαιτίας ατυχήματος

  

Das Roboter-Auto rollt an

Die Autoindustrie kündigt eine Revolution an: In nur zehn Jahren werden Autos ganz ohne Fahrer über die Straßen rollen. Die Fortschritte bei der Zukunftstechnik sind schon jetzt beeindruckend. (Von Gernot Kramper)
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Die Vision eines autonom fahrenden Fahrzeugs wird in der Öffentlichkeit meist mit dem Google-Auto verbunden. In den USA sind computergesteuerte Autos von Google eine halbe Million Kilometer unfallfrei auf öffentlichen Straßen gefahren. Doch auch klassische Automobilhersteller wie Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Volvo und Toyota sowie Zulieferspezialisten wie Bosch und Continental arbeiten seit Jahren an dem Thema. Und anders als Google fällt es ihnen leichter, neue Systeme in die Serienproduktion zu bringen. Auf der Computermesse CES in Las Vegas etwa stehen selbstfahrende Autos von Audi und Lexus.

Auch Zulieferer Bosch mischt bei dem Zukunftsthema kräftig mit und ließ in Las Vegas Aufhorchen. Der Technologiespezialist sagt, dass schon im nächsten Jahr die ersten Autos mit automatisierten Fahrsystemen auf den Markt kommen könnten. Vom reinen Roboterauto ist das Bosch-System zwar noch ein Stück weit entfernt. Es soll nur das Kommando im Stau übernehmen und automatisiert anfahren, beschleunigen, bremsen und lenken. Der Stauassistent wird nur bis 50 km/h aktiv sein und erst später höhere Geschwindigkeitsbereiche und komplexere Fahrsituationen abdecken können. Aber das Ziel der Entwicklung ist klar: Es ist der Highway-Pilot, der vollautomatisiertes oder autonomes Fahren ermöglicht. Und die Zahl 2014 macht auch eines deutlich: Das vollautomatisiert fahrende Auto kommt schneller als gedacht.

Nicht nur Google

Bosch schätzt, dass es noch etwa zehn Jahre dauert, bis Autos selbstständig den Verkehr meistern. "Wir bewegen uns in einzelnen Schritten in diese Richtung", sagte Bosch-Manager Scott Winchip auf der CES. Die technische Machbarkeit in einzelnen Fahrzeugen wäre weit schneller zu erreichen. Aber es müsse auch an der Standardisierung für den Datenaustausch gearbeitet werden. Denn das Roboterauto fährt nicht allein, sondern wird mit anderen Fahrzeugen in Verbindung stehen. Für einen Regelbetrieb sei eine kritische Masse von modernen Autos notwendig, die miteinander kommunizieren. "Wir gehen davon aus, dass man mindestens zehn Prozent von "Connected Cars" auf den Straßen benötigt, so Winchip.

Keine Unfälle mehr

Zehn Jahre sind, wenig aber ein langer Zeitraum, um Kunden zu begeistern. Vor der Vision des alleskönnenden Roboter-Autos propagiert die Industrie daher das Auto ohne Unfälle. "Allein in den USA sterben jedes Jahr 28.000 Menschen bei einem Unfall auf einem Highway", gab Toyota-Manager Mark Templin in Las Vegas die Richtung vor. "Und bei den Teenagern sind Auto-Unfälle die Todesursache Nummer eins. Das müssen wir ändern."

Also zeigen Audi und Toyota auf der CES Prototypen, die gefährliche Situationen erkennen und vermeiden können. Bei Audi erkennt eine Software die Fahrspuren und den Kurs des Autos. Falls der Wagen die Fahrbahn ohne zu blinken verlassen will, lenkt das System ein. Es existieren bereits Systeme, die den Verkehr vor dem Auto überwachen und die den Fahrer vor einem Auffahrunfall warnen. Wenn er nicht reagiert, bremst der Wagen. Neu ist, dass die Elektronik erstmals im Fahrbetrieb vollen Zugriff auf Lenkung erhält. Das hat es bislang nur beim Ein- und Ausparken gegeben.

Fahrer noch notwendig

Die von Toyota und Audi eingesetzten Komponenten könnten im Prinzip auch ein Fahrzeug möglich machen, das sich vollständig autonom bewegt. Aber beide Firmen bremsen die Erwartungen. "In unserem Ansatz der Entwicklung für Automationstechnologien spielt die Beteiligung des Fahrers eine zentrale Rolle", sagt Mark Templin. Der Computer verhalte sich dabei wie ein intelligenter und aufmerksamer Beifahrer, der die Fähigkeiten des menschlichen Wesens am Steuerrad ergänze.

Aber in den nächsten Jahren steht der Alltag auf der Straße auf dem Programm. Jetzt darf Audi als erster Autohersteller computergesteuerte Fahrzeuge auf die Straßen von Nevada bringen. Allerdings müssen ähnlich wie bei Google in den Wagen auch Fahrer sitzen, die steuernd eingreifen können.

.stern.de

11/1/13

With disasters on the rise, relief is the problem

The popular perception that natural disasters are on the rise has now been confirmed. Private insurers are preparing for rough weather, and governments would do well to heed calls for more precautionary measures.

Munich Re, the world's largest re-insurer, had little good news to report in its January 3 wrap-up of disasters in 2012. Hurricane Sandy, droughts in the American Midwest, an Italian earthquake, a series of Midwest tornadoes and Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines were just five of the more than 900 events worldwide that caused $160 billion-worth of damage (122 billion euros) to the worldwide economy.
Since 2006 it has been rare for worldwide disasters to number under 900 in any given year. This is in stark contrast to the 1980s, when a terrible year might have seen a mere 500 disasters.

 

The clean-up operation at Fukushima posed unprecedented challenges

 

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake which led to the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear reactor became the most expensive disaster in history. So far it has cost $235 billion (180 billion euros). Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which left much of New Orleans under water, comes in at second at $81 billion.
Insurance companies bear a large part of these costs. But of Hurricane Sandy's estimated $60 billion price tag, only $25 billion was actually insured. And on top of their financial losses, those affected may also suffer long-lasting personal and emotional damage.
Around the world, more people than ever are requiring financial assistance - through private insurance, public insurance or government aid - to rebuild their lives. The question is, will they get it?

FEMA's responsibilities
61-year-old Betty Ann Fuller is a case in point when it comes to the complexities of reclaiming losses. Since Hurricane Sandy destroyed her home in October 2012, she has received just two payments of $1,410 dollars for living expenses. Those came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Some of the groceries she purchased then spoiled when her hotel lost power.
She is still waiting for insurance payments from her private insurer: $223,000 for the house, $31,000 for lost rent, and $1,500 for out-of-pocket expenses. "I had to tally every stinkin' thing in my house, including the toilet paper," she says. Her private insurer is based in New Jersey.

 

In New York 330,000 homes were damaged by Hurricane Sandy

 

Two weeks after evacuating and moving into a local hotel, she was picked up by a bus and taken back to her property. "The Red Cross was there with a truck to give us some meals," she says. "They were handing out meatloaf dinners. They were very visible and helpful."
As for government assistance, Betty Ann Fuller has nothing but praise. "I am very, very pleased with FEMA - their support groups with regard to insurance, mental issues, any subject related to loss," she says. "They are right there in our town, you can go to them anytime, talk to them, and they help you."

 

FEMA has been providing assistance to local communities devastated by Sandy

 

That help was recently endangered. While US Congress ultimately approved $9.7 billion in borrowing power for FEMA on Friday (04.01.2013), the congressional bickering left a sense of doubt in New Jersey as to whether the US government can be counted on to provide adequate funding in times of crisis.
"I'm disappointed in the federal government right now - with what's going on in Congress and the Senate," Fuller said.
A FEMA spokesperson told Deutsche Welle that FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program is having difficulty covering costs: "There are more claims than there are premiums coming in."

Preparing for future catastrophes
Dr. Robert P. Hartwig, president of the New-York-based Insurance Information Institute, is keen to reassure desperate homeowners, while also distancing private insurance from its public equivalent.
"It should be known that there is no 'fiscal cliff' in the property-casualty insurance or reinsurance industry," Hartwig says in an online seminar. "The industry makes sure that it has the resources in the bank before a disaster occurs. It is not something to be reckoned with afterwards, and that is a responsibility that insurers and re-insurers around the world take very seriously."

 

The IHBS is particularly interested in how high wind speeds affect the structure of a home.

 

Another important approach is to find new ways of limiting potential damage. Carl Hedde, head of risk accumulation at the Munich-based Munich Re, hopes to be able to better prepare homeowners - and homes - before events occur.
"Over the last couple of years the Institute for Business and Home Safety has built the world's largest research facility in South Carolina. We're supporting the testing of building codes, and we've also tested building materials."
Measures like these could help to save houses like Betty Ann Fuller's. After being battered by wind and rain, her home was ultimately destroyed by a fire that swept through 30 houses.
"I have no family, so I lost my whole life," she told Deutsche Welle. "When I left the house I took three days' worth of clothing, a picture of my mother and father, and my son's ashes. My son passed away in 2007 at the age of 25. All of his diaries and personal effects were still packed and I never got to put them away, and I am devastated that I lost all that."
Deutsce Welle
5/1/13
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Related posts:

• 160 δισ. ευρώ το κόστος φυσικών καταστροφών παγκοσμίως, το 2012/ Natural disasters’ damage reaches $140 bln in 2012

• Καταστροφή σε όλα τα επίπεδα

• Hurricane Sandy = Global Warming

• Έκθεση: 100 εκ. άνθρωποι θα πεθάνουν έως το 2030 αν δεν αντιμετωπιστεί η κλιματική αλλαγή!

• Η Ελλάδα θα γίνει... Αφρική από το 2021 έως το 2100

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• Η καθυστέρηση αυξάνει το κόστος της κλιματικής αλλαγής, λέει έκθεση

Who has the right to Antarctic?

Next century may see replotting in the Antarctic. As soon as scientists find ways of extracting oil and gas from under layers of ice 1 kilometre thick, at least 30 countries will make claims on the sixth continent. At present scientists continue working on the southernmost continent where they mainly study the resource base.


Huge resources of oil and gas are hidden under the ice cover of the Antarctic. It is a proved fact but at present the development of these fields is too difficult and unprofitable. In addition, many countries are held back by the status of a continent. According to the treaty on the Antarctic, no one has the right either to draw state borders there or develop mineral deposits.


Still, there are some countries whose Constitutions guarantee control over Antarctic territories to them. For example, Australia raises claims to one third of the continent. Argentina and even the UK apply to the principle of neighbourhood. London and Buenos Aires stake on sectors in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas) whose status the two countries have not regulated until today. Incidentally, Chile also makes claims to the same sector. Vyacheslav Martianov from the Institute of the Arctic and the Antarctic, deputy head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition, explains the situation.

“The sector which belongs to Chile is registered in Argentina and the UK as their own sectors. If one of those countries says that this is their territory they will face opposition from the whole of the Antarctic community and the two pioneer countries, as well as those countries whose constitutions also claim that those are their territories. The agreement on the Antarctic prevents all countries from taking any steps concerning the continent but the ocean around is a different matter. There is a contradiction between the maritime law and the treaty on the use of seabed mineral resources.”

New Zealand, France and Norway also raise claims to parts of the Antarctic. The latter is prepared to annex lands in the centre of the continent that exceed the area of that country tenfold. In addition, there are about 20 other countries that in the past began scientific research on the South Pole, made some discoveries there and built research stations. In the future their contribution to the Antarctic science could become the reason for claiming rights to their own piece of the sixth continent, experts say. However, no one has yet cancelled the right of pioneer countries for the new lands, Vyacheslav Martianov says.

“The pioneer countries for the Antarctic are Russia and the US. Russia carried out the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in 1819-1821. Americans produced a pirate who discovered the Antarctic at approximately the same time and this has been recognized. For this reason the two countries are considered to be pioneers in discovering the Antarctic. As a pioneer country, either of these countries can announce the whole of the sixth continent their territory.”

Neither Russia nor the US has taken advantage of this right yet. Still, there is no way to avoid replotting of the Antarctic. In about 100 years the world may face deficit of resources, scientists believe. Then countries would have to solve the problem of the right to oil and gas fields on the South Pole. It would most likely be a peaceful process, Russian scientists say.

The treaty on the Antarctic which forbids exploring mineral resources on the continent is reviewed every 50 years. No amendments were introduced to the treaty at the session in 2009. Experts do not rule out that by the time of the next session representatives of the member-states could develop suggestions on borders. In 1959 the agreement was signed by 12 countries that wanted to carry out research on the continent, Russia and the US included. At present the convention is supported by over 45 countries.
http://english.ruvr.ru
4/1/13
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 ***Under the 1961 international treaty on the sovereignty of Antarctica, the sixth continent does not belong to any world nation
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Related posts:

• China begins journey to South Pole

• Bohrung nach verborgenem See abgebrochen

• Argentina protests renaming part of Antarctica in honour of Queen

• Oι Βρετανοί διέκοψαν τη γεώτρηση στη λίμνη Ellsworth της Ανταρκτικής εξαιτίας ατυχήματος

  

160 δισ. ευρώ το κόστος φυσικών καταστροφών παγκοσμίως, το 2012/ Natural disasters’ damage reaches $140 bln in 2012

Το συνολικό κόστος των φυσικών καταστροφών στον κόσμο έφτασε το 2012 τα 160 δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια (122 δισεκατομμύρια ευρώ), εκτιμά η γερμανική αντασφαλιστική εταιρία Munich Re [1] σε μελέτη της που δόθηκε σήμερα (3-1-13) στη δημοσιότητα.

Οι ασφαλιστικές εταιρίες θα πρέπει να καλύψουν τις απώλειες αυτές στο ύψος των 65 δισεκατομμυρίων δολαρίων, διευκρίνισε η Munich Re σε ανακοίνωσή της. 


Οι μεγαλύτερες ζημιές του έτους 2012 προκλήθηκαν από τον κυκλώνα Σάντι και αναμένεται ότι ο ασφαλιστικός τομέας θα κληθεί να καταβάλει για την κάλυψη ζημιών που προκλήθηκαν απ' αυτόν σχεδόν 25 δισεκατομμύρια ευρώ.
.kathimerini.com.cy
3/1/13
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ΣΧΕΤΙΚΟ:

• Καταστροφή σε όλα τα επίπεδα

  
  
  • [1] 2012 Recap. Natural disasters’ damage reaches $140 bln in 2012
  
  According to the report published by the leading global reinsurer Swiss Re, the damage caused by the natural disasters man caused disasters in 2012 has reached almost $140 billion. For reference in 2011 this figure was $120 billion.
  
  
  The report shows that this year was difficult first of all for the US: a draught, several tornadoes and the Sandy hurricane in October caused damage worth $45 billion. By the way the Sandy hurricane that hit the US was not very strong, Vladimir Klimenko, head of the laboratory of the global energy issues at the Moscow Technical University says.
  
  “Sandy was not even the strongest hurricane this year let alone the history. Though it might seem strange but developed countries turn to be quite unprepared to withstand natural disasters. Such disasters lead to serious material losses. In developing countries material damage is smaller but human losses are much bigger.”
  
  It is important to remember that the report has been released by the reinsurer and is based on the data provided by insurance companies, Alexei Kokroin, head of the Climate and Energy program of the World Wildlife Fund stresses.
  
  “The typhoon in the US caused a very serious damage to the property but all this property was insured and the sums of the insurances were quite high. If a similar disaster had hit Bangkok the damage could have been bigger simply most of the property there is not insured. That is why such damage cannot be expressed in monetary terms.”
  
  Other 2012 natural disasters include floods in Italy, the UK and the countries of the South Asian region, earthquakes in Indonesia, Guatemala, Mexico, volcano eruptions on Kamchatka and in New Zealand.
  
  In general the number of disasters has not increased this year. It is the number of abnormal weather phenomena that has increased. Heavy rainfalls, snowfalls, frosts, draughts occurred regularly all over the world. Alexei Kokorin attributes it to climate misbalance on our planet.
  
  “If we study a report of the Russian meteorological service we will see that the precipitation volume was the same as in previous years but precipitation fall has become very lop-sided. Roughly speaking, Moscow now has two heavy snowfalls instead of five small ones. Not only Russia. In Africa dry regions receive two heavy rainfalls which are followed by a long-term draught.”
  
  However the world has managed to avoid end of the world which was expected December 21 according to the Maya calendar. Luckily, it did not happen.
• http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_04/2012-Recap-Natural-disasters-damage-reaches-140-bln-in-2012/
  

China verlängert Produktionsstopp für Seltene Erden

Wegen seiner Preispolitik für Seltene Erden steht Monopolist China in der Kritik. Der größte Hersteller der begehrten Rohstoffe hat seinen Produktionsstopp nun um einen Monat verlängert - beklagt aber zugleich die mangelnde Wirkung der Maßnahme. 

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Peking -
 Baotou Steel, größter Produzent von Seltenen Erden in China, hat seinen vor zwei Monaten verkündeten Produktionsstopp um einen weiteren Monat verlängert. In einer Mitteilung an die Shanghaier Börse verkündet der Konzern am Dienstag, die Bergwerke in der Inneren Mongolei blieben weiterhin geschlossen.
Durch den Produktionsstopp der vergangenen zwei Monate habe der Markt für Seltene Erden zwar "eine leichte Erholung" erfahren. "Aber es gab keine grundlegende Umkehrung", beklagte der Konzern. Baotou Steel hatte am 23. Oktober angekündigt, praktisch all seine Werke, auch diejenigen in der östlichen Provinz Jiangxi, vorübergehend dichtzumachen. 

China ist der weltgrößte Förderer Seltener Erden, es deckt 95 Prozent des weltweiten Bedarfs. Als Seltene Erden werden 17 chemische Elemente bezeichnet, die für die Industrie wertvolle Eigenschaften besitzen. Sie werden benötigt, um zum Beispiel Computer, Mobiltelefone, Batterien oder Flachbildschirme zu bauen. Auch in Windanlagen, Raketen und Elektroautos kommen sie zum Einsatz.
Chinas Quasimonopol auf Seltene Erden sorgt seit über einem Jahr für Konflikte mit seinen wichtigsten Handelspartnern. Um den Preisverfall zu stoppen, hatte Peking im August angekündigt, ein Fünftel der Produktionskapazitäten zu schließen. Dies mache China allerdings nur, um das eigene Monopol weiter auszubauen, bemängeln Kritiker.
Die amtliche Nachrichtenagentur Xinhua hob am Dienstag hingegen hervor, der Preis für Praseodymium-Neodymium-Oxide sei auf 300.000 Yuan (36.500 Euro) gefallen. Dies entspreche gerade einmal einem Viertel seines Höchstpreises im Vorjahr. Baotou Steel hatte im dritten Quartal 2012 nach eigenen Angaben einen Gewinnrückgang um fast 90 Prozent verzeichnet. Niedrige Exportquote ist illegal
Die auf die Metalle angewiesene Industrie im Ausland haben der Regierung in Peking vorgeworfen, illegal die Exporte niedrig zu halten, um der heimischen Industrie Vorteile zu verschaffen. Ende März hatten die EU, die USA und Japan wegen der restriktiven Exportpolitik für Seltene Erden vor der Welthandelsorganisation verklagt: Mit Exportquoten, Zöllen und Mindestpreisen benachteilige China die globalen Abnehmer und verstoße damit gegen seinen Beitrittsvertrag zur WTO.
China wies die Vorwürfe stets zurück und erklärte, die Kontrollen dienten dazu, die Umwelt und Vorräte zu schonen. "Viele Länder haben Vorkommen an Seltenen Erden, man kann nicht allein von China erwarten, alle Vorräte bereitzustellen", sagte der neu ernannte Vorsitzende des Industrieverbandes, Gan Yong.
nik/afp
.spiegel.de
25/12/12
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US and EU must change biofuel targets to avert food crisis, says Nestlé chief

Nestlé, the world's largest food company, has added its weight to calls by the UN and development groups for the US and EU to change their biofuel targets because of looming food shortages and price rises.

"We say no food for fuel," said Paul Bulcke, chief executive of Nestlé, at the end of the World Water Week conference in Sweden. "Agricultural food-based biofuel is an aberration. We say that the EU and US should put money behind the right biofuels."

Under laws intended to reduce foreign oil imports, 40% of US maize (corn) harvest must be used to make biofuels, even though one of the deepest droughts in the past 100 years is expected to reduce crop yields significantly. In addition, EU countries are expected to move towards drawing 10-20% of their energy supply for transport from biofuels to reduce carbon emissions.
But Nestlé, which has 470 food factories around the world and 25% of the world's bottled water market, says clean economy and US energy independence should not be pursued at the expense of food supplies or massive price increases.
"[Using biofuels] was well-intentioned at the time, but when you have better information then you have to be coherent," said Bulcke. "You have to know when to say: 'Stop here'. Now we see, too, that the carbon [reduction] element of biofuels is not as clear as it was intended to be."
Bulcke said Nestlé had lobbied the US and EU governments to change their quotas. "We have said [it] to [the] US government, but politically it's hard. We are an important food company and, yes, we do have a voice. We try to be vocal with our convictions."
He argued water is the world's coming crisis because, without better use of it, food supplies – which the UN predicts must increase around 50% in the next 40 years – will be severely limited.
"The relationship between food and water is clear," said Bulcke. "Water should have a value. There is so much much waste in the system. Upstream on farms, industry, food waste, food spoilage. Agriculture is responsible for 70% of all water being used globally, and 90% in some developing countries." Water is one cause of the food crisis. Governments took their eyes off the ball. For years, research and development investments were very low, at 1.5% annually. We have a crisis in the making. We cannot continue to use water in the same wasteful way as before.
"What is environmentally unsustainable today will become socially unsustainable in a not so distant future," added Bulcke. "We risk up to 30% shortfalls in global cereal production due to water shortage by 2025. It seems as if we will have to go through a massive global crisis before becoming aware that we cannot leave a paradox of this importance unresolved.
"The main challenge – water for farming – is also the main opportunity. Saving potentials in agriculture are still huge; physiological needs of plants amount to only 40-50% of actual withdrawals today. And there are more savings of water possible further down the value chain."
According to Nestlé, which operates in 86 countries and is the world's most profitable corporation, it is moving strongly to conserve water, both by helping farmers save waste by growing crops that need less, and by improving factory efficiency. It has also lowered its milk wastage dramatically, effectively saving its per-dollar water use, which has been reduced from 4.5 litres in 2002 to 1.5 litres today.
Earlier this month, UN FAO director general José Graziano da Silva said suspension of the biofuel quota would allow more of the crop to be diverted for food production. "The worst drought for 50 years is inflicting huge damage on the US maize crop, with serious consequences for the overall international food supply," he wrote in the Financial Times.
euractiv.com
4/9/12
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