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As many as 22 major dams and power stations under construction in China, including a key power facility at the controversial Three Gorges Dam, have slowed or stopped work pending an environmental review.

In the first instance of its kind, top Chinese leaders appear to be throwing their clout behind laws requiring environmental-impact statements for large energy-related projects.

Even if the projects, which total more than $14 billion and span 13 provinces, soon go back online, Beijing's public support of the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), long considered a mere showpiece, seems an official nod to growing numbers of Chinese who support tougher policies to protect nature.

Energy-hungry China has embarked in recent years on a breakneck program of investment in power plants, adding to an already overheating economy. By enforcing policies requiring companies to account for environmental impact, the power sector may cool down a bit - one reason to allow SEPA to fine construction companies and demand they follow the law, according to an unusually frank South Metropolitan Daily editorial.

In the past decade, China's roaring double-digit growth, industrial output, and booming new-car sales have caused some of the worst air and water pollution in Asia.

So far, watchdogs like SEPA, despite being an arm of government, have not been given latitude to enforce any clean air and water laws.

Yet on Jan. 18, in a bit of savvy bureaucratic maneuvering, SEPA suddenly charged 30 construction projects with illegality, since they failed to submit impact statements.

Since then, most of the dams and hydroelectric projects have reportedly suspended work, according to the English-language China Daily.

Read the whole article here:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0210/p01s02-woap.html

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These days every program seems to put its icon in your system tray. The icons do more than just fill up the taskbar. Each system tray icon represents a running program that's using system resources.

To identify a program, hold the mouse over an icon until a title pops up. Ask yourself if you need that program running all the time. If it's a firewall or an antivirus program that does something constructive while in the background, yes. But if it's a little AOL icon or something that helps ou launch something, you can do without it.

Right-click the icon and examine the menu that pops up. There's often an Exit or Close option. When you select this, you may be asked whether you want the program to restart the next time you restart Windows; tell it you don't. (You can turn off AOL's system tray program in this way.)

If that doesn't work, examine the pop-up menu for an option named 'Preferences' or 'Options'. Or open the program itself and check its menus for an option that will prevent it from loading on start-up.

It the program doesn't include a way to turn itself off, you can do so through Windows.

In Windows 98, Me, or XP, click on Start, Run, type msconfig, press Enter, and select the Startup tab; uncheck the box for anything you don't want starting up with Windows. Recheck the box to change it back again.

Want to learn more? Read these articles:

In a time when scientists often struggled - and were sometimes unable - to find sufficient computer time for their computationally intensive research, it seemed like a logical idea.

Untold amounts of computing power lay dormant in millions of homes and offices around the world, ready to be used, if only one knew how to reach them... But until five years ago, no one did.

Then came SETI@home. Launched in 1999, it quickly became a huge international success. Within a few months, millions of personal computers that had been launching flying toasters across dark screens in their spare time, were displaying the famous dynamic power-bar graphics of SETI@home.

Not only did SETI@home users make possible the most sensitive search for extraterrestrial intelligence ever conducted, they also demonstrated the power and potential of distributed computing. SETI@home became - by far - the largest and most powerful supercomputer ever assembled, accomplishing within months calculations that would normally take years or even decades.

Scientists in other fields were quick to take note, and look for ways to make use of the enormous potential of distributed computing in their own research.

The first to follow SETI@home's lead were scientists working on specific research programs, who set up distributed computing programs tailored specifically for the project at hand. The most famous of these was folding@home, a Stanford University-based project investigating patterns of protein folding, which published its first scientific results in October of 2002.

The problem with such projects was that it was extremely difficult for research teams to set them up. Setting up a distributed computing program is a challenge even for professional computer scientists, and for scientists in other fields it is a truly daunting task. Reaching enough users who will run the program on their computers can be even harder. Most research programs that could potentially benefit from the approach wouldn't even attempt to use their limited resources on such a venture.

To address this problem, a new generation of distributed computing programs is now coming on-line. BOINC - the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing - provides a platform that any project can use. Scientists in any field can now sign up for BOINC and with only minor modifications immediately become part of an established and successful program of distributed computing.

Not only are they freed of the need to set up this complex system themselves, they also gain access to the millions of users who are already processing data for other BOINC projects. Users who participate in BOINC can choose which projects they wish to run on their computers and how much processing time they devote to each.

Launched earlier this year by the same team that created SETI@home, BOINC has gotten off to a fast start. It already has five projects signed up, researching topics ranging from climate prediction (see climateprediction.net) to gravity waves and protein folding.

Anchoring the BOINC family is the tried and true SETI@home, which is currently moving from its - classic - format to the new BOINC platform, bringing with it millions of devoted users.

BOINC now has company: Earlier this month IBM launched its own - World Community Grid, which like BOINC is intended to provide and easy-to-use distributed computing platform for scientific projects. IBM's Grid is powered by software developed by United Devices for their own distributed computing platform (www.grid.org), which focuses on research in the biological and medical sciences.

As of now the World Community Grid has only one project - the Human Proteome Folding Project, conducted by the Institute for Systems Biology to help predict the shape of human proteins. But with IBM's power and reach behind it, the Grid has the potential to expand quickly.

While both projects are intended to help researchers launch distributed computing projects, BOINC and the World Community Grid differ in some important ways. BOINC is an open source program, which means anyone can access its programming code and adapt it to their specific needs. The Grid code, on the other hand, is only accessible to IBM programmers and engineers. BOINC, furthermore, is not centrally controlled, and there is no one deciding which projects will or will not be included. In principle, any interested researcher can launch his or her own BOINC project. The Grid, by contrast, is controlled by IBM, which decides which projects to accept into its family and which to reject.

While the two programs differ in their approach, they share a common goal: to expand the reach of distributed computing, and make use of the untapped resources of personal computers in scientific research.

As SETI@home has demonstrated, untold millions around the world are ready and eager to donate their computer time for the advancement of knowledge and the benefit of humankind. The story of distributed computing is only just beginning...

Source: http://planetary.org/html/UPDATES/seti/SETI@home/Update_112404.html

Here is some advice on how to donate without getting scammed. feel free to pass this on:

THE BEST WAY TO ASSIST IN PROVIDING EMERGENCY RELIEF
TO THE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI VICTIMS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) announces its top-rated list of charities currently offering relief services to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that has devastated parts of Southeast Asia.

http://charitywatch.org/hottopics/tsunami_asia.html

and this one is from the FBI:

TSUNAMI DISASTER RELIEF FRAUD ALERT!
Don't be scammed.

01/05/05

Why should we be surprised? Criminals are using email and websites to siphon charitable contributions for tsunami victims into their own pockets.

What kind of schemes?

1. False websites have been established that pretend to be legitimate relief organizations asking for donations-one of which contains an imbedded Trojan exploit that can infect your computer with a virus if accessed.

2. Unsolicited incoming emails (SPAM) that offer, for a fee, to locate loved ones who may have been a disaster victim.

3. Unsolicited emails requesting that money be deposited in overseas banks to support the tsunami relief effort.

4. Unsolicited emails which seek personal or financial information in an effort to retrieve large amounts of inheritance funds tied up in relation to the tsunami disaster.

How do we know about these schemes?

Because they're being reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

What are we doing about it?

With our partners in industry and in domestic and international law enforcement, we are aggressively pursuing those attempting to victimize philanthropic individuals.

What can YOU do about it?

The IC3 has good advice, consistent with previous advice on incidents of Phishing/Spoofing and Identity Theft. If you're considering on-line options for providing funding to this relief effort:

*
Do not respond to any unsolicited (SPAM) incoming emails.
*
Be skeptical of individuals claiming to be surviving victims or foreign government officials asking for help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts
*
To ensure that contributions to U.S. based non-profit organizations are used for intended purposes, go directly to recognized charities and aid organizations websites, as opposed to following a link to another site.
*
Try to verify the legitimacy of non-profit organizations (e.g., use Internet-based resources to help confirm the existence of the organization and its non-profit status).
*
Be leery of emails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.

Several variations of this scam are currently in circulation. Anyone who has received an email referencing the above information or anyone who may have been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the IC3 via the website, www.ic3.gov.

source:
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan05/tsunamiscam010505.htm

Drop, Cover, and Hold On

"Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is CORRECT, accurate, and APPROPRIATE for use in the United States for Earthquake safety.

Mr. Doug Copp is the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of American Rescue Team International (a private company not affiliated with the U.S. Government or other agency.)

He says that going underneath objects during an earthquake [as in children being told to get under their desks at school] is very
dangerous, and fatal should the building collapse in a strong earthquake.

Mr. Copp's assertions in his message that everyone is always crushed if they get under something is incorrect.

He also states that "everyone who gets under a doorway when a building collapses is killed." He further states that "if you are in bed when an earthquake happens, to roll out of bed next to it," and he also says that "If an earthquake happens while you are watching television and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair."

What the claims made by Mr. Copp of ARTI, Inc., does not seem to distinguish is that the
recommendation to "drop, cover, and hold on!" is a U.S.-based recommendation based on U.S. Building Codes and construction standards.

Research has confirmed that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On!" has saved lives in the United States. Engineering researchers have demonstrated that very few buildings collapse or "pancake" in the U.S. as they might do in other countries.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as data from University studies performed after the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes in California, the following data are indicated:

Loma Prieta: 63 deaths, approximately 3,700 people were injured. Most injuries happened as a result of the collapse of the Cypress Street section of I-880 in Oakland.

Northridge: 57 deaths, 1,500 serious injuries. Most injuries were from falls caused by people trying to get out of their homes, or serious cuts and broken bones when people ran, barefooted, over broken glass (the earthquake happened in the early morning on a federal holiday when many people were still in bed.)

There were millions of people in each of these earthquake-affected areas, and of those millions, many of them reported to have "dropped, covered, and held on" during the shaking of the earthquake.

Therefore, we contend that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" indeed SAVED lives, not killed people. It is the simplest, reliable, and easiest method to teach people, including children.

The American Red Cross has not recommended to use a doorway for earthquake protection for more than a decade. The problem is that many doorways are not built into the structural integrity
of a building, and may not offer protection. Also, simply put, doorways are not suitable for more than one person at a time.

The Red Cross, states that if you are in bed when an earthquake happens, to remain there. Rolling out of bed may lead to being injured by debris on the floor next to the bed. If you have done a good job of earthquake mitigation (that is, removing pictures or mirrors that could fall on a bed; anchoring tall bedroom furniture to wall studs, and the like), then you are safer to stay in bed rather than roll out of it during the shaking of an earthquake.

Also, the Red Cross strongly advises not try to move (that is, escape) during the shaking of an earthquake. The more and the longer distance that someone tries to move, the more likely they are to become injured by falling or flying debris, or by tripping, falling, or getting cut by damaged floors, walls, and items in the path of escape.

Identifying potential "void areas" and planning on using them for earthquake protection is more difficult to teach, and hard to remember for people who are not educated in earthquake engineering principles. The Red Cross is not saying that identifying potential voids is wrong or inappropriate.

What we are saying is that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On!" is NOT wrong -- in the United States.

Rocky Lopes, PhD
Manager, Community Disaster Education
Preparedness Department
American Red Cross National Headquarters

It was well camouflaged but I noticed it because an upset bluejay kept chirping at it.

Bushy backyard visitor

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