It’s the blue that makes the Arctic so unreal – both in pictures and in real life. The color seems so unlikely in nature, that electric hue of the Internet Explorer icon on your computer desktop.

But that amazing color is real, thanks to the minerals in glacial silts and the wacky way they reflect light. Flying last year over the coastline at Barrow, Alaska – the northernmost city in North America – I was among the passengers glued to the windows as huge chunks of ice melted and seem to ooze puddles of cobalt.

Sea ice, of course, comes and goes with the seasons and with the millennia. In the May issue of National Geographic, McKenzie Funk writes of a time when “pieces of the supercontinent Pangaea were drifting apart, and at times greenhouse gases warmed the world to far hotter than it is today.” For a time, he says, the Arctic was almost tropical – partly because “global temperatures were higher globally, but more so because parts of the Arctic have not always been in the Arctic.”

In the past, such scientific observations have left many to conclude that if you can’t prove global warming is caused by man, it’s nonsense to fight it. Happily, one-time doubters like US Sen. John McCain and industry leaders in developed countries look at it differently now. If your house is threatened by a wildfire, do you try to save the house or simply surrender to nature?

As the climate summit in Copenhagen gets closer, there is a steady drumbeat for action. Developed nations and developing countries were once content to blame each other for the problem; now, instead of saying “you first,” both are calling the fire department, so to speak. The US and China are struggling to agree but they are talking to each other about climate change and alternative energy. Europe has made stunning leaps reducing its carbon footprint. Vast windfarms are planned for Africa.

In 1421, Gavin Menzies presents a fascinating (and controversial) chronicle of Chinese voyages of discovery years before Europeans like Columbus and Magellan set sail. In the book there is an intriguing map of Greenland, nearly encircled by a sturdy line marking the presumed voyage of Admiral Zhou Wen’s fleet almost 600 years ago. If the evidence Menzies’ presents can be believed, that heroic Chinese admiral sailed in ice-free Arctic seas – impossible now at any time of year but we’re going to see it again, according to forecasters of global warming.

That could have a plus side: a new generation of nautical adventure, enterprise and commerce. But the rising seas that result may spell disaster elsewhere for generations for people, places and creatures of all sorts. As the metaphorical wildfire mentioned earlier burns closer to our house, Copenhagen offers some hope that we humans have called the fire department in time. By Mike Peters, China Daily.

ALL SUMMER, experts have been warning of a likely surge in cases of H1N1 after schools and colleges reconvene. So far, there have been outbreaks of varying sizes, most notably in two schools in Cavan. In one about 17 children have fallen ill with the suspected virus. In the other, at least one case was confirmed when about 20 students presented with flu-like symptoms.

But overall, the first few days of school have not led to a significant change in the rate of infection in the community.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education has been working through the summer with the HSE, the Department of Health and Children and management unions to prepare for pandemic H1N1, according to Brian Brogan, who briefed the session.

But how do you stop a virus spreading like wildfire through Irish classrooms, particularly as we have one of the largest average primary school class sizes – 24.5 – in the OECD?

Good hand hygiene is recognised as an important factor in reducing the spread of the virus from person to person, but it has to be done properly, according to Dr David McCleery, chief specialist microbiologist with safefood.

“For proper cleaning there are actually two stages to it. One is to remove any organic matter or dirt, and then there’s the actual sanitising after that,” he explains.

“So if you have very soiled hands, if you have been handling something greasy or you have been out in the garden and you are covered in mud, and you then use these sanitisers they may not be effective because of the organic matter.”

But where hands are relatively unsoiled, alcohol or isopropanol-based sanitisers that kill bugs and viruses by drying them out are an option where circumstances dictate that you can’t access running water immediately, notes McCleery, who recommends that users follow the instructions on hand sanitisers for appropriate use.

But how that pans out on the ground can vary from school to school.

Parents have approached The Irish Times with concerns about being asked to put alcohol-based hand sanitisers into the bags of children as young as four and five, despite warnings on many packs to keep the bottles away from children and to ensure that sanitiser use by young children is supervised.

And in general, where hand hygiene measures are concerned, schools have been left to make it up as they go along, according to the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), although those principals who contact the HSE are being told to trust soap and water. There’s no official objection to hand sanitisers, but they have not been officially recommended either, according to Peter Mullan of the INTO.

Speaking at last weekend’s annual general meeting of the National Parents Council, Dr Anna Clarke of the HSE told parents that washing hands with running water and soap was the most effective way of limiting the spread of infection in schools.

“Dr Clarke was not recommending hand sanitisers as an alternative to proper handwashing, and warned, in fact, that children might be tempted to use the product instead of proper hygiene,” says Aine Lynch of the National Parents Council.

“The parents at the conference were very reassured by that. Dr Clarke suggested soap, running water and a separate towel for each child. Hand sanitisers could be used for day trips or other situations where running water is not available.”

Despite this, many schools are investing in hand sanitisers, and they are not cheap. Principal Peter Darcy of St Mary’s Boys’ National School is prepared to spend the money, but use of the product is carefully monitored.

“Each teacher has been supplied with one for use in the classroom. We have been forewarned by our suppliers about overuse. For one thing, there’s a very strong smell of alcohol off them. You wouldn’t want to be pulled over by the gardaí on your way home from school!

“This is a boys’ school and you couldn’t leave the dispenser in the bathroom or at the doors – they’d be too tempted to mess about with the dispensers. Also, they’re expensive – about €6 a bottle, and we’re using one a week per class.”

Karen Dowling of Adept cleaning provides hand sanitisers to schools in the midlands and she issues extensive information to her clients about safe use of the product.

“This is a chemical, and you can never be too careful with chemicals. I tell all schools that the use of hand sanitisers should be monitored. They contain alcohol and while you would need to ingest a lot to have an adverse effect, you still have to take care. They can also damage polished floors if left to drip from wall dispensers.”

Principal Anne McCabe of Redeemers Girls School in Drogheda has chosen not to use hand sanitisers in her school; partly because of cost considerations, but chiefly because of advice she has received from the HSE.

“We’re looking at putting one hand sanitiser at the entrance for visitors, but for the kids it’s just plain soap and cold water – we have no hot running water at the school.

“Some children are bringing in their own sanitiser pumps, but the advice I’m getting from the HSE is that hand sanitisers are no substitute for thorough hand washing so we don’t encourage them, in case children think they can use the sanitiser instead of the sink,”McCabe says.

Rediscovering the art of good handwashing

One of the silver linings of the current H1N1 pandemic could be a step up in general hand hygiene, according to Dr David McCleery from safefood, who explains the correct way to lather up and remove dirt and germs.

“A good clean is under running water, with soap creating a lather all over surfaces of the hands and, in particular, between the fingers and the thumb – it takes around 20 seconds, or singing happy birthday twice – but how many people do that? It’s usually a quick splash and dash.”

And the normal principles still apply for when to wash your hands in the pandemic, he adds. “After using a toilet, before eating food, after touching something infectious, for example if you sneeze into a tissue you are supposed to dispose of the tissue and wash your hands afterwards.”

To school or not to school

Only a week after the children go back to school after two months free of sneezes and sniffles, despite the weather, two of my children wake up with streaming noses.

I normally take a laid-back approach to children and illness. If they feel up to playing, they are up to going to school. If they are up to arguing with their siblings over the remote control, I know they’re up to the play in the school yard.

However, with the school taking quite a robust approach to its swine flu prevention, I doubt my normal nursing standards. With all three children armed with hand sanitisers, personal hand towels and tissues at the behest of the school, I do not want to be the parent who sends a sniffling child into this sanitary building. Will the child be sent home? Will I be the parent who didn’t care enough? The one who put all other pupils and teachers at risk of infection?

So I take the easy option. I keep them at home, with their sniffles, their sneezes and their lack of hygiene (they are children after all), for four long days. They are well enough to be bored, well enough to fight, and well enough to do their mother’s head in. But, I thought, at least I am not the talk of the town.

Then to my horror, I realise the rumours have already begun – my children have swine flu. Sure why else would they be out of school for four days? By Louise Holden and Claire O’Connell, Irish Times.

The currency reached 88.23 yen per dollar – the highest since January’s 13-year high of 87.10.

A stronger yen makes Japanese exports less competitive – but makes imports more affordable to Japanese consumers.

Observers said the strengthening of the yen came after comments suggesting that the likelihood of Japan intervening to weaken its currency had receded.

‘Mistake’

In the past, Japan has stepped into the currency markets to weaken the yen when the government thought its rise was threatening growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

The authorities have not intervened since 2005, but some observers had believed finance minister Hirohisa Fujii could step in to halt the yen’s strengthening.

However, Mr Fujii told the Dow Jones newswire that that “foreign exchange dumping” to defend Japanese exporters would be the wrong policy.

“It would be a mistake to artificially influence foreign exchange rates,” Mr Fujii was quoted as saying.

Mr Fujii became finance minister after the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) last month ended more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party.

Earlier this month, he said a strong yen had merits, but he has backed down from this view as the rise has gained momentum.

Honda Motors and electronic parts maker Kyocera were among the exporters seeing their shares lose ground on Monday.

The benchmark Nikkei index fell 256.46 points to 10,009.52 – its lowest close since late July. It also hit a two-month intraday low of 9,971.05. BBC News.

A 1960s conference on women and cardiovascular disease was called “How Can I Help My Husband Cope with Heart Disease?” Now we know that heart disease is just as much a woman’s problem. In fact, because women live longer than men and the number of older people is growing, more women than men ultimately die of heart disease.

After age 50, more than half of all women will die of some form of cardiovascular disease.

Thirty-eight percent of women will die within a year of a heart attack, compared with 25 percent of men.

Within six years, 35 percent of women will have another heart attack, compared with 18 percent of men. Six percent of those women will die suddenly. Forty-six percent will be disabled with heart failure. Source: “The Menopause Book” by Pat Wingert and Barbara Kantrowitz. The Oklahoman.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy set December as the deadline for Iran to suspend its nuclear program and warned Iran not to make “tragic mistake” in a television interview on Wednesday. “There will be a deadline, which in my view is the month of December,” Sarkozy told a French TV station from New York where he is attending the 64th United Nations General Assembly session.

Iran has refused UN’s demand of suspending its nuclear program, insisting that it is just used for civilian purpose, but agreed to hold talks on October 1 with six powers – China, the United States, France, Russian, Britain and Germany.

The French president expressed his dissatisfaction with unfruitful talks with Iran over nuclear issue. “Now we all know towards what catastrophes our obstinate attempts to solve the problems of the 21st century with 20th century ideas and instruments may lead us.”

Speaking of the French teaching assistant Clotilde Reiss, who is currently confined in Iran on accusation of spying, Sarkozy rejected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s suggestion of prisoner exchange.

“No. This is blackmail,” Sarkozy said. “Clotilde Reiss is innocent.”

When interviewed by France 2 television aired on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad suggested that France can release some Iranian prisoners in exchange for Reiss’ release. By China Daily.

RETURNING Americans to the moon will cost more than most are willing to pay: an estimated $3 billion a year if the nation follows former President George W. Bush’s relatively modest program proposed half a decade ago.

To date, NASA has spent nearly $8 billion toward returning astronauts to the scene of the nation’s greatest technological triumph. The space agency that once had an unlimited budget would like to spend another $92 billion on returning to the moon by 2020.

NASA has many friends in Congress with influential voices advocating a return to the moon along with a manned trip to Mars within the next two decades. A Mars excursion would be less costly and would be technologically easier if the mission were launched in zero gravity from a base on the moon. The problem with this scenario is that the establishment of a viable American-manned moon base isn’t likely in the next 20 years.

In testimony on Capitol Hill this week, NASA officials insisted that the goal of a return to the lunar surface, as outlined by the previous president, is doable at $3 billion a year until the mission is completed.

But just as many influential voices argue that establishing a base on a dead world such as the moon makes no sense. The cost of traveling to Mars only to return without establishing a base there should make little sense to cash-strapped Americans.

The bulk of information that humans have garnered about the universe beyond the moon has been delivered via the Hubble space telescope and relatively affordable unmanned probes.

Scientists have analyzed the rings of Saturn, witnessed asteroid strikes on Jupiter, and sent some probes hurtling toward the sun and others into the void beyond Pluto. They have accomplished all of this without leaving the bonds of Earth’s orbit for nearly four decades.

Until the economy improves dramatically in coming years, funding an effort to return to the moon and to travel to Mars will be nonstarters. Americans are all out of discretionary cash.

Still, this nation has decades of expertise that would be invaluable to an international manned space mission to Mars and beyond. The United States can’t afford to do it on its own anymore, but that doesn’t mean we can afford not to do it as a species. The country may be strapped, but its destiny is in the stars – eventually. By Toledo Blade.

The moon is not the dry, dull place it seems. Traces of water lurk in the dirt unseen. Three different space probes found the chemical signature of water all over the moon’s surface, surprising the scientists who at first doubted the unexpected measurement until it was confirmed independently and repeatedly.

It is not enough moisture to foster homegrown life on the moon. But if processed in mass quantities, it might provide resources – drinking water and rocket fuel – for future moon-dwellers, scientists say. The water comes and goes during the lunar day.

It is not a lot of water. In a two-litre soda bottle of lunar dirt, there probably would be a medicine dropper full of water, said University of Maryland astronomer Jessica Sunshine, one of the scientists who discovered the water. Another way to think of it is that a drink of water would require a 730 square meters of dirt to produce, said team leader Carle Pieters of Brown University.

“It’s sort of just sticking on the surface,” Sunshine said. “We always think of the moon as dead, and this is sort of a dynamic process that’s going on.”

The discovery, with three studies being published in the journal Science on Thursday and a Nasa briefing, could refocus interest in the moon. The appeal of the moon waned after astronauts visited 40 years ago and called it “magnificent desolation.”

The announcement comes two weeks before a Nasa probe will be smashed near the moon’s south pole to see whether it can kick up buried ice. Over the last decade, astronomers have found some signs of underground ice on the moon’s poles. This latest discovery is quite different. It finds unexpected and pervasive water clinging to the surface of soil, not absorbed into it.

“It is drier than any desert we have here,” Sunshine said.

The water was spotted by spacecraft that either circled the moon or flew by. All three ships used the same type of instrument that looked at the absorption of a specific wavelength of light that is the chemical signature of only two molecules: water and hydroxyl. Hydroxyl is one atom of hydrogen with one atom of oxygen, instead of two hydrogen atoms in water.

Because of the timing during the daylight when some of that wavelength disappears and some does not, it shows that both hydroxyl and water are present, Sunshine said.

This light wavelength was discovered first by an instrument on the Indian lunar satellite Chandrayaan-1, which stopped operating last month. Scientists initially figured something was wrong with the instrument because everyone knew the moon did not have a drop of water on the surface, Pieters said.

“We argued literally for months amongst ourselves to find out where the problem was,” Pieters said. Sunshine, who was on the team, had a similar instrument on Nasa’s Deep Impact probe, headed for a comet but swinging by the moon in June. So Deep Impact looked for the water-hydroxyl signature, and found it.

Scientists also looked back at the records of Nasa’s Cassini probe, which is circling Saturn. It has the same type instrument and whizzed by the moon 10 years ago. Sure enough, it had found the same thing.

The chance that three different instruments malfunctioned in the same way on three different spaceships is almost zero, so this confirms that it is water and hydroxyl, Pieters said. “There’s just no question that it’s there,” Pieters said. “It’s unequivocal.”

Scientists testing lunar samples returned to Earth by astronauts did find traces of water, but they had figured it was contamination from moisture in Earth air, Pieters said.

Three scientists who were not part of the team of discoverers said the conclusion makes sense, with Arizona State University’s Ron Greeley using the same word as Pieters: unequivocal.

Lunar and
Planetary Institute senior scientist Paul Spudis called it exciting and said it raises the logical question: Where did that water come from?

Pieters figures there are three possibilities: It came from comets or asteroids that crashed into the moon, those crashes freed up trapped water from below the surface, or the solar wind carries hydrogen atoms that binds with oxygen in the dirt. That final possibility is the one that Sunshine and Pieters both prefer.

If it is the solar wind, that also means that other places without atmosphere in Earth’s solar system, such as Mercury or asteroids, can also have bits of water, Sunshine said. NZ Herald.