1 European car sales grow after six years (BBC) Car
sales in the European Union rose in 2014 for the first time in six years,
according to the industry trade association ACEA. Sales were up 5.7% to
12,550,771, fuelled by government scrappage schemes and wholesale orders from
companies. There was also a shift in sales to cheaper brands, with Dacia and
Skoda reporting some of the biggest sales rises.
Spain and the UK saw a sales jump in 2014, up 18%
and 9.3% respectively. However, the industry remains cautious about growth this
year, as many incentive schemes and tax breaks are being ended. In Spain, the
government has repeatedly extended an incentive scheme, known as Plan PIVE,
which offers price cuts on new low-emission vehicles.
2 2014 is hottest year on record (Suzanne Goldenberg
in The Guardian) The year 2014 – after shattering temperature records that had
stood for hundreds of years across virtually all of Europe, and roasting parts
of South America, China and Russia – was the hottest on record, with global
temperatures 1.24F (0.69C) higher than the 20th-century average, US government
scientists say.
A day after international researchers warned that
human activities had pushed the planet to the brink, new evidence of climate
change arrived. The world was the hottest it has been since systematic records
began in 1880, especially on the oceans, which the agency confirmed were the
driver of 2014’s temperature rise.
The global average temperatures over land and sea
surface for the year were 1.24F (0.69C) above the 20th-century average, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) reported. Nasa, which
calculates temperatures slightly differently, put 2014’s average temperature at
14.67C – 0.68C above the average – for the period 1951-80.
The scientists said 2014 was 0.07F (0.04C) higher
than the previous records set in 2005 and 2010, and the 38th consecutive year
of above-average temperatures. That means nobody born since 1976 has
experienced a colder-than-average year.
“We can safely say it’s probably the warmest year in
1,700 and 2,000 years, and I think it’s probably safe to say 5,000 years,” said
Don Wuebbles, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Illinois who has
worked on a number of IPCC reports. “You have a continuous upward trend over
the last century and that is telling us something. We have a clear signal that
our climate changing, and when you look at the evidence it’s because of human
activities.”
The last record cold year was more than a century
ago in 1911. The scientists noted that the 2014 record occurred without the
help of a strong El Nino, a global weather phenomenon known for pushing more
heat into the atmosphere.
3 San Francisco youth are smarter, more independent
than peers 30 years ago (Katie Dowd in San Francisco Chronicle) It feels like things are changing dramatically
in San Francisco right now, but it’s interesting to bring in historical
statistics to show if, and how much, things really are altering.
The US Census released a series of fascinating
charts comparing various statistics relating to the lives of 18-34 year olds in
San Francisco. The stats compare 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2009-13. A few interesting
facts worth pulling out separately:
Young San Franciscans are far less likely to live
with their parents than the rest of the nation. Currently, 16.9% live at home
compared to 30.3% nationally. The number of young SFers with bachelor’s degrees
or higher has soared since 1980: 57.3% now compared to 32.3% then. The national
average in 2013 was 22.3%.
San Franciscans continue to choose public transit
over cars at an ever-increasing rate. About 37% of young SFers drove or
carpooled to work in 2013 compared to the staggering 84.5% national rate.
No comments:
Post a Comment