Though the days may be different, gathering with family and friends for major holidays is the same the world over. China’s biggest holiday, the Lunar New Year, prompts a mass migration (the largest on the planet, said BBC News) as tens of millions travel home. In 2008, however, travel proved nearly impossible. Snow storms closed roads and railroads across eastern, central, and southern China, reported BBC News.
This image, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the morning of January 29, 2008, shows how extensive the snow cover is. The image encompasses most of eastern China, save the northernmost provinces and the cloud-covered southern coast. From north to south, nearly the entire country is covered in snow.
Unlike a photo, which uses the visible light that the human eye sees, this image includes both infrared light and visible light to provide a contrast between snow and clouds. Snow is red-orange, while clouds are white and peach. Some of the worst-affected provinces, such as Guangdong along the southern coast, were still under cloud cover when MODIS captured this image. Other areas, such as the North China Plain (where Beijing is located), are snow-free. The ground is green-blue, the shade of bare or sparsely vegetated earth in this type of image.
The snow storms started on January 10, spreading snow over 14 provinces and affecting approximately 80 million people, said BBC News on January 29. The snow destroyed crops and homes and led to power outages, BBC said. Coal shortages, made worse by the difficulty of transporting coal on snowy roads, caused additional power outages. Some of the more severely affected provinces are labeled in this image. These provinces are in the south, where snow is unusual.
References
BBC News. (2008, January 29). Transport chaos in snow-hit China. Accessed January 29, 2008.
BBC News. (2008, January 28). Chinese freeze strands thousands.
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Effect of Global Warming? China faces transport halt prior to Chinese New Year
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Online petition for Nian Ning
PENANG: Friends of Lee Nian Ning, a medical student who died in a bus accident on Jan 25, have set up a website to seek signatures for a petition on express bus safety that they will send to the Transport Ministry after Chinese New Year.
There is also an online forum at the website (http:// http://www.buscrashnomore.blogspot.com/) to discuss bus crashes in Malaysia.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia law student Teo Lee Ken said the site had already received 17,000 hits and 3,750 e-signatures since it was set up on Jan 28.
He said the website with the theme: ‘If this happened to her, it can happen to you’ targeted students who use public buses.
“We don’t know how much we can change the situation but we know that something needs to be done and someone has to start something,” he told reporters while collecting signatures after the memorial service for Nian Ning at Mahindrama Buddhist Temple yesterday.
Nian Ning, 21, a medical student and Public Services Department scholar at the University of New South Wales in Australia, was killed in an accident when the double-decker express bus she boarded from Penang to Kuala Lumpur crashed near Slim River at 5.55pm on Jan 25.
Universiti Malaya (UM) engineering student Desmond Tan said the idea to set up the website and forum came from a mutual friend who is now studying in Wales.
“He was saddened by her passing and wanted to do something for her although he couldn’t be physically here.
“He then suggested that we start a website that could reach out to all people around the world and create awareness on the importance of bus safety and to draw public attention to together prevent such tragedies,” he said.
Tan said they are now working to get feedback and suggestions from students in local colleges and universities.
“We are really glad that some strangers who came to know us through the website have volunteered to become our representatives in their respective colleges and universities,” he said.
He said they would hand in the petition to the Transport Ministry and the bus company a week after Chinese New Year.
“However, the campaign will continue until we get at least 26,000 signatures.”
Nian Ning’s father Lee Hock Chuan, 50 said she had been looking forward to celebrating Chinese New Year together with the family.
“She had even baked some festive cookies with her mother earlier,” he said.
The Star Publications, 4th February 2008
Let us all sign on the petition and see what does the Transport Ministry has to say...Malaysian Government is just too reactive, not proactive in solving problems...Fatal bus crashes are jus too rampant lately and nothing has been done, to prevent it from happening; only reactive measures.
These measures such as checking on buses officers at stations, are they still carried on now? Is this what a Ministry should be doing? Reactive or Procative?
Civic Type-R In ThE SprInG Kuching!!!
This engine is supported by specially engineered parts. Air intake and exhaust manifolds have been tuned for high revolution engine output whilst throttle activation is via drive-by-wire. It is also fitted with 6-speed close ratio manual transmission gearbox with Limited Slip Differential (LSD) to perfectly match rev range and torque curve.
High speed in sharp corners
Fitted with 18-inch high performance Potenza RE070 tires, you’ll gracefully handle even the sharpest of corners at high speeds. Previously used in the Honda NSX-R, these tires are designed with the trademark Potenza tread pattern and advanced silica compound material throughout its 18-inches for a tighter, tougher grip.
Bridgestone Potenza RE070
OutsideLess -grooved, big-block tread pattern for increased tread rigidity at high cornering roads.
Inside-Highly grooved tread pattern
Within the 18-inch Potenza tires lies a set of huge 17-inch disc brakes with 4-piston Brembo calipers, so stopping distance is shortened and fade resistance improved. This allows you to maintain high speed even during hard braking.
Decreased drag forceSpecial surface coating as used in the Honda NSX is applied to the cylinder head port. This reduces roughness by 40%, increasing an approximate output of 2PS.
Engine
Engine Type - 4 Cylinder, 16 Valve, DOHC i-VTEC
Fuel Supply System - PGM-FI (Programmed Fuel Injection)
Bore & Stroke (mm) - 86.0 x 86.0
Displacement (cc) - 1,998
Compression Ratio - 11.7:1
Maximum Power [PS (kW) / rpm] - 225 (165) / 8,000
Maximum Torque [Nm (kg-m) / rpm] - 215 (21.9) / 6,100
Drive-by-Wire
Transmission Type
6 Speed Close Ratio Manual with Limited Slip Differential
Drive Wheels - Front
Gear Type - Rack & Pinion with Power Assisted (Hydraulic Power Steering)
Overall Steering Ratio
Turning Radius (m) - 5.9
Braking System Type (Front) - Brembo 4-Piston Aluminium Caliper with 320mm Ventilated Dc
Braking System Type (Rear) - 282mm Solid Disc
Suspension System (Front) - MacPherson Strut
Suspension System (Rear) - Reactive Link Double Wishbone
Overall Length (mm) - 4,540
Overall Width (mm) - 1,770
Overall Height (mm) - 1,430
Wheelbase (mm) - 2,700
Treads (Front) (mm) - 1,505
Treads (Back) (mm) - 1,515
Ground Clearance (mm) - 135
Weight (kg) - 1,270 -
Fuel Tank Capacity (Litre) - 50
Costing around RM210,000 on the road, its really a piece of ultimate machine to consider..!! Driving it is way better than a BMW 320i to me...how i wish tat white machine can be drive by me!!dreamz...