Belize Times May 11, 2014

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THE BELIZE TIMES

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STOP OR FACILITATE??

By Francis W. Fonseca All Belizeans should support and be proud of the strong, determined and principled position taken by the Belize Pharmacists Association (BPA) in demanding that the newly and “specially” created post of DIRECTOR OF DRUG INSPECTORATE, be filled by a competent, qualified and experienced pharmacists.

Having a Director of Drug Inspectorate, in and of itself may not be a bad initiative, but creating such

a post without consulting the Belize Pharmacists Association and seemingly doing so to simply facilitate the well paid employment of a Cabinet Minister’s daughter is wrong and should be condemned by all Belizeans.

Erwin Contreras’s daughter has a right to work and if fully and properly qualified for a job, she should not be denied an opportunity to seek such a job, but she has no right to preferen-

tial treatment. The GOB has no place creating a job for her and then thumbing its collective nose at the Pharmacists Association and the Belizean people.

The Minister and CEO of Health’s responses to the expressed concerns of the BPA has been nothing short of arrogant and contemptuous, as if to suggest that the BPA has no right to question the Ministry

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of Health.

Well, the BPA not only has a right to question the MOH, it has a duty and an obligation to do so. Yes, the BPA is a private sector led interest group but its membership has a vested interest in ensuring that good quality medicines and pharmaceuticals are entering Belize and being purchased and used by our people.

The very serious underlying concern in all this is that poor quality imitation drugs are being brought into Belize and sold to our hospitals and patients across the country and someone or some group of individuals, who appear to be well connected to the MOH and GOB, are profiting big time.

Is the post of Director of Drug Inspectorate designed to STOP or FACILITATE this HUSTLE AND CORRUPTION? BELIZEANS WANT TO KNOW!!

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THE BELIZE TIMES

PUP Dangriga Council upgrades Havana Bridge approach!

Dangriga Town, May 6, 2014 Residents of Dangriga Town can now enjoy a smoother and more comfortable ride when traversing the Havana Bridge.

This is because the Dangriga Town Council invested $26,500.00 for a much needed upgrade on the North and South approach of the bridge. Residents had indicated that the approaches to the bridge caused undue stress on their tires; the Mayor and his Council heard the cries of the people and found funds for the resurfacing of the

UDP Campaigning With YOUR Money!!

Continued from page 1 Minister boasted that his Government was “slush with funds” and so he had devised a “pro poor assistance initiative” in which HIS political candidates got $50,000 each to spend.

This most-recent blatant abuse of tax payers’ money is not sanctioned by the House of Representatives. It is an arbitrary decision by the Minister of Finance who is Prime Minister Dean Barrow. It is totally illegal and arguably, even corrupt.

The UDP think Belizeans are fools and we cannot realize that they are using taxpayer dollars to play politics. In this same way they are using YOUR taxpayer dollars to pay for political ads saying crime is down when the reality is that our young people are dying one a day.

SIGNS OF EARLY ELECTIONS From the dirty mouths of various UDP operatives afflicted with verbal diarrhoea, the UDP is gearing up for early elections.

Considering that only two years ago, an early election was held just four years into the UDP’s first term in office, this may seem illogical. But the truth is that the UDP is facing major many scandals and allegations of corruption that is burning out their political capital fast, blemishing the personal reputation of UDP Leader Dean Barrow and slowly tipping the country into civil disobedience against a despotic government.

This Mother’s Day political gimmick is further evidence of the UDP’s desperation, since dissolving the House of Representatives is the only way to get rid of political maggots the likes of Elvin Penner, Pablo Marin and Edmond Castro.

These UDP scoundrels have been in the middle of the biggest fiascos, scandals and allegations of criminal wrongdoing exposed not by the sanctimonious Dean Barrow, but by brave whistle-blowers, international watchdogs and investigative journalism, including efforts by this newspaper to expose corruption where it exists.

For now, the strategy is to distract voters from the corruption that exists in the UDP. If this is done at the cost of taxpayers’ the UDP doesn’t care. All that matters is their piñata politics and hustling schemes.

The UDP also realize that they have failed the country. The economy is in its worst state ever, with joblessness on the rise, at a time when thousands of students are about to enter the work field.

Because of this great failure, they are now trying to buy the people.

bridge.

The upgrade of the Havana Bridge is in keeping with development plans that the Dangriga Town Council has to upgrade the entire Havana Creek area to make it more user friendly to residents and visitors and make it more aesthetically appealing. It is expected that the development in this area will boost and stimulate economic activity and growth for the residents of Dangriga.

The Dangriga Town

“Working together, more can be done,” says Mayor Gilbert Swaso Council thanks all residents of Dangriga and all business houses that were affected by the closure of the bridge for their patience and understanding. The Council was fully aware that some business houses experienced loss of revenue due to the closure of the bridge hence the reason why work on the bridge was done day and night and in an expeditious manner while at the same time

not compromising the quality of work done.

In other related Dangriga Town Council news, the monthly raffle held in conjunction with the Property Tax Amnesty Program was drawn on Friday May 2nd, 2014. This raffle was for the month of April and was won

by Ms. Karrie White.

She won $200.00 in jewelry courtesy of Rapidito Loans.

Residents are encouraged to take

full advantage of the ongoing Property Tax Amnesty Program and come into the Town Council’s Office and pay their Property Tax. The revenue generated through this initiative will be utilized in the upkeep and further infrastructural work that needs to be done in the town.

The Town Council is appealing for residents to do their part with the payment of their taxes in order for more work to be done. Streets need to be wet in the dry season to keep down the dust and pot-holes need to be filled but the coffers of the Town Council cannot afford to do it all. Working Together your Dangriga Town Council and you can develop the infrastructure of our town.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

BARROW DEFENDS “CLEAR THE CHEQUES” CASTRO

Are taxpayers funding “Poor” Castro’s lawyer fees?

Belize City, May 7, 2014 Minister of State Edmond Castro proved to Belizeans what a facey hustler he is when he claimed that he could not afford to pay for his own mother’s funeral services, so he took $4,000 of public funds to pay for the expense. He did the same when it came to paying for personal bicycle repairs, for dental care services and for the purchasing of chicken and soft drinks for his constituency political events. These acts of misuse of public funds that were exposed by the BELIZE TIMES earlier this year, among other major instances of abuse of office involving the misappropriation of tens of thousands of dollars from the cof-

LIqUOR LICENSE NOTICES Notice is hereby given that HUI NENG ZHANG is applying for a Malt and Cider Liquor License to be operated at “368 Saloon”, situate at 148 A Newtown Barracks, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that SHAHEEN CHOWDURY is applying for a Shop Liquor License to be operated at “SRS Shop”, situate at 16 Farmer’s Market, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that KAMLESH MOTWANI is applying for a Shop Liquor License to be operated at “KP Shop”, situate at 43 Corner King Street, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that KEVIN BOWEN is applying for a Night Club Liquor License to be operated at “Hour Bar”, situate at Newtown Barracks, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

fers of the Belize Airport Authority, moved one of his constituents to seek a Supreme Court declaration that Castro had seriously violated his oath of office.

Trevor Vernon, through his attorney Phillip Palacio, filed for permission to apply for declaratory relief against the very unpopular UDP representative. When the matter went before Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin on Monday May 5th morning, Castro was defended by no other than a member of the royal family, Denys Barrow, who is the brother of Prime Minister.

Barrow’s decision to defend Castro followed the Prime Minister’s own defense, this time on

the political stage, of his embattled stooge. On January 22nd, 2014 before the House of Representatives, the Prime Minister coined the now famous “distasteful, but not corrupt” phrase in his defense of his UDP colleague. The phrase was later used by Union leaders to mock the PM’s attempt to redefine the long-established definition of corruption.

PM Barrow, who had been trying hard enough to keep his Government intact after being shaken to its core by the Penner passport scandal and then the revelation of a clandestine visa hustling scheme involving UDP Ministers, had no choice but to save Castro from falling out of

11 grace. The UDP only has a razor-thin majority (17-14) in the House of Representative. Losing Penner and then Castro, due to corruption, would tip the scale against the UDP, and so defending Mr. Clear the Cheques no matter what baggage he had, became a political necessity.

In court, a bold-faced Barrow did his utmost best to derail the case, as he attempted to convince the Chief Justice that the claim against Castro could not stand on a technical issue. Barrow argued that the submission against Castro could only be filed against bodies and institutions and not private individuals. Barrow’s challenge is meant to avoid, at all costs, having to argue the substance of the claims before the Court.

The Court will decide on May 19th if the case can move beyond the preliminary stage. Vernon’s attorney, Palacio, said that the matter is of public importance and he is confident that the Court rules in their favour.

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Reid Land of Injustice

By G. Michael Reid The United States basketball playoffs are in full effect and many Belizeans have chosen a team to ride with. I am a long time Knicks fan but unfortunately once again this year, my heart was broken. I love the game however, and have so far enjoyed the playoffs and the level of competition among the stars like Durant, LeBron and Chris Paul. I feel no guilt, or in any way unpatriotic, about being a bigger fan of the NBA than I am of the Elite League of Belize. It is chalk and cheese and the taste of one is far superior and to be desired than the other. I remain hopeful that one day our country will understand the importance of sports and grant more monies, attention and effort to the cause. We have talent but sports gets little funding and our athletes have little discipline and commitment.

One of the teams that have advanced so far to the second round of this year’s playoffs is the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers once played in upstate New York as the Buffalo Braves.

They moved to the West Coast in 1978 and became the San Diego Clippers. In 1981, billionaire Donald Sterling bought the team and three years later, move the franchise to Los Angeles. For many years the Clippers were considered the laughing stock of the NBA as they won very few games. They also have had to play second fiddle to LA’s premier team, the Lakers. With the acquisition of point guard Chris Paul and slam dunk specialist Blake Griffith in 2010, the Clippers improved immensely and began to gain more respect. De-

lize. The National Basketball League (NBA) took exactly four days, (count them, four days) to investigate, condemn and impose a penalty.

On April 29, 2014, the NBA issued Sterling a lifetime ban, fined him $2.5 million (the highest allowed by the NBA) and barred him from attending any games or practices involving not only the Clippers but every other NBA team. He cannot be present in any Clippers office or facility, cannot participate in any team business, player personnel decisions or league activity. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has also initiated a move to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. It will require the consent of three-quarters of the league’s 29 other team owners but given their response so far, it is obvious that there will be no problem in achieving that consensus. There are still those who believe that given Sterling’s immense fortune, the penalties amount to little more than a flea bite to an elephants butt. The

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funds. When confronted with the evidence, the Prime Minster declared that it was “ill-advised”, “wrong”, “distasteful” but insisted that he did not consider it to be corruption.

Five months later, that matter is still supposedly under investigation and it has taken the bold initiative of a private citispite their success however, and zen to try and get the courts to in spite of the Lakers recent losing look at this matter. The Prime ways (Clippers swept the season’s Minister’s brother is defendseries 4-0 and blew out the Lakers ing Castro and has a no-case in one game by 36 points), LA fans submission before the court. still seem to prefer the Lakers and It has still not been revealed the Clippers remain just LA’s “othwho is footing the legal fees er team”. It has taken a racist rant but many believe that it is the by the team’s octogenarian owner very taxpayers who have been to bring the spotlight attention that imposed upon. the Clippers have so long craved; In May of 2013, Denny albeit in a negative way.

Grijalva, drew worldwide conOn April 25, 2014, entertaindemnation when he mowed ment news website TMZ released down Noh Mul, a prominent a taped telephone conversation in Mayan archeological site. Griwhich team owner Donald Sterling jalva had been hired by the govreprimanded his young girlfriend, V. ernment to provide road fill for village roads leading up to an election. It took all Elvin Penner, an elected official, contrary to of two months and conimmigration laws of Belize, sold a Belizean stant media exposure for the government to passport to a Korean fugitive in a Taiwanese issue a couple of minor jail. The evidence is clear, his signacharges and to this date, no one knows the status ture is there and he even admitted in of the case. What we do an email that he had committed the know is that Grijalva has crime. since been endorsed as a UDP Standard Bearer and has been given sevStiviano for keeping company with thing is though, that even if justice eral more lucrative contracts. black men. Interestingly enough, was not really done, it was seen to And they keep telling me that this was not just any black man have been done. crime does not pay! that she was with, but legendary Now, here is how we do it in The list of examples go Laker point guard Earvin “Magic” Belize! On September the 9th, on and on about corruption, Johnson. Stiviano is herself a mix- 2013, a full eight months ago, Elvin nepotism and cronyism in our ture of black and Mexican descent. Penner, an elected official, contrary country. Rarely is anyone ever What got Stiviano in trouble was to immigration laws of Belize, sold charged, no one is ever repthe fact that she posted a picture a Belizean passport to a Korean rimanded and no one is ever on Instagram posing with Magic. fugitive in a Taiwanese jail. The evifined or fired. Our elected offiSterling went ballistic and called dence is clear, his signature is there cials could learn a thing or two Stiviano lambasting her for broad- and he even admitted in an email from the way things were recasting that she was “associating that he had committed the crime. cently handled in the NBA. The with black people.” Sterling told To date, Godwin Hulse is still invespeople complained and those Stiviano that she could “do what tigating; the Commissioner of Poin authority and with the abilishe want” with “those people” lice, despite a court order refuses ty to do something did somebut not to do so publicly and not to act and the Prime Minister has thing. We applaud the efforts bring them to any of his games. gone to great lengths to protect the of groups like COLA and perIt turns out someone was taping miscreant. sons like Trevor Vernon who the conversation and shortly after, On December 20th, 2013, the are trying legally, to force the recording went viral. Sterling’s BELIZE TIMES broke the story and this government to do someremarks provoked a huge public offered proof of checks paid out thing about corruption. They backlash including condemnations by the Belize Airports Authority are meeting much resistance from current and former NBA to Minister of State in the Minhowever, and this administraplayers and other team owners. istry of Transport, Edmund Castion seems willing instead, Several major sponsors including tro. Within a month, many more to use the opportunity to reKia and State Farm severed ties checks surfaced including three ward its favored lawyers. It with the team and even President made out directly to Castro. There will take many more of us to Barack Obama chimed in labeling were checks to a bike shop, chickstand up if we are to win this the remarks “incredibly offensive”. en shops, beverage companies, fight. It is a daunting and HerNow this article is not so much funeral homes and even some culean task that we are faced about basketball, nor about the to Castro’s children. In the end, it with, but have heart my peoClippers or even about Donald was proven that Castro had misple; there are still a few HerSterling. It is about how things appropriated tens of thousands of cules among us. May GOD are done anywhere other than Be- dollars from the airport authority’s bless Belize!

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For Sale

By Order of the Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Assignment of Mortgage made the 13th day of May, 2002, recorded in Deeds Book Vol. 19 of 2002 at Folios 253 – 266, between THE DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION (the Assignor) Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. (the Assignee), and PHILIP HENRY HUMES, which said property was mortgaged by the said PHILIP HENRY HUMES to the said DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION on the 26th day of February, 2001 and recorded in Deeds Book Volume Deeds Book Vol. 11 of 2001 at Folios 701 – 746 will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto.

All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

For Sale

By Order of the Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Assignment of Mortgage made the 24th day of May, 2007, recorded in Deeds Book Vol. 19 of 2007 at Folios 497 – 514, between BELIZE MORTGAGE COMPANY 2002-1 (the Assignor) Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. (the Assignee), and VERNA MAE VILLAFRANCO, and under a Deed of Assignment of Mortgage made the 16th day of September, 2005, recorded at the Land Titles Unit in Deeds Book Vol. 28 of 2005 at Folios 1005 – 1080, between THE DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION (the Assignor) BELIZE MORTGAGE COMPANY 2002-1, which said property was mortgaged by the said VERNA MAE VILLAFRANCO to the said DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION on the 12th day of April, 2001 and recorded in Deeds Book Volume 15 of 2001 at Folios 1241 – 1282 will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto.

THE SCHEDULE

All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

ALL THOSE LEASEHOLD INTEREST IN ALL THAT piece or parcel of land being Lot No. 57 situate in Lords Bank Village, Belize District and bounded as follows: On the North for 24.374 metres by a Street Reserve; On the South for 24.374 Metres by No. 50; on the East for 36.561 Metres by Lot No. 58; On the West for 36.561 Metres by Lot No. 56 containing 891.14 S.M. as shown on Entry No. 3466 at the Office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon.

DATED this 5th day of May, 2014.

MUSA & BALDERAMOS LLP 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorneys-at-Law for Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

THE SCHEDULE ALL THAT piece or parcel of land being Lot No. 47 containing 851.015 square yards situate in Hope Creek Village New Site, Stann Creek District, Belize bounded and described as shown

by Plan 299 of 1999 attached to Minister’s Fiat Grant No. 299 of 1999 at the Office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon.

DATED this 5th day of May, 2014.

MUSA & BALDERAMOS LLP 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorneys-at-Law for Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

For Sale

By Order of the

For Sale

By Order of the

Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Mortgage made the 31st day of May, 2009 between LUIS GODOY of San Jose Succotz Village, Cayo District, Belize of the one part, and Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., of the other part, and recorded at the Land Titles Unit in Deeds Book Vol. 14 of 2009 at Folios 977 – 1004, the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto.

Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Mortgage made the 20th day of October, 2008 between CORONADA LUPE VIAFRANCO of Pomona Village, Stann Creek District, Belize of the one part, and Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., of the other part, and recorded at the Land Titles Unit in Deeds Book Vol. 37 of 2008 at Folios 1077 – 1102, the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto.

All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

SCHEDULE ALL THAT piece or parcel of land being Lot No. 276 comprising of 555.790 S.Y. situate in Succotz Village, Cayo District, bounded and described as shown by Plan No. 241 of 2001 attached to Minister’s Fiat Grant No. 241 of 2001 TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon.

SCHEDULE ALL THAT piece or parcel of land being Lot No. 13 containing 835.844 square meters (999.67 square yards) situate in Pomona Village, Stann Creek District, bounded and described as shown by Plan No. 519 of 2000 attached to Minister’s Fiat Grant No. 519 of 2000 and TOGETHER with all buildings, erections and developments standing and being thereon.

DATED this 5th day of May, 2014.

DATED this 5th day of May, 2014.

MUSA & BALDERAMOS 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorney-at-Law for Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

MUSA & BALDERAMOS 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorney-at-Law for Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

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For Sale

By Order of the Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Assignment of Mortgage made the 28th day of February, 2001, recorded in Deeds Book Vol. 11 of 2001 at Folios 151 – 164, between THE BELIZE BANK LIMITED (the Assignor) Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. (the Assignee), and HERMAN CHARLESWORTH, which said property was mortgaged by the said HERMAN CHARLESWORTH to the said BELIZE BANK LIMITED on the 27th day of June, 1991 and recorded in Deeds Book Volume 14 of 1991 at Folios 115 – 146 will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto.

All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

See answers NEXT WEEK

THE SCHEDULE ALL THOSE LEASEHOLD INTEREST IN ALL THAT piece or parcel of land situate along Bermudian Landing/Burrel Boom Road, Scotland and Halfmoon Works, Belize District and bounded as follows: On the North for 387.773 feet by Boom/ Bermudian Landing Road (New); On the Northwest for 936.891 feet by the said Road; On the Southwest for 2128.617 feet by Boom/Bermudian Landing Road (old) and on the West for 1190 feet approximately by the Belize River; containing 9.871 acres as shown on Plan No. 1155 at the Office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon.

DATED this 5th day of May, 2014.

MUSA & BALDERAMOS LLP 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorneys-at-Law for Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

Answers for last week’s puzzle

Answers for last week’s puzzle

SUDOKU PUZZLE SOLUTION

See answers NEXT WEEK

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BELIZE TIMES WEEKLY

SCIENCE & TECH R

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World is unprepared for major El Niño later this year Wild weather is coming in 2014, with floods, storms and droughts expected around the Pacific, but little is being done to protect the people on the front line 7 May 2014 by Michael Slezak THE weather is preparing to go wild, and will wreak havoc and death around the globe later this year. An El Niño, a splurge of warm water in the Pacific Ocean, is coming. It will unleash floods in the Americas, while South-East Asia and Australia face drought. Yet little is being done to address these consequences.

“The tropical climate system is primed for a big El Niño,” says Axel Timmermann of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu (see diagram).

An El Niño begins when warm water near Indonesia spreads eastwards and rises to the surface of the Pacific. The warm water carries rain with it, so El Niño takes rain from Asia and Australia and dumps it on the Americas (see “Rising waters”).

The effects can be deadly. A big El Niño in 1997-98 killed 20,000 people and caused almost $97 billion of damage.

Meteorologists contacted by New Scientist all expect an El Niño at the end of this year. And it looks like a big one, says Wenju Cai of CSIRO, Australia’s na-

tional research agency, in Melbourne. The more heat in the Pacific, the bigger the El Niño, and right now, 150 metres below the surface, a ball of warm water is crossing that ocean. “It’s huge,” says Cai. Yet official forecasts remain cautious. As recently as 5 May, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration only said the odds of an El Niño would exceed 50 per cent this year.

Vulnerable populations must be identified before a big Most El Niño reEl Niño hits (Image: Reuters/Daniel Munoz) searchers say forecasters are being too conservative. “One thing I hear over and er than later.” over again is ‘we do not want to create The good news is that El Niño is a a panic’,” says Timmermann. There is a known quantity. “We already know what reason: forecasting a big El Niño would happens when a big El Niño hits,” says cause a spike in food prices. “But it may Zafar Adeel of the United Nations Unibe better to have this reaction at an early versity in Hamilton, Canada. That means stage, when farmers can still adapt, rathvulnerable populations can be identified

and emergency plans put in place. But not everywhere has a plan.

California, which faces floods, is well prepared for emergencies and has water rescue teams, says David McEntire of the University of North Texas in Denton. But Central and South America are more vulnerable (see “In the firing line”) and it is unclear what will happen in Asia and Australia (see “Monsoon disruption”). India has invested in water storage in case of drought.

Local forecasts are crucial, says Zafar, because large-scale predictions can get the fine detail wrong. In 1997, after a coarse-grained forecast, Costa Rica moved thousands of cattle away from an area where drought was expected. But they moved into an area of worse drought and died.

A big El Niño does not have to be a disaster. Impacts like shifting fish stocks and changes in rainfall can be handled, or even turned into benefits, if people are prepared for them. “But you need that trigger saying ‘yes it’s going to be a big one’,” says Zafar.

Students design a car that gets 2,824 mpg 7 May, 2014 A three-wheeled, teardrop-shaped car has won Shell’s (RDSA) Eco-marathon Americas competition, a yearly contest that pits teams of students against each other in a race to build energy-efficient vehicles.

The winning group, from Université Laval in Quebec, overcame technical setbacks, including excess friction short circuits, to achieve an efficiency of 2,824 miles per gallon.

To put that in perspective, the prototype could travel from New York to Los Angeles on less than a gallon of fuel. And that figure is still well below the 3,587 miles per gallon the same school achieved last year.

(Université Laval has won five out of the last six Shell competitions.)

The marathon was held in Houston, where teams competed in one

of two classes: Prototype, which focuses on maximum efficiency, and UrbanConcept, which takes into account passenger comfort. Cars enter one of seven categories to run on conventional gas and diesel, biofuels, fuel made from natural gas, hydrogen, solar, or electricity. Over several days, teams drive a fixed number of laps around a circuit, traveling as far as they can on the equivalent of a gallon of fuel. Organizers calculate their energy efficiency and award $2,000 to the winner of each class.

Mater Dei High School, in Evansville, Ind., took top honors in the UrbanConcept category for its flying-saucer-like gas-fueled vehicle, reaching an efficiency of 849 mpg. Ford’s electric Focus manages a relatively scant 108 mpg on city streets.

So if a group of students can build a hyper-efficient vehicle, what’s standing in the way of carmakers do-

ing the same? For starters, these prototypes are built to conserve fuel, not for everyday safety and speed.

Still, the projects are inspiring troves of innovative concepts. For instance, an electric-battery vehicle from Saint Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Minn., featured a 3D-printed steering wheel that included a button for radio commu-

nication between the driver and the rest of the team. St. Paul’s School, from Covington, La., fashioned the seat in its diesel vehicle from kombucha, a microbial culture that can be consumed as tea or, in this case, turned into vegetable leather. Perhaps Detroit’s automakers are the ones who should be taking notes.

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