Vocapedia > Science > Measurement units

Computer storage, distance, information,

land area, length, mass, power, temperature,

volume, weight

The Guardian        p. 1        12 March 2007

1 inch (in / ")  =  2.54 centimeters

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/
arts/mickey-rooney-master-of-putting-on-a-show-dies-at-93.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/nyregion/
a-mayor-most-everybody-looks-up-to-even-when-he-slouches.html

micron

A micron equals one millionth of a meter.

N95 and other respirator masks

are far superior to surgical or cloth masks

in protecting essential medical workers

against the coronavirus.

(...)

N95 masks

offered 96 percent protection,

the analysis found,

while the figure for surgical masks

was 77 percent.

(...)

The new analysis also suggests

that covering the eyes

with face shields, goggles and glasses

may provide additional safeguards

for health care workers and people

in the community.

The report is among the first to lay out

evidence specific to coronaviruses,

rather than extrapolating from data

on other respiratory viruses.

The coronavirus is thought to spread

primarily through droplets expelled

when an infected person coughs, sneezes,

sings, talks or even breathes.

Some infections may also be caused

by people touching a contaminated surface

and then their mouth, nose or eyes.

Study after study has indicated

that the virus can also spread via tiny droplets

less than 5 microns, called aerosols.

(A micron equals one millionth of a meter.)

But the W.H.O. has so far

not acknowledged this risk

and has not backed

the universal use of masks.

“There’s this fear around saying airborne

— but that’s what it is,” Dr. MacIntyre said.

A recent review in the journal Science

took direct aim

at the W.H.O.’s reluctance on this issue,

saying the organization’s recommendations

for physical distancing and hand washing

were based on studies “carried out in the 1930s.”

The C.D.C. did not recommend masks

till April 3.

Even now, its guidance says surgical masks

offer enough protection for health care workers

unless they are involved

in procedures that produce aerosols.

The C.D.C. initially

recommended N95 masks

for all health care personnel.

Dr. MacIntyre said the agency

later downgraded its recommendations

because of a shortage of N95 masks

and personal protective equipment.

“Guidelines should be based on evidence,

not on supplies,” she said.

“It’s like telling an army,

‘Oh sorry, we’ve run out of guns,

just take these bows and arrows

and face the enemy.’”

She noted that N95 masks were inexpensive to produce

and that other countries, including Australia,

had repurposed existing manufacturing facilities

to make the masks.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/
health/masks-surgical-N95-coronavirus.html

1 foot (ft / ')  =  0.3048 meter

2, 3, 4, 5... feet

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/
us/anchorage-alaska-fin-whale.html

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/08/
nx-s1-4996350/1907-foot-legends-tower-oklahoma-city-tallest-building

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/
science/foot-surveying-metrology-dennis.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/
nyregion/coronavirus-catholic-church-nyc.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/
movies/angus-lennie-actor-in-the-great-escape-dies-at-84.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/
arts/mickey-rooney-master-of-putting-on-a-show-dies-at-93.html

https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/
new-york-today-a-foot-of-snow-a-tough-commute/

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/
us/politics/thomas-foley-former-house-speaker-dies-at-84.html

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/may/31/
arianne-cohen-books

1 yard (yd)  =  0.9144 meter

1 mile (mi)  =  1.609 kilometers

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/29/
asteroid-passing-earth-1998-or2-wednesday-near-4m-miles-face-mask-fly-by

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/01/31/
269380564/brain-surgeon-walks-six-miles-through-storm-to-save-patient

icy comet nucleus >

The nucleus of comet C/2014 UN271

(Bernardinelli-Bernstein)

is about 80 miles in diameter,

which is larger than the state of Rhode Island,         USA

https://www.npr.org/2022/04/13/
1092535922/hubble-telescope-comet-biggest-nasa

an asteroid more than a mile wide        UK

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/29/
asteroid-passing-earth-1998-or2-wednesday-near-4m-miles-face-mask-fly-by

Astronomical Unit (AU)

1 AU

is approximately 150 million km

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/12/
570206648/an-asteroid-gets-its-close-up-as-gemenids-light-up-the-sky

light-year        UK / USA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Light-year

https://www.reuters.com/science/
three-decades-later-first-brown-dwarf-ever-found-offers-surprise-2024-10-18/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/
science/galaxy-early-universe-astronomy.html

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/24/
490947403/this-planet-just-outside-our-solar-system-is-potentially-habitable

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/07/
planet-with-three-suns-spotted-by-astronomers

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/
science/space/2-new-planets-are-most-earth-like-yet-scientists-say.html

galaxy PKS 2014-55,

800 million light years from Earth

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/
science/black-hole-astronomy-meerkat.html

1 light year

is the distance light can travel in vacuum

in one year’s time.

This distance is equivalent to roughly

9,461,000,000,000 km

or 5,878,000,000,000 miles.

This is such a large distance.

For comparison,

consider the circumference of the Earth

when measured at the equator: 40,075 km.

You can even throw in the center

to center distance

between the Earth and the Moon,

384,403 km,

and that value would still pale

in comparison to 1 light year.

Pluto,

at its farthest orbit distance from the Sun,

is only about 7,400,000,000 km

from the center of our Solar System.

Because of its great scale,

the light year is one of the units of distance

used for astronomical objects.

For example, Andromeda Galaxy,

which is the nearest spiral galaxy

from the Milky Way,

is approximately 2.5 million light years away.

Alpha Centauri,

the nearest star system from our own Solar System

is only 4.37 light years away.

http://www.universetoday.com/39725/1-light-year/

https://www.universetoday.com/45003/
how-far-is-a-light-year/

at 240 million light years away

Troy weight

is a system of units of mass

that originated in 15th-century England,

and is primarily used

in the precious metals industry.

The Troy weights are the grain,

the pennyweight (24 grains),

the troy ounce (20 pennyweights),

and the troy pound (12 troy ounces).

The troy grain is equal

to the grain-unit of the avoirdupois system,

the troy ounce is heavier

than the avoirdupois ounce,

yet the troy pound is lighter

than the avoirdupois pound.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_weight - August 23, 2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_weight

ounce / oz  =  28.3495231 grams        UK / USA

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/30/
982742060/ny-lawmakers-legalize-marijuana-hoping-to-avoid-racial-pitfalls-of-decriminaliza

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/29/
728118503/saybie-born-at-8-6-ounces-in-san-diego-is-now-the-worlds-tiniest-surviving-baby

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/22/
duchess-cambridge-gives-birth-son

lb > 1 pound  =  453.59237 grams

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/22/
duchess-cambridge-gives-birth-son

1 stone  =  6.35029318 kilograms        UK

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/feb/22/
mentalhealth.medicineandhealth

Nancy Classics

Ernie Bushmiller

GoComics

July 08, 2022

https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2022/07/08

Steve Kelley

political cartoon

GoComics

June 05, 2022

https://www.gocomics.com/stevekelley/2022/06/05

1 US gallon  =  3.78541178 liters        UK / USA

2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/
us/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis.html

2022

https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2022/07/08

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/06/
1103318977/states-highest-gas-prices

https://www.gocomics.com/stevekelley/2022/06/05

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/28/
1100246133/oil-inflation-diesel-prices-gas-trucker-farmer-factory

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/07/
1084893419/gas-prices-surge-to-above-4-a-gallon-oil-russia-ukraine-antony-blinken

2021

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/04/
california-oil-spill-huntington-beach

2017

http://www.npr.org/2017/05/08/
527214026/google-moves-in-and-wants-to-pump-1-5-million-gallons-of-water-per-day

2015

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/21/us/
your-contribution-to-the-california-drought.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/04/15/
398607800/redistribute-californias-water-not-without-a-fight

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/01/us/
water-use-in-california.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/
opinion/meat-makes-the-planet-thirsty.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/
business/energy-environment/tensions-raise-specter-of-gas-at-5-a-gallon.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/us/
18dairy.html

a gallon of gas

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/06/
1103318977/states-highest-gas-prices

half-gallon + N

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/05/
738938037/police-identify-the-blue-bell-licker-in-viral-video

1 US bushel  =  35.239072 liters

measure

27th General Conference

on Weights and Measures        USA

(...) the 27th General Conference

on Weights and Measures on Friday

introduced four new prefixes

to the International System of Units,

or metric system:

ronna (27 zeroes after the first digit)

and quetta (30 zeroes),

which are now at the top of the measurement range,

and ronto (27 zeroes after the decimal point)

and quecto (30 zeroes),

which are now at the bottom.

https://www.npr.org/2022/11/19/
1137985619/metric-system-measurement-prefix

measurement

unit measurement        USA

https://www.npr.org/2022/11/19/
1137985619/metric-system-measurement-prefix

metrology        USA

https://www.npr.org/2022/11/19/
1137985619/metric-system-measurement-prefix

decimalities

metrication        UK

https://www.economist.com/britain/2004/07/15/
measure-for-measure 

metric

UK Metric Association

metric system

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/05/
812634551/the-u-s-doesnt-use-the-metric-system-or-does-it

metric units >

watt, kelvin, farad, newton, joule and gray

metrophile

weights and measures

ounce

pound

kilo

stone

litre

28 trillion tonnes of ice        UK

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/23/
earth-lost-28-trillion-tonnes-ice-30-years-global-warming

foot

inch

furlong

The acre is a unit of land area

used in the imperial

and US customary systems.

It is traditionally defined

as the area of one chain

by one furlong (66 by 660 feet),

which is exactly equal

to 10 square chains,

1⁄640 of a square mile,

or 43,560 square feet,

and approximately 4,047 m2,

or about 40% of a hectare.

Based upon the International

yard and pound agreement of 1959,

an acre may be declared

as exactly 4,046.8564224 square metres.

- August 1, 2021

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/20/
1143532629/oregon-megadrought-dead-fir-trees-forest-service-aerial-survey

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/01/
1023274008/western-wildfires-oregon-california-drought

https://www.propublica.org/article/
what-the-photos-of-wildfires-and-smoke-dont-show-you - September 21, 2020

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/
915072554/as-firefighters-battle-dozens-of-blazes-
californias-bobcat-fire-nears-100-000-ac

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/05/
729720938/1-billion-acres-at-risk-for-catastrophic-wildfires-u-s-forest-service-warns

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/mar/12/
frontpagenews.communities

data storage

bit

A bit is a single unit of data,

expressed as either a "0" or a "1"

in binary code.

A string of eight bits

equals one byte.

Any character formed,

such as a letter of the alphabet,

a number, or a punctuation mark,

requires eight binary bits

to describe it.

For example:

A = 01000001

B = 01000010

a = 01100001

b = 01100010

6 = 00110110

7 = 00110111

! = 00100001

@ = 01000000

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mbps.htm
 

What is the Difference Between a Bit and a Byte?

A bit, short for binary digit,

is the smallest unit of measurement

used for information storage in computers.

A bit is represented

by a 1 or a 0 with a value of true or false,

sometimes expressed as on or off.

Eight bits form a single byte of information,

also known as an octet.

The difference between a bit and a byte is size,

or the amount of information stored.

https://www.easytechjunkie.com/
what-is-the-difference-between-a-bit-and-a-byte.htm 

1000 bits = 1 kilobit

1000 kilobits = 1 megabit

1000 megabits = 1 gigabit

https://www.easytechjunkie.com/
what-a-gigabit.htm 

computer memory

https://www.easytechjunkie.com/
what-is-computer-memory.htm

Megabits per second (Mbps)

refers to data transfer speeds

as measured in megabits (Mb).

This term is commonly used

in communications and data technology

to demonstrate the speed

at which a transfer takes place.

A megabit is just over one million bits,

so "Mbps" indicates

the transfer of one million bits of data

each second.

Data can be moved even faster than this,

measured by terms

like gigabits per second (Gbps).

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-mbps.htm

megabyte

Megabytes (MBs)

are collections of digital information.

The term commonly refers

to two different numbers of bytes,

where each byte contains eight bits.

The first definition of megabyte,

used mainly

in the context of computer memory,

denotes 1 048 576, or 220 bytes.

The other definition,

used in most networking

and computer storage applications,

means 1 000 000, or 106 bytes.

Using either definition,

a megabyte is roughly

the file size of a 500-page e-book.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-megabytes.htm

gigabit        GB

A gigabit is a unit of measurement

used in computers,

equal to one billion bits of data.

A bit is the smallest unit of data.

It takes eight bits

to form or store a single character of text.

These 8-bit units are known as bytes.

Hence,

the difference between a gigabit and a gigabyte

is that the latter is 8x greater, or eight billion bits.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-a-gigabit.htm

gigabyte

A gigabyte

is a term that indicates a definite value of data quantity

with regards to storage capacity or content.

It refers to an amount of something,

usually data of some kind, often stored digitally.

A gigabyte typically refers to 1 billion bytes.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-gigabyte.htm

terabyte

A terabyte (TB)

is a large allocation of data storage capacity

applied most often to hard disk drives.

Hard disk drives are essential to computer systems,

as they store the operating system, programs,

files and data

necessary to make the computer work.

Depending on

what type of storage is being measured,

it can be equal to either 1,000 gigabytes (GB)

or 1,024 GB;

disk storage is usually measured as the first,

while processor storage as the second.
 

In the late 1980s,

the average home computer system

had a single hard drive

with a capacity of about 20 megabytes (MB).

By the mid 1990s,

average capacity increased to about 80 MBs.

Just a few years later,

operating systems alone required more room than this,

while several hundred megabytes

represented an average storage capacity.

As of 2005,

computer buyers think

in terms of hundreds of gigabytes,

and this is already giving way

to even greater storage.

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-terabyte.htm

Petabyte

In the world of ever-growing data capacity,

a petabyte represents

the frontier just ahead of the terabyte,

which itself runs just ahead of the gigabyte.

In other words,

1,024 gigabytes is one terabyte,

and 1,024 terabytes is one petabyte.

To put this in perspective,

a petabyte is about one million gigabytes

(1,048,576).

https://www.easytechjunkie.com/what-is-a-petabyte.htm

temperature scale

Celcius

The degree Celsius

is a unit of temperature on the Celsius scale,

a temperature scale originally known

as the centigrade scale.

The degree Celsius (symbol: °C)

can refer to a specific temperature

on the Celsius scale

or a unit to indicate a difference or range

between two temperatures.

It is named after

 the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744),

who developed a similar temperature scale.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celsius - June 21, 2021

in 40C        UK

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/17/
uk-heatwave-how-to-keep-cool-and-stay-safe-in-40c

temperatures > surge to a historic high of 40.3C        UK

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/19/
a-wake-up-call-as-extreme-heat-blazes-across-uk-
experts-say-net-zero-is-the-only-way-out

Farenheit

The Fahrenheit scale is a temperature scale

based on one proposed in 1724

by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Fahrenheit - June 21, 2021

reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit        USA

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/22/
1112724801/heat-warning-heat-wave-advisory-power-grid

Paris climate agreement - signed in 2016       USA

The Paris climate agreement

set a goal of limiting global warming

to well below 2 degrees Celsius,

and ideally no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius,

compared to average temperatures

in the late 1800s.

That lower target is looming.

The average temperature on Earth

over the last decade

was about 1.1 degrees Celsius

higher than pre-industrial temperatures.

In general,

it's easier to use Celsius in this context

because both the United Nations

and scientists use it.

And the target numbers

are nice and round.

But here's how those numbers look

in more-familiar Fahrenheit:

humans are trying to limit warming

to between about 2.7

and 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit,

and right now we're already

at about 2 degrees Fahrenheit of warming.

The new study, published

in the journal Nature Climate Change,

calculates how much carbon dioxide

humans can still emit

before hitting that 1.5 degree Celsius limit.

 If humans keep emitting planet-warming greenhouse

gasses at the current rate,

that threshold will be reached in about six years,

the authors find.

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/30/
1208241783/its-unlikely-but-not-impossible-to-limit-global-warming-to-1-5-celsius-study-fin

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/30/
1208241783/its-unlikely-but-not-impossible-
to-limit-global-warming-to-1-5-celsius-study-fin

Corpus of news articles

The world generates

so much data

that new unit measurements

were created to keep up

November 19, 2022

NPR

As ever more digital data is created and stored, the world needs more unit measurements to keep up with the ever-expanding numbers.

To do so, the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures on Friday introduced four new prefixes to the International System of Units, or metric system: ronna (27 zeroes after the first digit) and quetta (30 zeroes), which are now at the top of the measurement range, and ronto (27 zeroes after the decimal point) and quecto (30 zeroes), which are now at the bottom.

"Most people are familiar with prefixes like milli- as in milligram," Richard Brown, head of metrology at the U.K.'s National Physical Laboratory who proposed the four new prefixes, told The Associated Press. "But these [new additions] are prefixes for the biggest and smallest levels ever measured."

Yotta (24 zeroes) was the largest prefix in the metric system before the new additions. Now, the Earth's mass can be said to be about 6 ronnagrams rather than 6,000 yottagrams. The sun can be said to be about 2,000 quettagrams rather than 2,000,000,000 yottagrams.

The new prefixes come at a time when scientists and industries are dealing with data that need measurements going beyond the current range.

"The change was largely driven by the growing requirements of data science and digital storage, which is already using prefixes at the top of the existing range (yottabytes and zettabytes, for expressing huge quantities of digital information)," the National Physical Laboratory said in a statement.

The world is projected to have generated about 175 zettabytes (21 zeroes) of data by 2025, according to the market research group International Data Corporation.

The prefixes for small numbers (ronto and quecto) will be useful for quantum science and particle physics, the NPL said. An electron's mass can be said to be about 1 rontogram rather than 0.001 yoctograms (the smallest prefix before the new additions).

This is the first expansion of the measurement system since 1991, according to the National Physical Laboratory.

"R" and "Q" represent ronna and quetta while "r" and "q" represent ronto and quecto. Brown told The Associated Press these letters were chosen because they were not already in use by other prefixes.

"It was high time. [We] need new words as things expand," Brown said. "In just a few decades, the world has become a very different place."

The world generates so much data that new unit measurements
were created to keep up,
November 19, 2022,
NPR
https://www.npr.org/2022/11/19/
1137985619/metric-system-measurement-prefix

Tensions Raise Specter of Gas

at $5 a Gallon

February 29, 2012

The New York Times

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

HOUSTON — Gasoline for $5 a gallon? The possibility is hardly far-fetched.

With no clear end to tensions with Iran and Syria and rising demand from countries like China, gas prices are already at record highs for the winter months — averaging $4.32 in California and $3.73 a gallon nationally on Wednesday, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. As summer approaches, demand for gasoline rises, typically pushing prices up around 20 cents a gallon.

And gas prices could rise another 50 cents a gallon or more, analysts say, if the diplomatic and economic standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions escalates into military conflict or there is some other major supply disruption.

“If we get some kind of explosion — like an Israeli attack or some local Iranian revolutionary guard decides to take matters in his own hands and attacks a tanker — than we’d see oil prices push up 20 to 25 percent higher and another 50 cents a gallon at the pump,” said Michael C. Lynch, president of Strategic Energy and Economic Research.

For the typical driver who pumps 60 gallons a month of regular unleaded gasoline, a 50-cent increase in price means an extra expense of $30 a month.

The prospect of such a price increase underscores the political and economic risks that Western political leaders must contend with as they decide how to address the Iran situation. A sharp rise in the prices of oil and gas would crimp the nation’s budding economic recovery. It would also cause big political problems at home for President Obama, who is already being attacked by Republican presidential candidates over gas prices and his overall energy policies, and for European nations struggling to deal with the Continent’s debt crisis.

The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, told a House committee on Wednesday that rising global oil prices were “likely to push up inflation temporarily while reducing consumers’ purchasing power.” He maintained the Fed’s forecast that the nation’s economy would grow 2.2 to 2.7 percent this year.

The Iran situation has already raised the price of crude oil as much as 20 percent, according to oil experts. On Wednesday, the price of the benchmark American crude settled at $107.07 a barrel. That is about four dollars higher than on the same day in 2008. Later that year, oil and gasoline prices surged to new records, including a record nominal high of $145.29 a barrel for oil and $4.11 a gallon for gasoline in July. (In today’s dollars, that would be $150.87 for oil and $4.27 for gasoline.)

Although prices plunged late in 2008 as the financial crisis took its toll and the recession deepened, that kind of sharp increase could happen again as summer approaches.

“That’s what frightens people,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.

That fear is tempered by optimism — if tensions ease in the Middle East, experts predict that energy prices will fall, with gasoline at the pump potentially dropping 50 cents a gallon or more because supplies are relatively strong in many parts of the country. Some analysts say the world price of oil could fall to $80 a barrel if tensions eased.

And there have been signs in recent days that Iran is feeling the pain of sanctions on its critical oil exports, perhaps increasing its willingness to negotiate with the West.

On Wednesday, Tehran offered Pakistan, which has been suffering power shortages, 80,000 barrels of oil a day on an easy payment plan. It also offered to accept gold rather than dollars for payment from any dealers hoping to get around the Western restrictions on the usual financial channels for buying oil.

And this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Congressional committee that the administration was working hard to persuade India, China and Turkey, which represent more than a third of Iran’s oil export market, to reduce their purchases.

While all three countries have said publicly that they will continue to buy from Iran, Mrs. Clinton said, “in a number of cases, both on their government side and on their business side, they are taking actions that go further and deeper than perhaps their public statements might lead you to believe.”

Neal Soss, chief economist of Credit Suisse, said sustained high gasoline prices would definitely have an impact on the American economy. “As a rule of thumb, a penny a gallon is worth a bit over $1 billion in consumer purchasing power if it is maintained a whole year. A dollar more would be something in excess of $100 billion, which is about the size of the Social Security tax cut.”

Despite a fall in gasoline demand in the United States and Europe, global oil markets are tightening because demand for energy from Asian countries, particularly China and India, is rising at surprisingly strong rates even as output is declining from several important producing countries.

Gasoline futures are surging, spurred in part by recent refinery closings that may produce a shortage of motor fuel in the Northeast states by summer.

Oil prices have surged about 8 percent since Iran threatened to cut off oil imports to France, Spain, Italy and other European countries three weeks ago as a pre-emptive move against Western moves to tighten sanctions. The European Union has decided to place an embargo on Iranian oil and ban shipping and insurance on its cargoes. Washington has decided on banking sanctions to curtail Iran’s ability to earn money from its oil exports.

Middle East experts express doubts that Iran will follow through on its threats to stop supplying European customers or close the vital oil sea lanes of the Strait of Hormuz. But the saber-rattling from both sides is encouraging investors to buy oil futures contracts at higher and higher prices. Rising conjecture that Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities has heightened market jitters.

“The bankers are speculating, protecting themselves from higher prices by committing obligations to buy now, and that starts the ball rolling toward higher prices,” said Sadad Ibrahim al-Husseini, former head of exploration and production at Saudi Aramco, the state oil company.

He added that the escalating civil turmoil in Syria, a crucial ally of Iran, “is bound to increase price volatility and that will drive future speculation.”

The Japanese Foreign Ministry signaled on Wednesday that it was close to an agreement with Washington to further reduce shipments of oil from Iran, which have already declined about 20 percent since the beginning of the year.

But any success in tightening sanctions on Iran could squeeze global oil supplies, pushing up prices and causing serious economic repercussions at home and abroad.

“It’s a bind for Obama,” said Mr. Kloza at the Oil Price Information Service. “How do you get tough on Iran without getting tough on American wallets?”

Tensions Raise Specter of Gas at $5 a Gallon,
NYT,
29.2.2012,
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/
business/energy-environment/tensions-
raise-specter-of-gas-at-5-a-gallon.html

700-pound woman

rescued from second-floor bathroom

Wed Apr 4, 2007

9:03AM EDT

Reuters

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters Life!) - A 700-pound (318 kg) woman was rescued from her bathroom by firefighters who cut away part of an exterior wall and removed a window before lowering her to the ground, a fire official said on Tuesday.

The woman, identified as Patty Brown, called emergency services in Trenton, New Jersey, late on Monday after falling in the second-floor bathroom and being unable to get up.

Medical personnel were unable to move her, and so called the city's fire department, which eventually dispatched three fire engines and some 25 officers.

After removing part of the bathroom wall, cutting the window down to the floor, and taking out the toilet and radiator, firefighters moved her into a rescue basket in which she was lowered down a specially reinforced ladder to the ground outside, said Battalion Chief Qareeb Bashir.

With the help of around 10 firefighters, she was then moved on to a stretcher, transferred to an ambulance specially equipped for very large people, and taken to a local hospital.

Brown, who was only slightly injured from her fall, was conscious throughout the five-hour operation, and was "very pleasant," Bashir said.

Although firefighters are trained to perform difficult rescues, this provided an unusual challenge, Bashir said.

"This was a very unique situation," he said.

700-pound woman rescued from second-floor bathroom,
R,
4.4.2007,
https://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN03291003
20070404  
 

Fat boy may be put in care

February 25, 2007

From The Sunday Times

Sarah-Kate Templeton,

Health Correspondent

AN eight-year-old boy who weighs 14 stone, more than three times the average for his age, may be taken into care if his mother fails to improve his diet.

Connor McCreaddie, from Wallsend, near Newcastle upon Tyne, has broken four beds and five bicycles. The family claims to have a history of intolerance to fruit or vegetables.

On Tuesday his mother and grandmother will attend a formal child protection conference to decide his future, which could lead to proceedings to take him into care.

Connor could be placed on the child protection register, along with victims of physical and sexual abuse, or on the less serious children in need register.

The intervention of social services is a landmark in the fight against youth obesity.

The boy’s mother, Nicola McKeown, said: “If Connor gets taken into care that is the worst scenario there could be. Hopefully, we will be able to work through it and come up with a good plan and he will just be put on the at-risk register or some other register. That wouldn’t be so bad because, hopefully, there will be some help for us at the end of it.”

Two specialist obesity nurses, a consultant paediatrician, the deputy head of Connor’s school, a police officer and at least two social workers are expected to be on the panel deciding what action should be taken.

One National Health Service source said: “We have attempted many times to arrange for Connor to have appointments with community and paediatric nutritionists, public health experts, school nurses and social workers to weigh and measure him and to address his diet, but the appointments have been missed.

“Taking the child into care or putting him on the child protection register is absolutely the last resort. We do not do these things lightly but we have got to consider what effect this life-style is having on his health. Child abuse is not just about hitting your children or sexually abusing them, it is also about neglect.”

The source added: “The long-term health effects of obesity such as diabetes are well known and it is concerning that Connor is more than twice the weight he should be. There has to be some parental responsibility.”

McKeown will appear on Tonight

with Trevor McDonald on ITV tomorrow.

Fat boy may be put in care,
STs,
25.2.2007,
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol/news/uk/health/article1434607.ece
- broken link

science,

measures / unit,

numbers, figures, statistics,

rates, ratings, data, toll