It is said that the Inuit have many words for snow, but when it comes to theNorthwest Passageonly one type of frozen water matters: multiyear ice. It can slice through the hull of a ship like a knife through butter and it persists in the passage’s waters despite unprecedented warming in the Arctic Ocean, thwarting shippers in search of a shortcut between Europe and Asia.
Thefabled Northwest Passagehas made headlines ever since it thawed last year for the first time. For three centuries the quest for an expedited route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans rivaled today’s space race, with European superpowers vying for the prize. Hundreds of sailors and countless expeditions ventured into Canada’s Arctic waters, including such naval luminaries as Sir Francis Drake, Captain James Cook and the ill-fated Henry Hudson, who left his name—and lost his life—on the Canadian bay that marks its entrance.
Now, with the Arctic’s sea ice shrinking at a rate of 10 percent per decade, this coveted shipping lane has opened for business—but shippers are not rushing to use it. The reason: as fate would have it,global warmingappears to also be increasing the amount of potentially deadly multiyear ice chunks lurking in the newly opened pathway.
“The thing is, the Canadian Arctic has a totally different ice regime than the Arctic Ocean,” says Stephen Howell, a climatologist at the Interdisciplinary Center onClimateChange at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.
In fact, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago acts as a “drain trap” for ship-wrecking multiyear ice, Howell says. This year, for example, when the first-year ice in the passage had melted, it opened the way for multiyear ice (MYI) from the Queen Elizabeth Islands to flow into and clog the Northwest Passage. “We call it a ‘MYI invasion’ and that’s going to be the threat as we transition to an ice-free summertime Arctic,” he says.
“The first-year ice, that’s sort of like Swiss cheese and you can just plow through it,” Howell says. This ice freezes over a winter and is seldom thicker than three feet (one meter). Often, first-year ice melts the summer after it’s frozen, but if it doesn’t, it becomes thicker the following winter and becomes multiyear ice. “The multiyear ice isn’t like Swiss cheese; it’s solid and trouble” for ships that collide with it, he says. (392)
We, the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G-20, have a common goal of promoting employment, welfare and development in our countries. We are convinced that strong and sustained economic growth is necessary both at national and global level to achieve this end. We have therefore discussed the requirements for long-lasting growth on the basis of our own experience and believe that domestic policy needs to address three tasks: establishing and maintaining monetary and financial stability; enhancing domestic and international competition; and empowering people to participate. Transparency and accountability within an internationally agreed framework of codes and standards remain key to ensuring sustained economic growth and stability at the global level. We agreed on the following key elements that will guide our domestic economic policies in the future. In implementing these elements, microeconomic aspects must be given due consideration. As these principles are interlinked, they must be implemented consistently, with due regard to possible trade-offs and complementarities, because many single elements have the potential of blocking the positive effects of others. While appropriate and credible policies are the basis for economic growth, they need to be backed by high-quality institutions, including ethical standards in corporate governance. Policymakers should build institutions in parallel with engaging in reforms and also ensure that institutions stay consistent with the requirements of a changing environment. However, given the diversity of institutional settings and the success of different economic strategies among G-20 countries, there is no single template for strong long-term growth. Policies need to be shaped to the special circumstances in individual countries. （266）
国庆节回家，那个黄河边上的乡村，开小汽车的乡亲开始多见，虽然他们穿衣打扮还没有太多的改变，但当我看到他们开上价值20多万的汽车时，我很是欣喜。
但欣喜似乎很快止于一次街头的聊天，乡亲告诉了我这里发生的两件事。首先是旁边村子里一个人被同村的三兄弟杀死在家中，事情起源于土地租赁，因为租金高低的纠纷，欲强租土地的人找人把不愿意接受租金价位的人打了，还发出狠话，打死也就是几万块钱的事，于是被打的一方三兄弟联合起来，有了这一命案，四个家庭随之破碎。还有一个发生在我们村里，收割玉米的乡亲欲从邻居家地上开车通过，邻居老太太心疼庄稼不许，争吵中躺在自家田头说：要过，就从身上轧过。于是车轰鸣着，轧过老人，陪了几万块私了。
儿时的乡村，是可以夜不闭户的。放学回家，有时家中无人，邻居大婶总是招呼到他们家，坐在饭桌前，一切都是那么自然。农忙时，家里农活忙碌，邀邻居来帮，只需吃顿简单的饭，聊聊天。现在这里，生活的认知和价值观已经发生了很大的改变。我们都知道，国家在大力发展农村经济，我也期待家乡环境的改善，也相信很快就会有大的变化，但乡村的这些事也让我思考，我们是否应该在文化价值观方面，做出相应的指点和引导呢。(495)
2008年11月9日，中国政府出台了进一步扩大内需、促进经济增长的十项措施，预计在未来两年时间内投资4万亿人民币。中国政府在例行的中央经济工作会议召开之前突然宣布该方案，既显示了中国政府抗击金融危机、防范经济增长下滑的信心，也反映了中国政府对国内经济增长前景的预期明显恶化。该方案刚一出台便引发世界范围内高度关注，并直接推动全球股市上涨。然而，但由于中国政府并未在第一时间详细披露该方案实施细则，近日来围绕该方案的猜测与争议绵延不绝。(213)
