More than 30 firefighters spend the night tackling a fire at a pub in Chudleigh, Devon.
Fire at Coaching House pub in Chudleigh
Firefighters said the flames reached into the sky some 10m above the building. Video: Simon Grost
More than 30 firefighters have been called to a fire at a pub in Devon.
The blaze started at the Old Coaching House on Fore Street, Chudleigh, at about 20:00 GMT on Wednesday.
A hydraulic platform, water bowser and an incident command unit were called to the scene. Crews have been fighting the fire overnight.
At least two floors of the three-storey building, parts of which date back to the 17th Century, have been damaged, the fire service said.
Station Manager Matt Johnson, of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said: "When we arrived, I could see that the roof was well alight and also starting to spread to the floor below.
"The flames were reaching into the sky some 10m [33ft] above the roof."
There have been no reports of any injuries.
An investigation was to be carried out into the cause, and a building control officer was to examine the structure, the fire service said.
Fore Street has been closed in both directions. Police said it may be closed for the rest of Thursday.
The inn, which has 14 guest rooms, was one of the few buildings to survive a large fire in the town in 1807.
Anticipation is building in the run-up to presentations of the best-yet evidence for - or against - the existence of the Higgs boson.
The famed particle is a missing link in current theories of physics, used to explain how everything gains its mass.
Rumours have been swirling about the findings for weeks, ahead of the announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
It is likely to yield only tantalising hints, as the teams do not have enough data to claim a formal discovery.
However, most physicists concede that not finding the Higgs boson is as exciting a prospect as finding it in the place where existing theory predicts it should be.
"If we wouldn't find it it would be even - in a way - more exciting, but you know, both ways, it's a win-win situation," said Stefan Soldner-Rembold, a particle physicist from the University of Manchester.
"[If] we find it, we know this theory's complete, but there's still more things to look for. If we don't find it, we know there must be something else which we haven't understood yet."
Field day
Finding the Higgs was a key goal for the $10bn (£6bn) Large Hadron Collider (LHC) - a 27km (17-mile) circumference accelerator ring of superconducting magnets, designed to re-create the conditions just after the Big Bang in an attempt to answer fundamental questions of science and the Universe itself.
The collider hosts two experiments - Atlas and CMS - that are searching for the particle independently.
There is intense excitement among physicists working at Cern, the Geneva-based organisation which operates the collider, over hints that the hunters have cornered their quarry.
"It is a fantastic time at the moment, you can feel people are enthusiastic," Dr Christoph Rembser, a senior scientist on the Atlas experiment, told BBC News. "It is really very lively."
If the Universe really is like that, I find it really quite breathtaking and humbling that we can understand it”
Dr Tara ShearsUniversity of Liverpool, UK
Prof Stefan Soldner-Rembold, from the University of Manchester, called the quality of the LHC's results "exceptional", adding: "Within one year we will probably know whether the Higgs particle exists, but it is likely not going to be a Christmas present."
He told me: "The Higgs particle would, of course, be a great discovery, but it would be an even greater discovery if it didn't exist where theory predicts it to be."
The Higgs boson is a "fundamental" particle; one of the basic building blocks of the Universe. It is also the last missing piece in the leading theory of particle physics - known as the Standard Model - which describes how particles and forces interact.
The Higgs explains why other particles have mass. As the Universe cooled after the Big Bang, an invisible force known as the Higgs field formed together with its associated boson particle.
It is this field (and not the boson) that imparts mass to the fundamental particles that make up atoms. Without it, these particles would zip through the cosmos at the speed of light.
Mass mechanism
The way the Higgs field works has been likened to the way photographers and reporters congregate around a celebrity. The cluster of people are strongly attracted to the celebrity and create resistance to his or her movement across a room. In other words, they give the celebrity "mass".
"The thing about the Higgs is that we always say we need it to explain mass. But the real importance of it is that we need it to make sense of the Universe," said Dr Tara Shears, a particle physicist at Liverpool University.
She told BBC News: "Discovering the Higgs confirms that the approach we have been taking to understand the Universe is correct."
Such deeper motivations underlie the current effort at Cern to dislodge the Higgs and other phenomena. Housed in a 27km-long circular tunnel beneath the French-Swiss border, the LHC smashes particle beams together at close to the speed of light, with the aim of detecting new particles in the debris.
Physicists do not know the mass of the Higgs itself, which has made hunting for it more difficult. They have to look for the particle by systematically searching a range of masses where it is predicted to be.
From 1989-2000, Cern's LEP particle smasher ruled the Higgs out up to a mass of 114 gigaelectronvolts (GeV). To search for the Higgs beyond that mass, physicists needed a much more powerful machine - the LHC.
Particle physics has an accepted definition for a "discovery": a five-sigma level of certainty
The number of standard deviations, or sigmas, is a measure of how unlikely it is that an experimental result is simply down to chance rather than a real effect
Similarly, tossing a coin and getting a number of heads in a row may just be chance, rather than a sign of a "loaded" coin
The "three sigma" level represents about the same likelihood of tossing more than eight heads in a row
Five sigma, on the other hand, would correspond to tossing more than 20 in a row
Unlikely results can occur if several experiments are being carried out at once - equivalent to several people flipping coins at the same time
With independent confirmation by other experiments, five-sigma findings become accepted discoveries
The two detectors Atlas and CMS are looking for signs of it among the billions of collisions that are occurring in each experiment. Hints of the Higgs would look like a little spike or "bump" in physicists' graphs.
For more than a week, rumours have been circulating on physics blogs that Atlas and CMS see a Higgs signal at 125 GeV, between the 2.5 and 3.5 sigma level of certainty.
These numbers represent a measure of the likelihood that any bump the scientists see is down to chance, rather than caused by a real physical phenomenon.
If those are the numbers quoted on Tuesday, it would not be enough for Cern to make a definitive statement. Three sigma counts as an "observation", while five sigma is regarded as the threshold for claiming a discovery.
Indeed, Cern's director-general Rolf-Dieter Heuer has told staff by email that the announcement would not be conclusive.
Any such spike could diminish as more data are gathered. But if Atlas and CMS both see a signal in about the same place, there would be an irresistible temptation to pop champagne corks - though behind closed doors.
In public, however, physicists would be obligated to say that a definitive "yes" or "no" would need to wait until 2012.
Asked where a Higgs discovery would rank among scientific milestones of the last 100 years, Dr Shears said: "I don't think that I could compare it to any other scientific advance... it is quite different.
"This is a prediction that stems from a very mathematical approach to understanding the Universe, which is guided by the idea that it is simple at heart.
"If the Universe really is like that, I find it really quite breathtaking and humbling that we can understand it."
The state of Nebraska is almost the size of the entire UK, with a population smaller than
Manchester's. It is classic "over-fly" country, ignored by the rest of the US - which, it turns out, is a big mistake.
The rest of America may be having a miserable time. But if you want to be rich, come to Nebraska and be a farmer. There is a gold rush going on, and it is because of corn.
The price of corn has tripled in the last decade. Why? Because places like India and China simply cannot get enough of the stuff.
'A really good time'
Brandon Hunnicutt, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Growers' Association, loves his new combine harvester - which is just as well because it cost three times the price of a large family house here.
Equipped with an on-board computer, an iPad, a satnav and an Android phone, this high-tech monster cuts the corn that feeds the pigs that fill the stomachs of Asia. It also makes the ethanol for American petrol.
There's been a lot of ebbs and flows, but nothing this good.Brandon Hunnicutt, corn farmer
Brandon Hunnicutt admits that he and farmers like him have never had it so good.
"The short time I've been around on this planet, the really good time was right when I was a baby," he says. "And now, 38 years later, this is another really good time.
"So there's been a lot of ebbs and flows, but nothing this good."
And Brandon is a post-modern farmer, which means he is on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. His finger is never off the racing pulse of commodity prices and land values - which keep going up in this part of America.
The price of land in the region has increased fourfold in five years. Land prices in the rural Midwest are doing the opposite to house prices in the rest of America. They continue to shoot up, even prompting whispers of a bubble.
'Phenomenal income year'
There is a ton of extra cash here, and not all of it from the grain shipped in freight trains. Astonishingly, the farming community of states like Nebraska and neighbouring Iowa is still receiving billions in indirect subsidies on products like corn for ethanol, as well as direct payments to each farming family.
It is a legacy of the depression, which in this part of the country now seems like a very distant era.
We have a pehomenal income year that is beyond record.Prof Bruce Johnson, Nebraska-Lincoln University
"No question about it, we have a phenomenal income year that is beyond record," says Professor Bruce Johnson of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
On the subject of farming subsidies, Professor Johnson admits that for local farmers to continue to receive them "gets to be a questionable call".
And Brandon Hunnicutt admits that he does not need the $60,000 annual subsidy he receives in direct payments. In fact, those direct payments could be scrapped by the end of the year.
But the fact is that the American dream is being kept alive nowadays not in an industrial powerhouse or in Silicone Valley, but here in a small-town America, back on the farm where it all started.
Economist Steve Keen says we are already in another Great Depression. He advocates bankrupting the banks, nationalising the financial system and paying off people's debt.
Economist Steve Keen is one of the few economists to have predicted the global financial crisis and now he says we are already in a Great Depression. He says the way to escape it is to bankrupt the banks, nationalise the financial system and pay off people's debt.
Winter is approaching and it's time to turn on the heat. Shen Tianxiang, a
resident of Tianjin, China, is content that he will pay less for heating than
before, since he now lives in an energy-efficient home. Heating is vital to survive winter in northern China – where temperatures can
plunge to -30 degrees Celsius. But most of the heating systems there are
coal-fired, centralized, inefficient and have poor emission controls. Buildings
also lack proper insulation. To make things worse, there’s little incentive for people to cut their high
energy use – the bills most people pay are dictated by the size of their
apartment, not by how much energy they use. On average, residential buildings in China use twice as much energy to heat
as places in Europe or the United States where the temperature can be just as
cold. A project
supported by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is helping
bring change – to modernize heating systems and speed up energy efficiency in
China’s urban homes. Saving both energy and money Shen Tianxiang lives in Tianjin’s Huasha Classic Community, a residential
complex that is part of the Heat
Reform and Building Energy Efficiency Project. These buildings demonstrate
energy efficiency gains and cost savings in residential space heating. The project, launched in 2005, aims to
Improve enforcement of energy efficiency standards for buildings , as well
as design and use of insulation and other energy-saving measures;
Implement heat metering, cost-based pricing and consumption-based
billing;
Modernize heat supply systems so that residents can control when the heat is
on.
“Since we adopted heat metering, I can save more than 2,000 yuan ($300) a
year,” Shen says. “With insulated external walls, I only need to turn on one of
the eight radiators around my apartment. In the past, when we didn’t have the
control valve, we had to open the windows when it got too warm in the room. Now
we save both energy and money.” “In Huasha Classic community alone, last winter, about 60 percent of the
residents paid lower heating fees than before the adoption of heat metering and
other energy-saving measures. This shows that residents can get some real
benefits from energy-efficient buildings,” says Tang Xiao, a project coordinator
with the Tianjin Housing and Urban-Rural Development Commission, which manages
the project implementation in Tianjin. The project has also motivated developers by covering a portion of the
incremental costs associated with their energy efficiency innovations. Wang
Jian, Vice President and Chief Engineer of Tianjin Huasha Construction &
Development Company, says his company has gained good experience that can be
used in future work. “Participating in this project has also strengthened our company’s brand,” he
says. The benefits go beyond energy savings, he says. “This project also inspired
us to explore resource-saving measures in a broader scope. For example, we built
a water recycling system in this complex.” Besides, the local government conducts wide-ranging public education
campaigns on energy efficiency in residential buildings, which are partly
supported by the project. Brochures on heat metering are handed to each
household when they move in to a newly-built apartment building.
Since we adopted heat metering, I can save more than 2,000 yuan ($300) a year
Shen Tianxiang A resident living in Tianjin’s Huasha Classic
Community
From Tianjin to other cities Tianjin has been a pilot in heat reform and is setting a model for other
cities in China. By 2015, it plans to set up controllable heating systems and
consumption-based billing in 35% of the existing buildings and 100% of new
buildings. Other cities are making similar efforts. The project also helped Urumqi, in
Northwestern China’s Xinjiang Province, to develop one of the first green
building developments and supported several other cities to develop
consumption-based billing policies. “China has made strong efforts in the past few years in improving energy
efficiency in buildings. First, it has promoted advanced energy efficiency
standards for buildings; second, it has also looked into how to enforce those
standards, so that buildings that are designed are in fact built according to
those standards,” says Gailius Draugelis, a senior energy specialist at the
World Bank. From residential buildings to overall low carbon cities China’s building boom is happening not only in the North, where much
attention has been paid to improve energy efficiency standards because of the
region’s heavy use of energy for heating, but also in the South, where air
conditioning can easily be running for six months a year and also requires
smarter energy use. Rapid urbanization also drives construction of office buildings and other
facilities, which have significant energy needs, too. Experts say that energy-efficient buildings are one of the most
cost-effective approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help save
resources. “We are prepared to expand our efforts, to look not only into energy
efficiency in residential buildings,” says Draugelis, “but also how we can
integrate these principles into our quest for low-carbon cities in China.”
UN and China launch joint initiative to promote ecosystem management
UN and China launch joint initiative to promote ecosystem management
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and China’s academy of sciences today launched a joint programme designed to promote proper management of ecosystems in developing countries, with a special focus on Africa.
The International Ecosystem Management Partnership (IEMP), an initiative of the UNEP and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), will have the core mandate of synthesizing the science of ecosystem management for government decision-makers through monitoring, capacity-building and policy.
With ecosystems increasingly under threat as a result of a growing population, high rates of deforestation and transformation into agricultural and pasturelands, the role of ecosystem management has become more important than ever, according to UNEP.
The IEMP, based in China, is UNEP’s first South-South cooperation programme to promote sustainable development through sharing best practices and technology among developing countries.
The scope of the partnership’s work covers both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and its clients will include national governments, intergovernmental bodies and programmes, as well as development agencies and the science community.
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary General of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), Sha Zukang, stressed the critical role of ecosystems and the challenges of degradation in the context of population growth and increasing inequality.
“Ecosystems are the foundation of human lives and livelihoods,” he said. “The future of human civilization and sustainable development depends on sound, healthy and resilient ecosystems. For too long, humanity has ignored this fundamental truth at its own peril,” Mr. Sha added.
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to promoting ecosystem management as a cornerstone of the transition to the green economy in developing countries.
Jian Liu, the IEMP Director, stressed that sustainable management of ecosystems and biodiversity is a critical path to the next civilization, which he called the “ecological civilization,” saying it constituted an integral part of the “fourth industrialization” – the development of the green economy.
