Word: transportations
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...lowly shipping container, globalization's pack mule, is doing far more than transport duty these days. The mundane module has inspired a whole school of construction, pioneered by, among others, American artist-architect Adam Kalkin. Since he first created a dwelling with one in 1999, he has developed Quik House, a three-bedroom kit house fabricated from recycled containers, and most recently the Push Button House, a single container that opens in 90 seconds at the touch of a button. Italian coffee company Illy uses some as mobile outdoor cafés in Chicago, California and South America...
...more than half a million travelers who were stuck outside the station in the closing days of January after some of the most severe weather in decades brought China to a virtual standstill. Unusually frigid weather and heavy snowfall severed crucial transport arteries including major rail lines, highways and airports; power outages rolled across 17 provinces, forcing factories and businesses to close. The southern part of the country, which hadn't seen snow like this since 1954, was woefully unprepared. Even more northerly cities such as Shanghai, which is near the coast, were staggered by winter's wallop. At least...
...market forces. With coal prices rising, some power companies curtailed purchases because their profit margins were being squeezed and they were unable to compensate by hiking rates. With reduced stockpiles, the utilities were unable to generate enough electricity when the cold snap hit and power demand soared - and transport disruptions made it difficult or impossible to replenish supplies. Official media say plants that produce 10% of China's power are now reduced to less than three days of coal reserves. To cope with the problem, authorities have banned exports of coal mined in China and diverted shipments bound for factories...
...Monderman, that inquiry began with the more prosaic challenge of getting cars to slow down. Like every transport planner faced with the relentless proliferation of motor vehicles, he had started out by assiduously putting up signs, painting lines and devising new traffic-calming projects. One of his early specialties was to place giant flowerpots in the road to make drivers hit the brakes. But in 1982, Monderman risked a bolder approach, redesigning the street layout of car-clogged Frisian towns and villages. He began by removing the road signs, traffic lights and surface markings, then set about eliminating the curb...
...Taliban stronghold. "[Taliban leader] Mullah Omar grew up here," says former Dutch battlegroup commander Jelte Groen. "It was the first province to fall to the Taliban in 1994." With its rugged terrain, long history of opium growing, and network of smugglers' trails, Uruzgan "provides a safe haven for drug transport and moving troops," Groen adds. "So it is a very crucial area...