An eye on fish

With the technology, researchers were able to see large masses of fish for the first time, and found, among other things, that they often assemble in an hourglass pattern, with a relatively small number forming a thin 8216;8216;bridge8217;8217; connecting the two lobes.

The researchers published their findings in the February 3 issue of the journal Science. Makris said he hopes government officials will use the innovative technology to determine whether certain fish populations are rapidly declining. 8216;8216;We8217;re able to see for the first time what a large group of fish looks like,8217;8217; Makris said. The older technology, he said, 8216;8216;would be like watching Casablanca and seeing one pixel moving across the screen. That8217;s all you get. You can8217;t figure out what8217;s going on; it8217;s way too slow.8217;8217; LAT-WP

Mattias Karen

Oil-free future
Environmentally progressive Sweden has announced one of its most ambitious goals yet: to completely end its dependancy on fossil fuels over the next 15 years. 8216;8216;Our dependency on oil should be broken by 2020,8217;8217; said Mona Sahlin, the Swedish Minister of Sustainable Development last week. Getting rid of oil completely in such a short time may seem close to impossible, but the aim is to ensure that Swedes will never be forced to use fossil fuels because a renewable energy source is not available.

The ambitious plan is a response to global climate change, rising petroleum prices and warnings by some experts that the world may soon be running out of oil. The target will be reached by boosting research on alternative fuels, giving financial incentives for people switching to 8216;8216;green alternatives8217;8217;, and increasing the annual electricity production from renewable sources by 15 terawatt hours by 2016.

Several factors give Sweden better chances than most countries to phase out oil. The country of nine million people has coastlines stretching hundreds of kilometers, which have given rise to a number of wind power and water power plants. It also has more forest per capita than any other EU country, allowing it to burn tons of biomass making it one of the world leaders in renewable energy.

A much bigger challenge will be the transportation sector. Only 1 percent of the about 4 million vehicles on Swedish roads run on alternative fuels. But sales of so-called 8216;8216;environmental cars8217;8217; that use alternative fuel have almost doubled over the past year, and Parliament passed a law in December making it mandatory for all major gas stations to offer at least one alternative fuel at its pumps.

Associated Press