Gizmodo (December 11)
“Over the past year, Australia released an estimated 140 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in greenhouse gases,” excluding unreliable estimates for land use-related emissions. This marks a new record for down under and places Australia as one of “the worst polluters per capita among countries in its class.”
Bloomberg (October 26)
“Reality keeps beating BOJ’s inflation forecasts.” According to Bloomberg, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) ranks last or next to last in the accuracy of its forecasts for inflation and GDP when compared to other major central banks. The Bank of Japan has had to lower its inflation estimates for all four years from 2014 and now looks poised to follow suit on Friday with its release of updated inflation forecasts.
The Los Angeles Times (January 21, 2014)
Half a century ago, the Surgeon General declared cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. Since the earth-shattering report, “the percentage of Americans who smoke has dropped by more than half,” with only 18% still lighting up. “Other developed countries have achieved similarly dramatic smoking reductions.” Staggering estimates are put on items such as lives saved and medical costs eliminated. “But this is not the end of the story, sadly.” Cigarette smoking has grown dramatically in developing countries, nearly tripling between 1970 and 2000 alone. “There are now 1 billion smokers globally, almost one-third of the world’s adult population, and smoking rates are increasing in some countries, such as Bangladesh and Indonesia.”
Tags: Bangladesh, Cigarettes, Developed countries, Developing countries, Estimates, Indonesia, Lives, Lung cancer, Medical costs, Smokers, Surgeon General, U.S.
