Solar boost
The European Commission is set to boost the use of solar power by setting a target of a hundredfold increase in Europe for early next century, according to the unpublished draft of a paper due to be agreed on by energy ministers this month. The leaked White Paper calls for an investment of about $190-billion in renewables, creating up to 900 000 jobs by 2010 and reducing carbon- dioxide emissions by 402-million tons a year compared with 1997 levels.
The proposals will add to the pressure on the United States to support more stringent targets for the reduction of carbon dioxide. It means Britain would have to install 70 000 solar “roofs” before 2010.
Playing ball in space
Astronauts have successfully retrieved the Spartan 201 satellite – a 1 360kg ball designed to study the sun – in a seven-hour space walk last week. Japanese Takao Doi and American Winston Scott had to stand on a platform on top of the space shuttle Columbia while it travelled at 292 000km per hour and lean back in space like goalkeepers waiting for the ball, while Columbia’s captain painstakingly manoeuvred the craft within reaching distance.
Implants wear thin
The failure rate of silicone breast implants may be far higher than previously thought, with 95% likely to leak if left in place for 20 years or more, United States government scientists say. Manufacturers have previously said the failure rate is between 0,2 and 1,1%. But researchers say that the risk of a rupture or tear increases with time as the shell of the implant steadily weakens.