China reins in its eco-city plans - News

If all had gone to plan, by now the first residents of China’s newest city would be unpacking boxes. An experiment in sustainable living, Dongtan was billed as a urban center where green technologies and smart design could slash the carbon footprint of up to a half-million people.

On recent rainy afternoon, the onsite view was less electrifying: miles of sodden farms and wetlands, and not an ecobuilding to be seen.

It’s unclear if any will be built. The state-owned developer has torn up a timetable to accommodate 50,000 residents by 2010. Some permits for the project have already lapsed.

In a country overloaded with environmental challenges, Dongtan is a symbol of political overreach that straddles nearby Shanghai and Britain, the home base of Arup, the firm that dreamed up Dongtan. Its failings show the limits to getting bold ideas off the drawing board, even in China’s top-down political culture, where outsized schemes get traction.

Poland - Old man dies due to cold

A seventy one year old man died due to cold temperatures in Augustow, eastern Poland. He was found in an unheated attic by a social worker. The temperature last night was below minus twenty Celsius in that city.

Heavy frost in Poland has caused delays in train services all over the country. Residents of northern Poland were warned to prepare for the biggest disruptions, with delays on some connections reaching several dozen minutes. The reason is cracking of tracks due to low temperatures. So far, some 30 such incidents were reported. A spokesman for the Polish rail PKP says the cracks are not a safety risk.

Many schools reported an unusually high absenteeism today as school bus drivers struggled to start the engines in extremely cold weather. The problem was especially acute in eastern Poland, where the temperature fell to minus 24 Celsius in places. Many remote villages did not get their regular supply of bread.

India: Cold claims 18 more lives in UP, schools closed

Lucknow (PTI) The severe cold wave condition continued to sweep across the plains of Uttar Pradesh on Monday claiming at least 18 lives since Sunday and authorities ordered closure of schools across the state till January 7.