Progress remains elusive as Rome climate talks close - 05 Jul 2010 - BusinessGreen.com

Speaking to reporters following the two day summit, Italian Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo admitted that major differences remained between industrialised nations and emerging economies.

"Now we are all aware that conditions aren't there for a global accord," she told reporters, adding that negotiators should not repeat the mistakes made during the build up to last year's Copenhagen Summit when expectations were talked up to such a level that the eventual agreement was widely regarded as a failure.

She added that it could still prove possible to close the gaps between the major players at the talks and deliver a "shared framework agreement" in Mexico that could provide the basis for a binding treaty to be signed a year later.

However, US climate envoy Todd Stern was quoted by the Associated Press as expressing scepticism at the level of progress that could be achieved in Cancun, noting that "differences absolutely do remain" between the negotiating teams and that "different people mean different things" by the term "framework agreement".

Heat wave hits Virginia, East Coast | InsideNova.com

Like 2010, both 1966 and 1977 were also noted for their severe cold weather and heavy snowfall throughout Virginia and the East Coast. According to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the winter of 1977 was the coldest seen on the East Coast since before the founding of the nation.

The average temperature for the month of January, 1977 in Washington was 25.4, which was the coldest since 1856 when the temperature averaged 21.4.