What's Behind Delhi's Fogged In Flights?

For many residents of Delhi, winter means chilly nights, open-air concerts, strolls in the park and maybe a bout of flu.

But for frequent fliers, Delhi's winter also brings a shiver of dread over mangled flight schedules.

When a thick blanket of smog cloaked Delhi on Monday, about a dozen flights were reported to be grounded and scores of others delayed. This time last year, about 30 flights were diverted, 25 cancelled and more than 150 stalled for up to six hours at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport. The week leading into 2009 saw the disruption of hundreds of flights.

Could this problem be prevented?

Well, yes and no. The Delhi airport is equipped with instrument landing systems that allow for so-called CAT IIIB landings, or mostly automatic landings using a combination of radio signals and high intensity runway lighting, effective even when visibility is as low as 164 feet. These are the most sophisticated systems available in the world, but still, they can't always guarantee a landing.

"If the visibility drops below 50 meters, disruption is unavoidable," said E. K. Bharat Bhushan, the top official of India's main airline regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. "No one, anywhere in the world, can go completely blind," he said.

Mr. Bhushan said the focus is now on making passengers as comfortable as possible by offering refreshments and prompt updates about their flights when they face a shuffled schedule.

But it's not only zero-visibility that is the problem. Analysts say that some aircraft are not equipped with CAT IIIB instruments and many airline pilots aren't trained, largely because of the costs involved, to know how to use these sophisticated instruments and keep their eyes peeled for the landing strip lights.

"Only 40 to 50 percent of pilots are trained," said Rajendra Kumar Jenamani, scientist and head of the meteorological watch office at Delhi airport.

Mr. Jenamani also says poor coordination between various parties, including the Delhi International Airport Limited, Air Traffic Control, and the airport's Meteorological Department contribute to disrupted flights. Mr. Jenamani cites the example of a flight dispatcher not briefing a pilot about fog gathering over Delhi before take-off from another country, even though the fog was likely to last 10 to 12 hours.

So when did the fog in Delhi get this bad?

Analysts say the turning point was 1997. A cocktail of factors contributed: a shift in the land-use patterns, increased pollution, and more moisture due to irrigation led to a drop in the temperature by a few degrees and more fog between December and January, they say.

While fog does plague other places, like London's Heathrow Airport for instance, it lasts only for a few days. In Delhi, it can last for 20 to 25 days. Mr. Jenamani said Delhi is hard hit because of the city's geographic location, the open space at the airport, and the prevalent wind patterns.

It's all about sharing the love

Cold turkey is out and Christmas ham is in. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere I go. Last Thursday I participated in my first Monroe Christmas parade. I have to say the some 70 floats of Christmas lights followed by bands and various other groups was impressive on the spirit scale. The weather was a little bit frightening next to my South Georgia usual temperatures back home but I managed to layer up and stay warm.

The courthouse lawn is decorated with a beautiful live Christmas tree dazzled with ornaments and lights. Not to mention the lovely spiral laced trees full of lights that are on both sides of Broad Street.

This time of year is about so many things it's hard to lose sight of its one purpose — sharing the love you have for those around and the ability to do so.

Usually around this time for the past four years I would have been finishing finals and heading home to Bainbridge for the family activities and community involvement.

Every Christmas for the past three years I've helped with a local radio station on their Secret Santa project. Each year I've seen lives changed and peoples selfless efforts supply children the smile they had been hoping and needing all year.

Such things as bikes and clothes along with toys are provided for these families every year through this program there.

I can remember my first year participating.

I was working with the station to see if broadcast was something I wanted to major in when I took on the responsibility of working with the Secret Santa project as well.

Santa personally delivered the presents we had worked to load and buy for these families.

I will never forget one little girl who asked santa for a bike. It was the only thing she wanted. When we rolled the bike out to her - she and her daughter were crying.

The spirit of giving is the season's message. There are so many around us spending their last dime at this very moment, parents counting their budget and putting their needs to the side for the sake of their child's Christmas or all together unable to provide a Christmas.

While we are feasting someone in this community, in this state, in this country and the world are without.

Giving is the reason for the season.

Besides working with Secret Santa our family usually decorates the tree and I hate to say I'm missing that.

Ever since I was born I have had an ornament for every year. Each year we go to the hallmark store to pick an ornament out and it's a serious ordeal. Some of my picks have been from “the Grinch Stole Christmas” to Santa Claus fishing. They all have some sort of story behind them or purpose on why they were purchased.

Tradition is something that can keep a family together that one gathering point. Christmas is full of these opportunities. Whether it is from the huge meal that's laid on the table or the decorating of the Christmas tree, tradition brings the family together.

All together breathe in the Christmas spirit, enjoy the atmosphere, give what you can and be blessed for what you have.

Poplar tree suffering from age

I saw your column about poplar trees, so maybe you can answer my question. It always has been a messy tree, but I don't want to lose it. During the last few years, it has started losing more and more branches, especially in the fall. The branches that fall off have green buds at the end and appear to break off at the node. The foliage on the tree also seems to get thinner each year. What can I do to save the tree?

Unfortunately, this is the nature of the beast! It will continue to drop twigs and will get around to dropping larger branches as it continues to get up in years. The best I can advise if you want to keep the tree is to hire a professional International Society of Arboretum certified arborist to trim the tree on an annual basis.

What combination of conditions causes winter squash to ripen? Is it day length, watering or temperature? How can a short-season gardener manipulate environmental conditions to cause winter squash to ripen? Does powdery mildew interfere with ripening?

All of the above. Generally, the use of frost blankets will extend the growing season for several weeks in the fall. In the spring, plant the squash in soil that has been prewarmed using solarization. Keeping an eye on shifting temperatures to protect against late spring frosts also will help to ripen on time. Higher temperature trumps all else. Bright, hot, sunny days, with adequate moisture, will accelerate ripening and get your crop harvestable before cold weather closes in.

I have an English ivy that has been dying slowly. Last spring, many of the leaves turned brown. I trimmed them off, hoping the plant would recover as it has in the past, but it has not. I may have overwatered it. Because there is little left of the plant, I might try to repot it. If the roots are in bad shape, do I bother to repot it? Should it be rerooted in water or is it too far gone?

The root system may have been wiped out from overwatering. If that is true, it will be evident when you knock the plant out of the container. If the plant is rotted, don't bother repotting. If there is at least a 4-inch section of the vine that is healthy, then cut it off the plant, dip it in rooting powder (available at any garden supply store) and stick the leafless end into the rooting medium. Use sand, peat moss or pasteurized potting soil.

Be sure to thoroughly wet whatever media you use prior to planting. Finally, cover the pot with a clear piece of lightweight plastic. Place the pot in indirect sunlight on an east window sill or under fluorescent lighting. After two weeks, check to see if the plant has rooted by slightly pulling on the stem. If you feel resistance, remove the plastic covering and keep the soil moist.

We have a Norfolk pine that has healthy growth on the top but has lost all its lower branches. Is it possible to cut the top off and replant the cutting to establish a new root system?

I was moving from a house I had lived in for 10 years and decided to move some of my favorite roses. I was successful with six plants. Out of the six, I have one that seems to be growing at twice the rate of the others. However, it does not have any buds. All the others have given me flowers. Am I doing something wrong?

You are experiencing sucker growth from the rootstock, which has very limited flowering capability. It is used as the stock to be grafted onto by roses that are known for their beautiful flowers. The rootstock often takes over when the budwood (scion) is killed, damaged or weakened to the point where it cannot suppress the vigor of the root system. The result is the rampant growth you are witnessing.

Hella to Develop and Market LED Lighting Systems With Hubbell Lighting

Hella to Develop and Market LED Lighting Systems With Hubbell Lighting

Hella, a global automotive supplier of electronics and lighting, is partnering with Hubbell Lighting to develop and market a non-automotive application of its LED lighting technology in North America.


The strategic partnership between the two companies is defined as a traditional cross-branding relationship in which Hella designs, develops and manufactures the light module or "engine", while Hubbell Lighting markets and distributes the lighting fixture into municipal markets.

The commercial LED light engine is designed for installation into existing cobra head style roadway fixtures. The LED light engine will be manufactured at Hella's facilities in Flora, Illinois.

The Hella LED module will be integrated into Hubbell's RM series roadway fixture at the company's plant in Christiansburg, Va., and also will be marketed as a retrofit kit for existing roadway luminaires. The product is an ideal entrant into the LED roadway market and is intended to replace 150-Watt high-pressure sodium and 175-Watt mercury lamps and fixtures. Hubbell Lighting will manage product marketing and distribution through its global sales network. The companies expect to introduce the new LED product line during the third quarter of 2011.

"We see tremendous growth opportunities for LED lighting in North America," said Steve Lietaert, vice president of program management for Hella Electronics Corporation who announced the partnership during a media briefing at Pine Lake Country Club in suburban Detroit. "LED technology offers an energy-efficient, low maintenance alternative to conventional lighting."

According to Richard Abernethy, vice president of Hubbell Outdoor, Industrial and Emergency Lighting, "The opportunity to retrofit existing street lighting provides municipalities a simple, cost-effective, sustainable solution for the growing need to conserve energy and control maintenance costs."

It is estimated there is an installed base of 34 million streetlights in place in the US. 

Known as an innovator in lighting technology, Hubbell Lighting leads the industry with the first LEED? Silver certified corporate headquarters in the lighting industry, which they located in Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) Millennium Campus in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Hella:  Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. develops and manufactures lighting and electronics components and systems for the automotive industry. Its joint venture companies also produce complete vehicle modules, air-conditioning systems and vehicle electric systems. In addition, Hella has one of the largest automotive aftermarket organizations in the world, with its own sales companies and partners in more than 100 countries.

Hella Group sales were $4.98 billion in fiscal year 2009-2010. Hella is one of the top 50 automotive parts suppliers in the world and one of the 100 largest industrial companies in Germany. Nearly 23,000 people work at 70 locations in more than 30 countries, including more than 3,500 research and development engineers and technicians. Additional information is available at www.hella.com.

About Hubbell Lighting:  An industry leader in lighting technology since 1888, Hubbell Lighting, www.hubbelllighting.com is one of the largest lighting fixture manufacturers in North America. The company provides a full range of indoor and outdoor lighting fixture products that serve the commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential markets. Hubbell Lighting brands include Alera Lighting. Architectural Area Lighting, Beacon Products, Columbia Lighting, Compass Products, Devine Lighting, Dual-Lite, HomeStyle Lighting, Hubbell Building Automation, Hubbell Industrial Lighting, Hubbell Outdoor Lighting, Kim Lighting, Kurt Versen, Prescolite, Progress Lighting, Security Lighting, Spaulding Lighting, Sportsliter Solutions, Sterner Lighting Systems, Thomasville Lighting and Whiteway.

Sparta's Relay for Life adds activities

SPARTA -- This weekend’s Relay for Life will add a few activities in the event’s fifth year. The Relay runs from noon June 10 to noon June 11 at Sparta High School. On June 10, a sky lantern send-off will be added to the annual luminaria ceremony after dusk.

The lanterns can be purchased at Relay and names of loved ones who died of cancer can be written on them. Another new event is a recognition of caregivers, just before dusk. Caregivers will be honored in their own lap around the track.

The annual survivors lap starts around 7 p.m. and will include a giant chain, where each link represents a year of participants’ surviving cancer. More teams than ever, 41, are signed up, with the goal of raising $120,000.