Americans’ Income and Spending Fell in February, 2021

Source : Bloomberg

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Read more at Reuters

U.S. consumer spending, income temporarily fall ahead of massive fiscal stimulus . . . . .

In Pictures: 1939 Cadillac Series 75 Town Car by Brunn

Source : Bring A Trailer

UAE to Test Cloud-busting Drones to Boost Rainfall

Drones that fly into clouds, giving them an electric shock to “cajole them” into producing rain, are about to be tested in the United Arab Emirates.

The country already uses cloud-seeding technology, dropping salt to encourage precipitation.

But with average rainfall in the UAE at just 100mm per year, the country wants to generate more.

In 2017, the government provided $15m (£10.8m) for nine different rain-enhancement projects.

Scientists at the University of Reading are heading one of them.

The project aims to change the balance of electrical charge on cloud droplets, explained Prof Maarten Ambaum, who worked on the project.

“The water table is sinking drastically in [the] UAE and the purpose of this is to try to help with rainfall,” he told the BBC.

The country does, though, “have plenty of clouds”, so the plan is to persuade the water droplets in them to merge and stick together, “like dry hair to a comb” when it meets static electricity, he said.

“When the drops merge and are big enough, they will fall as rain.”

Alya Al-Mazroui, director of the UAE’s rain-enhancement science-research program, told Arab News: “Equipped with a payload of electric-charge emission instruments and customised sensors, these drones will fly at low altitudes and deliver an electric charge to air molecules, which should encourage precipitation.”

The study will then be evaluated, with the hope of more funding for a larger aircraft to deliver the payload in future.

Source : BBC

新疆拉开棉花春播序幕

记者: 李志浩 . . . . . . . . .

　　临近清明，中国棉花主产区新疆，棉花春播从南疆部分灌区拉开序幕。

　　入春以来，新疆气温自南向北回升，不少农田的地温达到春播要求。26日，在阿克苏地区库车市牙哈镇一高标准大田，多台大马力拖拉机缓缓行进，借助北斗、GPS等全球导航卫星系统，自动直行。牵引其后的播种机，在进行精量播种。

　　这种在全疆棉田广泛应用的多功能播种机，可实现播种、铺设滴灌带、覆盖地膜同时作业。得益于拖拉机、全球导航卫星系统、播种机配合工作，现场播行直、接行准，正适于后期大型采棉机进地作业。

　　牙哈镇党委委员、人大主席吐尼亚孜·牙合甫介绍，今年该镇将种植棉花28万亩，其中95%将按机采棉模式种植，预计4月15日能完成播种。而为提高棉花品种一致性，全市今年将统一种植一种品种。

　　眼下，沙雅县、巴楚县、莎车县、尉犁县等南疆产棉大县，及新疆生产建设兵团部分南疆团场，均已拉开棉花春播序幕。综合多地信息，南疆地区预计在4月上旬进入棉花播种高峰期，北疆地区预计在清明节后开始播种。据中国棉花协会前期调查，今年新疆棉花种植规模基本与去年一致。

　　目前，新疆生产建设兵团和北疆地区9成以上棉田已实现全程机械化，南疆喀什地区、阿克苏地区、巴音郭楞蒙古自治州农业机械化起步晚，但近年发展速度迅猛。2019年，新疆棉花机械化采收面积突破1150万亩，全区棉田机采率首次超过40%。

　　得益于独特的光热条件，新疆棉花拥有国内较高的品质优势。20世纪90年代以来，我国棉花生产区域重心由黄河流域逐步向新疆转移。目前，新疆是我国最大、世界重要的棉花产区。

　　自治区农业农村厅数据显示，目前新疆共有61个县市区、110个兵团团场种植棉花，近一半农户从事棉花生产，来自棉花的收入贡献了新疆农民纯收入的30%。

　　2020年新疆棉花产量达516.1万吨，占全国棉花总产量87.3％，新疆棉花播种面积3752.85万亩，占全国种植面积的78.92%。

Source : 新华网

Pistol Disguised as Toy Gun Seized in North Carolina, U.S.

Source : ZeroHedge

Chart of the Day: The Most Polluted Cities On Earth

Source : Statista

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