lifestyle

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PARIS: Ten years after it was introduced, France has ended the compulsory 35 hour work week. Legislators in France have voted to allow companies to sidestep the 35-hour workweek by negotiating individual overtime agreements with their employees. The new legislation, which was passed by Parliament late Wednesday night and which will take effect in September, is the boldest step yet in stripping what many view as an emblematic labor law, without quite getting rid of it. While the workweek limit is as good as buried, every hour beyond 35 that is worked will be considered overtime and will therefore be more expensive.

Labour Minister Xavier Bertrand denied that people would have more working hours imposing on them and said now "everything will be negotiated company by company." Under the new legislation no one in France can work more than 48 hours in a given week, including overtime. Right now, despite the current law, many French employees work longer than 35 hours a week but accumulate time off or overtime. They actually average 41 hours, compared with 41.7 in Germany, 43.1 in Britain, 41.3 in Italy and the EU average is 41.9. In terms of paid annual leave, the French are in the mid-range in Europe with 25 days holiday as guaranteed non-working days.

The new legislation opens the way for company-specific negotiated agreements between employers and labor unions about the number of hours a week and days a year an employee works. The new limits are more generous than before: For manual workers who are paid by the hour, the weekly maximum limit rises to 48 hours, in line with European Union legislation. For white-collar staff members, paid by the day, the annual maximum of days they can be asked to work will rise to 235 days from 218. Also up for negotiation is the amount of time an employee gets in compensation for the extra hours worked, as opposed to being paid for the overtime.

The new changes are likely to affect small and medium-sized businesses most. Many large companies benefited from the additional flexibility that the 35-hour week provided by allowing them to annualize work time, making staff members work more in high season and less in low season without having to pay costly overtime. Blue-collar workers have periodically complained that this practice ended up reducing their income.

But most employees, and particularly those with comfortable incomes and a preference for additional time off, have grown attached to the shorter workweek. Professionals, whose salaries are calculated on a daily basis rather than hourly, fear that they will lose a dozen extra holidays a year that they had enjoyed in compensation for working more than the legal 35 hours a week. Their dismay at the changes was on display Wednesday afternoon when hundreds protested outside the Senate building, sporting banners with slogans like "There is life after work." And the union that represents white-collar employees and management staff, CFE-CGC, published an open letter in French newspapers complaining about the changes.

The new legislation also includes rules to make labor unions more representative. Any union participating in negotiations on work time needs to have obtained at least 10 percent of the vote in company elections. But any union representing 30 percent or more of the internal vote is allowed to sign a binding agreement with management.

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Photos courtesy of The Economist, Reuters/Charles Platiau, and AFP

Original Source: euronews and International Herald Tribune

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Pope Benedict XVI recalled the natural beauty he observed during his 20-hour flight to Sydney, saying he felt "a profound sense of awe," and denounced "insatiable consumption" as a threat to the world's environment.

The pope made his first major appearance on his Australia tour Thursday before an estimated crowd of 150,000 people at World Youth Day. The event is believed to be the world's largest Christian gathering and dubbed "the Catholic Woodstock."

He delivered his homily in several languages to people representing 70 countries, lamenting "erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world's mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption." In his address, Benedict warned that mankind's "insatiable consumption" has scarred the Earth and squandered its resources, telling followers that taking care of the planet is vital to humanity — striking a theme that has earned him a reputation as the "green pope."  read more »

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Researchers at MIT have created a new way to harness the sun's energy - by turning windows in big buildings into solar panels. The new technology, dubbed solar concentrators, harvests light over a wide area such as a window pane and then concentrates or gathers it at the window's edges, said Marc Baldo, a professor at MIT and head of the effort. Three members of the research team, which is publishing its findings in Friday's edition of Science, are in the process of incorporating a startup called Covalent Solar to develop the technology. The team has spent two years identifying organic dyes, painted onto glass or plastic, that can effectively concentrate the sun’s light onto solar cells, enabling them to produce more electricity from fewer cells.

The dyes basically reflect the light (technically, it’s actually absorbed and then sent back out), so that some of it is trapped inside the plane of glass, said Jon Mapel, a member of the research team. With the help of a scientific principal called "internal refraction," which is the same principal that keeps light trapped in optical fibers, the light bounces to the edges of the glass, which have been equipped with strips of solar cells that convert it into electricity.  read more »

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SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Sunday it was implementing a multi-stage contingency plan aimed at reducing energy consumption before the skyrocketing oil prices push Asia's fourth-largest economy into a full-fledged crisis.

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo told a televised news conference the government would restrict driving of cars owned by public organizations as part of the measures, adding a tougher set of steps would be adopted if oil prices rose further. The move marks the first direct restriction on energy consumption introduced by the world's fifth-largest oil consumer since the country imposed some restrictions on transportation in the capital during the 1988 summer Olympics held in Seoul.

Thousands of public-sector vehicles will be allowed on the road only on alternate days, and air conditioning in government buildings will be restricted, according to Prime Minister Han Seung-soo. The restrictions will be introduced July 15 and will apply to 15,000 public-sector vehicles and more than 800 public offices and institutions. There are also plans to replace half the fleet of public-sector vehicles with compact or hybrid versions by 2012.

"Even the (oil) producing countries are now trying to save energy costs. We need to try twice as hard as they do... it's a matter of survival," Han said. South Korea covers almost all of its energy needs with imports and its economy, relying heavily on manufacturing of goods for exports, lags far behind the more advanced countries in energy efficiency.

"We expect to spend $111.2 billion this year on crude oil imports, up from $60.3 billion last year, due to prices that have more than doubled," Han said. The Finance Ministry cut last week this year's economic growth target to a three-year low of 4.7 percent from 6 percent and warned the country would post its first current account deficit in 11 years of about $10 billion due to high oil prices.

Finance Minister Kang Man-soo told the news conference the country's economic forecasts, based on the assumption of prices at $120 a barrel on average for the second half, would have to be revised further if crude oil continues to gain.

The measures -- restricting driving, raising average temperatures at government-owned buildings, and regulating use of power at public facilities -- would help reduce energy consumption by the public sector by 6.6 percent. But they are still largely symbolic and the total amount of energy saving will be small because they apply only to the public sector, which accounts for less than 4 percent of South Korea's total energy consumption. The government will consider imposing restrictive measures in the private sector only when the supply of crude oil is disrupted.

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Photos courtesy of AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Original Source: Washington Post and United Press International

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Imagine filling up your gas tank for less than $15. Some Americans are doing it — and they're doing it on two wheels.

Motorized scooters have emerged as the new transportation of choice for some Americans fed up with gas prices that have surged past $4 a gallon. Though the small, zippy vehicles aren't ideal for every purpose, some owners say they're great for short trips and running errands.

Chris Maxwell recently purchased a Yamaha Majesty scooter to ride around the small town of Natchez, Miss. His wife, Emily Maxwell, appreciates how much the couple saves on gas purchases. "It gets 50 to 60 miles a gallon in town and a full tank lasts two to three weeks," she said. "Right now it costs under $12 to fill it up, so we immediately get a $200 a month 'pay raise' from the lower fuel costs."

Shawn Pointer, of Kenosha, Wis., said he often straps in his four-pound Chihuahua, Missy, for rides down to a local river on his 2007 Honda Metropolitan. Pointer bought the blue and white scooter for $1,600 but pays only about $10 a month to fill its 1.2 gallon tank. The scooter gets roughly 100 miles a gallon so he can travel 120 miles for $4. The same trip in the typical car would cost nearly $18.  read more »

*Update Jan 6 2010* - Blue Roses to Earthrace Ady Gil: 100% biofuel, spirit of ocean, stands for life, saves crew, sunk by whaler, rests in sea...

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Team Earthrace, led by New Zealand Skipper Pete Bethune, has smashed the world circumnavigation record for a speedboat by almost 14 days. Almost five years of preparation, planning and two record attempts have paid off leaving the bio-diesel powered Earthrace team to claim the round the world speedboat record.

Possibly the coolest powerboat on the planet, the space age, wave piercing trimaran Earthrace took bio-fuel into history as the 78 foot, (24 metre) boat crossed the 'Round the World' finish line in Sagunto, Spain. In just 60 days Earthrace has powered almost 24,000 nautical miles around the world. Earthrace left Spain on Sunday April 27th at 14:35 local time (1325 GMT) and headed west on the long voyage around the world. The previous record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe was 74 days 20 hours 58 minutes 30 seconds, set by the UK boat ‘Cable & Wireless Adventurer’ in 1998.

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CHICAGO, June 25 /PR Newswire-First Call/ -- United customers traveling through Chicago O'Hare may receive red carpet treatment this summer with United's first new Red Carpet Club® to open since 2000. The enhanced club that has more than doubled in size and has new furniture and a modern design now offers travelers a more pleasant environment to work or relax.

"Our guests tell us they want to be comfortable and productive when traveling, and United's new Red Carpet Club at O'Hare offers both -- more personal space and additional work areas with complimentary Wi-Fi service," says Graham Atkinson, United Airlines - executive vice president and Chief Customer Officer. "Whether our guests want to relax or finish a presentation, the Red Carpet Club will now give them more ways to get the most out of their travel experience."

The new club includes power outlets accessible from nearly every seat and creatively designed work stations, enabling business travelers to be productive in a more casual environment and reflecting the current trend blending leisure and work. Enhanced food and beverage options in the club will include two serving areas, a bar, and two self-service juice and soda stations.

The club is adjacent to gate B18 in O'Hare's Terminal 1, and customers will be conveniently located near many of the international flights operated by United and Star Alliance® partner Lufthansa. The club is available to Red Carpet Club members and customers traveling internationally in United First® and United Business®, and any United customer may purchase a one-time pass for $50. These customers and members also receive complimentary Wi-Fi service powered by T-Mobile® HotSpot. Press Release Source: United Airlines

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Images courtesy of United Airlines

Original Source: Yahoo Finance and United Airlines