World Tourism Blog

The Mediterranean was heaving as the 68-year-old Italian stood in the cruise ship lounge. A moment later a monstrous wave shattered the windows and sent shards into her head, leaving her bleeding on the floor and calling out for her husband.

Torrents of water gushed into the Louis Majesty, pouring through several floors of the ship.

“I thought I would end up in the sea, drowned,” said Anna Lita, who had a black eye and bandages on her head and hand Thursday.

The three waves that struck the Cypriot-owned ship Wednesday claimed two lives off the coast of northeast Spain. The vessel was carrying 1,350 passengers and 580 crew members, from a total of 27 countries.

Lita’s husband Carlo, 69, who had been beside her on a sofa, was thrown in the air and ended up with five stitches in the head and a leg injury.

Another Italian, Giovanni Zanoni, said that after the waves blew out the windows of the lounge, the ceiling caved in and pandemonium broke out.

“People were screaming, panicking. They were grabbing life vests,” Zanoni said. He said he saw one huge shard of glass hit a man in the face, killing him. It took a while to find the body because he was under the wreckage of the ceiling, Zanoni said.

The ship’s owner and operator, Louis Cruise Lines, said the vessel was struck Wednesday by three “abnormally high” waves more than 33 feet (10 meters) high that broke glass windshields in the forward section on deck five, which is one of 10 used by passengers. Two people died and 14 were slightly hurt, the company said.

Large waves are not rare in the Mediterranean, but ones that size occur only once or twice a year, said Marta de Alfonso, an oceanographer with the Spanish government.

This accident happened in an area of the Mediterranean called the Gulf of Leon, which is known for big waves when storms hit.

The ship was on a 12-day cruise from the ports of Genoa and Marseilles in the western Mediterranean, calling at Tangiers, Casablanca, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Cadiz, Cartagena, Barcelona and had been due to return to Genoa on Thursday.

Passengers said the weather was terrible as they left Cartagena in eastern Spain Wednesday, and the captain announced he was skipping a planned stop in Barcelona and heading straight for Italy.

“I remember when the wave hit,” Lita said. “It broke all the windows and I was rolling and rolling and did not stop calling out for my husband.”

Amateur video footage taken by a passenger and aired on Spanish television showed a huge, foamy wave hitting what appeared to be the lounge area, sending water gushing in and people scurrying for safety.

“Suddenly we saw a wave that went up above our level, and I said to my husband, ‘tonight we will not have to wash the windows,’” said Claudine Armand of France, who was in her cabin at that point. “Right then we heard we heard a loud noise, and it was the wave that hit us.”

“When we came out of the room we saw the wave had flooded everything,” she told Associated Press Television News.

Pierre Languillon, also of France, said damage was extensive and he saw many people with superficial injuries.

“They called for doctors, as many doctors as there were. Luckily nothing happened to us, but I think we averted a catastrophe.”

Louis Cruise Lines spokesman Michael Maratheftis said 14 passengers who suffered only minor injuries were taken to hospital as a precaution.

Arrangements have been made to fly all passengers home Thursday and the ship will carry on with its normal schedule later this month after repairs are completed, he told the AP from Cyprus. By the end of the day most will have left the ship.

Maratheftis said the two dead passengers — a German and an Italian — suffered fatal injuries from the glass shards and ripped-out window frames and furniture.

“It was three waves, one after the other. The damage was done by the second and the third waves. We are talking about waves that exceeded 10 meters in height. This was unforeseen and unpredicted because the weather was not really that bad,” Maratheftis said.

De Alfonso said there was in fact a big storm in the area at the time and the waves might have been stirred up by fierce winds. Waves often come in threes, she said.

Another passenger, Jean Claude Fery, of Marseille, said he was in his cabin looking out the porthole at tremendously turbulent seas. “I have never seen waves so big. It was unbelievable.”

A Louis Cruise Lines statement said the waves smashed windows in a public area on deck 5 on the forward part of the vessel.

Louis Cruise Lines’ Web site says the ship is 680 feet (207 meters) long, and features 10 passenger decks and 732 staterooms along with various bars, pools, restaurants and shops. Commercial Loan Workout.

While we tend to think most of romance around Valentine’s Day, our favorite romantic getaways are guaranteed to rekindle a long-standing romance, or kick a new one up a notch, all year long.

Whether you choose to cuddle up on a gondola ride in Venice; snuggle under a blanket on a caleche ride in Quebec City; dance cheek-to-cheek in Buenos Aires; spend long days canoodling on spectacular islands like Bora Bora, Santorini, and Nevis; cruise magical Halong Bay; or discover breathtaking Dubrovnik together, you’re bound to feel a renewed (or new) sense of intimacy with your partner.

Of course, no list of this sort would be complete without a nod to Paris, the epitome of romantic getaways (and site of countless marriage proposals), but dear Santa Barbara, closer to home, is just as ripe for a tryst, with countless spas and vineyards in the vicinity that are sure to help you and yours relax — and lose your inhibitions.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango — and there’s no better place to practice your moves with your partner than on a romantic getaway to Buenos Aires, the birthplace of this incredibly sexy dance.

Watching expert tango dancers spin around the dance floor at one of the local venues here is already hot stuff — women dress the part in fishnet stockings, heels, and high-slit dresses, while men doff tailored suits and cravats — but taking to the floor with your honey can make the temperature go higher still.

Play the voyeur at neighborhood spots like Bar Sur, or, put on your dancing shoes and trot your stuff at Centro Cultural Torquato Tasso, which also offers lessons for first-timers.

When you need to rest your feet, this Paris of South America has a lot more to tempt visiting lovebirds, from elegant turn-of-the-century mansions and tree-lined boulevards reminiscent of European cities like Paris, Rome and Barcelona, to cozy bistros in trendy neighborhoods where diners linger over long meals.

Plus, with the peso so low nowadays, this city — which once rivaled Manhattan in terms of price — is extremely affordable.

Bora Bora

If there’s one destination to blow your savings on in the name of love, this tiny, pricey South Pacific island is it.

Novelist James A. Michener described Bora Bora as, “the most beautiful island in the world” and visitors to its far-flung shores rarely disagree.

So small that the island road is a mere 19 miles long, this Polynesian idyll sits 143 miles northwest of Tahiti and boasts the best that nature can offer: a high-mountain center cloaked in jungle, a superb cobalt lagoon, a colorful coral reef, and pristine stretches of bone-white sand dotted with fallen coconut husks.

When you’re not discovering the many bounties of this island paradise, hang out at the local watering hole, Bloody Mary’s, where Pierce Brosnan has been known to woo his leading lady, or send off the sun with a sunset catamaran cruise.

Come nightfall, few can resist bedding down at a lavishly appointed over-the-water bungalow.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Couples in search of romance are flocking to this wondrous city on the southernmost stretch of Croatia’s coast, as enchanted by its beauty today as the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, who once proclaimed, “If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik.”

The city has been magnificently restored to its former glory to emerge as one of the most fashionable vacation spots in all of Europe.

Dubrovnik’s resurgent popularity should come as no surprise, however — this “jewel of the Adriatic,” as the coastal resort town is often referred to in tourist brochures, is breathtakingly beautiful and a magnet for dreamy-eyed lovers in search of a romantic getaway.

The city’s fortified old town overlooks the dazzling Adriatic from a shelter of limestone cliffs and its marble-paved streets are lined with marvelously preserved churches, stately palaces, squares, and terracotta-roofed townhouses.

Meanwhile, down below, along the seaside coast, fine beaches beckon — as do a slew of offshore islands — making Dubrovnik uniquely appealing to just about any taste.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Now that you’ve found your knight in shining armor, put his dragon-slaying skills to the test in this ancient dragon’s lair near the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

Indeed, “Ha Long” means “where the dragon descends into the sea” and, once you’re sailing the enchanting emerald-green waters here, you’ll easily understand why the bay is believed to have been formed by the thrashing of a dragon’s tail.

It’s a sight that confirms this corner of Vietnam’s status as one of the most romantic getaways in Asia; undoubtedly the country’s most mesmerizing natural setting, this UNESCO-protected area is dotted with grottoes, some 3,000 limestone islets (only one of which is inhabited), and often shrouded in mist, which only adds to its mystique.

While day trips are available, we strongly recommend booking an overnight cruise to experience the bay’s phenomenal sunset and sunrise, as well as more of its splendid landscapes.

Our favorite agencies for 2-day cruises are Emeraude Classic Cruises and Buffalo Tours.

Nevis

If you’re craving a Caribbean getaway that’s just as high on romance as it is on R & R, look no further than darling Nevis (pronounced n-EE-vis), the sister island of St. Kitts.

A quiet, old-Caribbean charm reigns on this 36-square-mile patch of land that famously produced Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States.

Nowadays, cocooning lovers can hole up on romantic getaways in converted plantation houses — rather than sterile high-rise beach resorts — where atmospheric verandahs, louvered windows, and four-poster beds guarantee your hours, if not days, will be spent canoodling.

Should you decide to leave your room, the island’s scenery is equally entrancing: disused stone sugar mills are now overgrown with vines, lush island paths invite hiking and horseback riding, and sugarcane fields lead to remarkable restaurants serving fine Creole fare.

Add in the fact that Nevis is still relatively difficult to get to (you have to change planes in Antigua, St. Maarten, or Puerto Rico), and you’ll be looking at spending serious quality time with your sweetie — without having to share him or her with other vacationing sun worshipers.

Paris

Parisian culture seems inherently designed for romance, with countless settings tailor-made for those only-in-the-movies-type kisses: manicured gardens with perfect make-out benches lie around every corner; lamp-lit pedestrian quays along the Seine invite stolen smooches; and majestic plazas and tucked-away squares like Place des Vosges offer storybook backdrops for marriage proposals.

A perch atop any of the city’s famous ponts (bridges) are also sure to get your heart racing: linger on Paris’s oldest bridge, Pont Neuf; check out the animated arts-and-music scene of Pont des Arts; or take in the phenomenal views of the Eiffel Tower from the elaborate Pont Alexandre III.

Undoubtedly, for some, the height of romance can be found at the top of the Eiffel Tower itself; coordinate your viewing with one of Paris’s lovely sunsets, and the city will blush pink right along with you.

Quebec City

With its homegrown French language, colonial architecture, and horse-drawn carriages, Quebec City is inherently designed with romantic getaways in mind.

Encircled by ancient stone ramparts, and speckled with lovely squares, quaint cafes, and striking historical buildings, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is also blessed with a phenomenal natural setting above the mighty St. Lawrence River, with plenty of vantage points from which to view the coursing waters.

Each season brings its own special charms, too: While summers encourage late-night lingering over wine at outdoor cafes, the chilly winters give lovers all the more reason to snuggle up under a blanket in a horse-drawn caleche or get cozy with a delectable fondue for two at a first-rate French restaurant.

No matter what time of year you choose to visit, stay in a quaint 17th-century auberge (inn) complete with wood-beamed ceilings and exposed brick walls to complete the otherwordly experience.

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Bona fide beach town, the Santa Ynez wine-producing region next door, and loads of spa retreats within driving distance … it’s no wonder California’s Santa Barbara gets our nod in the romantic getaways department.

Its splendid location, between palm-fringed Pacific beaches and the ever-green Santa Ynez Mountains, quaint Spanish- and Mediterranean-style architecture, gourmet fare, and posh hotels have attracted West Coast residents for quiet weekends for decades.

And no wonder: From wine-tasting in the country’s largest wine-producing region and supping on sublime organic foods, to enjoying massages for two and strolling barefoot on the beach at sunset, a visit here is an undeniably heady experience.

Tack on an outing in a hot-air balloon — a favorite local activity — and you’ll be guaranteed to swoon over the scenery, as well as your companion!

Santorini, Greece

Some may think island romance is overrated, but then they’ve probably never been to Santorini.

The most visually stunning of all the Greek Cyclades, this beguiling honeymoon spot has all the trappings of a dream vacation: Postcard-perfect cliffside villages, exotic black-sand volcanic beaches, transcendent sunsets, luxurious cave-rock hotels, dramatic striated red-and-gray cliffs stretching to the sky, and the Aegean’s finest wineries.

Built atop volcanic ashes — on the ruins of what some theorize to be the lost city of Atlantis — the resplendent white-washed beauty’s remarkable physical characteristics — its jagged cliffs, dark volcanic rock, and crescent shape carved out by the sea — are manifestations of its eruptive history.

These days, romantic getaways to Santorini are more likely to incite personal passions, whether on a visit to the enchanting cliff-side village of Oia, gazing at mesmerizing sunsets over the Aegean, or simply absorbing the best of Mediterranean romance in all its glory.

Venice, Italy

An extraordinary waterfront wonderland where ancient palazzi seemingly float above water, Venice manages to be both serene and seductive all at once.

While its labyrinthine cobblestone streets certainly encourage lovers to stroll hand in hand, it’s the city’s iconic gondolas that really up the romantic ante.

Picture yourself, a due, tucked in an intricate, hand-carved boat, and punted along dreamlike canals by a young Italian gondolier who serenades you as you glide under delicately-arched bridges — the aptly-named Bridge of Sighs among them — and past flower-laden balconies.

Other Venetian draws sure to set your heart aflutter include sipping Bellinis to the sounds of classical music in the majestic Piazza San Marco or catching a sunset view of spires and rooftops from atop the Campanile di San Marco. Hard money training.

With fuel costs soaring and environmental conservation in vogue, the bicycle is making a comeback in many cities, becoming a major part of urban transportation plans.

Men’s Web site AskMen.com has come up with a list of the world’s top most bicycle-friendly cities.

1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Amsterdam’s comes top when it comes to bicycle-friendly cities and nearly 40 percent of all commutes in Amsterdam are done by bicycle. Public bikes are available to rent and plans to construct a massive bike parking structure at the city’s main train station are underway.

2. Copenhagen, Denmark
About 32 percent of Copenhagen residents are biking to work on a regular basis. The city’s pro-bike culture allows you to rent a public bike for free for just a deposit.

3. Bogota, Colombia
While government programs for bike riding aren’t as robust as those in Europe or America, Bogota has a demographic advantage that makes it a bicycle-friendly city — only 13 percent of residents own cars, which makes bicycles a necessity. In fact, once a week, the city closes over 70 miles of streets to vehicle traffic in favor of bicycle riders, joggers, skaters and others.

4. Curitiba, Brazil
Bicycle integration is at the core of the well-planned Curitiba. The city has been pushing cycling as the go-to mode of transportation for more than 40 years and the result has been the ubiquity of bike lanes. A vibrant bike-oriented activist community exists to promote bicycle riding as an alternative to auto congestion.

5. Montreal
Two years ago, Montreal embarked on a $134 million plan to revamp the city’s bike trails and create a more bicycle-friendly atmosphere. The plan included incorporating bicycle-friendly lock points into standard parking meters. The city currently boasts 2,400 miles of trails with plans to expand. Montreal also has the first urban bike-share infrastructure in North America, the Bixi program.

6. Portland, Ore.
Portland has created bicycle paths that connect the urban neighborhoods so a rider can bypass auto commuting altogether. The city also offers low-cost commuter bicycles to the city’s less wealthy residents which come complete with a helmet, lock, pump, maps, and rain gear. With over 260 miles of trails and paths, Portland achieves a commuter rate of nearly 9 percent.

7. Basel, Switzerland
Basel features street lanes specifically geared toward bicycle riders and include left-hand turn lanes that are unique to riders. Basel also supports a robust network of bike-rental programs that allow tourists and residents alike to ride.

8. Barcelona, Spain
Among the now-standard bike lanes, signals and maps that are ubiquitous in major European cities, Barcelona also has created a green ring that runs the perimeter of the urban core. This bike path is peppered with 100 different bike stations as part of Barcelona’s bike-sharing program, allowing riders to rent and drop off at different locations.

9. Beijing
As in most developing countries, the car is on the rise, but biking is still the best way to get around Beijing as car traffic is so slow and congested. Air quality has been a major issue with the promotion of bicycle riding as a prominent policy push.

10. Trondheim, Norway
One of the biggest drawbacks to riding a bicycle has to be pedaling uphill so Trondheim has come up with a novel solution to riding uphill — bicycle lifts that act like ski tows and allow the rider to glide up a hill without having to pedal. Home Security Systems.

David Harm is worried about his wife’s ticket to Omsk, Russia.

When he made her reservation through Aeroflot’s Web site, his finger slipped — “I hit the ‘L’ key instead of the ‘K’ key” — and misspelled his wife’s last name (“Slirtenko” instead of “Skirtenko”).

“I did not realize my error until I received the e-mail and checked the information,” says Harm, who lives in The Hague, Netherlands. “When I called Aeroflot immediately to address the problem, I was told the name can not be changed, and that a note regarding the misspelling was placed in the record and that my wife should have no problem.”

Should Harm be concerned?

His question is hands-down the most common one I get from travelers — not just air travelers, but all travelers — after the Transportation Security Administration’s strict new Secure Flight requirement began going into effect (more on that next week). Although he doesn’t have the TSA to tangle with in Europe, he shares a problem with a lot of Americans.

At a time like this, with governments imposing new security rules, airlines teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and many hotels facing foreclosure, travelers often have more questions than answers. Which is why I thought I’d devote a column answering the most common travel questions, starting with the ticket-name one.

Airlines can change the name on a ticket easily. They choose not to. A reservations agent for a major airline recently e-mailed me, just to let me know. Yes, she confided, a name change is as easy as a keystroke — and yes, our employers don’t let us do it because we can charge good money for the fix.

How generous.

It’s not all bad news, though. An airline can still make a notation on your ticket for free (this only works with typographical errors or easily-recognized mistakes, like flip-flopping the first and last name). Only one domestic airline, Allegiant, actually allows you to change the name on a ticket for free. And if you work through a travel agency, and spot the mistake soon after the reservation is made, your agent may be able to fix the ticket at no extra charge.

Here are some other common questions:

Can I get a refund on a nonrefundable airline ticket?
The short answer is: no. It’s a nonrefundable ticket. But if you inform your airline you won’t be able to fly, you have a year from the time you booked your ticket — not the date of your flight — to use a ticket credit, minus a change fee. This is becoming an increasingly hollow promise, since change fees can be more than the fare, but that’s a topic for another time. One more thing: Airlines sometimes make exceptions to their nonrefundability rules when there’s an emergency, disaster or a death in the family.

Do I need a passport to visit Canada or Mexico?
Yes. Either a passport or a Passport Card, according to the State Department. Get a passport.

Do I have to pay a resort fee at my hotel?
Only the most dishonest hotels charge mandatory resort fees, which supposedly cover everything from an in-room coffeemaker to beach towels. The legit ones don’t, and any surcharges they have are optional. Mandatory resort fees are nothing more than hidden room rate increases, and you shouldn’t put up with that. But pay it? If the fee was clearly disclosed when you booked the room, and again when you checked in, then yes. If it wasn’t disclosed, than I know of a credit card company or two that will be happy to refund your money in a dispute. Resort fees are as troublesome as airline fees, and my advice is the same for both — give the companies that don’t charge them your business.

I missed my cruise. Can I catch the next one?
No. Cruise lines used to be lenient about letting you hop on another cruise if you missed the boat. Not anymore. Check out the cruise contract — the legal agreement between you and your cruise line – and you’ll find that it’s just not gonna happen. Buy travel insurance, or get to port extra early.

How do I get a bereavement fare?
Don’t even try. Bereavement fares used to be offered for airline passengers who had to buy an expensive walk-up fare when a relative died. But business travelers, for whom those walk-up fares were invented, got smart and began claiming they had a death in the family in order to qualify for the reduced prices. So airlines pulled the plug on the special fares. You’re better off trying to bid for a fare on Priceline or Hotwire, or asking your travel agent for an inexpensive consolidator fare.

My travel insurance claim was turned down because of a pre-existing medical condition. What now?
Ah, the old pre-existing condition loophole! Most travel insurance companies have a clause in their contracts that says if you had a condition before your trip, and it caused a cancellation, they won’t pay your claim. It’s sneaky and unfair, because a claims adjuster doesn’t have to be particularly insightful to find something in your past medical history to give the insurance company an excuse to turn down your claim. But don’t lose hope. On appeal, more than 90 percent of travel insurance denials are overturned in your favor. So it pays to ask an insurance company again.

I’ve spent hours on the phone with my travel company, and I’m not getting anywhere. What do I do?
Send an e-mail. Airlines, hotels and car rental companies outsource their call centers to countries where no one speaks English, or where the English they speak can’t be understood by anyone here. E-mails can be escalated to someone in the States — and those get real results. (Here are some customer service contacts.)

Can a car rental company charge me for damage I’m not responsible for?
Yes. But it needs to prove the damage occurred while you were renting the car and that they paid for the repairs afterward. And that can be difficult. Most bills from car rental companies don’t show anything, and neither do their follow-up letters. If you copy the state insurance commissioner on your replies that politely inquire about your responsibility, chances are your car rental company will give up and find someone else to bother.

Is it safe to visit Mexico?
Sorta. You’ll want to avoid parts of Michoacán and Chihuahua, according to the State Department. But that destination wedding you had planned for Cancun? The biggest threat to your safety will probably be alcohol poisoning.

Can I call 911 if my flight is stuck on the tarmac and I want to get off?
I wouldn’t. Tarmac delays are a small but serious problem. While Congress hasn’t come to the aid of travelers, the Department of Transportation has. Last month, DOT ordered airlines to let people off planes delayed on the tarmac after three hours. In other words, calling 911 or faking a heart attack is plain unnecessary now that the Obama administration has finally acted. Additionally, pilots and flight attendants want to get off the plane just as badly as you do — after all, they’re still at work. A 911 call will only confuse the issue. You’re better off letting flight crews and government oversight do its jobs. And if you’re stuck for more than three hours, phone the airline, airport. Home Security Systems.

Hundreds of sea lions that abruptly blew out of San Francisco Bay’s Pier 39 last Thanksgiving have apparently found a new home at another tourist attraction — 500 miles north on the Oregon coast.

Thousands of California sea lions started showing up in December at Sea Lion Caves, a popular tourist draw because of the Stellar sea lions living in the caves.

The California sea lions appear to have made the trip because of an abundance of anchovies at the Oregon site, 11 miles north of the town of Florence.

Scientists say there is no way to say how many of the newcomers came from Pier 39, where the numbers fell from a peak of 1,701 in October to just 20 by the end of November. But it is likely some did, since they easily swim 100 miles a day searching for food between Mexico and Alaska.

Some of the California newcomers came into the cave, but most seem to prefer a nearby rocky beach.

Kim Raum-Suryan, a biologist at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, noticed the number of California sea lions at Heceta Head had doubled to some 5,000 in December and, like other scientists, figures the simple answer is food.

“My gut feeling is it has something to do with the (ocean warming) El Nino conditions off California, which is driving prey and sea lions up north,” she said.

There are fewer herrings in San Francisco Bay, and a general decline in sea lion food off California last summer triggered a die-off of young sea lions making the transition from mother’s milk to fish.

Meanwhile, anchovies have been plentiful in Oregon waters — so plentiful that brown pelicans that normally winter in California are also hanging around, said Bob Emmett, a fisheries biologist for NOAA Fisheries Service in Newport.

Picking out which of the newcomer sea lions at Oregon Sea Caves are visitors from Pier 39 would be difficult.

Many sea lions are branded, and Raum-Suryan has been recording the brands she sees on sea lions at Heceta Head. But she hasn’t found anyone who did the same at Pier 39.

Back at Pier 39, a marketplace and arcade with a view of Alcatraz, public relations director Sue Muzzin was happy to hear a couple dozen sea lions barking Thursday, and hopes any that are in Oregon left their hearts in San Francisco. Hard money training.

Airline passengers flying through storms might have more to worry about than a little turbulence.

A new study suggests that if jets pass near lightning discharges or related phenomena known as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, passengers and crew members could be exposed to harmful levels of radiation, a dose equal to that of 400 chest X-rays.

However, the likelihood of encountering these lightning events is very small, the researchers say. In addition, airline passengers are always exposed to slightly elevated radiation levels due to cosmic rays, which bombard Earth’s upper atmosphere constantly but typically don’t make it to the surface.

Airplane passengers would only be exposed to this high radiation dose if their airplane happens to be near the point of origin of a lightning discharge or a gamma-ray flash, and scientists aren’t sure how often, if ever, such exposure occurs. The radiation bursts are extremely brief and extend over just a few hundred feet in the clouds.

“We know that commercial airplanes are typically struck by lightning once or twice a year,” said Joe Dwyer, professor of physics and space sciences at Florida Tech. “What we don’t know is how often planes happen to be in just the right place or right time to receive a high radiation dose. We believe it is very rare, but more research is needed to answer the question definitively.”

Scientists admit lightning is still mysterious. They don’t really know why it produces X-rays or gamma rays (which are more intense than X-rays), or even how it gets from there to here.

The researchers did not measure high radiation doses directly with airplanes. Instead, they estimated radiation based on satellite and ground observations of X-rays and gamma rays.

With orbiting satellite data, they were able to study terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, or TGFs, mysterious phenomena that appear to originate at the same altitudes used by jet airliners and occur along with lightning. While scientists don’t know what causes TGFs, they believe they are produced by electric fields above the thunderstorms.

The research team also included measurements of X-rays and gamma rays from natural lightning on the ground, as well as artificial lightning triggered with wire-trailing rockets fired into storm clouds.

They then used computer models to estimate the amount of radiation that could be produced within, or very near, thunderclouds during lightning storms.

They concluded the radiation in a football field-sized space around these lightning events could reach “biologically significant levels,” up to 10 rem (roentgen equivalent man), which is the dosage considered the maximum safe radiation exposure over a person’s lifetime. Hard money training.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań (Poland 1-12 December 2008) ended successfully with a clear commitment from governments to shift into full negotiating mode next year in order to shape an ambitious and effective international response to climate change, to be agreed in Copenhagen , Denmark, at the end of 2009.

“Governments have sent a strong political signal that despite the financial and economic crisis, significant funds can be mobilized for both mitigation and adaptation in developing countries with the help of a clever financial architecture and the institutions to deliver the financial support,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“We now have a much clearer sense of where we need to go in designing an outcome which will spell out the commitments of developed countries, the financial support  required and the institutions that will deliver that support as part of the Copenhagen outcome,” he added.

Countries meeting in Poznań made progress on a number of issues that are important in the short run - up to 2012 - particularly for developing countries, including adaptation, finance, technology and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Progress was made in the area of technology with the endorsement of the Global Environment Facility’s “Poznań Strategic Programme on Technology Transfer”.  The aim of this programme is to scale up the level of investment by levering private investments that developing countries require both for mitigation and adaptation technologies

In addition, the conference discussed in detail the issue of disaster management, risk assessment and insurance, essential to help developing countries cope with the inevitable effects of climate change.

Governments meeting under the Kyoto Protocol agreed that commitments of industrialized countries post-2012 should principally take the form of quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives, in line with the type of emission reduction targets they have assumed for the first commitment period of the protocol.