D Tuesday, February 2, 2010 News Global warming boosts tree growth, study finds Trees are growing faster as a result of global warming, a study suggests. In one forest, an extra 1.8tonnes of timber per acre is appearing each year. The trees, in the Us state of Maryland, are sprouting up more quickly than at any time in the past 225 years, say scientists. ecologist Geoffrey Parker, from the environmental research Centre in Maryland, said: We made a list of reasons why these forests could be growing faster and then ruled half of them out. The best explanation was a response to climate change, he said. In the past 22 years, carbon dioxide levels had risen 12 per cent, the average temperature had increased and the growing season had lengthened.Fast: Buds on a tree Coldest start in Dublin for four decades TEMPERATURES were six degrees below normal in the first ten days of January as the country shivered in the now-infamous big freeze. 2010 saw an extension of the Arctic conditions experienced in December, with Dublin suffering its coldest start to the year for more than four decades. Met ireann said it was the coldest January generally for a quarter of a cen- tury, with the lowest temperature a bone-chilling -12.4C at Casement Aer- odrome on January 8. Forecasters recorded average temper- atures three degrees below normal, while both maximum and minimum values were six degrees below normal in the first ten days. The number of ground frosts were double what they usually are, between 22 and 28 in most places, while rainfall was below normal in most places with less than half the usual amount recorded in some areas. But conversely, Valentia observatory in Kerry was hit with its biggest-ever downpour on January 12, when 58.5mm of rain was dumped on the county. Despite the snow and freezing tem- peratures, we basked in more sun than normal for January, particularly in the south and west, with records of more than 100 hours at both Valentia and Cork Airport. Met ireanns weather summary blamed the unusual cold spell on a large area of high pressure centred off the north-west, later moving eastward and directing a bitterly cold north-easterly airflow across the State. The cold snap eased in the middle of the month but was replaced by rising temperatures and an Atlantic airflow bringing heavy rain, which combined with melting snow, caused flooding in southern areas. The end of the month saw a calm, cold spell centre over the country. And the beginning of February will see showers in the south-west and north of the country, with temperatures of up to 8C. By Colm Kelpie Cold snap: Snow in the city Road funding down one fifth FUNDING for national roads has been cut by more than a fifth this year, despite the millions of euros of damage caused to the network during the bad weather. Transport Minister Noel Dempsey yesterday announced a 1.115billion investment in the construction, maintenance and improvement of national roads, down from last years 1.44billion. Galway County Council will get almost 179million for improvement and maintenance, while the city councils of Galway, Cork and Limerick City Council will get less than 1million each. Hes got his thinking cap on An interactive system invented by Spanish scientists from Universidad Miguel Hernandez in Elche can transform brain activity into simple orders to a computer. The user wears a cap with more than 100 electrodes attached, enabling them to move a mouse, browse online or type a new document using brain signals Picture: EPA index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html