Barometer | 2 April 2011

Flowering wilderness

A Bangor university study has claimed that Antarctica has become greener as the climate in the Western Peninsula has warmed. While most of Antarctica is under permanent snow and ice, one per cent of the continent’s surface area is warm enough in the summer for the snow to melt and expose two species of flowering plant, Antarctic hairgrass and Antarctic pearlwort. However, lichens are found closer to the interior of the continent. The world’s most southerly plant is a lichen found at 86 degrees south, about 260 miles from the South Pole. The most northerly is an arctic willow found at 83 degrees north, around 450 miles from the North Pole.

Once bitten…

Natural England proposes repopulating parts of the country with adders. The last death from a snake bite in Britain was in 1975. But other countries are more deadly. Here are the low and high estimates for annual deaths per million people:

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Benin             72 to 100
Bangladesh   10 to 50
Afghanistan    7 to 50
Angola            1 to 55

Source: World Health Organisation

Mules’ burden

The Sentencing Council proposed that fewer drug-mules be jailed. How does their punishment compare with drug users?

Possession of class A drug
Total sentenced in 2009 – 14,175
Fine – 5,886
Community sentence – 4,131
Conditional discharge – 1,848
Immediate custody – 775
Other – 1,535

Unlawful importation of class A drug
Total sentenced in 2009 – 539
Immediate custody – 422
Fine – 3
Community sentence – 3
Conditional discharge – 0
Other – 111

Source: Ministry of Justice

Baby steps

After three years in charge of the England football team, Fabio Capello says he uses no more than 100 English words to communicate with his players. How does this compare with a typical child in an English-speaking country?

Age Average vocabulary (words)
18 months 40
Two years 200
Six years 15,000
Adulthood 100,000

Source: Parentingliteracy.com