Antarctic Rescue On Hold;Light Bulb Ban;Prince Harry Returns

So far,all attempts to rescue the 57 people aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy stranded in Commonwealth Bay,Antarctica have failed.Two ice hardened ships from China and Australia have had to turn back to open water,unable to penetrate the very thick ice;nor can aircraft reach them in the blizzard conditions.*
Many of the passengers are citizens who paid to participate in the research on climate and marine life.They were warned of the unpredicitibility of Antarctica when they signed on.The ship has two weeks of fresh food,then several more weeks of dehydrated food.There are 50 days of fuel left.
A lot of the passengers are Australian.*
Morale on the ship is said to be pretty high.It's hard to imagine that people are not having at least private anxiety about their plight,however.If nothing else,obligations back home must be weighing on them at some level.This blog would certainly be concerned.*
On January 1,Americans must switch from their popular and cheap 40 and 60 watt incandescent light bulbs as production and importation of these old style bulbs become prohibited by law.The 100 and 75 watt bulbs were already phased out.Stores will still be able to sell remaining stocks of the old bulbs.A survey by light bulb maker Osram Sylvania shows that 60% of Americans are unaware the ban takes effect in 2014.
Many Americans do not like the substitute compact fluorescent,or CFL bulbs,saying they give off harsh light.Other substitutes are costly light emitting diodes,or LEDs,and halogen incandescents.Americans will have no choice now but to pay a lot more up front for light bulbs.The new bulbs last much longer and are a lot more efficient,however,and long term will save up to 13 billion a year in electricity costs.
The restrictions were signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2008 as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act,or EISA.*
A bearded Prince Harry of Great Britain and his team of 12 wounded war veterans achieved the goal of their expedition and reached the South Pole on 13 December.They spent a few days there before flying out of Novo Air Base,Antarctica in order to recover in Capetown,South Africa before returning to Britain by Christmas.The team of warriors,including Prince Harry himself who pulled several tours in the Afghan War,raised 160,000 dollars for the charity Walking With The Wounded,which aids wounded veterans and their families.
Prince Harry and his team encountered blizzard conditions in Antarctica and did not stay at the South Pole as long as originally planned in order to avoid even more harsh weather that would have stranded them.