"It would be most useful for countries where they don't have much rain gauge data or weather radar - in Africa for instance, they do have mobile phones, at least in areas where the population density is high enough, " he told BBC News.
In the wake of the Bear Stearns blow-up, rule makers will put renewed emphasis on the cash positions of major financial institutions--a traditional gauge of a bank's ability to weather crisis.
For channel 4, they built a diorama containing a rain gauge, barometer, thermometer, wind gauge, and clock, pointed a videocamera at it, and launched the first weather channel.