In Stott's climate models, greenhouse gas emissions had contributed to an increase in 2003-style summers to at least once in every 500 years and possibly as high as once in every 250 years.
But the cost of a barrel of crude oil, which hit a 10-year high in September, has declined somewhat in the last week, leading some oil industry executives to predict yesterday that the price surge this winter may not be as high as once expected.
ORLANDO, Fla .— Kobe Bryant is still soaring, perhaps not as high as he once did or with the same ease and flair, but rising nonetheless, expanding his reach and his legacy.
B7 COUNT OF DEAD FALLS -- The official count of the dead and missing from the World Trade Center attack dropped below 3,000, meaning that the Sept. 11 death toll in New York is now less than half as high as was once feared.
"I think that the expectations we had from this were not as high as they once might have been, but we wanted at least to see fairness and that's what we've seen," said Arthur Cheliotes, president of the Communications Workers Local 1180, which represents city middle managers.
While the political hurdles may still be considerable -- Gov. George E. Pataki said this week that he opposed the idea -- many experts say that the physical and logistical hurdles to extracting money from the pockets of millions of drivers within the city are not nearly as high as they once were.
Of course Twitter is not riding as high as it once was.
These people may find it difficult to reach as high as they once did, and mere stretching isn't enough to make the process any easier.
