Earth ChangesS


Wolf

91-year-old woman mauled by family dog, dies in Miami hospital

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Elderly woman killed in possible dog attack
Authorities said they are investigating the death of an elderly woman found mauled by a dog on Tuesday.

According to Miami-Dade Police, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue requested their assistance at around 4 p.m. after they found a 91-year-old woman unresponsive and suffering from an apparent dog bite.

Police responded to the home located at 9415 SW 18th Terrace and called in Miami-Dade Animal Services in regards to the dog. The dog found at the home also lives there, police said.

The woman was taken to Kendall Regional Hospital where she died. Investigators have not confirmed if the dog bite was the cause of her death or it was from her age.


Question

Water at bird refuge turns pink in Santa Barbara, California

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Santa Barbara bird refuge
The water at a bird refuge in Santa Barbara, California has turned a startling shade of pink.

Officials say it may look pretty, but it's a sign of an unhealthy ecosystem.

Warmer temperatures have allowed purple sulfur bacteria to reproduce more frequently.

Officials believe a lack of rain may also be to blame.


Sun

California drought crippling ancient sequoias

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Giant Sequoia trees
The ancient trees are losing limbs and needles at rates that scientists have never seen before. Jacob Ward reports.


Source: Al Jazeera America

Attention

Tropical storm may have carried corn tar spot disease into U.S. farm belt from Latin America

corn tar spot disease
A tropical storm could have carried the corn disease tar spot into the heart of the U.S. farm belt for the first time, as winds and rain blew in from Latin America, researchers told Reuters.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed cases of tar spot in at least four locations in Indiana and three in Illinois. The fungal disease has been a problem for years in Mexico and in Central and South America, with farmers fighting infections that can lower yields.

Tropical Storm Bill, which brought rain to the central United States in June after spinning through the Gulf of Mexico, may have transported the disease, said Bill Dolezal, a research fellow for seed company DuPont Pioneer.

"It looks like it came up out of that area," Dolezal said.

The USDA is working with experts in Indiana and Illinois to determine how tar spot entered the country.

Bug

Bees swarm Arizona street, four hospitalized

Bee swarm
© Phoenix New Times
Six residents were injured when thousands of bees swept through an Arizona neighborhood, firefighters said - including a three-year-old boy who was stung up to 100 times.

When rescue crews arrived on scene in Gilbert, a small town to the southeast of Phoenix, the huge swarm made it difficult for them to get to the injured, Deputy Chief Michael Connor of the Gilbert Fire Department told NBC News.

The three-year-old was stung anywhere between 75 and 100 times and had been "rushed to hospital," he said.

A 14-year-old girl and 22-year-old woman from the same house were also hospitalized, according to NBC station KPNX.

To reach the boy and his family, firefighters had to go through the backyards of homes from one street over and the crews used ladders to make it over fences, the station reported.


A firefighter was also injured but he was treated at the scene along with two others with minor injuries, Connor said, adding that he had never seen such a big swarm, he said.

Police also made reverse 911 calls to residents in the area advising them to stay inside and close any open windows or doors, until the scene was secured.

Eventually, firefighters were able to overcome the bees using fire suppression foam, Connor said. They believe the bees had a hive in a tree on a front lawn.

Igloo

Arctic sea ice cover has increased 47% since 2012 minimum

arctic sea ice cover
We have just passed the date of the 2012 Arctic sea ice minimum, and the extent of ice is up 47% from that date. Green shows gain, red shows loss since 2012.

Comment: So much for all the dire predictions, however don't expect the global warming crowd to go down without a fight. It will be interesting to hear what ridiculous explanations they cook up next.


Attention

Boy fights off shark in Fernandina Beach, Florida; 4 bitten in 3 days

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© Bruce.LipskyJosh Bitner, 12, of Sparks, Georgia, retold the his story of being bit by a shark, on Fernandina Beach, at UF Health on Monday. Bitner punched the shark that bit him on his right knee.
Josh Bitner Jr. was playing Sunday in the waist-deep surf off Fernandina Beach when he yelled to his parents to show them a big seashell, and "something grabbed my leg and turned me around."

The 12-year-old Georgia boy screamed "shark," but his father thought he was fooling around. Then it turned him around again biting him a second time, Josh told reporters Monday at UF Health Jacksonville.

"I was going backward dragging my foot," he said. "I pushed myself out of the water until people saw I was split open, then they lifted me out of the water."

Josh was treated by paramedics for lacerations on his leg, then taken to UF Health for stitches. He is in good condition, hospital officials said.

This was the first shark bite reported in Fernandina Beach this year. But another was reported Sunday at Vilano Beach, plus two more Thursday at Jacksonville Beach and Little Talbot Island, bringing the total to seven in Northeast Florida since June.

Comment: See also: Boy attacked by shark on South Carolina coast; 11th attack in the region this summer

Sharks prowl in record numbers on East Coast


Cloud Lightning

Three US tourists hit by lightning at Poas Volcano, Costa Rica

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The forked stuff
Three tourists from the United States were taken to the hospital in serious condition after being struck by lightning while visiting the Poas Volcano on Saturday.

The incident took place around 12:30 p.m. as a significant thunderstorm moved through the area.

The victims, all from the United States, were identified by the Red Cross as Jorge Teller, 32; Javier Carpio, 30; and Shelby Suminsky, 28.

Suminsky suffered multiple first-degree burns across her body, while Carpio received multiple second-degree burns and a head wound. Teller was burned on his right leg. Only one of the victims was able to walk on their own, according to a Red Cross spokesperson.

Cloud Precipitation

Tennis ball-sized hail strikes near Stanton, Nebraska

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The big stuff
A viewer shared a photo of Stanton County that shows the weight of the thunderstorm that swept through.

The storm left tennis balls-sized hail in some locations, such as resident Danielle Gallup's yard.

"Hail is hitting hard," Gallup said.

The fall storm subjected the area north of Stanton to dangerous hail stones Tuesday morning.

"Honestly, it sounded like we were at a shooting range, cause it was hitting off the roof and vehicles, everywhere," Gallup said, referring to some video she captured on her phone.

Gallup said it scared her and damaged her friend's truck, along with the side of her house.

Arrow Down

Huge sinkhole opens up in Haikou, China

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© ChinaNews. comA few cars have been trapped in the mini-landslide.
So what's happening when our Planet Earth is in bad mood?

She starts devouring parking lots, cars and the ground.

On the same day than the massive M8.3 Chilean earthquake, Sept 16, 2015, a parking lot in Haikou, the capital of south China's Hainan Province, collapsed due to a mini-landslide.

Cars have been swallowed by the Earth. But one seemed to have been more lucky as it is seen tilted on the edge.

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© ChineNews.comA pretty deep hole in the ground, isn’t it?