Earth Changes
Burmese pythons - an invasive species in south Florida - could find comfortable climatic conditions in roughly a third of the United States according to new "climate maps" developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although other factors such as type of food available and suitable shelter also play a role, Burmese pythons and other giant constrictor snakes have shown themselves to be highly adaptable to new environments.
The just-released USGS maps can help natural resource agencies manage and possibly control the spread of non-native giant constrictor snakes, such as the Burmese python, now spreading from Everglades National Park in Florida. These "climate match" maps show where climate in the U.S. is similar to places in which Burmese pythons live naturally (from Pakistan to Indonesia).
A look at the map shows why biologists are concerned.
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| ©USGS
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| Areas of the continental United States with current climate matching that of the pythons' native range in Asia. By 2100 the yellow "maybe" area is expected to extend north substantially, due to projected climate change.
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Martin Redfern
BBCSat, 23 Feb 2008 23:54 UTC
UK scientists working in Antarctica have found some of the clearest evidence yet of instabilities in the ice of part of West Antarctica.
If the trend continues, they say, it could lead to a significant rise in global sea level.
The new evidence comes from a group of glaciers covering an area the size of Texas, in a remote and seldom visited part of West Antarctica.
Two boys have died in an avalanche in the Orenburg Region in the Urals, an emergencies ministry spokesman said on Friday.
Two boys aged 12 and 14, who were sledging down a snowy slope on home-made boards, were buried under a 2-meter (6.5 feet) layer of snow.
Anneli Rufus
AlterNetSat, 23 Feb 2008 12:33 UTC
We are, of course, but a new book on animal cruelty will make your jaw drop about how vicious humans can be to other animals.
With its razor-sharp teeth, the fish known as the giant snakehead terrorises the warm waters of south-east Asia.
Which is why an angler was particularly startled to hook a 2ft specimen from a river in Lincolnshire.
Andrew Alder caught the snakehead using a sprat for bait while fishing for pike in the River Witham near North Hykeham.
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| ©Daily Mail
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| Known as the 'gangster' of the fish world, a snakehead was caught in Lincolnshire
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Monaco - A deadly combination of climate change, over-fishing and pollution could cause the collapse of commercial fish stocks worldwide within decades, said Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Program.
As initial assessments shed light on the extensive damage caused by Cyclone Ivan earlier this week, Madagascar is bracing itself for another onslaught as Cyclone Hondo picks up and heads for the island's east coast.
Ivan slammed into Madagascar's northeastern coast on Sunday, 18 February, with winds of up to 210km per hour, leaving a trail of destruction on its way across the island until it slowly diminished in strength and dissipated in the Mozambique Channel on Tuesday.
BBCFri, 22 Feb 2008 18:39 UTC
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| ©Associated Press
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| Residents ride on a make-shift raft in a flooded street in Puerto Inca, Ecuador.
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Ecuador has extended a state of emergency to the entire nation after torrential rains triggered floods and mudslides across the country. The move eases access to $25m (£12.7m) in emergency funds for repairs.
Nearly a month of flooding has claimed at least three lives and forced thousands to flee their homes.
A major winter storm struck the northeast Friday morning, with snowfall causing massive delays at airports, closing schools and snarling traffic on streets and highways in the region.
Snow started falling earlier than expected, before daybreak, with four inches measured at mid-morning in Manhattan's Central Park. A total of six to nine inches was expected before the snow is to change to sleet and rain in the afternoon.
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| ©Unknown
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| Employees clearing snow in a commercial area in Queens.
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Arrival delays of more than five hours were reported by the Federal Aviation Administration at Kennedy and Newark airports with a lesser delay of slightly more than three hours at La Guardia.
Record-setting cold weather has killed more than 8,000 cattle and 100,000 hectares of paddy rice in northern Vietnam since mid-January, officials said Tuesday. Most of the cattle have died in northern mountainous provinces, where temperatures during the month-long cold spell have sometimes dropped to below zero Celsius, a rarity in Vietnam.
