Earth ChangesS


Ice Cube

Scientific American turns its back on science, proposes ridiculous geo-engineering schemes to combat 'climate change'

Zugspitze plastic sheet
© Matthias Schrader/AP
Workers on Germany's highest mountain, Zugspitze, cover the glacier with oversized plastic sheets to keep it from melting during the summer months. Scientist have said geoengineering must be researched to find a possible solution of last resort to dangerous levels of global warming.

I was saying to my wife over dinner at a restaurant on the beach in Rio that the world has gone nuts since we were younger and in college. Even back then, I was able to isolate major patterns in civilization that showed me the future was bleak but never could anticipate the extent and level of sickness we were headed into.

Gerald Celente agrees with me saying, "The world is crazy. Look at the leaders of the world, it's a freak show." There are so many points of insanity in our world it is hard to know where to begin. How many of us would ever have thought we would see in the world, right in the mainstream press the outright claim, "ISIS: Enslaving, having sex with 'unbelieving' women, girls is OK." Perhaps we should not be surprised when we realize how sexual barbarism has filled the world since time began, or at least since the onset of organized religion.

Comment: Oh, the hubris! The fact that these so-called scientists think that they can control the climate of this planet is absolutely mind-boggling!


Binoculars

Rare Arctic glaucous gull turns up in Turkey

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The arctic seagull making a special appearance on Turkey's Rize coast was reportedly last seen here 140 years ago
A glaucous gull, which only recently reappeared on the Black Sea coast after more than a century, has drawn prominent birdwatchers to the northern province of Rize.

The glaucous gull is believed to have first appeared in 1874 in the busy Turkish province of Istanbul. This is actually the sole evidence of their existence in the Turkish territory, but there has been no sighting of the bird for 140 years.

The white-headed and-tailed bird has been described as the glaucous bird, which has first been recorded in 1874 in Istanbul, according to a discussion among Turkey's key bird watchers.

Blue Planet

Hawaii lava threatens to hit gas station and stores

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© AP
Lava from a volcano on Hawaii's Big Island is on course to reach a shopping center with a gas station and a supermarket in seven to 10 days, officials said.

Lava is about 1 mile from the shopping center in the small town of Pahoa, Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira said Monday. The shopping center also contains a hardware store, pharmacy and auto repair shop.

There's still a great deal of uncertainty about when the lava might reach the center and what it could hit. The lava could smother one structure in the complex or cover them all, he said.

"It just depends on what the flow does as it comes through," he told reporters during a conference call.

Oliveira says the county has been in touch with the merchants about evacuation plans. The county hasn't yet advised them to leave.

The supermarket, one of the biggest stores in the center, plans to start removing equipment on Tuesday and shut down on Thursday. Malama Market said in a statement it was encouraging customers to keep shopping until its doors close.

The gas station would sell its remaining fuel and pump out what's leftover if it does have to evacuate, Oliveira said. It would then fill its tanks with water and firefighting foam.

This plan has been approved the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and by the state Department of Health, he said.

An earlier idea called for the gas station to put sand into the tanks, but this wouldn't have removed all flammable vapors. It also would have destroyed the pumping system. By using firefighting foam, the gas station may use the tanks again if lava bypasses the area and it wants to reopen.

Lava has never hit a gas station on the Big Island in the past, Oliveira said.

Lava has been threatening Pahoa town, which has a population of about 900, for months. In October, it burned a house and covered part of a cemetery but stalled just before hitting Pahoa's main road.

It later started flowing from a different spot.

The lava could still cross the town's main road and a highway, which would make it more difficult for residents of Pahoa and the broader community of Puna to get to other parts of the island.

Bizarro Earth

This rare rainbow appeared over the Atacama Desert at 9,500 feet above sea level

Rainbow
© ESO/A. Silber
Rainbows are widely appreciated for the welcome touch of colour they can bring to an otherwise dark and dreary day, and this rainbow is no exception.

This rare rainbow appears over the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Operations Support Facility (OSF), which lies some 2900 metres above sea level close to San Pedro de Atacama. The OSF is the base camp for the ALMA site, which is significantly higher at over 5000 metres up on the Chajnantor Plateau.

The OSF isn't just a location for operating the giant ALMA Observatory; it is also where new technologies are assembled, integrated, and verified before they are transported to their final destination on Chajnantor. The technology has to be assembled and tested at the OSF because the air is much denser there than on the plateau, and workers can complete their tasks without the adverse health risks associated with working at high altitude.

This rainbow was captured by ESO employee Armin Silber.

Comment: Atacama desert is one of the driest places on Earth, it is almost a miracle that we can admire this beauty.


Black Cat

Record number of panther attacks on farm animals in Florida

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A record number of Florida panther attacks on farm animals and pets took place this year, in what the state wildlife commission says is a consequence of the endangered cat's increased population.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Friday confirmed 32 incidents of fatal panther attacks on animals such as goats, sheep, calves, dogs and cats, with more than 50 animals killed. This year also saw a record 20 panthers killed by vehicles.

The commission attributed the increase in killings to the success of state and federal efforts to increase the panther's population. The number of panthers today is estimated at 100 to 180, with the top figure representing a recent upward revision from 160. During the 1970s, the population may have fallen as low as 30.

"Over the past 40 years, Florida panther conservation efforts have resulted in the panther population growing significantly from the 1970s, when the panther was first federally listed as endangered," the agency said. "As the population grows, the chance for interaction between the large cats and humans also increases - which can be bad for both people and panthers."

Wolf

Young girl severely mauled by dog in Widgee, Australia

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A five-year-old girl who suffered severe facial injuries in a dog attack at Widgee is recovering after emergency plastic surgery.

It is believed the girl was visiting a Widgee home on Sunday when she suffered several bite marks to her face, leaving injuries to her nose, cheeks and lip.

Gympie Regional Council officers yesterday began an investigation into the incident, which occurred about 5pm Sunday on a private property on Gympie Woolooga Rd.

A worker at Widgee General Store said the girl and her mother were not locals.

The mother turned up at the shop seeking help in an area notorious as a mobile phone black spot.

Info

Earth might face sixth mass extinction within 100 years

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The rate of extinctions could lead to what is defined as a mass extinction in the next few centuries
The earth could face a mass extinction by the next century if species continue to disappear at the current rate, according to a report by the scientific journal Nature.

Despite conservation attempts by governments across the world to save endangered species, thousands of animal types continue to face extinction every year.

Nature found that 41 per cent of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction, the highest at risk group. A more modest, but still alarming, 26 per cent of mammal species and 13 per cent of bird species are also threatened.

Habitat loss and degradation, as well as specific human activity such as hunting pose a significant hazard to wildlife sustainability and these pressures are only increasing. Similarly, it is thought that climate change will accelerate the rate of extinctions in the future.

Attention

Wild elephant kills yet another person in Sri Lanka

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A man died yesterday (11th) attacked by a wild elephant in Mangalagama area.

Remains of the victim lie at Maha Oya Hospital awaiting post-mortem.

Mangalagama Police continue further investigations in to the incident.

Comment: Since August elephants on the island of Sri Lanka seems to be going berserk for some reason: Third elephant attack within 3 days in Sri Lanka: Two killed in jumbo attack

Father and son killed in elephant attack, Sri Lanka

2 people killed in another elephant attack in Sri Lanka

Wild elephant attacks kills two in Sri Lanka

One person killed in wild elephant attack in Sri Lanka

Fourth elephant attack within four weeks in Sri Lanka

Two killed in a wild elephant attack in Maankulam, Sri Lanka


Cow Skull

Endangered northern white rhinos on brink of total extinction

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© Wikipedia/ Sheep81
Scientists will make every effort to save the endangered subspecies of the world's biggest northern white rhinos through artificial insemination of female species, although the chances are slim, Vladimir Krever, the WWF Russia coordinator of biodiversity conservation program told RIA Novosti.

Earlier, the San Diego Zoo reported that one of only six northern white rhinoceros remaining in the world died of old age on Sunday, December 14. The rhino, named Angalifu, was almost 44 years old and arrived in San Diego from Sudan in August 1990.

"Angalifu's death is a tremendous loss to all of us. Not only because he was well beloved here at the park but also because his death brings this wonderful species one step closer to extinction," said Randy Rieches, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park curator as cited by the Daily Mail.

Comment: It is such a heart breaking tragedy to see this kind of human caused extinctions continuing to occur due to greed with no regard given to the animals.


Cheese

Rat infestation worsens at One World Trade Center offices

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The rodents have pestered the staffs of Vanity Fair and Vogue. Conde told employees that they cannot eat at their desks and that a complaint will be made with the city's health department.

Conde Nast's rat problem is getting worse rather than better.

While Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter tells Confidenti@l that rats stubbornly continue to occupy the new Conde Nast offices at One World Trade Center, we're also told that Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour doesn't even want to go in the building anymore.

And while there were multiple previous reports that the pests were terrorizing the glamorous staff at Vogue, we're now told they've "taken over" more of the storied publishing house.