Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Papua New Guinea - Earthquake Magnitude 6.2 - Bougainville Region

PNG Quake_131210
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Monday, December 13, 2010 at 01:14:43 UTC

Monday, December 13, 2010 at 11:14:43 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
6.563°S, 155.658°E

Depth:
144.8 km (90.0 miles)

Region:
BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Distances:
40 km (25 miles) SSE of Arawa, Bougainville, PNG

100 km (65 miles) W of Chirovanga, Choiseul, Solomon Islands

990 km (610 miles) ENE of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

2325 km (1450 miles) N of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia

Igloo

US: Storm Socks Midwest, Cancels Flights, Closes Roads

Winter Storm
© AP Photo/Craig Lassig
Chicago - A powerful, gusty storm dumped mounds of snow across the upper Midwest on Sunday, closing major highways in several states, canceling more than 1,600 flights in Chicago and collapsing the roof of the Minnesota Vikings' stadium.

At least two weather-related deaths were reported as the storm system dropped nearly 2 feet of snow in parts of Minnesota and marched east. A blizzard warning was in effect Sunday for parts of eastern Iowa, southeastern Wisconsin, northwestern Illinois and northern Michigan, according to the National Weather Service. Surrounding areas, including Chicago, were under winter storm warnings. Much of Iowa was under a wind-chill advisory.

In Minneapolis, the heavy snow left the Metrodome decidedly unready for some football. Video inside the stadium aired by Fox Sports showed the inflatable Teflon roof sagging before it tore open, dumping massive amounts of snow across one end of the playing field.

No one was hurt but the Vikings' game against the New York Giants had to be moved to Detroit's Ford Field. The day of the game had already been pushed back from Sunday to Monday because the storm kept the Giants from reaching Minneapolis on time. Stadium officials were trying to repair the roof in time for the Vikings' next home game, Dec. 20 against Chicago.

Igloo

The £43 million summit that is polluting the planet: Cancun will generate 25,000 tons of CO2

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© AlamySoaring fumes: Flying delegates to the summit will produce considerable greenhouse gas. But should we expect anything less from these parasites?
The climate change summit in Cancun will generate 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide, its Mexican hosts admitted last night.

That means the £43 million event will produce as much greenhouse gas as an average-sized African country would over the same two-week period.

The figure includes the carbon generated by flights, transport, hotels and food - and means the conference is polluting at the same rate as Somalia or Mali.

The organisers of the UN talks say they will plant trees and pay farmers to protect forests to offset the emissions. The Mexicans are also recycling rubbish from the conference, which spans two venues connected by shuttle buses running on biodiesel.

However, the rubbish has to be driven 800 miles to the nearest recycling plant in Mexico City.

Last year's summit in Copenhagen generated an estimated 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide - a figure that was lower because many delegates did not need to fly.

Igloo

"Gore Effect" on Steroids: Six straight days of record low temperatures during COP16 in Cancun Mexico - more coming

The irony, it burns. Do you think maybe Gaia is trying to send the U.N. and the delegates a message? One record low was funny, three in a row was hilarious, a new record low for the month of December was ROFL, but now six straight days of record lows during the U.N. COP16 Global Warming conference? That's galactically inconvenient. The whole month so far has averaged below normal:

[Click on images to enlarge]

Image
© Unknown

Igloo

Ice Age Alert! Central England has coldest introduction to winter since 1659!

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© Press Association
"The central England Temperature (CET) from the 1st-7th of December is -1.9, making this the coldest opening week of December since 1879," says meteorologist Joe Bastrardi.

With 1879 being the coldest opening week on CET record, this week has been the second coldest opening week to December since CET records began in 1659.

Those records are for a one-week period.

When you look at the two-week period, says Bastardi, the last week of November and the first week of December, it's the coldest since CET records began in 1659.

This puts central England back to the temperatures of the Little Ice Age.

And there's more to come, Bastardi warns.

"Preparation for renewal of extreme cold from France to Scandinavia and west through the UK should be made."

See entire article

Igloo

Signs that show Man Made Global Warming is Definitely Still Happening

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© Jeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA man attempts to clear snow around cars in Dunning, Scotland, in late November 2010
As your boiler breaks down, your pipes freeze, your car won't start, your Ocado delivery fails to arrive, your train is cancelled, your neck is broken after slipping on black ice and you lie in an emergency ward waiting for a doctor to turn up only to learn that they're all off today because of the weather, you might be forgiven for thinking that all this has something to do with global cooling, changes in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and the decline in sunspot activity perhaps auguring a new Maunder minimum.

But you couldn't be more wrong.

"It's all actually a sign that man made global warming is very much a live issue and that there's more of it happening than ever," says a top scientist, who holds the British record for securing grant-funding for global warming research projects so he must know what he's talking about.

Bizarro Earth

Huge Storm Hits East Mediterranean

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© Agence France-PresseFishing boats were damaged in Lebanon as the storm smashed into the country's coastline, killing one person
Deaths as rain, snow and high winds lash Eastern Mediterranean, bringing months of drought to a dramatic end.

An enormous storm has battered the eastern Mediterranean over the weekend, causing destruction in several countries and bringing to a dramatic end months of drought.

Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Jordan and Egypt were all hit by severe weather, with lashing rain, hail, snow and standstorms wreaking havoc across the region.

In Lebanon, 10 metre waves smashed into the coastline as wind speeds topped 100 kilometres an hour on Saturday. A woman was killed when her car was crushed in the northern city of Tripoli, and four small planes were flipped over at Beirut's airport.

By Sunday, the rain had turned to snow in the country's mountains, leaving drivers stranded on frozen roads. Meanwhile coastal roads were closed as fishing boats were smashed to pieces by enormous waves.

In Israel, a Moldovan freighter sank in the storm off the coast of Ashdod after its 11 crew members were rescued, and a Russian tourist was feared dead after being swept into the sea.

Snowflake

Minneapolis Metrodome Roof Collapses Due to Blizzard

The Metrodome, home to the Minneapolis Vikings, is known for being able to handle massive amounts of snow. However, this weekend's blizzard in the Midwest may actually be too much even for the Metrodome! According to KARE-TV and ESPN, the roof of the Metrodome has collapsed due to heavy snow and winds.

The collapsed reportedly happened around 5 a.m. Sunday morning. The teflon roof is an inflatable roof which covers the Mall of America field during inclement weather.
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© (twitpic: BTBarandBrewery)Metrodome roof after it collapsed

Bizarro Earth

US: Unusually Cold Weather Killing Florida's Manatees

Unusually cold weather last winter killed Florida's endangered manatees at a record rate, a report said on Friday.

During 2010, a record 699 manatees have died in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Research Institute.

Of those, 244 were attributed to cold weather and many of the 271 undetermined deaths were also likely caused by weather. In most years, the leading cause of manatee deaths is from collisions with power boats.

The latest surveys estimate there are only about 5,000 of the chubby marine mammals left in Florida waters.

"We are very concerned about the unusually high number of manatee deaths this year," Gil McRae, the director of the institute, said in a statement. "The cold-related deaths this past winter emphasize the importance of warm weather habitat to the Florida manatee."

The previous record of 429 manatee deaths was set in 2009 but only 56 of those were caused by cold weather.

Binoculars

Africa's "Terrible Hairy Fly" Found in Kenya

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© Reuters/International Center of Insect Physiology and EcologyMormotomyia hirsuta. Scientists in Kenya have located one of the world's rarest and oddest-looking flies after a long hunt for an insect dubbed the "terrible hairy fly," experts said on Wednesday.
Scientists in Kenya have located one of the world's rarest and oddest-looking flies after a long hunt for an insect dubbed the "terrible hairy fly," experts said on Wednesday.

Scientists first stumbled across the yellow-haired fly in 1933 and then again in 1948. Since then, at least half a dozen expeditions have visited a site between the towns of Thika and Garissa to find it again.

At about one centimeter long and so far found on a single 20-meter high rock, the Mormotomyia hirsuta looks more like a spider with its hairy legs, scientists said.

Unable to fly and partial to breeding in bat feces, the fly is thought to live only in the dank, bat-filled cleft of an isolated rock in the Ukazi Hills. It also has non-functional wings that resemble miniature belt-straps, and tiny eyes.

Dr Robert Copeland of the Nairobi-based International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology said the fly's physical appearance had left scientists bamboozled about where exactly it belonged in the entire order of Diptera, or "true flies."