Earth Changes
Conway, South Carolina - Wind-whipped wildfires across the rain-starved Carolinas chased churchgoers from worship on Sunday and forced residents to flee dozens of homes threatened by flames.
A freak storm -- that dumped more than a month's average rainfall in less than 24 hours -- has swamped the Pacific island nation of Tonga, forcing evacuations, officials said Saturday.
Buildings, including the Australian High Commission, and houses in the main city of Nuku'alofa were flooded after roads turned into rivers during the storm, officials said.
"This is the greatest rainfall we have ever had in the kingdom," duty forecaster 'Ofa Taumoepeau said.
Buildings, including the Australian High Commission, and houses in the main city of Nuku'alofa were flooded after roads turned into rivers during the storm, officials said.
"This is the greatest rainfall we have ever had in the kingdom," duty forecaster 'Ofa Taumoepeau said.
A form of intersex fish, which have male and female traits, is found more frequently in areas with more farming and human population density, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The so-called intersex fish have been found in U.S. waters over the past decade, including the Potomac River watershed, the southern Great Lakes and the Southern California coast. The cause isn't fully understood, but researchers suspect waste-water and farm runoff polluted with chemicals that stimulate estrogen production.
The so-called intersex fish have been found in U.S. waters over the past decade, including the Potomac River watershed, the southern Great Lakes and the Southern California coast. The cause isn't fully understood, but researchers suspect waste-water and farm runoff polluted with chemicals that stimulate estrogen production.
Scientists on board RRS Discovery are at sea studying the Saharan dust that blows off the coast of Africa - triggering huge plankton blooms in the eastern Atlantic.
Saharan dust is rich in nitrogen, iron and phosphorus and acts as a fertilizer on the production of plankton.
Dr Eric Achterberg from NOCS is leading the research cruise and studying the dust's effect on nutrients, plankton production and the food chain.
Saharan dust is rich in nitrogen, iron and phosphorus and acts as a fertilizer on the production of plankton.
Dr Eric Achterberg from NOCS is leading the research cruise and studying the dust's effect on nutrients, plankton production and the food chain.
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| ©National Oceanography Centre, Southampton |
| MODIS satellite true color image of dust storm over tropical North Atlantic Ocean, March 2004. |
Freezing weather has killed 750 people in war-torn Afghanistan with many others losing their limbs due to frostbite.
China has lost about one tenth of its forest resources to recent snow storms regarded as the most severe in half a century, state media reported Sunday.
A total of 17.3 million hectares (43 million acres) of forest have been damaged across China as the result of three weeks of savage winter weather, the China Daily website said, citing the State Forestry Administration.
A total of 17.3 million hectares (43 million acres) of forest have been damaged across China as the result of three weeks of savage winter weather, the China Daily website said, citing the State Forestry Administration.
Will humans need to live as space nomads to survive? Possibly, says Neil deGrasse Tyson of the American Museum of Natural History.
"It may be," says Tyson, "that our only insurance policy against extinction is to become a multi-planet, space faring species."
Worries of climate change and unexpected catastrophe on Earth, compounded with humankind's natural curiosity about what lies beyond, compel private industry and NASA alike not only to wonder "what if," but to prepare for the "when."
"It may be," says Tyson, "that our only insurance policy against extinction is to become a multi-planet, space faring species."
Worries of climate change and unexpected catastrophe on Earth, compounded with humankind's natural curiosity about what lies beyond, compel private industry and NASA alike not only to wonder "what if," but to prepare for the "when."
Floods and storms have killed 12 people on Indonesia's main island of Java, a health official said on Sunday.
Floods triggered by heavy rain killed eight people in two districts in East Java over the past two days, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's crisis centre.
Four people died on Saturday when an electricity pole was toppled by storms, hitting a car in which they were traveling in Bekasi, east of the capital Jakarta, he said.
Several areas in Jakarta, where flooding killed five people this month, were under water on Sunday but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Floods triggered by heavy rain killed eight people in two districts in East Java over the past two days, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's crisis centre.
Four people died on Saturday when an electricity pole was toppled by storms, hitting a car in which they were traveling in Bekasi, east of the capital Jakarta, he said.
Several areas in Jakarta, where flooding killed five people this month, were under water on Sunday but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
When it comes to the science of global climate change, I'm an agnostic.
I've seen Al Gore's movie, and I've read reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I've interviewed some of America's top climate scientists. I've also read what the "skeptics" have to say.
I don't know who's right. Now that Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize, it seems that--at least for now--the skeptics are losing the public-relations war. Whatever. For me, in many ways, the science no longer matters, because it has become so rancorous and so politicized. The pro-Gore faction insists the anthropogenic debate has been "settled," that no additional discussion is needed. The anti-Gore faction says the current period of warming could be the result of the natural variation in the weather cycle, sunspots, or any number of other things.
Again, I no longer care much about the science. To me, the central question, and the one that few are willing to discuss in depth, is: Then what?
I've seen Al Gore's movie, and I've read reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I've interviewed some of America's top climate scientists. I've also read what the "skeptics" have to say.
I don't know who's right. Now that Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize, it seems that--at least for now--the skeptics are losing the public-relations war. Whatever. For me, in many ways, the science no longer matters, because it has become so rancorous and so politicized. The pro-Gore faction insists the anthropogenic debate has been "settled," that no additional discussion is needed. The anti-Gore faction says the current period of warming could be the result of the natural variation in the weather cycle, sunspots, or any number of other things.
Again, I no longer care much about the science. To me, the central question, and the one that few are willing to discuss in depth, is: Then what?
New Arctic Study published in Climate Dynamics, and the work was conducted by Håkan Grudd of Stockholm University's Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology - Published online: 30 January 2008.
Excerpt: "The late-twentieth century is not exceptionally warm in the new Torneträsk record: On decadal-to-century timescales, periods around AD 750, 1000, 1400, and 1750 were all equally warm, or warmer. The warmest summers in this new reconstruction occur in a 200-year period centred on AD 1000. A 'Medieval Warm Period' is supported by other paleoclimate evidence from northern Fennoscandia, although the new tree-ring evidence from Tornetraäsk suggests that this period was much warmer than previously recognised." < > "The new Torneträsk summer temperature reconstruction shows a trend of -0.3°C over the last 1,500 years." Paper available here: & Full Paper (pdf) available here:
Commentary on new study:
Excerpt: "The late-twentieth century is not exceptionally warm in the new Torneträsk record: On decadal-to-century timescales, periods around AD 750, 1000, 1400, and 1750 were all equally warm, or warmer. The warmest summers in this new reconstruction occur in a 200-year period centred on AD 1000. A 'Medieval Warm Period' is supported by other paleoclimate evidence from northern Fennoscandia, although the new tree-ring evidence from Tornetraäsk suggests that this period was much warmer than previously recognised." < > "The new Torneträsk summer temperature reconstruction shows a trend of -0.3°C over the last 1,500 years." Paper available here: & Full Paper (pdf) available here:
Commentary on new study:
