Earth Changes
"The WWF is formally calling for a moratorium on new oil and gas development in the Arctic," Neil Hamilton, director of the group's Arctic programme, said at a conference in northern Norway on environmental challenges in the polar region.
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©Unknown |
From a region northwest of Dubrovnik, the new fault runs northwest at least 200 km (124 miles) under the sea floor.
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©Richard A. Bennett |
This old fortress in Dubrovnik sits on top of an Eocene thrust fault which is visible in the photo. The newly discovered active thrust fault lies not far offshore. |
The planet is getting skinned.
While many worry about the potential consequences of atmospheric warming, a few experts are trying to call attention to another global crisis quietly taking place under our feet.
Call it the thin brown line. Dirt. On average, the planet is covered with little more than 3 feet of topsoil -- the shallow skin of nutrient-rich matter that sustains most of our food and appears to play a critical role in supporting life on Earth.
The latest figure from Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority is triple that issued by the agency five days ago.
The hardest-hit areas have been in the western province of Herat and its neighbouring provinces of Farah, Badghis and Nimroz -- all remote and mountainous regions near the Iranian border, the authority said.
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©Unknown |
Eleven people were killed and 51 injured when an overloaded bus rolled off an icy road in eastern Anhui province late Sunday near Mingguang city, Xinhua news agency said.
It said the passengers were mostly migrant workers returning home to celebrate the Spring Festival on February 7, China's most important holiday.
The driver of the bus has been arrested for carrying 72 passengers, 21 more than allowed, it said.
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©Unknown |
According to a report of the press service of the Far Eastern Regional Centre of the Ministry for Emergency Situations, one earthquake was registered in the area of the port of Kholmsk (western coast of Sakhalin). The epicentre was situated under the bottom of the Tatar Strait at a depth of 33 kilometres, an earthquake with the three-point magnitude was felt in Kholmsk and the village of Pravda of the Kholmsk region, there are no victims or destructions.
Thermometers registered 34 degrees Fahrenheit below zero at Van Buren, 27 below at Presque Isle and 26 below at Allagash, the National Weather Service reported.
Comment: In case you missed where this chill is coming from: Siberian Express brings Arctic blast across the States
Comment: An interesting speculation on the effect of asteroid 2007 TU24's close passage on our planet. It is also interesting to note that there are no articles on this event from the mainstream media, whereas Ron Paul's campaign team released a YouTube video. All the available articles on the net are from bloggers and forum members.