Earth ChangesS

Bizarro Earth

Russian scientist says Earth could soon face new Ice Age

Temperatures on Earth have stabilized in the past decade, and the planet should brace itself for a new Ice Age rather than global warming, a Russian scientist said in an interview with RIA Novosti Tuesday.

Stop

WWF calls for moratorium on oil exploration in Arctic

Global conservation group WWF called on Tuesday for a moratorium on all new oil exploration in the Arctic, insisting that the environmental risks to the sensitive eco system there were too great.

"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.

©Unknown

Newspaper

Newly Discovered Active Fault Building New Dalmatian Islands Off Croatian Coast

A newly identified fault that runs under the Adriatic Sea is actively building more of the famously beautiful Dalmatian Islands and Dinaride Mountains of Croatia, according to a new research report. Geologists had previously believed that the Dalmatian Islands and the Dinaride Mountains had stopped growing 20 to 30 million years ago.

From a region northwest of Dubrovnik, the new fault runs northwest at least 200 km (124 miles) under the sea floor.

©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.

Bug

The lowdown on topsoil: It's disappearing

Disappearing dirt rivals global warming as an environmental threat

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.

Snowman

Cold, snow kills 300 people in Afghanistan

More than 320 people and thousands of livestock have been killed in Afghanistan this month in freezing weather and the heaviest snowfalls for 15 years, the country's disaster authority said Monday.

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.

©Unknown

Snowman

Deadly snowfall disrupts China New Year travel

At least 21 people have been killed in east-central China by freezing temperatures and heavy snow that have disrupted the annual New Year travel rush, state media said Monday.

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.

©Unknown

Evil Rays

Two earthquakes occur in Sakhalin and Kuriles, no victims

Two earthquakes occurred in Sakhalin and Kuriles over the past 24 hours.

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.

Binoculars

Concerns about Asteroid 2007 TU24

I believe that the greatest potential for danger will come in the form of TU24 being an asteroid whose plasma discharge with Earth may cause great chaos, even though it is hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

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.


Snowman

Deep freeze hits northern states

Portland, Maine - Temperatures dropped to breathtaking levels, well below zero, in extreme northern sections of Maine early Monday.

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


Bad Guys

World Bank pledges to save trees... then helps cut down Amazon forest

A month ago it vowed to fight deforestation. Now research reveals it funds the rainforest's biggest threat.

The World Bank has emerged as one of the key backers behind an explosion of cattle ranching in the Amazon, which new research has identified as the greatest threat to the survival of the rainforest.