Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Rising Sea Floods Indonesian Capital

Zakki Hakim
Associated Press
Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:31 UTC


©AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah
Indonesians wade through a flooded street in North Jakarta.

Jakarta, Indonesia - Indonesia's environment minister said Tuesday that global warming was to blame after the capital of Jakarta was partially flooded, forcing thousands of people to flee homes and cutting off a highway to the international airport.

Authorities used pumps to lower water levels, which reached six feet in the worst-hit areas and washed more than a mile inland Monday, said Iskandar, an official at Jakarta's flood crisis center. At least 2,200 houses were inundated, some with chest-deep water.
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People

Asian nations face "unprecedented" water crisis: Report

Daryl Loo
Reuters
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:58 UTC
Developing countries in Asia could face an "unprecedented" water crisis within a decade due to mismanagement of water resources, the Asian Development Bank said in a report on Thursday.

The effects of climate change, rapid industrialisation and population growth on water resources could lead to health and social issues that could cost billions of dollars annually, it said.

"If the present unsatisfactory trends continue, in one or two decades, Asian developing countries are likely to face and cope with a crisis on water quality management that is unprecedented in human history," Ajit Biswas wrote in the report.
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Cloud Lightning

Philippine villagers panic as sea water rises after quake

Gabriel Cardinoza and Yolanda Sotelo-Fuertes
Inquirer.net
Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:55 UTC


©Philippine Daily Inquirer/Ray B. Zambrano
Sheds at the Tondaligan Blue Beach in Dagupan City, destroyed by a storm surge Tuesday night.

Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines -- Residents living in coastal areas of Pangasinan were thrown into panic Tuesday night after water from the Lingayen Gulf began to rise and flooded their houses.

According to the provincial disaster coordinating council here, at least 280 families were taken to various evacuation centers here and in the towns of Binmaley, San Fabian, Labrador and Bolinao and Dagupan City.
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Bug

How to make a zombie cockroach

Michael Hopkin
Nature
Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:12 UTC
Researchers have worked out the neurological trick used by a species of wasp to turn cockroaches into 'zombie slaves'. The discovery explains why, once stung, cockroaches can be led by a much smaller master towards certain death. Researchers have proven their theory by replicating the effect, and by using an antidote injection to release the cockroaches from their zombie state.
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Attention

Sunken Antarctic Cruise Ship Leaves Oil Spill, Threatening 2,500 Penguins

Eva Vergara
ABC News/Associated Press
Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:54 UTC
About 2,500 penguins en route to their Antarctic mating grounds could be sickened by a diesel fuel spill from a cruise boat that struck an iceberg and sank last week, Chilean scientists said Friday.

Areas surrounding the mile-long spill site include breeding grounds for Antarctic and Adelia penguins, and the largest mating colony for Papua penguins, said Maria Jose Rosello, a Chilean marine biologist.
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Cloud Lightning

Storm surges hit Visayas - Philippines; 2 reported dead, over 100 families affected


GMANews.TV
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:56 UTC
Storm surges that generated big waves whipped coastal areas in the provinces of Negros Occidental and Iloilo, and in Cebu City that reportedly resulted in the death of two persons and the displacement of over 100 families, GMA News's Saksi said on Wednesday.
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Alarm Clock

Flying foxes fall prey to Earth's rising temperature

Lewis Smith
Times online
Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:29 UTC
Flying foxes have been dropping off trees and dying in droves because of the effects of climate change, researchers say.

More than 30,000 of the fruit bats are estimated to have died since 1994 in heat waves associated with global warming.

Mass deaths from heat stress have occurred at least 19 times since 1994, as opposed to only three anecdotal reports of similar flying fox deaths before then.

Comment: Reader comments from the original article:
That's 107.6 degree Farenheit! Enough to denature the proteins of most mammals after an extended period of exposure.

I'm extremely dubious that these temperatures have any cause comnected with so called "Global Warming." Sounds more like some scientists plugged in some local heat lamps to cook their data (and the bats).

Is it possible that scientists were not paying any attention prior to 1994 and that there may have been many episodes which were overlooked and never recorded? The phrase "anecdotal evidence" suggest that no rigorous studies had been conducted before that time. So, it's possible (probable?) that this is a case of skewed data, i.e. finding only the data to support the conclusion you wish to reach. Is this supposed to be peer-reviewed science?!

Scott, Durham, NC, USA

The bats in Lewis Smith's belfry would die too if he was exposed to temperatures of 42 degrees for a relatively short time.

This typical global warming alarmist report gives no indication of where the "mass deaths" took place In Australia.

For example, here in Adelaide temperatures of 42 are not uncommon and I must say that watching bats falling out of trees is as much a rarity as seeing kangaroos hopping down the main street.

Gordon Hastings, Adelaide, South Australia


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Bell

Strong quake 7.4 hits Martinique: monitors


Agence France-Presse
Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:03 UTC
FORT DE FRANCE - A strong earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey, struck near the French Caribbean island of Martinique Thursday.

The quake caused at least two injuries and led to the collapse of a pair of buildings, officials said.

It struck at a depth of 143 kilometres (90 miles) and was centered 41 kilometres (25 miles) north-northwest of Martinique's capital Fort-de-France, the USGS said, updating its earlier estimate of 7.3 magnitude.

Comment: There has been a lot of seismic activity lately. This is just another big one in an area that don't commonly have such big ones.

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Fish

Levee Repair Leads to Calif. Fish Kill

Juliet Williams
Associated Press
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:46 UTC
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - State and federal officials said Monday they were investigating the death of thousands of game fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta after a federal agency drained the water around a protected island during a levee repair.
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Cloud Lightning

Typhoon kills eight in Philippines


RIA Novosti
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:25 UTC
Eight people died and two others are missing after Typhoon Mitag slammed into the Philippines, local media said on Monday.

All the dead were from the central region of Bicol, where the typhoon flooded about 1,000 hectares of rice fields, destroying roads and houses. Over 290,000 people were evacuated from the storm-hit region.
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