Earth ChangesS

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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Evil Rays

Three killed in earthquake in Indonesia


RIA Novosti
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:20 UTC
At least three people have been killed and 45 injured in an earthquake in eastern Indonesia, the head of the republic's emergencies center said on Monday.

"Early Monday morning the Sumbawa island was hit by a series of quakes, the most powerful of them, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale occurred at 2.53 local time (19.53 GMT)," Rustam Pakaya said, adding that the earthquake had killed three people and damaged hundreds of buildings.
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Better Earth

Marine Scientists Warn Human Safety, Prosperity Depend On Better Ocean Observing System


terradaily.com
Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:51 UTC
Speedy diagnosis of the temper and vital signs of the oceans matters increasingly to the well being of humanity, says a distinguished partnership of international scientists urging support to complete a world marine monitoring system within 10 years. The Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) says warming seas, over-fishing and pollution are among profound concerns that must be better measured to help society respond in a well-informed, timely and cost-effective way.

"A system for ocean observing and forecasting that covers the world's oceans and their major uses can reduce growing risks, protect human interests and monitor the health of our precious oceans," says Dr. Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, USA, and Chair of POGO's Executive Committee.

"The world community resolved to construct a comprehensive, integrated ocean observing system two decades ago. The good news is we have demonstrated that a global ocean observing system can be built, deployed and operated with available technologies. Now we must move from experiment and proof-of-concept to routine use. We have progressed less than halfway to our initial goals. Let's complete the task before we are struck by more tsunamis or comparable calamities."

©unknown
"Oceans cover a majority of our planet - 71% - yet are vastly under-sampled," says Dr. Tony Haymet. "We have an urgent need and new technological marvels available today to complete a system by which marine scientists could authoritatively diagnose and anticipate changing global ocean conditions - something akin to the system that enables meteorologists to predict weather."
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