Earth ChangesS


Better Earth

US government sued over failure to protect polar bears

The US government agency responsible for compiling the country's list of endangered species will face a new legal challenge today over its failure to protect the polar bear. Environmental groups are set to sue the Bush administration in a federal court in California, claiming the Fish and Wildlife Service is now in breach of its own mandate.

The FWS was due to have decided by January 9 whether to classify the polar bear as threatened due to climate change.

Life Preserver

Operation to rescue 758 anglers-over off Sakhalin coast

An operation to rescue anglers from an ice-floe, drifting in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Sakhalin coast, has been successfully completed. According to the latest data of the Sakhalin branch of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies, as many as 758 people have been brought to the shore.

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©Unknown

Cloud Lightning

'Worse To Come' As Storms Batter Britain

Forecasters warn that more severe weather is on the way as rain and gales pummel parts of Britain.

Sky weather forecaster Lucy Verasamy said even stronger winds were on their way, especially for the South West and coastal areas, after gusts of 80mph battered the south.

Solent Coastguard has been told to expect gusts up to a violent storm force 11 this afternoon.

"The worst is yet to come," Lucy said.

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©Unknown
Waves batter South Wales

Life Preserver

UK: Tanker 'at risk of coming ashore'

A tanker with 13 crew on board is in difficulty off the Isle of Wight as storms batter southern England.

The Swedish registered Astral began dragging anchor about one mile (1.6km) to the east of the island and was at risk of coming ashore.

Several tugs have managed to secure the 11,000 tonne ship and it is under tow to Southampton.

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©Unknown

Snowman

US: Midwest Cleans Up After Record Snowfall

Columbus, Ohio - Highway and utility crews worked overtime Sunday to recover from the huge storm that buried Ohio and other parts of the Midwest in snow and tore down power lines elsewhere.

Binoculars

Australia is worst nation on Earth at preserving wildlife



Karak
©Unknown

Ten unique creatures face extinction as country finally tries to turn its appalling conservation record around.

Australians love their wildlife - after all, who could fail to warm to a koala, or a wombat, or a kangaroo? But few Australians know that they have the worst record on the planet for conserving their beautiful and unusual animals.

Arrow Down

UK: Honey bees 'wiped out in 10 years': beekeepers demand £8m for research, government denies

Beekeepers have warned that most of the country's honey bees could be wiped out by disease in 10 years unless an urgent research programme is launched to find new treatments and drugs. They are to launch a nationwide campaign, including protests, to force the government to fund the £8m research project which they say is needed to save the nation's bees.

honey bee
©John Severns

Comment: The disappearance of bees will ultimately bring the disappearance of human kind. Albert Einstein observed that:
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."
So why aren't the governments alert and rushing to fund research to save the bees AND human kind? SOTT focus editorial To Bee or not to Be, answers this question.


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Australia: Earthquake shakes homes in southern NSW

A minor earthquake in southern NSW today shook homes but caused no injuries or damage, seismologists say.

The tremor, measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale, occurred at 3.41pm (AEDT) near the town of Yass, Geoscience Australia said.

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Moderate Quake Rattles Iran

Tehran, Iran - A moderate earthquake and several aftershocks rattled a remote area in eastern Iran on Sunday morning, cracking walls and forcing some to seek shelter in tents, state media reported. No injuries were immediately reported.

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Nevada, US: 3.0 earthquake shakes Mogul area

A string of recent earthquakes has hit the Mogul area and the biggest so far arrived early Saturday, reaching magnitude 3.0.

The earthquake at 2:07 a.m. followed a swarm of magnitude 1.2 to 2.2 quakes between Feb. 28 and Monday.