A global analysis of lightning during hurricanes has bolstered observations that the worst winds come a day after the bolts strike.
Forecasters struggle to predict peak hurricane winds. So Colin Price of Tel Aviv University in Israel and colleagues studied all category 4 and 5 hurricanes between 2005 and 2007. Out of 58 hurricanes, 56 showed a significant correlation between lightning activity and wind speed, with peak winds arriving 30 hours after the lightning on average. Price believes the lightning may be caused by a change in wind patterns (Nature Geoscience, DOI: link).
Earth Changes
Dundumwezi Member of Parliament Edgar Singombe has called on the Department of Veterinary and Livestock Development to ascertain a cattle disease that is killing animals in large numbers in Kasukwe ward.
Mr Singombe told Zanis in Kalomo that several herds of cattle were dying from an unknown disease in the areas around Jongolo, Habusala and Mutubyangulu villages in chief Chikanta's area.
He lamented that despite the matter being reported to the veterinary department last week, no efforts have been made to date.
Mr Singombe told Zanis in Kalomo that several herds of cattle were dying from an unknown disease in the areas around Jongolo, Habusala and Mutubyangulu villages in chief Chikanta's area.
He lamented that despite the matter being reported to the veterinary department last week, no efforts have been made to date.
First, the frogs began disappearing, with as many as 122 species becoming extinct worldwide since 1980. Then honeybee colonies began to collapse. Scientists fear that bats might be next.
© National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado
Still no sign of the national media on the extraordinary growth of sea ice at the antarctic. They sure haven't missed a chance to point out the relatively small loss of ice at the arctic. Did did it ever occur to them that perhaps there is a natural process at work that has shifted ice growth from one pole to the other? Do they not want to admit that there are things man doesn't yet understand about how this planet works?
© Natural History Museum in London
Male members of the newly discovered Danionella dracula fish have vampire-like "teeth," as seen in this scanning electron micrograph.
Male members of the newly discovered Danionella dracula fish have vampire-like "teeth," as seen in this scanning electron micrograph.
The tiny freshwater fish finding may reveal more about how lost structures re-evolve, as well as how evolution can cause some species to mature early. Scientists named the fish Danionella dracula in honor of its large, tooth-like jaw structures.
"This fish is one of the most extraordinary vertebrates discovered in the last few decades," said Ralf Britz, a fish researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, UK.
Britz found the minnow in a stream in northern Myanmar, during a collecting trip. The transparent fish measures somewhat less than one inch long and represents one of the smallest fishes and vertebrates.
Mena - Battered residents of this western Arkansas city waited for daylight Friday to dig out from a "direct hit" by a tornado that killed three people, injured at least 30, and flattened homes and businesses.
The twister sliced through the Ouachita Mountains community shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday. The county sheriff described the sky turning green, while the airport manager said darkness fell quickly as the twister crossed the Oklahoma line 10 miles away.
The twister sliced through the Ouachita Mountains community shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday. The county sheriff described the sky turning green, while the airport manager said darkness fell quickly as the twister crossed the Oklahoma line 10 miles away.
Of all the hare-brained ideas about climate change I've heard in the last few years, this one takes the grand prize: John Holdren, the new science advisor to President Obama, is actively considering radical geoengineering ideas in order to halt global warming. One such idea now being discussed with the Obama administration involves -- get this -- launching enormous amounts of pollution particles into Earth's upper atmosphere to block the sun's rays and "chill" the planet.
Let me explain why this is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. And keep in mind this is not about the debate of whether global warming is even real or not, since that's a different article altogether. This is about the short-sighted stupidity of even considering polluting the atmosphere in order to protect us from the CO2 pollution we've already dumped into the atmosphere.
First off, there's the whole idea that intentionally launching pollution into the atmosphere is, by any reckoning, a dangerous ecological experiment that potentially puts the entire Earth ecosystem at risk. Let's face it, folks: Human beings have proven themselves to be remarkably bad at anticipating the ecological effects of their own actions. The ramifications of such misguided efforts to fight global warming simply cannot be foreseen by any scientist (or group of scientists).
Let me explain why this is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. And keep in mind this is not about the debate of whether global warming is even real or not, since that's a different article altogether. This is about the short-sighted stupidity of even considering polluting the atmosphere in order to protect us from the CO2 pollution we've already dumped into the atmosphere.
First off, there's the whole idea that intentionally launching pollution into the atmosphere is, by any reckoning, a dangerous ecological experiment that potentially puts the entire Earth ecosystem at risk. Let's face it, folks: Human beings have proven themselves to be remarkably bad at anticipating the ecological effects of their own actions. The ramifications of such misguided efforts to fight global warming simply cannot be foreseen by any scientist (or group of scientists).
Midwest City - Fire crews in Oklahoma and Texas raced Thursday to control wind-whipped wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes, forced evacuations and shut down parts of a major highway.
Howling wind that had gusted to more than 50 mph grounded firefighting efforts by air in Oklahoma and drove blazes that scorched neighborhoods like "a war zone," Midwest City police Chief Brandon Clabes said.
Howling wind that had gusted to more than 50 mph grounded firefighting efforts by air in Oklahoma and drove blazes that scorched neighborhoods like "a war zone," Midwest City police Chief Brandon Clabes said.
© HowStuffWorks
Ice sheet coverage during the last ice age
Ice sheet coverage during the last ice age
"The sun has gone very quiet as it transitions to Solar Cycle 24.
"Since the current transition now exceeds 568 spotless days, it is becoming clear that sun has undergone a state change. It is now evident that the Grand Maxima state that has persisted during most of the 20th century has come to an abrupt end.
"(The sun) might (1) revert to the old solar cycles or (2) the sun might go even quieter into a "Dalton Minimum" or a Grand Minima such as the "Maunder Minimum". It is still a little early to predict which way it will swing. Each of these two possibilities holds a great threat to our nation.
"We are now at a crossroad. Two paths lie before us. Both are marked with a signpost that reads "Danger"! Down one path lies monstrous solar storms. Down the other path lies several decades of crushing cold temperatures and global famine."
"Climate change is primarily driven by nature. It has been true in the days of my father and his father and all those that came before us. Because of science, not junk science, we have slowly uncovered some of the fundamental mysteries of nature. Our Milky Way galaxy is awash with cosmic rays. These are high speed charged particles that originate from exploding stars.
"Because they are charged, their travel is strongly influenced by magnetic fields. Our sun produces a magnetic field wrapped in the solar winds that extends to the edges of our solar system. This field deflects many of the cosmic rays away from Earth. But when the sun goes quiet (minimal sunspots), this field collapses inward allowing high energy cosmic rays to penetrate deeper into our solar system.
© Jim Asher
Orange Tip Butterfly
Orange Tip Butterfly
British butterflies have been declining steadily for years. The new statistics show that recent wet summers have accelerated these declines. Heavy rain makes it hard for butterflies to survive - they can't fly in the rain and that means they can't reach the nectar they feed on. Rain also reduces breeding success.
The relative absence of breeding during the dire summer of 2007, the wettest on record, impacted seriously on butterfly numbers last year.
The statistics confirm conservationists' fears that 2008 was the poorest summer for butterfly numbers for more than 25 years.
For 12 species 2008 was their worst year since records began in the mid 1970s.
