Earth ChangesS


Question

Flashback Bee deaths wane, cause unknown in Minnesota

It's an unsolved mystery that has entomologists, horticulturalists and beekeepers buzzing.

Honeybees are, or were, dropping like flies, according to Marla Spivak, associate professor at the University of Minnesota's Department of Entomology in St. Paul.

No Entry

Global warming accelerating: Oceans are 'soaking up less CO2'

The amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the world's oceans has reduced, scientists have said.

University of East Anglia researchers gauged CO2 absorption through more than 90,000 measurements from merchant ships equipped with automatic instruments.

Results of their 10-year study in the North Atlantic show CO2 uptake halved between the mid-90s and 2000 to 2005.

Comment: With the quicker warming the Earth's glaciers will melt faster, diluting the salty water in the Atlantic ocean. This has already caused the Gulf Stream to slow down substantially affecting the weather during the last winter as reported on our website. This may lead to an eventual shutdown of the Gulf Stream and a cooling of the climate in the Northern Eurasia and America, paradoxically plunging Earth into another ice age, as some scientists speculate, that is, if a cycle of cometary showers doesn't do it first.


Red Flag

Pressure rises at Indonesian volcano

BLITAR, Indonesia - Pressure at a simmering Indonesian volcano on Java island escalated Friday, a geologist warned, as armed police forced some defiant villagers to evacuate ahead of a potential eruption.

©AFP
Indonesian youths wear masks to guard against poisonous gases, as they wait to be evacuated from their village

Info

Small earthquake rattles Littleton, West of Boston

A small earthquake rattled Littleton and at least 12 other cities and towns early this morning but caused no damage, according to police and a seismologist. The epicenter of the 2.5 magnitude tremor struck near Littleton Common at 1:23 a.m. and woke up most of town.

Bizarro Earth

Magnitude-5.1 quake shakes southwestern Pakistan, no damage reported

An earthquake of moderate intensity rattled southwestern Pakistan on Friday, but there were no reports of damage or injuries, an official said.

Bizarro Earth

Earthquake experts: Hayward Fault in California is a 'tectonic time bomb'

Studying layers of soil in a trench they dug near the Fremont BART station, earthquake experts have made a startling discovery: The Hayward Fault has had a big earthquake every 140 years, on average, since 1315.

And this Sunday marks year 139.

Cloud Lightning

Vietnam: Torrential rains kill one, cause heavy landslides

Extended torrential rain in central Quang Nam Province yesterday killed one person and caused many heavy landsides, said a source from the Quang Nam Storm Flood Prevention Department.

The rains led to flooding, and swept away a primary school teacher on his way home. The rains, quickly raising the water levels in local rivers, caused 27 landslides in the central province's six mountainous districts, blocking a mountain route. The rains have concerned the 1,500 residents near Tra Can Lake in Dai Loc District, and others in Dai Hiep Commune are preparing to flee.

Bizarro Earth

Philippines: Families flee Bulusan lahar

Families living at the foot of Mount Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon were forced to leave their homes Wednesday night when heavy downpour loosened more volcanic deposits, triggering lahar that swelled the river channels in four villages in Irosin town, officials said.

Cloud Lightning

US: Missouri storm kills 2; tornado hits shopping mall in Pensacola, Fla.

High winds from a possible tornado struck rural northeastern Missouri early Thursday, killing a couple in a mobile home, authorities said. Several twisters hit in the southwest part of the state without causing major damage.

A tornado also touched down in the Florida Panhandle on Thursday, damaging the city's major shopping mall as a line of violent thunderstorms made their way across the state's western Panhandle. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Coffee

Elephants can literally sniff out danger

Elephants can literally smell danger, according to a study on Thursday that shows the animals can sniff out whether humans are friends or foes.

©REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic
Elephants in Kenya's Masai Mara national reserve, August 23, 2007.