Earth ChangesS


Sun

Ranchers Lose Hope Drought Aid Will Come in Time

Margery A. Beck
Associated Press
Sun, 19 Aug 2012 13:23 UTC
It's hard to tell what frustrates Todd Eggerling more - the weather or Congress.
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© Associated Press/Nati Harnik In this photo from Aug. 1, 2012, Todd Eggerling, of Martell, Neb., points to some of his cattle grazing on thin pasture. Due to the summer's record drought and heat his cattle operation is in bad shape.
Searing temperatures and drought scorched Eggerling's land in southeast Nebraska, leaving little grass to feed his 100 cattle. Then Congress left for a five-week break without agreeing on aid to help ranchers through one of the worst droughts in the nation's history.

That means it will be September before Eggerling and other ranchers can even hope for disaster aid legislation that includes cash to buy feed until they would normally send their cattle to feedlots or slaughter in the fall or winter. For some, it's already too late. Out of grass and out of cash, they've sold their animals.

For others, time is rapidly running out as they try to hold on. Their decisions will affect the price and supply of meat for months, perhaps years, to come.

"I'd like to see every one of the senators and congressmen go out into one of these widespread, drought-stricken areas and spend a day," said Eggerling, 44, of Martell, Neb. "Walk around and see the effects of what's going on. Look at the local economies and see what's going to happen to them. Then they can go back to Washington with a real perspective and say, 'Hey; we need to do something.'"
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Bad Guys

Quake Hits Southern Iran


Fars News Agency
Sun, 19 Aug 2012 02:14 UTC
An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale struck the town of Banak, in Bushehr province, Southern Iran on Saturday evening.
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© Fars News Agency
The Seismological center of Bushehr province affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the quake at 23:47 hours local time (19:47 GMT).

The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 52.07 degrees in longitude and 27.89 degrees in latitude.

There are yet no reports on the number of possible casualties or damage to properties by the quake.

Iran sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust, and is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating.

The worst in recent times hit Bam in southeastern Kerman province in December 2003, killing 31,000 people - about a quarter of its population - and destroying the city's ancient mud-built citadel.

The deadliest quake in the country was in June 1990 and measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. About 37,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan. It devastated 27 towns and about 1,870 villages.

Tehran alone sits on two major fault lines, and the capital's 14 million residents fear a major quake.
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Cloud Lightning

Typhoon Kai-Tak kills nine in Vietnam, 2 in China


Terra Daily
Sun, 19 Aug 2012 09:50 UTC
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At least nine people were killed, thousands of homes damaged and swathes of farmland flooded as Typhoon Kai-Tak swept across northern Vietnam, authorities said Sunday.

The storm, which made landfall late Friday, brought strong winds and heavy rains that inundated several densely populated communities including part of the capital Hanoi.

Five people were swept away by floodwaters while one woman died when a landslide buried her house while she was sleeping in Bac Giang province, according to the government's central committee on flood and storm control.

A taxi driver was killed by a toppled tree while two people were electrocuted by a falling electricity cable, it said. Nearly 12,000 houses were damaged and 23,000 hectares (56,800 acres) of cropland were flooded, according to the committee.
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Bizarro Earth

5.5 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes off the Coast of Washington State


The Extinction Protocol
Sun, 19 Aug 2012 09:47 UTC
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© USGS
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck off the coast of the West Coast state of Washington on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey said. The earthquake was followed by a 4.5 magnitude aftershock. The depth was reported at 6.3 miles and the quake was located 190 miles west of Neah Bay, the USGS said. There was no immediate statement from the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based in Hawaii on the quake. - Reuters

USGS Data
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Question

Mysterious water level drop on North Fork of Shenandoah River


The Republic
Sat, 18 Aug 2012 09:00 UTC
Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. - Officials are trying to figure out what caused water levels to drop twice in a four-day span this summer along the Shenandoah River's North Fork.

The Daily News-Record (http://bit.ly/NNqPAK) reports the Shenandoah Riverkeeper advocacy group has sent letters asking about 800 landowners to report unusual observations about the river.

Data taken from a U.S. Geological Survey gauge near Strasburg shows the water level dropped more than 3 inches on June 29, the day a severe windstorm struck the region. The levels dropped again on July 3.

The river's level hit 1.7 feet on June 29 after being at about 2.4 feet around June 20. In the span of a few hours on June 29, the water flow went from 175 to 65 cubic feet per second.
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Bizarro Earth

Wildfires hit Greek holiday island


The Telegraph
Sat, 18 Aug 2012 06:18 UTC
Greek fire-fighters battled fierce blazes on the island of Chios on Saturday as billowing smoke forced the evacuations of three villages.
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© EPA
Citizens of the village of Lithi find refuge at the beach as a wildfire burns in the mountains on the island of Chios, Greece
Ten water bombers and five helicopters were deployed as 50 fire-fighters and almost 80 army troops worked to contain the wildfire on the eastern island. They also used 17 fire engines and were backed by 40 volunteers.

Fanned by strong winds of up 40 miles per hour, the wildfire started in the early hours of Saturday in the island's south. The evacuation was carried out on the initiative of the villagers because of the heavy smoke that covered the area.

"The fire is close to inhabited areas but for the time being has not posed an immediate threat," a fire department spokesman told the AFP news agency.

Greece is hit by wildfires, many started by arsonists, every summer, the flames fanned by high temperatures and strong winds.

Earlier this month, a wildfire blazing for five days threatened Mount Athos, the world's oldest surviving monastic community and a United Nations World Heritage Site, in northern Greece.

The worst major blazes of recent years hit in 2007 in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece and on the island of Evia, leaving 77 people dead and ravaging 250,000 hectares.
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Cloud Lightning

Tropical Storm Helene threatens Mexico


The Extinction Protocol
Sat, 18 Aug 2012 12:48 UTC
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After forming close to shore, Tropical Storm Helene headed north along Mexico's Gulf coast early Saturday posing a threat to areas where thousands of people were still recovering from flooding spawned last week by Hurricane Ernesto. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Helene sprang up Friday then weakened to barely tropical storm strength by nighttime, but its forecast said the storm could strengthen again before making an expected landfall Saturday. Meanwhile, Portugal posted warnings for the central and eastern Azores islands as Tropical Storm Gordon moved eastward across the Atlantic and later turned into a hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center said Gordon had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was headed east at 18 mph. Helene had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving northwest at 7 mph late Friday. It was centered about 65 miles east of Tuxpan. Landfall was predicted for the northern part of Veracruz, a lush coastal state with hundreds of towns and villages sitting along streams and rivers that can swell dangerously in heavy rain. Many were evacuated as Ernesto approached last week, and flood damage made some 10,000 people homeless. Mexico's government declared a state of emergency in more than 100 population centers in Veracruz and was providing them with emergency aid. The country's national weather service warned of intense rains and winds along the Veracruz and Tamaulipas coasts, with heavy rain, hail and lightning possible. Helene was predicted to bring 5 inches to 10 inches of rain, with as many as 15 inches across northeastern portions of Mexico.
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Bizarro Earth

Strong 6.3 earthquake hits northern Indonesian island


Mercury News / Associated Press
Sat, 18 Aug 2012 12:40 UTC
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© USGS
An earthquake registering magnitude 6.3 rocked a northern Indonesian island on Saturday as residents were ending their fast on the final day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, officials said. There were reports of at least two injuries but no tsunami warning was issued.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the late-afternoon quake struck 56 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Palu city on Sulawesi Island at a depth of 19.9 kilometers (12.4 miles).

Sudirman, an officer at the Disaster Management Agency who uses one name, said there were reports from the province that at least two people were injured by falling debris and of damage to houses in Parigi Mountong, the district closest to the epicenter.

He said the full extent of the injuries and damage was not yet known.

The earthquake struck as people in the province were ending their fast on the last day of Ramadan, causing many to rush out into the streets in panic, local news reports said.

The USGS initially measured the quake at magnitude 6.6 but later adjusted it to 6.3.
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Fish

Great white shark videoed by fisherman off Cape Cod weeks after first human attack in 76-years

James Nye
Daily Mail
Fri, 17 Aug 2012 10:48 UTC
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While it is not unusual to spot great white sharks off the coast of Chatham Beach, this summer season a man was attacked by a great white off the cost of Truro Beach and this week 12-foot shark was seen off the coast of Sandy Neck Beach
Just when the residents of Cape Cod thought it was safe to get back into the water, a large great white shark was spotted swimming inside the famous tourist destination's bay.Videoed four miles off the popular Sandy Neck beach by tuna fisherman Jeff Richardson, the 12-foot long, 1,000 pound shark was aggressive - raising fears of another attack on holiday-makers and residents.

Made famous by Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster Jaws, Cape Cod has had a spate of great white shark sightings this summer season, including the first attack on a human since 1936. 'It was unreal,' said Richardson, who was looking for tuna on his friends harpoon boat Cynthia C on Tuesday when they spotted the shark. 'It got very aggressive. It turned on the boat, turned away from the boat and kept swimming. We followed it for about 10-15 minutes.'

Link to video
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Igloo

Australia's Coldest August Night on Record

Robert
IceAgeNow.info
Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:36 UTC
A blast of polar air from a cold-front in southern Australia last week managed to push all the way up to the tropics. Darwin shivered through it's coldest August night on record Monday after the temperature dropped to just 13.1C Monday, more than seven degrees below the August average minimum of 20.4C.

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