Poachers killing animals at record rate, sparking fear of demise of entire population within 20 years

More than 1,000 rhinos were killed in South Africa last year at a record-breaking rate that could wipe out the country's entire population of white and black rhinos in a little over two decades.

The environment ministry said 1,004 animals were killed in 2013, mostly in poaching hotspot Kruger national park, as the poaching crisis escalated. The number is a big increase on the 668 killed in 2012, which was in itself a record year, up from just 13 in 2007.

Appetite for rhino horn from Asia, in particular Vietnam, has driven the killing in South Africa, which ministers have warned in turn threatens the country's tourism sector. Demand is so high that a kilogramme of rhino horn is now worth more than gold or cocaine.

The UK prime minister, David Cameron, is hosting a summit in London next month in a bid to tackle the trade which has also seen tens of thousands of elephants killed in Africa annually in recent years.

Today I would like to debunk the claim that we have to act now because there's a "97% consensus".

In debates I keep hearing the claim that "97% of scientists agree" on global warming science and thus, with such an overwhelming consensus, taking action is a no-brainer. For example Hollywood actor and college dropout George Clooney recently parroted the argument that if 97 of 100 doctors recommend a procedure and 3% don't who are you going to listen to?

Would you listen to the 97 if you knew they had been wrong for 16 years and the remaining 3 had been right all along?

First of all, this "97%" of all climate scientists agree on global warming is bogus to begin with, and is based on a faulty paper by John Cook and Dana Nuccitelli. read here and here.

So in climate science and policy, should we listen to the "97%" and act now? Or should we listen to the outlier 3% fringe group? The answer to that question is: Don't listen to the winner of the popular vote, rather listen to the group that is right. And it turns out that the "97%" have been wrong for the last 16 years and the 3% minority have been right.

97% have been wrong for 16 years

Let's look at the models coming from the "97% consensus" and see how they are doing compared to the real observed data. Here's a plot by Dr. Roy Spencer:

Almost all the models from the "97%" have been flat out wrong.

Global warming is nowhere to be found. The mean global temperature has not risen in 17 years and has been slowly falling for approximately the past 10 years. In 2013, there were more record-low temperatures than record-high temperatures in the United States.

At the end of the first week in January, a brutal spell of cold weather settled over most of the country. Multiple cold-temperature records were shattered across the country. Some sites experienced frigid conditions not seen since the 19th century. Chicago and New York City broke temperature records set in 1894 and 1896, respectively. These extremes were not singular, but exemplary of conditions throughout much of the continent. Temperatures in Chicago were so cold that a polar bear at the Lincoln Park Zoo had to be taken inside.

A fast-moving California wildfire, started accidentally by three campers, roared out of control in foothills above Los Angeles on Thursday, destroying five homes and forcing some 3,600 residents to flee, fire and law enforcement officials said.

The wind-whipped blaze began before dawn in the Angeles National Forest north of Glendora, about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

By mid-morning, the so-called Colby Fire had blackened more than 1,700 acres of drought-parched brush and vegetation, Los Angeles County fire officials said. A thick pall of black smoke hung over eastern Los Angeles County, stretching west over the Pacific Ocean.

But as winds diminished and temperatures cooled later in the day some 700 firefighters, aided by eight fixed-wing aircraft and seven helicopters, were able to keep the flames from advancing any further.

Global sea ice is supposed to be melting away. We are often led to believe that it is at or near record lows. It's global warming after all, and everyone knows that warmth melts ice. But if ice is growing, maybe it's a sign that things are cooling down.

From the chart that follows we do see that global sea ice did take a small hit in the 2000s, especially the Arctic. However the trend for the last three years is definitely a strong upward one.

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung has erupted more than 30 times, spewing lava and ash clouds over a wide area, officials said, with more than 26,000 people now forced to flee their homes.

Mt Sinabung, which lies in the northwest of Indonesia's Sumatra island, sent hot rocks and ash 5 kilometres into in the air, spreading hot clouds over a 4.5-kilometre radius, said the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.

Enormous clouds rose from the mountain, as thick layers of grey ash blanketed plantations and nearby houses.

With the volcano erupting regularly, many of those who have left their homes since Mt Sinabung started erupting in September have fallen ill, a local government official said.

"Some refugees are sick, coughing mainly, and they are also in need of clean water," said Robert Peranginangin, a spokesman for Karo district.

Scientists have uncovered more evidence for a dramatic weakening in the vast ocean current that gives Britain its relatively balmy climate by dragging warm water northwards from the tropics. The slowdown, which climate modellers have predicted will follow global warming, has been confirmed by the most detailed study yet of ocean flow in the Atlantic.

Most alarmingly, the data reveal that a part of the current, which is usually 60 times more powerful than the Amazon river, came to a temporary halt during November 2004.

The nightmare scenario of a shutdown in the meridional ocean current which drives the Gulf stream was dramatically portrayed in The Day After Tomorrow. The climate disaster film had Europe and North America plunged into a new ice age practically overnight.

Although no scientist thinks the switch-off could happen that quickly, they do agree that even a weakening of the current over a few decades would have profound consequences.

A mother was killed in front of her family when she was struck by lightning on a Brazilian beach.

Rosangela Biavati a 36-year-old married mother of one, died instantly when she was hit by the bolt of electricity during a trip to Guaruja, a popular seaside resort on the coast of Sao Paulo.

The first photograph shows the victim heading towards the water with outstretched arms as she warns her 11-year-old son to get out of the sea because of the gathering storm overhead. The next image captures the electrical discharge streaking down.

A Mitsubishi pickup obscures the moment the bolt hits the woman as she steps towards the water's edge but the tragic outcome is clearly evident in the following image in the sequence of shots.

Three men, including the victim's husband who is wearing white swimming trucks, drag her lifeless body onto the beach.

According to Rosângela's husband, his wife had gone to tell his son and nephews, who were swimming in the sea, to get out because of the bad weather.

As she stepped into the water she was hit by a single bolt of lightning.

'The weather started to close in and we decided to leave. I was putting our bags into the car, and the kids were on the beach.

A Mitsubishi pickup obscures the moment the bolt hits the woman as she steps towards the water's edge but the tragic outcome is clearly evident in the following image in the sequence of shots.

A day after 22 spotted deer died at the Kanan Pendari Zoo Park in Chhattisgarh, investigations have revealed that the deaths were caused due to Anthrax bacterial infection.

"Spotted deer died due Anthrax infection. Analysis of symptoms confirms that the animals were infected by bacteria called Bacillus anthracis", Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Ram Prakash told reporters at the zoo, located about 12 kilometres away from Bilaspur town.

"The dead herbivorous animals showed symptoms of Anthrax Bacteria as blood came out through mouth and anus. The stomach swelled like a balloon because of infection", he pointed out adding that there were 53 spotted deer, including 18 males and 35 females, in the cage.

He said Antharax is a communicable bacterium that spreads very fast through air. "Hence, we have buried all the dead animals instead of consigning them to flames. One of the apparent reasons for the outbreak of Anthrax bacteria is high moisture content in the air due to continuous rainfall in the region. "Even two days ago, it rained heavily in Bilaspur region and there is still moisture in the air", he added.

Asked how only female animals died due to infection, Ram Prakash explained that male deer have a better immune system than female deer. However, he said the state forest department was started a detailed investigation into all aspects of Anthrax infection in animals in the zoo.

Stating that a three member committee, comprising DFO Bilaspur Hemant Pandey, Achanakmar Tiger reserve Deputy Director C L Agrawal and veterinary surgeon P K Chandan, has been constituted to further probe the matter, the PCCF said a team of experts from Veterinary college at Anjora has also confirmed that the deaths were caused due to Anthrax infection.

With this incident, Kanan Pendari zoo will remain closed for general public for the next ten days as a team of doctors have begun vaccination of the animals in the zoo to prevent infection.

As the animals started dying under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday, initially wildlife officials suspected that the herbivorous animals were poisoned by someone.

Tuesday night about midnight, one of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)'s water lines broke along 5th Avenue and 13th Street in Manhattan.

The water line that broke was part of NYC's original Croton water system installed in 1877. NYC currently has three water systems that supply drinking to residents: the Croton, Catskill, and Delaware systems; Croton is the oldest of the three. Currently, it provides about 10% of the City's daily demand. According to the DEP, "Croton water is primarily used in low-lying areas of the Bronx and Manhattan, where the water can be conveyed by gravity."

The 36-inch diameter pipe broke, and the water from it washed away the dirt under the asphalt, causing a sinkhole. "The dirt is what supports the pavement," said a spokesperson from the DEP.

The water to that line is now turned off, and the DEP is making repairs. The DEP said that they cannot speculate how long the repairs will take at this point.

5th Avenue is closed between 13th and 14th Street. The B, C, D, E, F, M, and Q subway lines are affected. Service changes can be viewed on MTA's website.