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Nuclear Insanity: Japan Refires Second Reactor at Station Sitting on Tectonic Fault


Agence France Presse
Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00 UTC
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© digitaljournal.com
Japan's nuclear safety watchdog on Wednesday ordered a probe into claims the country's only working nuclear power station sits on an active tectonic fault.

The order came as Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) readied to refire a second reactor at the Oi plant, western Japan, just weeks after the first unit was restarted, ending a brief nuclear-free period in earthquake-prone Japan.

A spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said KEPCO had to re-examine the Earth's crust underneath Oi, while the operator of the Shika plant in nearby Ishikawa also had to carry out further studies.

The decision came after geological experts argued both plants are likely sitting on active faults and could be vulnerable to earthquakes if tectonic plates shift.
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Bizarro Earth

Sinkhole opens up on I-70 near Idaho Springs, Colorado

Robert Garrison
9News
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:57 UTC
sink hole
© 9News
Denver - The Colorado Department of Transportation closed one eastbound lane of I-70 near Idaho Springs after a large sinkhole opened up Thursday afternoon.

Crews have been working to repair the hole since 1 p.m. CDOT says travelers should expect long delays through the Idaho Springs area.
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Sun

Drought widens, unlikely to yield through October

Miguel Llanos
NBC News
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:10 UTC
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© The National Weather ServiceThe National Weather Service issued this map along with its Seasonal Drought Outlook on Thursday.
A double-barreled dose of bad news came out Thursday: Not only did the drought worsen over the last week, but it's likely to widen and intensify through the end of October, according to the seasonal outlook prepared by government forecasters.

"Unfortunately, all indicators (short and medium-term, August, and August-October) favor above normal temperatures," the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center said in its Seasonal Drought Outlook released Thursday.

"We don't see a reason to say it will improve," Kelly Helm Smith, a specialist at the National Drought Mitigation Center, told reporters. "I'm in the Midwest," she said, referring to her office at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, "it's really unpleasant."

The outlook noted that "a dramatic shift in the weather pattern" would be required "to provide significant relief to this drought, and most tools and models do not forecast this."

Drought could take hold in the northern plains by October, the Climate Prediction Center added.
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Igloo

Central Australia's Frostiest Winter in a Decade


The Sydney Morning Herald
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:00 UTC
Much of central Australia is experiencing an unusually frosty winter, the frostiest in more than a decade in some parts and there's much more to come.

Alice Springs has chilled to zero-degrees or below 24 times this winter so far, 12 times more than the winter average, Brett Dutschke of Weatherzone reports. This is the highest number since 2002, when there were 36.

Leigh Creek, in South Australia's far north, has dipped to zero or below 10 times so far, the most in at least 30 years. This beats the previous winter record of nine, set in 1997.

A similar story can be told for much of the outback due to very dry air and dominant high pressure systems over the region. The highs have been generating mostly clear and calm weather for long periods, allowing it to get cold on many nights and mornings.

A high pressure system looks like being a feature for at east another week, enabling the development of further frosts almost every morning.

This is making life tough for campers and those getting up for work each morning.

With more than 40 nights of winter to go there's a chance that Alice Springs will get close to its record of 44 freezing nights, set in 1976.
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Better Earth

Two Rare White Sparrows Appear in Moray Garden


STV, Scotland
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:05 UTC
Two rare white sparrows
© Linda CrowtherDouble vision: Two rare white sparrows are now feeding in a Moray garden.
A Moray woman who photographed a rare white fledgling sparrow in her garden last week was left 'stunned' when a second white bird turned up.

Thought to be a 'one-in-a-million' rarity, the white sparrows have a condition known as leucism that leaves their feathers either partly or completely white.

While such birds have been spotted before around the world, intensive internet searches have so far revealed no previous instances where more than a single bird has been seen at the same spot.

Linda Crowther captured images of two of the birds being fed by a parent at the weekend - and she is convinced that there is an older third sparrow visiting.

She said: "I have kept a close watch for the original white sparrow and was stunned when, not one but, two turned up. They are almost identical and were being fed by the same adult male.
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Bizarro Earth

BP oil spill partially (?) to blame for high dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico


PhysOrg
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:17 UTC
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© Steve Shippee, UCFFor the past two years, scientists have been trying to figure out why there were a high number of dolphin deaths, part of what's called an "unusual mortality event" along the northern Gulf of Mexico. What they found was a perfect storm.
The largest oil spill on open water to date and other environmental factors led to the historically high number of dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, concludes a two-year scientific study released today. A team of biologists from several Gulf of Mexico institutions and the University of Central Florida in Orlando published their findings in the journal PLoS ONE. For the past two years, scientists have been trying to figure out why there were a high number of dolphin deaths, part of what's called an "unusual mortality event" along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Most troubling to scientists was the exceptionally high number of young dolphins that made up close to half of the 186 dolphins that washed ashore from Louisiana to western Florida from January to April 2010.

The number of "perinatal" (near birth) dolphins stranded during this four-month period was six times higher than the average number of perinatal strandings in the region since 2003 and nearly double the historical percentage of all strandings. "Unfortunately it was a 'perfect storm' that led to the dolphin deaths," said Graham Worthy, a UCF provosts distinguished professor of biology and co-author of the study. "The oil spill and cold winter of 2010 had already put significant stress on their food resources, resulting in poor body condition and depressed immune response. It appears the high volumes of cold freshwater coming from snowmelt water that pushed through Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound in 2011 was the final blow."
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Blackbox

Iceland not cold enough? 14 killer whales seen off Northern Scotland

Alex Ward
Daily Mail
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:11 UTC
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© Cascade NewsRare appearance: Usually sighted in groups of four or five, visitors got an unprecedented glimpse at 14 killer whales off the John O'Groats coast

More than a dozen killer whales made a rare appearance off the most northerly point in mainland Britain on Monday morning. Visitors to the John O'Groats coast were spellbound as 14 killer whales splashed and played in the harbour.

In an unprecedented sighting, the killer whales, also known as orcas, are believed to have been attracted by seals and were part of two or three different pods.
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Cloud Lightning

When the heavens opened over New York: Incredible pictures of torrential rain, lightning, and hail breaking the city's heatwave


Daily Mail
Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:35 UTC
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© UnknownNew Yorkers were hit with a torrential rain storm that turned the air from a humid summer swelter to a soggy downpour in a New York minute Wednesday afternoon. While those on the ground watched in disbelief as a sunny day turned into a hailstorm with inch-wide ice chunks hurling down from the sky, the best view was from above.
Manhattanites were hit with a torrential rain storm that turned the air from a humid summer swelter to a soggy downpour in a New York minute. As pedestrians took cover, meteorologists looked for explanations. 'It went out with a bang,' National Weather Service meteorologist Joey Pica said of the triple-digit heat that suffocated the city for the past three days.

While those on the ground watched in disbelief as a sunny day turned into a hailstorm with inch-wide ice chunks hurling down from the sky, the best view was from above. Instagram and Twitter quickly filled with images of the storm from people flying around the city at the time of the late-afternoon storm.

Arguably the best image comes from former NFL player Dhani Jones, who captured a moment when all of the precipitation of the city swirled in one frightful column, harkening something out of a villainous fantasy film. At the time, Jones was flying out of LaGuardia airport, which is in Queens, and was able to see over Queens and into part of Manhattan.

Additional photos
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Bug

Swarming invasive insect from south-central Europe found in US for 1st time

Jessie L. Bonner
Associated Press
Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:27 UTC
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© Idaho State Department of Agriculture / AP Photo Two Elm Seed Bugs are seen in this undated handout photo provided by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. A federal official said Wednesday, July 18, 2012

An invasive insect commonly found in south-central Europe has been detected in southwestern Idaho, marking the first time the elm seed bug has been spotted in the U.S., according to federal officials.

A U.S. Agriculture Department specialist has confirmed the discovery of the pests that officials say don't pose a threat to trees, despite their name - but do tend to enter houses and buildings in huge swarms.

The Idaho Department of Agriculture issued a statement Wednesday warning that the bugs recently found in Ada and Canyon counties can prove to be a "significant nuisance" for homeowners. Elm seed bugs invade homes during the summer to escape heat, and then stick around through the winter, the department said.

The quarter-inch pests, which feed on elm tree seeds and resemble tiny, brown cockroaches with triangular back markings, do not pose a public health risk, officials said. But the bugs can have an unpleasant odor, "especially when crushed," said Pamela Juker, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Agriculture Department.
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No Entry

Manitoba highway sinkhole still moving, officials say


CBC News
Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:23 UTC
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© Jason and Sheila MarshallThis aerial photograph of the massive sinkhole on Highway 83 was taken over the weekend by Jason and Sheila Marshall of Inglis, Man.
A landslide that caused a sinkhole to form on Highway 83 in western Manitoba is still moving, with the land sinking a few inches each day, according to the province.

Part of the highway near Asessippi Provincial Park, between Russell and Roblin, Man., has been closed since a section of the road collapsed last week.

Ron Weatherburn, a director with the province's Infrastructure and Transportation Department, told CBC News the sinkhole has dropped by about seven metres in some places.

"It's now moving an inch a day, or a few inches a day, so it is definitely slowing, and that's what we had expected," he said Monday.

"These slides don't typically happen in a few minutes or a few seconds," he added.

"They had noticed previously that there was some small amount of movement there, and then were taking precautionary measures, and then the larger slide started to occur."
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