Earth ChangesS


Whistle

Global Warming researchers ice-bound; 96 percent of network stories censor why ship is there

Mike Ciandella
NewsBusters
Tue, 31 Dec 2013 11:29 UTC
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© AP
Antarctic ice trapped a ship full of scientists on a climate change expedition. Yet, 96 percent of network news reports about the stranded researchers ignored climate change entirely. The ship has been stuck since Christmas morning.

The broadcast networks mostly ignored the reason the Russian ship, Akademic Shokalskiy, was on its way to Antarctica. Twenty-five out of 26 stories (96 percent) on the network morning and evening news shows since Dec. 25 failed to mention climate change had anything to do with the expedition.

In fact, rather than point out the mission of the scientists to find evidence of climate change, the networks often referred to the stranded people as "passengers," "trackers" and even "tourists," with no mention of climate change or global warming. Chris Turney, the expedition's leader, is a professor of climate change at the University of South Wales. According to Turney's personal website, the purpose of the expedition is to "discover and communicate the environmental changes taking place in the south."
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Attention

Mount Etna erupts again sending smoke and lava into the air


The Telegraph
Mon, 30 Dec 2013 17:02 UTC
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© AP/Carmelo Imbesi
Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily erupts again after exploding several times earlier this month

The crater spewed out smoke and dust as lava poured from the top of the most active volcano in Europe.
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Snowflake Cold

The New Year ushers in another winter storm for New England and New York


Associated Press
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 15:14 UTC
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© Getty imagesNew York, NY
Residents in New England and parts of New York began preparing Wednesday for a winter storm that will help usher in 2014 with snow and frigid temperatures across much of the region.

Snow is expected to begin falling overnight in some areas, promising a messy commute for the first business day of the new year, but the full storm isn't expected to hit until later Thursday. As much as a foot of snow or more is forecast for some areas overnight Thursday into Friday, and temperatures are expected to plummet, with some areas seeing highs just above zero.

"There will be travel problems," said Hugh Johnson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Albany, N.Y., talking about Friday's commute. "It will be very cold. You don't want to be out in the stuff long unless you have the proper clothing."
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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.6 - 37km W of Sola, Vanuatu


US Geological Survey
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 11:52 UTC
Sola Quake_010114
© USGS
Event Time
2014-01-01 16:03:30 UTC
2014-01-02 03:03:30 UTC+11:00 at epicenter

Location
13.873°S 167.202°E depth=196.2km (121.9mi)

Nearby Cities
37km (23mi) W of Sola, Vanuatu
183km (114mi) N of Luganville, Vanuatu
443km (275mi) NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
779km (484mi) N of We, New Caledonia
918km (570mi) N of Paita, New Caledonia

Technical Details
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Attention

Unusually large number of high-profile earthquakes across the globe last weekend

Matt Moreno
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tue, 30 Dec 2014 08:33 UTC
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© Afn / Handout / EPAView of the collapsed section of the Ensenada-Tijuana highway in Baja California, Mexico, Saturday.
An unusually large number of high-profile earthquakes sprung up across the globe over the weekend, causing extensive damage to a roadway in Mexico and leaving residents shaken in southern Europe, Egypt and the U.S.

Saturday, an earthquake near the Mexico - U.S. border collapsed chunks of this 300-yard stretch of highway. (Via CNN)

"The road is about 60 miles south of Tijuana. It passes over geological fault. The earthquake ranged in magnitude from 1.3 to 4.3." (Via WABC)

There were surprisingly no injuries, but one truck driver hauling 36 tons of cement had to wait hours before being pulled to safety. (Via NBC)

Also Saturday, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake reportedly hit the Mediterranean Sea, shaking nearby Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. (Via Famagusta Gazette)

That was followed by a 4.9 magnitude earthquake nearly 1,500 miles away around Naples, Italy early Sunday morning. Residents reportedly slept in their cars in fear of aftershocks that might damage buildings. (Via U.S. Geological Survey)

In the U.S., Oklahoma dealt with several earthquakes over the last week with more striking over the weekend. Most were reported as minor between 2.0 magnitude and 4.9., but the Midwestern state has rarely dealt with earthquakes, until recent years. (Via KOTV) (Via Al Jazeera)

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Arrow Down

Truck falls into sinkhole on rain-soaked Hawaii island


Star Advertiser
Mon, 30 Dec 2013 08:12 UTC
Storm sets new rainfall record for Hilo

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Heavy rains drenched Hawaii island's Windward coast Monday morning, scattering runoff and debris across the area - and even causing a Paauilo Mauka road to collapse beneath a truck, according to officials.

More rain Monday afternoon and evening prompted a flash flood warning that's been extended through 8 a.m. today after radar showed heavy rain south of Hilo near Keaau at about 7:48 p.m.

Other locations in the warning include Waipio Valley, Paauilo, Laupahoehoe, and Hawaiian Paradise Park.

The National Weather Service said flooding was reported at Ainako Ave. and Kaumana Drive this evening. A landslide was also reported on Old Scenic Road in Papaikou.

The Hawaii County Civil Defense was alerted to the road collapse site on Pohakea Mauka Road, near its junction with Manienie Road, at about 8 a.m., Civil Defense administrator Darryl Oliveira said. The rain had caused a culvert beneath the street to shift, which then triggered the roadway's collapse as a Dodge pickup drove over it. The truck fell into a giant sinkhole-like crater, Oliveira said.

The truck's female driver emerged with minor injuries and "definitely very shaken," Oliveira said. County public works personnel are at the site and "trying to come up with a plan" for repair - but it likely will be a slow fix. Oliveira said.
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Ice Cube

Best of the Web: A dose of COLD reality: The ironic saga of the eco-campaigners trying to highlight global warming and melting ice caps trapped in the freezing Antarctic

James Delingpole
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 07:21 UTC
  • Australian scientists set out on Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy
  • The £900,000 expedition began full of high hopes early last month
  • But ship was hit on Christmas Eve by a 50-knot blizzard and became trapped in ice
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MV Akademik Shokalskiy trapped in the ice at sea off Antarctica. A scientific research team who headed south to prove the threat to mankind from global warming by establishing that the region is melting have found themselves trapped on their ship
A team of Australian climate scientists set out on a Russian research ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy on a mission to raise awareness of global warming.

'The research stakes are high,' claimed a sympathetic report on Australia's ABC TV station.

'Antarctica is one of the great engines driving the world's oceans, winds and weather. But there are ominous signs of climate change . . .'

Up until Christmas, all seemed to be going well. Besides the Russian crew and the Australian climate scientists, the ship's 85-strong company included an Australian Green MP, two environment journalists from the Guardian newspaper and a BBC science journalist eager to relay details of the expedition's vital findings which support their gospel of man-made global warming.
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Eagle

27 Bald eagle deaths in Utah caused by West Nile Virus?

Michelle L. Price
newsdaily.com
Tue, 31 Dec 2013 05:21 UTC
Utah wildlife officials believe West Nile Virus caused 27 bald eagle deaths in December

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© AP Photo/Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Lynn ChamberlainIn this undated photo released by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, shows a bald eagle, in Utah.
The mystery illness that has killed 27 bald eagles in Utah this month appears to be West Nile Virus, state officials said Tuesday.The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said in a statement Tuesday that that laboratory tests done on some of the first birds found indicate they died from West Nile Virus.

Since Dec. 1, officials have found the birds in northern and central Utah. All were either dead or were ill and later died during treatment.The eagles displayed similar symptoms, including head tremors, signs of seizures, weakness in legs and feet and a paralysis of the bird's wings.

Beyond the 27 that have died, officials said five eagles were being treated at a wildlife rehabilitation center Tuesday. They appeared to be responding well to treatment, officials said.Utah wildlife officials aren't sure how the eagles caught the virus, but they suspect the birds contracted it by eating Eared Grebes that were infected with the virus and died recently.
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Snowflake Cold

Coldest day in Islamabad in 46 years


alrasub.com
Tue, 31 Dec 2013 05:07 UTC
Heavy snowfall in upper areas of Pakistan

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Almost the entire country was in the grip of a cold wave on Monday, with a number of cities and towns struck by temperatures ranging between -17C and -21C. The federal capital went through its most uncomfortable day in 46 years as the mercury plunged to three below Celsius.

And even Karachi, known for its mild winters, was not far behind, recording a minimum temperature of six degrees Celsius. The city is likely to face more cold on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A minimum temperature of -2.8C in Islamabad had been recorded in 1984, but the lowest temperature recorded in the city is -3.9C in 1967.

Officials said that the wave was the fallout of extreme cold weather conditions in Europe as cold winds coming from there dry up after crossing the Central Asian region.

These cold and dry winds are also delaying the winter rains as the strong currents push the warm, moist winds rising from the Arabian Sea.

"These systems coming from the northwest last up to five or six days," Meteorological Department Director Dr Mohammad Hanif said. The Met Office forecast very cold and dry weather for Tuesday in most of the country, with cloudy conditions along with rain and light snowfall over the hills at places across a swathe stretching from Gilgit-Baltistan to Lahore and Sargodha divisions.

"But these are not the regular winter rains. They will only bring light rain because these clouds are part of the westerly wave that has separated from the European system and has reached up to Kashmir," Dr Hanif said.
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Ice Cube

Bitterly cold New Year expected in much of Canada


cbc.ca
Mon, 30 Dec 2013 04:49 UTC
Eastern Prairies remain locked in a deep freeze,' with wind chill warnings, says CBC meteorologist

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© Janice Stein/CBCYellowknife, above, came close to breaking temperature records Tuesday. Temperatures fell to –43.4 C, around half a degree higher than the record low for Dec. 31, set in 1949.
Canadians awoke to below-freezing temperatures and wind chill warnings in much of the country and can expect a body-numbing last day of 2013, with the wind chill creating extremely cold conditions heading into the New Year.

On Monday, a number of provinces faced below-freezing temperatures, as Manitoba, parts of Saskatchewan, northern Ontario and Quebec were all under extreme wind chill warnings.

In Manitoba, where the wind chill made it feel like - 40 C to - 50 C, the cold weather forced at least one airline to cancel some flights. ExpressJet, a partner of United Airlines, cancelled several flights out of Winnipeg Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Airline representatives said the unique combination of extreme low temperatures and ice crystals exceed safe operating guidelines for their aircraft, which are small commuter planes that carry 35 to 70 passengers.

Passengers were moved onto flights operated by other airlines and rerouted through other cities.
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