© Cryosphere
Earth Changes
While everyone seems to be watching the Arctic extent with intense interest, it's bipolar twin continues to make enough ice to keep the global sea ice balance near normal. These images from Cryosphere today provide the details. You won't see any mention of this in the media. Google News returns no stories about Antarctic Sea Ice Extent.
© unknown
Satellite pictures of the storm at 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday.
Satellite pictures of the storm at 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday.
"Now that the system is over land and will move farther inland tonight, tropical cyclone development is no longer expected,
Hurricane Center forecasters reported Monday night.
The system's chances rebounded from a "near 0 percent" prospect of becoming a tropical storm earlier Monday, but forecasters said the storm's proximity to shore made it unlikely to develop further. The main threat it will pose to the region will be heavy rain, they said.
© N/A
Tar balls are picked up from Rigolets Pass, which connects Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain with Mississippi Sound.
Tar balls are picked up from Rigolets Pass, which connects Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain with Mississippi Sound.
Tar balls believed to be from the undersea gusher in the Gulf of Mexico have reached the shores of Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain, a foundation that monitors the watershed reported Monday.
The affected area covers a stretch of up to five miles near the city of Slidell, northeast of New Orleans, said Anne Rheams, executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. She estimated the amount of oil that has reached the lake at less than 100 barrels, with no hydrocarbon smell.
"They are about the size of a silver dollar, maybe a little bigger, kind of dispersed in long intervals. It's not as dense as it could be, so we're thankful for that," Rheams said.
For 75 days now, crude oil has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from the wreck of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. While BP and the US government have done everything possible to downplay and obscure the amount of oil that has spilled out, estimates range as high as 150,000,000 to 200,000,000 gallons. The consequences will be incalculable.
The BP spill is one of the worst ecological catastrophes in history, and yet now it barely makes the front pages of the newspapers in the US or rates prominent coverage on television news programs. There is a natural nervousness in the media and the political establishment, as the ongoing horror story indicts a huge conglomerate and the political interests in Washington that protect it.
It seems clear that the announcement June 16 that BP would create a $20 billion fund, followed the next day by Chief Executive Tony Hayward's appearance before Congress, was meant to signal the end of the officially-sponsored chastisement of the company, and the US media has responded accordingly. As Reuters commented July 1: "The British energy giant drew harsh criticism earlier in the crisis, but some of the political heat has cooled since President Barack Obama pressured the company to set up a $20 billion fund for damages and lawmakers hammered BP executives at congressional hearings."
The BP spill is one of the worst ecological catastrophes in history, and yet now it barely makes the front pages of the newspapers in the US or rates prominent coverage on television news programs. There is a natural nervousness in the media and the political establishment, as the ongoing horror story indicts a huge conglomerate and the political interests in Washington that protect it.
It seems clear that the announcement June 16 that BP would create a $20 billion fund, followed the next day by Chief Executive Tony Hayward's appearance before Congress, was meant to signal the end of the officially-sponsored chastisement of the company, and the US media has responded accordingly. As Reuters commented July 1: "The British energy giant drew harsh criticism earlier in the crisis, but some of the political heat has cooled since President Barack Obama pressured the company to set up a $20 billion fund for damages and lawmakers hammered BP executives at congressional hearings."
© AFP/Getty Images/File/Spencer Platt
Oil is seen in Bay Jimmy, Grand Isle, Louisiana, June 16, 2010
Oil is seen in Bay Jimmy, Grand Isle, Louisiana, June 16, 2010
The research was conducted in a laboratory before the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, but its authors say the findings highlight the worrying long-term impact from such disasters.
Scientists at Imperial College London found that sea floor sediment bonds with arsenic. The captured toxic element is then covered by subsequent layers of sediment, which helps explain why concentrations of arsenic in the ocean are low.
But, the researchers found, crude oil acts rather like a sticky blanket, clogging the sediment and preventing it from bonding to arsenic.
© Gord Waldner, The StarPhoenix
Alana Wasylenko found a quiet moment with her dog in a Hampton Village park, after the area was hit hard by Tuesday's storm
Alana Wasylenko found a quiet moment with her dog in a Hampton Village park, after the area was hit hard by Tuesday's storm
Among the wild events: A manhole cover shot through the bottom of a moving city bus; small vehicles and garbage containers were reportedly floating down streets in Confederation Park, where flood water submerged cars; and nearly one metre of storm water rushed down streets and into businesses and offices in the city centre.
Eighty to 100 millimetres of rain fell on Saskatoon during a three-hour period, according to the city, bringing back memories of June 24, 1983. On that day, 93 mm of rain fell -- 75 mm during a 45-minute span. A woman died that day, after her car was submerged in a road underpass.
The damage was the result of extreme weather conditions throughout the spring, including severe cold, high winds and excessive rains.
"Conditions this year have been difficult for our growers across Washington, from Clark County to Okanogan," Gregoire said. "Cold temperatures have harmed our tree fruit crops, while excessive rain made it difficult for bees to pollinate strawberries and other berry crops. A declaration will help our businesses absorb a difficult year and look forward."
The request includes disaster declarations for Adams, Benton, Chelan, Clark, Columbia, Cowlitz, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom and Yakima counties.
In Mexico, six people have been killed in floods from tropical storms, as a result of Hurricane Alex. The northern city of Monterrey was the worst hit as a river burst its banks, washing away cars and destroying roads. More than four thousand people were evacuated from the region. The storms had earlier torn through central America, but have now dissipated.
The incredible precipitation brought major damage to Mexico's third-largest city. Apparently the Santa Catarina river, which flows through Monterrey bisecting it, isn't usually seen for most of the year.
The incredible precipitation brought major damage to Mexico's third-largest city. Apparently the Santa Catarina river, which flows through Monterrey bisecting it, isn't usually seen for most of the year.
From Brisbane this morning, Miss7t7 wrote on Twitter "Still in bed, so dam cold.. What's going on Brisbane !!!!". While in Melbourne, lexandraKR tweeted "Waiting for frostbite to set in... Sooo cold in Melbourne! Too scared to get out of bed incase I get hypothermia".
Others are embracing the weather and urging those who are complaining to toughen up.
"I am in love with this cold weather. Melbourne reminds me of Paris at the moment. How can that be a bad thing?" wrote hannahjtoy. "Is it seriuosly newsworthy that sydney temps are in the low single digits? seriuosly? it not cold! suck it up!" FilthiAssistant tweeted.
A recent study has found that radiation from cell phones may be killing the honey bee population.
In a recent report in the journal Current Science, scientists are claiming that mobile phones are behind the disappearance of honey bees in Europe and North America.
They say radiation from cell phones is getting in the way of honey bees' navigation senses, making them so confused they lose their way home.
This new research may explain why the bee population has declined for years in what's being called Colony Collapse Disorder.
