Earth ChangesS


Attention

Extreme weather could spark a global food crisis


The Citizen
Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:54 UTC
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© AP Photo/Jeffrey PhelpsA man walks through downtown Racine, Wisconsin earlier this month. The area got nearly two feet of snow with some drifts several feet high.
The US national oceanic and atmospheric administration reported that 2010 tied 2005 for the hottest year on record - and was the wettest year on record. This is no coincidence. As Mr Kevin Trenberth, the head of climate analysis for of the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, explained:

"There is a systematic influence on all of these weather events nowadays because there is more water vapour lurking around in the atmosphere than there used to be, say, 30 years ago. It's about a four per cent extra amount, provides plenty of moisture for these storms and it's unfortunate that the public is not associating this with the fact that this is one manifestation of climate change. And the prospects are that these kinds of things will only get worse in the future."

Globally, 2010 saw 19 nations - a record number - set temperature records including Pakistan, which hit 53.5C, the hottest temperature ever reliably measured in Asia's history. From mid-December to mid-January of this year, the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reported that parts of north-eastern Canada were 21C above average, "which are very large values to be sustained for an entire month".

Comment: For a more in-depth, and realistic, view on climate changes, read Laura Knight-Jadczyk's Climate Change Swindlers and the Political Agenda.

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Question

US: Virus Threatens Birds in the Borderland

Bob Grotenhuis
KTSM 9 TV
Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:07 UTC
El Paso - The U.S. food supply could be at risk because of a virus spreading in Juarez.

Hundreds of birds have dropped dead across the city and now people are hoping the outbreak does not spread to U.S. poultry.

"The problem is it spreads very easily. It spreads through the air, it spreads through the contact with any discharges from the bird or tissues. It can be on your shoes and you can track it to another area where there's birds."

Doctor Nancy Harvey is a bird expert who owns her own clinic. She says the virus causes nasal and eye discharge, diarrhoea, paralysis, tremors and even sudden death in birds.

"It's not a virus of dogs and cats so Coco you don't have to worry about this one."

Can the bird virus spread to people?

"It's not contagious to people but it could really wipe out the poultry industry."
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Bizarro Earth

Large Crack Opens in the Earth in Southern Peru


Living in Peru
Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:04 UTC
Puno Crack
© El ComercioThe mysterious crack measures 100 meters wide and three kilometers long.
The sudden appearance early in the morning of an enormous crack, measuring 100 meters wide and three kilometers long, caused confusion among residents of the Huacullani district in the Chucuito province, department of Puno.

The exact cause of the crack in the earth still unknown. Peru's geophysical institute ruled out the occurrence of an earthquake in the region, but what is clear is that the ground opened up and large blocks of earth can be observed scattered throughout the area.

The event, recorded Wednesday morning, caused the collapse of one house located in the rural community of Llorohoco. Four people managed to escape, but the youngest in the family, five-year-old Jean Carlos Vilcanqui Acero, is missing.
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Bizarro Earth

Hawaii Earthquake Jolts Honolulu: Signs of Geological Change in Hawaii?


Associated Press
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:38 UTC
Hawaii Quake
© The Extinction Protocol
Honolulu - A small earthquake hit Hawaii on Thursday, with a jolt felt across Honolulu.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 3.6 temblor struck at 2:12 p.m., about 12 miles deep in the Kaiwi Channel, between the islands of Oahu and Molokai.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. No tsunami was generated.

The quake that lasted for several seconds shook homes and people throughout Oahu, from high-rise buildings in downtown Honolulu to the tourist district of Waikiki. People about 160 miles away on Maui reported feeling the quake, the USGS said.

Katrina Woodcock felt it while sitting at her desk on the 7th floor of a downtown Honolulu office building. The shaking lasted for about five seconds or so, and only one other person in her office noticed the earthquake, she said.

"I felt like it was shaking, and I was like, 'What is that, is our building falling?" she said.

Earthquakes are common in Hawaii with events occurring almost daily. Most are small and centered around the Big Island, where most of the state's seismic and volcanic activity takes place.
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Igloo

US: Record Low Temperatures Follow Snow in San Francisco

Lauren Keiper
Reuters
Sat, 26 Feb 2011 13:42 UTC
Snow fell overnight in the highest spots of San Francisco, the Twin Peaks neighborhood, where elevations are about 900 feet above sea level, said AccuWeather.com meteorologists.

The snowfall coated the ground briefly, but quickly melted. No snow was observed in downtown San Francisco and AccuWeather.com meteorologist Dave Samuhel said the dusting would not count toward official records that show the last measurable snowfall in the area 35 years ago.

Trained spotters also reported snow in the San Joaquin Valley of California, according to the National Weather Service.

A storm system moving inland now could bring snow to areas of about 500 feet above sea level in Santa Barbara and outside Los Angeles flakes could hit the upper reaches of the San Fernando Valley and even the Hollywood Hills, said Samuhel.
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Bizarro Earth

Volcano Eruptions Cause Prices to Rise

Ben Aris
The Telegraph, UK
Sat, 26 Feb 2011 13:07 UTC
Karymsky volcano
© n/aThe Kamchatka Peninsula's Karymsky volcano rumbles away
Violent eruptions along Russia's volcano belt are affecting global weather patterns and prices to boot.

If you want to know where the especially harsh winter weather came from, look no further than Russia - and prepare to pay more for your flour and coal this year.

Volcanoes on the country's eastern seaboard of Kamchatka have been unusually active for the last six months. The dust they threw up diverted winds in the Arctic, pushing cold air over Europe and North America and causing the unusually cold winter, say scientists.

This string of volcanoes, 29 of which are active, could cause more problems this year, depressing harvests around the globe just as food prices soar, and culminating in a second freezing winter.

The eruptions have come at the worst possible time. The Pacific Ocean has already been cooled by the "La Niña" ocean/atmosphere phenomenon, which is particularly severe this year. At the same time the Atlantic Ocean is warmer than usual.
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Bizarro Earth

Two Quakes Wiggle Yellowstone


Island Park News
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:00 UTC
Aerial of Excelsior Geyser Crater
© Jim Peaco/NPSAerial of Excelsior Geyser Crater & Grand Prismatic Spring
Two earthquakes of the same magnitude - 2.2 on the Richter scale - struck Yellowstone Park this week.

The first was at 9:34 pm Thursday, February 24, 48 miles east of Island Park. The next was at 5:04 am Friday, February 25, 32 miles east-northeast of Island Park.

According to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory's January report, there were 57 earthquakes in the park in January this year. The largest was a magnitude 2.4 event on January 25 at 9:51 pm, about 6 miles north northwest of West Yellowstone. No earthquake swarms were noted in January 2011.

Analysis of the Yellowstone GPS data shows that the period of accelerated Yellowstone caldera uplift, beginning in 2004, has stopped. Some GPS stations exhibit little change and others reflect slight subsidence, according to the report.
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Bell

US: Yellowstone volcano may soon erupt

Ben Douglas
news.carrentals.co.uk
Sat, 26 Feb 2011 05:35 UTC
The volcano located near Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming, USA, is showing signs of record activity and could make two-thirds of the country uninhabitable if it erupts. Geophysical reports commented that the volcano has increased its activity at a record pace since 2004. It's floor has been inflating at a rate of three inches per year in the last three years, the fastest rate since records began in 1923.

The magma is now about 10 kilometers deep, so there is no need to worry about it now. But if it comes up to the level of two or three kilometers from the surface, then we have reason for concern, says Robert Smith, professor geophysics at the University of Utah. The volcano is believed to have had two major eruptions 2 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago and 642,000 years ago, respectively, which were supposedly more powerful than the spectacular 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington state.
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Camera

Amazing Images! Icy swirls around a patient volcano

Phil Plait
Discover Magazine
Sat, 26 Feb 2011 07:48 UTC
Just east of Russia and north of Japan lies a long series of island volcanoes called the Kuril chain. Over 50 volcanoes form this archipelago, which stretches for well over 1300 km (800 miles) in the western Pacific ocean. At the southern end is the bizarrely-shaped rectangle of Ostrov Shikotan, and in the winter icy waters swirl and flow around the snow-covered terrain:

Image
© Unknown
Breathtaking, isn't it? There are two extinct volcanoes on the island (it's still seismically active though) and, amazingly, two settlements as well. Of course, this picture, taken in February from NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite, paints a very white and chilly picture. Satellite imagery in warmer times shows it to be much greener. There is some dispute over who owns the island; it's part of Russia but the Japanese claim it as well.

I suspect in the very long run, it doesn't matter. The Earth owns this parcel of land. The geology indicates it's been battered by eons of tsunamis and earthquakes. Humans may thrust out their chests and thump them, but the vast and mighty forces of a entire planet have squatting rights here, I think.
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Snowman

US: Rare Snow for San Francisco and Los Angeles This Weekend

Heather Buchman
AccuWeather.com
Sat, 26 Feb 2011 07:40 UTC
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Extremely rare opportunities for snow will continue for San Francisco and Sacramento into tonight, then even down into some valleys around Los Angeles Saturday.

The last time it snowed in downtown San Francisco was 1976.

As AccuWeather.com Western Expert Ken Clark has been stressing, this storm is a "big deal" for California.

Major disruptions to travel through passes, including all those leading into and out of the L.A. Basin, are expected with this unusually cold storm. The snow will be coming just before the Oscars kick off Sunday.

Travel-snarling snow will not be limited to just California, with parts of Arizona, Nevada and states farther east set to get blasted this weekend as well. Snow could even fall at the Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Ariz., this weekend.

More details on how the storm will impact these southwestern states are provided in this news story.
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