Earth ChangesS


Bell

Water Scarcity: The Real Food Crisis

Fred Pearce
Yale Environment 360
Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:31 UTC
After decades in the doldrums, food prices have been soaring this year, causing more misery for the world's poor than any credit crunch. The geopolitical shockwaves have spread round the world, with food riots in Haiti, strikes over rice shortages in Bangladesh, tortilla wars in Mexico, and protests over bread prices in Egypt.

The immediate cause is declining grain stocks, which have encouraged speculators, hoarders, and panic-buyers. But what are the underlying trends that have sown the seeds for this perfect food storm?
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Ambulance

Iowa: Reports of injuries as tornado strikes Boy Scout camp


Associated Press
Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:10 UTC
DES MOINES - The National Weather Service has received reports of injuries and possibly fatalities from an apparent tornado that struck a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa.
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Stop

What terrified the dolphins? Cause of mass dolphin deaths in U.K. may have been fear


RIA Novosti
Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:34 UTC
Post mortems on dolphins found beached along the Cornish coast in southwest England, failed to establish a concrete reason for their deaths, but environmentalists said Wednesday they may have been "scared ashore."

At least 26 dolphins died or had to be put down after becoming stranded in shallow water in the Percuil River near Falmouth on Monday, the largest number for 25 years in the U.K.

A spokesman for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said the animals had no food in their stomachs, indicating that they could have panicked and headed for shore. He said that there was no "evidence" they were feeding prior to death.

The Royal Navy has confirmed it was conducting a live firing exercise with submarines and warships several hours before the stranding. The exercise also included shooting practice.

Comment: As the following article indicates,
"Investigators are exploring several possible causes, including the theory that the dolphins had become distressed by naval sonar equipment or were frightened by an unexplained explosion several residents reported hearing late on Sunday.
Naval exercises became an unfortunate reality for the marine life. Many suffer the consequences as loss of orientation, but there are no known cases of dolphins being "scared ashore." So is it possible that this unexplained explosion is the reason for dolphins panic? And if it is so, is it possible that the explosion was caused by a meteorite?

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Phoenix

Dozens of homes burn in N. California wildfires

Don Thompson
Associated Press
Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:03 UTC
Fires fed by raging winds raced across parts of Northern California on Tuesday, destroying dozens of homes, threatening hundreds of others and leaving a firefighter severely burned.

The fires were concentrated in areas north and south of the state capital, while separate blazes burned near the coast.

A 2.5-square mile wildfire destroyed 21 homes and about 30 other structures in Palermo, a town of about 5,000 residents, said Joshpae White, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman. It was about 50 percent contained Tuesday night.

The community about 60 miles north of Sacramento was evacuated temporarily while at least 350 firefighters fought to protect homes. About 50 residents planned to spend the night at an evacuation center.

Image
©AP Photo/Steve Yeater
A Stockton firefighter pulls a hose around the back of a home destroyed by a fast wind driven fire in Stockton calif., on Tuesday, June 10, 2008. The fire ignited in a corridor along Interstate 5 and destroyed at least 30 homes and slightly injured two firefighters on Tuesday, a city spokeswoman said.
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Cloud Lightning

Rain threatens reservoirs in quake-hit China

Nick Macfie
News Daily
Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:43 UTC
BEIJING - Heavy rain hit south and east China on Wednesday, threatening reservoirs a day after a dangerous "quake lake" drained to safety in the southwest, state media said.

Water levels in at least five reservoirs in eastern Zhejiang province had risen above warning levels, Xinhua news agency said, after days of rain devastated southern Guangdong province and hit record levels in neighboring Hong Kong.

Image
©REUTERS/Stringer
Soldiers build a temporary dam against possible flooding at Quhe River in Suining, Sichuan province, June 11, 2008.

About 1,880 structures collapsed in Zhejiang and the southern Guangxi autonomous region.
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Fish

Mercury Contamination Found In Stranded Victorian Dolphins


Science Daily
Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:39 UTC
Monash University research into heavy metal contaminant levels in dolphins from Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes has revealed high mercury levels may be a contributing factor to dolphin deaths.

Researchers from the School of Biological Sciences have confirmed levels of mercury found in the dolphins were within a range considered to cause negative health and mental effects and were higher than mercury levels found in populations around the world.
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Cloud Lightning

Quake lake pours through devastated Chinese town


AFP
Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:51 UTC
A torrent of muddy, brown water from a breached quake lake poured through the deserted Chinese town of Beichuan on Tuesday, sealing the fate of the already doomed community's destruction.

Surging rapids from Tangjiashan lake gushed into the centre of Beichuan and spilled down side streets as previously evacuated locals watched from ridges surrounding the town.

"It's really hard for me to take, our city was so good and beautiful but now there's nothing left. My heart aches," said Zhu Yunyou, a 54-year-old farmer who lost his house in the May 12 earthquake.

quake lake
©AFP
Flood water flow along Jian Jiang River, after a controlled drainage operation on the Tangjiashan quake lake, in the worst earthquake-hit area of Beichuan county, in China's southwestern province of Sichuan on June 10, 2008. Muddy, brown water from a quake lake in southwest China was pouring into the flattened town of Beichuan June 10, piling new woes on its tormented population.
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Hourglass

Dozens of dolphins die on Madagascar beach

Fanja Saholiarisoa
Reuters
Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:27 UTC
Some 55 dolphins have died, after coming ashore on a beach in the northwest of Madagascar, conservationists said on Monday.

The melon-headed whales, a species of dolphin, were first spotted at sea last month, but then became stranded on a beach last week, Herilala Randriamahazo, from the Wildlife Conservation Society, a non-profit organization, told Reuters.
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Binoculars

Iowa: State officials prepare as flood waters get higher

Michael Crumb
Associated Press
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:44 UTC
With rivers continuing to rise and more heavy rain on the way, state officials said Tuesday they are trying to help towns already battered by floodwaters while working to protect others.

The rising Cedar River was causing the most concern in Cedar Falls, where officials were preparing residents and downtown business owners to evacuate as the river threatened to spill over a levee that protects the area.
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Bell

Global Cooling: Chilling facts on global warming


Onestillfree.blogspot.com
Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:16 UTC
While it seems everyone knows that the planet is warming, few acknowledge what's really going on. How egocentric and narcissistic humans are, to assume that a few generations of human history tells the story of a planet. Decades and even centuries are not enough to determine anything about global climate change. Look at any records of global (planetary) history and you will see that we are in a natural temperature spike which has occurred before (without human help) and will occur again - approximately every 100-150 thousand years apart.
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