Earth ChangesS

Better Earth

Global Warming Has Little Impact In Tropical Storm And Hurricane Numbers


Science Daily
Tue, 20 May 2008 12:11 UTC
A new model simulation of Atlantic hurricane activity for the last two decades of this century projects fewer hurricanes overall, but a slight increase in intensity for hurricanes that do occur. Hurricanes are also projected to have more intense rainfall, on average, in the future.

Hurricane Ophelia
©NOAA
Satellite of Hurricane Ophelia on September 14, 2005. (Credit: )

"This study adds more support to the consensus finding of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other reports that it is likely that hurricanes will gradually become more intense as the climate continues to warm," said Tom Knutson, research meteorologist and lead author of the report. "It's a bit of a mixed picture in the Atlantic, because we're projecting fewer hurricanes overall."
Read More...
Frog

Frog march sparks new quake alarm


Sydney Herald Sun
Tue, 20 May 2008 12:12 UTC
THOUSANDS of Chinese fled for cover in fear of an earthquake today, alarmed not only by warnings from seismologists but also by an unusual mass movement of frogs, state media said.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Peruvian 'Switzerland' melting under climate change


Agence France-Presse
Thu, 15 May 2008 11:56 UTC
LIMA - Peru's Cordillera Blanca, a snow-topped northern mountain range sometimes called the "Peruvian Switzerland," is slowly disappearing because of climate change, a key issue on the table of a Latin America-EU summit being held in Lima this week.
Read More...
Stop

India: Girl killed in roof collapse; rains, squall in Delhi


The Hindu
Sun, 18 May 2008 11:34 UTC
A minor girl was killed and 20 others were injured in separate incidents of wall and roof collapse during the overnight rains and thunder-squall that lashed the national capital.

There were at least four incidents of wall and roof collapse as showers and strong winds with a speed of 100 km per hour hit the city on Saturday night.

Reports of uprooting of trees and power cuts were also received from several areas of the city. The Met Office recorded a rainfall of 7.7 mm till Sunday morning.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

China says over 70,000 dead or missing from quake

Lucy Hornby
Reuters
Tue, 20 May 2008 11:14 UTC
Chengdu, China - China raised the number of dead or missing from a devastating earthquake to more than 70,000 on Tuesday, as rescuers found more survivors eight days after the huge tremor hit.

chinese earthquake
©Reuters/China Daily
A woman cries for her child who died during the earthquake near a collapsed school in Juyuan town of Dujiangyan, Sichuan province, May 19, 2008.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Water Shortage Anticipated in Israel due to Climate Change, Water Pollution and Urbanization


Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection
Sun, 18 May 2008 11:03 UTC
Fifty years of observation in the Mediterranean Basin reveal several trends: increased warming in the summer and increased precipitation in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea as opposed to decreased precipitation in most of the Mediterranean Sea Basin, including countries near Israel such as Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

The Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Dr. Yeshayahu Bar Or, warns that existing desalination plans will not respond to the water shortage which is anticipated in Israel due to climate change, pollution of water reservoirs and urbanization processes.
Read More...
Attention

China's earthquake: the most destructive in modern history

John Chan
World Socialist Website
Mon, 19 May 2008 08:37 UTC
A week after the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province, the Chinese government has declared three days of national mourning, beginning today, for those who lost their lives in the disaster. The mourning period is the longest since the death of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1997. For three days, all national flags will fly at half-mast and all public recreational activities, including the Olympic torch relay, will be suspended.

Yesterday, Chinese authorities revised the earthquake's magnitude from the initial 7.8 up to 8 on the Richter scale. Premier Wen Jiabao has declared that the destruction caused by the earthquake was the most severe in the entire 60-year history of Peoples Republic of China. The Tangshan quake in 1976 killed up to 300,000 people, but its impact was largely restricted to one city. In Sichuan, an estimated 10 million people have been affected over a huge area.
Read More...
Bug

Bees Killed an Elderly Austin Man : More bees could be in neighborhood after attack

Amy Jonston
KVUE News
Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00 UTC
The tranquil Crestview neighborhood was punctured by chaos Saturday morning.

"I really didn't know what was going on. I came out about 11:00 and I saw the cars, the fire truck and the ambulance," said Frances Daugherty, neighbor.
Read More...
Fish

Millions of tiny starfish inhabit undersea volcano


Associated Press
Mon, 19 May 2008 23:46 UTC
Wellington, New Zealand - Marine scientists surveying a large undersea mountain chain were amazed to find millions of tiny starfish swirling their arms to capture food in the undersea current.

starfish
©AP Photo/NIWA, HO
Extended arms of millions of tiny mucus-coated starfish swirling in the undersea current to trap food, pictured in a major undersea mountain chain south of New Zealand. Marine scientist investigating the geology and biology of eight Macquarie Ridge seamounts, part of 1,400 kilometers (875 miles) of underwater volcanoes stretching south of New Zealand toward Antarctica and dormant for millions of years discovered the tens of millions of Brittlestars, a type of starfish, on the flat top of one undersea volcano a scene dubbed "Brittlestar City."
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Warning of major aftershock sparks panic in China


Associated Press
Mon, 19 May 2008 23:33 UTC
Chengdu, China - A government warning of a major aftershock sent thousands of panicked survivors running into the darkened streets Monday night following an unprecedented display of mourning for more than 34,000 people killed in a powerful earthquake one week ago.
Read More...