Earth ChangesS


Question

Researchers investigate new suspect in West Nile deaths of pelicans

Evelyn Boswell
MSU
Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:22 UTC
Stable flies are the latest suspect that may be involved in the West Nile virus deaths of hundreds of pelican chicks at the Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Montana. West Nile virus killed 800 to 1,000 pelican chicks in 2003, averaged 400 in each of the next three summers and more than 600 this year.

©Greg Johnson
The Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge contains the fifth largest colony of American white pelicans in North America.

Veterinary entomologist Greg Johnson of Montana State University said earlier this year that he considered the possibility that lice were transmitting West Nile virus to pelicans. He became suspicious after collecting very few mosquitoes in 2006, but seeing pelicans continue to die at a high rate. Johnson discovered previously that the Culex tarsalis mosquito is the primary carrier of West Nile virus in Montana and that the Medicine Lake refuge was one of the hot spots for the virus.
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Recycle

Bush draws fire at climate talks

Deborah Zabarenko and Jeff Mason
Reuters
Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:09 UTC
Some of the world's biggest greenhouse polluters took aim at President George W. Bush on Friday, calling him "isolated" and questioning his leadership on the problem of global warming.

Bush, who convened the two-day meeting of the 17 biggest emitters of climate-warming gases, stressed new environmental technology and voluntary measures to tackle the issue.
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Clock

Drought Threatens Alabama City's Water

Bob Johnson
Associated Press
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:28 UTC
Officials coping with a severe drought in eastern Alabama and western Georgia issued sweeping bans Friday on outdoor watering and scrambled to secure a dwindling supply of drinking water to more than 50,000 people.

Divers went into Lake Martin looking for ways to increase the depth around intake pipes that drain water from the massive lake into the water system for Alexander City, 44 miles northeast of Montgomery on the Georgia line. Lake Martin is the only source of water for the Alexander City system.
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Bizarro Earth

St. Helens: 3 years of shakes

Richard L. Hill
The Seattle Times
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:10 UTC
Mount St. Helens just won't quit.

Three years ago this month, hundreds of small earthquakes heralded the renewal of volcanic activity at the Cascade peak after an 18-year lull. Since then, the volcano has been a perpetual-motion machine.

©EVAM CALDWELL / AP
Gases escape the growing dome inside the Mount St. Helens' crater overlooking Spirit Lake in June. Mount Rainier is in the background.
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Bizarro Earth

Strange intrusions threaten Sweden's seas


AFP
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:00 UTC
A gluttonous American pseudo-jellyfish, giant Japanese oysters, and an unidentified virus killing seals: strange intrusions are threatening Sweden's seas and fishermen are concerned.

©AFP
Twenty-seven dead seals found on the beach in Kattegat.
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Cloud Lightning

Update! Hurricane Lorenzo hits Mexico, 3 dead

Alejandro Juarez
Reuters
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:55 UTC
Hurricane Lorenzo crashed into Mexico's Gulf coast on Friday, killing three people in a mudslide and knocking out power to 85,000 homes.

In the coastal fishing town of Nautla, Lorenzo's 80 mph (130 kph) winds ripped off bits of roofs, blew down trees and scattered debris in the streets.

©AFP
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Info

Dolphins a rare sight in Baltic Sea


DPA
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:50 UTC
Two dolphins have been spotted in the Baltic Sea, the first such sighting in many years. Maritime expert assume their appearance is the result of warmer temperatures due to global warming.

©DPA
A dolphin swims along side a police boat in the Baltic Sea, Sunday. It was the first such sighting in the area for many years.

Germany's martime experts are excited at the appearance of some friendly visitors to the country's northern shores. Two dolphins have been spotted in the Baltic Sea -- the first sighting of these creatures here for many years. Scientists are assuming that their sudden appearance is linked to global warming.
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Bizarro Earth

Hail and sleet surprise many in Chennai, India

T. Ramakrishnan and Vani Doraisamy
The Hindu
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:39 UTC
Chennai was in for a mid-afternoon surprise on Thursday when a sudden hailstorm, combined with sleet, descended on certain parts of the city.

©K. Pichumani

The hailstorm, lasting a few minutes, was witnessed by people on the arterial Anna Salai, Cathedral Road and Kodambakkam High Road and in Triplicane and Mylapore.

©Unknown
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Bizarro Earth

North America's Northernmost Lake, Ward Hunt Lake, Affected By Global Warming


Science Daily
Wed, 26 Sep 2007 15:35 UTC
Analyses conducted by researchers from Université Laval's Center for Northern Studies reveal that the continent's northernmost lake is affected by climate change.

©BBC

In an article to be published in the September 28 edition of Geophysical Research Letters, the international research team led by Université Laval scientists Warwick Vincent and Reinhard Pienitz reports that aquatic life in Ward Hunt Lake, a body of water located on a small island north of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic, has undergone major transformations within the last two centuries.
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Evil Rays

2 Quakes Off Japan, No Tsunami


Associated Press
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:29 UTC
Two earthquakes struck almost simultaneously off Japan's central coast late Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No tsunami warning was issued and no damage was reported.

The first quake, with a magnitude of 6.6, struck at 10:41 p.m. and was centered in the Pacific Ocean off Iwo Jima, about 930 miles south of Tokyo.

Another quake with a magnitude of 7.4 occurred off the Mariana Islands around the same time, according to the agency.
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