Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Possible Historic Nor'easter Brewing for Plains, Northeast

On its way to becoming a major Nor'easter off the Northeast coast, a potent storm will slam places just east of the Colorado and New Mexico Rockies with a major snowstorm and spread dangerous thunderstorms across the southern Plains and South during the next two days. The raging Nor'easter will then blast the Northeast coast with flooding rain and gale-force winds, while a historical snowstorm could be in store for the interior.

Snowman

New York Temperatures Rival Record for Coldest April

The groundhog's prediction for an early spring is proving wrong in New York City, where a cold front has kept temperatures about 7 degrees below the historical average this month, the National Weather Service said.

Just 10 days into April, temperatures have averaged 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius), about one degree warmer than the average for April 1874, the coldest on record, said Michael Silva, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Upton, New York, station.

Better Earth

NASA Data Show Earthquakes May Quickly Boost Regional Volcanoes

Scientists using NASA satellite data have found strong evidence that a major earthquake can lead to a nearly immediate increase in regional volcanic activity. The intensity of two ongoing volcanic eruptions on Indonesia's Java Island increased sharply three days following a powerful, 6.4-magnitude earthquake on the island in May 2006. The increased volcanic activity persisted for about nine days.

Bizarro Earth

Quakes shake central Greece

A series of moderate earthquakes shook central Greece yesterday, unsettling residents and causing widespread minor damage but no injuries.

Better Earth

Volcano's fury throws up mystery fish

SCIENTISTS on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion have discovered hundreds of fish of unknown species, floating belly-up in the sea, following a spectacular volcanic eruption over the past week.

"It's crazy. We've never seen this with previous eruptions," said Alain Barrere, a scientific adviser to the island's Volcano Observatory.

Bomb

2 medium earthquakes shake Azores islands following last week's 6.3 earthquake

Two medium earthquakes rattled the Azores islands within 12 hours, Portuguese weather services and the U.S Geological Survey reported.

Better Earth

Climate change report warns of increased hunger, species extinction

An international global warming conference approved a report Friday warning of dire threats to the Earth and to mankind - from increased hunger to the extinction of species - unless the world adapts to climate change and halts its progress.

Agreement came after an all-night session during which key sections were deleted from the draft and scientists angrily confronted government negotiators who they feared were watering down their findings.

"It has been a complex exercise," said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Comment: There it is, folks. Life on the Big Blue Marble in a microcosym. Let's separate out the facts and the players.

Let's start with the data:

Global warming is real. It is here. It will "affect billions of people" and will lead to the extinction of many species, storms, drought, and the possible cutting by one-half of food production in certain countries. The model used doesn't include, from what we can glean from this article, any research into the effects of a sudden global drop in temperatures leading to a new ice age. So keep in mind the report, as dire as it is, could be optimistic.

Next we get the governments who don't want to admit publically that the situation is so bad. That is to be expected, and anyone who still thinks that governments have the best interests of their citizens at heart is delusional. Global warming and the war on smoking while filling the Middle East and the atmosphere with depleted uranium... yeah, these people really care about humanity.

Then we come to the explanation for why the Earth is warming. Of course, it is our fault! Get out the whips and the guides to self-flaggellation. "I'm bad! I'm bad!" and beat yourself because of the SUV in the driveway.

The problem isn't that you are driving the SUV. The problem is that you are a self-centered, narcissistic, mechanical robot, inbided with a pathological culture, who is incapable of seeing the ramifications of even the smallest and least important of your acts. That's why you drive the damn SUV.

People! We are so screwed! Do you get it yet?!

What does that have to do with global warming? Check out the following articles to learn more:

Climate Change Swindlers and the Political Agenda

Forget About Global Warming: We're One Step From Extinction!

The Hope

The Body Snatchers

Environment of Evil


Question

Mysterious deaths: Death toll among Caspian seals exceeds 300 in Kazakhstan

A total of 303 seals have died for unknown reasons on the Caspian sea shore in Kazakhstan, a spokesman for the local emergencies ministry said Monday.

From March 31 through April 8 266 dead seals were washed up along the sea shore from the Kalamkas oil field to the Karazhanbas field in western Kazakhstan, with more than half of them being baby seals.

Kazakh Environmental Protection Minister Nurlan Iskakov said if oil companies were found guilty, they would be brought to justice.

Iskakov said, "[They could face] fines, penalties and the suspension of oil production until the reasons [for the large number of deaths] have been established."

He said a special commission was investigating the causes of animals' death, which could take another two weeks.

Bulb

'Eruption of century' dies down on Réunion

Ten days after violently awakening, a volcano on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion continued spewing lava on Sunday in what experts called "the eruption of the century".

But the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on eastern Réunion, a French overseas department, had lulled considerably, and residents remained out of danger.

Tourists and residents have been able to take in the sights of the smouldering lava and magma being tossed as high as skyscrapers.

"We can call it the eruption of the century," said Zacharie Duputel, a seismologist at the Volcano Observatory for the island. "We have never observed such a phenomenon."

Cloud Lightning

Atlantic Canada pummeled by Easter storm

Maritimers were digging out on Easter morning after an early-spring storm pummeled much of the region with snow.

The storm began Saturday night and delivered as much as 31 centimetres of snow and wild winds to many areas of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick by Sunday morning.