Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

California fire grows to be state's second largest


AP
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:49 UTC
A California blaze burning since early July grew to be the second-largest state wildfire in modern history on Tuesday, officials said as firefighters partly blocked it by a firebreak.

Even as crews made gains in the Santa Barbara County backcountry, others battled a new blaze in canyon lands east of Los Angeles and another in mountains outside Palm Springs.

©Rob Varela / www.venturacountystar.com
A Ventura County fire crew backs down a bit as flames from the Zaca fire approach a fire break north of Ojai, Calif., on Monday.
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Cloud Lightning

Dean bears down on Mexico's oil industry

MARK STEVENSON
AP
Wed, 22 Aug 2007 02:29 UTC
MAJAHUAL, Mexico - Hurricane Dean swept across the Yucatan peninsula Tuesday, toppling trees, power lines and houses as it bore down on the heart of Mexico's oil industry. Glitzy resorts on the Mayan Riviera were spared, but vulnerable Mayan villages were exposed to the full fury of one of history's most intense storms.
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Life Preserver

Third heat wave to choke Athens


ekathimerini
Wed, 22 Aug 2007 02:31 UTC
This summer's third heat wave is expected to grip much of Greece tomorrow when temperatures are likely to reach 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit), the National Meteorological Service (EMY) said yesterday.
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Bizarro Earth

Pacu caught in local Lake


clickondetroit
Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00 UTC
Macomb County, Mich.l -- A Macomb County man caught an 18-inch pacu, a relative of the piranha fish in Lake St. Clair.

Toby Davison. 43, of St. Clair Shores, is a longtime fisherman.

"On the line, I knew it wasn't normal," Davison told the Macomb County Daily. "It was really fighting against the metal."

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Bizarro Earth

Flashback Boy Hooks Piranha-Like Fish From Ohio River


WLWT.com
Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:39 UTC
Kyle Owens has a fish tale straight from the waters of the Ohio River.

The 10-year-old Chilo boy went fishing for catfish this past weekend but caught something he was not expecting.

©WLWT.com.

"I thought it was like a 10-pound catfish, reeling it in," said Owens. "I thought, 'It's a big blue gill,' and I was about to stick my thumb into its mouth and then I saw its teeth."
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Arrow Down

Study: Marine Bird Populations Declining


Associated Press
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:11 UTC
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Marine bird populations in northern Puget Sound have seen significant declines since the late 1970s, according to a Western Washington University study.
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Cloud Lightning

Midwest Flooding Death Toll Reaches 22

TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:02 UTC
GAYS MILLS, Wis. - Water-weary residents across the Midwest began counting their losses Tuesday as damage estimates from this weekend's deadly flash floods climbed into the tens of millions. The rain moved into Ohio, where roads flooded, schools canceled classes and residents were rescued from flooded homes by boats.
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Cloud Lightning

Tens of thousands homeless in Myammar floods


AFP
Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:57 UTC
ATHOK, Myanmar - Tens of thousands of people have been made homeless in Myanmar's Ayeyawaddy River delta after unusually heavy rains triggered floods in this low-lying region, local officials said Monday.

State media in military-ruled Myanmar have made little mention of the floods, but local officials and residents said that at least 18 villages are under water.

About 10,000 homes have been hit by the floods, according to local officials and residents.
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Cloud Lightning

Dean was 3rd-most intense hurricane to make landfall

John Pain
AP
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:28 UTC
Hurricane Dean was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall since record keeping began in the 1850s, based on its central atmospheric pressure, forecasters said.

The pressure in a hurricane's eye is often used to compare storms throughout history because in the past, wind gauges were often damaged or destroyed by powerful hurricanes. Now, technology exists to more accurately measure winds, said Jamie Rhome, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center.
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Arrow Down

Arctic Ice at All-Time Low

John Roach
National Geographic
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:20 UTC
There is less sea ice in the Arctic than ever before recorded, thanks in part to a warm, sunny summer, a climate scientist said today. And the melting season isn't even over.

On Sunday the sea ice extent was measured at 1.93 million square miles (5.01 million square kilometers).

"It's continuing to go down at a rapid pace," said Mark Serreze, a senior scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

The previous minimum record - set on September 21, 2005 - was 2.05 million square miles (5.32 million square kilometers).
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