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Dead humpback whale washes ashore at Dockweiler State Beach, California

Anthony Kurzweil and Wendy Burch
ktla.com
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 14:41 UTC
A whale that washed ashore at Dockweiler State Beach is seen in this photo posted to the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division Twitter page.

A whale that washed ashore at Dockweiler State Beach is seen in this photo posted to the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division Twitter page.
Lifeguards were deciding what to do Friday about a dead whale that washed ashore on Dockweiler State Beach near Playa Del Rey the night before.

A whale that washed ashore at Dockweiler State Beach is seen in this photo posted to the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division Twitter page.

The 30- to 40-foot-long whale, possibly a humpback, was spotted by lifeguards about 8 p.m. Thursday, according to a tweet by the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division.

Efforts to tow the carcass back to the water Thursday night were unsuccessful so the whale remained on the beach overnight.

Officials were hoping to try again to get the whale removed from the shoreline Friday, ahead of the large crowds expected to arrive for the holiday weekend.
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Fire

Wildfires devastating parts of southern Spain


RT
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 12:15 UTC
Southern Spain wildfires
© aeafma / Instagram
Authorities in the Spanish province of Albacete are desperately trying to tackle forest fires, fueled by strong winds in the area. Almost 150 firefighters and troops have been mobilized to try and put out the blazes.

The fire started in the small municipality of Lietor, around 110km northwest of Murcia. Around 500 hectares of woodland have been affected by the fires, which are still not under control.

The blaze has put two local roads out of use, while the authorities have managed to call in aerial help from a number of amphibious aircraft in order to try and put out the fires. The proximity of a local reservoir is helping efforts to tackle the fire as the firefighters are being given a regular supply of water.

There have been no fatalities; however, several firefighting vehicles have been lost due to the raging inferno.
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Cloud Precipitation

Rostov downpour: Flash flooding devastates southern Russian city


RT
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 11:49 UTC
Floods
© EMERCOM / Sputnik
Torrential rain streaming in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don caused havoc on the streets, killing one person and leaving about a dozen others injured. Hundreds of cars and businesses were destroyed in the deluge.

"One person, a 14-year-old girl, died after being dragged underneath a car by the torrent," TASS cited an official as saying.

Four people out of the 11 who sought medical attention remain in hospital in a satisfactory condition, the official said. Among them is a 16-year-old who was struck by a broken high-voltage electricity cable.

The thunderstorm in Rostov-on-Don started on Thursday evening, accompanied by storm winds of up to 90kph.

The downpour flooded the streets of Rostov-on-Don, a city of well over a million inhabitants.

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Attention

Hundreds of starfish wash up on the shores of the Marmara Sea, Turkey


Hurriyet Daily News
Tue, 28 Jun 2016 11:00 UTC
Starfish
© DHA
Scores of starfish, both dead and alive, have washed ashore the coasts of Turkey's Marmara Sea in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, while the provincial environment directorate has said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the incident.

Locals saw hundreds of starfish emanating a "bad odor" on a sandy beach in the Kumbağ neighborhood of Tekirdağ's Süleymanpaşa district at mid-day on June 27.

While some residents threw the starfish back into the sea in an attempt to save their lives, others collected the animals for decorative purposes.

"We come here during the summer months. I have never seen anything like this. Many starfish hit the beach," Didem Deniz, a vacationer, told reporters.
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Igloo

Ultra-warmist German solar physicists now warning of a 'mini-ice age'

P Gosselin
NoTricksZone
Wed, 29 Jun 2016 19:37 UTC
The daily Berliner Kurier here writes today that solar physicists at the ultra-warmist Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) are warning that Europe may be facing "a mini ice age" due to a possible protracted solar minimum.
Solar Activity
© D. Hathaway/NASA/MSFC
Solar activity has been much lower than predicted earlier.
The Berliner Kurier writes:
That's the conclusion that solar physicists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research reached when looking at solar activity."
For an institute that over the past 20 years has steadfastly insisted that man has been almost the sole factor in climate change over the past century and that the sun no longer plays a role, this is quite remarkable.

The Berliner Kurier reports that the PIK scientists foresee a weakening of the sun's activity over the coming years.
"That means that conversely it is going to get colder. The scientists are speaking of a little ice age."
According to the PIK scientists, the reduced solar activity will, however, not be able to stop the global warming and only brake the warming up to 2100 by 0.3°C.
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Attention

Dead humpback whale found near Hope, Alaska; third for the state in June

Blake Essig
ktuu.com
Thu, 30 Jun 2016 18:21 UTC
A humpback whale spotted near Hope.
© Liam Bureau.
A humpback whale spotted near Hope.
A dead humpback whale originally discovered Tuesday morning along Turnagain Arm, near Hope, has reappeared with the tides.

The 42-foot body resurfaced in an area between miles 13 and 15 of Hope Highway. NOAA officials say the location of the whale is making access challenging, as it's only accessible for a few hours during low tide.

As of noon Wednesday, a combined team from Alaska SeaLife Center and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are at the site collecting samples from the whale. NOAA officials say the team was on scene last night between 9 p.m. and midnight collecting samples before the tide came back up.

"The samples they collect are skin samples, blubber samples, aqueous liquid from the eyes, and then if they're able to perform a full necropsy then they definitely do the internal examination of the whale," said Julie Speegle, NOAA.
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Attention

Grizzly bear kills biker in Flathead County, Montana; seventh fatal attack since 2010 in the Northern Rockies

Wesley Yiin
Washington Post
Thu, 30 Jun 2016 13:46 UTC
Grizzly bear

Grizzly bear
Twenty years ago, Brad Treat was one of Montana's best high school distance runners, but his coach, Paul Jorgensen, remembers him for his humility and kindness. Once, Jorgensen recounted to the Flathead Beacon, after Treat finished first during a cross country race at the Missoula Invitational, he turned around and congratulated everyone else as they finished.

"I told my kids that story off and on over the years and then my kids started doing that, too," he said. "Brad's the one who started that."

And so, it was with great sadness that the Flathead community mourned the loss of this local icon of sportsmanship, who died Wednesday afternoon after being attacked by a grizzly bear just south of Glacier National Park. Though he had maintained his athleticism — he was riding his mountain bike, after all — Treat, who was just 38 years old and a law enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service, couldn't escape his fate.

But his companion did. Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry told the Associated Press that Treat and another man had been biking near Halfmoon Lake when they came across the bear, surprising it. The other man escaped unscathed and sought help while the bear knocked Treat off his bike.

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Arrow Down

Sound 'like thunder' before huge sinkhole devours land just metres from homes near Carmarthen, Wales

Steffan Storch
South Wales Evening Post.
Tue, 28 Jun 2016 12:45 UTC
The 30 foot wide hole has left a storage shed dangling over the edge

The 30 foot wide hole has left a storage shed dangling over the edge
A Carmarthenshire couple's home has been left in a dangerous position after the ground collapsed just meters away from it.

Nearby residents of Towy View Park, off Capel Dewi Road, just outside Carmarthen, said they were woken by a sound like thunder before 7am today.

The sinkhole, approximately 30 foot wide and deep, took away part of the ground underneath an empty storage shed.

Towy View Park is built on the site of a former lead mine.

"It sounded like thunder," said a park resident this morning.

"I couldn't believe someone was doing DIY that early in the morning. But when I went out to walk my dog, I could see it. It's a real worry for us."
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Bizarro Earth

Florida declares state of emergency over algae blooms in Martin, St. Lucie counties


wctv.tv
Thu, 30 Jun 2016 12:26 UTC
Florida algal blooms
© Associated Press
A state of emergency has been declared in Martin and St. Lucie counties following the unusually high presence of algae in local waterways.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the executive order Wednesday. It allows state and local agencies to take swift action to mitigate the spread of algal blooms in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries by redirecting the flow of water in and out of Lake Okeechobee.

Scott is also directing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to address the issues caused by blooms.

In a prepared statement, Scott also called on the federal government to approve permits for Florida's dispersed water management programs.
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Fire

House leveled after massive explosion in Ontario, Canada; woman killed, 25 homes damaged

Vjosa Isai
Toronto Star
Tue, 28 Jun 2016 06:53 UTC
House explosion in Mississauga, Canada
© Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
About 25 homes were damaged by a house explosion on Hickory Dr. Residents described the scene as looking like "the aftermath of a hurricane."

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said the person who died in Mississauga's home explosion on Tuesday was a female.

Close to 58 homes were evacuated as a safety precaution after one home on Hickory Dr. in Mississauga exploded. Residents have been asked to stay out of their homes as police continue their investigation in the area, she told CP24 Wednesday morning.

Nine people were assessed for minor injuries. About 50 to 100 people had been taken to a nearby reception centre.

Animal services were on hand and had already rescued a few pets.

Crombie praised the support of local community members and efforts of emergency services responding to a shocking house explosion in the city Tuesday afternoon, leaving one woman dead.


Comment: A few other examples of huge gas explosions leveling buildings or houses from this year include:

June 2016: Powerful gas explosions rip through street in Urk, the Netherlands: Six houses destroyed
April 2016: Home reduced to rubble after gas explosion in Birmingham, UK
March 2016: Huge gas explosion in Seattle levels two buildings and blows out windows half a block away
Feb 2016: Powerful gas explosion partly destroys residential building in Russia; 7 dead, many feared trapped

Could a 'cosmic' source of ignition be responsible for some of these incidents?

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