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.
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.
Amy Jonston
KVUE NewsMon, 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.
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.
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| ©AP Photo/NIWA, HO
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| 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."
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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.
A parking lot in the New Springville section of Staten Island went to the bees this afternoon, as thousands of the insects swarmed from a makeshift hive built on a shopping cart.
Jose Pagliery and Luisa Yanez
Miami HeraldSun, 18 May 2008 22:41 UTC
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| ©TIM CHAPMAN / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
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| Two National Park Service helicopters pick up water from a south Miami-Dade canal to be used in containing a fire on the eastern edge of Everglades National Park to the west of SW 232 Street.
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The Everglades wildfire burning in Southwest Miami-Dade continued to spread Sunday, scorching thousands more acres. And there was more bad news: the winds are not helping.
Steady south-westerly winds are blowing thick, smoky haze and the smell of fire over Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Miami - Parts of southern Florida were under a dense smoke advisory on Sunday as firefighters worked to control several wildfires that have burned about 62 square miles.
Panaji: The stunning Sinquerim-Candolim shoreline disappears from June to January. This isn't a natural phenomenon, it is the effect of a 240-m-long ore carrier sitting a mere 300 metres from the beach since the last eight years.
In Goa, most beach stretches are partly submerged during the three-month monsoon period because of the turbulent tides.
By October, the waters recede to reveal the sandy shore. Not however, in this tourist centric beach stretch.
Illinois, U.S. - Workers this morning repaired a basketball-sized hole created when lightning struck near the roof of Roosevelt School in Belleville.
District 118 Superintendent Matt Klosterman said the strike was at about 8:50 a.m. Tuesday where fifth and sixth grade classrooms are located. No students were in the area at the time because they were at Jefferson School for field day. Field day was canceled by the storm.
