Earth ChangesS


Question

Mystery surrounds Eden Antarctic whale sighting


ABC News
Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:31 UTC
There has been further scientific interest in a pod of Antarctic killer whales that were sighted recently off the New South Wales far south coast.

An Eden couple took photographs of the mammals while on a pleasure cruise off Eden's Twofold Bay.

Researchers identified the pod as a species that exclusively inhabits the cold, southern waters.

David Donnelly from the Dolphin Research Centre says the sighting remains a mystery.

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Bizarro Earth

California: Mount Shasta glaciers growing, despite warming


Associated Press
Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:19 UTC
Global warming is shrinking glaciers all over the world, but the seven tongues of ice creeping down Mount Shasta's flanks are a rare exception: They are the only long-established glaciers in the lower 48 states that are growing.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Three struck by lightning in Rocky Mountain National Park


Sky Hi Daily News
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:25 UTC
Shortly after noon today, dispatch received a cell phone call reporting three people had been struck by lightning near Mills Lake in the Glacier Gorge area of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Mills Lake is approximately 2.8 miles from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. Park rangers responded and contacted three people who were reportedly struck by lighting. Initial reports indicate three males and one female were struck. After investigating, park officials confirmed there was not a fourth victim, according to e-mails from Kyle Patterson, Public Information Officer for Rocky Mountain National Park.

Two males and one female were walking down the trail when they were contacted.

Eight people were standing near Mills Lake when the lightning strike occurred, Patterson wrote.

Three out of this group were apparently struck by lightning. The Park Service hopes to have ages and hometowns confirmed later today.
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Extinguisher

US: Lightning starts fires near Okanogan, Washington

Dee Camp
The Chronicle
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:59 UTC


Okanogan fire 1
©Chronicle photo by Dee Camp
Fire erupts near Okanogan after lightning storm passes through at 7 p.m.


A brief, fierce lightning storm touched off a fast-moving fire that is threatening structures, the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office's communications system and crops in the Cameron Lake Road area near Okanogan.

The fire began around 7 p.m. July 1 as a lightning storm moved through the valley. It brought scattered rain showers to the mid-valley area and hail to the south end of the county.
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Stop

Israel: 'Current water crisis is unprecedented'


Jerusalem Post
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:49 UTC
"This is the worst crisis since records started being kept 80 years ago," Water Authority head Uri Shani declared Tuesday morning at a special press conference in Tel Aviv. "Like most countries, Israel is dependent on rainfall and the amount of rainfall is decreasing. There is a drop of 100 million cubic meters per year."

Shani described a situation of increasing damage to Israel's main natural water sources. The Coastal Aquifer "has dropped below its black line," which means that it will suffer rapid damage, possibly irreversible damage, Shani said.
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Bizarro Earth

Small earthquake shakes Peru


United Press
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:43 UTC
An earthquake registering 5.8 on the Richter scale shook southeastern Peru early Tuesday apparently causing no injuries, officials said.

Police confirmed reports a bridge some 450 miles from Lima collapsed during the tremor, El Comercio newspaper reported online.
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Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Bertha shifts direction


CNN
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:06 UTC
MIAMI, Florida -- Hurricane Bertha -- the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season -- began a shift in direction Tuesday morning, a day after growing to Category 3 status, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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Phoenix

Dry, hot weather threatens California fire gains


Associated Press
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:27 UTC
LOS ANGELES - A day of gains on the California firelines could be giving way to days of trouble. The return of some residents to their homes Monday marked progress against the siege of wildfires, but forecasters warned that weather is turning the advantage back in favor of the flames.
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Alarm Clock

Zimbabwe Conservationists Predict "Catastrophe" Over Upsurge in Poaching

Kholwani Nyathi
The Standard
Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:30 UTC
"Hungry ZANU PF Militias Poach Wildlife To Survive"

An environmental catastrophe is looming in most wildlife protected areas in Matabeleland North due to an upsurge in poaching activities by ZANU-PF [Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front] militias camped at bases throughout the province, it has been learnt.
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Cloud Lightning

UK: Lancashire hit by freak weather


Lancashire Evening Post
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:13 UTC


funnel cload
Shaun Kearns was fishing at Bickerstaffe when he took this picture

Evening Post readers were quick to capture dramatic pictures of freak weather in the sky above Merseyside and Lancashire.

Violent downpours resulted in the formation of a funnel cloud - a tornado which does not touch the ground - which was spotted at around 2.30pm on Sunday.
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