Earth Changes
Unexplained honeybee deaths have recently started showing up in Florida, the same state where the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder was first discovered a year ago, the Agriculture Department's top bee scientist said Thursday.
The speed at which mankind is using and abusing the Earth's resources is putting humanity's survival at risk, scientists have said.
The bleak assessment of the state of the environment globally was issued as an "urgent call for action" amid growing concerns of worldwide waste, neglect and governmental inertia.
Fundamental changes in political policy and individual lifestyles were demanded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as it gave warning that the "point of no return" for the environment is fast being approached.
The bleak assessment of the state of the environment globally was issued as an "urgent call for action" amid growing concerns of worldwide waste, neglect and governmental inertia.
Fundamental changes in political policy and individual lifestyles were demanded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as it gave warning that the "point of no return" for the environment is fast being approached.
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| ©Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images |
| 2 million people are killed each year by air pollution |
Comment: A sustainable future can only be possible when equipped with sufficient objective knowledge about the reality we inhabit - for example the knowledge contained in 'Political Ponerology', which details how and why we have come to this "point of no return" and suggests possible solutions to avoid repeating the same mistakes in future.
A powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake jolted the Indian Ocean off Indonesia's Sumatra island early on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties and a brief tsunami alert was lifted.
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| ©REUTERS/Graphics |
Volcanic activity appears to be the cause of the earthquakes 150 kilometres southwest of Prince George, volcanologist Catherine Hickson said Wednesday, but is stressing that the potential for an actual eruption remains low.
Scientists are continuing to monitor the situation and five seismographs have been moved into the location about 20 km. west of Nazko Cone, a small dormant volcano that last erupted 7,200 years ago.
Scientists are continuing to monitor the situation and five seismographs have been moved into the location about 20 km. west of Nazko Cone, a small dormant volcano that last erupted 7,200 years ago.
City On Brink Of Warmest October Ever
For the fifth time this month, a record high temperature was set at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday, and it's the seventh record high to be set in the last six weeks.
The temperature Tuesday topped out at 80-degrees, breaking the old record set back in 1995.
For the fifth time this month, a record high temperature was set at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday, and it's the seventh record high to be set in the last six weeks.
The temperature Tuesday topped out at 80-degrees, breaking the old record set back in 1995.
Fierce wildfires raged across Southern California on Tuesday, threatening more than 60,000 homes as night fell and forcing half a million people to flee in the state's largest evacuation.
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| ©Reuters |
Between the North Sister and Middle Sister in Oregon's Cascade Range, Collier Glacier has advanced and receded for hundreds of thousands of years. But like many glaciers, it is headed in one direction these days: backward.
It is in serious peril, says geologist Ellen Morris Bishop of the Fossil-based Oregon Paleo Lands Institute. "We have basically a really sad picture of Collier Glacier today."
It is in serious peril, says geologist Ellen Morris Bishop of the Fossil-based Oregon Paleo Lands Institute. "We have basically a really sad picture of Collier Glacier today."
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| ©Glaciers Online |
SAN DIEGO - Faced with unrelenting winds whipping wildfires into a frenzy across Southern California, firefighters all but conceded defeat Tuesday to an unstoppable force that has chased an estimated 1 million people away.
With a near-record drought parching the state, the coming winter will be critical in determining whether Maryland faces even more disastrous crop failures for farmers and strict watering curbs for suburban homeowners in 2008.
And while there may be showers Tuesday, the prospects for real drought relief in the coming months appear slim.
And while there may be showers Tuesday, the prospects for real drought relief in the coming months appear slim.
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| ©photo by Elizabeth Malby |
| Low water levels at Prettyboy Reservoir are the result of the current drought. "We're looking at the second-driest May-to-September on record, and the records go back to 1895 -- 113 years," said Richard Heim of the USGS. |
Residents in areas only now recovering from hurricane Katrina have been soaked by more than 20 centimetres of rain, flooding streets, forcing the closure of schools and leaving businesses sitting in waist-high water.
The city's drainage pumps were working properly Monday but were unable to keep up with the intense rain, emergency preparedness officials said. They urged motorists to stay off roads.
The city's drainage pumps were working properly Monday but were unable to keep up with the intense rain, emergency preparedness officials said. They urged motorists to stay off roads.
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| ©AP Photo/Alex Brandon |
| Lauren Robinson from New Orleans walks through the water in the uptown area of New Orleans on her way to study in a coffeehouse Monday, Oct. 22, 2007. |
Comment: Something is certainly up with our helpful insect friends. We have discussed this topic here at SOTT several times and recommend you read To Bee or not to Be for plenty of explosive material to ponder on.
Here's a short excerpt: