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Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Bill now Category 3 storm in Atlantic

David Fischer
Associated Press
Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:00 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/NOAA
A false color satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Bill at 12:15 a.m. EDT Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009 in the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasters say the first hurricane of this year's Atlantic season has increased to a Category 2 storm with winds whipping at 100 mph.
Miami - The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Bill has become a Category 3 storm far out in the Atlantic.

A hurricane hunter plane found that winds had increased to near 125 mph Tuesday night, making Bill a major hurricane, the first of the Atlantic season.

The National Hurricane Center says people in the Leeward Islands should monitor Bill's progress.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Bill was centered about 635 miles east of the Leeward Islands, moving west-northwest near 16 mph.

The most significant threat the storm seemed to pose was to Bermuda, which it could pass in three or four days. But it also could move directly between Bermuda and the eastern coast of the U.S. without making landfall.
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Bizarro Earth

US: USGS: No record of reported Nevada quake


Associated Press
Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:09 UTC
A Nevada earthquake monitoring station reported a moderate jolt early Sunday, but the U.S. Geological Survey and a Utah station say they have no record of such a temblor.

A report by the Nevada Seismological Laboratory said a magnitude-4.2 quake struck early Sunday about a dozen miles east-southeast of Rock House, near the Idaho line.

Richard Buckmaster, a USGS geophysicist stationed in Golden, Colo., told The Associated Press late Sunday that his agency had no record of any quake approaching 4 magnitude in Nevada, and none around Rock House.

Calls to the Nevada Seismological Laboratory went unanswered Sunday but the lab's Web site carried no reports of such a quake.

Jim Pechmann, a seismograph for the University of Utah, also was unable to verify the report.

"We would certainly have picked that up," Pechmann said.
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Red Flag

A Plague of Plastic

Nicole Chatterson
Patagonia
Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:05 UTC
Image

In the North Pacific Gyre, lost or abandoned fishing nets catch plastic and other debris.

What we do on land affects even the most remote parts of our planet including our oceans. In the North Pacific Gyre, a rotating body of ocean currents roughly 1,000 nautical miles northeast of the Hawaiian Islands, the magnitude of human impact is powerfully clear. Trash, notably plastic waste, is accumulating here and turning our oceans into a synthetic soup. Everything from tiny plastic fragments to fully intact car tires litter the water column.
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Ladybug

Herbs 'Can Be Natural Pesticides'


BBC News
Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:41 UTC
Image

Common herbs and spices could help protect crops against pests
Common herbs and spices show promise as an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional pesticides, scientists have told a major US conference.

They have spent a decade researching the insecticidal properties of rosemary, thyme, clove and mint.

They could become a key weapon against insect pests in organic agriculture, the researchers say, as the industry attempts to satisfy demand.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Swarm of 18 earthquakes hits near Borrego Springs, CA


The Desert Sun
Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:06 UTC
A swarm of 18 small earthquakes hit near Borrego Springs and Desert Shores between 6:47 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. Monday, according to U.S. Geological Survey reports.

The quakes ranged in magnitude from 1.0 to 2.9.

Most of the temblors occurred 8 miles NNW of Borrego Springs.

Between 10:53 p.m. Monday and 6:37 a.m. today, there have been four more quakes near the area, ranging in magnitude from 1.1 to 1.5.
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Bizarro Earth

US: 2 earthquakes strike Colorado 1 day apart


Associated Press
Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:03 UTC
Craig - The second earthquake to hit Colorado in two days has rattled the northwest corner of the state, but no damage has been reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the 3.7-magnitude quake struck at 8:50 p.m. on Monday. The epicenter was 11 miles north of Craig and 150 miles west of Denver.

Jeana Weber, a dispatcher for the State Patrol who lives about seven miles northwest of Craig, says she was reading in bed when her house began shaking.

She says her dogs were spooked and pictures on the walls shook.
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Magnify

Journalists Show Bias on Global Warming Issues

Michael R. Fox
Hawaii Reporter
Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:32 UTC
Read these quotes:
"As scientific evidence has accumulated that the planet is warming and that humans are behind it, many previous skeptics have been won over. There remains a vocal cadre of critics, however, at least some of whose arguments have shifted over the last several years from outright denial that the earth is warming to insisting it's unrelated to human activity - and even if it is, likely nothing much to worry about."

"Some of the most vocal skeptics have done relatively little recent peer-reviewed scientific research on the topic, and some have had their voices amplified via financial support from industries opposed to any government regulation or taxation of greenhouse gas emissions."

"Others do have training and experience, at least in some aspects of the wide-ranging issue, and are not bankrolled by industry. But overall, their number represents a distinctly minority position in the ongoing and normal colloquy among scientists about the evidence of climate change and its likely impacts."
The paragraphs above are taken from the website of the Society of Environmental Journalists section on "Skeptics and Contrarians."

Their choice of words and the structure of these comments disclose their preference and prejudices of the global warming issues. They also show a remarkable lack of what science is and how it proceeds. These are the self-appointed journalists who view themselves as final arbiters and reporters of what science is. They haven't a clue.
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Fish

Water Quality Improves After Lawn Fertilizer Ban, Study Shows


ScienceDaily
Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:11 UTC
Huron River
© University of Michigan
The Huron River. In an effort to keep lakes and streams clean, municipalities around the country are banning or restricting the use of phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizers, which can kill fish and cause smelly algae blooms and other problems when the phosphorus washes out of the soil and into waterways.
In an effort to keep lakes and streams clean, municipalities around the country are banning or restricting the use of phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizers, which can kill fish and cause smelly algae blooms and other problems when the phosphorus washes out of the soil and into waterways.

But do the ordinances really help reduce phosphorus pollution? That's been an open question until now, says John Lehman, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan.

"It's one of those things where political organizations take the action because they believe it's the environmentally conscious thing to do, but there's been no evidence offered in peer-reviewed literature that these ordinances actually have a salutary effect," Lehman said.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 4.4 - Colorado


US Geological Survey
Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:05 UTC
Image
© US Geological Survey
Date-Time:
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 02:50:17 UTC

Monday, August 17, 2009 at 08:50:17 PM at epicenter

Location:
40.682°N, 107.577°W

Depth:
5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program

Distances:
18 km (12 miles) N (353°) from Craig, CO

34 km (21 miles) NW (308°) from Hayden, CO

39 km (24 miles) S (185°) from Dixon, WY

211 km (131 miles) W (275°) from Fort Collins, CO

246 km (153 miles) WNW (296°) from Denver, CO
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Cloud Lightning

Claudette weakens, but hurricane forms in Atlantic

Melissa Nelson
Associated Press
Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:19 UTC
Pensacola Beach, Florida - A quick-forming tropical storm blew into the Florida Panhandle on Monday and quickly lost steam while the first hurricane of this year's Atlantic season took shape over the open ocean on a track for Bermuda.

Sustained winds near 35 mph after coming ashore a few hours earlier as the first named storm to hit the U.S. mainland this year. Claudette made landfall near Fort Walton Beach early Monday less than 12 hours after forming over the Gulf.

Claudette was headed across Alabama toward northeastern Mississippi, bringing heavy rains. It was not expected to cause significant flooding or wind damage.

Near Panama City, a man in his mid-20s died after being pulled from the surf on Sunday afternoon. A Panama City Beach police dispatcher could not immediately provide more details Monday. The Panama City News Herald said another person was reported missing at sea after his boat sank off Shell Island.
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