Earth ChangesS


Binoculars

Dolphins "Walk" on Water


The Telegraph, UK
Sat, 23 Oct 2010 03:29 UTC
Dolphins in the wild are teaching themselves to "walk" with their tails along the surface of water, biologists have claimed.


The mammals, which are celebrated for their playful natures, are developing the skill "just for fun", according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) in Australia.

Dolphin tail-walking has no known practical function and has been likened to dancing in humans.

WDCS researcher Dr Mike Bossley, who has observed Adelaide's Port River dolphins for the past 24 years, said he had documented spectacular tail walking in two adult female dolphins, known as Billie and Wave.
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Bizarro Earth

Thai floods 'worst in 50 years'

Zoe Daniel
Science Centric
Wed, 20 Oct 2010 22:13 UTC
Image
© ReutersResidents carrying their belongings wade through floodwaters in Nakhon Ratchasima province, north-east of Bangkok, in Thailand.
A quarter of Thailand has been inundated in the worst flooding in half a century with riverside areas of Bangkok set to be affected by rising water.

The death toll from the floods has now risen to 12 and is mainly attributed to flash flooding which has washed away homes.

Four people died in Buriram, in eastern Thailand, as waters gushed through the streets, while the death toll in severely affected Nakhon Ratchasima has risen to four.

The central provinces of Rayong and Trat have both reported one casualty, while a further two people were killed in Lopburi.

Rescue teams have helped evacuate stranded people by boat, as homes and huge swathes of farmland have been deluged.

The area to the north-east of Bangkok is worst affected after twice the amount of rain compared to this time last year.
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Cloud Lightning

7 die in typhoon-triggered landslide at temple


msnbc.com
Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:50 UTC
Image
© Associated PressEmergency rescue team members extract a body from the flood debris caused by passing Typhoon Megi at a temple in Ilan county, north eastern Taiwan on Friday.
Seven people were killed when a mudslide buried a Buddhist temple and a bus containing 19 Chinese tourists was missing Friday, as one of the worst typhoons in 50 years battered Taiwan.

Six other people were missing and a number of vehicles were trapped on a highway as Typhoon Megi swept toward southern China, where landfall is expected late Friday or Saturday.

The storm earlier killed 26 people and damaged homes and crops in the Philippines.

Megi dumped a record 45 inches of rain in Taiwan's Ilan county over 48 hours. It had winds of 90 mph and was about 275 miles southeast of Hong Kong on Friday evening local time, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

The seven people who died were at the White Cloud Temple in Suao city along the eastern coast when it was engulfed by the mudslide, Taiwanese cable TV stations reported.
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Cloud Lightning

Two dozen missing in Taiwan as typhoon nears China


XinNews
Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:34 UTC
Image
© HKO/AFPTwo dozen missing in Taiwan as typhoon nears China
Typhoon Megi unleashed torrential rains over Taiwan leaving two dozen people missing and hundreds more trapped by landslides Friday, as it bore down on cities along China's southeast coastline.

Megi, the strongest storm to hit the northwest Pacific in two decades, has already killed at least 36 people in the Philippines and was expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday in Fujian province in southeast China.

Authorities have evacuated more than 150,000 people from low-lying areas of the province, while 10,000 others have been moved to safer ground in Guangdong. Thousands of fishing boats have been ordered not to put to sea.

"Megi could bring the largest concentration of rainfall this year and will have a serious impact on the province's coast," Fujian's civil affairs department said in a statement.

Projections by the Hong Kong Observatory showed the typhoon was likely hit near the southern Chinese cities of Xiamen and Shantou -- between them home to more than seven million people.
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Bizarro Earth

Earthquake Magnitude 6.9 - Gulf of California


US Geological Survey
Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:25 UTC
Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 17:53:14 UTC

Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 11:53:14 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
24.843°N, 109.171°W

Depth:
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program

Region:
GULF OF CALIFORNIA

Distances:
105 km (65 miles) S of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

125 km (75 miles) SW of Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico

140 km (85 miles) NE of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

1200 km (740 miles) WNW of MEXICO CITY, D.F., Mexico
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Bizarro Earth

Southern China braces for deadly typhoon

Min Lee
Associated Press
Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:47 UTC
Image
© AP PhotoA boat sails past docked ships at a port in Haikou, in south China's Hainan province, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010. Residents scrambled to stockpile food and authorities ordered ships to remain docked as southern China geared up Wednesday for a super typhoon after it killed 15 people and wiped out crops in the northern Philippines.
Residents stockpiled food and ships were ordered to dock Wednesday as southern China braced for a typhoon that has already lashed the northern Philippines amid floods that have killed more than 70 people across Asia.

Typhoon Megi packed winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kilometers per hour) when it struck the Philippines on Monday. Philippine officials reported 20 deaths, including several people who drowned after being pinned by fallen trees. The storm damaged thousands of homes and flooded vast areas of rice and corn fields.

Late Wednesday, Megi was about 350 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of the southern financial hub of Hong Kong and expected to eventually hit the southern Chinese coast, the Hong Kong Observatory said on its website.

The storm's winds have weakened to 110 mph (175 kph), but are expected to build strength over the next two days before losing steam again Saturday, when the typhoon is projected to make landfall in China's Guangdong province, the observatory said.
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Bizarro Earth

"We Are Destroying Life on Earth," UN Conference Claims


FoxNews.com
Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:00 UTC
dead,planet
© UNEPA recent U.N. biodiversity study said global environmental damage caused by human activity in 2008 totaled $6.6 trillion.
A U.N. biodiversity conference aims to address a simple problem: "We are destroying life on Earth," said the head of the U.N. Environment Program.

The world cannot afford to allow nature's riches to disappear, the United Nations said on Monday at the start of a major meeting to combat losses in animal and plant species that underpin livelihoods and economies. The U.N. cited the worst extinction rate since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago, saying it's a crisis that needs to be addressed by governments, businesses and communities.

A U.N.-backed study this month said global environmental damage caused by human activity in 2008 totaled $6.6 trillion, equivalent to 11 percent of global gross domestic product.
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Igloo

First Big Freeze Heading For UK - Snow Forecast This Week


Daily Mail
Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:54 UTC
Image
Early morning mist was captured on Sunday morning in the north west - temperatures dipped below freezing for the first time this autumn
Crank up your central heating and get out your thermals... because winter is about to bite.

Icy polar winds are to sweep across the country from tomorrow, with temperatures plummeting to below freezing and up to 2ins of snow forecast for parts of the north by the end of the week.

Millions will wake up to frost this week, but the worst of the weather will hit Scotland and North-east England.

Wednesday will be the coldest day of the week, with temperatures as low as -3C on Tuesday night in rural parts of the north. The mercury will also struggle to rise above freezing overnight in the south.
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Bizarro Earth

One Dead as Typhoon Whips Northern Philippines

Mynardo Macaraig
Agence France-Presse
Sun, 17 Oct 2010 03:00 UTC
Image
© HKO/Agence France-PresseMap showing the path of Typhoon Megi as it crashes into the Philippines
Super Typhoon Megi slammed into the northern Philippines Monday causing landslides in mountainous areas, tearing roofs off houses, whipping up huge waves along the coast and killing at least one person.

Schools were closed and thousands of people were evacuated across the north of the Philippines' main island of Luzon ahead of the strongest storm to pummel the country this year, rescue and relief officials said.

The northeastern provinces of Isabela and Cagayan were the first to feel the typhoon's fury on Monday morning, chief government weatherman Graciano Yumol said.

"There are landslides in the mountains, we have swells, storm surges and big waves along the coast line, and now we have flood alerts," Yumol said in an interview with GMA 7 television.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Earthquake Magnitude 6.1 - 16th Oct 10


USGS
Sat, 16 Oct 2010 13:31 UTC
Indonesia Quake_161010
© USGSEarthquake Location.
Date-Time:
Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 15:44:32 UTC

Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 12:44:32 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
7.343°S, 125.662°E

Depth:
20.6 km (12.8 miles)

Region:
KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA

Distances:
135 km (85 miles) N of DILI, Timor-Leste

385 km (240 miles) NE of Kupang, Timor, Indonesia

395 km (245 miles) ESE of Baubau, Sulawesi, Indonesia

795 km (495 miles) NW of DARWIN, Northern Territory, Australia
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