The varroa mite parasite that's been killing bees across the country is spreading on the Big Island, threatening local fruit and macadamia nut industries. The tiny bug has escaped a quarantine area around Hilo and spread to Hamakua and Puna.
The varroa mite became established on the mainland in the 1980s. Since then, it's destroyed more than half of some beekeepers' hives and devastated most wild honeybee populations. Mainland bees have also been hit by another illness called colony collapse disorder, which causes adult bees to abandon their hives.
Hawaii's first varroa mite was found in 2007 on Oahu, where it is now widely established.
Earth Changes
The heat is not the only thing Panhandle residents need to be careful of this summer. Bubonic plague is affecting animals, and at least one person has contracted West Nile virus in the region.
A prairie dog town in northeast Hansford County was wiped out by bubonic plague in the past few weeks, said Ron Antalek, the county's emergency management coordinator. He suggested being on alert for signs of other die-offs, controlling pets to prevent them from getting the fleas that carry the disease and not directly handling dead rodents.
A prairie dog town in northeast Hansford County was wiped out by bubonic plague in the past few weeks, said Ron Antalek, the county's emergency management coordinator. He suggested being on alert for signs of other die-offs, controlling pets to prevent them from getting the fleas that carry the disease and not directly handling dead rodents.
An earthquake measured at 3.6 on the Richter scale has hit Garfield County in northwestern Oklahoma.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake occurred about 4:23 p.m. Friday. It was centered seven miles east-northeast of Covington, 10 miles southeast of Garber and 23 miles east-southeast of Enid.
The survey records about 50 earthquakes in Oklahoma each year, although few are reported as being felt by residents. The last earthquake in Garfield County happened on Feb. 22.
There were no reports of damage from Friday's quake.
Covington-Douglas High School principal and football coach Brian Smith says he felt and heard "a loud rumble" that sounded like thunder, but that the tremor didn't knock anything off shelves.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake occurred about 4:23 p.m. Friday. It was centered seven miles east-northeast of Covington, 10 miles southeast of Garber and 23 miles east-southeast of Enid.
The survey records about 50 earthquakes in Oklahoma each year, although few are reported as being felt by residents. The last earthquake in Garfield County happened on Feb. 22.
There were no reports of damage from Friday's quake.
Covington-Douglas High School principal and football coach Brian Smith says he felt and heard "a loud rumble" that sounded like thunder, but that the tremor didn't knock anything off shelves.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale hit the popular Greek holiday island of Santorini in the early hours Saturday, causing residents and tourists to run out of their homes and hotels in a panic.
The epicentre of the quake was at sea. Two smaller earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.9 and 3.7 had struck the island earlier in the evening.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The epicentre of the quake was at sea. Two smaller earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.9 and 3.7 had struck the island earlier in the evening.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Eight earthquakes shook New Zealand's central North Island over a 12-hour period on Saturday, causing no casualties or damage, the GNS Science said.
The quakes began at 1:01 a.m. (13:01 GMT Friday), with a tremor measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale, 10 km north-west of Turangi, at a depth of 3 km.
Six further quakes shook the same location with the last at 10:54 a.m., according to New Zealand's Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science (GNS Science). All were at a depth of 5 km or less.
At 12:40 p.m., an earthquake struck within 5 km of Turangi, measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale.
The quakes began at 1:01 a.m. (13:01 GMT Friday), with a tremor measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale, 10 km north-west of Turangi, at a depth of 3 km.
Six further quakes shook the same location with the last at 10:54 a.m., according to New Zealand's Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science (GNS Science). All were at a depth of 5 km or less.
At 12:40 p.m., an earthquake struck within 5 km of Turangi, measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale.
An earthquake with magnitude of 4.9 degrees on the Richter scale shook the central Chile Friday, without reports of casualty and damage.
The earthquake occurred at 9:06 a.m. local time (1306 GMT), its epicenter was located 29 km west to Illape, in Coquimbo region, according to the Seismological Service from the University of Chile.
According to the National office of Emergencies (Onemi), the earthquake has a maximum intensity of III grade in Mercalli scale in the cities of Illapel, Canela, Salamanca, Punitaqui, Los Villos and La Ligua.
The earthquake occurred at 9:06 a.m. local time (1306 GMT), its epicenter was located 29 km west to Illape, in Coquimbo region, according to the Seismological Service from the University of Chile.
According to the National office of Emergencies (Onemi), the earthquake has a maximum intensity of III grade in Mercalli scale in the cities of Illapel, Canela, Salamanca, Punitaqui, Los Villos and La Ligua.
© Unknown
Mammatus Cloud Formations over Union Square Park
Mammatus Cloud Formations over Union Square Park
Moments before their appearance, people were casually sitting on the steps of the park entrance and carrying on as most New Yorkers do. Suddenly, there were sounds of gasps and one by one people held their cell phones up to the sky to photograph this strange occurrence.
These weren't the famed chemtrails, neither the Lenticular clouds that are mistaken for UFO's or the wispy metaphysical Sylphs often spoken about in spiritual circles.
First let us deal with the inevitable question that comes up when one addresses this topic - what makes you think you are qualified to criticise computer models?
Your bending author:
Your bending author:
- Started digital computer modelling in about 1960 on the first digital computer delivered in the UK for academic research, after wasting a year on an analogue computer. The machine was a Ferranti Pegasus, which had considerably less computing power than a modern hand-held device. Indeed, the computer you are using to read this almost certainly has more computing power than the whole world had then.
- In the subsequent forty years, reviewed hundreds of computer models - in undergraduate reports, PhD theses and, as a consultant, in industrial applications.
- Formulated the law of computer models long before global warming hit the headlines.
It's a beautiful day outside; clear blue sky, scarcely the whisper of a breeze, temperature hovering around a gently cossetting 20C, greenfinch wheezing away nearby. This is good news for me because as soon as I finish this article I intend to spend the rest of the day under the horse chestnut tree with a pitcher of neat alcohol. But it is also good news for Britain and the rest of the world.
Last Thursday we were all frightened out of our wits by a new report from the Met Office about what life in Britain would be like in 2080: scorching African sun, all the crops dying, plagues of locusts and mosquitos. Cows collapsing in the fields because they had not worn enough Factor 30; half of Yorkshire and Norfolk washed away by the sea, middle England flooded by swollen rivers, Essex a lifeless arid desert (no change there, then); impeccably well-mannered middle-class people on their knees sucking the last molecules of moisture from dusty, exhausted standpipes in Notting Hill; famine, pestilence and death flapping its wings over our heads like a big black bat, cackling to itself.
Last Thursday we were all frightened out of our wits by a new report from the Met Office about what life in Britain would be like in 2080: scorching African sun, all the crops dying, plagues of locusts and mosquitos. Cows collapsing in the fields because they had not worn enough Factor 30; half of Yorkshire and Norfolk washed away by the sea, middle England flooded by swollen rivers, Essex a lifeless arid desert (no change there, then); impeccably well-mannered middle-class people on their knees sucking the last molecules of moisture from dusty, exhausted standpipes in Notting Hill; famine, pestilence and death flapping its wings over our heads like a big black bat, cackling to itself.
© Mark Humpage/SWNS
The sky near Leicester after midnight. The 'noctilucent' cloud is reflecting light from the Sun over the horizon.
The sky near Leicester after midnight. The 'noctilucent' cloud is reflecting light from the Sun over the horizon.
It is August 2084 and in the olive groves of Bedfordshire, the temperature has just topped 41C for the fourth day running.
Luton's silk industry may be thriving, but on the radio, there are reports of wildfires raging across the Yorkshire moors. Hospitals are overflowing with elderly victims of the heat wave, some stricken with tropical diseases.
It may sound far-fetched but it is one possible future as laid out yesterday by the Met Office, where Britain is still recognisable - but only just.
Across the Home Counties, the rolling lawns and herbaceous borders have been edged aside by palms and pistachio trees.
Comment: Here is an article covering the discovery of the "new" cloud formations.
The clouds with no name: Harbingers of a mighty storm