Earth ChangesS


Alarm Clock

2nd, stronger Iceland volcano 'to erupt'


Press TV
Thu, 27 May 2010 20:55 UTC
Image
A warning sign at the base of Myrdalsjokull glacier, which is part of the ice cap sealing the Katla volcano. Katla is 10 times more powerful than neighbor Eyjafjallajokull.
Scientists have warned a second much larger volcano in Iceland is showing signs of eruption, with the government expressing readiness to face a possible crisis.

After the successive eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull which caused air traffic mayhem in Europe and brought thousands of flights to a halt earlier in the year, Katla volcano is also threatening to blow.

Experts say there has been a 200 percent increase in its volcanic activity in recent days, MSNBC reported.

"An eruption in the short term is a strong possibility," the University College London (UCL) institute for risk and disaster reduction outlined in a report.

Seismic readings indicated a substantial increase in tremors in the areas surrounding the volcano, the report said.

On May 21 alone, four earthquakes near Katla were detected in 12 hours; a record since the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano in March.
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Bizarro Earth

Vanuatu (2nd Earthquake) - Magnitude 6.4


USGS
Thu, 27 May 2010 20:13 UTC
2nd Vanuatu Earthquake_270510
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 20:48:00 UTC

Friday, May 28, 2010 at 07:48:00 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
13.641°S, 166.713°E

Depth:
32.2 km (20.0 miles)

Region:
VANUATU

Distances:
215 km (135 miles) NNW of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

335 km (210 miles) SSE of Lata, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Isl.

485 km (300 miles) NNW of PORT-VILA, Efate, Vanuatu

2085 km (1300 miles) NE of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia
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Sherlock

EPA Takes a Second Look at Popular Pesticide Atrazine

Jack Weingart
CBS News
Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:08 UTC
Image

The Environmental Protection Agency is rethinking its regulatory position on atrazine, one of the most commonly-used weed killers in America, as new scientific studies find the pesticide more hazardous than previously believed.

The EPA's independent scientific advisory panel is set to review the EPA's most recent evaluation of the popular pesticide atrazine and its non-cancer effects in a four-day public meeting starting next Monday, April 26.

Atrazine has been on the market and deemed safe by the U.S. government since 1958. The EPA estimates 76.5 million pounds of active ingredient are applied across the country every year, primarily on corn crops in the Midwest.

Comment: According to the EPA website:
One of the most widely used agricultural pesticides in the U.S., atrazine may be applied before and after planting to control broadleaf and grassy weeds. It is used primarily on corn, sorghum, and sugarcane, and is applied most heavily in the Midwest. Atrazine is used to a lesser extent on residential lawns, particularly in Florida and the Southeast
About time the EPA decides to reexamine the chemical. There is significant evidence that Atrazine posses a serious threat to human and environmental health:

More Stark Evidence of the Hazards of Atrazine

EPA Fails To Inform Public About Weed-Killer In Drinking Water

Serious Birth Defects Linked to the Agricultural Chemical Atrazine

An End to Atrazine

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Magnify

Commonly Used Atrazine Herbicide Adversely Affects Fish Reproduction


Science Daily
Thu, 20 May 2010 15:00 UTC
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© USGSFathead minnow. Atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the world, has been shown to affect reproduction of fish.
Atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the world, has been shown to affect reproduction of fish, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study.

"Concentrations of atrazine commonly found in agricultural streams and rivers caused reduced reproduction and spawning, as well as tissue abnormalities in laboratory studies with fish," said USGS scientist Donald Tillitt, the lead author of the study published in Aquatic Toxicology.

Fathead minnows were exposed to atrazine at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center in Columbia, Mo., and observed for effects on egg production, tissue abnormalities and hormone levels. Fish were exposed to concentrations ranging from zero to 50 micrograms per liter of atrazine for up to 30 days. All tested levels of exposure are less than the USEPA Office of Pesticides Aquatic Life Benchmark of 65 micrograms per liter for chronic exposure of fish. Thus, substantial reproductive effects were observed in this study at concentrations below the USEPA water-quality guideline.
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Red Flag

Scientists: BPA has Widely Contaminated the Oceans

Tom Laskawy
Grist
Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:37 UTC
Image
BPA leached from plastic: not just a problem for landlubbers.
It's looking more and more like the chemical industry's idea to make the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A ubiquitous in the environment was a terrible, and terribly dangerous, idea. Having successfully tainted the food supply with its presence, BPA has now has put the world's oceans at risk (via Science Daily):
Scientists have reported widespread global contamination of sea sand and sea water with the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA) and said that the BPA probably originated from a surprising source: Hard plastic trash discarded in the oceans and the epoxy plastic paint used to seal the hulls of ships. The team analyzed sand and seawater from more than 200 sites in 20 countries, mainly in Southeast Asia and North America. All contained what Saido described as a "significant" amount of BPA, ranging from 0.01 parts per million (ppm) to 50 ppm. They concluded that polycarbonates and epoxy resin coatings and paints were the main source.
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Bizarro Earth

Vanuatu: Earthquake Magnitude 7.2


US Geological Survey
Thu, 27 May 2010 14:07 UTC
Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 17:14:48 UTC

Friday, May 28, 2010 at 04:14:48 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
13.710°S, 166.507°E

Depth:
36.1 km (22.4 miles)

Region:
VANUATU

Distances:
215 km (135 miles) NNW of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

340 km (210 miles) SSE of Lata, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Isl.

485 km (300 miles) NNW of PORT-VILA, Efate, Vanuatu

2070 km (1290 miles) NE of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia
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Cloud Lightning

UK: Four Walkers Struck by Lightning Within 35 Minutes in Lake District


The Daily Mail
Thu, 27 May 2010 06:42 UTC
Image
© Paul LewisLightning zone: An aerial view of the area where the helicopter was called to
A spate of lighting strikes across the Lake District sparked a dramatic series of mountain rescues by the crew of a Royal Navy helicopter, it emerged today.

Four hill walkers, in three different locations, were airlifted to hospital following an electric storm in the national park yesterday afternoon.

The helicopter, from HMS Gannet at Prestwick, Scotland, had initially been called to a separate incident involving a man with a suspected shoulder injury at Langdale, Cumbria.

But at around 3pm, as reports of lightning emerged, the crew were instead deployed to help a hiker who had been struck at Grasmoor.

Within 35 minutes they had been called out to two other hillside locations - Crag Hill and Whiteless Pike - and rescued three more victims of lightning.
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Bizarro Earth

Volcano in Ecuador Spews Ash Plume


Xinhua
Thu, 27 May 2010 01:30 UTC
A volcano spewed a 7-km-long ash plume, spreading the ash cloud in some towns near the volcano, the Ecuadorian Geophysics Institute (IG) said on Wednesday.

The eruption occurred at 6:12 a.m. local time (1112 GMT), and "the sound of the eruption was heard in the towns near the volcano, even in Banos and Guadalupe, 14 km from the volcano," the IG said.

The 5,016-meter-high Tungurahua Volcano is located 135 km south of the capital Quito. It began its eruption process in 1999.

The ash cloud traveled in south-west direction and thick ash fell at 06:31 a.m. local time (1131 GMT) in towns of Mapayacu and Manzano.
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Frog

'Millions' of frogs shut down major Greek highway


Associated Press
Wed, 26 May 2010 23:23 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Aggelioforos, Pavlos Makridis
Greek officials say a horde of frogs has forced the closure of a key northern highway for two hours.

Thessaloniki traffic police chief Giorgos Thanoglou says "millions" of the amphibians covered the tarmac Wednesday near the town of Langadas, some 12 miles east of Thessaloniki.

"There was a carpet of frogs," he said.

Authorities closed the highway after three car drivers skidded off the road trying to dodge the frogs. No human injuries were reported.
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Bizarro Earth

Watch the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in real time

Catherine Brahic
New Scientist
Wed, 26 May 2010 22:32 UTC
Image
© New Scientist
Can't believe that the wretched Deepwater Horizon oil pipe is still leaking? Now there's a way to check for yourself.

BP has set up a live video feed of the biggest leak, which is available online 24/7.

The video shows oil spewing from the end of the riser pipe, the larger of two leak points on the seafloor. This pipe initially ran vertically from the blowout preventer on the sea bed right up to the surface but collapsed when the surface fire was put out. The graphic below (available as a pdf) illustrates the setup.

The riser insertion tube, which has been jammed into the riser pipe and is currently capturing roughly 2000 barrels of oil a day, is hidden by the spewing oil in the video.

The live stream should make interesting viewing tomorrow, 27 May, as BP attempts a "top kill" by pumping heavy mud into the blowout preventer to try to stop the flow entirely.
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