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OMAHA, Nebraska - Tornadoes dropped onto the Great Plains on Thursday after forecasters had warned of a potentially historic outbreak, doing little harm early on but spooking a pair of circus elephants in Kansas that escaped their enclosure.
The number of natural disasters around the world has increased by more than four times in the last 20 years, according to a report released by the British charity Oxfam. Oxfam analyzed data from the Red Cross, United Nations and researchers at Louvain University in Belgium. It found that the earth is currently experiencing approximately 500 natural disasters per year, compared with 120 per year in the early 1980s. The number of weather-related disasters in 2006 was 240, compared with 60 in 1980.
At the same time, the number of geologically related natural disasters has held steady. Oxfam has attributed the increasing disaster rate to global warming.
At the same time, the number of geologically related natural disasters has held steady. Oxfam has attributed the increasing disaster rate to global warming.
"I can't raise enough queens; I turn down orders every day,"
In the woods and rolling farmland of Central Texas, Clint Walker is breeding queen bees.
Stashed in nondescript boxes underneath a stand of trees, the bees could be easily missed.
But the queens are a lifeline for Walker and other commercial beekeepers, who are furiously trying to replenish their depleted hives.
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| ©Jill Johnson |
| Clint Walker, a central Texas beekeeper |
In the woods and rolling farmland of Central Texas, Clint Walker is breeding queen bees.
Stashed in nondescript boxes underneath a stand of trees, the bees could be easily missed.
But the queens are a lifeline for Walker and other commercial beekeepers, who are furiously trying to replenish their depleted hives.
ALLENDALE -- The U.S. Geological Survey says a 3.6-magnitude earthquake rumbled across southern Illinois.
The quake at about 2:15 a.m. was centered in Allendale, which is in southeast Illinois near the Indiana border.
Geophysicist Julie Martinez says it was an aftershock to the 5.2-magnitude temblor on April 18th near West Salem.
The quake at about 2:15 a.m. was centered in Allendale, which is in southeast Illinois near the Indiana border.
Geophysicist Julie Martinez says it was an aftershock to the 5.2-magnitude temblor on April 18th near West Salem.
A catastrophic water shortage could prove an even bigger threat to mankind this century than soaring food prices and the relentless exhaustion of energy reserves, according to a panel of global experts at the Goldman Sachs "Top Five Risks" conference.
Nicholas (Lord) Stern, author of the Government's Stern Review on the economics of climate change, warned that underground aquifers could run dry at the same time as melting glaciers play havoc with fresh supplies of usable water.
Nicholas (Lord) Stern, author of the Government's Stern Review on the economics of climate change, warned that underground aquifers could run dry at the same time as melting glaciers play havoc with fresh supplies of usable water.
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| ©AFP |
| Lava flows down the Cerro Azul volcano |
Quito - The lava from an erupting Galapagos volcano did not affect the islands' famed giant tortoises as first feared, Galapagos National Park officials said Tuesday.
The Cerro Azul volcano on Isabela Island erupted between Thursday and Sunday, unleashing a heavy flow of lava, park authorities said in a statement.
A mud volcano, which began erupting two years ago on the Indonesian island of Java, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes, could be on the verge of collapse, British scientists have found.
The Lusi volcano has displaced 50,000 people, submerged homes, factories and schools and is flowing at a rate of more than 3.5 million cubic feet a day.
Despite efforts to halt the flow, including dropping giant concrete balls into the crater, the hot, noxious grey mud continues to spurt from the site in Sidoardjo, East Java.
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| ©EPA |
| Many people believe gas drilling caused the phenomenon |
The Lusi volcano has displaced 50,000 people, submerged homes, factories and schools and is flowing at a rate of more than 3.5 million cubic feet a day.
Despite efforts to halt the flow, including dropping giant concrete balls into the crater, the hot, noxious grey mud continues to spurt from the site in Sidoardjo, East Java.
WASHINGTON - Political appointees in NASA's public affairs office "compromised" information on climate-change science for political advantage over a two-year period, an audit by the agency's inspector general found.
Communications issued between late 2004 and early 2006 "reduced, marginalized or mischaracterized global warming research made available to the general public," the auditors wrote in a statement released yesterday.
Communications issued between late 2004 and early 2006 "reduced, marginalized or mischaracterized global warming research made available to the general public," the auditors wrote in a statement released yesterday.
An aftershock measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale jolted Qingchuan County of Southwest China's Sichuan province at 12:41 p.m. on Thursday, the China Earthquake Administration said.
Something was buzzing in Staten Island's Tottenville neighborhood yesterday morning, and it had nothing to do with gossip.
A hummer of a swarm of bees -- at least 40,000 of them -- overwhelmed the backyard of 257 Barnard Ave. at about 11 a.m.
A hummer of a swarm of bees -- at least 40,000 of them -- overwhelmed the backyard of 257 Barnard Ave. at about 11 a.m.
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| ©Michael Oates/Staten Island Advance |
