© VK.com
The beach turned white after a freak hailstorm hit Grottammare, Italy on July 25 2017.
The beach turned white after a freak hailstorm hit Grottammare, Italy on July 25 2017.
Earth Changes
That's right, according NASA, sea levels are going DOWN! This is big news. How come the media hasn't mentioned it?
NASA satellite sea level observations for the past 24 years show that - on average - sea levels have been rising 3.4 millimeters per year. That's 0.134 inches, about the thickness of a dime and a nickel stacked together, per year.
As I said, that's the average. But when you focus in on 2016 and 2017, you get a different picture.
Sea levels fell in 2016, and with all of this winter's record-breaking snowfall, I wouldn't be surprised if they decline again this year.
NASA satellite sea level observations for the past 24 years show that - on average - sea levels have been rising 3.4 millimeters per year. That's 0.134 inches, about the thickness of a dime and a nickel stacked together, per year.
Sea levels fell in 2016, and with all of this winter's record-breaking snowfall, I wouldn't be surprised if they decline again this year.
© Max Rossi / Reuters
Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said it was the first time the Vatican could recall turning off all of its fountains and reflected Pope Francis' views on the environment.
"This decision is very much in line with the pope's thinking on ecology: you can't waste and sometimes you have to be willing to make a sacrifice," he told Reuters.
"This is the Vatican's way of living [in] solidarity with Rome, trying to help Rome get through this crisis," Burke added.
While the decision is likely to upset summer tourists who look forward to viewing the Vatican's famed fountains, water conservation is being widely encouraged as Rome's authorities consider the introduction of strict water rations.
© EPA
A firefighting helicopter drops water over a forest fire in Carros near Nice, southern France, as blazes broke across the French Riveria.
A firefighting helicopter drops water over a forest fire in Carros near Nice, southern France, as blazes broke across the French Riveria.
Large forest blazes in the French Riviera, Corsica and Portugal were sparked by heatwaves across the sun-kissed region, which is already teeming with British tourists ahead of the busy summer holiday period.
Homes and holiday resorts were under threat as fires sporadically broke out across the continent, with emergency services rushing to evacuate buildings amid fears that high winds could add to the chaos and spread of fire.
As tourists continued to sunbathe on the beaches, hundreds of firefighters tackled a blaze spanning 2,000 acres around the Var prefecture. Two villas were destroyed in La Croix Valmer, seven miles west of the glamorous holiday destination.
British actress Joan Collins, 84, told Twitter followers she was one of 11 who fled from the house last night and later claimed the massive blaze had been caused by someone's barbecue.
© Ágúst Arnbjörnsson, a pilot at Icelandair.
Plumes of steam rising from cracks in a glacier near Kulusuk, Greenland.
Plumes of steam rising from cracks in a glacier near Kulusuk, Greenland.
This is what we are seeing now, but the MSM focuses on human causes for the iceberg, when they should be talking about the intensification of the Eddy minimum.
Sources
Hyena
The deceased, Jirr Abdi, was son of Salatho. The survivors suffered serious head injuries, fractured bones and some lost fingers. The injured were taken to Garissa Nursing Home.
Addressing the press at the hospital yesterday, relatives Mohamud Haji and Ali Ibrahim said the hyena strayed into a goat pen and attacked them. Ibrahim said the commotion and bleating from the goats attracted the attention of one of the victims and when she went to check, the hyena attacked her. She raised the alarm and relatives who came to her rescue were also attacked. Ibrahim said the hyena mauled the victims one by one as they went to the woman's rescue. "Abdi was not lucky. The hyena grabbed him in the confusion and dragged him into a nearby thicket. Everybody was scared and they ran back to their manyattas," he said. "When we went to check on the injured, we realised the boy was missing. No one was ready to risk going outside to look for him.
Dramatic pictures show flames and massive clouds of smoke from an inferno ripping through woodland near the upmarket French resort of Saint-Tropez. This was the scene in the hills of Gigaro in La Croix-Valmer near the glamorous town
Photos shared on social media show large plumes of smoke above the hills above the posh beach resort region.
One resident, Paul Adieannsens, tweeted: "Big fire in La Croix Valmer.
"Just made it to escape from our house!"
The location of the fire has been described as southeast of the main St Tropez township near the town of Ramatuelle.
© PTI
Rescue work is carried out after a jeep was swept away by floods in Kherwada area of Udaipur district on Monday.
Rescue work is carried out after a jeep was swept away by floods in Kherwada area of Udaipur district on Monday.
In an upside, the situation in flood-ravaged Assam improved considerably as the swollen Brahmaputra and Barak rivers, along with their tributaries, started flowing below the danger mark at most places.
In West Bengal, lowlands in Birbhum, Purulia, West Medinipore and Hooghly districts were inundated.
With the meteorological department predicting more rains in the Gangetic region of the state in the next 24 hours, chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a monitoring meeting with senior officials at the secretariat this afternoon.
The president of the Trento province, Ugo Rossi, adopted a decree for the "monitoring, identification and removal" of the animal, meaning that it should be sedated, subjected to DNA testing, and moved to a safe area.
Trento is an Alpine town just south of the German-speaking Italian province of South Tyrol. Its park rangers were authorized to kill the bear only if their lives were put in "serious and grave danger" during operations.
The order was issued after Angelo Metlicovez was attacked late on Saturday while walking in wooded areas near lakes Lamar and Terlago. The 69-year-old plumber suffered non-lethal leg and arm injuries.
Comment: See also this other recent report from Europe: Two shepherds mauled by bear in Romania; 7th attack for the country this year
© Jack Oliver II
Bobcat growling
Bobcat growling
Los Angeles has focused on its resident mountain lions, but the recent change in bobcat behavior in many states may warrant increased awareness. Other than sightings in Silver Lake in 2016, there has been little published about bobcats in LA, probably because they are shy and reclusive and don't feed on people's pets.
Both humans and pets can get rabies from direct physical contact, such as a bite, lick or scratch from an infected animal. Rabies exposures are taken seriously because once a person starts developing symptoms that person will not survive, experts say.
Over the last 100 years, rabies in the United States has changed dramatically. More than 90% of all animal cases reported annually to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) now occur in wildlife; before 1960 the majority were in domestic animals. The principal rabies hosts today are wild carnivores and bats.
But, it was a June 7 report that a rabid feral cat with a tipped ear bit a person trying to help it which caused Veterinarian Katie Thompson to state, "Despite the panic witnessed with Ebola, rabies is the deadliest virus on the planet."
Comment: Some other severe hailstorms from around the world in recent months include:
- Torrential downpours of rain and huge hail hit northern Spain
- 'Pretty crazy': Hail as big as billiard balls batter Evansburg, Alberta
- Exceptional hailstorm hits Girona, Spain (VIDEOS)
- Huge hail pounds central US
- At $1.4 billion, recent hailstorm could be most expensive in Colorado history
- Lanzarote in the Canary Islands turns white after freak hail shower
- Unusual hailstorm blankets Central Mexican city with up to 50 centimeters of ice
- Freak hailstorm rips through town in New South Wales, Australia
- Freak hailstorm hits drought stricken Bloemfontein, South Africa
- Mounds of hail pile up after storm pounds Safford, Arizona
It is likely that atmospheric dust loading from increased comet and volcanic activity is contributing to these 'anomalous' or 'freak' hailstorms, the cooling effect of which causes ice crystals to form.