Earth ChangesS


Sun

Anger rises as India swelters under record heatwave

Tommy Wilkes
Reuters
Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:30 UTC
India heat wave
© Reuters/Adnan AbidiA man protects himself from sun with a cloth as he sits on top of a cycle rickshaw carrying laundry on a hot summer day in the old quarters of Delhi June 11, 2014.
Swathes of north India are sweltering under the longest heat wave on record, triggering widespread breakdowns in the supply of electricity and increasingly angry protests over the government's failure to provide people with basic services.

The power crisis and heat wave, which some activists say has caused dozens of deaths, is one of the first major challenges for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was elected three weeks ago partly on promises to provide reliable electricity supplies.

In Delhi, where temperatures have hit 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) for six days straight, residents marched through the streets in protests organised by opposition parties on Thursday. In the north of the city, people enraged by night-long outages clashed with police and torched a bus, media reported.
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Ice Cube

Antarctic sea ice area is 1,157,000 sq km above 'normal'

Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
Thu, 12 Jun 2014 10:24 UTC
Global sea ice extent is 678,000 sq km above the 1981-2010 mean.

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Sea Ice Update June 11 2014

Thanks to Kingbum for this link
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Butterfly

Malaysia swarmed by giant moths

Heather Chen
BBC News
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 07:12 UTC
Moths_1
© Lim Wui LiangThe dark-coloured moths are one of the largest found in South East Asia.
Swarms of giant moths have descended on Malaysia, invading homes and even disrupting a national football match.

Thousands of the furry insects, with a wing span of up to 16cm (6in), interrupted a semi-finals match at the Darul Makmur Stadium last week.

Over 800 sightings were also reported in neighbouring Singapore last month, sparking intense online debate.

The Lyssa Zampa tropical moth, which is also known as the Laos brown butterfly, is native to South East Asia.

Biology lecturer N Sivasothi said that while the moth sightings appear to be "unprecedented", it is not a new phenomenon.

"The moths are actually present during other times of the year but in very small numbers, so they are usually not noticed by people," Mr Sivasothi said, adding that the creatures typically emerge between April and August every year.

Ecologist Anuj Jain said moths' use of light for navigation often causes them to head to built-up areas.

"Their tendency to emigrate in search of new uneaten host plants attracts these moths to light in urban city areas," he said.

Experts said that while people suffering from asthma may be sensitive to hairs on their wings, the nocturnal creatures do not pose any threat.
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Bulb

Australia and Canada form climate alliance: Seek to avoid carbon tax and emissions trading schemes

Mark Kennedy
Ottawa Citizen
Mon, 09 Jun 2014 00:00 UTC
Tony Abbott and Stephen Harper
© Cole Burston / GettyAustralian Prime Minister Tony Abbot, right, in Ottawa to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said climate change is not the 'most important problem the world faces.'
The political leaders of Canada and Australia declared on Monday they won't take any action to battle climate change that harms their national economies and threatens jobs.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, made the statements following a meeting on Parliament Hill.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper both say there is no need for carbon pricing to combat climate change.

Abbott, whose Liberal party came to power last fall on a conservative platform, publicly praised Harper for being an "exemplar" of "centre-right leadership" in the world.

Abbott's government has come under criticism for its plan to cancel Australia's carbon tax, while Harper has been criticized for failing to introduce regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada's oil and gas sector.
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Attention

Dead Humpback whale found on Buffalo beach, Western Australia

Shanelle Miller
The Advocate
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 14:31 UTC
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© Kirk Davies. The dead whale was spotted on Buffalo Beach on Saturday.
A humpback whale carcass has been sitting on Buffalo Beach near Australind since Saturday and the department of parks and wildlife is still weighing up options of how to deal with its removal.

A department spokeswoman urged the public to steer clear of the 10-metre long carcass because it posed health and safety issues.

"It's a dead whale so it's not very pleasant to be around - in saying that, it's in a very remote location which can only be accessed by four-wheel-drive so there's not too much chance of people going up to it," the spokeswoman said.

She said the whale had several bite marks on it and at least one shark has been spotted in the area recently.

Removal of the carcass will prove difficult as it is sitting in the shallows at the beach and the department is taking a "wait and see" approach to its removal.

The public can report any shark sightings to Water Police on 9442 8600.
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Wolf

Out of control: USDA's Wildlife Services killed 4 million animals in 2013

Darryl Fears
Washington Post
Sat, 07 Jun 2014 09:52 UTC
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© KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty ImagesA coyote keeps pace with a car (not seen) as it runs down the road in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
For years, the massive toll of wild animals exterminated by the federal government as a service to everything from airports to ranches has bounced up and down like a yo-yo. Last year it was up again.

The more than 4 million animals shot, poisoned, snared or trapped by the Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in fiscal year 2013 included 75,326 coyotes, 866 bobcats, 528 river otters, 3,700 foxes, 12,186 prairie dogs, 973 red-tailed hawks, 419 black bears and at least three eagles, golden and bald.

Though there's a list of animals killed, there's little data showing the cause for each killing, the methods used and the reasons behind mistakes that lead to massive kills of animals that aren't targeted.

At least two members of Congress have called Wildlife Services secret and opaque for failing to provide more information, and there are mounting calls for an investigation into how it operates.
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Ice Cube

Despite raging wildfires since January, the ground surrounding Alaska's shrinking lakes is refreezing

Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 05:43 UTC
Image
© Martin Briggs, US Geological SurveyNew permafrost is forming around Twelvemile Lake in Alaska.
But researchers pooh-pooh the evidence, insisting that the icy ground will only last another 70 years because of "global warming."

How did they come to that conclusion? Computer modeling, of course. It's amazing what you can make a computer do.

Some Alaskan lakes have shrunk since the 1950s, while others have expanded, says a recent article in Live Science. "Earlier studies suggest that melting permafrost plays a role in the shifting lake sizes," the article explains. "For example, lakes may drain away when the shallow permafrost below them thaws, like opening the drain in a tub .... where permafrost is thicker and melts more slowly, lakes may grow as the melting ice adds to their extent."

In other words, it makes no difference whether those lakes expand or shrink, it's still caused by global warming.

The ground is thawing? Blame global warming. The ground is freezing? Blame global warming.

As I said, it's amazing what you can make a computer do.

Comment: Alaska wildfire is bigger than Chicago

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Attention

Thousands of dead crabs found on Phuket shore,Thailand

Eakkapop Thongtub
The Phuket News
Sun, 08 Jun 2014 05:07 UTC
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Tens of thousands of dead sea crabs were spotted this morning on the shore of Pa Lai Beach in Phuket's Chalong sub-district.

Today happens to be World Oceans Day, a day first designated in 2002 to honour the world's oceans and celebrate the products the ocean provides. More information here.

To this point there have been no official statements or tests conducted to clarify the cause of the crabs' mass exodus.

In related news, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) this week began the construction of an underwater ice wall to staunch massive amounts of contaminated groundwater that have been flowing into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex. Read more here.

Whether there is a link with the dead crabs found in Phuket this morning has yet to be confirmed or dismissed.

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Thousands of dead crabs wash ashore in Phuket on World Oceans Day
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Bizarro Earth

Rare funnel cloud hovers over Florida beach


First Coast News
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 16:20 UTC

Atlantic Beach -- A funnel cloud hovered for a brief time over the Atlantic Ocean near Atlantic Beach Wednesday afternoon. The rare weather phenomenon could be seen for miles inland.
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Cloud Lightning

Thor's revenge - Dramatic lightning display over Cologne, Germany

Jan Meyer
youtube
Mon, 09 Jun 2014 16:04 UTC
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© shutterstock/ Frank L JuniorStrange lightning video recorded over Cologne Germany on June 9 2014.
This beautiful lightning display appeared today over Cologne, Germany. I don't think I've ever seen lightning behave like this.

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