Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Red Tide Blamed for Calif. Bird Deaths

SAN FRANCISCO - Hundreds of dead or injured seabirds have washed up on the shores of Monterey Bay in recent weeks, and scientists believe a red tide of marine algae is to blame.

Cloud Lightning

Algeria flood toll rises to 11



©AFP
Algerian officials and rescuers check a collapsed bridge.

Flooding from five days of heavy rains in northern Algeria has claimed 11 lives and three more people are missing feared dead, officials said Wednesday.

Four people died in the northwestern Mediterranean city of Oran when their old houses collapsed on Tuesday and Wednesday, head of civil protection Houari Saadaoui told public television.

Their deaths brought to 11 the number of people confirmed to have died in weather-related incidents since the heavy rains began to sweep across northern Algeria on Saturday.

Cloud Lightning

Rising Sea Floods Indonesian Capital



©AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah
Indonesians wade through a flooded street in North Jakarta.

Jakarta, Indonesia - Indonesia's environment minister said Tuesday that global warming was to blame after the capital of Jakarta was partially flooded, forcing thousands of people to flee homes and cutting off a highway to the international airport.

Authorities used pumps to lower water levels, which reached six feet in the worst-hit areas and washed more than a mile inland Monday, said Iskandar, an official at Jakarta's flood crisis center. At least 2,200 houses were inundated, some with chest-deep water.

People

Asian nations face "unprecedented" water crisis: Report

Developing countries in Asia could face an "unprecedented" water crisis within a decade due to mismanagement of water resources, the Asian Development Bank said in a report on Thursday.

The effects of climate change, rapid industrialisation and population growth on water resources could lead to health and social issues that could cost billions of dollars annually, it said.

"If the present unsatisfactory trends continue, in one or two decades, Asian developing countries are likely to face and cope with a crisis on water quality management that is unprecedented in human history," Ajit Biswas wrote in the report.

Cloud Lightning

Philippine villagers panic as sea water rises after quake



©Philippine Daily Inquirer/Ray B. Zambrano
Sheds at the Tondaligan Blue Beach in Dagupan City, destroyed by a storm surge Tuesday night.

Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines -- Residents living in coastal areas of Pangasinan were thrown into panic Tuesday night after water from the Lingayen Gulf began to rise and flooded their houses.

According to the provincial disaster coordinating council here, at least 280 families were taken to various evacuation centers here and in the towns of Binmaley, San Fabian, Labrador and Bolinao and Dagupan City.

Bug

How to make a zombie cockroach

Researchers have worked out the neurological trick used by a species of wasp to turn cockroaches into 'zombie slaves'. The discovery explains why, once stung, cockroaches can be led by a much smaller master towards certain death. Researchers have proven their theory by replicating the effect, and by using an antidote injection to release the cockroaches from their zombie state.

Attention

Sunken Antarctic Cruise Ship Leaves Oil Spill, Threatening 2,500 Penguins

About 2,500 penguins en route to their Antarctic mating grounds could be sickened by a diesel fuel spill from a cruise boat that struck an iceberg and sank last week, Chilean scientists said Friday.

Areas surrounding the mile-long spill site include breeding grounds for Antarctic and Adelia penguins, and the largest mating colony for Papua penguins, said Maria Jose Rosello, a Chilean marine biologist.

Cloud Lightning

Storm surges hit Visayas - Philippines; 2 reported dead, over 100 families affected

Storm surges that generated big waves whipped coastal areas in the provinces of Negros Occidental and Iloilo, and in Cebu City that reportedly resulted in the death of two persons and the displacement of over 100 families, GMA News's Saksi said on Wednesday.

Alarm Clock

Flying foxes fall prey to Earth's rising temperature

Flying foxes have been dropping off trees and dying in droves because of the effects of climate change, researchers say.

More than 30,000 of the fruit bats are estimated to have died since 1994 in heat waves associated with global warming.

Mass deaths from heat stress have occurred at least 19 times since 1994, as opposed to only three anecdotal reports of similar flying fox deaths before then.

Comment: Reader comments from the original article:
That's 107.6 degree Farenheit! Enough to denature the proteins of most mammals after an extended period of exposure.

I'm extremely dubious that these temperatures have any cause comnected with so called "Global Warming." Sounds more like some scientists plugged in some local heat lamps to cook their data (and the bats).

Is it possible that scientists were not paying any attention prior to 1994 and that there may have been many episodes which were overlooked and never recorded? The phrase "anecdotal evidence" suggest that no rigorous studies had been conducted before that time. So, it's possible (probable?) that this is a case of skewed data, i.e. finding only the data to support the conclusion you wish to reach. Is this supposed to be peer-reviewed science?!

Scott, Durham, NC, USA

The bats in Lewis Smith's belfry would die too if he was exposed to temperatures of 42 degrees for a relatively short time.

This typical global warming alarmist report gives no indication of where the "mass deaths" took place In Australia.

For example, here in Adelaide temperatures of 42 are not uncommon and I must say that watching bats falling out of trees is as much a rarity as seeing kangaroos hopping down the main street.

Gordon Hastings, Adelaide, South Australia



Bell

Strong quake 7.4 hits Martinique: monitors

FORT DE FRANCE - A strong earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey, struck near the French Caribbean island of Martinique Thursday.

The quake caused at least two injuries and led to the collapse of a pair of buildings, officials said.

It struck at a depth of 143 kilometres (90 miles) and was centered 41 kilometres (25 miles) north-northwest of Martinique's capital Fort-de-France, the USGS said, updating its earlier estimate of 7.3 magnitude.

Comment: There has been a lot of seismic activity lately. This is just another big one in an area that don't commonly have such big ones.