The escalating level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is making the world's oceans more acidic, government and independent scientists say. They warn that, by the end of the century, the trend could decimate coral reefs and creatures that underpin the sea's food web.
Although scientists and some politicians have just begun to focus on the question of ocean acidification, they describe it as one of the most pressing environmental threats facing Earth.
Earth Changes
A planetary "all clear" sounded late Sun day night. A potentially hostile celestial visitor - a half-mile wide ball of primordial minerals named 2004 XP14 - whipped past our blue island on its way to what we all should hope is an eternal journey.
We should hope the journey is eternal, because if it stops here, so, most likely, would much of what we consider to be civilization.
We should hope the journey is eternal, because if it stops here, so, most likely, would much of what we consider to be civilization.
A minor earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale rumbled through southern Vancouver Island Tuesday afternoon, bringing the usual flurry of calls to the Pacific Geoscience Centre and a glut of hits to its website.
GOLDEN, British Columbia - A freedom-loving grizzly bear named Boo smashed a heavy steel door and barreled through two electric fences to escape a second time from a resort near this south-central British Columbia town.
Boo was recaptured Friday, two weeks after breaking out of an artificial den at the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, but escaped from tighter confinement within a day, resort spokesman Michael Dalzell said Tuesday.
"It's unbelievable," Dalzell said. "We thought there was no way, it was absolutely impossible, but he found a way. It was basically like breaking out of Fort Knox."
Boo was recaptured Friday, two weeks after breaking out of an artificial den at the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, but escaped from tighter confinement within a day, resort spokesman Michael Dalzell said Tuesday.
"It's unbelievable," Dalzell said. "We thought there was no way, it was absolutely impossible, but he found a way. It was basically like breaking out of Fort Knox."
JAKARTA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A team of Indonesian and Japanese scientists have filmed the first ever live images of the extremely primitive and rare coelacanth fish in deep waters off Manado, North Sulawesi province, a newspaper report said Friday.
The experts from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Oceanology Center and the Fukushima Aquamarine Institute used a remotely operated vehicle to take pictures of five of the fish swimming at between 150 and 200 meters below sea level, said The Jakarta Post newspaper.
The experts from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Oceanology Center and the Fukushima Aquamarine Institute used a remotely operated vehicle to take pictures of five of the fish swimming at between 150 and 200 meters below sea level, said The Jakarta Post newspaper.
BRAWLEY, California - A small earthquake rattled a rugged mountain area in southeastern California, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Orange County, Florida -- Lightning strikes put firefighters on the run all over Central Florida on Tuesday afternoon. There were several reports of lightning hitting homes and businesses. Fire gutted a house on Sarazen Drive in Pine Hills near Hastings.
Firefighters weren't sure if the lightning struck a nearby tree or the house, or maybe both. But one thing was likely, the nearby pine trees acted like lightning rods.
Firefighters weren't sure if the lightning struck a nearby tree or the house, or maybe both. But one thing was likely, the nearby pine trees acted like lightning rods.
Winter Park, Florida -- Lightning from Tuesday night's storms sparked a fire at a 10,000-square foot manor home in Winter Park. Firefighters spent Wednesday morning walking around the mansion along Preserve Point Drive looking for hotspots.
The Fire Marshal was on the scene late Wednesday morning. He said the damage was so severe, no one other than firefighters would be allowed to go inside until structural engineers can figure out how to best deal with the collapsed roof.
The Fire Marshal was on the scene late Wednesday morning. He said the damage was so severe, no one other than firefighters would be allowed to go inside until structural engineers can figure out how to best deal with the collapsed roof.
WILKES-BARRE, Pennsylvania - Floods in the Susquehanna River receded early on Thursday, lifting the threat of catastrophic flooding in the historic town of Wilkes-Barre, but water was still rising in parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Days of torrential rain followed by floods had killed at least 16 people in the eastern United States by late on Wednesday. With buildings submerged, roads washed out and rivers surging, authorities declared emergencies and ordered hundreds of thousands of people evacuated across swaths of New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
"Yesterday was a war zone in the northern tier of Pennsylvania -- we choppered out over 1,000 people from rooftops, from second and third floors of their homes," Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said in an interview on CNN.
Days of torrential rain followed by floods had killed at least 16 people in the eastern United States by late on Wednesday. With buildings submerged, roads washed out and rivers surging, authorities declared emergencies and ordered hundreds of thousands of people evacuated across swaths of New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
"Yesterday was a war zone in the northern tier of Pennsylvania -- we choppered out over 1,000 people from rooftops, from second and third floors of their homes," Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said in an interview on CNN.
The Volcano of Fire
