Earth ChangesS


Question

India: Mysterious gas leak off Mumbai coast stumps authorities

Pandurang Mhaske
DNA
Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:04 UTC
More than 12 hours after a gas leak led to a scare in many parts of central Mumbai on Saturday morning around 8.30am, fire and civic authorities are still looking for the source of the gas leak which left many complaining of itchy eyes, coughing and nausea.

While admitting that the symptoms pointed strongly to the possibility that the leaked gas was ammonia, none of the authorities were willing to go on record saying so.

In the past seven months this is the fourth gas leak in the metropolitan region, which has thrown light on the casual attitude of authorities regarding gas leak incidents. In July 2010, there was a chlorine leak at Haji Bunder in Sewri which sent 123 people to the hospital. In the same month, a chlorine gas leak occurred in Bhivandi.

On Saturday morning, people residing in Matunga, Dadar and Mahim complained of a burning sensation in the eyes as well as sore throats. A fire brigade rushed to the spot to find the source of gas leak, but failed.
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Cow Skull

10,000 Cattle Die In Vietnam


Thanh Nien News
Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:09 UTC
On Monday evening, the Department of Husbandry at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced that more than 10,000 cows and buffalos have perished nationwide due to harsh weather conditions.

The northern mountainous province of Cao Bang topped the list with more than 2,260 dead cattle.

Officials in Lang Son reported nearly 2,000 dead, Lao Cai more than 1,400, Son La 1,300 while Ha Giang and Bac Kan both reported 1,000 cows and buffalos dead. The brutal cold has also afflicted cattle herds in central provinces of Quang Nam, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

The animals had been grazed by people from ethnic groups outdoors where the harsh conditions have deprived the herds of warmth and food.

Throughout the northern region, high mountainous areas have reported deep freezes. The temperature in Sa Pa was expected to drop from the current -0.5 degrees Celsius to the record low of below -2 degrees Celsius.

Lower mountainous areas have all reported temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius.
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Hourglass

Dying Birds Stir Extinction Fears

Kiran Chug
Stuff.co.nz
Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:13 UTC
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Little penguins are dying in their hundreds, leading conservationists to fear they are starving as a result of the La Nina weather system.

Other seabirds are washing up dead on beaches, raising concerns that species could become extinct if climate change causes extreme weather events to become more frequent.

At Wellington Zoo, two starving little blue penguin chicks have been brought in this week. One died on Wednesday and the other, found at Lyall Bay, was hanging on to life yesterday.

The zoo's veterinary science manager, Lisa Argilla, said petrels were also starving around Wellington's south coast, and five shags had been brought in this month. "They're unable to find enough food. We've had a lot of starvations and a lot of mortalities."
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Eye 1

Bird Death is spreading: Ducks mysteriously found dead in Norway

Anita Borkamo
NRK
Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:00 UTC
dead duck
© Dan Henry KlausenEvery day, they find 10 more dead birds.
Online Translation:

Port Director Odd Bernt Mevold is one of those who collect the birds. So far today we've picked up ten birds, so there is a high mortality rate now.

What happens in the harbor here is tragic, "said Mevold to NRK.

Now the door is about 10 birds a day in the area, and it is not normal, "says Mevold.

The bird behaves strange

Also NRK employee observed today eider ducks behaved very strange.

They behave quite abnormal, nervous system and their coordination ability does not work, "says Mevold.

It is also found dead crabs. .
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Arrow Down

UK wild bird numbers continue to fall

James Meikle
Guardian.co.uk
Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:15 UTC
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© Rex Features/BYB"At once a voice arose among/ The bleak twigs overhead/ In a full-hearted evensong/ Of joy illimited ... " - Hardy's Darkling Thrush
New figures show populations of farmland birds at record low, with woodland birds also experiencing a 24% decline

Populations of wild birds in the UK are falling dramatically with even slight recent recoveries apparently stalled, government figures showed today.

Only seabird populations remain comfortably above 1970 levels, while farmland bird numbers continue to plunge from a brief mid-1970s peak to half those of 40 years ago.

Habitat changes responsible for fewer nesting sites and food shortages were blamed last summer for sharp English farmbird losses but the reasons for the decline in woodland birds are less clear, according to the RSPB.

However research led by the British Trust for Ornithology has suggested agricultural intensification has also hit birds favouring wet grassland and moorland. Less vegetation cover and scrub, overgrazing by deer, more drainage of nearby farmland and changing winter climate may all be factors in the woodland bird decline.

Some farmland birds, such as the grey partridge, turtle dove, starling, tree sparrow, corn bunting and yellow wagtail have declined by over 70% over the period of official monitoring based on annual surveys of breeding sites and other data relating to 121 species. But wood pigeon and jackdaw populations have doubled and stock dove and greenfinch numbers risen by 50%.

Among woodland birds, huge falls have been recorded for wood warbler, willow tit, tree pipit, lesser spotted woodpecker, blackbird, dunnock, song thrush and tawny owl, among others. Yet black cap, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, nuthatch and long-tailed tit are thriving
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X

Canada: Power Outage Forces Tenants Out of Frigid Apartments


CTV News
Fri, 21 Jan 2011 05:26 UTC
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© unknownResidents of an apartment building in Toronto's east-end were forced out of their homes after problems with the buildings electrical system caused a power outage.
About 1,000 residents have been forced to leave a freezing apartment building in east-end Toronto.

The building at 35 St. Denis Dr. has been without power since about 4 p.m. Thursday.

The building's manager says it's due to a problem with the building's internal electrical system.

But compounding the problem is that the cold weather caused a sprinkler pipe to burst in the building's underground garage.
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Ambulance

Canada: 40-car pile up in Ontario; Woman Killed Getting Out of Car to Survey Damage

Pat Hewitt & Alexandra Posadzki
Winnipeg Free Press
Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:16 UTC
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© Tony Clement / The Canadian PressAn ambulance arrives at the scene of a multi-car pile-up on Highway 11 between Barrie and Orillia, Ont. on Friday, in this photo by Industry Minister Tony Clement.
A 40-car pile up in central Ontario claimed the life of a woman Friday after she got out of her damaged car in whiteout conditions and was struck by another vehicle, police said.

Several others were sent to hospital following the chain-reaction crash on Highway 11 that left two jack-knifed tractor trailers - one on each side of the highway - as well as several dented vehicles littered in the ditches.

Some 20 to 30 vehicles were scattered in the southbound lanes of the highway in Oro-Medonte Township between Barrie and Orillia in the aftermath of the collisions.

The crash happened just before noon when drivers were blinded by a major snow squall, police said.

The woman was killed after she got out of her vehicle to survey the damage, said provincial police Const. Peter Leon.

"She exited her vehicle and was struck by another vehicle that was also involved," said Leon.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Igloo

Deep Freeze Gripping Midwest, Aiming for Northeast

Alex Sosnowski
AccuWeather
Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:24 UTC
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© photos.com.There is plenty more cold coming. AccuWeather's Long Range Weather Pattern Expert Joe Bastardi said, "The period from January 20 to February 10 will bring the coldest weather since 2007 during the same period."
The coldest air of the winter so far has arrived over the northern Plains and Midwest and will cause temperatures to plummet in the Northeast in the wake of today's disruptive snowstorm.

The wave of arctic air may lead to frozen pipes in some households and eventually broken water mains in some communities.

Furnaces and heaters will be working hard in coming days, and you will get the bill for it later in the month.

Actual temperatures may do no better than the single digits for highs today in Chicago and Milwaukee.
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Question

Pole Shift: North Races, South Crawls


Modern Survival Blog
Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:40 UTC
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© Modern Survival Blog
While the speed of the earth's magnetic north pole shift has drastically sped up lately to about 34 miles per year (55 km), let's look at what is happening with the south magnetic pole.

Every magnetic field has two polarities, North and South for example, and one might think that whatever is happening with one pole would be happening (in the inverse?) to it's opposite pole.

Well as it appears, the earth's magnetic south pole is not behaving similarly to it's opposite north pole. In fact, it's drift, or pole shift, is actually slowing down! Presently it's only moving 3 miles (5 km) per year, only a tenth the speed of the north!

(Pole coordinate data sourced from NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center)

Not only that, but it is interesting to note that both the north and south magnetic poles are favoring one side of the earth - the south pole is heavily favoring one side, and continues to move further away from true south.

The south magnetic pole is actually 1,800 miles (2,900 km) away from the earth's true south pole! That is a substantial offset.

The north magnetic pole is fairly near true north and is 'only' about 360 miles (580 km) away.
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Snowman

US: Quick-Hitting Snowstorm Invading New England

Kristina Pydynowski
AccuWeather
Fri, 21 Jan 2011 03:47 UTC
A quick-hitting snowstorm will continue to invade New England today. Despite its brevity, enough snow will fall to disrupt travel and daily routines.

The snowstorm will remain on a south to north track through New England today, moving at a rather fast pace. Any one particular area will only have to endure the snowstorm for roughly six to eight hours.




That snowy period will end during the midday hours in Boston and Providence and early this afternoon in Portland.

This afternoon and tonight is when the storm will unleash substantial and wind-whipped snow over Atlantic Canada. Rain mixing in along the coast, however, will limit snow accumulations.

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© AccuWeather.comThe harsh winds following the snowstorm are also igniting lake-effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes.
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