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Brown Tree Snake Could Mean Guam Will Lose More Than Its Birds


Science Daily
Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:51 UTC
In the last 60 years, brown tree snakes have become the embodiment of the bad things that can happen when invasive species are introduced in places where they have few predators. Unchecked for many years, the snakes caused the extinction of nearly every native bird species on the Pacific island of Guam.

brown tree snake slithers on Guam
©Isaac Chellman
A brown tree snake slithers on Guam.

A variety of other damage has been directly attributed to brown tree snakes, including large population losses among other native animal species in Guam's forests, attacks on children and pets, and electrical power outages.

But new research by University of Washington biologists suggests that indirect impacts might be even farther reaching, possibly changing tree distributions and reducing native tree populations, altering already damaged ecosystems even further.
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Arrow Down

Iconic stone arch collapses in a southern Utah National Park


Associated Press
Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:43 UTC
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, Utah - One of the largest and most photographed arches in Arches National Park has collapsed.

Paul Henderson, the park's chief of interpretation, said Wall Arch collapsed sometime late Monday or early Tuesday.

Wall Arch
©AP Photo/National Parks Service
his undated image provided by the National Parks Service shows the Wall Arch prior to it's collapse Monday Aug, 4, 2008. One of the largest and most visible arches in Arches National Park collapsed according to park officials. Paul Henderson, the park's chief of interpretation, said Wall Arch collapsed sometime late Monday or early Tuesday. The arch is along Devils Garden Trail, one of the most popular in the park. For years, the arch has been a favorite stopping point for photographers. Henderson said the arch was claimed by forces that will eventually destroy others in the park: gravity and erosion.
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Cloud Lightning

UK: Weather Eye: multi-coloured lightning strikes a mysterious pose

Paul Simons
Times Online
Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:38 UTC
[The following pictures were taken in South London during a storm.]



Lightning_1
©Unknown


There was a magnificent display of lightning on Monday night over much of the southern half of Britain. As the flashes came thick and fast, the West Midlands was hit hard by lightning strikes causing power cuts and fires, while the torrential downpours caused flash floods.
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Question

Canada: Mysterious disease killing Newfoundland moose

Jeff Ducharme
Telegraph-Journal
Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:30 UTC


Moose
©Warren Harris
Wildlife officials haven't been able to find a cause for a mysterious disease that is killing moose on Newfoundland's northern peninsula.

Saint John - A mysterious disease that has killed a number of moose on Newfoundland's northern peninsula has left provincial wildlife experts in that province scratching their heads. It's unclear how many moose have been lost due to the illness that causes the animals to literally waste away, become walking skeletons and then die.
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Coffee

US: Six Legged Deer - Mysterious Creations Of God

Sharon Supriya
One India
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:32 UTC
God's creations are beyond imagination. They make the mankind awe at its strange, unique and yet beautiful manifestation. On May 2008 a mysterious puppy, green in colour was born in New Orleans. Just after a month Italy was stirred by the birth of a unicorn similar to the fabled unicorn from the age old myths. And then we had the Christian Lion hugging and kissing his former caretakers in a heartwarming reunion, just like a child who meets his parents after many years of separation ( the story is decades old, but it got its major attention now). When we thought the mystery vibes may get stale after all this, yesterday a six legged fawn awestruck North Georgia.

Don't be surprised if you see any animal with wings or a human sized mermaid waggling its tail on the seashore in the coming days. Anything can happen. Its a mysterious world.

So, what is it with this unusual deer? Read on.
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Cloud Lightning

NOAA Forecasts Even Stronger Atlantic Hurricane Season For 2008 Than Earlier Prediction


Science Daily
Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:20 UTC
In the August update to the Atlantic hurricane season outlook, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has increased the likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season and has raised the total number of named storms and hurricanes that may form. Forecasters attribute this adjustment to atmospheric and oceanic conditions across the Atlantic Basin that favor storm development - combined with the strong early season activity.

Hurricane Dolly
©NOAA
Hurricane Dolly on July 23, 2008.

NOAA now projects an 85 percent probability of an above-normal season - up from 65 percent in May. The updated outlook includes a 67 percent chance of 14 to 18 named storms, of which seven to 10 are expected to become hurricanes, including three to six major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. These ranges encompass the entire season, which ends November 30, and include the five storms that have formed thus far.
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Attention

Alaska: Third Aleutian Volcano Erupts Explosively


U.S. Geological Survey
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:28 UTC
Kasatochi Volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands erupted explosively Aug. 7, sending an ash plume more than 35,000 feet into the air and forcing two biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to evacuate the island.

"Kasatochi went from a quiet volcano to an explosive eruption within 24 hours and with very little warning," said USGS volcano scientist Marianne Guffanti. "We are thankful our colleagues were able to get out before the eruption began. They were rescued just in time by a local fishing boat."
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Cloud Lightning

Sudan floods displace more than 40,000: UN


Agence France-Presse
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:22 UTC
Juba, Sudan - The United Nations is scrambling emergency aid to more than 40,000 people displaced by floods in southern Sudan, a top regional official said on Thursday.

Seasonal heavy rains in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state caused the Kuom river to overflow in the town of Aweil, making 39,000 people homeless in the region, officials said.
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Stop

Some 100 homes in west Ukraine still flooded after July rains


RIA Novosti
Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:16 UTC


Image
©Unknown

Around 100 homes in western parts of Ukraine remain underwater following heavy rains that struck the region at the end of July, the country's Emergencies Ministry said on Saturday.

According to the Health Ministry, 38 people are either dead or missing since July 27 in the worst storms to hit the region in a century. Over 40,000 homes were flooded and thousands of people evacuated as bridges, roads and infrastructure were swept away.

"The situation on August 9 is that six regions in western Ukraine along with six settlements and 92 homes remain flooded," the Emergencies Ministry said in a statement.
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Stop

At least 60 dead as heavy rains hit north Vietnam


RIA Novosti
Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:47 UTC
At least 60 people have died and many are still missing in northern Vietnam as tropical storm Kammuri caused landslides and floods across the region, Vietnamese officials said on Saturday.

A Vietnamese flood and storm official said that the worst-hit area was the mountainous Lao Cai province, where 25 people have died and 35 are still missing.
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