Earth ChangesS

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Colorado, US: Water law coming into play

Kevin Duggan
The Coloradoan
Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:24 UTC
Colorado's complex system for appropriating water - which was shaped in part by disputes over Poudre River water - will come into play if Glade Reservoir is built.

State water law is based on the concept "first in time, first in right," also known as the doctrine of prior appropriation.
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Eye 2

Komodo Dragon's Bite Is "Weaker Than a House Cat's"

Carolyn Barry
National Geographic News
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:13 UTC


Komodo Dragon
©Kenneth Garrett/NGS
A Komodo dragon prowls Rinca Island, Indonesia, in a file photo. A new study has found that the giant lizards have surprisingly weak bites and instead use their sharp teeth and strong neck muscles to subdue their prey.

The world's largest living lizard, the fearsome Komodo dragon, has a bite weaker than a house cat's, researchers say.

Though known for killing prey much larger than itself, the Komodo relies on its razor-sharp teeth, strong neck muscles, and "space frame" skull to subdue its prey, according to a new study.
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Snowman

British Columbians brace for cold weather


CTV
Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:39 UTC
British Columbians are bracing for some cold temperatures this weekend, just one week after balmy temperatures sent almost everyone outside in droves.
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Stop

Predator and its prey: Orca whales snatch sea lion pups from beach

Damian Wroclavsky
Reuters
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:20 UTC
The park ranger gestured forcefully, ordering me to throw myself down on the sand and stay quiet.

Some sea lion pups paddled tentatively in the shallow surf, learning to swim at Punta Norte beach in eastern Patagonia, and we were staring at the sea, watching for a huge black fin.

It was my first visit to see orcas hunting baby sea lions on the Valdes peninsula, a natural phenomenon unique to the killer whale group in this region.

I tried to stick carefully to the instructions the park ranger gave us before leading us to a thin stretch of sand near the ocean where Mel, a giant orca, was preparing to hunt.

orca
©Reuters
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Better Earth

April storm hands Calgary a snowy weekend


CBC News
Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:23 UTC
More than 35 weather warnings were in effect in Calgary and southern Alberta Saturday as snow continued to blanket the region for a second day.

The spring snowfall began Friday morning and hit Calgary with more than 10 centimetres by evening. Another 10 to 15 cm were forecast for the city and the Foothill Regions by Sunday morning.
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Better Earth

Best of the Web: Our climate numbers are a big old mess

Patrick Michaels
The Wall Street Journal
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:51 UTC
"Why is the news on global warming always bad? Perhaps because there's little incentive to look at things the other way. If you do, you're liable to be pilloried by your colleagues. If global warming isn't such a threat, who needs all that funding? Who needs the army of policy wonks crawling around the world with bold plans to stop climate change?

But as we face the threat of massive energy taxes - raised by perceptions of increasing rates of warming and the sudden loss of Greenland's ice - we should be talking about reality."


Image
©Getty Images
Disko Bay, Greenland: Temperatures on the island are no warmer than they were in the mid-20th century.
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Cloud Lightning

Early typhoon hits southern China


BBC News
Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:01 UTC
More than 100,000 people had to be evacuated as Typhoon Neoguri battered China's southern province of Hainan. The typhoon - the first to threaten China this year - also left 3,000 passengers stranded at an airport after 76 flights were cancelled.

It began lashing Wenchang late on Friday night with winds of up to 108km/h (67 mph), and reports say it caused a black-out in the city. Neoguri has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.
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Stop

US: Avalanches knock out power to Alaska's capital


Associated Press
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:15 UTC
Massive avalanches destroyed transmission lines and support towers to a dam that supplies 85 percent of the electricity for Alaska's capital, and utility rates could quintuple for months until repairs are made, officials said.

The series of avalanches hit at 4 a.m. Wednesday, taking out 1.5 miles of power transmission line and destroying or severely damaging five support towers along a steep mountainside outside the Snettisham Hydroelectric Facility, about 40 miles from downtown Juneau.
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Umbrella

China evacuates 120,000 people as Typhoon Neoguri nears


Xinhua
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:05 UTC
About 120,000 people have been evacuated from fish farms and low-lying coastal areas to safer places in south China's Hainan Province as Typhoon Neoguri approaches the island.

The Hainan flood control authorities said that as of mid-day on Friday, 42,000 residents had been displaced in Wenchang, Qionghai, Wanning, Lingshui and Sanya. The evacuation of 5,500 others was still under way.

The island's fishing authorities have removed 80,000 fishermen from boats or fish farms.
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Evil Rays

5.4 earthquake rocks Illinois; felt 350 miles away


Associated Press
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:50 UTC
WEST SALEM, Ill. - A 5.4 earthquake that appeared to rival the strongest recorded in the region rocked people awake up to 350 miles away early Friday, surprising residents unaccustomed to such a powerful Midwest temblor.
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