Earth ChangesS

Bizarro Earth

Volcanic rumblings cloud New Zealand ski slope

New Zealand's largest active volcano, Mount Ruapehu in the North Island, has been showing signs of increased activity and scientists are warning it may erupt.

But up on the mountain tourism operators are not too concerned. They are more worried that the media reports have scared off visitors.

Meanwhile newspaper headlines in New Zealand are reading "Restless Ruapehu emits danger signs" and "Molten rock on the move".

Dr Tony Hurst is a volcanologist based in Wellington and has been monitoring volcanoes across New Zealand for 30 years.

He says close attention needs to be paid to Ruapehu, particularly because of the number of people who ski on its slopes. Dr Hurst says Mount Ruapehu began stirring three weeks ago.

Cloud Lightning

Tornadoes tear through northern Oklahoma

Supercell storms plowed across northern Oklahoma state Saturday spawning several tornadoes that crushed structures and sent debris flying miles away, US media reported.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the storms would drop "a few tornadoes near an outflow boundary where wind shear is very favorable for rotation. Other scattered severe storms are possible farther southward through Oklahoma this afternoon and evening."

Bizarro Earth

5.9 earthquake rattles area near Solomon Islands

A fairly strong earthquake shook the ocean floor near the Solomon Islands at 3:24 a.m. today Hawaii time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The 5.9 magnitude temblor's epicenter was estimated to be almost 42 miles below the earth's surface.

Bizarro Earth

Central Colombia hit by 5.8 magnitude earthquake

BOGOTA - A shallow earthquake measuring 5.7 magnitude hit central Colombia on Saturday, shaking buildings in the capital, Bogota, witnesses and the U.S. Geological Survey said.


Cloud Lightning

More tornadoes strike Kansas, Oklahoma

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Emergency workers were picking through debris after tornadoes rampaged in western and central Kansas and northern Oklahoma for a second night in a row.

X

Canada: Alberta's bees dying at record rates

For the second year in a row, Alberta beekeepers are hearing less buzzing from their hives.

A pest manager with the provincial government says bee populations in over-wintered colonies are down by 25 per cent -- 10 per cent more than normal.

Honey farmer Ernie Martens, who normally runs 1,000 hives in northern Alberta, estimates he's lost 70 per cent of his insects.

"We're trying to figure out ways to rebuild, but I'm not sure how," he said from his farm in La Crete, which is about 800 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Ladybug

US: 25-Thousand Bees Invade Jersey County School

Spring has sprung and bees are buzzing. Brighton Illinois beekeeper Gene Reilley spends a lot of time hunting for swarms of bees. This week he scooped up 25 thousand bees from the 5th grade classroom at Delhi Elementary school in Jersey County.

Students weren't frightened. One said, "Cool very cool." Another, "There was a lot of bees."

Students were removed from the classroom when the bees moved inside through a crack in the wall which has since been sealed. No children were hurt.

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©KTVI
Bee Keeper

Stop

Germany Suspends Pesticide Approvals After Mass Death Of Bees

The German Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has reportedly suspended the approval for eight pesticides after the mass death of bees in one state.

The German Research Centre for Cultivated Plants reported that 29 out of 30 dead bees it examined in Germany's Baden-Wuerttemberg state had been killed by contact with clothianidin, a product found in one of the seed treatment products.

The suspended products are: Antarc (ingredient: imidacloprid; produced by Bayer), Chinook (imidacloprid; Bayer), Cruiser (thiamethoxam; Syngenta), Elado (clothianidin; Bayer), Faibel (imidacloprid; Bayer), Mesurol (methiocarb; Bayer) and Poncho (clothianidin; Bayer).

Extinguisher

Gusty winds hinder fight against California wildfire

GILROY - Fire crews struggled on Friday to maintain fire lines around a wildfire that chewed through centuries-old redwoods and pushed hundreds out of their homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Bell

Vast cracks appear in Arctic ice

Dramatic evidence of the break-up of the Arctic ice-cap has emerged from research during an expedition by the Canadian military.

Scientists travelling with the troops found major new fractures during an assessment of the state of giant ice shelves in Canada's far north.

The team found a network of cracks that stretched for more than 10 miles (16km) on Ward Hunt, the area's largest shelf.