Earth Changes
PORTOLA, Calif.- California wildlife officials dumped 16,000 gallons of a fish poison into a northern Sierra reservoir to kill off the invasive northern pike.
The family running a Suffolk farm hit by the UK's first case of bluetongue disease say they are "hopeful" about their future.
The insect-borne virus, which has killed livestock across Europe, was found in a Highland cow at the Baylham House Rare Breeds Farm, near Ipswich.
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| ©AFP |
| Police have closed the road leading to the farm. |
The insect-borne virus, which has killed livestock across Europe, was found in a Highland cow at the Baylham House Rare Breeds Farm, near Ipswich.
Bluetongue is a mysterious disease, with no suitable vaccine, but there are still reasons for optimism for British farmers, despite the case at a Suffolk farm.
If bluetongue were to take hold in Britain it would change the landscape.
Anywhere which has hills dotted with sheep would be devastated. The strain of the disease found at a rare breeds farm in Suffolk has come from northern Europe.
If bluetongue were to take hold in Britain it would change the landscape.
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| ©SPL |
| The virus is of the same type as northern Europe suffers. |
Anywhere which has hills dotted with sheep would be devastated. The strain of the disease found at a rare breeds farm in Suffolk has come from northern Europe.
A potentially fatal sheep disease spread by gnats has triggered a quarantine in eastern Montana, preventing ranchers from moving their animals at a time of year when lambs are shipped out, often to Colorado feedlots.
State veterinarian Marty Zaluski's order this week prohibits the transportation of sheep from 16 of Montana's 56 counties. The disease, bluetongue, has been confirmed in tests from eight flocks in six counties, said Lisa Schmidt, spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Livestock.
State veterinarian Marty Zaluski's order this week prohibits the transportation of sheep from 16 of Montana's 56 counties. The disease, bluetongue, has been confirmed in tests from eight flocks in six counties, said Lisa Schmidt, spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Livestock.
Bluetongue, a disease that causes animals to bleed to death internally, is hitting antelope and white-tailed deer in southeastern Montana.
Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials say the disease, which is spread by a biting gnat, has been found in antelope in the Melstone-Sumatra-Ingomar area and white-tailed deer along the Yellowstone River.
Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials say the disease, which is spread by a biting gnat, has been found in antelope in the Melstone-Sumatra-Ingomar area and white-tailed deer along the Yellowstone River.
The biggest one-day deluge to hit Pahrump in years caused washouts in numerous locations, with a few streets still closed this week.
National Weather Service observer Ren Glover reported 2.7 inches Friday, which is the official total. That brings the yearly rainfall total to 3.15 inches, almost up to the 3.64-inch average annual rainfall for Pahrump through Sept. 30.
National Weather Service observer Ren Glover reported 2.7 inches Friday, which is the official total. That brings the yearly rainfall total to 3.15 inches, almost up to the 3.64-inch average annual rainfall for Pahrump through Sept. 30.
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| ©Mark Waite / PVT |
| The rain apparently caused a significant sinkholes that closed Parkridge Avenue off Hacienda Street. |
Tropical Storm Lorenzo, forecast to become a hurricane before slamming into Mexico, dumped heavy rain on the country's Gulf coast on Thursday but was unlikely to affect oil production.
Lorenzo will probably make landfall in the early hours of on Friday in the coffee-growing state of Veracruz. It had wind speeds of near 70 mph (110 kph), with higher gusts.
Lorenzo will probably make landfall in the early hours of on Friday in the coffee-growing state of Veracruz. It had wind speeds of near 70 mph (110 kph), with higher gusts.
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It's a modern-day climate scuffle William Herschel would recognize. He should. He helped trigger it.
In 1801, the eminent British astronomer reported that when sunspots dotted the sun's surface, grain prices fell. When sunspots waned, prices rose.
He suggested that shifts in grain prices were a stand-in for shifts in climate. Large numbers of sunspots led to a warmer sun, he reasoned. With more warmth reaching Earth, crop yields would increase, depressing grain prices.
With that, a 200-year hunt began for links between shifts in the sun's output and changes in climate.
In 1801, the eminent British astronomer reported that when sunspots dotted the sun's surface, grain prices fell. When sunspots waned, prices rose.
He suggested that shifts in grain prices were a stand-in for shifts in climate. Large numbers of sunspots led to a warmer sun, he reasoned. With more warmth reaching Earth, crop yields would increase, depressing grain prices.
With that, a 200-year hunt began for links between shifts in the sun's output and changes in climate.
It is suggested that the postulated interstellar cloud should encounter the solar system at some unspecified time in the 'near' future and might have a drastic influence on terrestrial climate in the next 10,000 years.
Helicopter pilot Harvey Hutton, who knows Mount Aspiring National Park well, said he was completing a venison recovery operation about 7.30am yesterday when he discovered half a mountainside had collapsed and a lake had formed behind the slip.
"It's the first major one (slip) I've seen and probably the biggest in my lifetime," Hutton said.
He believed the lake was at least 50m deep and would need to be filled a bit more before it overflowed.
"It's the first major one (slip) I've seen and probably the biggest in my lifetime," Hutton said.
He believed the lake was at least 50m deep and would need to be filled a bit more before it overflowed.
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| ©DOC |
| A massive slip in Mount Aspiring National Park has created a new lake, thought to be about 2km long and at least at least 50m deep. |
