Earth ChangesS


Snowman

US: Winter storm disrupts holiday travel

CHICAGO - A winter storm hit the Great Lakes on Friday, blanketing the region with several inches of snow and disrupting holiday travel.

Alarm Clock

Philippines work to save giant clams

A new effort is under way in the Philippines to stem the declining population of the world's largest clams, called taklobos.

A "clam garden" was built about 250 feet off the shore of Pico de Loro Cove in Batangas to provide new habitat for the giant clams, which can reach five feet in diameter and weigh up to 570 pounds, The Manila Times reported Thursday.

The reseeding was accomplished using clams brought from Bolinao, Pangasinian, the newspaper said. The conservation project is a joint effort of the Hamilo Coast, SM Investments Corp. and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Attention

Strong earthquake shakes New Zealand North Island resort

Wellington - A strong earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale rattled thousands of mid-summer holidaymakers at the New Zealand North Island lakeside resort town of Taupo on Saturday morning.

Bulb

2007 set to be warmest year on record for Russia

2007 is set to be the warmest year in one and a half centuries for Russia, the head of the Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia said on Thursday.

"We are 99% sure that this will be the warmest year in the 150-year period in which accurate weather records have been kept," Roman Vilfand told a press-conference.

Vilfand said that on a wider scale, the year was set to become one of the top five warmest years our planet has seen since global temperatures have been recorded. He said it meant "that a warming of the climate is undoubtedly going on."

Cloud Lightning

Update! More than 130 feared dead after Indonesian rains

Indonesian rescuers hunted Thursday for victims of landslides and floods on Java island that have left more than 130 people feared dead and tens of thousands displaced, officials said.

Landslides hit two districts in Central Java in the early hours of Wednesday morning, engulfing entire homes and blocking roads, while floods in East Java swept away a bridge, leaving an estimated 50 missing.

Life Preserver

Saving Plants that Save Lives

Poor or non-existent collection controls are threatening the survival of many of the plant species used in traditional and modern medicines. Some estimates indicate that 15,000 of the 50,000 - 70,000 plant species used for medicinal purposes and mostly collected from the wild may be threatened, many as a direct result of unsustainable collection practices.

Three years of collaboration in which WWF has played a key role have now produced the first set of principles and criteria for the sustainable wild collection of plants.

Better Earth

Earthquake hits Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 shook the Turkish capital early Thursday, rattling furniture and rousing residents from their sleep, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Network

Powerful quake hits Alaska

A powerful magnitude 6.5 quake hit off Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, but it did not immediately trigger a tsunami warning.

Ambulance

Update: Landslides leave up to 81 dead or missing in Indonesia

Jakarta - Landslides and floods caused by torrential rains have left up to 81 people dead or missing in Indonesia's Central Java province, police and rescue officials said on Wednesday.

©REUTERS/Andry Prasetyo
Indonesian soldiers and villagers dig into mud to search for landslide victims in Karang Anyar district near Solo, Indonesia's Central Java province

Bizarro Earth

Venezuela Coast Shaken by Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake

Venezuela was shaken by a magnitude 5.0 earthquake today. There were no reports of damage to oil installations, the state energy company said.