Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Tornadoes hit Maryland, US

Two tornadoes ripped through the Maryland suburbs of Washington yesterday, part of a weather system that sparked fires, spawned hail and flooded roads around the state.

Afternoon reports of severe weather in Charles and Prince George's counties were confirmed as tornadoes late last night by the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. No injuries were reported.

Bulb

The fallacy of "Climate Change"

"Climate Change" seems to be the new buzzword these days among environmentalists and politicians who were formerly the proponents of "Global-Warming". Unfortunately, the term "climate change" is a meaningless phrase. The climate is always changing, about as often as the weather in fact. Some years are warm, while others are cool. Some years are dry, while others are wet. There are El Niños, and there are La Niñas. There have been ice ages and warm periods throughout Earth's history. And the term "Global Climate Change" is not much better. That simply tells us that the climate is changing everywhere in the world. Yeah, and so...?

Cloud Lightning

Jet Streams Move Poleward, Widening Hurricane Belt, Study Says

Global warming may be pushing the jet streams toward the Earth's poles, widening the area where hurricanes may form, scientists at the Carnegie Institution's Department for Global Ecology found.

Nuke

Coral reefs can survive nuclear explosion

New Queensland research has found coral reefs can survive a nuclear explosion but may not be able to survive global warming.

Scientists at Townsville's James Cook University have found healthy coral reef populations growing inside the Bravo atomic bomb crater in the Marshall Islands. The Bravo crater was formed in 1954 by a bomb a thousand times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima.

Recycle

Colorado, US: Water law coming into play

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.

Eye 2

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



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.

Snowman

British Columbians brace for cold weather

British Columbians are bracing for some cold temperatures this weekend, just one week after balmy temperatures sent almost everyone outside in droves.

Stop

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

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

Better Earth

April storm hands Calgary a snowy weekend

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.

Better Earth

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

"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.