Earth Changes

NOAA: Coastal effects of climate change threaten 50 percent of Americans

Stephen C. Webster
Raw Story
Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:07 UTC

Land that roughly 50 percent of Americans call home is under threat from the coastal effects of climate change, a study published Tuesday (PDF) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warns.

"An increase in the intensity of extreme weather events such as storms like Sandy and Katrina, coupled with sea-level rise and the effects of increased human development along the coasts, could affect the sustainability of many existing coastal communities and natural resources," report co-author Virginia Burkett, of the U.S. Geological Survey, said in an advisory.

The study warns that approximately 50 percent of Americans live in coastal watershed communities - a number that is projected to grow - that face increasing flood risks due to storm surges, extreme weather and rising sea levels as the climate grows more unpredictable. These risks are compounded by changes to coastal ecosystems brought about by human activity, causing "toxic algal blooms" and depleted fish stocks, loss of wetlands and dying coral reefs.

Canada: Dozens of dead seals found on P.E.I. beach

CBC News
Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:25 UTC

Fisheries officers have sent samples of the dead animals to a wildlife pathologist at the Atlantic Veterinary College

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is investigating after dozens of dead seals were found on a beach and in the waters off Prince Edward Island.

A group of students from the Charlottetown-based Atlantic Veterinary College found as many as 50 dead seals over the weekend.

The students came upon the bloody carcasses of grey seals either dead or dying. Many of seals were pups.

Heavy snowfall closes dozens of roads in Turkey

Anatolia News Agency
Sun, 27 Jan 2013 19:32 UTC

Meric-Ipsala road in the Thrace region of Turkey has been shut down to motor vehicle traffic on Sunday due to heavy snowfall which began in Edirne province.

Aside from the Meric-Ipsala road, 37 village roads have also been shut down to traffic due to heavy snowfall in the region.

Road crews are working to open the Meric-Ipsala road to traffic again on Sunday.

Snow thickness at Uludag, one of the favorite skiing centers of Europe, reached 215 centimeters on Sunday.

The Weather Department of the north-western province of Bursa said that they expected snowfall at Uludag on both Sunday and Monday.

Underground explosion in Nebraska leads to pillars of fire bursting from manholes

Brian Mastre, Chase Moffitt
WOWT
Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:10 UTC

An underground electrical equipment fire caused a power outage in parts of downtown Omaha Sunday night. As of 10:30 a.m. Monday, OPPD reported less than 100 customers in the area were still without power.

The outage stretches from 11th Street to just west of 20th, from Leavenworth to Farnam. OPPD said it plans to have power restored by sometime Monday evening.

Due to the outage, the Douglas County Courthouse will be closed Monday. Those who are scheduled to appear in court are being sent next door to the Douglas County City building. The MUD building at 17th and Harney is closed until further notice.

England: Bad weather to blame for dead starfish washed up in Cleethorpes area

Grimsby Telegraph
Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:01 UTC

Thousands of starfish have been washed up on the beach following the recent bad weather.

About 4,000 of them laid strewn for miles at the Humberston Fitties yesterday, turning the beach into a marine life graveyard.

It is thought they were swept onto the sands following storms out in the North Sea and the sub-zero temperatures.

Rachael Shaw, of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, said: "It's possible that bad weather or storms out at sea, perhaps associated with high tides, have caused the mass stranding of these starfish."

Storms whip up ocean foam on Australia coast

Sky News
Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:34 UTC

Ocean foam whipped up by wild seas has blanketed beaches on the Gold and Sunshine coasts.

Gold Coast holiday-maker Lionel Armitstead says the white froth has come up the foreshore at Burleigh Heads and is covering pedestrian paths and picnic areas.

In some places the suds are up to one metre high.

'It's like a snowstorm,' he told AAP.

'The kids are up to their shoulders basically ... I've never seen anything like it.'

Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - SE of Kegen, Kazakhstan

US Geological Survey
Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:22 UTC

Event Time
2013-01-28 16:38:53 UTC
2013-01-28 22:38:53 UTC+06:00 at epicenter

Location
42.604°N 79.696°E depth=10.9km (6.8mi)

Nearby Cities
60km (37mi) SE of Kegen, Kazakhstan
107km (66mi) E of Karakol, Kyrgyzstan
109km (68mi) E of Tyup, Kyrgyzstan
142km (88mi) ENE of Kyzyl-Suu, Kyrgyzstan
419km (260mi) E of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Technical Details

Author of climate change report: 'I got it wrong on climate change - it's far, far worse'

Heather Stewart
Raw Story
Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:05 UTC

Lord Stern speaks out in Davos on danger to economies as planet absorbs less carbon and is 'on track' for 4C rise

Lord Stern, author of the government-commissioned review on climate change that became the reference work for politicians and green campaigners, now says he underestimated the risks, and should have been more "blunt" about the threat posed to the economy by rising temperatures.

In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Stern, who is now a crossbench peer, said: "Looking back, I underestimated the risks. The planet and the atmosphere seem to be absorbing less carbon than we expected, and emissions are rising pretty strongly. Some of the effects are coming through more quickly than we thought then."

The Stern review, published in 2006, pointed to a 75% chance that global temperatures would rise by between two and three degrees above the long-term average; he now believes we are "on track for something like four ". Had he known the way the situation would evolve, he says, "I think I would have been a bit more blunt. I would have been much more strong about the risks of a four- or five-degree rise."

He said some countries, including China, had now started to grasp the seriousness of the risks, but governments should now act forcefully to shift their economies towards less energy-intensive, more environmentally sustainable technologies.

UK on flood alert as heavy rain mixes with melting snow

Guardian
Sun, 27 Jan 2013 09:51 UTC

© Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Snow at Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire. The cold spell is giving way to heavy rain

Wales, central England and south-west expected to be worst hit by downpours.

More than 200 flood alerts are in place across the UK as heavy rain has mixed with melting snow.

There have been more reports of flooding in south Wales overnight as the downpours replace almost two weeks of snow. Norfolk police have reported flooding caused by melting snow and ice, which has closed a number of roads in the area.

Wales, central England, and the south-west will be the worst-hit areas, with at least 2.5cm (1in) of rain expected by mid-morning on Sunday, while the rest of the UK can expect around 1.3cm.

Australian Army on stand-by amid Queensland tornado warnings

9 News
Sun, 27 Jan 2013 09:10 UTC

A sixth tornado has hit Queensland's Bundaberg region and forecasters say more could develop, including over Brisbane, as the day wears on.

The army has been put on standby and dam releases sped up in southeast Queensland as ex-cyclone Oswald moves south unleashing floods and the threat of more tornadoes.

Six tornadoes have hit Queensland's Bundaberg region in the past 24 hours and forecasters say more could develop later today, including on the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, and on the Gold Coast.

Hundreds of homes are at risk of flooding in the central Queensland cities of Gladstone and Bundaberg.

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L. Wood

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Rowan Cocoan

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Bobble

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codis

Is this the effect of geo engineering I wonder? Forcing droughts on areas and the like, surely that precipitation needs to go somewhere? Just find...

Christian83

Earth Changes

NOAA: Coastal effects of climate change threaten 50 percent of Americans

Canada: Dozens of dead seals found on P.E.I. beach

Heavy snowfall closes dozens of roads in Turkey

Underground explosion in Nebraska leads to pillars of fire bursting from manholes

England: Bad weather to blame for dead starfish washed up in Cleethorpes area

Storms whip up ocean foam on Australia coast

Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - SE of Kegen, Kazakhstan

Author of climate change report: 'I got it wrong on climate change - it's far, far worse'

UK on flood alert as heavy rain mixes with melting snow

Australian Army on stand-by amid Queensland tornado warnings

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