Earth Changes
BUDAPEST, Hungary: Scientists warned Thursday that climate change in coming decades will cause more floods in the Northern Hemisphere and droughts in the south and in arid areas, which may lead to a global food crisis.
It's April Fools' Day as I'm writing this, so it seems fitting to contemplate human folly.
As I squint through frosted panes at 8 inches of new snow on my Missouri Heights deck, KAJX radio advises me that Aspen Highlands got another 19 inches overnight, and Snowmass' new total stands at 407 inches.
As I squint through frosted panes at 8 inches of new snow on my Missouri Heights deck, KAJX radio advises me that Aspen Highlands got another 19 inches overnight, and Snowmass' new total stands at 407 inches.
The media and governmental hype over a danger from global warming that already is allegedly causing the polar icecaps to melt and threaten a global climate catastrophe, looks more and more like the political hype it is. This year to date, snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966.
According to the US National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) many American cities and towns have suffered record cold temperatures in January and early February. According to the NCDC, the average temperature in January "was - 0.3 F cooler than the 1901-2000 average."
China is surviving its most brutal winter in one hundred years. Temperatures in the normally mild south were low for so long that some middle-sized cities went weeks without electricity because once power lines had toppled it was too cold or too icy to repair them.
There have been so many snow and ice storms in Ontario and Quebec in the past two months that the real estate market has been hurt as home buyers have stayed home. In just the first two weeks of February, Toronto received 70 cm of snow, breaking the record of 66.6 cm for the entire month set back in 1950.
According to the US National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) many American cities and towns have suffered record cold temperatures in January and early February. According to the NCDC, the average temperature in January "was - 0.3 F cooler than the 1901-2000 average."
China is surviving its most brutal winter in one hundred years. Temperatures in the normally mild south were low for so long that some middle-sized cities went weeks without electricity because once power lines had toppled it was too cold or too icy to repair them.
There have been so many snow and ice storms in Ontario and Quebec in the past two months that the real estate market has been hurt as home buyers have stayed home. In just the first two weeks of February, Toronto received 70 cm of snow, breaking the record of 66.6 cm for the entire month set back in 1950.
The world will experience global cooling this year, according a leading climate scientist.
The head of the World Meteorological Organisation said La Nina - the weather phenomenon which is cooling the Pacific - is likely to trigger a small drop in average global temperatures compared with last year.
The head of the World Meteorological Organisation said La Nina - the weather phenomenon which is cooling the Pacific - is likely to trigger a small drop in average global temperatures compared with last year.
St. Louis, Missouri - A line of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and even snow pounded the nation's heartland on Thursday, flooding nearly 200 roads in Missouri, closing schools in Arkansas and ripping the roofs of dozens of houses in Texas.
The band of storms stretched from Colorado and Nebraska, which was expected to get up to 10 inches of snow, to Texas, where high winds and driving rain at one point quarter of a million people were left without power.
In Missouri, 3-4 inches of rain fell in just a few hours, unleashing flash floods that swamped parts of 180 roads across the state.
The band of storms stretched from Colorado and Nebraska, which was expected to get up to 10 inches of snow, to Texas, where high winds and driving rain at one point quarter of a million people were left without power.
In Missouri, 3-4 inches of rain fell in just a few hours, unleashing flash floods that swamped parts of 180 roads across the state.
Lightning struck an aircraft carrying Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern from Dublin to Belfast, but no one on board was hurt, an Irish government spokesman said overnight.
"The plane was struck by lightning as it was approaching Belfast. Everyone is fine," the spokesman said.
"The plane was struck by lightning as it was approaching Belfast. Everyone is fine," the spokesman said.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was closed for a second day Wednesday as officials waited for a change in wind direction to blow away sulfur dioxide belching from Kīlauea volcano.
National Park Service officials said air conditions had worsened since Tuesday, when 2,000 people were evacuated from the Big Island park.
"This morning, with it being cool and some warmer air on top of it, it has kind of created a pancake effect, so we have some more of the vog lower down," said Michael Larson, the park's incident information officer.
Vog, or volcanic fog, forms when sulfur dioxide gas reacts with sunlight, oxygen, dust particles, and water in the air. Tiny droplets known as sulfate aerosols are created, along with sulfuric acid and other substances.
National Park Service officials said air conditions had worsened since Tuesday, when 2,000 people were evacuated from the Big Island park.
"This morning, with it being cool and some warmer air on top of it, it has kind of created a pancake effect, so we have some more of the vog lower down," said Michael Larson, the park's incident information officer.
Vog, or volcanic fog, forms when sulfur dioxide gas reacts with sunlight, oxygen, dust particles, and water in the air. Tiny droplets known as sulfate aerosols are created, along with sulfuric acid and other substances.
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| ©Robert Madden/NGS |
| Lava spews from a vent of Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano in this file photo.
Sulfur dioxide spewing from the volcano, which has been active since 1983, has closed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for its second day and forced an evacuation of 2,000 people. |
Using data from thousands of species of lemurs, frogs, geckos, butterflies, ants, and plants, scientists from the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society, University of California, Berkeley and other organizations have completed an analytical colossus for Madagascar that will guide plans to safeguard the island's unique natural heritage. The massive study is the cover story in the most recent edition of Science.
The study is unprecedented in terms of not only the number of species examined (some 2,315 species in six groups), but also because of the project's scale and resolution. The biodiversity, climate and habitat of the entire 226,657 square-mile island, which is nearly a third larger than the state of California, were examined. The maps generated from the data analyses have a resolution of less than a square kilometer.
"While some of the key areas of biodiversity are under protection, many are not. This study will help direct conservation plans to help protect the most species possible, with special consideration given to those animals and plants that are most endangered," said the study's lead co-author Dr. Claire Kremen, an associate conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and UC Berkeley assistant professor.
The study is unprecedented in terms of not only the number of species examined (some 2,315 species in six groups), but also because of the project's scale and resolution. The biodiversity, climate and habitat of the entire 226,657 square-mile island, which is nearly a third larger than the state of California, were examined. The maps generated from the data analyses have a resolution of less than a square kilometer.
"While some of the key areas of biodiversity are under protection, many are not. This study will help direct conservation plans to help protect the most species possible, with special consideration given to those animals and plants that are most endangered," said the study's lead co-author Dr. Claire Kremen, an associate conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and UC Berkeley assistant professor.
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| ©Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society |
| A stump-tailed chameleon from Madagascar |
Scientists in northern Sweden believe they have discovered the world's oldest living tree, dating back nearly 8,000 years, local media said on Thursday.
A Norway spruce, which was found growing at a height of 950 meters above sea level, is more than two meters (6.5 feet) tall and about 20 centimeters (8 inches) in width.
A Norway spruce, which was found growing at a height of 950 meters above sea level, is more than two meters (6.5 feet) tall and about 20 centimeters (8 inches) in width.
A band of hail, heavy rain and twisters pounded Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma Thursday, damaging hundreds of homes, flooding roads and leaving thousands without power.
Arkansas already was contending with three weeks of flooding and the aftermath of 10 tornadoes that struck last week when the latest storm hit.
"It's just getting worse," sheriff's dispatcher Nola Massey said. "We're just trying to get everybody to stay home and not get out in it."
Arkansas already was contending with three weeks of flooding and the aftermath of 10 tornadoes that struck last week when the latest storm hit.
"It's just getting worse," sheriff's dispatcher Nola Massey said. "We're just trying to get everybody to stay home and not get out in it."
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| ©Tony Pilkington |
| Jeremy Dickey of Breckenridge, Texas, tries to turn off the water to his house after it was struck by an apparent tornado Wednesday evening, April 9, 2008. Dickey wasn't home at the time, but his wife, Tina, and two children, ages 4 years and 8 months, hid in an interior closet he had reinforced as a shelter. They were not injured, but the house was moved 10 feet off of its foundation. Breckenridge police said they have reports of a few minor injuries, but didn't have a full count. Power lines were down and at least five homes were destroyed, police said. |
Comment: Note that, despite the forecast, spin is applied to support the human-caused/CO2 paradigm being pushed by the mainstream media.