Grey whales in the eastern Pacific appear to be in some trouble, with the cause far from clear, scientists say.
Researchers with the conservation group Earthwatch found that whales are arriving in their breeding grounds off the Mexican coast malnourished.
The same thing happened just after the 1997/8 El Nino event, which warmed the waters and depleted food stocks.
Earth Changes
Arctic ice is melting faster than computer models of climate calculate, according to a group of US researchers.
Since 1979, the Arctic has been losing summer ice at about 9% per decade, but models on average produce a melting rate less than half that figure.
The scientists suggest forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may be too cautious.
The latest observations indicate that Arctic summers could be ice-free by the middle of the century.
Since 1979, the Arctic has been losing summer ice at about 9% per decade, but models on average produce a melting rate less than half that figure.
The scientists suggest forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may be too cautious.
The latest observations indicate that Arctic summers could be ice-free by the middle of the century.
Near Lyon in France yesterday it was during the day 25 degree Celcius. In the evening all of a sudden a storm dumped closed to 1 meter of hail within not much of over 1 hour.
Today we're living through the sixth great extinction, sometimes known as the Holocene extinction event. We carried its seeds with us 50,000 years ago as we migrated beyond Africa with Stone Age blades, darts, and harpoons, entering pristine Ice Age ecosystems and changing them forever by wiping out at least some of the unique megafauna of the times, including, perhaps, the sabre-toothed cats and woolly mammoths. When the ice retreated, we terminated the long and biologically rich epoch sometimes called the Edenic period with assaults from our newest weapons: hoes, scythes, cattle, goats, and pigs.
Denver: The United States' leading hurricane forecaster said Friday that global ocean currents, not human-produced carbon dioxide, are responsible for global warming, and the Earth may begin to cool on its own in five to 10 years.
William Gray, a Colorado State University researcher best known for his annual forecasts of hurricanes along the U.S. Atlantic coast, also said increasing levels of carbon dioxide will not produce more or stronger hurricanes.
He said that over the past 40 years the number of major hurricanes making landfall on the U.S. Atlantic coast has declined compared with the previous 40 years, even though carbon dioxide levels have risen.
William Gray, a Colorado State University researcher best known for his annual forecasts of hurricanes along the U.S. Atlantic coast, also said increasing levels of carbon dioxide will not produce more or stronger hurricanes.
He said that over the past 40 years the number of major hurricanes making landfall on the U.S. Atlantic coast has declined compared with the previous 40 years, even though carbon dioxide levels have risen.
Poisonous caterpillars are spreading across England, prompting warnings from environmental health officers.
A series of mild winters has seen swarms of brown tail moth caterpillars move from their usual habitats along the south-east coast to as far north as Yorkshire.
The brown and red grub is covered in millions of tiny hairs that contain a toxin that can cause painful rashes, eye infections and, if inhaled, serious breathing difficulties.
As the caterpillars have moved inland, environmental health officials have been putting up warning signs in popular beauty spots.
A series of mild winters has seen swarms of brown tail moth caterpillars move from their usual habitats along the south-east coast to as far north as Yorkshire.
The brown and red grub is covered in millions of tiny hairs that contain a toxin that can cause painful rashes, eye infections and, if inhaled, serious breathing difficulties.
As the caterpillars have moved inland, environmental health officials have been putting up warning signs in popular beauty spots.
Flames and smoke poured into the sky Saturday over an oil refinery where lightning set off a fire and an explosion that was felt miles away, authorities said.
No injuries were reported and there were no immediate evacuation orders in the south-central Oklahoma town, said Mike Hancock, a spokesman for Wynnewood Refinery Co.
Flames and smoke boiled hundreds of feet into the air from two 80,000-gallon tanks in the Wynnewood Refinery complex, officials said.
Firefighters doused the area surrounding the tanks Saturday, Hancock said.
"Tank fires are pretty pesky fires. They're easy to keep contained, but they're hard to fight," Hancock said. "It's hard to estimate how long it will be. It can take a day or so to burn the product."
No injuries were reported and there were no immediate evacuation orders in the south-central Oklahoma town, said Mike Hancock, a spokesman for Wynnewood Refinery Co.
Flames and smoke boiled hundreds of feet into the air from two 80,000-gallon tanks in the Wynnewood Refinery complex, officials said.
Firefighters doused the area surrounding the tanks Saturday, Hancock said.
"Tank fires are pretty pesky fires. They're easy to keep contained, but they're hard to fight," Hancock said. "It's hard to estimate how long it will be. It can take a day or so to burn the product."
Earthquakes are a relatively rare phenomenon in the UK but the country has suffered a number in recent years.
LISBON, Portugal - It was a chilling discovery: a mass grave of human bones _ skulls smashed and scorched by fire, dog bites on a child's thigh bone, a forehead with an apparent bullet hole.
WAYCROSS, Ga. - A few spot fires ignited Saturday afternoon across a highway from a massive wildfire and firefighters struggled to put them out before they could spread in the miles of tinder-dry forest beyond.
