Earth Changes
"Our entire food chain within the gulf of Mexico is affected, there's no denying that."
© DIck Daniels / Wikimedia
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) at Birds of Eden aviary, South Africa.
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) at Birds of Eden aviary, South Africa.
Stanwell, England - The evening started peacefully enough at Long Lane Recreation Park in the western suburbs of London. But just before sunset, five bright green missiles streaked through the air toward a row of poplars at the park's edge.
Within minutes, hundreds more of the squawking birds - in formations 10, 20, 30 strong - had passed above the tidy homes and a cricket club, whizzing toward their nightly roost.
Native to the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa, the rose-ringed parakeet is enjoying a population explosion in many London suburbs, turning a once-exotic bird into a notorious pest that awakens children, monopolizes garden bird feeders and might even threaten British crops.
One rough estimate put the population in Britain at 30,000 a few years ago, up from only 1,500 in 1995. Researchers at Imperial College London are now trying a more scientific census through its Project Parakeet, which enlisted volunteer birders around the country for simultaneous counts on a recent Sunday evening.
© Unknown
Led by researcher Daniel Favre, the alarming study found that bees reacted significantly to cell phones that were placed near or in hives in call-making mode. The bees sensed the signals transmitted when the phones rang, and emitted heavy buzzing noise during the calls. The calls act as an instinctive warning to leave the hive, but the frequency confuses the bees, causing them to fly erratically. The study found that the bees' buzzing noise increases ten times when a cell phone is ringing or making a call - aka when signals are being transmitted, but remained normal when not in use.
While keeping a watchful eye on the nearby Mississippi River, officials at the Audubon Zoo say they have no plans to evacuate animals in the event of rising water.
There are plans in place for emergencies such as a flood, according to spokeswoman Sarah Burnette. However, she said those plans do not currently include evacuating animals.
Burnette pointed to disaster plans put into effect during Hurricane Katrina.
"In the hurricane, we gave many of the animals 'open house' so they could decide whether to be in the exhibit areas or in their nighthouse areas," she said in an email.
There are plans in place for emergencies such as a flood, according to spokeswoman Sarah Burnette. However, she said those plans do not currently include evacuating animals.
Burnette pointed to disaster plans put into effect during Hurricane Katrina.
"In the hurricane, we gave many of the animals 'open house' so they could decide whether to be in the exhibit areas or in their nighthouse areas," she said in an email.
© Profimedia.cz
Some fruit growing businesses could face an existential problem, says the Fruit Union. The association's president Martin Ludvík wants to negotiate with the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to the latest estimates the severe frost damaged under 6400 hectares of orchards, this represents 37 percent of all fertile orchards in the Czech Republic. "Harvest from the effected areas will be minimal or none at all," said Ludvík. About 24 percent of orchards sustained moderate damage and 39 percent have not sustained any major damage.
© AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
In a May 12, 2011 photo, Robert Jones, 53, is afraid the rising flood waters behind his house will flood him out by the weekend in Yazoo City, Miss.
In a May 12, 2011 photo, Robert Jones, 53, is afraid the rising flood waters behind his house will flood him out by the weekend in Yazoo City, Miss.
About 25,000 people and 11,000 structures could be in harm's way when the gates on the Morganza spillway are unlocked for the first time in 38 years.
"Protecting lives is the No. 1 priority," Army Corps of Engineers Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh said aboard a boat from the river at Vicksburg, Miss., hours before the decision was made to open the spillway.
The opening will release a torrent that could submerge about 3,000 square miles under as much as 25 feet of water in some areas but take the pressure off the downstream levees protecting New Orleans, Baton Rouge and the numerous oil refineries and chemical plants along the lower reaches of the Mississippi.
© Upsilon Andromidae
Leopard Shark
Leopard Shark
Dozens of leopard sharks have been washing up dead in California since April, and now a necropsy shows at least one of the sharks died of massive internal bleeding, such that blood was even coming out of the shark's skin, according to a Daily News report.
The necropsy, conducted by the California Department of Fish and Game, uncovered "inflammation, bleeding and lesions in the brain, and hemorrhaging from the skin near vents." According to the Daily News story, bleeding was additionally detected around the tested female's other internal organs.
© USGS
Earth Location
Earth Location
Friday, May 13, 2011 at 22:47:55 UTC
Friday, May 13, 2011 at 04:47:55 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location:
10.105°N, 84.261°W
Depth:
70 km (43.5 miles)
Region:
COSTA RICA
Distances:
25 km (16 miles) WNW (303°) from SAN JOSE, Costa Rica
126 km (78 miles) SSE (153°) from San Carlos, Nicaragua
137 km (85 miles) W (275°) from Limon, Costa Rica
© James Proffitt/News-Messenger
The city beach in Port Clinton is littered with dead walleye ranging from 15 to 24 inches.
The city beach in Port Clinton is littered with dead walleye ranging from 15 to 24 inches.
Port Clinton -- As anglers from more than a dozen states are trying to figure out how to catch the largest walleye this week, Ohio Department of Natural Resources biologists will be trying to figure out what killed thousands of others recently.
"I'm hearing thousands or tens of thousands maybe, on the high side," said biologist and ODNR Lake Erie Program Administrator Roger Knight. "This is something out of the ordinary."
According to Knight, there are several possible causes.
On May 10th, a severe storm captured national attention when it dumped golf-ball-sized hail on a Minnesota Twins baseball game. "I missed the hail," reports John Rogers of New Hope, Minnesota, "but I got a nice view of the clouds that formed after the storm passed." He snapped this picture in waning twilight at 8:30 pm local time:
These are mammatus clouds. Named for their resemblance to a cow's underbelly, they sometimes appear at the end of severe thunderstorms when the thundercloud is breaking up. Researchers have called them an "intriguing enigma," because no one knows exactly how and why they form. The clouds are fairly common but often go unnoticed because potential observers have been chased indoors by the rain. If you are one of them, dash outside when the downpour stops; you could witness a beautiful mystery in the sky.
© John Rogers
