Earth Changes

Indian Floods Wash Away Thousands of Homes

The Guardian, UK
Thu, 23 Sep 2010 05:43 UTC

© Stringer/Reuters
People stand on a damaged bridge on an overflowing canal in Haridwar, India. Thousands of homes have been washed away.

At least 17 people killed and some 2 million forced to evacuate as rain triggers floods in Uttar Pradesh

Floods triggered by heavy rain in northern India have killed at least 17 people, washed away thousands of homes and forced the evacuation of some 2 million people in a 24-hour period.

A swath of Uttar Pradesh state has been covered by floodwaters spilling over the banks of several rivers that crisscross the region, the state spokesman Diwakar Tripathi said. Soldiers and paramilitary troops were working to evacuate people from marooned villages and move them to relief camps.

"At least 17 people have died overnight. More than a thousand houses have been washed away. Large areas are under water," Tripathi said.

Northern India has experienced unprecedented rain since August, according to the India Meteorological Department. Most rivers are flowing above the danger mark, including the Yamuna and Ganges that run through Uttar Pradesh.

Peru: Vampire Bats Kill Five Children

The Telegraph, UK
Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:42 UTC

At least five children living in Peru's northern Amazon jungle region have died after being bitten by rabid vampire bats, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

At least five children living in Peru's northern Amazon jungle region have died after being bitten by rabid vampire bats, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

The victims, all aged between five and 10, were members of the Awajun and Wampis communities living in the province of Condorcanqui, 620 miles north of Lima on the border with Ecuador.

Fernando Borjas, a medical doctor with the health directorate in the regional capital Chachapoyas, said that the rabies outbreak has been going on for several months.

Health authorities have sent teams with vaccines to the remote jungle villages, but after a 15 hour river trip they often arrive too late.

Three Species of "Extinct" Frogs Rediscovered

Mother Nature Network
Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:06 UTC

© Jos Keilgast/Conservation International
Hyperolius sankuruensis: Last seen in 1979, a redfrog was rediscovered 186 miles west of where it was first found, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Worldwide search to find 100 frogs that haven't been seen in decades yields results.

A global quest to find several "lost" species of amphibians has rediscovered three species that have not been seen for decades, conservation groups announced.

The so-called Search for the Lost Frogs is attempting to find 100 species of amphibians that had been thought extinct, but that scientists believe may be surviving in small populations.

The three animals that have been rediscovered so far include a Mexican salamander not seen since it was discovered in 1941, a frog from the Ivory Coast (the Mount Nimba Reed Frog) missing since 1967 and another frog from the Democratic Republic of Congo (the Omaniundu Reed Frog) lost since 1979.

"It's pretty extraordinary to think about just how long it has been since these animals were last seen," said search organizer Robin Moore, of Conservation International. "The last time that the Mexican Salamander was seen Glen Miller was one of the world's biggest stars, while the Mount Nimba Reed Frog hasn't been seen since the year the Beatles released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band and the Omaniundu Reed Frog disappeared the year that Sony sold its first-ever Walkman."

56 Pilot Whales Die After Stranding on New Zealand Beach

The New York Times
Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:00 UTC

Wellington, New Zealand -- Only 24 of several dozen pilot whales stranded on a remote northern New Zealand beach survived a stormy first night ashore despite rescuers' desperate efforts to save them, officials said Thursday.

Large waves and strong winds lashed Spirits Bay as rescuers struggled to move survivors above the tide-line. It was the second mass beaching in the region in a month.

''As of this morning, there have been 24 live animals moved out of the tide up onto the beach out of harms' way,'' Department of Conservation spokeswoman Caroline Smith said. ''The weather is terrible up there. We have 20 knot winds and 1.5 to 2 meter (5 to 7 foot) swells, so it is not possible to refloat them at Spirits Bay.''

The 80 animals were spread out over a three-mile (five-kilometer) stretch, Smith said. Officials were planning to use big nets to lift the creatures onto the back of trucks, and move them to more sheltered Rarawa Beach, about an hour south, where they will be refloated.

Evidence of Solar Scientists Raise Fears of Imminent Ice Age

John O'Sullivan
Suite101
Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:11 UTC

New study by American solar experts discover a sharp fall in sunspot activity since 2007 that shows the hallmarks of a soon arriving ice age.

Solar scientists, not to be confused with climate scientists, study the most important heat engine driving our planet's temperatures-the sun.

Matthew Penn and William Livingston, solar astronomers with the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson, Arizona, have found a marked decrease in sunspot activity lately. Studies show that such a marked drop in sunspots may lead to a prolonged cooling epoch or even a new ice age.

Since the formation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 the talk has been about global warming. But 22 years on the evidence has grown to raise fears of a catastrophic climate switch in the opposite direction. We look at the evidence that is raising some very serious questions in the scientific community.

US: North Dakota Lake Swallows Land and Buildings

Dave Kolpack
The Associated Press
Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:00 UTC

© AP Photo/NASA Earth Observatory
In this photo provided by NASA's Earth Observatory is an Aug. 11, 1984, view of the surface elevation of Devils Lake, ND. The lake, about 160 miles northwest of Fargo, is the largest freshwater body in North Dakota.

It's been called a slow-growing monster: a huge lake that has steadily expanded over the last 20 years, swallowing up thousands of acres, hundreds of buildings and at least two towns in its rising waters.

Devils Lake keeps getting larger because it has no natural river or stream to carry away excess rain and snowmelt. Now it has climbed within 6 feet of overflowing, raising fears that some downstream communities could be washed away if the water level isn't reduced.

And those worries are compounded by another problem: Scientists believe the pattern of heavy rain and snow that filled the basin is likely to continue for at least another decade.

"It's a slow-moving torture," said 72-year-old Joe Belford, a lifelong resident of Devils Lake and a county commissioner who spends most of his time seeking a way to control the flooding and money to pay for it.

Kuwait loses 90% of coral reefs in the Arab Gulf

Yousef Al-Tatan
Global Arab Network
Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:22 UTC

Head of the Kuwait Diving Team Walid Al-Fadhel said in a statement to KUNA, "this requires quick action by the competent authorities to find out the real causes, as well as solutions." He also called on frequent goers to these marine natural sites to refrain from any action that may inflict damage in the reefs or kill the creatures co-existing with them.

The comprehensive survey, conducted by the team, included the major locations of coral reefs 50 miles along the shores and 70 km from the southern coast borders, with depths ranging from 1-13 meters.

The combing covered Um Al-Maradim, Kheiran, Ras Al-Zor, Garouh, Um Diera, Teyler, Kubbar and Oraifjan with the result of 90 percent of "bleaching" of the coral reef.

At the begining of noticing this phenomenon, he added, dead fish were found floating on the water surface, or laying between the corals, yet not anymore.

Al-Fadhel said that the team does not know the causes for this disaster, but it is either a natural or human, which requires the competent authorities, whether global or local, to examine and prepare accurate studies. He noted that the diving team proceeded to contact several local and international companies (interested in this matter) and send the necessary reports with some samples of sites affected for study.

47 killed in Indian rains and landslides

UK Independent
Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:45 UTC

© AP Photo/Anupam Nath
A homeless man tries to protect himself from rain with plastic sheets as he sits in a pavement in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept.19, 2010. Monsoon rains are active this year in most parts of India.

Heavy monsoon rains and landslides swept the hilly areas of northern India over the weekend, killing at least 47 people, officials said today.

Twenty-four people died yesterday as falling boulders crushed their homes in three villages in Almorah district in Uttrakhand state, said Prashant Kumar Tamta, a state government spokesman.

Another 23 people were either swept away by floodwaters or died when homes collapsed in landslides in Pitthoragarh, Champawat and Uttarkashi regions of state on Saturday and yesterday, Mr Tamta told The Associated Press.

Rains continued to lash the region today, threatening dozens of villages near the Tehri Dam whose water level was nearing the danger level.

The area is 250 miles (400km) south-west of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

On Friday, a boat carrying mostly schoolchildren capsized in a flooded river near Faizabad, a town in Uttar Pradesh state, drowning 15 people, said Surendra Srivastava, a police spokesman.

The annual monsoon season from June to October brings rains which are vital to agriculture in India.

New Zealand - "Unprecedented" Mass Whale Stranding

Paul Harper
New Zealand Herald
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:20 UTC

Department of Conservation (DOC) staff are calling a mass pilot whale stranding at Spirits Bay in Northland "unprecedented".

Seventy-four whales are stranded across two kilometres on the remote beach north of Kaitaia.

So far nine have been successfully refloated. There are up to 50 whales just off-shore.

When DOC were called at 11am, 32 whales were reported stranded. By the time DOC arrived 43 whales were dead.

"It started off with not many and the number has grown as the day has gone on," spokeperson Sue Campbell said.

"At the moment we're trying to get enough people to help."

Reflections on the Coming Ice Age

Alan Caruba
The National Anxiety Center
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:48 UTC

South Orange, New Jersey - In the Greek myth about Cassandra, she could foresee the future, but no one believed her warnings. Her name is believed to be derived from the words for beauty and the sun.

Any number of solar scientists and others are warning that the Earth is on the brink of a new Ice Age at worst, a mini ice age at best. Dr. Achim Brauer of the German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam has concluded that the next Ice Age will come on so swiftly that in barely a year much of the northern hemisphere will be encased in ice and snow.

The last Ice Age lasted 13,000 years. The Little Ice Age from around 1300 to 1850 lasted long enough to transform European society and have a profound affect on the histories of America and France. In England, they went from growing grapes to skating on a completely frozen Thames.

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Earth Changes

Indian Floods Wash Away Thousands of Homes

Peru: Vampire Bats Kill Five Children

Three Species of "Extinct" Frogs Rediscovered

56 Pilot Whales Die After Stranding on New Zealand Beach

Evidence of Solar Scientists Raise Fears of Imminent Ice Age

US: North Dakota Lake Swallows Land and Buildings

Kuwait loses 90% of coral reefs in the Arab Gulf

47 killed in Indian rains and landslides

New Zealand - "Unprecedented" Mass Whale Stranding

Reflections on the Coming Ice Age

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