Earth ChangesS


Sun

US: Northwest Heat Wave Sets Records


CBS News
Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:19 UTC
Brutal temperatures are predicted for the Seattle area on Wednesday as a record heat wave afflicting the Pacific Northwest continues, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

The high temperature could easily tie or break the all-time record temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit set July 20, 1994, at Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport, the weather service's Jay Albrecht said.

"There's not going to be a whole lot of places to get away from the heat tomorrow," he said Tuesday.

Another day of high heat for the normally temperate region follows a Tuesday that saw the thermometer hit 106 F at Portland International Airport, just short of the 107 F all-time mark for the area set in 1981.

"The thing about a place like Portland is there are some buildings and residences that don't have air conditioning," said Andy Bryant, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service. "You go to Phoenix or Dallas, yes it would be very hot there, too, but they have more of a system in place to deal with it."
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Snowman

Global warming is ruining my summer

Julia Park Tracey
Alameda Sun
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:02 UTC
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know it's not just global warming. It's climate change. It's affecting everyone, everywhere. Oceans are rising, icebergs are calving, tsunamis and hurricanes are ravaging the coasts, and the polar bears had better find a nice fat seal to use as a floatation device.

But let's talk about me. Number one problem: I wait all year for summer. Literally drag myself through winter days and chilly spring and beg on bended knee for a sweltering hot day or three.

Well, it's summer. It says so on the calendar (and God forbid we question the calendar). And the so-called marine layer won't go away. June gloom has crept into July and is heading for August. And how many tomatoes have I harvested? Um, like three cherry tomatoes, and I don't think they were even ripe yet.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Algae are killing fish, but how is a mystery

Jake Grovum
IndyStar.com
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:43 UTC
ExpSeveral hundred dead fish, one large algae plume and a "perfect storm" that led to it all have state officials and Rocky Ripple residents scratching their heads over what's killing fish in the White River.

Since July 17, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has received reports of hundreds of dead fish alongside the White River near Rocky Ripple, just north of Butler University.erts puzzle over latest fish deaths in White River
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Sun

Canada: Hottest day ever recorded in Vancouver


CBC
Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:22 UTC
Wednesday was the hottest day ever recorded in Vancouver, according to CBC meteorologist Claire Martin.

At 5 p.m. PT, Environment Canada recorded a high of 33.8 C, breaking the previous record of 33.3 C set in 1960.
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Radar

Mysteriously High Tides on East Coast Perplex Scientists

Alexis Madrigal
Wired Science
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:02 UTC
Image
© UnknownJersey Pier
From Maine to Florida, the Atlantic seaboard has experienced higher tides than expected this summer. At their peak in mid-June, the tides at some locations outstripped predictions by two feet.

The change has come too fast to be attributed to melting ice sheets or anything quite that dramatic, and it's a puzzle for scientists who've never seen anything quite like it.
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Bizarro Earth

5.1 Earthquake Strikes Eastern Indonesia


Xinhua
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:00 UTC
An earthquake with magnitude of 5.1 rocked eastern parts of Indonesia on Thursday, no initial report of damage or casualty, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said here.

The quake hit at 15:06 Jakarta time (0806 GMT) with epicenter at 210 kms southwest Saumlaki of Maluku province and at 87 kms in depth, the agency said.

Indonesia with over 230 million population is laid on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called the Pacific Ring of Fire, where two continental plates stretching form Western hemisphere to Japan meet, a cause often triggers seismic and volcanic movements.
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Cow

Rare Bald Songbird Discovered in Asia


Xinhua
Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:00 UTC
A bald-headed songbird, or bulbul, with a nearly featherless, pink face has been discovered in a rugged region of Laos, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WSC) said on Thursday.

It marks Asia's first description of a new species of bulbul -- a family of about 130 species -- in over 100 years. Besides, the thrush-sized bird is noteworthy because it is the only known bald songbird in mainland Asia.

A description of the new species, dubbed the Bare-faced Bulbul, is published in the latest issue of the Oriental Bird Club's journal Forktail.

The bird is said to be found in an area of sparse forest on rugged limestone karsts -- a little-visited habitat known for unusual wildlife discoveries.
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Arrow Down

Californians' global warming concern cools: US poll

Peter Henderson
Reuters
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:24 UTC
The tough economy has undermined the environmental enthusiasm of Californians, hitting the U.S. state that pioneered climate change legislation just as the federal government is taking on the issue, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows support for urgent action on climate change has split on political lines, with a third of respondents from the more conservative Republican Party now saying global warming will never happen.

Total support for the state's climate change law, a model for federal bills being debated, dropped to 66 percent from 73 percent last year. Meanwhile, the state has been reduced to issuing IOUs as unemployment has spiked to a new high.
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Compass

World's Largest Science Group 'Startled' By Outpouring of Scientists Rejecting Man-Made Climate Fears!

Marc Morano
Climate Depot
Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:22 UTC
An outpouring of skeptical scientists who are members of the American Chemical Society (ACS) are revolting against the group's editor-in-chief -- with some demanding he be removed -- after an editorial appeared claiming "the science of anthropogenic climate change is becoming increasingly well established."

The editorial claimed the "consensus" view was growing "increasingly difficult to challenge, despite the efforts of diehard climate-change deniers." The editor now admits he is "startled" by the negative reaction from the group's scientific members. The American Chemical Society bills itself as the "world's largest scientific society."

The June 22, 2009 editorial in Chemical and Engineering News by editor in chief Rudy Baum, is facing widespread blowback and condemnation from American Chemical Society member scientists. Baum concluded his editorial by stating that "deniers" are attempting to "derail meaningful efforts to respond to global climate change."

Dozens of letters from ACS members were published on July 27, 2009 castigating Baum, with some scientists calling for his replacement as editor-in-chief.

The editorial was met with a swift, passionate and scientific rebuke from Baum's colleagues. Virtually all of the letters published on July 27 in castigated Baum's climate science views. Scientists rebuked Baum's use of the word "deniers" because of the terms "association with Holocaust deniers." In addition, the scientists called Baum's editorial: "disgusting"; "a disgrace"; "filled with misinformation"; "unworthy of a scientific periodical" and "pap."
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Cloud Lightning

UK: Scorcher? July's a washout

James Pilditch
Daily Express
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:18 UTC
Experts predicted temperatures would top 86F (30C) while rainfall was likely to be "near or below average".

But the latest Met Office figures released yesterday show that July has been a washout - with almost a month's rain in the first two weeks alone.

The only glimmer of comfort was the fact that temperatures across the country have still been higher than an average summer.

The average UK rainfall for the first fortnight was 56.6mm (2.2in) - about 81 per cent of the normal July level.

Wales was the worst-hit area of Britain, with a total rainfall of 83.6 mm (3.3in), meaning it has already been wet enough for the whole month. North-west and north-east England both also had nearly a full month's rainfall in the first two weeks.

Central and south-east England had 37.8mm (1.5in), wetter than average, while western Scotland had two-thirds of its July downpour in the first fortnight. Eastern Scotland had nearly 90 per cent of its rain.
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