Earth ChangesS


Attention

Tsunami generated by Tonga quake: warning centre

A major 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck off the Tonga islands region early Friday triggered a tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

The centre originally issued a tsunami warning for Tonga, Niue, Kermadec Islands, American Samoa, Samoa and Fiji after the US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 6.17 am (1817 GMT), centred 210 kilometres (130 miles) south-southeast of the Tongan capital Nuku'Alofa.

The centre then issued a further statement saying "Sea level readings confirm that a tsunami was generated.

Life Preserver

Shell dumps wind, solar and hydro power in favour of biofuels

Shell will no longer invest in renewable technologies such as wind, solar and hydro power because they are not economic, the Anglo-Dutch oil company said today. It plans to invest more in biofuels which environmental groups blame for driving up food prices and deforestation.

Executives at its annual strategy presentation said Shell, already the world's largest buyer and blender of crop-based biofuels, would also invest an unspecified amount in developing a new generat­ion of biofuels which do not use food-based crops and are less harmful to the environment.

The company said it would concentrate on developing other cleaner ways of using fossil fuels, such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. It hoped to use CCS to reduce emissions from Shell's controversial and energy-intensive oil sands projects in northern Canada.

The company said that many alternative technologies did not offer attractive investment opportunities. Linda Cook, Shell's executive director of gas and power, said: "If there aren't investment opportunities which compete with other projects we won't put money into it. We are businessmen and women. If there were renewables [which made money] we would put money into it."

Bizarro Earth

Strong quake near Tonga prompts tsunami warning

The U.S. Geological Survey says that a 7.9 earthquake has struck near Tonga, prompting a tsunami warning for adjacent islands in the South Pacific.

The USGS says that the quake struck about 130 miles (200 kilometers) south-southeast of the Tongan capital of Nuku'Alofa at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers). It struck Friday morning local time.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Fish

Chinese trawler catches unknown 10-ton fish

Beijing - Fishermen in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang caught on Thursday an unknown fish weighing more than 10 tons, the Sina news service reported.

The unusual fish, which was 12 meters (39 feet) in length and more than 1 meter in body diameter, was caught in a trawler's net and towed to the nearest port, where it was pulled from the water by a 15-ton cargo crane, the news service said.

Scientists will not get the opportunity to solve the mystery of the fish as it was sold to a Chinese man for about $220.

The world's biggest fish is believed to be Whale Shark (Rhinodon typus) which can often grow to 13.7 meters (45 feet) and 15 tons.

Camera

NOAA Meteorologist Claims 'Gross, Blatant Censorship' by Media for Speaking Out Against Climate Change Alarmism

Stanley Goldenberg of NOAA's Hurricane Research Division tells ICCC audience global warming has no measurable impact on hurricane activity.

You often hear scientists who promote the theory of man-made global warming allege they are victims of censorship. But when it is the other way around - that scientists who dispute that claim are victims of the same thing, you never hear a peep.

That's what Stanley Goldenberg, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) Hurricane Research Division, told an audience at the The Heartland Institute's 2009 International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC) in New York on March 9. Voices that counter global warming alarmism are often subject to censorship, he said.

"The debate, as you also know, is masked by media censorship, bias and distortion," Goldenberg said. "I'm interviewed quite bit on many, many levels and thankfully most of our interviews are benign. They're trying to get out to the public."

Frog

Rare reptile hatchling found on New Zealand

baby tuatara
© AP Photo/Karori Wildlife Sanctury,Tom Lynch,HOIn this photo released by the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, a baby tuatara is held by a staff at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington, New Zealand, Thursday, March 19, 2009.
A hatchling of a rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age has been found in the wild on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about 200 years, a wildlife official said Thursday.

The baby tuatara was discovered by staff during routine maintenance work at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in the capital, Wellington, conservation manager Raewyn Empson said.

"We are all absolutely thrilled with this discovery," Empson said. "It means we have successfully re-established a breeding population back on the mainland, which is a massive breakthrough for New Zealand conservation."

Tuatara are the last lizard-like descendants of a reptile species that walked the Earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago, zoologists say.

Igloo

Blame sunspots for cool winter, spring weather

Brrrr! It's been a cold week, in a cold month, in a cold winter. And it shows no sign of letting up.

Last week the Northwest was gripped by unseasonably cold weather. Areas west of the Cascades saw temperatures dip into the 20s. Locally we dropped as low as 27 on the 13th. Eugene was even colder (24 on the 11th). Two days later, Eugene's 25 degree-low broke the daily record (26) set in 1944.

So far in March our local Hyslop Experiment Station has seen nine days with lows of 32 or below. The month of March averages 5.7 days, so we're already well ahead of average for an entire March.

As cold as it was here, the Cascades generally protected us from the coldest Arctic air, which remained mostly north and east of us. On the 11th, Spokane, Wash., reported a low of 2 degrees. This was the latest date for a temperature of 2 degrees or less. The previous latest date occurred March 6, 1891. Sandpoint, Idaho, set a similar record the same day with a reading of -4 degrees, the latest date for a temperature that low.

Western Montana saw temperatures as low as -14, and subzero readings were reported in other states. In Oregon, many daily records were set, many far below the previous. Meacham was -11 on the 11th; the record for was 7, so this week's weather broke the record by 18 degrees! LaGrande, Pendleton, Moro, The Dalles, Bend, Redmond, and others also set new records.

Comment: George Taylor is another victim of the Global Warming alarmist movement.

George Taylor's views on the man made global warming issue were counter to the brainwashed views of Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski. George Taylor had a choice to retire or be removed. (Link)
In an exclusive interview with KGW-TV, Governor Ted Kulongoski confirmed he wants to take that title from Taylor. The governor said Taylor's contradictions interfere with the state's stated goals to reduce greenhouse gases, the accepted cause of global warming in the eyes of a vast majority of scientists.

"He is Oregon State University's climatologist. He is not the state of Oregon's climatologist," Kulongoski said.

Taylor declined to comment on the proposal other than to say he was a "bit shocked" by the news. He recently engaged in a debate at O.M.S.I. and repeated his doubts about accepted science.



Vader

Flashback Global warming debate blacklists Oregon State Climatologist

George Taylor Oregon State Climatologist
© KGW

In the face of evidence agreed upon by hundreds of climate scientists, George Taylor holds firm. He does not believe human activities are the main cause of global climate change.

Taylor also holds a unique title: State Climatologist.

Hundreds of scientists last Friday issued the strongest warning yet on global warming saying humans are "very likely" the cause.

"Most of the climate changes we have seen up until now have been a result of natural variations," Taylor asserts.

Taylor has held the title of "state climatologist" since 1991 when the legislature created a state climate office at OSU The university created the job title, not the state.

His opinions conflict not only with many other scientists, but with the state of Oregon's policies.

So the governor wants to take that title from Taylor and make it a position that he would appoint.

Comment: The black listing under McCarthyism couldn't have done a better job.


Arrow Up

Former Hansen Supervisor Calls for the Global Warming Alarmist's Dismissal

Retired NASA atmospheric scientist John Theon tells ICCC that Hatch Act is grounds for media darling's firing.

Is it possible that one of the most outspoken figures of the global warming alarmist movement has violated ethical, if not legal boundaries in his job? John Theon, a retired senior NASA atmospheric scientist said he believed so.

Theon told an audience at The Heartland Institute's 2009 International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC) in New York on March 11 that the head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, James Hansen, should be fired. Hansen is widely known for his outspokenness on the issue of man made global warming.

"I have publicly said I thought Jim Hansen should be fired," Theon said. "But, my opinion doesn't count much, particularly when he is empowered by people like the current president of the United States. I'm not sure what we can do to have him get off of the public payroll and continue with the campaign or crusade. I think the man is sincere, but he is suffering from a bad case of megalomania."

Question

Recession byproduct - a cut in emissions

Factory
© Tim Rue/Bloomberg NewsWater vapor rose from smokestacks at a California Department of Power and Water generating plant in Long Beach last month. Yesterday, the EPA proposed establishing a national system for reporting greenhouse gas emissions.

New figures being released today show the recession helped drive down global warming emissions from Northeast power plants last year to their lowest levels in at least nine years.

Northeast power plant emissions dropped about 9 percent last year from 2007, according to preliminary projections by Point Carbon, a consulting and research firm. The Norway-based company attributed the drop to the economic slowdown, combined with the fact that power plants are burning cleaner natural gas.

The drop in emissions may be good for the environment, but was not seen as reason for celebration. "What does this say about the state of the economy?" said Robert Rio, senior vice president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts "We could get 100 percent below the cap if we shut every business and moved them out of state."