A hawk was found dead along a California highway with the claw of a songbird protruding from its chest.
It's not clear, however, if the partially digested meal, one claw somehow managing to get back out from a terribly wrong location, had anything to do with the hawk's death.
Earth Changes
LOS ANGELES - A wildfire that began along a popular hiking trail forced 1,000 people to evacuate their homes in the hills northeast of Los Angeles on Sunday, officials said.
The cause of the nearly 400-acre fire, which started Saturday afternoon as Southern California logged near-record temperatures, was still under investigation, said Elisa Weaver, a spokeswoman for the city of Sierra Madre, California.
Fifty people celebrating a wedding at a mountain campground were lifted from the area by helicopter after the fire cut off their exit trail. No one in the group was harmed.
The cause of the nearly 400-acre fire, which started Saturday afternoon as Southern California logged near-record temperatures, was still under investigation, said Elisa Weaver, a spokeswoman for the city of Sierra Madre, California.
Fifty people celebrating a wedding at a mountain campground were lifted from the area by helicopter after the fire cut off their exit trail. No one in the group was harmed.
A much-discussed idea to offset global warming by injecting sulfate particles into the stratosphere would have a drastic impact on Earth's protective ozone layer, new research concludes. The study, led by Simone Tilmes of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), warns that such an approach might delay the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole by decades and cause significant ozone loss over the Arctic.
"Our research indicates that trying to artificially cool off the planet could have perilous side effects," Tilmes says. "While climate change is a major threat, more research is required before society attempts global geoengineering solutions."
"Our research indicates that trying to artificially cool off the planet could have perilous side effects," Tilmes says. "While climate change is a major threat, more research is required before society attempts global geoengineering solutions."
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| ©NASA |
| Earth's ozone hole, shown here (in blue) in 2006, could be negatively affected by some efforts to mitigate climate change. |
A male orangutan, clinging precariously to overhanging branches, flails the water with a pole, trying desperately to spear a passing fish.
It is the first time one has been seen using a tool to hunt.
It is the first time one has been seen using a tool to hunt.
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| ©Gerd Schuster, Willie Smits & Jay Ullal |
To the surprise of many, the earthquake on April 18, 2008, about 120 miles east of St. Louis, originated in the Wabash Valley Fault and not the better-known and more-dreaded New Madrid Fault in Missouri's bootheel.
The concern of Douglas Wiens, Ph.D., and Michael Wysession, Ph.D., seismologists at Washington University in St. Louis, is that the New Madrid Fault may have seen its day and the Wabash Fault is the new kid on the block.
Comment: Or perhaps it wasn't a 'natural' earthquake, but something else, like an overhead explosion?
The concern of Douglas Wiens, Ph.D., and Michael Wysession, Ph.D., seismologists at Washington University in St. Louis, is that the New Madrid Fault may have seen its day and the Wabash Fault is the new kid on the block.
Comment: Or perhaps it wasn't a 'natural' earthquake, but something else, like an overhead explosion?
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| ©CERI |
| Map of the region surrounding Memphis, TN. Darker orange area is covered by think sediments called the Mississippi embayment, that affect how the ground shakes during earthquakes. White lines indicate likely locations of faults, and black dots show the locations of earthquakes since the mid-1970s. |
A global greenhouse gas data collection network needs to be created that is ten times the size of the one currently in place, scientists say.
A team from the University of Colorado and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the increase is vital if regional progress in greenhouse gas reductions is to be accurately recorded.
A team from the University of Colorado and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the increase is vital if regional progress in greenhouse gas reductions is to be accurately recorded.
A growing contingent of scientists has been brave enough to stand athwart the politically fashionable global warming steamroller. More than 500 such skeptics convened in New York at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change last month. They argue factually and persuasively that what warming the world has seen in the last hundred years is at best minimal and at worst exaggerated.
Conversely, radical increases in global temperatures or rising sea levels proclaimed by Al Gore and his ilk aren't facts. They're merely guesses, some of them hysterical, about conditions decades or centuries into the future and based on assumptions about innumerable variables, many of which are beyond our scientific comprehension and expertise.
Climate change is a natural and age-old phenomenon on this planet recurring in roughly 1,500-year cycles and predating humanity by millions of years. Ice ages have come and gone. Compared to the overwhelming influence of the sun and the impact of nonhuman influences on this planet - ocean-generated water vapor, animal life, vegetation, etc. - the notion that the puny contribution of mankind is the principal cause of climate change is a grand conceit.
Conversely, radical increases in global temperatures or rising sea levels proclaimed by Al Gore and his ilk aren't facts. They're merely guesses, some of them hysterical, about conditions decades or centuries into the future and based on assumptions about innumerable variables, many of which are beyond our scientific comprehension and expertise.
Climate change is a natural and age-old phenomenon on this planet recurring in roughly 1,500-year cycles and predating humanity by millions of years. Ice ages have come and gone. Compared to the overwhelming influence of the sun and the impact of nonhuman influences on this planet - ocean-generated water vapor, animal life, vegetation, etc. - the notion that the puny contribution of mankind is the principal cause of climate change is a grand conceit.
Heat records also are broken in Southern California as offshore winds bring in warm desert air.
A wildfire in the Sierra Madre foothills swelled to 230 to 270 acres early this morning, forcing the evacuation of at least 100 homes and drawing hundreds of firefighters from around the region.
The fire was moving southwest in remote brush at 1 a.m. today, and containment was not expected for two to three days, said Elisa Weaver, spokeswoman for the city of Sierra Madre. Warm, dry weather is predicted for the fire area this morning, with winds gusting to 15 miles to 20 miles an hour before slowing this evening, the National Weather Service reported. Crowds of residents stood on major streets normally deserted in the middle of the night, staring up at hills aglow with flames. Police had blocked off several streets nearby.
A wildfire in the Sierra Madre foothills swelled to 230 to 270 acres early this morning, forcing the evacuation of at least 100 homes and drawing hundreds of firefighters from around the region.
The fire was moving southwest in remote brush at 1 a.m. today, and containment was not expected for two to three days, said Elisa Weaver, spokeswoman for the city of Sierra Madre. Warm, dry weather is predicted for the fire area this morning, with winds gusting to 15 miles to 20 miles an hour before slowing this evening, the National Weather Service reported. Crowds of residents stood on major streets normally deserted in the middle of the night, staring up at hills aglow with flames. Police had blocked off several streets nearby.
A fire burned about 25 acres Saturday in the Nestor neighborhood near Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, authorities said.
The blaze began about 1:45 p.m, on Wardlow Avenue and International Road in an area of mostly grass and brush, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
The blaze began about 1:45 p.m, on Wardlow Avenue and International Road in an area of mostly grass and brush, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Residents in the district of Ubinas, one of three provinces in the southwestern region of Moquegua, are complaining about an active volcano in their district once again.
The district of Ubinas is home to Peru's most active volcano, a stratovolcano also known as Ubinas.
Townspeople in the area are complaining of migraines and respiratory illnesses which are being attributed to the ash, smoke and toxic gases the volcano is emitting.
The district of Ubinas is home to Peru's most active volcano, a stratovolcano also known as Ubinas.
Townspeople in the area are complaining of migraines and respiratory illnesses which are being attributed to the ash, smoke and toxic gases the volcano is emitting.
