A fire burning in the dried-up bed of Lake Okeechobee is the most likely source of that smoky smell pestering residents in southern and western Palm Beach County.
The Division of Forestry, the Boca Raton Fire Department dispatchers, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue all report several calls from residents in the Boca Raton area complaining of smoke. But earlier in the morning, its source was elusive.
Earth Changes
Canadian fish scientists are opening a window into the mysterious world of the Greenland shark -- the top predator in the Canadian Arctic about which almost nothing is known.
Except this, says Steve Campana of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography: "These are very, very strange sharks."
Its meat is poison. Its mouth is far under its body. It has almost no spine. It's so lethargic that it doesn't even snap at the scientists who hook it and attach a radio to it.
And it may live 200 years.
Except this, says Steve Campana of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography: "These are very, very strange sharks."
Its meat is poison. Its mouth is far under its body. It has almost no spine. It's so lethargic that it doesn't even snap at the scientists who hook it and attach a radio to it.
And it may live 200 years.
It began as a low rumble on Tuesday night, but soon giant chunks of land "the size of cars" were cascading into the sea off Dorset. By yesterday morning, a 400m section of the World Heritage Jurassic Coast between Lyme Regis and Charmouth had disappeared, in what has been described as the biggest landslide Britain has seen in a century.
Computer analyses of global climate have consistently overstated warming in Antarctica, concludes new research by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Ohio State University. The study can help scientists improve computer models and determine if Earth's southernmost continent will warm significantly this century, a major research question because of Antarctica's potential impact on global sea-level rise.
"We can now compare computer simulations with observations of actual climate trends in Antarctica," says NCAR scientist Andrew Monaghan, the lead author of the study. "This is showing us that, over the past century, most of Antarctica has not undergone the fairly dramatic warming that has affected the rest of the globe. The challenges of studying climate in this remote environment make it difficult to say what the future holds for Antarctica's climate."
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| ©Steve Deyo, UCAR |
| This map of Antarctica shows the approximate boundaries of areas that have warmed or cooled over the past 35 years. The map is based on temperatures in a recently-constructed data set by NCAR scientist Andrew Monaghan and colleagues. The data combines observations from ground-based weather stations, which are few and far between, with analysis of ice cores used to reveal past temperatures. |
"We can now compare computer simulations with observations of actual climate trends in Antarctica," says NCAR scientist Andrew Monaghan, the lead author of the study. "This is showing us that, over the past century, most of Antarctica has not undergone the fairly dramatic warming that has affected the rest of the globe. The challenges of studying climate in this remote environment make it difficult to say what the future holds for Antarctica's climate."
"Time passes, but they're always five to seven years from the bomb." -- Shlomo Brom, Israel's deputy national security adviser under former Prime Minister Ehud Barak
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| Angel by William Blake |
As Israeli politicians continue to beat the war-drums over what they (now alone) claim to be an imminent threat from a nuclear-capable Iran, very similar hysterical rhetoric is being used in the attempt to convince us of a very different if equally catastrophic threat to life on earth - "climate change". The doomsayers tell us we have ten years, at most, to reverse the inevitable destruction or face the dire consequences of cities under water, earthquakes, tsunamis and the dreaded, if not racist, tropical diseases moving north. While researching this article I came across a blog that made a very salient point:
Quite apart from the science, one thing I find suspicious about climate catastrophism is how there's supposed to be this massive and terribly deleterious change ahead of us, and yet (by what strikes me as an amazing coincidence) we are always said to still be capable of stopping it but only -- and here the speaker invariably assumes the urgent air of an infomercial voice-over -- if we act right this very minute. This is strange, given that we're dealing with what (on the catastrophist account) seems to be a slippery-slope doomsday scenario that has been building up since the Industrial Revolution. Given the long time-frame and massive uncertainties involved, you'd think that predictions of the exact timing of the "point of no return" must involve a fairly significant margin of error. In light of that, it's odd that there doesn't seem to be even one climate-change affirmer out there who's saying "Rats! I hate to tell you this guys, but it's one or two (or ten or fifty) years too late and there's basically nothing we can do now." Perhaps adding: "So we might as well just go out in style -- let's everyone head out to the SUV dealership!" Or "Let's get 10,000 of our best friends together and jet over to Bali for a big wingding!"And that's it: We're always a few years away from the point of no return, whether it's Iran, climate, or some other "catastrophic" event we must act now before it is too late. What if Iran already has the bomb? What if we're already past the point of no return? What will you do, what will They do then?
On the other hand, there are thousands of them who seem to think we're just a few years away from this point of no return...
Crews in New York started to cleanup a massive fish die-off on Lake Champlain Monday. The state sent in some prisoners to help with the really smelly job of getting rid of thousands of dead fish.
Nevada city - The lightning seen over the area on Sunday brought 49 "touchdowns" to the Tahoe National Forest and many more throughout the Sierra.
Recent pictures of the Chaiten volcano in Chile showing lighting bursting out show a marvellous phenomenon known as volcanic lightning.
The photo of lightning bursting out during a volcanic eruption in Chile, above, was a truly awesome sight. Although the picture seemed to show a thunderstorm colliding with the cloud of volcanic ash, it actually showed a marvellous phenomenon known as volcanic lightning.
Usually, lightning is sparked off by countless tiny pieces of ice inside a turbulent thundercloud banging into one another. Each collision generates static electricity, rather like a balloon rubbed on a jumper.
The photo of lightning bursting out during a volcanic eruption in Chile, above, was a truly awesome sight. Although the picture seemed to show a thunderstorm colliding with the cloud of volcanic ash, it actually showed a marvellous phenomenon known as volcanic lightning.
Usually, lightning is sparked off by countless tiny pieces of ice inside a turbulent thundercloud banging into one another. Each collision generates static electricity, rather like a balloon rubbed on a jumper.
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| ©Unknown |
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations estimates 1.5 million people have been "severely affected" by the cyclone that swept through Myanmar and the United States expressed outrage on Thursday at the delays in allowing in aid.
"We're outraged by the slowness of the response of the government of Burma (Myanmar) to welcome and accept assistance," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters.
"It's clear that the government's ability to deal with the situation, which is catastrophic, is limited."
Comment: Hurricane Katrina was also catastrophic, as well as the US government's dealing with that situation.
"We're outraged by the slowness of the response of the government of Burma (Myanmar) to welcome and accept assistance," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters.
"It's clear that the government's ability to deal with the situation, which is catastrophic, is limited."
Comment: Hurricane Katrina was also catastrophic, as well as the US government's dealing with that situation.
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| ©REUTERS/Stringer |
| Survivors are seen at their home, which was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis, near the town of Kyaiklat, southwest of Yangon, May 7, 2008. |
PUERTO MONTT - Chile evacuated the last military personnel from the vicinity of an erupting volcano in its remote Patagonian region before dawn on Thursday, after it spat a surge of fiery material.
But a few civilians refused to leave two villages near the Chaiten volcano in southern Chile which began erupting last week for the first time in thousands of years, a Reuters witness said.
But a few civilians refused to leave two villages near the Chaiten volcano in southern Chile which began erupting last week for the first time in thousands of years, a Reuters witness said.
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| ©REUTERS/Antonio de la Jara |
| Smoke and ash rise for thousands of meters through a thick layer of clouds from the crater of the Chaiten volcano in southern Chile, May 7, 2008. |
