Earth Changes
BEIJING - At least three powerful aftershocks hit southwest China's quake area on Thursday, killing one elderly person and injuring more than a dozen, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Brownsville, TX - After Hurricane Dolly unleashed a fury of damaging winds and wicked rain on the US-Mexico coastline and diminished to a tropical storm, widespread flooding along the populous Rio Grande Valley became the top concern on Thursday.
Dolly, the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic storm season to make landfall, dumped up to 12 inches of rain in the first few hours after coming ashore at the barrier island of South Padre Island, where it ripped off roofs, snapped trees and left about 155,000 residents without power across the region.
Residents emerged from their homes and shelters to walk through streets littered with debris, toppled street lights and downed power poles.
"Everything is gone. Everything got wet," said Amber Acevado, who runs a flooring store on South Padre Island. "You stand here inside the store, you can see right through to the outside."
Dolly, the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic storm season to make landfall, dumped up to 12 inches of rain in the first few hours after coming ashore at the barrier island of South Padre Island, where it ripped off roofs, snapped trees and left about 155,000 residents without power across the region.
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| ©REUTERS/Tomas Bravo |
| A woman shields her baby from the rain after evacuating from a flooded neighbourhood in Matamoros July 23, 2008. |
Residents emerged from their homes and shelters to walk through streets littered with debris, toppled street lights and downed power poles.
"Everything is gone. Everything got wet," said Amber Acevado, who runs a flooring store on South Padre Island. "You stand here inside the store, you can see right through to the outside."
Terrified workers at a mining compound in one of Russia's most isolated regions are refusing to go to work after a pack of giant bears attacked and ate two of their colleagues.
At least 30 of the hungry animals have been seen prowling close to the mines in northern Kamchatka in search of food, where the mangled remains of the two workers, both guards, were found last week.
The co-workers at the compound in the Olyotorsky district are trapped and frightened: the gruesome discovery has left them too scared to venture out. A team of snipers, with orders to shoot the bears, is now being dispatched to confront the invasion after government officials authorised an off-season hunt.
At least 30 of the hungry animals have been seen prowling close to the mines in northern Kamchatka in search of food, where the mangled remains of the two workers, both guards, were found last week.
The co-workers at the compound in the Olyotorsky district are trapped and frightened: the gruesome discovery has left them too scared to venture out. A team of snipers, with orders to shoot the bears, is now being dispatched to confront the invasion after government officials authorised an off-season hunt.
One of the latest bits of nonsense to emerge from our benighted Scottish Executive is the assertion that "Scots cause five times more damage to the planet than the average Chinese".
Feeling guilty? Then don't! According to one of my constituents, a lady of no mean intellect, 'climate change' is the new, 21st Century tyranny. Marx, Stalin and Tommy Sheridan are replaced by the gurus of the G8 stage and a vast new industry of high-salaried, taxpayer-funded, environmental jobsworths.
Feeling guilty? Then don't! According to one of my constituents, a lady of no mean intellect, 'climate change' is the new, 21st Century tyranny. Marx, Stalin and Tommy Sheridan are replaced by the gurus of the G8 stage and a vast new industry of high-salaried, taxpayer-funded, environmental jobsworths.
Authorities in northeast Mexico are preparing to evacuate around 22,000 people to shelters as Hurricane Dolly approaches the state of Tamaulipas, a local defense official said on Wednesday.
The tropical storm, now ranked a category one hurricane, is expected to make landfall on Wednesday with torrential rain and winds up to 130 kms (81 miles) per hour, Salvador Treviño Salinas, head of the state's civil defense authority, said.
The tropical storm, now ranked a category one hurricane, is expected to make landfall on Wednesday with torrential rain and winds up to 130 kms (81 miles) per hour, Salvador Treviño Salinas, head of the state's civil defense authority, said.
A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring at least 76 people, trapping hundreds in halted trains and temporarily cutting off electric power to thousands of homes.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, which struck at 00:26 a.m. Thursday (11:26 a.m. EDT Wednesday) and had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and could be felt as far away as Tokyo.
A National Police Agency official said that 76 people were confirmed injured, including nine seriously. Many were hurt in falls or suffered cuts from broken glass.
Public broadcaster NHK put the injured toll at 103.
The focus of the quake was 108 km (67 miles) below the surface of the earth in Iwate prefecture, a mountainous, sparsely populated region.
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The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, which struck at 00:26 a.m. Thursday (11:26 a.m. EDT Wednesday) and had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and could be felt as far away as Tokyo.
A National Police Agency official said that 76 people were confirmed injured, including nine seriously. Many were hurt in falls or suffered cuts from broken glass.
Public broadcaster NHK put the injured toll at 103.
The focus of the quake was 108 km (67 miles) below the surface of the earth in Iwate prefecture, a mountainous, sparsely populated region.
Due to the effects of global warming and deforestation, more than half of the Amazon rainforest may be destroyed or severely damaged by the year 2030, according to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The report, "Amazon's Vicious Cycles: Drought and Fire," concludes that 55 percent of the world's largest rainforest stands to be severely damaged from agriculture, drought, fire, logging and livestock ranching in the next 22 years. Another 4 percent may be damaged by reduced rainfall caused by global warming. This is anticipated to destroy up to 80 percent of wildlife habitat in the region.
The report, "Amazon's Vicious Cycles: Drought and Fire," concludes that 55 percent of the world's largest rainforest stands to be severely damaged from agriculture, drought, fire, logging and livestock ranching in the next 22 years. Another 4 percent may be damaged by reduced rainfall caused by global warming. This is anticipated to destroy up to 80 percent of wildlife habitat in the region.
Firefighters are straining to put out a rash of wildfires sparked by lightning in Nassau and Clay counties.
Just days after putting out a 105-acre wildfire near Cedar Point and Pumpkin Hill roads in Nassau County, the state's Division of Forestry battled at least three fires over a total of about 30 acres Wednesday and Thursday. Lightning caused each of the fires, said Annaleasa Winter, a wildfire mitigation specialist for the Forestry Division.
Those come after lightning caused six fires over about 55 acres Tuesday in Clay County.
Just days after putting out a 105-acre wildfire near Cedar Point and Pumpkin Hill roads in Nassau County, the state's Division of Forestry battled at least three fires over a total of about 30 acres Wednesday and Thursday. Lightning caused each of the fires, said Annaleasa Winter, a wildfire mitigation specialist for the Forestry Division.
Those come after lightning caused six fires over about 55 acres Tuesday in Clay County.
McALLEN, Texas - Dolly spun into a hurricane Tuesday, heading toward the U.S.-Mexico border and the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley, where officials feared heavy rains could cause massive flooding and levee breaks.
Baby Oysters In France Are Dying Off By the Millions. Why?
The Independent reports that millions of baby oysters along the French coast from Normandy to the Mediterranean are dying, causing a major crisis for France's shellfish industry.
The Independent reports that millions of baby oysters along the French coast from Normandy to the Mediterranean are dying, causing a major crisis for France's shellfish industry.
Comment: This article only serves to add to the confusion.
It skims rapidly over the 55 percent that is estimated to be damaged by, in effect, rampant profiteering, in the form of logging and intensive agriculture, leading to direct destruction of the environment. It then it focusses on the 4 percent touted as being due to 'global warming' and centers on the issue of emission reduction targets.
Although industrial pollution is a serious problem which certainly should not be ignored, the known facts about carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect are extremely misrepresented although, of course, it is often not open for discussion.
There are also other forces at work with potentially far-reaching effects on climate, which are completely ignored here.