Earth ChangesS

Bizarro Earth

6.9 magnitude earthquake in western China's Qinghai province kills 67

Gillian Wong
Associated Press
Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:00 UTC
Map of China
© AFP/GraphicMap of China locating the epicentre of a 6.9-magnitude quake which rocked remote Qinghai province Wednesday
A series of strong earthquakes struck China's western Qinghai province Wednesday, toppling houses, killing at least 67 people and burying many others in a mountainous rural area, officials and state media said.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported on its Web site that a magnitude 6.9 temblor struck an area in southern Qinghai, near Tibet, on Wednesday morning and was followed by three quakes in the same area.

The main quake sent residents fleeing as it toppled houses made of mud and wood, said Karsum Nyima, the Yushu county television station's deputy head of news, speaking by phone with broadcaster CCTV.

"In a flash, the houses went down. It was a terrible earthquake," he said. "In a small park, there is a Buddhist tower and the top of the tower fell off.

"Everybody is out on the streets, standing in front of their houses, trying to find their family members," he said, adding that school buildings had not collapsed but that students had been evacuated and were assembled in outdoor playgrounds.
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Bizarro Earth

Tibetan plateau quake kills at least four: report


Associated Press
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 22:47 UTC
Beijing - A magnitude 6.9 earthquake killed at least four people and trapped many others in collapsed houses in the ethnic Tibetan town of Yushu, Qinghai province, on the mountainous Tibetan plateau.
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Better Earth

Orcas Caught on Film Attacking a Grey Whale Called 'Patch'


Daily Mail
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:46 UTC
killer whale attack gray whale
© APA pod of killer whales attack a gray whale in Puget Sound between Camano and Whidbey islands in Washington state

Whale watchers in Puget Sound caught a rare and dramatic sight from their tourist boat: a pod of orcas speeding by in attack mode and then ramming a grey whale called 'Patch' under water.

After the gray whale dove beneath the water on Sunday, the pod of attacking transient killer whales followed suit.

'Everything was quiet for a minute,' said Monte Hughes, captain of the Anacortes-based Mystic Sea Charters. 'Then the water went into a frenzy. ... You could see the movements of the grey whale being hit underneath the water.'

A short time later the gray whale surfaced, belly up, and jerked upward two or three times as it was being hit from below, he said.

The killer whales then took off, and the grey whale floundered for a time, but eventually swam toward shallow waters.
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Bizarro Earth

Deep Earthquake In Spain Something of An Enigma

Phil Butler
Everything PR
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:17 UTC
EU Earthquakes
© Everything PR
In environmental news, something of a seismic anomaly occurred yesterday in Spain. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck deep beneath Granada. While no damage or even significant ground shake were noted, the depth at 616 kilometers is a little enigmatic even according to the USGS. Deep quakes in this region have been recorded in the past, but this is 2010 - a time for anomalies.

Seismologists in Spain, and at the USGS associate this very deep seismic activity with a powerful earthquake which struck Spain in 1954. Besides that magnitude 7.1 event, earthquakes at this depth, in this region, are not all that common. One Spanish geologist, Spanish Geologist Luis Eugenio Suarez, predicted a month ago that a quake like that which devastated Chile would strike this region of Spain.
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Igloo

UK - What a difference a year makes: Pictures reveal how many trees STILL have no leaves after harsh winter


The Daily Mail
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:14 UTC
late blooming trees in Britain
© Tim StewartLate bloomer: The trees in Bushy Park near Hampton Court Palace, South-West London, have yet to bloom because of the cold winter.
They are normally blooming and green at this time of year. But these trees in Bushy Park, South-West London, remain as bare as in mid-winter.

In Chestnut Avenue near Hampton Court Palace, the woodland seems to be trapped in a time warp.

Last April, the horse chestnuts burst to life with budding new leaves covering the branches and were one of the most dramatic, natural outdoor sights of spring in the capital.

Around the country, thousands of trees are still completely bare of leaves after the coldest winter in 31 years.

Species such as the birch, rowan, hazel, hawthorn and blackthorn would normally be in glorious full bloom by now.

While many are completely bare, others have only just started to sprout foliage in recent days thanks to spring finally arriving after Easter.

But many street trees are not expected to leaf at all.
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Igloo

Time to get your coats out again - as forecasters say more SNOW is on the way in Britain


The Daily Mail
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:04 UTC
snowy britain
© Getty Images
Britain will be hit by a seven-day cold snap from the weekend, with snow, frost and gale-force winds set to arrive just as the nation thought winter was finished.

The country basked in 20C temperatures at the weekend - the hottest of the year - as big crowds enjoyed the Grand National and FA Cup semi-finals and packed beaches and tourist attractions.

But the coldest winter in 31 years has a final sting in the tail.

Forecasters warned of 2C nighttime temperatures - low enough for frost - for the rest of this week, with heavy rain at the weekend and then snow through next week in northern England and Scotland. Frosts and bitter gale-force northerly winds are also expected in the north, with extreme windchill making temperatures feel as cold as -7C.
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Magnify

BPA Hormone Disruptor Now Contaminates Earth's Oceans, Scientists Warn

S. L. Baker
NaturalNews
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00 UTC
Image
© NaturalNews
Earlier this year, research linked bisphenol A (BPA), a common component of plastics and a powerful hormone disrupter, to heart disease. Now, in the March issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, researchers have reported yet another newly discovered danger posed by BPA. Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale University, and his research team have found for the first time that BPA exposure during pregnancy can cause abnormalities in the uterus of offspring and permanent alterations in DNA.

But at least you can avoid plastics and therefore avoid exposure to the BPA, right? Unfortunately, another group of scientists has just announced that's getting harder and harder to do. Bottom line: there is now solid evidence that Earth's oceans have been contaminated on a global scale with BPA.

Katsuhiko Saido, Ph.D., of Nihon University in Chiba, Japan, and his colleagues announced their startling and worrisome findings at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society held in San Francisco recently. He stated that the massive BPA contamination of oceans resulted from hard plastic trash thrown in the seas as well as from another surprising source -- the epoxy plastic paints used to seal the hulls of ships.
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Meteor

More Earthquakes Near Iceland Volcano


Ice News
Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:00 UTC
Image
© Agust Rafnsson
An earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter Scale took place under Eyjafjallajokull glacier in South Iceland near the active Fimmvorduhals volcano this morning.

The quake was accompanied by a number of smaller earthquakes under the northeast portion of the glacier.

According to volcanologist Einar Kristjansson, despite today's seismic activity, all measurements still indicate a slowing down of the volcanic eruption, RUV reports.
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Bizarro Earth

Into the Abyss: British Expedition Explores the Deepest Undersea Vent Ever Found

Claire Bates
Mail Online
Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:58 UTC
Image
© UnknownOne of the world's deepest volcanic vents, which is churning out super hot minerals
A British team has discovered the world's deepest undersea volcanic vents, spewing out super hot minerals more than three miles under the sea.

Scientists from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton were exploring the Cayman Trough in the Caribbean using a remote-controlled robot submarine.

They discovered slender spires made of copper and iron ores, pumping out water hot enough to melt lead 3.1miles down.

The 'black smokers' are nearly half a mile deeper than has ever been seen before.

The newly explored area is a 'hell on Earth,' with a water pressure of more than 7,000lbs per square inch.

'This is the same weight as two small hatchback cars and five hundred times normal atmospheric pressure,' lead researcher Jon Copley told the Daily Mail.
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Arrow Down

Landslide Derails Train in Northern Italy, 11 Dead


The Associated Press
Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:12 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Matteo RensiFirefighters search the wreckage of a train derailed near Merano, northern Italy.
A landslide hit and derailed a train in northern Italy on Monday, killing 11 people and leaving some 30 injured, officials said.

The accident happened near Merano, a small town close to the Austrian border about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Venice.

With the wreckage still on the tracks, rescuers were working to pull out bodies and find possible survivors. The area was cordoned off, said Giuseppe Marazzi of the local firefighters.

He said that 11 people were killed and about 30 were injured, including seven who were hospitalized in serious condition.
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