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US: 6-Foot Python Found Atop Garbage Truck in Ohio

The Associated Press
Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:24 UTC

The driver of a garbage truck found a 6-foot Burmese python on its roof after he emptied a trash bin into the truck at a Cincinnati fast-food restaurant.

Hamilton County sheriff's spokesman Steve Barnett says deputies who were summoned around 11 a.m. Thursday arrived to find the snake on the ground with its tail wrapped around a broom belonging to the driver. A deputy lifted the snake into a cardboard box using the broom.

Barnett says in a statement that the python appeared sluggish at first but revived once inside the box.

Animal welfare workers took away the snake.

The sheriff's office says it doesn't know how the python got to the trash bin area.

Tree Rings Record Changing Snowpack, Research Finds

Brett French
The Gazette
Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:06 UTC

Greg Pederson sees the recent publication of his research on snowpack declines in the West as a prime opportunity to reiterate the difference between climate and weather in this record-setting wet spring.

Pederson, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Bozeman, was the lead author of a paper published last week in Science magazine detailing the decline in snowpack observed by examining tree rings from the watersheds of the Columbia, Missouri and Colorado river basins dating back more than 800 years.

His findings: Not only has snowpack declined compared to past climate fluctuations, but there's also been a "decoupling" of precipitation in the Colorado River basin and that of the Northern Rockies.

What this means is the tendency for the north to have high snowpacks when the south is experiencing meager ones, and vice versa, has shifted to declining snowpack across the West. The long-term implications of reduced snowpack in the West, which provides water to an estimated 70 million people in just the three drainages Pederson studied, portends huge challenges for water managers in the future, he said.

Because the paper's publication has come during an unusually wet spring in many areas of the United States, Pederson has garnered a lot of interest from the media, including National Public Radio and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

"It's actually rather fortunate timing if you have an intention or desire to re-emphasize what weather and climate is," Pederson said. "I saw it as an opportunity to teach people."

Serious horse disease dourine returns to Europe

Horse Welfare News
Tue, 14 Jun 2011 03:15 UTC

International horse charity World Horse Welfare has been made aware of two outbreaks of the serious equine disease dourine in Europe. Evidence of the disease has been reported in Catania and Sicily and World Horse Welfare is monitoring the situation closely.

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which announced the outbreaks, no horses can be exported from Sicily for at least six months, and they recommend that horse owners and keepers of breeding animals understand the clinical signs for dourine. Dourine is a notifiable disease, so if you suspect your horse might have contracted it then you are legally obliged to notify your local Animal Health Office.

Defra reported that one of the affected horses was humanely euthanized while the second was still alive, but critically ill, at the time of notification (27 May 2011).

Synthetic Sea - Plastics in the Pacific Ocean

youtube
Fri, 06 May 2011 22:00 UTC

Captain Charles Moore describes the marine debris research he has conducted on behalf of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation over the past 12 years.

Current concerns include the ubiquitous presence of endocrine disrupting
synthetics in the marine environment, with pollutant loads being transferred up the food chain to haunt fish, cetaceans and humans.

Comment: To learn more about the synthetic sea and how the ocean has become The Biggest Dump in the World, read the following articles:

What is the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?
Pacific Ocean garbage patch worries researchers
Huge Garbage Patch Found in Atlantic Too
Antarctic Garbage Patch Coming?
New garbage patch discovered in Indian Ocean
The world's rubbish dump stretches from Hawaii to Japan
A Passion to Clean up the Pacific Ocean's Great 'Garbage Patch'

Solomon Islands - Dead Fish Found Floating in Lagoon

Solomon Star News
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:50 UTC

People of central Marovo lagoon in the West have baffled over the sightings of dead fish floating in the lagoon since the weekend.

Reports reaching Solomon Star early this week said since Saturday there were schools of dead fish found floating inside the lagoon area.

A man from the area Lloyd Nonga said the sightings of the dead fish have caused panic amongst the villagers.

"Dead fish found here in Marovo lagoon for the last 3 days, since Saturday.

"There were dead fish floating in the sea which caused panic among local communities here in the central part of Marovo lagoon," he said.

Mr Nonga who informed this paper via email said the exact cause that led to the death of fish stock in the area is still unknown as of yesterday.

But he said locals have blamed a foreigner who is developing a tourism resort in the area.

"Locals are pointing figure to a foreigner who is married to a local Marovo woman and is developing an island on the edge of the lagoon for tourism," he said.

Fish 'Continuing' to Die in Large Numbers, Say Experts

Arab Times,
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:31 UTC

Kuwait City - Contrary to the claims of the Environment Public Authority (EPA), the Kuwait Society for Protection of Environment says fish are continuing to die in large numbers in the Arabian Gulf waters, reports Al-Mustaqbal daily.

The society made the statement after studying the satellite images of dead fish found floating in Kuwaiti territorial waters a few days ago.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti expert and General Coordinator of the project on the impact of climate changes on Kuwaiti marine environment Dr Thamer Al-Rasheedi said test results showed a remarkable rise in temperature of sea waters compared to the previous years.

A large number of fish died in Kuwaiti waters recently due to decrease in oxygen levels in the water "and this is a natural process that occurs due to water current and high temperatures," Al-Seyassah daily quoted Deputy Director of Fish Resources Sector at the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) Dr Haidar Murad as saying.

US: Untold Thousands of Dead Worms Plague Ohio

Modern Survival Blog
Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:03 UTC

From Louisville to Cincinnati to Dayton to Cleveland, beginning yesterday afternoon there have been thousands upon untold thousands of earthworms coming out of the ground which have subsequently 'fried' on the surface from the rays of the sun.

Some local mainstream media outlets are reporting that the cause of the earthworm die-off is from heavy rain or acidic soil. The problem is, some of the reported areas have been dry, and certainly not all of Ohio soil has suddenly become 'acidic'.

Another explanation is that it is mating season for earthworms (the Spring), when they often come out of the ground and get trapped on the concrete or hard surfaces, and eventually die from the sun's rays.

The thing is, I don't recall having heard of this kind of mass earthworm doom-and-gloom occurring on such a wide scale, and found it interesting given the fact that so many other animal die-off's have been reported during this past year.

Hundreds of Penguins and other species Wash Up On Uruguayan Shores

Kinetic Truth
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:15 UTC

As many as 600 Magallan penguins have been found dead on Uruguayan coasts; scientists are investigating why so many penguins have died on their way to Brazilian waters.

Authorities said they also spotted turtles, several albatros, and dolphins, in addition to the large amount of penguins.

Scientists are baffled; though it is not unusual to have dead sea life in the area, as large boats do their maintenance in the vicinity, it is very unusual to have such large numbers, as well as the fact that no small animals have washed up ashore, only large animals.

Canada: Two Killed in Bizarre Motorway Accident as Airborne 21Stone Black Bear Smashes Through Car Windscreen

The Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:47 UTC

A man and woman were killed in a bizarre motorway accident when an airborne 21stone black bear smashed through their windscreen and exited through the back window.

Their car was travelling east on Highway 148 just outside Quebec, Canada, at around 10.30pm on Monday night.

A vehicle travelling in the opposite direction hit the bear, sending it flying into the air across the other lane.

It was then struck by the second car, killing the 25-year-old female driver and her friend Steven Leon, 40, who was sat in the back seat.

The driver, a student dietitian who was due to graduate in September, has not been named at the request of her family.

Georgia, US: Fish Mystery Might Go Unsolved

Orlando Montoya
GPB News
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:10 UTC

© Ogeechee RiverkeeperThousands of fish turned up dead on the Ogeechee River. What led them to become suceptible to a common bacteria is a mystery that environmental officials and river watchdogs are trying to solve.

Federal environmental regulators say, they might never know what led to a fish kill in the Ogeechee River. Orlando Montoya of W-S-V-H in Savannah reports, state officials now are discovering dead mussels.

A US Environmental Protection Agency memo released this week repeats what's already known about the kill -- that it was caused by a common bacteria.

But it then concludes, it might be impossible to know for certain what made the fish suceptible to the bacteria in the first place.

Fisheries manager Tim Barrett of the state Environmental Protection Division says, it's frustrating, but there are many factors.

Well this is a new one for me, now our young people, that have shown more backbone, conviction and more moral compass than leaders of the western...

Joan

ICC exposes threats from USA and Israel [Link] #astrology

Javed

Good job he doesn't work for Boeing. With respect to those passed.

Doe Ray and Me

it always the same, if the focus is in anyway blurred, the return can retaliate with mudslinging

Shangri

Any issue that gets hijacked and turned into an idelology is usually distorted beyond recognition. The Earth has had changing climate where it has...

eulogical

Animals
S

US: 6-Foot Python Found Atop Garbage Truck in Ohio

Tree Rings Record Changing Snowpack, Research Finds

Serious horse disease dourine returns to Europe

Synthetic Sea - Plastics in the Pacific Ocean

Solomon Islands - Dead Fish Found Floating in Lagoon

Fish 'Continuing' to Die in Large Numbers, Say Experts

US: Untold Thousands of Dead Worms Plague Ohio

Hundreds of Penguins and other species Wash Up On Uruguayan Shores

Canada: Two Killed in Bizarre Motorway Accident as Airborne 21Stone Black Bear Smashes Through Car Windscreen

Georgia, US: Fish Mystery Might Go Unsolved

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