March 17, 2015 - UNITED STATES - Another four U.S. healthcare workers were flown back to the United
States for monitoring for possible exposure to the Ebola virus, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.
The return of the four U.S. healthcare workers brings to 16 the number of Americans who have returned to the United States from Sierra Leone since Friday, the CDC said.
That includes a healthcare worker in critical condition who is being treated for Ebola in a Maryland biocontainment unit run by the National Institutes of Health.
Most of the healthcare workers are employed by the aid group Partners in Health.
Only one of the 16 has tested positive for Ebola. The rest are being flown to Atlanta and Maryland, which have special biocontainment units. They are all undergoing monitoring for Ebola in self-imposed isolation as they wait out the remainder of the 21-day Ebola incubation period.
CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said the agency is still investigating the circumstances surrounding the exposures. - Yahoo.
March 17, 2015 - SPACE - A geomagnetic storm that government scientists rate as severe hit the planet on Tuesday morning.
The storm rated as a G4 on a NOAA scale, which tops out at G5. It's the
strongest storm that's happened in the current solar cycle, which lasts
11 years.
The Space Weather Prediction Center says that the storm is from sun activity that started on March 15.
It warned that there could be possible widespread voltage control
problems at power systems and some protective systems could trip out key
assets from the grid in the affected areas, which include areas of
Canada and Alaska.
Spacecraft could also experience surface
charging and tracking problems and corrections may be needed for
orientation problems.
It warned that satellite navigation systems could be affected for hours and low-frequency radio navigation disrupted.
It also said that the aurora could be seen as far south as California
because of the storm. Images on Twitter showed it was visible in the
pre-dawn hours in Washington state.
Snow delays airline, bus and ferry travel, St. John's cancels garbage collection, MUN closed for day
A March blizzard hammered most of Newfoundland Monday morning, on a day
when most schools and many offices were already closed for the St.
Patrick's Day holiday.
RCMP
and the Department of Transportation and Works were advising drivers to
stay off most of the province's roads and highways, with conditions
deteriorating due to the heavy snow and strong winds.
In western Newfoundland, two vehicles were reported to be stranded on
Route 480, also known as the Burgeo Road. RCMP said they tried to reach
the drivers but had to turn back, given zero visibility and heavy
blowing and drifting snow. Further attempts will be made when the
weather improves.
WATCH: Blizzard slams Newfoundland.
The Burgeo Road is known for white-out
conditions, and there is no mobile phone service for the entire 148-km
stretch between the Trans-Canada Highway and the town of Burgeo.
The Stephenville Access Road and the Hearts Content Barrens sections of
the TCH were also shut down and impassible due to drifting and poor
visibility.
RCMP Staff Sergeant Boyd Merrill told the St. John's Morning Show that drivers should heed their advice and stay off the roads.
"The message is very clear — don't go out," he said.
"The road conditions are absolutely terrible."
Many
flights in and out of St. John's were cancelled or delayed Monday
morning, and mail delivery was cancelled for both St. John's and Gander.
Blizzard warnings stretched from the Avalon Peninsula in the east all
the way to Port aux Basques on the southwest coast. The system has been
moving across Atlantic Canada since Sunday, causing travel disruptions
and closures throughout the Maritime provinces before hitting
Newfoundland early Monday.
Up to 40 cm of snow is expected in eastern regions of the island, which will combine with wind gusts of up to 100 km/h.Snowfall
amounts are expected to taper off further west, with central possibly
seeing up to 30 cm and western Newfoundland seeing between 10-20 cm fall
before the system loses strength overnight on Monday.
Whiteout conditions were reported on the Avalon Peninsula Monday morning, and CBC's Adam Walsh posted a short video of the scene on Topsail Road in St. John's, showing the poor visibility.
The wind and snow made for dangerous driving conditions in on both
municipal roadways as well as highways, with drifting and poor
visibility causing the RNC and RCMP to advise drivers to stay off all
roads.
The heavy snow caused headaches for drivers on the TCH,
including an incident east of Gushue's Pond, where a tractor trailer
became stuck in about 30 cm of snow. Plows could seen clearing a path
around the truck.
CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said the snow
should change over to rain and freezing drizzle on the Avalon and Burin
Peninsulas sometime Monday afternoon, while the snow will gradually
taper off on the rest of the island.
In St. John's, Metrobus
announced that there would be a delayed start to service, with an
announcement coming later in the morning. Garbage and recycling
collection in the capital was cancelled before 6:30 a.m.
Memorial University of Newfoundland also announced that their St. John's
campus and the Marine Institute would remain closed for the morning and
afternoon with an update at 4 p.m. for evening classes.
The
Corner Brook area, which has been hit with a number of snowstorms so far
this winter, should see another 10 to 20 cm by the time the system
passes.
Marine Atlantic announced that sailings between North
Sydney and Port aux Basques on Sunday were cancelled due to the storm,
and that there was a possibility that the cancellations could continue
through Monday as well. The same was true at St. John's International
Airport, where many flights were cancelled or delayed Monday morning. - CBC.
Blizzard warning in effect for eastern Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
A winter storm is expected to drop as much as a foot of snow across parts of Southcentral Alaska Sunday night into Monday,
but forecasters say the blizzard is unlikely to reach Anchorage, where
warm temperatures are expected to return after a brief cold spell.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the Portage
Valley, about 50 miles southeast of Anchorage, and eastern Turnagain Arm
Sunday. Areas that could be affected stretch from Whittier to Seward
and include parts of western Prince William Sound. The warning goes into
effect at 7 p.m. Sunday and lasts until noon Monday, and predicts
winds gusting up to 50 mph and heavy snow, reducing visibility on the
Seward Highway to less than a quarter-mile at times.
Snow-starved Anchorage residents, meanwhile, are not expected to get a
late winter dumping of snow. The Anchorage NWS office said current cold
temps -- which were hovering in the single digits on Sunday -- would
warm to almost 40 degrees by Monday.
"The forecast predicts a
mixture of rain and snow coming to Anchorage," said NWS Meteorologist
Joe Wegman. "The temperatures look to be too warm to get too much snow."
Wegman said a light dusting with up to an inch of accumulation
could hit the Anchorage bowl area by Monday, but it won't stick around.
"The forecasted highs will be around 40, so that will generally preclude much in the way of accumulation," Wegman said. - Alaska Dispatch News.
California reverts to desert conditions
Drought conditions.
Once
upon a time, much of the state of California was a barren desert. And
now, thanks to the worst drought in modern American history, much of the
state is turning back into one. Scientists tell us that the 20th
century was the wettest century that the state of California had seen in
1000 years. But now weather patterns are reverting back to historical
norms, and California is rapidly running out of water. It
is being reported that the state only has approximately a one year
supply of water left in the reservoirs, and when the water is all gone
there are no contingency plans. Back in early 2014,
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency for the
entire state, but since that time water usage has only dropped by 9
percent. That is not nearly enough. The state of California has been
losing more than 12 million acre-feet of total water a year since 2011,
and we are quickly heading toward an extremely painful water crisis
unlike anything that any of us have ever seen before.
But don't take my word for it. According to the Los Angeles Times,
Jay Famiglietti "is the senior water scientist at the NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech and a professor of Earth system science at
UC Irvine". What he has to say about the horrific drought in California
is extremely sobering...
As
our "wet" season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and
snowfall have done almost nothing to alleviate epic drought conditions.
January was the driest in California since record-keeping began in 1895. Groundwater and snowpack levels are at all-time lows. We're not just up a creek without a paddle in California, we're losing the creek too.
Data from NASA satellites show that the total amount of water stored in
the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins — that is, all of the snow,
river and reservoir water, water in soils and groundwater combined —
was 34 million acre-feet below normal in 2014. That loss is nearly 1.5 times the capacity of Lake Mead, America's largest reservoir.
Statewide, we've been dropping more than 12 million acre-feet of total water yearly since 2011.
Roughly two-thirds of these losses are attributable to groundwater
pumping for agricultural irrigation in the Central Valley. Farmers have
little choice but to pump more groundwater during droughts, especially
when their surface water allocations have been slashed 80% to 100%. But
these pumping rates are excessive and unsustainable. Wells are running
dry. In some areas of the Central Valley, the land is sinking by one foot or more per year.
Are you starting to understand why so many experts are so alarmed?
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor,
essentially the entire state is suffering drought conditions right now.
And as you can see from the map below, most of the state is currently
experiencing either the highest or the second-highest classification of
drought...
Nearly 40 million people live in the state of California at the moment.
What are they all going to do when the water is gone?
In
some rural areas, reservoirs are already nearly bone dry. And in other
areas, the water quality has gone way down. For example, in one Southern
California neighborhood black water is now coming out of the taps...
Residents
of a Southern California neighborhood are concerned about the fact that
the water flowing out of the taps in their homes is the color black. That's right; the water coming out of their faucets is indeed black — not gray, not cloudy — but black. Inky, opaque black water that the water company says is okay to drink.
Those who live in Gardena, California, are understandably skeptical
when asked to consume water that strongly resembles crude oil or
something emitted by a squid. The water reportedly also has an "odor of
rotten eggs or sewer smell," according to one resident.
Perhaps you don't care about what happens to California.
Perhaps you believe that they are just getting what they deserve.
And you might be right about that.
But the truth is that this is a crisis for all of us, because an enormous amount of our fresh produce is grown in the state.
As I discussed in a previous article,
the rest of the nation is very heavily dependent on the fruits and
vegetables grown in California. The following numbers represent
California's contribution to our overall production...
-99 percent of the artichokes
-44 percent of asparagus
-two-thirds of carrots
-half of bell peppers
-89 percent of cauliflower
-94 percent of broccoli
-95 percent of celery
-90 percent of the leaf lettuce
-83 percent of Romaine lettuce
-83 percent of fresh spinach
-a third of the fresh tomatoes
-86 percent of lemons
-90 percent of avocados
-84 percent of peaches
-88 percent of fresh strawberries
-97 percent of fresh plums
Without the agricultural production of the state of California, we are in a massive amount of trouble.
And of course there are other areas all over the globe that are going
through similar things. For instance, taps in Rio de Janeiro and Sao
Paolo are running dry as Brazil experiences the worst drought that it has seen in 80 years.
The world simply does not have enough fresh water left at this point,
and that is why water is being called "the new oil". The following comes
from CBS News...
It's
been said that the wars of the 21st century may well be fought over
water. The Earth's population has more than doubled over the last 50
years and the demand for fresh water — to drink and to grow food — has
surged along with it. But sources of water like rainfall, rivers,
streams, reservoirs, certainly haven't doubled. So where is all that
extra water coming from? More and more, it's being pumped out of the
ground.
Water experts say groundwater is like a savings account — something you
draw on in times of need. But savings accounts need to be replenished,
and there is new evidence that so much water is being taken out, much of
the world is in danger of a groundwater overdraft.
And
if scientists are right, what we are experiencing right now may just be
the very beginning of our problems. In fact, one team of researchers
has concluded that the Southwestern United States is headed for a
"megadrought" that could last for decades...
Scientists had already found
that the Southwestern United States were at great risk of experiencing a
significant megadrought (in this case meaning drought conditions that
last for over 35 years) before the end of the 21st century. But a new study published in Science Advances added some grim context to those predictions.
Columbia University climate scientists Jason Smerdon and Benjamin Cook,
and Cornell University's Toby Ault were co-authors on the study. They
took data from tree rings and other environmental records of climate
from the Southwest and compared them to the projections of 17 different
climate models that look at precipitation and soil moisture. When they
made the comparison between past and future, they found that all the
models agreed: the next big megadrought is coming, and it will be way
worse than anything we've seen in over 1,000 years - including droughts
that have been credited with wiping out civilizations.
Needless to say, along with any water crisis comes a food crisis.
Virtually everything that we eat requires a tremendous amount of water
to grow. And at this point, the world is already eating more food than
it produces most years.
So what is going to happen to us as this water crisis gets even worse? - The Economic Collapse.
Magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea
USGS shakemap intensity.
A
magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the Papua New Guinea island of New
Britain on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The
quake struck 6 miles (9 km), northwest of the town of Rabaul, on the
northeast tip of New Britain island, it said. There were no immediate
reports of any damage or casualties. - Reuters.
5-mile long wildfire breaks out in St. Joseph, Missouri
St. Joseph wildfire prompts evacuations
Mandatory
evacuation orders are in place for part of St. Joseph because of a
5-mile long wildfire that broke out Sunday afternoon.
People
have been ordered out of homes along Elwood Street in St. Joseph, and
firefighters want people to stay away from an area between Wyeth Hill
south to River Front Park downtown.
The St. Joseph Frontier Casino has also been closed.
Those forced to evacuate can go to the American Red Cross for shelter at 401 N. 12th St.
WATCH: St. Joseph residents back home after grass fire.
People
in the area said the fire started in Elwood, Kansas, and jumped the
Missouri River into St. Joseph, Missouri, where Elwood Street is being
threatened. It has already burned hundreds of acres and firefighters
said they expect it to burn all night.
Concerns about brush fires have been up in recent days because of warm temperatures, low humidity and gusty wind.
Firefighters said grass fires usually start when outdoor burning gets out of hand.
"They think 'Well, it's a nice calm day out. I'll go and light this off
to burn off the field,' and all of a sudden the wind kicks up and it
get's really out of control," said Eric Allen of the Overland Park Fire
Department. - KMBC.
Jammu-Srinagar highway in India closed after heavy snowfall triggers landslide
A
4-year-old girl was killed in a landslide triggered by snowfall and
rains in the last 24 hours in Kashmir, which also forced closure of the
Srinagar-Jammu National Highway even as air traffic remained suspended.
Huda Jan was killed when she was buried under a landslide at Sunergund
in Awantipora area of south Kashmir, Pulwama district last evening, a
police spokesman said.
While
incessant rains lashed most parts of the Valley yesterday, moderate to
heavy snowfall was reported since wee hours this morning.
A
traffic department official said the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu Highway has
been closed for vehicular movement following landslides at several
places due to the heavy downpour in the Valley and along the Pir Panjal
mountain range.
He said with adverse weather forecast for the next 24 hours, the road is unlikely to be opened for traffic today.
The arterial highway is the only all-weather surface link between
Kashmir and rest of the country and gets closed during winter months due
to landslides.
An
official at Srinagar International Airport said no passenger flights
have arrived here since morning due to inclement weather.
The
downpour has led to snapping of electricity supply in many parts of the
Valley, including Srinagar city, the summer capital of the state,
officials said.
Waterlogging has also been reported from nearly two dozen areas of the city, they said.
Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Farooq Ahmad Lone said dewatering operations have been launched at 17 sites so far.
"We are making arrangements for dewatering from all areas where waterlogging has been reported," he added.
Traffic jams reported from several areas of the city even as traffic moved at a snail's pace in other parts of Srinagar. - NDTV.
Twice as much snow falling in the Russian Ural mountains than 100 years ago... Leading to more tree growth
Climate change does not only mean that the temperature is increasing, it can also change the precipitation patterns.
In the Ural Mountains of Russia significantly more snow is falling in
the wintertime than 100 years ago. The development is having surprising
consequences: The bigger amounts of snow is causing the tree line to
rise. [...]
In the summertime in the Urals its has not gotten notably warmer over
the past 100 years. The wintertime temperatures, however, have increased
from minus 18°C to minus 16°C. Warmer low pressure systems are bringing
more precipitation to the mountains. In the Urals today twice as much
snow is falling than 100 years ago. And that is having an impact on the
treeline."
According to the DLF, a
team of German and Russian scientists say the tree line is currently
rising at a rate of about 4 to 6 meters per decade.
The
scientists believe that the doubled snowfall serves to protect young
saplings during the winter and allow soil conditions that foster growth
during the summer time. Photos of the region has allowed the scientists
to determine treelines that today are up to 60 meters higher than 100
years ago. - NoTricksZone.
Heavy snowfalls cause dearth of essential goods for 3 months in Mugu, Nepal
Snow-covered roads have hampered movement in Mugu.
An acute shortage of daily essentials has been felt in the district due to the halt in transport services for the past three months.
As heavy snowfalls have blocked the roads that connect the remote
mountainous district with the rest of the country, businessmen in
district headquarters Gamgadhi havenot been able to replenish their stocks and have started running out of
daily essentials such as rice, lentils, flour, edible oil, spices, and
noodles, among others.
Around
two dozen trucks laden with daily essentials and other goods from
Surkhet and Nepalgunj have been stranded in Ghucchi, Bulbule, and Dablek
due to the blockade, causing a severe shortage of daily essentials in many parts of the district.
"We have been compelled to turn away customers coming in to buy daily
essentials as there is nothing available except for clothing," said
Harimun Bhandari, operator of the Harimun store, lamenting that he had
to bear a huge loss due to the road blockade.
"Five of my
trucks have been stranded due to halt in transport services because of
snowfall and my store has run out of essential commodities. But even
though the problem has been escalating, the authorities concerned have
not taken any initiative to re-open the roads," complained Rabi Rawat of
Rabindra Trades and Suppliers. While the only airport serving the
district had been shut down for three months for blacktopping of its
tarmac, the shortage of daily essentials was mostly brought about by
heavy snowfalls crippling transport services in the district at about
the same time.
Meanwhile, people reaching the district
headquarters from far-flung villages along with their mules have started
lining up outside Nepal Food Corporation's depot for rice after being
unable to find any in the market.
Similarly, the halt in
transport services in the district have also affected various government
and non-government projects as essential equipments and other goods
have been stranded en-route. While District Agriculture Office said that
the seeds meant to be distributed among the farmers in the district
have not reached the village, text book distributor Nupendra Malla said
that books and other educational materials have also been stuck in
Ghucchi, Bulbule and Dablek owing to the halt in transport services.
"We have been trying our best to remove the blockade and resume
transport services by working in close coordination with the Division
Road Office, Jumla and other government authorities," said Chief
District Officer Shambhu Prasad Regmi. - Ekantipur.
6.2 undersea quake hits Indonesia, no warning yet
USGS shakemap intensity.
An
undersea earthquake with 6.2 magnitude hit Indonesia's North Maluku
province on Wednesday but did not trigger a tsunami warning, disaster
officials said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency.
People in West Halmahera, and in Ternate and Maluku - two cities in North Maluku province - felt a strong jolt for three to five seconds, Nugroho said.
"But they were able to remain calm since they are used to quakes. They responded by getting out of their houses," he added.
The region is highly prone to earthquakes. A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the area in November 2014.Wednesday's earthquake struck West Halmahera district at 05:12 am at a depth of 10km. - News 24.
Yet another cyclone heading for Australia's northeast coast
The category two cyclone is heading towards the north-east of Cairns.
A cyclone in the Coral Sea is forecast to intensify before slamming into Australia's northeast coast later this week,less than a month after the area was pummeled by one the most powerful cyclones on record to hit Australia, the national weather forecaster said on Tuesday.
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology expects Cyclone Nathan to turn toward
the coast in the next 24 to 48 hours, with the storm's epicenter
reaching land about 300km (185 miles) north of the Great Barrier Reef
city of Cairns in Queensland state, driving winds reaching as high as
224km (135 miles) per hour.
On Feb 20, Cyclone Marcia slammed
into the Queensland coast carrying winds as strong as 285km per hour,
causing billions of dollars in damage and leaving thousands homeless or
without electricity. It was just the sixth category 5 (maximum-strength)
cyclone recorded in Australia.
Some 2,000 km (1,250 miles) to
the east, international aid agencies began emergency flights on Tuesday
to some of the remote outer islands of Vanuatu, which they fear have
been devastated by Cyclone Pam, which tore through the South Pacific
island nation at the weekend. - Reuters.
Heavy rain and high winds pummel Portland, Oregon, leaving thousands without power
Heavy rain and high winds combined to create problems in the Portland and Vancouver metro areas Sunday.
Area residents reported trees down, along with some power lines. On Sunday, Portland General Electric reported 45,000 customers without power.The number dropped to about 1,700 by 5 p.m. Monday.
In Vancouver, crews responded to more than 30 reports of downed trees or large branches that were blocking streets, including the busy East Mill Plain Boulevard.
"Crews concentrated on quickly cutting up and clearing out a big fallen
tree so traffic could get through safely on the busy arterial, a major
route for emergency services," said Loretta Callahan, a spokeswoman for
the Department of Public Works. "Meanwhile, Operations Signal crews
spent the day restoring traffic signals that were entirely out of
service or operating in flashing red due to windstorm power outages and
surges."
She said traffic signals at 15 intersections were impacted.
In Portland, a tree fell on a car with a woman inside in the Park
Blocks. Firefighters had to cut her out of the vehicle but amazingly,
she was not seriously hurt.
"All the trees were blowing, but it
was just regular wind, just blowing like 'Shooo!' I couldn't believe
that one tree landed on that car. It was just incredible, almost
impossible," said onlooker Davond Dade.
The
winds packed such a wallop in downtown Portland that scaffolding was
also partially torn off a building on the corner of Southwest 4th Avenue
and Washington Street.
Ben Shumlin was in disbelief as the scaffolding fell.
"I
suddenly heard some screams and I looked up and I just saw this wall,"
he said. "I immediately thought it was from a movie, it felt like I had
seen it before. It was crazy. Everyone just started running, it was one
of those crazy, hectic things."
On Portland's busy Northeast Cesar Chavez Boulevard,
near Davis Street, a large tree fell and knocked out power to the area.
Authorities closed the roadway, from East Burnside to Northeast Glisan
Street, for several hours on Sunday.
Portland
police and Portland Fire & Rescue responded to several reports of
large trees down, blocking roads throughout the area. Residents were
urged to use caution when going outside as large, falling trees could be
very dangerous.
In Northwest Portland, heavy rains caused a landslide that came within inches of tumbling onto a home.
Portland officials said the heavy rainfall also caused sewage to overflow into the Willamette River early Sunday.
An
advisory warned that people and their pets should avoid contact with
river water between the Sellwood Bridge and Kelley Point Park, where the
Willamette and Columbia rivers meet. That means no jet skiing or
swimming, because water could be swallowed, according to the Bureau of
Environmental Services. Anyone who chooses to fish within 48 hours of
sewage overflow, should cook the fish thoroughly to kill bacteria.
WATCH: Scaffold falling off building downtown Portland, Oregon.
WATCH: City still cleaning up after storm.
Further out, along Walker Road in Beaverton, a downed tree blocked a neighborhood street and nearly smashed a car.
In St. Helens, high winds sent eight trees crashing down on the Gable
Park Apartments (pictured at left) and two parked cars. No one was hurt
but 33 people had to find somewhere else to stay overnight, due to the
damage to their apartments.
"It
was kind of shocking because I've lived there almost three years now
and that's the worst I've ever seen," said Deborah Stratton.
There was also widespread damage in Lake Oswego and Salem.
The wind and rain had died down by Monday morning and conditions were
expected to stay relatively calm at least through Thursday night.
"Tuesday another weak weather system will push over the area leading to increasing showers or some light rain," said KGW Meteorologist Nick Allard. "Temperatures will stay in the lower-60s and I expect really nice and sunny weather through Thursday." - KGW.
March 17, 2015 - EARTH - The
following constitutes the latest reports of unusual and symbolic animal
behavior, mass die-offs, beaching and stranding of mammals, and the
appearance of rare creatures.
Hundreds of dead fish found along Chesapeake canal in Virginia
Over the weekend hundreds of fish washed up along the shore around the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake.
Over the weekend hundreds of fish washed up along the shore around the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake.
Local fisherman that live along the Gilmerton Canal in Chesapeake contacted Newschannel 3 Sunday morning about the wash up.
The fish were found on the shore stretching from the canal into the
Deep Creek waterway. Hundreds more were also seen floating.
It is not clear the exact type of the fish, but fishermen believe a majority of them are trout.
Fishermen believe that the long and cold winter is to blame.Plus,
a Dominion Power plant that used to discharge warm water into the area
no longer runs. They referred to it as the hot ditch.
"Now that the power plant has ceased operation, there is no more warm water. There is no more hot ditch."
Therefore, the fish aren't surviving in the cold water.
They say their hope is that the fish will somehow adapt to the new temperature pattern of cold water.
"There is no replacing the hot water source," said Czarny. - WTKR.
Michigan's bald eagles are the most contaminated birds in the world
Bald eagle.
A study published last month in the Journal of Great Lakes Research
suggests the livers of Michigan's bald eagles are severely contaminated
with phased-out flame retardant chemicals, more so than any other bird
on the planet.
While the area's bald eagle population is stable, the chemicals have been known to impair reproduction and disrupt hormones.
Manufacturers began using polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, in
furniture, electronics and clothing in an effort to make household
products safer. The chemicals were phased-out in the early 2000s, but
traces can still be found in the air, dirt and in people. Nil
Basu, associate professor at McGill University and lead author of the
study, told Environmental Health News that PDBEs "are everywhere".
"They build up in the food chains so that top predators - such as bald eagles - accumulate high levels."
Scientists tested the liver tissue of 33 dead bald eagles collected
between 2009 and 2011 by Michigan's Department of Natural Resources.
They were tested for the four most common types of PDBEs. All but two had had all four in their liver.
So far, the chemicals don't appear to be having a negative effect on
the eagles, who appear to be reproducing at a healthy rate.
Researchers are more concerned with the long term, as they suspect PDBEs will be present in the environment for some time.
There's also a concern about exposure to other toxic chemicals, such as those found in fertilizers and pesticides. At present, a lot remains unknown about how chemicals can impact long-term health.
"The market of flame retardants is a bit like a whack-a-mole game,"
Marta Venier, an assistant scientist with Indiana University, told
Environmental Health Network . "One gets phased out and another one is introduced keeping properties similar to the one it replaced. It goes on and on."
A carabao's wild run for freedom from a Quezon City slaughterhouse wreaked terror in a commercial area early Saturday,forcing an evacuation at a call center and tossing furniture in the lobby of a small hotel.
Before
it could be restrained, the water buffalo injured three people,
including a butcher and a call center agent. At press time, the farm
animal remained tethered and caged in a freight container outside a
police station in Cubao, more than a kilometer from the abattoir, where
its two-hour rampage ended.
Police said the
animal, a three-year-old female weighing about half a ton and with
potentially lethal 18-inch horns, escaped around 3 a.m. from the Mega
Q-Mart slaughterhouse on Ermin Garcia Street in Barangay (village) E.
Rodriguez, after it was unloaded from a truck carrying livestock from
Naga City.
"Maybe the smell of blood made it run wild," Dante Floresca, one of the workers who delivered the animals, said in an Inquirer interview.
First to be gored was butcher Jonith Rufino, 35. "I ran, but it was
faster. It tossed me into the air with its horns and when I woke up, I
was being stitched up in hospital," he told Agence France-Presse. "In my 14 years at work, this is the first time I was attacked by an animal," said Rufino, who required 14 stitches to a wound on his backside at Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC).
Later, on Ermin Garcia Street, the carabao encountered Willie Aries,
44, who had just bought bread from a bakeshop. According to his nephew,
Aidween Servantes,Aries was treated also at QMMC for bruises and leg injuries after being attacked twice by the animal.
In the second attack, he said, his uncle's denim pants got caught on
one of the horns and that he had to take the pants off to free himself. The carabao then galloped toward Aurora Boulevard where it attacked 32-year-old call center agent Maria Betty Tanion.The woman was thrown off her feet and lost consciousness after her head hit the pavement.
Reaching the Araneta commercial center, the animal entered the lobby of a small hotel and tossed some furniture, according to SPO1 Kingly James Bagay of the Quezon City Police District's Cubao station.
It later barged into the building of Telus International Philippines, Bagay said.
No one was hurt at the two buildings but the call center, where some glass panels were broken, had to be evacuated, he said.
The animal was eventually trapped at the call center's reception hall,
about two hours after the rampage began. "A lot of people helped the
police in pulling the rope tied around the carabao to stop it," the
police officer said.
"I've been a policeman in this city for 15
years. I have never seen anything like it," he said. "The animal was
probably stressed after the overnight trip. Its handlers should have
paid more attention."
Bagay said the carabao would likely still be destined for the abattoir.
Through the Philippine Carabao Center in Nueva Ecija province, the
government promotes the conservation and propagation of the carabao as a
source of draft animal power, meat, milk and hide.
Data from
the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed that some 457,000 carabaos
were slaughtered for meat in 2013, while some 6.57 million liters of
carabao milk were produced that same year.
The latest inventory puts the total carabao population in the country at 2.68 million as of July 2014.
A House bill pending since 2011 seeks to prohibit the slaughter of
carabaos when they reach a certain age: 7 years old and above for males
and 11. - Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Woman killed by pack of wild dogs on Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota
A
woman in the Lower Swift Bear Community on the Rosebud Reservation has
been killed after being attacked by a pack of wild dogs.
The Mellette County Sheriff responded just before 6:30 Saturday morning. He
reports that when he arrived, multiple dogs were still on the scene
surrounding 49-year-old Julia Charging Whirlwind. The sheriff shot and
killed two of the dogs so emergency crews could reach her.
Charging Whirlwind was taken by ambulance to a Rosebud Hospital, where she later died.
The Mellette County Sheriff also said that there have been multiple reports of wild dog attacks in recent weeks.
Gajendra,
a fiery-tempered tusker which used to take part in Mysuru Dasara Utsav,
on Sunday went berserk and killed its mahout at K Gudi Elephant Camp
which falls under under Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve
area in the district.
The incident occurred when the victim
Ganapathi (50), a resident of Nagalapur in Hunasusu taluk, tried to cool
down the flaring tempers of the tuskers Gajendra and Srirama. Gajendra
attacked the mahout, who suffered serious injuries and bled to death
after a while.
Ganapathi used to work as mahout at the elephant camp for the past two decades. His job was regularised only two years back.
Forest Conservator and Director of BRT S S Lingaraju visited the camp
and reviewed the situation. Ramasamudra East police have registered a
case and investigations are on. - Deccan Herald.
7 dogs destroyed after suspected attack on teenager at Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia
Seven dogs believed to have attacked and killed a Kimberley teenager have been destroyed.
The 18-year-old woman was found dead in the backyard of a house in Fitzroy Crossing on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Sergeant Andrew Stephens said that while she had been mauled by
dogs, it was not clear whether that had caused her death.
"Unfortunately
this young girl was found deceased, and she'd received injuries which
were consistent with dog bite wounds, " he said.
"But at this stage the cause of her death has not been determined.
"She's been sent down to Perth now for a post-mortem and we're waiting
for the results of that, but unfortunately it will take some time to
determine how this girl died and what the circumstances were." Pets
known as "camp dogs" or "cheeky dogs" are common at homes in the
Kimberley, with aggressive animals wandering the streets in many towns
and remote communities.
In recent years, shires have been cracking down on the high number of animals being kept at some properties.
AMRRIC (Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities)
has run dog desexing programs in the Fitzroy Valley in recent years, to
try to reduce the number of neglected animals.
Police have confirmed seven dogs were found at the house where the woman died.
All were seized and have been put down.
Senior Sergeant Stephens said aggressive dogs were a well-known problem in the area.
"There are a lot of dogs in the communities and there are a lot of
programs locally both by Nindilingarri (Cultural Health Service) and by
the council to control the numbers of dogs," he said.
"But the numbers do get high in some houses.
"This is definitely a very tragic incident and it's had a huge impact
on the community - not only the family but the people that live in the
area and the police officers as well." The
chief executive of the national animal welfare group SAFE, Sue Hedley,
said the death was a tragic reminder that dogs could be aggressive pack
animals.
"It's vital that the numbers are kept down," she said.
"This is an extreme situation but if the right circumstances for them
are provoked - lack of food, lack of training, lack of supervision, that
pack mentality - it's a risk in areas where there's a dog
over-population."
A report is being prepared for the coroner. - ABC Australia.
89-year-old woman brutally attacked by dog in Plainville, Connecticut
This photo is from the flyer that police are circulating to locate owner of animal involved in brutal attack.
An elderly woman remains in intensive care at a Connecticut hospital after being attacked by a dog in Plainville on Thursday.
A driver for Meals on Wheels was delivering food on Long Swamp Road
around 11 a.m. Thursday, when police said the driver was nipped by the
dog, which police identified as a pit bull.
An 89-year-old
woman, who was receiving the meal, helped the person back but then she
was attacked by the dog. The worst of the damage was to her hands, where
her bone is exposed.
"Severe hand bite, almost to near amputation," said Plainville Police Corporal Patrick Buden.
The woman was rushed to the hospital and remains in intensive care.
Police said they have never seen a dog attack this brutal ever.
"It was until I went into the house and saw the victim and saw what the
dog did to her hand, I was totally shocked. I've never seen anything
like this in my life,"said Plainville's Animal Control Officer Gabby Paciotti.
WATCH: 89-year-old brutally attacked by dog in Plainville.
The dog, which police said was 10 pounds under weight, was too aggressive and had to be euthanized at a local vet.
Investigators believe that people often abandon their animals in the
area of Long Swamp Road. It is an area where illegal dumping is
happening all too often.
There was garbage in the area, and even a sofa on the side of the road. Animals are also being left there.
"I think a lot of people dump dogs because they can't afford them anymore or just no longer want them," Paciotti said.
She said she believes the 2-year-old pit bill was dumped in the area, which lies on the Plainville and New Britain town line.
"It kind of looked skinny and like it wasn't cared for for some time," Paciotti said.
Police continue to search for the owner of the dog. They have posted
flyers in Plainville and New Britain. Anyone with any information on
where the dog may have come from should contact Plainville police at
(860)747-1616.
For those who can no longer keep a pet should drop it off at a local humane society or to a rescue agency. - WFSB.
Man in serious condition following attack by his pet zebra in Searcy, Arkansas
Zebra
A
Searcy man is still at a Little Rock hospital in serious condition
after his pet zebra attacked him Sunday night, police say.
Officers were called to the White County Medical Center about a man who
had been attacked by his own zebra, Searcy Police Department spokesman
Cpl. Steve Hernandez said.
The man had already been transported to the UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock by the time police arrived, Hernandez said.
Hernandez said the man is still at the hospital, and reports list him in serious condition.
Officers won't take any action since the zebra is owned by the man, Hernandez said.
"If this would have been someone else's zebra that attacked him, there would be more to it," Hernandez said.
The man didn't indicate what caused the pet to attack him, Hernandez said. - Arkansas Online.
Spectacular: The meteor captured over Loch Ness by tour guide John MacDonald
March 17, 2015 - SCOTLAND - When
tourist guide John Alasdair MacDonald snapped a landscape shot across
the lake he accidentally captured a giant shooting star
This spectacular picture shows the 'fluke' moment a fireball meteor was pictured soaring over the Loch Ness last night.
Gobsmacked John MacDonald, 42, went for a walk at 9pm when he snapped the rare sight lighting up the sky.
The meteor was so bright it would have terrified Nessie and even caused
panicked locals to phone the coastguard after mistaking it for a
distress flare.
John, a tour guide who lives near the lake,
snapped the 30-second long exposure picture with a standard Sony RX100
compact camera.
He told Mirror Online: "We had really good weather in the Highlands over the past few days so the sky was clear all weekend.
"I decided to pop down to get some pictures for my website and set up my camera for a 30-second long exposure.
"Before last night I had never seen a shooting star so I was completely stunned when it happened."
Giant fireball meteors - or shooting stars - are rarely seen so to capture one on camera is an incredible feat.
John added: "It's a once in a lifetime thing, I think I was just
extremely lucky and for it to take place in the middle of the picture as
well - it was just the perfect picture." - Daily Mirror.
