MASS BIRD DIE-OFFS: "This Is An EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT,... We're ALARMED,..." - 35 Brown Pelicans Found Dead On Grand Isle, Louisiana?!

The brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird.
© Times-Picayune

February 7, 2016 - LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES - As many as 35 brown pelicans have been found dead on Grand Isle in the past two weeks, prompting an investigation by scientists with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. They've dismissed suspicions that the birds were shot but have yet to determine the cause of death.

The dead pelicans were first reported to the Grand Isle Police Department, which asked state officials to investigate. "In the wintertime, we always get some calls about dead pelicans, but this seems to be an extraordinary amount," said Cheryl McCormack, secretary to Police Chief Euris DuBois. "We're alarmed about the number of them."

The brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird, was removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened species in 2009, but it is still protected under federal law. The birds had largely vanished from Louisiana's coast by the mid-1960s, after exposure to the pesticide DDT resulted in too-fragile eggshells.

More than 1,200 pelicans were imported from Florida in 1968. But the time of delisting, there were more than 12,000 breeding pairs in Texas and Louisiana.

Several dead brown pelicans collected by the Grand Isle Police Department in recent days have been turned over to wildlife officials, and others were being collected on Wednesday (Feb. 3) for testing, said Michael Seymour, a non-game ornithologist with Wildlife and Fisheries.

He said there have been several estimates of the number of dead birds, including 14 along several miles of beaches and 20 in a single mile of beach. A survey by a Wildlife and Fisheries employee found 15 or more birds over several miles.

Seymour said officials already have dismissed early reports that some of the pelicans might have been shot. A veterinarian with the department will conduct a necropsy, an animal version of an autopsy, on better-preserved carcasses, he said.

"Hopefully, we'll have an answer in the next few days, but we're not entirely sure," Seymour said. If the necropsies are unsuccessful, bird carcasses might be sent to a federal wildlife disease research center out of state for a more comprehensive review.

Seymour said it's not unusual to find dead pelicans washing up on beaches or elsewhere during cold, winter months, especially juvenile birds that starved to death before learning the best hunting skills. Some winter pelican deaths are the result of parasites, he said. Still others can die in the aftermath of winter storms, the result of being caught in cold rain, having their feathers become waterlogged then succumbing to hypothermia.

"It's not necessarily unusual to see pelicans dying in the winter," he said. "What may or may not be unusual is the number of dead birds. We don't have a baseline of what to expect each year; we don't have anybody counting dead birds every year." - NOLA.

ICE AGE NOW: Here Comes The Siberian Express - Sub-Zero Wind Chills And Record-Breaking Cold Expected In Chicago!

February 18, 2015 - CHICAGO, UNITED STATES - The brutal cold is back. An arctic front brings high temperatures in the single digits and wind chills below zero to the Chicago area on Wednesday.

The average high for February 18 is 36 degrees. Today, the thermometer will only reach 9 or 10 degrees, ABC7 Meteorologist Tracy Butler said. Wind gusts will be between 10 and 20 mph and there could be snow flurries.

Health experts advise people to dress in layers and avoid being outside for too long. Frost bite can set in and lead to hypothermia within minutes during extreme cold.

"It's bone-chilling. But as long as you're not out too long, it's not too bad," Kory Zasadzinski said.

Mary Solomon walks the Adams Street Bridge from Union Station to her office every workday.

"It's terrible," she said.


WATCH: Record-breaking cold expected in Chicago.

James Futrell lives in the Loop and normally rides his bike to work.

"It's definitely cold. I feel bad for people who have to stay out here for sure," Futrell said.

Chicago commuters are advised to dress in layers whether they're driving or taking public transportation.

"My main concern is sometimes the Amtrak freezes up. I come all the way down here and then have to go back home. So as long as everything's running, I'm OK," said Stan Lee, who takes the train to work.

The Illinois Tollway activated 24-hour road patrols Tuesday. Patrol teams will scour roadways for stranded drivers. If a motorist runs out of gas, gets a flat or needs any other kind of help, they should call *999.

RECORD-BREAKING COLD EXPECTED THURSDAY

Record-breaking cold could be on the way Thursday, Butler said. Low temperatures for tomorrow are expected to be -8 or -9, which would oust the current record-low of -7 set in 1936. Tomorrow's high temperature will hover around 2 degrees.

The National Weather Service said a Wind Chill Advisory will be in effect from 6 p.m. Wednesday to noon on Thursday for the entire Chicago area. Wind chill values are expected to be between -15 and -30 degrees.

ICE BOULDERS ALONG LAKE MICHIGAN

The cold weather caused a big, icy mess along Chicago's lakefront.

Chicago Park District officials closed the Lakefront Trail from Oak Street to North Avenue, a 3-mile stretch, because of large ice boulders covering it.

That portion of the path will stay closed until crews are able to clear the trail. - ABC7News.

ICE AGE NOW: "Painful To Endure,... Life-Threatening Conditions,..." - Frigid Air To Bring Harshest Winter Conditions To U.S. Midwest, East Through Mid-February!

February 11, 2015 - UNITED STATES - Waves of arctic air will bring the lowest temperatures and the harshest conditions of the winter from late this week through the middle of the month.

The arctic air will be pushed along by a couple of Alberta Clipper storms with rounds of light snow in parts of the Midwest and the potential for a couple of heavy snow events in part of the coastal Northeast.

In perspective, the benchmark low, or the coldest it has been thus far this winter, in New York City was 8 F, on Jan. 8. On that same day, the temperature dipped to minus 2 F in Detroit, minus 1 F in Boston, 11 F at Atlanta and 12 F at Washington, D.C.

Like the frigid air during early January, the waves of arctic air moving in could bring disruptions to some of the trains in the northern cities. The prolonged cold penetrating deep into the ground could also cause water main breaks from the Midwest to the Northeast.

According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Lada, "The combination of frigid air will not only be painful to endure for short periods of time outdoors but can bring life-threatening conditions for those not properly dressed."

The dangers will range from difficulty breathing to frostbite and hypothermia.

The first blast of arctic air will sweep from the Midwest to the Atlantic coast through the end of the week.

During multiple days, temperatures will not climb above zero F in northern Minnesota and part of northern Michigan.

While on the coldest days temperatures will climb into the single digits and teens from Minneapolis to Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Boston, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be below zero for many hours on multiple days. Actual nighttime low temperatures will dip below zero on occasion.

In the swath from Cincinnati to Philadelphia, New York City and Providence, Rhode Island, the coldest days will bring high temperatures in the lower 20s with RealFeel Temperatures dipping below zero at times.

The worst of the cold will dive southward from central Canada this weekend. The arctic outbreak this weekend will be accompanied by strong wind for a time.

Record low temperatures may fall on multiple dates in the Northeast and South.

In the South, strengthening February sunshine will somewhat negate the frigid air by day. However, even in Nashville, Tennessee, Atlanta and Richmond, Virginia, temperatures may be held to the 30s or lower on one or more days. The cold nights could also cause some exposed plumbing to freeze in the South.

The air will get cold enough in central and northern Florida to bring the risk of damage to unprotected sensitive fruits and vegetables.

Another blast of arctic air could plunge from the Midwest and Northeast to deep into the South during the middle of next week.

"People should take proper measures to cope with the harsh cold," Lada said.

"Be sure to wear extra layers when going outside and bring your animals indoors to keep them protected from the arctic air."

Have the antifreeze and tire pressure checked in your vehicle before the frigid air settles in. Also be sure to check your charging system to make sure your battery is strong enough to handle the cold. - AccuWeather.

ICE AGE NOW: Record Low Temperatures Across Mexico - Cold Weather Kills 12 People!

Low temperatures below zero degrees and snowfall are expected to persist in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Durango. (Photo: NOTIMEX )

January 12, 2015 - MEXICO - In Chihuahua, four people froze to death, three died due to burns and two more for intoxication, while in Sonora one died for intoxication in Nogales and two for hypothermia in Huatabampo and San Luis Río Colorado.

The cold weather affecting much of the country has claimed a dozen victims, nine in Chihuahua and three in Sonora, state authorities reported.

The State Coordination of Civil Protection of Chihuahua issued an alert due to low temperatures, rain and snowfall in the higher areas, specifically in the municipalities of Temósachic and Balleza, where temperatures have dropped to -14C (6.8F).


Other regions with low temperatures are Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez (-4C/24F), Ocampo (-10C/14F), Janos (-7C/19F) and Nuevo Casas Grandes (-6.5C/20F).

Low temperatures below zero degrees and snowfall are expected to persist in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Durango.  - El Universal.

ICE AGE NOW: Mini-Ice Age Warning As Pashmina Withers On Roof Of The World - Extreme Cold Temperatures And Heavy Snowfall Killing Goats In Kashmir And Parts Of The Tibetan Peninsula!

September 10, 2013 - KASHMIR - The famed pashmina shawl that keeps the cold away - in style and at a price - could itself have become the victim of winter. Thousands of goats whose fine wool is woven into pashmina have perished in extreme cold being associated with climate change.

Pashmina is drawn from Changra goats found in Ladakh region of Kashmir state and a part of the Tibetan peninsula, more than 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) above sea level. The peninsula is often called the Roof of the World. Little grows in these areas where the temperature can drop to minus 35 degrees Celsius. The local Changpa nomads live off their herds of sheep, yak and goats.

The Changthang region of the larger Tibetan Peninsula does not normally see heavy snowfall. That may be changing, given the heavy snowfall earlier this year that deprived the Changpas of fodder for their animals.

"In the past five years this is the second time I have seen such heavy snowfall," Bihkit Angmo, 53, who rears goats, told IPS outside her tent in Kharnak, a nomadic settlement 173 kilometers east of Leh, capital of Ladakh. "This new trend of snowfall several feet high has left us quite worried."

Summer last year brought its own problems, leaving areas parched and barren. "It was terrible. We had to go long distances to find suitable pasture for our livestock," said Angmo.

This summer, melting snow brought some greenery back but not before serious loss. The District Sheep Husbandry Office at Leh puts the number of goats lost due to weather upheavals at 24,624. This has seriously jeopardized the pashmina business. Wool from the goat is extremely warm, given the cold the animal has to survive in. With a diameter of 14-19 microns, strands of pashmina are said to be six times finer than human hair.

Kashmiri craftsmen have used these for generations to make the renowned Pashmina shawl, woven with hand and often embellished with fine embroidery. A pashmina shawl can cost about US$200-$600. Pashmina exports fetched $160 million in 2011-12, according to the state government's economic survey.

Now, given the extremes of summer and winter, goats are dying either of starvation or of hypothermia.

Angmo's is one of few families that have stayed behind in Kharnak to still rear Pashmina-producing goats. Some 83 families out of a total of 98 have migrated from this area, according to Mohammad Sharief, the district sheep husbandry officer at Leh.

"For the past several years," he told IPS, "our surveys show that five to 10 families from the Changthang area migrate to Leh city every year."

There are an estimated 2,500 Changpa families in Changthang, according to Sharief, managing about 200,000 goats. Each goat produces 250 grams of wool in a season. The wool sells at about $35 a kilogram.

Nomads from Changthang have set up their own neighborhood in Leh called Kharnak Ling. "All the families that have migrated from Kharnak and other belts of Changthang have settled here," said Sharief.

Motub Angmo, 43, is among those who migrated from Kharnak four years back to settle in Leh. The hard mountain life had got to him, he said, and they moved out after selling off the 300 goats the family had.

"Now that we have no livestock, we go and work as laborers," he told IPS. His five children go to a proper school in Leh. The mobile schools that the government had set up for nomads in the mountains did not succeed.

If things continue this way, Sharief said, Pashmina-goat rearing would come to an end in the next two decades. That would also mean the end of livelihood for about 300,000 people in the Jammu and Kashmir state of India who depend on pashmina directly or indirectly, according to Shariq Farooqi, director of the Craft Development Institute in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state.

"We all rely on pashmina for making shawls," Ashraf Banday, a pashmina trader in the city, told IPS. "Any threat to its production means a threat to our livelihood."

As it is, he said, the Kashmir pashmina industry is suffering because of duplicate products in the market. "Any decline in pashmina production will make it even more vulnerable."

According to Sharief, India's textile ministry has woken up to the problem of the migrating Changpas and initiated measures to encourage them to stay back. "We have a budget of 70 million rupees [US$1.2 million] this year to stock feed in fodder banks to be used in winter," he said. "We are also planning to provide tents and shelters to the nomads."

His department is making an effort to relocate families in Leh back into Changthang. "Last year we relocated two families in Kharnak and created mini-farms for them by giving them 50 animals each free of cost," said Sharief.

Once the families are established, some goats will be retrieved from them and given to other families. Sharief hopes the cycle can continue till most of the families are relocated.

The threat to Pashmina goat-rearing will also mean an end to the unique culture of the Changpas, Sharief said. Most of them are followers of Tibetan Buddhism and have an elaborate set of customs centered around their livestock. Traditionally, the nomads were also polyandrous, though that is changing with the younger generation. - Asia Times.

ICE AGE NOW: Scientists Warn Of Impending Ice Age As Sub-Zero Spring Sows Chaos Across Europe And The United States - Fatal Cases Of Hypothermia, Power Outages And Transportation Disruptions!

March 27, 2013 - EUROPE - Freak blizzards and freezing weather over the first few days of spring have hit Europe and parts of the United States, causing fatal cases of hypothermia, power outages and transport chaos.  In Poland five people have died from exposure since spring arrived on March 21 with overnight temperatures plunging to a bone-chilling minus 24 Celsius.  The latest death toll pushed the total death toll this month to 25. 

Photo: Farmer Donald O'Reilly searches for sheep or lambs trapped in a snow drift on his farm in Northern Ireland (Reuters: Cathal McNaughton).

Bad weather has also claimed at least two lives on the British mainland, where media have dubbed the unseasonably icy month "Miserable March."  The military was called into action on Tuesday to air-drop fodder to farms cut off by freak snow as thousands of homes remained without power for a fifth straight day.  A Royal Air Force (RAF) helicopter was deployed in Northern Ireland in a bid to reach remote farms where up to 10,000 animals are believed to have been buried beneath snowdrifts six metres high.  British bookmakers used to offering bets on a White Christmas now say a White Easter this weekend is more likely than not.  And in south-west Scotland, the Isle of Arran was still without power following Friday's unseasonal snowfall that brought down power lines.

In the United States, where a huge spring storm dumped several inches of snow from St Louis to the East Coast and grounded hundreds of flights on Monday, temperatures were struggling to climb back to normal in most areas.  Nearly a week after the spring equinox, huge swathes of the United States remained deep in winter's clutches. Temperatures hovered well below freezing and snowploughs and shovels were pulled back out of sheds.  A March chill hovered over large sections of the south and the Midwest, but the mercury was bouncing back along the east coast. In Washington, temperatures were expected to hit 15C by the weekend.

Photo: A sheep shelters behind a wall of snow in the hills of Domore, Northern Ireland (AFP: Peter Muhly)

Back in Europe, Ukraine's capital Kiev was still feeling the effects of Monday's record-breaking snowfall, which saw residents skiing down city streets as drivers fumed in vast traffic jams.  Up to 15 centimetres of snow also blanketed Romania, shutting down schools and hampering road traffic in three regions, including the capital Bucharest.  Deadly black ice coated roads in Croatia while ferry services on the Adriatic had to be suspended because of high winds.  No injuries were reported as violent winds tore the roof off a supermarket in the eastern Czech city of Sternberk.  Both Austria and Belgium saw temperatures plunge to record lows, with forecasters warning the unseasonable cold snap is expected to last past the Easter weekend. - ABC News Australia.

Photo: Keith McQuillan (l), Ruth Keyes and Donald O'Reilly (r) rescue a sheep trapped in a snow drift in the Aughafatten area of County Antrim, Northern Ireland (Reuters: Cathal McNaughton)

Scientists Warn Of An Impending Ice Age.

In Germany, a month is drawing to a close which people will not forget that quickly. At least in the north and east of the country, it could be the coldest and especially the snowiest March since the beginning of the detailed records began about 100 years ago. In the Brandenburg village Coschen, the thermometer dropped to minus 19 degrees in the night to Sunday – it was the coldest place in Germany. Even though it was milder in the south, the first three weeks of March were still about three and a half degrees colder than the long-term average of this month, and the few days until its end will not change anything essential, especially since the meteorologists do not expect much higher temperatures until Easter.

In calculating the total meteorological winter (December to February), the measurements from March are not even taken into account, but the three winter months taken together were about half a degree colder than “normal.” And dark anyway.

Ornithologists have reported that migratory birds coming from the south have turned back. Others, equipped with sharper senses, remained longer than usual in the Mediterranean. The flowering of plants is delayed, and the crocus, which formed in the parks during the few mild days earlier this month, disappeared for weeks under 20 cm thick snow cover. The construction industry and other industries fear delays, losses and other cost burdens. The tenant association Hamburg expects that after the winter an increase of 100 Euros will be payable for renters of a 70 square meter apartment in the next heating bill; for public buildings, the taxpayers will be charged accordingly. Several times dozens of flights, such as to and from Frankfurt, had to be cancelled due to heavy snow, highly unusual for March.

Globally, temperature extremes balance each other most of the times, but in recent weeks one has to look very closely in order to identify particularly warm climes in our latitudes. Japan, for example, reports a relatively early onset of spring. On the other hand, the north-eastern United States suffered from snow chaos, in New York, many flights had to be cancelled too in mid-March because of almost half a meter of fresh snow. In the European part of northern Russia is has been particularly cold; rarely has the weather map been as deep dark blue over such large areas.

The blue colour projects far into our regions. Perhaps it is no coincidence, therefore, that Russian scientists warn of an impending ice age. Vladimir Bashkin and Rauf Galiulin have only recently discovered this risk in a study. The two biogeochemists – a discipline which includes the exploration of the Earth’s atmosphere – have drawn up the paper for the Research Institute VNIIGAZ of the Gazprom Group, an address that is surely not entirely free of lobbying interests. Their reasoning, however, is based on findings that the gain more and more ground in the independent science: The activity of the sun has weakened significantly, according to some experts to a degree as during the “Little Ice Age”, several hundred years ago.

However, it is not a variation of the warming sunshine, which would not be sufficient to explain climate changes during past centuries. However, the changes in solar ionizing radiation emissions, the so-called solar wind, could be very influential with regards the long-term development of Earth’s temperatures. These fluctuations are associated with the ups and downs of the number of sunspots. The sunspots can be observed from Earth, they are recorded since at least since their discovery by the German-British astronomer William Herschel in the 18th century. Herschel found a relationship between the number of sunspots and climate impacts, namely the good and bad years in agriculture. His theory of the “hog cycle” was long derided because an explanation was missing – until it was found a few years ago.

Meanwhile, there are other methods to track the variations of the solar wind than by sunspots; by isotopes in drilling cores, sediments, or millennia old ice. And lo and behold: there are clear parallel curves between the changes in solar activity and, a few years or decades later, global temperature – at least insofar as it is possible to retrospectively ascertain temperatures. Taking account of these delays, the ups and downs of temperatures during the 20th century and until the beginning of the 21st century can be explained from sun, whose activity in the second half of the last century was at its highest rate since the medieval climate optimum, which was about one degree warmer than today.

Several institutions, among others the nuclear research center CERN in Geneva and at the state-run National Space Institute of Denmark, are trying to find a physical explanation for this significant relationship. Through a series of tests, researchers were able, to some extent, to form a picture of how the ionizing solar wind affects cloud formation and thus the temperature of the Earth. The delay could be well explained by the buffering effect of the water masses in the oceans. One can only wonder how the work of the scientists, who study these connections, will be taken into account by the fifth “Assessment Report” of the IPCC, which will be published September. So far, it looks as if they will not play any role since the scientists who view man-made carbon dioxide emissions as almost the sole driver of the climate will set the tone.

However, the one-dimensional explanation of CO2 has lately been questioned by other studies, too. For example by a scientifically approved work by two climate researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle (USA), published in the February issue of the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” – one of the world’s most prestigious scientific magazines. The two researchers came to the following conclusion: “The anthropogenic contribution to global warming in the second half of the 20th century has been probably been overestimated by a factor of two”, i.e. only half as large as expected. According to their study, the currents and pressure conditions in the oceans have been fundamentally underestimated.

A study by researchers at the University of Oslo comes to a similar conclusion and will be published in the next few weeks. According to the study, even a doubling of CO2 by 2050, which hardly anyone expects, will not have the dramatic effects which the IPCC predicts. According to the study, the influence of natural factors, such as clouds and volcanic eruptions, is much stronger than previously thought.

So far studies with similar conclusions, though published in peer reviewed scientific journals, are mostly ignored by the media. But they are published more frequently in science journals lately. The current extreme weather does only support them to a limited degree; weather is fickle. However, this is also correct for any contrary weather conditions. In any case, from the perspective of this winter it can be said with certainty: summer is approaching. Also predictable is the next very, very hot one. The only question remaining is this: Just when will it happen? - GWPF.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR: Disaster Precursor - Scientists Struggle To Solve Mystery Of Hundreds Of Starving Sea Lion Pups That Have Been Washing Ashore In Southern California?

March 18, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Hundreds of malnourished sea lion pups have been washing ashore along the Southern California coastline in recent months, and scientists still cannot say for sure what is causing this disconcerting phenomenon.

The first pups showed up on local beaches in early January. Since then, the number of reported strandings has been on the rise, with the small emaciated marine mammals flooding rescue centers between San Diego and Santa Barbara.

Stranded: Since January, more than 500 emaciated and dehydrated sea lion pups have been admitted into rescue centers in Southern California

As of March 13, nearly 520 young sea lions have been admitted to five rescue facilities, which is higher than the annual total for some years.

The pups that have been showing up on Southern California beaches are about nine months old. At that age, healthy sea lions weigh between 55-66lbs, but the animals that have been inundating rescue centers weigh only half that.

Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist with the National Fisheries Service, told Wired that she believes the pups have weaned themselves early and left their colonies.

But being too weak to find food on their own, the critters have been stranding themselves on California beaches in a desperate attempt to survive.

Skin and bones: Pups that have been showing up on local beaches weigh about half of what they supposed to weigh at nine months, and they also suffer from dehydration and hypothermia.

Onslaught: Malnourished sea lions pups line the floors of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach after 18 rescues in two days, putting the current patient count at 84 sea lions.

What remains a mystery to scientists is why the youngsters are leaving home ahead of schedule in the first place.

By the time they are admitted to rescue centers, many of the pups are skin and bones, and suffering from dehydration and hypothermia. Those who can be saved spend a couple of months gaining weight before being returned into the ocean.

The pups' treatment begins with a liquid diet and a gruel-like mix of electrolytes, protein, sugar, and ground up fish bits before they move to solid foods like herring.

Sea lion rehab: The youngsters' two-month treatment begins with a liquid diet and fishy smoothies before they move to solid foods like herring.

Exodus: Experts say the pups have weaned themselves early and left home, but being too weak to find food on their own, they have been coming ashore in a last-ditch effort to survive.

Rescue facilities up and down the coast have been struggling to keep up with the relentless onslaught of stranded pups in dire need of help.

'We have admitted over 250 [pups] since January 1,' said Marine Mammal Care Center director David Bard. 'We normally have numbers in the teens for these animals.'

The Pacific Marine Mammal Center declared a state of emergency this week after performing 18 rescues over the course of two days.

Despite the growing strain on their resources, rescue facilities have been largely successful at rehabilitating the malnourished mammals. Sarah Wilkin, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the mortality rates among the pups are relatively low, ranging from 20-30 per cent.

The bad news is that it is not even peak stranding season yet, and experts expect the number of pups showing up on beaches to go up in the next two months.

Whatever is causing young sea lions to leave their colonies early also has been taking a toll on adult females who have been aborting pregnancies or delivering premature pups.

Precedent: The last time rescue centers in California have seen so many pups getting stranded was in 2009, which was an El Nino year.

No easy answers: Wildlife experts have been struggling to understand what is causing the pups to leave their colonies ahead of schedule.

Wildlife experts have been struggling to explain this dramatic spike in the number of strandings. Scientists have been taking blood samples from animals and collecting data in the colonies on San Nicolas Island as part of an ongoing investigation.

The last time local rescue centers have seen so many pups washing ashore in California was in 2009, when food supplies in the Pacific Ocean took a major hit as a result of the El Nino - a band of anomalously warm ocean water temperatures that develops every three-seven years.

But 2012 was not an El Nino year, suggesting that something else has been causing the young sea lions to leave home in search of resources, often at their own peril. - Daily Mail.

WATCH: Researchers Puzzled Over Spike In Sick Sea Lions In California.

ICE AGE NOW: Poland Cold Snap Death Toll Hits 30!

December 14, 2012 - POLAND - Sub-zero temperatures coupled with snowfall have claimed four more lives in Poland, raising to 30 the death toll since December 1, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

Just two weeks into December, the season has already proven deadlier than the entire month last year, when 19 people were recorded to have died, the ministry said.

It called on the public to look out for the homeless and other vulnerable individuals, who traditionally make up the bulk of Poland's winter victims.

An early cold snap in October already claimed 15 lives in Poland, while five others died in November.

Last year, some 200 people died of hypothermia in Poland, a nation of 38 million.

The majority were homeless, and many of them were drunk. - Terra Daily.

EARTH CHANGES: Deadly Snowstorm in Japan's Northern Alps Kills 8 Climbers!

Eight elderly mountaineers who went missing in Japan's Northern Alps following a snowstorm were confirmed dead on Saturday after some of them were evacuated by helicopter, police said.

The climbers collapsed near Mount Korenge in central Nagano prefecture.

A group of six climbers in their 60s and 70s were spotted early Saturday after they collapsed near Mount Korenge in central Nagano prefecture, a police spokesman said.  The climbers, who went missing Friday on their way to the 2,932-metre (9,676-foot) Shiroumadake Peak, were transported by helicopter to a nearby village but were later confirmed dead, he said. 

The spokesman also confirmed the death of a 62-year-old woman who was found unconscious near Jiigatake Peak, south of Mount Korenge.  Another 71-year-old man died of hypothermia after he made an emergency call for rescue after being stuck in bad weather near Karasawa Peak, south of Jiigatake Peak.  Climbers are rushing to the Northern Alps during the nation's "Golden Week" spring holidays in late April and early May as a climbing season in the region just begins. - AFP.