Archive for June 27, 2012

Miami Cannibal Attacker Toxicology says Marijuana Not Bath Salts, Prescription Drugs or Alcohol

Filed under: Cannibalism, Drugs, Mental Instability, Signs Of The Times, Zombie-Like — Leave a comment

June 27, 2012

Face-Eating Attacker Had Only Taken Marijuana

The mystery deepens over what led an attacker to chew off most of another man’s face as toxicology results are revealed.

1:40am UK, Thursday 28 June 2012

Miami cannibal attack: Rudy Eugene and victim Ronald Poppo

Police at the scene of the attack by Eugene, top left, on Ronald Poppo, 65

Ronald Poppo with medical staff after initial surgery. Source: Jackson Health System

Ronald Poppo survived the grisly attack

Marijuana was the only drug found in the body of a face-chewing attacker shot dead as he ate his homeless victim’s flesh.

Active chemicals from the drug were detected in Rudy Eugene’s system, but there was no sign of illegal or prescription drugs, or alcohol.

The 31-year-old’s girlfriend had previously said he must have been drugged without his knowledge before the attack on 65-year-old Ronald Poppo in Florida.

The results were released weeks after a Miami police union official speculated that Eugene’s bizarre behavior may have meant he was under the influence of “bath salts”, a synthetic stimulant which can cause aggression and hallucinations.

Another woman identifying herself as his girlfriend had suggested he might have been under the influence of a voodoo curse.

It remains unclear what led Eugene – said to be a religious man who read the Bible and the Koran – to take off all his clothes and carry out the grisly assault on Mr Poppo, who was also stripped naked and beaten.

The police officer who shot Eugene dead said he growled when he told him to stop before continuing to eat his victim.

Pictures released of Mr Poppo in hospital in the days after the attack showed the appalling extent of his injuries, with much of the skin on his face stripped away and his nose missing.

Related stories
June 7: Face-Eater’s Girlfriend ‘Felt Safe’ With Him
June 2: Cannibal Attack – 911 Calls Released

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Tags: Bath Salt, Bible, cannabis, Eugene, Florida, Miami, Poppo, Ronald Poppo

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More Tepco Lies And Government Runaround

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June 27, 2012

Richard Wilcox
Activist Post

One thing that Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) can be relied upon for: a never ending stream of disinformation with cesium laden piles of putridity.

Firstly, there is the matter of the Unit 4 spent fuel pool, that many experts claim could collapse in a major earthquake leading to massive releases of radiation.

When I sent the story written by Japanese Diplomat, Akio Matsumura, to a Japanese professor I know whose focus is international relations, the tenure-track professor dismissed it as “tabloid journalism.” Talk about a nation with its focus on its own navel, they don’t even know what danger they are in despite the 3/11 catastrophe.

Can you imagine what respectable people who attend conferences and wear suits and ties would have said of someone like me if I went on a campaign to alert people of the disaster that awaited Japan pre-March 2011? I would have been completely ignored or laughed at as a Cassandra and conspiracy nut! So were many sincere anti-nuclear activists at the Citizens Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo.

Now we have to attend to the matter of Tepco’s arrogant stupidity, snideness and snottiness. On April 26, 2012, Tepco attempted to refute claims by Arnie Gunderson and other nuclear experts that the Unit 4 fuel pool building was tilting. Tepco stated that “[t]he No. 4 reactor building is not tilted and it, including the storage pool, will not be destroyed by a quake” (1).

Yet, very recently we learned from NHK and Tepco itself that the Unit 4 building is less stable than previously thought. NHK, the conservative government-run news station reports of “Tilted walls found at Fukushima No.4 reactor” which is different than the entire building being tilted, but does indicate serious problems (2).

Tepco itself has admitted that the Reactor 4 bulge is worse than previously announced. The Fukushima Diary website reports that “[t]he South-West corner of reactor 4 building turned out to be bulged” and leaning outward. This clearly contradicts Tepco’s earlier illogical stance quoted above and analyzed and debunked elsewhere (3; 4; 5).

There is more evidence of contradictions from Tepco (i.e., the Nuclear Village), who appear to run the Japanese government, based on statements made by Tepco in a recent news report, versus what the government has stated regarding the speed to which Tepco will remove the fuel rods from the badly damaged Unit 4 building. Perhaps international pressure along with vociferous anti-nuclear domestic protests are working to some extent, given the following report:

Workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant will begin removing fuel rods from a damaged reactors a year ahead of schedule, a government minister said June 21, a move to address concerns about the risk of a new quake that could cause a further accident and scatter more radioactive debris. ‘We would like to start taking out undamaged fuel this year. Preparation is now under way,’ Japan’s nuclear crisis minister, Goshi Hosono, told Reuters in an interview (6).

However, in the recent news report aired on June 25, 2012, by ABC Australia (7), we learn from the Tepco spokesman that they have no plans to remove the fuel rods until 2013.

Read Full Article

Japan: Fukushima reactor building is tilting, Tepco not worried (crofsblogs.typepad.com)
Fukushima Daiichi Building Tilting but Not a Risk (nytimes.com)
TEPCO Still Unable to Find Fukushima Leaks (fukushimaupdate.com)
If there’s nothing wrong at Fukushima, why won’t they allow outside experts to inspect the plant? (EndtheLie.com)
Tepco nationalisation to go ahead (bbc.co.uk)
Experts warn of possible catastrophe at Japan reactor (thehindu.com)
Japan set to power up nuclear reactor amid protests (edition.cnn.com)
Growing Fear Over Fukushima Fuel Pool 4 as Wall Bulge Detected (commondreams.org)
Reactor4 foundation is so soft that they need soil stabilization (fukushima-diary.com)

Tags: Arnie Gunderson, Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Goshi Hosono, Government of Japan, Japan, NHK, Nuclear fuel, Tepco, Tokyo Electric Power Company

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Mr. Obama is trying to hush up the details of the unsuccessful operation against the Mexican mafia.

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June 27, 2012

Obamagate

Vladimir Gladkov

Obamagate

Photo: EPA

The popularity of US President Barak Obama is continuing to decrease. Recently, another scandal broke out which made it decrease further. It has become known that the US secret services had failed an operation against the Mexican mafia. However, for some reason, Mr. Obama is trying to hush up the details of the unsuccessful operation.

The governor of Texas Rick Perry has compared these attempts of Mr. Obama to the notorious attempts of President Nixon to hush up the Watergate scandal.

Mr. Perry, probably, really has the right to say so. The fact itself that the secret services failed this operation works against the popularity of the current US president. It seems to be understood by everybody that the best thing to keep a good reputation after making a mistake is to openly acknowledge it and to apologize for it. But the US administration, for some reason, has chosen the worst scenario – the policy of hushing up the details of this mistake.

The operation, called “Fast and Furious,” was carried out by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was planned that agents of this bureau, under the guise of weapon smugglers, would sell weapons to Mexican criminal groups, and, then, catch them red-handed.

The first part of this plan was successful. A big amount of weapons was really sold to the Mexican mafia. However, it turned out that not all the criminals were caught red-handed. Moreover, the largest part of these weapons remained in the hands of criminals. Two Kalashnikov guns from this lot were found at the place of the murder of US border guard Brian Terry. It was also found out that other weapons from this lot had also been used for a number of murders in Mexico.

An investigation of this case started in the US. However, some details of this case looked so scandalous for certain high-ranking US politicians that they tried to hamper this investigation.

For example, recently, the House of Representatives demanded that the US Attorney General Eric Holder should be charged of lack of respect for the Congress. The reason for that is that Mr. Holder has concealed several documents concerning the failed operation with weapons from the Department of Justice. For some reason, President Obama, instead of ordering to make the documents concealed by Mr. Holder public, ordered to further keep them secret. (It is in the US laws that the president has the right for an individual decision of putting a label of secrecy on any documents.) This decision of Mr. Obama made many people suspect that these documents really hold something which the US authorities prefer not to reveal.

For Republicans, this was another chance to criticize their perpetual opponents, the Democrats. As it has already been mentioned, the governor of Texas Rick Perry compared this story with the Watergate scandal.

The name “Watergate scandal” refers to the notorious scandal of 1972, when the Republican Party was accused of setting eavesdropping devices in rooms occupied by Democrats in the Watergate Hotel in Washington. As a result of that scandal, US President Richard Nixon, a Republican, had to retire.

Rick Perry stresses that the Watergate scandal, for all its ugliness from the moral point of view, was, in fact, a minor accident in comparison with the failure of the operation “Fast and Furious.” This failure may have presented a serious threat for the security of the whole US, Mr. Perry insists.

The failure of the operation was a serious mistake for President Obama’s administration – but the attempts to hush up its details were probably a not lesser mistake. At present, when President Obama’s popularity is catastrophically declining, such mistakes are something what Mr. Obama needs less of all. Such mistakes may make many of those who voted for Barack Obama refrain from voting for him again at the coming presidential elections.

In fact, Mr. Obama has fulfilled very few, if any, of his promises of his first pre-election campaign. In 2008, he promised to bring order into the country’s home policy. Now, when his first (and, probably, the only) presidential term is nearly over, the US has managed to spoil the relations with Pakistan, which used to be probably the US’s most reliable partner in the whole Moslem world.

During his first pre-election campaign, Barack Obama promised to do away with the legacy of the gloomy epoch of George W. Bush – the notorious prisons for POWs. However, the prisons are still functioning. Besides, Mr. Obama is risking to lose the respect of the Hispanic population of the US because of his inability to resist the adoption of stricter laws of control over immigration. Recently, Mr. Obama abolished a number of tough anti-immigrant laws in the Alabama state, but did not abolish the right of the state’s authorities to check documents of people who are suspected of violating the US laws on immigration. However, initially, Mr. Obama promised to totally abolish such checking, saying that this practice runs counter to the US constitution.

But these are not the only reasons for the US citizens to be dissatisfied with President Obama. Many Americans believe that it is the ineffectual policy of the Republican Party, of which Mr. Obama is a member, that has drawn the country into a deep financial crisis. However, the Republicans are now trying to make President Obama a scapegoat for this.

Only a miracle can help Barack Obama to regain his former popularity again. But miracles, as a rule, happen very rarely.

Obama’s ‘Watergate’ – OpEd (eurasiareview.com)
Why the House Must Impeach President Obama (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
Why the House Must Impeach President Obama (americanclarion.com)
Watergate With Deaths (economicnoise.com)
Rick Perry, who helped immigrant students with in-state tuition, says Obama “lawless” for order not to deport them (trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com)
Perry: Obama Fast and Furious executive privilege ‘Nixonian’ (politico.com)
TOWN HALL: Obama mired in gun scandal (poll) (gazette.com)

Tags: BarackObama, Mexican Mafia, Mexico, Obama, republicans, Richard Nixon, Rick Perry, united-state, Watergate, Watergate scandal

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BREAKING => U.S. Supreme Court Approves States To Follow Arizona's Immigration Laws: Putative President Insists On Violating Those Laws.

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June 27, 2012

Reblogged from Political Vel Craft:

In all the analysis of whether Arizona or Pres. Obama came out on top in the Supreme Court’s ruling on S.B. 1070 today, the key question is: how well did unemployed Americans fare?

And the answer is: Very well.

Combined with another Court ruling on an Arizona law last year, states now have all the legal room they need to pursue attrition-through-enforcement measures that cause illegal aliens to depart from a state, opening up jobs for unemployed Americans and legal immigrants.

Zombie Chronicles Continue: Michael Daniel, a Texas man from Waco, was arrested for eating his family’s dog

Filed under: Drugs, Mental Instability, Signs Of The Times, Zombie-Like — Leave a comment

June 27, 2012

‘Zombie Apocalypse Continues?’ Man Eats 40-Pound Pet Dog

By Maria Vultaggio: Subscribe to Maria’s RSS feed

June 26, 2012 4:22 PM EDT

A man who was high on synthetic marijuana reportedly ate his family dog alive. Just as the “zombie apocalypse” hysteria began to subside, another man in a psychotic meltdown makes national news.

Waco Police Department

Michael Daniel, a Texas man from Waco, was arrested for eating his family’s nearly 40-pound pooch, on Monday. He faces felony animal cruelty charges, according to police.

Daniel allegedly was “on his hands and knees and chased a neighbor while barking and growling like a dog,” according to KWTZ.

After his deranged behavior frightened his neighbors, he turned to his black dog that was sitting on the porch and beat and strangled the dog. When he had sufficiently injured the pup, Daniel began to eat him.

Waco Police Sgt. Patrick Swanton told KWTZ that he “began to bite into the dog, ripping pieces of his flesh away.”

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By the time officers arrived at the scene Daniel had “blood and fur around his mouth,” Swanton explained to KXXV.

He allegedly pleaded with officers for them to use a stun gun on him so he could get off his “bad trip.”

Officer Swanson explained that the police did not fight or stun Daniel, but instead they took the blood-drenched man to the hospital, according to the Daily News.

The dog did not survive the brutal attack, KAIT reported.

Daniel explained to his neighbors that he was high on synthetic marijuana, sometimes called K-2, or Spice.

The psychoactive drug can actually be bought legally. It’s made up of natural herbs and then sprayed with chemicals. The drug gives the user a quick high, but it often triggers paranoia and anxiety.

In Daniel’s case, it made him psychotic enough to devour his dog.

Man On Synthetic Drug Charged With Eating Family Dog (fox8.com)
Drug-Crazed Lunatic Chases Neighbor While Growling Like An Animal, Then Kills And Eats Dog (thedaleygator.wordpress.com)
Man eats roommate’s dog in new ‘zombie-like’ attack (thegrio.com)
Man accused of biting dog in fatal attack (click2houston.com)
The Inevitable Man-Bites-Dog Story (txwclp.org)
TX man accused of eating family dog (abc15.com)
Black Man, Beats, Strangled and Eats Family Dog, on K-2, Waco, Texas (themadjewess.com)
Drugs Are Bad M’kay: Texas Man High As A Kite On Synthetic Wacky Tobacky Eats The Family Dog Alive (bossip.com)
Man ‘on a bad trip’ from synthetic marijuana chases neighbor while growling before strangling and EATING dog in new zombie-like attack (radio.woai.com)
Man ‘on a bad trip’ from synthetic marijuana chases neighbor while growling before strangling and EATING dog in new zombie-like attack (mega949.com)
High On K-2, Man Attacks Neighbor Before Killing And Eating Dog (dreamindemon.com)

Tags: Daily News, Daniel, Dog, KAIT, Synthetic cannabis, Texas, Waco, Waco Texas

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Earth Watch Report – Wednesday June 27th, 2012

Filed under: Biological Hazard, Diseases, Drought, Earthquakes, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Disaster Watch, Landslides, meteors, Solar Activity, Space, Storms, Volcanic Events — Leave a comment

June 27, 2012

Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC)	Magnitude	Area	Country	State/Prov./Gov.	Location	Risk	Source	Details
27.06.2012 06:15:32	2.2	North America	United States	Hawaii	Komakawai		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 06:05:34	4.4	South America	Colombia	Departamento del Valle del Cauca	Venecia		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 05:45:29	2.0	North America	United States	Alaska	Happy Valley		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 06:00:28	4.6	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia	Propinsi Maluku	Yafila		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 05:20:24	3.2	Europe	Italy		Petracca		EMSC
27.06.2012 05:20:44	3.4	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 04:45:28	4.5	Middle East	Iran	Ostan-e Lorestan	Sohran		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 05:21:03	4.3	Middle-East	Iran		Kamar Boneh		EMSC
27.06.2012 05:21:23	2.9	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 05:21:41	2.1	Europe	Italy		Petracca		EMSC
27.06.2012 05:35:39	3.4	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Belle Vue		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 04:20:40	2.0	Europe	Italy		Petracca		EMSC
27.06.2012 04:21:00	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Bagsaray		EMSC
27.06.2012 05:22:07	3.5	South-America	Chile		Monolito		EMSC
27.06.2012 04:21:21	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Alos		EMSC
27.06.2012 04:21:42	2.0	Europe	Italy		Petracca		EMSC
27.06.2012 04:21:42	3.0	Europe	Italy		Petracca		EMSC
27.06.2012 04:22:03	3.7	Europe	Italy		Petracca		EMSC
27.06.2012 04:22:03	2.6	Europe	Italy		Petracca		EMSC
27.06.2012 03:15:23	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Egrikonak		EMSC
27.06.2012 03:05:25	2.5	North America	United States	Nevada	Incline Village		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 03:15:45	4.5	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Gerwali		EMSC
27.06.2012 03:17:34	4.5	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Gerwali		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 04:22:25	2.8	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 03:16:07	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Alakilise		EMSC
27.06.2012 03:16:29	3.4	Europe	Spain		Echedo		EMSC
27.06.2012 03:16:50	3.0	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 04:22:44	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 02:15:21	2.5	Europe	Greece		Panormitis		EMSC
27.06.2012 02:15:44	3.3	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 03:17:11	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 02:16:07	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Suruyolu		EMSC
27.06.2012 02:35:54	2.8	North America	United States	Alaska	Sanak		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 02:16:31	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 02:16:50	3.0	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 02:17:08	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 00:10:35	3.1	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 01:10:30	3.8	Europe	Russia		Dagomys		EMSC
27.06.2012 02:17:09	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 00:10:59	3.1	South-America	Chile		Los Ranchones		EMSC
26.06.2012 23:31:08	2.9	North America	United States	Nevada	Incline Village		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 01:10:50	2.8	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 01:11:09	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 02:10:36	4.3	South America	Peru	Departamento de Ica	El Salitral		USGS-RSOE
27.06.2012 02:17:31	4.3	South-America	Peru		El Salitral		EMSC
27.06.2012 00:11:21	2.0	Europe	Italy		Monteaperti		EMSC
27.06.2012 01:11:30	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 23:10:31	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Kapikargin		EMSC
27.06.2012 01:11:50	2.9	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 01:12:13	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 00:11:41	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
27.06.2012 00:12:00	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 23:10:57	2.5	Europe	Italy		Monteaperti		EMSC
27.06.2012 00:12:01	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 23:11:17	2.8	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 23:11:35	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 22:05:35	2.0	Europe	Italy		La Balantina		EMSC
26.06.2012 23:11:56	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 23:12:18	2.4	Europe	Romania		Muncei		EMSC
26.06.2012 22:05:55	2.3	Europe	Greece		Iraion		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:10:40	2.7	North America	United States	Nevada	Incline Village		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 22:06:18	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 22:06:38	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 22:06:56	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 22:07:17	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:35:35	2.1	North America	United States	Alaska	Montana		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 21:05:23	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:05:49	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:15:30	2.5	North America	United States	Alaska	Kanatak		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 21:06:12	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:06:33	3.3	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:06:57	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:07:18	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:07:39	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:07:59	2.7	Europe	Spain		Taibique		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:05:27	4.7	Middle-America	Guatemala		Yalanculuz		EMSC
26.06.2012 19:35:26	5.3	Middle America	Guatemala	Departamento de Huehuetenango	El Boqueron		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 20:05:49	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Alakilise		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:06:11	3.0	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:06:31	2.8	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:06:51	4.1	South-America	Chile		Lebu		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:07:12	3.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:55:37	2.4	North America	United States	California	Barstow Heights		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 20:07:30	3.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:08:00	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 21:08:22	3.0	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 19:05:29	2.6	Middle-East	Syria		Qarah Jujuq		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:30:53	2.1	North America	United States	Alaska	Drift River		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 20:07:51	3.1	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:08:14	2.8	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:05:57	2.1	North America	United States	California	El Cerrito		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 19:05:52	2.2	Europe	Italy		Le Cremosine		EMSC
26.06.2012 19:06:23	4.4	Asia	Tajikistan		Kandav		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:02:22	2.9	North America	United States	Alaska	Chandalar		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 18:00:28	2.8	Asia	Turkey		Akcaoren		EMSC
26.06.2012 19:06:43	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:00:48	2.4	Europe	Italy		Vallacquosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:01:09	2.3	Europe	Italy		Finale Emilia		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:01:27	2.8	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:08:34	3.4	South-America	Chile		Pichi Pellahuen		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:01:48	4.2	South-America	Chile		Casa de Lata		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:00:27	3.5	Europe	Cyprus		Neokhorio		EMSC
26.06.2012 20:09:12	4.0	Europe	Cyprus	Paphos District	Neokhorio		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 16:40:51	3.2	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Las Cabanas		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 17:00:48	2.7	Europe	Austria		Hart im Zillertal		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:01:08	2.6	Europe	Greece		Palaiochorion		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:45:45	5.2	Asia	Russia	Kamchatskaya Oblast'	Klyuchi		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 17:01:29	5.0	Europe	Russia		Klyuchi		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:01:48	3.6	Europe	Cyprus		Neokhorio		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:02:11	4.2	Europe	Cyprus		Neokhorio		EMSC
26.06.2012 18:35:36	4.1	Europe	Cyprus	Paphos District	Maa		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 15:57:54	2.9	North America	United States	Alaska	Port Alsworth		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 16:35:53	4.6	Asia	Japan	Miyagi-ken	Niiyamahama		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 17:02:32	4.6	Asia	Japan		Niiyamahama		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:02:52	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 15:55:28	2.3	Europe	Serbia		Popovici		EMSC
26.06.2012 15:55:49	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Soke		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:02:53	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 15:56:11	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Kuzkoy		EMSC
26.06.2012 14:51:49	5.5	Pacific Ocean	Tonga		Ha`utu		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 15:56:32	5.0	Pacific Ocean – East	Tonga		Ha`utu		EMSC
26.06.2012 15:56:54	3.3	South-America	Argentina		Nueva California		EMSC
26.06.2012 15:57:15	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 14:10:44	2.2	North America	United States	Alaska	Kantishna		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 13:40:39	2.1	North America	United States	California	Glenbrook		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 13:41:01	2.4	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	El Carrizo		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 13:50:31	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Yenikoy		EMSC
26.06.2012 13:50:56	3.0	Europe	Italy		Pantelleria		EMSC
26.06.2012 13:51:19	3.8	Europe	Greece		Kokkinoyio		EMSC
26.06.2012 14:50:32	2.6	Europe	Spain		Los Llanillos		EMSC
26.06.2012 13:51:38	3.1	Europe	Greece		Vatsiana		EMSC
26.06.2012 14:50:53	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 14:51:14	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 14:51:14	3.1	Europe	Spain		Los Llanillos		EMSC
26.06.2012 13:51:59	4.0	South-America	Chile		Laguna Verde		EMSC
26.06.2012 12:50:29	2.1	Europe	Germany		Stengelhaide		EMSC
26.06.2012 12:10:42	3.0	North America	United States	Alaska	Paxson		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 12:51:36	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Bahceyaka		EMSC
26.06.2012 11:50:29	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Osmaniye		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:26:13	2.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Happy Valley		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 13:52:23	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 11:50:49	4.5	Asia	Japan		Tanesashi		EMSC
26.06.2012 11:35:34	4.5	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Taneichi		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 11:51:09	3.6	Middle-East	Iran		Habash-e `Olya		EMSC
26.06.2012 13:52:45	3.0	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 12:51:57	2.8	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 12:52:36	3.0	Europe	Spain		Los Llanillos		EMSC
26.06.2012 10:46:45	2.2	North America	United States	California	Lake View Terrace		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 12:52:55	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 11:51:31	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Koseler		EMSC
26.06.2012 11:40:45	4.4	North America	United States	Alaska	Biorka		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 11:51:51	4.4	North-America	United States		Biorka		EMSC
26.06.2012 10:50:40	3.5	Caribbean	Dominican Republic	Provincia de La Romana	La Romana		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 12:52:56	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 11:30:42	4.2	Pacific Ocean	New Zealand	Woodville County	Okiwi		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 11:52:29	4.2	Australia & New-Zealand	New Zealand		Okiwi		EMSC
26.06.2012 12:53:17	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 12:53:39	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 10:05:42	2.5	North America	United States	California	DeCamp		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 10:45:31	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Kinali		EMSC
26.06.2012 10:45:52	2.4	Europe	Greece		Archangelos		EMSC
26.06.2012 09:31:06	2.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Iniskin		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 09:40:27	4.6	South-America	Chile		Culenar		EMSC
26.06.2012 09:42:55	4.5	South America	Chile	Region del Maule	San Clemente		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 09:40:47	2.5	Europe	Italy		Buda		EMSC
26.06.2012 09:41:09	2.1	Europe	Italy		Carpi		EMSC
26.06.2012 11:52:51	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 09:41:30	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Bayir		EMSC
26.06.2012 08:45:40	2.0	North America	United States	Alaska	Fox River		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 11:53:11	2.5	Europe	Spain		Los Llanillos		EMSC
26.06.2012 08:35:28	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Camlikoy		EMSC
26.06.2012 17:10:35	2.6	North America	United States	Alaska	Hospital Valley		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 08:25:32	2.0	North America	United States	Hawaii	Hanaipoe		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 08:25:53	2.4	Caribbean	Puerto Rico		Colonia Lujan		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 08:00:42	2.0	North America	United States	Alaska	Iniskin		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 07:50:33	2.4	North America	United States	California	Mesquite Oasis		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 08:01:03	2.5	North America	United States	Alaska	Kaktovik		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 08:35:51	3.1	South-America	Chile		Talinay Alto		EMSC
26.06.2012 10:46:16	2.5	Europe	Spain		Los Llanillos		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:35:27	4.4	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Roworante		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:30:42	4.6	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Roworante		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 07:35:46	3.0	Europe	Greece		Tsakopiakaiika		EMSC
26.06.2012 08:36:19	2.6	Asia	Turkey		Cokertme		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:36:11	2.5	Europe	Greece		Marathias		EMSC
26.06.2012 08:36:42	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Gokbel		EMSC
26.06.2012 09:41:51	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:36:34	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Kahya		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:36:55	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Suluca		EMSC
26.06.2012 06:30:35	2.6	Europe	Poland		Chocianowiec		EMSC
26.06.2012 06:25:42	3.2	North America	United States	California	Yucca Valley		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 08:37:01	2.7	Europe	Spain		Los Llanillos		EMSC
26.06.2012 08:37:21	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:37:16	2.9	Europe	Spain		Las Casas		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:37:37	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Kizilkaya		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:20:32	2.6	North America	United States	Texas	Alvarado		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 07:37:58	2.5	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:37:59	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:38:32	2.7	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:38:52	2.4	Europe	Albania		Rrushkull		EMSC
26.06.2012 06:30:54	3.3	Europe	Portugal		Ponte de Baixo		EMSC
26.06.2012 08:10:35	3.9	Caribbean	Dominican Republic	Provincia de La Altagracia	Nisibon		USGS-RSOE
26.06.2012 06:31:15	2.6	Europe	Spain		Sabinosa		EMSC
26.06.2012 06:31:36	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Mollakasim		EMSC
26.06.2012 06:31:56	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Erisen		EMSC
26.06.2012 07:39:12	2.3	Europe	Albania		Nderfushaz		EMSC
26.06.2012 08:31:10	3.5	Pacific Ocean	New Zealand	Woodville County	Weedons		GEONET

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Volcanic Activity

Shiveluch eruption continues

The Shiveluch Volcano. © Photo: ru.wikipedia.org/NASA/JSC

The Shiveluch Volcano, which is currently erupting in Kamchatka, threw up two pillars of ash, to a height of 6.5 km.

It has been assigned an aviation hazard level of code orange according to the Geological Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The ash particles can damage to aircraft engines and mechanisms and caused an aviation disaster.

Seismic activity is above the norm but there is no danger to human settlements.

Shiveluch has seen increased since May 2009.

Stromboli volcano (Italy): moderately strong activity

Volcano Discovery

BY: T

Powerful eruption of Stromboli’s east crater, showering its flanks with incandescent bombs (photo: Marc Szlegat)

Our colleague Marc Szlegat just returned from a visit to Stromboli volcano whose activity has recently been increasing. Marc observed that there were 5 active glowing vents within the crater terrace. The most spectacular explosions took place from the eastern vent, the cone that had been building since 2009. They occurred roughly every 20 minutes, with sometime powerful explosions ejecting lava bombs up to 300 m height, many of which falling onto the Sciara del Fuoco.
Frequent eruptions also occurred from the western vent, with typical ejection heights of 50-100 m, and occasionally up to about 200 m. A third vent in the central crater and rarely a vent at the extreme western end of the crater erupted occasionally as well.

El Hierro volcano (Canary Islands): continuing earthquakes, volcanic tremor and eruption warning

Volcano Discovery

BY: T

Reappearing volcanic tremor signal (IGN) at about 16h10 on 26 June

While the unusually strong earthquake swarm under El Hierro Island continues, harmonic volcanic tremor has reappeared short time ago at about 16h10 UTC.
The tremor, a low-frequency ground vibration, is thought to be caused by moving magma. It had been strong yesterday and correlated well with a southward propagation of earthquake locations, suggesting that magma at about 20 km depth flew from underneath the El Golfo area towards the EL Julan (south) coast, in a similar way as before the Oct 2011 eruption, but became blocked there, and did not reach the southern rift zone near La Restinga.
After the cease of tremor in the afternoon, earthquakes still continued at high rate, marking a record figure with over 180 quakes larger than M2 yesterday alone, and more than 150 quakes larger than M1.5 so far today.
In other words, pressure continued to cause wide-spread rock fracturing underground and cause small intrusions of fluids. Now, the re-appearance of tremor could mean that magma is moving again somewhere underneath the island. Where to and whether or not it might reach the surface and initiate a new eruption is difficult to know at the moment. It is essential to continue to monitor location and magnitude of earthquakes.

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought

Excessive Heat Warning

WICHITA KS
KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
TOPEKA KS

Excessive Heat Watch

MOUNT HOLLY NJ
PHOENIX AZ
QUAD CITIES IA IL

Gale Warning

CAPE FEAR TO 31N OUT TO 32N 73W TO 31N 74W

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

RIVERTON WY
DODGE CITY KS
PUEBLO CO
SALT LAKE CITY UT
CHEYENNE WY
ELKO NV

Fire Weather Watch

JACKSON KY
WILMINGTON OH
LOUISVILLE KY
INDIANAPOLIS IN
PADUCAH KY
HASTINGS NE
GOODLAND KS
NORTHERN INDIANA

WALDO CANYON FIRE: As fire rages, pets flood Humane Society

CAROL MCGRAW

THE GAZETTE

Kitay and Pizi-Quah (left to right) meet up while many people wait to drop off their pets at the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. The owners were coming from the evacuted areas of the the Waldo Canyon fire on Sunday, June 24.

THE GAZETTE/JERILEE BENNETT

View Full Slideshow

The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region was like an ark in a sea of evacuee worry and tears.

Beloved pets came Sunday, not just two by two, but in every possible family configuration — three dogs here, two cats and a dog there, and even Snoopy the ferret accompanied by three canine companions.

For hours, the driveway was filled with cars lined up to deliver their precious cargoes to the safe haven. At times there was hardly any space inside the intake office, filled with cages of glaring cats and barking dogs, and distraught owners hugging and kissing their animals and saying a temporary goodbye.

In the back rooms and basement there were cages of animals as far as the eye could see. Cats reached out with dainty paws to get attention. Some dogs cocked their heads questioningly. Other exhausted animals were asleep, oblivious to all the excitement.

There are so many pets housed there temporarily that by early evening, Erica Meyer, shelter spokeswoman, had lost count of how many they were housing. ‘Hundreds,” she said. ‘We are at capacity.”

On a normal day, there are 40 to 60 intakes a day. To ease the crowding, the Humane Society was offering shelter cats for free with no adoption fee. (Not those evacuated, of course.)

Officials plan to open another temporary shelter sometime Monday in Colorado Springs. They have not yet revealed the location because they want to complete work first. In the meantime, several other places are offering temporary shelter. For information call the Humane Society at 473-1741.

There have been more than 60 volunteers and staff members at work, many trained in disaster response. “It’s a good system and it’s working,” Meyer said.

Volunteers Sean Kinoff, 16, and his sister Sydney, 12, were busily cleaning cages .

“This is fun,” Sydney said.

Sean was impressed by the Humane Society’s altruism. “I think it is good of them to do this for people.”

In the parking lot, Henry Hess of Cascade had similar thoughts. “This place is a lifesaver,” he said. He had his hands full with his own caged cats and a leashed dog who was very interested in the bushes outside the intake center. Hess and his wife are staying with relatives. But he was worried about two cats who had to be left behind because they hid somewhere in his house.

Dawn Minto, who lives in Manitou Springs near Williams Canyon, arrived with Shirley, a calico cat, and three kittens. She had already farmed out two dogs with friends. She, too, was worried about a cat who had disappeared.

“Our pets are our babies. Our kids are grown,” she said, wiping tears from her cheeks.

Pam Koontz arrived with several children, three dogs and the ferret Snoopy in tow. Daughter Zoe was trying to make Snoopy stay in his carrier.

“He doesn’t like it,” Zoe said. The ferret kept peeking out to watch the goings on.

How did Koontz get all the animals rounded up? “It wasn’t easy,” she said with a sigh.

Eight-five-year old Lucy Dell, who walks with a cane, arrived with her cat Sugary. “I hate to leave her,” she said.

Dell has lived in a cottage in Manitou for more than 23 years but was more concerned about the cat than her personal belongings. “I’ve had him for a year and a half,” she said.

She was accompanied by her landlord, Firuz Labib, “Lucy has lived there for years before we bought the place,” he said. We don’t call her a tenant. She is our good friend and we wanted to help her with her cat.”

Those not bringing in animals came bearing gifts of food, blankets and empty cages. Kristine Ballou brought sodas and munches for the volunteers.

“I have three cats and a dog that I got them here,” she said. “They do wonderful work.”

Karen McDonough unloaded several empty crates she was donating to the shelter.

Her cat Mia, 9, died recently of kidney disease.

Tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m doing this for the other animals in honor of her.”
—
Contact Carol McGraw: 636-0371 Twitter @mcgrawatgazette Facebook Carol McGraw

Firefighters Continue to Battle Colorado Wildfire

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The High Park Fire continues to break hearts as the number of homes it has destroyed grew to nearly 250 over the weekend.

Crews previously confirmed that 191 homes had been destroyed by the fire, which has grown to 130 square miles and is 45 percent contained. Friday’s destruction brings that toll up to 248 homes. No structures or homes were damaged on Saturday, incident commander Bill Hahnenberg said in a media briefing Sunday morning.

The fire, which has cost $29.6 million to battle since it began June 9 due to lightning, claimed 80 structures — 57 homes — in Glacier View Meadows subdivision and the Deer Meadows area northwest of Fort Collins alone when it ripped through the area Friday.
Residents learned the fate of their homes on Sunday during a meeting for evacuees at The Ranch in Loveland.

Sunday night, the skies above Fort Collins opened up, pouring rain — and accompanying lightning — down on the area. The squall’s effects on the fire won’t be fully known until Monday morning, when it will be easier to see where rain helped firefighters and where smoke from lightning will signal more work.

In Glacier View, officials say a dozer line firefighters built saved “hundreds of homes,” while direct structure protection measures saved 40 more. Glacier View Fire Chief Greg Niswender told evacuees Sunday when the fire jumped the Poudre River at Stevens Gulch it was a mile wide and went through the 12th filing in less than 30 minutes.

“There was not a lot anyone was going to do,” he said, his voice cracking. Minutes later he had to tell friends and neighbors their homes were gone.

“This is the worst thing (Glacier View) has ever faced, but I wouldn’t want to face it with anyone else,” he told the anxious crowd.
The danger isn’t over for Glacier View residents or anyone living in or near the fire zone, officials cautioned. And, while more evacuees are going home, many are still displaced or on orders to be ready to go if needed.

With only 45 percent containment, the fire is still a threat.
Crews will continue to battle the fire in its northwest corner near Glacier View, and also will focus containment efforts on the burn area’s southwest corner to prevent its spread toward Pingree Park.
Temperatures in the mountains are expected to be in the 90s Monday with low humidity.

Meanwhile, a separate blaze prompted the evacuation of approximately 11,000 residents Sunday and is threatening a resort area near Manitou Springs.

The Waldo Canyon Fire is burning near Waldo Canyon off of Highway 24 and is at zero percent containment. The fire is at 3,600 acres and smoke could be seen from the Denver area over the weekend.
About 450 people are working the fire, just to the west of Colorado Springs. Officials said resources include three heavy air tankers, four single-engine air tankers and at least three helicopters.

By PAT FERRIER
Fort Collins Coloradoan

25.06.2012

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of Utah, Saratoga Springs

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Friday, 22 June, 2012 at 18:05 (06:05 PM) UTC.

Description

A massive, out of control wildfire on Lake Mountain prompted evacuations Friday morning and was bearing down on an explosives factory. “It’s close enough to where we’re really worried,” BLM spokeswoman Cami Lee said of the explosives plant. An evacuation of the Benches subdivision in Saratoga Springs has now begun. Officials have begun notifying residents door to door and through reverse 911 telephone calls. The evacuation area is everything south of Pony Express Parkway, east of Smith Ranch Road and east to Redwood Road. The affected subdivisions in Eagle Mountain include Kiowa Valley, Eagle Top, Fremont Springs and SilverLake. Highway 68 also was closed south of 400 North in Saratoga Springs. A shelter is being set up at West Lake High School. Just after 11 a.m. the temperature was already 90 degrees and the wind was blowing at 15 mph with gust up to 19 mph. Authorities were scrambling around 10 a.m. to notify residents of at least 250 homes in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain that they needed to leave the area. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Teresa Rigby said that a change in wind was driving the Dump Fire east and it had come within a quarter of a mile of a neighborhood. The thick brown smoke was filling the air over much of northern Utah County and drifting east over the valley. An air tanker was flying overhead, visible only occasionally before it disappeared into the smoke. In Saratoga Springs the city’s water department has shut off irrigation wast er to all location where culinary water is being used for irrigation, according to the city’s Facebook page, so water tanks can fill and provide water and water pressure if the fire reaches homes. The city also is asking residents to turn off their irrigation systems this weekend. According to the BLM, the fire was being fought Friday morning by four hand crews, various fire engines, and a handful of helicopters. Additional hand crews were en route.

26.06.2012

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of Colorado, [Pike National Forest]

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 18 June, 2012 at 03:15 (03:15 AM) UTC.

Description

The fire burning behind Lake George in Park County is now 200 acres, and it is 0% contained. According to a park ranger for the Pike National Forest, the 11 mile canyon has been evacuated. That is between 150 and 200 homes. Everyone else in that area is under pre-evacuation orders. That means they must be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. County road 96 and 92 at Highway 24 are both shut down right now. That fire started around noon on the Indian Paintbrush Ranch. We’ve heard several reports from witnesses who say they saw someone fire shots, and that may have hit a propane tank causing an explosion. But, Park Rangers say they are still investigating what caused this fire. Among the evacuees, about 500 campers with Camp Alexander. They were at 11 mile canyon. The Camp Director tells us they are all safely out of the fire’s reach. Those campers are from all over Colorado, and out of state. They will have to stay the night at Woodland Park High School and/or Middle School. There are more than 40 firefighters fighting this fire, and witnesses say they have also seen drops from helicopters.

25.06.2012

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of Colorado, [Fort Collins (Paradise Park) area]

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Sunday, 10 June, 2012 at 07:32 (07:32 AM) UTC.

Description

Crews on Saturday battled a fast-moving wildfire in northern Colorado that has scorched about 8,000 acres and prompted several dozen evacuation orders. Larimer County Sheriff’s Office spokesman John Schulz said the fire was reported just before 6 a.m. Saturday in the mountainous Paradise Park area about 25 miles northwest of Fort Collins. The blaze expanded rapidly during the late afternoon and evening and by Saturday night, residents living along several roads in the region had been ordered to evacuate and many more were warned that they might have to flee. An evacuation center has been set up at a Laporte middle school. Officials didn’t specify how many residents had evacuated but said they had sent out 800 emergency notifications alerting people to the fire and the possibility that might have to flee. “Right now we’re just trying to get these evacuations done and get people safe,” Schulz told Denver-based KMGH-TV, adding that “given the extreme heat in the area, it makes it a difficult time for (the firefighters).” Temperatures near Fort Collins reached the mid-80s Saturday afternoon with a humidity level of between 5 percent and 10 percent. Ten structures have been damaged, although authorities were unsure if they were homes or some other kind of buildings. No injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire was unknown. Aerial footage from KMGH-TV showed flames coming dangerously close to what appeared to be several outbuildings and at least one home in the area, as well as consuming trees and sending a large plume of smoke into the air. Two heavy air tankers, five single-engine air tankers and four helicopters were on the scene to help fight the blaze, which appeared to be burning on private and U.S. Forest Service land and was being fueled by sustained winds of between 20 and 25 mph. “It was just good conditions to grow,” National Weather Service meteorologist Chad Gimmestad told The Associated Press. “The conditions today were really favorable for it to take off.”

……………………………………

26.06.2012

Extreme Weather

China

MultiProvinces, [Provinces of Zhejiang, Guangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Anhui, Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou ]

Extreme Weather in China on Tuesday, 26 June, 2012 at 02:59 (02:59 AM) UTC.

Description

Several parts of China have been hit by torrential rains over the last few days, resulting in the evacuation of millions of people and property damage. In east China’s Zhejiang province, heavy rains have forced 17,000 people to relocate and affected the lives of more than 350,000 others since June 22. A 12-year-old girl was killed when her house was buried in a landslide on Saturday in Zhejiang’s Songyang county. Rains have battered central China’s Hunan province since June 21, killing one person, leaving another missing and affecting the lives of 138,000 others. A landslide was triggered in Hunan’s city of Chenzhou, blocking roads and rivers and stranding 130 tourists, the report said. South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been reeling under heavy downpours since June 21. In the hard-hit city of Hezhou, over 10,000 people have been evacuated and economic losses of 200 million yuan ($31.4 million) have been incurred, according to officials. One resident of Hezhou died in hospital after suffering serious injuries during a landslide, while another was crushed to death during a house collapse. More rain and storms are expected to hit Zhejiang, Fujian and Anhui provinces in south China, as well as Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces in the south-west over the next three days, the weather office said.

Today

Extreme Weather

Sweden

Dalarna County, Borlange [Peace and Love Music Festival]

Extreme Weather in Sweden on Wednesday, 27 June, 2012 at 03:25 (03:25 AM) UTC.

Description

Seventeen people have been taken to a hospital after being struck by lightning at Sweden’s Peace and Love Music Festival. As shown in the AP photo above, festival organizers set up a makeshift care center to begin transporting people to a local health facility near Borlänge, Central Sweden. “First we saw a lightning flash and then we heard a really loud clap of thunder. The next thing we knew, the ambulances had come,” says witness Amanda Andersen to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (quote via The Local). Lightning struck the grounds around 3PM on Tuesday, just as the summer concert series was beginning. Rihanna, Mumford and Sons, Regina Spektor, Skrillex, Bloc Party and Billy Idol are just a few of the big-name performers. The people involved have reportedly received only minor injuries, with most “up and walking.” We will continue to update you as more information becomes available.

…………………………………

Corn Crisis Possible from Building Drought, Heat

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

Building drought and waves of heat continue to raise concerns about the corn crop and other agriculture in the Midwest to the central Plains.

In most areas, the drought is not as bad as 1988, but the situation has the potential to reach crisis level in part of the Corn Belt with typically the hottest part of the summer ahead.

According to Long Range and Agricultural Meteorologist Jason Nicholls, “Rainfall will be spotty and stingy as waves of heat expand from the central Plains to the Tennessee and Ohio valley states into July.”

The combination of drought and now heat is hitting the corn during the start of its pollination period, which is ahead of schedule by up to several weeks this year, due to warm weather in the spring.

“Essentially, if significant rain does not fall on the corn areas in severe drought over the next couple of weeks, yields could be severely impacted,” Nicholls said.

Part of the drought area includes a large part of the corn belt.

According to the “Hoosier Ag Today,” in Indiana, for example, as pasture conditions deteriorate, more operations were switching to feed hay and grain.

As the temperature climbs to extreme levels as it has already done over the Plains and will be doing over the Ohio Valley states in the coming days and weeks, more livestock will be under stress.

Temperatures surged to over 100 degrees Monday from Montana to Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas and reached the century mark in at least 19 states.

Near-100-degree heat is forecast to nose into the Ohio Valley for a several-day stint later this week into the weekend.

There will be a few clusters of thunderstorms rolling from west to east from the northern Plains into the Northeast through next week. Occasionally, a brief thunderstorm can visit part of the drought and heat area. However, it is not likely to be enough to bring lasting relief.

If the drought persists through July and into August, other crops, such as soybeans, could be seriously impacted.

Most of the rainfall will occur on the northern fringe of the drought area. For example, areas from northern Illinois to northern Ohio are more likely to have a brief downpour on one or two occasions, while areas in Arkansas may receive no rain at all during much of the next two weeks.

Fortunately, much of the northern part of the Corn Belt has been receiving rainfall on a more regular basis and temperatures have been much less extreme.

Evaporation rates of soil moisture in weather patterns like this, during late June and early July are on the order of 1/2 of an inch per day.

While we have not yet reached “cornmaggedon,” the situation is likely to get worse over the next couple of weeks over much of the drought area and a large part of the Corn Belt, rather than better.

Interestingly, money saved by consumers during the warm weather this past winter could be gobbled up by rising cooling costs this summer over the Plains and Midwest.

Potentially higher food prices could occur should the drought expand or worsen and corn yields end up being significantly lower than original expectations.

Many food, feed and fuel-related items utilize corn.

Pray for rain.

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Storms, Flooding, Landslides

Civil Emergency Message

JACKSONVILLE FL
TALLAHASSEE FL

Hurricane Statement

JACKSONVILLE FL

Active tropical storm system(s)

Name of storm system	Location	Formed	Last update	Last category	Course	Wind Speed	Gust	Wave	Source	Details
Debby (AL04)	Gulf of Mexico	24.06.2012	27.06.2012	Tropical Depression	125 °	56 km/h	74 km/h	4.88 m	NHC

Tropical Storm data

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Storm name:	Debby (AL04)
Area:	Gulf of Mexico
Start up location:	N 26° 18.000, W 87° 30.000
Start up:	24th June 2012
Status:	Active
Track long:	342.70 km
Top category.:
Report by:	NHC

Useful links:

Past track
Date	Time	Position	Speed km/h	Wind km/h	Gust km/h	Category	Course	Wave	Pressure	Source
24th Jun 2012	06:06:38	N 26° 18.000, W 87° 30.000	0	83	102	Tropical Storm	0	13	998 MB	NHC
25th Jun 2012	04:06:12	N 28° 18.000, W 85° 54.000	0	93	111	Tropical Storm	0	14	991 MB	NHC
26th Jun 2012	04:06:16	N 29° 12.000, W 85° 6.000	4	74	93	Tropical Storm	40	8	992 MB	NHC
26th Jun 2012	07:06:22	N 29° 0.000, W 84° 36.000	7	83	102	Tropical Storm	90	11	992 MB	NHC

Current position
Date	Time	Position	Speed km/h	Wind km/h	Gust km/h	Category	Course	Wave feet	Pressure	Source
27th Jun 2012	05:06:55	N 29° 0.000, W 82° 48.000	11	56	74	Tropical Depression	125 °	16	1000 MB	NHC

Forecast track
Date	Time	Position	Category	Wind km/h	Gust km/h	Source
28th Jun 2012	12:00:00	N 30° 18.000, W 77° 48.000	Tropical Depression	56	74	NHC
28th Jun 2012	00:00:00	N 29° 42.000, W 80° 0.000	Tropical Depression	56	74	NHC
29th Jun 2012	00:00:00	N 30° 42.000, W 75° 36.000	Tropical Storm	65	83	NHC
30th Jun 2012	00:00:00	N 32° 0.000, W 72° 30.000	Tropical Storm	74	93	NHC
01st Jul 2012	00:00:00	N 35° 0.000, W 69° 0.000	Tropical Storm	83	102	NHC
02nd Jul 2012	00:00:00	N 39° 0.000, W 62° 0.000	Tropical Storm	83	102	NHC

Doksuri (07W)

Pacific Ocean

26.06.2012

27.06.2012

Tropical Storm

285 °

65 km/h

83 km/h

4.27 m

JTWC

Tropical Storm data

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Storm name:	Doksuri (07W)
Area:	Pacific Ocean
Start up location:	N 14° 36.000, E 130° 18.000
Start up:	26th June 2012
Status:	Active
Track long:	218.98 km
Top category.:
Report by:	JTWC

Useful links:

Past track
Date	Time	Position	Speed km/h	Wind km/h	Gust km/h	Category	Course	Wave	Pressure	Source

Current position
Date	Time	Position	Speed km/h	Wind km/h	Gust km/h	Category	Course	Wave feet	Pressure	Source
27th Jun 2012	05:06:22	N 15° 18.000, E 127° 6.000	26	65	83	Tropical Storm	285 °	14		JTWC

Forecast track
Date	Time	Position	Category	Wind km/h	Gust km/h	Source
28th Jun 2012	12:00:00	N 19° 0.000, E 120° 18.000	Tropical Storm	93	120	JTWC
28th Jun 2012	00:00:00	N 17° 42.000, E 122° 42.000	Tropical Storm	102	130	JTWC
29th Jun 2012	00:00:00	N 20° 0.000, E 118° 6.000	Tropical Storm	111	139	JTWC
30th Jun 2012	00:00:00	N 21° 48.000, E 114° 0.000	Tropical Storm	83	102	JTWC

26.06.2012

Tropical Storm

USA

State of Florida, [Western Coastal Region]

Tropical Storm in USA on Tuesday, 26 June, 2012 at 05:35 (05:35 AM) UTC.

Description

Higher than normal waves with spray and some flooding along coastal roads are expected due to the on-shore winds associated with Tropical Storm Debby. Lee County Emergency Operations Center is advising residents and visitors to use extreme caution during the high-tide cycle tonight from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and the high-tide cycle tomorrow morning from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., when driving on coastal roads, and crossing bridges, including the Sanibel Causeway.

……………………………………………

Tropical Storm Debby Breaks Record with Early Debut

Andrea Mustain, OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer

A ghostly Tropical Storm Debby is drenching Florida and surrounding regions.
CREDIT: NOAA.

View full size image

An unusually early spate of tropical storms has been keeping forecasters busy this year, and now Tropical Storm Debby, the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, has set a record — this season marks the first time in more than 150 years that so many storms have showed up so early.

“This is first time we’ve had four tropical storms develop in the Atlantic basin before July 1,” said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist and spokesman for the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla.

U.S. records for tropical storms and hurricanes stretch back to 1851, Feltgen told OurAmazingPlanet. And although Tropical Storm Debby has broken the century-and-a-half-long record, there is certainly a chance that four storms may have formed this early in the past, yet escaped notice simply because forecasters didn’t have the tools to see them.

“We figure that back in the day there could have been several storms per season that could have been missed,” Feltgen said. “We didn’t have satellites.” Forecasters relied largely on ship reports and on firsthand observations when a storm hit land.

Historic storms

Tropical Storm Debby roared to life over the Gulf of Mexico and attained tropical storm status late in the afternoon on Saturday, June 23.

The first named storm of the season, Tropical Storm Alberto, appeared on May 19, the earliest debut for a named storm since 2003; Tropical Storm Beryl and Hurricane Chris followed. [Infographic: Storm Season! How, When & Where Hurricanes Form]

Storms are christened only once they reach tropical storm strength — meaning an organized, rotating storms with maximum wind speeds of at least 39 mph (63 kph).

Because tropical storms and hurricanes are fueled by warm ocean waters, the areas that have the ingredients required to feed a storm’s fury are more limited earlier in the season, Feltgen said.

The area that is the most favored area of development is pretty narrow, he said, and typically limited to areas of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and warmer, southern regions of the Atlantic.

“In the grand scheme of the Atlantic basin that’s a relatively small area,” Feltgen said.

However, unusually warm waters didn’t contribute to this year’s early storms — they were generated when storm systems that formed over land moved out over the ocean, said Gerry Bell, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s lead seasonal hurricane forecaster.

“Unless the water is sufficiently warm you’re not going to get a tropical storm, but warm water wasn’t the main ingredient allowing these things to form,” Bell told OurAmazingPlanet. He pointed to disturbances in the jet stream and storm fronts moving out over the water as the main culprits.

“There’s nothing special about that, that’s how storms typically form this time of year,” Bell said.

During the peak of hurricane season, in August, September and October, patches of rough weather that originate in Africa spark the bulk of the storms, Bell said. In addition, tropical waters that have had time to warm up, along with favorable winds, allow more storms to form at that time of the year.

The unusual onslaught of named storms has not altered the outlook for the rest of the season, Bell said, which is forecast to be a near-normal one. Projections for the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season call for a total of nine to 15 named storms, with four to eight of those storms becoming hurricanes.

Dangerous conditions

Tropical Storm Debby is lashing Florida with punishing rains, and is producing dangerous storm surges between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) along the state’s panhandle. The storm spawned 20 reported tornadoes yesterday (June 24), one of which killed a Florida woman in her home.

Debby has remained parked over the Gulf of Mexico, with much of the severe weather hitting to the east of the center of the storm.

Although the storm has weakened slightly, it is still packing winds of 45 mph (75 kph), and is expected to move only very slowly toward the northeast over the next two days, meaning there is little relief in sight for Florida and Georgia residents.

Reach Andrea Mustain at amustain@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @AndreaMustain. Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet. We’re also on Facebook & Google+.

Live Update: Debby Makes Landfall, Weakens to Tropical Depression

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Debby has been downgraded to a tropical depression at 8 p.m. after making landfall earlier this evening near Steinhatchee, Fla. The storm will continue to unleash torrential rainfall across northern Florida and southern Georgia as it pushes across the northern counties of the Peninsula overnight.

Maximum sustained winds have weakened to 35 miles per hour. (The latest reports can be found below.)

Major flooding is occurring across portions of Florida as unrelenting rain continues. One to two feet of rain has already poured down across portions of northern and central Florida. Sanborn, Fla., received 20.10 inches of rain in 24 hours alone.

For a larger version of this map (with times in CDT), please visit the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center.

Emergency management officials issued a voluntary evacuation notice late Monday evening for residents in low-lying areas of Wakulla County, Fla., due to dangerous flooding.

The Florida Highway patrol closed a portion of I-10, the main interstate highway through northern Florida, early Tuesday morning.

Unfortunately, up to another foot of rain will be unleashed across north-central Florida.

The storm has also spawned nearly two dozen tornadoes, which downed power lines, damaged homes and businesses and flipped semi trucks. More damaging winds from thunderstorms and tornadoes are possible as Debby churns in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Central Florida has the greatest risk of severe weather.

According to the National Weather Service, Debby has already claimed the lives of two people.

LATEST UPDATES:

8:15 p.m. Tuesday EDT: Bridge in danger of failing due to high water from the Steinhatchee River on South Canal Road, just east of Highway 51 in Southern Lafayette County, reported emergency manager.

6:25 p.m. Tuesday EDT : Yards and roads are flooded in Orange Park, Fla. Emergency management reported several ongoing water rescues in Jacksonville, Fla.

5:00 p.m. Tuesday EDT: Debby has made landfall near Steinhatchee, FL. Maximum sustained winds are at 40 mph. Coastal and inland flooding threats remain. Storm should downgrade to a tropical depression this evening and move off the coast near St. Augustine by tomorrow morning.

2:10 p.m. Tuesday EDT: Debby is picking up forward speed. The storm should now make landfall this evening near Cedar Key, Fla.

1:00 p.m. Tuesday EDT: AccuWeather Meteorologists discussed Debby’s landfall. It is anticipated near Cedar Key, Fla., around sunrise Wednesday. Stay tuned for the latest information. Join a live chat with Expert Senior Meteorologist at 6-7 p.m. ET this evening on Twitter by using the hashtag #Accuchat or join a live discussion on Facebook.

11:21 a.m. Tuesday EDT: Meteorologists made a change to rain map to show that Jacksonville, Fla., will be in the core of rain later today and tonight. Watch for flash flooding.

11:0 a.m. Tuesday EDT: Debby has weakened further with 40 mph winds. Flooding remains a threat across northern Florida and southern Georgia.

7:54 a.m. Tuesday EDT: A house was surrounded by water near Woodbine, Ga.

7:38 a.m. Tuesday EDT: U.S> Highway 90 is flooded and closed in downtwon Live Oak, Fla. Several vehicles are reported to be in parking lots with water up to the top of wheelwells about 1.5 feet deep.

6:50 a.m. Tuesday EDT: AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Bill Deger reports that several rivers and waterways in northern Florida are experiencing major flooding or near-record flooding. They include the North Fork Black Creek near Middleburg, the Anclote River at Elfers and the Litle Manatee River at Wimauma.

5:40 a.m. Tuesday EDT: The heaviest rain from Debby is now pushing into southeastern Georgia. Rain will continue to fall at a rate of more than an inch an hour this morning in cities such as Brunswick.

3:00 a.m. Tuesday EDT: AccuWeather.com meteorologists report that the center of Debby appears to be barely moving, while the storm is showing some signs of weakening. However, heavy rains will continue to batter Florida and southern Georgia.

12:45 a.m. Tuesday EDT: 20.10 inches of rain has fallen over the last 24 hours in Sanborn, Fla.

Midnight Tuesday EDT: Doppler radar is indicating wind gusts to near 60 mph are occurring along the coast and inland from Apalachicola to the western Big Bend of Florida.

9:30 p.m. Monday EDT: Emergency management officials have issued a voluntary evacuation notice for residents in low-lying areas of Wakulla County, Fla., an area battered by flooding.

8:00 p.m. Monday EDT: Unconfirmed report of a brief funnel cloud in Lake County, Fla.

7:55 p.m. Monday EDT: Storm total of 11.50 inches of rain in Monticello (Jefferson County), Fla.

6:54 p.m. Monday EDT: 16.26 inches of rain has fallen since midnight in parts of Wakulla County, Fla.

6:02 p.m. Monday EDT: 10 inches of rain has fallen in Woodville (Leon County), Fla. since 1 p.m. today.

5:00 p.m. Monday EDT: Thunderstorm wind gusts measured up to 56 mph in Brevard County, Florida.

2:00 p.m. Monday EDT: The top 72-hour rainfall totals include 12.24″ in Hernando County, 10.34″ in St. Petersburg and 9.97″ in Tampa, Fla.

12:12 p.m. Monday EDT: Water is beginning to approach low-lying homes in eastern and central Wakulla County, Fla.

12:12 p.m. Monday EDT: Knee-deep water reported near Sochoppy, Fla.

12:48 p.m. Monday EDT: According to CNN, the governor of Florida declares a state of emergency due to the severe impact of Debby.

12:00 p.m. Monday EDT: “Winds on radar continue to come down. I expect we will have a depression by the end of the day if not Tuesday AM,” Expert Meteorologist Henry Margusity said. In addition, as a storm moves slowly or stays nearly stationary-as Debby is-upwelling occurs. This means cooler water is pulled to the surface of the ocean. Since tropical systems are fueled by warm water, upwelling can lead to weakening.

Radar’s to Track Debby:
Key West, FL	Tampa, FL	Miami, FL	Melbourne, FL
Tallahassee, FL	Valparaiso, FL	Mobile, AL	New Orleans, LA

Radar’s to Track Debby:

Key West, FL

Tampa, FL

Miami, FL

Melbourne, FL

Tallahassee, FL

Valparaiso, FL

Mobile, AL

New Orleans, LA

Expert Meteorologists Discuss Debby:

This NOAA satellite image of Debby was taken Tuesday morning.

Thumbnail image tweeted by Chuck B.

Photos of Communities Under Water in Florida

By Grace Muller, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

#siestakey #storm #nofilter #sarasota

Cecelia VanSant

a day ago
My husband captured this as the storms moved …

Facebook

a day ago
From BN9.com: Just another day to lounge by the Bay on #Bayshore for this guy in #Tampa? — PHOTO: pic.twitter.com/U9lHJS1w

Bay News 9

a day ago
#sarasota #boat #florida #tropicalstormdebby

bucksrq

a day ago
#tampa #flooded #bayshore #blvd #813 #florida #weather #crazy #instatits #porno #lol

Charles

19 hours ago
#sarasota #florida #sailboat #tropicalstormdebby

bucksrq

a day ago
#mikeguevin #florida #sarasota #mikeguevinphotography #tropicalstormdebby

Mike Guevin

19 hours ago
RT @WXChic327: I wouldn’t recommend driving down #PalmAvenue in downtown #Sarasota … thanks @mysuncoast viewer Mike Guevin

Jason Caterina Fox23

17 hours ago
@SamChampion Crossing bridge in Tampa pic.twitter.com/5pqODRVS

Elliot Santiago

17 hours ago
Welcome to Florida. Where water covers our roads when it rains. �� #thanksdebby #debby #rain #florida

karrr��

a day ago
#Beach is open for #swimming �� // #flood #tropical #storm #debby #stpete #dtdp #force of #nature #florida #igdaily #photooftheday #instagram #instagood #ocean #waves #brutal #damage #enough #water

L B

a day ago
More Debbie flooding! pic.twitter.com/zOZpgvqB

Chuck Boyer

19 hours ago
home sweet home #debbie

kackattack

18 hours ago
#tropicalstorm #debbie # trinityoaks

acervantes1

a day ago
The morning surf report coming straight from North Shore Park slight chop with 1 to 2 foot breaks

Kurtis M

17 hours ago
#debby #tropicalstorm #flood

Cora

a day ago
Play ball! Bright house Field under water #flooded #florida #summer #debby #tropicalstorm

Debby Eyes Atlantic, Drowns Deep South

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

Debby will continue its legacy of flooding rainfall in part of the Deep South before heading eastward into the Atlantic by the end of the week.

Debby was downgraded to a tropical depression this evening after making landfall near Steinhatchee, Fla. The storm now has maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour, but will likely intensify once again after it moves off the coast and re-enters the Atlantic by tomorrow morning, according to the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center.

This is certainly good news as there is now an end in sight to the flooding rainfall. However, coastal and inland flooding threats remain as Debby continues to unleash heavy rain, gusty thunderstorms and rough surf conditions through Wednesday.

Since its start, Debby has produced tremendous rainfall in part of the Deep South. Indications are the storm will continue its flooding legacy until the very end.

While central and northern Florida and southern Georgia residents were in need of rain, the storm has been producing too much of a good thing in many areas.

Over a foot of rain has fallen in portions of Florida the past couple of days. There have been unofficial amounts up to two feet in the Curtis Mill, Fla. area. Sanborn, Fla., received 20.10 inches of rain in 24 hours.

During Sunday into Monday, north-central Florida was clobbered by torrential rain. During Monday into Tuesday, northern Florida, including part of the panhandle, was inundated.

During the middle of the week, the heaviest rainfall is switching to northeastern Florida and the Georgia coast. It is within this area where the greatest danger of new urban and low lying area flooding can occur.

However, additional flooding problems are possible from part of the Florida Panhandle to the central counties of the Sunshine State, due to potential re-firing bands of heavy rainfall.

South of Debby’s track, the risk of locally severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes will continue through Wednesday over central and south Florida.

As Debby exits to the east, look for dry air to sweep in from the north and rain to diminish over Florida and coastal Georgia from northwest to southeast Wednesday into Thursday.

There appears to be a little less danger of Debby rapidly strengthening upon reaching the Atlantic coast. However, some regain of strength will occur as the storm moves out to sea.

How quickly the ramp-up occurs will determine how rough surf conditions will get for a time along the southern Atlantic Seaboard from West Palm Beach to Cape Hatteras late in the week into the first part of the weekend.

If only the rain could be spread out, more of the interior South and needy areas such as central and western Georgia, southeastern Alabama and central South Carolina could benefit from the storm. However, it appears Debby’s rain is destined to hug the southeast corner of the United States, due to a large area of high pressure and drought building over the middle of the nation.

As Debby heads out to sea, heat will expand from the middle of the nation reaching much of the East Coast.

A piece of Debby’s moisture did find its way well to the north, in Maine of all places. As a scoop of air high in the atmosphere dipped southward into the Eastern states, it was able to briefly shear off some moisture in the form of drenching rain.

That rain is contributing to flooding problems in the Pine Tree State through Wednesday.

26.06.2012

Flash Flood

Canada

Province of British Columbia, Sicamous

Flash Flood in Canada on Tuesday, 26 June, 2012 at 09:48 (09:48 AM) UTC.

Description

An elderly man has drowned and almost 700 people have been evacuated from their homes after devastating flash floods hit British Columbia Interior over the weekend. A raging river swept away and drowned Edward Posnifkoff, 72, on Saturday evening. He died after a bridge he was standing on collapsed due to the force of the river. Flooding and mudslides have meant almost 700 people in the province have been forced to flee their homes while more than 1,000 are on evacuation alert. A weekend of thunderstorms was the tipping point – causing many of the rivers to burst their banks which then swept away at least one home. Many homes and dozens of cars in Sicamous, situated 480km west of Calgary, were damaged as 350 residents evacuated on Sunday. And the town’s Mayor, Darrell Trouton, warned the worst may be yet to come due to water at higher elevations. ‘We had snowmobilers that were up above indicating that we had continuous rain in the upper levels, and there were ravines with water flow that they’ve never seen before,’ he said. On Monday residents and emergency officials across the region began their clean-up mission as well as filling sandbags to try and protect their properties from any further damage. One resident Judy Latosky, 65, saw Sicamous Creek burst its banks before she fled her home with her twin five-year-old granddaughters. ‘We lost all of our backyard and now it’s just boulders. I looked in this morning and the basement is half full of mud and water. It’s a total loss,’ the grandmother told the news agency. In Central Kootenay, where Posnifkoff died, 30 homes were evacuated. Posnifkoff was identified on Sunday after his body was found in Goose Creek, a short distance from where he was swept away.

25.06.2012

Flood

Afghanistan

Province of Ghor , [Ghor-wide]

Flood in Afghanistan on Saturday, 23 June, 2012 at 17:39 (05:39 PM) UTC.

Description

Flash floods have swept northern Afghanistan, killing at least 37 people, Afghan and U.N. authorities said Saturday. More than 100 homes, hundreds of hectares (acres) of farmland and farm animals were been destroyed by the floods that followed four or five days of heavy rain in the region. Abdul Hai Khateby, who is the spokesman in Ghor province, said Saturday that 24 people have been killed in four districts, including the provincial capital of Chaghcharan. “Many, many houses have been destroyed, and there are reports of lots of cattle and other animals being killed,” Khateby said. “It is cloudy and we expect more rain.” The provincial spokesman of Badakhshan, Abdul Marouf Rasekh, said 13 people were killed Friday night in Yaftal district and four other districts have been affected. The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said an estimated 135 houses in Badakhshan had been destroyed, forcing residents to flee. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said many of the unpaved, rutted roads in the area have been severely flooded, making aid distribution difficult. Elsewhere, a bomb exploded at a music store on Saturday in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Nangarhar in the east. Provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said the shopkeeper and one of his customers were killed in the blast and two other people were wounded.

………………………………………………………

Flooding in northern Afghanistan kills at least 37

June 23, 2012|Rahim Faiez, Associated Press

Flash floods have swept northern Afghanistan, killing at least 37 people, Afghan and U.N. authorities said Saturday.

More than 100 homes, hundreds of hectares (acres) of farmland and farm animals were been destroyed by the floods that followed four or five days of heavy rain in the region.

Abdul Hai Khateby, who is the spokesman in Ghor province, said Saturday that 24 people have been killed in four districts, including the provincial capital of Chaghcharan.

“Many, many houses have been destroyed, and there are reports of lots of cattle and other animals being killed,’’ Khateby said. “It is cloudy and we expect more rain.’’

The provincial spokesman of Badakhshan, Abdul Marouf Rasekh, said 13 people were killed Friday night in Yaftal district and four other districts have been affected.

The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said an estimated 135 houses in Badakhshan had been destroyed, forcing residents to flee.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said many of the unpaved, rutted roads in the area have been severely flooded, making aid distribution difficult.

Elsewhere, a bomb exploded at a music store on Saturday in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Nangarhar in the east.

Provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said the shopkeeper and one of his customers were killed in the blast and two other people were wounded.

25.06.2012

Flood

Canada

Province of British Columbia, Mission

Flood in Canada on Sunday, 24 June, 2012 at 16:30 (04:30 PM) UTC.

Description

As a flood watch continues around B.C., residents were urged to “evacuate when emergency officials request it” by minister of justice and attorney general Shirley Bond Saturday. “We understand how difficult it might be for families to leave their homes, but they are only asked to do that when there is an imminent potential safety risk. When an evacuation order is given, it is essential that everyone consider their safety and that of first responders and leave as requested,” Bond said in a statement. “Emergency management officials don’t want to see the forcible removal of anyone from a property – rather, we depend on individuals to heed the advice of public safety professionals, whose decisions and directions are made with the highest regard for the safety of you and your loved ones,” Bond said. Swollen by melting snow and rain, the Fraser River has reached levels not seen for 40 years and has caused flooding from the province’s interior to the Fraser Valley. Early Sunday, Environment Canada said that a slow-moving low pressure system situated off the coast of Oregon state was expected to drop between 10 to 20 mm on the Arrow Lakes, Slocan Lake and East Kootenay regions. It also forecasted potential development of severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds Sunday afternoon.

Flood Warning

JACKSONVILLE FL
CARIBOU ME
SPOKANE, WA
TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
TALLAHASSEE FL
DULUTH MN
MISSOULA MT
TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

Flood Advisory

SPOKANE WA
JUNEAU AK

Flood Watch

CARIBOU ME
PUEBLO CO
TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
MISSOULA MT

Coastal Flood Advisory/Warning

TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL

………………………………….

Uganda abandons landslide rescue bid for buried

Red Cross official Michael Nataka says the area is known to be a landslide risk

Rescue workers in Uganda have abandoned efforts to find an estimated 70 people believed to be buried in a landslide.

Eighteen people have been confirmed dead after three villages were swept away on the slopes of Mount Elgon.

Uganda’s Red Cross told the BBC efforts were now concentrating on looking after the injured and displaced.

In March 2010, thousands were forced to flee after after a landslide killed more than 350 people in Uganda’s eastern Bududa district.

‘Many cracks’

Ken Kiggundu, director of disaster management for Uganda’s Red Cross, told the BBC that 72 people were still missing.

He added that 480 had been displaced and were now living with relatives and friends following Monday’s landslide, which occurred after a number of days of heavy rain.

“At 2pm, the ground trembled, followed by heavy rumbling of soil and stones which covered our home,” Rachael Namwono, a villager in Bududa district, told Uganda’s private Monitor newspaper.

The Red Cross’s Michael Nataka told the Reuters news agency that there was a need to force people to move from the mountain sides as they tended not to heed the advice that the area was dangerous.

“The Mount Elgon area has had so many places with cracks, so each time there is rainfall for a while, this water just seeps into these cracks and then eventually the landslide happens,” Mr Nataka said.

“There is need for some level of enforcement.”

Steven Malinga, Uganda’s minister for disaster relief, said moving people to safer areas was a priority, but many people refused to move as the villages near Mount Elgon had fertile ground and fewer instances of malaria.

“Eventually we have to pass a law to move people from the top and the sides of the mountain, and find alternative communities where we can relocate them,” the minister told the BBC’s Network Africa programme.

He urged people to move to camps lower down the mountain, where they would be given food, containers for water and utensils.

Last August, at least 24 people were killed when mud washed away homes in the Bulambuli district of eastern Uganda.

26.06.2012

Landslide

Uganda

Eastern Region, [Villages of Namaga and Bunakasala, Bududa district]

Landslide in Uganda on Tuesday, 26 June, 2012 at 05:30 (05:30 AM) UTC.

Description

A mudslide buried at least 15 houses Monday when it tore through two hamlets in eastern Uganda following heavy rains, the Red Cross said. “We know that at least 15 houses have been buried but we do not know how many people were inside them,” Red Cross spokeswoman Catherine Ntabadde said. She said emergency teams were trawling the site to try to establish the number of people killed in the slide but that local authorities estimate around 80 people live in each hamlet. Nine people have been taken to a nearby hospital with injuries, Ntabadde said. The landslide ripped through the villages of Namaga and Bunakasala in the mountainous Bududa district close to the border with Kenya early on Monday afternoon. After that incident the Ugandan authorities said they would resettle around half a million people living in mountainous areas to lessen the risk of mudslides.

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Radiation / Nuclear

26.06.2012

Nuclear Event

USA

State of Michigan, Frenchtown Charter Township [Enrico Fermi Nuclear Power Plant]

Nuclear Event in USA on Tuesday, 26 June, 2012 at 05:33 (05:33 AM) UTC.

Description

The reactor of the Fermi 2 nuclear plant in Monroe County has been shut down due to an equipment problem. The Monroe Evening News reports crews idled the plant around 1:30 p.m. Monday when its steam condenser lost the vacuum that pulls steam across a series of cooling tubes. The condenser turns steam back into water after it’s used to spin the plant’s turbines. Plant spokesman Guy Cerullo says Fermi 2 “is in a safe, stable condition.” Cerullo says plant operator DTE Energy is investigating the reason for the pressure loss, and he didn’t know when Fermi 2 would be back in operation. He tells The Blade of Toledo, Ohio, that DTE “will operate once” it’s “sure everything is in good shape” and it “can safely operate the plant.”

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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

Today

Epidemic Hazard

Canada

Province of Northwest Territories, [Tlicho and Behchoko regions]

Epidemic Hazard in Canada on Wednesday, 27 June, 2012 at 03:31 (03:31 AM) UTC.

Description
Drug-resistant bacteria have come up in some N.W.T. communities. The N.W.T. health department says there have been 86 cases of MRSA, which is also known as a ‘superbug’, this year. Half of them are in the Tlicho region and, in Behchoko, which is the largest community. MRSA is a common skin bacteria but a certain strain of it is now resistant to many antibiotics. The symptoms are similar to a staph infection and can cause sore skin and swelling. The infection can spread quickly. “If you have swelling on the skin that doesn’t heal quickly, that gets bigger and hot and painful go see the health centre. The sooner you’re diagnosed, the sooner we can figure it out and get the right treatment for it,” said Dr. Andre Corriveau, the territory’s chief public health officer. Corriveau said people should wash their sheets and clothing often to prevent the bacteria from spreading. Overcrowded housing can also help the bacteria spread. The bacteria were traditionally found in hospitals because of the high use of antibiotics. “But over past decade all over the world it’s starting to spread in communities, and the fact that you haven’t been to a hospital is no guarantee you won’t catch it,” he said. The bacteria have been found in the N.W.T. before. In 2008, health officials warned it was becoming a large problem. Health officials also dealt with an outbreak of the bacteria in 2010. The 2010 outbreak was also concentrated in the Tlicho region.
Biohazard name:	MRSA
Biohazard level:	3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:	Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

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Solar Activity

2MIN News June 26, 2012 Canary Islands Awaken

Published on Jun 26, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

TODAYS LINKS
Cyprus Needs Money: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/25/us-eurozone-idUSBRE85O0CS20120625
Greek Finance Minister Resigns: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/25/us-greece-idUSBRE85M0AW20120625
BP Spill Wasn’t the Start: http://phys.org/news/2012-06-bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-exacerbated.html
Magnetism and Superconductivity: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120625125954.htm

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [CME Evolution]

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

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Space

Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)

Object Name

Apporach Date

Left

AU Distance

LD Distance

Estimated Diameter*

Relative Velocity

(2010 NY65)

27th June 2012

0 day(s)

0.1023

39.8

120 m – 270 m

15.09 km/s

54324 km/h

(2008 WM64)

28th June 2012

1 day(s)

0.1449

56.4

200 m – 440 m

17.31 km/s

62316 km/h

(2010 CD55)

28th June 2012

1 day(s)

0.1975

76.8

64 m – 140 m

6.33 km/s

22788 km/h

(2004 CL)

30th June 2012

3 day(s)

0.1113

43.3

220 m – 480 m

20.75 km/s

74700 km/h

(2008 YQ2)

03rd July 2012

6 day(s)

0.1057

41.1

29 m – 65 m

15.60 km/s

56160 km/h

(2005 QQ30)

06th July 2012

9 day(s)

0.1765

68.7

280 m – 620 m

13.13 km/s

47268 km/h

(2011 YJ28)

06th July 2012

9 day(s)

0.1383

53.8

150 m – 330 m

14.19 km/s

51084 km/h

276392 (2002 XH4)

07th July 2012

10 day(s)

0.1851

72.0

370 m – 840 m

7.76 km/s

27936 km/h

(2003 MK4)

08th July 2012

11 day(s)

0.1673

65.1

180 m – 410 m

14.35 km/s

51660 km/h

(1999 NW2)

08th July 2012

11 day(s)

0.0853

33.2

62 m – 140 m

6.66 km/s

23976 km/h

189P/NEAT

09th July 2012

12 day(s)

0.1720

66.9

n/a

12.47 km/s

44892 km/h

(2000 JB6)

10th July 2012

13 day(s)

0.1780

69.3

490 m – 1.1 km

6.42 km/s

23112 km/h

(2010 MJ1)

10th July 2012

13 day(s)

0.1533

59.7

52 m – 120 m

10.35 km/s

37260 km/h

(2008 NP3)

12th July 2012

15 day(s)

0.1572

61.2

57 m – 130 m

6.08 km/s

21888 km/h

(2006 BV39)

12th July 2012

15 day(s)

0.1132

44.1

4.2 m – 9.5 m

11.11 km/s

39996 km/h

(2005 NE21)

15th July 2012

18 day(s)

0.1555

60.5

140 m – 320 m

10.77 km/s

38772 km/h

(2003 KU2)

15th July 2012

18 day(s)

0.1034

40.2

770 m – 1.7 km

17.12 km/s

61632 km/h

(2007 TN74)

16th July 2012

19 day(s)

0.1718

66.9

20 m – 45 m

7.36 km/s

26496 km/h

(2007 DD)

16th July 2012

19 day(s)

0.1101

42.8

19 m – 42 m

6.47 km/s

23292 km/h

(2006 BC8)

16th July 2012

19 day(s)

0.1584

61.6

25 m – 56 m

17.71 km/s

63756 km/h

144411 (2004 EW9)

16th July 2012

19 day(s)

0.1202

46.8

1.3 km – 2.9 km

10.90 km/s

39240 km/h

(2012 BV26)

18th July 2012

21 day(s)

0.1759

68.4

94 m – 210 m

10.88 km/s

39168 km/h

(2010 OB101)

19th July 2012

22 day(s)

0.1196

46.6

200 m – 450 m

13.34 km/s

48024 km/h

(2008 OX1)

20th July 2012

23 day(s)

0.1873

72.9

130 m – 300 m

15.35 km/s

55260 km/h

(2010 GK65)

21st July 2012

24 day(s)

0.1696

66.0

34 m – 75 m

17.80 km/s

64080 km/h

(2011 OJ45)

21st July 2012

24 day(s)

0.1367

53.2

18 m – 39 m

3.79 km/s

13644 km/h

153958 (2002 AM31)

22nd July 2012

25 day(s)

0.0351

13.7

630 m – 1.4 km

9.55 km/s

34380 km/h

(2011 CA7)

23rd July 2012

26 day(s)

0.1492

58.1

2.3 m – 5.1 m

5.43 km/s

19548 km/h

(2012 BB124)

24th July 2012

27 day(s)

0.1610

62.7

170 m – 380 m

8.78 km/s

31608 km/h

1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers

Source: NASA-NEO

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Biological Hazards / Wildlife / Environmental Hazards

Today

Biological Hazard

USA

State of Hawaii, Kahana [Hololani Resort]

Biological Hazard in USA on Wednesday, 27 June, 2012 at 03:27 (03:27 AM) UTC.

Description
A 16-year-old California girl was the reported victim of a shark attack at the beach fronting the Hololani Resort in Kahana this morning. The victim from Livermore had a 4-to-5 inch avulsion to her left calf. Fire crews responded to the 9:52 a.m. call at 4401 Lower Honoapiilani Highway. Fire personnel provided medical treatment and dressed the wound. Family members took the teenager for treatment in their own vehicle. County ocean safety and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources are treating this incident as a shark attack. The beach has been closed until 6:45 this evening. State officials will reassess the situation at that time to determine whether to keep the beach closed or reopen it to the public.
Biohazard name:	Shark attack (Non-Fatal)
Biohazard level:	0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:	This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

………………………………………………

Tests reveal high-path H7N3 in Mexican poultry farm outbreaks

Lisa Schnirring Staff Writer

Jun 26, 2012 (CIDRAP News) – Mexican veterinary authorities are intensifying avian influenza control efforts in a region that houses several large commercial farms after further tests determined that the strain responsible for more than 200,000 bird deaths at three farms is the highly pathogenic H7N3 subtype.

The events represent the first highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in Mexican flocks since the country battled H5N2 in the mid 1990s.

In a follow-up report submitted today to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Mexican animal health officials said intravenous pathogenicity tests revealed the highly pathogenic H7N3 subtype. The initial report on Jun 21 said preliminary tests suggested a low-pathogenic H7 subtype.

The outbreaks began at three large commercial farms in Jalisco state on Jun 13, causing clinical signs in the layer flocks that included gasping, lethargy, fever, and death. The disease sickened 587,160 of more than 1 million susceptible birds, killing 211,424 of them. About 60,000 have been culled so far to curb the spread of the virus.

Today’s update said that, based on the latest test results, authorities are sampling birds at about 60 poultry farms near the outbreak area, and quarantine measures are under way in the region, which has about 500 production units. Full gene sequencing and an epidemiologic investigation to determine the source of the virus are also in progress.

Jalisco state, in western Mexico, is the country’s top egg producer.

Officials have also limited poultry movements near the outbreak area and are testing birds at commercial farms, backyard flocks, and poultry markets. They are also assessing biosecurity practices and overseeing depopulation efforts at the affected farms, according to the OIE report.

David A. Halvorson, DVM, an avian health expert at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, told CIDRAP News that Mexico’s last high pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks occurred in 1994 and 1995 and involved H5N2. He added that low-pathogenic H5N2 circulated in the country for several years.

He said that in some parts of Mexico, large populations of backyard poultry, live poultry markets, and commercial farms exist without adequate separation between them.

Halvorson said US poultry producers, especially those in Texas, are always cautious about the potential for disease introduction from indirect contact with Mexican poultry. Halvorson added Mexican workers support poultry farmers in the West and Midwest, which presents another reason for caution.

John Glisson, DVM, PhD, director of research programs for the US Poultry and Egg Association, said in an e-mail statement to CIDRAP News, “The US poultry industry would strongly agree with the idea that the disease should be dealt with quickly and that quarantine of these farms and elimination of infected flocks would be a prudent measure.”

According to background information from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), poultry imported from all countries except Canada must be quarantined for at least 30 days at a USDA Animal Import Center and be accompanied by import permits and veterinary health certificates. Canadian poultry entering the United States must be accompanied by a veterinary health certificate issued within 30 days of import date.

In 2004, highly pathogenic H7N3 outbreaks in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley led to the culling of 19 million birds, and two related human infections were confirmed.

The patients, both men who had been exposed to infected poultry on the farms, were the first known H7N3 infections in humans. Both had conjunctivitis with mild flulike symptoms, according to a December 2004 report on the cases in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Neither patient mounted an H7 antibody response, which led researchers to suggest that the men had highly localized, rather than systemic, infections.

See also:

Jun 26 OIE report

Jun 21 OIE report

Dec 2004 Emerg Infect Dis report

USDA background on poultry imports

CIDRAP avian flu overview on agriculture and wildlife considerations

An Entire Species Dies with Lonesome George

Nadine Bells
Daily Brew

Lonesome George

One turtle dies, an entire species becomes extinct. That’s the story of 100-year-old giant tortoise Lonesome George. His death on at Galapagos National Park’s breeding centre marked the end of his kind.

Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta Island in 1972, at a time when giant tortoises of his kind – known as Geochelone nigra abingdoni – were already believed to be extinct. Instead, it appeared that he was the last one.

All attempts to breed the tortoise failed.

“The plight of Lonesome George provided a catalyst for an extraordinary effort by the government of Ecuador to restore not only tortoise populations throughout the archipelago but also improve the status of other endangered and threatened species,” the park said.

There are 20,000 giant tortoises remaining in the Galapagos. They are believed to have a lifespan of up to 200 years.

Lonesome George’s death is a wake-up call. Species at risk of extinction can, in fact, become extinct, despite the best efforts of scientists to protect and repopulate the species.

Here’s a list of species we’ve lost in the last 40 years.

Currently at risk of meeting the same fate is the greater bamboo lemur. Like Lonesome George, this lemur was rediscovered in 1972 long after it was believed to be extinct. Less than 250 remain, with a captive breeding programme in Madagascar hoping to help the critically endangered bamboo-eating primates thrive.

The New Zealand greater short-tailed bat might be extinct already, with the last population estimate coming in at fewer than 50.

Thanks to widespread hunting – and habitat destruction – lowland gorillas are now also considered critically endangered. Conservation areas now exist in numerous national parks in Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo and Gabon. These efforts also aim to protect the species from the deadly Ebola virus.

Fortunately, just as we have tragic tales of species lost, we have a history of species saved. Prairie dogs, whooping cranes, grizzly bears and bald eagles are on the list of species that have been rebounded from risk of extinction.

Human intervention isn’t always successful. But since we’re often at fault for a species’ demise in the first place, shouldn’t it be our responsibility to at least try to protect what’s left?

26.06.2012

Environment Pollution

USA

State of Louisiana, Baton Rouge [Exxon T1 Tower]

Environment Pollution in USA on Tuesday, 26 June, 2012 at 05:32 (05:32 AM) UTC.

Description

Exxon Mobil Corp reported a leak in a supply line on the T1 tower at its 502,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that led to a release of benzene, according to a filing with the National Response Center. The incident happened around 7:56 a.m local time on Monday. The line was isolated to stop the leak and the leak should be secured within an hour, the filing said. The Baton Rouge refinery is the third largest in the United States

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Articles of Interest

Antarctic Ice Shelves Not Melting at All, New Field Data Show

Lewis Page
UK Register

Twenty-year-old models which have suggested serious ice loss in the eastern Antarctic have been compared with reality for the first time – and found to be wrong, so much so that it now appears that no ice is being lost at all.

“Previous ocean models … have predicted temperatures and melt rates that are too high, suggesting a significant mass loss in this region that is actually not taking place,” says Tore Hattermann of the Norwegian Polar Institute, member of a team which has obtained two years’ worth of direct measurements below the massive Fimbul Ice Shelf in eastern Antarctica – the first ever to be taken.

According to a statement from the American Geophysical Union, announcing the new research:

It turns out that past studies, which were based on computer models without any direct data for comparison or guidance, overestimate the water temperatures and extent of melting beneath the Fimbul Ice Shelf. This has led to the misconception, Hattermann said, that the ice shelf is losing mass at a faster rate than it is gaining mass, leading to an overall loss of mass.

The team’s results show that water temperatures are far lower than computer models predicted …

Hatterman and his colleagues, using 12 tons of hot-water drilling equipment, bored three holes more than 200m deep through the Fimbul Shelf, which spans an area roughly twice the size of New Jersey. The location of each hole was cunningly chosen so that the various pathways by which water moves beneath the ice shelf could be observed, and instruments were lowered down.

The boffins also supplemented their data craftily by harvesting info from a biology project, the Marine Mammal Exploration of the Oceans Pole to Pole (MEOP) effort, which had seen sensor packages attached to elephant seals.

“Nobody was expecting that the MEOP seals from Bouvetoya would swim straight to the Antarctic and stay along the Fimbul Ice Shelf for the entire winter,” Hattermann says. “But this behaviour certainly provided an impressive and unique data set.”

Normally, getting sea temperature readings along the shelf in winter would be dangerous if not impossible due to shifting pack ice – but the seals were perfectly at home among the grinding floes.

Overall, according to the team, their field data shows “steady state mass balance” on the eastern Antarctic coasts – ie, that no ice is being lost from the massive shelves there. The research is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

This is good news indeed, as some had thought that huge amounts of ice were melting from the region, which might mean accelerated rates of sea level rise in future.

Research: Gulf Shrimp Widely Contaminated With Carcinogens

Sayer Ji
GreenMedInfo

Conservative estimates indicate that the 2010 BP oil disaster released over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf, followed by at least 1.8 million gallons of dispersants. While the use of dispersants helped mitigate the public relations disaster by preventing the persistent formation of surface oil, as well as keeping many beaches visibly untouched, they also drove the oil deeper into the water column (and food chain) rendering a 2-dimensional problem (surface oil) into a 3-dimensional one. Additionally, research indicates that dispersants prevent the biodegradation of toxic oil components, as well as increasing dispersant absorption into fish from between 6 to 1100 fold higher levels.

Since the event, both the mainstream media and the government have acted as if the oil disappeared, and that no significant health risks remain for the millions still consuming contaminated seafood from the Gulf.*

Now, a new study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has revealed that the 2010 BP Gulf oil disaster resulted in widespread contamination of Gulf Coast seafood with toxic components from crude oil.¹ In fact, levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in shrimp were found to exceed the FDA’s established thresholds for allowable levels [levels of concern (LOCs)] for pregnant women in up to 53% of Gulf shrimp sampled.

PAHs are well-known carcinogens and developmental toxicants, which is why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is obligated to set risk criteria and thresholds for allowable levels of exposure to them.**

In the new study the authors set out to evaluate the degree to which the FDA’s procedures for determining the safety of Gulf seafood after the BP disaster reflect the current risk assessment guidelines and practices, as produced by other authoritative entities, including the National Research Council (NRC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California EPA. The authors focused on cancer risk associated with shellfish consumption, looking at whether or not the FDA’s guidelines protect the most vulnerable populations, e.g. pregnant women, infants.

The authors discovered a glaring discrepancy between the FDA Gulf seafood risk assessment (FDA 2010a) and the FDA’s own prior practice with risk assessment guidelines produced by other authoritative entities.

The FDA’s risk assessment was found to be seriously flawed because of the following six questionable assumptions:

The questionable assumptions include six main issues: a) high consumer body weight, b) low estimates of seafood consumption, c) failure to include a cancer risk assessment for naphthalene, d) failure to adjust for early-life susceptibility to PAHs, e) short exposure duration, and f) high cancer risk benchmarks. Taken together, these flaws illustrate a failure to incorporate the substantial body of evidence on the increased vulnerability of subpopulations to contaminants, such as PAHs, in seafood.

Their final conclusion was as follows

Environmental risk assessment requires the use of scientifically founded assumptions and appropriate default estimates about the exposed population, the intensity and duration of exposure, and the dose – response relationship. The risk assessment methods used by the FDA to set safe exposure levels for Gulf Coast seafood after the oil spill do not incorporate current best practices and do not protect vulnerable populations. The FDA’s conclusions about risks from Gulf seafood should be interpreted with caution in coastal populations with higher rates of seafood consumption and in vulnerable populations such as children, small adults, and pregnant women. Our analysis demonstrates that a revised approach, using standard risk assessment methods, results in significantly lower acceptable levels of PAHs in seafood and identifies populations that could be at risk from contaminants in Gulf Coast seafood. Health advisories targeted at high-end consumers would better protect vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, and children. Our approach did not address infant exposure to PAHs via maternal seafood consumption and lactational transfer. The NRC (2008) found up to 50-fold interindividual variability in cancer risk and recommends incorporation of estimates of uncertainty, as well as population risk distributions, into future risk assessments. Improved public health protection from contaminants in food will require reforming FDA risk assessment practices.

Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the FDA’s conclusion that there are no significant risks to Gulf populations from oil spill – related contaminants in seafood are incorrect, and reckless when it comes to the health of the most vulnerable populations.

With reports now surfacing in mainstream media outlets on the appearance of eyeless shrimp and mutant fish, this latest finding probably only scratches the surface of a health problem in the Gulf titanic in proportions.

Reference/Notes:

¹ Seafood contamination after the BP Gulf oil spill and risks to vulnerable populations: a critique of the FDA risk assessment. Environ Health Perspect. 2012 Feb ;120(2):157-61. Epub 2011 Oct 3. PMID: 21990339

*Sixty percent of domestic shrimp and 70% of domestic oysters are sourced from the Gulf.

**The inherent absurdity of determining “an acceptable level of harm” is often overlooked

26.06.2012

Power Outage

USA

State of Virginia, [Richmond and Tri-Cities area]

Power Outage in USA on Tuesday, 26 June, 2012 at 13:20 (01:20 PM) UTC.

Description
In the Richmond and Tri-Cities area, as of 8:20 a.m., Tuesday, there are 67,548 without power, according to Dominion Virginia Power. These numbers will fluctuate and we will update them as often as possible.

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]

Tags: 000 barrel per day (bpd), 2012 Canary Islands Awaken, 2MIN News June 26, Afghanistan, Alaska, Albania, An Entire Species Dies with Lonesome George, Antarctic Ice Shelves Not Melting at All, Arizona, Arkansas, Asia, Austria, Biological Hazard in USA, British Virgin Islands, California, Canada, Canary Islands, Caribbean, Chile, China, Colombia, Colorado, Corn Crisis Possible from Building Drought, Cyprus, Debby Eyes Atlantic, Debby Makes Landfall, Dominican Republic, Drowns Deep South, Earth approaching objects, El Hierro volcano, Enrico Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Environment Pollution, Epidemic Hazard in Canada, Europe, Extreme Weather in China, Extreme Weather in Sweden, Exxon Mobil Corp reported a leak in a supply line on the T1 tower at its 502, Firefighters Continue to Battle Colorado Wildfire, Flash Flood in Canada, Flood in Afghanistan, Flood in Canada, Flooding in northern Afghanistan kills at least 37, Florida, Forest / Wild Fire in USA, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hawaii, Heat, Illinois, Indiana, Indonesia, Indonesian Archipelago, Iowa, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kamchatka, Kansas, Kentucky, Landslide in Uganda, Louisiana, Maine, Mexico, Michigan, Middle America, Middle East, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, MRSA, Nebraska, Nevada, New Field Data Show, New Jersey, New Zealand, North America, North Carolina, Nuclear Event in USA, OHIO, Pacific Ocean, Peru, pets flood Humane Society, Photos of Communities Under Water in Florida, Poland, Portugal, Power Outage in USA, Puerto Rico, Research: Gulf Shrimp Widely Contaminated With Carcinogens, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Shark attack (Non-Fatal), Shiveluch eruption continues, Shiveluch volcano, South America, Spain, Stromboli volcano, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Tests reveal high-path H7N3 in Mexican poultry farm outbreaks, Texas, The Latest Worldwide Meteor / Fireball Reports, Tonga, Tropical Depression Debby, Tropical Storm Debby Breaks Record with Early Debut, Tropical Storm Doksuri (07W), Turkey, Uganda, Uganda abandons landslide rescue bid for buried, United States, Utah, Virginia, WALDO CANYON FIRE: As fire rages, Washington, Weakens to Tropical Depression, Wyoming

Comment

Food Safety Report – Wednesday June 27th, 2012

Filed under: Allergen Alerts, Animal Advocacy, Food Borne Illness, Food Recalls, Food Safety, Poisons in Our Foods, Vaccines, World News — Leave a comment

June 27, 2012

Food Safety

Antibiotic-Free Meat Map Launched for Consumers

by News Desk

Coinciding with the new “Meat Without Drugs” campaign announced this week, tech start up Real Time Farms launched a crowd-sourced map to help consumers locate meat from animals raised without antibiotics.

The FixAntibiotics Food Finder allows shoppers to look up retail locations, farmers markets, farms, and restaurants sourcing antibiotic-free meat using their zipcode or by zooming into a geographic area.

Real Time Farms also asks users to add to the database if they know of another location that is not listed on the map.

“This campaign, as with so many things, comes down to people voting with their wallets because government is seen as moving too slowly,” said Real Time Farms, in a blog post on Thursday.

Read Full Article Here

Illness in Louisiana Brings E. coli O145 Outbreak Count to 15

by News Desk

One new illness in Louisiana has brought the case count to 15 in the ongoing E. coli O145 outbreak in the southern U.S. and California, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 21-month-old girl died on May 31 after falling ill to the outbreak strain.

The source of the outbreak remains unknown as state and federal health officials continue to investigate the outbreak, but experts believe it originated in food. Four people have been hospitalized.

Read Full Article Here

Artificial and Natural Trans Fats: They Are Different

June 21, 2012 By Linda Larsen

By now, almost everyone has heard about trans fats and how unhealthy they are. In fact, studies have shown that trans fat consumption causes at least 30,000 deaths in the United States every year. The government has not set an upper limit on trans fat consumption because there is no safe intake amount.

But there are two kinds of trans fat: natural and artificial. Natural trans fats occur naturally in dairy products and meat, made by a enzymatic process in the guts of ruminant animals. Artificial trans fats are man-made by bubbling hydrogen through polyunsaturated oils, making it a solid. And scientists think that natural trans fats are good for you.

Read Full Article Here

E.coli In Aberdeen SD Drinking Water Prompts Boil Water Advisory

By Carla Gillespie

E.coli levels in the drinking water supply for the city of Aberdeen, SD have reached dangerous levels, prompting city officials to issue a boil water advisory.

Aberdeen residents should not drink tap water without boiling it first. Before it is safe to drink, the water needs to boil for a full minute. “Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice,” the advisory states.

Boiling kills E.coli and other dangerous bacteria that cause serious, sometimes life-threatening illness. Most at risk are small children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of an E.coli infection include abdominal cramps, diarrhea that is sometimes bloody, nausea and headaches. Residents who develop these symptoms should seek medical attention.

Read Full Article Here

Food Safety Scandals Fuel Urban Gardening in China

by News Desk

Food safety concerns and increasing incomes are sparking growth in urban gardening and farming among Chinese consumers, according to China Daily.

“More urban residents, many of whom are young people between the ages of 25 to 35 living in metropolises such as Beijing, are growing vegetables and herbs on their balconies or rented farmland in the suburbs, and turning to Taobao, a major online shopping service provider in China, to start their apartment gardens,” the paper reported Monday.

According to China Daily, online searches for the Tabao have jumped 280 percent in the past year — indicating that a growing number of people are looking to buy seeds and tools to start vegetable patches.

The paper features Xue Ling, 26, who says she has been planting vegetables on the small balcony of her apartment since 2010.

Read Full Article Here

Multistate Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Live Poultry from Missouri Hatchery

by News Desk

At least 66 people have fallen ill in 20 states in a Salmonella Montevideo outbreak linked to live poultry from a Missouri hatchery, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday. Sixteen people have been hospitalized while one infected person in Missouri has died, though Salmonella infection was not considered a contributing factor to the person’s death.

The number ill by state are as follows:

Alaska (1 illness), California (2), Colorado (1), Georgia (1), Illinois (1), Indiana (8), Iowa (2), Kansas (10), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (1), Missouri (22), Nebraska (5), Nevada (1), New York (1), North Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Oklahoma (4), South Dakota (1), Vermont (1) and Wyoming (1).

Epidemiological and laboratory evidence have linked this outbreak to Estes Hatchery in Springfield, Missouri.

Read Full Article Here

India to Implement Standards for Street Food

by News Desk

For the first time, street food vendors in India will soon be required to meet a set of sanitation regulations, announced the government Tuesday.

Street food is a popular option in India because it’s convenient and cheaper than offerings at hotels and restaurants. But at the majority of stands it’s also unsafe.

One study found that, out of 50 random samples of street food taken in 2010, 47 of them – approximately 90 percent - were contaminated with foodborne pathogens. Cooked foods were no exception, suggesting mishandling after preparation.

Read Full Article Here

Raw Scraped Tuna Salmonella Outbreak Grows Again; 390 Now Ill

By Linda Larsen

According to the CDC, the Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga outbreak linked to raw scraped tuna has grown again. Now 390 people in 27 states and the District of Columbia have been sickened by the contaminated product; that’s an increase of 74 new cases from the last update in May. Kansas is now part of the outbreak. Forty-seven people have been hospitalized in this outbreak.

A raw tuna product called Nakaochi Scrape imported by Moon Marine USA Corporation was recalled as the source of this outbreak. Lab tests conducted by public health laboratories in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin have isolated the outbreak strains of Salmonella from 95% of the samples taken from intact packages of that product. And in April 2012, the FDA inspected the Moon Fishery facility in India that supplied the raw tuna and found violations of their HACCP plan, which did not contain the necessary critical control points.

The numbers of new cases has declined since the peak in April 2012. The outbreak may continue for several months because some facilities may have the frozen product in their freezers and continue to serve it, since it has a long shelf-life. If you order any sushi product that contains raw ground or scraped tuna, ask the establishment if it is part of this recall.

Read Full Article Here

Outbreak of Gastroenteritis at George Mason University

By Carla Gillespie

On June 21, 2012, according to the Fairfax County Health Department, 40 teens and young adults at the George Mason University Campus became ill with gastroenteritis. They are members of a summer camp group affiliated with the Congressional Awards Foundation. Twenty-one of the students were hospitalized.

The Health Department believes that viral gastroenteritis is the cause of these illnesses. The government is investigating whether or not food was the initial cause of the illness, but they think the virus spread person-to-person.

George Mason University has cleaned the dorm rooms where the patients were staying and is working with state and local officials to investigate the outbreak.

Read Full Article Here

American Medical Association Calls for Testing of GMO Foods

By Linda Larsen

At their annual convention in Chicago this month, the American Medical Association passed a resolution calling for mandatory testing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically engineered (GE) foods. The organization did not call for labeling of these altered foods, as many groups want, although 19 doctors did sign a statement calling for labeling.

That statement said:

“In the face of scientific uncertainty, labeling is a common risk management tool and one that could help track any potential adverse health effects. Our support of labeling also takes into consideration the fact that consumers want to know whether there are genetically engineered ingredients in their food, and they have a right to know. We stand with the 90% of Americans who want mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.”

Other organizations that have passed resolutions calling for labeling of GE foods include the American Nurses Association, the California Medical Association, and the British Medical Association. Groups that endorse the California Right to Know Ballot initiative include Physicians for Social Responsibility, the American Medical Students Association, and the American Public Health Association.

Read Full Article Here

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Recalls

Ground Bacon Recalled: May Contain Cardboard and Plastic Pieces

by News Desk

A Los Angeles-based firm is recalling approximately 1,350 pounds of its ground smoked bacon because the food may contain pieces of cardboard and plastic.

The company – Square-H Brands, Inc. – issued a voluntary recall of the ground bacon product Thursday after the problem was discovered at a distribution facility in Hawaii. The product had been shipped there for further distribution, but inspectors from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) discovered pieces of plastic and cardboard in the food.

Officials speculate that the problem occurred while the product was being transferred from a cardboard and plastic holding container to the grinder.

The product subject to recall is called “Coarse Ground Smoked Bacon Ends and Pieces” and was distributed in 25 lb. cases. It was packaged April 25 before being distributed to the Hawaii facility for further distribution and use in other products.

Read Full Article here

Sprouts Recalled for Potential Salmonella Contamination

by News Desk

A Florida-based company is recalling 433 cases of alfalfa sprouts because they may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.

Leasa Industries Co. of Miami, FL issued the voluntary recall Wednesday after testing by a buyer revealed the presence of Salmonella on the company’s Living Alfalfa Sprouts.

The product subject to recall is sold in 6 oz. plastic containers bearing the label “LEASA Living Alfalfa Sprouts.” Packaging bears a UPC code of 75465-55912, located on the side of the label that wraps around the container. It is also marked with an expiration date of 7/2/12, located on the side of the plastic container itself.

The company’s alfalfa sprouts are sold to retailers and to food distributors, but the recall notice does not specify where the affected sprouts were distributed.

The company’s website says that “major clients include Publix Supermarkets, Winn-Dixie Stores, Wal-Mart Supercenters, Sedanos Supermarkets [and] Sysco Food Service,” although the recall notice did not say which if any of these companies may be carrying the recalled product.

Read Full Article Here

Senate Passes Farm Bill

Legislation includes study on food recall insurance for farmers

by Helena Bottemiller

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate passed the farm bill on Thursday by a vote of 64 to 35. The bill, which sets the nation’s agriculture and nutrition policy for the next five years, would end direct payments for commodity crop farmers, but ramp up subsidized crop insurance to save nearly $24 billion over 10 years.

During three days of debate over dozens of amendments, the Senate touched on food safety a few times.

As Food Safety News reported Wednesday, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and John Kerry (D-MA) succeeded in repealing a 2008 farm bill provision that mandated a catfish inspection program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture — even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates seafood. Echoing concerns raised by the Government Accountability Office, Kerry and McCain argued that the program was duplicative, wasteful, and was not likely to yield a food safety benefit.

Due to opposition from livestock groups, the Senate did not consider a controversial proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would have mandated federal welfare standards for egg-laying hens.

“While I am disappointed that my amendment establishing a national standard for the humane treatment of egg-laying hens was not considered, I remain committed to this issue and will look for other opportunities to advance that legislation,” said the senator, after the farm bill passed Thursday.

But Feinstein did succeed on an amendment directing USDA to conduct a study on the feasibility of crop insurance to cover losses for producers affected by, but not responsible for, food safety recalls.

Read Full Article Here

Carrot Juice Recalled for Botulism Risk

by News Desk

Los Angeles-based juice company Health Choice Island Blends, Inc. is recalling all sizes of its Liquid Gold Carrot Juice because they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum.

The juice was distributed in four container sizes – 128 oz., 64 oz., 32 oz. and 16 oz – in California and sold to wholesale produce companies.

The product comes in plastic see-through containers in gallon, half-gallon and quart sizes. It bears a white label with the name “Liquid Gold” and a picture of carrots and a glass of carrot juice, and UPC code 7 63213 00130.

No illnesses have been linked to the consumption of this product to date.

Anyone who purchased the affected product is urged to return it to the place of purchase or discard it.

Read Full Article Here

Eggs Recalled in Germany for Dioxin Contamination

June 21, 2012 By Kathy Will

More than 250,000 eggs are being recalled in the Lower Saxony area of Germany after testing found excessive levels of dioxin. Contaminated feed may be the source of the chemical.

Product details:

Manufacturer: 0-0356091-DE
Expiration date: 14/06/2012
Stamp number: 0-0356091-EN

Read Full Article Here

Euphoria Fancy Food Inc. Recalling Uneviscerated Fish

By Kathy Will

Euphoria Fancy Food Inc. of New York is recalling dried bream that was uneviscerated. Uneviscerated fish may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores, which can cause a serious and sometimes fatal foodborne illness.

Product details:

Dried bream
Un-coded, 7.5-ounce vacuum packed plastic bag
Sold nationwide
UPC number is 7 930042 250954
Product of Russia

Read Full Article Here

Dole Recalls Thousand Cases of Bagged Salads for Listeria

by News Desk

Due to possible Listeria risk, Dole Fresh Vegetables is voluntarily recalling 1,077 cases of bagged salads, most of which are likely not on shelves any longer.

The products being recalled are Kroger Fresh Selections Greener Supreme coded N158 211B 1613 KR04 with Use-by date of June 19 and UPC 11110 91039, Kroger Fresh Selections Leafy Romaine coded N158 111B KR11 with Use-by date of June 19 and UPC 11110 91046 and Wal Mart Marketside Leafy Romaine coded N158111B with Use-by date of June 19 and UPC code 81131 02781.

Dole Fresh Vegetables said it is coordinating closely with regulatory officials and that to date no illnesses have been reported in association with the recall.

The Product Code and Use-by date are in the upper right-hand corner of the package and the UPC code is on the back of the package, below the barcode. The salads were distributed in six U.S. states (Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia).

“This precautionary recall notification is being issued due to an isolated instance in which a sample of Marketside Leafy Romaine salad yielded a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes in a random sample test conducted by the State of North Carolina,” said Dole in a release.

The company said no other Wal Mart Marketside, or Kroger Fresh Selections salads are included in the recall.

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

Microbe Found in Salt Could Lead to Salmonella Vaccine

by News Desk

The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday that a team of University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists have spent years researching and developing salt crystals harboring microbes that could act as carriers vaccines for pathogens such as Salmonella or typhoid.

The microbe, Halaorchaea, could be grown to combat a number of diseases around the world. The team leader, Shiladitya DasSarma, first targeted Salmonella after receiving a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to do so.

Read Full Article Here

Organic Standards Protection Act Introduced in Congress

By Linda Larsen

Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA) and Richard Hanna (R-NY) have introduced the Organic Standards Protection Act to the U.S. House of Representatives to give the National Organics Program authority to make sure that foods labeled with the organic seal quality for that designation.

The Organic Trade Association and the National Organic Coalition support this bill.

The legislation would:

Grant the USDA the authority to stop the sales of products labeled “certified organic” when they are not organically produced or grown.
Streamline the recordkeeping requirements of the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act. All organic producers and certifiers would be required to maintain records and sent them to the USDA.
A fine of up to $10,000 per incident would be levied for those who continue to label their products organic after the USDA has revoked their certification.

The USDA does not currently have investigative authority over the organic certification program. The National Organic Program cannot stop the marketing or labeling of organic products when they have been treated with pesticides or herbicides at this time. The bill would give the program embargo and stop sale authority.

Read Full Article Here

Former BPI Employee Plans to File Suit Over LFTB Backlash

“Pink Slime” heading back into the news.

by News Desk

A former Beef Products Inc employee plans to file a civil lawsuit in response to the national frenzy over lean finely textured beef (LFTB), now widely known to consumers as pink slime.

Sioux City, Iowa-based Rauttnee Publishing Company announced it will hold a press conference on Tuesday to detail the suit to be filed by former BPI Environmental Health and Safety Officer Bruce Smith.

The company will be handing out copies of the lawsuit as well as copies of Smith’s new book, titled “Pink Slime Ate My Job.” According to an online business profile, Rauttnee Publishing Company was launched by Smith in 2004.

Read Full Article Here

Study: Norovirus Infection Rates Correlate with Google Search Trends for Symptoms

by James Andrews

Trends in Google internet searches for norovirus symptoms strongly correlate with rates of norovirus infection, suggesting internet searches could serve as reliable surveillance tools for diseases prone to seasonal variations, according to a study conducted by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Google Labs in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

The study, published in the July 2012 edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases, tracked rises and falls in Google internet searches for certain keywords and phrases related to gastroenteritis, such as “diarrhea,” “vomiting,” and “stomach virus,” that could indicate a norovirus infection. Norovirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the U.S., responsible for an estimated 21 million illnesses a year.

The researchers then compared the Google data to trends in lab-confirmed norovirus infections around the nation. If the searches matched up with the rates of confirmed cases, the researchers would uncover a new method of tracking the activity of norovirus, a pathogen with very scarce amounts of surveillance up until now.

The result? The searches and the known cases matched up almost perfectly.

“I think we were surprised at just how strong the correlation was,” said Benjamin Lopman, epidemiologist at the Division of Viral Diseases at the CDC and one of the study’s co-authors. “Even having to rely on general search terms, they still match up very well with the actual outcome.”

Read Full Article Here

Red Meat Allergy Likely Caused by Tick Bites

by Gretchen Goetz

A few years ago, doctors in the southern United States started noticing an odd phenomenon: people were becoming allergic to red meat, seemingly out of the blue. What in the environment was causing this response? The answer, surprisingly, turned out to be ticks.

The researchers who figured this out came upon the answer serendipitously. Thomas Platts-Mills and his colleagues had been studying a cancer drug called Erbitux that was causing severe allergic reactions in patients – but only in southern states. The team had concluded that these people were carrying an antibody that responded to sugars in the drug.

In their findings – published in 2008 – the researchers noted that the sugars in Erbitux, which is derived from mouse cells, are also present in beef, pork and cow mllk.

So the following year when it came to light that otherwise healthy people were developing meat allergies – also in the South – the team began testing samples of their blood and found that they possessed the same Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies as the cancer patients who had reacted to Erbitux.

Since people were reporting a 3-5 hour delay between ingesting meat and having a reaction, scientists guessed that the sugars triggering the response were stored in the fat of the animal, which takes longer to digest than protein or carbohydrates. That would explain why the reaction wasn’t immediate like most other food allergies.

But the big mystery remained: Where were these antibodies for alpha-gal (the sugars found in Erbitux and red meat) coming from?

“We thought initially that it was a parasite,” says Dr. Scott Commins, an assistant professor of medicine at UVA working on the project under Platts-Mills. “So we screened for all kinds of crazy parasites.”

Then, in August of 2009, the answer quite literally came to Platts-Mills when his own IgE to alpha-gal levels suddenly spiked days after he was bitten repeatedly by ticks while on a hike in the woods.

Out of curiosity, the researchers began asking patients if they had been bitten by ticks before their meat allergy developed.

Read Full Article Here

House Budget For USDA Bans Spending on Horse Slaughter

by Dan Flynn

A House committee vote may have closed the barn door before horse slaughter will ever be resumed in the United States.

The powerful Appropriations Committee has by voice vote agreed to again ban federal funding for USDA inspections of horse slaughter facilities. In a deal last year, President Obama and Congress agreed to lift that ban, an action that had led to proposals for horse slaughter facilities in Missouri and New Mexico.

The ban comes in the form of a successful amendment to the fiscal year 2013 Agricultural Appropriations Bill brought by Rep. Jim Moran, D-VA. The appropriations bill now goes to the floor for a vote by the full House.

“When more than 80 percent of the American population opposes this practice, it is high time that we put an end, once and for all, to industrial horse slaughter, Moran said. “Horses hold an important place in our nation’s history and culture, treasured by all for their beauty and majesty. “

Moran says horses “deserve to be cared for, not killed for foreign consumption.”

The Northern Virginia Democrat argued that it made no sense to have cut USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service budget by $9 million, and then continue to require the food safety agency to add the inspection of horsemeat for foreign consumption to its duties.

Moran said to add inspections for horsemeat for export could only be achieved at the expense of inspections for poultry, pork and beef being consumed by U.S. citizens.

It was the removal of similar language advanced by Moran last year in a House-Senate conference committee that led to lifting of the ban. Theoretically, that could still happen this year.

The last three horse slaughter facilities in the U.S. closed more than five years ago after Congress initiated the original ban in 2006. Only USDA-inspected meat processed in the U.S. may be sold across state or national boundaries.

The two groups with horse slaughter business plans have each requested USDA inspection services. Both groups want to slaughter horses for the human consumption export market, and neither can do business without USDA inspection services. The companies planning to implement horse slaughter are:

- Unified Equine Missouri, a company headed by Wyoming lawmaker Sue Wallis, which has plans to convert a closed beef-packing plant to accommodate horse slaughter in town of Rockville, MO.

-Valley Meat Co. in Roswell, NM – owned by Rick De Los Santos – also wants to convert its former beef facility into a horse packing plant.

Read Full Article here

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Tags: "Coarse Ground Smoked Bacon Ends and Pieces", Alabama, American Medical Association Calls for Testing of GMO Foods, Antibiotic-Free Meat Map Launched for Consumers, Artificial and Natural Trans Fats: They Are Different, Bareilly, California, Carrot Juice Recalled for Botulism Risk, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China, Clostridium botulinum, Dioxin Contamination, Dole Fresh Vegetable, Dole Recalls Thousand Cases of Bagged Salads for Listeria, E.coli In Aberdeen SD Drinking Water Prompts Boil Water Advisory, Eggs Recalled in Germany for Dioxin Contamination, Escherichia coli, Euphoria Fancy Food Inc. of New York, Euphoria Fancy Food Inc. Recalling Uneviscerated Fish, FL, Florida, Food Safety, Food Safety Scandals Fuel Urban Gardening in China, Former BPI Employee Plans to File Suit Over LFTB Backlash, GE, Genetically Engineered, Genetically Modified Organisms, Georgia, Germany, GMO, Google, Ground Bacon Recalled: May Contain Cardboard and Plastic Pieces, Hawaii, Health, Health Choice Island Blends, Horse slaughter, House Budget For USDA Bans Spending on Horse Slaughter, Illness in Louisiana Brings E. coli O145 Outbreak Count to 15, Inc, India, India to Implement Standards for Street Food, Kentucky, Kroger Fresh Selections salads, Leasa Industries Co. of Miami, Legislation includes study on food recall insurance for farmers, Liquid Gold Carrot Juice, Living Alfalfa Sprouts, Louisiana, Microbe Found in Salt Could Lead to Salmonella Vaccine, Missouri, Moon Fishery facility, Multistate Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Live Poultry from Missouri Hatchery, Nakaochi Scrape, New Jersey, New York., Norovirus, North Carolina, Organic Standards Protection Act Introduced in Congress, Outbreak of Gastroenteritis at George Mason University, Publix Supermarkets, Raw Scraped Tuna Salmonella Outbreak Grows Again; 390 Now Ill, Red Meat Allergy Likely Caused by Tick Bites, Salmonella, Salmonella Bareilli, Salmonella Bareilly, Salmonella Nchanga, Sedanos Supermarkets [and] Sysco Food Service, Senate Passes Farm Bill, South Carolina, South Dakota, Sprouts Recalled for Potential Salmonella Contamination, Square-H Brands, Study: Norovirus Infection Rates Correlate with Google Search Trends for Symptoms, Tennessee, United States, Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli, Virginia, Wal Mart Marketside, Wal-Mart Supercenters, Washington DC, Winn-Dixie Stores

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Archive for June 27, 2012

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Articles of Interest

Food Safety

Antibiotic-Free Meat Map Launched for Consumers

Illness in Louisiana Brings E. coli O145 Outbreak Count to 15

Artificial and Natural Trans Fats: They Are Different

E.coli In Aberdeen SD Drinking Water Prompts Boil Water Advisory

Food Safety Scandals Fuel Urban Gardening in China

Multistate Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Live Poultry from Missouri Hatchery

India to Implement Standards for Street Food

Raw Scraped Tuna Salmonella Outbreak Grows Again; 390 Now Ill

Outbreak of Gastroenteritis at George Mason University

American Medical Association Calls for Testing of GMO Foods

Recalls

Ground Bacon Recalled: May Contain Cardboard and Plastic Pieces

Sprouts Recalled for Potential Salmonella Contamination

Senate Passes Farm Bill

Legislation includes study on food recall insurance for farmers

Carrot Juice Recalled for Botulism Risk

Eggs Recalled in Germany for Dioxin Contamination

Euphoria Fancy Food Inc. Recalling Uneviscerated Fish

Dole Recalls Thousand Cases of Bagged Salads for Listeria

Articles of Interest

Microbe Found in Salt Could Lead to Salmonella Vaccine

Organic Standards Protection Act Introduced in Congress

Former BPI Employee Plans to File Suit Over LFTB Backlash

“Pink Slime” heading back into the news.

Study: Norovirus Infection Rates Correlate with Google Search Trends for Symptoms

Red Meat Allergy Likely Caused by Tick Bites

House Budget For USDA Bans Spending on Horse Slaughter

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