First version of this article was originally published on 11 July, 2012
MessageToEagle.com – Scientists have made an unexpected and unsettling discovery – a large number of new and previously unseen mutations have been detected among humans.
There are those who suggest that there will soon be fantastic X-men among humans. These super earthlings do not come out of secret laboratories, as in famous blockbuster movies, but are born naturally. Other scientists are less optimistic and consider the unforeseen development can to lead to unknown changes in the human body.
This unexpected and terrifying discovery is a result of a study conducted by scientists from Cornell University (USA) and University of California.
When they examined genes of several thousands of people from around the world, it turned out that mankind has acquired over the past few years new, previously unseen mutations.
Is a new human race being born?
The scientist studied 202 genes in 14,002 people. The human genome contains some 3 billion base pairs; the scientists studied 864,000 of these pairs. While this is only a small part of the genome, the sample size of 14,002 people is one of the largest ever in a sequencing study in humans.
This project led by John Novembre of the University of California Los Angeles and Vincent Mooser of UK-based drug company GlaxoSmithKline, reports that more than 95% of variants found by sequencing 202 genes in 14,002 people were rare, and that 74% of the variants were carried by only one or two people in the study.
“I knew there would be rare variation but had no idea there would be so much of it!” said the senior author of the research, John Novembre, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of bioinformatics at UCLA.In the study, 10,621 people had one of 12 diseases, including coronary artery disease, multiple sclerosis, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, osteoarthritis and Alzheimer’s disease; 3,381 did not have any of the diseases.
“The large sample size allows us to see patterns with more clarity than ever before,” Novembre said.
“If rare variants are like distant stars, this kind of large sample size is like having the Hubble Telescope; it’s allowing us to see more than before.
We see a ton of rare variation, and these rare variants more often make changes to proteins than not. In that way, this study has important implications for the genetic basis of disease in humans. It’s consistent with the idea that many diseases may be partly caused by rare variants.”
“Research carried out fifty years ago, showed that the mutant gene had only one man among a thousand, and now five people”, explained John Novembre.
What is causing the mutations?
Previously it was thought that genetic abnormalities are caused by of radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic chemicals, but now scientists have identified yet another factor that results in mutations – overpopulation!
Human population growth helps to explain the large number of genetic variants, the scientists said.
Mutations can cause unknown changes in the human body.
IRVING — The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 3.4 magnitude earthquake centered near Irving at 11:05 p.m. Saturday.
Four minutes later, there was a magnitude 3.1 quake in West Dallas. Both were estimated at a depth of 3.1 miles.
News 8 has been receiving calls and Facebook postings from people who felt the earth moving in Richardson, Garland, Coppell, Dallas, Grapevine, and other locations in North Texas.
The epicenter of the initial quake was located near MacArthur Boulevard and Rochelle Road near Farine Elementary School, according to coordinates provided by the USGS.
The second tremor was centered near the intersection of Loop 12 and Interstate 30, about six miles southeast of the first earthquake.
Irving’s emergency operators were flooded with more than 400 calls after the initial quake as people reported such minor damage as cracks in some walls and a ceiling, pictures knocked down and a report of a possible gas leak, according to an emergency official, Pat McMacken. City officials said they were still following up on the various reports early Sunday.
Beverly Rangel’s home on New Haven Street in Irving was at the epicenter of the first quake. “The table started shaking,” she said. “It’s a pretty heavy table for it to be shaking!”
“I kind of got scared,” said her son, Emmanuel. “I was sitting right here, and the couch just started shaking.”
Ashley Finley in Las Colinas said she felt two tremors that shook her walls and furniture.
Cheryl Gideon in Irving said she and her neighbors all ran outside.
Irving police checked neighborhoods near the epicenter to ensure there was no damage.
“We felt it twice in Euless about five minutes apart,” wrote Denise Perez. “We weren’t sure if a plane had crashed or the roof was caving in. It sounded massive.”
Joni Gregory of Carrollton said she was surprised she could feel the quake so far away. “The house shook a couple of times… didn’t know what was going on,” she said. “Maybe it’s wind? No, it’s too much.”
Geophysicist Randy Baldwin at the USGS earthquake center in Golden, Colorado told The Associated Press that the quake was just strong enough to likely have been felt for about 15 or 20 miles around the epicenter. He says the quake’s online reporting system received no reports of any damages or injuries but there were some 1,200 responses from people who felt the quake.
Baldwin says smaller aftershocks are a possibility in that area in coming hours or days. He said the Saturday night quakes were detected by a seismological station located about 65 miles from the epicenter — somewhat distant — and the preliminary magnitude of 3.4 for the initial tremor could be revised up or down once further data is evaluated.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport continued operations normally during and after the quakes, which barely rattled nerves at the airport located partially within the city limits of Irving, said airport public affairs officer David Magaña. He told AP said the airport, which bustles at peak hours to get some 1,800 flights in and out daily, was in a quiet period with very little air traffic late Saturday night.
But he said those still in the airport definitely felt the quakes.
“I wouldn’t call it panic. I would call it surprise,” Magaña said.
He said members of the airport operations team immediately conducted a special inspection of the airfield, buildings and found nothing harmed by the quake.
“We don’t have any damage to report. There were no impacts or (power) outages and no disruptions to flights,” Magaña said. “I felt it at my house. It shook it a little bit but it wasn’t enough of a jolt to shake anything loose like you have in California. I’ve been in California and this was nothing like that.”
Damage from a small earthquake and a subsequent aftershock in a suburb west of Dallas was mostly limited to cracked walls and knocked-down pictures, authorities said. The unscathed Dallas-Fort Worth airport, near the epicenter of Saturday’s late-night temblor, kept up with normal flight operations. Emergency officials said there were no indications of any injuries. The initial earthquake, measured at a preliminary magnitude of 3.4, struck at 11:05 p.m. central time Saturday and was centered about 2 miles north of the Dallas suburb of Irving, the U.S. Geological Survey’s national earthquake monitoring center in Golden, Colo., reported. USGS geophysicist Randy Baldwin told The Associated Press that the initial quake lasted several seconds and appeared strong enough to be felt up to 15 or 20 miles away. He said the smaller aftershock, with an estimated 3.1 magnitude, occurred four minutes later and just a few miles away in another area west of Dallas. Irving’s emergency operators were flooded with more than 400 calls after the initial quake, with people reporting minor damage, such as cracks in some walls and a ceiling, pictures that had been knocked down and a report of a possible gas leak, emergency official Pat McMacken said Sunday.
Tsunami Information Bulletin in Colombia, Pacific Ocean
000
WEPA42 PHEB 301638
TIBPAC
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1638Z 30 SEP 2012
THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...
THIS BULLETIN IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 1632Z 30 SEP 2012
COORDINATES - 2.0 NORTH 76.6 WEST
DEPTH - 140 KM
LOCATION - COLOMBIA
MAGNITUDE - 7.4
EVALUATION
A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI WAS NOT GENERATED BASED ON EARTHQUAKE AND
HISTORICAL TSUNAMI DATA.
THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.
THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.
A weakening tropical storm was speeding out of Japan on Monday after bringing gale-strength winds to Tokyo and injuring dozens of people, causing blackouts and paralyzing traffic to the south and west of the capital. Japan’s Meteorological Agency had warned Tokyo residents to stay indoors while Typhoon Jelawat passed Sunday night. The storm then had winds of up to 126 kilometers (78 miles) an hour but weakened to a tropical storm with 108 kph (67 mph) in the morning. On Sunday, Nagoya city issued an evacuation advisory to more than 50,000 residents because of fear of flooding from a swollen river. A similar advisory was issued for more than 10,000 people in the northern city of Ishinomaki that was hit by last year’s tsunami. The typhoon left 145 people with minor injuries in southern and western Japan, about half of them on the southern island of Okinawa, public broadcaster NHK said. Tens of thousands of homes were without electricity. Kyodo news agency reported one fatality, a man who was swept away by seawater while fishing in Okinawa. Dozens of trains were halted in coastal areas around Tokyo and many stores inside the capital closed early Sunday as the storm approached. It is expected to move into the Pacific Ocean early Monday.
A new virus that appears similar to rabies, but has the symptoms and lethality of Ebola, shown here, has been dubbed the Bas-Congo virus. It killed two teenagers in the Congo in 2009.
By Maggie Fox, NBC News
A virus that killed two teenagers in Congo in 2009 is a completely new type, related to rabies but causing the bleeding and rapid death that makes Ebola infection so terrifying, scientists reported on Thursday. They’re searching for the source of the virus, which may be transmitted by insects or bats.
The new virus is being named Bas-Congo virus, for the area where it was found. Researchers are finding more and more of these new viruses, in part because new tests make it possible, but also in the hope of better understanding them so they can prevent pandemics of deadly disease.
The virus infected a 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl in the same village in Congo in 2009. They didn’t stand a chance, says Joseph Fair of Metabiota, a company that investigates pathogens. Fair is in the Democratic Republic of Congo now, under contract to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to help battle an ongoing Ebola outbreak.
“They expired within three days,” Fair said in a telephone interview. “It was a very rapid killer.”
A few days later a male nurse who cared for the two teenagers developed the same symptoms and survived. Samples from the lucky nurse have been tested and it turned out a completely new virus had infected him, Fair and other researchers report in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS pathogens.
The genetic sequences went to Dr. Charles Chiu, of the University of California, San Francisco.
“We were astounded that this patient had sequences in his blood from a completely unknown and unidentified virus,” Chiu said. They weren’t expecting that.
“Congo is very much known for having Ebola and Marburg outbreaks. Yet about 20 percent of the time we have hemorrhagic fever outbreaks that are completely negative, which means unknown causes and they are not Ebola.”
The sequencing puts this new virus on its own branch of the bad virus family tree — somewhat related to Ebola and the virus that causes Lassa fever, another horrific killer, and most closely related to the rhabdoviruses. This family usually only infects animals with one notable exception — rabies.
But rabies is not known to cause hemorrhaging. It’s plenty horrible on its own, of course, killing virtually all patients if they aren’t vaccinated soon after infection.
A nurse who took care of the first infected nurse had antibodies to the new virus. It doesn’t look like the teenagers infected one another, says Fair, but they probably infected the first nurse, who probably infected the second. Tests of other villagers have found no more evidence of the virus, however, which is good news.
“Although the source of the virus remains unclear, study findings suggest that Bas-Congo virus may be spread by human-to-human contact and is an emerging pathogen associated with acute hemorrhagic fever in Africa,” the researchers wrote.
Africa is loaded with nasty viruses. Lassa fever virus comes from a family known as arenaviruses and causes 500,000 cases of hemorrhagic fever a year. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and Rift Valley Fever viruses are in another family called bunyaviruses; Ebola and Marburg viruses are filoviruses that kill anywhere between 30 percent and 90 percent of victims. They’re also helping wipe out great apes such as gorillas in Central Africa. This adds a new one to the list.
It worries Chiu because its closest relative is spread by biting flies in Australia. “We think that is potentially a valuable clue. This virus may have come from an insect vector,” Chiu says. “What is scary about this virus is if it does happen to be spread by insects, it has the potential to be something like West Nile.”
West Nile showed up in the United States for the first time in 1999, having never been seen here before. It causes regular outbreaks in Africa and parts of Europe, however, and some experts think a mosquito or an infected person carried it on a flight to New York. It’s killed 147 people in an especially bad U.S. outbreak this year, although more than 90 percent of people infected with West Nile never even know it.
New viruses often cause disease — there was severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS, which killed 800 people and infected 8,000 in 2003 before it was stopped. Scientists are now watching a similar virus that has emerged in the Middle east.
Chiu says there is not enough information to know how deadly the new Bas-Congo virus is.
“It has probably been lurking out there in remote areas and causing sporadic cases of hemorrhagic fever and no one had the resources to discover it,” Chiu said. “This is probably the tip of the iceberg. I believe there are many, many more of these emerging viruses that have yet to be discovered,” he added.
“This points to the importance of being vigilant, especially these remote areas of Africa and Asia. This is the area that I believe the next generation of emerging viruses will come from.”
Fair agrees, and says his team will be looking. They’ll also be checking to see if bats or insects can spread it. “It is a frightening prospect. That is why the next step in this process is to look for the vector,” Fair said.
That’s not so easy. Fair’s team and hundreds of other scientists have been looking for the reservoir — the animal or insect source –of Ebola. That would be a bat or other creature that can carry it without getting sick itself. So far they have had no luck, although fruit bats are a major suspect.
And for the new Bas-Congo virus, the trail is now three years old. “Everything we do will be as a forensic investigation,” Fair said. “We really have to go look for a needle in a sack of needles.”
And in the meantime, there’s an outbreak of Ebola to cope with. Fair says a coordinated effort is going on, although this isn’t the worst outbreak he has seen. It’s killing about 30 percent to 40 percent of patients — not nearly as bad as some strains, which killed up to 90 percent of victims.
“If you had to get Ebola, this is the strain to get,” he said.
A strong (Kp=7) geomagnetic storm sparked by a CME impact on Sept. 30th is subsiding now. At maximum, during the early hours of Oct. 1st, Northern Lights descended as far south in the United States as Michigan, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, Montana, Minnesota, Washington, Idaho, Illinois and South Dakota. Even California experienced some auroras. Tim Piya Trepetch caught a patch of sky turning purple over the Lassen Volcanic National Park:
“Purple auroras erupted right over Lassen Peak,” says Trepetch.
California auroras are not as rare as some people think. The webmaster of spaceweather.com lives in California and has witnessed auroras no fewer than six times. The trick is knowing when to look.
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Europe’s massive ATV-3 cargo carrier undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 28th. Now the spacecraft, as large as a double-decker bus, is leading the ISS in orbit around Earth. Monika Landy-Gyebnar saw it this morning flying over Veszprem, Hungary:
“I went outside to see the ISS,” says Landy-Gyebnar. “About a minute before the space station appeared, I saw a realtively bright object flying overheads almost where the ISS was to fly. Then I remembered that the ATV-3 undocked from ISS on Friday–and there it was! Just as ATV-3 has faded, the ISS emerged from the clouds and followed the small cargo vehicle towards the east.”
The ATV-3 will reenter Earth’s atmosphere on or about October 3rd, disintegrating in a spectacular fireball over the Pacific Ocean. Until then, sky watchers should be alert for the cargo vessel leading the ISS across the night sky. ATV-3 and ISS flyby predictions may be found on the web or on your smartphone.
The sinkhole in Assumption Parish keeps getting bigger.The parish’s director of homeland security and emergency preparedness, John Boudreaux, says a 15-hundred square foot section of the earth caved in last week, pulling down several trees and part of a road.
The road that caved in was built to assist in the cleanup efforts. The sinkhole is about four acres in size and has grown since it emerged on August third.
150 homes in two nearby communities are evacuated as a result of the sinkhole.
Experts believe an underground brine cavern encased in a salt dome could be the cause of the sink hole. Sonar testing inside the cavern began a few days ago.
Boudreaux says an unknown substance was found at the bottom of the cavern. “The substance could be soil and sand that now has entered the cavern that created the sinkhole.”
Scientists are still trying to determine precisely why the hole appeared.
Residents and businesses in the area are growing increasingly concerned that it may swallow up their investments.
The hole filled with sludge and muck as it swallowed hundreds of yards of swampland.
Area residents have been worried not only by tremors, possibly caused by natural gas shifting underground in or near the dome, but also by concerns the value of their homes and business could suffer.
Power has been restored to about 17,000 Xcel Energy customers who were affected Sunday evening by an outage in the Greeley area. Xcel Energy spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo said at least 16,900 customers in Greeley, Garden City, Evans, LaSalle and surrounding areas were affected. She said the outage originated at a Greeley substation at 6:18 p.m. The outage lasted a little more than two hours. As of Sunday night, Aguayo said crews were still trying to determine the cause of the outage, but it did not appear to be weather-related. Xcel Energy’s outage hotline was inundated with calls. Aguayo said the company encourages customers to call and leave messages. Paul Sadd, a mechanic at North Colorado Medical Center, said the hospital was running on emergency power during the outage. He said several people were stuck in elevators, but workers were able to get them out safely. Aguayo said Xcel works closely with large customers like hospitals and law enforcement agencies to ensure that they have back-up power resources.
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Crossroads News : Changes In The World Around Us And Our Place In It
Mysterious Phenomena
Hundreds of residents in Yekaterinburg, Russia reported that the small river named Olkhovka, suddenly turned to steam.
into a stream of hot water.
“The water is really hot. The shore of the river is littered with dead fish,” a professor from a local university stated.
The local urban traffic control service reported the problem. According to them, most likely, somewhere there was a gust of hot water supply line. Then the water flowed into the river, and then into the pond. But a solution to this problem is difficult.
“There are specialists. The problem is that when the river connects to the pond, the water flows through a tunnel, and no one knows exactly where there was a rush,“ said Russian urban traffic control dispatchers.
Possible sources for the hot stream could belong to the “Sverdlovsk Heat Supply Company” (TGC unit number 9), MUP “Ekaterinburgenergo” or the SvRW. All three organizations have to follow the course of the river, which originates in the 7 keys, its backbone. But all three organizations have denied any involvement to the problem.
If it is indeed proven that the extremely hot stream has a man made explanation and they find out who is responsible, the situation may be subject to the criminal proceedings with the environmental prosecutor’s office.
ALEXEY VISLYAKOV
Witness the almost unbelievable phenomenon Hundreds of residents of the center of Yekaterinburg – Olkhovka small river flowing near USURT urban pond (area of streets and Kolmogorov operator), suddenly turned into a stream of hot water.
“Water is really hot. All shore littered with dead fish “- describes what he saw on our portal E1 user” professor. “
In urban traffic control service «URA.Ru» reported that in the course of this problem. According to them, most likely, somewhere there was a gust of hot water supply line, and now the water flows into the river, and then into the pond. But how to eliminate the cause of PE is not present. “Yesterday and today, there are specialists. The problem is that the river to the confluence of the pond flows through the tunnel, and no one knows exactly where there was a rush “, – the dispatchers.
Formal source of the hot stream can serve as a network “Sverdlovsk Heat Supply Company” (TGC unit number 9), MUP “Ekaterinburgenergo” and SvRW. All three organizations have to follow the course of the river, which originates in the 7 keys, its backbone. But as long as 100% say that “it is not their impulse” could only STK.
If it is indeed proven that hot stream has communal nature and find out who is to blame, the situation may be subject to the proceedings with the environmental prosecutor’s office.
Magnitudes and frequencies should decrease in the coming days, experts say.
Tico Times
The National Seismological Network released this map with the aftershocks registered from September 5. Courtesy of RSN
The latest report from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Ovsicori), released Monday morning, states that 1,650 aftershocks have been registered since the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that hit the country last Wednesday.
The strongest aftershock was felt Saturday, with a magnitude of 5.6. However, it was felt only in the Central Valley.
Ovsicori seismologist Walter Jiménez said the aftershocks will continue in upcoming days, but he also stated that the magnitudes and frequencies of them will go down, ranging from 2 to 3 in magnitude.
Experts confirmed the Sept. 5 magnitude-7.6 earthquake was the ‘Big One’ they’ve been expecting, but the fault rupture was only of 50 percent.
After a series of analyses conducted in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, experts from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Ovsicori) reported Tuesday that another quake of equal or greater magnitude could occur in Nicoya Peninsula, but predicting when it would happen is “impossible .”
Marino Protti, Ovsicori’s lead scientist, explained that the magintude-7.6 earthquake on Sept. 5 caused a 40 percent slip and an inclination of 1.8 meters on the fault located in Nicoya.
He also said that although the quake was the “big one” experts had been expecting for Guanacaste, the fault ruptured by only 50 percent, meaning that the possibility that another earthquake of equal or greater magnitude in the area still remains.
Ovsicori’s report, released Tuesday, also stated that the earthquake triggered the activation of three faults in Aguas Zarcas (in the northern region), the Guanacaste Volcanic Area and Irazú Volcano (north of Cartago). Seismologists will continue monitoring the areas.
By Tuesday morning, the total count of aftershocks from the recent earthquake was 1,650. On Sept. 5 at 8:42 a.m., the 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook the country and was felt as far away as Nicaraguan and Panama. Its epicenter was located 20 kilometers northwest of Sámara in the Nicoya Península.
Anak Krakatau had the largest eruption in over 10 years on the 2nd of September 2012. I visited the volcano on the 8th of September to check out the action. Lots of smoke, warm lava and new land had been generated.
Ongoing activity by Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau has residents of nearby coastal areas concerned as the volcano spewed more lava, officials said. On Monday the volcano in the Sunda Strait spewed hot lava and other volcanic material 2,000 feet above its peak, the Antara news agency reported. “Tremors have not stopped rocking this area since yesterday,” Hamdani, the head of the volcano monitoring post in the village of Hargopancuran, South Lampung, said. Black clouds were obscuring the peak of the volcano, Hamdani said. Officials warned fishermen to stay away from the volcano although they said the ongoing tremors would not cause a tsunami.
Activity in the San Cristobal volcano in Nicaragua has calmed a day after three loud explosions were accompanied by a huge eruption of ash and gas that led officials to evacuate about 3,000 people from nine nearby communities. Officials say the area remains under an alert. Nicaragua’s geological institute says sporadic explosions have been heard Sunday and occasional ash columns have billowed up to heights between 4,950 feet and 16,500 feet. On Saturday, the 5,740-foot volcano spewed out clouds of ash that traveled 31 miles. San Cristobal has been active since 1520.
Summer 2012 was the third hottest summer on record for the contiguous United States since recordkeeping began in 1895. According to the latest statistics from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, the average temperature for the contiguous United States between June and August was over 74° Fahrenheit, which is more than 2° F above the twentieth-century average. Only the summers of 2011 and 1936 have had higher summer temperatures for the Lower 48.
Reds show June-August temperatures up to 8° F warmer than average. Blues show temperatures up to 2° F cooler than average—the darker the color, the larger the difference. (Map by NOAA climate.gov team, based on U.S. Climate Division Data from the National Climatic Data Center.)
These maps show patterns of temperature (above) and precipitation (below) across the United States from June through August 2012 compared to the recent long-term average (1981-2010). The summer season was warmer than average for a large portion of contiguous United States, with the Southeast and parts of the Northwest being exceptions. Sixteen states across the West, Plains, and Upper Midwest had summer temperatures among their ten warmest. Colorado and Wyoming each had their record-hottest summer, and much of the Northeast was warmer than average, with seven states from New Hampshire to Maryland having a top-ten-warmest summer.
Browns indicate areas that received less than 100 percent of average June-August precipitation, while greens indicate up to 200 percent of average. (Map by NOAA climate.gov team, based on U.S. Climate Division Data from the National Climatic Data Center.)
Drier-than-average conditions prevailed across much of the central United States, from the Rocky Mountains to the Ohio Valley. Nebraska’s summer precipitation was almost 6 inches below average, and Wyoming’s precipitation was more than 2 inches below average, marking the driest summer on record for both states. Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, and New Mexico had summer precipitation totals among their ten driest.
However, the summer was wetter than average across the West Coast, the Gulf Coast, and New England. Florida had its wettest summer on record, partially driven by Tropical Storm Debby in June and Hurricane Isaac in August. The total statewide summer precipitation was almost 9 inches above the long-term average. In addition, Louisiana and Mississippi each had one of their ten-wettest summer seasons.
A comparison of drought maps* from August 28 (left) and September 4 (right) show how little relief Hurricane Isaac (estimated track shown by blue line) brought to parched states in the central U.S. A handful of states in the Lower Mississippi and Lower Ohio Valleys saw modest improvements. Maps by NOAA Climate.gov team, based on U.S. Drought Monitor Data.) *Update: This is an updated version of the image, with a more accurate estimate of the track of Isaac through the Lower Mississippi Valley. See original.
The U.S. Climate Extremes Index (USCEI), an index that tracks the highest and lowest 10 percent of extremes in temperature, precipitation, drought, and tropical cyclones across the contiguous U.S. was more than one and a half times the average value during summer 2012, and marked the eighth largest USCEI value for the season. Extremes in warm daytime temperatures, warm nighttime temperatures, and extremely dry conditions covered large areas of the Nation, contributing to the above-average USCEI value.
These climate statistics and many others are part of NOAA’s National Climate Summary. The National Climatic Data Center produces these monthly climate reports as part of the suite of climate services that NOAA provides government, business, and community leaders so they can make informed decisions.
Tropical storm Leslie arrived in Newfoundland, Canada, Tuesday morning. Tropical storm Leslie brought heavy rains and hurricane-force wind gusts up to 81 m.p.h.
By Staff, Associated Press
The Canadian Hurricane Centre shows the forecast tracks of tropical storm Leslie and Michael in the Atlantic.
Meteorologist Bob Robichaud says the potent storm touched down at about 8:30 a.m. AST (7:30 a.m. EST, 1130 GMT) as it continued to barrel north-northeast.
He says a swath of the province from Fortune, on the Burin Peninsula, all the way east to St. John’s on the Avalon Peninsula was getting pounded with stiff winds and heavy rains.
Winds were still building, with the St. John’s airport recording hurricane-force gusts of up to 81 mph (131 kph), while waves were reaching 10 yards (meters) at an offshore buoy.
There were widespread power outages in St. John’s and communities along the southeastern coast of the Avalon Peninsula.
Heavy rains also drenched province’s western portion.
Commuters wade through rainwater at Clock Tower Road during the downpour in Sukkur. PHOTO: PPI
SUKKUR: At least 58 people, including women and children, were killed, and hundreds injured, in rain-related incidents throughout upper Sindh over the past 24 hours. An emergency has been declared in Jacobabad and Kandhkot, where the army has been called in to provide relief.
Almost all cities and towns are submerged in a mixture of rain and sewage, while the drainage system has collapsed. Much of the region experienced blackouts for over 30 hours till the filing of this report.
According to the Met office, Sukkur, Rohri and other nearby areas received 178 mm of rain till Monday morning, while 441 mm of rain has been recorded in Jacobabad – the highest in a century. Reports from different parts of upper Sindh reveal that hundreds of katcha houses have collapsed in different areas, due to which at least 58 people have been killed while hundreds are reportedly injured.
The most affected area is Kandhkot, the district headquarters of Kashmore, where 24 persons have been killed. Some 15 people were killed in Shikarpur, two in Khairpur, five in Sukkur, five in Ghotki and other areas and four in Jacobabad. Three people have died in Larkana, while 5,000 houses were damaged in Shikarpur. In Lakhi Ghulam Shah, boats are being used for transport due to the high level of flooding.
Archaeological site at risk
Meanwhile, the archaeological site of Moen Jo Daro is also under threat, as recent rainfall has partially damaged its stupa, while rainwater has been accumulating in different areas of the historical site, including the Great Bath.
Culture Department Additional Secretary Ashfaq Mussavi said that although they have access to generators and heavy machinery, they’re avoiding their use as they could damage the walls of the site. He added that more than 30 officials are draining out the water to prevent further damage.
Damage to agriculture
The devastating rains have also caused extensive damage to the agriculture sector throughout upper Sindh. Standing crops in Jacobabad, Kashmore, Kandhkot, Shikarpur, Larkana and other areas which comprise the rice cultivating belt have been destroyed. The crisis has been exacerbated since the crops were grown unseasonally late – farmers had earlier halted cultivation in protest over an acute shortage of water. In Sukkur, Khairpur and Ghotki districts, standing crops of paddy, cotton and sugarcane have been destroyed by the rains.
In the wake of devastating rains throughout upper Sindh, all the canals of the Guddu and Sukkur barrages have been shut to prevent breaches.
While the casualties in lower Sindh remained low, the damage to infrastructure was substantial. Torrential rain continued in Badin district on Monday, damaging mud houses and ravaging crops on thousands of acres, creating panic near to the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD). According to official reports, Badin received 51 mm of rain. Deputy Commissioner Kazim Hussain Jatoi said that the LBOD was being monitored, adding that no relief camp had been established so far.
Jatoi said the main crops affected were cotton, rice, chillies and vegetables. Mithan Mallah, the district president of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, alleged that the government did not inform fishermen about heavy rains in the region. “We rescued 250 fishermen and around 150 are still at the sea,” he told the Daily Sindh Express.
An eight-year-old boy Kazim Ali Shah died when the wall of his house collapsed in Allah Bachayo Bhatti village late Sunday night.
Authorities claim that dozens of machines have been fixed on the banks of the LBOD but only one pumping machine was seen when the Daily Sindh Express visited the drain on Monday.
Extensive damage was also reported in Naukot and Umerkot.
On the directives of Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, the Provincial Minister for Rehabilitation Haji Muzaffar Ali Shujra, along with Secretary Rehabilitation/Director General of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi, called an emergency meeting on Monday at the PDMA office. Shujra called on all affected district administrations to declare a rain emergency in their districts and mobilise all the available resources to provide relief to the victims.
The Sindh CM also cancelled leave grants for commissioners, deputy commissioners, revenue officers and officials, doctors and staff of hospitals and other essential services.
WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY HAMEED SOOMRO IN BADIN, IMAM DINO RANTO IN SAJAWAL, GM WALHARI IN UMERKOT AND SAGAR LASHARI IN NAUKOT
At least 78 people have died in floods in in Pakistan in the last three days, officials say.
They say that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Pakistani-administered Kashmir are the worst hit regions, accounting for more than 60 deaths.
Hundreds of tents have been sent to these areas as part of relief efforts.
Officials say many people continue to live in low-lying areas prone to flash floods, despite warnings to relocate. More rain is due in the next two days.
The heavy monsoon rain – which began falling last week – had destroyed more than 1,600 houses while damaging a further 5,000, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) spokesman Irshad Bhatti said.
He said that most of the casualties were caused by houses collapsing and people being caught in rapidly rising water.
Police told the AFP news agency that an Afghan refugee family of eight – including two women and six children – were all killed in the north-western district of Swabi when the roof of their mud house collapsed on Sunday night.
Officials say that a state of emergency has been declared in the Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts of Punjab province, where troops have joined rescue work.
Weather forecasters say that most of the rain expected over the next two days will fall in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan provinces.
Questions
The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says that while the number of people affected is far lower than the previous two years, in Punjab canals have burst their banks and low-lying areas of Sindh province are under water. In Balochistan, communication links have been severed.
In November 2011 at least five million people were affected by flooding in Sindh, which also killed livestock and destroyed crops, homes and infrastructure as the country struggled to recover from record downpours in 2010.
About eight million people in total were affected in 2011 and an estimated 20 million the year before. There was also large scale structural damage.
Our correspondent says that questions have already been asked about what the disaster management authorities have done in the last 12 months to prevent flooding.
Until recently, areas in southern Pakistan were still under water from last year’s monsoon rains, with locals complaining that even the basic work of clearing debris from drainage channels had not been done.
An apparent object impact captured about 6:35 am on Sept. 10, 2012 from Dallas, Texas USA. The impact was observed by Dan Peterson visually this morning. His observation was posted later on the ALPO_Jupiter forum. When I saw the post, I went back and examined the videos that I had collected this morning. Click on the image to the left to see a larger version. This is a screen capture from QuickTime of a single frame from the video. The video was captured with a 12″ LX200GPS, 3x Televue Barlow, and Point Grey Flea 3 camera. The capture software was Astro IIDC. Here is a link to a 4 sec. video of the event on Flickr.
An apparent object impact captured about 6:35 am on Sept. 10, 2012 from Dallas, Texas USA. Credit: George Hall.
UPDATE: Yes, there was an impact! An amateur astronomer in Dallas Texas, George Hall captured the impact flash in his webcam — click here to see his website and image – at about 6:30 am on Sept. 10, 2012.
——-
From astronomer Heidi Hammel of the Space Science Institute comes news about a potential new impact on Jupiter. She reports there has been a visual sighting of an apparent fireball on Jupiter earlier today (about 10 hours ago, as of this posting) so the impact site should be visible again over the next few hours. According to amateur astronomers discussing this on G+, the impact area on Jupiter won’t be visible again until about 05:00 UTC, (01:00 EDT). The amateur who observed the flash was Dan Petersen, from Oregon, who made the observation at approximately 11:35 UTC on September 10. Petersen reported it to Richard Schmude of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO). Hammel says the report sounds realistic, but obviously it needs confirmation if possible: a) by looking for any ‘impact scar’ tonight or over the next few days; b) by searching any webcam video that any observers might have been recording at the time. From the time and position given, the flash was on the North Equatorial Belt at approximately L1=335, L2=219, L3=257. “Let’s hope someone has a record of it!” Hammel says.
If it was the impact was sizable enough, it might have left an impact scar like those seen after the Shoemaker-Levy/9 impacts and this one in 2010:
Color image of impact on Jupiter on June 3, 2010. Credit: Anthony Wesley
This morning (9/10/2012) at 11:35:30 UT, I observed a bright white two second long explosion just inside Jupiter’s eastern limb, located at about Longitude 1 = 335, and Latitude = + 12 degrees north, inside the southern edge of the NEB. This flash appeared to be about 100 miles in diameter. I used my Meade 12″ LX200 GPS telescope and a binoviewer working at 400X for the observation, seeing was very good at the time. I was thinking about imaging Jupiter this morning but decided to observe it instead, had I been imaging I’m sure I would have missed it between adjusting webcam settings and focusing each avi. We’ll have to wait and see if a dark spot develops inside the southern regions of the NEB over the next day or two. Good luck imaging this. My best guess is that it was a small undetected comet that is now history, hopefully it will sign its name on Jupiter’s cloud tops.
If you make any observations or find you have webcam footage that may show such an impact, please send us an email.
Via astronomer Pete Lawrence (@Avertedvision on Twitter) is a simulated view showing where impact may have occurred (X marks the spot).
A strong sulphuric odor first noticed throughout Riverside County on Sunday night hung in the air today, but authorities were at a loss to explain it.
(Flickr/Phil Konstantin)
“It’s not something originating here in the city,” Riverside Public Utilities Chief Deputy Director Steve Badgett told City News Service. “It hit me when I went out to get my paper this morning 45 miles away.”
The rotten-egg odor wafted into Riverside around 10 p.m. Sunday and was reported in Murrieta, Indio, Calimesa and other locations, as well.
Officials at the Eastern Municipal Water District, which services customers from Moreno Valley to Temecula, said the stench was not connected to any of the district’s operations.
The EMWD directed further inquiries to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, but calls to the agency were not immediately returned.
Badgett said there were indications the source of the smell might be the Salton Sea, but there was no confirmation.
“We had that storm system dragging everything up from the desert yesterday, so who knows?” he said. “The weather pattern is high humidity and no air movement above us.”
A massive fish die-off in the Salton Sea is the prime suspect in a rotten smell that swept the region, but experts can’t recall a bad odor ever traveling so far.
By Hector Becerra, Phil Willon and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles TimesSeptember 10, 2012, 10:31 p.m.
When the rotten egg smell wafted into the Santa Clarita United Methodist Church in Saugus on Monday morning, Kathy Gray thought the church’s sewer pipe had burst.
More than 70 miles to the east, steelworker Chris Tatum’s nostrils got the punch in Riverside. He assumed a brush fire had just broken out.
“It reeks,” he said. “It smells like rotten mush.”
Southern California awoke Monday morning to a foul odor that wouldn’t go away.Residents clogged 911 lines with calls, prompting health officials from Ventura County to Palm Springs to send investigators looking for everything from a toxic spill to a sewer plant leak.
The prime suspect, however, lay more than 100 miles away from Los Angeles. The leading theory is that the stink was caused by the annual die-off of fish in the Salton Sea. Officials believe Sunday evening’s thunderstorms and strong winds churned up the water and pushed that dead-fish smell to points west overnight.
Officials from the Air Quality Management District and other agencies said they have never dealt with a stench quite like this. Although the fish die-off usually causes foul odors in parts of the Inland Empire, officials cannot recall it traveling this far.
“It’s very unusual that any odor would be this widespread, from the Coachella to Los Angeles County,” said Sam Atwood, spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “We’re talking well over 100 miles. I can’t recall ever confirming an odor traveling that distance.”
The Salton Sea did track 40-mph winds Sunday night, and officials said that probably served as a trigger.
“The winds could have stirred up the water,” said Bill Meister, president of the Sea and Desert Interpretive Assn. “Because the lake is so shallow, and there is 100 years worth of decayed material at the bottom, you’d get that rotten egg smell.”
At its deepest points, the Salton Sea is only about 50 feet, said Andrew Schlange, general manager of the Salton Sea Authority. The 360-square-mile body of murky, highly saline water is also receding into the desert. More water is evaporating from the sea than is flowing in from agricultural runoff. In some places the falling waterline has uncovered thermal fields studded with features like geysers and boiling mud pots spewing clouds of steam and sulfur dioxide gas that smells like rotten eggs.
The “accidental sea” was created in 1905 when the Colorado River jumped its banks during a rainy season and gushed north for months, filling an ancient salt sink. It’s 35 miles long, 15 miles wide and 227 feet below sea level.
Schlange said it’s a common occurrence for fish populations to explode and then suffer die-offs when oxygen is depleted from the sea.
“The problem is [the odor] would have to have migrated 50 to 100 miles, without it being dissipated by mixing with other air. It doesn’t seem possible,” he said. “I’ve been in Southern California my whole life, and I’m not aware of any time in the past where the odor from the Salton Sea has migrated as far as people are telling us.”
Schlange said several factors could explain the far-traveling smell. In the last week, the blistering heat reduced oxygen levels in parts of the Salton Sea, causing fish to die and settle to the bottom, where they decomposed with other organic material.
Then a thunderstorm barreled through the area Sunday night, churning moisture-laden air counterclockwise and pushing it from the southeast.
“That atmospheric flow would bring the smell up from the Salton Sea into the L.A. Basin here,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. “This was an ill wind that dropped from the Coachella Valley into the Inland Empire cul-de-sac and boogied west … into the San Gabriel Valley and L.A. County. The stink is normal around the Salton Sea. The strong winds are the unique occurrence that moved it into our ‘hood.’ “
Whatever its provenance, the stench made the rounds.
Pacoima comedian Jose Chavez said at first he thought some eggs he bought had gone bad.
“When I realized it wasn’t the eggs, I thought it must be me, so I changed my clothes,” Chavez said. “Finally I saw the reports…. With the weather the way it is, the smell was awful.”
Czech officials say at least three more people have died after drinking bootleg alcohol tainted with toxic methanol, bringing the death toll to six. Police spokeswoman Miluse Zajicova says a 45-year-old man died in a hospital in the eastern town of Prerov, and a 21-year-old woman was found dead in nearby Osek and Becvou. Petra Pekarova, spokeswoman for Prague’s General University Hospital, said Tuesday that a 38-year-old man had died there of methanol poisoning. Authorities announced Monday that three deaths in the country’s east had been linked to the cheap, illicit liquor. About two dozen other people have been hospitalized, some in critical condition. Authorities have launched a nationwide check of restaurants, bars, liquor stores and street markets in an effort to discover the origin of the bootleg booze.
[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.]
How’s this for a depressing look into Earth’s potential future: astronomers have witnessed the first evidence of a planet’s destruction by its aging star as it expands into a red giant.
“A similar fate may await the inner planets in our solar system, when the Sun becomes a red giant and expands all the way out to Earth’s orbit some five-billion years from now,” said Alex Wolszczan, from Penn State, University, who led a team which found evidence of a missing planet having been devoured by its parent star. Wolszczan also is the discoverer of the first planet ever found outside our solar system.
The planet-eating culprit, a red-giant star named BD+48 740 is older than the Sun and now has a radius about eleven times bigger than our Sun.
The evidence the astronomers found was a massive planet in a surprising highly elliptical orbit around the star – indicating a missing planet — plus the star’s wacky chemical composition.
“Our detailed spectroscopic analysis reveals that this red-giant star, BD+48 740, contains an abnormally high amount of lithium, a rare element created primarily during the Big Bang 14 billion years ago,” said team member Monika Adamow from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland. “Lithium is easily destroyed in stars, which is why its abnormally high abundance in this older star is so unusual.
“Theorists have identified only a few, very specific circumstances, other than the Big Bang, under which lithium can be created in stars,” Wolszczan added. “In the case of BD+48 740, it is probable that the lithium production was triggered by a mass the size of a planet that spiraled into the star and heated it up while the star was digesting it.”
The other piece of evidence discovered by the astronomers is the highly elliptical orbit of the star’s newly discovered massive planet, which is at least 1.6 times as massive as Jupiter.
“We discovered that this planet revolves around the star in an orbit that is only slightly wider than that of Mars at its narrowest point, but is much more extended at its farthest point,” said Andrzej Niedzielski, also from Nicolaus Copernicus University. “Such orbits are uncommon in planetary systems around evolved stars and, in fact, the BD+48 740 planet’s orbit is the most elliptical one detected so far.”
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope
Because gravitational interactions between planets are responsible for such peculiar orbits, the astronomers suspect that the dive of the missing planet toward the star could have given the surviving massive planet a burst of energy, throwing it into an eccentric orbit like a boomerang.
“Catching a planet in the act of being devoured by a star is an almost improbable feat to accomplish because of the comparative swiftness of the process, but the occurrence of such a collision can be deduced from the way it affects the stellar chemistry,” said Eva Villaver of the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in Spain Villaver. “The highly elongated orbit of the massive planet we discovered around this lithium-polluted red-giant star is exactly the kind of evidence that would point to the star’s recent destruction of its now-missing planet.”
MessageToEagle.com – Water covers about 70% of the earth’s surface. From oceans, lakes and rivers, to snow packed mountains and valleys, it moves around the earth in a cycle. During which time, it has not only remained the same amount of water for over two billion years, it is still the same water.
This means that the water you are drinking now could contain the same molecules that dinosaurs drank.
During a 100 year period, a molecule spends around 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about two weeks in rivers and lakes, and less than a week in the atmosphere.
Water is the only natural substance on earth found in three forms: liquid, solid and gas.
Unlike other liquids, water expands when frozen. Yet, while frozen, weighs around 9% less than water which is why ice floats.
Of all the water on our planet, around 97% is salt water and only around 3% is fresh. Two-thirds of that is ice. Approximately 1.6% of water is locked up in polar ice caps and glaciers, 0.36% in underground aquifers and wells while 0.036% is in lakes and rivers.
The rest is either floating in air as clouds or water vapour, or locked up in plants and animals. Our bodies are 65%-70% water. Besides that, there is several billion gallons of water sitting on a shelf at any one time.
Without water, life could not exist.So it is no wonder that through out history it has been revered in every culture in one way or another.
Not just because without it life couldn’t exist. But because somehow we all know it has many more mysteries to reveal.
There were ancient cultures that understood water as the blood running through the veins of Mother Earth.
Holy texts speak with great meaning of blessings and baptisms by water.
Artists have been so struck by it’s magnificence and beauty, they have reproduced it’s many facets onto canvas.
They have photographed it, wrote poems and stories about it. From the elixir of life, to the power of thrashing waves against rocks during a storm; Water has proved just as beautifully versatile in art as it is in Nature.
This magical natural substance known in science as H20.
In small amounts, water appears colourless, but has in fact, the faintest tint of blue that only becomes apparent in greater quantities.
The chemical and mineral compositions of our blood, and saline fluids have an amazing similarity to seawater, and despite needing fresh water, we do still need salt. Where fresh water is sparse. Nature has evolved to solve, and penguins are one of the few marine birds which can convert salt water into freshwater by means of a gland which removes sodium chloride from their bloodstream.
In small amounts we ingest water to live. In vast amounts, it is home to some of Nature’s amazing creations, some still waiting to be discovered.
Whether we are reading about water in a science paper, taking in it’s chemical properties and it’s place in the scheme of things, or gazing in awe at the sea reaching out across the miles to meet the horizon, none of us could fail to see the wonder and magic of this amazing life giving substance.
Lieberman puts deadline on cybersecurity bill, ‘take it up in July’
By Brendan Sasso – 06/13/12 05:17 PM ET
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) urged the Senate to pass his cybersecurity bill in a floor speech on Wednesday, warning that July could be the final opportunity to address the issue.
He predicted that the lame-duck session following the election will be consumed by budget and tax issues.
“The truth is, if we don’t take it up in July and see if we’ve got the votes … we’re not going to be able to pass this legislation in a way that’s timely and allows us to go to conference, reach an agreement and send the bill to the president,” Lieberman said.
It appears that questions regarding the strange “explosions” which occurred all over the state of Michigan days ago are only continuing to grow.
With a puzzling lack of interest even from the local media, complete silence by law enforcement/military outlets, and activist investigators being arrested for attempting to obtain a statement at a U.S. military base, one would clearly be justified in wondering if there is not a cover up in the works.
For those unfamiliar with the story, throughout June 6-7 Michigan residents from all corners of the state began to report hearing loud “explosions” that actually rocked the ground hard enough to shake their houses.
Although some reports have focused on the “explosions” occurring in the Northern Indiana/Southern Michigan area, other reports have revealed that these “explosions” have also been heard and felt near Saginaw (Central Eastern Michigan) and on up to Northern Michigan.
“Explosions” are the only way to explain these types of sounds, because no one is claiming that ground movement was the result of an earthquake or anything else commonly seen. Indeed, after speaking with Bob Powell of The Truth Is Viral, it has been described as similar to the firing of artillery both in terms of sound and impact.
Whatever the cause, the fact is that the explosions must have been massive in scale – enough to trigger reports of them for at least 100 square miles – yet, at the same time, so small as to not cause serious enough damage as to be readily apparent.
There are, however, numerous reports of an area where 60-foot trees are now inexplicably missing their tops, and many that were simply snapped in half. This apparently occurred around the same time as the mysterious “explosions.” There is no evidence as to what might have caused this damage as of yet. Indeed, Bob Powell described this area as being “out in the middle of nowhere.”
And then there is the matter of radiation spikes in the Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana region. This was reported by two privately owned radiation measurement facilities, BlackCatSystems and Radiation Network, as well as some individual radiation monitors, which communicated an alarming increase in the level of radiation in the area around the same time the mysterious “explosions” were felt and heard.
Although normal radiation levels in this region usually stay at or around 5-6 CPM (Counts Per Minute), on the evening of June 6, radiation levels skyrocketed to 7,139 CPM. This figure was reported by both of the private radiation measurement facilities. It should be noted that both of these facilities are separately operated.
According to Anthony Gucciardi of Natural Society, these figures were confirmed by the EPA’s own radiation level readings. However, the actual EPA levels were quickly hidden from the viewing of the general public, and the EPA online measuring tool was disabled. Subsequently, Radiation Network and BlackCat announced that they had experienced “technical difficulties” and “errors in the system” resulting in a change in the readings posted online.
Of course, the possibilities for false readings always exist, but the fact that both of these systems “malfunctioned” at the same time and produced the same reading seems a bit more far-fetched. If Gucciardi’s claims are true, then it would be just as likely that the spikes in radiation were real but were edited once attention was drawn to them.
In addition, Gucciardi also writes that startling increases in radiation levels have been recorded by private individuals as far away as Colorado.
With all of these very strange “coincidences,” one obviously wonders what could have caused such loud “explosions” with such a level of impact.
Furthermore, one must wonder what could have caused the tree damage which was reported, as well as the increased levels of radiation.
For instance, Bob Powell states that there are no fracking projects being conducted for at least 150 miles. If this is true, then the likelihood of fracking as the source of the “explosions” is minimal. Likewise, Powell says that he contacted NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) and was told there was no seismographic evidence of any earthquake or even any explosion in the region.
Powell also stated that he was reassured by the relevant authorities that sinkholes, another hypothesis put forward by puzzled onlookers, could not have produced the “boom” that was heard by so many.
All of these questions seem like a local journalist’s dream. However, at least at this point, the local media has refused to investigate the cause of the “explosions” even in the face of so many Michigan witnesses.
One could argue that there is a similarity between the Michigan “explosions” and the Wisconsin groaning noises which were heard by small town residents on what was, at one time, a regular basis. Although the citizens largely knew that the “official” explanations for the noises was rubbish, the local media quickly accepted whatever claims were put out to the general public and ceased coverage.
But at least they did cover it at the beginning. That’s much more than can be said about the Michigan media. Thus, it has once again fallen on local activists and the alternative media to uncover the events surrounding these bizarre occurrences.
Of course, this is exactly what local activists and independent media have tried to do. Indeed, they might be more successful at doing so if they were not being handcuffed and interrogated for simply trying to obtain an official PR statement from the Alpena Regional Combat Training Center, which is exactly what happened to Bob Powell.
Powell claims that when he attempted to enter the military base, as he has done on numerous occasions before when attached to CBS, he was instructed to park in the designated area. When he returned to the guard shack, he was met by security where he was arrested. Bob Powell states:
I went up to the guard shack and I was handcuffed and put down on my knees, legs crossed, you know, the whole nine yards. . . . . . And all of a sudden here comes a bunch of Air Force security guys with M-4s and I said ‘So are you gonna put a bullet in the back of my head now?’ But surprisingly, the answer was ‘No.’ But it turns out that I’m on a list. And I can only assume it’s because of the work that I’ve been doing so far. And I’m no longer allowed on military reservations. And, apparently, I can’t even film outside of a military installation. . . . . I was, I wouldn’t say interrogated, but I was talked to about what I was doing there and what my purpose was and all that. I was held in custody for about two hours. And the Air Force didn’t do anything. They released me to the Sheriff’s Department.
Powell states that he was then charged with Driving Under Suspension, as his license was suspended in South Carolina, his home state, for not having insurance. You can see Powell’s video regarding his arrest below.
Reporter Detained/Arrested Investigating Mysterious Explosion That Rocked N.E. Mi On 6-6-12 (1 of 2)
Reporter Detained/Arrested Investigating Mysterious Explosion That (2 of2)
In an interview with Powell, he also claims that the entire law enforcement community has remained silent regarding the “explosions” in the area.
Thus, while the initial question was centered around the nature of the booming noise, it appears that a much bigger question has arisen. That is, why are the authorities and the media apparently ignoring these “explosions?” Even more so, why are they covering it up? Why such systemic silence?
Though some may be tempted to legitimize the “no comment” position maintained by the media and the government, it is almost impossible to believe that these agencies and outlets have no interest in what is obviously a big deal to many of the people who have personally heard the “explosions.”
In fact, the longer this whole thing continues, the more it seems that a cover up is very much in the works.
Particularly interesting are the photos posted by Anthony Gucciardi regarding what many of his readers are claiming to be military vehicles heading for the center of the “explosions.” Gucciardi writes:
Eyewitnesses on the ground near the media-blacked-out elevated radiation zone near the border of Indiana and Michigan, . . . . . are now sending in a large number of photos and videos documenting massive explosions accompanied by unmarked helicopters, A-10 Thunderbolts, and military personnel. These reports come after a Department of Homeland Security hazmat fleet was sent out to the location after ‘years’ of inactivity.
Of course, it should be noted that there are military bases located nearby to at least some of the areas that have experienced these “explosions.” This should be taken into consideration when one mentions troop or military vehicle movements. In addition, it should be mentioned that the claims regarding the DHS hazmat fleet are somewhat suspect and have yet, to my knowledge at least, been proven or corroborated.
Nevertheless, in the midst of this mystery, one thing is for certain – something is happening in Michigan. The only question is what it is and why it is being covered up. At the very least, why the silence?
As Bob Powell concluded:
If you’re looking for information in the local media, good luck. Because they’re not saying a word.
(French version — http://www.greenpeace.org/ogm)
Genetic engineering is a threat to food security, especially in a changing climate. The introduction of genetically manipulated organisms by choice or by accident grossly undermines sustainable agriculture and in so doing, severely limits the choice of food we can eat.
Once GE plants are released into the environment, they are out of control. If anything goes wrong – they are impossible to recall.
GE contamination threatens biodiversity respected as the global heritage of humankind, and one of our world’s fundamental keys to survival.
A new study from the University of California, Davis, provides a deeper understanding of the complex global impacts of deforestation on greenhouse gas emissions. The study, published in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Climate Change, reports that the volume of greenhouse gas released when a forest is cleared depends on how the trees will be used and in which part of the world the trees are grown.
When trees are felled to create solid wood products, such as lumber for housing, that wood retains much of its carbon for decades, the researchers found. In contrast, when wood is used for bioenergy or turned into pulp for paper, nearly all of its carbon is released into the atmosphere. Carbon is a major contributor to greenhouse gases.
“We found that 30 years after a forest clearing, between 0 percent and 62 percent of carbon from that forest might remain in storage,” said lead author J. Mason Earles, a doctoral student with the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. “Previous models generally assumed that it was all released immediately.”
The researchers analyzed how 169 countries use harvested forests. They learned that the temperate forests found in the United States, Canada and parts of Europe are cleared primarily for use in solid wood products, while the tropical forests of the Southern hemisphere are more often cleared for use in energy and paper production.
“Carbon stored in forests outside Europe, the USA and Canada, for example, in tropical climates such as Brazil and Indonesia, will be almost entirely lost shortly after clearance,” the study states.
The study’s findings have potential implications for biofuel incentives based on greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, if the United States decides to incentivize corn-based ethanol, less profitable crops, such as soybeans, may shift to other countries. And those countries might clear more forests to make way for the new crops. Where those countries are located and how the wood from those forests is used would affect how much carbon would be released into the atmosphere.
Earles said the study provides new information that could help inform climate models of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the leading international body for the assessment of climate change.
“This is just one of the pieces that fit into this land-use issue,” said Earles. Land use is a driving factor of climate change. “We hope it will give climate models some concrete data on emissions factors they can use.”
In addition to Earles, the study, “Timing of carbon emissions from global forest clearance,” was co-authored by Sonia Yeh, a research scientist with the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, and Kenneth E. Skog of the USDA Forest Service.
The study was funded by the California Air Resources Board and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
The percentage of mammal species unable to keep pace with climate change in the Americas range from zero and low (blue) to a high of nearly 40 percent (light orange). Credit: U of Washington.
A safe haven could be out of reach for 9 percent of the Western Hemisphere’s mammals, and as much as 40 percent in certain regions, because the animals just won’t move swiftly enough to outpace climate change. For the past decade scientists have outlined new areas suitable for mammals likely to be displaced as climate change first makes their current habitat inhospitable, then unlivable.
For the first time a new study considers whether mammals will actually be able to move to those new areas before they are overrun by climate change.
Carrie Schloss, University of Washington research analyst in environmental and forest sciences, is lead author of the paper out online the week of May 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“We underestimate the vulnerability of mammals to climate change when we look at projections of areas with suitable climate but we don’t also include the ability of mammals to move, or disperse, to the new areas,” Schloss said.
Indeed, more than half of the species scientists have in the past projected could expand their ranges in the face of climate change will, instead, see their ranges contract because the animals won’t be able to expand into new areas fast enough, said co-author Josh Lawler, UW associate professor of environmental and forest sciences.
In particular, many of the hemisphere’s species of primates – including tamarins, spider monkeys, marmosets and howler monkeys, some of which are already considered threatened or endangered – will be hard-pressed to outpace climate change, as are the group of species that includes shrews and moles. Winners of the climate change race are likely to come from carnivores like coyotes and wolves, the group that includes deer and caribou, and one that includes armadillos and anteaters.
The analysis looked at 493 mammals in the Western Hemisphere ranging from a moose that weighs 1,800 pounds to a shrew that weighs less than a dime. Only climate change was considered and not other factors that cause animals to disperse, such as competition from other species.
To determine how quickly species must move to new ranges to outpace climate change, UW researchers used previous work by Lawler that reveals areas with climates needed by each species, along with how fast climate change might occur based on 10 global climate models and a mid-high greenhouse gas emission scenario developed by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The UW researchers coupled how swiftly a species is able to disperse across the landscape with how often its members make such a move. In this case, the scientists assumed animals dispersed once a generation.
It’s understandable, for example, that a mouse might not get too far because of its size. But if there are many generations born each a year, then that mouse is on the move regularly compared to a mammal that stays several years with its parents in one place before being old enough to reproduce and strike out for new territory.
Western Hemisphere primates, for example, take several years before they are sexually mature. That contributes to their low-dispersal rate and is one reason they look especially vulnerable to climate change, Schloss said. Another reason is that the territory with suitable climate is expected to shrink and so to reach the new areas animals in the tropics must generally go farther than in mountainous regions, where animals can more quickly move to a different elevation and a climate that suits them.
Those factors mean that nearly all the hemisphere’s primates will experience severe reductions in their ranges, Schloss said, on average about 75 percent. At the same time species with high dispersal rates that face slower-paced climate change are expected to expand their ranges.
“Our figures are a fairly conservative – even optimistic – view of what could happen because our approach assumes that animals always go in the direction needed to avoid climate change and at the maximum rate possible for them,” Lawler said.
The researchers were also conservative, he said, in taking into account human-made obstacles such as cities and crop lands that animals encounter. For the overall analysis they used a previously developed formula of “average human influence” that highlights regions where animals are likely to encounter intense human development. It doesn’t take into account transit time if animals must go completely around human-dominated landscapes.
“I think it’s important to point out that in the past when climates have changed – between glacial and interglacial periods when species ranges contracted and expanded – the landscape wasn’t covered with agricultural fields, four-lane highways and parking lots, so species could move much more freely across the landscape,” Lawler said.
“Conservation planners could help some species keep pace with climate change by focusing on connectivity – on linking together areas that could serve as pathways to new territories, particularly where animals will encounter human-land development,” Schloss said.
“For species unable to keep pace, reducing non-climate-related stressors could help make populations more resilient, but ultimately reducing emissions, and therefore reducing the pace of climate change, may be the only certain method to make sure species are able to keep pace with climate change.”
The third co-author of the paper is Tristan Nunez, now at University of California, Berkeley. Both Schloss and Nunez worked with Lawler while earning their master’s degrees. Lawler did this work with support from the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences using, in part, models he previously developed with funding from the Nature Conservancy and the Cedar Tree Foundation.
Groupers are among the highest priced market reef species (estimated to be a multi-billion dollar per year industry), are highly regarded for the quality of their flesh, and are often among the first reef fishes to be overexploited.
Groupers, a family of fishes often found in coral reefs and prized for their quality of flesh, are facing critical threats to their survival. As part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission, a team of scientists has spent the past ten years assessing the status of 163 grouper species worldwide.
They report that 20 species (12%) are at risk of extinction if current overfishing trends continue, and an additional 22 species (13%) are Near Threatened. These findings were published online on April 28 in the journal Fish and Fisheries.
“Fish are one of the last animal resources commercially harvested from the wild by humans, and groupers are among the most desirable fishes,” said Dr. Luiz Rocha, Curator of Ichthyology at the California Academy of Sciences, and one of the paper’s authors.
“Unfortunately, the false perception that marine resources are infinite is still common in our society, and in order to preserve groupers and other marine resources we need to reverse this old mentality.”
The team estimates that at least 90,000,000 groupers were captured in 2009. This represents more than 275,000 metric tonnes of fish, an increase of 25% from 1999, and 1600% greater than 1950 figures. The Caribbean Sea, coastal Brazil, and Southeast Asia are home to a disproportionately high number of the 20 Threatened grouper species. (A species is considered “Threatened” if it is Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable under IUCN criteria.)
Groupers are among the highest priced market reef species (estimated to be a multi-billion dollar per year industry), are highly regarded for the quality of their flesh, and are often among the first reef fishes to be overexploited. Their disappearance from coral reefs could upset the ecological balance of these threatened ecosystems, since they are ubiquitous predators and may play a large role in controlling the abundance of animals farther down the food chain.
Unfortunately, groupers take many years (typically 5-10) to become sexually mature, making them vulnerable for a relatively long time before they can reproduce and replenish their populations.
In addition, fisheries have exploited their natural behavior of gathering in great numbers during the breeding season. The scientists also conclude that grouper farming (mariculture) has not mitigated overfishing in the wild.
Although the prognosis is poor for the restoration and successful conservation of Threatened grouper species, the authors do recommend some courses of action, including optimizing the size and location of Marine Protected Areas, minimum size limits for individual fish, quotas on the amount of catch, limits on the number of fishers, and seasonal protection during the breeding season.
However, the scientists stress that “community awareness and acceptance, and effective enforcement are paramount” for successful implementation, as well as “action at the consumer end of the supply chain by empowering customers to make better seafood choices.”
The launch of a cut-rate unlimited $39-a-month mobile plan offered by upstart Voyager Mobile was marred Tuesday by what the company claims is “a malicious network attack to its primary website.”
The launch of a cut-rate unlimited $39-a-month mobile plan offered by upstart Voyager Mobile was marred Tuesday by what the company claims is “a malicious network attack to its primary website.” The company now says it’s postponing the launch of its budget plan until an unspecified date.
The company had generated buzz for its low prices. Voyager Mobile had planned to offer a contract-free $19 per month that included unlimited calls and texts. A second plan included a $39 plan that included unlimited calls, text and 3G/4G data. Voyager Mobile had planned to piggyback its service on Sprint’s network and operate as a mobile virtual network operator (MNVO).
Voyager Mobile would also resell some of the most popular Android smartphones on Sprint such as the Motorola Photon 4G, Samsung Galaxy Epic 4G Touch, and some yet-unnamed Windows Phone 7 devices, USB dongles and mobile hotspots. The company was meant to unveil its website on Tuesday at 6AM ET.
Voyager Posted a note to its website: “Due to the network outage, Voyager Mobile is postponing its launch to a time and date in the very near future. Our goal of low cost wireless service for all will not be undermined and we strive to continue the voyage for a better wireless world.”
Voyager declined to comment when asked about the alleged attack. It’s also unclear why any group or individual would target this company.
From 16 May it will not be possible to ship iPads, iPhones or laptops overseas from the US using the United States Postal Service (USPS).
USPS believes that lithium batteries – which feature in devices including the iPad, iPhone, MacBooks, and other smartphones, laptops, and tablets – pose too great of a risk to be shipped overseas. An amendment to the company’s documentation states: “lithium batteries are not permitted in international mail.”
The USPS will still allow these products to be shipped within the US. UPS and FedEx will continue to ship such items overseas, however.
The revised Mailings of Lithium Batteries document states: “Primary lithium metal or lithium alloy (nonrechargeable) cells and batteries or secondary lithium-ion cells and batteries (rechargeable) are prohibited when mailed internationally or to and from an APO, FPO, or DPO location”.
USPS will lift the restriction in January 2013, however. The document explains: “On 1 January 2013, customers will be able to mail specific quantities of lithium batteries internationally (including to and from an APO, FPO, or DPO location) when the batteries are properly installed in the personal electronic devices they are intended to operate.”
The January 2013 modification is due to changes in international standards that USPS is aware of following discussion with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU). “International standards have recently been the subject of discussion by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU),” states USPS in its documentation.
The reason for regulations regarding the transportation of lithium-batteries by air is that they can spontaneously combust. The UN rules, which will become effective on 1 January 2013, state that pilots must be notified when lithium batteries are on a flight, shipments should be labelled as hazardous materials, and employees should have training in handling such cargo.
Facebook lays claim to more than 900 million members across the globe and may have a massive initial public offering in the coming days, but a new poll says users have trust issues with the social networking site. More than half of those surveyed, 59 percent, said they had little to no trust that Facebook would keep their information private, according to an AP-CNBC poll. The study also found that 54 percent of the survey’s 1,004 respondents would not “feel safe at all” purchasing goods and services through the world’s largest social network.
The news that Facebook users do not trust the company to keep their information private is hardly surprising given the social network’s shady past with privacy-related issues. Concerns over privacy changes involving new products such as Beacon, frictionless sharing, Instant Personalization, and Places always make headlines. And seemingly never-ending changes to Facebook’s terms of service and privacy policy allow users to think twice about trusting Facebook.
Despite Facebook’s privacy challenges, however, the social network keeps on growing, and users continue to share their most personal information with a company they reportedly don’t trust. Facebook in July 2010 claimed 500 million users and in the less than two years since the social network has nearly doubled its user base. And despite Facebook’s privacy woes, it is still one of the most popular sites for sharing photos with an average of more than 300 million images uploaded daily for the three months ending March 31, according to the company.
Despite Facebook’s privacy trust problems, the finding that Facebook is not trusted when it comes to online purchases is a little surprising. To purchase items on Facebook you need to buy Facebook credits, which are only available through Facebook itself. Users can then use these credits to buy virtual items in popular games such as Zynga’s Farmville, rent movies, and, perhaps coming soon, self-promote your own posts.
Facebook does have to contend with malicious software stealing user credentials and clickjacking scams, but the company is also pretty active when it comes to security (sometimes too much so). Facebook has also offered secure SSL encryption since 2011. Some users may be wary about Facebook now, but I wonder if that will change as more services start using Facebook credits.
Connect withIanPaul(@ianpaul) onTwitterand Google+, and with Today@PCWorld on Twitterforthelatesttechnewsandanalysis.
Apple cofounder Steve Jobs got directly involved in an alleged conspiracy to fix e-book prices after a publisher balked at participating in the scheme, according to a court document filed by 31 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The document, an amended complaint to an antitrust lawsuit by the states and others against Penguin, Macmillan and Apple, was filed in a New York federal district court. A similar lawsuit against the publishers and Apple has been filed by the Department of Justice.
According to the complaint, when one of the conspiring publishers dragged its feet on entering the e-book pricing deal with Apple, Jobs was enlisted to sell high-ranking officials in the publisher’s parent company on the wisdom of the proposed pricing scheme.
“As I see it,” Jobs wrote, the publisher had the following choices:
1. Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream ebooks market at $12.99 and $14.99.
2. Keep going with Amazon at $9.99. You will make a bit more money in the short term, but in the medium term Amazon will tell you they will be paying you 70% of $9.99. They have shareholders too.
3. Hold back your books from Amazon. Without a way for customers to buy your ebooks, they will steal them. This will be the start of piracy and once started, there will be no stopping it. Trust me, I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes.
“Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see any other alternatives. Do You?” he wrote.
Within three days of the letter, the amended complaint noted, the foot-dragging conspiring publisher and its co-conspirators agreed on an “agency” e-book pricing scheme and signed an agency deal with Apple.
In their complaint, the states and others allege that Apple joined publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster in a price-fixing conspiracy and facilitated their scheme to increase e-book prices.
Apple facilitated the alleged conspiracy, the states argue, by bringing the publishers into agreement with one another on how to go about increasing e-book prices.
The publishers’ plan was carried out in two steps, the complaint explained. First, the existing wholesale model for selling books — where retailers decided the price consumers paid for e-books — would be replaced with an agency model in which the publishers controlled the price consumers paid for an e-book. Second, retail e-book prices would be increased.
As a result of the alleged conspiracy, Apple and the publishers “agreed to eliminate e-book retail price competition between Apple and Amazon and other outlets.
Rather than hinder competition, Apple claims its deal with the publishers fostered competition. “The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon’s monopolistic grip on the publishing industry,” it said in a statement issued after the Justice Department filed its lawsuit against the company.
“Just as we have allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore,” it added.
However, there’s evidence that the deal Apple cut with the publishers to sell e-books wasn’t as common as the high-tech firm would like the public to believe.
That agreement contains something called a “most-favored nation” clause. Typically, those clauses are included in contracts to protect a buyer from wholesale price fluctuations.
Apple’s most-favored nation clause was different, according to the Justice Department. “[I]nstead of [a clause] designed to protect Apple’s ability to compete, this [clause] was designed to protect Apple from having to compete on price at all, while still maintaining Apple’s 30 percent margin,” the Justice Department said in its complaint against Apple and the publishers.
LightSquared, the startup that planned a nationwide wholesale mobile network only to be shot down by regulators because of GPS interference concerns, is declaring bankruptcy.
The move came after lengthy negotiations with lenders and does not shut down the company’s only commercial operation, a satellite-based mobile service. The bankruptcy is expected to give Philip Falcone, the hedge-fund chief who built LightSquared out of two satellite acquisitions, several months of control over how the company addresses its troubles.
LightSquared wanted to run an LTE mobile broadband network using frequencies next to those used by GPS, which historically had been reserved for satellite service. Part of the promise of LightSquared was the prospect of a wholesale-only provider of LTE capacity to both large and small mobile operators, potentially making the high-speed mobile business in the U.S. more competitive.
However, in February, the FCC said it would kill LightSquared’s planned network because it would interfere with GPS receivers. As a result, LightSquared’s main asset, its spectrum, has little value unless the company can reach another deal with the agency that would give it other spectrum to work with.
Documents detailing the bankruptcy are expected to be released later Monday.
Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen’s e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com
It’s a question I hear a lot from new preppers: “what should I buy first and where do I start?”
And while there are a lot of different answers depending on individual situations and needs, usually my recommendation to those starting out, is to start a food storage program, buy a good water filter and a dual purpose firearm for foraging and protection.
Food Storage Program
Let’s face it most people aren’t familiar with basic foods such as hard red wheat, whole corn, soybeans etc, nor are they conversant with their preparation. So I suggest, beginning survivors start out with foods they are familiar with.
Most canned foods off the grocers shelf have a shelf life of three to five years, make a list of everything your family eats for a week, then buy 10 cases of every non-perishable item on the list.
Even though canned foods have a limited shelf life you’re going to rotate so you’ll always have a fresh supply.
Say you start out with ten cases of chili. Mark each case from 1 to 10. You start with case number 1, when you finish eating it, buy another case and mark it as case number 11. Start on case number 2, when done buy another case and mark it as case number 12 and so on.
Panel solar cookers are the first solar cookers that are truly affordable to the world’s neediest. In 1994, a volunteer group of engineers and solar cooks associated with Solar Cookers International developed and produced the CooKit, based on a design by French scientist Roger Bernard. Elegant and deceptively simple looking, it is an affordable, effective and convenient solar cooker. With a few hours of sunshine, the CooKitmakes tasty meals for 5-6 people at gentle temperatures, cooking food and preserving nutrients without burning or drying out. Larger families use two or more cookers.
The CooKit is made of cardboard and foil shaped to reflect maximum sunlight onto a black cooking pot that converts sunlight into thermal (heat) energy. A heat-resistant bag (or similar tranparent cover) surrounds the pot, acting like a greenhouse by allowing sunlight to hit the pot and preventing heat from escaping. It weighs half a kilogram and folds to the size of a big book for easy transport.
The CooKit folds to be about the size of a large notebook when not in use.
CooKits are now produced independently in 25 countries from a wide variety of materials at a cost of $3 – $7 US. Note that you can either build your own CooKit using the plans below or you can order a pre-built Cookit from Solar Cookers International. Your purchase helps support SCI’s work around the world.
CooKits complement other cooking methods needed at night and on cloudy days. Coming about twenty years after the first efforts to replace open fires with improved cooking stoves, the CooKit uses no fuel at all. The CooKit is both user-friendly and environmentally friendly. Families can save scarce, expensive fuel for when they cannot solar cook and when economically capable, add other, higher cost cooking improvements such as modern biomass, smoke hoods, biogas, or liquefied petroleum gas. A single CooKit of normal dimensions (see below) is not able to cook a pot of food large enough to feed a large family. To cook larger amounts of food a box-style cooker may be a better choice.
Occupy organic vegetable gardens – Rebirth of the Victory garden
By JB Bardot,
(NaturalNews) During World Wars I and II, private citizens were encouraged to plant Victory gardens in an effort to support the war effort and take the strain off the food industry, providing more food for citizens living at home. Little gardens popped up all over the country and they were called Victory gardens because people envisioned a victorious end to strife, sadness and hardship. Victory gardens in the U.S. produced a staggering 40% of the food supply. The Victory garden campaign resulted…
FILE – In this Friday, June 17, 2011 file image made from video released by Change.org, a Saudi Arabian woman drives a car as part of a campaign to defy Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Change.org, File)
OSLO — In May 2011, Manal al-Sharif did something revolutionary: She drove a car.
In most societies this would be far from noteworthy, but in Saudi Arabia, where women are prohibited from getting behind the wheel, it was an act of extraordinary courage. The protest, which she put on YouTube, landed al-Sharif in jail for nine days. It also made her an international figure. In the last year, she has been named one of the “Top 100 Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine and one of Time magazine’s “100 most influential people of 2012.”
And last week, the 32-year old Saudi was one of three people awarded the first annual Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent at the Oslo Freedom Forum.
To attend the conference in Norway, al-Sharif says she was pressured out of her job at the Saudi oil company Aramco. Considering she is a working-class single mother, it couldn’t have been an easy decision to continue her human rights fight in the face of such economic pressures. But, as al-Sharif told The Daily Caller, “if you stand up for your beliefs, there is a price to pay.”
“They pressured me a lot and it was like too much to take,” she said, explaining that while she was not explicitly fired, she was increasingly marginalized at the company for her activism, leading to her exit after coming into conflict again with her bosses over attending the conference.
After first stating that she didn’t “want to talk about” the pressure she has suffered under since her Rosa Parks-like act of defiance, she conceded that the Saudi government does “pressure you a lot, whether directly or indirectly.”
“So they can cause a lot of trouble,” she went on. “They scandalize you, they smear you … they spread all these rumors about you … But it’s up to you how to deal with that pressure. The more pressure it is, the more attacks I get, the more impact I know that I’m making.”
A recent move by the Supreme Court stop commercial production of genetically-modified Bt eggplant in the Philippines was welcomed by a group of environmentalists and concerned individuals
By Gilbert P. Felongco, Correspondent
Manila: A recent move by the Supreme Court stop commercial production of genetically-modified Bt eggplant in the Philippines was welcomed by a group of environmentalists and concerned individuals.Greanpeace said the Supreme Court decision to grant a Writ of Kalikasan in favour of stopping Bt eggplant field trials in the country while further studies are being conducted is a step forward in the fight against so-called “Frankenstein” food that harm not only the human body but the environment as well.
“Many independent scientific studies provide clear evidence that GMOs such as Bt eggplant, as well as Bt corn, can negatively impact the liver, kidneys or blood when ingested”
Greenpeace
“Greenpeace believes the granting of the Writ of Kalikasan to be a recognition of the threats that GMOs pose to human health and the environment. We welcome this as a positive development: GMOs and GMO field trials clearly violate every Filipino’s constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology, and their invasion into our fields and our diets must be stopped,” said Daniel Ocampo, Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner, Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
The Writ of Kalikasan (Nature) is a legal remedy designed for the protection of one’s constitutional right to a healthy environment.
In the same breath, Greenpeace called for greater scrutiny of the country’s GMO approval system as it welcomed the Supreme Court decision to stop field trials of the genetically-modified organism (GMO) Bt eggplant in the Philippines.“The Supreme Court has given hope to Filipinos as its decision now puts into the spotlight the country’s flawed GMO approval system which has never rejected any GMO application, allowing dangerous GMO crops to be eaten and planted by Filipinos. This is an outrage and such a regulatory system which clearly disregards public good must be scrapped,” he added.
According to Greenpeace, there are serious uncertainties regarding the safety and long-term impacts of GMOs.
“Many independent scientific studies provide clear evidence that GMOs such as Bt eggplant, as well as Bt corn, can negatively impact the liver, kidneys or blood when ingested,” the group said.
Last April 26, petitioners led by Leo Avila of Davao City Agriculturist Office, Atty. Maria Paz Luna, former Senator Orlando Mercado and Greenpeace Southeast Asia Executive Director Von Hernandez filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to issue a Writ of Kalikasan against GMO field trials.
The petition seeks to immediately stop the field trials of Bt eggplant. It also puts into question the flawed government regulatory process for approving GMOs and ensuring the safety of GMOs first on health and environmental grounds before they are released into the open.
Despite the scientific doubt that surrounds GMO food crops, the Philippines has never rejected any GMO application, approving, since 2002, a total of 67 GMOs for importation, consumption and propagation.
Most of these GMOs are approved as food for Filipinos.
While other countries are taking the precautionary approach to GMOs, Greenpeace said the Philippine Department of Agriculture has done exactly the opposite.
The anti-austerity revolt of European voters continued Sunday when electors in a key German province gave Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats just 28 percent of the vote, the party’s lowest perentage since 1948.
This is a grim time to be in office in Europe. Voters have turned out governments in Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Spain, France and Greece. And while Merkel remains in office at the national level and remains personally popular, her own coalition with Bavaria’s Christian Social party is fraying badly.
How much of Sunday’s vote was against the austerity that Merkel is forcing upon Europe and how much a reaction against the way Germany continues reluctantly to bail out the bankrupt European partners is an open question. Either way, it means voters are losing trust in Merkel’s economic stewardship, even though Germany has recovered more strongly from the crisis than any other European economy.
Sunday’s vote also reflected the ongoing crisis of the traditional two-party system, with smaller German parties continuing to take votes from the big two — Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the moderate-left Social Democrats. The Greens got 12 percent, the centrist Free Democrats recovered to 8 percent and the bizarre new Pirate Party, committed to Internet freedom and votes for teenagers, repeated its earlier success in Berlin.
All this took place as Greece slid further down the slope toward what the markets are calling “Grexit,” a Greek exit from the euro, which many fear would trigger Europe’s biggest crisis since World War II. After their chaotic elections and inability to form a coalition government, it isn’t easy to see how Greece musters the political will to make the budget cuts and suffer the economic pain required to remain inside the euro.
But if Greece goes, it is also not easy to see how to prevent the contagion spreading to Portugal, Spain and even Italy as depositors take their euros from their own national banks and deposit them in safer German banks, rather than see savings eroded by devaluation.
The dirty secret here is that on close examination Germany’s economic situation, despite its strong manufacturing sector and massive export trade, isn’t nearly as strong as it looks.
Germany’s Market Economy Foundation reports that in addition to the official national debt of roughly $2.6 trillion, there are $5.9 trillion in future benefit promises to retirees, the sick and people requiring nursing care. These are commitments that aren’t documented in official budgets nor has any provision been made to finance them. When these commitments are included, Germany’s real debt isn’t the “official” 80 percent of gross domestic product but 276 percent.
Moreover, the disguised way in which Germany has continued to bail out the weaker Europeans is becoming a serious public issue. This is done through the “Target2″ system of the European Central Bank, where the debits and credits of the various eurozone members are held.
There has been a sharp jump in the Bundesbank’s Target2 claims within the European Central Bank’s internal payment network from $706 billion in February to $795 billion in March. Bundesbank claims have risen six-fold since 2008. Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann is demanding collateral from weaker states for Target2 transfers.
These German credits, equivalent to $800 billion, are balanced by debts of Greek, Irish, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian central banks of almost $850 billion. So long as the German central bank doesn’t demand its money, it is in effect bankrolling the other European partners. And since this is done between central banks, there has been no parliamentary authorization for this hidden bailout.
“The euro-system is near explosion,” said Professor Hans-Werner Sinn, head of Germany’s IFO Institute, addressing Austria’s Economics Academy on April 19. “This enormous international credit should have been subjected to the parliaments of Europe.”
He may well be right. But the voters seem intent on throwing the parliaments of Europe into disarray or into coalitions that are either unworkable or impotent to take the decisive action required.
This might not be so alarming, were it not that even bigger political challenges lie in wait for Europe. Its social contract and generous welfare state is becoming steadily less sustainable as the society ages. More and more people are qualifying for pensions and expensive elderly healthcare while fewer and fewer young people are coming into the labor market and when they do there are few jobs for them.
If things look grim for Europe’s incumbent politician now, they will soon look even worse as they are forced to push through new laws raising the retirement age, curbing pension and welfare payments and raising taxes.
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MessageToEagle.com – Scientists have made an unexpected and unsettling discovery – a large number of new and previously unseen mutations have been detected among humans.
Is a new human race being born?
Mutations can cause unknown changes in the human body.
Frederick A. Murphy / CDC handout via EPA file
A state of emergency has been declared in the Dera Ghazi Khan district
MessageToEagle.com – Water covers about 70% of the earth’s surface. From oceans, lakes and rivers, to snow packed mountains and valleys, it moves around the earth in a cycle. During which time, it has not only remained the same amount of water for over two billion years, it is still the same water.
Of all the water on our planet, around 97% is salt water and only around 3% is fresh. Two-thirds of that is ice. Approximately 1.6% of water is locked up in polar ice caps and glaciers, 0.36% in underground aquifers and wells while 0.036% is in lakes and rivers.
The launch of a cut-rate unlimited $39-a-month mobile plan offered by upstart Voyager Mobile was marred Tuesday by what the company claims is “a malicious network attack to its primary website.” The company now says it’s postponing the launch of its budget plan until an unspecified date.
The revised 
Facebook lays claim to more than 
Despite Facebook’s privacy trust problems, the finding that Facebook is not trusted when it comes to online purchases is a little surprising. To purchase items on Facebook you need to buy Facebook credits, which are only available through Facebook itself. Users can then use these credits to buy virtual items in popular games such as Zynga’s Farmville, rent movies, and, perhaps coming soon, 
Apple cofounder Steve Jobs got directly involved in an alleged conspiracy to fix e-book prices after a publisher balked at participating in the scheme, according to a court document filed by 31 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
That agreement contains something called a “most-favored nation” clause. Typically, those clauses are included in contracts to protect a buyer from wholesale price fluctuations.
LightSquared, the startup that planned a 
