An explosion created a 15-foot hole around a manhole cover that exploded Sunday night near the Pfister Hotel. Officials from We Energies were trying to figure out the cause of the explosion. About 550 customers were still without power late Sunday night. Deputy Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said firefighters were dispatched to a manhole near the intersection of Mason and Milwaukee streets around 5:25 p.m. because smoke was seeping from the cover. Firefighters discovered thick black smoke and flames inside the manhole. As firefighters began moving pedestrians from the scene, another manhole about 175 feet away, near the intersection of Jefferson and Mason streets, blew up. “It obliterated the asphalt,” Lipski said in an interview at the scene at 7:30 p.m. Asphalt chunks littered the street where pavement was heaved up like it had been punched from underneath. There have been no evacuations but diners at a restaurant were moved to the back of the facility. We Energies spokeswoman Cathy Schulze said steam, electrical and gas lines run underground throughout downtown. “We’re looking at an underground electrical cable that experienced a fault. As to what caused the fault I can’t speculate,” Schulze said.
(Reuters) – A gunman killed six people and critically wounded three at a Sikh temple during Sunday services before police shot him dead, and the attack is being treated as domestic terrorism, police said.
The gunman opened fire when he entered the kitchen at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee at about 10:30 a.m. CDT (11.30 a.m. EDT) as women were preparing a Sunday meal, witnesses said. They described the shooter as a white man.
Turban-wearing Sikhs are often mistaken for Muslims, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is overseeing the probe into shootings, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said.
“We’re treating this as a domestic terrorist incident,” he told reporters.
Four people were shot dead inside the sprawling temple. Three, including the gunman, were killed outside.
The gunman ambushed and shot a police officer several times when he responded to a 911 call and was helping a shooting victim, Edwards said.
A second officer shot the gunman dead. Edwards had no identification of the shooter or what kind of weapon or weapons he had.
The wounded officer, a 20-year veteran, was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, he said.
The Oak Creek shooting is the latest in a series of gun rampages in the suburban United States.
The shooting came little more than two weeks after a gunman opened fire at a theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 58. In January 2011, then-congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords was the target of an assassination attempt in which six people were killed and 13 were wounded.
“The gunman is worse than the one at the theater a couple of weeks ago because he targeted an entire community,” said temple member Jagatjit Sidhu.
He was among dozens of temple members and onlookers who gathered in a parking lot near the temple after police sealed the building off.
LONE GUNMAN
Witnesses at the temple had said there was more than one gunman, but Edwards said reports of multiple gunmen were common in incidents that involved only one shooter.
“We believe there was one but we can’t be sure,” he said. Officers finished sweeping the temple only after hours of searching, and Edwards said the investigation was just starting.
President Barack Obama said he was “deeply saddened” and pledged his administration’s commitment to fully investigate the shooting.
Obama was briefed by counterterrorism adviser John Brennan and FBI director Bob Mueller and told the situation at the temple was “under control.”
“The president said that he wanted to make sure that as we denounce this senseless act of violence we also underscore how much our country has been enriched by our Sikh community,” the White House said in a statement.
The Indian embassy in Washington said it was in touch with the National Security Council about the shooting and an Indian diplomat had been sent to the Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee’s Froedtert Hospital said three men had been brought in wounded and were in critical condition. One had been shot in the abdomen, one in the extremities and face, and a third was hit in the neck.
SIKHS IN U.S.
The Sikh faith is the fifth-largest in the world, with more than 30 million followers. It includes belief in one God and that the goal of life is to lead an exemplary existence.
The temple in Oak Creek was founded in October 1997 and has a congregation of 350 to 400 people. There are an estimated 500,000 or more Sikhs in the United States.
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001 by Islamist militants, Sikhs have sometimes been confused publicly with Muslims because of their turban headdress and beards.
In September 2001, a Sikh gas station owner in Mesa, Arizona, was shot dead by a man who was said to be seeking revenge on Muslims for the hijacked plane attacks on the United States.
Members of the Milwaukee Sikh community complained to police and a state representative last year about an upturn in robberies and vandalism at Sikh-owned gas stations and stores.
New York police said they were increasing security at Sikh temples as a precaution. There are no known threats against temples in the city, they said in a statement.
Sapreet Kaur, executive director of the Sikh Coalition civil rights organization, said Sikhs had been the target of several hate-crime shootings in the United States in recent years.
“The natural impulse of our community is to unfortunately assume the same in this case,” he said in a statement.
by David Unger, Medill News Service
Washington (UPI) Apr 5, 2012
disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
Over the past decade, Ford Motor Co. has set out to reduce the amount of an important natural resource it uses in the production of its vehicles. What precious liquid has the automotive company set its sights on? The humble three-atom compound H2O.
“World Water Day is March 22,” reads a company news release, “but every day is Water Day for Ford Motor Company.”
The rising price of nature’s other most valuable resource — oil — may dominate the headlines but Ford and other companies are quietly examining how water, regarded for decades as virtually free, may one day have a bigger affect on their bottom line.
PepsiCo Inc., a company that relies heavily on water for its products, draws a direct line between water efficiency and business growth.
“A broader range of stakeholders — large investors, financial analysts, insurance companies and others — now recognizes that water scarcity poses business risks for all companies in a host of sectors,” the recent PepsiCo water stewardship report states.
It’s no secret that water is an important factor in the production of goods. Apart from being necessary for human life, water has long been a catalyst for economic growth, serving as a crucial ingredient in agriculture and manufacturing. It is little coincidence that the majority of the world’s population is centered on a river, lake or other body of water.
In the early 20th century, as water filtration and distribution technology evolved rapidly, access to clean, relatively cheap water became commonplace in much of the United States. No longer was economic growth inextricably linked to naturally occurring bodies of water. People, along with the industries that employ them, were free to move to drier, more arid regions in large numbers.
That trend could change in the coming decades, said Steven Maxwell, the author of “The Future of Water” and the managing director of TechKNOWLEDGEy Strategic Group.
“Water is so plagued with all sorts of subsidies that the broad public assumption is that it’s free,” Maxwell says.
As the world population increases so too will demand for what is ultimately a finite resource, he and other experts say.
“As it becomes more expensive, it will drive economic and individual decisions,” Maxwell says.
It’s a vision of the future that resonates with Sharlene Leurig, a senior manager at Ceres, a sustainability leadership advocacy organization.
Leurig advises insurers and insurance regulators on climate risk and says that companies should pay more attention to the liquid that covers roughly 70 percent of the planet’s surface.
“Water is the next big thing,” she said during a panel in Washington on water risk hosted by The Environmental Law Institute and ZAG/S&W LLC. “Water is the next real asset.”
A more serious corporate focus on water While experts say it’s a while before water plays a predominant role in the global marketplace, some companies have started taking the resource more seriously. In the past 10 years, companies like Ford, Coca-Cola Co., IBM and Intel Corp. have made water conservation or stewardship a part of their company profile.
IBM developed technology that cut water usage in its Burlington, Vt., semiconductor factory 29 percent. Coca-Cola employs a director of global water stewardship and has issued an annual “Global Water Stewardship and Replenish Report” for the past five years. A November 2011 report by Morgan Stanley examines the notion of peak water and concludes that “water may turn out to be the biggest commodity story of the 21st century, as declining supply and rising demand combine to create the proverbial “perfect storm.”
Part of the corporate focus on water is an extension of the rise of environmental sustainability as a cultural and corporate zeitgeist. But the interest in water also stems from a growing awareness of water risk management, says Charles Fishman, author of “The Big Thirst.”
“It’s not just good business,” Fishman says. “It gives you an incredible competitive edge.”
Companies attentive to water needs and usage, Fishman says, are in a position to continue operations even during severe water shortages.
There’s a social and political component to water risk as well, he says. If a company is seen as depleting a community’s water assets for non-vital purposes, it becomes a public perception issue. In times of water scarcity, Fishman says, people wonder, “Do we let the car factory have the water or the farm?”
A growing corporate interest in water will translate to cities and other local governments leveraging their water resources to attract new businesses and economic growth, Maxwell said. Companies determine where to locate based on a variety of different factors including tax rates, education levels and infrastructure.
Access to water is only one factor but those who study water say that its relevance to economic vitality will grow in the coming decades.
Milwaukee: How one city markets water resources At least one city is building on its proximity to fresh water to spur economic growth. In 2009, the Milwaukee Water Council, a non-profit, was formed to promote collaboration among the city’s growing water industry. The group also works to attract water industry businesses to Milwaukee, likening the city to a water hub in the way other cities brand themselves as a hub for the arts or technology.
The council’s Web site opens with a dominant image of Lake Michigan waters flowing smoothly past downtown Milwaukee.
“Milwaukee numbers among the world’s most significant hubs for water research and industry,” the message on the Web site reads. “Whether you are in industry, academia or government, you will find a confluence of expertise and resources in the Milwaukee region, needed to succeed in the world water marketplace.”
Alexis Morgan, Global Water Roundtable coordinator for The Alliance for Water Stewardship, says Milwaukee is ahead of the game in terms of branding itself as water rich.
“Milwaukee is actually beginning to think about [water] as a municipal or city-level pitch or competitive advantage to recruiting companies,” Morgan says.
Other water-rich cities may follow suit. Maxwell said he envisions a future where water-rich cities like Milwaukee — Buffalo, N.Y., and Cleveland for example — may use cheap, direct and sustainable access to water as an incentive to attract companies.
Water, after experiencing a period of relative financial irrelevance, may one day return to being an important consideration in job creation efforts and sound investing. At a time when the average price of a gallon of another important factor of production creeps toward $4, the pennies paid for water seem like drops in the bucket.
Water experts, however, say those days are numbered and companies, like individuals, are beginning to catch on.
“Water was a critical economic tool and then the water people were so good at their jobs that their work ended up completely hidden from ordinary people,” Fishman says. “I think now we’re headed into an era where the pressure on our supplies will force people to think about water and its connection to economic development in a way that we haven’t thought about it in a long time.”
Although many individuals think nothing of radiation emitted by cell phones, or even believe it to be true, there is a large amount of evidence showing how damaging cell phone use can actually be. In response to the released information and growing fear of cell phone radiation, a company has ironically released a mobile app which reportedly measures radiation levels emitted by smart phones.
Company Creates Radiation Detector App, Apple Bans it from App Store
The app was created by an Israeli company named Tawkon, and while not necessarily brand new, is relatively unknown. The lack of popularity probably has much to do with Apple’s banning of the app from their online app store since Apple rules the smartphone market. The company instituted the ban because it felt the app would be confusing to customers, though the ban was likely due to the fact that the app could only decrease sales for Apple’s iPhone. Whether Apple’s decision was driven by profit or not, there are some valid questions and concerns regarding the app’s accuracy.
I have noticed that a lot of people storing food are setting themselves up for problems down the road because they won’t be able to prepare and eat what they stored. One neighbor proudly stated that she had 400 pounds of wheat stored. I asked what she would do with it if she had to get it out and use it tonight. She had no idea. She had no clue how to grind, pop or sprout wheat. She knows how to make bread but admitted she has not stored yeast, salt, honey or other items to make bread. She doesn’t even have a grinder to make flour, so is ill prepared to make bread even if she did have all the ingredients. Hopefully she can smash wheat with a hammer and whip up some rough tortillas (assuming she has shortening and salt).
People who store rice must cook it in water, but have they stored water or can they purify water found locally? How about having bouillon, herbs, soups, spices, and other things to mix with the rice? How many bowls of unflavored white rice will family members want to eat every week?
For preppers, the “basic foods” are wheat, rice, beans, dried milk and honey/sugar, but a lot more is needed to make those things pleasantly edible. If you’re stuck on storing just the basics and then calling yourself “prepared,” you are falling way short of actually being prepared. Here are some steps to nudge you up a level:
Police are investigating the attack over Easter weekend when 375 radiata pines at Scion’s forestry research institute were either cut or pulled out, reports NZ Newswire.
A colleague from Aotearoa, New Zealand writes, “…a bulletin on a break-in at the Scion site where people cut through the outer perimeter fence and dug under the inner security barrier to destroy the young [GM pine] saplings…GE Free NZ stopped short of condemning the action… I expect that the next few weeks will see raids on the homes and offices of known political activists over the Scion action. It will be sold to the public as an attempt to stop political insurrection. Wish us all luck. ” [Image: 375 genetically modified radiata pine trees at a research site have been destroyed by vandals. Photo / APNZ]
The changes, Spanish interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said, were needed to toughen up punishment against street vandalism that “disturb public peace” and would include criminalizing intent to organize violent demonstrations through “any means including the Internet.”
As we enter Day 210 of the Occupy movements the protests have spread not only across the country but all over the globe. Thousands of activists have descended on Wall Street these past weeks as part of the #OccupyWallStreet protest organized by several action groups. What follows is a live video stream and live Twitter feed of this event.
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GEOFON Chiapas, Mexico
Mar 30 14:38 PM
4.5 177.0 MAP
EMSC Veracruz, Mexico
Mar 30 14:38 PM
4.6 174.0 MAP
USGS Veracruz, Mexico
Mar 30 14:38 PM
4.6 136.7 MAP
USGS Northern Alaska
Mar 30 14:23 PM
3.3 20.0 MAP
EMSC Western Turkey
Mar 30 14:14 PM
2.4 5.0 MAP
EMSC Albania
Mar 30 13:45 PM
2.7 7.0 MAP
EMSC Albania
Mar 30 13:38 PM
2.4 7.0 MAP
GEONET Canterbury
Mar 30 13:31 PM
3.4 9.0 MAP
USGS Off The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 12:54 PM
4.5 10.3 MAP
EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 12:54 PM
4.9 5.0 MAP
EMSC Greece
Mar 30 12:20 PM
2.4 15.0 MAP
GEOFON Greenland Sea
Mar 30 11:19 AM
4.7 10.0 MAP
USGS Greenland Sea
Mar 30 11:19 AM
4.9 9.9 MAP
EMSC Greenland Sea
Mar 30 11:19 AM
4.9 2.0 MAP
GEOFON Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 10:55 AM
5.0 10.0 MAP
EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 10:55 AM
5.2 10.0 MAP
USGS Off The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 10:55 AM
5.1 9.9 MAP
EMSC Northern Algeria
Mar 30 10:43 AM
4.1 10.0 MAP
GEOFON Northern Algeria
Mar 30 10:42 AM
4.1 10.0 MAP
USGS Southern Alaska
Mar 30 10:18 AM
3.0 152.4 MAP
GEOFON Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 09:40 AM
4.7 45.0 MAP
EMSC Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 09:40 AM
4.7 40.0 MAP
USGS Near The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 09:40 AM
4.6 35.3 MAP
USGS Fiji Region
Mar 30 09:38 AM
5.3 595.9 MAP
GEOFON Fiji Islands Region
Mar 30 09:38 AM
5.0 596.0 MAP
GEONET Whanganui, New Zealand
Mar 30 09:32 AM
3.1 25.0 MAP
GEOFON Vanuatu Islands
Mar 30 08:56 AM
4.8 240.0 MAP
USGS Vanuatu
Mar 30 08:55 AM
4.9 125.8 MAP
EMSC Vanuatu
Mar 30 08:55 AM
4.9 126.0 MAP
EMSC Turkey-iran Border Region
Mar 30 08:28 AM
3.0 2.0 MAP
USGS Off The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 08:24 AM
4.8 35.3 MAP I Felt It
EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 08:24 AM
4.8 35.0 MAP
EMSC Crete, Greece
Mar 30 08:12 AM
3.7 2.0 MAP
EMSC Turkey-iran Border Region
Mar 30 07:49 AM
2.9 7.0 MAP
USGS Southern California
Mar 30 07:38 AM
2.8 14.6 MAP
EMSC Maule, Chile
Mar 30 07:12 AM
4.7 38.0 MAP
USGS Maule, Chile
Mar 30 07:12 AM
4.7 38.3 MAP
GEONET Canterbury
Mar 30 07:10 AM
2.6 15.0 MAP
EMSC Aegean Sea
Mar 30 06:51 AM
2.7 7.0 MAP
EMSC Southeast Of Easter Island
Mar 30 06:19 AM
5.0 33.0 MAP
GEOFON Southeast Of Easter Island
Mar 30 06:19 AM
5.1 10.0 MAP
USGS Southeast Of Easter Island
Mar 30 06:19 AM
5.0 9.9 MAP
USGS Southern California
Mar 30 06:09 AM
3.3 15.1 MAP
USGS Puerto Rico Region
Mar 30 04:54 AM
3.3 69.4 MAP
USGS Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Mar 30 04:49 AM
2.9 43.8 MAP
EMSC Central Turkey
Mar 30 04:48 AM
3.2 20.0 MAP
GEOFON Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 04:38 AM
5.1 56.0 MAP
EMSC Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 04:38 AM
5.2 51.0 MAP
USGS Near The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 04:38 AM
5.1 36.7 MAP
USGS Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Mar 30 04:37 AM
2.7 50.0 MAP
USGS Central Alaska
Mar 30 03:53 AM
3.0 73.8 MAP
USGS Northern California
Mar 30 01:50 AM
2.6 1.8 MAP
EMSC Western Turkey
Mar 30 01:32 AM
3.0 7.0 MAP
EMSC Romania
Mar 30 00:56 AM
2.5 109.0 MAP
EMSC Hokkaido, Japan Region
Mar 30 00:52 AM
4.4 136.0 MAP
USGS Hokkaido, Japan Region
Mar 30 00:52 AM
4.4 138.3 MAP
SAN DIEGO, CA
The USGS confirmed a small earthquake struck San Diego County Thursday night. The quake struck with a magnitude of 3.3 and at a depth of 7 miles at 11:09 p.m. The epicenter of the earthquake was four miles south-southeast of the Palomar Observatory, 17 miles northeast of Escondido and 39 miles north-northeast of San Diego, according to a computer-generated USGS report. News stations in the area said they received over a dozen calls from concerned viewers who described the earthquake as very loud and said it was accompanied by three eerie booms. There were also reports of violent shaking. No injuries or damage was reported the tremor. No one in our generation remembers so many small tremors across the world triggering so many sonic booms. One has to wonder what is happening in the earth beneath our feet.
KILAUEA VOLCANO (CAVW #1302-01-)
19°25’16″ N 155°17’13″ W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Activity Summary for past 24 hours: The summit continued to inflate slowly while back-to-back DI events continued. Overnight, glow was visible within the Halema`uma`u gas plume and from sources within Pu`u `O`o crater. Surface flows continued to be active along the base of the pali advancing across the coastal plain but there was no ocean entry. Seismic tremor levels were low; gas emissions were elevated.
CLEVELAND VOLCANO (CAVW #1101-24-)
52°49’20″ N 169°56’42″ W, Summit Elevation 5676 ft (1730 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Satellite views from early this week suggest that a small lava dome has again extruded into the summit crater. AVO has received no other reports of activity at the volcano.
While the volcano remains active, sudden explosions of blocks and ash are likely. It is possible for associated ash clouds to exceed 20,000 feet above sea level. If a larger ash-producing event occurs, seismic, infrasound, or volcanic lightning networks should detect the event and alert AVO staff. There is no real-time seismic monitoring network on Mount Cleveland so AVO is unable to track activity in real time.
PAGAN VOLCANO (CAVW #0804-17=)
18°7’48″ N 145°48′ E, Summit Elevation 1870 ft (570 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY
Current Aviation Color Code: YELLOW
Clear to partly cloudy satellite images of Pagan show a gas and steam plume continued to extend downwind from the summit vent throughout the past week. The USGS received no further reports of unrest or activity at Pagan volcano.
Pagan Volcano is not monitored with ground-based geophysical instrumentation and the only sources of information are satellite observations and occasional reports from observers who pass by or visit the island. We will continue to evaluate satellite imagery, on-island, and mariner reports when they become available, but because the volcano is not monitored with ground-based instruments, we cannot provide advanced warning of activity.
Record breaking warmth across the United States in March 2012
It is technically winter, and the United States is experiencing a weather pattern typically seen in early summer. Unseasonably warm temperatures have developed east of the Rocky Mountains and have extended north into Canada. Synoptically, or looking at the big picture, the weather pattern resembles a late May and early June pattern. More than 2,000 high temperature records have been tied or broken since March 1, 2012, and more are expected to be broken for the next couple of days, because the weather pattern is very slow to budge or move. What is causing this heat, and will this be a sign of a brutally hot summer?
SEATTLE — It may be spring, but the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch through Thursday for the Olympics and Cascades.
Forecasters expect 1 to 2 feet of new snow, with more at higher elevations such as Mount Baker and less at the passes, although drivers are likely to be affected
Huge ‘Tornado’ Churns on Sun’s Surface – Close-Up Video
Uploaded by VideoFromSpace on Mar 28, 2012
A circular storm as wide as five Earths was captured churning on the Sun’s surface on Sept. 25, 2011, by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. Time-lapsed multiple filter views are looped in this video. – Original Music by Mark C. Petersen, Loch Ness Productions
Geological officials said Wednesday they are considering putting a seismometer in a Wisconsin city where a small earthquake was recorded last week after strong booms and rumblings shook residents once again.
♦ Clintonville booms: U.S. Geological Survey asks residents to report events to website
Clintonville police received 65 calls Tuesday night between 10:35 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. and another 19 calls came in between 3:25 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Clintonville Police Chief Terry Lorge said. Several of the booms were heard by officials at City Hall, he said.
Residents reported the most recent booming as the worst yet, city administrator Lisa Kuss said. Most of the previous calls came in from March 18 to March 20, when a 1.5-magnitude earthquake was detected by the U.S. Geological Survey. The calls had since decreased.
Although many individuals think nothing of radiation emitted by cell phones, or even believe it to be true, there is a large amount of evidence showing how damaging cell phone use can actually be. In response to the released information and growing fear of cell phone radiation, a company has ironically 
Sign reads: Article 21 of the Constitution: The right to peaceful meeting without arms is recognized. The exercising of this right does not require prior authorization. (photo: Adolfo Indignado Cuartero)
