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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

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Species Collapse:	()
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This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
climate impacts ~ smart policy ~ contamination ~ global warming ~ governmental idiocy ~ carbon emissions ~ water issues ~ ecosystem interrelationships ~ toxic buildup ~ bad policy ~ efficiency increase

ApocaDocuments (36) gathered this week:
Sun, Jul 19, 2009 from Boulder Daily Camera: Boulder explores work weeks of four 10-hour days Working fewer, longer days each week could mean big savings for Boulder's energy bills, and happier workers, according to some city employees advocating for such a change. The city recently took a survey of its workers, asking them what they would change to become more efficient or cost-effective in the face of an expected $5 million budget shortfall next year. A resounding theme in the anonymous responses, according to city documents, is that managers should consider shortening the typical work week from the traditional five 8-hour days to four 10-hour days -- the theory being that shutting down city buildings could save energy. ...	Three day weekends ROCK! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jul 19, 2009 from via ScienceDaily: Reintroduced Chinese Alligators Now Multiplying In The Wild In China The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today that critically endangered alligators in China have a new chance for survival. The WCS's Bronx Zoo, in partnership with two other North American parks and the Department of Wildlife Conservation and Management of the State Forestry Administration of China, has successfully reintroduced alligators into the wild that are now multiplying on their own. The alligator hatchlings -- 15 in number -- are the offspring of a group of alligators that includes animals from the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo. The baby alligators represent a milestone for the 10-year effort to reintroduce the Chinese alligator... ...	Just so a bunch of Tarzans don't go lookin' to wrastle 'em! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jul 19, 2009 from Columbus Dispatch: House-passed global-warming bill proposes barrage of regulations ...Because the Senate is nowhere near approving its own version of the [1,428-page global-warming bill approved last month by the U.S. House of Representatives], these regulations might never become law. But as details of the House bill emerge, they have provoked intense criticism from conservative Republicans and business organizations. "That bill is so bad, it's really pathetic," said Bill Kovacs, a chamber lobbyist. "I'm not sure what they thought they were accomplishing by focusing the power of the federal government on the tiniest details of life versus creating a clear path for replacing fossil fuels with cleaner technologies." ...	Appears to me letting business and conservatives run amok didn't work out so hot! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jul 19, 2009 from Newsweek: Toxic Tsunami ...the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant had experienced a catastrophic failure... The largest industrial spill in U.S. history, it has created an environmental and engineering nightmare. The cleanup effort, which the Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing, could cost as much as $1 billion (though estimates continue to climb) and take years to complete. Meanwhile, the released ash -- which is packed with toxins like arsenic, lead, and selenium -- threatens to poison the air and water. Congressional committees are investigating the failure, some lawmakers are calling for greater regulation of utilities, and the EPA is probing about 400 other facilities across the country that store ash in similar ways. Yet the debacle has had another, potentially more far-reaching, impact: it has displayed in the most graphic manner imaginable just how dirty coal is. At a time when seemingly everyone from President Barack Obama on down is talking about "clean coal," the spill showed it's anything but. "Kingston opened people's eyes," says Lisa Evans of Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental-law firm. "Clean coal is an impossibility." ...	You had me... at "tsunami"... ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jul 18, 2009 from New Scientist: Mystery methane belched out by megacities The Los Angeles metropolitan area belches far more methane into its air than scientists had previously realised. If other megacities are equally profligate, urban methane emissions may represent a surprisingly important source of this potent greenhouse gas...a research team led by Paul Wennberg, an atmospheric chemist at Caltech in Pasadena, estimated methane emissions for the Los Angeles region, then subtracted all known sources of methane, such as livestock, landfills and sewage. They ended up with an enormous amount of methane – about 0.14 to 0.34 megatonnes per year, or up to half of the total emissions that could not be accounted for by known sources. ...	My invisible friends must be farting again. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jul 18, 2009 from St. Petersburg Times: North Tampa residents win battle to stop chemical use at golf course People who live around the Babe Zaharias Golf Course have won their battle to stop the Tampa Sports Authority from using a pesticide that some say has made them sick. But it wasn't the authority that gave in to the group's demands. Chemical giant Dow AgroSciences decided Thursday to cancel an application of the soil fumigant Curfew next week. "In light of strong protests and threatened actions of a vocal group of residents and activists, Dow AgroSciences will not place the applicator, itself, or the product in a volatile situation that could result in unfounded allegations, the unnecessary expenditure of regulatory resources or potential litigation," Dow officials told the authority in a written statement... Curfew is used to control nematodes and mole crickets. Its active ingredient is 1,3-dichloropropene. The warning label says its vapors can cause kidney, lung and liver damage and death if inhaled. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a probable carcinogen. ...	Notice they don't even mention potential health effects: that's par for the course! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jul 18, 2009 from Wired: Potential Neurotoxin Could Be in Our Food One of the most comprehensive analyses yet of human exposure to PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, shows that the chemical -- long used in everything from computers to sleeping bags -- enters humans through their diets, not just their household. "The more you eat, the more PBDEs you have in your serum," said Alicia Fraser, an environmental health researcher at Boston University's School of Public Health who headed the new study, published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives. PBDEs are chemical cousins of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which are known to cause birth defects and neurological impairments. PCBs were banned throughout the world by the mid-1970s, when PBDEs were gaining popularity as flame retardants. PBDEs were soon found in most plastic-containing household products. ...	PBDE: Peanut Butter & Deepfried Escargot.... Yum!! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jul 18, 2009 from New York Times: Bottled Water Makers in the Hot Seat Bottled water makers, it seems, are under seige. The Environmental Working Group, which found chemical contaminants in tests of bottled water, has begun calling for more oversight of the bottled water industry. Proponents of low-carbon lifestyles, meanwhile, are urging consumers to eschew bottled water and fill up reusable bottles with tap water instead. Restaurants have started to pull bottled water from their menus, and cities like Toronto are delivering chilled, dispensable drinking water to public events so people won't have to buy it. Last week, members of Congress grilled manufacturers of bottled water about the safety and environmental impacts of their products, while a small town in Australia reportedly became the first in the world to ban bottled water entirely. ...	I dunno... Paying for the contaminants just feels right. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jul 17, 2009 from National Geographic: Shading the Earth Some call it hubris; others call it cool reason. But the idea that we might combat global warming by deliberately engineering a cooler climate -- for instance, by constructing some kind of planetary sunshade -- has lately migrated from the fringe to the scientific mainstream. We are already modifying climate by accident, say proponents of geoengineering; why not do something intentional and intelligent to stop it? "If a country starts thinking it's in their vital interests to do this, and they have the power, I find it hard to imagine them not doing it," says Ken Caldeira, a climate expert at the Carnegie Institution. Caldeira is talking about the easiest, cheapest form of geoengineering: building a sunshade in the stratosphere out of millions of tons of tiny reflective particles, such as sulfate. ...	Or.... we could put giant sunglasses on the sun... ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jul 17, 2009 from Reuters: U.S. releases unclassified spy images of Arctic ice The United States released more than a thousand intelligence images of Arctic ice to help scientists study the impact of climate change, within hours of a recommendation by the National Academy of Sciences. In an unusually fast move by a U.S. government agency, the Interior Department made the images public on Wednesday. The academy's report urging this action was released at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Some 700 images show swatches of sea ice from six sites around the Arctic Ocean, with an additional 500 images of 22 sites in the United States. The images can be seen online at gfl.usgs.gov/. ...	Government helping scientists? Whoa! Maybe there is some hope! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jul 17, 2009 from BBC: Turkmenistan to create desert sea Turkmenistan has launched the latest stage of a plan to channel water across thousands of kilometres of desert to create a vast inland sea. The lake will be filled with drainage water from the country's cotton fields. President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said the "Golden Age Lake" plan showed his country was preserving nature and improving the environment. But critics say the water will be full of fertiliser and insecticides, and will evaporate quickly. The project is one of the biggest and most ambitious in the world, and could cost up to $20bn (£12bn). ...	It's charming that "Berdymukhamedov" in Turkmen means "I take on impossible tasks and fail at them." ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jul 17, 2009 from Mongabay: Florida announces python hunt following snake invasion The population of Burmese pythons has exploded following its introduction into Florida's ecosystems by irresponsible pet owners in the early 1990s. Tens of thousands continue to be imported into the United States for the pet trade, including 144,000 between 2000 and 2005. The snake, which can reach a length of 26 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds, has decimated local wildlife, even going after alligators.... "They reproduce 50 to 100 eggs when they lay the eggs," Behnke said. "They have the ability to withstand different temperatures so there's a possibility they could move north. Now is the time to get started on this and try to prevent it before it becomes even a bigger problem." ...	Will they leave if we start calling them Myanmar pythons? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jul 17, 2009 from DOE, via EurekAlert: New geothermal heat extraction process to deliver clean power generation A new method for capturing significantly more heat from low-temperature geothermal resources holds promise for generating virtually pollution-free electrical energy. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will determine if their innovative approach can safely and economically extract and convert heat from vast untapped geothermal resources.... "By the end of the calendar year, we plan to have a functioning bench-top prototype generating electricity," predicts PNNL Laboratory Fellow Pete McGrail. "If successful, enhanced geothermal systems like this could become an important energy source."... "Some novel research on nanomaterials used to capture carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels actually led us to this discovery," said McGrail. "Scientific breakthroughs can come from some very unintuitive connections." ...	Another transparent ploy to acquire more funding for basic research. ApocaDoc permalink
Want more context? Try reading our book FREE online: Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! More fun than a barrel of jellyfish!
Fri, Jul 17, 2009 from Mongabay, via DesdemonaDespair: Credit Suisse, UBS, BNP Paribas to finance razing of rainforests for palm oil Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS, together with the French BNP Paribas, are helping Singapore-listed Golden Agri-Resources raise up to 280 million Swiss francs ($258 million) to finance conversion of large areas of rainforest in New Guinea and Borneo for oil palm plantations, reports the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), a group that campaigns on behalf of forest people in Southeast Asia.... "The vast majority of future expansion is likely to involve deforestation, some on peatlands and in the habitats of the critically endangered orangutan", said Greenpeace in the report.... ...	Now that's enhancing shareholder value! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jul 16, 2009 from Federation of American Scientists, via EurekAlert: 34 US Nobel Laureates urge inclusion of $150 billion in climate legislation "The stable support this Fund would provide is essential to pay for the research and development needed if the U.S., as well as the developing world, are to achieve their goals in reducing greenhouse gases at an affordable cost," they wrote. "This stable R&D spending is not a luxury," they added. "[I]t is in fact necessary because rapid scientific and technical progress is crucial to achieving" U.S. goals in energy and climate and making the cost affordable. The letter notes that the House-passed climate bill, H.R. 2454, "provides less than one fifteenth of the amount" the president proposed "for federal energy research, development, and demonstration programs." The Senate is expected to consider its version of the climate legislation later this month. ...	Only 34? I bet I could find one laureate who disagrees. Then we could have a one-on-one, fair and balanced debate on television! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jul 16, 2009 from The Hudson Star-Observer: Meteorologist says man not cause of climate issue Dave Dahl, chief meteorologist at KSTP in the Twin Cities, told Hudson Rotarians that man is not the culprit when it comes to global warming, or climate change, issues. Dahl spoke to the Hudson Thursday Noon Rotary Club on July 9 and said what was called "global warming" is now tabbed "climate change" -- because temperatures on the planet have decreased in the past couple years.... He said that the heating of the earth -- which is mostly a good thing -- is caused primarily by water vapor -- about 98 percent. He said carbon and other elements account for about 2 percent of the mix. Of that 2 percent, human involvement represents only about 2 percent of that (.0004 percent). ...	Weather anchors like this are weighing us down! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jul 16, 2009 from Columbia State: Ammonia cloud kills woman, injures 7 The leak at Tanner Industries is believed to be the worst chemical accident in South Carolina since a chlorine spill killed nine in 2005 near Graniteville. The accident rocked the small town of Swansea, causing some of its 1,000 residents to say they were lucky no more people were hurt. Many residents who lived near the plant fled the area after seeing the ammonia cloud or receiving telephoned warnings from friends and neighbors who heard early news reports or saw the cloud. There is no official early warning system around the chemical plant. ...	"Swansea" is nearly an anagram of "nausea." ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jul 16, 2009 from Haaretz: Israeli study sees link between oral cancer, cell phones A recent study documents a sharp rise in the incidence of salivary gland cancer in Israel that researchers believe may be linked to the use of mobile phones. The study was commissioned by the Israel Dental Association and directed by Avi Zini of the community dentistry department at the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine. The study included examination of the incidence of oral cavity cancers in Israel from 1970 to 2006. Among salivary gland cancer cases, researchers found a worrying rise in the number of cases of malignant growth in parotid glands - the salivary gland located under the ear, near the location where cell phones are held during conversations. ...	Shall we rename 'em cancer cell phones? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jul 16, 2009 from New York Times: At Wal-Mart, Labeling to Reflect Green Intent Shoppers expect the tags on Wal-Mart items to have rock-bottom prices. In the future they may also have information about the product's carbon footprint, the gallons of water used to create it, and the air pollution left in its wake. As the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores is on a mission to determine the social and environmental impact of every item it puts on its shelves. And it has recruited scholars, suppliers, and environmental groups to help it create an electronic indexing system to do that. The idea is to create a universal rating system that scores products based on how environmentally and socially sustainable they are over the course of their lives. Consider it the green equivalent to nutrition labels. ...	Somebody pinch me... am I dreaming? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jul 15, 2009 from CBC News (Canada): Pine beetles continue to infest Alberta trees Last winter's cold temperatures did kill some mountain pine beetles in Alberta, but it wasn't enough to reduce the threat of additional infestations, according to recent field surveys. "These results show we need more than cold winters to be successful in our fight against pine beetles in our forests," Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton said Tuesday in a release.... The objective is to minimize the spread of beetles north and south along the eastern slopes, and to prevent beetles from spreading east in the boreal forest.... Mountain pine beetles threaten the health of six million hectares of pine forest in Alberta, the release states. ...	Ah, to be a pine beetle, with such a smorgasbord in front of me! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jul 15, 2009 from American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert: Capturing CO2 in a bowl The accidental discovery of a bowl-shaped molecule that pulls carbon dioxide out of the air suggests exciting new possibilities for dealing with global warming, including genetically engineering microbes to manufacture those CO2 "catchers," a scientist from Maryland reports in an article scheduled for the August 3 issue of ACS' Inorganic Chemistry, a bi-weekly journal. J. A. Tossell notes in the new study that another scientist discovered the molecule while doing research unrelated to global climate change. Carbon dioxide was collecting in the molecule, and the scientist realized that it was coming from air in the lab. Tossell recognized that these qualities might make it useful as an industrial absorbent for removing carbon dioxide. ...	Cool! Can we figure out a "cup" to take carbonic acid out of the ocean? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jul 15, 2009 from Dallas Morning News: Brutal realities in Texas SOUTHWEST: Isolated thunderstorms graced a few farms and ranches, but for most the hottest, driest summer on record continued unabated. High winds and a series of more than 20 days with record or near-record high temperatures aggravated the drought. The soil profile was very dry. High, dry winds increased the risk of roadside and field fires. The Edwards Aquifer water level, as measured at a test well in San Antonio, dropped within 0.3 feet of the mandatory Stage III declaration requirement by the San Antonio Water System. A mandatory stage III water rationing declaration was expected soon, said AgriLife Extension personnel. Except in deferred pastures, forages were almost nonexistent. Pastures and rangeland made almost no progress. The cantaloupe and watermelon harvests were nearly complete. Harvesting of corn and sorghum began; below-average yields were expected. Cotton, peanuts and pecans were making excellent progress under heavy irrigation. ...	Water rationing with the left hand, excellent cotton through heavy irrigation with the right. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jul 15, 2009 from Jerusalem Post: Study shows dramatic decline in coastal wetlands The recently published study... entitled "Decline of wetland ecosystems in the coastal plain of Israel during the 20th century," discusses the harmful impact of humans on the country's wetlands over the past century. It makes use of satellite images, aerial photographs and historical maps to chart the history of the country's dramatic wetland decline. According to the report, "Out of 192 swamps and rain pools recorded in historical sources, only 18 percent [35] still exist today." The study attributed the decline, which was also found to have taken its toll on local plants and animals, to an "increase in population, farming and built-up areas." According to Prof. Noam Levin, the study's author, several species had "disappeared from Israel." One of those species was a rare amphibian unique to Israel, he said. "The only place in the world it existed was in Israel. They drained the lakes and swamps and it wasn't found anywhere again," Levin told The Jerusalem Post. ...	We extinguish species with such efficiency. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jul 15, 2009 from National Academy of Sciences, via EurekAlert: Arctic sea ice images derived from classified data should be made public Hundreds of images derived from classified data that could be used to better understand rapid loss and transformation of Arctic sea ice should be immediately released and disseminated to the scientific research community, says a new report from the National Research Council. The committee that wrote the report emphasized that these Arctic images show detailed melting and freezing processes and also provide information at scales, locations, and time periods that are important for studying effects of climate change on sea ice and habitat -- data that are not available elsewhere. "To prepare for a possibly ice-free Arctic and its subsequent effects on the environment, economy, and national security, it is critical to have accurate projections of changes over the next several decades," said committee chair Stephanie Pfirman, professor and chair of the department of environmental science at Barnard College, New York City. "Forecasts of regional sea-ice conditions can help officials plan for and adapt to the impact of climate change and minimize environmental risks." ...	But National Security! GWOT! Terrorists could... oh, wait, we're talking world security, aren't we? ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jul 14, 2009 from London Daily Telegraph: Invasive species 'spread around world in ships' ballast tanks' Creatures such as the Chinese mitten crab, which is on the rise in the Thames and other English rivers, have been able to establish themselves in new habitats after being transported from their natural homes in ballast water. Around 7,000 marine and coastal species travel across the world's oceans every day, a report for conservation charity WWF said. Some of them become invasive in new sites, breeding prolifically by "escaping" the predators or diseases which would normally keep their numbers under control, competing with local species, disrupting food chains or damaging habitats. The report estimated that in the last five years, invasive species have cost marine and coastal activities including fisheries, aquaculture, industrial infrastructure and harbours some £31 billion worldwide. ...	It's like these ships are taking a giant crap on us! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jul 14, 2009 from New York Times via Common Dreams: Iraq Suffers as the Euphrates River Dwindles JUBAISH, Iraq... The Euphrates is drying up. Strangled by the water policies of Iraq's neighbors, Turkey and Syria; a two-year drought; and years of misuse by Iraq and its farmers, the river is significantly smaller than it was just a few years ago. Some officials worry that it could soon be half of what it is now. The shrinking of the Euphrates, a river so crucial to the birth of civilization that the Book of Revelation prophesied its drying up as a sign of the end times, has decimated farms along its banks, has left fishermen impoverished and has depleted riverside towns as farmers flee to the cities looking for work. ...	This news makes my apoca-lips parched. ApocaDoc permalink
You're still reading! Good for you! You really should read our short, funny, frightening book FREE online (or buy a print copy): Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! We've been quipping this stuff for more than 30 months! Every day! Which might explain why we don't get invited to parties anymore.
Tue, Jul 14, 2009 from Inderscience via ScienceDaily: Trapping Carbon Dioxide Or Switching To Nuclear Power Not Enough To Solve Global Warming Problem, Experts Say Attempting to tackle climate change by trapping carbon dioxide or switching to nuclear power will not solve the problem of global warming, according to energy calculations published in the July issue of the International Journal of Global Warming... The researchers have calculated that the heat energy accumulated in the atmosphere corresponds to a mere 6.6 percent of global warming, while the remaining heat is stored in the ground (31.5 percent), melting ice (33.4 percent) and sea water (28.5 percent). They point out that net heat emissions between the industrial revolution circa 1880 and the modern era at 2000 correspond to almost three quarters of the accumulated heat, i.e., global warming, during that period. ...	So I guess this means it's time to party hardy! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jul 14, 2009 from University of California - Los Angeles via ScienceDaily: Major Breakthrough With Water Desalination System ...researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science are working hard to help alleviate the state's water deficit with their new mini-mobile-modular (M3) "smart" water desalination and filtration system... Though the system is compact enough to be transported anywhere in the back of a van, it can generate 6,000 gallons of drinking water per day from the sea or 8,000 to 9,000 gallons per day from brackish groundwater. By [Yoram Cohen, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and lead investigator on the team]'s estimate, that means producing enough drinking water daily for up to 6,000 to 12,000 people. ...	When I can fit one into my pocket... Count me in! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jul 14, 2009 from Climate Wire: SEC Turnaround Sparks Sudden Look at Climate Disclosure Federal regulators are preparing to launch "a very serious look" at requiring corporations to assess and reveal the effects of climate change on their financial health, according to a commissioner on the Securities and Exchange Commission. Initial efforts are under way, moving the commission toward a conclusion that investment groups had sought unsuccessfully throughout much of the Bush administration: forcing public companies to report the dangers they face from releasing carbon dioxide and its warming aftermath... Big emitters like oil and gas companies, for example, might have to formally reveal the output of their greenhouse gases and the disadvantages they face from federal efforts to charge polluters for every ton of carbon that's released. ...	They should have always had to do this! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jul 14, 2009 from Chicago Tribune: Chicago water: In public reports, city silent over sex hormones and painkillers found in treated drinking water Annual water quality reports mailed to Chicagoans this month didn't say a word about sex hormones, painkillers or anti-cholesterol drugs, even though city officials found traces of pharmaceuticals and other unregulated substances in treated Lake Michigan water during the past year. Like other cities, Chicago must notify the public if its drinking water contains certain regulated contaminants, including lead, pesticides and harmful bacteria. But pharmaceutical chemicals, which have been detected in drinking water across the country, are not on that list. ...	Perhaps everyone's too high from drinking the elixir to care! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jul 14, 2009 from CNN: Months after ash spill, Tennessee town still choking Pamela Hampton stands at the kitchen sink, her gaze trained out of the window of her family's small hillside home. The disaster site is not visible from where she stands, but she knows it is there, down the hill, around a short stretch of highway, less than a mile away. Six months after the largest industrial spill in U.S. history, Hampton, her husband, Charles, and their three young children say they still do not feel comfortable going outside... "It's like dumping the periodic table into everyone's drinking water," said Anna George, a scientist with the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute who has for months been testing the waters and fish near the spill site. ...	That, my friend, is how you wield a metaphor! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jul 13, 2009 from Sunday Independent: G8 leaders slammed over climate targets Greenpeace has called for massive public pressure to demand that the world's wealthiest nations take decisive action on climate change. The call came as G8 leaders emerged from two days of climate talks in Italy without reaching agreement on firm commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ahead of December's UN climate change talks to finalise a post-2012 climate regime. Greenpeace activists on inflatable boats marked the failure to agree by painting the message "G8: FAILED" on the side of a coal ship - which had loaded its cargo in Richards Bay - in Civitavecchia, near Rome....In Italy this week, more than 100 activists occupied, painted, blocked and hung off cranes at five Italian coal-fired power stations, pointing to coal as the world's worst climate killer, and calling for G8 leadership to address climate change. ...	The arts are fighting back! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jul 13, 2009 from China Daily: 100,000 evacuated in Sichuan downpour CHENGDU: At least two people were missing and more than 100,000 others displaced after a rainstorm pelted part of Sichuan Province over the past three days, the local government said Sunday. Two young men were flushed away by mountain torrents at about 9 a.m. Saturday while passing a makeshift bridge in Xuanhan County, Dazhou City. Rescuers are searching for them, according to the government of Dazhou. About 102,000 people have been evacuated or relocated to safe places in the city, where continuous downpour had collapsed 8,582 houses, damaged 11,782 and flooded nearly 30,900 hectares of cropland since Thursday afternoon. ...	I'm SCREAMING in the rain, just SCREAMING in the rain! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jul 13, 2009 from Brisbane Times: Three-headed fish found on Sunshine Coast More mutant fish have been found at a Noosa fish hatchery, including mullet embryos with two and three heads. The discoveries come after seven mullet - four females and three males taken from the Noosa River, were given to the Sunland Freshwater Fish Hatchery at Boreen Point for breeding this month. Fifty per cent of embryos found during two separate spawning events on July 5 and 6 had some form of cell abnormality, including some with two heads. A single mullet fry was found with three heads. ...	Does each head sport a mullet? Now that's an entertaining mutation! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jul 13, 2009 from BBC: Children die in harsh Peru winter Children die from pneumonia and other respiratory infections every year during the winter months particularly in Peru's southern Andes. But this year freezing temperatures arrived almost three months earlier than usual. Experts blame climate change for the early arrival of intense cold which began in March. Winter in the region does not usually begin until June. The extreme cold, which has brought snow, hail, freezing temperatures and strong winds, has killed more children than recorded annually for the past four years. ...	Three months?!? Let's hope Spring comes just as early! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jul 13, 2009 from New York Times: Boiling the Frog Is America on its way to becoming a boiled frog?... the consensus of the climate experts is utterly terrifying. At this point, the central forecast of leading climate models -- not the worst-case scenario but the most likely outcome -- is utter catastrophe, a rise in temperatures that will totally disrupt life as we know it, if we continue along our present path. How to head off that catastrophe should be the dominant policy issue of our time. But it isn't, because climate change is a creeping threat rather than an attention-grabbing crisis... Unfortunately, if we wait to act until the climate crisis is that obvious, catastrophe will already have become inevitable. ...	No matter what metaphor -- frogs, canaries, whatever -- we are pretty much dead meat. ApocaDoc permalink