OversigtJeg vil forsøge i denne artikel at bringe en oversigt over det, der fører frem til den endelige afslutning på vor tidsalder. Jeg er derfor nødt til gang på gang at krydse mine tidligere oplysninger for at beskrive mange situationer, der tilsammen fører verden ud i et uendeligt kaos, hvor Satan ikke ser anden udvej end en åben konfrontation med Gud på Israels jord og tage mange med sig ind i den forfærdelige dom, der venter ham, når Gud udløser sin vrede over ham og hans følge. Og dine børn eller venner kan måske som udpeget soldat komme med i den skare, der skal stride mod Gud.
15. marts 2002 skrev Bill Koenigs, nyhedsreporter, at han personlig havde set, hvad der skete med palæstinensiske kristne i Betlehem og Beit Jala, at disse kristne lider forfærdelig under Arafats styre. Deres forretninger blev brændt ned af muslimske landsmænd. Unge kristne piger blev voldtaget, og deres familier terroriseret. Derfor er også mange arabiske kristne i intifada perioden flygtet bort fra deres hjemegn, idet dem, der er venlige overfor Israel, myrdes og hænges med hovedet nedad ved siden af store billeder af Arafat.
Sådanne situationer er ikke sjældne og et led i forfølgelser fra muslimsk side verden over. Islamiske terrorister myrder kristne, jøder og enhver, der ikke godtager islam. Se mere i Koenigs International News, www.watch.org
Fra kilden FREEMAN CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES skrev Boston Herald 9. dec. 2001, at Koenigs International News en dag modtog en folder (Discover Islam: The Reader) fra the American Islamic Information Center.
Der var smilende ansigter på folderen, men redaktøren på Koenigs International News lod sig ikke narre men tænkte i stedet på muslimernes opførsel overfor jøder og kristne. Og på, hvorledes islam i stedet kunne og burde garantere menneskelige rettigheder og lighed.
Han tænkte på fly-angrebet d. 11. september 2001 og på, at den største muslimske organisation i USA sidste år indsamlede 13 mill. $ til hjælp til HAMAS (der er ansvarlig for selvmordsbombeangreb i Israel). Og at der i Los Angeles i 1995 blev indsamlet $207,000 til den militære ledelse for Hamas under mottoet: Finish off the Israelis. Kill them all! (Færdig med Israel. Dræb dem alle!) Han tænkte på Sheik Omar Abdul-Rahman, der i 1993 angreb World Trade Center. Og at i de sidste fem år har 1 mill. kristne har været nødt til at flygte fra muslimske lande.
I Saudi Arabien er mange kristne fængslet for at udøve deres tro. Og fakta er, at religionsfrihed ikke findes i dette land.
Muslimer i Nigeria dræbte den 11. sept. 2002 400 kristne, og fejrede dagen som en sejr. I maj 2000 dræbtes 200 mennesker i Nigeria. En muslim, som var blevet kristen, blev for eks trukket ud af sin bil, fik øjnene stukket ud og derefter dræbt.
Koenigs International News gør opmærksom på det, der sker i Indonesien, hvor der i mange områder er et stort ønske om at udrense de kristne. I Maluki er 9.000 kristne blevet myrdet af muslimer siden 1999. Og i nabodistrikten Sulawesi blev der i henhold til International Christian Concern nedbrændt 600 hjem og seks kirker ødelagt mellem 26. og 29 nov. 2002.
Og der gøres også opmærksom på, at det er til eftertanke, når en religion, der siger den respekterer menneskelige rettigheder og lighed, gør det modsatte og viser, at de ingen tolerance har overfor ikke muslimer.
Daniel Sobelman skrev i Haaretz Newspaper, Jerusalem, 9.dec. 2001, at selvmordsbomber bliver retfærdiggjort af muslimerne, idet den islamiske mufti i Jerusalem, Sheikh Akrameh Sabri, ifølge den internationale Arabic newspaper, Al-Hayat siger. at selvmordsbombninger er retfærdige og bør opmuntres. Og deri har Sabri støtte fra PLOs leder Yassir Arafat.
I vort land er vi meget optaget af sport og diverse former for underholdning og for nogens vedkommende af økonomi. For borgerne i Israel er det helt anderledes. Siden 29. sept. 2000 har palæstinensiske terrorister foretaget 16.378 angreb i Israel (6.980 på Vestbredden, 7.646 i Gaza og 842 på private hjem.)
Derved er der i alt dræbt 581 og såret 4.822 personer. Hvad ville vi i Danmark gøre, dersom vi over en periode på 25 måneder havde haft så mange terrorangreb på for eks på busser og steder, hvor mange mennesker er samlet?
For et mere udførligt billede af, hvad muslimerne står for, anbefales det at læse ISLAM I VESTEN PÅ KORANENS VEJ, af Helle Merete Brix og Torben Hansen - Forlag TIDERNE SKIFTER, som er rystende, chokerende læsning. Virkeligheden er langt værre, end vi kan forestille os.
(Dette afsnit er skrevet Oskar Edin Indergaard og gengivet her på norsk.) Helt fra staten Israel ble opprettet i 1948 har det vært krig og uroligheter i Midt-Østen mellom jøder og arabere. Vi kan nevne krigene i 1948, 1956, 1967 og 1973. Disse blir kalt for henholdsvis Frigjøringskrigen, Suez-krigen, 6-dagerskrigen og Yom Kippur-krigen. Israel har gjennom disse krigene greid å forsvare seg og utvide sitt landområde. Det har også i løpet av denne tiden, fra 1948 og fram til i dag, vært gjort en rekke forsøk på å få til fred i området, uten at dette har lykkes. Så er det store spørsmålet: Ønsker araberne og de såkalte palestin-araberne å få fred med jødene. Svaret på dette er: Nei. De ønsker å utslette både Israel og de vestlige nasjonene, som har jødedommen og kristendommen som sitt åndelige fundament. De ønsker i det hele tatt å nedkjempe alle land og nasjoner som ikke har islam som sitt åndelige fundament. Dette er nedfelt i arabernes hellige bok Koranen.
Koranen oppfordrer alle arabere og andre tilhengere av islam å kjempe mot de vantroe til den siste av dem er utryddet. De vantroe er først og fremt jøder og kristne. Vi skal i det følgende bare nevne et vers fra Koranen som viser at dette er riktig. Og bekjemp dem inntil det IKKE FINNES flere Fitnah (vantroe og til tilbedere av andre enn Allah) og tilbedelsen er for Allah alene. Men hvis de ikke holder opp, lat det ikke bli noen overtredelse bortsett fra mot As-Zatimun (flergudsdyrkere og syndere). (Sura Al-Baquara. 2, 193.)
De som dør i kampen for Allahs sak blir lovet vin, kjøtt og 72 vakre kvinner når de kommer til paradiset. Spis og drikk med glede på grunn av hva du pleide å gjøre. De (martyrene) vil lene seg tilbake på troner satt opp i rekker. Og Vi (Allah og Muhammed) skal vie dem til Hur (vakre kvinner) med store vakre øyne. Og Vi skal skaffe dem frukt og kjøtt slik de måtte ønske. (Sura At-Tur. 52,17 og 17,20,22.) Hager og vingårder og unge jomfruer med utviklede bryst og lik alder og et fult beger med vin. (Sure An-Naba. 78,32-34.) På bakrunn er det ikke vanskelig å forstå at det er mange arabere som ønsker å gi sitt liv for islams sak i kampen mot de vantroe.
Islam deler verden i 2 deler. Den første del er Dar Al Harb. Det er krigens leir. Dette er jødenes og de kristnes områder. Den andre del er Dar Al-Sallam. Det fredens leir, hvor muslimene lever. Målet er å utrydde Dar Al Harb og opprette et islamittisk verdensrike. Den som ikke kjenner Koranens innhold, kjenner heller ikke til hvilke planer araberne har både overfor Israel og den øvrige verden. I 1974 vedtok Det Palestinske Nasjonalrådet den såkalte faseplanen for å ødelegge Israel. Den gikk ut på 3 faser. Fase nr. 1: Opprettelse av en palestinsk stat. Fase nr. 2: Bruk av den palestinske staten til å fortsette krigen mot Israel. Fase 3: Sette i verk en større krig for å utslette Israel. Dette er den malen som palestina-araberne arbeider etter for å utslette Israel. Jødene er klar over dette. De har fått merke dette i altfor stor grad i sin korte historie fra 1948 og fram til i dag. Verdensamfunnet og de forskjellige internasjonale organisasjonene er ikke klar over den store faren som islam representerer. Dette gjelder også det store flertall av norske politikere med unntak av Framstegspartiet, som forsvarer både kristendommen, vår kultur og Israel. (En skulle i alle fall ha forventet at Kristelig Folkeparti hadde forstått dette, både på bakgrunn av bibelsk profeti og åndelig gangsyn, men de er like forblindet som resten av verden.)
På bakgrunn av det som jeg har skrevet ovenfor, ser vi at det ikke nytter å arbeide for fred i Midt-Østen gjennom de vanlige kanalene. Verdensamfunnet tror at dersom jødene gir fra seg tilstrekkelig med land i Midt-Østen, så vil det bli fred, men dette er ikke tilfellet. PLO kunne forlengst ha hatt sin egen stat dersom de hadde ønsket fred, men det er ikke det de er ute etter. De er ute etter å ødelegge staten Israel og utslette og jage bort den jødiske nasjonen, for den hører ikke med til Dar Al-Sallam. Verdenssamfunnet tror også at denne konflikten blir løst gjennom forhandlinger. Det er også en gal vurderingen. Fra palestinsk side er forhandlinger bare et påskudd til å svekke staten Israel for på et senere tidspunkt å gå til nytt angrep på jødene. Dessuten er dette en kamp mellom to religioner. Det er en kamp mellom islam og jødedom- kristendom. Det er ikke bare en kamp om landområder, men det er også en kamp på det åndelige planet.
Dersom vi ikke er klar over det som jeg har skissert ovenfor, så forstår vi ikke konflikten mellom jøder og arabere. Den kan ikke løses på vanlig måte. Den kan bare løses på det grunnlaget som Bibelen skisserer, og den sier at det blir ikke fred i verden før Messias kommer og folkene blir ham lydige. Oskar Edin Indergaard. Norge i dag nr.16,2002. Citat slut.
Mange storriger har været, som vi i dag kun ser sporene efter. Og snart vil alle de nuværende riger også være borte, når KONGEN over alle jordens riger, Messias, som af jøderne og store dele af verdens befolkning er blevet forkastet, regerer under det navn, som han er benævnt med i GT, (YAHUSHUAH. (Forkortet til YSHUAH, udtales YEHOSHUA eller YESHUA.)
Jerusalem lå delvis upåagtet hen siden romerne ødelagde byen i år 70 eft. Kr. Men efter 1948 er der skrevet mere om den end om nogen anden by. Hvorfor? Fordi Jerusalem i endetiden bliver verdens mest betydningsfulde by.
I år 70 efter den romerske sejr sagde en soldat til sine medsoldater: Judea Capta Est. (Judæa er besejret.) Men når Jesus Kristus kommer igen, vil Gud igen kalde byen og landet frem til herlighed og liv.
Endetiden vil være præget af krige, og krigen ved Harmageddon vil for Israels vedkommende få afgørende betydning. Der har været talrige krige som optræk til denne krig, som Israel på uforklarlig måde har vundet. Gud har holdt sin hånd over sit land og folk.
Jerusalem er omtalt 700 gange i GT og 150 gange i NT, men ikke én eneste gang i den muslimske Koran.
Gennem hele Bibelen er det tydeligt, at Jerusalem opfylder en speciel rolle i Guds plan og til hans ære. Engang var Guds herlighed (schechina) synlig tilstede i templet i Jerusalem, og det vil atter ske. Jeremias skriver: ”På den tid skal de kalde Jerusalem Herrens trone, og alle folkeslagene skal samle sig foran den…” Jer. 3:17. Og i Ez 43:7 står: ”Jeg skal bo midt iblant Israels børn til evig tid.”
Det er tydeligt udfra Skrifterne, at Skaberen, Gud Herren, vogter Jerusalem og dens indbyggere. Det er sagt så stærkt: ” Så siger hærskarernes Herre:…Den, som rører ved jer, rører ved min øjesten.” Zak 2:12.
Men Satan oppisker verdens befolkning til at gå imod Jerusalem, som det er forudsagt i Ez. 38. kap. Læs også Zak. 12. kap og fortsæt i kap. 14. Kun en krig med de moderne ødelæggelsesvåben ser ud til at kunne opfylde disse profetier.
Gang på gang gennem flere årtier har FN vedtaget resolutioner rettet mod Israel, som viser at verdens opmærksomhed især er rettet mod Jerusalem.
For en tid siden skrev jeg en artikel om Israel og endetiden, som du burde læse før du går videre, fordi den bringer en del oplysninger, der giver en større forståelse for alvoren i den hadefulde modvilje, der er imod Israel: ”Jerusalem, den evige by”
Vi læser i Åb. 17. kap om et skarlagenrødt dyr med mange horn. Der er god grund til at tro, at Europa har mere med dette dyr at gøre, end vi måske tror.
Vi er i dag belejret af oldtidens Babylons afgudslære, der vinder frem her i endetiden. Ikke mindst af måneguden, der har halvmånen som det universelle symbol på islam, dets moskeer og flag. Og dette tegn hører nøje sammen med muslimernes Allah.
Halvmånen hører på en vis måde også sammen med baaldyrkelsen. På nyere tyske telefonkort ses Europa som en moderne kvinde, ridende på tyren BAAL, der har halvmåneformede horn.
På nye græske euromønter (2002) ses en letsindig Europa, ligeledes ridende på ryggen af Baal, faderen til de hedenske guder. Og et rædselsfuldt skulptur af Europa, der klynger sig til ”gudernes fader”, dukkede op år 2000 udenfor Europarådet, hvor EUs love bliver skrevet. Det synes således at være velovervejet, at EU ønsker stærke bånd til hedenskaben. For eks. er det nye parlamentsbygning i Strassburg (indviet år 2000) bygget som et kopi af Babelstårnet. Det officielle svar på, hvorfor man har gjort det, er: ”Hvad de mislykkedes i at fuldføre for 3000 år siden – vil vi i Europa færdiggøre nu!”
Er vi blevet så blinde, at vi ikke ser, at næst efter Israel er de kristne muslimernes fjende, som de vil bekæmpe på enhver måde. Saudi Arabien opfører moskeer over hele verden for at vise, at de sejrer over kristendommen. Det tillader vi, medens Saudi Arabien og mange andre muslimske lande fængsler folk for at bære en Bibel på sig.
Gud vil gøre sin storhed så åbenbar her i endetiden, at ingen kan overse den. Derfor kommer bl.a. Gog-Magog krigen. Vi læser i Ez 39:17 og 20: ”Så siger Herren Gud: Sig til alle fugle og vilddyr på marken: Saml jer og kom! Kom sammen fra alle egne til mit offermåltid, som jeg slagtede for jer, et stort offermåltid på Israels bjerge. …”I skal blive mættet ved mit bord med heste og ryttere, med mægtige mænd og med alle stridsmændene, siger Herren Gud.”
Således vil det altså gå de mægtige, der går mod Gud. Og formålet er: ”Jeg vil vise min herlighed blandt folkeslagene. Alle folkeslagene skal se den dom, jeg har ladet komme, og min hånd, som jeg har lagt på dem. Da skal Israels hus kende, at jeg er Herren deres Gud, fra den dag og fremdeles.” Ez 39:21-22.
Både Ez. 38. 39. kap. er en stærk beskrivelse af, hvad Gud sender over Israel her i endetiden, og hvorfor han gør det. Men også det genrejste romerske rige vil Antikrist bruge til at få globalt herredømme. (Åb 17:8 :18.) Og ligeledes er der kongerne fra Østen. (Åb 16:12.) Så Israels trængsler vil være store. Og stadig skal vi huske, at Gud sender disse trængsler over Israels folk på grund af deres overtrædelser. Hvordan vil det så ikke gå for vort land og folk, dersom vi ikke omvender os?
Der har altid været krige lande og mennesker imellem. Og Israel er blevet hårdest ramt. Det land, Messias ved sin genkomst kommer for at frelse fra total ødelæggelse, vil være oversvømmet af en stor hær. Joel skriver derom: ”En ild fortærer foran det, og bag det brænder flammen. Landet er som Edens have foran det, og efter det som en forladt ødemark. Sandelig, ingen skal slippe fri.” Joel 2:3.
Kan det beskrives værre? En forladt ødemark! Så langt kommer Israels folk ned i dyb nød, før Gud frelser dem. Kommer de ikke i denne nød ved Gud, at de selv tager æren for sejren. I Åb 19:17-18 læser vi en lignende beskrivelse: ”Da så jeg en engel stå på solen. Og han råbte med høj røst og sagde til alle fuglene, som fløj under himmelen: Kom og saml jer til den store Guds måltid for at æde kødet af konger, af hærførere, af mægtige mænd, af heste og af dem, som sidder på dem, ja af alle, frie og trælle, både små og store. Og jeg så dyret, kongerne på jorden og deres hære, som var samlet for at føre krig mod ham, som sad på hesten (Messias), og mod hans hær. Da blev dyret fanget, og sammen med ham den falske profet, som gjorde tegn for hans øjne. Med disse tegne havde han forført dem, som havde taget imod dyrets mærke, og dem, som tilbad dets billede. Disse to blev kastet levende ned i ildsøen, som brænder med svovl. Og de andre blev dræbt med sværdet, som gik ud fra hans mund, som sad på hesten. Og alle fuglene blev mættet af deres kød.”
Alt dette viser Guds storhed.
Gud vil ruske os op til at forstå, at han taler alvor i sit ord om endetidens dom over nationerne. Han taler i sit ord og ved naturkatastrofer, solpletternes øgede aktivitet og andre mærkelige uforklarlige tegn i universet.
Et eksempel på et sådant tegn er, at en vulkansk klippemasse hæver sig under Afrika og er i færd med splitte kontinentet i to dele. I henhold til forskere kan det evt. skabe et nyt ocean.
Denne “revne” i jordens overflade, kaldet Den ætiopiske Kløft, er på 2000 km. og går fra Malawi i syd gennem Tanzania, Kenya og Ætiopien og har forbindelse op til Det røde Hav. Og fra Det røde Hav er en linje til dalen med Det døde Hav, der er det laveste sted på jorden, hvortil også Jordan floden flyder fra Galilæasøen.
Alt dette er forudsagt i Zakarias og Ezekiel og er et værk, der styres af Herren selv. Og i Zak 14:4 og 8-11 står: ”På den dag skal hans fødder stå på Oliebjerget, som ligger vendt mod Jerusalem fra øst. Oliebjerget skal revne i to, fra øst til vest, så der bliver en meget stor dal. Halvparten af bjerget skal flytte sig mod nord og halvparten mod syd.” ”På den dag skal det ske, at levende vand strømmer ud fra Jerusalem, halvparten af det mod Østhavet (Det døde Hav) og halvparten af det mod Vesthavet (Middelhavet). Både om sommeren og vinteren skal det ske. Herren skal være Konge over hele jorden. På den dag skal det være sådan: Herren er Én, og hans navn ett. Hele landet skal blive gjort om til en slette fra Geba til Rimmon syd for Jerusalem. Jerusalem skal blive ophøjet og være beboet på sit sted fra Benjamins port til stedet for den første port og Hjørneporten, og fra Hananel-tårnet til kongens vinpresser. Folket skal bo i henne, og aldrig mere skal nogen lyses i band, men Jerusalem skal være beboet i tryghed.”
Disse profetier må gå forud for den de sidste forfærdelige begivenheder og lede til den sidste store krig hvor Messias YHWH synligt vil komme som Jerusalems Konge og Herre,
EAGLE (The Ethiopian-Afar Geophysical Lithospheric Experiment) er oprettet på britisk initiativ og 20 videnskabsmænd arbejder mellem oktober 2001 og Januar 2003 på at undersøge hvorledes den afrikanske kontinent kan revne i to. Projektet er betalt af universiteterne i Leicester and Leeds i samarbejde med universitetet i Addis Abeba.
Ref.
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/For-Staff/on-campus/research/10RE1.html
http://www.le.ac.uk/gl/pkm/Research/eagle01.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1823000/1823019.stm
Der er stor uenighed om alt det, der skal ske i endetiden. Og mange ser ikke, at endetidens profetier især gælder Israel. I sin tid forstod jøderne ikke de mange profetier om Messias. Og da han endelig kom, afviste de ham og fik ham korsfæstet. Bortset fra få afviser de ham også i dag. De kan og vil ikke tage imod ham, før de er et knust folk med et knust land. De kan læse om de 7 års trængsel i Dan 9:24 og om genopbygningen af templet og antikrist, men deres øje er tillukkede. Derfor må Gud tillade, at det forfærdelige kommer over dem og ikke får ende før Joels profeti, som vi læste om, går i opfyldelse.
I år 586 f. Kr. sendte Gud Nebukadnezar med hans hær mod sit folk, hvor han ødelagde Jerusalem. Og så knust var Israel, at de døde ikke blev begravet, medens solen blegede deres ben. Men Gud lod Ezekiel se, at han ikke var færdig med Israel men ville genoprette landet på et fremtidigt tidspunkt.
Dette storværk begyndte Gud på år 575 før Kr. ved et lade Kyrus udsende et dekret, og senere igen et dekret af Artaxerxes år 457 før Kr. Selv om store dele af Israel da stadig var i fangenskab, ville Gud begynde at gøre Israel levende, hvis de ville leve efter hans plan. Derfor blev de 70 uger, som vi læser om i Dan. 9. kap., givet dem, opdelt i 69 uger (åruger) og siden den 70.uge. Som vi ved, er de 69 åruger brugt, medens den 70. uge (trængselstiden) er i vente.
Gud tøver for at give alle en tid til at omvende sig. Men på et tidspunkt er sidste del af nådetiden brugt. Og da begynder Guds domme af falde. Vi ser allerede de forfærdelige skygger af dem, for eks. i form af naturkastrofer. Kun dem, der bygger på Guds løfter, kan være trygge.
Guds dom og vrede er større end vi kan forestille os, fordi nådetiden er blevet sløset bort, oprøret mod Gud er blevet større og større og hjerterne mere forhærdede end nogensinde.
Der er et gammelt ordsprog, der siger: Den, der ikke vil høre, må føle! Det gælder også, når Gud taler til os gennem sit ord og sin Ånd.
Herren siger i sit ord: Hør, I himle, lyt, du jord, thi HERREN taler: Børn har jeg opfødt og fostret, men de forbrød sig imod mig.” Es 1:2.
”Jeg satte vægtere over dem: Hør hornets klang! Men de svarede: Det vil vi ikke!” Jer 6:17. Israel ville ikke høre, og vi vil ikke høre. Det er årsagen til, at Gud må tage så hårdt fat i sit folk, både Israel og os, der først hører, når alt er taget fra os og vi ikke mere ser nogen udvej til redning.
Gud har ventet i år og dage på, at vi skulle tage imod hans frelse. Men snart kan disse ord fra en sang passe på mange af os:
Forsent, forsent! da klager vi.
Jesus af Nazaret gik forbi.
Et bevis på Guds forudviden
| Gamle navne på nationer | Nye navne på nationer |
|---|---|
| Gog and Magog | Russia |
| Meshech and Tubal | Moscow and Tobolsk |
| Persia | Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan |
| Ethiopia | Ethiopia and Sudan |
| Libya | Libya |
| Ashkenaz, Gomer | Soviet block (Eastern Europe) |
| Togarmah | Southern Russia |
| Many nations with you | Other nations allied to Rusland |
Dok. 10 Gud forudser alt, og derfor er de nationer navngivet, der vil gå med mod Israel i endetidens store krig, så Guds folk ikke skal være i tvivl om, hvilke lande der er med i Gog-Magog krigen. Et stærkt bevis på Guds forudviden ser vi ved, at Libyen på det tidspunkt, Ezekiel profeterede, var et ubetydeligt sted.
I dag foretager Rusland en stor opbygning af 14 luftbaser i Libyen med flere end 550 russiske combat aircraft. Rusland har også stationeret et chokerende stort antal på 16.000 tanks og armerede køretøjer i Libyen, der er et større antal end Frankrig, England og Tyskland har tilsammen. Hvorfor?
I Insight magazine, 9. 6. 1993 læser vi, hvorledes Irans fjendtlige linje overfor Israel spredes til en lang række arabiske lande. Endnu en bekræftelse på, at Gud fra begyndelsen kender afslutningen, og at han har alle ting i sin hånd.
Det er værd at lægge mærke til, at de muslimske nationer, der er omtalt i Ezekiel, i vor tid går sammen med Rusland og kendt for at være islamiske fundamentalistlande som er Israels største fjender. Og læg mærke til, at Gud siger til disse lande: ”På Israels bjerge skal de falde.”
Bibelen siger gennem profeten Ezekiel, at Israels fjender totalt skal ødelægges. ”I min nidkærhed og i min vredes ild har jeg talt: Sandelig, på den samme dag skal der komme et stort jordskælv i Israels land” Ez 38:19. Og i vers 21-22 står: ”Over alle mine bjerge skal jeg kalde på sværdet imod ham (Gog), siger Herren Gud. Hver mand skal vende sit sværd mod sin broder.. Jeg skal dømme ham med pest og blodsudgydelse. Over ham, hans stridstropper og de mange folk, som er med ham, skal jeg lade komme en strøm af regnskyl, hagl som sten, ild og svovl.”
”På Israels bjerge skal du falde.” Ez 39:4. Og i vers 6 læser vi: ”Jeg vil sende ild over Magog og over dem, som bor i tryghed ved fjerne kyster. Da skal de kende, at jeg er Herren.”
I 1993 blev Vestbredden ifølge aftale givet til Yasser Arafat, hvilket gør det muligt at stationere fjendtlige hærenheder på Vestbredden. (Israels bjerge).
Da skal Israel ikke længere vanhellige Herrens navn. Det store flertal i Israel i dag har ingen tanke for deres Gud. Men da sker det, som vi læser om i Ez 39:7 : ”Mit hellige navn vil jeg gøre kendt midt iblandt mit folk Israel, og jeg vil ikke mere lade mit hellige navn blive vanhelliget. Da skal folkeslagene kende, at jeg er Herren, den Hellige i Israel.
”Hedningefolkene skal kende, at det var på grund af deres misgerning, Israels hus drog i fangenskab. Fordi de var troløse mod mig, derfor skjulte jeg mit åsyn for dem og overgav dem i deres fjenders hånd, …Ud fra deres urenhed og ud fra deres overtrædelser har jeg handlet med dem, og jeg har skjult mit åsyn for dem.” Ez 39:23-24.
Kan det siges mere tydeligt, hvorfor det er gået Israel som det er? Men de mange tegn vidner om at det snart vil ændre sig.
I det følgende er der ind imellem anvendt en del oplysninger, som Chuck Missler har bragt June 2001 i Personal Update NewsJournal om den omfattende invasion, der ifølge Bibelen vil komme til at ske i Mellemøsten ved GOG og MAGOG, hvor haglsten og ild fra himlen vil falde ned over angriberne, og hvor der vil forekomme jordskælv rundt om i verden. (Ez 38:19-22.) Også dem, der tror de bor trygt på fjerne egne, vil blive ramt af denne plage. (Ez 38:19-22.) Nogle tror, at det viser hen til langtrækkende atommissiler, som kan være en følge af en konfrontation med Magog og allierede. Rusland har fornylig solgt våben til Iran (en af Gogs alierede) for 7 milliarder $. Og Irans militære opbygning fortsætter.
I dag er floden Eufrat under kontrol, så der kan lukkes for dens vand efter behag. Derved kan vejen banes for Østens konger. (Dan. 11:44, Es. 49:12 og Åb 16:12.) Det er nu ved den tid, hvor den store drage, Kina, føler sig stærk nok til at ville være med til at knuse Israel i forsøg på at gøre landet til FNs lydige træl.
Rusland har sat atompres på US tropper på Taiwan. Kina og Rusland er drevet i hinandens arme i viljen til at stå imod alt det, der krydser deres interesser. Og Moskva føler sig urolig ved, at en række lande, Polen og Ungarn med flere har knyttet sig til Vesten.
Ifølge en artikel af Bill Gertz i Washington Times, April 30, 2001, er Rusland klar til at bruge atomvåben mod amerikanske styrker i Asien, dersom det tjener deres interesser. Deres langtrækkende TU-22 Barckfire er i henhold til NSAs analyse forsynet med atombærende krydsermissiler. Og det menes, at Rusland også kan affyre sådanne fra u-både. Og ifølge Itar-Tass news agency, 19 februar, 2001, har Marshall Sergeyev udtalt, at vigtige mål allerede er indlagt i deres program.
Officielle russiske kilder oplyser, at Ruslands og Kinas millitære samhandel vil øges med 25 % årligt og omfatte Oscar-klasse atom krydsermissiler, ubåde, Akular-klasse at om angrebs ubåde og TU-22M Barckfire bombemaskiner.
Ruslands præsident Vladimir Putin har haft et møde med den kinesiske udenrigsminister Tang Jiaxuan som en forberedelse til at underskrive en venskabs- og samarbejdsaftale landene imellem om kort tid. Og der har været et møde i den sikkerhedspolitiske alliance,Shanghai Coorporation Organisation SCO om samme emne.
Ud over Kina og Rusland er de tidligere sovjetrepublikker Kasakhstan, Kirgisistan, Tadjikistan og Usbekistan med i SCO. Dagbladet Dagen skrev 15. maj, 2002: I betragtning af organisations geografiske udstrækning vil der i det lange løb opstå muligheder for at udnytte SCOs potentiale på et niveau ud over regionen.
SCO kan komme med et unikt bidrag til at skabe et system, der arbejder naturligt sammen i hele den asiatiske region, sagde Alexander Yakovenko, talsmand for det russiske udenrigsministerium, efter mødet.
Ifølge den russiske avis Vremya Novestei betyder det, at Rusland og Kina er rykket tættere sammen som modstykke til USAs militære tilstedeværelse i Centralasien.
SCO så oprindeligt dagens lys i 1996 som modtræk mod en række militser, der spredte sig fra Afghanistan ind i de tidligere sovjetrepublikker samt Kina.
I juni 2001 blev det besluttet at arbejde på en egentlig traktat med udgangspunkt i den nuværende forsvarstraktat mellem Rusland og seks tidligere sovjetrepublikker.
Med USAs krig mod Afghanistan og permanente militære baser i flere af de tidligere sovjetrepublikker tog udviklingen fart, og Rusland og Kina er enige om at udvikle SCO som en multi-polær organisation, en modvægt til USAs dominans.
Det bekræftes af andre medlemmer af alliancen: SCO er trådt frem som en organisation vendt mod USAs dominans, skabt til at mindske USAs herredømme over verden, sagde for eksempel Sharipbek Amirbek fra Kasakhstans udenrigsministerium, efter et møde i SCO i januar 2002.
Mødet i januar fandt sted omtrent samtidig med, at USA fik sine aftaler om militærbaser i stand med Usbekistan.
Det er endvidere formålet at gøre SCO til den afgørende sikkerhedspolitiske alliance i området, sagde den russiske udenrigsminister Igor Ivanov efter mødet
I samme møde forberedtes traktaten til underskrivelse 7. juni. Og ifølge Igor Ivanov er traktaten allerede på plads.
Kina har i dag 300 langtrækkende ballistiske missiler rettet imod Taiwan og langtrækkende CSS-4 missiler mod USA. (The Forward Defense of Americas Vital National Security Interests: Addressing the Increase of Communist Chinas War Fighting Capabilities, a National Security Report for The Conservative Caucus Foundation, Inc., Vienna VA, April 2001, (703) 281-5782. )
Det er virkelig en kritisk tid, hvor nationerne står overfor at blive kastet ind i krig med en elendighed, som ingen kan overskue. Og Israel vil især blive ramt. Det er forudsagt i Hab 1:5 : ”Se jer om blandt folkeslagene, se jer godt om, undre jer, ja undre jer! For jeg gør et værk i deres dage, som I ikke vil tro, selv om det bliver fortalt.”
Se også: Michael Pillsbury, China Debates the Future Security Environment, National Defense University Press, Washington D.C., 2000. A translation of over 600 writings from over 200 Chinese authors published from 1994 to 1999.
Richard Bernstein and Ross H. Munro, The Coming Conflict withChina, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1997.
Carl Lawrence, and David Wang, The Coming Influence ofChina, Vision House, Gresham OR, 1996.
I dag ser vi mange, gamle profetier gå i opfyldelse. For 2550 år siden profeterede Ezekiel om den store endetidskrig, der ville komme, når Israel igen bor i sit eget land, hvilket de har gjort siden 1948.
Israel har været gennem flere krige og er siden Oslo aftalen, hovedsagelig blevet palæstinensernes udsøgte terrormål, hvilket har påført Israel megen smerte, idet selvmordsbombeaktivister udsøger sig mål de steder, hvor de kan ramme flest jøder.
For tusinder af år siden skrev Esajas: ”Hør derfor Herrens ord, I spottere, I som hersker over Jerusalems folk. Fordi I har sagt: Vi har sluttet en pagt med døden, og vi har gjort en aftale med dødsriget. Når den susende svøbe farer frem, skal den ikke nå os, for vi har gjort løgnen til vor tilflugt, og vi dækker os under falskhed.” Derfor siger Herren: ”Jeg skal gøre ret til målesnor og retfærdighed til loddesnor. Hagl skal feje den tilflugt bort, de har i løgnen, vandene skal skylle over skjulestedet. Jeres pagt med døden skal afbrydes, aftalen I har med dødsriget, skal ikke blive stående. Når den susende svøbe farer frem, skal den slå jer ned.” Es 28:14-18.
Den antikristelige Oslo-aftale blev underskrevet under pres fra præsident Clinton med støtte fra mange nationer. Israels ledere skulle have stolet på Gud og afvist at underskrive den og tænkt på ovennævnte ord fra Esajas. Men det gjorde de ikke, og resultatet er blodig terror og megen sorg i de jødiske familier og et led, der fører frem til den forfærdelige Gog og Magog krig. (Ez. 38.)
Israels arabiske og islamiske fjender søger støtte og allierede verden over i det fælles mål at knuse Israel. Mod nordøst for Israel ligger det islamiske Iran, der snart vil kunne fremstille atomvåben under Ruslands vejledning og er allerede klar med det nødvendige materiale. Irans premierminister, Hattammi, og dens religiøse leder, Homeini (der minder meget om Haman i Esters bog), har gentagne gange sagt, at Irans formål er fuldstændig at ødelægge det jødiske folk og staten Israel.
Iran står bag terrororganisationen Hisb.allah i det sydlige Libanon og andre terrorristgrupper, der støtter PLO, den fanatiske islamiske organisataion Hamas, Islamisk Jihad og specielt palæstinenserne. Og fornylig bordede mandskab fra Israels marine et skib fra Iran, fyldt med farlige våben til Arafat. I tillæg prøver Iraks Saddam Hussein at fremstille biologiske og kemiske våben og missiler for at kunne knuse Israel og andre stater, der er fjendtlig indstillet mod Irak og dens allierede.
Pakistan, Nordkorea og Kina har allerede i dag atomvåben. Og vi ved fra Bibelens profetier, at disse lande vil stå sammen mod Israel. Og Saudi Arabien har via USA et stort og moderne våbenlager, der en dag vil blive Israels fjender til hjælp, når krigen mod dem for alvor begynder.
EU går også ind under Guds dom, idet den oftest støtter Israels fjender og er med i FNs Israelfjendtlige resolutioner samt ivrigt går ind for, at Israel skal afgive den såkaldte Vestbred og Golan højderne, som klart er jødisk hjemland.
Mange nationer verden over støtter palæstinenserne og de arabiske lande, der er imod Israel. Bibelen fortæller, at Israel skal gå gennem svære prøvelser her i endetiden, men Gud har lovet, at han altid vil stå ved sine løfter til Abraham. Derfor ved vi, at det Israel, vi kender i dag, kun er en lille del af det Israel, der vil komme til at bestå med Kristus som Konge i Jerusalem i tusindårsriget.
Gog – Magog krigen er et led i Guds plan.
Gud lader ikke sit folk i uvidenhed om sin plan her i endetiden. Gog og Magog krigen er et led i hans plan for at fjerne Israels fjender og på samme tid vise sin storhed ved at samle det adspredte jødiske folk og derved vise, at det er ham der er verdens Herre og ingen anden.
Ezekiel forudsagde: ”Menneskesøn, vend ansigtet mod Gog i landet Magog, fyrsten af Rosj, Mesjek og Tubal, og profetér mod ham og sig: Så siger Herren Gud: Se, Jeg kommer imod dig, Gog, fyrste af Rosj, Mesjek og Tubal. Jeg skal vende dig rundt, sætte kroge i dine kæber og trække dig frem med hele din hær, heste og ryttere. De er alle smukt klædt, en stor flok med store og små skjolde, og alle kan svinge sværdet. Persere, ætiopere og Putæere (fra et afrikansk område) er med dem, alle har skjold og hjelm. Gomer og alle dets stridstropper, Togarmas hus fra det fjerne nord og alle hans stridstropper, mange folk er med dig. Gør dig klar og vær rede, du og alle dine skarer, der er samlet om dig. Du skal være fører for dem.” Ez 38:2-7. Hvad der videre skal ske med disse folk, kan vi læse i vers 14-23.
Vi læser i Zak 14:1-3 : ”Se, Herrens dag kommer, og byttet som tilhørte dig, skal fordeles i dig. For jeg skal samle alle folkeslagene til krig mod Jerusalem. Staden skal blive indtaget, husene plyndret og kvindere voldtaget. Halvparten af staden skal blive bortført, men resten af folket skal ikke blive udryddet fra staden. Da skal Herren gå ud og stride mod disse folkeslag, som han før stred på stridens dag.”
Det ser ud til, at denne forfærdelige tid vil være præget af atomvåben. Vi læser i Zak 14:12-13 : ”Dette er den plage, Herren vil slå alle folkene med, som stred mod Jerusalem: Deres kød skal rådne, mens de står på deres fødder, deres øjne skal rådne i deres huler, og deres tunge i munden på dem. På den dag skal der komme en stor forvirring fra Herren over dem, hver af dem skal løfte hånden mod sin næste.”.
Men da sker det, som står i Zak 14:4 , 6-7: ”På den dag skal hans fødder stå på Oliebjerget, som ligger vendt mot Jerusalem fra øst. Oliebjerget skal revne i to fra øst til vest, …På den dag skal der ikke være noget lys. Himmellysene skal forsvinde. Det skal være en eneste dag, som er kendt af Herren – det skal hverken være dag eller nat –, ved aftenstid skal det blive lyst.”
Og i Zak 14:9 : ”Herren skal være Konge over hele jorden.” Og i vers 11: ”Folket skal… aldrig mere… lyses i band, men Jerusalem skal være beboet i tryghed.”.
Da vil alle nationer se Guds storhed, og trangen til oprør vil være borte. I stedet vil nationerne tilbede Gud og vide, at han er den eneste sande Gud for Israel og for alle nationer. Vi læser i Ez 38:23 : ”Jeg vil vise mig stor og hellig, og jeg skal blive kendt for øjnene af de mange folkeslag. Da skal de kende, at jeg er Herren.”
Da vil Herren samle Israels folk og føre dem hjem til deres land. Vi læser i Ez 37:21-22 og 24-28: “Så skal du sige til dem: Så siger Herren Gud: Se, Jeg skal tage Israels børn ud fra folkeslagene, hvor de end er draget hen, og jeg skal samle dem fra alle kanter og føre dem ind i deres eget land. Jeg skal gøre dem til ét folkeslag i landet, på Israels bjerge. Én konge skal være konge over dem alle. De skal ikke længere være to folkeslag, og de skal ikke deles i to kongeriger igen.” ”Min tjener David skal være konge over dem, og én hyrde skal være over dem alle. De skal følge mine vedtægter og holde mine love og gøre efter dem. Da skal de bo i det land, jeg gav min tjener Jakob, hvor deres fædre boede. De skal bo i det, de og deres børn og børnebørn til evig tid. Min tjener David skal være deres fyrste for evigt. Jeg slutter en fredspagt med dem, og den skal være en evig pagt. Jeg gør dem mangfoldige og sætter min helligdom midt iblandt dem til evig tid. Min bolig skal være over dem, jeg vil være deres Gud, og de skal være mit folk. Og folkeslagene skal kende, at det er jeg, Herren, som helliger Israel, når min helligdom er midt iblandt dem til evig tid.”
De arabiske og islamiske lande fortsætter deres militære opbygning. D. 21. dec. 2002 stod der at læse i medierne, at palæstinenserne har fået 2.5 mill. amerikanske $ til hjælp til at opbygge en palæstinensisk stat. Og Tyskland har givet 600.000 euro. Og det er blot en enkel dags nyheder med gaveregn til Israels bitre fjender.
Verden pådrager sig derved Guds vrede og har kun at opleve, hvordan det vil blive, når Gud udgyder sin vrede over lande og folk. Desværre er også vort land oprørsk mod Gud ved at være med til at forværre jødefolkets lidelse. D. 21. dec. 2002 var udenrigsminister Per Stig Møller i TV synlig stolt af, at han som formand for EU havde formidlet en aftale om deling af Israel (Guds eget land), så palæstinenserne kunne få deres del af landet.
Derved kommer Guds dom også over vort land, thi Gud har sagt: ”Jeg vil velsigne dem, som velsigner dig, og jeg vil forbande dem, som forbander dig.” 1.Moseb. 12:3. At være med til at stjæle land fra Guds folk er det modsatte af at velsigne Israel. Og vi læser tilmed i Zak 2:12 : ” Den, som rører ved jer (Israel), rører ved min øjesten.” Det har vort lands regeringer gjort gentagne gange. Læs igen det fremhævede skriftsted, dersom du er i tvivl om betydningen af vort lands handlinger.
USA og mange andre lande er forblindede og ser og vurderer alt udfra vantro og våbenmagt. Men Gud taler sit almagtsord, og det han har sagt vil ske, det sker.
“Herren sagde til Abram: Drag ud fra dit land og fra din slægt og fra din faders hus, til det land, som jeg vil vise dig. Jeg vil gøre dig til et stort folk. Jeg vil velsigne dig og gøre dit navn stort. Og du skal blive en velsignelse.” ”Og Abram drog gennem landet og kom til stedet Sikem, helt til Mores terebinte-træ. Den gang boede kanaa´næerne i landet. Da viste Herren sig for Abram og sagde: Din slægt (gennem Isak og Jakob, se for eks. 1.Moseb. 5:24 og 5. Mos 34:3) skal jeg give dette land.” 1.Moseb. 12:1-2 og 6-7.
Og i 15:18 står: ”På den dag sluttede Herren en pagt med Abram og sagde: Din slægt har jeg givet dette land fra floden i Ægypten til den store flod, Eufrat.” Hele dette område vil, når Jesus Kristus kommer igen med alle de hellige (se Zak. 14:5 og Jud 1:14) , få den opstandne David som konge. Og Israel vil blive et stort land – langt større end i dag.
Gud vil aldrig gå fra sit ord, heller ikke den pagt, han selv gjorde med Abraham og hans efterkommere, Isak og Jakob. Han vil derfor heller ikke tolerere, at dette land rives midt over og gives til en terrorist (Arafat), der har gjort en pagt med døden. (Det har Israel gjort før. Og nu gør de det igen. (Se Es 28:14-15.)
Den israelske avis Maariv skriver: Israelsk militær prøver tilsyneladende rutinemæssigt at kidnappe palæstinensernes leder Yasser Arafat for derefter at deportere ham ud af landet.
Efter kidnapningen er der fastlagt et eller flere steder, hvortil Arafat kan flyves, og operationsplanen, som Maariv er kommet i besiddelse af, fastslår et sted, hvor der ikke er nogen by eller befolkning i nærheden.
Israelsk fjernsyn har siden rapporteret, at Arafat skulle flyves ud i den store, øde ørken i Libyen. Og ifølge Maariv er operationen klar til at blive udført når som helst. Avisen skriver, at Israels premierminister Ariel Sharon ønskede at sætte kidnapningen i værk efter, at en selvmordsbombe blev sprængt og dræbte flere personer i Israel den 19. sept. 2002. Hans sikkerhedsrådgivere skal have talt ham fra det, og istedet slog hæren til med bulldozere og kampvogne mod Arafats hovedkvarter i Ramallah. (Fra Dagbladet Arbejderen.)
Der er mange i Israel der klart ser, at de har gjort en pagt med døden ved at gøre aftaler med Arafat.
Af Vidar Norberg, Jerusalem
- I mange år har Yasser Arafat været meget forsigtig med at efterlade fingeraftryk. Det er lykkedes for ham med undtagelse af få dumheder. ”Nu har Israel fundet to dokumenter, som kaster lys over, hvem som betaler for at dræbe os,” udtalte minister Dan Meridor på en pressekonference i Jerusalem.
- Vi ser de forfærdelige handlinger på cafeer, busser og gader. Der er begravelser efter grusomme terroraktioner. Så hører vi om folk, der påtager sig ansvaret. Det være sig Tanzim, Fatah og Ra’ad Karmi-gruppen fra Tulkarem. Vi ved hvem som står bag. Men det har hidtil været uklart, hvem der betaler dem. Israel har nu fundet 2 dokumenter som viser, at Arafat er leder for en terroraktion, og at han udsteder checks til terrorister.
Det var oberst Miri Eisen, som fremlagde de 2 dokumenter, signeret med den samme underskrift som på fredsaftaler mellem Israel og PLO. Et af dokumenterne var på PLO’s brevpapir, som havde påført ørnen, som er det palæstinensiske autoritets (PA’s) statssymbol.
Israel har beslagslagt et par lastbillæs med dokumenter fra Arafats hovedkvarter, som forberedte sig på at tilintetgøre dem. Forsvarets oversættere arbejder nu på højtryk for at gennemgå dokumenterne, som er på arabisk. Men Israel har endnu ikke fået fat i dokumenter fra de kontorer, hvor Arafat selv opholder sig.
Blodpenge
- Vi har 2 dokumenter som viser, at man bad Arafat om penge. Med hans signatur blev der givet penge til kendte terrorister, sagde Eisen.
På et officielt faxbrev står der: Til den kæmpende præsident, bror Abu Amar (Yasser Arafat), må Allah beskytte dig! Jeg beder om, at du anviser finansiel hjælp på 2500 dollars til de følgende brødre: 1. Ra’ad Karmi 2. Zaid Muhamed Daas 3. Amar Qadan Tusind tak, din søn, Hussein Al Sheik.
Herunder det afslørende dokument med den palæstinensiske ørn og Arafats underskrift.
På et efterfølgende dokument har Arafat med egen hånd skrevet til finanskontoret i Ramallah:
Anvis 600 dollars til hver af dem (Her følger en række navne.) Brevet signeret Yasser Arafat.
Ra’ad Karmi er den forhenværende leder af Tanzim i Tulkarem, som blev dræbt den 4. januar 2002. Han var personligt involveret i mindst 25 forskellige angreb på israelere. Fra juni 2001 blev Karmi sat på listen over eftersøgte. Listen blev overleveret til palæstina-araberne. Arafat ved altså, hvem de er, sagde oberst Eisen.
Zaid Muhamed Daas planlagde og sendte selvmordsbombere til Hadera for 2 måneder siden, hvor 6 israelere blev dræbt.
Eisen påpegede, at brevet med Arafats underskrift er fra 19. september 2001, altså nogle få dage efter terrorangrebet mod USA.
Dobbeltunge
Et andet brev til Arafat er ligeledes en forespørgsel om hurtig finansiel støtte til 12 personer, som regnes for terrorister i Fatahs afdeling i Tulkarem, som har været med til dødelige angreb, oplyser obersten.
Venligst anvis 350 dollars til hver af dem. Yasser Arafat.
- Udbetalingen kom d. 7. Januar, mens Mellemøstudsending Anthony Zinni var her for at snakke med Yasser Arafat om en våbenhvile. Det er akkurat som da Arafat snakkede med Zinny, medens han ventede på et skib med våben fra Iran. Medaljen har 2 sider. Snak på engelsk og snak på arabisk. Dette viser, at der er en direkte forbindelse mellem terrorangrebene og betalingen for dem, sagde minister Dan Meridor. Citat slut
At være med til at støtte Arafat er at være en oprører mod Gud. Og regnskabet gøres ifølge profetierne op i Guds time.
Vi læser i Joel 3:6-7 : ”I de dage og på den tid, når jeg vender Judas og Jerusalems skæbne, samler jeg alle folkeslagene og fører dem ned i Joshafats dal. Dér vil jeg holde rettergang med dem om mit folk og min ejendom, Israel, som de spredte blandt folkene. De delte mit land imellem sig…” `Citat slut
Palæstinensernes mål er ikke fred, som de selv påstår, men at ødelægge Israel gennem terror og frygt.
Men de vil ikke fortsat få held til det. Der står Es 52:1-10 : “Vågn op, vågn op, ifør dig din styrke, Zion, ifør dig din festdragt, Jerusalem, du hellige by! For uomskårne og urene skal ikke længere komme ind i dig! Ryst støvet af dig, rejs dig, du fangne Jerusalem! Tag dine halslænker af, du fangne Zions datter! Thi så siger Herren: I blev solgt for intet, og I skal løskøbes, men ikke for penge…. Og hvad er der nu for mig at gøre her? siger Herren; mit folk er jo blevet taget for intet; dets herskere praler, siger Herren, og mit navn bliver spottet dagen lang. Derfor: Den dag skal mit folk lære mit navn at kende, at det er mig, som taler, ja mig! Hvor herligt lyder glædesbudbringeres fodtrin hen over bjergene! Han forkynder fred, han bringer godt budskab og udråber frelse. Han siger til Zion: ”Din Gud er Konge.” Hør, dine vægtere løfter røsten, de jubler i kor, for med egne øjne ser de Herren vende hjem til Zion. Bryd ud i jublende kor, Jerusalems ruiner! Thi Herren trøster sit folk, han har løskøbt Jerusalem. Herren har blottet sin hellige arm for folkets øjne, hele den vide jord skal se vor Guds frelse.”
Midt i nutidens mørke med terror og trusler, atommissiler og –raketter ved vi, at terrorren aldrig vil sejre. Herren er Konge – ikke Arafat eller nogen anden - der bygger sin magt ved oprør mod det, Gud har sagt. Kun den, der er med Gud og ærer ham, vil kunne sejre. Det er derfor meget afgørende, at vi kender til, hvad Gud har sagt ved sine profeter så vi ikke i dårskab støtter Guds fjender og tilsidesætter Guds forudsigelser. Han har tilkendegivet sin vilje – også for endetiden. Lær den at kende og ær kongernes Konge, som har al magt.
Men indtil Messias ved sin genkomst bliver Herre Og Konge vil terroren mod Israel fortsætte med øget styrke. De tårer der er fældet når en selvmorder har udløst sin bombe er så mange at vi ikke kan rumme sorgen. Der er næppe et jødisk hjem der ikke har mistet en eller flere slægtninge. Men i Sal 56:9 står: ”Selv har du talt mine suk, i din lædersæk har du gemt mine tårer; de står jo i din bog.”
Vi må sørge og fælde tårer i bedrøvelse over, at vi er med til at forøge jødernes sorg. FN og EU står sammen med araberne og mange andre stater, der er imod Israel. Vi hører til i disse organisationer og er dermed direkte med til at fordømme Israel, selvom det ikke er dem, der burde fordømmes.
Striden mod Israel føres på enhver måde for at plage og provokere dem. I den sidste tid har Hizb´Allah med libanesiske myndigheders hjælp oprettet en punpestation ved en mindre flod nær grænsen til Israel og er begyndt at pumpe vand fra Hatzbani-floden der er en af hovedkilderne til Jordan floden og Genesaret sø. En sådan aftapning af vigtige vandresourcer betragtes som en krigserklæring fra dem længere nede ad floden. Og idet Hizb´Allah kontrollerer hele det sydlige Libanon, er der grund til at tro, at det er dem, der står bag denne handling. Især da deres leder også har sagt at de er klar til at affyre raketter med ”få minutters varsel”, hvis Israel skulle angribe pumpestationen, hvorover Hizb´Allahs gule flag vajer. Og dette skal ses i lyset af, at Israel netop nu mangler vand efter flere års tørke.
”Råb blandt folkene: ”Udråb en hellig krig, væk heltene, lad alle krigerne rykke ud! Smed jeres plovjern om til sværd og jeres vingårdsknive til spyd! Selv svæklingen skal sige: Jeg er en helt! Skynd jer, kom, alle folkeslag rundt om, og saml jer, så Herren kan knuse jeres helte!” Folkene skal vækkes og rykke frem til Joshafats dal. Dér sætter jeg mig for at dømme alle omboende folk.” Joel 3:14.-17.
Og i Zak 8:2-8 læser vi: ”Så siger hærskarernes Herre: Jeg er nidkær for Zion med stor vrede. Med stor harme er jeg nidkær for henne. Så siger Herren: Jeg skal vende tilbage til Zion og bo midt i Jerusalem. Jerusalem skal kaldes Sandhedens by, hærskarernes Herres bjerg, Det hellige Bjerg. … Så siger hærskarernes Herre: Hvis de, som er igen af dette folk i disse dage, synes dette er for umuligt, vil også jeg da synes det er for umuligt? lyder det fra hærskarernes Herre. Så siger hærskarernes Herre: Se, jeg vil frelse mit folk fra landet i Øst og fra landet i Vest. Jeg vil føre dem tilbage, og de skal bo midt i Jerusalem og være mit folk, og jeg vil være deres Gud i sandhed og retfærdighed.”
Gud spørger ikke præsident Bush, EU eller Nato om, hvad de synes. Guds plan, som ikke kan rokkes, er fastlagt og åbenbaret for årtusinder siden. Og i Guds time sker det, han vil.
I Sal 137:5 står: ”Glemmer jeg dig, Jerusalem, så lad min højre hånd visne!” Gud glemmer aldrig den by, han har valgt at rejse sit tempel i. Det er blot tåbelige mennesker der tror, at de kan bestemme.
”Glæd jer med Jerusalem, fryd jer sammen med hende alle I, som elsker hende! Glæd jer stort sammen med hende alle I, som sørger over hende… For så siger Herren: Se, jeg leder fred til hende som en flod, og hedningefolkenes rigdom til hende som en strøm…. Når I ser dette, skal jeres hjerte glæde sig… Det skal kendes, at Herrens hånd er med hans tjenere. Men hans vrede skal ramme hans fjender. Thi se, Herren skal komme med ild og med sine vogne som en hvirvelvind for at gengælde i sin brændende vrede. Hans straf kommer med flammer af ild.” Es 66:10.15.
”For Zions skyld vil jeg ikke tie, for Jerusalems skyld vil jeg ikke være tavs, før dets ret bryder frem som et lysskær og dens frelse som en flammende fakkel. Da skal folkene se din ret og alle konger din herlighed. Du skal få et nyt navn, som Herren selv bestemmer. Du bliver en prægtig krone i Herrens hånd, en kongelig turban i din Guds hånd. Du skal ikke længere hedde ”den forladte”, og dit land ikke længere ”den forstødte”. ….Jeg giver ikke længere dit korn som føde til dine fjender, udlændinge skal ikke drikke den vin, du har anstrengt dig for. Nej, de, der samler kornet ind, skal selv spise, idet de lovpriser Herren; de, der plukker druer, skal selv drikke i mine hellige forgårde. Gå ud, gå ud gennem portene, ban en vej for folket! Byg vej, byg vej, rens den for sten og rejs et banner over folkene! Herren lader det lyde til jordens ender: Sig til Zions datter: ”Se, din frelse kommer! Se, hans løn er med ham, hans fortjeneste går foran ham.” De skal kaldes Det Hellige Folk, Herrens Løskøbte! og dig skal man kalde Den Eftertragtede, byen der aldrig bliver forladt.” Es 62:1-12.
”Så skal I forstå, at jeg er Herren jeres Gud, som bor på Zion, mit hellige bjerg; Jerusalem skal være et helligt sted, hvor fremmede ikke længere færdes.” Joel 3:22.
I år 2002 begyndte der at rinde en lille strøm af vand ud fra Grædemuren. Den var ubetydelig, men Ezekiel ser, der ville rinde vand ud fra templets tærskel og blive til en mægtig strøm. (Ez 47:1-9 og 12.)
Om Jerusalem står der: ”Herren har i sandhed svoret for David, og ikke gået fra det: En af dit livs frugt skal jeg sætte på din trone….” For Herren har udvalgt Zion, han vil have dette sted som sin bolig: Her er mit hvilested til evig tid. Her vil jeg bo, thi det er efter mit velbehag.” Sal 132:11-14.
Herren gav igen Zions bjerg til Israel for 35 år siden. Men i ubetænksom dårskab gav Israel det tilbage til muslimerne. Hvilket har påført Israel mange smerter og optøjer. Derudover er dette hellige sted udsat for uhørt vandalisme. På selve tempelpladsen er der gravet et stort hul for at komme så langt ned som muligt. Læs efter læs af materialer, der stammer fra de tidligere templer, er kørt bort og dyrebare effekter ødelagte. Og jøderne kan ikke færdes frit på det udvalgte bjerg, som Gud har givet dem, og som har så mange minder for dem.
Tidligere havde jøderne ”Den gyldne Port” at samles ved. Men araberne læssede bjerge af affald med urenheder og jord af netop der, så der i dag ikke er nogen adgang. Det er hån på hån imod Gud og mod det sted, hvor han vil bo for evigt.
Utallige arabiske grave er anlagt i templets nærhed for at forurene stedet og hindre, at det kan bruges som et helligt sted. Men Gud har sagt, at netop dette sted skal helliges og æres, og så vil det komme til at ske i hans time og på hans måde.
Patan stammefolket, hvoraf mange lever i grænseområderne mellem Afghanistan og Pakistan, kalder sig selv Bnei Israel, uanset de i dag levet som muslimer, efter at de for 150 år siden blev presset til at omvende sig til islam. Antallet af patanere i Afghanistan er mellem 8-9 millioner og mellem 10-11 millioner i Pakistan. Ca. 2 mill. af dem er nomader. Deres traditioner og fysiske træk binder dem til det jødiske folk. De har et system af love, der kaldes Pashtunwali [Pashtu er navnet på deres sprog], som har store ligheder med lovene i GT.
Patanerne er høje og sunde mennesker og har lys hud (medens afghanerne er mørkhudede). Det er smukke og stærke folk, der er dygtige og trofaste og kendt for deres gæstfrihed. Og de adskiller sig helt fra afghanerne og andre etniske grupper i Afghanistan og Pakistan.
Videnskabsfolk, der har undersøgt baggrunden for patanerne, bekræfter at de er efterkommere af Bnei Israel (Israels børn). Også deres skikke bekræfter deres identitet. Nogle jøder fra Afghanistan immigrerede i 1948 til Israel og bragte oplysninger om patanerne, der også sandsynliggør, at de nedstammer fra Israels forsvundne stammer.
Patanerne selv siger, at de er jøder. Og dokumenter, der er videregivet ned gennem generationer, vidner om, at deres slægt går tilbage til Abraham gennem Isak og Jakob.
Også mange personnavne bærer præg af at være jødiske. For eks Rabani (Ruben) og Liwani (Levi).
På trods af at patanerne er muslimer, følger de stadig de jødiske love og traditioner – selv om muslimerne har presset dem til at kaste denne gamle levevis bort. Det samme er tilfældet med Morano-folket i Spanien, der stadig er jødisk af udseendet.
Patanerne holder sabbat som en hellig dag og bereder tolv challot til ære for sabbaten. De holder Yom Kippur, jødernes mest hellige dag. De bærer talit som et yderligere tegn på, at de er jøder. Og de afholder sig fra visse spiser, selv om muslimerne spiser denne føde (for eks. heste og kameler).
Patanerne har bevaret den jødiske bryllupsform. De fastholder reglerne for levitisk ægteskab, at når en mand dør uden sønner, bliver dennes enke gift med hans broder, så den døde mands navn fortsætter i slægten. Og ligeså slagter de et lam som påskeofring.
Ved Yom Kippur bekender de deres synder, der bliver lagt på en ”syndebuk”, som derefter sendes ud i ørkenen.
Arkæologiske fund, gamle hebræiske inskriptioner og andre beviser, fortæller også om patanernes jødiske baggrund. Også den jødiske bekendelse: Hør! Israel: Herren vor Gud er en! Er af arkæologer fundet fra det 13.århundrede blandt patanerne.
Disse folk vil Gud på sin måde og i sin time føre hjem til Israels land.
Helliget Herren
I Ez 20:33-38 læser vi noget bemærkelsesværdigt. Der står: ”Så sandt jeg lever, siger Herren (YHWH) Gud, sandelig, med mægtig hånd, med udrakt arm og med udøst harme vil jeg herske over jer. Jeg skal føre jer ud fra folkeslagene og samle jer fra de lande, hvor I nu er spredt… og føre jer ud i folkeslagenes ørken, og der vil jeg dømme jer ansigt til ansigt. På samme måde, som jeg dømte jeres fædre i ørkenen i Ægyptens land, vil jeg dømme jer, siger Herren Gud. Jeg skal lade jer gå under hyrdestaven og føre jer ind i pagtens bånd. Jeg skal fraskille oprørerne, som er iblandt jer, og dem, der gør overtrædelser mod mig. Jeg vil føre dem ud af landet, hvor de bor, men de skal ikke komme ind i Israels land. Da skal I kende, at jeg er Herren.”
Gud vil ikke lade jøder, der vil dyrke afguder, gå ind i det rensede land, Israel. Efter sin genkomst lader han dem hente og fører dem til folkenes ørken, og der holder han dom over dem. Enkelvis skal de gå frem for ham som får, der sorteres når de går under hyrdens stav. Dem, der vil fortsætte i deres modstand mod Gud, kommer ikke til Israels land. Hvad der sker med dem, ved vi ikke, men vi ved, at dem, der ikke vil holde sig Guds forordninger for øje, når Jesus Kristus med almægtig autoritet er Konge i Jerusalem, vil opleve en tid under Guds vrede.
Vi læser i Zak 14:17-19 : ”Dersom nogen af slægterne på jorden ikke drager op til Jerusalem for at tilbede Kongen, hærskarernes Herre (YHWH), over dem skal der ikke komme regn. Og hvis slægterne i Ægypten ikke vil drage op og komme derhen… skal de slås med den samme plage, som Herren lader ramme de folkeslag, som ikke drager op for at fejre løvhyttefesten.”
Det tempel, der til den tid bygges, er helliget til Herren langt over det, vi i dag forstår. ”På den dag skal der stå HELLIGET HERREN på hestenes bjælder. Og karrene i Herrens hus skal være som offerskålene foran alteret. Ja, hvert kar i Jerusalem og Juda skal være helliget til hærskarernes Herre. … På den dag skal der ikke længere være nogen kana´anæer (som driver handel) i hærskarernes Herres (YHWH) hus. V. 20-21. (Se også Es 56:7.)
Det tilsmudsede tempelområde med vederstyggelighedens tegn renses. Judæa, Samaria, Gaza, Golan og sandsynligvis Sinai skal igen love Herrens navn til hans ære.
Vi læser i Jer. 31:1-14: “Til den tid, siger Herren, vil jeg være Gud for alle Israels slægter, og de skal være mit folk. Dette siger Herren: Det folk, som var undsluppet sværdet, fandt nåde i ørkenen, Israel vandrede og fandt ro. I fortiden viste Herren sig for dem. Med evig kærlighed har jeg elsket dig, derfor bevarer jeg min troskab mod dig. Jeg bygger dig op, Israels jomfru …. Atter skal du plante vingårde i Samarias bjergland; de, som planter dem, skal selv tage dem i brug. For der kommer en dag, da vogterne råber i Efraims bjergland: Kom, lad os drage op til Zion, til Herren vor Gud! Så siger Herren: Råb af glæde over Jakob, bryd ud i jubel over det første blandt folkene; forkynd under lovsang: Herren har frelst sit folk, Israels rest! Jeg bringer dem fra nordens land, jeg samler dem fra jordens fjerneste egne. Blandt dem er blinde og halte, sammen med svangre og fødende, i en stor skare vender de tilbage.” (Se også Es 11:12.)
Hør Herrens ord, I folkeslag, forkynd på de fjerne øer og sig: Han, som spredte Israel, samler det, og vogter det som hyrden sin hjord. For Herren har udfriet Jakob og løskøbt ham fra hans overmand. Jublende kommer de til Zions bjerg og stråler af glæde over Herrens gode gaver, over korn og vin og olie…. Selv bliver de som en frodig have, de skal ikke mere sygne hen…. Jeg vender deres sorg til fryd, jeg trøster og glæder dem, der klager… mit folk mættes med mine gode gaver, siger Herren.”
I Mika 4:1-7 står: ”I de sidste dage skal det ske, Bjerget hvor Herrens hus står,… skal være ophøjet over højderne. Folkene skal strømme til det, og mange folkeslag skal komme vandrende og sige: Kom, lad os gå op til Herrens bjerg, til Jakobs Guds hus. Han skal lære os sine veje, og vi skal vandre på hans stier. Thi fra Zion skal lov udgå, og Herrens ord fra Jerusalem. Da skal han dømme mellem mange folk og skifte ret for stærke folkeslag langt borte. De skal smede deres sværd om til plovskjær og deres spyd om til vingårdsknive. Folkeslag skal ikke løfte sværd mod folkeslag og ikke længere læres op til strid. Men hver enkelt af dem skal sidde under sit vintræ og sit figentræ, og ingen skal skræmme dem, så sandt som Herren, hærskarernes Guds mund har talt. … vi vandrer i Herren vor Guds navn i al evighed. På den dag siger Herren, vil jeg samle de halte, jeg vil føre de bortdrevne sammen og dem, jeg lod det onde komme over….. Og Herren skal være konge over dem på Zions bjerg fra nu og til evig tid.”
The longest cycle in Mayan cosmology is the 26,000-year cycle -- this is the cycle of our solar system around the Pleiades star cluster. This cycle ends on December 22, 2012, and the closer we approach to that time, the more people will experience an accelerating collapse of linear time-based (fear-based) conceptual structures. They will awaken from the spell of linear time caused by lower mind conflicts. The collective resolution of these conflicts will trigger even more people to transcend the complex of limiting illusions that stem from the illusion of linear-sequential time. By 2012, the Mayan prophecies say there will be a total collapse of time as we know it and an entry of humanity into post-history. Post-history -- Gregorian year 2013 -- is entered at a point known as galactic synchronization. Tibetans, Egyptians, Cherokees, Hopi and Mayans refer to this same 26,000-year cycle in their mystical belief systems; and each also developed calendars based on this great cycle.
2012-DEC-22: The Mayan calendar has many divisions of time: months of 20 days, years of 360 days, katun of 7200 days and a baktun of 144,000 days. Their calendar started on 3114-AUG-13 BCE with the birth of Venus. They expected the world to last for exactly 13 baktun cycles. They anticipated the end of the world near the Winter Solstice of 2012.
-- Ive also heard that because of a mistake in our calculations, the date is actually much closer, 2004 I believe. Dan
It would seem we only have the Blue Star to watch for now ...
Here are Hopi Prophecy lists from two different sources:
1. Trees will die. (Acid rain has taken a heavy toll on trees in some areas, but this could also refer to the demise of the rainforest).
2. Man will build a house in the sky. (Space station Mir, or the planned international space station to be built).
3. Cold places will become hot. Hot places will become cold. (Erractic weather patterns and global warming).
4. Lands will sink into the ocean and lands will rise out of the sea.
5. There will be an appearance of the Blue Star Kachina
This is the First Sign: We are told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana men who took the land that was not theirs. And men who struck their enemies with thunder.
This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. In his youth, my father saw this prophecy come true with his eyes -- the white men bringing their families in wagons across the prairies.
This is the Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. These White Feather saw with his eyes -- the coming of the white mens cattle.
This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron. (RailRoads?)
This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spiders web. (Telegraph/Telephone/the Net?)
This is the Sixth sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun. (Modern Highway?)
This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it. (Oil Spills?)
This is the Eight Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like my people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn their ways and wisdom. (Hippies?)
And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling- place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of my people will cease. (now is this ISiS or MIR, which crashed into the ocean in 2001??)
the ( thoughts ) in the 2nd list are mine ... Dan
Alt på jorden er et vidnesbyrd om, at vor tidsalder snart er slut, hvilket de efterfølgende korte beskrivelser vidner stærkt om.
Kildemateriale Dans Earth Changes Report
Animal Habits Changed by Global Warming
03-Jan-2003 Some species of birds have been flying in the samemigration patterns for hundreds of thousands of years. Some fish andbutterflies follow ancient migratory paths. Now biologists are findingchanges in these ancient routes and resting places, due to warmertemperatures on Earth. And many animals are migrating earlier than theydid a few decades ago.The University of Texas analyzed more than 1,700 species and foundsignificant changes in range towards the poles of almost 4 miles perdecade. Spring events, such as the arrival of migrant species and thelaying of eggs, are happening almost 3 days earlier each decade.
Hurricane Winds, Floods Wreak Havoc Across Europe
1-3-03 BERLIN (Reuters) - Hurricane force winds and torrential rainsbattered Europe on Friday, killing at least six people, flooding tens ofthousands of homes and hampering rail, road and waterway traffic.Winds of nearly 125 mph and flooding caused chaos in Germany,France, Britain, Portugal, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands and the CzechRepublic with barge traffic halted on key rivers and toppled trees blockingroads and rail lines.There were also widespread power outages from the storms, which refocusedattention on the odd weather in Europe this winter that has left parts ofthe Alps without snow because of unseasonably warm temperatures whileleaving northern Europe shivering from a cold snap not experienced fordecades.
Two Pacific islands lost after cyclone
December 31, 2002 Fears are growing for the safety of the 3,000 residentsof two of the most remote inhabited islands in the South Pacific. Tikopiaand Anuta, in the Solomon Islands, are believed to have been devastated byhurricane-force winds.Radio contact was lost after cyclone Zoe reached the maximum category fiveas it swept across the region, generating 200mph winds and 30ft waves.
U.S. Moving Backwards on Environment
26-Dec-2002 Conservation and environmental groups think there will be anunprecedented assault on environmental laws in the congress, now that theyhave a Republican majority. Greg Wetstone, of the Natural Resources DefenseCouncil (NRDC), says, In the absence of any clear, aggressive Congressionaloversight we will see a more vigorous, escalated attack that includes newefforts to promote more air pollution, more water pollution, more clearcutting in the forests and more drilling, mining and logging on public lands.These actions are broadly out of step with the overwhelming consensus of theAmerican public, and it is quite evident that this administration is fullyaware of that.Instead of fighting for increased environmental protection, environmentalistsare going to have to fight hard to keep existing programs. Wetstone says,We will be using all our resources to keep from moving backwards and thatis a tragedy.
Dark Streaks May Signal Active Water On Mars
12-20-02 Salty water driven by hot magma from Mars deep interior may beforming some of the mysterious dark slope streaks visible near the RedPlanets equator, according to University of Arizona scientists.They have determined the dark slope streaks generally occur in areas oflong-lived hydrothermal activity, magma-ground-ice interactions, andvolcanic activity. Some of the dark slope streaks are brand new--theyhave formed after the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft began detailed mappingof the planet in April 1999. Others have been observed to fade away ondecadal time scales. Their findings support the hypothesis that Marsremains hydrologically active and that water could be shaping the planetslandscape today.
Ancient Frozen Bacteria Thawed
12-20-02 Scientists are investigating Lake Vida, a 3-mile-long saltwaterlake in Antarctica topped with ice thats been frozen for 2,800 years.Theyre especially interested in the microbes in the lake, which are inliquid water under 62 feet of ice, and could be a type of bacteriacompletely unknown in our modern world. The water where they live hasremained liquid because it is seven times saltier than seawater and doesntfreeze at Antarctic temperatures.They took samples of the ice and using radiocarbon dating, dated thesediments found in the ice cores back 2,800 years. When the sediments werethawed, they discovered microorganisms which they successfully revived.
UK close to record warmth
12-17-02 (BBC) This year will come within a whisker of being the warmestrecorded in the UK for 350 years, according to weather experts.The evidence that the UK has had another warm year comes from the CentralEngland Temperature (CET) series, which stretches back to 1659.Globally, they think it is going to be the second warmest year recordedsince 1860.Nine of the 10 warmest years have occurred since 1990, including 1999, 2000and 2001; the only year warmer than 2002 was 1998.... sigh ...
Bolivian glaciers shrinking fast
12-10-02 Data collected from tropical ice fields near the worlds highestcapital, La Paz, show mass loss in the 1990s at rates 10 times greater thanprevious decades.If rising temperatures and low precipitation continue, many smaller glacierswill vanish in a decade, the researchers believe.Further ahead, the consequence could be water and power shortages formillions of Bolivians.
Record ice loss in Arctic
12-9-02 Greenlands unusual summer slush was part of a record-breakingyear of northern polar ice loss, reported at the American GeophysicalUnion (AGU) conference in San Francisco.According to scientists, surface melt on Greenland was the highest inrecorded history - and extended to elevations previously untouched bymelt - while the amount of Arctic sea ice also reached a record low.Measurements of the Greenland ice sheet taken from passive microwavesatellite sensors show 685,000 square kilometres of melt, an area morethan double that of 1992.
Sparks, Ash Rain Down on Sydney
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Sparks and ash rained down on Australias mostpopulous city Friday after waves of flame jumped a river and roads andraced toward its suburbs.Some 79 fires burned across New South Wales state, blackening about173,000 acres of forest and scrubland, the worst on the outskirts of Sydney.Firefighters have been warning for months that Sydney faced a devastatingwildfire season over the hot Southern Hemisphere summer. Almost 90percent of Australia has been declared drought-stricken, and some parts of thecountry are facing their driest conditions in a century.
Study: Warming Will Depleat Water
12-5-02 LOS ANGELES (AP) - Global warming will have a devastatingeffect on water availability in the western United States, a new climateforecast predicts.The report, released Thursday, involved more than two dozen scientistsand engineers from around the country who undertook the study as a testof a national climate forecasting effort.What they found doesnt bode well for the West.Even the reports best-case scenario predicted water supplies would fallfar short of future demands by cities, farms and wildlife, generatingcritical water-rights issues that have already surfaced during the Westscurrent drought.
Arctic to lose all summer ice by 2100
4 December 02 The Arctic Ocean will be completely devoid of summer icebefore the 21st century has ended, a NASA study predicts.The new work shows that the permanent ice cap over the ocean - the coverthat survives through the warm summer months - is disappearing far fasterthan previously thought.Between 1978 and 2000, 1.2 million square kilometres of apparently permanentice melted away. That is an area five times the size of Britain andrepresents a loss of nine per cent per decade.At this rate, permanent ice will have disappeared before the end of thiscentury, says NASA ice physicist Josefino Comiso.As the ice disappears, it will speed up the warming of Arctic waters.This is because ice reflects most of the Suns rays back into space, whilethe dark-blue oceans absorb much more heat.
Volcano may emerge from the sea
26 November, 2002 (BBC) A volcanic island submerged for more than 170years could soon reappear off the Sicilian coast. The underwater volcanoFerdinandea, also known as Graham Bank, last emerged from the sea in 1831,but scientists think it may be about to make another appearance. The lasttime the volcano came above water, it was 65 m tall and had a circumferenceof five kilometres.
East Texas schools close as illness spreads
TYLER -- High student absence rates associated with a flu-like illnessspreading in East Texas have prompted several small districts to shut down.In my 20 years of school, I have never seen a district close, but then againI have never seen this kind of sickness either, Gilmer Superintendent RickAlbrigton said in todays editions of the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Doctorssaid this was extremely virulent, so we made the decision to close until nextweek.Albrigton said the Monday spike in the rate of absenteeism rose close to 25percent. Earlier, Winona ISD closed because 23 percent of students and 12teachers were absent, while Big Sandy remains closed until next week afterabsenteeism reached 25 percent. Carlisle ISD, about 25 miles southeast ofTyler, closed last month due to a high rate of absenteeism.
Study Finds Routine Fish Eaters Poisoned With Mercury
Nov. 5 2002 - A study involving 116 middle- to high-income men and womenin a San Francisco medical practice shows nearly 90 percent hadblood levels of mercury surpassing EPA’s safe levels – some by morethan 17- fold.The patients tested – who included surgeons and CEOs, psychiatrists andwine-makers, geophysicists and internet executives, and their children werechosen based on their levels of fish consumption, or symptoms consistentwith mercury poisoning, including depression, memory loss, confusion,tremors, metallic tastes, and hair loss.
Major Quake Rocks Remote Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A major earthquake of 7.9 magnitude rocked asparsely populated area of central Alaska Sunday.The epicenter of the quake was 75 miles south of Fairbanks and about 175miles northeast of Anchorage. It occurred just after 1 p.m. (5:00 p.m. EST).Police in Anchorage and Fairbanks said there had been no reports of damagein the cities, although the quake had been felt strongly in both places.... there have been more than 100 Earthquakes over 5.0in the last 30 days... Dan.
U.N. Says Environmental Disasters Cost $70 Billion
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Crippling droughts, torrential floods and otherenvironmental disasters will cost the world more than $70 billion in2002, the United Nations Environment Programe said Wednesday.Devastating floods ripped through parts of Europe, China, India, Nepaland Bangladesh this year, killing thousands of people and leaving millionsmore homeless.Of the estimated 526 natural disasters in the first nine months, 195 werein Asia -- home to almost half the worlds people -- 149 in the Americas,99 in Europe, 45 in Australasia and 38 in Africa, the U.N. said.Recent climate disasters around the world -- from droughts in India,Australia and the United States to floods in Europe -- are graphicharbingers of some of the expected consequences of global warming.The 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global warming aims to reduce greenhouse gasemissions, mainly carbon dioxide, from the developed world to 5.2 percentbelow 1990 levels by 2012.But the United $tates, the worlds biggest air polluter, has refused toratify the protocol, arguing that it will hit its economy and does notapply to developing countries.
80% Of US Sewage Plants Exceed EPA Pollution Maximums
WASHINGTON (10/21/02) Four of five wastewater treatment plants andchemical and industrial facilities in the United States pollutewaterways beyond what their federal permits allow, according togovernment data compiled by an environmental group.More than 90 percent of the plants and facilities in Ohio, New Hampshire,Rhode Island, Iowa, Puerto Rico, Maine, West Virginia, Delaware, New York,and Connecticut exceeded permit limits between 1999 and 2001, saidThursdays report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.The average excess was 10 times what the permit called for, according tothe report in which U.S. PIRG analyzed Environmental Protection Agencyrecords obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.Releases of the worst toxic chemicals, those known or suspected to causecancer and other serious health effects, averaged eight times more thanis permitted under the Clean Water Act, the report said. For thosechemicals, the states or territories with the highest percentage offacilities in violation — each with more than one-third out ofcompliance — are Puerto Rico, Ohio, Rhode Island, the Virgin Islands,the District of Columbia, New York, Arizona, Massachusetts,West Virginia, and Indiana. ... whats in your water?
Kilimanjaros Glaciers Almost All Melted
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kilimanjaros already skimpy glaciers are meltingso quickly that they will be gone by 2020, U.S. researchers reported onThursday.Writing in the journal Science, the researchers said the glaciersmeasured 4.8 square miles in 1912 but had shrunk to 1 square mileby 2000.
Land Changes Worse Than Greenhouse Gases
14-Oct-02 The way humans alter the Earths surface may be a majorcause of climate change. NASA scientists say the way land is used isprobably just as important as greenhouse gas emissions, and changesin the surface of the land in the tropics may have a greater influenceon climate than El Nino.Urban sprawl, the destruction and planting of forests, farming andirrigation all have a big effect on regional surface temperatures andthe amount of rain. Land use changes alter the climate because differenttypes of surface affect the distribution of the Suns energy.
Continuing Climate Change
LONDON (Reuters) -- More frequent and more devastating stormscaused by climate change could cost $150 billion a year withinthe next ten years, possibly bankrupting financial services firms,a United Nations-backed report warned this week.The report said a political framework for action on climatestability is essential, but said the Kyoto Protocol, under whichmany industrial nations except the United $tates committed tocurb greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 does not go far enough.Worldwide economic losses from natural disasters appear to bedoubling every ten years, the report said, and called foraction to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases, particularlycarbon.
Endangered list now 11,000 species
10/8/02 Extinction is a real possibility for 11,167 species ofplants and animals, according to the World Conservation Union’snew Red List of Threatened Species. Central Asia’s Saiga antelopecould soon take its last leap, and China’s Bactrian camel its lastdrink, the conservationists said Tuesday. The freshwater gastropodmollusk has already become extinct in the last two years, joiningthe long-departed Dodo bird among the ranks of vanished creatures.Since 2000, 121 species have been added to the threatened specieslist, and five have been added to the extinct list over the lasttwo years.The primary reason: human activity. Everything from expandingcities to deforestation, agriculture and fishing pose a significantthreat to the planet’s biodiversity, the group said.
Record warm start to 2002
UK scientists say the last three months were globally thewarmest January, February and March since records began.They are also the second-warmest consecutive three months everrecorded. The scientists say it is significant that the recordwas broken in the absence of any warming influence from El Nino,(duh) the climate disturbance that originates in the Pacific.
Rats And Mosquitoes Sweep Europe After Floods
The Telegraph (UK) 9-16-2 The floods that swept acrosscentral Europe last month have devastated wildlife and plantsto such an extent that they will take decades to recover,according to reports published last week.A plague of mosquitoes, rats and cockroaches has also beenunleashed by the flood waters.Large areas of countryside are either still underwater orcoated in layers of mud and debris.Vienna University produced a report last week which showedthat the flooding was the worst in central Europe for morethan 2,000 years, or as far as records go back.
2002 Summer Hottest Since 1930s Dust Bowl
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With nearly half the country reelingfrom a blistering drought, this summer is the hottest sincethe depression-stricken Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, U.S.government weather experts said on Friday.The summers scorching temperatures have sparked raging forestfires in the West, wilted crops in the Midwest and parchedpastures in the Plains.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said theaverage temperature for the contiguous United States from Junethrough August was 73.9 degrees, the third hottest summer sincerecords began in 1895.Six states -- North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Utah, Arizonaand Nevada -- are suffering their worst drought on record, NOAAsaid. South Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Delaware and Wyomingare also near unprecedented dry levels.
Global Warming Blamed for Floods
09-Sep-2002 The recent flooding of European cities has madescientists wonder if the weather is permanently changing.There is growing evidence of a link between global warming andthe floods and droughts that have devastated parts of Asia andEurope this year. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UNIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says there isundeniable proof that the Earth is warming.The IPCC predicts the Earths surface temperature will increaseby 2.5 to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, compared with 1990levels. Sea levels will rise from 3.6 to 35 inches, which willthreaten small island states and low- lying areas.... A Three Foot sea rise will threaten MUCH more thanlow-lying areas. Dan ...
Satellites Reveal Rapid Polar Melting
06-Sep-2002 Recent NASA satellite images and space-basedmeasurements of the thickness of Earths polar ice sheets showthey are melting much more rapidly than we thought. Large areasof ice in southeast Greenland, West Antarctica and the AntarcticPeninsula are changing rapidly and scientists dont understand whythis is happening so fast.The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets together hold enough iceto raise sea level by ~230 feet.
Nearly Half Of U.S. Suffers Drought
WASHINGTON (AP) - Persistent and worsening drought has spread tonearly half the contiguous United States, the government reportedWednesday.The National Climatic Data Center said that as of the end of July,49 percent of the 48 contiguous states were affected by moderate toextreme drought.Areas of extreme drought stretched from the Southwest to Montana andNebraska and from Georgia to Virginia, the center reported.The past 12 months were the driest August through July on record inGeorgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado andWyoming. They were the second driest in Arizona, Nevada and Delaware.Parts of the Southeast and West have been in various stages ofdrought since 1998.
A mysterious shift in Earth’s gravity
8-6-02 (MSNBC) Something strange has been going on under our feetfor the past four years. Earth’s gravity field suddenly shiftedgears and began getting flatter, reversing a course of centuriesduring which the planet and its gravity field grew rounder each year.“Sometime around 1998, something began to make the Earth’s gravityfield flatter,” says Christopher Cox of Raytheon InformationTechnology and Scientific Services. “The result is it looks as ifpost-glacial rebound has reversed itself. But we do not have anyreason to think that post-glacial rebound has in any way stoppedor changed.The shift is significant. “The effect is twice as large as post-glacial rebound in terms of effect on the gravity field, and it’sin the opposite direction,” Cox said. “Whatever it is, it’s big.”
Record warmth intensified drought
Aug 5th, 2002 Experts say record warmth between November 2001and January 2002 is at least partly to blame for the moderate toextreme drought plaguing 15 states from Georgia to Maine and 14states in the Plains and West. The January global temperaturewas the warmest in the 123-year surface record.... much more than 123 years really. Dan
Earth Heading For Warmest Year Ever Recorded
LONDON (Reuters) - The first six months of the year have been thesecond-warmest ever and average global temperatures in 2002 couldbe the highest ever recorded, British weather experts said Thursday.Global temperatures were 1.03 Fahrenheit higher than the long-termaverage of about 59 Fahrenheit in the period from January to June.In the nearly 150 years since recording began, only in 1998 has thedifference been higher, 1.08 Fahrenheit, and that was caused by theinfluence of the El Nino weather phenomenon.The figures also showed that the northern hemisphere had its warmestever half year, with temperatures 1.31 Fahrenheit above the long-termaverage.The actual rise prior to 1970 was partly man-made and partly due tonatural effects. But since 1970 scientists are in fairly generalagreement that warming can be attributed to mans polluting activities.... now - where have I heard that before ? ... Dan.
Warmest seas on record stress Barrier Reef
SYDNEY, Australia, July 27 - Sea temperatures around Australia’sGreat Barrier Reef early this year were the warmest on record,scientists reported Thursday.Bleaching in early 2002 covered 60 percent of the reef, even morethan the 1998 event that made headlines worldwide. The bleachingin early 2002 was not during an El Nino year, making the hightemperatures even more unusual.
Drought, abnormally dry weather hits 49 states
7/21/02 (CNN) -- Abnormally dry or drought conditions affect all orpart of 49 U.S. states and could worsen over the Northeast, governmentscientists reported Friday.Roughly 36 percent of the country is covered by one of fourdrought categories, which range from moderate to exceptional,A large area of extreme drought -- the second-worst category --extends from northern Montana to the Mexican border, and from westernNebraska to El Paso and San Diego. A smaller area of exceptionaldrought -- the worst conditions measured -- stretches southward fromsouthern Wyoming to near the cities of Phoenix and Albuquerque.The bad news will get worse, NOAA predicted. The Ohio River Valley andmuch of Upstate New York can expect drought conditions to develop, withseveral dry months on the horizon.
Alaska glaciers’ meltdown measured
WASHINGTON, July 18 (AP) An estimated 24 cubic miles of ice aredisappearing annually from Alaskan glaciers, turning some imposing icemountains into minor hills and adding to the steady rise in global sealevel, a study shows.From the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s, the glaciers lost about 52 cubickilometers (13 cubic miles) a year, in the last five years that rate hasalmost doubled.
Disease genie out of bottle
7-14-02 Medical experts say staphylococcus aureus, cause of some ofthe most troublesome infections to afflict man, has become resistant tothe antibiotic of last resort, vancomycin.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced the first confirmed caseof vancomycin-resistant staph aureus -- known in the medical world asVRSA -- found last month in Michigan.The genie is out of the bottle, Dr. Donald Low, microbiologist-in-chiefat Mount Sinai Hospital, Its ominous.The experts know the Michigan case is solid proof they will soon have todeal with their nightmare scenario -- common staph aureus infectionsuntreatable with any antibiotics.
Unusual Fish Invade U.S. Waters
July 9 (ABCnews) So far local fishermen have caught 10 northernsnakehead fish, which areusually only found in China, in a4-acre lake in Crofton, Md.Reaching up to 40 inches in length and weighing up to 15 pounds, theformidable creature with snake-like scales on its head has an abilityshared by only a few other species of fish — it can survive out ofwater.The lionfish, normally limited to marine waters of the westernPacific of Southeast Asia, is now spotted regularly by divers incoastal regions off of Florida, North Carolina and occasionally inLong Island Sound.Both fish are aggressive predators and researchers are concerned theywill eat up available prey and displace native top-level species.The lionfish also poses a threat to people.
Earth Will Expire By 2050 Says Report
A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), warns that the human raceis plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity tosupport life.The report, based on scientific data from across the world, revealsthat more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed byhumans over the past three decades.The report offers a vivid warning that either people curb theirextravagant lifestyles or risk leaving the onus on scientists tolocate another planet that can sustain human life. Since this isunlikely to happen, the only option is to cut consumption now. ... entire article on the SpotLight page ... Dan.
Rising Temperatures Could Ravage Alaska
New York Times 7-4-02 In Alaska, rising temperatures, whether causedby greenhouse gas emissions or nature in a prolonged mood swing, are nota topic of debate or an abstraction. Mean temperatures have risenby 5 degrees in summer and 10 degrees in winter since the 1970s,federal officials say. While President Bu$h was dismissive of a reportthe government recently released on how global warming will affect thenation, the leading Republican in this state, Senator Ted Stevens, saysthat no place is experiencing more startling change from risingtemperatures than Alaska. Among the consequences, Senator Stevens says,are sagging roads, crumbling villages, dead forests, catastrophic firesand possible disruption of marine wildlife.
28 Percent Of All US Lakes Have Contaminated Fish
Washington (Reuters) More than one-fourth of the nations lakes haveadvisories warning consumers that fresh-caught fish may be contaminatedwith mercury, dioxins or other chemicals, the EnvironmentalProtection Agency said on Tuesday.The EPA said state regulators issued 2,618 fishing advisories or bans in2001 because of contaminants.Some 14 percent of U.S. rivers were covered by advisories in 2001, upfrom 10.5 percent in the previous year.States that had the most fishing advisories include Massachusetts,Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Nebraskaand New Jersey.Some of the affected waterways include Lake Champlain, Floridas SarasotaBay, Washingtons Puget Sound, and the Potomac River which feeds intoMarylands Chesapeake Bay.
Himalayan Ice Reveals Climate Warming
Jun 26th, 2002 Ice cores drilled through a glacier more than four milesup in the Himalayan Mountains have yielded a highly detailed record ofthe last 1,000 years of earths climate in the high Tibetan Plateau.Based on an analysis of the ice, both the last decade and thelast 50 years were the warmest in 1,000 years.The core also showed a clear record of at least eight major droughtscaused by a failure of the South Asian Monsoon, the worst of these acatastrophic seven-year-long dry spell that cost the lives of morethan 600,000 people.... uhm, HELLO - is anybody paying attention? ... Dan.
A Warmer Planet is a Sicker Planet
Scientists warn that infectious diseases will rise as the world getswarmer. Human malaria, butterflies with parasites, diseased corals,and trees overgrown with fungus are some of the things awaiting us asthe Earth warms up. Entire species of animals could be wiped out.Human tropical diseases will become more common as tropical weatherspreads. Dr. Richard Ostfeld of the Institute of Ecosystem Studiessays, Disease now has to be considered another main player on theclimate warming stage.The rise in infectious diseases will be caused by changes in temperature,rainfall, and humidity, all of which encourage the growth of insects andbacteria. Climate differences will also stress plants and animals, makingthem more susceptible to infection.
Record Kansas Drought Devastates Wheat Crop
6-23-02 (AP) Its been nearly a year since much of western Kansashas gotten substantial rain. The drought has devastated the wheatcrop now being harvested and spurred widespread selling off of cattleherds, as farmers become increasingly desperate to find enough feedand water to carry them through the summer grazing season.Weather records dating back to 1913 show that never has there beenless precipitation here than now. Even the Dust Bowl days of the1930s logged more rain than this year!
More on Antarctic Warming
Washington, June 13 The Antarctic ice sheet holds enough frozenwater to be a major player in the climate change game if it melts.Concerned about a range of possibilities, from rising sea level toupsets in the oceans’ circulation patterns, scientists have beenscrutinizing the continent for signs of change. A new report inthe journal Science, published by the American Associationfor the Advancement of Science, suggests that the ice sheet’sedges are most vulnerable to climate warming, and are melting fasterthan scientists had realized. On average the ice near the groundinglines was melting away twice as fast as the rate scientists hadpreviously predicted for the ice shelves overall.... well, theyre catching on, slowly... Dan.
Greenlands warming ice flows faster
Jun 7th, 2002 New measurements by US scientists show that since1996 the Greenland ice sheet has been moving faster during thesummer melting season. The rate is accelerating because moremelted water is trickling down from the surface of the sheet tothe bedrock. There it lubricates the sheet, which moves fastertowards the coast.The scientists say this suggests the ice may be responding morequickly than thought to a warming climate.
Global water crisis high on Earth Summit agenda
Jun 7th, 2002 BALI, Indonesia - Of the myriad issues on thetable for a U.N. summit in August that aims to cut world povertyand save the environment, few are as critical as getting safedrinking water to the 1.1 billion people who go without it.The European Union has warned the world was in a global watercrisis, and made the issue a priority for the World Summit onSustainable Development in Johannesburg and also at finalpreparatory talks here on Indonesias resort island of Bali.
Global Warming Blamed For Melting Everest Glacier
GENEVA (Reuters) - A glacier from which Sir Edmund Hillary andTenzing Norgay set out to conquer Mount Everest nearly 50 yearsago has retreated three miles up the mountain due to global warming,a U.N. body says.UNEP recently warned that more than 40 Himalayan glacial lakeswere dangerously close to bursting, threatening the lives ofthousands of people, because of ice melt caused by global warming.
California Warming
06-Jun-2002 At the University of California, said Lisa Sloan,an associate professor of Earth sciences, has figured out howglobal warming will effect the climate of California. The amountof carbon dioxide in the air has doubled since preindustrial daysand Sloan found out it will double again by 2050. Their model alsoshowed a future in which higher average temperatures will occurevery month in every part of the state. The warming will vary,however, with the greatest increases in temperature occurring athigh elevations in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range.The model showed increased rainfall in northern California but rainstaying the same in southern California, while snow accumulation inthe mountains decreases dramatically. With less precipitationfalling as snow and more as rain, plus higher temperatures creatingincreased demand for water, the impacts on our water storage systemwill be enormous.
U.S. sees big impacts from warming
June 3 — The Bu$h administration for the first time has issued areport that says manmade emissions are tied to global warming andpredicts that changes in temperature will deeply affect the UnitedStates. Environmentalists said Monday the predictions warrantstronger action by President Bu$h. The administration stood byits existing $trategy, saying it protects the economy whileprotecting Earth.... my views on this should be obvious. Dan
Signs of Thaw in a Desert of Snow
May 28, 2002 IQALUIT, Nunavut -- And so it has come to be, theelders say, a time when icebergs are melting, tides have changed,polar bears have thinned and there is no meaning left in a ringaround the moon. Scattered clouds blowing in a wind no longer speakto elders and hunters. Daily weather markers are becoming lesspredictable in the fragile Arctic as its climate changes.There is increasing evidence that the Arctic, this desert of snow,ice and killing cold wind, one of the most hostile and fragile placeson Earth, is thawing. Glaciers are receding. Coastlines are eroding.Lakes are disappearing. Fall freezes are coming later. The winters arenot as cold. Mosquitoes and beetles never seen before are appearing.While scientists debate the causes of climate change and politiciansdebate whether to ratify the Kyoto accord to reduce greenhouse gasemissions that many scientists believe cause global warming, the Inuitwho live in Canadas Far North say they are watching their world meltbefore their eyes.... nothing I need to add ... Dan
Earth Warming Faster Than Expected
21-May-2002 Planet earth is warming up faster than previouslyexpected, according to the Hadley Center for Climate Prediction andResearch. Dying forests, expanding deserts and rising sea levels willwreak havoc on human and animal lives sooner than anticipated as globalwarming accelerates.A 2001 United Nations report on climate change forecast that globaltemperatures will rise two to five degrees Celsius by the end of thecentury, but recent data suggest temperatures could rise even higheras a worst case scenario shows four times as much emitted CO2 in theatmosphere from todays levels which is significantly higher thanpreviously expected.... no surprises here ... Dan
Antarctic ice melt poses worldwide threat
REUTERS May 15, 2002 - The Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves arecracking up and, on the face of things, it is the most serious thawsince the end of the last ice age 12,000 years ago.The break-up of the ice shelves in itself is a natural process ofrenewal, but the size and rate of production of icebergs, is alarmingscientists, who blame global warming.The fear is that a snowball effect will lead to disintegration of thevast West Antarctic ice shelf, kilometres thick in parts.A longer-term effect would be if the disintegration led to a meltdownof the grounded West Antarctic ice sheet, which would cause the worldsoceans to rise by up to five metres (~17 feet).... beach front property anyone ? ...
TWO LARGE ICEBERGS BREAK OFF ROSS ICE SHELF
The National Ice Center reports a two new icebergs (C-18 and C-19)have broken off of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The iceberg C-19is 108 nautical miles long and 17 nautical miles wideand is located 77.23 South 173.30 East. C-18 is 41 nautical mileslong by 4 nautical miles wide and is located at 77.78 South 178.78East. The iceberg C-18 was spotted by NIC analyst Judy Shaffer onMay 5 using satellite images from the Defense Meteorological SatelliteProgram. The iceberg C-19 was discovered on May 11. The icebergs arenamed for the Antarctic quadrant in which they were discovered.
Giant iceberg spells disaster
4-27-02 Auckland - A giant Antarctic iceberg is causing devastatingdamage to the world food chain and already millions of penguins havefallen victim to it, polar experts warned on Thursday.The B15 iceberg, the size of Jamaica, calved off the Ross Ice Shelfin March 2000 and has blocked the Ross Sea.Nasas satellite Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor has revealedB15 has cut sea phytoplankton, the foundation of the food chain, by40 percent, and the small fish krill has gone.
2002 warmest for 1,000 years
THE first three months of this year were the warmest globally sincerecords began in 1860 and probably for 1,000 years, scientists saidyesterday.The three months were about 0.71C warmer than the average for 1961to 1990, itself the warmest period for 1,000 years according to ice-core analysis.The global record comes in the wake of observed changes in theBritish climate since 1900: a lengthening of the growing season forplants by one month in central England, a temperature increase of 1C,and a 10cm sea level rise.
Scientists Firm Up Global Climate Forecasts
Apr 20th, 2002 LONDON (Reuters) - While some meteorologists havedifficulty getting the five-day forecast right, climatologists havefirmed up their predictions of how much warmer the climate will beover the next 20 to 30 years. New research by two teams of scientistsusing different climate models predicts the global mean temperaturewill be between 0.3 and 1.3 degrees Centigrade (about 0.5-2.3degrees Fahrenheit) warmer by 2020-2030 than it was in 1990-2000.Later in the century, if greenhouse gas emissions are at the high endof predictions, they could force up temperatures by 0.3 to sevendegrees C (0.5-13 degrees F).
GLOBAL TEMPERATURE FOR MARCH WARMEST ON RECORD
4-16-02 Arctic air brought in by the jet stream in March kepttemperatures relatively low throughout the United States, makingit the first cooler-than-average month since March 2001.However, it was the warmest March for the globe since reliablerecords began in 1880, according to NOAA scientists.Ocean surface temperatures were also warmer than average in theeastern equatorial Pacific as the evolution of oceanic conditionscontinued to indicate a developing El Niño episode, and the globalsea surface temperature was the second warmest on record.The average global temperature for land and ocean surfaces combined(based on preliminary data) was 1.39 F (0.77 C) above the 1880-2001long-term mean, 0.16 F (0.09 C) higher than the previous record warmMarch, which occurred in 1998 during the latter stages of the lastEl Niño episode. Global temperatures have increased approximately1 F (0.6 C) since 1900, but the rate of warming during the past 25years is almost three times higher, according to NOAAs ClimaticData Center in Asheville, N.C.
Global Warming Accelerates Chinas Sea Level Rise
Apr 14th, 2002 Large sections of Chinese coastal regions graduallydisappear under rising sea levels because of global warming, severelyimpairing the countrys social and economic progress.According to the latest observations from domestic tide stations, thesea level along Chinas coastline has maintained a rapidly rising speedover the past five decades. The elevation even accelerated in recentyears with an annual increase of 2.6 millimeters.Meteorologists predict that in the next 30 years, the sea level willcontinue to rise by one to 16 centimeters. By 2050, it will be six to26 centimeters(10.2 in) higher. The increase will probably reach30 to 70 centimeters(27.6 in) by the end of the 21st century.Chinas long coastline is the base for about 70 percent of the largecities, over a half of the domestic population and nearly 60 percentof the national economy.
Scientist predicts climate change of 10 degrees
4-9-02 Jonathan Overpeck, a climate researcher at the University ofArizona, says new computer simulations suggest that global warmingthis century will be about four times greater than what theplanet experienced in the 1900s.Scientists gathered at the college, 40 miles east of Syracuse, fortheir first meeting since Antarcticas Larsen Ice Shelf disintegratedin only 35 days ending March 7. It probably had existed since thelast Ice Age, about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.According to a new study by Overpeck and his team of scientists,the Earths average temperature will rise about 10 degreesbefore the year 2100.Unless the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere declinessharply, he said, the consequences could extend worldwide.I think it is going to be pretty hard to avoid the sixth massextinction in Earths history, Overpeck told The Post-Standardof Syracuse. Countries are going to be put out of business.Cultures are going to be put out of business.
ANTARCTIC MELTING IDENTIFIED IN THE PAST
4-9-02 Researchers from the University of Oregon published a studythat determined that a very large and unusually abrupt rise in sealevels 14,200 years ago was caused by the partial collapse of icesheets in Antarctica. The period exhibited conditions similar totoday with increased temperatures, sea levels and atmospheric carbondioxide. Using shoreline fossil deposits scientists were able todevelop a method of identifying each possible melting scenario fromice sheets that existed at that time.The OSU report states, What is very clear, however, is the importanceof Antarcticas huge ice sheets remaining stable. The West Antarcticice sheet is thought to be potentially unstable, and if it collapsedsea levels around the world would rise almost 20 feet.The melting of the larger and more stable East Antarctic ice sheet wouldraise Earths sea levels another 200 feet!
Arctic Ice and Way of Life Melting Away for Eskimos
Apr 1st, 02 YANRAKYNNOT, Russia -- The native elders have no explanation.Scientists are perplexed as well. The icy realm of the Eskimo--the tundraand ice of Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland--has started to thaw.Strange portents are everywhere. Thunder and lightning, once rare, havebecome commonplace. An eerie warm wind now blows in from the south.Hunters who prided themselves on their ability to read the sky say theyno longer can predict the sudden blizzards. The Earth, one hunterconcluded, is turning faster. The elders, who keep thousands of yearsof history and legend without ever writing it down, have long toldchildren this story: If the ice that freezes thick over the sea eachwinter breaks up before summer, the entire village could perish.What the residents of the Arctic are reporting fits convincingly withpowerful computer models, satellite images and recently declassifiedice measurements taken by Russian submarines. In the last century,parts of the Arctic have warmed by 10 degrees Fahrenheit--10 timesthe global average. Sea ice covers 15% less of the Arctic Oceanthan it did 20 years ago, and that ice has thinned from an average of 10feet to less than 6.
Drought Leaves Rivers At All-Time Lows
3-28-02 A USA TODAY analysis found that scores of the nationsrivers fell to historic low levels during the past four months.Using U.S. Geological Survey data that track the flow of riversnationwide, the analysis identified 59 points on 57 rivers thatreached record low levels in March. The analysis showed that 40 ofthose points also had reached a record low in one of the monthsof December, January or February. Less water flowed down theserivers than at any comparable time in at least 30 years and,in many cases, as long as 80 years. Using temperatureand precipitation data, federal scientists calculate that severe orextreme drought has spread over 21% of the country.
Global Warming is shrinking Ireland
Mar 27th, 2002 Northern Ireland (AP) — Ireland is shrinking,a scientist warned Monday at a conference on the deteriorationof coastlines worldwide. Andrew Cooper, director of the CoastalResearch Group at the University of Ulster, said the sea wasswallowing up about 750 acres of Ireland each year, and warnedthat the process would quicken. He said global warming was likelyto subject Irelands shores, particularly along the northern andwestern Atlantic coasts, to more frequent and powerful storms, butthe governments of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic weredoing little to erect sensible coastline defenses.
More of Antarctica faces breakup with Climate Change
Mar 27th, 2002 New Zealand - The Antarctics huge ice shelves maybreak up as ice floes across the frozen continent slow or even stopand the global climate warms, a New Zealand climate researcher warned.The collapse reported last week of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in Antarcticawas a wakeup call to expect more collapses, said Tim Naish, a seniorresearcher at the government-owned Institute of Geological and NuclearSciences. Such collapses would have a dramatic effect on globalclimate by disrupting ocean currents, he said.
Worldwide Drought by 2025
27-Mar-02 (BBC) More than 2.7 billion people will face severe watershortages by the year 2025 if the world continues consuming water atthe same rate, the United Nations warns.A new report says that another 2.5 billion people will live in areaswhere it will be difficult to find enough water to meet their needs.The crisis is being blamed on mismanagement of existing waterresources, population growth and changing weather patterns.Less than 3% of the Earths water is fresh and most of it is in theform of polar ice or too deep underground to reach. The amount offresh water that is accessible in lakes, rivers and reservoirs isless than a quarter of 1% of the total.The UN says the water crisis will limit the ability to grow crops,which poor people need to survive. Agriculture consumes about 70%of the world’s available water, and small farmers are the first tolose their supply.... it wont be that long.
Drought Emergency For New York
3-27-02 NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloombergdeclared a drought emergency for the city and four upstate countiesTuesday in response to the worst drought to hit the eastern UnitedStates in nearly 70 years.Restrictions on water use will affect more than 8 million residentsof New York and about 1 million in Westchester, Putnam, Ulster andOrange counties, which contain the reservoir systems that providethe citys water supply.The citys reservoirs are at 52 percent capacity. Normal forthis time of year would be 92.5 percent, officials said.Water restrictions are in place in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland,New York, Maine and New Hampshire, and several other states are urgingvoluntary conservation.The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors national water levels, saidlast week that conditions were commensurate with those during thedrought of 1930.
Massive Antarctic ice shelf collapses
March 24,2002 (AP) Scientists say that an enormous floating iceshelf in Antarctica that has existed since the last Ice Age 12,000years ago collapsed this month with staggering speed during one ofthe warmest summers on record there.Were seeing a very rapid and profound response by the ice sheetto a warming thats been around for just a few decades, said TedScambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the Universityof Colorado. The entire Larsen Ice Shelf now is about 40 percentof its original size.We knew what was left would collapse eventually, but the speed ofit is staggering, said David Vaughan, a glaciologist at the BritishAntarctic Survey. Hard to believe that 500 million billion tons ofice sheet has disintegrated in less than a month.Scientists believe the shelf was at least 400 years old and may havebeen around as long as the last glaciation 12,000 years ago. Over thelast 5 years the shelf has lost 2,200 square miles of area and 5,200square miles have been lost since 1974. Global warming is higher thanaverage in the region with temperature increasing 4.5 degreesFahrenheit since the 1940s.
Drought Emergency Throughout U.S.
States from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific are experiencingsevere drought conditions. This nationwide drought is more seriousthan the usual dry spell. The entire state of Wyoming has beendeclared a drought disaster area, and large areas of the Southeastand the West are in danger of wildfires. In New York City, reservoirlevels are at 50 percent below normal.In some Southern states, there are areas that have had moisturedeficits of more than 30 inches.
Navy Report - Polar Ice Shrinking Fast
3-12-02 The polar ice cap has been shrinking so fast thatregular ships may be steaming through the Northwest Passage eachsummer by 2015, and along northern Russia even sooner, accordingto a new U.S. Navy report.Global warming will open the Arctic Ocean to unprecedentedcommercial activity. The seasonal expansion of open water maydraw commercial fishing fleets into the Chukchi and Beaufort seasnorth of Alaska within a few decades. The summer ice cover couldeven disappear entirely by 2050 -- or be concentrated aroundnorthern Greenland and Ellesmere Island.Though the 72-page report primarily addressed naval issues, itoffered a vivid update on how recent warming has been consumingthe polar cap. Submarine data has found a 40 percent decreasein the volume of the Arctic ice.
Global Warming Creates Grim Future for Forests
Mar 6th, 2002 WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Global warming isbecoming an increasing threat to forests in much of the world,paving the way for fires, droughts and pest infestations, officialstold an environmental conference on Tuesday.The World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development said thelatest evidence indicates that over half the worlds boreal forestcould disappear due to the effect of climate change as conditionsshift. Boreal, or northern, forests are a belt of mostly coniferoustrees running through much of Canada, the United States, Russia,Scandinavia and parts of Mongolia and China.
January Warmest On Record
3-5-02 (NOAA) November 2001-January 2002 warmest winter period everrecorded in United States since 1895. The second warmestNovember-January occurred in 1999-2000. The third warmest was thedrought decade of 1933-1934.The combination of record warm land temperatures and near-record seasurface temperatures led to the warmest January on record for bothland and ocean surfaces combined, which was 1.24 F (0.69 C) aboveaverage and 0.09 F (0.05 C) warmer than January 1998.
Last Three Months Warmest Ever Recorded
2-22-02 (Reuters) - The last three months were the warmest onU.S. record books, and January was the balmiest in the 123 yearstemperatures for the month have been recorded globally, governmentscientists said on Thursday. A preliminary average of the nationstemperature measured from November 2001 to January 2002 was 4.3degrees Fahrenheit above average temperatures gathered between 1895and 2001, according to the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration(NOAA). The same monthly period in 1999-2000 held theprevious record.
Oceans Could Rise Higher Than Predicted
2-21-02 Global sea level rise in the 21st century could besignificantly higher than previously estimated, according to the mostcomprehensive glacier dataset ever compiled.The missing factor is the melting of the worlds largest temperateglaciers in Alaska and Canada, say Mark Meier and Mark Dyurgerov at theUniversity of Colorado at Boulder. New data from the University ofAlaska show this has been underplayed in earlier calculations, they say.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in 2001 that theexpected rise in sea level by 2100 due to glacier melting alone wasbetween 1 and 23 centimetres. The estimate represents the consensus ofmany of the worlds scientists.Meier and Dyurgerovs new range is much higher, at between 20 and 46 cm(18 in.), and they say it could be even greater. Combined with theIPCCs estimate for sea level rise caused by other processes, such asocean warming, of 11 to 43 cm, the total 21st century rise could be asmuch as 89 cm(35 in.).These estimates in sea-level rise may seem small, but a 30 cm rise insea level will typically cause a retreat of shoreline of 30 metres(~98 ft.). This would have substantial social and economic impacts,Meier says.The new data from the University of Alaska shows that the long termcontribution to sea level rise from the wastage of the Alaskan andCanadian glaciers is 0.12 millimetres per year, but that this has morethan doubled to 0.32 mm in the last decade. The present rate ofwastage in some glaciers is greater that it has been for 5000 years,says Meier....I supplied the converted numbers for my US readers - Dan.
Collapse Of North Atlantic Fishing Predicted
The entire North Atlantic is being so severely overfished that it maycompletely collapse by 2010, reveals the first comprehensive survey ofthe entire oceans fishery.North Atlantic catches have fallen by half since 1950, despite atripling of the effort put into catching them. The total number of fishin the ocean has fallen even further, they say, with just one sixth asmany high-quality table fish like cod and tuna as there were in 1900.Fish prices have risen six fold in real terms in 50 years.
Half Of Amazon Rain Forest Being Profoundly Damaged
Half of the Amazon rain forest is being damaged by the pollution causedby forest burning, a new study has revealed.Previous concerns about the worlds largest rain forest have focused onthe burning itself, which has now destroyed 14 percent of the forestsfive million square kilometres. But the new research shows that half ofthe remaining pristine forest is being degraded by the gases andparticulates released by the burning.The pollution caused by burning will also impact on the Amazon forestscritical role in the global climate, affecting the production of watervapour in the tropics.
Dire Warning For Planet Earth
OSLO, Norway - At the Nobel Peace Prize Centennial Symposium hereyesterday (12-7-01) celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Nobelprize, 100 Nobel laureates have issued a brief but dire warning ofthe profound dangers facing the world. Their statement predictsthat our security depends on immediate environmental and social reform.... entire text on SpotLight page. Dan
North America Biodiversity Shrinking
MONTREAL (Reuters) - Some 235 North American animal species such as theMonarch butterfly and northern codfish are threatened by pollution, humanencroachment on their natural habitats and aggressive harvestingpractices, says an environmental agency set up under the continental free-trade pact.A broad study by the North American Commission for EnvironmentalCooperation, a Montreal-based agency created under the North AmericanFree Trade Agreement comprising the United States, Canada and Mexico,says the continent faces a biodiversity crisis in whichthreatened species could disappear. That harms evolution and depletesthe natural environment humans depend on to survive.The report notes that some experts believe humans are fishing down thefood chain in over-harvested stocks such as salmon, cod, halibut andswordfish. That means catching fish that are needed to rebuild depletedspecies.The current report raises alarm bells on a number of fronts, includingthe effect of modern transportation systems on the environment, the over-use of water resources and rising threat of drought, and bio-invasion,the spread of nonnative species imported into North America.
Environmentalists blast plan for Florida Everglades
WASHINGTON (December 30, 2001) - Claiming the Bu$h administrationsdraft of rules for the restoration of the Florida Everglades is arecipe for inaction, environmental groups say the plan will endangerthe shrinking wetlands because it contains no deadlines.With some environmental scientists warning that the Evergladeswould be destroyed by 2015 without immediate action, advocatesof stronger environmental regulation criticized the draft,especially the lack of deadlines or timelines. They feared pressurefrom agricultural and other interests would make state officialsreticent to push ahead quickly.Floridas $ugar farmers and urban water utilities have resistedconservation measures they believe would harm their interests.Scientists estimate about half of the subtropical forests along thestates coasts has been forever lost because of agriculture andurban development. Also lost: about 90 percent of the uniquebirds found in the Everglades endangered grassy wetlands.
Antarctic Experts Warn Of Global Warming
LONDON - There is a one in 20 chance of a dramatic rise in worldsea levels over the next century due to global warning, accordingto a new risk assessment published on Friday. The survey -- bythe British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Norwegian environmentalsafety organization, Det Norske Veritas -- said there was a fivepercent chance of the giant West Antarctic Ice Sheet disintegratingdue to climate change and raising sea levels by one meter (~yard)in the next 100 years. You have to balance the likelihood againstthe severity of the impacts, and in this case even a five percentchance of this happening is really damn serious, said scientistDavid Vaughan of BAS, responsible for British scientific researchin Antarctica. Scientists have already predicted a rise in sealevels of 50 cm (20 ins) over the next century dueto a combination of climate change and increased extraction ofground water, even with no contribution from melting Antarctic ice.Not only would there be flooding on a potentially vast scale, butchanges in ocean currents could also have untold consequences onweather patterns, he added.
World Temperature Second Highest On Record
GENEVA (Reuters) - This year has been the second warmest on recordand the trend toward higher mean global temperatures looks set tocontinue, World Meteorological Organization officials said Tuesday.Compared with the 1961-1990 average used as the basis for comparison,officials said the global temperature in 2001 rose a fraction of adegree Fahrenheit to 57.2 F.The 2001 average temperature was second only to 1998 when temperaturesrose under the impact of La Nina, the sister phenomenon to El Nino,both of which are caused by abnormal warming of surface water in thePacific Ocean.The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body ofinternational scientists, has warned that rising emissions of greenhousegases such as carbon dioxide as a result of human activities are atleast partially responsible for the temperature trend.
Another Island Group Sinking into the Pacific
Dec 17th, 2001 While diplomats debate environmental protocols andscientists question whether the Pacific is rising, families on aforgotten atoll are homeless as an otherwise beautiful piece of thePacific puts on a dress rehearsal for global warming.The weekly Independent newspaper in Port Moresby says in its latestissue that Papua New Guinea is faced with no alternative but to movethe 1,500 people of the Carteret or Kilinailau Island as the searelentlessly moves in on them.The sinking islands there have seen gardens destroyed and a growingthreat of starvation for a people who have seldom needed importedfood until now.
Scientists warn of severe climate change over next century
WASHINGTON (December 12, 2001) - Scientists said Tuesday the earthsgradual warming from pollutants in the atmosphere could somedaytrigger abrupt climate changes that people and ecosystems would havetrouble adapting to.A report by the National Research Council likened the climatic effectof global warming to increasing pressure from a finger flipping on alight switch. Over time, regional climates have changed by as muchas 18 degrees Fahrenheit in just 10 years, researchers said.Carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels is the mostprevalent of the so-called greenhouse gases, whose growingconcentration in the atmosphere is thought to be warming the earth.Many scientists have said they believe the warming, if not stopped,will cause severe climate changes over the next century.
Nature reveals evidence of a warming world
Dec 3, 2001 Hard evidence of global warming is showing up not inclimate scientists charts and figures but in nature: on an ice-covered river in Alaska and in the annual growth cycles of plantsand animals. And the proof points to a shrinking cold weather season.For example:In Mediterranean ecosystems, the leaves of deciduous trees unfold onaverage 16 days earlier and fall off 13 days later each season thanthey did 50 years ago.Satellite imaging of vegetation shows that the growing season acrossEurope and western Asia during the past two decades has increased by18 days; its 12 days longer in North America.Animal and insect life cycles also are affected by our changing climate,reaching specific stages in their development more quickly. Butterfliesnow appear 11 days earlier than in 1952 in northeast Spain, while frogcalling in New York is occurring 10 days sooner each spring between 1990and 1999 than between 1900 and 1912.Whether its melting ice, accelerated tree and insect growth, or a longergrowing season, mounting evidence of a changing climate has formed anatural link to global warming thats more real than ever.
Scientist warns of sixth great extinction of wildlife
Nov 29th, 2001 Humankind is presiding over an extinction of plantand animal species that matches the catastrophe of the dinosaurs 65myears ago, a British scientist warned last night.Lord May - until last year the governments chief scientist, and nowpresident of the Royal Society - calculated that the extinction ofbirds and mammals was probably 100 to 1,000 times faster than theaverage through many millions of years of history. Studies of fossilshad pointed to five great extinctions in the past.
Crop hotspots spell hunger, UN says
Nov 14th, 2001 Scientists say some agricultural harvests could fallby about one-third as global temperatures increase. They believecrops like rice and wheat will find it harder in a warmer world to flowerand to set seed.Two scientists who analysed the IPCC data said last July they thought thelikeliest increase, with a 50% probability, would lie between 2.4and 3.8 degrees Celsius.
Worlds Freshwater Lakes Face Death
11-12-1 TOKYO (Reuters) - Many of the worlds freshwater lakes facedeath by pollution, resulting in catastrophe for the human populationsthat depend on them, an environmental expert warned on Monday.``There is not a lake left on the planet that is not already beingaffected by human activities, said William Cosgrove, vice presidentof the World Water Council, an international organization that dealswith ecological problems involving water. ``Were killing the lakes,and that could be disaster to the human communities that depend onthem....full article on SpotLight Page.
Global warming affects evolution
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 — Researchers have identified for the first timea creature that is evolving in response to global warming.It’s a tiny mosquito that lives in the pitcher plant.Researchers at the University of Oregon in Eugene found that thepitcher plant mosquito, a tiny, fragile species that seldom botherspeople, is starting to delay when it breeds and develops.The study suggests it is possible that other species may also be inthe process of genetically adapting to longer growing seasons.Animals with the greatest genetic variability will be the mostsuccessful in the face of global climate changes.
Warmest British Autumn In Memory
The Observer - London 11-4-1 As Britons bask in the warmest autumnin living memory, conservationists are warning that winter as it hasbeen known throughout history will soon vanish, as the distinctionbetween the seasons becomes blurred.Frost and snow - once prevalent across Britain - are retreating tonorthern areas. Many species are so confused, their life-cycle has beenthrown into disarray. Birds which should be nesting in the spring arenesting in autumn, and flowers that should bloom once are blooming twice.The extended growing season - four weeks longer than a few decades ago- means farmers are producing bumper crops.Last month was the warmest October since records began in 1659, andclimatologists reckon it was probably the warmest for at least 1,000years. This year as a whole, although cooler than the all-time recordset in 1999, is still expected to be in the top 10 warmest ever recorded.
Plants Could Be Harmed by Warmer Climate -Study
Oct 7th, 2001 (Reuters) - Several species of plants in the U.S. Midwestcould become extinct within 30 years if climate conditions continue tobecome drier and warmer as many experts predict, researchers said onThursday. The researches believe within 35 years, temperatures and soilmoisture content in Minnesota will be similar to what Kansas isexperiencing today. Under extreme conditions, Minnesotas temperatureand precipitation levels could mirror current data in Oklahoma.
Panel takes stock of Alaskas ocean health
9/29/01 ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Environmental strains ripple on the oceansthat border Alaska. In rural stretches of the state, global warming hasthinned Arctic pack ice, making travel dangerous for Native hunters.Traces of industrial pollution from distant continents are showing upin the fat of Alaskas marine wildlife and in the breast milk of Nativemothers who eat a traditional diet that includes seal and walrus meat.
Human Resistance to Antibiotics Worries WHO
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Humans are building up dangerous levels ofresistance to modern antibiotics that could leave them vulnerable tokiller diseases, the U.N. World Health Organization said on Tuesday.Farmers who use antibiotics* to fatten up livestock and poultryare aggravating the problem because microbes on animals build updefenses against the drugs, then jump across the food chain and attackhuman immune systems, WHO said.... *this is why I stopped eating beef a year before the mad cowissue surfaced. Dan
Coral Reefs Face Total Destruction
Most of the coral reefs of the worlds oceans will disappear within30 to 50 years, a marine biologist warned yesterday. Rupert Ormond,director of the university marine biological station at Millport inScotland, told the British Association science festival in Glasgowthat global warming would raise ocean temperatures to levelsthat would bleach the great reefs of the Pacific and Indian oceans,the Caribbean and the Red Sea.
Global Warming Increasing Spread Of Infectious Diseases
( 9-5-01) NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Climate change associated withglobal warming is already increasing the spread of infectious diseases,researchers at the New York University School of Medicine maintain.They predict that worldwide climate shifts will create growing threatsto public health if not reversed.``Warming will change the distribution of disease-carrying agents,which will in turn bring the specter of diseases wiped out decades agoto possible prominence, Dr. William N. Rom told Reuters Health.Rom and Dr. Dushana Yoganathan, writing in the August issue of theAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine, note that extreme weatherevents lead to increases in populations of microbes such as bacteria,while atmospheric ozone depletion has been linked to an increasedsusceptibility among hosts to these microbes.They point to increases in mosquito-borne infections like malaria anddengue fever, as well as certain rodent-borne viruses, as possiblerisks the world faces.
Leakey Warns Of Mass Extinctions
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (ENS) - The world is losing between 50,000and 100,000 plant, insect and animal species a year, Kenyanconservationist Richard Leakey said Wednesday at a lecture. This ismuch higher than a similar estimate Leakey gave in 1997. Humanactivities are causing between 10,000 and 40,000 species to becomeextinct each year, Leakey said then. Leakey said preserving landand conserving its wildlife are an absolute necessity and peoplehave to decide exactly how much land should be allocated toconservation. Only the previous five periods in history of massextinction - the last being the death of the dinosaurs - showed thesame rate of loss. At that rate we are probably approaching a pointsimilar to mass extinction, he said.It is the acceleration of species loss through human activitiestoday that is significant and unless the present trend is reversed,the planet could lose approximately 55 percent of todaysspecies over the next 50 to 100 years. Such rapid catastrophiclosses to biodiversity have happened before, and these catastropheshave always had far reaching consequences for the surviving species,Leakey warned.
Russian Ecologist Says Global Warming Cant Be Stopped
(8-24-01) The process of global warming cannot be stopped, peoplecan only diminish climatic changes caused by civilizations negativeeffect, the leader of the Russian Ecological Union, Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, told a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.He said it is too late to speak of preventing antropogenic climaticchanges. He noted, however, that it is necessary to reducecivilizations effect on climate-forming factors, above all, to stopthe destruction of ecological systems and cut the release ofgreenhouse gases into the atmosphere. He said the climatic changeswill hit hard all countries. According to the World MeteorologicalOrganization, the air temperature on the Earth may increase by twoto six degrees by the end of the century, which Danilov-Danilyansaid may have catastrophic consequences.
World Water Shortage May Cause Global Crisis
A worldwide water shortage is likely to worsen severely over thenext 25 years, affecting billions of people in an unprecedentedglobal crisis involving the earths most precious natural resource,reports the UKs Independent. This and other international newsreports were summarized in the World Banks Development News Digest.... more on SpotLight Page.
Drought Beginning To Affect Wildlife In Driest Year Ever
SASKATOON, SASK. - A huge swath of land from Hudson Bay, Sask.,in the northeast, to Pincher Creek Alta., in the southwest issuffering through whats being called the driest year ever.The last 18 months in many parts of Western Canada have been thedriest anyone can remember. Between the heat, the sun and the wind,soil moisture is almost nil. The results are devastating.Most crops in the area have been written off or cut for cattle feed.
Researchers Forecast Rapid, Irreversible Climate Warming
(7-26-1) Theres a nine out of ten chance that global average temperatureswill rise between three and nine degrees Fahrenheit over the coming century,with a four to seven degree increase most likely, according to a newprobability analysis by scientists in the United States and England.The most likely projected increase is five times greater than the onedegree temperature rise observed over the past century.... full article on SpotLite page. Dan
Global Warming Much Worse Than Predicted
(7-12-01) Global warming is happening now, caused by human actions,and threatens the Earth with disaster, the worlds leading atmosphericscientists insisted yesterday as politicians struggled to repair theKyoto treaty on climate change which the United States torpedoed inMarch. A 2,000-page UN report on the science and potential impactsof climate change gave the most authoritative statement yet that the Earth is warming rapidly, that the main cause is industrialpollution, and that the consequences for human society are likely tobe catastrophic.... long story on Spotlite page... Dan
Global Warming Will Devastate Agriculture
(7-11-01) Global warming will turn frozen tundra into wheatfields,significantly reduce crops in Britain, France and other parts ofNorthern Europe, and will devastate agriculture across muchof the developing world, a major scientific report claims today.... full article on SpotLite page ... Dan
Wetlands disappearing around the globe
7-6-01 (UPI) About half of the worlds wetlands have disappeared in thepast 100 years, gobbled up by agriculture, development, water diversionprojects and dredging. Pollution, water extraction, dam construction andexcessive hunting and fishing also contribute to the deterioratingecological health of these areas. One of the worst cases of wetlandsdestruction has been along the Mississippi River. Conversion to agricultureand towns created a situation that fosters flooding and has radicallyreduced the natural ability of wetlands to remove nitrates from fertilizerrich agricultural run-off. As a result there is now a large dead-zonedownstream in the Gulf of Mexico from nitrate contamination.
Human Sperm In Dramatic Decline
7-3-01 Scientists from around the world are alarmed by a dramatic increasein genetically damaged human sperm - a trend that is not only causinginfertility in men, but also childhood cancers in the offspring of thosewho can reproduce. Its now estimated that up to 85 per cent of thesperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged, a leading authorityon the subject revealed yesterday at an international conference beingheld in Montreal.... article on SpotLite page. Dan
Warm Poles Could Mean Cold Europe
6-12-01 (Reuters) Global warming shrinking the Arctic icecap is makinglife harsher for Inuit and polar bears, but paradoxically it might chillEurope by shutting off a warm ocean current.Inhabitants of the Arctic say higher temperatures, which scientists sayare rising faster than anywhere else on Earth, are adding to thestresses of life near the Pole rather than giving a slight relief fromthe bone-chilling cold.But for northwest Europe, one of the biggest fears of global warming isthat it could spell the reverse: a shift to colder temperatures bydisrupting the Gulf Stream that brings warm waters northeast across theAtlantic. Near the Poles, the rays of the sun strike the Earth from alow angle, passing through a thicker layer of atmosphere than at theEquator. As the world heats, any faint heat the rays bring to Earth nearthe Poles is more likely to get trapped by greenhouse gases than to bounceback into space. Temperatures may be rising as fast in Antarctica butthere are too few measurements to tell.
Scientists agree warming is real
June 7 — Global warming is real and the United States should supportthe U.N.-led scientific effort to deal with the problem, a reviewcommissioned by the White House concludes. Citing concerns about thescience and economics of solutions, President Bu$h had said earlier hewould no longer work with a U.N.-led treaty process.The scientists began their report by stating that “greenhouse gases areaccumulating in Earth’s atmosphere as a result of human activities,causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise.... well, heres a bulletin ...
Glaciers all over the world are shrinking
Most of the worlds glaciers are shrinking, a new satellite surveyof over 2000 glaciers has revealed. Concerns have been raised aboutmelting glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro in the Tanzanian Himalayas andin the Glacier National Park in Montana (New Scientist, 13 May 2000,p 28). Now infrared and visible photographs taken by a Japaneseinstrument on board NASAs Terra spacecraft show the shrinkage ishappening on a global scale.Images of mountain lakes at the base of melting glaciers show manyhad grown over the last 10 years, and showed up dark blue insteadof light blue, indicating higher levels of sediments. This suggeststhere has been increased erosion of the mountain by the glacier,indicating higher flow rates of the ice - and higher temperatures.
Worst Drought Since 30s
In Florida, the shorelines of Lake Okeechobee, the states liquidheart, have receded as much as 150 feet, marooning docks and leavingalligators dead in the bullrushes.In Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, much of Jackson Lake, one ofthe most photographed bodies of water in the world, may have to bedrained to provide relief for drought-stricken potato farmers in Idaho.In Washington, dry conditions are causing early glacial melting onMount Rainier, spawning rock slides.One of the worst droughts since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s is grippingmuch of the US - hurting farmers, scaring firefighters, and forcingwater restrictions from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to Midland, Texas.In parts of the Southwest, its so dry the cactuses need watering!Growth is surely a contributing factor to the states dwindling watersupplies, but nature takes most of the blame. Dry conditions overthe past three years have caused a 51-inch rainfall deficit.
Global Warming Melts Australias Glaciers
SYDNEY (Reuters) 6-1-01 - Australias glaciers are melting.In the land of outback deserts this is not as strange as itsounds. Scientists say the shrinking of Australias little-knownglaciers on remote, sub-Antarctic Heard Island in the Indian Oceanreveals global warming now stretches from the tropics to the edgeof Antarctica. A five-month Australian scientific expedition toHeard Island which ended in March discovered global warming wasdramatically changing the islands harsh and hostile environment.Since 1947 the temperature has risen 1.3F causing glaciers to meltrapidly. The islands 34 glaciers have decreased by 11 percent inarea and 12 percent in volume -- half the loss occurred in the 1980s.
Increased shrubbery found in Arctic
(AP) - Scientists in the Alaskan Arctic have discovered that shrubsare growing larger and spreading across previously barren territoryin the tundra. The findings add to the scientific consensus that theregion is gradually getting warmer. Federal researchers combed througharchives of aerial photos, comparing new images to those of the samelocations taken 50 years ago. Of the 66 aerial photos taken for thestudy, growth increases were reported in 36 of those images, with thegrowth of some plants estimated to be as much as 15%.
Explorer Says Arctic Ice Thinning Noticeably
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The ice sheets covering the Arctic seas havethinned noticeably over the last seven years, most likely as aresult of global warming, said a Norwegian explorer who has justskied alone across the top of the world.Boerge Ousland, speaking after an 82-day trip in which he traveled1,300 miles from the northern tip of Russia to the North Pole andthen down to Canada, said on Sunday he had seen other evidencewhich hinted strongly at the effects of climate change.The 38-year-old explorer, holder of four long-distance polar skiingrecords, measured the ice thickness as part of a study by theNorwegian Polar Institute. He made similar measurements on a trekfrom Russia to the North Pole in 1994.The ice toward the North Pole seems to be much thinner than normaland this made it much more broken so that the conditions were muchmore difficult than they had been in 1994 ... at around 87 degreesNorth it was up to a meter thinner, Ousland said.
Global warming threatens Alaskan villages
WASHINGTON (May 5, 2001) - The disastrous consequences of globalwarming forecast by some scientists are already in evidence inAlaska, where rising sea levels threaten native villages andtowns, Alaskans have reported that Arctic ice is 8 inches thinnerin some places this year than it was last year.Some scientists have predicted that the effects of global warmingwill be amplified and first noticed in the polar regions. The 10warmest years in meteorological record-keeping have all occurredsince 1983, with eight of the years occurring since 1990.Sea levels worldwide have risen an average of 9 inches in the lastcentury. In a series of three reports issued earlier this year,the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changeestimated that sea levels will rise another 3.5 to 34.6! inchesby 2100 due to warmer water temperatures and melting ice.
World Warming Said Melting Australias Alpine Snow
SYDNEY - In an early warning to the rest of the world, Australiassnowy alpine regions are shrinking and could disappear in 70 yearsbecause of global warming, Australian scientists say.In Australia we could have the complete loss of the alpineecosystems within the next 70 years, said botanist John Morganin La Trobe Universitys latest campus magazine. A La Trobe studyfound that sub-alpine trees in the Snowy Mountains have startedgrowing 40 metres (130 feet) higher than they had in thepast 25 years as a result of global warming. La Trobe scientistssay Australias Snowy Mountains sub-alpine forest are 300 to 500years old, suggesting the forest had been stable for centuries.
Scientists say Great Barrier Reef choking to death
BRISBANE, (Reuters) - Australias Great Barrier Reef risks chokingto death on fertiliser-soaked silt thanks to the clearance of wetlandsand rainforests along the neighbouring Queensland coast, scientistssaid on Wednesday. The Australian Institute of Marine Science saidresearch from 30 scientists around the world showed the World Heritagelisted reef needed urgent help to survive the impact of farming andother human activities.... so sad.
Rainfall in England Heaviest Since Tudor Times
You thought there had never been rainfall like it? You were right.The rain over England and Wales in the past 12 months may have beenthe heaviest for 500 years and perhaps longer, according to one ofBritains leading independent meteorologists.Statistical analysis indicates that the rainfall is so far abovethe average that its return period the frequency with which itcould be expected to recur is 500 to 750 years.Although no link can yet be proved, one of the principal predictedconsequences of climate change is more rainfall over the BritishIsles, especially in winter. The Met Office has announced that theyear from 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 was the wettest sincerecords began in either 1766 or 1727 (depending on which recordsyou use). In either case, the record is comfortably broken.
Gases blamed for Earths warming
WASHINGTON (AP) - Computer models developed independently by twoteams of researchers give new evidence that global warming isinfluenced by man-made gases. In a study appearing Friday in thejournal Science, researchers report that the two models,using slightly different techniques, linked rising globaltemperatures to an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases,principally carbon dioxide from the burning of oil, gas and coal.We think this is some of the strongest evidence to date thathuman-induced effects are changing our climate, said SydneyLevitus, a researcher at the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration and co-author of one of the studies. President Bu$hdecided last month to reject the Kyoto climate treaty, a 1997international plan to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases asa way to curb global warming. Bu$h said the plan, which specifiesa sharp reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, was too expen$iveand unwi$e during a time that the United $tates faces energy andeconomic problems.
Concern over global warming heating up
CAMBRIDGE, England (April 9, 2001) - Earlier flu seasons. Smaller cropyields. Deadlier and more frequent storms. In the wake of PresidentBu$hs rejection of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, scientistsfrom 25 countries on Monday forecast a perilous future for the planetif emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gasescontinue to rise.
Warmer oceans drive climate change
WASHINGTON, April 6 — Major climate changes seen in the NorthernHemisphere over the past half century have been driven by aprogressive warming of tropical oceans, probably sparked by thehuman-caused buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, scientistssay. Many scientists believe emissions of certain pollutants fromindustry, power plants and vehicles threaten to disrupt global climateand ecosystems by causing the Earth’s atmosphere to trap more of thesun’s energy, triggering global warming.Studies examining the likely early effects of increased greenhousegases in the atmosphere have pointed to a warming trend in the tropicaloceans, and observations have demonstrated such a trend beginningaround 1950, the researchers said.Northern Hemisphere surface temperatures have displayed a warming trendover the past several decades the likes of which have not been seen inthe past thousand years, they added, noting that the NAO(North AtlanticOscillation) change has greatly influenced this.... allow me to repeat myself, Global Warming is REAL. The Earthhas been both warmer and colder in the past - this is Normal. Manmadepollutants ARE having an effect - this is Not Normal.The debate has shifted during the past decade from is it real? towhats the cause? - and while the experts debate and thepoliticians cover their eyes, we lose shorelines and coral reefs andwatch as the weather patterns continue to Change ... Dan
Scientists warn of climate devastation
GENEVA, Switzerland -- The full extent of the potentiallydevastating effects of global warming has been spelledout in a U.N. report. Climate change could wipe outtropical islands and Alpine skiing retreats, while meltingice caps could unleash changes that would continue forcenturies, according to the report published Monday.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said poorcountries would bear the brunt of the devastating changes.But it warned that the rich would not be immune, with southernEurope subjected to harsher droughts and higher temperatures andU.S. coastal regions vulnerable to rising sea levels andmore severe storms.The final message said the effects of man-made climate changewill lead to more freak weather conditions likecyclones, floods and droughts and massive displacement ofpopulations in the worst-affected areas. There was also thepotential for enormous loss of both human and animal life dueto the greater risk from diseases like malaria as the mosquitowidenes its reach and the habitat of entire animal species iswiped out.... sometimes I really hate to be right ... Dan
CLIMATE CHANGING FASTER THAN FORECAST
January 22, 2001 BBC NEWS reports: “The worlds leadingclimatologists say global warming is happening faster than previouslypredicted. They say world temperatures this century could rise bybetween 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Celsius. Sea levels could also rise bytens of centimetres, threatening millions of people living in low-lying countries.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which hasbeen meeting in Shanghai, China, says an increasing body ofobservations gives a collective picture of a warming world.And it says the evidence is stronger than before for a humaninfluence on the climate. The head of the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme, Dr Klaus Toepfer, said: The scientific consensus presentedin this comprehensive report about human-induced climate change shouldsound alarm bells in every national capital and in every localcommunityDr Robert Watson, who heads the panel of scientists advising theUnited Nations, said there could be massive implications in terms ofwater shortages, drought, damage to agriculture and the increasedspread of disease, with developing countries worst hit. He said:Theres no doubt the Earths climate is changing. The decade of the1990s was the hottest decade of the last century and the warming inthis century is warmer than anything in the last 1,000 years in theNorthern Hemisphere…”
Rethink on ice shelf melting
NEW scientific evidence reveals that the Antarctic ice shelf is atmore risk of melting than previously calculated.Rising summer temperatures rather than overall mean annualtemperatures are exposed as the biggest threat to the polar ice.Scientists warn that the vast ice shelves are just a few degreesaway from a potentially catastrophic meltdown.If the ice melts, the rush of billions of gallons of water into theoceans will lead to rising sea levels, affect global weather systemsand, ultimately, adversely impact on wildlife and mankind.... entire article on the SpotLight page. Dan
December period was coldest on record
WASHINGTON (January 5, 2001) - Government weather expertsconfirmed the suspicions of millions of shivering Americans onFriday: It was the nations coldest November-December period.Two months in a row of much-below-average temperatures resultedin the coldest November-December U.S. temperature on record, 33.8degrees Fahrenheit. That broke the old record of 34.2 set in 1898.
The world in 2015: its looking bleak
A sweeping projection of what the world will look like in2015 has concluded that the availability of water and food,changes in population, and the spread of information anddisease will become increasingly important to internationalsecurity. The report concludes that the population of theworld will grow from the current 6.1 billion to 7.2 billionby 2015, with 95 per cent of that growth occurring in thedeveloping world, and nearly all of it in urban areas.... more on the SpotLight page. Dan
Above-Normal Temperatures in 2000
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Although the United States is ending thisyear with colder-than-normal temperatures, the nation logged aboveaverage temperatures for most of the year, government forecasterssaid on Monday.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said theaverage annual U.S. temperature for the year 2000 was projectedat between 54.1 and 54.2 degrees Fahrenheit, well above theaverage of 52.8 degrees Fahrenheit logged since 1895.U.S. temperatures have risen at a rate of 0.9 degree Fahrenheitper century over the past 100 years. But within the past 25years, U.S. temperatures increased at a rate of 1.6 degreesFahrenheit, NOAA said.The global temperature was expected to be 0.7 degrees Fahrenheitabove average recorded since 1880, similar to temperaturesrecorded in 1999. The 10 warmest years on record have alloccurred since 1983, NOAA said. During the past century, globaltemperatures rose at a rate near 1.1 degree Fahrenheit, butthis trend ``dramatically increased to a rate greater than3.0 Fahrenheit per century during the past 25 years.
Alaskan Glacier Falling Apart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Alaskas Columbia Glacier, which movesinto the sea at a rate of up to 110 feet (34 meters) a day, isready to disintegrate, leaving a spectacular fjord, researcherssaid on Tuesday. It started moving more quickly in 1982,probably as an indirect response to the warming climate.The glacier is breaking off new icebergs into Prince WilliamsSound much faster than it is accumulating new snow.
Autumn breaks wet weather records
(BBC) England and Wales have suffered the wettest autumn sincerecords began 234 years ago. The long-term forecast ofchangeable wet weather means the UK is unlikely to escape furtherflooding which has already wrecked 6,500 homes. Flood warningsremain on 12 rivers and much of the countryside is still water-logged, preventing farmers harvesting or planting winter crops.
Global Warming Wreaking Havoc Around The World
The movie horror-fantasy of the sea engulfing east coast citiescould become reality this century if nothing is done to haltglobal warming, scientists believe. Take, as they project,temperatures increasing by between 1.5C and 6C (2.7F and 11F!!),causing the sea to expand and rise by as much as 60cm (2ft);add stronger storms and greater precipitation causing more extremedownpours and cities such as New York and Boston might be in jeopardy.... Detailed article on Spotlight page. Dan
Scientists Claim Nothing Will Stop Climate Change
11-13-00 (UK Sunday Times) Scientists have warned thousands ofgovernment officials and politicians gathering for internationalclimate talks in the Hague that the rise in global temperaturesis irreversible, and that the best they can hope for is to slowit down by a fraction of a degree. The rise in temperatures hasled to increasingly unpredictable weather. Last Christmas Eve astorm hit northern France, killing scores of people and rippingup more than 400,000 trees. Recently towns and cities acrossBritain have been hit by flooding.... Entire article on SpotLight page. Dan
GLOBAL WARMING WORSE THAN FEARED
Oct. 29, 2000 The BBC reported: A draft report prepared for theworlds governments says that the earth may heat up much more thancurrent forecasts suggest. The report, by scientists from theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says averageglobal temperatures could rise twice as much as they thoughtearlier. It foresees a possible rise of 6C above 1990 levels.Five years ago the IPCC was predicting a probable maximum increaseof 3C. Scientists believe the level of carbon dioxide emissionsbeing forecast in the report could trigger the mass death offorests and significant rises in sea levels, as well as cropfailures and extreme weather...
Study: Global warming worse than thought; man to blame
WASHINGTON (October 25, 2000) - Man-made pollutants havecontributed substantially to global warming and the earthis likely to get much warmer than previously believed, a UnitedNations-sponsored panel of hundreds of scientists finds.And the scientists, in revised estimates, conclude that ifgreenhouse emissions are not curtailed the earths averagesurface temperatures could be expected to increase from 2.7 tonearly 11 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century,substantially more than estimated in its report five years ago.Among the findings that suggest climate change already is underway, according to the summary:- Warming over the last 100 years is likely to be the largest ofany century during the past 1,000 years when fully analyzed. The1990s are likely to be the warmest decade with 1998 the warmestyear of the 20th century.- There has been a widespread retreat of mountain glaciers innonpolar regions and a decline in sea ice and snow-covered areasduring the past 50 years.- Sea level rise has been 10 times greater in the last 100 yearsthan the average rate over the last 3,000 years. The oceans havebecome warmer over the last 50 years.... sigh ... is this where I say Told Ya So? ... Dan
Ozone Layer Continues To Deplete
Upper atmospheric conditions in The Northern Hemisphereare becoming similar to those of the Antarctic. The result ofthis could be the formation of an Arctic Ozone Hole or morecorrectly termed low ozone event. The alarming difference isthere are millions of people that live in the area that will beexposed to this deadly radiation. These conditions could exposelarge numbers of people and animals to more ultraviolet radiation,which can cause skin cancer and disrupt reproduction of someanimals and destroy plant life.The ozone layer, high up in the atmosphere, shields Earth frommuch of the suns harmful ultraviolet rays. A gradual thinningdue to emissions of damaging man-made chemicals has increasedthe occurrence of skin cancer and other illnesses related toover-exposure to ultraviolet rays.
Half of Indonesia coral reefs are dead
NUSA DUA, Indonesia October 24, 2000 - Half of the once-vastcoral reefs that surrounded the worlds largest archipelagohave been lost and international aid is needed to save whatremains, Indonesia said Tuesday. Scientists meeting on theisland of Bali have said that an increase in ocean and seatemperatures is largely to blame for much reef destructionaround the world. Unless drastic steps are taken to reversethe warming trend and curb pollution, all reefs will bedead within 20 years, they said.
Icelandic Glacier in Rapid Breakup
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (UPI) -- A British newspaper reported Sundaynew research shows Europes biggest glacier is about todisintegrate. Glasgow University surveyors originally arrived atBreidamerkurjökull in 1965 to make maps of the glacier and comparethem against U.S. Army measurements from 1945, the 1965 readingsshowed the glacier had slipped back from the sea by a couple of miles.In 1998, a new Glasgow University measurement using global positioningsatellite equipment and other high-precision devices, showed rapidmelting. Those results show the great river of ice has dwindleddramatically over the past 30 years - a total of five miles fromthe sea.
Report warns of water degradation, shortages
EAST LANSING, Mich. (October 21, 2000) - Freshwater systems aroundthe world are so damaged that their ability to support human, animaland plant life is seriously diminished, according to a reportreleased Saturday. The report is part of a comprehensive study bythe institute on how human activity is changing the worldsecosystems.... entire article on SpotLight page. Dan
Extreme Weather On The Rise
BOULDER -- Expect hotter days, warmer nights, heavier rain andsnowfall events, and more floods over the next century, says anew study published September 22 in the journal Science. Thearticle reviews observations, impacts, and results from some20 global climate models currently in use worldwide.... longer article on the SpotLight Page. Dan
Hawking says greenhouse effect threatens human race survival
LONDON (September 30, 2000) - Stephen Hawking fears the human racemay not survive another millennium. I am afraid the atmospheremight get hotter and hotter until it will be like Venus withboiling sulfuric acid, the physicist told Britains PressAssociation. I am worried about the greenhouse effect.To ensure the survival of humans, he adds, efforts must be madeto colonize other planets. Space travel would not solve everyproblem, but at least it would ensure that people dont becomeextinct. It takes too many resources to send each person intospace, he said. But unless the human race spreads into space,I doubt it will survive the next thousand years. Hawking, 58,holds the Cambridge University post once held by Sir Isaac Newtonand is the author of the best-selling A Brief History of Time.
Glacier Test Shows Global Warming
Ancient ice drilled from deep inside a glacier shows that the pastcentury has been the hottest period in 1,000 years in the highHimalayan Mountains. Researchers said the new finding is yet anotherindication the Earth is warming and supports other studies that showa rapid melting of mountain ice fields is under way on threecontinents. In northern Peru, there is a marked shrinkage ofice fields in the Andes and a dry season reduction in flow of upto 70 percent in the Rimac River which supplies water to Lima,in Africa, aerial photos taken of Mt. Kilimanjaro and checkedagainst 1912 maps found a 75 percent loss of ice mass
1990’s the Warmest Decade EVER
Sept. 15, 2000 The London Telegraph reported: “A record ofclimate held frozen in a Himalayan glacier reveals that thelast decade was the warmest of the past millennium,scientists report today. Ice core samples, taken morethan four miles up, provide a detailed record of thelast 1,000 years of climate on the Tibetan Plateau andsuggest that human activities have had an impact. Today,the journal Science reports that the Dasuopu Glaciersamples reveal that the last 10 years were the warmest.Prof Lonnie Thompson, the expedition leader, of OhioState University, said: ‘There is no question in my mindthat the warming is in part, if not totally, driven byhuman activity.’...”
Fierce Storm Winds Lash Europe
10/27/02 LONDON (Reuters) - At least 10 people were killed on Sunday aswinds gusting up to 100 mph swept across northern Europe, wreakinghavoc on roads and railways and disrupting flights and shipping.The gales caused the cancellation of 39 British Airways flights fromLondons Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Another 30 flights from Stanstedin eastern England were canceled.Train services across Britain were brought to a standstill by high windsand debris on the track. The Snowdonia marathon in Wales was canceled forthe first time in its 21-year history.
Global Warming on Pluto
In what is largely a reversal of an August announcement,astronomers today said Pluto is undergoing global warming in itsthin atmosphere even as it moves farther from the Sun.Plutos atmospheric pressure has tripled over the past 14 years,indicating a stark temperature rise, the researchers said.They suspect the average surface temperature increased about3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, or slightly less than 2 degrees Celsius.
Ice reservoirs found on Mars
BBC 5-27-02 Water-ice has been found in vast quantities just belowthe surface across great swathes of the planet Mars. The US spaceagency will make the dramatic announcement about the water-ice nextThursday. And full disclosure of the findings will come in the journalScience later that day. The discovery was made by the Mars Odysseyspacecraft, which has been gathering data since late last year.The presence of such a vast amount of ice - if it were to melt it couldcover the planet in an ocean at least 500 metres deep (1,640 feet)- will change profoundly the direction of future exploration.
U.S. beach closings double in a year
WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 — Pollution closed beaches nearly twice as oftenlast year as the prior year, according to a survey released Wednesdayby the Natural Resources Defense Council. The nationwide survey cites11,270 beach closings and advisories in 2000, with 85 percent dueto elevated bacteria counts that exceeded federal swimmer safetystandards. The report also points to a 40 percent jump inthe number of beaches reporting pollution problems from an unknownsource. Two-fifths of U.S. waters are still too polluted forswimming, fishing and supporting aquatic life, the group says!
US May Ban Feeding Chicken Manure To Cattle !!
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are considering whetherfeeding chicken litter to cattle poses any risk oftransmitting the deadly mad cow disease, a top U.S. health officialsaid Monday, litter containing waste from chickens legally can beprocessed and fed to cattle under some circumstances. Some havequestioned whether chickens that ate material prohibited forcattle could recycle the banned byproducts back to cows thatate their litter. The abnormal proteins believed to cause madcow disease have proven resilient, and it is unknown whether achickens digestive tract could kill them.
US REJECTS GLOBAL WARMING PACT
March 29, 2001 The London Daily Telegraph reports: “The United $tateshas abandoned the 1997 Kyoto Treaty on global warming because it isagainst its economic interests, the White Hou$e said last night.Under the agreement, Wa$hington was required to cut greenhouse gasemissions by a third by 2012. But Ari Fleischer, $pokesman for Pre$identGeorge Bu$h, said: ‘the pre$ident has been unequivocal. He does notsupport the treaty.’ Asked whether America would pull out of the pact,designed to combat global warming, Mr. Fleischer said it had not takeneffect so ‘there was nothing to withdraw from’.He emphasized that of the 55 nations who agreed on the treaty, onlyRomania had formally ratified the accord. President Clinton did signthe agreement in 1998, but it has never undergone the process of Senateratification, which completes a Treaty in US law. Mr. Bu$hs principalobjections focused on the controls lacking for developing nations, suchas China and India, whose emissions could one day rival the U$ ”
Earthquake moves southern slope of Kilauea volcano
Using data from the Stanford/USGS global positioning system (GPS)network on the Big Island of Hawaii researchers were able to measurea slow-moving 5.7 magnitude earthquake which caused the southern flankof a volcano to slide 3.5 inches. Steven N. Ward, a geophysicist withthe University of California-Santa Cruz reported that Kilauea’s southernflank is estimated to be nearly equal in size to a half-mile-thick sliceof Rhode Island. If the huge chunk of land suddenly collapsed into theocean instead of sliding just a few inches, it could have generated anenormous tsunami large enough to threaten coastal cities as far away asthe U.S., Chile and Australia.
U.S. Volcano Getting Ready to Blow?
14-May-2002 South Sister volcano in Oregon’s Cascade Range isbeginning to show signs of erupting after lying dormant for thousandsof years. Although indications are that an eruption is not likely tooccur anytime soon, scientists are increasing their vigilance, which islocated approximately 22 from miles from Bend, Oregon. About a year ago,scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) detected a bulge in theEarths crust near the base of South Sister volcano.About a year ago, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)detected a bulge in the Earths crust near the base of South Sistervolcano. Using high-precision radar data from satellites, found thatthe ground west of South Sister had swelled about 4 inches since 1996.This swelling has continued at a rate of about 1 inch every year.
SEISMOLOGISTS UNABLE TO EXPLAIN QUAKE IN NORTH-EAST
April 22, 2002 Experts in the United States say they have noclear explanation for todays earthquake on the north-east coast,which registered five-point-one on the Richter Scale.The US Geological Survey says the quake struck near the Canadianand US border and was strong enough to cause major damage, had thearea been heavily populated.New York State seismologist Frank Revetta says its 20 years sincethe last reasonably strong earthquake in the north-east of the US,the cause of them is a mystery.There arent any major fault lines here like you have withCalifornia, that the earthquakes occur along. Up here, theearthquakes are diffuse in the area and they dont line up alongany particular fault.…
Mystery on Jupiter
18-Mar-2002 Researchers have noticed a mysterious dark spotnear Jupiter’s north pole and watched it develop formore than two months. It was photographed by the Cassinispacecraft, which is a NASA-operated robot, but was only spottedrecently, when researchers were catching up with some of theCassini imagery that had not been fully studied. The imageswere made between October 1 and December 15, 2000, as Cassiniapproached Jupiter.Scientists haven’t figured out what the larger spot is or howit formed. Further examination of the images returned byCassini may eventually shed light on the mysterious spot.... and this from March 10th ...Scientists made a puzzling discovery of an X-ray source on theplanet Jupiter. The pulses are coming from the north poleof Jupiter. The source, located near the magnetic pole ofthe planet, pulsed 15 times during a 10 hour observation periodor about every 45 minutes.... now, whats up with that ??
BIZARRE CREATURE RAISES PROSPECTS FOR LIFE ON MARS
1-18-02 They eat hydrogen, breathe carbon dioxide, and belch methane.And they form the root of an ecosystem unlike any previously known onEarth. Meet the methanogen, a tiny organism living in complete darkness660 feet (200 meters) underneath the surface of Idaho.Researchers report in the Jan. 17 issue of the journal Nature thediscovery of a community of various organisms dominated and supported bythese methanogens, creatures they say could represent just the sort oflife to look for when turning over rocks on Mars.The work, along with another report this week of life found in extremeconditions in Antarctica, adds to mounting evidence for lifes tenacityand creativity, fueling increased speculation about the prospects forlife on other worlds.
Disappearing salmon
(6-2-01)Stocks of wild Atlantic salmon are at their lowest everlevels - and unless countries agree stringent measures to protectstocks, wild salmon will disappear from many rivers in the US andEurope, says the Worldwide Fund for Nature (CHECK).Global wild Atlantic salmon catches have fallen by more than 80per cent between 1970 and 2000. Salmon farming, habitatdegradation and a mysterious rapid decline in sea stocksare primarily to blame.... no Mystery to me ... Dan.
Arctic thunderstorms latest signal of climate change
OTTAWA (CP) 11-16-00 - Canadas Inuit are seeing somethingunknown in their oral history - thunder and lightning.Researchers spent a year visiting the community of SachsHarbour, accompanying people on their hunting and fishingtrips and recording their observations on videotape.The result is a powerful portrait of environmental upheaval-melting permafrost, thinning ice, mudslides, even thedisappearance of an entire lake as its once-frozen shores gaveway. The freshwater fish that lived in the lake werekilled as it drained into the ocean.
Dioxin from U.S. smokestacks to remote Arctic villages
NEW YORK (AP) -- For the first time, scientists say they havepinpointed many of the industrial polluters responsible for thedioxin that is ending up in the Arctic. They found that 35municipal waste incinerators, cement kilns and steel plantsin the eastern and central United States account for one-thirdof the dioxin reaching Nunavut Territory in the Canadian Arctic.Dioxin has been shown to cause cancer, brain damage andreproductive abnormalities in animals, but the degree ofits threat to humans remains unclear.... oh Im sure its threat to humans is unclear...
Nader Blasts Bushs War
SAN FRANCISCO - Former Green Party Presidential candidate Ralph Naderroundly criticized the Administrations war on terrorism in aspeech before an enthusiastic paying audience of approximately 2,500at the San Francisco Masonic Center last night.Nader called for a democratic debate over the Administrations policiessaying, the mindless bombing of Afghanistans infrastructure will notend well for Afghanistan and, I fear, it will not end well for us.We are entitled to ask what this war will cost: what it will costAfghans, what it will cost our rights and democracy here, and what thehuge shift of money into the military and corporate bailouts will costour domestic programs?Nader also called for a renewed defense of civil liberties, oppositionto unwarranted curtailment of them, and reform of intelligence agencies,including making them leaner and more efficient by reducing theirbloated budgets and bureaucracies.
Jupiter Moon May Have a Salt-Water Ocean
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Scientists studying data sent backto Earth from NASAs Galileo spacecraft have concluded thatJupiters largest moon, Ganymede, may possess a huge salt-waterocean beneath its crusty surface.Galileo probe data on two other Jovian moons -- Europa andCallisto -- has already indicated that they probably havesubsurface Water, a key building block for life.Now, Ganymede -- which is larger than Mercury or Pluto --also looks likely to be concealing a thick layer of melted, saltywater beneath its icy crust, researchers told a meeting of theAmerican Geophysical Union here on Saturday.Magnetic readings taken by the Galileo craft during closeapproaches in May 2000 and earlier were ``highly suggestivethat a salty, liquid ocean existed there.
Increase in Natural Disasters
LONDON (Reuters) - Climate change is already increasing thefrequency and intensity of natural disasters, and the trend islikely to continue according to a report released Friday by theWorld Wide Fund for Nature. The report, Climate Change andExtreme Weather Events, said global temperatures would increase,sea levels would rise, and few places in the world would bespared an increase in violent rainstorms, droughts, tropicalcyclones and other climatic disruptions. Southern Europe wasexpected to become drier while northern Europe would becomewetter. In Britain, summer droughts in the southeast wouldbecome more frequent and there would be more winter rainfallacross the country, with more frequent flooding.
Receding Water Reveals A God
1-10-01(Reuters) Receding ground water has uncovered a startlingarcheological treasure, the tomb of Osiris, perhaps the mostimportant god in Egyptian mythology.A granite sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of Osiris wasfound inside a 98-ft.-deep tomb in Giza, site of the famous pyramids.According to ancient Egyptian legend, Osiris was murdered by hisbrother Seth. After being buried by Isis, who was both his sisterand his wife, he returned to life as the ruler of the underworld.More startling revelations are on the horizon. Bones and artifactsnear the sarcophagus date back as far as 3000 BCE.
Humans Face Extinction
Humans, like other large mammals, are showing signs ofimminent extinction, claims a UK palaeontologist. Largeanimals are dying out at a much higher rate than modelspredict, said Professor Michael Boulter. He told theBritish Associations Festival of Science in London thathe believed the human race would soon follow. Mytheory is that the Earth and life on it needs, fromtime to time, culls, he told the BBC. The last andbest known cull was of the dinosaurs 65 million yearsago. I reckon from the evidence that we have that thereis reason to believe that we humans are interfering withthe environment so much that we are making ourselvesextinct. The good news is that life on Earth willcontinue peacefully and happily without large mammals,added Professor Boulter. Of course, its poor news for us.
Solar Flare Goes Off the Charts
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Forecasters said a solar flareMonday was the most intense they have seen in thecurrent 11-year-solar cycle. Space weather forecastershad to estimate its intensity, X-22 on a scale that onlygoes to 20, after sensors on a National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration satellite could no longermeasure it.
OZONE HOLE NOW 3 TIMES THE SIZE OF AMERICA
Sept. 9, 2000 The BBC reported: “The hole in the ozonelayer over Antarctica has grown to its greatest size yet,the US space agency says. Nasa says this years hole inthe ozone layer - an annual event around September andOctober - measures 28.3 million square kilometers(11 million square miles). That is three times thesize of the United States. The previous record was27.2 million square kilometers (10.5 million squaremiles), two years ago. Scientists who have beenstudying the ozone layer since the early 1970s wereshocked by the holes size...”
Completely New Animal Found in Greenland
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Reuters) - Danish scientists have found acompletely new kind of animal down a cold well in Greenland andare keeping a colony of them in a fridge, the Arctic magazinePolarfronten reported on the Internet Thursday. The 0.1-millimeterlong freshwater organism does not fit into any one of the previouslyknown animal families -- making it only the fourth such creature tobe discovered on the planet in the past 100 years.Limnognathia maerski, which reproduces through parthenogenesis,uses its jaws to scrape the bacteria and algae it feeds on fromunderwater moss growing in icy wells which freeze over during thelong Arctic winter.
MYSTERIOUS LIGHT FROM THE COSMOS
April 13, 2000 CBS News reported: “Astronomers using an automated telescopethat scans 10 million stars and galaxies a night have discovered a mysteriouspulsing light in the Big Dipper. It flashes like a slowly rotatingsearchlight, scientists say. Its a mystery, said Los Alamosresearcher Jim Wren. Its definitely a strange object. It was spottedMarch 29 by the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment at Los Alamos. Itbrightens, then dims and brightens again in a cycle, Wren said. Ron Remillardof Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the first to see it. He sent outa request for corroborating observations and received a response from Japanwithin an hour that scientists there saw it, too. Remillard theorizes theulsing may come from a black hole, a dying star with a force of gravity sointense that not even light readily escapes its pull. He said the black hole,perhaps on the fringes of our galaxy, may be sucking dust and gas which heatsas it spirals to its death, giving off the pulsing light and X-rays. He hasseen similar phenomena, he said, but with different pulse patterns. Theres abig mystery out there thats not solved, Remillard said...
ATTEMPT TO CLONE EXTINCT TIGER
May 6, 2000 Wired News reported: “After extracting high-quality DNAfrom an extinct Tasmanian Tiger, government scientists say they arenow a giant leap closer to bringing the species back to life.Australian Museum researchers announced Thursday that they had pulledpieces of kidney, liver, and heart from the specimen, kept inpreservative alcohol since 1866. Pieces of DNA in stretches as longas 2,000 base pairs were recovered, up to five times longer thanresearchers had dared hope, said Mike Archer, the museumsdirector...”
Freak Storm Hits England, Northern Europe
12/04/99 COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - At least seven people died on Fridaywhen gale-force winds swept across England, over the North Sea andsmashed into Denmark in what the Meteorological Institute inCopenhagen called its worst storm of the century. The BritishMeteorological Office said winds gusted to around 100 miles perhour. The Danish Meteorological Institute said winds reached 180 kphin the North Sea before sweeping inland west-to-east. Germanys NorthSea coast was put on a flood alert, including the major port ofHamburg.Power blackouts were reported in many parts of the country.Airports, including the international airport at Copenhagen, wereclosed.In Britain, the Meteorological Office had earlier issued a generalstorm warning for England and Wales as the gale moved across thecountry. Rain, snow and heavy winds caused serious travel problems inScotland.
Yukon Meteor Blast
01/25/00 NASA -- Last week, one of the most dramatic meteors inyears streaked across the skies of the Yukon Territory in Canada.Witnesses reported two sonic booms, a foul odor, and sizzling soundsheard all the way from Alaska through northwestern Canada. Based onreadings from defense satellites and seismic monitoring stations,scientists estimate that the meteor detonated with the energy of twoto three kilotons of TNT.I have never seen anything quite like this before, said Joe Clarkeof Marshlake, Yukon, who saw the meteor at 0845 PST (1645 UT) onJanuary 18. When it started, the flash lit up the mountains 15 kmaway as bright as daylight, then it just drifted across the sky. Thecontrail looked to me like the ones left by shuttle launches. It justhung there for at least 1/2 hour. [Its the] wildest thing I couldever imagine seeing.
Spanish scientists analyze falling ice
MADRID, Spain (AP) - A team of scientists hope chemical analysis willreveal this week why at least 15 blocks of ice, some as big asbasketballs, have plummeted from Spanish skies in the past 10 days.The most surprised person of all by this phenomenon is me, said thehead geologist of a team of Spanish scientists that has traveled overthe country collecting and analyzing the blocks of ice which weigh asmuch as 8 pounds. The chunks of ice, which landed in the countryside,on city plazas and in streets, have so far caused damage or injuries.Spanish meteorologists say no weather phenomenon could explain theice.
An Unusual Quake Begins the Century
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - A moderate earthquake shook parts of westernNew York and southern Ontario early today, rattling dishes butcausing no damage.The4.5-magnitude earthquake at 6:23 a.m. was felt inRochester, Buffalo, Niagara Falls and in a large area of Ontario,according to the U.S. Geological Survey and the Geological Survey ofEnvironment Canada.The earthquakes epicenter was about 15 miles northeast of North Bay,Ontario, Harlow said. Police in New York and Ontario got severalcalls from worried residents. It was the largest tremor to hit theregion since 1935.
Thousands of plant species nearing extinction
WASHINGTON (September 19, 1999) - With thousands of plant speciesnearing extinction, the worlds farmers are losing valuable cropalternatives. In the United States, more than 80 percent of seedvarieties sold a century ago no longer are available, according to areport released Saturday. Worldwide, more than 30,000 plant speciesare threatened.
UN ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS WARNING
September 16, 1999 The BBC reported: The United Nations is warningthat time is running out to stop worldwide environmental damage andsays it is already too late to prevent irreversible harm toecosystems like tropical forests.The findings come in the end-of-century review of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), calledGlobal Environment Outlook 2000, which sees a number of ‘full-scaleemergencies’ on the horizon.... more on the spotlite page. Dan
CLONING EXTINCT SPECIES
September 14, 1999 Wired News reported yesterday: A 133-year-oldpickled Tasmanian Tiger has found itself at the center of a cat fightinvolving cloners and conservationists. Earlier this week, the stategovernment of New South Wales announced the formation of a specialgovernment/private trust aimed at spurring research on how theextinct species might be resurrected using DNA from the pup, bottledin alcohol since 1866...
Pennsylvania tornado leaves thousands in the dark
HONEY BROOK, Pa. (November 27, 1999) - An unusual November tornadoripped apart homes, toppled trees and injured at least 10 people ineastern Pennsylvania. Some 1,800 customers still had no electricitySaturday, Chester County emergency officials said.
Virus Found in Arctic Ice
BBC News 9-1-99 The discovery of the first virus preserved in theArctic ice has prompted a warning that there may be more, and thatwarm weather may release them to start epidemics. The virus, atomato mosaic tobamovirus (ToMV) was found by a team of Americanresearchers. The discovery, reported in the magazine New Scientist,suggests that other viruses, possibly including flu, smallpox andpolio, may also have survived in the ice. The team says a briefrise in temperature could let loose any viruses and cause disease.... more on the Spotlite page. Dan
Ocean cooling blamed for sea turtle deaths
QUITO, Ecuador (September 4, 1999) - Hundreds of dead sea turtleshave been washing up on Ecuadors central coast in past weeks, andscientists on Friday were attributing the deaths on colder-than-usualwaters in the Pacific Ocean. Ocean temperatures that should bearound 72 degrees Fahrenheit havedipped 6 to 8 degrees lowerthan normal, said Franklin Ormaza, director of Ecuadors NationalInstitute of Fisheries. Theres a direct relation between the watertemperature and the death toll, he said. It weakens the turtlesimmune systems, making them vulnerable to viruses. Scientists saidthey do not know if diseases carried by the turtles could be passedto humans, and have urged coastal residents not to eat the creatures.
CHILES FREAK WEATHER DEADLY
Unseasonal snow and rain claimed at least three lives and left fourpeople missing in Chile on Tuesday as it ended the countrys worstdrought in a century. Temperatures dropped on Tuesday, turningrain into snow, and causing large drifts across the Andes Mountains.Los Libertadores Pass, the main border crossing between Chile andArgentina, was closed due to the heavy snow. Rains continued topummel central and southern Chile for the fifth straight day onWednesday, bringing the annual rainfall for the capital city ofSantiago above the annual average. Snow also fell in the city.Earlier this year, water was so scarce in reservoirs behindhydroelectric stations that power rationing and failures occurredfrequently across much of the country.
Report: Russia seabirds die in mass
MOSCOW (AP) - More than 2,500 dead seabirds have been found inRussias Far East and scientists are not sure why, a newsagency reported Monday. About 2,500 birds have been found on KunashirIsland in the southern Kurils, and another 100 on Sakhalin Island,the Interfax news agency said. People started reporting unusuallylarge numbers of dead birds this month, and some experts say it couldbe caused by unusually hot weather. Zoya Revyakina, the chief of thestate environmental protection authority on Sakhalin, saidthesame phenomenon had been reported in Japan, the Interfax said.
Meteorite contains water
WASHINGTON (August 27, 1999 ) - Scientists who cracked open ameteorite that fell to earth last year found tiny pockets of brinywater, providing the first close look at water not originating onearth, an article in the journal Science reports.When the NASA team cracked open part of the meteorite at their lab,they found purple crystals of halite - or rock salt - that containedminuscule pockets of water with bubbles, which indicated that waterflowed on whatever parent body spawned the meteorite. Chondritemeteorites are thought to comprise some of the most primitiveingredients from the early period of the solar system, and the waterin the crystals could date as far back as 4.5 billion years.
Britain to study dropping sperm counts
August 23, 1999 EDINBURGH (Reuters) -- British scientists are set tocarry out their biggest-ever study into male reproductive health --including why sperm countsacross the globe appear to be fallingdramatically, researchers said Monday. Some evidence has showncounts have dropped as much as 50 percent in the past 50 years-- and twice as fast in Europe as in the United States.
ANITBIOTICS CREATED ‘SUPERBUGS’
August 22, 1999 The London Telegraph reported: The growth of drug-resistant ‘superbugs’, such as E-coli and salmonella can be blameddirectly on the use of antibiotics on farm animals, Governmentadvisers said yesterday. They said it could undermine the medicaladvances of the past 50 years...In the first official report on thetransfer of antibiotic resistance for 30 years, the adviserscautioned consumers against panic, as some drugs were still effectiveagainst resistant strains...”
Astronomers Baffled By Space Light
08/18/99 LOS ANGELES (AP) - A mysterious celestial object detectedthree years ago in the northern sky is baffling scientists who havebeen unable to figure out its makeup or how far it is from Earth.Its rare for astronomers to find an unexplainable object, but itseven more unusual for it to remain undefined for more than a week,said S. George Djorgovski, a California Institute of Technologyastronomer who helped discover the object. Usually, astronomers areable to determine an objects composition and distance by breakingdown its light into a spectrum and analyzing it. But the mysteryobjects spectrum does not fit any of the known patterns. Scientistsare unsure whether the object is inside our Milky Way galaxy or atthe edge of the universe.
Part of Alpine Glacier Crumbles
GRINDELWALD, Switzerland (AP) -- An Alpine glacier that beganshifting a month ago crumbled early Saturday, sending an estimated30,000 cubic yards of ice hurtling into the valley below.Authorities had sealed off roads and pastures several weeks ago inanticipation of the ice avalanche, and there were no injuries.Many of Switzerlands ice caps are gradually melting as a result ofwarming temperatures.
Mediterranean seeing new species
ROME (AP) - The Mediterranean is on its way to becoming a tropicalaquarium, with 110 newcomer species from the tropics threatening tocrowd out native species less suited to the ever-warmer and morepolluted water, experts warned Friday. Biologists spotted theMediterraneans first species of tropical fish in the 1930s, threedecades after the opening of the Suez Canal. Since then, 55 Red Seaspecies have made their way in via the canal, said experts fromItalys Central Institute for Scientific Research and AppliedTechnology for the Sea. While the 530 indigenous species have beenweakened by increasing pollution and overfishing, the brightlycolored newcomers are thriving. Global warming has raised thetemperature of the sea by about 1 degree since 1989, a boon formigrant species.
Drug-resistant pneumonia bacteria
ATLANTA (August 6, 1999) - The bacteria that cause pneumonia,meningitis and other serious illnesses are becoming increasinglyresistant to penicillin, federal health officials said.The data came from a CDC study of hospitals in seven states. Theprevalence of drug-resistant pneumonia varied from 15.3 percent inMaryland to 38.3 percent in Tennessee. Other states included in thestudy were California, Oregon, Connecticut, Minnesota and Georgia.
Tick-borne illness now spreading to humans
(July 15, 1999) - Researchers have detected a tick-borne bacterialinfection in humans that was previously thought to sicken only dogs,according to a study in Thursdays New England Journal of Medicine.The doctors found four human cases of the infection, all in Missouri,between 1996 and 1998, and four more cases during this tick season inMissouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
Coral bleaching threatens to destroy reefs
SYDNEY, Australia (July 6, 1999) - Global warming is causing acondition known as coral bleaching to strike the worlds reefs moreoften and with greater intensity than ever before, scientists andenvironmentalists said Tuesday.Scientists say coral bleaching struck reefs across the globe in 1998.The term describes a condition occurring when coral becomes stressedand expels the microscopic plants that give them their vibrant color.If the current rate of climate change continues, coral reefscould be eliminated from most areas of the world by 2100, saidProfessor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, author of a report released byGreenpeace Australia.
Noctilucent clouds head south
LOGAN, Utah (June 28, 1999) - High-altitude clouds of ice crystalswere spotted last week by scientists in Logan, Utah, and nearBoulder, Colo. - farther south than such clouds have ever beenseen in the Northern Hemisphere.Sightings this far south are unprecedented and suggest thegreenhouse gases thought to be warming Earths lower atmosphere maybe chilling and adding water to the planets upper atmosphere to formthe icy clouds at mid-latitudes, said Mike Taylor, a physicist atUtah State Universitys Space Dynamics Laboratory.Im pretty excited (by the cloud sightings) because a number of ushave been saying the upper atmosphere is the miners canary of globalchange, Thomas said. It is a sign we are doing things to ouratmosphere that is causing some unexpected consequences.
Alaska glacier moving faster
Alaskas Columbia Glacier has increased its speed from 82 feet perday to 115 feet per day in recent months and within the next fewyears it could fill Prince William Sound with icebergs, according toa University of Colorado glaciologist. Already the worlds fastestmoving glacier, the glacier is suddenly flowing even faster down itschannel.
Deformed mice astound researchers
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Nandotimes.com - June 17, 1999) - An astoundingdiscovery of rodents with dual sex organs at the former KestersonNational Wildlife Refuge has researchers nationwide excited andworried about the possible implications for humans. Reproductionproblems and strange sexual traits have been noticed in Floridaalligators, Great Lake gulls and fish, but the recently publisheddiscovery that up to 29 of 87 Kesterson mice and voles had both maleand female sex organs is even more dramatic, said Earl Gray, areproductive toxicologist with the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency in North Carolina.
Butterflies react to global warming
(AP) - Butterfly populations in Europe have shifted north during thepast century, a possible sign that many other animal species aremoving in response to global warming, scientists say. It confirmsthat things are beginning to happen. If we can see it in butterflies,then its likely to be happening in other groups, said Ian Woiwod,an entomologist who was not involved in the research. In a studypublished in Thursdays issue of the journal Nature, researcherslooked at 35 species of butterflies and found that 22 had either diedout at the southern end of their ranges, or spread beyond theirformer northern boundary, or both.
Deformed dragonflies discovered in northern Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (June 9, 1999 http://www.nandotimes.com) - Researcherssaid Wednesday they have found dozens of dragonflies in northernMinnesota with misshapen mouths, abdomens and antennae, but do notknow the cause of the deformities. The percentage of malformeddragonflies ranged from 4 to 38 percent, depending upon the speciesand the site, the researchers said.
DEAD SEALS WASH UP ON SIBERIA LAKE
Seventy-eight dead bodies of the worlds only freshwater seal havewashed up on the shores of Lake Baikal. Thirty-six of the uniqueseals, called nerpa, were found near the village of Utulik, in theIrkutsk region of eastern Siberia, the Interfax news agency reportedtoday... (ENS) Lake Baikal holds the worlds largest volume offresh water - some 20 percent of the worlds supply.
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Earth Will Expire By 2050 Says New Report
7-7-2Earths population will be forced to colonise two planets within 50years if natural resources continue to be exploited at the currentrate, according to a report out this week.A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to be released on Tuesday,warns that the human race is plundering the planet at a pace thatoutstrips its capacity to support life. In a damning condemnation ofWestern societys high consumption levels, it adds that the extraplanets (the equivalent size of Earth) will be required by the year2050 as existing resources are exhausted.The report, based on scientific data from across the world, revealsthat more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed byhumans over the past three decades. Using the image of the need formankind to colonise space as a stark illustration of the problemsfacing Earth, the report warns that either consumption rates aredramatically and rapidly lowered or the planet will no longer be ableto sustain its growing population. Experts say that seas will becomeemptied of fish, while forests - which absorb carbon dioxide emissions- are completely destroyed and freshwater supplies become scarce andpolluted.The report offers a vivid warning that either people curb theirextravagant lifestyles or risk leaving the onus on scientists to locateanother planet that can sustain human life. Since this is unlikely tohappen, the only option is to cut consumption now. Systematicoverexploitation of the planets oceans has meant the North Atlanticscod stocks have collapsed from an estimated spawning stock of 264,000tonnes in 1970 to under 60,000 in 1995.
The study will also reveal a sharp fall in the planets ecosystems
between 1970 and 2002 with the Earths forest cover shrinking by about12 per cent, the oceans biodiversity by a third and freshwater ecosystemsin the region of 55 per cent. The Living Planet report uses an index toillustrate the shocking level of deterioration in the worlds forests aswell as marine and freshwater ecosystems. Using 1970 as a baseline yearand giving it a value of 100, the index has dropped to a new low of around65 in the space of a single generation.It is not just humans who are at risk. Scientists, who examined data for350 kinds of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish, also found the numbers ofmany species have more than halved. Martin Jenkins, senior adviser forthe World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, which helped compilethe report, said: It seems things are getting worse faster than possiblyever before. Never has one single species had such an overwhelming influence.We are entering uncharted territory.
Figures from the centre reveal that black rhino numbers have fallen from
65,000 in 1970 to around 3,100 now. Numbers of African elephants have fallenfrom around 1.2 million in 1980 to just over half a million while thepopulation of tigers has fallen by 95 per cent during the past century.The UKs birdsong population has also seen a drastic fall with the cornbunting population declining by 92 per cent between 1970 and 2000, the treesparrow by 90 per cent and the spotted flycatcher by 70 per cent.Experts, however, say it is difficult to ascertain how many species havevanished for ever because a species has to disappear for 50 years before itcan be declared extinct.Attention is now focused on next months Earth Summit in Johannesburg, themost important environmental negotiations for a decade. However, the talksremain bedevilled with claims that no agreements will be reached and that USPresident George W. Bu$h will fail to attend.
The WWF report shames the US for placing the greatest pressure on the
environment. It found the average US resident consumes almost double theresources as that of a UK citizen and more than 24 times that of some Africans.Based on factors such as a nations consumption of grain, fish, wood and freshwater along with its emissions of carbon dioxide from industry and cars, thereport provides an ecological footprint for each country by showing how muchland is required to support each resident. Americas consumption footprintis 12.2 hectares per head of population compared to the UKs 6.29ha whileWestern Europe as a whole stands at 6.28ha. In Ethiopia the figure is 2ha,falling to just half a hectare for Burundi, the country that consumes leastresources.The report, which will be unveiled in Geneva, warns that the wastefullifestyles of the rich nations are mainly responsible for the exploitationand depletion of natural wealth. Human consumption has doubled over the last30 years and continues to accelerate by 1.5 per cent a year. Now WWF wantsworld leaders to use its findings to agree on specific actions to curb thepopulations impact on the planet.
A spokesman for WWF UK, said: If all the people consumed natural resources
at the same rate as the average US and UK citizen we would require at leasttwo extra planets like Earth.
The worlds ticking timebomb ...
Marine crisis:North Atlantic cod stocks have collapsed from an estimated 264,000tonnes in 1970 to under 60,000 in 1995.Pollution:The United States places the greatest pressure on the environment,with its carbon dioxide emissions and over-consumption. It takes 12.2hectares of land to support each American citizen and 6.29 for eachBriton, while the figure for Burundi is just half a hectare.Shrinking Forests:Between 1970 and 2002 forest cover has dwindled by 12 per cent.Endangered wildlife:African elephant numbers have fallen from 1.2 million in 1980 to halfa million now. In the UK the songbird population has fallen dramatically,with the corn bunting declining by 92 per cent in the past 30 years.
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OSLO, Norway - At the Nobel Peace Prize Centennial Symposium hereyesterday (12-7-01) celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Nobelprize, 100 Nobel laureates have issued a brief but dire warning ofthe profound dangers facing the world. Their statement predictsthat our security depends on immediate environmental and social reform.
The following is the text of that statement:
The most profound danger to world peace in the coming years will stem
not from the irrational acts of states or individuals but from thelegitimate demands of the worlds dispossessed. Of these poor anddisenfranchised, the majority live a marginal existence in equatorialclimates. Global warming, not of their making but originating with thewealthy few, will affect their fragile ecologies most. Their situationwill be desperate and manifestly unjust.
It cannot be expected, therefore, that in all cases they will be
content to await the beneficence of the rich. If then we permit thedevastating power of modern weaponry to spread through this combustiblehuman landscape, we invite a conflagration that can engulf both richand poor. The only hope for the future lies in co-operativeinternational action, legitimized by democracy. It is time to turn ourbacks on the unilateral search for security, in which we seek to shelterbehind walls. Instead, we must persist in the quest for united actionto counter both global warming and a weaponized world. These twin goalswill constitute vital components of stability as we move toward thewider degree of social justice that alone gives hope of peace.
Some of the needed legal instruments are already at hand, such as
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Convention on Climate Change,the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties and the Comprehensive Test BanTreaty. As concerned citizens, we urge all governments to commit tothese goals that constitute steps on the way to replacement of war bylaw. To survive in the world we have transformed, we must learn tothink in a new way. As never before, the future of each depends onthe good of all.
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TOKYO (Reuters) - Many of the worlds freshwater lakes face death bypollution, resulting in catastrophe for the human populations thatdepend on them, an environmental expert warned on Monday.``There is not a lake left on the planet that is not already beingaffected by human activities, said William Cosgrove, vice presidentof the World Water Council, an international organization that dealswith ecological problems involving water. ``Were killing the lakes,and that could be disaster to the human communities that depend onthem.
Cosgrove, in Japan to attend a week-long conference on saving lakes
held in Otsu, a city in central Japan, told Reuters that the situationfaced by many of the worlds lakes -- estimated to number some fivemillion -- is dire. A majority of the hazards result from a risingdemand for water throughout the world sparked by population growth,according to a statement issued by the World Water Council.This leads to increased use and diversion of water, often forirrigating crops, along with contamination by toxic substances andnutrients from industry, farms and sewage. Cosgrove, a Canadian,said that one insidious aspect of the threat faced by lakes is that,even though a lake may appear pristine, it could already havesuffered serious damage. ``Then something happens -- like a changein water temperature -- and all of a sudden a lake can be completelytransformed, he said. ``Once the process starts, its hard to stop.
An extreme example is that of Lake Victoria, Africas largest lake,
which has over the last two decades suffered the death of severalspecies of fish and a dramatic increase in plant growth due topollution from several sources, including raw sewage from surroundingtowns. ``Fishermen now cant even get their boats out away from theshore to go fishing, Cosgrove said. Another seriously threatenedlake is Taihu Lake in China, the World Water Council statement said,``where experts say you can practically walk on its surface becauseof severe pollution. Deterioration on this scale can lead to alack of livelihood, resulting in poor nutrition and starvation inthe populations surrounding the lake. Other problems includeillnesses due to drinking tainted water and crop failure.
The potential impact is huge, Cosgrove added. ``Humans are already
using more than 50 percent of the usable freshwater resources, and90 percent of this is in freshwater lakes, he said. And despitethe magnitude of the threat, dealing with the pollution of freshwaterlakes remains low on the list of government priorities in many areas,he said. As a result, one of the biggest goals of the World WaterCouncil is simply to get the message across to ordinary people, hopingthat the pressures of public opinion will finally prompt governmentaction. ``The most important thing is to get their voices organized,to say (to governments) that this is not something we want to happenand to get your priorities straight, he said.
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A worldwide water shortage is likely to worsen severely over the next
25 years, affecting billions of people in an unprecedented global crisisinvolving the earths most precious natural resource, reports the UKsIndependent. This an other international news reports were summarized inthe World Banks Development News Digest on Aug. 14.
Predictions on freshwater availability portray a bleak future for the
children of today. As many as 2.7 billion people, almost one-thirdof the worlds population, will live in regions facing severewater scarcity by 2025, the UKs Financial Times reported.Figures issued by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI),based in Sri Lanka, show that Asia and sub-Saharan Africa will be themost severely affected regions, with the shortage likely to extend wellbeyond semi-arid and arid regions.Even in the unlikely event that the current conflict between Israelisand Arabs is resolved tomorrow, in 10 years or less the area is likelyto explode over water--unless regional and long-range planning beginssoon.Every continent has places where painful shortages are coming. China,for example, has 7% of the worlds fresh water and 22% of its population;300 large cities there already have serious water shortages. The WorldBank reports that 300 million people live today in areas of serious tosevere water shortage and that in 25 years the number will be 3 billion.
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7-26-1
The most likely projected increase is five times greater than the one
degree temperature rise observed over the past century. As early as theyear 2030, the planet is likely to heat up between one and two degrees,say the scientists. The study appears in the July 20 issue of the journalScience, a publication of the American Association for the Advancementof Science. In arriving at their estimates, the scientists assumed thatno policies would be implemented to curb climate change before 2100.
We are assigning probabilities to long-term projections to aid policy
makers in assessing the risks that might accompany various courses ofaction or non-action, says first author Tom Wigley of the U.S. NationalCenter for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). If all scenarios are believed tobe equally likely, its difficult to plan.
National Center for Atmospheric Research, located in Boulder, Colorado,
has as its primary sponsor the National Science Foundation. NCAR ismanaged by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, aconsortium of 66 universities offering Ph.Ds in atmospheric and relatedsciences. An estimated global warming range of 2.5 to 10.4 degree F wasannounced in January by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), a body of scientists created by the World MeteorologicalOrganization and the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988.
Many hundreds of scientists from many countries participated in the
preparation and review of three comprehensive climate change reports.New analyses of proxy data for the Northern Hemisphere indicate that theincrease in temperature in the 20th century is likely to have been thelargest of any century during the past 1,000 years, the IPCC reported inJanuary. It is also likely that, in the Northern Hemisphere, the 1990swas the warmest decade and 1998 the warmest year. But the likelihood thatthe earths temperature would warm only 2.5 degree or as much as 10.4 degreeis very low, say Wigley and his coauthor Sarah Raper of the University of EastAnglia in England and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and MarineResearch in Germany. Even warming of four to seven degrees F, however, isvery large compared with the observed warming over the past century, Raperand Wigley write. Whether or not such rapid warming will occur ... dependson actions taken to control climate change. Global climate change islinked to the accumulation in the atmosphere of six gases that trap theSuns rays close to the Earths surface. These gases are emitted by theburning of coal, oil and gas. International negotiations are currentlyunderway in Bonn, Germany to finalize the rules for implementation of theKyoto Protocol, a supplement to the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change, that would limit the emission of these gases by 38industrialized nations. The United States signed the Kyoto Protocol underthe Clinton administration, but President George W. Bu$h announced in Marchthat the United States would not ratify the treaty. This move caused a crisisin the international approach to the agreement since the United States emits25 percent of the worlds heat- trapping greenhouse gases. The EuropeanUnion is leading a renewed effort to finalize the protocol. Today, final talksare talking place aimed at making a breakthrough on compliance, the area thatappears to be the final stumbling block to an agreement.
If greenhouse gases are not limited and global warming does occur, Raper and
Wigley says it would be almost impossible to reverse. If a rapid warming andits expected impacts occur in the near future, even swift societal attemptsat control would yield little immediate success, say they write. The climatesinertia would lead to only a slow response to such efforts and guarantee thatfuture warming would still be large. New estimates of sulfur dioxide and otheremissions, along with updated information on carbon storage, ocean circulation,radiation, andother components of the Earths system have improved computermodels of the earths climate and led the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange to both raise and widen its estimated range of global temperature increase.
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/07/07242001/warming_44399.asp
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7-12-01
Global warming is happening now, caused by human actions, and threatens
the Earth with disaster, the worlds leading atmospheric scientistsinsisted yesterday as politicians struggled to repair the Kyoto treatyon climate change which the United States torpedoed in March.A 2,000-page UN report on the science and potential impacts of climatechange gave the most authoritative statement yet that the Earth iswarming rapidly, that the main cause is industrial pollution, andthat the consequences for human society are likely to be catastrophic.
The report, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
made up of several hundred of the worlds most distinguished meteorologists,including many Americans, is a substantial slap in the face for US PresidentGeorge Bu$h, whose unilateral abrogation of Kyoto has thrown the internationaleffort to counter global warming into chaos. It comes on the eve of first bigmeeting, held in Bonn next week, to try to repair the treaty.The president cited doubts about the science of climate change as the reasonwhy he would not impose on the American economy the cuts in industrial gaseswhich Kyoto requires and which the US signed up to at the original treatyagreement in 1997.
But yesterday the IPCC scientists gave their unqualified support to the
view that global warming is real. Furthermore, they said, since their lastreport was published six years ago, they found they had vastly underestimatedthe rate at which global temperatures are rising. They now believe they willrise by as much as 5.8C by the end of this century, almost twice the increasepredicted in their 1995 report.
This is likely to lead to crop failures, water shortages, increased disease
and disasters for towns and cities from flooding, landslides and sea stormsurges, they believe, with the poor developing countries likely to be hithardest. The crucial point that emerges from the report is that all thesenew stresses may be happening at the same time to a world already under greatstain from massive population growth, poverty and pollution.
As the massive three-volume study was published yesterday (by Britains
Cambridge University Press), politicians across the globe were scrambling toput some sort of deal together at next weeks Bonn conference, which will beattended by ministers and officials from more than 150 nations.
It is a resumption of the meeting on the Kyoto treaty which broke up
acrimoniously in The Hague last November with a spectacular walk-out byBritains Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. But the argument then wasover a technicality in the treaty and the Americans were still on board.
Subsequently, Mr Bu$h has repudiated the treatys basic principle that the
industrialised countries should cut their greenhouse gas emissions and thechances of the Americans coming back on board are regarded as minimal.Bizarrely, the Americans will be present in Bonn as negotiators on a treatythey have said they will have nothing to do with, as they are signed-upparties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Diplomatic efforts were continuing yesterday to build alliances which might
allow Kyoto to be repaired. Mr Prescott flew into Tokyo for meetings with theJapanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, and his foreign and environmentministers, in an attempt to persuade the Japanese to join the European Unionsplan to ratify the treaty without the Americans. But it looks increasinglylikely that the Japanese will do nothing to upset the US, their main diplomaticand trading ally.
European leaders yesterday admitted that confidence in the Kyoto process may
collapse if there is no breakthrough in next weeks Bonn talks.Margot Wallström, European Commissioner for the Environment, conceded thatnegotiations in Japan and Australia had failed to win a pledge from the twogovernments to ratify the treaty without the involvement of the US.I clearly see the risk that the public and stakeholders lose confidence inthe process if we do not make any steps in Bonn, Ms Wallström said.
Olivier Deleuze, the energy minister of Belgium, which holds the EUs
rotating presidency, added: If nothing moves forward in Bonn then we willlose momentum and the process will sink.Brussels has still not given up hope of progress and argues that Japan andAustralia remain committed to the Kyoto objectives, and to the discussionsin Bonn.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=83051
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7-11-01
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7-3-1By Aaron DerfelMontreal Gazettewww.montrealgazette.com
Scientists from around the world are alarmed by a dramatic increase
in genetically damaged human sperm - a trend that is not only causinginfertility in men, but also childhood cancers in the offspring of thosewho can reproduce. Its now estimated that up to 85 per cent of thesperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged, a leading authorityon the subject revealed yesterday at an international conference beingheld in Montreal. Thats very unusual, said John Aitken, head ofbiological sciences at the University of Newcastle in Australia. If youwere to take a rat or a mouse or a rabbit, usually more than 80 per centof their sperm would be normal. For the last 20 years, scientists haveknown about declining sperm counts. But researchers are now learning thatthe quality of human sperm is steadily eroding, and might be causing birthdefects as well as brain cancer and leukemia in children. Abnormal spermis also being blamed for a global increase in testicular cancer - a diseasethat strikes men in their 30s. Scientists believe that when a DNA-damagedsperm fertilizes a womans egg, it can trigger a mutation of a key gene inthe embryo. And even if men today can reproduce, their damaged sperm mightlead to infertility in their male progeny, Aitken suggested. Yourelikely to see lots of diseases that are related to poorer semen quality.Scientists suspect a wide range of environmental causes for the abnormalsperm - from exposure to pesticides and heavy metals to electromagneticradiation. Were all exposed to 10 times more electromagnetic radiationthan our forefathers, Aitken said. Its all the electrical appliances weuse, including microwave phones. There is a consensus in the scientificcommunity that men who smoke cause damage to their sperm, and that thismight be responsible for childhood cancers. If you are a man and yousmoke, your semen profile wont be obviously affected, Aitken said.Youll still have lots of sperm swimming around and youll be fertile.But the DNA in your sperm nucleus will be fragmented. The averageejaculate of human sperm contains 80 million spermatazoa, eachgenetically programmed to fertilize a womans egg. Scientists examininghuman sperm have discovered that not only are sperm counts on the decline,but that the vast majority of sperm is sluggish, poorly structured, theirDNA fragmented and that they generate a lot of cellular waste called freeradicals. Generally speaking, everything is bad with the sperm, Aitkensaid. Fortunately for most couples, its the undamaged or least damagedsperm that tends to fertilize the egg. As a result of increasing maleinfertility, scientists have developed a new technique to help couplesconceive. Its called Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). In thelab, a technologist will take from the would-be father a single sperm,or even a cell that is on its way to becoming a sperm, and fertilize itin the test tube with the womans egg. The resulting embryo is thentransferred to the womans uterus. Dr. Keith Jarvi, of the Universityof Toronto-Mount Sinai Hospital, said the ICSI technique hasrevolutionized the treatment of male infertility. But he wonderedabout the health outcomes of the ICSI children. That human sperm is ofpoorer quality than that of other mammals is not surprising. The humanspecies is the only one that wears clothes, and healthy sperm need to bekept a couple of degrees cooler than the full body temperature. Butclothing alone is not responsible for the extent of abnormal human sperm,Aitken argued.
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Rethink on ice shelf melting
NEW scientific evidence reveals that the Antarctic ice shelf is at
more risk of melting than previously calculated.
Rising summer temperatures rather than overall mean annual
temperatures are exposed as the biggest threat to the polar ice.
Scientists warn that the vast ice shelves are just a few degrees
away from a potentially catastrophic meltdown.
If the ice melts, the rush of billions of gallons of water into the
oceans will lead to rising sea levels, affect global weather systemsand, ultimately, adversely impact on wildlife and mankind.
While some areas of the Antarctic have warmed by as much as 2.5C in
the past 50 years, few records have been kept of seasonal temperaturesover ice shelves. Researchers from NASA and teams of universityscientists report in the latest issue of the Journal of Glaciologythat warmer surface temperatures over just a few months in theAntarctic can splinter an ice shelf and prime it for a major collapse.
Tell-tale signs of melt water on the ice surface were studied using a
sophisticated computer simulation of the motions and forces within anice shelf. The scientists demonstrated that added pressure from surfacewater filling crevasses only a few feet deep can crack through the iceentirely. They warn that this process can be expected to become morewidespread if Antarctic summer temperatures continue to increase.
Christina Hulbe, of the University of Maryland and NASAs Goddard Earth
Science & Technology Centre, said: The importance of melt water impliesthat ice shelf stability may not be limited by the mean annual temperature,as has long been thought, but by the mean summer temperature. As the meansummer temperature exceeds 0 degrees Celsius, surface melting is likely topromote ice-shelf retreat.
Ted Scambos, of the National Snow and Ice Data Centre at the University of
Colorado, added: This result implies that other ice shelves are closer tothe breaking point than we previously thought.
Further research is being carried out by the team that focussed on the
Larsen Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, which experienced majorretreats in 1995 and 1998.
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Global Warming Wreaking Havoc Around The World
11 - 14 - 00http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/Floods in Yorkshire. Millions facing drought in China. Permafrostmelting in Russia. And thats just the start, global warming iswreaking havoc around the world.
United States
The movie horror-fantasy of the sea engulfing east coast cities
could become reality this century if nothing is done to haltglobal warming, scientists believe.Take, as they project, temperatures increasing by between 1.5Cand 6C (2.7F and 11F!!), causing the sea to expand and rise byas much as 60cm (2ft); add stronger storms and greaterprecipitation causing more extreme downpours and cities such asNew York and Boston might be in jeopardy.Phenomena already attributed to global warming include: 196,000hectares (485,000 acres) in Florida burned and 300 homes andother structures destroyed by fires two years ago, and an icestorm that killed 44 in New England the same year.The other impact is the spread of infectious diseases. West Niledisease, borne by mosquitos, has been identified in the greaterNew York region, killing about 10 people in the past two summers.Higher temperatures allow insects and rodents that would otherwisehave died in the winter to survive and breed.Cases of malaria have been recorded for the first time in Queens,New York.
Britain will be a warmer place in future, with drier summers
and more frequent droughts, but with wetter autumns and winters.In other words: more rain and more river flooding.And there is a double jeopardy. The coastal areas are pinched - indanger of fresh water flooding from within, in danger of high tidesfrom without.Higher sea levels as a result of global warming, combined with thefact that southern England is sinking by about 30 centimetres acentury, means that tides will become more threatening. Onepessimistic estimate puts the average sea level rise around the coastof East Anglia at 80cm in 50 years time.One of the greatest threats to Britain is a storm surge - a giganticwave of low pressure sweeping across the Atlantic from Canada andfunnelling down the North Sea which raises the ocean by 30cm andsends it crashing into the English east coast. The west coast isvulnerable to similar surges in the Irish Sea.In the south-east, average annual temperatures are expected toincrease by 1.2 to 3.4C; winter rainfall to go up by 6%-22%, summerrainfall to drop by 8%-22%.
Russia
The permafrost - permanently frozen subsoil - which covers 65% of
Russia is becoming less permanent. A gradual melting process hasalready begun in developed areas of Siberia and scientists havewarned that if temperatures continue to rise, the southern permafrostfrontier could retreat by around 150 miles over the next 25 years.In places like the diamond-producing town Mirny, in Yakutia, a quarterof the population have been evacuated because their homes, built onpermafrost foundations, have begun to slide into the melting soil.Services along the newer Trans-Siberian railway track have beensuspended for days, as parts of the track twist and sink. Roads andbridges have buckled, while oil and gas pipelines have been damagedby the gradual shifting movement. Villagers in the northernextremities of Russia, who have traditionally stored their food inpits cut into the permafrost, have returned to find their stocksdestroyed.Were the upper section of permafrost to melt, scientists believe12 times the level of CO2 normally in the atmosphere would bereleased, and 2,500 times the normal level of methane, worseningthe greenhouse effect.
China
China sighed with relief this summer because the Yellow River, for
the first time since 1997, did not run dry before reaching the sea.But scientists are under no illusions that the threat from climatechange is growing.Nearly 400m people in north China live under conditions ofabsolute water scarcity. Hundreds of cities face regularrestrictions, with flows as little as one hour a day. The watertable on the north China plain is falling by 1.5 metres a year.Glaciers and lakes have shrunk with alarming speed on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau over the past 15 years. The average annual temperatureon the Tuotuo River, one of the Yangtzes three sources, has risenfrom -4.6C to -3.9C since the 1960s - enough to disturb the criticalbalance between evaporation and precipitation.Marshlands are drying up while grasslands disappear. China losesnearly 2,500 sq km of cultivated land annually.Scientists see the Qinghai-Tibet plateau as an early warning systemfor the world, and admit that the blame must be shared. Energyconsumption has grown by 50% in the past decade and will at leastdouble again by the year 2050.
Japan
The people of Japan live with volcanoes, earthquakes, typhoons and
tidal waves. But global warming could make previous disasters paleinto insignificance, forcing 15m people out of their homes andpunching a £2.4 trillion hole in the worlds second biggest economy.Japan is at particular risk, says the national institute forenvironmental studies (NIES), because most of its population andresources are concentrated in the narrow and exposed strip ofcoastline between Tokyo and Osaka. The greatest threat is posed tothe capital, where millions live below sea level or on reclaimedland that will be engulfed if the worst fears of scientists arerealised.Shuzo Nishioka, head of NIES, predicts that a one-metre rise in sealevel would force millions from the coastal plains into the mountains,which make up 70% of the countrys land mass.Health problems would increase along with the rising temperatures,which would suck Japan into the malaria zone and push up cases of heatstroke and food poisoning.
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Scientists Claim Nothing Will Stop Climate Change
11-13-00 (UK Sunday Times) SCIENTISTS have warned thousands of government
officials and politicians gathering for international climate talks in theHague that the rise in global temperatures is irreversible, and that thebest they can hope for is to slow it down by a fraction of a degree.Their research shows that even if delegates implement all the proposalsbefore them in full, this will cut only about six-hundredths of a degreefrom a temperature rise that could be as much as 5C by 2100.
The warning comes from researchers at the Hadley Centre, the British
Meteorological Offices climate change prediction centre, who willpresent the results in the Hague next week.The aim of the talks is to find ways to implement the agreement inKyoto, Japan, in 1997 under which developed countries would reduceemissions of gases, mainly carbon dioxide, to 5.2% below 1990 levelsby 2012.
Geoff Jenkins, head of the Hadley Centre, said: This has to be seen
as just the first stage. If we want to minimise global warming we haveto achieve emission cuts of 60% or more within the next few decades.The centres research shows that even with 60% cuts, the rise intemperatures will not be halted but could be restricted to only about2C by 2100. This would cause a sea level rise of about 30cm.However, with cuts of just 5.2%, temperatures would rise by up to5C and sea levels would rise more than 60cm, flooding many low-lying areas.
The obstacles facing even a 5.2% reduction are huge. This weekend
Michael Meacher, the environment minister, said the key was topersuade America to cut its emissions. The US has just 5% of theworlds population but it emits a quarter of all the gases, he said.Meacher and others are worried that America favours emissions-trading,under which countries would get quotas for emitting gases which couldbe sold on the open market. It could then buy the right to emit gaseswithout making real cuts.
The rise in temperatures has led to increasingly unpredictable weather.
Last Christmas Eve a storm hit northern France, killing scores of peopleand ripping up more than 400,000 trees. Recently towns and cities acrossBritain have been hit by flooding.
...60cm is about 2 feet ... thats a Huge rise in sea level folks!
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Report warns of water degradation, shortages
EAST LANSING, Mich. (October 21, 2000 http://www.nandotimes.com)
Freshwater systems around the world are so damaged that their ability tosupport human, animal and plant life is seriously diminished, accordingto a report released Saturday.
Their degradation will mean increased water shortages for people and
rapid population loss or extinction for many other species, the WorldResources Institute predicted.
The findings are very disturbing, said Jonathan Lash, president
of the Washington, D.C.-based policy research center. Were justusing way more water than the earth can afford to give us.The report is part of a comprehensive study by the institute on howhuman activity is changing the worlds ecosystems. It was releasedduring the national meeting of the Society of Environmental Journalistsat Michigan State University.
The report makes no recommendations but serves as a warning to citizens,
industries and government, Lash said. He described it as a physicalexam that produced a poor diagnosis for the patient. Over the next sixmonths, specialized reports will be issued on agroecosystems, coastalareas, forests and grasslands.
While many regions have ample water supplies, four out of every 10
people live in river basins with water scarcity, the report says.It predicts that by 2025, at least 3.5 billion people - roughlyhalf the worlds population - will experience water shortages.Only about 1 percent of the water on the planet is freshwater availablefor human use, Lash said. Agriculture accounts for 93 percent offreshwater use, producing runoff that degrades water quality with siltand chemicals, the report says.
Dams, diversions or canals fragment 60 percent of the worlds largest
rivers, trapping runoff and sediments. While dam construction hasslowed in the United States, the report says many more are being builtin the basins of the Yangtze River in China, the Tigris and Euphratesrivers in the Middle East, and the Danube River in Eastern Europe.
Also being depleted is the worlds groundwater, the sole source of
drinking water for 1.5 billion people, the report says.Half the worlds wetlands were lost in the 20th Century as landwas converted to agricultural and urban use or contaminated withdiseases such as malaria, according to the report.
Invasive species pose another problem, competing with native species
for food and habitat. Twenty percent of the worlds 10,000 freshwaterfish species have become extinct, threatened or endangered in recentdecades.
The findings are bad news for the environment and the economy, said
Carmen Revenga, who helped write the institutes report.
We need to value freshwater ecosystems not only for the goods they
produce, like fish and clams, but also the services they give, likethe filters and nurseries that wetlands provide, Revenga said.
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Extreme Weather On The Rise
BOULDER -- Expect hotter days, warmer nights, heavier rain and snowfall
events, and more floods over the next century, says a new study publishedSeptember 22 in the journal Science. The article reviews observations,impacts, and results from some 20 global climate models currently in useworldwide.
The earths average temperature has risen about 0.6 degree Celsius
(1.1 degree Fahrenheit) since the start of the 20th century. The trendis most obvious in higher daily minimum temperatures. During the sameperiod precipitation has increased over land in the mid- to highlatitudes and decreased in the tropics.
Some changes have already been observed over the last century and are
expected to escalate. These include an increase in very hot days insome areas, higher minimum temperatures with fewer frost days, andheavier short-term rainfall (lasting one or several days), especiallyin the midlatitudes. In the United States, incidents of heavy rainfallover several days increased most noticeably in the southern MississippiRiver Valley, Southwest, Midwest, and Great Lakes.
Researchers studying wild plants and animals have documented climate-
induced extinctions, shifts in species range, and other seasonalbehavior changes. Some gradual biological changes may be responsesto changes in extreme weather and climate events.
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WHO issues new alarm over drug-resistant infections
WASHINGTON (June 12, 2000) - The World Health Organization on Monday warned
that increasingly drug-resistant infections in rich and developing nationsalike are threatening to make once-treatable diseases incurable. Bacteria,parasites and viruses all naturally evolve to fight treatment. Its classicsurvival of the fittest: Bugs exposed to drugs that dont kill them becomestronger, able to withstand subsequent treatment attempts, and pass on thatdrug resistance to their next generation. Misuse of medications, particularlyantibiotics, speeds this process. What effect does all this have? Among thereports sobering examples:
Gonorrhea was once easily curable with penicillin and
tetracycline. Today, you cant touch it anywhere in the world with thosedrugs, Heymann said. Poor nations cant afford more expensive alternativesand, to make matters worse, untreated gonorrhea is fueling spread of the AIDSvirus.
In Estonia, Latvia, and parts of Russia and China, more than 10 percent of
tuberculosis patients have strains resistant to two powerful medicines.Overall, up to 2 percent of the worlds 16 million TB sufferers have multi-drugresistant strains, particularly frightening because TB is airborne, spread whenpeople cough.
Malaria, the mosquito-spread infection that kills a million people a
year, is resistant to the top medication 80 percent of the time.
Some 5,000 Americans may have suffered longer-lasting food poisoning in 1998
from drug-resistant germs in chicken.
Nobody counts deaths from drug-resistant infections. The CDC says 88,000
Americans a year die of infections they catch in the hospital, and many areresistant to at least one antibiotic, complicating treatment attempts.
Wiser use of antimicrobial drugs is the solution, the WHO said. It recommended
increased funding to help poor countries afford enough antibiotics, andeducation for poor and rich nations alike to avoid misuse.
WHO also recommended that human antibiotics not be used as growth promoters for
animals. Europe already has banned several such drugs. The U.S. Food and DrugAdministration has debated stricter rules here for several years, but is underindustry pressure not to tighten animal drug restrictions.
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Rising Temps Forecast Changes
06/09/00 WASHINGTON (AP) - Alpine meadows will disappear, along with many
coastal wetlands and barrier islands. Cities will be hotter and more humid. Skiruns will be scarcer, the demand for air conditioners will increase, andscientists will have to combat a likely resurgence in insect-borne diseasessuch as malaria.
This is the weather forecast for the late 21st century, when average U.S.
temperatures will have risen by 5 degrees to 10 degrees.
Four years in the making, the report reflects the most ambitious attempt to
gauge the impact of climate change on America.
A dozen government agencies and hundreds of scientists, in and out of
government, worked on ``Climate Change in America. It will be released nextweek and later presented to Congress, which asked for the assessment a decadeago.
``Based on the best available information, most Americans will experience
significant impacts from Earths warming, the report concludes. Among thefindings:
-Entire ecosystems may shift northward as temperatures increase.
-The Alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains likely will disappear.
-Forests in the Southeast may break into ``a mosaic of forests, savannas and
grasslands and sugar maples could disappear from Northeastern forests.
-Ocean levels will rise, causing wetlands, marshes and barrier islands
to disappear or - when the geography allows - be force inland.
-The Great Lakes are predicted to decline because of increased evaporation
causing yet different problems.
-Some coastal cities, faced with sea level rise and more frequent storm
surges, may have to redesign and adapt water, sewer and transportation systems.The study does not attempt to put a cost to such improvements.
An early draft of the overview summary was attacked in December as having
``an extreme, alarmist tone on predicting impact on human health. Thesummary has been revised with more emphasis on the uncertainties of predictinghealth impacts.
Nevertheless, the study says higher temperatures and increased rainfall likely
will exacerbate air pollution, saddle large cities with more frequent andsevere heat waves, and lead to the spread of waterborne or insect-carryingdiseases including malaria in the Southeast.
Warmer weather will reduce the mountain snowpack, curtailing the summer runoff
that feeds irrigation across much of the West and complicating watermanagement.
But more rain is predicted for the arid Southwest. That could bring new
vegetation - and more flash floods - to desert lands. Tree, fish andanimal species will migrate northward everywhere.
In the Pacific Northwest, the salmon may shift north to Alaska, replaced by
warmer water species. In Alaska the rising temperature is expected to causefurther thawing of permafrost, damaging roads and buildings.
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Whats Behind Global Warming?
05/19/00 (NBC) Evidence of global warming has scientists questioning what is
causing it and how it will affect our global forecast. From snow in April torecord-breaking heat in May, with tornadoes tossed in between, the atmospherecan cook up plenty of surprises.
At the National Weather Service, where they have been keeping records since
1869, officials recorded1999 as the warmest year yet. These logbookstell a great deal about the past, but just what it means for the future isstill uncertain.
Last summer, New Yorkers experienced a drought and record-high temperatures.
August brought a torrential rainstorm that caused major flooding. One monthlater, Hurricane Floyd hit, devastating parts of the area with more flooding.Weather is what we experience everyday, including the heat or possible rain.Climate, however, looks at the bigger picture, studying pattern variations fromseason to season and year to year. That is where meteorologists are reallyseeing changes.
Scientists at GFDL point to changes in the Arctic Sea ice. Northern climates,
sub-Arctic areas like Alaska and other Northern climates, could see changesfirst. Sea level is rising and permafrost is melting. On the East Coast, manyareas could be affected. “Anyone who lives here in Alaska knows that thewinters are warmer, in fact, warmer by about 10 degrees Fahrenheit over thelast 30 years,” said Gunter Weller, a professor at the University ofAlaska. Scientists say temperatures are certain to rise as a result of globalwarming, depending on the level of carbon dioxide. In New York, the levels areworse than in other parts of the country. “That means New York City is worsethan New Orleans when it comes to summer heat index,” said Mahlman. The numberof days above 90 degrees a year could rise from 13 days a year to over 30 daysa year. This could mean stress to power grids and potentially more blackouts.Eric Williford, at Florida State, says that this global climate could have aneffect on future storms. “Will the sea surface warm? That’s probably the keyingredient here. If we have warmer oceans, we have more chance for stormsand definitely higher potential for larger storms, intense hurricanes,”Williford said.
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Melting of Earths Ice Cover Reaches New High
The Earths ice cover is melting in more places and at higher rates than at
any time since record keeping began. Reports from around the worldcompiled by the Worldwatch Institute show that global ice melting acceleratedduring the 1990s-which was also the warmest decade on record.
Some of the most dramatic reports come from the polar regions, which are
warming faster than the planet as a whole and have lost large amounts of ice inrecent decades. The Arctic sea ice, covering an area roughly the size of theUnited States, shrunk by an estimated 6 percent between 1978 and 1996, losingan average of 34,300 square kilometers-an area larger than the Netherlands-eachyear.
The massive Antarctic ice cover, which averages 2.3 kilometers in thickness and
represents some 91 percent of Earths ice, is also melting. So far, most of theloss has occurred along the edges of the Antarctic Peninsula, on the iceshelves that form when the land-based ice sheets flow into the ocean and beginto float. Within the past decade, three ice shelves have fullydisintegrated: the Wordie, the Larsen A, and the Prince Gustav. Two more, theLarsen B and the Wilkins, are in full retreat and are expected to break upsoon, having lost more than one-seventh of their combined 21,000 squarekilometers since late 1998.
The disappearance of Earths ice cover would significantly alter the global
climate - though the net effects remain unknown. Ice, particularly polar ice,reflects large amounts of solar energy back into space, and helps keep theplanet cool. When ice melts, however, this exposes land and water surfacesthat retain heat-leading to even more melt and creating a feedback loop thataccelerates the overall warming process. But excessive ice melt in the Arcticcould also have a cooling effect in parts of Europe and the eastern UnitedStates, as the influx of fresh water into the North Atlantic may disrupt oceancirculation patterns that enable the warm Gulf Stream to flow north.
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20th Century Warmest In The Past Five Centuries
The 20th century was the warmest in the past five centuries, a new
study confirms in a report published today (Feb. 17) in Nature. Aresearch team led by Shaopeng Huang of the University of Michiganbases its conclusions on borehole temperatures from around the world.
Huangs study reinforces the forecast for the 21st century that
weve heard before: significant warming head, Jonathan T. Overpeckof the University of Arizona writes in News and Views commentary inthe same Nature issue.
The results also provide unsettling indications that human
alteration of the climate system over the last century is going tomake the reliable prediction of future climate change one ofsocietys most important challenges, Overpeck says in hiscommentary, The Hole Story.
A number of recent proxy record studies suggest that the late
20th century has been the warmest in the past 400 to 1,000 years,Overpeck adds. Huangs study is further independent confirmation oftree-ring, ice-core, coral and sediment records that show the globalwarming trend.
In both the southern and northern hemispheres, the borehole records
match the instrumental records of the last century, and confirm thatthe 20th century is the warmest of the last 500 years, Overpecksaid. Moreover, each of six continents investigated has warmedfaster over the 20th century than during any of the previous fourcenturies.
Earth is starting the new millennium warmer than at any time during
the previous millennium. What is at least as worrisome, Overpeckadds:
**Politicians, corporate industrialists and private citizens need to
know how climate is going to change, where and when -- and not justin 50 or 100 years from now. Shifts in seasonal, decadal tocentennial climate, for example, can have a big impact on economiesand livelihoods. Given that society appears destined to furtherglobal warming, decision-makers need good forecasts for climatechanging on several time scales.
**Even if the effects of human (trace-gas) forcing on climate turn
out to be modest, climate researchers are faced with a seriouschallenge. The challenge is to verify if -- as the Huang studysuggests -- previous studies underestimate how greatly climate canvary over decades and centuries.
Weve come to the point where we know that natural variability isnt
trivial, and that humans can change the course of climate, Overpecksays. Now we have to get more serious about using our resources todevelop the knowledge needed to tell societys decision-makers whatMother Nature is going to do in the seasons, years and decadesahead.
Overpeck is director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth
and a professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona.
Lori Stiles
Jonathan T. Overpeck, 520-622-9065, jto@u.arizona.edu
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GLOBAL WEATHER PATTERNS CHANGING
January 21, 2000 The International Herald Tribune reported: The
world may be on the brink of a change in climate patterns that couldlast 20 or 30 years, some scientists believe. If current temperatureconditions in the Pacific Ocean persist, if an upstart theory ofclimate cycles proves correct and if satellite data releasedWednesday reflect the start of a new era, North America could beabout to experience a meteorological replay of the 1950s and 60s,with colder, wetter winters in the north but warmer weather in thesouth.
This and more, a growing number of scientists say, could
result from a titanic flip-flop in something called the PacificDecadal Oscillation (PDO), a concept so new that it was named onlythree years ago and is the subject of fierce debate.
The phenomenon could also affect Asia, producing milder winters in
northern countries like Japan and China and an increase in typhoonsin tropical regions, according to climatologists at the Frenchweather service, Meteo France. [This phenomenon would concern athird of the planet, Michel Deque, an expert in climate modeling,told the International Herald Tribune by telephone from the MeteoFrance headquarters in Toulouse. He said effects were most likely tobe felt in North America because of prevailing winds from the westover the Pacific, with weather changes also probable in Asia but lessso in Europe.]...
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Dramatic Thinning Of Arctic Ice Found
11/17/99 Scientists analyzing decades of data from Arctic Sea ice
recently reported a significant reduction in the thickness of the iceduring the last decade. The scientists found a decrease in sea iceall across the Arctic Ocean and that corresponds to previouslyreported evidence that the Arctic climate is warming, according toDr. D. Andrew Rothrock of the University of Washington andcolleagues.
A report on the data, Thinning of the Arctic Sea-Ice Cover, will be
published in the Dec. 1 issue of Geophysical Research Letters.
The Scientific Ice Expeditions program, which consisted of six
extended voyages, acquired the data using nuclear submarines. Thisstudy analyzed data from three autumn cruises: USS Pargo in 1993, USSPogy in 1996 and USS Archerfish in 1997.
The average draft of the sea ice (its thickness from the ocean
surface to the bottom of the ice pack) has declined by 4.3 feet,or 40 percent, since the first measurements were made in 1958,said the scientists.
The thinning of Arctic ice that has already occurred is a major
climatic signal that needs to be accounted for in a successful theoryof climate variability, according to the scientists. To helpfill the gaps between the earlier and more recent submarineobservations, they call for the public release of other ice thicknessdata gathered by submarines over the past 40 years, which theybelieve would be of immense help in understanding the cause ofthinning.
The available data are insufficient to provide answers about the
cause of the ice loss, said the researchers. They suggest severalhypotheses about the flow of heat from the ocean itself, the flow ofheat from the atmosphere as well as from short-wave radiation. Otherpossible avenues to explore include the amount of precipitation andsnow cover in the region and ice movement.
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UN ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS WARNING
The BBC reported: The United Nations is warning that time is running
out to stop worldwide environmental damage and says it is already toolate to prevent irreversible harm to ecosystems like tropicalforests.The findings come in the end-of-century review of the UNEnvironmental Programme (UNEP), called Global Environment Outlook2000, which sees a number of ‘full-scale emergencies’ on the horizon.These include severe water shortages that will get steadily worse,reduced agricultural productivity through the loss of topsoil, andunwanted growth of vegetation along sea-coasts and of algae at sea,caused by the heavy application of fertilizers. GEO-2000s keyfinding is stark: ‘The continued poverty of the majority of theplanets inhabitants and excessive consumption by the minority arethe two major causes of environmental degradation,’ says the report.The report recommends that the developed world must cut its use ofnatural resources by 90% to give the rest of the world a chance ofemerging from poverty. But the destruction of tropical rainforestshas already gone too far to prevent irreversible damage and it is toolate to regain the planets former bio-diversity, the reportfinds...
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Virus Found in Arctic Ice
BBC News 9-1-99
The discovery of the first virus preserved in the
Arctic ice has prompted a warning that there may be more, and thatwarm weather may release them to start epidemics. The virus, atomato mosaic tobamovirus (ToMV) was found by a team of Americanresearchers. The discovery, reported in the magazine New Scientist,suggests that other viruses, possibly including flu, smallpox andpolio, may also have survived in the ice. One of the team, TomStarmer, of Syracuse University, said: We dont know the survivalrate, or how often they get back into the environment. But itcertainly is possible. The team says a brief rise in temperaturecould let loose any viruses and cause disease. Scott Rogers told BBCNews Online: We think micro-organisms are being released constantly,during periods of warming, and when glaciers calve. Its verypossible that more frequent and intense warming, caused by climatechange, will lead to more releases. Alvin Smith, a virologist atOregon State University, said: If youve got these things lying inthe ice for a thousand years or more and their usual host has not hadto deal with them, this may be a source of epidemics. He has foundthat caliciviruses, which can cause diarrhoea, emerge from time totime from the sea to cause new infections. Identical caliciviruseshave appeared at 20-year intervals on opposite sides of the USA, hesays, and could have spent years in the polar ice before re-emerging. He and his colleagues now plan to use other techniques tosee whether viruses in other cores are still viable. They will looknot only at Arctic cores, but also at ice from the Antarctic that isup to 400,000 years old.
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The Hard EvidenceBy Patrick Mazza and Rhys Rothwww.climatesolutions.orgwww.protest.net6-7-99
--Patrick Mazza and Rhys Roth
This article is excerpted from a new white paper, Global Warming IsHere: The Scientific Evidence, available from Climate Solutions, 610E. 4th St., Olympia, WA 98501, USA, phone (360) 352-1763,info@climatesolutions.org
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Global warming and plant life
(April 6, 1999 ) - You may have heard that one of the positive
effects of global warming is that plants will grow better.Plants need carbon dioxide to grow, and when theres a slightincrease in carbon dioxide in the air, they actually do grow faster.From this you might conclude that having additional carbon dioxide inthe atmosphere has its good side, maybe off-setting some of the harmthat may come from global warming.You could conclude this, but you probably wont once you hear aboutDr. Nancy Tuchmans research.Tuchman is an environmental scientist at Loyola University. She askedherself an important question: We know from other research that whenplants grow in conditions of elevated carbon dioxide, this alters theleaf chemistry. What impact does this have on the nutrition containedin the leaf?In other words, what is it going to mean to the animals that feed onthe leaves when the leaves arent quite the same as they are whengrown under normal carbon dioxide conditions?To find out, Tuchman and her colleagues have been working on arevealing experiment. Theyve constructed several dozen carbondioxide chambers to grow aspen trees. Each chamber is about 7 feettall and about 4 feet wide, and consists of a plastic frame wrappedin clear plastic and open at the top.Tuchman did nothing to half of the chambers. For the remaining half,she pumped in enough carbon dioxide to equal the concentrations ofcarbon dioxide projected to occur in the year 2050.The carbon dioxide-treated trees grew moderately faster than thetrees that werent receiving the extra carbon dioxide. No surpriseshere. But the leaves from the trees that grew in the carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere contained less nitrogen than the leaves from theother trees. Lower nitrogen content translates into lower proteincontent.Another difference in the leaf chemistry of the treated trees wasthat they were higher in phenols. These are complicated chemicalgroups that are anywhere from slightly toxic to severely toxic to theanimals that feed on the leaves.Tuchman was particularly interested in what happened to themicroorganisms that fed on the leaves when the leaves fell instreams. Preliminary results of her experiment should give pause toanyone who thinks that having extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphereis good for the food chain.The aquatic organisms that fed on the leaves grew at only about two-thirds the rate that they do when they feed on normal leaves.Theres truth to the idea that you are what you eat, Tuchman says.Generally, if an insect eats a leaf with less nitrogen, it may lookthe same but the tissues are now deprived of normal amounts ofnitrogen. The insect wont produce as many eggs and there wont be asmany adults.A worst-case scenario is that this could mean less food at lowerlevels of the food chain, and a collapse of the food chain at thetop. At this point in Tuchmans research, no one knows how mildor how severe the impact will actually be.Still, Tuchman believes that shes seen enough to make her concernedabout the amount of carbon dioxide were adding to the atmospherethrough burning fossil fuel.Were consuming fossil fuels as if theres no effect on theenvironment, she says. But in fact, theres a tremendouseffect.
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SCIENTISTS PREDICT ANTARCTIC MELTING
ABC News - Feb. 2, 1999
Scientists from New Zealands Geological and Nuclear Science
Institute addressed a government conference of Antarctica Treatynations on their predictions of global warming melting Antarctica.Their research stated global warming could raise sea levels byas much as 20 feet in the next generation and the earth couldbe heading for a mini ice-age. Increased global temperatures couldsoon begin the melting of the western Antarctic ice shelf causinglarge amounts of cold water to mix with the Earths oceans anddisturb sea currents. The scientists suggest this disruption wouldcause a small ice age with some areas getting extremely cold whileother places get warmer.Scientist Peter Barrett of Victoria University of Wellington,New Zealand predicted temperatures increases of three degreesthrough the next century. Once the conditions are set in trainto melt, the process cannot be stopped.Tim Naish from New Zealands Geological and Nuclear Science Institutesaid, If models are going to be believed the rates of change aregoing to be very quick. Were playing Russian roulette with theclimate and no one knows what lies in the chamber of the gun.Antarctica ice contains 90 percent of the worlds freshwater and if completely melted would raise sea levels by228 feet.
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New Microbes Pose Health Risks to Humans, Marine Life
The Associated Press - Jan. 22 99
Previously unknown bacteria and viruses blooming in the Earth’s
warming oceans are killing some marine life and threatening humanhealth.There are increasing reports of dying coral, diseased shellfish andwaters infected with human virus as the seas rise in temperature andpollution from the land intensifies, researchers said today in studiespresented at the national meeting of the American Association for theAdvancement of Science.“These are the cries and whispers beginning to confront us about theecological dangers ahead,” said James W. Porter, an ocean studiesspecialist at the University of Georgia. “We are finding disturbingnew kinds of things.”There has been a 446 percent increase in disease at 160 coralsites being monitored along the Florida coast since 1996. One reefexperienced a death rate of 62 percent, said Porter, and nearly allof the killing pathogens “are new to science.”Many of the disease-causing viruses that infect humans directly orthrough eating contaminated shellfish cannot be detected by theroutine monitoring of water pollution.
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