Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on
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A team of scientists has found a trend in ocean currents moving either north or south around the world. The scientists say the water in the currents is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the oceans, and they believe global warming is to blame. Their work is being published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Source: The World Today | Duration: 3min 26sec
More extreme weather in Europe.
Freezing temperatures have left thousands of people stranded without power in the Balkans and elsewhere in Europe as the death toll rises.
Blizzards hit the Western Balkans, while heavy snowfalls and gale-force winds were expected to last until Monday.
The storms deposited a fresh layer of snow and created tall drifts, further hampering access to many areas in the region. Several villages were without stable electricity supply, as wind and snow knocked down power lines.
In Montenegro, the government declared a state of emergency 24 hours into a blizzard that dumped another two metres of snow across the country and cut off access to northern regions.
The death toll was expected to rise from three when rescuers reach isolated areas.
In Serbia, the authorities reported three new deaths, raising the overall death toll for the country to 19.
An estimated 50,000 people remain isolated in remote villages.
The energy situation has become critical, prompting the government to extend a two-day holiday next week to five days, keeping schools closed and cut the power supply to non-essential factories.
In Croatia, an average of 50 centimetres of snow were expected to fall during the weekend, while powerful winds blowing from the sea forced local road authorities to close some sections of the Adriatic highway.
Many villages in mountainous regions in Bosnia have been cut off since the start of the cold spell, nearly two weeks ago.
Temperatures dropped to as low as -32C in Poland’s southern Bieszczady Mountains, while eight people died in house fires, police said.
A further eight people died in Romania, the health ministry said, raising the overall death toll to 65.
Tens of thousands of people remained isolated in the south, where the army, police and firefighters were trying to clear access routes and distribute food and water.
Heavy snowfall also hit many parts of Italy, especially its central and southern regions, where six recent deaths have been linked to the cold weather.
Several remote villages in the central Marche and Umbria regions remained cut off as a result of unusually high snow levels.
In north-eastern Trieste, at least 10 people were injured when winds with speeds of more than 130 km/h lashed the Adriatic port city.
The poor weather forced the cancellation of flights and Serie A football matches.
In Paris, a major Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland was cancelled after the referee declared the pitch at Stade de France stadium was frozen.
In northern Bulgaria, trains could not make their way through the deep snow, which the wind has blown on the railways, state radio reported.
The Bulgarian section of the Danube was completely frozen on Saturday, the national Agency for Maintenance of the Danube River said.
The Bulgarian Maritime Administration has banned all navigation in the Bulgaria section, including ferries to Romania.
| Interesting question with this next entry, is there a link between these listed events? |
| Science Weekly podcast: Will climate change unleash geological mayhem? The Guardian Volcanologist Bill McGuire describes how rapid melting of glaciers and ice sheets as a result of climate change could trigger volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Plus, the neuroscience of war, the closing of the UK Forensic Science Service, … See all stories on this topic » |
| People & Events Visayan Daily Star This observation reminds us of the Pinatubo volcano which erupted despite the earlier declaration that it had been dormant for 600 years. The Tayasan fault, in my opinion, may be inherent to the area since it is situated between the islands of Negros … See all stories on this topic » |
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Show of nature … lightning strikes over the Tacking Point lighthouse at Port Macquarie / Pic: Nathan Edwards Source: The Daily Telegraph
During Sydney‘s lightning season peak last year, about 7500 strikes were recorded in November and December.
“The season starts in October and goes through to February,” said Michael Tang, a data analyst with Global Position and Tracking Systems.
Satellite imagery and GPATS data pinpoints the Hills District in northwest Sydney as the city’s lightning hotspot.
Check out the Australian Lightning Monitor at GPATS website.
“It was sort of like putting your hand in a power socket … it took a day and a half before I could get back to doing things normally,” the Lindfield 18-year-old said. His advice? “Don’t risk it if there’s any chance of lightning or a storm.”
SOFIA: The toll from Europe’s winter freeze has pushed past 360 after snow- and rain-swollen rivers burst a Bulgarian dam and killed at least eight, while more homeless people perished on frigid city streets.
Four elderly people drowned in their homes in the south-eastern Bulgarian village of Biser after a nearby dam wall broke, submerging the whole village under 2½ metres of icy water, the interior ministry said.
Another four people died when their cars were swept from bridges into raging rivers in the same region.
Snap to it … people skate on the Keizersgracht canal in Amsterdam. Cold weather means the Dutch might be able to hold a race on frozen canals for the first time in 15 years. Photo: AP”People are in panic,” the region’s mayor, Mihail Liskov, said as a massive rescue effort was under way. ”Ninety per cent of the village is under water.”
Two other dams were brimming with water and heavy rains triggered a landslide that derailed a train near the Turkish border.
Temperatures touched new lows in parts of Europe, including Switzerland, which reported the mercury dipping to minus 35.1 in the eastern Graubuenden canton, and the Czech Republic, where the town of Kvilda recorded a winter low of minus 39.4.
As has been the case throughout the 10-day cold snap, the homeless have suffered most. Frozen victims have been found in abandoned and unheated homes, fire escapes or makeshift shelters on streets.
In a bid to save lives, Poland’s homeless shelters have dropped a ban on accepting drunks.
Across the continent, authorities have reported at least 368 weather-related deaths. In Lithuania, where the temperature has dipped to minus 31, the deaths of 12 more people at the weekend brought the toll to 23.
In Italy, schools were closed until yesterday in Rome as authorities battled to clean up the city after a rare snowstorm. And Venice’s canals were frozen over in parts. Other regions including Tuscany and Umbria were bracing for fresh snow. Crews were also struggling to restore power to about 60,000 homes across Italy.
In France, electricity consumption hit a record amid the cold.
In Bosnia, residents of dozens of hamlets were trapped by continued heavy snowfall, mostly in the eastern region around Srebrenica and Sokolac.
”The snow has reached over 1.5 metres, it is still snowing and we have already been blocked for over a month,” said Dzevad Muminovic, who lives in the tiny village of Krusev Do.
The bitter cold has even crossed into north Africa, where as many as 19 people were killed on Algeria’s snow-slicked roads or in other weather-related accidents. Snow also fell in southern Tunisia for the first time in about 40 years.
Agence France-Presse
by James Hansen et al.
The greatest barrier to public recognition of human-made climate change is the natural variability of climate. How can a person discern long-term climate change, given the notorious variability of local weather and climate from day to day and year to year?
This question assumes great practical importance, because of the need for the public to appreciate the significance of human-made global warming. Actions to stem emissions of the gases that cause global warming are unlikely to approach what is needed until the public perceives that human-made climate change is underway and will have unacceptable consequences if effective actions are not taken to slow the climate change. Early recognition of climate change is critical. Stabilizing climate with conditions resembling those of the Holocene, the world in which civilization developed, can only be achieved if rapid reduction of fossil fuel emissions begins soon.
NB This is part of a 13 page report which is why it will not download.
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