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Earthquake map shows epicenter in central Virginia (Video)
View full sizeU.S. Geological SurveyThe U.S. Geological Survey has posted this map of the 5.9-magnitude earthquake that hit central Virginia just before 2 p.m. today, sending tremors up and down the East Coast.
The yellow glow represents the area where potential damage is deemed “light” and perceived shaking is “moderate.”
The quake’s frequency hit the geology of the region just right, like a tuning fork, and reverberated outward, said Alexander Gates, the chairman of earth and environmental sciences at Rutgers-Newark, and an earthquake expert. But there’s no likely danger for aftershocks of the Virginia quake, which will be significantly more minor, he said.
“That was pretty good, huh? I was impressed,” Gates said. “You don’t get earthquakes like that so often on the East Coast.”
Though small earthquakes occur in New Jersey all the time, earthquake experts said today’s shaking was highly unusual.
“It’s probably the largest one people have felt in New Jersey in decades,” Read more…
Two Comets to Pass Close to Earth in Early October
As mentioned before in previous blogs, Comet Elenin will pass close to Earth in six weeks or so. We had previously talked about the theories out there with this comet. To read them, please click here and here.
For even better treat, on Oct. 7, Comet Honda will brighten to a magnitude 5 in the constellation Leo and favor a horizon view before sunrise for Northern sky observers.
That is not all, Comet Honda will join Comet Elenin, and both will be visible on that morning in the same wide field of view in binoculars and camera lenses, a rare treat with two comets at once! You should be able to get some spectacular photos of this event. I will have to remind you as we get closer to the event so that you can post some pictures for me.
Comet Honda is Shown (Bright Object in the Center of the Photo) Read more…
Colorado: Midnight earthquake felt in Springs, largest in state since ’73
GOLDEN — A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook southern Colorado late Monday, waking some people up and startling hundreds of others, including some in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs residents reported feeling the temblor about 11:49 pm Monday on Twitter at @csgazette.
The USGS link online confirmed the tweets’ accuracy.
The magnitude 5.3 earthquake was recorded at about 11:46 p.m. MDT Monday about nine miles southwest of Trinidad, and about 135 miles south of Colorado Springs, according to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden. The quake followed two smaller ones that hit the area earlier in the day.
The quake is the largest in Colorado since a magnitude 5.7 was recorded in 1973, U.S. Geological Service geophysicist Amy Vaughn said. That one was centered in the northwestern part of the state — about 50 miles north of Read more…
Summer drought limits the positive effects of CO2 and heat on plant growth in future climate
This image was created with data acquired by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, AIRS, during July 2008. The image shows large scale patterns of carbon dioxide concentrations that are transported around the Earth by the general circulation of the atmosphere
In contrast to the increased growth in plants that scientists have often seen in studies with elevated CO2, the first synthesis paper on the comprehensive CLIMAITE project shows that the combination of summer drought and potential plant growth-promoting factors such as higher temperatures and increased CO2 together limit the effect of CO2 increased plant growth significantly.
“When you’ve previously seen a significantly higher plant growth at elevated CO2 concentrations, it is typically because it has been controlled studies, where only the CO2 concentration was changed. We fundamentally had the theory that you have to look at the combination of the different climate variables, since the plants in the future will be exposed to multiple changes simultaneously, “explains Klaus Steenberg Larsen, who is a researcher in the Biosystems Division at Risø DTU and lead author on the scientific paper.
CLIMAITE is a Danish research center that investigates how climate change, as they probably appear in 2075, affects Read more…
OP-ED Expanding Deserts, Falling Water Tables and Toxins Driving People from Homes
Saharan dust blowing off west coast of Africa, over the Canary Islands, Nov. 11, 2006. Image credit:NASA
WASHINGTON, Aug 23, 2011 (IPS) – People do not normally leave their homes, their families, and their communities unless they have no other option. Yet as environmental stresses mount, we can expect to see a growing number of environmental refugees. Rising seas and increasingly devastating storms grab headlines, but expanding deserts, falling water tables, and toxic waste and radiation are also forcing people from their homes.
Advancing deserts are now on the move almost everywhere. The Sahara desert, for example, is expanding in every direction. As it advances northward, it is squeezing the populations of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria against the Mediterranean coast.
The Sahelian region of Africa – the vast swath of savannah that separates the southern Sahara desert from the tropical rainforests of central Africa – is shrinking as the desert moves southward. As the desert invades Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, from the north, farmers and herders are forced Read more…
Oklahoma City breaks record for most 100-degree days
Oklahoma City has broken its record for most 100-degree days in one year, as the temperature reached 101 degrees at Will Rogers World Airport Monday for the 51st time this year. The previous record, set in 1980, was 50 days. The record is one of many to fall this year in an unprecedented heat wave.
Future TSA: Track All ‘Daily Travels To Work, Grocery Stores & Social Events’
While the TSA can’t explain why invasive patdowns without probable cause are legal, that isn’t stopping TSA from future plans to track all your daily travels, anywhere you go, from work, to stores, or even when you go out to play.
By Ms. Smith
When the TSA was asked to provide legal reasons that definitely spelled out why physically invasive patdowns are legal, without any
probable cause, not one TSA person had an answer. There was no legal documentation for enhanced patdowns other than it serves “the essential administrative purpose.”
Peep show, police state or privacy invasion, patdowns and body scans are not just in airports. EPIC said DHS is refusing to disclose details of mobile body scanner technology. In fact, in answer to EPIC’s FOIA request, DHS handed over “several papers that were completely redacted.”
Meanwhile at airports, the TSA is rolling out “less-invasive gingerbread man” body scanners to a tune of $2.7 million for 240 machines. At this point, I don’t think skinnier versions of the Pillsbury Doughboy via kinder and gentler naked body scans are going to placate people who are secretly Read more…
Gaddafi’s son Mohammed escapes from Libyan rebels
BENGHAZI, Libya — Mohammed Kadhafi, a son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, has escaped after having been arrested by rebels in Tripoli, Libya’s US ambassador said Monday.Mohammed Kadhafi, Kadhafi’s eldest son, and brother Seif al-Islam, who was regarded as the veteran leader’s intended successor, were arrested on Sunday as rebels seized control of large swathes of Tripoli.
But Mohammed was apparently taken by “maybe Kadhafi’s forces,” Libyan Ambassador Ali Suleiman Aujali with the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) told CNN in announcing the escape.
A senior rebel source confirmed the escape to AFP, saying “Yes, it’s true, he has escaped.” The source in the rebel capital of Benghazi, eastern Libya, spoke on Read more…
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