Connect Savannah 09.06.06 www.connectsavannah.com
24
news|Earthweek
by Steve Newman
Vernal Expansion
Climate change across Europe is now bringing the arrival of spring Ernesto more than a week +120 0 Death Valley, earlier than 30 years ago, 3.2 California John and there has been a marked delay in the arrival 3.7 of autumn as well, according to a new study. ScienKristy tists from 17 countries joined to record changes in natural annual events to see what impact global warming might be having on the continent’s ecology. The study of 542 plants from 1971 to 2000 found that 78 percent are now flowering, leafing and fruiting earlier. Co-author Week Ending September 1, 2006 Tim Sparks wrote in the journal Global Change sions within a single day were accompaBiology: “There’s a limit to how much nied by 16 volcanic earthquakes, which the earlier these events can get without country’s geophysics agency said representaffecting some of these species.” ed continuous movement of magma inside Sumatran Smoke the volcano. Failed efforts by Indonesian China’s Toxic Rain officials to curb illegal burning An official Chinese government of the Sumatran rain forest this report revealed that unbridled year have allowed a pall of industrial development has smoke to blanket the island and caused a third of the country’s neighboring areas of Malaysia. land mass to now be regularly House Speaker Agung Laksono said bathed in acid rain. Sheng Huaren, vice Indonesia’s inability to prevent the blazes chairman of the National People’s Congress had brought shame to the country. Smoke Standing Committee, said coal-burning became so thick that approximately 10,000 power stations and coking plants were the people sought medical help for respiratory main culprits. More than half the 696 problems during a single day in Riau Chinese cities and counties monitored province’s capital of Pekanbaru. Air were shown to have experienced acid rain. transportation was also disrupted. In some regions, every rainy day was an Philippine Eruption acid rain day, according to the report. The Philippines’ Mayon volcano Drought Crisis ended a week of relative calm by A dry monsoon season in expelling large amounts of ash northeast India’s Assam state is and gases over parts of Albay threatening to create a food province. Two separate explo-
Temperatures
Jeff Kirk
moved over open waters to the west of Mexico. • Super Typhoon Ioke was a category-5 storm during much of its second week of crossing the Pacific.
4.2 4.8
3.0
3.9
5.1 6.1
4.8
Ioke
6.4
-109
0
Vostok, Antarctica crisis for the rare one-horned rhinos of Kaziranga National Park. Park warden Utpal Bora told reporters that many of the animals in Kaziranga are likely to face food shortages during the upcoming winter season. He fears the animals may be forced to stray outside of the park’s boundaries and into human settlements in search of food. India’s traditionally flood-prone Assam state has escaped the devastating floods that have ravaged many other parts of India this summer.
Tropical Cyclones
Hurricane Ernesto drenched a long path across the Caribbean and southeastern United States, killing at least two people in Haiti. The storm attained hurricane strength for only a brief period, then lost further intensity as it moved over the rough terrain of eastern Cuba. • Category-4 Hurricane John skirted Mexico’s Pacific coast, and was predicted to strike the resorts of southern Baja California late in the week. Hurricane Kristy
Earthquakes
A strong tremor and subsequent aftershock in southwest China’s Yunnan province killed at least two people as it wrecked thousands of buildings in Yanjin and Daguan counties. • Earth movements were also felt in eastern Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia’s Banda Sea region, central and northeastern Iran, western Greece, Montenegro, northern Italy, southern Portugal and the Hawaiian Islands.
Dolphin Runs Amok
An extremely aggressive dolphin has been terrorizing France’s Atlantic coast for several weeks by menacing swimmers, overturning boats and tossing fishermen into the sea. The marine mammal has been named “Jean Floch” by residents around the Brittany port of Brezellec, and was a welcome sight after he first appeared in 2002. Experts believe his violent streak developed this summer because he was expelled from a group of other dolphins. “He’s like a mad dog,” complained Henri Le Lay, president of the port’s association of fishermen and yachtsmen. He said the dolphin has already caused almost $2,000 in damage to the fleet. Fishermen initially wanted to have Jean Floch killed, but a scheme is now being devised to keep the protected animal away from boats through the use of acoustic repellants. w
Rain Gauge
Daytime Tides for Wed through Sun:
Average:
Water:
Total August Rain: 4.37"
Wed 07:13AM H
01:38PM L
07:50PM H
High
Atlantic
Normal: 7.20"
Thu 08:07AM H
02:33PM L
08:41PM H
88°
84°
For the month: -2.83"
Fri 08:59AM H
03:27PM L
09:30PM H
Low
Gulfstream
Total 2006 rain: 23.39"
Sat 09:50AM H
04:20PM L
10:19PM H
Normal: 36.17"
Sun 10:42AM H
05:11PM L
11:10PM H
69°
86°
For the Year: -12.78"
Call toll free for Jeff’s daily forecast: 1-866-369-2228