Connect Savannah 09.13.06 www.connectsavannah.com
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news|Earthweek
Greenhouse Gas Surge
by Steve Newman
6.0
A new in-depth 3.6 analysis of air 4.1 bubbles trapped in a 2-mile-long core of Florence Antarctic ice shows 0 +118 that carbon dioxide levels are Death Valley, substantially higher now than Ê5.3 California John at any time in the last 800,000 years. The new core samples give a climate record 150,000 3.6 years farther back in time than in more shallow previous core drillings. Dr. Eric Wolff, from the British Antarctic Survey, told the BBC: “Over the last 200 years, human activity has increased carbon dioxide to well outside the natural range.” Week Ending September 8, 2006 The greatest increase in the greenhouse gas observed in the between 2005 and 2006, a decrease of 11 sample occurred during the past 30 years, percent over the year before, the environaccording to Wolff. ment ministry said. It is the first significant fall in the rate of deforestation since 1997. Nuclear Test The ministry said studies also showed that The United States said it carried destruction levels are expected to continue out its second “sub-critical” to fall this year, thanks to beefed-up nuclear blast of the year at an enforcement of more stringent environunderground test site in Nevada. mental regulations. The National Nuclear Security Administration said in a statement that the Caribbean Explosions sub-critical tests do not involve nuclear Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills explosion because they are designed to volcano blasted more columns of “examine the behavior of plutonium as it is ash and steam into the eastern strongly shocked by forces produced by Caribbean sky as officials warned chemical high explosives.” The blasts were that the island could see a further increase conducted in underground caverns that are in activity from the mountain. Residents said to prevent any nuclear contamination said the blast sounded like jets flying from reaching the surface. overhead. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory raised the warning level even Amazon Deforestation though the activity did not affect the The Brazilian government northern side of the island, where all of announced that the rate of Montserrat’s remaining 5,000 residents deforestation in the Amazon live. More than half of the British territorain forest appears to be ry’s 12,000 inhabitants have moved away declining in 2006. The region since the volcano roared to life in 1995, lost 6,450 square miles of woodland eventually devastating many parts of the
Temperatures
Jeff Kirk
4.6 Ioke
3.8
4.4 5.8 6.8
one of the committee members who rushed to the SPCA’s offices to help, received at least 50 bee stings herself. “It was pandemonium,” said SPCA chairperson Beulah Engelbrecht. “I’ve never experienced anything like it. The puppies tried to burrow into the soil to get away from the bees.” The newspaper said no one knows what caused the swarm to attack.
Tropical Cyclones
Hurricane John roared ashore on Baja California’s southern tip as a Category-2 hurricane after paralleling Mexico’s Pacific coastline from the south. Officials said at least five people died due to flash flooding caused by the storm. • Typhoon Ioke ended a 17-day passage across half the width of the Pacific Ocean when it lost force off northeastern Japan. • Hurricane Florence formed over the central Atlantic Ocean.
4.0
-110 0
Vostok, Antarctica island.
Earthquakes
A moderate earthquake rocked parts of northeastern India on Tuesday, causing a brief panic among residents in the states of Assam and Meghalaya. • Earth movements were also felt in the southern Philippines, eastern Papua New Guinea, northern New Zealand, Tokyo, Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands, south-central Alaska, southeastern Idaho, the desert resorts of Southern California and Panama.
Killer Bee Attack
Vicious attacks by bees at a South Africa animal shelter left 22 dogs dead, including 12 puppies. The deaths occurred at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Newcastle, about 120 miles south of Johannesburg. One of the animals was stung more than 200 times. The Beeld newspaper reported that Janine de Waal,
Rain Gauge
Monkey Cull
Animal control officers in central Uganda said they killed 50 monkeys in an attempt to prevent further damage to plantations by the animals, which threatens to bring on a famine. The Daily Monitor reports that Mukono district’s member of parliament recently said that monkeys were also disrupting public education in his jurisdiction because children were forced to stay home to guard crops instead of attending class. A local community development officer told the newspaper that the animal control guards were only able to kill a small number of the overall monkey population because they ran out of bullets. w
Daytime Tides for Wed through Sun:
Average:
Water:
Sept. Rain through 10th: 3.14"
Wed 07:10AM L 01:32PM H 07:58PM L
High
Atlantic
Normal: 1.98"
Thu 08:08AM L 02:31PM H 09:03PM L
For the month: +1.16"
Fri 09:10AM L 03:29PM H 10:09PM L
Total 2006 rain: 26.53"
Sat 10:15AM L 04:27PM H 11:09PM L
Normal: 38.15"
Sun 04:57AM L 11:14AM H 05:22PM L
87°
81°
Low
Gulfstream
68°
86°
For the Year: -11.62"
Call toll free for Jeff’s daily forecast: 1-866-369-2228