Russia is sending warships to patrol the Arctic for the first time since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Moscow claims it’s a security measure and not an aggressive move. But critics say it’s simply a flag waving excercise in Russia’s campaign to lay claim to the Arctic’s vast energy reserves. Richard Bestic reports. Source: AlJazeera Youtube

Earthquake Details from the USGS
Magnitude 6.4
Date-Time Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 03:26:36 UTC
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 06:26:36 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 35.983°N, 27.785°E
Depth 68.4 km (42.5 miles)
Region DODECANESE ISLANDS, GREECE
Distances 65 km (40 miles) SW of Rodos, Dodecanese Islands, Greece
145 km (90 miles) SSW of Mugla, Turkey
205 km (130 miles) S of Aydin, Turkey
425 km (265 miles) ESE of ATHENS, Greece

Md. men aid in wildfire (Cumberland Times-News)

Use this link for real-time climate change news.

Human influences challenge penguin populations

Global warming, fishing and petroleum pollution lower breeding success of the seabirds

The ecology of penguins makes these iconic swimming and diving seabirds of the Southern Hemisphere unusually susceptible to environmental changes. Pronounced warming in the Antarctic, as well as commercial fishing, mining, and oil and gas development at lower latitudes, has led to declines in many species, according to P. Dee Boersma, of the University of Washington in Seattle. In the July/August 2008 issue of BioScience, Boersma provides a first-person account based on 30 years of studying the birds. Counts of the penguin populations at the 43 remaining breeding “hotspots,” even once every five years, could provide valuable insights into the variability of the ocean ecosystem and the populations’ viability, Boersma writes. Yet counts are carried out only rarely, if at all.

The task is urgent, because many populations seem to be in rapid decline even as some temperate populations have expanded their range southward. Rapid reductions of sea ice off Antarctica in recent years threaten Adélie and emperor penguins, which need ice, but may benefit some populations of relatively ice-intolerant gentoo and chinstrap penguins. Increased snow and rain, another result of the changing climate, reduce breeding success in some gentoo and Adélie penguins.

Temperate penguins, such as Galápagos, Peruvian, and African species, are all declining. Mining of guano, egg harvesting, commercial fishing, and oil spills are the chief causes, according to Boersma, although tourism and increasingly severe El Niño events, probably resulting from climate change, are also partly responsible.

The threats to all penguin species are likely to grow in coming years. Boersma recommends the formation of a nongovernmental organization dedicated to monitoring major aggregations of penguins. Such an organization could provide advance warning of urgent threats and thus make amelioration possible.

One child has been killed and another is seriously injured after strong winds blew over tents at the Huntsville air show in Alabama.
Use this link to read a Fox news report.

Committee still mulling over tax for levee repairs (Edwardsville Journal)

Winfield, Missouri a burrowing muskrat brought down a levee on Friday.

Pacquiao to visit typhoon victims in Iloilo, Negros (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Earthquake Details
Magnitude 4.0
Date-Time Monday, June 23, 2008 at 14:14:57 UTC
Monday, June 23, 2008 at 07:14:57 AM at epicenter

Location 34.060°N, 117.226°W
Depth 9.7 km (6.0 miles)
Region GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
Distances 3 km (2 miles) ENE (61°) from Loma Linda, CA
5 km (3 miles) W (274°) from Redlands, CA
7 km (4 miles) SSW (198°) from Highland, CA
10 km (6 miles) SE (141°) from San Bernardino, CA
94 km (58 miles) E (89°) from Los Angeles Civic Center, CA

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 0.3 km (0.2 miles); depth +/- 0.9 km (0.6 miles)
Parameters Nph=146, Dmin=7 km, Rmss=0.48 sec, Gp= 22°,
M-type=local magnitude (ML), Version=D
Source California Integrated Seismic Net:
USGS Caltech CGS UCB UCSD UNR

Event ID ci14376612

Source: USGS

Just a few survivors of a ferry disaster in the Philippines have made their way to shore.

The “Princess of the Stars” sank in heavy seas caused by Typhoon Fengshen.

Al Jazeera’s Paul Allen reports Source: Aljazeera Youtube

National Zoo Veterinarian Carlos Sanchez performs an ultrasound on giant panda Mei Xiang on May 7, 2008 at the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat. Zoo veterinarians conduct weekly ultrasounds on Mei Xiang to monitor any changes in her reproductive tract and look for evidence of a fetus. So far, the ultrasounds have not shown evidence of one. Because panda fetuses do not start developing until the last weeks of a gestation period, Zoo veterinarians say they do not yet expect to see a fetus.

Photo Credit Jessie Cohen/Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Photo is below the video:

typhoon frank_wet market, originally uploaded by Torn Agustin.

Typhoon Fengshen hit the Philippines for a second day on Sunday.

Earthquake Details
Magnitude 5.4
Date-Time Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 11:36:27 UTC
Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 02:36:27 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 36.230°N, 21.898°E
Depth 42 km (26.1 miles)
Region SOUTHERN GREECE
Distances 90 km (55 miles) SSW of Kalamata, Greece
205 km (130 miles) WNW of Chania, Crete, Greece
225 km (140 miles) S of Patras, Greece
255 km (160 miles) SW of ATHENS, Greece

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 8.9 km (5.5 miles); depth +/- 14.3 km (8.9 miles)
Parameters NST= 50, Nph= 50, Dmin=558.9 km, Rmss=1.31 sec, Gp= 76°,
M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID us2008tnbb
Source: USGS

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