we must all write on scratched-out pages.**
Mignon McLaughlin
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.3 SOUTH OF MARIANA ISLANDS
5.1 COQUIMBO, CHILE
Yesterday -
9/27/10 -
5.0 KEPULAUAN OBI, INDONESIA
5.0 NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL PERU
5.0 TONGA REGION
5.1 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
5.2 NORTHEAST OF TAIWAN
5.8 SOUTHERN IRAN
5.1 TUCUMAN, ARGENTINA
5.3 REYKJANES RIDGE
5.2 REYKJANES RIDGE
IRAN - An earthquake in southern Iran killed at least one person and injured three others Monday. The 5.5-magnitude quake hit Monday afternoon near Kazerun, about 50 miles west of Shiraz and 415 miles south of Tehran. "Some old buildings and homes in two nearby villages were also damaged."
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical cyclones.
PHILIPPINES - As October nears, Filipinos may have to brace for "meaner" cyclones that will likely hit the country instead of just passing through Philippine territory. Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said they expect "three to four" cyclones to pass through the country in October. "This time, we are in a transition from the southwest winds to the northwest winds. Coming cyclones will directly affect the country rather than just pass far from the Philippine territory." While there is no weather disturbance near the country for now, the next cyclone to enter or to form inside Philippine territory will be code-named "Juan."
EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
The world sugar price has risen this year to ONE OF ITS HIGHEST LEVELS IN 30 YEARS: it was roughly 26 cents per pound on Monday. Russian agriculture this year has had unbelievably bad luck. A record breaking heat wave and drought devastated the country’s farms - and in the sugar sector the setback was felt especially hard. The drought has brought a run of improving harvests to a sudden halt. At the height of the drought, the Russian Sugar Producers Union cut its forecast for sugar production this year from an anticipated record of 4m tonnes to 3.2m-3.5m tonnes, enough to meet about half the nation’s needs. But experts have warned the final tally could be much lower. Russian sugar beet production could fall to 2.7m-2.8m tonnes this year. Farm machinery will struggle to collect beets that have dug deep roots to seek moisture in parched land. This comes along with a shortage of rain in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar producer and exporter. To darken the mood in Russia further, when heavy rain fell on some farms in the fertile Black Earth region last week, it turned nearby sugar beet fields into a sea of mud, interrupting the harvest and possibly reducing the final tally by even more. “We must collect all the beets before November when the hard frosts set in.” Modern farming methods had helped swell the size of beets to the size of cricket balls in good years. But the drought had a devastating impact. “It looks more like a carrot."
The damage done by the hot weather is partially offset in financial terms by the fact it increases the sugar content of the beets that survive. And the rain did at least nurture newly-sown winter wheat (and it was the impact of the drought on grain that triggered a Russian export ban in August, pushing world wheat prices to the highest level since the food crisis of 2007-08).
HEALTH THREATS -
Millions of people who take daily vitamin pills could be putting themselves at risk of the deadliest form of skin cancer. Research has revealed that supplements containing antioxidants and minerals appear to increase the chances of developing a malignant melanoma. Volunteers given pills containing vitamin E, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, selenium and zinc were four times more likely to get cancer than those who took dummy pills. The increased risk virtually disappeared once patients stopped daily supplements. Now scientists behind the research are calling for those most at risk of skin cancer – fair-skinned types or those with a history of excessive sun exposure – to steer clear of supplements. Women may be more at risk than men, possibly because they have more fat around the skin, where antioxidants and vitamins are mainly stored.
