This kind of methane release, in the present day, is exactly what environmental scientists have been warning us about for years. If temperatures rise slightly higher than they are now, it might be enough to melt frozen methane at the bottom of the oceans, thus releasing the kind of gas mega-bubbles that may have ended so many lives at the end of the Triassic era. The findings may help scientists plan ahead, since humans could potentially contribute 5,000 gigatons of carbon or more to the atmosphere if we were to burn all of our known fossil fuel reserves. So if history is any guide, humans' injection of carbon into the atmosphere might ultimately kill off half of all ocean life - or more.
but nobody does anything about it.**
Mark Twain
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
6.0 FIJI REGION
Yesterday -
7/21/11 -
5.1 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
5.4 BALLENY ISLANDS REGION
5.2 SOUTH OF TONGA
5.3 ZAMBIA
5.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.1 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
TROPICAL STORMS -
-Final Warning was issued for TROPICAL DEPRESSION 08W (MA-ON) LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 435 NM SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF TOKYO, JAPAN.
-HURRICANE DORA CONTINUES TO WEAKEN BUT STILL A DANGEROUS HURRICANE. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR EXTREME SOUTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA.
-TROPICAL STORM CINDY MOVING RAPIDLY NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE FAR NORTHEAST ATLANTIC.
-BRET HAS WEAKENED TO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION FAR OUT IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Heat-wave spreads across central and eastern US - A punishing heat-wave has settled over central and eastern parts of the US, pushing temperatures as high as 37C (99F) and causing up to 22 deaths. The National Weather Service warned of "dangerous" levels of heat and humidity creeping east, with no relief expected in eastern states until Sunday.
AS MUCH AS 50% OF THE US POPULATION WAS UNDER A HEAT ADVISORY. Meteorologists have put the temperatures down to a "dome" of high pressure in the atmosphere. On Thursday, many regions in the central US and parts of the eastern seaboard also saw heat indexes - a combination of temperature and humidity - topping 43C. "This is AN EXCEPTIONALLY STRONG ridge of high pressure that really has AN EXCEPTIONAL SCOPE AND DURATION. "The air is sinking, as it sinks it compresses and gets warmer." It also dries out, so few clouds form to block the high early-summer sun.
Meanwhile, asphalt and concrete pavements and buildings in cities were "re-radiating" the heat. "There's no good place to be."
Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the US, according to the National Weather Service. In the town of Hutchinson in Kansas three elderly people were found dead in separate homes on Wednesday, while the body of a woman in her 80s was found in her bedroom in the nearby state of Missouri. In Minnesota - a northern state known for its frigid winters - farm livestock have been DYING FROM HEAT STRESS AT A RATE NOT SEEN IN THREE DECADES. Turkeys were hit especially hard. In South Dakota, as many as 1,500 head of cattle have died in the heat.
Scattered power cuts were likely in New York in the next several days amid a surge in usage of air conditioning units. Chicago was experiencing unhealthy smog levels caused by the heat. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency asked the city's residents to reduce polluting activities, such as mowing lawns and keeping the engines running on stationary vehicles. Forecasters said the damage caused by the heat could be worse that that brought about by a heat-wave in Chicago in 1995, when more than 700 people died over three days. The most severe heat-wave in modern North American history took place during the Great Depression in 1936. The heat that summer was blamed for more than 5,000 deaths in the US and Canada.
Meanwhile, as half of the country's 310 million residents sizzle, states in the north-western region of the country were experiencing ABNORMALLY COOL TEMPERATURES. "I didn't know it could be this cold in July. It is absolutely freezing here in Seattle." During the past month, Seattle has only experienced three days with temperatures hitting the 27C (80F) mark, with most days falling in the mid-60s.
Record-breaking temperatures were expected in the eastern US Friday and Saturday, and forecasters say THE HEAT IS LIKELY TO LINGER INTO AUGUST. Vast amounts of warmth and moisture have become trapped under a huge “heat dome,” bringing record-breaking temperatures and thick, topical air to scores of cities from North Dakota to the Ohio Valley.
