the place we are to get knowledge is in books.
The true university of these days is a collection of books.**
Albert Camus
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
None 5.0 or larger.
Yesterday -
3/5/13 -
5.4 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
5.0 VANUATU REGION
5.2 NORTHEASTERN SAKHA, RUSSIA
5.1 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
5.8 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
5.0 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
New Zealand - The chance of an eruption at Mt Ruapehu is thought to be declining, with temperatures underneath the crater lake falling during the past month, although they're still considered to be high.
Spectacular eruptions and lava flows at Russian volcano - Rivers of molten lava have been filmed flowing from the the Plosky Tolbachik volcano in the remote Kamchatka Peninsula.
TROPICAL STORMS -
No tropical storms.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Strong winds ground ships near Panama - Video .
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
Massive winter storm pounding the northern United States has grounded 2600 flights, closed hundreds of schools and made roadways and highways impassible. At least four people were killed on Tuesday in accidents on icy and snow covered roads and highways. More than a dozen states from Minnesota to Virginia were in the path of the huge storm, which had already dumped as much as 60cm of snow in Montana and 38cm in North Dakota.
The heavily populated Chicago area was expected to get as much as 2.5cm of snow an hour during the evening rush. Hundreds of ploughs were working the Windy City's roads and freeways, but with up to 30cm of snow expected, there was no way they could keep up. "Consider only travelling if in an emergency," the weather service warned. Nearly 900 flights were grounded at Chicago's O'Hare airport - a major hub - while another 260 were cancelled at Chicago Midway on Tuesday. Over 100 flights were cancelled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which helped push the day's total to 1465.
Another 1162 flights scheduled for Wednesday had already been cancelled, mainly in the Washington area. The storm was expected to hit the nation's capital late Tuesday or early Wednesday, and some Congressional meetings were already being called off. A key vote to keep the federal government funded despite a budget impasse could not be cancelled, however, and was instead rescheduled in hopes of wrapping up work early at the House of Representatives to miss the worst of the weather. "We think the system will develop into a more powerful storm as it passes into the mid Atlantic states. This could be a heavy, wet snow, so there could be tree branches and power lines brought down."
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
India - Extreme weather kills 18,000 pashmina goats in Ladakh. Last year's UNUSUALLY DRY summer and this winter's UNPRECEDENTED SNOWFALL, THE WORST IN NEARLY 50 YEARS, in Ladakh's Changtang area has claimed over 18,000 "pashmina" goats, the source of one of the finest varieties of wool that has put the region on the world map.
Changtang is a high altitude plateau in southeastern Ladakh, inhabited by Changpa (Champa) nomads, and known for its harsh and semi-arid weather with very little vegetation. The harsh winter makes these mountain goats grow extremely warm and very soft coating that is six times finer than human hair and used to produce pashmina wool. Its products including shawls, scarves, wraps, stoles are exported worldwide.
"While rains were scanty last summer, the winter witnessed unprecedented snowfall." Because of the harsh climate no other agricultural activity is possible and the fodder comes mainly from the natural vegetation. Lack of rain last year dried out the natural flora and the heavy snowfall in January and February cut off the region from the rest of the country, preventing fodder supplies. "The goats perished because of extreme cold and lack of food. We had supplied 13,000 quintals in November before the closure of the roads, otherwise loss would have been more."
"Now, 1100 quintals of fodder have been sent in 62 trucks to the area where these animals are located." The members of the Ladakh hill council are helping in organizing additional stocks of fodder to prevent any further loss of these "golden goats". "These conditions also threaten the ancient nomadic lifestyle of the Champa people.". Among the three main lineages of Himalayan Buddhism practised in the region, the Drukpa lineage has the largest number of followers. The harsh climate does not permit agriculture and these people are completely dependent on their livestock.
The pashmina wool has an enormous contribution to Ladakh's economy. "This kind of calamity might convince them to quit the nomadic lifestyle and settle in the villages. This will have a huge impact on the local economy."
