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According to the latest forecast released Thursday by NOAA's Climate
Prediction Center, this year's El Niño is "significant and
strengthening.""There is a greater than 90% chance that El Niño will continue through Northern Hemisphere winter 2015-16, and around an 85% chance it will last into early spring 2016," the NOAA said in a statement................Fears for weather-related havoc across the globe.
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Obama warns of stark future without climate action...
ReplyDeleteSubmerged countries, abandoned cities and floods of refugees await the world barring urgent action on climate change, President Barack Obama warned Monday, painting a doomsday scenario as he opened a visit to Alaska.
In a bid to further his environmental legacy, Obama brought the power of the presidential pulpit to Anchorage and called on other nations to take swift action as negotiations for a global climate treaty near a close. In a speech to an Arctic climate summit, Obama sought to set the tone for a three-day tour of Alaska - including the first visit by a sitting president above the Arctic Circle - that will put the state's liquefying glaciers and sinking villages on graphic display.
"On this issue - of all issues -there is such a thing as being too late," Obama said. "And that moment is almost upon us."
During his tour of Alaska, Obama planned to hike a glacier, converse with fishermen and tape a reality TV show with survivalist Bear Grylls - all part of a highly orchestrated White House campaign to illustrate how climate change has damaged Alaska's stunning landscape. The goal at each stop is to create powerful visuals that show real-world effects of climate change and drive home Obama's message that the crisis is already occurring.
Evoking ominous consequences, Obama said that climate change left unchecked would soon trigger global conflict and "condemn our children to a planet beyond their capacity to repair." In the Arctic, which is warming faster than any other corner of the globe, Obama said melting permafrost and disintegrating sea ice risk floods, fires and unimaginable economic damage.
"It's already changing the way Alaskans live," Obama said............france24.com
1/9/15
Parade à Pékin: des singes pour lutter contre les oiseaux...
ReplyDeleteEn Chine, un détachement composé de singes va "nettoyer" les rues des oiseaux avant la tenue du défilé consacré au 70e anniversaire de la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
Le défilé à l’occasion des célébrations de l’anniversaire de la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale aura lieu à Pékin le 3 septembre. Les autorités chinoises préparent activement cet évènement de grande envergure. La capitale chinoise accueillera un grand nombre d’hôtes importants, y compris Vladimir Poutine.
Plus de 12.000 militaires ainsi que des chars et quelques 200 avions prendront part aux festivités. Les exercices aériens seront l’atout du programme. Les pilotes chinois vont effectuer différentes manœuvres dans les airs, y compris un ravitaillement en vol.
Il semble que rien ni personne ne puisse entraver les célébrations de cette grande fête à part… des oiseaux!
Afin d’éliminer "l’ennemi", les forces armées chinoises ont préparé et entraîné un détachement de singes qui devraient chasser les oiseaux des rues où aura lieu le défilé. Les organisateurs de l’évènement espèrent que cette mesure permettra d’empêcher les oiseaux de pénétrer dans les turbines des avions et d’éviter d’endommager les matériels militaires.
Les forces armées chinoises ont appris aux macaques à grimper aux arbres afin de détruire les nids et de chasser les oiseaux des lieux où sont situées des bases aériennes militaires. En outre, selon l’armée chinoise, l'odeur des animaux reste sur les arbres et rebute certains oiseaux.
"Le recours aux singes est une idée novatrice qui a prouvé son efficacité. Ils parviennent à effectuer leur tâche mieux que les hommes", rapporte un colonel chinois.
A l’heure actuelle, les singes ont déjà détruit plus de 180 nids près de la base aérienne aux environs de Pékin. Comme rémunération pour leur travail, les singes "touchent" et croquent des pommes et autres friandises.
Les autorités de Pékin ont également interdit aux citoyens de faire s’envoler les pigeons pendant toute la durée de la parade...............http://sptnkne.ws/ESX
1/9/15
Soyouz-FG a décollé de Baïkonour, direction l’ISS...
ReplyDeleteLa fusée Soyouz-FG qui transporte un nouvel équipage à son bord a été lancée vers l'ISS depuis le cosmodrome de Baïkonour au Kazakhstan.
A bord, trois membres d’équipage, le Russe Sergueï Volkov, le Kazakh Aïdyn Aimbetov et Andreas Mogensen, astronaute danois qui représente l’Agence spatiale européenne, sont partis pour rejoindre la Station spatiale internationale (ISS). L'arrimage est prévu pour le 4 septembre...............http://sptnkne.ws/Fee
2/9/15
Over 4,000 people affected by typhoon Goni in Russia’s Far East...
ReplyDeleteMore than 4,000 people have been affected by typhoon Goni that has brought flash floods in the Primorye region, in Russia’s Far East, Deputy Governor Alexander Los said on Wednesday.
"In total, more than 1,100 houses have been inundated in the region, and over 4,000 people have been affected," Los said, adding that the authorities are preparing to compensate for the damage.
A state of emergency has been declared in 10 municipal districts of the region, he said. The official praised local emergencies personnel for the relief effort after the typhoon, saying this is the strongest storm in the past 60 years.
The super-powerful typhoon, which battered western Japan in late August, slammed into the Primorye region on August 27 and brought the record-level rainfall. The emergency services in Vladivostok were put on high alert to deal with the aftermath.
http://tass.ru/en/russia/818076
Europe’s tallest greenhouse will open this autumn in Moscow to mark the 70th birthday of the capital’s central botanical gardens, a City Hall spokesman on Friday...
ReplyDeleteThe 34-meter greenhouse will have premises with tropical and subtropical climate.
Unique plants from many parts the world will be displayed at an area of nearly 9,000 square meters.
http://tass.ru/en/non-political/818986
4/9/15
The Philippine government and some environmental groups have instituted measures to mitigate the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon which is expected to hit the Philippines and other countries in the Asia Pacific region later this year....
ReplyDeleteThe EcoWaste Coalition, a local environmental watchdog, has called on the public to reduce water and electricity consumption as these two commodities would be the first to be affected by the prolonged drought caused by El Nino.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently predicted the occurrence of "one of the strongest El Nino in recorded history" in the coming months, with expert Bill Patzert saying that it "has the potential of being the Godzilla El Nino."
El Nino means The Little Boy, or Christ Child in Spanish.
It was originally recognized by fishermen off the coast of South America in the 1600s, with the appearance of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean.
The name was chosen based on the time of year (around December) during which these warm waters tended to occur. The warmer waters are normally confined to the western Pacific by winds that blow from east to west, pushing the warmer water toward Indonesia and Australia.
El Nino occurs every two to seven years in varying intensity, and the waters of the eastern Pacific can be up to 4 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than usual...................http://www.china.org.cn/environment/2015-09/05/content_36502367.htm
Brazil indigenous group Guarani-Kaiowa 'attacked'...
ReplyDeleteMembers of the Guarani-Kaiowa indigenous community in western Brazil say they have come under attack from local farmers.
A group of armed men in about 30 vehicles drove onto their land in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and began to shoot randomly, they reported.
They said they had to run for their lives and hide in a nearby forest.
Tension has been high since an indigenous leader was killed during a land occupation protest a week ago.
Federal troops have been sent to the area to try to restore order.
Prosecutors have opened an investigation into allegations that local farmers have set up a militia to fight the indigenous groups in Mato Grosso do Sul...............http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34166666
30 years on, French agent apologises for sinking Rainbow Warrior...
ReplyDeleteThe French secret service frogman who attached the mines which sank the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand 30 years ago apologised for his actions in an interview Sunday with investigative website Mediapart.
Jean-Luc Kister, whose face was not covered in the hour-long video interview, said he believed it was now the right time to say sorry to the family of Portuguese photographer Fernando Pereira, who was killed in the explosion, to Greenpeace and to the people of New Zealand.
"Thirty years after the event, now that emotions have subsided and also with the distance I now have from my professional life, I thought it was the right time for me to express both my deepest regret and my apologies," Kister said.
On July 10, 1985, the Rainbow Warrior was docked in Auckland on its way to protest against French nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll, about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) southeast of Tahiti.
Kister was working for France's spy agency, the DGSE, which carried out an unprecedented mission to stop Greenpeace by bombing a peaceful protest ship without warning in the waters of a friendly nation.
He was part of the so-called "third team", whose mission was to attach two large limpet mines to the hull of the converted trawler, working with fellow frogman Jean Camas.
A third member of the team, Gerard Royal, a brother of France's current environment minister and former presidential candidate Segolene Royal, picked up the two men in a dinghy after the covert operation.
"I have the blood of an innocent man on my conscience, and that weighs on me," a visibly emotional Kister said in the interview. "We are not cold-blooded killers. My conscience led me to apologise and explain myself."
He said the mission that the 12-strong unit were ordered to carry out by then French defence minister Charles Hernu was "disproportionate" and he claimed that other less drastic ways of damaging the ship, such as breaking the propeller shaft to prevent it from taking to sea, were rejected by the government.
"There was a willingness at a high level to say: this has to end once and for all, we need to take radical measures. We were told we had to sink it. Well, it's simple to sink a boat, you have to put a hole in it."..........http://www.france24.com/en/20150906-france-rainbow-warrior-dgse-sinking-greenpeace
6/9/15
Feux de forêts en Indonésie, fumée jusqu'en Malaisie et à Singapour ...
ReplyDeleteDes feux de forêts en Indonésie ont entraîné mardi des annulations de vols et des appels à la population à rester chez elle en raison de la fumée affectant la qualité de l'air jusqu'en Malaisie et à Singapour, deux pays voisins.
D'épais nuages de fumée provenaient de l'île de Sumatra et de celle de Kalimantan, partie indonésienne de l'île de Bornéo. La culture du brûlis, illégale, y est encore largement pratiquée pour le défrichement, provoquant de nombreux incendies comme chaque année à la même période.
Dans la province de Riau, à Sumatra, la qualité de l'air a atteint des niveaux dangereux pour la santé et la visibilité a été réduite à 100 mètres. L'aéroport et les écoles de la capitale provinciale ont été fermés, et la population a été invitée à ne pas sortir.
Des vols d'autres aéroports ont aussi été perturbés par ces événements.
A Singapour, ville-Etat située à l'ouest de Sumatra, la fumée a ombragé les gratte-ciel, et la qualité de l'air a dépassé le niveau "malsain".
Plusieurs régions de l'ouest de la Malaisie, y compris la capitale Kuala Lumpur, étaient également affectées par un air de mauvaise qualité provenant des fumées d'incendies en Indonésie..............rtbf.be
8/9/15
Les Alpes polluées par les vêtements des touristes...
ReplyDeleteUne forte concentration de composés perfluorés, utilisés dans l’industrie de l’habillement touristique, a été enregistrée dans les Alpes suisses par une expédition de Greenpeace.
En mai et juin 2015, huit équipes de Greenpeace ont mené des expéditions sur trois continents dans les endroits les plus beaux et censés être intacts, de notre planète. Les équipes ont recueilli des échantillons d'eau et de neige pour les tester. Des perfluorocarbures (PFC) ont été retrouvés dans les échantillons de toutes les zones visitées: en Altaï (Russie), dans les Andes (Chili), au Haba (Chine). Les plus fortes concentrations en PFC ont été retrouvées dans les Alpes en Suisse, dans les Hautes Tatras en Slovaquie et dans les Apennins en Italie......http://sptnkne.ws/GRN
8/9/15
Une équipe franco-russe a découvert un nouveau type de virus géant, baptisé "mollivirus sibericum", dans les sols gelés en Sibérie...
ReplyDeleteCe virus vieux de 30.000 ans gît dans les sols gelés de Sibérie, appelés permafrost. Contrairement aux autres virus, ce virus "géant", prélevé dans l'extrême nord-est sibérien, est visible au microscope optique. Il possède plus de 500 gènes et a la forme d'une coque oblongue de 0,6 micromètres de long.............http://sptnkne.ws/GV3
8/9/15
French scientists have announced they found a new prehistoric virus in the frozen Siberian wastelands, and are planning to bring it back to life. They promise to make sure that the giant virus won’t harm anyone...
DeleteThe virus is called Mollivirus sibericum, translated as ‘soft virus from Siberia’, and measures at 0.6 microns, just over a thousandth of a millimeter. Thus, it is officially termed a ‘giant virus’.
It is also a monster among other viruses, with 523 genetic proteins, while, for comparison, a flu virus genome has only 11.
It is the fourth type of prehistoric virus found since 2003, and the second by the French researchers, who announced the discovery in the United States National Academy of Sciences journal. They found the virus in the same sample taken from a depth of 30m Chukotka, East Siberia where they discovered another prehistoric giant virus type, called Pithovirus sibericum.
Scientists are now set to ‘wake up’ the virus, but will first make sure that it is inactive and can’t trigger disease in humans or animals............http://on.rt.com/6qww
Reverse gas supplies from Europe cost Ukraine $20-30 more than supplies of Russian gas, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told reporters...
ReplyDelete"It is common knowledge that the reverse gas they [Ukraine - TASS] receive from several European countries costs $20-30 more to consumers," the official noted. "Is it is cheaper to receive the Russian gas, or to get reverse gas but for $20-30 dollars more, which means paying the price of $270-280 per 1,000 cubic meters, I mean the price of the third quarter," Medvedev said.
http://tass.ru/en/economy/819666
A wildfire raging in California's Kings Canyon National Park forced the evacuation of about 20 homes and a heat wave prompted concern that the blaze will continue to spread, authorities said on Tuesday...
ReplyDeleteAt 98,000 acres (40,000 hectares), the so-called Rough Fire is the largest wildfire currently burning in California, the U.S. Forest Service said, as the state wilts under a heat wave expected to bring temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 Celsius).
The Rough Fire cast smoke over numerous popular hiking and camping area in the southern part of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Fresno, prompting cancellation of tours and other activities. All campgrounds in Kings Canyon National Park were closed for the Labor Day weekend and remained closed on Tuesday..........http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-california-wildfire-threatens-forest-homes/2953434.html
Shanghai va fermer plus de 150 usines pour assurer un ciel bleu à Disneyland ...
ReplyDeleteLes autorités de Shanghai vont faire fermer 153 sites industriels polluants et obsolètes dans les environs du futur parc Disneyland, qui doit ouvrir l'an prochain, afin d'"améliorer" la qualité de l'environnement local, selon le gouvernement municipal.
Ces usines "hautement polluantes (...) et peu efficaces" doivent être fermées d'ici fin 2016, un processus censé assurer "la bienvenue" au parc d'attractions du groupe Disney, a expliqué sur son site l'agence de planification économique de la ville.
Les entreprises concernées appartiennent principalement aux secteurs de la chimie, du textile, de la fabrication de pièces mécaniques, dans le quartier de Zhoupu.
La construction du Disneyland Shanghai avait été entamée en 2011, et son ouverture, originellement prévue cette année, avait été repoussée à courant 2016 par le groupe américain.
D'un coût de quelque 5,5 milliards de dollars, il s'agit du premier parc Disney en Chine continentale, où l'entreprise espère séduire une classe moyenne en plein essor.
En contraste saisissant avec les industries polluantes, le gouvernement shanghaïen ambitionne de redévelopper les sites incriminés dans le cadre d'un projet promouvant le "tourisme rural".
Les autorités n'ont donné aucune indication sur les coûts supportés par les entreprises contraintes de déménager leurs moyens de production, ni sur le nombre d'employés concernés.
rtbf.be
9/9/15
Japan: Storm flood rips through residential neighborhood; helicopters pull survivors from collapsing homes...
ReplyDeleteBanks of the Kinugawa River collapsed Thursday after torrential rain in Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, flooding a residential neighborhood and creating scenes of devastation. Aerial images showed dozens if not hundreds of houses hit by a torrent of water, with some crumbling and being swept away.
Footage from NHK showed emergency personnel using helicopters to pull stranded residents from balconies, as the deluge threatened to demolish the buildings from beneath them.
The scenes were reminiscent of the March 2011 tsunami. There was no immediate word of the death toll.
In one day care center in the area, 18 children and staffers were said to be safe after having evacuated to a neighboring house and were awaiting help.
The flooding was partly the result of Typhoon Etau, which brought high winds and heavy rains when it slammed into Japan Wednesday morning. The Kanto region and surrounding districts were particularly badly hit..............japantimes.co.jp
10/9/15
Japan evacuates 100,000 in floods sparked by rare torrential rains...
ReplyDeleteJapan evacuated about 100,000 people from their homes on Thursday, after rare torrential rains unleashed floods that left at least two people missing and stranded many more when rivers surged over their banks.
A further 800,000 people across eastern Japan have been advised to evacuate after officials issued pre-dawn warnings of unusually harsh rainfall to 5 million people.
Television broadcast pictures of helicopters plucking individuals from rooftops, while one elderly couple sat on a roof clutching a pair of dogs.
Some areas received double the usual September rainfall within 48 hours after tropical storm Etau swept across the central part of Japan's main island of Honshu......reuters.com
10/9/15
Japanese military helicopters plucked dozens of residents from the tops of their homes Thursday, but rescue officials said they were unable to keep up with the pleas for help after raging floodwaters swamped parts of a city north of Tokyo...
ReplyDeleteAs heavy rain pummeled Japan for a second straight day, the Kinugawa River broke through a flood berm, sending a wall of water into Joso, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Japan's capital.
National broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of rescuers lowered from helicopters and clambering onto second-floor balconies to reach stranded residents. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
In one dramatic scene, the rescuer could be seen descending four times from a military helicopter over a 20-minute period to lift up four people one-by-one, as a deluge of water swept around their home.........AP...........timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Une nouvelle espèce du genre humain découverte en Afrique du Sud...
ReplyDeleteL'Homo naledi a été présenté, jeudi, en Afrique du Sud. Cette espèce, appartenant à la famille de l'homme moderne, aurait vécu il y a plus de trois millions d'années.
"Je suis ravi de vous présenter une nouvelle espèce du genre humain". L'Homo naledi a été dévoilé au public, jeudi 10 septembre, par le professeur Lee Berger, de l'Université de Witwatersrand en Afrique du sud.
Il mesurait environ 1,5 mètre et pesait 45 kilos, tandis que son cerveau avait la taille d'une orange. L'Homo naledi vivait sur le continent africain il y a environ trois millions d'années.
Ses mains "laissent supposer qu'il avait la capacité de manier des outils", ses doigts étaient extrêmement incurvés. "Il est pratiquement impossible de distinguer ses pieds de ceux d'un homme moderne", précise un communiqué conjoint de l'université du Wits, la National Geographic Society et du ministère sud-africain des Sciences.
Découverte "remarquable"
L'Home naledi présente aussi des caractéristiques très particulières : "Certains aspects, comme ses mains, ses poignets et ses pieds, sont très proches de ceux de l'homme moderne. Dans le même temps, son petit cerveau et la forme de la partie supérieure de son corps sont plus proches du groupe pré-humain des australopithèques", explique le professeur Chris Stringer du Musée d'histoire naturelle de Londres.....................http://www.france24.com/fr/20150910-homo-naledi-nouvelle-espece-humain-afrique-sud-habilis-australopitheque
10/9/15
Glaciers of Russia's Yakutia Republic reduced by 70% over 50 years...
ReplyDeleteThe glaciers of Russia’s Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) [Siberia] have reduced by 70% for the past 50 years, Doctor of Geography Science Alexey Galanin told TASS on Friday.
"Starting from 1957, an approximate date of the global warming process beginning, the mount glaciers’ height has reduced by 70%, its total area faced decrease of 40%," Galanin said. "Furthermore over the last ten years the speed of glaciers’ melting has been rising."
Melting process has caused the 2,000-year-old glaciers appearing at the surface. According to the scientist, such a fast melting may be followed by the water level increase in the northern rivers of the region.
"Climate changes are not that dangerous for the Sakha Republic as for other regions," he said.
According to experts, the climate changing process has a cycling core, so the warming may last till 2020, after that cooling process might start...............http://tass.ru/en/science/820598
11/9/15
At least 44 people were killled in a town in central India on Saturday when a cooking gas cylinder blew up in a restaurant and set fire to explosives stored nearby, police said....
ReplyDeleteThe gas cylinder exploded as people were gathering for breakfast at the restaurant in the town of Petlawad in the state of Madhya Pradesh, about 800 km (500 miles) south of New Delhi, Inspector B.L. Gaur told Reuters.
Gaur said the restaurant was near an area which stored gelatine sticks used at construction sites.
"There was a second explosion, there were more casulaties," Gaur said, adding the blast was so powerful it damaged adjacent buildings and ripped out nearby windows.
Another 60 people were injured in the explosion, Gaur said.
Television footage showed a collapsed building and people searching for bodies in the rubble.
Madhya Pradesh's chief minister has announced compensation for the victims' families, local media reported.
Reuters
12/9/15
A relatively small but fast-moving wildfire in California's Sierra Nevada mountains grew overnight, destroying homes and threatening about 6,000 residences, fire officials said Saturday...
ReplyDeleteThe so-called Butte Fire has destroyed 15 homes in rural Amador and Calaveras counties, where it covers an estimated 64,728 acres (26,195 hectares), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Lynn Tolmachoff said.
She said the fire grew overnight after officials initially overestimated the area of the blaze Friday.
Tolmachoff said she expects the tally of destroyed homes to grow as inspectors assess the damage Saturday. Residents in the area were required to evacuate Friday.
"There are a lot of homes there, but they're spread pretty far and wide," she said.
About 3,300 firefighters are working to contain the fire, which erupted Wednesday and spread late Friday near the former gold mining town of Jackson. Officials listed it has 10 percent contained Saturday morning.......Reuters.......dailystar.com.lb
12/9/15
Hundreds of people rushed to escape a massive wildfire charging across the tinder-dry Sierra Nevada foothills, and another fast-moving blaze broke out in Northern California on Saturday that caused burn injuries to four firefighters...
DeleteThe firefighters, all members of a helicopter crew, got burned while battling the 400-acre blaze that began in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, and forced the evacuation of a town of about 1,800, said Daniel Berlant, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman.
The firefighters were rushed to a hospital burn unit for treatment; their conditions have not been released.
To the east, a blood-red sun pushed through a choking fog of smoke and ash that turned the grassy, tree-studded Sierra Nevada foothills about 70 miles southeast of Sacramento an eerie white. Away from the burned-out cars and smoldering remains of homes, Area residents who fled the flames rested at evacuation centers...............AP......voanews.com
California wildfires: Governor declares state of emergency...
DeleteThe governor of California has declared a state of emergency after wildfires forced thousands of people to flee their homes in the north of the state.
Governor Jerry Brown said the fires had destroyed buildings in the Napa and Lake counties and threatened hundreds of others.
More than 1,300 people fled Middletown, north of San Francisco, as their homes were consumed by the flames.
Four firefighters who were badly burned are receiving treatment in hospital.
The fires across northern California are being blamed on high temperatures and years of drought.
The state spent $212m (£137m) fighting the flames in July alone, California's forestry and fire protection department spokesman Daniel Berlant told the AFP news agency.
He said more than 275 homes and other buildings had been destroyed and the Red Cross is opening emergency shelters for evacuated residents.....BBC
Californie: des milliers de personnes fuient les incendies ...
DeleteDes incendies se sont propagés rapidement dans le nord de la Californie, détruisant des centaines de maisons et forçant des milliers de personnes à fuir leur domicile, ont annoncé les autorités dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche. Quatre pompiers ont été blessés, des brûlures au second degré, en luttant contre les feux et se trouvent dans un état stationnaire à l'hôpital.
Une sécheresse exceptionnelle
Les incendies dans le comté des lacs, dont la progression a été accélérée par des vents puissants et des températures élevées se sont étendus sur 10 117 hectares, a précisé sur Twitter le porte-parole des pompiers, Daniel Berlant.
L'incendie dans les comtés d'Amador et de Calavera se développe sur une étendue de plus de 30 000 hectares, selon les pompiers. Près de 4000 pompiers luttent contre ces incendies qui ont détruit 86 maisons et 51 immeubles.
Les feux se propagent dans l'ouest des Etats-Unis frappés par la sécheresse cette année et pourraient être les plus dommageables de l'histoire...............rtbf.be
Les abeilles tueuses envahissent la Californie...
ReplyDeleteSelon les écologistes, les abeilles africanisées risquent de remplacer les abeilles locales dans toutes les régions du sud des Etats-Unis.
Les abeilles tueuses, une lignée d'abeilles hybrides très agressives, conquièrent de nouveaux territoires en Californie et se déplacent vers le nord, ce qui risque de provoquer la disparition des abeilles locales dans le sud des Etats-Unis, ont indiqué les écologistes Yoshiaki Kono et Joshua Kohn dans un article publié par le magazine PloS One.
Introduites au Mexique en 1985, les abeilles tueuses ont atteint le Texas et d'autres Etats du Sud des Etats-Unis cinq ans plus tard, a indiqué Joshua Kohn, de l'Université de San Diego (Californie). Ces insectes agressifs au venin très toxique ont déjà provoqué la mort de plusieurs centaines de personnes dans le monde entier.............http://sptnkne.ws/Jnn
13/9/15
Visitors around Mount Aso, a volcano and a tourist spot located in Kumamoto Prefecture in southwest Japan, have been ordered to evacuate from the area following the volcano eruption early Monday...
ReplyDeleteThe Japan Meteorological Agency has issued level-3 alert on the scale of 5 around the crater shortly after the volcano erupted at around 9:49 a.m. local time.
It said there was a danger from falling rocks and from smoke from the plume.
Footage of Japan's national broadcaster NHK showed tourist buses and other visitor vehicles parking in a service area close to the volcano.
There is no immediate report on injuries.
The volcano last erupted Aug. 8, when the alert level was raised to 2.
Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" and is home to more than 100 active volcanoes.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/942272.shtml
14/9/15
Alerte au volcan au Japon: touristes éloignés et vols annulés...
DeleteLe Mont Aso, l’un des volcans les plus surveillés au Japon, est entré en éruption. Le pays a demandé aux touristes de s’éloigner du site. Plusieurs vols ont également dû être annulés.
Le Japon a demandé lundi aux touristes de s'éloigner du volcan Aso qui est entré en éruption dans la matinée et crachait toujours en tout début d'après-midi de la fumée et des cendres.
Alerte niveau 3
Les autorités ont élevé à 3 le niveau d'alerte volcanique sur une échelle de cinq, alors qu'un épais panache de fumée blanche et de cendres noires s'élevait à environ 2.000 mètres au-dessus de l'énorme volcan situé sur l'île de Kyushu dans le sud-est du pays. Ni victimes ni dégâts n'ont été signalés, ont précisé les autorités, appelant les visiteurs de ce site très apprécié à évacuer rapidement............rtl.be
14/9/15
Tepco on Monday discharged into the ocean filtered groundwater taken from wells around the damaged reactor buildings at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in an effort to curb the buildup of toxic water...
ReplyDeleteThe project has been touted as one of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s key measures in tackling the contaminated water problem.
Some 300 tons of untainted groundwater seeps into the buildings each day, where it mixes with water made radioactive by keeping the damaged reactors cool.
By pumping up groundwater through 41 wells and discharging it into the sea after treatment, the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. hope to halve the amount flowing into the reactor buildings..............japantimes.co.jp
14/9/15
A meteorite spotted over Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, on September 7 has become the largest celestial body to reach the Earth’s atmosphere this year, the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand said on Monday....
ReplyDeleteThe four-meter-diameter, 66-ton meteorite was travelling at 75,600 kilometres per hour before exploding at an altitude of 29.3 kilometers above ground, the astronomers said. Its trail of white smoke was caught on dashcams of dozens of Bangkok motorists.......http://tass.ru/en/science/820928
14/9/15
Un lanceur russe Proton-M transportant le satellite de télécommunications Express-AM8 a décollé lundi depuis le cosmodrome de Baïkonour, au Kazakhstan, a annoncé l'Agence fédérale spatiale russe (Roskosmos)...
ReplyDelete"Le tir du Proton a eu lieu à l'heure prévue (…). Le bloc d'accélératoin DM-03 et le satellite se sont déjà séparés du troisième étage du Proton", a indiqué un représentant de Roskosmos.
Il s'agit du deuxième tir d'un Proton après l'accident du 16 mai dernier, qui a provoqué la perte du satellite mexicain MexSat-1.
http://sptnkne.ws/J8u
14/9/15
Des chercheurs chinois ont découvert d’immenses réserves d'eau souterraines dans l'une des régions les plus arides de la planète...
ReplyDeleteLa découverte a été faite dans le bassin du Tarim, dans la province chinoise du Xinjiang (nord-ouest), rapporte la chaîne Discovery.
Pendant des travaux de recherche sur le réchauffement climatique dans cette région, les scientifiques se sont aperçus que d'importantes quantités de dioxyde de carbone y disparaissaient sans aucune raison apparente.
En fait, le bassin du Tarim est un énorme "puits de carbone", une zone qui contribue à limiter le réchauffement climatique. D'habitude, ce sont des forêts ou des océans qui aspirent le carbone. En mesurant des échantillons de dioxyde de carbone dans différents emplacements du désert, les chercheurs sont parvenus à estimer la quantité d'eau infiltrée dans le bassin........http://sptnkne.ws/JJn
15/9/15
USA: 15 morts dont six enfants dans des inondations éclairs dans l'Utah...
ReplyDelete(Belga) Quinze personnes, dont six enfants, sont mortes dans des crues subites dans l'Utah (ouest des Etats-Unis), selon les autorités locales mardi.
Douze des victimes sont issues de deux familles qui étaient à bord de deux voitures emportées par les flots lundi dans la petite ville de Hildale. Les trois autres victimes ont été surprises par la subite montée des eaux dans le Parc national de Zion, au nord-est de Las Vegas. (Belga)
rtl.be
16/9/15
Populations of marine mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have declined by 49% since 1970, a report says....
ReplyDeleteThe study says some species people rely on for food are faring even worse, noting a 74% drop in the populations of tuna and mackerel.
In addition to human activity such as overfishing, the report also says climate change is having an impact.
The document was prepared by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London.............http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34265672
16/9/15
Up to Half of World's Food Goes to Waste ...
ReplyDeleteThe statistic has been repeated so often, it might have lost its potency: up to half of the food the world produces is thrown out, rather than eaten.
But wasteful consumers in wealthy nations are not the only culprits. Poor countries, too, are tossing out perfectly good food, sometimes at the same scale, according to Elliot Woolley, lecturer in sustainable manufacturing at Loughborough University in Britain.
What’s notable, though, is that developed and developing countries have different causes and solutions for their waste, whether it’s food or any other items that could wind up in landfills.
In poor places like Chad, Woolley said, food is usually lost while still in the field or during storage and transportation, thanks to business inefficiencies. Once the produce is sold, families tend to eat everything they buy. That’s in contrast to British, American, and other consumers, who discard as much as half of their food purchases.
“I think this is a disgrace,” Woolley said Wednesday at the 13th annual Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, this year hosted by the Vietnamese-German University.................http://www.voanews.com/content/up-to-half-of-world-food-goes-to-waste/2967359.html
17/9/15
More Than 1,000 Homes Destroyed By California Wildfires ...
ReplyDeleteThe tally of homes destroyed by two massive Northern California wildfires topped 1,000 Saturday after authorities doing damage assessments in the Sierra Nevada foothills counted another 250 houses destroyed by flames still threatening thousands of more structures.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said the count of 511 homes destroyed by the blaze burning for more than a week in Amador and Calaveras counties comes as firefighters make progress and damage-inspection teams have access to affected areas.
Cal Fire had reported 252 homes destroyed as of Friday night by the fire that has charred nearly 300 square kilometers.
"Some of the homes are tucked back in rural areas, so it's taken time to reach them," Berlant said................http://www.voanews.com/content/california-wildfires/2971078.html
20/9/15
Britain pledges 2 billion for nuclear plant ...
ReplyDeleteBritain pledged 2 billion ($3.1 billion) on Sept.21 for a nuclear plant set to be built in England by a consortium, including Chinese firms, which would be the country's first such new power station in decades.
Chancellor George Osborne announced the funding during a visit to China, saying the Hinkley Point plant was necessary to meet Britain's energy needs as older coal and nuclear plants are retired.
A consortium led by French energy company EDF is expected to make a final decision this year on whether to invest in the plant, but the firm's chief executive welcomed the funding pledge.
"The Chancellor's approval of the infrastructure guarantee is a clear sign of the Government's commitment to Hinkley Point C," Vincent de Rivas was quoted as saying in a statement from the British Treasury.
EDF is the lead contractor in the consortium, which also includes state-run Chinese firms China General Nuclear Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation.
The Chinese companies are expected to largely finance and get a stake of around 40 percent in the project, which will have two new reactors that authorities hope will generate seven percent of Britain's electricity.
The announcement came during a five-day trip by Osborne during which he is pushing for closer trade ties with the world's second-largest economy, even as global concerns deepen about its health.
"We very much welcome Chinese investment not just in that project but the potential for majority Chinese investment in future nuclear projects in the United Kingdom," he told reporters.........AFP
21/9/15
La fracturation hydraulique a multiplié par 300 les séismes en Oklahoma...
ReplyDeleteLes dangers écologiques de la fracturation hydraulique sont mis en avant depuis plusieurs années par ses opposants. Ils pourront désormais s'appuyer sur l'augmentation du nombre de séismes dans l'Oklahoma, au centre des États-Unis.
Les grandes plaines de l'Oklahoma subissaient jusqu'à récemment deux séismes par an, mais il y en a désormais deux par jour. Avec une coupable toute désignée : la fracturation hydraulique pour récupérer des hydrocarbures.
Situé en plein milieu des États-Unis et bien loin des principales failles géologiques, l'Oklahoma a enregistré 585 séismes de magnitude d'au moins 3 sur l'échelle de Richter en 2014. C'est plus du triple que les 180 survenus en Californie située, elle, sur plusieurs failles.
Et le rythme s'affole, avec déjà 600 séismes depuis début 2015. La secousse la plus puissante, d'une magnitude de 4,5 a été mesurée dans la petite ville de Crescent. "C'est complètement sans précédent", souligne George Choy, sismologue au Centre de surveillance géologique...............http://www.france24.com/fr/20150925-etats-unis-oklahoma-gaz-petrole-schiste-fracturation-hydraulique-augmentation-seismes
25/9/15
Big Tokyo quake will damage 20% of medical institutions: ministry study...
ReplyDeleteAbout 20 percent of medical institutions will be crippled if a huge earthquake occurs beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area, with nearly 50,000 beds becoming unusable, a health ministry study team has found.
Also according to the study results learned by Jiji Press on Sunday, 19 of 141 designated disaster relief hospitals in Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama will not be able to admit patients.
The ministry team calls for establishing systems in which surviving medical institutions can cooperate with each other to accept and treat patients...........japantimes.co.jp
27/9/15
Shell stops Arctic activity after 'disappointing' tests...
ReplyDeleteRoyal Dutch Shell has stopped Arctic oil and gas exploration off the coast of Alaska after "disappointing" results from a key well in the Chukchi Sea.
In a surprise announcement, the company said it would end exploration off Alaska "for the foreseeable future".
Shell said it did not find sufficient amounts of oil and gas in the Burger J well to warrant further exploration.
The company has spent about $7bn (£4.5bn) on Arctic offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
"Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of strategic importance to Alaska and the US," said Marvin Odum, president of Shell USA.
"However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin."
Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling and say industrial activity and more greenhouse gases will harm polar bears, walrus and ice seals.
Over the summer, protesters in kayaks unsuccessfully tried to block Arctic-bound Shell vessels in Seattle and Portland, Oregon.
Shell said it would take financial charges as a result of halting exploration, which it would disclose during its third quarter results. The company has existing contracts for rigs, ships and other assets.
BBC
28/9/15
Umstrittene Suche nach Öl.... Shell stoppt Bohrungen in der Arktis ...
ReplyDeleteMangelnder Erfolg und zu hohe Kosten: Shell hat seine umstrittenen Ölförderpläne in der Arktis gestoppt. Die Probebohrungen seien enttäuschend gewesen, teilte der Konzern mit. Umweltschützer hatten die Bohrungen scharf kritisiert.
Der britisch-niederländische Ölkonzern Shell stoppt seine umstrittenen Erkundungen vor der Küste Alaskas. Als Gründe nannte Shell mangelnden Erfolg und zu hohe Kosten. Probebohrungen in der Tschuktschensee nördlich der Beringstraße hätten sich als enttäuschend erwiesen, hieß es. "Die Quelle wird versiegelt und verlassen." Weitere Bohrungen seien dort in "absehbarer Zukunft" nicht geplant.
Die finanziellen Belastungen für den Stopp bezifferte Shell auf etwa drei Milliarden US-Dollar, bezogen auf den Buchwert des Projektes. Weitere 1,1 Milliarden Dollar dürften für zukünftige Vertragsverpflichtungen anfallen. Weitere Details will das Unternehmen bei Vorlage der Zahlen zum dritten Quartal geben.
Scharfe Kritik und Proteste an Ölbohrungen
Das Bohren nach Öl und Gas in Alaska ist sehr umstritten. Die Ölbohrungen waren von Umweltschützern scharf kritisiert worden, weil sie negative Folgen für die Tierwelt in der Arktis fürchten. Sie argumentieren, dass das geförderte Öl den Klimawandel vorantreibe und die Förderung Eisbären, Walrosse und Robben gefährde. So hatte die Umweltschutzorganisation Greenpeace erst am Samstag in mehr als 40 deutschen Städten gegen die Ölbohrungen protestiert.
Ungeachtet der Proteste erlaubte US-Präsident Barack Obama Shell im Mai aber unter Auflagen Öl- und Gasbohrungen in der Arktis. Die demokratische Präsidentschaftsbewerberin Hillary Clinton allerdings sprach sich Mitte August dagegen aus. Sie nannte die Arktis einen "einzigartigen Schatz", das Risiko der Bohrungen sei zu groß.
http://www.tagesschau.de/shelll-101.html
28/9/15
NASA is set to announce a "major science finding" Monday regarding its ongoing exploration of Mars, with many media sources speculating the reveal could be that flowing water has been found on the planet....
ReplyDeleteThe announcement is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT) Monday at the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington.............http://www.voanews.com/content/nasa-major-announcement-on-mars/2982391.html
La Nasa a fait une «une découverte majeure» sur Mars...
DeleteL’agence spatiale américaine sait ménager son suspens. Ce lundi, elle a annoncé qu’elle tiendrait une conférence pour annoncer la découverte majeure réalisée sur la planète rouge.
Il n’en fallait pas plus pour agiter la planète entière en termes de spéculation. La Nasa a-t-elle découvert une présence de vie sur Mars ? L’annonce concerne plus probablement la découverte d’eau sur la planète.
Et la présence de scientifiques ayant étudié la présence d’eau sur les planètes est un indice qui va dans ce sens. La question étant de savoir si de l’eau est effectivement présente sur Mars, et si celle-ci peut se retrouver à l’état liquide.
lesoir.be
THE giant sinkhole at a Queensland camping spot is now relatively stable and may have actually been a landslide, a geotechnical engineer says...
ReplyDeleteAbout 300 campers were evacuated from Inskip Point near Rainbow Beach on Saturday night after the large cavity opened up and swallowed a caravan, car, trailer and tents.
“Preliminary advice is that the event may have been a ‘near shore landslide’ rather than a true sinkhole,” the Department of National Parks said in a statement on Monday.
The cavity is now about 200 metres long, 50 metres wide and up to nine metres deep.
A geotechnical engineer also advised the site is now relatively stable, with a flat beach edge forming.
Coastal erosion is still occurring, so more trees may fall down, and the exclusion zone has been expanded by 200 metres for safety reasons.
Camping grounds on either side of the site remain closed and the public has been urged to avoid the area, observe traffic barriers and warning signs.
All the school holiday campers escaped and no injuries were reported................couriermail.com.au
New Zealand to turn Kermadec into vast marine reserve...
ReplyDeleteNew Zealand has revealed plans to turn an area of the South Pacific about the size of France into a marine reserve.
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary lies north of the mainland and includes a chain of islands and underwater volcanoes.
Prime Minister John Key made the announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Fishing and mining will be banned in what Mr Key called "one of the most geographically and geologically diverse areas in the world."
"New Zealanders value our coasts and oceans, which are an important part of our culture, economy and environment and we are committed to managing them sustainably," he said in a statement.
The government is aiming to pass legislation to create the marine reserve next year.
'No forewarning'
The area to be protected is a vast 620,000 sq km (239,400 sq miles) stretch of the South Pacific, about 1,000km north-east of North Island.
It contains the 10-km deep Kermadec trench, one of the deepest ocean trenches in the world, and is rich in sealife including whales, dolphins, endangered turtles and sea birds...........http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34387945
29/9/15
Egypt took delivery of its second liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on Wednesday and plans to start operations in the third week of October, Khaled Abdel Badie, boss of state gas board EGAS, told Reuters on Wednesday...
ReplyDeleteThe floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), provided by Singapore-based Norwegian group BW Gas, has a capacity of 600 to 700 million cubic feet per day, the oil ministry said.
FSRUs allow Egypt to import LNG and convert it to natural gas to feed into its energy-starved power grid.
Egypt took delivery of its first FSRU from Norway's Hoegh LNG in April, allowing the country to begin LNG imports.
Once an energy exporter, declining oil and gas production and increasing consumption has forced Egypt to divert energy supplies to the domestic market and have turned it into a net energy importer.
The deal with BW Gas was worth about $60 million per year, then-oil minister Sherif Ismail told Reuters in August. Ismail is now prime minister.
The BW Gas terminal arrived and will remain at the Gulf of Suez port of Ain al-Sokhna port where the Heogh terminal is also moored.
Reuters
ahram.org.eg
30/9/15