scary new changes in the earth's eco-system

[houstonmacbro]

I'm just sayin' ...

JOHANNESBURG, 3 April 2007 (IRIN)

Tropical cyclone Jaya made landfall on Madagascar's northeastern coast on Tuesday on a projected trajectory that will see it rage through areas already devastated by cyclone Indlala just over two weeks ago. It was the sixth mayor cyclone to hit this season. "This is the WORST CYCLONE SEASON IN THE RECORDED HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY." Officials expressed concern over the lack of international media attention the emergency in Madagascar had received, considering the extent of the multiple disasters and the vulnerability of the island and its people. "It is striking that so little attention is being paid to a crisis that affects so many that are already vulnerable because of poverty." With the cyclone season continuing until the end of April or early May, expectations are that Jaya will not be the last disaster to strike the island.

Related News

Southern African communities, local authorities and humanitarian partners are finding their resources stretched to the limit with the early arrival of the rainy season and relentless precipitation as well as an UNPRECEDENTED series of cyclones and tropical storms. Despite recent improvements in the capacities for disaster and emergency preparedness and response, areas of Angola, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia are working to rebuild their homes and recover their livelihoods after months of heavy rains.

and this

April 04, 2007

On Monday a RARE sandstorm blanketed the city of Shanghai with yellow dust, causing its WORST AIR QUALITY CRISIS SINCE MONITORING BEGAN. Concentrations of respirable particulates jumped to 0.623 milligrams per cubic metre of air, seven times the daily average for last year. Last Friday the sandstorm originated in the deserts of western Mongolia, dumping 14,000 tonnes of sand in Shenyang, Liaoning province, alone over the weekend. In the last few years, many of the natural obstacles that held the sand in check, like forests and rivers, have largely disappeared in favour of economic development. Unchecked industrial growth and pollution, deforestation, lower water flow in rivers are changing China

[TJones]

... LOL! there was a friggin' disclaimer on that website.

Edited April 6, 2007 by TJones

[houstonmacbro]

Have you realized that with all the other news that we've been fed, we've not been fed the fact that we are in a drought right now:

[houstonmacbro]

Now there are going to be folks (you know who you are and so do all the others on this thread) who will say these scientists have an agenda (if saving the world is agenda I am all for it), or they don't know what they're talking about (hmmm, lemme see ... 2,500 scientists or someone on this message board ... I'll take 2,500 scientists), but this is what is being said about the state of our world - decide for yourself:

Global warming report paints grim future

A new U.N. report on global warming paints a bleak future of ecological calamity and extreme weather, with all of the globe suffering, but poor nations most.

BY ALAN ZAREMBO AND THOMAS H. MAUGH II

Los Angeles Times Service

A new global warming report issued Friday by the United Nations paints a near-apocalyptic vision of Earth's future: more than one billion people in desperate need of water, extreme food shortages in Africa, a blighted landscape ravaged by fires and floods and millions of species sentenced to extinction.

And that's the conclusion of what many scientists consider to be a watered-down summary of the report issued after a night of wrangling among bureaucrats challenging the confidence level of the experts' predictions and their timelines for future catastrophes.

That debate reflects the uncertainties that come into play when scientists try to predict the wheres and whens of climate change and how it will affect localized regions -- as well as the ability of humans to adapt to those changes.

The report is the second issued this year by U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which marshaled more than 2,500 scientists to give their best predictions of the consequences of a few degrees increase in temperature. The first report, released in January, characterized global warming as a runaway train that is irreversible but can be moderated by societal changes.

Full article here

Edited April 7, 2007 by houstonmacbro

[mumbles]

Perhaps the world is like an old house? Sometimes you just have to flatten it and start all over.

[houstonmacbro]

So what are you suggesting? That every thousand (or couple of million) years, the earth just gets sick of all the critters crawling over it (like an infestation of fleas) and does something to rid itself?

Interesting concept.

Edited April 7, 2007 by houstonmacbro

[TJones]

49* is the expected HIGH for today in APRIL in TEXAS ! Where is my tanktop and sandals ?

Me in a tanktop and sandals is actually scarier than any "Climate Change".

Edited April 7, 2007 by TJones

[CDeb]

Now there are going to be folks (you know who you are and so do all the others on this thread) who will say these scientists have an agenda (if saving the world is agenda I am all for it), or they don't know what they're talking about (hmmm, lemme see ... 2,500 scientists or someone on this message board ... I'll take 2,500 scientists), but this is what is being said about the state of our world - decide for yourself:

Global warming report paints grim future

A new U.N. report on global warming paints a bleak future of ecological calamity and extreme weather, with all of the globe suffering, but poor nations most.

BY ALAN ZAREMBO AND THOMAS H. MAUGH II

Los Angeles Times Service

A new global warming report issued Friday by the United Nations paints a near-apocalyptic vision of Earth's future: more than one billion people in desperate need of water, extreme food shortages in Africa, a blighted landscape ravaged by fires and floods and millions of species sentenced to extinction.

And that's the conclusion of what many scientists consider to be a watered-down summary of the report issued after a night of wrangling among bureaucrats challenging the confidence level of the experts' predictions and their timelines for future catastrophes.

That debate reflects the uncertainties that come into play when scientists try to predict the wheres and whens of climate change and how it will affect localized regions -- as well as the ability of humans to adapt to those changes.

The report is the second issued this year by U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which marshaled more than 2,500 scientists to give their best predictions of the consequences of a few degrees increase in temperature. The first report, released in January, characterized global warming as a runaway train that is irreversible but can be moderated by societal changes.

Full article here

The UNITED FREAKING NATIONS???? HAHAHAHAHA!

[houstonmacbro]

I was wondering who'd be first to respond that way.

For the record, and maybe I am wrong on this ... the scientists do not work FOR the United Nations.

[TJones]

I was wondering who'd be first to respond that way.

For the record, and maybe I am wrong on this ... the scientists do not work FOR the United Nations.

btw, Macbro, your link isn't working now.

[houstonmacbro]

btw, Macbro, your link isn't working now.

Well, it's all over the news right now, so no doubt people can find it or very similar articles. It was the Miami Herald if anyone is interested.

Maybe they got hip to the hotlink?

[nmainguy]

I was wondering who'd be first to respond that way.

And you were suprised? I find it best to not enable her.

For the record, and maybe I am wrong on this ... the scientists do not work FOR the United Nations.

Most are independent scientists who contributed to the report.

Here's a link that works

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-ex-...-home-headlines

[CDeb]

PS, nmainguy. I'm plumbed the same way you are

Edited April 9, 2007 by CDeb

[dgreco]

Leonardo Dicaprio Global Warming Website

pretty interesting, and he has some great videos.

[CDeb]

Looks like the Sunday Times of London (noted right-wing rag and big-oil water carrier) doesn't think much of the "2,000 independent scientists" and their report. Maybe reason will prevail after all:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/l...icle1624077.ece

[houstonmacbro]

Not sure if this qualifies, but where has American media been on this development? Just wanted to let you know in case we wake up with no power this weekend all across the globe.

(I doubt --seriously, I know I like to sensationalize at times-- it will be that serious, but we never know...)

Powerful Magnetic Storm Approaches the Earth

The largest electromagnetic energy emission in the last 30 years has been recorded on the Sun, the Shernberg State Astronomy Institute said on Thursday. This energy outburst may damage equipment of space satellites, the scientists say. Doctors warn that the emission is dangerous for those afflicted with cardiovascular illnesses as well as for healthy people.

Full article here:

http://www.kommersant.com/p728532/r_530/Sun_Magnetic_Storm

[TJones]

Macbro, a bigger question would be, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING READING A RUSSIAN ONLINE PAPER ? Don't you know they are our enemies again? Big brother is watching you !

[houstonmacbro]

Macbro, a bigger question would be, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING READING A RUSSIAN ONLINE PAPER ? Don't you know they are our enemies again? Big brother is watching you !

(Innocently) 'I was following a link that landed me there ... I'm scurred ... Mommy!'

[mumbles]

Hahaha, well mother nature can be very mean and does help some with thinning the herd. No I fig we will do the place in ourselves. Space is limited, eventually we will fill it all up.

There are less wild animals cause we have taken their land, the deer will starve to death if we don't go out and shoot them. We always need an increasing number of people to support society. We can't make money without consumers, that is why we keep letting new people into the country. That is why they say we can't send the illegals home.

Houston used to be a little cow town, look how huge it is now. So imagine the US is like Houston used to be and becomes what Houston is now. Wall to wall people from coast to coast. Imagine the entire world that way. The other alternative is a decreasing population, how will we survive if consumption goes down?

Doing ourselves in is probably inevitable just as death is. Why worry about how or when it will happen?

So what are you suggesting? That every thousand (or couple of million) years, the earth just gets sick of all the critters crawling over it (like an infestation of fleas) and does something to rid itself?

Interesting concept.

[TheNiche]

Space is limited, eventually we will fill it all up.

Bull. Look at historical fertility rates among westernized nations, and also break them out by income. As peoples' earnings power goes up, they have fewer children. The United States is already at 2.0 children per couple, and if it weren't for immigration, our population would actually be declining slightly as a result of attrition. Some Europoean countries are even further down the path.

As third world countries become wealthier, they'll have fewer kids too. Problem solved.

Houston used to be a little cow town, look how huge it is now. So imagine the US is like Houston used to be and becomes what Houston is now. Wall to wall people from coast to coast.

Houston is growing at about twice the national average. Poor point of comparison.

...not to mention that only about 2% of all Texas land is urbanized, in spite of Houston's century of astonishing growth.

[houstonmacbro]

I don't mean to scare you --and at the extreme personal risk of sounding like an alarmist or whacko, but this (Colony Collapse Disorder affecting our friends, the honeybees) could possibly mean higher food prices if not food shortages in the VERY near future. Maybe the government was right, but about the wrong thing?

Remember a few years back --right after 9/11 and the whole anthrax mail scares, they suggested we all start stockpiling weeks/months worth of food and water because of the possibility of terrorism attacks. Well, what IF someone has already struck our ability to control our food supply? Remember bees pollinate a LARGE portion of the world's crops.

Now might be a good time to stock up on non-perishables and water?

***

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?

Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees

By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

Full article here:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/...icle2449968.ece

[TheNiche]

I don't mean to scare you --and at the extreme personal risk of sounding like an alarmist or whacko, but this (Colony Collapse Disorder affecting our friends, the honeybees) could possibly mean higher food prices if not food shortages in the VERY near future. Maybe the government was right, but about the wrong thing?

Remember a few years back --right after 9/11 and the whole anthrax mail scares, they suggested we all start stockpiling weeks/months worth of food and water because of the possibility of terrorism attacks. Well, what IF someone has already struck our ability to control our food supply? Remember bees pollinate a LARGE portion of the world's crops.

Now might be a good time to stock up on non-perishables and water?

***

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?

Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees

By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

Full article here:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/...icle2449968.ece

Your theory is ridiculous. No terrorist would willfully do this because our crops are exported globally, and it would bite them in the ass just as much as it would us. And after all, who do you think is going to be able to bid the highest prices for food, if not Americans and Europeans? It'd be the starvation of most of the non-Christian world!

This article made no mention of the species of bee that infiltrates honeybee hives, takes over, and slowly crowds out and kills off the original species, then moving on to repeat the process. I saw something about that on the Discovery Channel a few months ago, and it is a far more credible and fully-documented theory.

[houstonmacbro]

I never said I believed the (cell phone) theory. See, that's where you always make the mistake with me.

Just that this issue (CCD) is HAPPENING, not sure why --the article I presented is just something I came across.

Now, back to my suggestion (that is my thought) that this could be terrorism. Could we actually be facing a food shortage because of this? Now a good time to stock up or no?

CCD seems to be happening around the globe as we stand around and debate why it's happening.

Edited April 15, 2007 by houstonmacbro

[TheNiche]

Now, back to my suggestion (that is my thought) that this could be terrorism. Could we actually be facing a food shortage because of this? Now a good time to stock up or no?

CCD seems to be happening around the globe as we stand around and debate why it's happening.

If you're really that concerned, and I'm not sure that it is warranted just yet, you would best be advised to go very long on agricultural commodities futures. Don't bother stocking up on more physical product than it would take to outlast a food panic. That is, probably a week or so at the very most (which you should already have as part of general disaster preparedness). After that, prices will likely adjust upwards, which won't matter to you because you can just cash in your futures, and people will burn through part of their inventories, returning to a typical replenishment cycle.

EDIT: By the way, if anyone out there is a business owner and finds this to be a credible problem, it would be VERY good policy to keep a physical supply of canned and non-perishible goods equal to the amount of food consumed by your entire staff and their family over the course of at least a week, possibly longer. Nothing interrupts business operations quite like starvation. ...and in a worst-case scenario, it might be good to buy allegiance and an organized approach to survival with a supply of food. A group of individuals that knows eachother, has banded together, and has had time to plan on full stomachs stands a much better chance at survival than individuals that were caught off-guard with no food and no plan.

Edited April 15, 2007 by TheNiche

[houstonmacbro]

If you're really that concerned, and I'm not sure that it is warranted just yet, you would best be advised to go very long on agricultural commodities futures. Don't bother stocking up on more physical product than it would take to outlast a food panic. That is, probably a week or so at the very most (which you should already have as part of general disaster preparedness). After that, prices will likely adjust upwards, which won't matter to you because you can just cash in your futures, and people will burn through part of their inventories, returning to a typical replenishment cycle.

Good advice. But that presumes I have money to buy futures. I am talking about the average paycheck-to-paycheck American (me) who squirrels a little $$$ away each payday, but is a long way off from having lots of cash.

[TheNiche]

Good advice. But that presumes I have money to buy futures. I am talking about the average paycheck-to-paycheck American (me) who squirrels a little $$$ away each payday, but is a long way off from having lots of cash.

Then buy stocks that are positively correlated to agricultural prices or that aren't affected by honeybee die-offs or like problems. I've got a Scottrade account, and it is only $7 per trade without any periodic fees.

[mumbles]

I heard the bees were starving to death because they can't see. They use UV light to find nector, cant find enough food cause we have messed up the ozone and are now starving.

[houstonmacbro]

I heard the bees were starving to death because they can't see. They use UV light to find nector, cant find enough food cause we have messed up the ozone and are now starving.

That's an interesting theory. But wouldn't it also apply to other insects and not just honeybees?

That's an interesting theory. But wouldn't it also apply to other insects and not just honeybees?

I swear I am not making this up ...

but there is a large ... gathering ... of beelike insects on my balcony right now. Not a swarm, per se, but just a lot of them flying about.

[houstonmacbro]

Ex-generals: Global warming threatens U.S. security

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Global warming poses a "serious threat to America's national security" and the U.S. likely will be dragged into fights over water and other shortages, top retired military leaders warn in a new report.

Full article here

[mumbles]

Quite possibly but off the top of my head I don't know of other insects people raise like they do honey bees. So would we notice if it was happening?

I have had carpenter bees the past few years, won't bother me too much if they dont show up this year.

That's an interesting theory. But wouldn't it also apply to other insects and not just honeybees?

I swear I am not making this up ...

but there is a large ... gathering ... of beelike insects on my balcony right now. Not a swarm, per se, but just a lot of them flying about.