Blogging the End of the World™
By Jerry Hirsch Leaders of California’s $1.6-billion citrus industry said Monday that a disease that was killing orchards worldwide was now rooted in Mexico, and experts warned that it was headed toward the state. Citrus greening disease has infected six citrus trees on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, spread by an infestation of the Asian citrus psyllid. […]
Sonar survey spies mysterious, 1.4-kilometer-tall feature in the depths off California By Sid PerkinsAn oceanographic survey has discovered a 1,400-meter-tall plume rising from the seafloor off the coast of California. Water samples taken at the site, about 32 kilometers northwest of Cape Mendocino, indicate that the feature isn’t mineral-rich water spewing from a hydrothermal vent, […]
United States Private sector funded, with more than half from private sources. Private health insurance available through employer, government or private schemes. 15.3% of population (45.7 million people) do not have health insurance. Federal government is largest healthcare insurer – involved in two main schemes, Medicaid and Medicare, each covering about 13% of population. Medicaid […]
PARIS (Reuters) – France is facing an invasion of bee-eating Chinese hornets which could hasten the mysterious decline in the honey-bee population and threaten bee-keepers’ livelihoods, researchers said on Tuesday. Colonies of Asian hornets, or Vespa velutina, have spread rapidly in southwestern France, a region popular with tourists, and are likely to reach other European […]
NAIROBI, Kenya, August 17, 2009 (ENS) – Kenya could lose all its lions in the next 20 years if the current rate of decline continues unless urgent and decisive measures are taken, the Kenya Wildlife Service warned today. World famous for its wildlife, Kenya now has 2,000 lions in seven national parks and conservation areas, […]
From Calculated Risk: The Federal Reserve reports that delinquency rates rose in Q2 in all categories. This graph shows the delinquency rates at the commercial banks for residential real estate, commercial real estate and consumer credit cards. Commercial real estate delinquencies (7.91%) are rising rapidly, and are at the highest rate since the early ’90s […]
By EVAN LEHMANN of ClimateWire Several states prone to natural disasters are measuring the odds on a mega-bet. Concerned observers say those calculations are based on “Lady Luck” and “rolling the dice.” Public insurance programs in some coastal states are flirting with the notion of saving millions of dollars every year by shrinking or canceling […]
At least nine counties see driest times in more than a century DALLAS – The most parched areas of Texas have been wilting in the blistering heat for two years, but only now is it now official: This is their worst drought in recorded history. Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said Friday that at least […]
By Mex Cooper The CFA chief heavily criticised for his handling of Black Saturday will be responsible for keeping Victoria safe as it faces its worst-ever fire season, Premier John Brumby has said. Mr Brumby warned Victorians that 13 years of drought will make the coming fire season, less than 10 weeks away, potentially […]
By Tom Arup, Environment Correspondent THE Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has warned that money to save endangered wildlife is limited and some species may have to be abandoned when funding decisions are made. In one of the strongest speeches of his ministerial career he told an international conference of ecologists in Brisbane that the Government […]
