space.com – When a shock wave from a solar storm hits the Earth’s protective magnetic bubble, it creates highly energetic particles dubbed “killer electrons” that can be dangerous to satellites. During solar storms, the number of killer electrons in the radiation belt grows at least 10 times. The European Space Agency’s Cluster mission has helped figure out how these killer particles are created, which could help to better protect Earth’s satellites and astronauts – Read Article
Space.com – A new study reports that the top of the gigantic conveyor belt of plasma moving inside the sun has been running at record-high speeds for the past five years. The phenomenon might be the reason why the sun has continued to have so few sunspots recently when it should be ramping up the production of these surface-blotching storms. “I believe this could explain the unusually deep solar minimum we’ve been experiencing,” said David Hathaway, a solar physicist at NASA and co-author of a new study describing the findings, in a NASA statement. “The high speed of the conveyor belt challenges existing models of the solar cycle and it has forced us back to the drawing board for new ideas.” Read Article
BBC – Chile’s new President, Sebastian Pinera, has said it will cost at least $30bn (£20bn) to rebuild the country after January’s earthquake. Speaking on his first full day in office, he said loans and budgetary savings would be used to rebuild infrastructure, homes and industry. Other nations would be asked to help, Mr Pinera told reporters in Santiago. Read article
ABC – Despite a collapse of world tuna stocks, the Australian Government has decided not to support a global ban on the trade of the northern variety of the species. Instead the Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, is supporting stronger trade control measures on the trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna. Australia will formalise its position at the 175-nation Convention of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which starts in Doha tomorrow. Stocks of Atlantic bluefin tuna are estimated to be at 15 per cent of the original 1940s levels after decades of industrial-scale fishing – Read Article
DW-World – The Earth is an oven. 99 percent of our planet is hotter than 1000 degrees Celsius. This natural heat can be harnessed for eco-friendly electricity production. What is more, poor countries can profit from it. The ancient Romans knew how to live the good life. They turned hot springs with sulfurous water into thermal baths, creating health spas for the rich and powerful. This knowledge of the Earth’s heat was passed on to their descendants: modern-day Italians who set up the first geothermal power plant Italy in 1913, paving the way for a new form of energy production. Today, geothermal energy is used in numerous countries. It works especially well in places where volcanic activity is high and the crust of the Earth is thin. Drilled tunnels several kilometers long release steam with a temperature of more than 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit), which is then easily turned into electricity at special power plants around the world from New Zealand to the Philippines to the West Coast of the United States – Read Article
Ed – It is so accessible that even the Queen has a geothermal generator at Buckingham Palace as seen in this very early Open Your Eyes News article
Guardian UK – Companies across Europe are hoarding permits to produce greenhouse gas emissions worth hundreds of millions of pounds, the Guardian can reveal. The surplus credits have been amassed from over-allocation of permits to pollute from the European emissions trading scheme, and by buying cheap credits from carbon-cutting projects in developing countries and holding on to their more expensive official EU allowances. The saved permits can be used to meet future targets to cut the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming and climate change without actually reducing pollution, or sold for a profit in the future. Read Article
Deutsche Welle – As a new solar cycle of activity begins this year, the Earth will once again be bombarded with increased radiation from the sun. This effect may damage satellites and interfere with GPS, television and communications. Read article
(AP) Two years after receiving Its first deposits, a “doomsday” seed vault on an Arctic island has amassed half a million seed samples, making it the world’s most diverse repository of crop seeds, the vault’s operators announced Thursday. Cary Fowler – who heads the trust that oversees the seed collection, which is 620 miles from the North Pole, said the facility now houses at least one-third of the world’s crop seeds – Read Article
SkyNews – The Earth really did move during last month’s massive Chile quake, which killed hundreds of people and left two million homeless. Researchers say cities and islands physically shifted west. Thanks to satellites, scientists at Ohio State University and the University of Hawaii found that the city of Concepcion moved at least 10 feet to the west – Read Article
BBC – US President Barack Obama has warned of a second disaster in Haiti, saying people should be under no illusion that the crisis there is over. Mr Obama said the situation in Haiti remained “dire” almost two months after the earthquake struck. He was speaking after talks with Haitian President Rene Preval in Washington. Read article
Daily News – A series of powerful aftershocks struck Chile Thursday morning – the strongest a 7.2 magnitude quake in the central part of the country. The aftershock hit the country as President-elect Sebastian Pinera and hundreds of high powered guests gathered for his swearing in ceremony in Valparaiso, a coastal city outside the capital, Santiago. Read Article
Science News – New research reveals just how bad an idea it was to colonize Greenland and Iceland more than a millennium ago: average temperatures in Iceland – Read Article
Associated Press – President Barack Obama made a renewed push for a long-stalled climate and energy bill Tuesday, urging lawmakers at a White House meeting to pass a comprehensive bill this year. Fourteen senators from both parties. Read Article
Deutsche Welle – What seems to be a spate of recent earthquakes is raising public alarm about an overall rise in dangerous tremors. But scientists say that, despite appearances, they have yet to prove a global increase in major quakes. Read article
BBC – A strong earthquake has struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people, officials have said. The 6.0-magnitude quake, centred on the village of Basyurt in Elazig province, struck at 0432 (0232 GMT). It has been followed by more than 40 aftershocks. Read Article
AP – Germs in the gut may help drive appetite, says new research into the link between obesity and bacteria. Previous studies have shown that overweight people and normal-weight people harbor different types and amounts of microbes that naturally live in the intestine. To determine why, scientists are peering into mice. Read Article
New Scientist – EVEN if we knew precise details of Earth’s core, we would not be able to predict a catastrophic flip in the polarity of its magnetic field more than a decade or two ahead. Our planet’s magnetic field has reversed polarity from time to time throughout its history. Some models suggest that a flip would be completed in a year or two, but if, as others predict, it lasted decades or longer we would be left exposed to space radiation. This could short-circuit satellites, pose a risk to aircraft passengers and play havoc with electrical equipment on the ground. Read Article
AP – A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning causing buildings to sway hundreds of miles to the north. Local news reports said at least one person was injured.The quake was centered in the county of Kaohsiung, and struck at a depth of about 3.1 miles. Kaohsiung is about 249 miles south of the capital, Taipei. Read Article
BBC – More than 100 people have been killed in a landslide in the mountainous eastern region of Bududa in Uganda, a minister has told the BBC.Minister for Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru has gone to the remote area to assess what help is needed. Rescuers are digging through the mud with handheld tools, looking for survivors and bodies. Up to 60 children are missing. They took shelter in a health centre which reports say was destroyed overnight. Read Article
Daily Telegraph — Rescue workers and government troops struggled Monday to reach earthquake-ravaged corners of Chile still cut off by crumbled roads, fallen bridges and downed telephone lines. Meanwhile, the Chilean government asked the United Nations for emergency assistance to cope with the widespread devastation wrought by one of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history. Read article.
BBC – Two million people have been affected by the massive earthquake that struck central Chile on Saturday, President Michelle Bachelet has said. In a TV address, she said the forces of nature were testing the nation. So far at least 300 people have been confirmed killed in the earthquake that struck in the early hours of Saturday. The 8.8 quake – one of the biggest ever – triggered a tsunami that has been sweeping across the Pacific, although waves were not as high as predicted. Read article
Washington Post – Energy released by an earthquake is measured on a moment magnitude scale. Read information
Washington Post – Photo’s by Reuters. Commentary with each photo.
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Washington Post – After a morning of rushed evacuations, the tsunami that reached Hawaii midday Saturday was smaller than officials had feared, causing no reported damage and never rising more than about three feet above sea levels, authorities said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted its warning for Hawaii about two hours after the series of waves hit Hawaiian shores, and later for most of the rest of the Pacific. Read Article
Washington Post – Thousands of people are going online to share information about the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Chile early this morning. Note that much of it is in Spanish, but can be converted to English through Google’s translation tool. Read more
