This Story Has Already Been Told

[KNOWTHIS]

The Hopi Indians actually respected their natural surroundings and fully understood the dangers of disrupting the delicate balances of our planet. Most of what’s occurring was predicted long ago and is now coming to fruition with frightening accuracy. These drastic imbalances are about as “natural” or “normal” as a bullet hole through the skull.

Years & years of unfettered oil drilling, smog filled skies, improperly discarded nuclear waste, automobile emissions, deforestation, contaminating of our waters and on & on are not the machinations of nature. Nature is not suicidal like man and doesn’t decide on a whim to intentionally ravage itself in some sort of warped cycle of masochistic self-contempt. The natives that understand this of course are labeled as being primitive savages who espouse false beliefs and worship false idols. Popular religions in the U.S. promote radical devastation and destruction on earth in order to hurry the return of Christ and the rapture where all Christians are spontaneously lifted to heaven while the rest are left to suffer and burn in an eternal hell on earth.

We now have a U.S. president and government that initiates domestic & foreign policy including pre-emptive wars based on the intolerant reasoning of this vindictive, vengeful, angry God that he believes in. We are now spending billions in Israel to help eradicate Muslims and roll out a welcome mat (the Jesus landing pad) for Jesus when he finally returns to Jerusalem. This apocalyptic false reality, this unholy Crusade has now become the insane path that has been chosen for us and it’s not going to be a pretty sight in the end.

Hopi Elders pass warnings and prophecies from generation to generation
through oral traditions and reference to ancient rock pictographs and tablets.

The large human figure on the left is the Great Spirit. The bow in his left hand represents his instructions to the Hopi to lay down their weapons. The vertical line to the right of the Great Spirit is a time scale in thousands of years. The point at which the great Spirit touches the line is the time of his return.

The "life path" established by the Great Spirit divides into the lower, narrow path of continuous Life in harmony with nature and the wide upper road of white man's scientific achievements. The bar between the paths, above the cross, is the coming of white men; the Cross is that of Christianity. The circle below the cross represents the continuous Path of Life.

The four small human figures on the upper road represent, on one level, the past three worlds and the present; on another level, the figures indicate that some of the Hopi will travel the white man's path, having been seduced by its glamour.

The two circles on the lower Path of Life are the "great shaking of the earth" (World Wars One and Two). The swastika in the sun and the Celtic cross represent the two helpers of Pahana, the True White Brother.

The short line that returns to the straight Path of Life is the last chance for people to turn back to nature before the upper road disintegrates and dissipates. The small circle above the Path of Life, after the last chance, is the Great Purification, after which corn will grow in abundance again when the Great Spirit returns. And the Path of Life continues forever...

The Hopi shield in the lower right corner symbolizes the Earth and the Four-Corners area where the Hopi have been reserved. The arms of the cross also represent the four directions in which they migrated according to the instructions of the Great Spirit.

The dots represent the four colors of Hopi corn, and the four racial colors of humanity.

The Hopi also predicted that when the heart of the Hopi land trust is dug up, great disturbances will develop in the balance of nature, for the Hopi holy land is the microcosmic image of the entire planet; any violations of nature in the Four Corners region will be reflected and amplified all over the Earth.

Martin Gasheseoma said recently that Hopi "elders told us that when the plants blossom in the middle of winter, we would need to go to Santa Fe to warn everyone of suffering and destruction to come unless they change their ways. Last year, in the middle of winter the plants began to blossom."

How much suffering and destruction will accompany the time of the purification, and what will be its end result? Martin Gasheseoma foretells judgment in front of a big mirror and death to those who are evil and wicked, with only a handful of people surviving in every nation overseas who will then come to this continent, "which we call heaven."

"All the suffering going on in this country with the tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes is carried on the breath of Mother Earth because she is in pain," says Roberta Blackgoat, an elder of the Independent Dineh (Navajo) Nation at Big Mountain. She explains that the Four Corners area is particularly sacred because it literally holds Mother Earth's internal organs -- coal and uranium which the Bureau of Indian Affairs has allowed the Peabody Coal Mine to mine. "They are trying to take her precious guts out for money," says Blackgoat. "My grandfather told me that coal is like the liver, and uranium is both the heart and lungs of Mother Earth." Hopi and Navajo traditionalists are fighting the mining. [/quote]

[KNOWTHIS]

THIS IS NOT NATURAL!!!!!















Do you really need to be a scientist or a genius to realize that we're killing ourselves? A natural cycle did not create these problems.

[Swamp Gas]

knowthis said:

Do you really need to be a scientist or a genius to realize that we're killing ourselves?

never before in the history of the earth have humans wrought so much destruction. When I read BigJoe's thread on turning Jupiter into a second sun, there is no limits to what these polluters will do.

It's a revenge of sorts. At the bottom of it is the Biblical intepretation of the Book of revelation where all of nature would be burned up to signal the Apocalypse. You combine that with greed-filled corporatists, crazed Fundmentalists, and Far Right Pro-Oil Media mouthpieces, and we have a formula for disaster.

You see, I remember when you could see stars at night, even in the Ny-NJ area. I remember when the Passiac River was clean. The problem is this: The Pro-Business/Fascist/Neo-Cons have simplified who they consider the enemy.

Their enemies:

Gays
Environmentalists
Woman Rightists
Hippies
Cyberpunks
Ravers
Vegetarians
Anti-War activists
Pacifists
Pot smokers
Comedians
Union organizers
Constitutionalists
Democrats
libertarians
Animal Rights Activists
Alternative Healers
Non-Christians
True Christians
Europeans
Non-White people
The Old people

The Ann Coulters, Bill O'reillys, Sean Hannitys, Mike Savages, etc, are designed to hate all those that are for the downtrodden and weak, or the ones who stand against them. In a sense, to me, it is very easy to spot them, and I don't have to think twice about what comes out of their mouth

[KNOWTHIS]

Industry "experts" & Exxon says its all A OK, Bush tells NASA scientists to shut up, "just go back to sleep". "Regulations cost money", "it's not good for business", "science is always wrong anyway". But they'll be relying on these same "ignorant" "partisan" scientists to create self-sustaining bio-domes for them when the earth eventually becomes a barren wasteland of lifelessness I'm sure. Of course only the rich will be able to afford that luxury. A great way to reduce the population I guess?

Have Exxon's lobbyists & PR people bothered to look at this from all perspectives? No way.... they get paid to LIE!!!!

'Environmental damage'

Commander Eileen Collins described on Thursday how widespread environmental destruction on Earth could be seen from the shuttle.

"Sometimes you can see how there is erosion, and you can see how there is deforestation," Commander Collins said.

"It's very widespread in some parts of the world. We would like to see, from the astronauts' point of view, people take good care of the Earth and replace the resources that have been used."

In her conversation from space with Japanese officials in Tokyo, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, she said her view from space emphasised how Earth's atmosphere must be protected too.

"The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so very thin," she said. "We know that we don't have much air - we need to protect what we have."

[KNOWTHIS]

The Pro-Business/Fascist/Neo-Cons have simplified who they consider the enemy.

And I proudly declare myself to be their enemy! Fuck them all! Bush is a chronic, criminally negligent compulsive liar and when he says that global warming is a farce, one should know exactly what that means.

You see, I remember when you could see stars at night, even in the Ny-NJ area. I remember when the Passiac River was clean.

I’ve personally seen the effects of industries neglect as well. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Onondaga lake but today its arguably one of the most polluted lakes in the country. It could’ve been a beautiful place but now its forever ruined because the people were told “don’t worry, the lake will spontaneously heal itself” just as we’re being told now about everything else. This is what happens when you listen to them:


www.aslf.org/OnondagaLake/



www.gri.msstate.edu/about/news/2005/onondaga_lake-03-28-2005.php

Since 1990, Dr. John Madsen has been involved in clean-up efforts for the most polluted lake in America - New York’s Lake Onondaga. A century’s worth of waste has been dumped into Lake Onondaga and a group of scientists from State University of New York, Syracuse University, Mississippi State University and other organizations such as the Upstate Freshwater Institute have been studying the littoral zone of the lake for a number of years.

The Onondaga Lake littoral zone has been severely impacted historically by a combination of factors, including nutrient pollution, industrial chemical waste, and severely degraded habitat. Major signs of habitat degradation in Onondaga Lake have included a somewhat featureless shoreline for shelter from wave action, few wetlands for fish spawning and nursery areas, a predominance of light-weight oncolites (a by-product of historical industrial pollution) on the lake bottom, and, as recently as 10 years ago, few rooted, vascular aquatic plants along the shoreline. Adequate structural habitat in the littoral zone is critically important for survival and successful reproduction and recruitment of many fish species.

The state of New York claims that 165,000 pounds of Mercury was dumped by one industry alone from 1946 until 1970. The Mercury contamination led to Lake Onondaga being on the federal Superfund list of toxic waste sites.

During the summer the smell is nauseating. It’s such a shame, and the ocean is heading in the same direction. Makes me fucking sick!

[Swamp Gas]

www.ns.ec.gc.ca/boas/videos_e.html

[KNOWTHIS]

Bush knows better, he took science class in the fifth grade and he studied this. Scientists who have based their entire careers around this know nothing though. And there will be no stem cell research programs either even though it might help the disabled to walk again. We can't murder those blood clots because Jesus wouldn't approve. This anti-science stupidity is outrageous.


ALP wants inquiry into CSIRO gag claims

Three eminent Australian scientists have told the ABC's Four Corners program to be broadcast on Monday night that they have been censored.

Labor's science and training spokeswoman Jenny Macklin described the situation as a national disgrace.

She said Labor would pursue the claims at Senate estimates this week but wanted a broader inquiry.

"These scientists have been gagged for talking about one of the most important issues facing the world, and that is climate change," Ms Macklin told reporters.

"We want to make sure that our scientists can speak freely, can make sure that our politicians, our government departments and the public really do understand the critical importance of the science of climate change, and we cannot afford to have these scientists gagged.

This is a good article as well:

Learning science from President Bush

Most people are probably aware of the US government's official position on climate change, which has ranged from, "It isn't happening" to "It may be happening, but it has nothing to do with people" to "Okay, maybe it is happening, but there's nothing we can really do about it."

But back in the US, the top climate scientist at NASA has accused the Bush administration of trying to silence him. James Hansen says that after he gave a lecture promoting the necessity of reducing heat-trapping greenhouse emissions, the public affairs headquarters at NASA in Washington, DC ordered a review of all his upcoming lectures, papers, Internet postings and interview requests. Dr. Hansen told the New York Times that nothing in his 30 years with NASA compares to the scrutiny he now faces in his daily activities.
And he's not the only scientist to complain about the Bush administration's unofficial policies of censorship. The Union of Concerned Scientists has gathered a list of more than 8,000 researchers asking the White House to stop politicizing their disciplines. A preface to the list claims, "Across a broad range of issues -- from childhood lead poisoning and mercury emissions to climate change, reproductive health and nuclear weapons -- political appointees have distorted and censored scientific findings that contradict established policies."

[KNOWTHIS]

As you already know we now have to monitor how much tuna we eat because it's been so thoroughly contaminated with mercury. But Bush has the solution, just hide the facts because what you don't know can't hurt you. The same has "logic" been applied to the prevalent warnings of the worlds scientists. Hide from reality...

Bill Would Eliminate Hundreds of Food Label Warnings

A bill currently being debated by U.S. lawmakers could lead to the removal of hundreds of warnings on food labels, the Associated Press reported.

The measure would prohibit states from adding warnings that are different than those required by the federal government. Currently, states can order their own warnings on food labels.

For example, Alaska requires warning labels on farmed fish, which can contain pesticides or other chemicals, while Minnesota consumers must be alerted when alcohol is an ingredient in candy.

The bill has many opponents, including state agriculture departments, the associations of state food and drug officials, and the National Conference of State Legislators, the AP reported.

"This would be the most sweeping change in decades to our nation's efforts to protect the food supply. This is a disaster waiting to happen," warned Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif).

Even though there is widespread opposition, the bill has a lot of support in the House of Representatives. More than half the House members have signed on as co-sponsors. The food industry supports the bill because it wants warnings to be consistent in all states.

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[KNOWTHIS]

today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-03-23T005727Z_01_L22726824_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENVIRONMENT-AMAZON.xml

About 40 percent of the Amazon's rainforests could be lost by 2050 unless more is done to prevent what could become one of the world's worst environmental crisis, scientists said on Wednesday.

Existing laws and preserving public wildlife reserves will not be enough. Measures are also needed to protect rainforests from the impact of profitable industries such as cattle ranching and soy farming, they added.

"By 2050, current trends in agricultural expansion will eliminate a total of 40 percent of Amazon forests, including six major watersheds and ecoregions," Britaldo Soares-Filho, of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil, said in a report in the journal Nature.

A watershed is an area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains from it goes into the same place. It supplies water and habitats for plants and animals.

Soares-Filho and his colleagues used computer models to simulate what would happen to the Brazilian rainforests in the future under different scenarios.

"For the first time, we can examine how individual policies ranging from the paving of highways to the requirement for forest reserves on private properties will influence the future of the world's largest tropical forest," Soares-Filho said in a statement.

Without further checks, the scientists predict nearly 100 native species will be deprived of more than half of their habitats and nearly 2 million square kilometres (772,300 sq mile) of forest will be lost.

But if more is done to control expansion and increase protected areas, 73 percent of the original forest would remain in 2050 and carbon emissions would be reduced.

The scientists said better conservation of the rainforest would have worldwide benefits so developed countries should be willing to pay to make it possible.

"By building a policy-sensitive crystal ball for the Amazon, we are able to identify the most important policy levers for reconciling economic development with conservation," said Daniel Nepstad, a co-author of the study who leads the Amazon program of the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts.

[KNOWTHIS]

www.palmbeachpost.com/treasurecoast/content/local_news/epaper/2006/03/30/m1a_MCWHALE_0330.html



Rare whales beached on South Hutchinson

Three rare, deep-dwelling whales swam aground Wednesday on South Hutchinson Island, and scientists fear more could follow.



But scientists euthanized the animals about 8 p.m. after deciding they were too sick to be saved. They were thin and obviously malnourished, and at least one had the scars of a shark bite.

"Normally a shark wouldn't be able to get near these guys," said Dr. Greg Bossart, director of marine mammal research and conservation at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution north of Fort Pierce. "They're too fast and they wouldn't tolerate it."

Bossart, a veterinarian and pathologist, said the three animals probably belong to the same pod as a dead melon-headed whale that washed ashore Wednesday morning in Vero Beach.

It was the first time he had seen the species swim aground in Florida; he believes it could be only the third confirmed case of a melon-headed stranding in the state.

And he worries it will not be the last.

Patrons of a hotel and bar near Sebastian reported seeing dozens of whales or dolphins beaching themselves Sunday. The beachgoers pushed the animals back into the surf, which scientists say probably only delayed their final stranding.

Bossart believes three of those animals were the ones euthanized Wednesday night near the House of Refuge.

People attending a land auction nearby reported the animals at about 5:30 p.m. Two whales had come ashore and at least three others were swimming dangerously close.

Fire-rescue workers paired off, using their weight to keep the whales, each about 7 feet long, from being swept back and forth in the rising tide. They draped damp sheets on the animals to keep them wet.

Martin sheriff's deputies looped a dog leash around the tail of a third whale, which was being thrashed in the surf.

The whales, with fins and mouths bloodied from rolling in the sand, made no noises except to breathe. They hardly moved.

"Just shivered a little," firefighter Doug Young said.

Patrol boats with the sheriff's office tried to keep watch over two other whales swimming close to shore, but they lost sight of the animals when the sun went down.

A Coast Guard helicopter was planning to search the waters south of Bathtub Beach Wednesday night or early this morning, said Steven McCulloch, executive director of marine mammal research and conservation at Harbor Branch.

Working by flashlights, a team of rescuers from Harbor Branch lifted the animals to dry sand, where they were injected with tranquilizers.

"They're already dying," Bossart said.

One of the whales let out a gurgling noise and thumped its tail violently against the beach before falling silent.

Scientists planned to take the euthanized whales to Harbor Branch, where they hope to learn more about the rare species through necropsy.

The whales, which grow to be 7 to 9 feet long and weigh up to 350 pounds, are a social species often found in groups of more than 100. They are found in deep tropical and subtropical waters worldwide.

"We don't have a clue why they came ashore," Bossart said. Though strandings have been reported for centuries, he fears environmental degradation could be making the events more common. "And the more we see these rare species coming ashore, the more I think it points to that."

A necropsy of the whale found in Vero Beach showed it had atrophied adrenal glands and ulcers in its stomach, a sign of stress. It hadn't eaten in weeks, Bossart said.

Rescuers will be on alert today, expecting at least two more to swim aground south of the House of Refuge, McCulloch said.

The stranding occurred a short distance south of where 37 dolphins came ashore in 2004 near Jensen Beach. Thirty were euthanized.

[KNOWTHIS]

www.terradaily.com/reports/Ocean_Dead_Zones_Cause_Sex_Changes_In_Fish_Increases_Extinction_Threat.html

Ocean Dead Zones Cause Sex Changes In Fish Increases Extinction Threat

Oxygen depletion in the world's oceans, primarily caused by agricultural run-off and pollution, could spark the development of far more male fish than female, thereby threatening some species with extinction, according to a study published today on the Web site of the American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology.

The finding, by Rudolf Wu, Ph.D., and colleagues at the City University of Hong Kong, raises new concerns about vast areas of the world's oceans, known as "dead zones," that lack sufficient oxygen to sustain most sea life. Fish and other creatures trapped in these zones often die. Those that escape may be more vulnerable to predators and other stresses. This new study, Wu says, suggests these zones potentially pose a third threat to these species — an inability of their offspring to find mates and reproduce.

The researchers found that low levels of dissolved oxygen, also known as hypoxia, can induce sex changes in embryonic fish, leading to an overabundance of males. As these predominately male fish mature, it is unlikely they will be able to reproduce in sufficient numbers to maintain sustainable populations, Wu says. Low oxygen levels also might reduce the quantity and quality of the eggs produced by female fish, diminishing their fertility, he adds.

In their experiments, Wu and his colleagues found low levels of dissolved oxygen — less than 2 parts per million — down-regulated the activity of certain genes that control the production of sex hormones and sexual differentiation in embryonic zebra fish. As a result, 75 percent of the fish developed male characteristics. In contrast, 61 percent of the zebra fish spawn raised under normal oxygen conditions — more than 5 parts per million — developed into males. The normal sex ratio of zebra fish is about 60 percent male and 40 percent female, Wu says.

"Reproductive success is the single most important factor in the sustainability of species," Dr. Wu says. "In many places, the areas affected by hypoxia are usually larger than the spawning and nursery grounds of fish. Even though some tolerant species can survive in hypoxic zones, they may not be able to migrate out of the zone and their reproduction will be impaired."

Hypoxia is considered one of the most serious threats to marine life and genetic diversity, Wu says. It occurs when excessive amounts of plant nutrients, particularly nitrogen, accumulate in oceans, freshwater lakes and other waterways. These nutrients trigger the growth of huge algae and phytoplankton blooms. As these blooms die, they sink to the ocean floor where they are decomposed by bacteria and other microorganisms. Decomposition depletes most of the oxygen in the surrounding water, making it difficult for marine life to survive.

Although some hypoxic areas — dead zones — develop naturally, scientific evidence suggests in many coastal areas and inland waters, hypoxia is primarily caused by agricultural run-off (particularly fertilizers) and discharge of domestic and industrial wastewaters.

Dead zones are developing along the coasts of the major continents, and they are spreading over larger areas of the sea floor, Wu says. The United Nations Environmental Programme estimates nearly 150 permanent and recurring dead zones exist worldwide, including 43 in U.S. coastal waters.

In the Gulf of Mexico, for instance, a dead zone the size of New Jersey, some 7,000 square miles, develops each summer. Other affected areas of the United States include coastal Florida and California, the Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound.

[KNOWTHIS]

www.terradaily.com/reports/Lake_Victoria_Groans_As_Pollution_Takes_Toll.html

Lake Victoria Groans As Pollution Takes Toll

With a huge amount of detergent, a young man washes a bus on the shores of Lake Victoria while a woman nearby cleans dishes seemingly oblivious to the chemical contamination. Its an ordinary day here in western Kenya where Africa's largest lake is under siege, its life-sustaining waters and fish increasingly polluted by sewage, industrial waste and chemicals.

The lake and the 30 million people who depend on it in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda face an uncertain future as the contaminants abet myriad diseases and cut fish catches as water levels fall for various reasons, officials say.

"In terms of water quality and quantity, the situation is bad and worsening," said Ladisy Chengula, a natural resources management specialist for the World Bank. "We don't know where it will end up".

Last week, the presidents of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda issued a joint call for action to reverse the trend but that will first require an indeterminate amount of study.

In the meantime, on this beach in Kisumu, Kenya's third-largest city, no fewer than 500 vehicles a day are soaped up and scrubbed down by some 300 car washers, the effluent all draining into the lake despite a ban on such activity.

"I know that I'm polluting the lake but I have no alternative job," says Patrick Otieno, who for the past three years has washed cars here, earning daily wages of about 300 Kenyan shillings (4.25 dollars, 3.50 euros).

"I have to eat at the end of the day," the 29-year-old says, thankful for having a job in a region where the unemployment rate hovers at 30 percent.

Otieno, his car-washing colleagues and others who work on the beach number about 1,000 -- and they toil all day in an area with just a single public pay toilet.

"People are using alternative bush places," says Erick Muok of the Kenyan Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) that has monitored the growing health hazards posed by both human waste and other pollutants.

"One hundred percent of the car washers are schistosomiasis infected," says KEMRI's Diana Karanja. "It's very rare to find somebody in good health among the people dealing with the lake. Most of the residents are sick."

Schistosomiasis, bilharzia, cholera, pneumonia, diarrhea and skin diseases are among the water-borne or abetted illnesses that afflict Lake Victoria residents with increasing frequency, health officials say.

And the human excrement expelled into the lake from the Kisumu car washers is by far one of the least of the pollutants.

"Millions of liters of untreated sewage sludge flow into the lake every day from major urban centers along the lake shore," the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said of Victoria in its 2006 assessment of east Africa's lakes.

This contamination, coupled with chemical and fertilizer run-off from lakeside industry and agriculture, has had a devastating effect, contributing to a disturbing rise in anoxia, lack of oxygen, in the lake water, it said.

"Nearly half of the lake floor currently experiences prolonged anoxia for several months of the year, compared to the 1960s when anoxia was localised and sporadic," UNEP said.

"The sanitation is becoming alarming," says Daniel Olago, a geology lecturer at the University of Nairobi who was a co-author of the UNEP report and has called for hefty increases in fines for polluters.

"Another major problem is the amount of sediment going into the lake because of deforestation from people who need firewood," he said.

Over the past four years, the water level of Lake Victoria has ebbed by 1.5 meters (five feet), bringing it to only 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) above the lowest-recorded level in 1923.

Some researchers have accused Uganda of diverting water from the rivers and streams that feed Victoria for hyrdroelectricity but many say blame for the lake's poor health is due to a variety of factors, including poverty.

KEMRI's Karanja believes the decline is the result of the vicious cycle, saying the more people need the lake to survive the less they will respect the precious and fragile nature of its resources.

"We need an improved economy for rural areas," she said. "Tackling poverty issues will make things better."

"This situation has to be reversed or else we will reach a critical point when the lake is no longer useful. It's an urgent situation."

[KNOWTHIS]

signs-of-the-times.org/signs/editorials/signs20060412_AnEnvironmental911.php
An Environmental 9/11

[KNOWTHIS]

[KNOWTHIS]

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060615/ap_on_re_us/western_wildfires_5

Fires burn in Colo., Ariz., Utah, Alaska



With another tinderbox summer shaping up in much of the West, officials issued red-flag fire warnings for Colorado on Thursday while in Arizona a roaring blaze forced the evacuation of about 1,000 homes.

Wildfires also were burning in Alaska and Utah.

The aggressive 700-acre Colorado blaze had already prompted about 100 people to leave their homes in the rolling hills near Westcliffe, about 100 miles south of Denver.

The fire, which began when falling tree dragged a power line to the ground, left patches of dense trees and brush "totally nuked, completely black," said Steve Segin, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.

No structures were reported lost but a house suffered exterior damage. A six-mile stretch of Colorado 96 was closed.

Judi Coker, who lives about two miles from the fire, said less smoke was visible Thursday than a day earlier. Her subdivision was not threatened and she and her husband, Rod, were not among the residents who left, but their bags were packed just in case.

"It's very dry, more dry than I've seen it since we lived here," said Coker, who has lived in the area for four years.

The Rocky Mountain Area Predictive Services issued a red-flag warning for a huge swath of southern Colorado, meaning conditions were favorable for big, fast-moving fires. The warning spanned the entire width of the state and ranged as far north as the Denver area.

At least 60,604 acres have burned in Colorado this year, said Larry Helmerick, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center. That compares with 41,048 acres for all of 2005. It was still far below the 619,029 that burned in 2002.

"It's so dry out here that it doesn't take more than a spark to start a wildfire," said Jamie Moore, director of emergency management for Douglas County south of Denver, where a passing train apparently sparked a 30-acre fire Wednesday.

In northwestern Colorado, a 3,700-acre fire quieted down after high winds blew in a mild cold front, said fire information officer Pam Wilson. One abandoned cabin burned.

More than half of Colorado is experiencing severe or extreme drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. Arizona is almost entirely under extreme drought conditions.

In Arizona, fire crews quickly responded to a 120-acre blaze that broke out Wednesday afternoon on the west side of Flagstaff, a city of 60,000 people nestled in a thick pine forest. The blaze was contained Thursday morning, but the threat was enough to evacuate 1,000 homes.

Officials credited the quick response of air tankers and extensive forest thinning.

Jim Wheeler, the assistant fire chief in Flagstaff, passed the word to a meeting of evacuees Thursday that all the area's homes were saved.

"Your neighborhoods are in fantastic shape," he said to loud applause.

In Alaska, a wildfire only a few miles northeast of the small town of Anderson grew to 65,500 acres. The town, 75 miles southwest of Fairbanks, was not in immediate danger, fire officials said Thursday.

Nearly 300 firefighters fought a 2,500-acre fire on the Utah side of Navajo Mountain on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The blaze was believed to have been started by lightning Saturday, said Jim Whittington, a U.S.
Bureau of Land Management fire information officer in Kingman, Ariz.

So far this year, nearly 2.9 million acres have burned. That is more than three times the average by this time of year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, but much of the acreage came in huge grass fires that swept Oklahoma and Texas this spring.

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[KNOWTHIS]

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060615/ap_on_re_us/louisiana_drought_2

Drought-yes, drought-plagues southern La.

After most of New Orleans sat submerged in water for weeks after Hurricane Katrina, the eight months since Oct. 1 have been the driest southern Louisiana has been during the 111 years that records have been kept, the state climatologist says.
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Since October, most of the southern half of the state has averaged just 21 inches of rain, down from the usual 40-inch average, climatologist Barry Keim said. The
National Weather Service says the rest of June promises more of the same.

"We're in what's called extreme drought," Keim said of the state's record-breaking dry spell. "We've really been suffering here, especially since Katrina."

Without the once-dependable daily showers, lawns have browned, rice and sugar cane crops are suffering and residents have emptied store shelves of hoses and other irrigation devices.

The increase in watering could stress city and parish pumping systems, and officials fear they could break because of ground subsidence caused by the lack of rain.

"A tropical storm would do wonders for us right now," Keim said. "A weak one, of course."

The forecast for rest of the month calls for little or no rain, said Mike Shields, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Slidell. Shields said there will be a chance for only spotty showers over the weekend.

"And then until the end of the month, it looks like the same pattern of high pressure still over us and keeping us dry," he said.

Southern Louisiana had been abnormally dry for about five months before the storm made landfall Aug. 29., Keim said.

"The drought was interrupted, if you will, by Katrina, and we went back into the drought pattern. Then we got that deluge from Rita. And as soon as that storm left, we went right back into the drought pattern," he said.

Normally, humidity rises into the sky, forming a cloud and then rain. But Keim said a stable structure of atmosphere is hanging over the region, preventing the moisture from rising, similar to the atmospheric conditions in normally arid states.

"For whatever reason, this dome of upper pressure in the atmosphere seems displaced east by a few hundred miles," Keim said.

The National Weather Service predicts that rain in the area will return to normal levels over the next three months. But Keim said such predictions typically can be way off.

"We're crossing our fingers," forecaster Tim Destri said. "We can't say for sure, but we see some hope of getting back to the typical summer pattern."

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[KNOWTHIS]

news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060616/sc_afp/indiaweatherfloods_060616114426

Floods displace 500,000 people in northeast India

Nearly 500,000 people have fled before floods in the northeastern state of Assam where 16 people have died since monsoon rains hit at the end of May.


"We have alerted the army, paramilitary, police, civil officials and healthcare workers to move to flood hit areas in the shortest possible time when summoned," Assam's rehabilitation minister Bhumidhar Barman said Friday.

The alert was sounded after three more people drowned overnight when their boat capsized.

Five people were killed during the week in neighbouring Tripura state where 10,000 residents were also displaced.

In Assam, where 13 of the 27 districts are flooded, an estimated 485,000 people were displaced and large areas submerged, a government statement said. Many have taken refuge in temporary camps.

Police and rescue workers with boats were deployed in the worst-hit Cachar and Karimganj districts in southern Assam to evacuate villagers.

"The situation is critical and with road links snapped we may have to requisition helicopters to drop essentials to people staying in makeshift camps located in inaccessible areas," Cachar district magistrate Gautam Ganguly said by telephone.

Road and rail communications were disrupted in many parts of Assam with floodwaters covering highways and rail tracks.

The Indian army Thursday rescued scores of passengers from southern Assam after a train in which they were travelling was stranded.

According to a Central Water Commission bulletin, the main Brahmaputra river was flowing above the danger level in at least seven places in Assam.

Floodwaters had entered Kaziranga National Park, home to the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, and forced animals to migrate to higher ground.

The 2,906-kilometer (1,816-mile) river -- one of the longest in Asia -- traverses Tibet, India and Bangladesh before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

Every year the monsoon causes the river to flood in Assam, a remote state of 26 million people. In 2004, at least 200 people died and millions were displaced.

[KNOWTHIS]

www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/16/D8I9BVQO0.html

China Builds 51 Dams to Slow Toxic Spill

Chinese authorities tried to slow the spread of a toxic spill by building 51 makeshift dams along the tainted river and using fire trucks to pump out polluted water before it reaches a reservoir serving a city of 10 million people, state media said Friday.

The spill of 60 tons of coal tar into the Dasha river in north China's Shanxi province was the latest in a series of mishaps fouling the country's already polluted waterways. Officials said there have been at least 76 water pollution accidents in the last six months.

A villager who lives along the river described seeing dozens of dead fish floating in the water.

In a separate incident Thursday, a series of explosions rocked the Longxin Chemical Plant in the city of Longquan, Zhejiang province, destroying two factories and threatening to contaminate the Oujiang river, which empties into the East China Sea, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

A spring that feeds the Oujiang lies close to the blast site. Large amounts of sand and stones were trucked to the site in an effort to prevent any waste water from contaminating the river, Xinhua said.

One person was injured and two people were reported missing after the blast, it said.

In the Dasha river spill, a truck overloaded with 60 tons of coal tar _ a substance linked to cancer _ crashed Monday and dumped its contents into the river. Measurements Friday showed that levels of phenol, also known as carbolic acid, were 100 times greater than acceptable levels in some spots.

Cleanup crews scrambled Friday to absorb the toxic substance before it reaches the Wangkuai Reservoir of Baoding, a city of about 10 million people, Xinhua said.

It said a dozen fire engines were pumping polluted water downstream from the spill site and trucking it to a "closed environment" where it could be treated, without giving specifics.

The pollution was said to be traveling about nearly 1 mile per hour downstream toward Baoding, which is about 45 miles from the site of the accident.

The day after the spill, the pollution had reached Hebei's Fuping county, where some 50,000 residents rely on the river for drinking water. Fuping residents were told to take water from nearby reservoirs and seven standby wells until the river could be cleaned, Xinhua said.

Liu Qing, a villager who lives along the Dasha in Fuping, said by telephone that the water was not discolored and did not have any unusual odor but that she had this week noticed dozens of dead fish floating in the river.

Liu said her family normally drinks well water, not water from the river, so they have not been affected.

Another Fuping resident, Li Xingcui, said her family was still using the water to wash vegetables and take baths, ignoring warnings aired on local television. She said the water looked and smelled normal.

Li's family was taking water from a mountain stream for drinking.

Prolonged exposure to coal tar has been linked to increased rates of certain types of cancer but it is also used in small doses as a topical medicine to treat eczema and other skin diseases, according to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Many of China's canals, rivers and lakes are severely tainted by industrial, agricultural and household pollution.

In November, a major chemical spill on the Songhua River halted water supplies to tens of millions in China and Russia. Local authorities were accused of reacting too slowly and delaying public disclosure of the spill.

[chickenlittle]

Yes.remember I told you all about a lake in our area with the blue/green alge,now local paper shows another lake has been closed and they are checking 2 others to be safe.My guess is probably all are infested with muck.
I don't understand why nobody has said anything about these poisons coming from above us.(My guess is perhaps the chemtrails are the Gov. way of trying to get rid of crap Poisons)they say they just cant figuire out why this is happeniong.Probably the same reason they have found banned pestisides ect. in our mountain snowpacks such as Mt. Rayonier and Mt.Baker.
chicky