Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Smarter Irrigation Returns Water to Arizona’s Verde River
It is so good to see this cooperation in understanding that because of climate change and other factors we as humans have to adjust how much water we use to provide the necessary balance between us and ecosystems in order for all to survive.
Oh yes and notice, it is solar power being used here. Also see:
Playa Lakes Initiative To Recharge Ogalalla Aquifer
"Realizing the importance of the Ogallala Aquifer to High Plains states, NRCS created the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative to attempt to reduce the quantity of water removed from the aquifer, improve water quality using conservation practices, and enhance the economic viability of croplands and rangelands in the region. This episode explains how playas fit into these goals.
This episode of Playa Country on the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative is part three of a five-part series. It originally aired on High Plains Public Radio Tuesday, October 15, 2013."
End of excerpt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wetlands conservation- another positive step to conserving our water and farmlands. It ultimately does however come down to our own usage as well. Recharging would also not be as great a task if we conserved to begin with. However, seeing these positive steps at a time when there is so much negative news regarding water is hopeful.
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Arctic Ocean Leaking Methane At Alarming Rate
Disclaimer: I want to add this disclaimer to cover any posts here regarding Methane feedback. I absolutely DO NOT support the geoengineering of our atmosphere through spraying of chemicals as a solution to climate destruction. This could well tip our atmosphere even further with unknown consequences. ANY references to it on ANY sources I link to here are not supported by me. I have added certain sources simply to illustrate and inform regarding the real concern we must have with methane feedback- which can be addressed though initiatives to decrease of CO2/methane emissions such as a ban on fracking as well as through sustainable agriculture, afforestation, renewable energy and financial incentives not tied to markets but that hold markets accountable. Thank you.
December 8:
Living On Earth: Worrisome Arctic Ocean Methane leaks


Arctic Ocean Leaking Methane At Alarming Rate
A new study in the journal Nature shows that the Arctic Ocean is releasing methane at a rate more than twice what scientific models had previously anticipated. Methane’s effect on global warming is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
By WESTON MORROW
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Ounce for ounce, methane has an effect on global warming more than 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and it’s leaking from the Arctic Ocean at an alarming rate, according to new research by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Their article, which appeared Sunday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience, states that the Arctic Ocean is releasing methane at a rate more than twice what scientific models had previously anticipated.
Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov at the university’s International Arctic Research Center have spent more than a decade researching the Arctic’s greenhouse-gas emissions, along with scientists from Russia, Europe and the Lower 48.
Shakhova, the lead author of the most recent report, said the methane release rate likely is even greater than their paper describes.
“We decided to be as conservative as possible,” Shakhova said. “We’re actually talking the top of the iceberg.”
The researchers worked along the continental shelf off the northern coast of eastern Russia — the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, which is underlain by sub-sea permafrost.
End of excerpt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May I also add that this is twice what the US EPA has stated is being emitted. Of course, since the Obama administration is backing fracking I did not find it surprising. However, we must understand that this present danger supercedes their political agenda.
Right now the Earth is heading to a place we have never been and really do not want to go. Abrupt climate change due to methane feedback would catapult us into a world where climate change fast forwards to effects we would normally not feel or see for at least 35 years. Meaning, what we would expect to see by 2045 is happening now. This is not something we have planned for and it is not something we are ready for.
It is then something we must absolutely be concerned about and address. The rate of melting in the Arctic shows it is warming three times faster than the rest of our globe. Storms in the Arctic show us the effects of this as does our wavier jet stream and extreme events taking place because of it. The Arctic Ocean is also becoming more acidic. How many more years do we have to bow to the whims of skeptics and media/political minions of the fossil fuel industry in beating around this bush? Doing so is sealing our fate.
Is it really because we as humans simply cannot admit that we as a whole are capable of screwing up our planet so completely? That we cannot admit that we need to curb our rapacious consumption and selfish pleasures to put the planet that gives us sustenance first? That we cannot admit we are blinded by being obsessed by what we "want" over what we need? Make no mistake about it, what is now occurring in the Arctic is a direct result of our arrogance and hubris. We need to understand this and we need to also understand that this new territory we are entering requires great courage to navigate.
Dispute and deny abrupt climate change all you wish. However, it does nothing to change the reality of our situation and the present and future we face if we continue to think these events are just chance. I would also say to certain organizations that while CO2 is the main radiative forcing in AGW we need to also be concerned about this and address it. To continue to concentrate only on CO2 without bringing forth this most urgent facet of the picture regarding abrupt methane feedback is to also hide the whole truth.
We have no more time for agendas on ANY side. This is about our survival.


Also see:
Greenhouse Gas Concentrations In Atmosphere Reach New Record
Arctic Storms, Warming Mean More Methane Released
Methane Emissions "Through The Roof" As Arctic Melts Faster Than Predicted
Methane Feedback And Abrupt Climate Change: How Far Are We From It?
Methane Feedback And Abrupt Climate Change-cont.
Ocean Acidification Poised To Radically Affect Arctic
And yet, all politicians see are the "economic opportunities."
Pray tell, what OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU HAVE WITHOUT A HABITABLE PLANET?
Arctic Strategy Sets Off Climate Timebomb
Living On Earth: Worrisome Arctic Ocean Methane leaks


Arctic Ocean Leaking Methane At Alarming Rate
A new study in the journal Nature shows that the Arctic Ocean is releasing methane at a rate more than twice what scientific models had previously anticipated. Methane’s effect on global warming is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
By WESTON MORROW
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Ounce for ounce, methane has an effect on global warming more than 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and it’s leaking from the Arctic Ocean at an alarming rate, according to new research by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Their article, which appeared Sunday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience, states that the Arctic Ocean is releasing methane at a rate more than twice what scientific models had previously anticipated.
Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov at the university’s International Arctic Research Center have spent more than a decade researching the Arctic’s greenhouse-gas emissions, along with scientists from Russia, Europe and the Lower 48.
Shakhova, the lead author of the most recent report, said the methane release rate likely is even greater than their paper describes.
“We decided to be as conservative as possible,” Shakhova said. “We’re actually talking the top of the iceberg.”
The researchers worked along the continental shelf off the northern coast of eastern Russia — the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, which is underlain by sub-sea permafrost.
End of excerpt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May I also add that this is twice what the US EPA has stated is being emitted. Of course, since the Obama administration is backing fracking I did not find it surprising. However, we must understand that this present danger supercedes their political agenda.
Right now the Earth is heading to a place we have never been and really do not want to go. Abrupt climate change due to methane feedback would catapult us into a world where climate change fast forwards to effects we would normally not feel or see for at least 35 years. Meaning, what we would expect to see by 2045 is happening now. This is not something we have planned for and it is not something we are ready for.
It is then something we must absolutely be concerned about and address. The rate of melting in the Arctic shows it is warming three times faster than the rest of our globe. Storms in the Arctic show us the effects of this as does our wavier jet stream and extreme events taking place because of it. The Arctic Ocean is also becoming more acidic. How many more years do we have to bow to the whims of skeptics and media/political minions of the fossil fuel industry in beating around this bush? Doing so is sealing our fate.
Is it really because we as humans simply cannot admit that we as a whole are capable of screwing up our planet so completely? That we cannot admit that we need to curb our rapacious consumption and selfish pleasures to put the planet that gives us sustenance first? That we cannot admit we are blinded by being obsessed by what we "want" over what we need? Make no mistake about it, what is now occurring in the Arctic is a direct result of our arrogance and hubris. We need to understand this and we need to also understand that this new territory we are entering requires great courage to navigate.
Dispute and deny abrupt climate change all you wish. However, it does nothing to change the reality of our situation and the present and future we face if we continue to think these events are just chance. I would also say to certain organizations that while CO2 is the main radiative forcing in AGW we need to also be concerned about this and address it. To continue to concentrate only on CO2 without bringing forth this most urgent facet of the picture regarding abrupt methane feedback is to also hide the whole truth.
We have no more time for agendas on ANY side. This is about our survival.


Also see:
Greenhouse Gas Concentrations In Atmosphere Reach New Record
Arctic Storms, Warming Mean More Methane Released
Methane Emissions "Through The Roof" As Arctic Melts Faster Than Predicted
Methane Feedback And Abrupt Climate Change: How Far Are We From It?
Methane Feedback And Abrupt Climate Change-cont.
Ocean Acidification Poised To Radically Affect Arctic
And yet, all politicians see are the "economic opportunities."
Pray tell, what OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU HAVE WITHOUT A HABITABLE PLANET?
Arctic Strategy Sets Off Climate Timebomb
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
I Give Thanks For Water
Soft, clean, beautiful, spiritual, replenishing, life affirming water.
Water is our heart, our soul, our very essence.
It is where we sprang from and it is what sustains us.
On this Thanksgiving and every day, let us give thanks for the one thing we cannot live without: water.
Let us also continue to fight for water justice and clean water globally for all.
Water is a right for all living things.
Water is life.
Monday, November 25, 2013
ISON-Comet Of The Century
UPDATE: November 30: Comet Ison Survives Perhelion
It appears to now be fading fast... but who knows?

Last night astronomers were putting the final nail in the coffin for Comet ISON, which had been streaking toward its close encounter with the sun for months, culminating with a perihelion (closest approach of the sun) on Thanksgiving Day.
Described as the “comet of the century” by some and predicted to just “fizzle out” by others, ISON has been a hot topic since it was first discovered by Russian astronomers on September 21, 2012.
While many were gearing up for what could be a spectacular show as the frozen chunk of gas made its way past the sun yesterday afternoon, it later became evident that the comet was on a one-way trip toward obliteration.
Or was it?
As the comet sailed past our solar neighbor late yesterday, astronomers monitoring the comet’s progress declared that it was unlikely that the cosmic visitor survived its encounter with the sun.
“At this point, I do suspect that the comet has broken up and died,” Karl Battams, a comet scientist with the Naval Research Laboratory, said last night during a NASA and Google+ chat from Arizona’s Kitt Peak Observatory, according to a USA Today report yesterday. “Let’s at least give it a couple of more hours before we start writing the obituary.”
However, Battams now believes that some parts of ISON’s nucleus survived perihelion.
“It now looks like some chunk of ISON’s nucleus has indeed made it through the solar corona, and re-emerged,” he said in an interview with CNN’s Amanda Barnett. “It’s throwing off dust and (probably) gas, but we don’t know how long it can sustain that.”
[ Watch the Video: ISON Survives ]
While this is definitely good news for astronomers, it’s far from great news for the comet.
“Now it has emerged and started to brighten, we need to observe it for a few days to get a feel for its behavior,” Battams noted.
It is possible that it still may not survive its harrowing ordeal.
End of excerpt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A must watch presentation on Comet Ison. (You will be taken to continuation of video after seeing excerpt here.) The comet making its way to a flyby of the sun (2.38 PM November 28) is said to hold millions of tons of water (43 minutes into film) as well as other chemicals. Theory still persists as to the origin of our oceans here on Earth and relation to comets. It is fascinating to see this unfold in our universe knowing this comet has been traveling for 4.6 billion years and may hold the answers to the origins of our planet.
I hope to see ISON giving us a spectacular show on its one time pass. What a humbling experience.
Happy Thanksgiving. Give thanks for water.
Hubblesite: Comet Ison

Latest news on ISON: SPACE.com: Comet ISON

Also See: Where Did Earth's Water Originate?
It appears to now be fading fast... but who knows?

Last night astronomers were putting the final nail in the coffin for Comet ISON, which had been streaking toward its close encounter with the sun for months, culminating with a perihelion (closest approach of the sun) on Thanksgiving Day.
Described as the “comet of the century” by some and predicted to just “fizzle out” by others, ISON has been a hot topic since it was first discovered by Russian astronomers on September 21, 2012.
While many were gearing up for what could be a spectacular show as the frozen chunk of gas made its way past the sun yesterday afternoon, it later became evident that the comet was on a one-way trip toward obliteration.
Or was it?
As the comet sailed past our solar neighbor late yesterday, astronomers monitoring the comet’s progress declared that it was unlikely that the cosmic visitor survived its encounter with the sun.
“At this point, I do suspect that the comet has broken up and died,” Karl Battams, a comet scientist with the Naval Research Laboratory, said last night during a NASA and Google+ chat from Arizona’s Kitt Peak Observatory, according to a USA Today report yesterday. “Let’s at least give it a couple of more hours before we start writing the obituary.”
However, Battams now believes that some parts of ISON’s nucleus survived perihelion.
“It now looks like some chunk of ISON’s nucleus has indeed made it through the solar corona, and re-emerged,” he said in an interview with CNN’s Amanda Barnett. “It’s throwing off dust and (probably) gas, but we don’t know how long it can sustain that.”
[ Watch the Video: ISON Survives ]
While this is definitely good news for astronomers, it’s far from great news for the comet.
“Now it has emerged and started to brighten, we need to observe it for a few days to get a feel for its behavior,” Battams noted.
It is possible that it still may not survive its harrowing ordeal.
End of excerpt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A must watch presentation on Comet Ison. (You will be taken to continuation of video after seeing excerpt here.) The comet making its way to a flyby of the sun (2.38 PM November 28) is said to hold millions of tons of water (43 minutes into film) as well as other chemicals. Theory still persists as to the origin of our oceans here on Earth and relation to comets. It is fascinating to see this unfold in our universe knowing this comet has been traveling for 4.6 billion years and may hold the answers to the origins of our planet.
I hope to see ISON giving us a spectacular show on its one time pass. What a humbling experience.
Happy Thanksgiving. Give thanks for water.
Hubblesite: Comet Ison

Latest news on ISON: SPACE.com: Comet ISON

Also See: Where Did Earth's Water Originate?
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
World Sanitation Day

Yesterday, November 19 was the "celebration" of what is known as World Toilet Day. This is a day to acknowledge the crisis of lack of sanitation for 2.5 billion people on our planet and the 1.1. billion who still defecate in the open because of no sanitation facilities. It is also a call for a global response to provide hygiene and sanitation to decrease water borne diseases. Research states 2,000 children a day die from diarrhea related diseases. Two thousand children a day dying from something that is absolutely preventable by us. However, you don't see that on your local nightly news.
Sanitation is so important in having a world of health and progress. In many areas of the developing world young girls especially cannot attain an education simply because there is no sanitation (especially young women who reach menstruating age) or water access. Women are also in danger without sanitation access as they become targets of sexual attacks and women are more prone to infections. Lack of sanitation causes major health problems, contaminated water sources, food sources and contributes to economic losses in the developing world totaling 260 billion dollars a year.
For many however, this topic is something they do not wish to discuss because well, it discusses poo. We need to get over the barriers we put up in discussing these problems however, if we are to ever solve them. In the 21st Century when more people in the developing world own a cell phone than have sanitation/hygiene access we must realize that something has gone very askew with our priorities. Here in the US we take this for granted, but remember there was also a time when sanitation systems were something we in the "developed" world did not have either:
Cholera Comes To Victorian London
A major engineering operation occurred as a result of this then- public sanitation systems and yet we cannot do it today? Actually, even in ancient Rome they had plumbing and sewerage. Granted, the world has come a long way in providing sanitation access to two thirds of the world's population, but why does it seem to always be the world's poorest who continue to be left out of this progress?
This isn't just about access to a place to defecate. This is about health, jobs, education, CLEAN WATER, safe food, preservation of rivers and other waterways- and DIGNITY. In this the 21st Century if we cannot provide that to ALL people on this planet then how can we say we have progressed? Having a cell phone doesn't mean you have progressed. Having true equality and humanity however does.
Toilet Hackers
This is no joke. Your toilet is a lifesaver. Thank it today and be grateful you have one.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
The Philippines Need Our Help
UPDATE: November 20: All updated reports from MSF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund





Below is the most recent note I received from Doctors Without Borders regarding their work in the Philippines. The situation there is beyond dire-it is hell on Earth. I am going to post more information on this as well as more updated news on the fast for climate being conducted by Yeb Sano and other COP 19 delegates in Warsaw at this time. I have not been here in the last few days because I have been following the news and also because I have been conducting my own personal fast in solidarity as have others.
If there was any time when we need to come together as a human race this is the time. We can no longer allow the voices of the status quo to drown out the cries of those suffering from this.
Also, the clean water situation in the Philippines is non existent because water systems in these hard hit areas are now non existent and disease stalks those who continue to live there many without any cover from the elements as all buildings were destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan particularly in Tacloban.
Whatever you can do be it a donation, passing this on and yes, praying and keeping these people in your thoughts it all goes to doing what is needed to heal. Again, I do strongly recommend Doctors Without Borders if you can donate anything as they are on the ground and giving firsthand care to those most effected and that is where your donation goes.
However, we also know that it will take so much more than dollars to heal the souls of those who have lost their hope for living. Climate change is not just about the monetary aspect, it is about our very physical, mental and spiritual essence. PLEASE do what you can. This is simply too heartbreaking to contemplate happening again, though now that we have pushed the envelope it is much more likely we will see another such storm and we must be ready.
~~~~~~~~~
From MSF (Doctors Without Borders):
"In the aftermath of one of the strongest storms in recorded history, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency medical teams have started treating patients in the Philippines and are rushing to reach people in remote areas still cut off from aid.
Our teams are using boats and helicopters in places where the roads have been destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan and are now receiving first-hand accounts of the horrific damage and massive medical needs.
"The situation here is bleak," says Alexis Moens, a Doctors Without Borders assessment team leader who has arrived in Guiuan, a village of 45,000 people that was one of the first hit by the typhoon. "The village has been flattened – houses, medical facilities, rice fields, fishing boats all destroyed. People are living out in the open; there are no roofs left standing in the whole of Guiuan."
Here is the latest information on our response:
Our team in Samar Island, where the typhoon first hit, has performed 25 minor surgeries in the past day and more and more people are arriving with infected wounds, pneumonia and diarrhea.
Ninety-one Doctors without Borders field staff are already on the ground in the Philippines with fifty more arriving in the coming days, including doctors, nurses, surgeons, logisticians and sanitation experts.
Though travel is extremely difficult, we've reached several of the hardest hit areas by car, boat, plane and helicopter and are evaluating the medical needs in order to scale up treatment as quickly as possible.
Four cargo planes filled with medical kits, tetanus vaccines, tents and sanitation equipment have arrived at our staging ground, and six more shipments are on their way.
As our teams move deeper into the more remote areas, we are finding patients in urgent need of medical care, severely damaged hospitals, widespread power outages, and contaminated water.
Our teams are using boats to launch mobile clinics in some of the outlying islands and plan to establish a field hospital in the major population center of Tacloban.
As the days tick by, the risk of infection and water-borne diseases will increase – that's why it's urgent for our teams to reach the places which have been cut off from aid and respond to their medical needs as quickly as possible. Whatever the obstacles, our teams will keep looking for ways to reach those in need.
We will continue to update our website with the latest information, so please check back as we continue our response.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Sophie Delaunay, Executive Director
Sophie Delaunay
Executive Director
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Typhoon Haiyan Survivors Lack Food And Water One Week On
This is reminiscent of what happened right here in the US when Hurricane Katrina struck. There is no excuse for making people wait ONE WEEK for food and water! It isn't only the actions that lead to these disasters that we must address it is preparing towns and villages for them and having adequate response time that saves lives. Also, the Philippines has been mined, deforested and stripped of land that could have prevented some damage from this typhoon and others much like Haiti. Just how much more are the rich going to strip from the poor of this world in order to have "stuff" while ignoring the consequences to those these actions affect?
Speech from Yeb Sano at Warsaw COP 19. He has been fasting for a week now as other delegates join him. I have wondered repeatedly what it would take for us as a species to go from hubris to humility in our treatment of this Earth. Yeb Sano exemplifies that humility and I stand with him.
“We can take drastic action now to ensure that we prevent a future where super typhoons are a way of life, because we refuse, as a nation, to accept a future where super typhoons like Haiyan become a fact of life. We refuse to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, having to count our dead, become a way of life. We simply refuse to.” Yeb Sano.
Petition: Stand With The Philippines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also see:
Super Typhoon Haiyan-Big Threat To Philippines
Living On Earth: Typhoon Haiyan
Models suggest more intense storms in a warmed world

Typhoon Haiyan May Have "Burped" Carbon Into The Atmosphere
So not only was this storm a result of forcings on the system, it is a feedback in and of itself.
Extra-Tropical Cyclone Sandy brought that home to me personally. Neither Sandy nor Haiyan(Yolanda) would have had the storm surges they had were it not for the increases in temperature we have been seeing in our oceans and that IS relevant to this discussion as the people of the Philippines now bury their dead and struggle to rebuild their world that was taken from them. There can no longer be a disconnect between our actions and the Earth's reaction to them! The very support systems we rely on to give us life are now turning against us because we have turned against them.
Politicians and even scientists talk about "trends" now asking if this is a "trend" even after all we have seen in the last decade alone. Well, here's my question for all of them: How many more have to die and how much more of our planet and ecosystems need to be destroyed before they can agree it is in order to do something about it? How can a world with so many resources and capabilities still in the 21st Century fail at caring for its own in a time of need because even as disaster strikes we still sit bickering over "trends"?
More to be added.
300 Feared Dead As Cyclone Hits Somalia
Deadly Tropical Cyclone Hits Somalia
A year's worth of rain in less than 48 hours.
News also today of rare floods in Saudi Arabia and a huge November tornado setting down in Washington Illinois. Thoughts to all effected by these events. Please refer to my previous postings on methane feedback as well to also understand what we have put into motion. The time is now to change our thinking and our priorities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund




Below is the most recent note I received from Doctors Without Borders regarding their work in the Philippines. The situation there is beyond dire-it is hell on Earth. I am going to post more information on this as well as more updated news on the fast for climate being conducted by Yeb Sano and other COP 19 delegates in Warsaw at this time. I have not been here in the last few days because I have been following the news and also because I have been conducting my own personal fast in solidarity as have others.
If there was any time when we need to come together as a human race this is the time. We can no longer allow the voices of the status quo to drown out the cries of those suffering from this.
Also, the clean water situation in the Philippines is non existent because water systems in these hard hit areas are now non existent and disease stalks those who continue to live there many without any cover from the elements as all buildings were destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan particularly in Tacloban.
Whatever you can do be it a donation, passing this on and yes, praying and keeping these people in your thoughts it all goes to doing what is needed to heal. Again, I do strongly recommend Doctors Without Borders if you can donate anything as they are on the ground and giving firsthand care to those most effected and that is where your donation goes.
However, we also know that it will take so much more than dollars to heal the souls of those who have lost their hope for living. Climate change is not just about the monetary aspect, it is about our very physical, mental and spiritual essence. PLEASE do what you can. This is simply too heartbreaking to contemplate happening again, though now that we have pushed the envelope it is much more likely we will see another such storm and we must be ready.
~~~~~~~~~
From MSF (Doctors Without Borders):
"In the aftermath of one of the strongest storms in recorded history, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency medical teams have started treating patients in the Philippines and are rushing to reach people in remote areas still cut off from aid.
Our teams are using boats and helicopters in places where the roads have been destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan and are now receiving first-hand accounts of the horrific damage and massive medical needs.
"The situation here is bleak," says Alexis Moens, a Doctors Without Borders assessment team leader who has arrived in Guiuan, a village of 45,000 people that was one of the first hit by the typhoon. "The village has been flattened – houses, medical facilities, rice fields, fishing boats all destroyed. People are living out in the open; there are no roofs left standing in the whole of Guiuan."
Here is the latest information on our response:
Our team in Samar Island, where the typhoon first hit, has performed 25 minor surgeries in the past day and more and more people are arriving with infected wounds, pneumonia and diarrhea.
Ninety-one Doctors without Borders field staff are already on the ground in the Philippines with fifty more arriving in the coming days, including doctors, nurses, surgeons, logisticians and sanitation experts.
Though travel is extremely difficult, we've reached several of the hardest hit areas by car, boat, plane and helicopter and are evaluating the medical needs in order to scale up treatment as quickly as possible.
Four cargo planes filled with medical kits, tetanus vaccines, tents and sanitation equipment have arrived at our staging ground, and six more shipments are on their way.
As our teams move deeper into the more remote areas, we are finding patients in urgent need of medical care, severely damaged hospitals, widespread power outages, and contaminated water.
Our teams are using boats to launch mobile clinics in some of the outlying islands and plan to establish a field hospital in the major population center of Tacloban.
As the days tick by, the risk of infection and water-borne diseases will increase – that's why it's urgent for our teams to reach the places which have been cut off from aid and respond to their medical needs as quickly as possible. Whatever the obstacles, our teams will keep looking for ways to reach those in need.
We will continue to update our website with the latest information, so please check back as we continue our response.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Sophie Delaunay, Executive Director
Sophie Delaunay
Executive Director
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Typhoon Haiyan Survivors Lack Food And Water One Week On
This is reminiscent of what happened right here in the US when Hurricane Katrina struck. There is no excuse for making people wait ONE WEEK for food and water! It isn't only the actions that lead to these disasters that we must address it is preparing towns and villages for them and having adequate response time that saves lives. Also, the Philippines has been mined, deforested and stripped of land that could have prevented some damage from this typhoon and others much like Haiti. Just how much more are the rich going to strip from the poor of this world in order to have "stuff" while ignoring the consequences to those these actions affect?
Speech from Yeb Sano at Warsaw COP 19. He has been fasting for a week now as other delegates join him. I have wondered repeatedly what it would take for us as a species to go from hubris to humility in our treatment of this Earth. Yeb Sano exemplifies that humility and I stand with him.
“We can take drastic action now to ensure that we prevent a future where super typhoons are a way of life, because we refuse, as a nation, to accept a future where super typhoons like Haiyan become a fact of life. We refuse to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, having to count our dead, become a way of life. We simply refuse to.” Yeb Sano.
Petition: Stand With The Philippines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also see:
Super Typhoon Haiyan-Big Threat To Philippines
Living On Earth: Typhoon Haiyan
Models suggest more intense storms in a warmed world

Typhoon Haiyan May Have "Burped" Carbon Into The Atmosphere
So not only was this storm a result of forcings on the system, it is a feedback in and of itself.
Extra-Tropical Cyclone Sandy brought that home to me personally. Neither Sandy nor Haiyan(Yolanda) would have had the storm surges they had were it not for the increases in temperature we have been seeing in our oceans and that IS relevant to this discussion as the people of the Philippines now bury their dead and struggle to rebuild their world that was taken from them. There can no longer be a disconnect between our actions and the Earth's reaction to them! The very support systems we rely on to give us life are now turning against us because we have turned against them.
Politicians and even scientists talk about "trends" now asking if this is a "trend" even after all we have seen in the last decade alone. Well, here's my question for all of them: How many more have to die and how much more of our planet and ecosystems need to be destroyed before they can agree it is in order to do something about it? How can a world with so many resources and capabilities still in the 21st Century fail at caring for its own in a time of need because even as disaster strikes we still sit bickering over "trends"?
More to be added.
300 Feared Dead As Cyclone Hits Somalia
Deadly Tropical Cyclone Hits Somalia
A year's worth of rain in less than 48 hours.
News also today of rare floods in Saudi Arabia and a huge November tornado setting down in Washington Illinois. Thoughts to all effected by these events. Please refer to my previous postings on methane feedback as well to also understand what we have put into motion. The time is now to change our thinking and our priorities.
Saturday, November 09, 2013
Flesh Eating Bacteria Tied To BP Oil Ecocide Tarballs
Video report at link.
Flesh Eating Bacteria Tied To BP Oil Spill Tarballs
The Alabama Gulf Coast attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, and since the 2010 BP Oil Spill, tens of thousands of tar balls.
A couple hundred miles away at Auburn University, Dr. Cova Arias, a professor of aquatic microbiology, conducts research on the often-deadly and sometimes flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio Vulnificus. Arias’ research at Auburn, and through the school’s lab at Dauphin Island, has focused on Vibrio’s impact on the oyster industry which was brought to a standstill three years ago by the BP Oil Spill. In 2010, out of curiosity, Arias set out to discover if Vibrio were present in the post-spill tar balls washing up on the Alabama and Mississippi coasts. She was highly surprised by what she found.
“What was clear to us was that the tar balls contain a lot of Vibrio Vulnificus,” said Arias.
Arias can show an observer Vibrio in the lab as it appears as a ring on the top of the solution in a test tube. Vibrio is not something, though, that a person can see in the water, sand, or tar balls.
But, Arias’ research shows it there, especially in the tar balls, in big numbers.
According to Dr. Arias’ studies, there were ten times more vibrio vulnificus bacteria in tar balls than in the surrounding sand, and 100 times more than in the surrounding water.
“In general, (the tar balls) are like a magnet for bacteria,” said Arias.
Arias’ theory is that Vibrio feeds on the microbes that are breaking down the tar.
She and researchers looked at tar balls that washed in to the same areas they had previously studied so they could therefore make valid comparisons to before the oil spill.
“What we also found was in water, the numbers were about ten times higher than the numbers that have reported before from that area,” said Arias
So the water alone had ten times as much Vibrio as before the oil spill, and the tar balls themselves had 100-times more Vibrio than the water.
Dr. John Vande Waa , an infectious disease specialist at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile says a person can get Vibrio two ways, by eating infected seafood, usually raw oysters, or by being in infected waters, either salt water or brackish. In this form, Vibrio is a fast-acting flesh-eating bacteria.
“The destruction in arms and legs, the flesh eating component, it’s two parts ,” said Vande Waa. “One is that the organism itself can destroy the tissues. The other is sepsis. The bacteria is in their bloodstream, it affects all the organs. Within my own experience of cases, the mortality has been approaching 40-50 percent.”
When entering through the skin, Vibrio is contracted thru some sort of cut or abrasion. The young or old, or someone with a compromised immune system, is more likely to get Vibrio.
Dr. Vande Waa says exposure to Vibrio should be taken seriously by everyone in marine environments, due to the random, but deadly, nature of bacteria.
End of Excerpt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I would most definitely and emphatically recommend that if you are on a beach in these areas that you and especially your children not touch anything. I wouldn't even go in the water. BP/Halliburton KILLED the Gulf of Mexico and there really is no way to know the results of all of the poison Corexit (which is actually banned in Britain) it sprayed as well as the syn-bio bacteria and other elements it dumped into the Gulf to eat away at the oil as most of it sunk to the depths. See: The Perfect Genetic Storm:
Whether or not that synthetic- bio bacteria has now caused mutations in other bacteria or organisms or affected the water in a way that is toxic to humans through an increase in the presence of a strain of bacteria that attacks human flesh is just not known (or is being hidden.) It is just COMMON SENSE that after what happened and with tarballs still washing up that you would be cautious however with or without this new synthetic unnatural ingredient placed into the waters without our knowledge or consent. (BTW, would releasing that without protocol be considered a bio weapons attack?)
It is truly criminal and heartbreaking. The Gulf Of Mexico is now a toxic mess that was used as a petrie dish without adherence to precautionary principle for a scientific experiment to protect their profits that may well now be running amok. Please heed the reports and warnings and err on the side of caution and life. If you walk on these beaches wear protection on your feet.
Also notice in the video news report of the story on the bacteria the reporter stated there were no deaths reported... This has been a cover up from the day the blowout happened. Support independent media and those who seek to bring you truth and news you need to know!
WHY do we continue to allow companies to poison our water and kill off all that is good? All you can do watching this is cry... and then hopefully get mad and DO Something. BOYCOTT BP.
STOP SUPPORTING THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR BEAUTIFUL WORLD BY OIL!
Flesh Eating Bacteria Tied To BP Oil Spill Tarballs
The Alabama Gulf Coast attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, and since the 2010 BP Oil Spill, tens of thousands of tar balls.
A couple hundred miles away at Auburn University, Dr. Cova Arias, a professor of aquatic microbiology, conducts research on the often-deadly and sometimes flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio Vulnificus. Arias’ research at Auburn, and through the school’s lab at Dauphin Island, has focused on Vibrio’s impact on the oyster industry which was brought to a standstill three years ago by the BP Oil Spill. In 2010, out of curiosity, Arias set out to discover if Vibrio were present in the post-spill tar balls washing up on the Alabama and Mississippi coasts. She was highly surprised by what she found.
“What was clear to us was that the tar balls contain a lot of Vibrio Vulnificus,” said Arias.
Arias can show an observer Vibrio in the lab as it appears as a ring on the top of the solution in a test tube. Vibrio is not something, though, that a person can see in the water, sand, or tar balls.
But, Arias’ research shows it there, especially in the tar balls, in big numbers.
According to Dr. Arias’ studies, there were ten times more vibrio vulnificus bacteria in tar balls than in the surrounding sand, and 100 times more than in the surrounding water.
“In general, (the tar balls) are like a magnet for bacteria,” said Arias.
Arias’ theory is that Vibrio feeds on the microbes that are breaking down the tar.
She and researchers looked at tar balls that washed in to the same areas they had previously studied so they could therefore make valid comparisons to before the oil spill.
“What we also found was in water, the numbers were about ten times higher than the numbers that have reported before from that area,” said Arias
So the water alone had ten times as much Vibrio as before the oil spill, and the tar balls themselves had 100-times more Vibrio than the water.
Dr. John Vande Waa , an infectious disease specialist at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile says a person can get Vibrio two ways, by eating infected seafood, usually raw oysters, or by being in infected waters, either salt water or brackish. In this form, Vibrio is a fast-acting flesh-eating bacteria.
“The destruction in arms and legs, the flesh eating component, it’s two parts ,” said Vande Waa. “One is that the organism itself can destroy the tissues. The other is sepsis. The bacteria is in their bloodstream, it affects all the organs. Within my own experience of cases, the mortality has been approaching 40-50 percent.”
When entering through the skin, Vibrio is contracted thru some sort of cut or abrasion. The young or old, or someone with a compromised immune system, is more likely to get Vibrio.
Dr. Vande Waa says exposure to Vibrio should be taken seriously by everyone in marine environments, due to the random, but deadly, nature of bacteria.
End of Excerpt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I would most definitely and emphatically recommend that if you are on a beach in these areas that you and especially your children not touch anything. I wouldn't even go in the water. BP/Halliburton KILLED the Gulf of Mexico and there really is no way to know the results of all of the poison Corexit (which is actually banned in Britain) it sprayed as well as the syn-bio bacteria and other elements it dumped into the Gulf to eat away at the oil as most of it sunk to the depths. See: The Perfect Genetic Storm:
TRACE ELEMENTS ADDED TO THE GULF~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the same CS Monitor report, University of Georgia microbiologist Samantha Joye stated how"
“[The Gulf] is not well stocked with trace elements the bacteria need to survive – among them, copper, which bacteria specifically use to deal with the methane. Shortages of copper, as well as other trace elements, likely would have slammed the brakes on the exponential growth in bacterial populations needed to get rid of the methane in fewer than four months.”
The same applies to hydrocarbon-eating bacteria that consume oil, except that iron is needed more than the other trace elements. Since copper and iron are not prevalent mineral elements normally found in the Gulf of Mexico, the synthetic bacterium eating both the oil and the methane would not be able to do so at the remarkable speed they have without such essential earth elements. The only possible way these synthetic bacterium could have done this is by adding the required elements to the Gulf. Spraying a highly dissolved or colloidal mixture of trace elements onto and into the Gulf of Mexico would be absolutely required to accomplish this.
In our October 21, 2010 research article The Gulf BLUE PLAGUE (BP): It’s Not Wise To Fool Mother Nature, we had revealed the abnormally high amounts of elements found in the Gulf and that it was being sprayed along with or separately from the oil dispersants. In August 2010, rain water samples were tested by the Coastal Heritage Society of Louisiana where rain coming directly from the Gulf had unusually high concentrations of iron, copper, nickel, aluminum, manganese, and arsenic.
Without a doubt, the synthetically created bacterium introduced into the Gulf of Mexico to consume the oil and gasses were – and continue to be – fed these essential trace elements. Otherwise, they could not have thrived or reproduced at the accelerated rate they have. The continued spraying in the Gulf by aircraft and by boat is not Corexit or other oil dispersal chemicals. Consider the current spraying to have the same effect of adding liquid fertilizer to your crops.
SYNTHETIC MICROBES MUTATING NATURAL MICROORGANISMS
In early December, 2010 the research vessel WeatherBird II, owned by the University of Southern Florida (USF), went back to the Gulf of Mexico for follow-up water and core samples. As reported by Naomi Klein on January 13, 2011 in Hunting the Ocean for BP’s Missing Millions of Barrels of Oil,
“…these veteran scientists have seen things that they describe as unprecedented …evidence of bizarre sickness in the phytoplankton and bacterial communities…”
This “bizarre sickness” in the indigenous Gulf microorganisms is the direct result of the synthetic microbes that are still creating genetic sicknesses by mutating the DNA of the natural microbes. We had alerted our readers to this in DNA Mutations Confirmed in Gulf of Mexico on September 28, 2010 when we stated,
“DNA mutations are occurring within the Gulf of Mexico at a microscopic cellular level. The obvious effect this has on marine life as well as humans is a Pandora Box of unknowns.”
End of excerpt.
Also:
In October, 2010, I was contacted by Riki Ott, PhD who had written a book on the effects of the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska. Her Master’s Science degree is in marine biology with emphasis on the effects oil has on zooplankton. She had just read my It’s Not Wise To Fool Mother Nature article and wanted to talk. So far, she is the only U.S. based scientist who has agreed with me that there were genetically bio-engineered bacteria eating the oil in the Gulf.
In an article she published while in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, entitled Bio-Remediation or Bio-Hazard? Dispersants, Bacteria & Illness in the Gulf, she recounts how comments made by a local grandmother made her re-evaluate her thoughts on crude oil bio-remediation. That grandmother said she felt the oil-eating bacteria were “running amok and causing skin rashes”. Here’s part of what Dr. Ott wrote:
“To make things a little scarier, some of the oil-eating bacteria have been genetically modified, or otherwise bio-engineered, to better eat the oil – including Alcanivorax borkumensis and some of the Pseudomonas.”
Pseudomonas alcaligenes is a Gram-negative aerobic bacterium used for bio-remediation purposes because it can degrade aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene or methane. Alcanivorax borkumensis is also a Gram-negative bacterium used for bio-remediation purposes because it can degrade oil hydrocarbons. There we have it. Confirmation once again that synthetic designer genes are the reason the oil and gas are being eaten up at alarming rates within the Gulf.
But why are these Gram-negative bacteria so important? Because, as Riki Ott said,
“Oil-eating bacteria produce bio-films. Studies have found that bio-films are rapidly colonized by other Gram-negative bacteria – including those known to infect humans.”
End of excerpt
Whether or not that synthetic- bio bacteria has now caused mutations in other bacteria or organisms or affected the water in a way that is toxic to humans through an increase in the presence of a strain of bacteria that attacks human flesh is just not known (or is being hidden.) It is just COMMON SENSE that after what happened and with tarballs still washing up that you would be cautious however with or without this new synthetic unnatural ingredient placed into the waters without our knowledge or consent. (BTW, would releasing that without protocol be considered a bio weapons attack?)
It is truly criminal and heartbreaking. The Gulf Of Mexico is now a toxic mess that was used as a petrie dish without adherence to precautionary principle for a scientific experiment to protect their profits that may well now be running amok. Please heed the reports and warnings and err on the side of caution and life. If you walk on these beaches wear protection on your feet.
Also notice in the video news report of the story on the bacteria the reporter stated there were no deaths reported... This has been a cover up from the day the blowout happened. Support independent media and those who seek to bring you truth and news you need to know!
WHY do we continue to allow companies to poison our water and kill off all that is good? All you can do watching this is cry... and then hopefully get mad and DO Something. BOYCOTT BP.
STOP SUPPORTING THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR BEAUTIFUL WORLD BY OIL!
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