Historic cold could hamper N. Korea food productionlink First time since 1945 that max daytime temperature has remained below zero for nearly a month |
23 Jan 11 - North Korea’s state media said Saturday the harsh winter that has hit the peninsula could severely affect spring farming activities.
Citing data from the North’s meteorological research unit, the KCNA reported that "This is the first time since 1945 that the maximum daytime temperature has remained below zero for nearly a month."
On Jan. 16, the mercury dropped to 18.2 degrees below zero in Pyongyang and other parts of the country, some 5 to 10 degrees colder than in normal winters, it said.
Any effect of the cold on the spring farming season would come at a particularly inopportune time: the United Nations recently estimated that some 5 million North Koreans will face food shortages this year as the impoverished country continues to struggle with a lack of staple grains.
See entire article by Kim Young-jin:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/01/113_80178.html
Thanks to Marc Morano for this link
US Unemployment Report: Only 47% of working age Americans have full time jobs
VK, roving reporter for The Automatic Earth, has been playing with the numbers from the January 7 employment report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It seems valuable to look at unemployment from this, a different, angle. Some of it may even surprise you.The total non institutional civilian labor force (Americans 16 years and older who are not in a institution -criminal, mental, or other types of facilities- or an active military duty) is reported as 238.889 million. Of these, we see:
- Employed: 139.206 million people (58.3% of labor force)
- Unemployed: 14.485 million people (6.1% of labor force)
Obviously, that can't be the total picture, we're only at 64.4%. This is why:
- Part time employed for economic reasons: 8.931 million people. This concerns people who want a full-time job but can't get one.
- Part time employed for non-economic reasons: 18.184 million people. Non-economic reasons include school or training, retirement or Social Security limits on earnings, but also childcare problems and family or personal obligations.
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Oil 'could hit $200 a barrel' says investor Jim Rogers
BBC Interview:Jim Rogers: Well, the surprise is going to be how high the price of oil stays and how high it goes, because Justin we have had no major elephant oil discoveries in over 40 years. The International Energy Agency is going around the world pleading with people to listen. Known reserves of oil are declining. It is not good news. Unless somebody discovers a lot of oil very quickly, prices are going to go much higher over the next decade.Justin Rowlatt: How high do you think the oil price could go then?
Jim Rogers: Justin, the price of oil is going to make new highs. It will go over $150 a barrel. It will probably go over $200 a barrel.
Justin Rowlatt: Over $200 a barrel? I mean that's a world record high, isn't it?
Jim Rogers: Of course it is, but Justin, the world is running out of known reserves of oil. Maybe there is a lot of oil in the world, but if there is, we don't know where it is or how to get to it.
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North Beach herring deaths 'rare occurrence'
Large numbers of dead herring that washed ashore this week on a beach south of Nanaimo have both fishery officials and local fishermen looking for answers.
Will Meeks, who works near Cedar's North Beach where the fish washed ashore, said he knew something was amiss when he saw unusually large numbers of birds congregating on the beach Thursday morning.
He said he was surprised to find "thousands" of dead herring washed ashore, a scene he can't recall ever seeing before on local beaches.
Meeks said the dead herring appear to localized to North Beach because he and his friends checked nearby beaches and found nothing similar. Read more:
Planetary tremor jars tectonic plates across the globe
January 24, 2011 – In the latest planetary tremor, we see flashpoints or seismic jolts under Somoa, the Yucatan, China, Oregon-Alaska (San Juan de Fuca) Australia and the greatest seismic band-wave disturbance registering under New Zealand (see below). The latest planetary tremor registered at 2:00 GMT. -The Extinction Protocol
Experts warn Australia flooding an omen of disasters to come
January 24, 2011 – BRISBANE – “As deadly floodwaters reach their peak in Brisbane, residents of Australia’s third-largest city, around the same population of Vancouver, and surrounding area are bracing for the devastating aftermath, the full extent to which will only become apparent once the waters start to recede. Many residents face the prospect of not being able to return to their homes for months, while others have been made homeless by the flooding. Some experts predict it will take years to make a full recovery from this natural disaster. Reports suggest Brisbane experienced more than 460millimetres of rain fall in the past week. That’s more than the amount of rain Winnipeg typically receives in an entire year, according to Environment Canada. But even after the cleanup is complete, experts say this year’s flooding may hold ominous portents, suggesting this type of catastrophic natural disaster may become more common in the future. “The frequency of these heavy rain events is projected to go up,” said Dr. McBean. “It is in the direction of what we expect to unfortunately get worse. As the climate warms, there will be more of these heavy deluges.” -Globe Mail
6.1 earthquake strikes Tajikistan
January 23, 2011 – TAJIKISTAN – “A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the central Asian republic of Tajikistan on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It said the quake occurred at a depth of 55.6 miles, 66 miles southwest of Karakul at 9:45 p.m. EST. A Reuters witness said the quake was felt in the Tajik capital Dushanbe but the tremors were not very strong.” -Reuters
Posted in Earth Changes, Seismic tremors Leave a comment
Brutal cold: Arctic blast to drop temps to -50 below with windchills across Maine
January 23, 2011 - FORT KENT, Maine — “An arctic blast from Canada is bringing brutally frigid air and wind chills expected to dip to 50 below zero to northern New England, prompting officials to warn residents to take precautions against the cold. The National Weather Service in Caribou issued a statewide wind chill warning Sunday night effective through Monday. Bitter cold air will remain over northern Maine through Monday night forcing temperatures down below zero with negative double-digit wind chill values. “This is the coldest air we’ve had in about two years,” said Michael Hill, a weather service meteorologist in Caribou. Emergency management agencies were urging residents to bundle up and heat their homes safely during the cold snap. Shelters were preparing for an increase in the number of people wanting to get out of the cold, and authorities in Maine and Pennsylvania waived restrictions on heating oil delivery. Northern New England is used to cold winters; a remote site in northern Maine recorded a minus 50 reading on Jan. 16, 2009, that tied a 1933 record set in Vermont for the coldest temperature recorded in New England. In Bangor the high temperature Monday will be about 2 degrees with a west wind between 10 and 15 mph. Wind chill values could be as low as 36 below zero, according to the NWS. The low will be around minus 10 Monday night, with wind chill values as low as minus 20. In Houlton the high Monday will be near minus 4, with wind chill values as low as minus 41. The low Monday night will be around minus 20, with wind chill values as low as minus 32. Factoring in the wind chill, people can expect temperatures approaching minus 50 Monday in extreme northern Maine.” -Bangor Daily News
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Hundreds of dead fish found floating in river in Ireland
January 23, 2011 – DUBLIN – “Hundreds of fish have been found dead in the Six Mile Water river in County Antrim. Billy Robinson from Ballynure Angling Club walked a few miles alongside the river on Sunday afternoon. He said he has seen dead fish from Duck bridge right up towards Ballyclare. “There are quite a few dead trout, from small fish, up to fish weighing three quarters of a pound to a pound in weight, so it seems to be a total fish kill,” he said. “I’m looking over the bridge at the moment and there must be around 30 or 40 fish dead in the space of a few yards.” -BBC
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