Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet (Week ending Jan. 25, 2013)

Historic Early Blooms
Dozens of species of flowers bloomed weeks earlier than ever before in Massachusetts and Wisconsin during theunusually warm springs of 2010 and 2012.  Researchers suggest this is evidence that plants are adapting to a changing climate.  They say records going back over 150 years indicate that wildflowers keep blooming earlier as the climate gets warmer.  They found that for every degree of Fahrenheit the temperature increases, many flowers come out 2.3 days earlier.  Some of the data used in the study go back to observations left by the late Henry David Thoreau.  The famed naturalist spent more than five years starting in 1852, collecting information on the dates of spring blooming around his beloved Walden Pond.  His work helps modern scientists judge the scope of global warming.
Disinfecting Pollution
A common antibiotic added to many soaps, cosmetics and toothpastes has been found to be contaminating Minnesota's famed lakes.  Analysis of core samples by the University of Minnesota reveals that the amount of triclosan has slowly increased in at least eight lakebeds since the compound was introduced into products in the early 1970s.  When exposed to sunlight and chlorine in the water, triclosan breaks down into a toxic dioxin that may prove harmful to the environment.  Despite its popularity, the FDA has found triclosan is no better at cleaning human skin than simple soap and water.  But it can prevent gingivitis when used in tothpaste.  "It's important for people to know that what they use in their house every day can have an impact in the environment far beyond their home," cautioned University of Minnesota engineering researcher William Arnold.
Lava Record
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano underwent an explosive increase in activity in mid-January.  The level of lava inside the volcano's summit lava lake has reached a historically high level.  Flows of lava from the swollen lake drifted downslope and reached the ocean at several locations, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes, and its lava flow has been traced back directly to the Earth's deep mantle.  Vulcanologists believe the constant flow since it began its latest eruptive phase 30 years ago has likely prevented a massive explosion from the volcano's main crater.  Kilauea blew its top about the year 1500, leaving behind a caldera that currently contains the swollen lava lake.
Earthquakes
One child was killed and a dozen other people were injured when a 5.9 magnitude temblor struck Indonesia's quake-prone province of Aceh.  Most of the injuries were due to walls collapsing during the shaking. 
 * Earth movements were also felt in central New Zealand, the central Philippines, northern Taiwan, southern Portugal, south-central Alaska and metropolitan Dallas-Fort Worth.
Tropical Cyclones
Samoa and American Samoa were soaked by passing Tropical Storm Garry.  The storm formed near the French Pacific territory of Wallis and Futuna, and was expected to reach hurricane force while approaching the Cook Islands late in the week.
* Tropical Storm Oswald formed briefly along the eastern shores of far northern Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria.  Tropical Storm Peta drenched northwest Australia.
Record Contamination
A fish contaminated in waters off Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was found to have levels of radiation over 2,500 times the legal safe limit for seafood.  Scientists from plant operator Tokyo Electric Power say massive nets are being installed about 15 miles offshore to try to prevent contaminated fish from migrating.  The plant was pummeled by a titanic tsunami in March 2011, which was generated by a massive undersea earthquake.  The disaster resulted in reactor meltdowns that spewed radioactive contamination expected to linger for decades to come.
Painful Discovery
A new study suggests that crabs, shrimp and lobsters might sufer pain on the way to the dinner table.  It's long been thought that the animals only respond to stimuli, but do not sense "pain" due to a simpler nervous system than those of mammals and other larger creatures.  But that belief is being challenged by an experiment that revealed at least crabs can learn to avoid uncomfortable sensations.  The response was discovered when a test group of the crustaceans were given the opportunity to choose between two identical shelters in which one discharged a mild ellectric shock.  Nearly all of the crabs chose the shelter without the electricity.  Some believe the ability to interpret stimuli as negative and to adapt behavior to avoid it is a hallmark of feeling pain.  The food industry currently kills billions of crustaceans each year.  This leads some to say methods of harvesting should be changed to err on the side of caution the same way the food industry treats poultry and livestock.