Acidic Threats
The world's oceans are now more acidic than they have been for at least 300 million years, which scientists who made the discovery warn poses a threat of mass extinction of marine species. The change in the ocean's chemistry is said to be due to carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. This, combined with overfishing and pollution, imperils marine life on which billions of people depend for food and jobs. That warning by the International Program on the State of the Ocean came after an international audit of the health of the oceans revealed the magnitude of the man-made threats. Program officials caution that Earth's next mass extinction may have already begun in the oceans.
Stink Trap
Countless millions of malodorous insects are currently sneaking into houses across the United States for the winter, but one New Jersey inventor says he has found a way to keep them out. Brown marmorated stink-bugs are alien invaders ----- accidentally introduced to Allentown, Pa., in the 1990s, probably in shipping containers from their native Taiwan or South Korea. They have since exploded in numbers and spread across America. While they don't bite, they consume fruit and vegetables, making them an agricultural pest. They also give off a noisome scent when threathened or squashed. But Jody Williams of New Jersey's Delaware Township tells the Hunterdon County Democrat that he is trying to patent a new simple device he claims can keep the stinkers out of your home. He has an online video showing how to build it with wood shims, cardboard, a staple or glue gun, Velcro, two box fans and garbage bags.
Dissolving Starfish
Experts at Canada's Vancouver Aquarium say they are puzzled by what is causing thousands of sunflower starfish, or sea stars, to die in the waters of Vancouver Harbor and Howe Sound. What is even more starrling is the way the creatures perish ----- by quickly dissolving in a phenomenon the aquarium has dubbed Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. "They have disintegrated, and now there is just goo left," says research diver and taxonomist Donna Gibbs. A similar string of starfish deaths was reported during July in the North Atlantic from New Jersey to Maine.
Tropical Cyclones
Typhoon Fitow stormed into China's Fujian province with wind's of up to 93 mph. At least 10 people died in flash floods and mudslides in neighboring Zhejiang province.
* Southern parts of Japan and South Korea were lashed by passing Typhoon Danas.
* Tropical Storm Karen dissipated before reaching the U.S. Gulf Coast. Tropical Storm Narda formed between Mexico and Hawaii.
Earthquakes
Romania's most powerful temblor in four years awakened residents before dawn on Oct. 6 in the east of the country as well as in neighboring Moldova. It punctuated two weeks in which a swarm of tremors farther to the east crackled walls and the ground, accompanied by the sound of "boiling water" and the smell of sulfur.
* Earth movements were also felt in eastern Afghanistan and northers Pakistan, northeastern Iran, southeastern New Zealand, southwestern Mexico and north-central Oklahoma.
Friend and Food
The Japanese fishing town notorious for its savage slaughter of dolphins each year now says it wants to open a marine park that will also feature whale cutlet burgers and dolphin meat as snacks for visitors. Taiji and its bloody dolphin kill were highlighted in the 2009 documentary "The Cove." Organizers there want to fence off a portion of the cove to create the park in which people can swim and kayak alongside small whales and dolphins. Town official Masaki Wada assures critics that the dolphin slaughter, carried out by stabbing the marine mammals with stakes, will fleet, which carries out the slaughter, as well as the capture of dolphins later sold to marine parks around the world.
Disco Poles
Motorists on some Norwegian highways are being protected from hitting stray elk with a device some are calling a "disco pole". The country's Public Roads Administration has installed the units, which emit high-pitch sounds and flash LED lights into the forest when cars are approaching. Norway's The Local reports the poles will be positioned about every 165 feet along four selected highways. It's similar to equipment being used in Austria to prevent autos from colliding with deer. "If the system works, we hope to put them up on all routes where elk collisions occur. It is considerably less expensive than (installing) game fences." Henrik Wildenschild of the Public Roads Administration told the Fremover newspaper.
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